My 17-year-old son, a multi-generation US citizen, was approached recently by a foreign national living in the US illegally, who solicited his identity for the sum of $5,000 to help him bring members of his family to the US and work under assumed identities. Fortunately, he declined the offer. But others will accept. Far more citizens will have their identities compromised.
There's great value in the identity trade, which has become a commodity industry, and there's a reason for it. And while the political class watches you all bicker about who's fault it is, your fellow citizens are getting soaked by the financial complex and raked over the coals.
The solution is to make compliance the new path of least resistance -- a financial no-brainer -- by causing great expense to the individuals reaping the benefits of cheap labor, who promise the cheapest possible labor force. You'll know who they are because they speak loudest for immigrants' rights.
One of the extremely few true responsibilities of the government is to guard against foreign invasion, but a nation rife with ignorance will never demand it.
Sunday, July 13, 2008
Saturday, June 28, 2008
Types of Internet access
DSL
Over-the-phone-line (sometimes called PSTN or Telco), the "digital subscriber line" is piggybacked data over regular copper phone wires, doesn't interfere with normal phone calls, but data noise (hissing sound) must be filtered or most telephone equipment will not function correctly. Special customer equipment, service and ISP are required. With DSL service, you're getting a special data connection between you and the phone company, but not to the internet. You will also have to enter into an agreement with an ISP (Internet Service Provider), who then makes the fnal connection between the phone company and the Internet. In many cases, DSL and ISP are bundled, simplifying your installation.
Cable
Through your cable-TV provider (sometimes called CATV), the data is passed on the same coax cable as your cable television signals. A special cable modem is required, as well as a special high-speed cable internet service, also through your cable company. No additional ISP is needed; the cable company handles the ISP duties as well.
Satellite internet
If you use Hughes/DirecTV satellite television service, you may have heard about their HughesNet internet services, in which an installer replaces your receiving dish with a special Internet dish, which is oval-shaped. As with satellite television, you must have a clear view of the southern sky in order for this to work. The service is ordered through Hughes/DirecTV.
WLAN
Wireless Lan (WLAN) is an extension of your ISP's network that covers the last mile using towers (often rented cell towers, water towers, grain elevators or other tall structures, to beam an 802.11 wifi radio signal across a wide area (often several miles). While traditional wifi gear works on this type of network, you'll probably need an antenna mounted on the side of your house and pointed in the general direction of the nearest WLAN tower, as well as a cable that plugs into a special network bridge inside your home, then into your computer/network.
WiMax
Similar to the above, but doesn't use tradition 802.11 (wifi) protocols, but a proprietary network protocol and special equipment at your home.
Cellular
Your cell phone company probably has a data plan, through which you can access the internet. In some cases, if your phone and computer are both equipped with Bluetooth, you may be able to setup an arrangement between your phone and computer in which your computer goes through your phone to access the internet, a sort of wireless Internet connection. This may be a slow, clunky and difficult option, but with a little guidance from your cell phone provider, it may be your only reliable option if you travel a lot or live in an area where DSL or cable Internet are not available.
Internet Over Powerline
Not available in our area, but would pass a data stream over powerlines to your home. You would need a special receiver that connects to the household power and your computer or home network.
Over-the-phone-line (sometimes called PSTN or Telco), the "digital subscriber line" is piggybacked data over regular copper phone wires, doesn't interfere with normal phone calls, but data noise (hissing sound) must be filtered or most telephone equipment will not function correctly. Special customer equipment, service and ISP are required. With DSL service, you're getting a special data connection between you and the phone company, but not to the internet. You will also have to enter into an agreement with an ISP (Internet Service Provider), who then makes the fnal connection between the phone company and the Internet. In many cases, DSL and ISP are bundled, simplifying your installation.
Cable
Through your cable-TV provider (sometimes called CATV), the data is passed on the same coax cable as your cable television signals. A special cable modem is required, as well as a special high-speed cable internet service, also through your cable company. No additional ISP is needed; the cable company handles the ISP duties as well.
Satellite internet
If you use Hughes/DirecTV satellite television service, you may have heard about their HughesNet internet services, in which an installer replaces your receiving dish with a special Internet dish, which is oval-shaped. As with satellite television, you must have a clear view of the southern sky in order for this to work. The service is ordered through Hughes/DirecTV.
WLAN
Wireless Lan (WLAN) is an extension of your ISP's network that covers the last mile using towers (often rented cell towers, water towers, grain elevators or other tall structures, to beam an 802.11 wifi radio signal across a wide area (often several miles). While traditional wifi gear works on this type of network, you'll probably need an antenna mounted on the side of your house and pointed in the general direction of the nearest WLAN tower, as well as a cable that plugs into a special network bridge inside your home, then into your computer/network.
WiMax
Similar to the above, but doesn't use tradition 802.11 (wifi) protocols, but a proprietary network protocol and special equipment at your home.
Cellular
Your cell phone company probably has a data plan, through which you can access the internet. In some cases, if your phone and computer are both equipped with Bluetooth, you may be able to setup an arrangement between your phone and computer in which your computer goes through your phone to access the internet, a sort of wireless Internet connection. This may be a slow, clunky and difficult option, but with a little guidance from your cell phone provider, it may be your only reliable option if you travel a lot or live in an area where DSL or cable Internet are not available.
Internet Over Powerline
Not available in our area, but would pass a data stream over powerlines to your home. You would need a special receiver that connects to the household power and your computer or home network.
Nurturing the festering
Howard Fineman appears to be reasonably intelligent and is good for political insight if you pull his chain -- and NBC does quite a bit of chain pulling when he's in the room. But the more I see him on the various talk shows and read his op-eds, the more I believe his function is to feed the discomfort level of enthusiasts.
Kill troop morale
A favorite tactic in any battle is to try to add to the discontent of the groundpounders on the other side. The purpose is, of course, is to weaken the position of the other side. But the battle's won, so what's Fineman trying to accomplish? To pour salt in wounds and watch them fester. To cause a reaction that will be heard around the world.
Being one of NBC's go-to guys for punditry is probably a pretty good way to get paying customers, but none of this advances political discourse. Fact-based analysis isn't supposed to inject emotion of itself, but to reflect the facts.
This adolescent tendency to want to be seen as the insider is sophomoric. Children like to say words that produce a "wow" from their audience. Makes them feel relevant, purposeful.
I wish Fineman and the rest of the beltway insiders would mature.
Kill troop morale
A favorite tactic in any battle is to try to add to the discontent of the groundpounders on the other side. The purpose is, of course, is to weaken the position of the other side. But the battle's won, so what's Fineman trying to accomplish? To pour salt in wounds and watch them fester. To cause a reaction that will be heard around the world.
Being one of NBC's go-to guys for punditry is probably a pretty good way to get paying customers, but none of this advances political discourse. Fact-based analysis isn't supposed to inject emotion of itself, but to reflect the facts.
This adolescent tendency to want to be seen as the insider is sophomoric. Children like to say words that produce a "wow" from their audience. Makes them feel relevant, purposeful.
I wish Fineman and the rest of the beltway insiders would mature.
Monday, June 23, 2008
Immigration officials charge a Postville illegal
In this story, the DM Register says the Chief of Police of Postville claims his department doesn't routinely act as an immigration-enforcement arm because it can't afford the training, and that he wants immigrants to feel comfortable reporting crimes to his officers without fearing that they will be deported.
Well, actually, the police chief is referring to illegal immigrants, foreign nationals in this country without a visa or other authorization -- referred to as "illegal aliens". Let's be honest.
What if the chief had said his department doesn't go after shoplifters? And that he didn't want drug users to feel uncomfortable reporting other crimes for fear of arrest? That's an equivalent argument.
In the military, I believe we refer to this as "dereliction of duty", punishable by death in times of war.
Food for thought.
As I've always said, if the laws are wrong, then let's change them. If we can fairly increase the number of immigrants and successfully integrate them into our country, then let's up the numbers. But if we're being over-run by foreign nationals who have no intentions of assimilating, then we're being invaded and our pocketbooks are being raided -- and sworn officers of the law are accessories.
Well, actually, the police chief is referring to illegal immigrants, foreign nationals in this country without a visa or other authorization -- referred to as "illegal aliens". Let's be honest.
What if the chief had said his department doesn't go after shoplifters? And that he didn't want drug users to feel uncomfortable reporting other crimes for fear of arrest? That's an equivalent argument.
In the military, I believe we refer to this as "dereliction of duty", punishable by death in times of war.
Food for thought.
As I've always said, if the laws are wrong, then let's change them. If we can fairly increase the number of immigrants and successfully integrate them into our country, then let's up the numbers. But if we're being over-run by foreign nationals who have no intentions of assimilating, then we're being invaded and our pocketbooks are being raided -- and sworn officers of the law are accessories.
Wednesday, June 11, 2008
Des Moines Floods of 2008
Des Moines residents and officials brace for flooding, the likes of which have not been seen in 15 years -- and more, in some cases. This playlist as a day-by-day visual account of the flooding.
Monday, May 26, 2008
Allen Bishop show notes
The Allen Bishop Show
Monday, May 26, 2008 - Memorial Day
Misc
-----------------------------------------------
killer twisters rip through Oklohoma and Iowa this weekend.
Politics
-----------------------------------------------
You may remember I predicted Obama would claim victory as his party's presidential nomination. Well, he made the trip to Iowa last week to bring his nomination fight to, symbolically, do just that.
Defending staying in the race, Clinton brings up the June '68 RFK assasination in California. Media feeding frenzy ensues & predictions are that she spends the rest of her Presidential run on the defense. She has one hope left; that something terrible will happen to Obama before the convention.
Obama & McCain will exchange barbs through November. But neither have a sustainable healthcare plan, effective economic package or a realistic foreign policy.
Ron Paul nailed healthcare, saying we don't have free market medicine (or government medicine), but soft fascist or corporate healthcare -- which needs to change...like yesterday. Paul also understands the currency crisis; problems with fighting an undeclared war and he knows the constitution.
Bush Attack Dog Karl Rover had guts appearing on ABC's This Week with George Stephanopoulos. He's accused in playing a role in Attorney-gate, the firing of select US Attorneys who didn't play ball with the White House, and dozens of other throat-cutting missions for the neo-cons. He's also accused of corruption in the railroading of Alabama Governor Don Siegelman. Now Fido (Rove) is under Congressional subpoena to appear on these matters, but he's hiding under executive privilege. Rove says the matter of subpoenas will be faught and decided in court. He says he heard about the Don Siegelman indictment, read about it, learned about it for the first time by reading about it in the newspaper.
Technology
-----------------------------------------------
VIACOM, YOUTUBE, FIGHTING
Why is it that you never see clips from MTV, Nickelodeon, Paramount, Deamworks or shows like Comedy Central's The Daily Show? Little lawsuit between Google's YouTube and Viacom is most likely. To the tune of a Billion Dollars. Google said YouTube was faithful to the requirements of the 1998 Digital Millennium Copyright Act, saying the federal law was intended to protect companies like YouTube as long as they responded properly to content owners' claims of infringement. Viacom said YouTube consistently allows unauthorized copies of popular television programming and movies to be posted on its Web site and viewed tens of thousands of times, that it identified more than 150,000 unauthorized clips of copyrighted programming — including "SpongeBob SquarePants," "South Park" and "MTV Unplugged" episodes and the documentary "An Inconvenient Truth" — that had been viewed "an astounding 1.5 billion times." And that only scratches the surface. And furthermore, Viacom says making available a vast library of the copyrighted works of plaintiffs and others is the cornerstone of defendants' business plan," Viacom said.
IPHONE GEOTAGGING IN NEW FIRMWARE
iPhone's newest firmware is expected to possess geo-tagging function. That is, adds location data to a photos & other media files. While a GPS receiver is not present in the current iPhone, it is expected to be part of an upcoming 3G iPhone. However, the current iPhone can approximate a user's location by triangulating with cell phone towers.
DIGITAL INDY
18 years have paassed since the last Indiana Jones movie. The first three were gritty, sweaty and tactile and everything onscreen physically existed. But Crystal Skull is mostly present in the digital realm.
Monday, May 26, 2008 - Memorial Day
Misc
-----------------------------------------------
killer twisters rip through Oklohoma and Iowa this weekend.
Politics
-----------------------------------------------
You may remember I predicted Obama would claim victory as his party's presidential nomination. Well, he made the trip to Iowa last week to bring his nomination fight to, symbolically, do just that.
Defending staying in the race, Clinton brings up the June '68 RFK assasination in California. Media feeding frenzy ensues & predictions are that she spends the rest of her Presidential run on the defense. She has one hope left; that something terrible will happen to Obama before the convention.
Obama & McCain will exchange barbs through November. But neither have a sustainable healthcare plan, effective economic package or a realistic foreign policy.
Ron Paul nailed healthcare, saying we don't have free market medicine (or government medicine), but soft fascist or corporate healthcare -- which needs to change...like yesterday. Paul also understands the currency crisis; problems with fighting an undeclared war and he knows the constitution.
Bush Attack Dog Karl Rover had guts appearing on ABC's This Week with George Stephanopoulos. He's accused in playing a role in Attorney-gate, the firing of select US Attorneys who didn't play ball with the White House, and dozens of other throat-cutting missions for the neo-cons. He's also accused of corruption in the railroading of Alabama Governor Don Siegelman. Now Fido (Rove) is under Congressional subpoena to appear on these matters, but he's hiding under executive privilege. Rove says the matter of subpoenas will be faught and decided in court. He says he heard about the Don Siegelman indictment, read about it, learned about it for the first time by reading about it in the newspaper.
Technology
-----------------------------------------------
VIACOM, YOUTUBE, FIGHTING
Why is it that you never see clips from MTV, Nickelodeon, Paramount, Deamworks or shows like Comedy Central's The Daily Show? Little lawsuit between Google's YouTube and Viacom is most likely. To the tune of a Billion Dollars. Google said YouTube was faithful to the requirements of the 1998 Digital Millennium Copyright Act, saying the federal law was intended to protect companies like YouTube as long as they responded properly to content owners' claims of infringement. Viacom said YouTube consistently allows unauthorized copies of popular television programming and movies to be posted on its Web site and viewed tens of thousands of times, that it identified more than 150,000 unauthorized clips of copyrighted programming — including "SpongeBob SquarePants," "South Park" and "MTV Unplugged" episodes and the documentary "An Inconvenient Truth" — that had been viewed "an astounding 1.5 billion times." And that only scratches the surface. And furthermore, Viacom says making available a vast library of the copyrighted works of plaintiffs and others is the cornerstone of defendants' business plan," Viacom said.
IPHONE GEOTAGGING IN NEW FIRMWARE
iPhone's newest firmware is expected to possess geo-tagging function. That is, adds location data to a photos & other media files. While a GPS receiver is not present in the current iPhone, it is expected to be part of an upcoming 3G iPhone. However, the current iPhone can approximate a user's location by triangulating with cell phone towers.
DIGITAL INDY
18 years have paassed since the last Indiana Jones movie. The first three were gritty, sweaty and tactile and everything onscreen physically existed. But Crystal Skull is mostly present in the digital realm.
Tuesday, May 20, 2008
Exclusive footage of The Miz in Des Moines
The Miz came down the the KXnO Studios May 20, 2008, before his appearance at wells Fargo Arena. Contains exclusive footage of The Miz performing for our cameras as he left the building.
Sunday, May 18, 2008
Bush rails on Obama
Bush says those who want to negotiate with terrorists are taking the false comfort of appeasement. Sen Joe Biden didn't care for that remark. He appeared on This Week telling George Stephanopuoulos "This is raw, raw politics, demeaning to the presidency of the United States of America".
Can Obama claim it yet?
ABC asks if Obama's delegate lead create an insurmountable problem for Clinton's campaign. That lead and powerful symbolism may provide Obama with an opportunity to claim victory this week over Clinton.
Kennedy seizure causes earthquake
Sen. Ted Kennedy is in the hospital after he had a seizure at his Cape Cod home Saturday. His condition is serious, but he's not in imminent danger. Doctors original thought he was having a stroke. By day's end, Kennedy was watching the Red Sox and joking with family members and friends who were summoned to the hospital. ABC reports the event sent an earthquake across the political world.
Saturday, May 17, 2008
Colbie Caillat - Bubbly
Colbie Caillat performed at Capital 106.3 (KPTL-FM, Clear Channel Radio) "Studio C" in Des Moines, Iowa courtesy of Universal Music Group.
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