Tim Marman's Loosely Coupled

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• Give me an “elite” leader, please

  Susan Jacoby’s latest article examines how the word “elite” became a slur. Pity the poor word “elite,” which simply means “the best” as an adjective and “the best of a group” as a noun. What was once an accolade has turned poisonous in American public life over the past 40 years, as both the left and the right have twisted it into a code word meaning “not one of us.” But the newest and most ominous wrinkle in the denigration of all things elite is that the slur is being applied to knowledge itself. . . . America was never imagined as a democracy of dumbness. The Declaration of Independence and the Constitution were written by an elite group of leaders, and although their dream was limited to white men, it held the seeds of a future in which anyone might aspire to the highest — let us say it out loud, elite — level of achievement. Amen to that. Personally, I would prefer an elite leader. I want “the best” - an intellectual, pragmatic leader who understands nuance, doesn’t see the world in... Posted Jun 07 2008, 06:30 PM by Tim with | with no comments Filed under: Rants, Politics

• The Hypocrisy of Live Earth

  I'm with Fred on this one - the Live Earth is disgusting and self-serving. As Arctic Monkey drummer Matt Helders said, "Especially when we're using enough power for 10 houses just for (stage) lighting. It'd be a bit hypocritical." The hypocrisy doesn't end there. How many people are going to stay home today in their air conditioning to watch the live telecast on TV? Oh, and did you see all the plastic cups? It's not a free event for raising awareness, it's actually a ticketed event but it's not a fund-raiser either. (Wait, how many tickets did they print? That can't be good either). These few paragraphs perhaps put it best : But there’s dissonance, if not hypocrisy, in using a monstrously oversize concert as a vehicle to combat CO2-emission-fueled global warming. (Particularly one that’s being put on at the Meadowlands, which is famously difficult to access by public transportation. I’ll be getting there the same way as most everybody else: by car... Posted Jul 07 2007, 12:50 PM by Tim with | with 9 comment(s) Filed under: Rants, Things that bother me, Politics

• Net Neutrality, Abuse of Market Power, and Conflicts of Interest

  Craig Newmark on Net Neutrality back in Oct 2006 ( via 37 Signals ): Here's a real world example that shows how this would work. Let's say you call Joe's Pizza and the first thing you hear is a message saying you'll be connected in a minute or two, but if you want, you can be connected to Pizza Hut right away. That's not fair, right? You called Joe's and want some Joe's pizza. Well, that's how some telecommunications executives want the Internet to operate, with some Web sites easier to access than others. For them, this would be a money-making regime. As I've mentioned in the past, I'm generally against regulation on the Internet, but I feel strongly that the Internet should remain neutral. Hopefully, that can be achieved through the market, but if not, then regulation may be necessary. The troubling thing for me here is the power this gives to the gatekeepers. If they decide they like Yahoo! more than Google (e.g., for personal or political reasons), they can make it happen - even if... Posted Apr 04 2007, 07:28 AM by Tim with | with 4 comment(s) Filed under: Technology, Things that bother me, Business, Law, Net Neutrality, Politics

• Bush's speech...

  30 seconds into Bush's speech, he has already said “This has been tough weeks” and “insticated”. I'm not anti-Bush, but man... you make it so easy, George. Posted Apr 13 2004, 05:34 PM by Tim with | with no comments Filed under: Things that amuse me, Politics