China Accuses Google of Violating Promises
Google and China are at it again.
A few months ago Google pulled its search engine operations out of China in retaliation to high level cyber hacking that Google claims could only be the work of the Chinese government. The Chinese government claims that it had no involvement in the cyber espionage but did not go so far as to search out the culprits. The Chinese government stated that Google had broken its written contract with the government and had ceased its censorship of certain material on its Chinese search engine.
Now Google is back in China but they have set up shop in Hong Kong which allows for looser control of business and capital. Both sides know what is about to happen next: Google will continue to allow uncensored searches to Google.cn and the Chinese government, or several unnamed hackers, will continue to force its way in and disrupt Google’s operations.
On one side I can’t see how the Chinese government intends to allow even the slightest use of the internet without expecting a flood of citizen organization and sharing of knowledge and ideas. And on the other hand I can’t see how Google would be allowed to operate in the country if it had broken such a sensitive rule in their contract.
People are people and will congregate and organize. And business is business where a breach of contract can lead to serious consequences.
If we start to see large ships anchored off the coast of Quemoy and Matsu
with the Google logo on the side ya might wanna start stocking up on the canned goods and dig the bomb shelter a bit deeper. We’re in for a long cyber cold war.
The questions have been painstakingly researched. The answers, however, have not.
Showing posts with label fuggin' politics.. Show all posts
Showing posts with label fuggin' politics.. Show all posts
23 March, 2010
23 October, 2009
Senate Passes Fagot-Ass Anti-Hate Crime Bill: Keeps War Rolling On.
The Senate's 68-29 vote in favor of Pentagon defense spending bill, which includes the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act of 2009, came after the House approved the bill earlier this month.
The measure was approved with a majority of Republicans voting against it. The House passed the same bill Oct. 8, also with most Republicans opposed.
The measure would extend the current definition of federal hate crimes -- which covers attacks motivated by race, color, religion or national origin -- to include those based on sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or disability. It also would make it a federal crime to attack U.S. military personnel because of their service.
Republicans contend that an expansion of the hate crimes definition should not be included in a defense spending bill. The bill allocates $130 billion for the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq for the fiscal year 2010, which began Oct. 1.
Now here is one of the few times that I can totally agree with Republicans on this matter.
A hate crimes bill should not be passed along with a bill which would allow the Pentagon to spend $130 billion to kill Iraqis and Afghans. That’s a hate crime in itself. In fact the Pentagon should not get $1 to wage war on any sovereign nation.
Here’s what one Rep. Senator has to say on the matter:
"Democrats have done a great disservice to the brave men and women of our Armed Forces today by using them as leverage to pass radical social policy," said House Minority Leader John Boehner of Ohio after the House passed the bill.
Did he miss the part of the hate crime bill that said it also would make it a federal crime to attack U.S. military personnel because of their service? Radical social policy?
"They engineered this abuse of the legislative process because they had no other way to pass legislation that is unconstitutional and just plain wrong," he said. "Our troops, and their families, deserve better."
But our troops and their families don’t deserve to have the rest of the military discriminate against them.
Can someone help me explain this one?
The measure was approved with a majority of Republicans voting against it. The House passed the same bill Oct. 8, also with most Republicans opposed.
The measure would extend the current definition of federal hate crimes -- which covers attacks motivated by race, color, religion or national origin -- to include those based on sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or disability. It also would make it a federal crime to attack U.S. military personnel because of their service.
Republicans contend that an expansion of the hate crimes definition should not be included in a defense spending bill. The bill allocates $130 billion for the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq for the fiscal year 2010, which began Oct. 1.
Now here is one of the few times that I can totally agree with Republicans on this matter.
A hate crimes bill should not be passed along with a bill which would allow the Pentagon to spend $130 billion to kill Iraqis and Afghans. That’s a hate crime in itself. In fact the Pentagon should not get $1 to wage war on any sovereign nation.
Here’s what one Rep. Senator has to say on the matter:
"Democrats have done a great disservice to the brave men and women of our Armed Forces today by using them as leverage to pass radical social policy," said House Minority Leader John Boehner of Ohio after the House passed the bill.
Did he miss the part of the hate crime bill that said it also would make it a federal crime to attack U.S. military personnel because of their service? Radical social policy?
"They engineered this abuse of the legislative process because they had no other way to pass legislation that is unconstitutional and just plain wrong," he said. "Our troops, and their families, deserve better."
But our troops and their families don’t deserve to have the rest of the military discriminate against them.
Can someone help me explain this one?
11 August, 2009
Town Hall Meeting on Health Care Reform: OBAMACARE!
So last night there was a town hall meeting on health care reform with Sen. Ben Cardin. The meeting was at 7pm at the Towson University Center for the Arts Kaplin Concert Hall but the circus began around 5pm outside the hall on Osler drive as the street (and the world!!) was divided with Pro-Obamacare freaks on the west side of the street and Anti- Obamacare nut jobs on the east.
I parked my car a few blocks away from the hall and walked down the hill to Osler Dr. As I came to the corner another man was crossing the street and we came together as I turned the corner. I didn’t know who this person was but he looked like he could be my father or anyone’s father. Since we were side by side and heading in the same direction I figured it would be rude (yet totally typical) to ignore his presence since we were walking in tandem up the sidewalk. I greeted him and made a comment on the hot day and other social banter. As we came up over the hill we were met with throngs of people on either side of Osler St. in what looked like a pitched battle waiting to break out. Signs waving, megaphones chanting, car horns honking and 2 opposing crowds a good 15 feet from tearing each others throats out.
Now I just love playing the rube and this gave me a chance to find out more about my new travel companion. So I asked, surprisingly, “Wow, what’s going on here?” The man answered in a bitterly resigned voice: “The end of the world”
“The end of the world? Really? And it’s happening right here?”
“It’s happening all over this country”
“What is?”
And that’s when I heard the term that would be the buzz word for the rest of the evening:
“Obamacare!”
“Obamacare?” I asked.
“Yea, Obama wants to take our health care away, give it to everyone and water it down for everyone. Ya see, we’re gonna lose what we have now because there’s not enough to go around, and you know who’s gonna pay for it don’t ya?”.
This would be the first of an endless stream of rapid fire opinions and rants that I would encounter the rest of the evening.
At this point we had reached the beginning of the sign-holding, flag-waving crazies on the street. The first sign I came to said “No Gov. Run Health Care!”
I looked at it with my head cocked and said, “My dad has gov. health care. But he’s 65 too. I guess you get a free ride if you can make it in this country and survive to be 65. But he’s a veteran too so he’s always been covered….So is that wrong now?”
My new companero had nothing to say in response but that’s OK, I was entering the jungle and could find blasting conversation anywhere I looked. All I had to do was walk up to someone and they would desperately throw their beliefs of health care on me as if their voice alone was the one that would change the course of the entire debate. It was such a blast.
Now, let me come out and say that I was informed about this event by an email I got from a local MoveOn.org member and, coming up the hill, my support was on the side of change. But after I found myself in the thick of the event I knew that change was the farthest thing from anyone in this maelstrom of media hype.
I became a neutral figure in the debate and chose the role of the observer over that of the warrior.
At one point I got out on the median of the street and took a short video that panned back and forth at both sides of the crowd. You really couldn’t tell who was who if you couldn’t read the signs. Everyone was ugly and intolerant. But some ugly in the name of smaller government and saving their broken health care system while others were ugly in the name of health care reform and president Obama. It really was a great time to be a neutral observer. Sure I side with health care reform but voicing any opinion on this day was only going to raise my stress level and make me lose my voice. I’d still be going home none the wiser in the end. So I let everyone else guckin fonuts.
Unfortunately though, I got tied up in the shit storm for longer than I should have and by the time I got in line for the actual town hall event at 6:10. The line was too long to get in and we were shut out. But I think I would not have gotten in anyway. When I got there at 5:15 the line was half the size it was when I got in it but it wasn’t going anywhere.
Emails and press notes said that the event starts at 7 but never said when the doors opened. By 6pm no one was moving in line.
Oh but the line provided for just as much jack assery. I was standing behind a older lady with a big sign that cited a few lines from Obama’s health reform. It stated that “The gov. will require access to your personal banking information for electronic funds transfer”. NO!! This is the largest breach in private security that I have ever….Wait a minute. Don’t I voluntarily give the gov my bank routing info every year for electronic funds transfer so that they can directly deposit my income tax return into my bank account? Uh, yea. And if big brother were half as menacing as we’d like to believe they would keep my bank info so I wouldn’t have to provide it every year. But are they really that competent? Not hardly. Trust me, I work for the gov. We could care less about you and your personal information. Now Choicepoint, on the other hand. They are the folks who have hundreds of pages on my daily activities and every bank account I ever had. They are the ones who are stockpiling my data for the corporate big brother. That’s the real threat (and also the main funder of the Anti-Obamacare scare and bully tactics…but this is no time to get into actual factual details. Truth has no place in a protest).
And not 30 seconds after reading this sign and chuckling to myself a casual conversation between a solo 19 yr old Towson student and a group of 4 middle age people took some turn for the worse when the young guy, knowing the ways of the world, told a lady “you don’t know what you’re talking about!” and her husband got into the argument and oratorically tore the kid a new one. Without stating his position or any identifiable information about himself the middle age man reversed every argument the kid had and exposed it as rookie assumptions. The kid just got more furious because he was seeing that he was not right. But to his credit he was seeing just that.
I thought the kid was brave. Better to put yourself out there and make your mistakes when you are still young and learn a thing or two from them. And nobody went away in anger. The kid was frustrated and rightly so. Nobody likes to be wrong but it’s a big man to admit when he is. He’ll do just fine. But not today.
Now here’s something interesting. There were 2 police men guarding the line to prevent protesters from aggravating those waiting in line. At 6:40 I saw these police leaving the scene. I assume that they were told that no one else is getting in the building and they assumed their job was over. Not 5 minutes later a wave of people from the Anti-Obamacare mob swarmed up the hill and encircled the line creating a big battle arena. Imagine an after school fight where hundreds of kids gathering around to see a bunch of other kids duke it out. But you never see more then some finger pointing and name calling.
I, however, used this opportunity to walk up past all the swarm and get right to the front of the line only to find out that no one was getting in.
Oh well. I had seen enough already.
Now here's a sight. Ebony and Ivory coming together to disagree and cause a clusterfuck of our democratic system in perfect harmony
This was priceless. Uncle Jesse had real dedication. Sentence structure is not the best but it's not like he sacrificed his pick 'em up truck to make the statement...Oh wait.
Of course FAUX News was there to cover it all and spin it the way you would expect. They didn't need to go far though. This was a FAUX report from heaven. This evening was perfect for a crazy news report.
But after all of this protest I sat there on the hill and shook my head and thought, "I can't believe I'm supporting the government in a public protest! What the hell is happening here!"
That's when I knew that this health care reform was only a dream.
I parked my car a few blocks away from the hall and walked down the hill to Osler Dr. As I came to the corner another man was crossing the street and we came together as I turned the corner. I didn’t know who this person was but he looked like he could be my father or anyone’s father. Since we were side by side and heading in the same direction I figured it would be rude (yet totally typical) to ignore his presence since we were walking in tandem up the sidewalk. I greeted him and made a comment on the hot day and other social banter. As we came up over the hill we were met with throngs of people on either side of Osler St. in what looked like a pitched battle waiting to break out. Signs waving, megaphones chanting, car horns honking and 2 opposing crowds a good 15 feet from tearing each others throats out.
Now I just love playing the rube and this gave me a chance to find out more about my new travel companion. So I asked, surprisingly, “Wow, what’s going on here?” The man answered in a bitterly resigned voice: “The end of the world”
“The end of the world? Really? And it’s happening right here?”
“It’s happening all over this country”
“What is?”
And that’s when I heard the term that would be the buzz word for the rest of the evening:
“Obamacare!”
“Obamacare?” I asked.
“Yea, Obama wants to take our health care away, give it to everyone and water it down for everyone. Ya see, we’re gonna lose what we have now because there’s not enough to go around, and you know who’s gonna pay for it don’t ya?”.
This would be the first of an endless stream of rapid fire opinions and rants that I would encounter the rest of the evening.
At this point we had reached the beginning of the sign-holding, flag-waving crazies on the street. The first sign I came to said “No Gov. Run Health Care!”
I looked at it with my head cocked and said, “My dad has gov. health care. But he’s 65 too. I guess you get a free ride if you can make it in this country and survive to be 65. But he’s a veteran too so he’s always been covered….So is that wrong now?”
My new companero had nothing to say in response but that’s OK, I was entering the jungle and could find blasting conversation anywhere I looked. All I had to do was walk up to someone and they would desperately throw their beliefs of health care on me as if their voice alone was the one that would change the course of the entire debate. It was such a blast.
Now, let me come out and say that I was informed about this event by an email I got from a local MoveOn.org member and, coming up the hill, my support was on the side of change. But after I found myself in the thick of the event I knew that change was the farthest thing from anyone in this maelstrom of media hype.
I became a neutral figure in the debate and chose the role of the observer over that of the warrior.
At one point I got out on the median of the street and took a short video that panned back and forth at both sides of the crowd. You really couldn’t tell who was who if you couldn’t read the signs. Everyone was ugly and intolerant. But some ugly in the name of smaller government and saving their broken health care system while others were ugly in the name of health care reform and president Obama. It really was a great time to be a neutral observer. Sure I side with health care reform but voicing any opinion on this day was only going to raise my stress level and make me lose my voice. I’d still be going home none the wiser in the end. So I let everyone else guckin fonuts.
Unfortunately though, I got tied up in the shit storm for longer than I should have and by the time I got in line for the actual town hall event at 6:10. The line was too long to get in and we were shut out. But I think I would not have gotten in anyway. When I got there at 5:15 the line was half the size it was when I got in it but it wasn’t going anywhere.
Emails and press notes said that the event starts at 7 but never said when the doors opened. By 6pm no one was moving in line.
Oh but the line provided for just as much jack assery. I was standing behind a older lady with a big sign that cited a few lines from Obama’s health reform. It stated that “The gov. will require access to your personal banking information for electronic funds transfer”. NO!! This is the largest breach in private security that I have ever….Wait a minute. Don’t I voluntarily give the gov my bank routing info every year for electronic funds transfer so that they can directly deposit my income tax return into my bank account? Uh, yea. And if big brother were half as menacing as we’d like to believe they would keep my bank info so I wouldn’t have to provide it every year. But are they really that competent? Not hardly. Trust me, I work for the gov. We could care less about you and your personal information. Now Choicepoint, on the other hand. They are the folks who have hundreds of pages on my daily activities and every bank account I ever had. They are the ones who are stockpiling my data for the corporate big brother. That’s the real threat (and also the main funder of the Anti-Obamacare scare and bully tactics…but this is no time to get into actual factual details. Truth has no place in a protest).
And not 30 seconds after reading this sign and chuckling to myself a casual conversation between a solo 19 yr old Towson student and a group of 4 middle age people took some turn for the worse when the young guy, knowing the ways of the world, told a lady “you don’t know what you’re talking about!” and her husband got into the argument and oratorically tore the kid a new one. Without stating his position or any identifiable information about himself the middle age man reversed every argument the kid had and exposed it as rookie assumptions. The kid just got more furious because he was seeing that he was not right. But to his credit he was seeing just that.
I thought the kid was brave. Better to put yourself out there and make your mistakes when you are still young and learn a thing or two from them. And nobody went away in anger. The kid was frustrated and rightly so. Nobody likes to be wrong but it’s a big man to admit when he is. He’ll do just fine. But not today.
Now here’s something interesting. There were 2 police men guarding the line to prevent protesters from aggravating those waiting in line. At 6:40 I saw these police leaving the scene. I assume that they were told that no one else is getting in the building and they assumed their job was over. Not 5 minutes later a wave of people from the Anti-Obamacare mob swarmed up the hill and encircled the line creating a big battle arena. Imagine an after school fight where hundreds of kids gathering around to see a bunch of other kids duke it out. But you never see more then some finger pointing and name calling.
I, however, used this opportunity to walk up past all the swarm and get right to the front of the line only to find out that no one was getting in.
Oh well. I had seen enough already.
Now here's a sight. Ebony and Ivory coming together to disagree and cause a clusterfuck of our democratic system in perfect harmony
This was priceless. Uncle Jesse had real dedication. Sentence structure is not the best but it's not like he sacrificed his pick 'em up truck to make the statement...Oh wait.
Of course FAUX News was there to cover it all and spin it the way you would expect. They didn't need to go far though. This was a FAUX report from heaven. This evening was perfect for a crazy news report.
But after all of this protest I sat there on the hill and shook my head and thought, "I can't believe I'm supporting the government in a public protest! What the hell is happening here!"
That's when I knew that this health care reform was only a dream.
10 August, 2009
The Freaks Come Out At (the) Right
Sen. Cardin - Town Hall meeting / Rally
Towson University Center for the Arts
Cross Campus Drive and Osler Drive
Towson, MD 21204
Monday, 10 Aug 2009, 5:30 PM
The Freaks Come Out at (the) Right.
Tonight I’m going to a Town Hall meeting that Senator Ben Cardin is hosting at Towson University.
This will be one of those Town hall meetings that you have been seeing on the news and hearing about on NPR. You know the ones. Those health care reform meetings where Right wing nut sacks have been flooding the hall and disrupting the meeting so that nothing can be accomplished.
In the news we see articles like: Huffington Post:
Right Wing S**T Storm Tries to Stop Health Care Reform
Salon.com: Obama wants to kill your grandma
The list goes on and on.
So I am going tonight to see the circus that is the Amerikan political system in action. I hope to see just how crazy it can get. Because there’s a lot at stake here. If we’re not careful we could all lose our health care (that we only have if our employer chooses to help us pay for it) and it could all be given to illegal aliens, our loved ones could be forced on the next midnight train to Middle America where they will be euthanized with cattle prods and the Medicare budget will be diverted into mandatory abortions for all single women without a parent’s or the Pope’s consent. What the hell is going on here? All of this is true! Haven’t you been paying attention?
Nah, me neither.
Only in Amerika are we afraid of health care for all. Even the thought of giving everyone access to health care scares the bejezus out of me. I mean, really. What will come of this nation if everyone had access to the fundamental human right that is quality medical attention?
What next?
Giving citizens a license to drive a car on our streets?
Giving citizens the ability to go into business for themselves?
Allowing citizens to represent themselves in court?
If health care is granted to every citizen in this great nation then the rest of the world may look at this as a sign of weakness. The United States is a mighty and fearless enemy to anyone who may disagree with it. After all, if this country won’t even offer medical attention to its own citizens just imagine how easily it would be for it to bomb the hell out of you! Watch out, world.
Towson University Center for the Arts
Cross Campus Drive and Osler Drive
Towson, MD 21204
Monday, 10 Aug 2009, 5:30 PM
The Freaks Come Out at (the) Right.
Tonight I’m going to a Town Hall meeting that Senator Ben Cardin is hosting at Towson University.
This will be one of those Town hall meetings that you have been seeing on the news and hearing about on NPR. You know the ones. Those health care reform meetings where Right wing nut sacks have been flooding the hall and disrupting the meeting so that nothing can be accomplished.
In the news we see articles like: Huffington Post:
Right Wing S**T Storm Tries to Stop Health Care Reform
Salon.com: Obama wants to kill your grandma
The list goes on and on.
So I am going tonight to see the circus that is the Amerikan political system in action. I hope to see just how crazy it can get. Because there’s a lot at stake here. If we’re not careful we could all lose our health care (that we only have if our employer chooses to help us pay for it) and it could all be given to illegal aliens, our loved ones could be forced on the next midnight train to Middle America where they will be euthanized with cattle prods and the Medicare budget will be diverted into mandatory abortions for all single women without a parent’s or the Pope’s consent. What the hell is going on here? All of this is true! Haven’t you been paying attention?
Nah, me neither.
Only in Amerika are we afraid of health care for all. Even the thought of giving everyone access to health care scares the bejezus out of me. I mean, really. What will come of this nation if everyone had access to the fundamental human right that is quality medical attention?
What next?
Giving citizens a license to drive a car on our streets?
Giving citizens the ability to go into business for themselves?
Allowing citizens to represent themselves in court?
If health care is granted to every citizen in this great nation then the rest of the world may look at this as a sign of weakness. The United States is a mighty and fearless enemy to anyone who may disagree with it. After all, if this country won’t even offer medical attention to its own citizens just imagine how easily it would be for it to bomb the hell out of you! Watch out, world.
04 May, 2009
Commuter Biking Reimbursements: The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009
Commuter Biking Reimbursements: The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009
http://fpc.state.gov/documents/organization/121927.pdf
Page 24 lists possible bike commuter reimbursement possibly equal to that of parking fees.
“…Up to $120 (for 2009) per month of employer provided
transit and vanpool benefits was excludable from gross income. The Senate-passed bill
(Sec. 1251) proposed to increase the monthly exclusion for employer-provided transit, vanpool,
and bicycle commuting benefits to the same level as the exclusion for employer-provided
parking. There was no similar provision in the House bill. ARRA (§1151) includes the text of the
Senate proposal, increasing the benefit for transit, vanpools, and bicycle commuting to $230 per
month. The provision is scheduled to expire at the end of 2010. JCT estimates the cost at $192
million over 10 years.”
http://fpc.state.gov/documents/organization/121927.pdf
Page 24 lists possible bike commuter reimbursement possibly equal to that of parking fees.
“…Up to $120 (for 2009) per month of employer provided
transit and vanpool benefits was excludable from gross income. The Senate-passed bill
(Sec. 1251) proposed to increase the monthly exclusion for employer-provided transit, vanpool,
and bicycle commuting benefits to the same level as the exclusion for employer-provided
parking. There was no similar provision in the House bill. ARRA (§1151) includes the text of the
Senate proposal, increasing the benefit for transit, vanpools, and bicycle commuting to $230 per
month. The provision is scheduled to expire at the end of 2010. JCT estimates the cost at $192
million over 10 years.”
31 March, 2009
Is Rep. Cummings Serious? I Can't Ask Him. Can You?
Did anyone get an email from Rep Elijah Cummings office this morning? Did anyone try to respond? Did you get the same results I did? Apparently political discussion is only meant to flow one way and does not require my input…
I find it funny that Congressman Cummings wants to contact me but will not receive emails in return…Here's my attempt at appreciation for his office's new embracing of email technology. Yes, the future is here. Soon everyone will be communicating via email. Hard to believe? Well, yea. Here's why...
On Tue, Mar 31, 2009 at 8:31 AM, Congressman Elijah Cummings wrote:
Congressman Elijah Cummings would like to periodically email you information about legislative issues in Congress vital to you and your family.
Receiving this information by email is a fast and efficient way to learn more about what is going on during these significant times, and will provide you with timely information about news important to you and your family.
Email is part of an ongoing effort to keep voters informed about the latest news and how upcoming issues will affect you. If you would prefer not to receive these email messages, please follow the instructions at the bottom of this message.
Thank you for your time.
Congressman Elijah Cummings, 7th District of Maryland
2235 Rayburn HOB
Washington DC 20515
Phone: (202) 225-4741
Fax: (202) 225-3178
________________________________________________________________________
My email response
Congressman Elijah Cummings;
Thank you for contacting me directly regarding Congressional legislative issues. Often I receive email notifications on certain issues that are dear to me but they always come from an outside party, a PAC or any of the many grassroots organizations in my community who take it upon themselves to be the middlemen in relaying information to me.
I am pleased to be able to receive information directly from the Congressman's office on issues that really are important to me.
As a constituent and loyal supporter of Rep. Cummings I am happy to be able to be treated as such with these emails.
Your message is absolutely correct in that email is the fastest way to keep voters informed.
Welcome to the year 2000. Organizers have been using mass email for years. What took you so long to find your supporters? With any more organization I would begin to think that you are now a Libertarian. I certainly would not hold that against you.
Thank you for the email,
Jamie Schott
Baltimore residant and proud member of Baltimore County Department of Social Services.
Please remember our most at-risk citizens when the resources are being handed out.
Now here is the response to my appreciation.
This is an automatically generated Delivery Status Notification
Delivery to the following recipient failed permanently:
Rep.Cummings@mail.house.gov
Technical details of permanent failure:
Google tried to deliver your message, but it was rejected by the recipient domain. We recommend contacting the other email provider for further information about the cause of this error. The error that the other server returned was: 550 550 5.7.1 Unable to deliver to (state 14).
I find it funny that Congressman Cummings wants to contact me but will not receive emails in return…Here's my attempt at appreciation for his office's new embracing of email technology. Yes, the future is here. Soon everyone will be communicating via email. Hard to believe? Well, yea. Here's why...
On Tue, Mar 31, 2009 at 8:31 AM, Congressman Elijah Cummings
Congressman Elijah Cummings would like to periodically email you information about legislative issues in Congress vital to you and your family.
Receiving this information by email is a fast and efficient way to learn more about what is going on during these significant times, and will provide you with timely information about news important to you and your family.
Email is part of an ongoing effort to keep voters informed about the latest news and how upcoming issues will affect you. If you would prefer not to receive these email messages, please follow the instructions at the bottom of this message.
Thank you for your time.
Congressman Elijah Cummings, 7th District of Maryland
2235 Rayburn HOB
Washington DC 20515
Phone: (202) 225-4741
Fax: (202) 225-3178
________________________________________________________________________
My email response
Congressman Elijah Cummings;
Thank you for contacting me directly regarding Congressional legislative issues. Often I receive email notifications on certain issues that are dear to me but they always come from an outside party, a PAC or any of the many grassroots organizations in my community who take it upon themselves to be the middlemen in relaying information to me.
I am pleased to be able to receive information directly from the Congressman's office on issues that really are important to me.
As a constituent and loyal supporter of Rep. Cummings I am happy to be able to be treated as such with these emails.
Your message is absolutely correct in that email is the fastest way to keep voters informed.
Welcome to the year 2000. Organizers have been using mass email for years. What took you so long to find your supporters? With any more organization I would begin to think that you are now a Libertarian. I certainly would not hold that against you.
Thank you for the email,
Jamie Schott
Baltimore residant and proud member of Baltimore County Department of Social Services.
Please remember our most at-risk citizens when the resources are being handed out.
Now here is the response to my appreciation.
This is an automatically generated Delivery Status Notification
Delivery to the following recipient failed permanently:
Rep.Cummings@mail.house.gov
Technical details of permanent failure:
Google tried to deliver your message, but it was rejected by the recipient domain. We recommend contacting the other email provider for further information about the cause of this error. The error that the other server returned was: 550 550 5.7.1 Unable to deliver to
04 December, 2008
Big 3 Bailout. Business as Usual?
I haven't been following the big 3 bailout news very intently but I don't really have to. I'm pretty sure that whoever lines up and asks for billions from the gov is going to get it. Sure there will be debates and scrutiny but everyone's getting paid.
As far as the Big 3 bailout goes (and every other bailout for that matter) it just seems like business as usual but more cash can be handed out now because the bank is being broke wide open.
I grew up in Flint, MI. When I was in high school Flint had 145,000 people and 7 GM plants in Genesee County. We could tell that Grand Blanc was the wealthy part of town because it had the Cadillac plant. Everyone worked for GM or an offshoot of the auto industry. My grandfather moved his family to MI during WWII to work in Flint for Fischer Body, my father worked there at night while going to college to be a GM engineer.
Everybody drove GM cars. Our idea of a foreign car was a Chrysler. It wasn't until I went away to college (MSU, not far away) that I saw many more foreign cars. College girls driving gold Lexus SUV's and many Hondas and Toyotas. many of these kids were from Detroit suburbs. Why weren't they driving GM? Ford? even Chrysler? Did they know something I didn't? Were their minds not owned by the Big 3? This really was confusing, even at 18 yrs old.
That got me to thinking about company towns and the grip they have on the people who live there. A combination of nationalism, pride and wanting to buy what we made kept us buying American cars. My family bought a new or like new car every 4 years. As soon as one was nearly paid off another one was bought.
But it's also these same people who are being put out of work. How are they going to buy GM cars now? Or any cars for that matter.
And now GM has a plan to make themselves better. One of the measures they will take if they get the billions of dollars is to lay off 20,000 workers. That's part of their solution? They've being consistently laying off workers for 25 years and still driving their company into the ground. If anyone looks deeper they will find that GM is not even worth $10 Billion.
But it doesn't matter really. business will continue as planned and there will be no money in the coffers for the people when the real depression hits. Oh it's coming. Why wouldn't it? People are just taking money and that's all that is happening. We are witnessing the largest movement of public money to Private hands that I've ever known. Isn't this what board members do right before their companies go under?
As far as the Big 3 bailout goes (and every other bailout for that matter) it just seems like business as usual but more cash can be handed out now because the bank is being broke wide open.
I grew up in Flint, MI. When I was in high school Flint had 145,000 people and 7 GM plants in Genesee County. We could tell that Grand Blanc was the wealthy part of town because it had the Cadillac plant. Everyone worked for GM or an offshoot of the auto industry. My grandfather moved his family to MI during WWII to work in Flint for Fischer Body, my father worked there at night while going to college to be a GM engineer.
Everybody drove GM cars. Our idea of a foreign car was a Chrysler. It wasn't until I went away to college (MSU, not far away) that I saw many more foreign cars. College girls driving gold Lexus SUV's and many Hondas and Toyotas. many of these kids were from Detroit suburbs. Why weren't they driving GM? Ford? even Chrysler? Did they know something I didn't? Were their minds not owned by the Big 3? This really was confusing, even at 18 yrs old.
That got me to thinking about company towns and the grip they have on the people who live there. A combination of nationalism, pride and wanting to buy what we made kept us buying American cars. My family bought a new or like new car every 4 years. As soon as one was nearly paid off another one was bought.
But it's also these same people who are being put out of work. How are they going to buy GM cars now? Or any cars for that matter.
And now GM has a plan to make themselves better. One of the measures they will take if they get the billions of dollars is to lay off 20,000 workers. That's part of their solution? They've being consistently laying off workers for 25 years and still driving their company into the ground. If anyone looks deeper they will find that GM is not even worth $10 Billion.
But it doesn't matter really. business will continue as planned and there will be no money in the coffers for the people when the real depression hits. Oh it's coming. Why wouldn't it? People are just taking money and that's all that is happening. We are witnessing the largest movement of public money to Private hands that I've ever known. Isn't this what board members do right before their companies go under?
11 November, 2008
Yea, I Still Love Obama. But MoveOn?
OK, so the last entry I wrote about Obama and cash strapped DNC should have been seperated. I was caught up in the idea of reimbursting a campaign. MoveOn is a powerful machine for democratic change and very good at raising money. I'm sure they did well for Obama and I'm sure many of them will land prized seats on the change bus. Good for them. But I'd like to say "mission accomplished" to them if they are going to keep hawking me for $$. It's change I want and we have enough $$ to make that change. Oh wait. Do we? Have the banks and insurance companies swallowed up all our $$ yet? If so why is MoveOn asking ME for $$? Don't they know who has already taken my savings?
Anyway...in a "new president makes good" effort I see on CNN.com that Obama has set up a websight for the country to communicate with the new admin. A transparency that we've never seen before? Check it out for yourself. It's a fairly small site for now but I'm sure it will grow with leaps and bounds. change.gov
Just in time for Veterans Day. Have a look see.
Anyway...in a "new president makes good" effort I see on CNN.com that Obama has set up a websight for the country to communicate with the new admin. A transparency that we've never seen before? Check it out for yourself. It's a fairly small site for now but I'm sure it will grow with leaps and bounds. change.gov
Just in time for Veterans Day. Have a look see.
Uh...Wait. Do I Still Love Obama?
Below is an Email I just got from Moveon.org.
If you are on the mailing list then you probably got the same email.
In the past week I've gotten invitations to buy Victory bumper stickers, Posters and now T-shirts...To help repay the DNC. Repay the DNC? For what? For doing their job and running a candidate we would vote for? Wait a min. We donate before the election to support the candidate. We don't pay after to reimburse those who put more in. Who are we paying back? Is someone getting back their investment at our expense?? Does this sound all too familiar or am I already hating our new president? Someone, please tell me I'm wrong!
I've never dealt with MoveOn when they were actually loving a president. This could get ugly.
Here's their letter...
Friend -- In the months and years ahead, we're going to accomplish amazing things together. No president has ever had the support of such a powerful grassroots movement, and Barack and Joe will need you to continue fighting alongside them. But before we take the next step, we need to get our house in order. The Democratic National Committee poured all of its resources into building our successful 50-state field program. And they played a crucial role in helping Barack win in unlikely states like North Carolina and Indiana. We even picked up an electoral vote in Nebraska. The DNC took on considerable debt to make this happen. Make a donation of $30 or more now to help the DNC pay for these efforts, and you'll get a commemorative 2008 Victory T-shirt.
The DNC began building a 50-state organization in 2005. The infrastructure they put in place over the last four years opened up a new batch of battleground states where a Democratic nominee hadn't been competitive for a generation. In the final few months, the DNC went above and beyond to expand our ground efforts and ensure victory. We couldn't have won this election without their support. As we start laying the groundwork for real change, we need to help the DNC recover the resources it took to win. Please make a donation today and get your 2008 Victory T-shirt: http://my.barackobama.com/page/m2/55c13974/506d20f9/9e59ff1/11884a3f/3588423768/VEsF/ This movement for change is just getting started, and we look forward to working with you to bring the change this country needs. Thanks for everything you did to elect Barack and Joe, Obama for America
If you are on the mailing list then you probably got the same email.
In the past week I've gotten invitations to buy Victory bumper stickers, Posters and now T-shirts...To help repay the DNC. Repay the DNC? For what? For doing their job and running a candidate we would vote for? Wait a min. We donate before the election to support the candidate. We don't pay after to reimburse those who put more in. Who are we paying back? Is someone getting back their investment at our expense?? Does this sound all too familiar or am I already hating our new president? Someone, please tell me I'm wrong!
I've never dealt with MoveOn when they were actually loving a president. This could get ugly.
Here's their letter...
Friend -- In the months and years ahead, we're going to accomplish amazing things together. No president has ever had the support of such a powerful grassroots movement, and Barack and Joe will need you to continue fighting alongside them. But before we take the next step, we need to get our house in order. The Democratic National Committee poured all of its resources into building our successful 50-state field program. And they played a crucial role in helping Barack win in unlikely states like North Carolina and Indiana. We even picked up an electoral vote in Nebraska. The DNC took on considerable debt to make this happen. Make a donation of $30 or more now to help the DNC pay for these efforts, and you'll get a commemorative 2008 Victory T-shirt.
The DNC began building a 50-state organization in 2005. The infrastructure they put in place over the last four years opened up a new batch of battleground states where a Democratic nominee hadn't been competitive for a generation. In the final few months, the DNC went above and beyond to expand our ground efforts and ensure victory. We couldn't have won this election without their support. As we start laying the groundwork for real change, we need to help the DNC recover the resources it took to win. Please make a donation today and get your 2008 Victory T-shirt: http://my.barackobama.com/page/m2/55c13974/506d20f9/9e59ff1/11884a3f/3588423768/VEsF/ This movement for change is just getting started, and we look forward to working with you to bring the change this country needs. Thanks for everything you did to elect Barack and Joe, Obama for America
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