Tuesday March 30
Worse Than Watergate?
In his new book, "Worse Than Watergate," John Dean, of Watergate fame, says, "I've been watching all the elements fall into place for two possible political catastrophes, one that will take the air out of the Bush-Cheney balloon and the other, far more disquieting, that will take the air out of democracy." Likewise Phil Krugman, in a New York Times op-ed today, writes that "[T]his administration's reliance on smear tactics is unprecedented in modern U.S. politics -- even compared with Nixon's. Even more disturbing is its readiness to abuse power, to use its control of the government to intimidate potential critics." This Isn't America [nytimes.com]
Wow. Just a few weeks ago, after John Kerry's victory in the Iowa caucuses, I blogged that American politics had become boring. Nothing like a little character assasination to spice things up.
Posted by glenn at Monday March 29
One Year Ago
It has been one year since the U.S. invasion of Iraq -- Iraq One Year Later [MSNBC.com] -- and this blog is also one year old today. My first post from March 29, 2003 was a short one, saying that I did not know whether Fear & Loathing would turn out to be a quickly passing fad or a personal journal. I don't think it's really either -- more focused on technology, politics and popular culture than my own individual life traumas -- but that may make this blog a little more interesting to my tiny, devoted cult of readers (all 10 or so of you) worldwide.
Happy birthday Fear & Loathing!
TV Racked by Defection of Young Males
The television industry was shaken last October when the ratings from Nielsen Media Research showed that a huge part of a highly prized slice of the American population was watching less television. As the fall TV season began, viewership among men from 18 to 34 fell 12% compared with the year before, Nielsen reported. And for the youngest group of adult men, those 18 to 24, the decline was a steeper 20%. Leisure Pursuits of Today's Young Man [nytimes.com]
And of course this trend is changing the nature of entertainment itself. The prevalence of pornography online has helped to turn porn stars like Jenna Jameson and topics like masturbation into mainstream conversation among young adults. What seemed raw and bold in "Portnoy's Complaint" in the 1960s became fodder in the 1990s for sit-coms like "Friends" and hit movies like "There's Something About Mary." And many TV ads are looking more and more like Web sites, complete with pop-up menus and JavaScript rollovers.
But the bottom line is that the television industry, battered first by inroads from cable and satellite providers, then DVDs, now has to worry about the Internet taking its prime viewers -- those most demanded by advertisers -- away. A "30 share" used to be the norm on network television. Now not even the most popular reality series (whether "Survivor Tahiti" or "American Idol") can come close. The times they are indeed a changing, my friend.
Sunday March 28
Scramjets
As the world enters the second century of powered flight, the X-43A, a new experimental aircraft developed by NASA -- powered by a revolutionary "scramjet" (supersonic-combustion ramjet) engine that uses oxygen from the air instead of on-board liquid oxygen fuel -- screamed into history at Mach 7. That's 5,000 miles an hour, or about 83 miles per second. Never mind supersonic. The age of hypersonic jet travel is dawning.
Seat Belts for Pets
In Santa Fe, New Mexico, local officials are contemplating passing an ordinance that would require pet owners to restrain their dogs, cats and ferrets in special pet seats or with seat belts while traveling in a moving vehicle. Most news outlets ran the story today under their "odd" or "oddly enough" banners. Screwy, whacko or insane would be a more appropriate categorization. America may have become a nation in which personal resonsibility is unfortunately excused because we are all treated as vicitims, but now we're treating pets like children. Since the U.S. already has a new federal law that makes it a crime to kill a pregnant woman's fetus, why not prosecute those who fail to put pets in seat belts as murderers, too?
Saturday March 27
Bush's Broadband Liberalism
Reacting to President Bush's speech Friday in New Mexico, in which Dubya proposed a federal plan for nationwide broadband access by 2007 (presumably complete with tax subsidies), Right Thinking From the Left Coast concludes that "I hate to say it, but I'm beginning to see Michael Moore's point -- there is virtually no difference these days between the Republicans and the Democrats."
Well, on telecom policy Lee is certainly right, because the twin shibboleths of "universal service" and that elusive "digital divide" have merged into a new third-rail of technology policy. Politicians are as afraid to speak out on this issue as they are on Social Security, because it means political death. At the same time, in the U.S. we've got a telecom policy structure that is based on antiquated, baseless deviations from competitive markets (we don't subsidize TVs or VCRs, yet they've got higher, 95%+, penetration rates than broadband) and that buries hidden taxes in a morass of administrative rules implemented by bureaucrats advancing social policy in the name of economic regulation.
If you want a principled approach to technology policy, don't look to either the "blue" or "red" states, they're all the same temporizing, opportunistic chameleons.
The Buck Does Not Stop
An interesting commentary from the New York Times compares Harry Truman's famous "The Buck Stops Here" sign and John Kennedy's acceptance of responsibility for the Bay of Pigs fiasco in 1961 to what's currently going in American politics, where everyone (except perhaps Dick Clarke) is running for cover in the aftermath of 9/11. Says Michael Orsekes in an article tantalizingly called Where Does the Buck Stop? Not Here, while accepting responsibility is an important part of everyday life, at the U.S. presidential level it is "getting [increasingly] rarer, as a national culture of shifting blame permeates American politics."
Friday March 26
Who's Ridiculous?
After failing miserably in last week's stand-off against al Qaeda's number 2 commander Ayman al-Zawahri, Pakistan called a tape recording released yesterday by the former Egytpian doctor (calling for overthrow of the government of Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf) "absolutely ridiculous." [Reuters.com].
Hello? Musharraf ain't got crap except for nuclear bombs -- which he's afraid to use against India, let alone crafty and resourceful guerrillas hiding in mountain tunnels -- and these bin Laden folks have shown a masterful ability to play on public sentiments in the Muslim world. What's is ridiculous is that even now, a good 2 1/2 years after 9/11, neither the U.S. nor its purported allies can lay a feather on al Qaeda's leadership. President Bush promised the nation in September 2001 that he would "root out" the terrorists, but so far all we've got is a bunch of journeyman teenagers in Guantanamo and a 20th highjacker the federal government is afraid to put on trial because he wants to introduce testimony from the few real terrorists in U.S. custody. Someone needs to do a root canal on al Qaeda.
Thursday March 25
Hyperbole and Antitrust Politics
Readers of this blog know that I am an antitrust lawyer and that I've worked on the United States v. Microsoft antitrust case -- for the competitive side of the software industry -- for years. Well, now we have a situation in which the European Union has accomplished something that the U.S. government failed to do in its nearly decade-long prosecution of Microsoft: it issued a meaningful punishment to the Redmond monolith. Microsoft was found to have violated the U.S. antitrust laws by bundling Internet Explorer (IE) into Windows in order to prevent competition from then-insurgent Netscape. Yet American antitrust officials squandered that judgment in favor of a sell-out settlement that allows Microsoft to continue the same practice of integrating new functions into Windows -- backed by no technical or efficiency justifications, rather only to stifle competition -- that the government's landmark case had proven was intended only to maintain the Windows PC monopoly.
By forcing Microsoft to unbundle Media Player from Windows, the European Union is doing just what the United States tried (but then lost the balls to stay the course) when it fought to force divestiture. So, what is the reaction of the U.S. Justice Department to the EU's remedy? On an objective basis, they should applaud it, saying that the EU hung tough and persevered to a conclusion that achieves the very results the U.S. case sought. Instead, the Justice Department's antitrust czar releases a statement calling the EU decision a threat to innovation, because "[i]mposing antitrust liability on the basis of product enhancements and imposing 'code removal' remedies may produce unintended consequences." Yet as Paul La Monica cogently observed for CNN, "if Microsoft no longer can rely on bundling, isn't it reasonable to argue that Microsoft would need to work harder in order to build a product that's truly better than the competition? If anything, Microsoft would need to be more innovative, not less."
The Bush Justice Department, some might say like the White House itself, is riddled with double-speak and hyperbole. Well, repeating myths may work in electoral politics, but it doesn't suffice for antitrust. The EU is not a threat to innovation; monopoly surely is. Just as they like fat-cat lobbyists and haven't met a billionaire they didn't want to curry favor with, the Bushies now pretend that monopolies are good for innovation and benefit consumers. The worst part is that, just two months ago, the federal judge overseeing the U.S. Microsoft settlement found on-the-record that it wasn't working at all as the Bush DOJ had promised. Like Rick's bristo in Casablanca, I am shocked to learn there's gambling going on here!@!
Wednesday March 24
Internet Gambling OK
Despite years of efforts by federal and state prosecutors in the U.S. to apply antiquated old laws against use of "wires" (i.e., telephone service) for betting to try and outlaw Internet casino and sports wagering -- and to adapt those old paradigms to offshore betting operations conducted over the Net from foreign countries -- the World Trade Organization is prepared to rule these efforts violate international trade laws and treaties. [Los Angeles Times]. This is just another example that the square peg of pre-Internet law and policy does not fit into the round hole of globally networked e-commerce. The system is broken, boys and girls, and no amount of tinkering can fix it. We've got to fundamentally rethink the application of legacy law to Internet-based activities in this brand new environment.
Societies that use the law to fight against technological change always lose. And those that do so, like here, in paternalistic efforts to protect citizens against the moralistically "harmful" effects of victimless conduct are figthing a rear-guard and quixotic action against human nature. Every other civilized Western nation except the U.S. permits casino and sports betting. If Americans want to do so via the Internet, what business does government have trying to stop them? The answer -- the Christian Right notwithstanding -- is NONE.
Monday March 22
More Convergence
In another sign that packet-voice convergence is really here, leading ISP EarthLink announced today it will start offering wireless voice services to go together with its Blackberry-based mobile email service. [USAToday.com]. While convergence is not news anymore, some day we may actually end up with a useful device!!
Bush's Blind-Spot on Terror
Dick Clarke, former White House cybersecurity and anti-terrorism czar under both Presidents Clinton and Bush, says in a new book that "Dubya" was obsessed by Saddam Hussein and wanted to respond to 9/11 by going after the Iraqi dictator. Former Terrorism Official Criticizes White House on 9/11 [newyorktimes.com]. This has unleashed a furious counter-attack by the Bushies, led by Condi Rice's fawming op-ed in today's Washington Post, in which -- as a lead-in to some vicious personal attacks on Clarke during the network morning shows -- she pretends that the Bush Administration "quickly began crafting a comprehensive new strategy to 'eliminate' the al Qaeda network. The president wanted more than occasional, retaliatory cruise missile strikes. He told me he was 'tired of swatting flies.'"
This revisionist history from the White House is amazing. We now have two insiders who revealed (consistent with what we know) that Donald Rumsfeld and Paul Wolfowitz always pressed for action against Saddam, arguing -- contrary to the evidence -- that Iraq was a "state sponsor" of al Quaeda, and that the President from the start wanted to take up where his father had failed. How else to explain why a war started ostensibly to "disarm" Iraq of weapons of mass destruction, has found none.
Yes, toppling Saddam was a good thing, because he was a bad man. But it was not and is not a substitute for going after terrorists. Had the Bush Administration devoted as much attention and planning to the 2001 Tora Bora bombing campaign in Afganistan, we might have gotten Osama bin Laden and made a real contribution to the War on Terrorism. Whatever else the Iraq occupation represents, we now know it is NOT helping to reduce the risk of terrorism, and if anything works the other way.
Friday March 19
Tony Blair Backs Kerry?
With all the Bush Administration's holier-than-thou rhetoric criticizing democratic presidential candidate John Kerry for saying that some foreign leaders "privately" want him to defeat George W., it turns out these are not-so-secret thoughts abroad. As the UK's Guardian Unlimited reported weeks ago, Tony Blair's Labour Party has concluded that they need to defeat the neo-conservative strand of American thinking that has come to dominate U.S. politics and, in their own words, "get George Bush out of the White House." Bush Is the Fly In Blair's Ointment.
Hey, truth is a defense, even in politics and especially in a mud-slinging environment like we've got now. Nor is it especially newsworthy that European leaders, most of whom are way to the left of the American mainstream -- even left-leaning Democratic party centrists -- would favor Kerry over Bush. But since this election cycle is all about hot potato non-issues like gay marriage and the like, it's no wonder that the current dispute du jour is that of the properity of electoral "endorsements" by foreign leaders.
Thursday March 18
Osama bin Laden's Brains
News reports today indicate that Ayman al-Zawahri, second-in-command to Al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden and often called bin Laden's "brains," has been surrounded by Pakistani troops on the border with Afghanistan, 2 1/2 years after the September 11 attacks made him one of the most wanted men in the world. CNN said that the al Qaeda official -- dubbed a "a high-value target" by the government of Pakistan -- was protected by about 200 well-trained and well-armed fighters.
Al-Zawahri was a signatory, along with bin Laden, to a 1998 declaration of jihad, or holy war, "against the Jews and Crusaders" that heralded the September 11 attacks.
Well, if that's true, then maybe the global war on terror has finally reached a "tipping point." If you cut off it's brain, an organization, like any animal, wil die. The world would manifestly be better off with all of these fanatics dead.
Wednesday March 17
A 10th Planet?
For years when I was young I was fascinated by the planets and the solar system. This has led to a deep interest in cosmology and relativity, but still is based on those majestic other worlds that, in space terms, lie right in Earth's own backyard.
This week's announcement of the discovery of a 10th "planetoid" -- dubbed Sedna for an Inuit goddess because it is so cold -- orbiting in an eliptical path many millions of miles outside Pluto throws everything into chaos. Pluto's Planet Status Could be Jeopardized by Sedna Discovery [Yahoo! News]. The mini-planet has an eccentric 10,500-year orbit that ranges between 8 billion and 84 billion miles (12.8 billion and 134 billion kilometers), which is much farther away than the existing nine planets and an outlying ring of frozen cosmic leftovers known as the Kuiper Belt.
For decades after Pluto's discovery, no other objects were discovered beyond Neptune. In recent years, however, other round objects about half Pluto's size have been detected in the Kuiper Belt, much closer than Sedna. And Sedna itself is so far from the Sun that if you were standing on the surface of Sedna today, and you held a pin at arm's length, you could cover up the entire Sun with the head of that pin.
So is this new discovery a planet or not? The International Astronomical Union is set to decide by establishing standards for what constitutes a planet (size, distance from the Sun, shape of orbit, etc.) I tend to agree with Michael Brown of CalTech, who first spotted Sedna. "Either Pluto is not a planet, or many other things are planets," Brown said today. "Which is a better choice? I want my planets to be more special, not less special, so I favor Pluto not being a planet. Emotionally, though, I have to admit that I have grown up thinking Pluto this special odd-ball planet at the edge of the solar system. While I now know scientifically that Pluto is less special, it's still hard to let go."
Tuesday March 16
No Revolution Yet
John Perry Barlow's blog ("BarlowFriendz") included an interesting observation, just after Howard Dean's Iowa debacle, in which he noted that the Internet has really not changed anything at all in American politics so far.
I have seen the past, and it still works.
Corporate Criminals Beyond Martha
Lee Drutman writes in TomPaine.com that last week's conviction of Martha Stewart is just a pinprick compared to the far more serious and damaging corporate abuses engineered by executives at Enron, WorldCom, Tyco and the like. Stewart is merely "a tiny tiny drop in a big big bucket. If government prosecutors are really serious about sending a message on corporate crime, it seems they've got a whole ocean to fry."
Drutman is of course right. But prosecutors need to start someplace. Ebbers, Skilling and others have all been indicted in those larger corporate fraud scandals. The Sarbanes-Oxley Act is beginning to make it tougher for corporate directors to pretend they don't know what's going on and for the SEC to complain it lacks resources to investigate and punish corporate misconduct. Yes, it is going to take a long time, but the culture of permissiveness -- very much like the liberal, leftist sentiments that Republican corporate executives love so much to parody -- infecting America's corporations is indeed starting to change.
Medicare Mistruths
Liberal journalists are railing today against President Bush for understating the costs associated the prescription drug plan for seniors passed by a hyper-slim margin by Congress in 2003. But the issues they raise are major, as in this excerpt from the New York Times editorial page.
If it turns out that the Administration in fact silenced career government employees whose job is to give objective cost estimates for federal programs, this could end up being very serious indeed.
Monday March 15
Europe Squares Off Against Gates
In less than two weeks, barring a last-minute settlement, the European Commission -- the EU's enforcement arm -- is expected to declare Microsoft an abusive monopolist, impose a fine of $100 million to $1 billion and order the company to make fundamental changes to the way it sells software in Europe. Europe Supports Antitrust Ruling Against Microsoft [NYTimes.com]. So once again -- read GE-Honeywell, etc. -- EU antitrusters are doing the job that American antitrust officials have declined or botched.
Rebuild On Someone Else's Dime
Having spent a month trading nearly nearly every veteran player on their roster, the Washington Capitals now face the challenge of embarking on a "rebuilding" phase led by a bunch of minor-leaguers and teenagers. Wrong Turns, Long Road Back [washingtonpost.com]. This may have been a good financial decision for a franchise that was losing $20 million per season, but it makes no sense for someone like me who was paying top dollar for season tickets. There's no way I can justify $100+ per ticket for 42 home games when the talent isn't there and the team is mired in the cellar, next-to-last in the National Hockey League.
And things are just not going to improve any time soon.
Well, they should have thought about what the team will look like before they scattered it to the wind. You've lost my business, Ted. Of course, I told you that a year ago. And if you keep peddling a second-rate product played by a bunch of rank amateurs, there's going to be a line following me out the doors of MCI Center -- forever.
Friday March 12
Too Damn Fat
This week the House of Representatives passed a bill limiting consumers' ability to sue the food industry over obesity. It's usually a bad sign when Congress legislates in the tort area -- meaning that special interests typically want to protect themselves at the expense of the rest of us -- but here they're got a good point. Since when should or can it be unlawful for firms to sell food to folks who lack the self-control to stop eating or who load up on calories to the point they get obese?
Restaurants don't overeat, people do. If you're fat, you're fat. There's only one person to blame, and it ain't Ray Kroc. Stop complaining, get out of court and start up the treadmill. Just another sign of America's obession with making everyone into a victim. Our society needs to accept some personal responsibilty and stop blaming others. As Wisconsin Republican Jim Sensenbrenner remarked, "Look in the mirror because you're the one to blame."
Wednesday March 10
Never-Ending Violence and the NHL
The National Hockey League has temporarily suspended Vancouver's Todd Bertuzzi for his unprovoked "retribution" attack on a Colorado Avalanche player that left the opponent with a concussion and broken neck, lying face down on the ice in a pool of his own blood. Sickening. Ghastly. But sadly, totally consistent with the culture of needless violence that has become embedded in the NHL for decades.
I played hockey in school and remain a fan. But this reminds me of the sort of stick-fighting rampages that I would have hoped had been rooted out back in the 1960s. They haven't, and the sport is poorer as a result.
AP sports columnist Tim Dalhberg writes:
Perish the thought, but I suspect he's right.
Tuesday March 9
Death To Muhammad
This is NOT an entry directed to Muslims, but rather one about a depraved murderer -- the "Washington sniper" of two years ago -- who unfortunately shares a name with the revered Islamic prophet. Today, John Allen Muhammad was sentenced to death in a Northern Virginia courtroom for his role in the October 2002 killing spree that left 10 innocent people randomly dead and terrorized the Washington region for more than a month. The sentencing judge concluded that "These cases were so vile that they were almost beyond comprehension."
I am no fan of the death penalty generally, and find it sad that America shares with North Korea and South Africa the sordid distinction of maintaining the "ultimate penalty" that has been discarded in every other civilzed Western nation. But if there ever is a criminal case in which death is the right answer, this is it. Good riddance, John Allen.
Monday March 8
Revenge Is Sweet
I beat the crap out of my old law firm today in court. Fun!! Like old Joe Kennedy, "don't get mad, get even."
Sunday March 7
Martha's Web of Deceit
As predicted here last Thursday, Martha Stewart was convicted for fraud and obstruction of justice as a result of lying about her stock sales of ImClone. The jury reported that the queen of home decorating was done in by a "self-spun web of deceit." And in an interesting note, one juror added that "[i]f they can introduce something new at the appeal, I would be very surprised. I don't see how an appeal will work." Martha, you've been nailed, solidly. Close the books on this one.
Thursday March 4
"Martha Stewart Living," Behind Bars?
Yessiree, looks like Martha is going down. Martha Stewart Jurors Focus on Testimony of SEC Attorney [sfgate.com]. I don't like the fact that the government sued her for perjury instead of directly for securities fraud (insider trading), but lying is lying. She and her broker pal Bacanovic seem to have made up an incredible story, a whopper the jury is set to disbelieve. We should know by the end of the week.
Wednesday March 3
Nailing Slime
With yesterday's indictment of former WorldCom CEO Bernie Ebbers on securities fraud charges, the final chapter in the long, sad story of MCI will be written. Now it is becoming clear that -- far from a "hands off" executive who knew little about accounting -- Ebbers was obsessed with small matters (like free coffee and whether employees were using too many pencils) and directed WorldCom's deception of investors from the start. WorldCom Prosecutors Say Ebbers Began Fraud Long Before Debacle [bloomberg.com]
That's the key. Bernie was a Wall Street darling if he "met his numbers." The only way to keep the stock moving up with demand and revenue falling during the telecom sector meltdown that started in 2000 was to cook the books. Nothing is too little punishment for this sort of corporate slime. I've got scores of former MCI friends and clients who lost fortunes, and now are scrambling just to make ends meet, because of this bastard.
Bernie, your days as a free man are numbered. Hallelujah!!
Tuesday March 2
Another F1 Season Begins
Well, the 2004 Formula One season is just days away, and I still have not updated my Formula One Art & Genius web site. Sorry, fans. Here's some of the latest news and gossip. F1 Melbourne Diary [europosrt.com].
