Who is paying him to say this?

OpenSecrets.org takes a lot of the mystery out of who is paying whom in politics.

As far as Chuck Schumer goes, the information is here.

I'm sorry.. the last 2 years especially have left me with nothing but cynicism.

It's not cynicism, it's realism. It's a simple understanding of normal, rational human nature, and how the system works. The Founders instituted a system of checks and balances because they understood it would be self-interested, normal, rational humans who would be leading the country. They weren't cynical in doing this, merely taking into account reality and trying to reach the best outcome.

I hear politicians always say, to the effect, "Trust us, or else you're cynical." It's stupid and naive to believe their words. Look at their actions, and who is paying them to get a clearer picture of what they're trying to accomplish. They are normal, rational, self-interested people and will do things to help their current financial position, their future financial position, help their friends and contributors, and punish their enemies.

Be skeptical of politicians. The Founders were.

The deep ocean is a dangerous place. The jungle is a dangerous place.

To think whatever might be lurking in deep space is all warm and fuzzy, ready to submit to our dominion, or tenderly treat us like children, eager to school us in the secrets of the universe, seems a bit naive.

I played BatMUD and 3 Kingdoms back in the early-mid 90s. A lot of fun. Heck of a time sink though. On the other hand, "Time you enjoyed wasting was not wasted." -- John Lennon / various attributions

Great to see they're still around. Amazing.

Guns are a "high karma" device. Capable of great good and great evil.

On the one hand, they can be used to defend the innocent, save lives, and fight evil. On the other they can be used to kill the innocent, take lives and cause great evil.

In 1998, Microsoft was pursued by the DOJ in an antitrust case. In 2001, the case was dropped.

1) Amount of money Microsoft contributed, from 1990 to present.
Scroll down to the graph titled "Party Split" to see the totals by year.

2) The DOJ announced on September 6, 2001 that it was no longer seeking to break up Microsoft and would instead seek a lesser antitrust penalty.

It's a voluntary prostitute-john business. Politicians can threaten to shake down businesses. Businesses give money, politicians do what they want.

Every remedy has its own set of costs and benefits. But, I don't think the Founders foresaw this type or level of corruption. They instituted a system of checks and balances, because they understood human nature, and the system was designed to keep the leaders in check. I don't think they foresaw the power of various business-political complexes.

Seriously. In an interview with older guys, the people doing the interviewing want to know:

  You won't be constantly challenging their authority.
  You will be open to new ways of doing things.
  You want to learn.
  You can learn (show evidence).
  You can take orders and carry them out and execute well.
  Won't be cynical and infect others with cynicism.
  You can integrate well with the team (you're not a douche).

Don't badmouth previous employers. Don't come off like a know-it-all. Be eager and positive, both in the position and cultivate those qualities personally.

It sounds like you can learn, and you've got a positive attitude. Getting that first break might take some effort, but get that initial experience and you're golden.

I was going to say, "If the Taliban and Al Qaeda were just saying bad things about the US, they wouldn't be on the business end of the drones."

However, the case of Anwar al-Awlaki gave me pause. He was a fellow saying bad things about the US. However, he inspired multiple mass casualty Al Qaeda terrorists and recruited for them, so he was killed.

Seditious speech in the US has only limted protections.

See also Hate speech and incitements to violence. They're not totally protected in the US either, from what I understand.

"No one will really understand politics until they understand that politicians are not trying to solve our problems. They are trying to solve their own problems - of which getting elected and re-elected are number and number two. Whatever is number three is far behind." -- Thomas Sowell

With that in mind: "President Obama is expected on Wednesday to nominate Tom Wheeler, a venture capital investor and fund-raiser in Mr. Obama’s presidential campaigns, as chairman of the Federal Communications Commission, two administration officials said Tuesday."

Getting an agency chairmanship is probably quite an expensive proposition, but ultimately very, very good for the bank account. More expensive than an ambassadorship.

Money quote from the article: "He woke up under so much drugs, asked for a paper and pen and wrote, ‘bag, saw the guy, looked right at me,’” Chris Bauman said yesterday in an interview. " - ibid

That fellow (Jeff Bauman) who lost both legs below the knee, the one whose femoral artery is being pinched shut by Carlos Arredondo as he's being wheeled away from the incident, identified his attacker. From Bloomberg:

"Minutes before the bombs blew up in Boston, Jeff Bauman looked into the eyes of the man who tried to kill him.

Just before 3 p.m. on April 15, Bauman was waiting among the crowd for his girlfriend to cross the finish line at the Boston Marathon. A man wearing a cap, sunglasses and a black jacket over a hooded sweatshirt looked at Jeff, 27, and dropped a bag at his feet, his brother, Chris Bauman, said in an interview.

Two and a half minutes later, the bag exploded, tearing Jeff’s legs apart. A picture of him in a wheelchair, bloodied and ashen, was broadcast around the world as he was rushed to Boston Medical Center. He lost both legs below the knee."

-- http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-04-19/boston-bombing-victim-in-iconic-photo-helped-identify-attackers.html

I'll typically read a magazine over a meal, or while waiting for something.

Print is physically flexible and tough, and doesn't require a network connection.

Print:
1) The Economist. Very informative. Their politics are not hidden, and socially, they're definitely left of center. Financially, they're the "Voice of the Plutonomy." But, it works. The articles are typically quite informative.

Online magazines:
1) IEEE Spectrum
2) Communications of the ACM
3) Dr. Dobbs
4) Infoworld
5) Linux Journal
6) Machine Design

And a variety of online information sources for current events. Typically, Google and Google News are good starting points.

The Economist, December 15th, 2012:

"“The technology is riding the fine line between promise and hype,” says Rick Tinsley, the boss of Silver Peak Systems, a networking firm. Sceptics fret that cost savings could easily be eaten up by the expense of new SDN controllers and software.

Better still, SDN makes it easier to reconfigure a network to, say, launch a new application for employees or customers. Its boosters liken it to a mobile-phone operating system onto which new apps can be loaded quickly and seamlessly. Small wonder, then, that companies such as Facebook and Google have been studying SDN carefully. Google runs two vast networks—one that links its huge data centres together and another that delivers its services to the outside world. The company has already deployed SDN across its data-centre network (which was not involved in this week’s snafu) and says that extending it to the external network is “inevitable”. Many big financial institutions and telecoms firms are also experimenting with the technology."

From Boston.com.

Images of a big fireball and a lot of blood on the pavement: http://deadspin.com/explosions-reported-at-the-boston-marathon-473008941