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Comment Because the Democrats Want Power, Too (Score 1) 658

by macduffman (#21044635) Attached to: White House Wins On Spying, Telecom Immunity
I disagree. I think it's because a lot of the strong Democrat Senators are (a) too busy with worrying about primaries that are going to happen nearly a year before the general election, and who are also (b) eyeing the White House and drooling over the thought of what kinds of powers this idiot administration has left them with.

It comes back to an unfortunate consequence of our two-party system, where if you're the party who isn't in power, you don't try to undo the evils of those in power, you try to become the power and take advantage of where the last scumbags left off. 90% of the dissidents in this country are cyring "Oust Bush, Oust Bush!" instead of "Restore Freedom or We'll Vote Libertarian/Green/whatever," and the Democratic leadership is only happy to comply.
The Media

Submission + - FCC Plan: Freedom OF or FROM the Press? (editorandpublisher.com) 1

Submitted by macduffman
macduffman writes: Kevin Martin, Chairman of the FCC, has fired a volley in the war against media moguls... or is it in the war against freedom of the press? An article in the Editor and Publisher describes the plan to ban cross-ownership in the same market (i.e., owning a newspaper and a broadcast station in the same city). Several waivers exist for some current ownerships, but would not be passed on to new owners.

The plan calls for public comment beginning in mid-November, and the FCC would vote on it a month later. Naturally, some people have heated opnions. From the full article:

Democratic Commissioner Jonathan Adelstein did not object specifically to the Dec. 18 date, but did say the commission has a lot of work yet[....] "We should first address the appalling lack of ownership of media outlets by women and people of color."

Gene Kimmelman, [VP at] Consumers Union, the nonprofit publisher of Consumer Reports magazine, had harsh words [for the plan....] "We will demonstrate this is purely an ideological, politically motivated effort to allow media companies to consolidate and dominate local markets."

The proposed schedule calls for a public hearing in Washington, D.C., on Oct. 31; another hearing on Nov. 2 in Seattle; publication of the proposed rule on Nov. 13; and a commission vote on Dec. 18.
Communications

Submission + - Think "Forward" and Your Wheelchair Moves

Submitted by macduffman
macduffman writes: New Scientist reports on another development in interfacing with the central nervous system. The system "eavesdrops" on signals sent from the brain to the larynx, so even people who lack the musular control to vocalize a command can operate it. The potential applications of this technology are as varied as human imagination, among them: allowing a person who has lost speech capability to vocalize again.
From the article:

The wheelchair could help people with spinal injuries, or neurological problems like cerebral palsy or motor neurone disease, operate computers and other equipment despite serious problems with muscle control. The system will work providing a person can still control their larynx, or "voice box", which may be the case even if the lack the muscle coordination necessary to produce coherent speech.

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