As I Was Saying

Posted on 2005-02-23 by David

I had a thought when I posted Excess Capacity. Now I have seen this story in a few different places and I cannot stay silent on the subject. Basically, the story can be summed up like so:

“Whether building a wireless system, installing fiber directly to homes, or exploring broadband over power lines – or some combination of these options – local communities are finding they can get better service for less money if they do it themselves.

“Big telecom and cable companies have responded by furiously working to slam the door on community wireless. The telephone and cable giants are trying to use their lobbying clout in state capitals to pre-empt local control, preserve higher prices and preclude competition.” (thanks to Matt Barton for quoting this perfect synopsis from Freepress.net)

Everybody should realize that the telecom companies have nothing to gain when municipalities prove that broadband can be affordable. Somehow they need to be held to the standard of capitalist doctrine and forced to actually compete to create a system that provides the best service possible for the lowest price. If the municipalities can offer equal service for less than the telecoms then the telecoms should get out of the business.

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First Right Step

Posted on 2005-02-17 by David

This is the best statement of the current position of the democratic party that I have recently read. Getting Howard Dean as the head of the party is the best first step that the party could have taken. Dean has already proven that he is able and willing to think outside the box and try new things to energize the party which is exactly what they need. It didn’t hurt that the new minority leader in the Senate is a very moderate politician. That should help to remove the extreme image that the party often has to fight in the media.

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Soul Searching

Posted on 2005-02-16 by David

This is the type of thing to expect from a party that is trying to find its place in American politics. The Democrats are starting to think about their stance on abortion as they search their souls to find ways to appeal to more people. It is about time that they looked at their core issues to figure out the difference between what the American public wants/believes and how they are viewed in public opinion.

It seems to me that they are painted as favoring environmental protection while they are weak on military protection while most people are more interested in having military protection before they get too worked up about protecting our environment. To put it generally, the caricature of the Democrats is that they are strong on all the less important issues. If they will start to take a close look at what people feel strongly about they will be able to restate their positions and find a message that appeals to the primary values and needs of America and they will be able to restore balance to our political system by no longer being the little brother in our two-party system.

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Conservation

Posted on 2005-02-14 by David

I was interested to read about Homesourcing and be reminded that I seem to be caught between two radical philosophies concerning conservation and energy independence. Radical not because they are unreasonable or extreme, but because they are so different from the most common proposals for energy independence.

Homesourcing is really another name for tele-commuting, the other radical approach is espoused by some bicycle enthusiasts I know – bike to work. Each of these ideas appeals to me in different ways. I will not expound on homesourcing (since I have linked to it) but biking to work adds the advantage of keeping yourself in shape although it limits how far you can live from the office. The only downside to homesourcing is that there really is something to be said for mixing in the same physical location with other people that you are working with.

Maybe I should bike to work two or three days a week and then work from home the rest of the week. That would be about the best of both worlds.

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Excess Capacity

Posted on 2005-02-09 by David

I enjoyed reading about the Laffer Curve as it relates to taxes. I found it especially interesting because I have been thinking about the Sam Walton approach being applied to broadband internet access. I admit that I am wishing that I had bradband access at home and claiming (privately until now) that dialup internet access is no longer considered reasonable access to the internet.

We have the technology and the capacity to deliver broadband to everybody. I realized that this went even farther than broadband. We have 6% of our workforce not working right now and we have people who do not have access to every good thing that they want because of prohibitive costs (college students have plenty of use for broadband, but can rarely afford to pay $50 per month to pay for it). I am convinced that both telephone providers and cable providers could still make a profit on broadband while offering it for $20 per month – which would be affordable enought to virtually eliminate dialup service.

Wait for a later post where I will list some of the benefits that I see of having universal access to broadband.

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Kernals of Truth

Posted on 2005-02-01 by David

In “It takes a whole village – or does it?” I see some strong truths expressed that the family is the basic unit of society, but there is also a kernel of truth in the saying “it takes a village.” The village in which I raise my children will have an effect on how they grow up and what they learn – whether I like it or not.

I, like Hyrum, refuse to allow the village to become the primary teacher for my children. I’m sure that Hyrum would agree with me though that we must be careful in choosing the village in which we raise our children because it will have an effect. I consider that “it takes a village” when I choose the village and also when I choose to participate in shaping that village.

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Nugget of Truth

Posted on 2005-01-31 by David

It is not often that I agree with Maureen Dowd more than grudgingly, but in her article about female interrogators torturing detainees in Iraq I found myself agreeing with her without reservation. She put the perfect perspective in one sentence: “However the Bush White House is redefining torture these days, the point is this: Such behavior degrades the women who are doing it, the men they are doing it to, and the country they are doing it for.”

There is no other point that could be made. It would be better in the long run to not have the intelligence gotten by such deplorable means then to stoop to such a level of depravity.

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Courage of the Iraqis

Posted on 2005-01-30 by David

To all appearances, today was a success in Iraq. As reported in the New York Times, the turnout in the Iraqi elections was solid – even exceeding expectations in some Sunni areas. David Anderson (another dead link from ISOU – archives/2005/01/bravery_and_det.html) also has a good commentary (as usual) on the elections.

It makes no difference if you supported or opposed the invasion of Iraq, unless you support anarchy you must hail the Iraqis for turning out to vote despite the vocal threats against voters.

Time will tell how successfully Iraq turns the corner towards democracy and freedom, but the turnout at the polls today is one positive indicator.

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The Power of the Minority

Posted on 2005-01-18 by David

I am very interested in the moves that the democrats will make as they try to get back to their winning ways. I found an interesting perspective by David Brooks in the New York times.

I really expect that American Politics are largely going to be determined – for better or worse – by what the Democrats end up doing in their efforts to start winning majorities at the national level.

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The Fastest Way Out

Posted on 2005-01-17 by David

I drive around the city and see a smattering of yard signs saying “Bring the troops home now.” I feel that those who post the signs do not care about the welfare of the Iraqis. No matter how bad their lives are now with insurgents, the worst course of action we could take would be to walk away right now. After reading Friedman’s “Pop-Tarts or Freedom?” I had an interesting thought about those who display those signs. Undoubtedly those who post the signs disagree with the Bush administration regarding the war in Iraq. Friedman suggests that the fastest way to get the troops home is to hold elections. If people believe that then these people who don’t support the administration would have to support the stance of the administration in not postponing the Iraqi elections.

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