iPhone app store rejects "politically charged" app

Engadget created a post about an iPhone app called iSinglePayer that was rejected for being "politically charged".

The difficulty here is that Apple has very arbitrary rules when it comes to it's app store. This Health Care focused app seems to have drawn ire the developers couldn't have predicted.

I wonder what Apple will do with Fox News Fair and Balanced Autoleveler app.

Elementary students sing a song about obama

Some parents in were up in arms over a YouTube video where elementary students were involved in singing a made up song about President Obama. On the one side the song was part of a Black History Month celebration. On the other, the song is a bit praiseworthy of the president (after all, it was Black History Month).

Did the school go a little too far? Maybe. But at what point do parents worry more about their kids learning how to whine about every little thing than about... well, every little thing. Some people will gripe about anything. If you want to gripe, get a blog! ;)

Losing your privacy from someone else's mistake

Now this could set a horrible precedent. An employee at a bank sent some very confidential information to an e-mail address. The wrong e-mail address. (Having a background in Information Technology I have to say this is red flag #1 - Why does this bank not have a policy against sending unencrypted sensitive data by e-mail? But I digress.)

Now the bank is freaking out. They need to know this information is secure, but they have no idea where it went. They screwed up. But the only way they see to fix it is to get this guy to give up the goods. But they don't know who he is, so they are suing Google to find out.

Here's an interesting thought: they are suing to reveal the identity of a person who has done nothing... nothing at all. What are they, England?

That's just a scary thought.

UPDATE: The e-mail was never read and has been permanently deleted by Google.

Obama and the economy in 200 days

Here is an article I stumbled across that shows Obama's progress so far against economic indicators. The thing I like about this article versus so many others on the web is that is includes visual indicators.

It seems he does well pretty much everywhere except for jobs and the deficit. Of course, we knew that. The guy can spend money. He can spend money trying to spend money.

While he's spending your money, take a few minutes to check out the article and see how well he's doing with it.

Fox news - a high standard unless it's low

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart	Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c
Mad Men
www.thedailyshow.com
Daily Show Full Episodes Political Humor Healthcare Protests

Once again Fox News is a little less than Fair and Balanced, not that MSNBC is any different, except maybe by degree. It never ceases to amaze me how people hold to two different standards: one for those that agree with them and one for those that disagree. I guess those people and I will have to agree to disagree.

Like clockwork - jobless rate rollercoaster

Last week I pointed out that it seems each Thursday the Job news is good and Friday it is bad. This week is no exception. Yesterday I saw this article:

Unemployment Claim Filings Dip

I saved it, because I knew what was coming. And like clockwork, here it is:

Unemployment: 5 states' jobless rates top 12%

Perhaps we should call them Hope Thursdays and Despair Fridays. The media should at least switch them around so we could have better weekends.

Watch out! presidents might speak their mind.

Oh no! The president sometimes speaks his mind. I can't believe it.

According to one of his speech writers, in the book Speech-less Bush said the following about Obama during the election:

This is a dangerous world... and this cat isn't remotely qualified to handle it. This guy has no clue, I promise you.

Say it isn't so! Goodness sakes. Actually, I hope that Bush did say that, otherwise when he was saying that Obama wasn't qualified, he would have been lying.

But even Obama gets his licks. He called Kanye a jackass. Well, he was a jackass. Honestly I think Kanye legitimately feels remorse, wants to make it right, and it doing the right things in that respect. Regardless, he was a jackass. Does anyone care that the president said what we were all thinking?

It's just amazing what makes news anymore. We're spending our future away, and people care about this. Jackasses.

Proposing a ban on divorce

This gentleman is proposing that the state ban on gay marriage go one step further and ban divorce on grounds it's against the Bible.

First of all, that's just not a position in which the government should be. The state should not be enforcing morality (and wouldn't it be scary if bureaucrats did!?), because what is moral to one is not to another, and no matter how strict one may be on certain things, there is always someone stricter on others. Who would want a law that does silly things like bans chewing gum or provides jail time when women show their ankles? I've heard of doctrines (and met people) that are against both.

But more importantly, I don't hear anything but an all out ban. What about for abuse? What about for psychological issues that threaten safety? What about for infidelity, a situation in which the Bible specifically allows divorce?

Perhaps it's time to worry about your own house, Mr. Marcotte. If you don't want divorce, don't get divorced. It's pretty simple. Let's let other people live their own lives and make their own mistakes.

On the plus side, this guy may just be a prankster. Let's hope so.

Bill maher agrees with me

Right or wrong, whether it was true love or confused infatuation, Gov. Sanford was moved by his heart unlike other politicians who were moved by something much lower. I said this before and it seems now that Bill Maher agrees with me. Just for the record, Bill - I said it first.

Life imitating art

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart	Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c
Shah Rukh Khan Detained at Newark
www.thedailyshow.com
Daily Show Full Episodes Political Humor Healthcare Protests

Shah Rukh Khan, a popular Bollywood film star was detained in Newark for 2 hours after his flight into the US. The thing that makes this such news is he was here promoting his movie based on a story of a Muslim man who was detained because of racial profiling. Wow. There's a bit of a PR black eye for the country.

"The most expensive fight ever to hit congress"

CNN calls it "the most expensive fight ever to hit congress." Health Care. Last week I didn't even want to talk about it, but there is so much to say. The lobbying is simply foreshadowing of the actual costs. Why can't we focus on getting our economy strong and then tackle this issue? There is a time for everything heaven...

Jobless up or down? make up your mind!

Here are a couple stories one day apart: U.S. service sector on the mend, jobless claims fall and Job losses ebb, but unemployment up. It's not the first time I've seen this. Are the democratic and republican PR machines hard at work or are there people in the press with agendas? This unemployment roller coaster is going crazy. One day it's "Woo Hoo! Unemployment's down!" and the next "Unemployment has never been higher!"

Wow. That is obscene.

I refuse to talk about mmmmm mmmmm

Mmmmm mmmmm is always in the news of late. Everyone wants to talk about it. What's the president doing about mmmmm mmmmm? Can Congress fix mmmmm mmmmm? How does mmmmm mmmmm affect me? Hell, I've covered it here.

But I'm sick of it. We shouldn't be tackling an expensive problem when our debt is running rampant. Let's talk about hang gliding. Let's talk about puppies. Let's talk about the pain you get when you stub your toe, or squirt hot sauce in your eyes, or piss off a drug dealer. Let's just stop talking about mmmmm mmmmm, because a fix to a problem that makes a bigger problem isn't a fix: it's a bigger problem.