In case you weren't worried enough about electronic privacy: Worker Snooping on Customer Data Common.
Vast computer databases give curious employees the ability to look up sensitive information on people with the click of a mouse. [...]Experts say some companies do little to stop such abuses even though they could lead to identity theft, stalking and other privacy invasions. And companies that uncover violations can keep them quiet because in many cases it is not illegal to snoop, only to use the data for crimes.
Here are some interesting observations about the spectacular library of rare books at Biltmore House in Asheville. We got to tour this room long ago and have had a bad case of bibliographic envy ever since.
Media maven Jeff Jarvis takes The New York Times to task for its shoddy, innuendo-driven story on John McCain and his supposedly questionable ties to a blonde, female lobbyist in 1999.
The only thing more shocking that the New York Times printing salacious innuendo about a presidential candidate is its editor not understanding why this caused controversy. I’m not sure whether he’s isolated or clueless or issuing cynical spin.
On Hillary's prospects if her campaign does indeed go belly up, from The Corner:
She could serve as the U.S. Senator from New York for the next 20 years if she plays it right -- even if she just preserves the merest of fig leaves. Whatever her shortcomings, the NY State GOP has no candidate likely to displace her anytime soon.And in 20 years, or even 12, you can accomplish a lot of your underlying liberal agenda -- especially if you give up your presidential aspirations, and have no need to "triangulate" your votes to appeal to moderates later on. Teddy Kennedy is a reasonable model for this approach.It's not the big, glittering prize that the oval office is. And it requires the kind of hard, daily legislative work Hillary hasn't done so much of. But, for better or worse, it would be a real legacy. Not, of course, that I want to see this happen. But it is the dark alternative to the wishful scenario where she melts as the bucket of water hits her.
GOP front-runner John McCain spoke Tuesday night after the Wisconsin primary and gave us a preview of the final round to come.
My friends, we have traveled a great distance together already in this campaign, and overcome more than a few obstacles. But as I said last week, now comes the hard part and, for America, the bigger decision. Will we make the right changes to restore the people's trust in their government and meet the great challenges of our time with wisdom, and with faith in the values and ability of Americans for whom no challenge is greater than their resolve, courage and patriotism? Or will we heed appeals for change that ignore the lessons of history, and lack confidence in the intelligence and ideals of free people?I will fight every moment of every day in this campaign to make sure Americans are not deceived by an eloquent but empty call for change that promises no more than a holiday from history and a return to the false promises and failed policies of a tired philosophy that trusts in government more than people. Our purpose is to keep this blessed country free, safe, prosperous and proud. And the changes we offer to the institutions and policies of government will reflect and rely upon the strength, industry, aspirations and decency of the people we serve. [...]
Will the next President have the experience, the judgment experience informs, and the strength of purpose to respond to each of these developments in ways that strengthen our security and advance the global progress of our ideals? Or will we risk the confused leadership of an inexperienced candidate who once suggested invading our ally, Pakistan, and sitting down without pre-conditions or clear purpose with enemies who support terrorists and are intent on destabilizing the world by acquiring nuclear weapons?
Today is the start of early and absentee voting for the Texas primaries. Most early voting is a bad idea, since we can't know what important new developments might emerge in our tumultuous world that would change hearts and minds in an instant. But many will trade that risk for the added convenience, and others need to vote absentee, so it's time to take a stand.
Watching the various candidates speak tonight after the Wisconsin primaries has only solidified my decision.
I intend to vote for John McCain in the Republican primary on March 4. Here are a few thoughts on why.
The decision on a nominee for the GOP is a done deal, and strictly speaking McCain doesn't "need" my vote. He's not a perfect candidate and won't be a perfect President. But the alternatives are impossible.
Ron Paul has now suspended his campaign to fight for his political career back in a neglected congressional district. But he could never have earned my vote anyway, at least not since I was a naive 20-year old. For years, Ron Paul has been riding along with the luxury to adopt and promote a utopian political philosophy as an ideal without ever confronting the responsibility of implementing those ideas and making real changes. He is a marginal, at most symbolic, figure whose profound misunderstanding of the world is a distraction in an age that demands focus.
Mike Huckabee has revealed himself as a duplicitous schemer. In terms of policy, his record and rhetoric are far more liberal than those of John McCain. Worse than that, however, Huckabee has looked America in the eye and, with a cynical smile, simultaneously leveraged his religiosity with evangelical voters (and the gullible in general) AND denied all the while that he is doing anything of the sort. Honesty is important, and Huckabee apparently has none. This is intolerable.
Therefore, at this point those who fear the consequences of a Leftist victory in the fall should be coalescing behind McCain, comfortably or not. No one said it would be easy.
The temptation to vote in the Democratic primary has presented itself, and if there was a way to tilt their outcome in a better direction, such an act might be alluring. However, that is also impossible.
On that side, the choice is between a cunning Barack Obama, with his high-minded speeches, increasingly messianic fervor and catastrophic ideas, and the sociopathic and equally socialistic Hillary Clinton. If this must be a Democratic year, then so be it; the voters will decide. And perhaps better a straightforward leftist like Obama than more tormented Clintonian psychodrama. But I cannot aid or abet such a scenario in any way.
Some believe that a Democratic interregnum is required before a conservative GOP rebirth. Maybe. I would just remind such dreamers that national nightmares can last a long time. And that during the most recent such epochs under both Carter and Clinton, thousands died during these "holidays from history."
We're at war with an implacable enemy, and holidays are the last thing we should be considering.
So, despite lingering concerns about some of John McCain's past positions, it's clear that he is the best choice for America in 2008. McCain has the guts and the experience to lead us in the most important conflict of our generation.
He'll get my vote on March 4 and in November.
Let's roll.
So today has been "Potomac Primary" day. Barack Obama has swept the three Dem contests, piling up big margins vs. Clinton Inc. The lighter-than-air senator from Illinois, on record as the most liberal member of the U.S. Senate, has definite "mo".
On the right, John McCain is handling the duplicitous Mike Huckabee pretty well, although the evangelical vote in Virginia has made that one somewhat closer.
Interesting to note: in the District of Columbia vote, as of right now Fox News shows 4890 total votes in the Republican primary, with 98% of the vote counted. That compares with more than 100,000 Democratic votes in D.C. And that's a reminder of another reason why a Democratic win this fall would be bad news: statehood for D.C. and two ironclad blue Senate seats forever.
So far, the Super Tuesday results aren't too super for anyone, on either side. On the left, the coast-to-coast delegate hunt between Obama and Clinton apparently will go on.
On the right (or sort of right), McCain has some momentum, Romney less than many had hoped and Huckleberry has shown new life, at least in the Old South.
This from The Corner may be pertinent:
My southern belle wife always warned that many evangelicals would vote for anyone but a Mormon. I was skeptical -- and we don't yet have the exit poll breakdowns on that kind of question -- but it looks as if something like that may be at work.
Unfortunately, not so surprising to this southerner.
Channel-flipping while The Huckster, who is either cunning or deluded, was holding forth on Fox News, I stumbled across Peggy Noonan being wise again, this time with Brian Williams on NBC. Two of her comments:
"People are in no hurry to resolve this drama. They are still looking at everybody who's running.""Obama is a persona who answers the question: is there anyone but Her?"
All in all, it's hard to see how Romney can overcome McCain now, unless something dramatic has happened in California. There's just not enough evidence right now of a groundswell for Romney, only persistent discomfort with John McCain. Much depends now on how McCain conducts himself over the coming weeks.
The war between Obama and Clinton Inc. may have only just begun.
Here's the socialist mind at work:
Democrat Hillary Rodham Clinton said Sunday she might be willing to garnish the wages of workers who refuse to buy health insurance to achieve coverage for all Americans.The New York senator has criticized rival Barack Obama for pushing a health plan that would not require universal coverage. Clinton has not always specified the enforcement measures she would embrace, but when pressed on ABC's This Week, she said: "I think there are a number of mechanisms" that are possible, including "going after people's wages, automatic enrollment."
Clinton said such measures would apply only to workers who can afford health coverage but refuse to buy it, which puts undue pressure on hospitals and emergency rooms.
Ultimately, it's always about coercion with these people. The velvet glove can't conceal the iron fist inside.