SOPA Internet Protest – The day the Internet went semi-dark to save Liberty, Freedom of Speech and Capitalism

Google, Reddit, Wikipedia, Tumblr, WordPress, Cheezburger, Moveon.org and a host of other websites are staging a protest today against two ambitious anti-piracy bills, SOPA and PIPA.

The soundtrack for this protest and this post is here:

http://8tracks.com/pusz4frog/sopa-internet-protest-the-day-the-internet-went-semi-dark-to-save-liberty-freedom-of-speech-and-capi

On Wednesday, January 18th, Google, Reddit, Wikipedia, WordPress, MoveOn.org, and hundreds more, will participate in an online protest—a strike, no less—that aims to call attention to two bills snaking their way through Capitol Hill.

Some of the sites will shut down, and others will black out, redirecting users to a landing page with resources to learn more about the bills and contact an elected representative. Google, for its part, smacked a big black bar over its logo on the U.S. homepage.

These websites are hoping to send a clear message to the millions of users who rely on them every day. The goal is to show how SOPA and PIPA could impact their rights and free speech, and how this is going to kill jobs in one of the few bright spots on the economy, which is the Internet.

The Protect IP Act (PIPA) and the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA), have raised the ire of the tech community for what’s being criticized as their broad, irresponsible language written by politicians hoping to please deep-pocketed copyright holders.

Please see my post on Getting the Money out of Politics:

http://pusz4frog.wordpress.com/2011/09/27/get-the-money-out-of-politics-with-getmoneyout-com-dylan-ratigan-tries-to-do-something-to-get-money-out-of-politics-and-solve-the-us-politician-whore-crisis/

THE SMOKING GUN

Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) initially introduced the PROTECT IP Act (PIPA) in the Senate in May 2011, which would give the Justice Department the power to take down copyright-infringing websites. Rep. Lamar Smith (R-Texas) then followed that up with SOPA on Oct. 26, 2011, for the House, also introducing sweeping anti-piracy legislation intended to empower the U.S. Department of Justice (and copyright holders) to fully crack down on websites that are suspected of hosting their copyrighted material.

Google said in its statement opposing the legislation: “The two bills’ various provisions, however, have since become lightning rods for critics who claim they ultimately would provide the tools for corporations to censor the Web. “Like many businesses, entrepreneurs and web users, we oppose these bills because there are smart, targeted ways to shut down foreign rogue websites without asking American companies to censor the Internet.”

Gizmodo.com provides the following example: “If Warner Bros., for example, says that a site in Italy is [illegally sharing] a copy of The Dark Knight, the studio could demand that Google remove that site from its search results, that PayPal no longer accept payments to or from that site, that ad services pull all ads and finances from it, and—most dangerously—that the site’s ISP prevent people from even going there,” the tech blog explains. A full-on blackout.

SOPA Internet Protest – The day the Internet went semi-dark to save Liberty, Freedom of Speech and Capitalism

What if the government feels that a site the criticizes the government has a photo on it that may be violating a copyright – then it can shut it down. IT can shut down the site, and shut down the Freedom of Speech.

This is not the first time, nor the last time that Liberty, Freedom of Speech and Capitalism on the Internet are under attack.

Please see my post on Net Neutrality:

http://pusz4frog.wordpress.com/2010/10/05/net-neutrality-large-telcom-companies-out-to-rape-the-common-people-and-their-crappy-little-websites-%E2%80%93-working-with-prostituting-politicians-selling-out-the-rights-of-the-citizen-they-repre/

Corporations, Governments and Capitalists really don’t like freedom of speech, and especially don’t like the uncontrolled and unpoliced Internet. This freedom of information spread makes it difficult to squeeze every last drop of profit from the consumers of the world if information is not checked and controlled.

WHY NOW

Rep. Lamar Smith (R-Texas) defended his SOPA bill by saying: “To enact legislation that protects consumers, businesses and jobs from foreign thieves who steal America’s intellectual property, we will continue to bring together industry representatives and members to find ways to combat online piracy, and I am committed to continuing to work with my colleagues in the House and Senate to send a bipartisan bill to the White House that saves American jobs and protects intellectual property.”

I am sorry, but this Job Creators Saves American job bullshit is too much. We live in a global economy. 14 hours in an airplane will get you to pretty much any place in the world, and communication is now instantaneous.

There are no American jobs, there are only jobs. You can buy and sell something made and sold from any country on Earth, the boarder are falling faster then the old people in governments can comprehend.

WHAT TO DO

So what can we do about these ignoent assholes in Washington who are trying to control the Internet so that they can shut down the Freedom of Speech and lure in more campaign donations from corporations who want to benefit by controlling the Internet?

1)      Go to https://www.google.com/landing/takeaction/ and sign the petition.

2)      Use www.dearpolitician.org to write your politicians to have them vote NO on SOPA and PIPA

For more information on www.dearpolitician.org:

http://pusz4frog.wordpress.com/2009/10/15/dearpolitician-org/

3)      Learn to use a pen and paper again, since that might be the only way you will be able to freely express yourself, once the government has shut down your website/blog for “copyright infringement”.

Good Luck America… and the World.

SOPA Internet Protest – The day the Internet went semi-dark to save Liberty, Freedom of Speech and Capitalism

Happy New Year!!! I am moving to Prosperity Street

Happy Happy New Year!!!!!!

It the year 2012, a year for hope, growth and prosperity for all!

2011 was a dream about Easy Street, but it felt more like I was living on the moon.

And as you know, the Moon is a Harsh Mistress.

On the other hand, it was a good year for this blog since it was a year in which traffic to the site grew by 3X.

Thank you to all our new readers.

I ended up writing 2X the number of posts, averaging about 3 a month. For 2012 I will try to get that to be more like once a week, but no promises.

2012 is going to be an interesting year, and this will be true for politics – and as readers of my blog can tell, I have some very strong political opinions.

Bottom line, we need to get the money out of politics.

The shocker of 2011, was that the new definition of poverty and near poverty came out, and what everyone felt in their lives became a published and confirmed fact – 2 out of 1 American (150 million people) are near the poverty line or under it.

2 in 1 American are technically barely able to make ends meet, or can’t make ends meet.

This is simply unacceptable.

I believe it will change. This will be the year of the protests, and chaos is certain. Be prepared to see the 150 million poor and near poor people let the government and our 1% peers know that it must change. Come spring and summer, the newest social fad sweeping the country will be protesting.

1968 – here we come!!!

On the other hand – from chaos arises opportunity, and from opportunity comes prosperity.

For 2012, I am looking to move to Prosperity Street.

Noogler - Samsung Galaxy 2s phone review: Comparing Blackberry, iPhone and Android

It all started when I was doing laundry. I was in a hurry to get a load started before a lunch date, and then when I got home the phone rang and I moved the cloths from the washer to the dryer as I talked. I closed the door and continued to talk on the phone. When the dryer was done, I started folding the cloths and noticed that I was finding various pieces of my Blackberry phone. Opps.

After 3 years with my small Blackberry phone, I came to the end of the line (pun) with it. Death by washer and dryer.

The reality was that I was not emotionally, mentally or physically prepared for one of the most challenging life experiences one could have -  choosing a new phone.

Blackberry, iPhone and Android

I started the process with a clean slate, and felt that I could afford any phone as long as it was with a 2 year plan, but a lower price obviously would play a factor in the end when I narrows the choices down to a few phones.

I like my Blackberry, the email worked great and effortlessly both in and out of the USA (I like to travel), but I knew that iphone and android offered a great experience with games, unique apps, entertainment and of course email and phone functions.

So I started looking at Blackberry, iPhone and Android phones and operating systems. The first thing I discovered was the the Blackberry smart phones really are a level down from iPhone and Android in terms of functionality and features, which left this fight between iPhone and Android.

The iPhone is just one phone, with Android there are about 20 worth considering, so I had to decide between iPhone or Android. The iPhone OS has a very smooth User Interface and App store has about 10 trillion apps in it, but after playing with it for a few days, I notices that the phone and applications are very rigid, and coming from a PC Windows background found it too Applely (is that really a word?).

I also felt that I wanted a iTab, but in a smaller size. The I Phone screen is nice cuz it makes for a smaller phone then some of the Andriod phones, but it doesn’t allow for choice since it is only one size.

I will say this though, the iPhone camera and video capabilities are really some of the best of all the phones I tried.

I feel like a robot

This now reduced me to having to only choose between about 20 Android based phones. So before I started looking closely at the available Android phones, I made a list of my critical features requirements:

1. Android 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich) or Android 3.3.5 (Gingerbread) with a planed update to 4.0 within 2 months

2. Larger then an iPhone – if I wanted that size, then I would get an iPhone

3. Must work in Europe and Asia

4. 4G is important, but I know I will get another phone at the end of the contract, so I can wait for 4G on my next phone. Remember, my last phone was 2G, so 3G is a big upgrade.

5. Must have WiFi

6. AMOLED screen is a must for clear photo and video viewing

7. Rear and front cameras for video calls.

8. A Dual Core Application Processor is important since that is where the real power and speed comes from for video processing and gaming

So once I had these defined, it narrowed the field down quite a bit. These are the phones that met these requirements:

• Samsung Galaxy 2s
• Samsung Galaxy 2s Skyrocket
• Samsung Galaxy Nexus
• HTC Amaze 4G
• Motorola Photon 4G
• Motorola Droid Bionic
• Motorola Atrix 2

Samsung Galaxy 2s

All the above phone are good phones, and each has their appeal, so it really came down to some very personal preference choices. Some people will like one phone better then another, so it really is down to a person choice once you narrow the field down.

In the end for me, the one I like the best was the $50.00 deal from ATT, for the Galaxy IIs.

Price versus features was the bottom line, I felt for $50 the Samsung Galaxy 2s offered all the important specs, and met all my minimum requirements for the lowest price.

I didn’t need the 4G version, and there seems to be compatibility issues with 4G in Europe – which ruled out any of the 4G phones for now. We will see what the 4G situation is in 2 year, and reevaluate.

I felt the Samsung Galaxy 2s had the best video and photo specs, and it has a planed January Andriod 4.0 update. I got a Ringbo screen protector and rubber case and I am now a Samsung Galaxy IIs phone mini tablet thingy owner.

NOTE: The photo of the Noogler, were shot with my Samsung Galaxy 2s, and I tweaked the brightness and saturation in Photoshop.

I am very happy with the Samsung Galaxy 2s, and have had no problems with it.

I did find that if you are wearing glasses, that the phone will bump up against them when holding to your ear. Not a big issue.

It is a large flat thing about a 1/4 inch thick, so it is always awkward when holding it to your head. The speaker phone and the Bluetooth work great, and those are what I use the most.

My normal use of the phone, calls, photos, video, web, GPS and games, result in a battery life of about 14 hours between charges. Enough for a day of being myself. I did try the phone with just a few phone calls, 30 minutes of game playing and taking only a couple of photos, and I got more like 30 hours before the charge was used up.

Now, hopefully it will never meet my friends the Washer and Dryer!!!

Samsung Website with all the Galaxy IIs specs and details:

http://www.samsung.com/global/microsite/galaxys2/html/

Samsung Galaxy 2s phone review: Comparing Blackberry, iPhone and Android – or How to kill a Blackberry with a washer and dryer

US Senate will vote on secret bill that allows the US military to imprison US civilians with no formal charges and hold them with no trial. Welcome to the end of America.

Early this week the Senate will vote on a bill that allows the US military to imprison US civilians with no formal charges and hold them with no trial.

Full ACLU report:

http://www.aclu.org/blog/national-security/senators-demand-military-lock-american-citizens-battlefield-they-define-being

While I understand the intent, which is to allow the US Military to capture terrorists on American soil, without the limits and burdens of the Due Process of Law as laid out in the US Constitution – I feel that in allowing that we have violated the very basic foundation of our Constitution.

I mean seriously, the US Military Intelligence machine has made mistakes in the past, and to allow them to arrest and imprison a US citizen, and leave them no protection under the law – is a crime.

I mean, what if they make a mistake, and arrest you. You will be taken away and put in a secret box some where, until the US Military decides their intelligence is wrong, and they let you free. Of course, they might feel their intelligence is right, and you sit in that box forever.

What if the some whacked out President is told by the corporations that put them in office, to use the military to clear out all the suspected terrorist of the Occupy movement protests or the Tea Party rallies, and stick them in detention indefinitely?

No, this new bill is evil and should not be passed.

US citizens wouldn’t be immune as the legislation aims to declare national territory part of  the “battlefield” in the War on Terror.

Termed the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) and drafted behind closed doors by Senators Carl Levin (D-Mich.) and John McCain (R-Ariz.) the NDAA would:

1) Explicitly authorize the federal government to indefinitely imprison without charge or trial American citizens and others picked up inside and outside the United States;

2) Mandate military detention of some civilians who would otherwise be outside of military control, including civilians picked up within the United States itself; and

3) Transfer to the Department of Defense core prosecutorial, investigative, law enforcement, penal, and custodial authority and responsibility now held by the Department of Justice.

Welcome to the new US Police State – brought to you by the National Defense Authorization Act, NDAA

Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) explained that the bill will “basically say in law for the first time that the homeland is part of the battlefield” and people can be imprisoned without charge or trial “American citizen or not.” Another supporter, Sen. Kelly Ayotte (R-N.H.) also declared that the bill is needed because “America is part of the battlefield.”

In an effort to stop the bill, Sen. Mark Udall (D-Colo.) is floating the Udall Amendment, which according to the ACLU is:

“A way for the Senate to say no to indefinite detention without charge or trial anywhere in the world where any president decides to use the military. Instead of simply going along with a bill that was drafted in secret and is being jammed through the Senate, the Udall Amendment deletes the provisions and sets up an orderly review of detention power. It tries to take the politics out and put American values back in.”

Welcome to the new US Police State - brought to you by the National Defense Authorization Act, NDAA

What you can do:

1) Leave the country, and go someplace safe, say like Switzerland.

2) Send a letter to your Sentor by using the ACLU letter:

https://secure.aclu.org/site/Advocacy?cmd=display&page=UserAction&id=3865&s_subsrc=fixNDAA

or

use www.dearpolitician.org to write your politicians and let them know that you are opposed to violating the US Constitution with the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), and will NOT vote for anyone who votes to approve this bill.

For more information on www.dearpolitician.org:

http://pusz4frog.wordpress.com/2009/10/15/dearpolitician-org/

3) Call your House of Representative and Senator, and tell them if they vote for the NDAA – that you will vote them out of office in the next election.

4) Dig a hole in your backyard, and hid in it.

5) Join a peaceful street protest against this bill.

6) Send this article on to friends, so they know their rights, freedom and liberty is going to be taken away from them with the bill.

As the insane times and the beginning of the new Dark Ages descend upon our country, I say to all my fellow country men – Good luck America!

Welcome to the new US Police State - brought to you by the National Defense Authorization Act, NDAA

Welcome to the new US Police State - brought to you by the National Defense Authorization Act, NDAA

Penn State assistant football coach Jerry Sandusky charged with 40 counts of child sex crimes.

Ah sports, the subject that can never be spoiled enough with crimes against children.

This is the shit that makes you want to give up on humanity, or at least organized sports.

Sandusky, legendary assistant coach and pillar of the community, has been charged with 40 counts of sexual abuse to boys in a scandal that has also prompted Joe Paterno’s firing and rattled the state of Pennsylvania.

This is including at least one case of Sandusky anally raping a 10-year-old boy in the Penn State football team’s locker room. F-ing SICK!!!!

The issues that seem to be bothering people:

1) Who really knew about what Sandusky was doing?

2) Did Head Coach of Penn State football, Joe Paterno really know what Sandusky was doing and he didn’t report it?

3) How many kids did Sandusky sexually molest?

4) Why didn’t anyone do something when in 1998 the first accusations surfaced?

WHO?

No, this isn’t about 84-year-old Joe Paterno not taking more steps with Jerry Sandusky that might have stopped it. It’s about everybody not taking more steps that might have stopped it. Not parents, not teachers, not uncles, not friends, not counselors. It’s about everyone.

Nobody seems to be able to explain why the chain of command at the university failed at its duties, or why Joe Paterno appears to have fallen short of the moral standards he set for Penn State when he started there 44 years ago – when he devised a concept known as the Grand Experiment that would find a way to balance big-time athletics and academics.

Nobody can explain why a school that taught us all to believe that success and honor were inexorably intertwined could have apparently put its own interests above those of abused children. Why it took five days for a sane and reasonable voice of the university – John Surma, vice chairman of the board of trustees; who stoically weathered a nationally televised press conference – to show up and apologize in something more than a published statement.

There are a lot of people who still cannot believe that Joe Paterno would have condoned such actions, and I understand their denial. There is universal outrage on behalf of the victims of these crimes, and I share in that outrage above all else.

IT’S REALLY ABOUT THE VICTIMS

If these boys really were molested, groped and raped by a middle-aged ex-Penn State football coach, then whatever misjudgment Joe Paterno made will be a single lit match compared to the bonfire these boys will walk in for years to come.

Sexually molestation victims usually are never able to trust others. They usually have big emotional barriers that prevent them from being able to truly love themselves and others.

Don’t feel sorry for Paterno. He’s had his life. Feel sorry for these boys, because they may never get one.

One reported victim in the Penn State case, now 24, has been living with that kind of hole growing inside him since he made allegations against Sandusky in 1998 — 13 years ago. Those allegations never led to charges. That’s 13 years of not being believed, of knowing his alleged perpetrator was out there, volunteering at high schools and running his grisly camp “tours” of the shower room.

According to the Harrisburg (Pa.) Patriot-News, one victim was often taken out of class by Sandusky to be further molested. He was just taken out of school by somebody who wasn’t his parent, with no questions asked until his mother finally called the principal and asked her to check into it. Later that day, the principal called back in tears. “You need to come down here right now.”

LEGACY

Well, I personally hope that if Jerry Sandusky is found guilty, that he spends the rest of his life in jail. The same if it is discovered that Joe Paterno knew about Sandusky evil and did nothing about it.

The real losers are the victims, who damage may never heal, and Penn State whose legacy now includes this scandal.

Jerry Sandusky - Joe Paterno

Penn State assistant football coach Jerry Sandusky charged with 40 counts of child sex crimes.

Porsche Design P'9981 Smartphone from BlackBerry - a $2000 'smart' phone for the 1%

I love my Blackberry, but it is getting a little long in the tooth so I have been starting to look at other phones.

What I like about Blackberry is the great email service, especially while traveling, but I don’t like the lack of technology in the phones and they tend to look like crap.

When I first saw the Porsche Design P’9981 Smartphone from BlackBerry, my first though was this was one hot phone, a real iPhone competitor.

Concerning it’s cars like the 911, thier styling has been refined over successive generations – you don’t buy a Porsche for how it looks, you buy one for how it works.

The same could be said of a BlackBerry – a favorite communications tool of businesspeople worldwide and a number of consumers like me as well – the BlackBerry is – like a Porsche – more about function than form.

Porche design has been distinguishing itself as one of the worlds best design firms, and has made severial of it’s own products that are not cars. Having already produced phones on its own, Porsche Design has long been rumored to be working on a project for Research In Motion, the Canadian company responsible for unleashing the addictive Blackberry device upon the world.

The co-branded “Porsche Design P’9981 Smartphone from BlackBerry” packs a 1.2 GHz processor, HD video camera, eight gigs of internal (expandable) memory, a QWERTY keyboard and BlackBerry 7 OS into a slick forged stainless steel case with leather back and a touch display screen. A personal concierge service is included with the P’9981, which still doesn’t make its estimated $2,000 price tag any more reasonable.

Of course, it is the kind of thing you’d expect from a style-obsesed businessman to use while he is talking to his lawyer; when he cuts you off in his new Porsche Panamera.

“Since 1972 Porsche Design has presented milestone products with iconic style, and the P’9981 smartphone from BlackBerry will be our next landmark,” said Dr. Juergen Gessler, CEO Porsche Design Group. “The pure and distinctive design, coupled with authentic materials and an emphasis on the manufacturing process, perfectly match our philosophy and complement the Porsche Design product assortment.”

Well, $2000 is a lot of money for a phone, but if you are in the 1%, it should not be a problem, right?

Porsche Design P'9981 Smartphone from BlackBerry - a $2000 'smart' phone for the 1%

Chevrolet Camaro 1LE Concept by GM at the 2011 SEMA car show in Las Vegas

Well, if you are a car fan then you know the beginning of November means that the SEMA (Specialty Equipment Market Association) car show in Las Vegas is about to unleash a bunch of customized show cars for 2012!!

This show is not for small customizers anymore, the big boys have been here for sometime now, and 2011 SEMA is no exception.

The raw SEMA photo feed is here (no photos till Nov. 1):

http://www.semadigital.com/

GM’s HOT

Chevrolet Camaro 1LE Concept by GM at the 2011 SEMA car show in Las Vegas

This year has been a good year for GM, and this has been especially true for the new Camaro. To celibrate, Chevrolet is coming to this year’s SEMA show with six hot concept Camaros and Corvette models.

They are designed to show off exactly what the owners can do with their vehicles with a little time, money, hot chicks and imagination.

There will be a number of GM concepts wearing special visual upgrades, including the Camaro Convertible Red Zone Concept, Camaro Synergy Series Concept and the Camaro 1LE Concept.

CAMARO
The Camaro 1LE Concept is oh so hot!! Die-hard Chevy fans will likely recognize the 1LE package code as a road-racing designation, and the concept isn’t a disappointment.

Along with a new rocker panels outside and a new spliter, the Camaro has a magnetic ride control suspension, special chassis bracing, a close-ratio six-speed manual gearbox, Brembo brakes and a host of bits lifted from the meaner ZL1. Those include a dual-mode exhaust, shifter and flat-bottom steering wheel, which are a welcome interior upgrade.

Speaking of the ZL1, fans of that machine will enjoy a new Camaro ZL1 Carbon Concept packed with trimmings made from the lightweight weave.

CORVETTE

Corvette Concepts by GM at the 2011 SEMA car show in Las Vegas

Corvette fans will also get a chance to take a peek at two special concepts, including a Grand Sport designed to pay tribute to 50 years of the Corvette nameplate at Carlisle and a Corvette Z06 Ron Fellows Hall of Fame tribute car.

I would love to see the Ron Fellow car raced in a NASCAR race, with big Coke logos on the side and Costco plastered all over the front.

Yeah, the Coke Costco Ron Fellows Corvette raced in NASCAR would be a dream made complete with Arnold Schwarzenegger at the flat bottom wheel!!   

Ron Fellow Corvette Concept by GM at the 2011 SEMA car show in Las Vegas

Steve Jobs died at age 56 today - the Co-Founder of Apple, Inc. and Master Technologist of Planet Earth made a significant impact on global human society.

Steve Jobs died today.

I went to the Apple home page, and all that was on it was the above black and white photo of him.

The most appropriate thing I could do was download some songs from the iTunes Store, and make a mix about him on 8Tracks.com:

http://8tracks.com/pusz4frog/my-ipod-apple-and-steve-jobs-mix

If you want his full life story, you can find it here:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steve_Jobs

Apple said in a press release that it was “deeply saddened” to announce that Mr. Jobs had passed away on Wednesday.

“Steve’s brilliance, passion and energy were the source of countless innovations that enrich and improve all of our lives,” the company said. “The world is immeasurably better because of Steve.

Master Technologist of Planet Earth
That is how I think of Steve Jobs. Yes, I do agree that the world is immeasurably better because of his vision, drive and brilliance. He truly had a significant impact on global human society by changing the way people communicate and express themselves.

I call him a Master Technologist, because what I think he was really good at was being able to see how a piece of technology would need to work/function; in order to allow modern human beings to quickly and easily apply the technology to their lives.

There were Personal Computers before the AppleIIc and Mac came along, but Apple Computers were much easier to get up and running, and apply to everyday life.
There were MP3 players before the iPod, but it was the easiest to use, look the best and was intuitive.

Cell phones had been around decades before the iPhone came out, but it was the iPhone that really gave people a small media computer that fit in your hand and could make phone calls.
It is not often that a person comes along, who is able to build a global company that produces products that change human society. Steve Jobs really lead Apple, and used the company to make his vision about products become a reality.

Giving Everything
Even though Steve Jobs stepped down from the chief executive role in late August this year, saying he could no longer fulfill his duties, and became chairman of Apple – we all knew the end was near for him.

He underwent surgery for pancreatic cancer in 2004, and received a liver transplant in 2009, and most people who get that awful disease usually live less then a year. His money and fame helped him get the treatment he needed to give him an extra 7 years of life, still we all new the end would come.

He left his wife Laurene Jobs, who he married in 1990 – and his son Reed Jobs, daughters Erin and Eve and his daughter Lisa from another marriage – most of his money.

This is due to the fact that according to Giving USA Foundation (http://www.aafrc.org/), a philanthropy research group which publishes an annual charity survey, said Jobs does not appear on lists of gifts of $5 million or more over the last four years. Nor is his name on a list of gifts of $1 million or more compiled by Indiana University’s Center on Philanthropy.

According to Forbes last year, Steve Jobs was the 136th richest man in the world, with 5.5 billion to his name. He refused to join the lineup of nearly 70 U.S. billionaires who have pledged to give away at least half their fortunes during life or at death. Facebook co-founders Mark Zuckerberg and Dustin Moskovitz are among those who have joined the philanthropic campaign led by Berkshire Hathaway‘s Warren Buffett and Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates.

For Steve jobs, giving to society was done by giving his life to his family and Apple. In 2005, he said in an interview: “That was one of the things that came out most clearly from this whole experience [with cancer]. I realized that I love my life. I really do. I’ve got the greatest family in the world, and I’ve got my work. And that’s pretty much all I do. I don’t socialize much or go to conferences. I love my family, and I love running Apple, and I love Pixar. And I get to do that. I’m very lucky.”

Legacy
Steve Jobs put his energy into massively improving quality of life with all of his inventions. People think that entrepreneurs have to some day “give back” with chairitable contributions, but this is not always the case. Steve Jobs gave at the office. Look at the entire ipod/Mac/iphone/Disney ecosystem and ask how many lives have benefited directly (because they’ve been hired) or indirectly (because they use the products to improve their quality of life). As far as I know, Jobs has never commented about his thoughts on charity. Of course, Jobs and his wife may have given enormous sums of money to charity anonymously.

History will judge us all, but no matter what you think of Steve Jobs the man, there is no doubt that Steve Jobs the Master Technologist of Planet Earth will be remembered and celebrated for a long time to come.

Steven P. Jobs, a man who gave to global human society, and changed all our lives.

Steve Jobs - Co-Founder of Apple, Inc. and Master Technologist of Planet Earth

Steve Jobs - Co-Founder of Apple, Inc. and Master Technologist of Planet Earth

Steve Jobs - Co-Founder of Apple, Inc. and Master Technologist of Planet Earth

Occupy Wall St. is spreading to a city near you - Occupytogether.org is helping to organize the Middle Class in America.

This week-end in New York City, more than 700 peaceful protesters were penned in and arrested on the Brooklyn Bridge. Additional Occupy Protests occurred in Los Angeles and Chicago, with more being planned and organized for next week.

As the song suggests, what we have here is a movement.

[See Links at the bottom of this page for more info.]

It all started with Adbusters call to Occupy Wall Street (http://www.adbusters.org/blogs/adbusters-blog/occupywallstreet.html). After that, a small group then started OccupyWallSt.org and organized more then 2 weeks ago to make it a reality. It was just a little protest that started on Wall St. to protest against the greed and corruption of the top 1% richest Americans.

From OccupyWallSt.org – “We are unions, students, teachers, veterans, first responders, families, the unemployed and underemployed. We are all races, sexes and creeds. We are the majority. We are the 99 percent. And we will no longer be silent.

As members of the 99 percent, we occupy Wall Street as a symbolic gesture of our discontent with the current economic and political climate and as an example of a better world to come.”

Just 2 Weeks Ago
The occupation started 2 weeks ago, and it was absent from the FOX/Murdock News group and many conservative news sites and blogs. Rachael Maddow from MSNBC and Bill Mahar talked about it, but much of the mainstream media did not run much on it.

Well, nothing gets people out like one of their own being arrested, and the students, moms, teachers, and others arrested this weekend are part of the 99% of the US population who don’t earn more than $1 million a year.

After this week-end, even FOX had to start reporting it:

http://www.foxnews.com/us/2011/10/01/500-arrested-after-wall-street-protest-on-nys-brooklyn-bridge/?test=latestnews

http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/10/01/police-arresting-protesters-on-brooklyn-bridge/?hp

http://www.businessinsider.com/occupy-wall-street-400-arrests-on-the-brooklyn-bridge-2011-10

It All Started with Tea
The Tea Party started it, but I think Occupy will finish it. The Government (and the banks who have bought the politicians) is not happy about this Occupy movement. First, they refused them access to Wall Street, and stuck them in a park (Zuccotti Park). So, where are the constitutional Tea Party members now? They are supposed to be zealots when it comes to the constitution, yet I can’t find much from them about the arrests in New York.

The worst thing you can do is arrest people for protesting. Nixon fenced in the area across from the White House and illegally detained thousands. That did not work out so well for him; and in Chicago they thought they could beat and jail kids and shoot some in Ohio – none of which worked out well for the government. To quote the patriots from the days of Chicago – “the whole world is watching”.

The real news of Occupytogether.org is that the organizers really know how to work Social Media and are becoming very inventive at organizing peaceful protests. They are very good at getting their message out, and my bet is that the whole world will be watching, following and starting their own Occupy protests.

Fear Not…
It is the government’s and the wealthy’s worst fear – the poor and the middle class protesting about income inequality and the corruption of the government.

The preliminary declaration of the occupation listing some of the grievance is posted at www.nycga.cc

On the site; I found ideas are being discussed for solutions to the problems listed. The process of creating the specific demands from solution ideas seems to be a Democratic Consensus via the websites forum. A Greek forum, but accessible by the whole planet and it seems to be organized very well in order to keep traditional politics out.

On the NYC live streaming video and chat, discussion about issues is encouraged, but partisan comments (specific parties and politicians) results in a swift boot out of the discussion. The site states that “moderators do not allow partisan comments or any incitement to violence, but ideas are welcome.”

See live video when available, and reruns other times at:

http://www.livestream.com/globalrevolution

I believe one reason Occupy has snowballed is because they have been successful in keeping any special interest group from taking control of the site and organization. Their parliamentary procedures are impeccable – it is a truly Democratic decision-making process in how the organization and protests are organized and run. It makes people feel that their voice is being heard, not just in the streets, but in the organization as well.

So What’s IT really about?
The biggest issue facing the Occupy movement is the lack of a clear and coherent message, but that is not stopped similar efforts from popping up elsewhere in the United States. There are 34 organizations supporting Occupy movement currently.

The Boston Occupy website, (http://occupyboston.com/) lists many groups from unions to ethnic organizations to activist groups focused; on everything from foreclosure prevention to climate change to justice-related issues. The Boston Occupy, which held a festival and march Friday and Saturday and has targeted Bank of America in recent weeks and states on its website that its aim is to “stop their greed,” “fight for an economy that works for all of us” and “build cities that are democratic, just and sustainable.”

Occupy Chicago (http://occupychi.org/) for instance, entered its 10th day on Sunday, has a simple statement as its mission, “Occupy Chicago is here to fight corporate abuse of American democracy in solidarity with our brothers and sisters around the world.”

The website of Seattle demonstrators (http://www.occupyseattle.org/) describes the nationwide Occupy movement as “a leaderless resistance movement with people of many colors, genders and political persuasions.”

An additional statement on the Seattle site quotes the New York Occupy site in referring to the sharp divide between the wealthiest Americans and the rest of society, “The one thing we all have in common is that We Are The 99% that will no longer tolerate the greed and corruption of the 1%,”

It is this message that really started it all, and if the movement is to quickly get stronger, their democratic and parliamentarian process taking place on their websites of defining the movements message – had better hurry up before the movement goes beyond the message.

So far, from what I can gather, the Occupy Movement is protesting about:

* The income discrepancy between the top 1% of Americans, and everyone else.
* Home foreclosures
* High Unemployment
* 2008 Bank bailouts
* Corporate greed
* Government corruption
* Money spent on our wars

The Solution
The other big issue facing the Occupy Movement is the fact that they have not developed any solutions that they are pushing for. I can’t find any information on their sites that offer solutions to the issues/problems that they are protesting.

In order to get more people to join the movement and make it more mainstream, they are going to have to do the following:

1) Clearly define what they are protesting about, and get it down to a simple clear statement. Protesting about greed is not enough; it has to be more specific.

2) Make their message unified on all the Occupy websites and Social Media platforms

3) Once the Mission statement is clearly defined, they need to define a solution – a solution that they are protesting for, and who needs to make it happen

4) They need to do these things quickly before the movement looses focus, which will cause it to loose its energy.

The Occupy Wall Street site announced this morning that they unanimously voted it’s first official document for release, a declaration of why they are doing what they are doing:
http://nycga.cc/2011/09/30/declaration-of-the-occupation-of-new-york-city/

It is a start. The site also declared that they are working on three more documents, that will likely be released in the upcoming days:

1) A declaration of demands.
2) Principles of Solidarity
3) Documentation on how to form your own Direct Democracy Occupation Group. This will be a living document.

Living In America
Things in America and the World are getting worse as populations increase and resources decrease. This is our future, and we as a people are going to have to deal with these facts and issues.

If done properly, this can be a peaceful process that can transform our society and government for the better – which is the hope I have, and is hopefully something that can become a reality.

Wake up America, it is time to do what our forefathers have done, and improve the system that they set-up for us.

For more information:

Occupy Wall Street Websites:
https://occupywallst.org/  - Mainsite
https://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=144937025580428 – Facebook
https://twitter.com/#!/OccupyWallSt – Twitter

Occupy Movement Websites:
https://occupytogether.org/  - Main Site
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Occupy_Wall_Street – Wikipedia page
http://www.adbusters.org/campaigns/occupywallstreet – Original Adbusters site
http://www.livestream.com/globalrevolution – Live video streams
http://wearethe99percent.tumblr.com/ – Photos

Occupy Movement City Websites:
http://nycga.cc/  - New York City
http://occupychi.org/ – Chicago
http://www.occupyseattle.org/ – Seattle
http://occupyboston.com/ – Boston
http://occupylosangeles.org/ – Los Angeles

Good Luck America!!

Occupy Wall St. is spreading to a city near you - Occupytogether.org is helping to organize the Middle Class in America.

Occupy Wall St. is spreading to a city near you - Occupytogether.org is helping to organize the Middle Class in America.

Occupy Wall St. is spreading to a city near you - Occupytogether.org is helping to organize the Middle Class in America.

Get the money out of politics with GetMoneyOut.com Part II – The constitutional amendment and how to make it a reality.

The article I published earlier this week, got a lot of comments and exposure, it was a nice little emotional rant that made me feel better (calling politicians “Whores”, is a great way to release all the anger that their political incompetence generates):

http://pusz4frog.wordpress.com/2011/09/27/get-the-money-out-of-politics-with-getmoneyout-com-dylan-ratigan-tries-to-do-something-to-get-money-out-of-politics-and-solve-the-us-politician-whore-crisis/

More importantly to me, my friends and family have devoted a lot of time discussing this issue and the proposed Constitutional Amendment that Dylan Ratigan’s www.GetMoneyOut.com website is proposing.

If you haven’t gone to the site and registered, click here : www.GetMoneyOut.com

The GetMoneyOut.com site is trying to sign up as many people as possible for support for the following Constitutional Amendment:

“No person, corporation or business entity of any type, domestic or foreign, shall be allowed to contribute money, directly or indirectly, to any candidate for Federal office or to contribute money on behalf of or opposed to any type of campaign for Federal office. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, campaign contributions to candidates for Federal office shall not constitute speech of any kind as guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution or any amendment to the U. S. Constitution. Congress shall set forth a federal holiday for the purposes of voting for candidates for Federal office.”

The Best Idea?
For sure, the idea of a constitutional amendment to the constitution that will get the money out of politics is much needed, and who’s time has come.

The fact that a politicians vote can be bought with a large enough campaign contribution is simply bribery, prostitution and a treasonous crime against America – all rolled up in one act.

The discussion among friends and family was NOT about the need, but about the proposed amendment itself.

So let’s take a closer look at it, sentence by sentence:
“No person, corporation or business entity of any type, domestic or foreign, shall be allowed to contribute money, directly or indirectly, to any candidate for Federal office or to contribute money on behalf of or opposed to any type of campaign for Federal office.”

No one seems to have an issue with this, but the first question is – How do the candidates run for office? What about Federal Election Funds? What about free TV and media exposure/time?

The real question here is: Where will the money go?

Getting the money out of the election is critical, but the key to making this work will be adding something about special interest groups and lobbyists.

Therefore, I propose the following changes to the first sentence of the proposed GetMoneyOut.com Constitutional Amendment:

“No person, corporation or business entity of any type, domestic or foreign, shall be allowed to contribute money, directly or indirectly, to any candidate for Federal office or to contribute money on behalf of or opposed to any type of campaign for Federal office, except for those funds given to the candidates by the Federal Election Commission public campaign fund.”

I would add the following sentence to deal with the lobbyists and Special Interest groups:

“Neither elected Federal Public officials, nor are their spouses allowed to accept any gifts or money from no person, corporation or business entity of any type, domestic or foreign while holding public office, except for the US government salary for that office. Any income other then the US Government salary must be declared, and given to the FEC public election fund.”

The above will make public office, a real service to the country, since you or your spouse will not be allowed to earn any money outside your government income. This would limit the ability of lobbyists and PAC’s to buy politicians while they are in office.

Next I would add this sentence to the GetMoneyOut.com Constitutional Amendment:

“Any member, employee, staff, or volunteer of PAC’s, SuperPAC, or Lobby groups are forbidden to have direct personal communication with Federally elected officials, nor are they allowed to advertise on behalf of any person running for Federal office.”

No Problem
The next part of the GetMoneyOut.com Constitutional Amendment says:

“Notwithstanding any other provision of law, campaign contributions to candidates for Federal office shall not constitute speech of any kind as guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution or any amendment to the U. S. Constitution.”

No one seems to have any issue with this, or any thing to add. It is needed to make the first part of the amendment legal.

Every Day is a Holiday
The last part of the GetMoneyOut.com Constitutional Amendment says”

“Congress shall set forth a federal holiday for the purposes of voting for candidates for Federal office.”

This actually seems to provoke a lot of discussion, with many of the people saying it is not necessary.

It would also be hard to enforce, and may actually reduce voting turn out since people will use the day for holiday or leaving town. Better to simply make the voting day on a Saturday, in which most people don’t work.

I propose adding that, to the last line.

So, in summary, I would like the GetMoneyOut.com Constitutional Amendment to look like this:

“No person, corporation or business entity of any type, domestic or foreign, shall be allowed to contribute money, directly or indirectly, to any candidate for Federal office or to contribute money on behalf of or opposed to any type of campaign for Federal office, except for those funds given to the candidates by the Federal Election Commission public campaign fund.

Neither elected Federal Public officials, nor are their spouses are allowed to accept any gifts or money from any person, corporation or business entity of any type, domestic or foreign while holding public office, except for the US government salary given for that office.

Any income other then the US Government salary must be declared, and given to the FEC public election fund. Any member, employee, staff, or volunteer of PAC’s, SuperPAC, or Lobby groups are forbidden to have direct personal communication with Federally elected officials while in office, nor are they allowed to advertise on any medium on behalf of any person running for Federal office.

Congress shall set the day of any Federal Election for that of any Saturday of any given week or month, for the purposes of voting for candidates for Federal office.”

Ring the Bell
If you agree with my changed to the GetMoneyOut.com Constitutional Amendment, then let Dylan Ratigan know it by:

Emailing him at:

teamdylaninbox@gmail.com

Tweet him at:

http://twitter.com/#!/DylanRatigan

Message him at:

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/32692484/ns/msnbc_tv-morning_meeting#.ToTLUlmO6Zw

Facebook him at:

http://www.facebook.com/DylanMSNBC

Contact government officials at:

http://www.usa.gov/Contact/Elected.shtml

or

http://www.dearpolitician.org/a_new_voice.php

Good Luck America…

Get the money out of politics with GetMoneyOut.com Part II – The constitutional amendment and how to make it a reality.