Just How Dumb Is Congress?
WiFi Bill Proves They're About as Sharp as a Sack of Wet Mice
Posted by Ken Wheaton
Not to be outdone by Senator Ted Stevens ranting on about how the Internet is a series of tubes, the House of Representatives decided they'd prove how utterly clueless they are about how the web, WiFi and the world work.
According to C-Net: "The U.S. House of Representatives on Wednesday overwhelmingly approved a bill saying that anyone offering an open Wi-Fi connection to the public must report illegal images including 'obscene' cartoons and drawings--or face fines of up to $300,000. ... That broad definition would cover individuals, coffee shops, libraries, hotels, and even some government agencies that provide Wi-Fi. It also sweeps in social-networking sites, domain name registrars, Internet service providers, and e-mail service providers such as Hotmail and Gmail, and it may require that the complete contents of the user's account be retained for subsequent police inspection."
There was no Democratic opposition and only two Republicans voted against it. And yet the braintrust in the House can't figure out why it's approval rating is lower than those of both George W. Bush AND the war.
In the immortal words of Mark Twain: "Suppose you were an idiot. And suppose you were a member of Congress. But I repeat myself."
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Drudge Report Goes Mobile
Posted by Stephen Wellman
http://www.informationweek.com/blog/main/archives/2007/12/drudge_report_g.html
Another sign that the mobile Web is really going mainstream: The Drudge Report now has a mobile Web site. What's next?
Matt Drudge, ur-blogger and meta-aggregator of the Web, has launched a mobile version of his popular site, Drudge Report, called iDrudge Report. This is yet another indicator that the mobile Web is becoming a mainstream part of people's online lives.
The Drudge Report has been notable as an online trend setter. Started in 1996, Matt Drudge initially distributed his Report as an e-mail newsletter. He first launched his site in 1997 as a supplement to the e-newsletter, but Drudge eventually stopped the e-mail version and published exclusively through the site.
The Drudge Report has been credited with setting or accelerating numerous online media trends, including online content aggregation and blogging.
Is Drudge's new mobile site a sign of the times? What do you think?
