Scott Bradford: Off on a Tangent

The DISCLOSE Act

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Back in January, to everybody’s surprise, the United States Supreme Court ruled that “Congress shall make no law . . . abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press,” means that “Congress shall make no law . . . abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press.” I never saw that coming; the Court actually read the Constitution and made a ruling based on what it actually says.

Regardless, our current Congress and president didn’t like this ruling since the laws it overturned were laws that benefited their special interest groups at the expense of groups that supported their political opposition. As such, our government has been working on crafting new laws to “abridge the freedom of speech, or of the press” until the Supreme Court can overturn them too, or until we amend the Constitution to actually allow these things.

Up for debate very soon will be the DISCLOSE Act, which is intended to re-muzzle those ‘peaceable assemblies’ (hm, also mentioned in the First Amendment) that were recently un-muzzled by the Court. This act, if passed, will have a dangerous chilling effect on speech by political groups, left and right. This act doesn’t protect our political liberty, it destroys it (again).

Interest groups, of course, are made up of people who willingly support those groups with their time and money. They aren’t some diabolical, nebulous enemy of our democracy; they are democracy. We have a right to support political interest groups and those groups, representing their members and supporters, have a right to engage in pretty-much unrestricted political speech.

Those of us who still want and enjoy our political liberties must oppose this bill. We also must oppose the back-room deals being made between Congress and certain large groups, like the National Rifle Association (NRA), to exempt them from the law in order to buy their silence. This is the same-old ‘politics as usual’ that President Barack Obama (D) campaigned against and, most perplexing, it benefits the large lobbying groups the president decries at the expense of the small, grass-roots organizations across the political spectrum that are the lifeblood of our republic.

Editorial Note: I am a member and regular supporter of the National Rifle Association (NRA). The views expressed in this piece are mine and mine alone and do not necessarily reflect the official positions of the NRA.

Three Random Photos

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Just a few random photos to fill the space as I try to get back into posting more regularly :-). First, the stage setup from before the Conan O’Brien show at DAR Constitution Hall in Washington, DC, last week. Second, a Honda Odyssey with an ‘Aston Martin of Tysons’ bumper plate (I thought it was pretty a funny juxtaposition). Finally, our two cats secretly liking each other. Shh, don’t tell anybody.

Revisiting the American Auto Industry

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In July 2007, I wrote an epic piece titled Fixing the American Auto Industry. In it, I reviewed the state of affairs at Chrysler, Ford, and General Motors (GM) at the time, how they got where they were, and what I felt they needed to do to get back on track. Reading it today, I stand by the vast majority of what I said. I am also sad to say that my dire predictions have essentially come true:

 . . . With imagination and guts, the leadership of these venerable corporations can ensure their survival and even regain a leadership position in the industry. If Apple Computer could come back from the brink of bankruptcy to become the computer, music, and electronics leader it is today, the ‘big three’ can orchestrate a similar turnaround.

But it will not be easy, and for that reason I am not convinced that each of the ‘big three’ will still exist in ten years’ time. If I were to hazard a guess, at least one of them will either slide into bankruptcy or be bought-out by a competitor (if they can find any value in it) within the next decade. But I am very optimistic that at least one of them will survive, and that they will do so by implementing some or all of the recommendations I have made in this document—cutting abusive UAW contracts out of their financial equations, improving product quality and value, and being innovative rather than reactive.

All-in-all, I wasn’t all that surprised when two-thirds of the ‘big three’ went bankrupt (Chrysler and GM). Nor was I surprised that one of the ‘big three’ is still surviving and doing pretty well in the market (Ford). That’s basically what I said would happen; though I was a bit surprised at how quickly things fell apart for Chrysler and GM.

I certainly didn’t predict everything though. Fresh off of ‘going private’ under the leadership of Cerberus Capital Management, I would have expected in 2007 that Chrysler would be in the best position to turn itself around. Less than two years later, Chrysler was a bankrupt shell of a company jointly owned by the United States government and Italian automaker Fiat. I am thoroughly disappointed in Cerberus; they had a great opportunity and missed it. I’m also surprised that Ford was able to survive and, indeed, do very well for itself without breaking the UAW union or eliminating a large portion of their dealerships.

Read more . . .

WebOS App/Patch Roll-Call

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If you read my in-depth review of the Palm Pre Plus back in February, you know that I love Palm’s WebOS operating system. The phone itself, hardware wise, is fine but nothing incredible . . . but the usability and flexibility of the OS more than makes up for it. I find it far easier to use than the Android-based competition, and it’s both easier and more powerful than Apple’s iPhone OS (now re-christened iOS). Imagine an iPhone without the idiotic limitations and restrictions (and on a better network), and you have Palm’s WebOS. Imagine Android’s openness and flexibility but arranged in a way that you can actually use it, and you have Palm’s WebOS.

However, WebOS does have its limitations and its little usability annoyances. This is where apps and patches come in. With the addition of a handful of excellent apps from the official Palm App Catalog and some patches from the unofficial PreWare universe, your Palm phone can be even more awesome than it was from the factory. Here are the key apps and patches I’m using on my Pre Plus. Most of them will work on any of the other Palm phones too, like the original Pre and the Pixi/Pixi Plus.

Read more . . .

Scott Bradford is a writer and technologist who has been putting his opinions online since 1995. He believes in three inviolable human rights: life, liberty, and property. He is a Catholic Christian who worships the trinitarian God described in the Nicene Creed. Scott is a husband, nerd, pet lover, and AMC/Jeep enthusiast with a B.S. degree in public administration from George Mason University.