I Hate Linux

Predicament

2009-10-05T20:23:00.001-07:00

Despite being raised in the Democratic People's Republic of Minnesota and disliking almost everything about it... I still find myself listening to Garage Logic (one of the few redeeming products/exports (aside from scotch tape))... I still tend to root for the Vikings and Twins as I've not found new teams to root for.

While working on some coding this evening I've had the Vikings vs Packers game on and honestly in a predicament... do I root for the hated Packers... or for the 'hometown' Vikings who so easily gave into the demands of the drama queen that is Brent Favre.

Either way... it's been some good football... well except for all of the TV breaks which completely ruin the flow of the game. Oh how I miss attending college football games where the outcome is more or less pre-determined (massive loss).

One more reason to distrust Jay Inslee

2009-10-05T14:40:00.001-07:00

Today I received what amounted to a bulk email from my congressmen Jay Inslee which attempted to answer a question I wrote down at one of the town hall meetings back in August... unfortunately his office conveniently ignored my question and opted instead to address one that is tangentially related.

That's not the problem.

I hit Reply in Outlook, typed a response, clicked send... and got a nice little bounce back a moment later which said:

Please do not respond to this message. This is an auto-response to notify you that this email address is no longer active and you can send your message at my "web form" message system which can be found at: http://www.house.gov/inslee/contact/. This email address has been closed because an overwhelming amount of spam messages and comments with non-standardized sender information have made it a less effective means of hearing from and responding to constituents.

To ensure that all constituent comments are received and are responded to, and as the rest of Washington's House delegation has been doing for some time, Congressman Inslee is operating a more commonly-used web-based system to receive messages.

Congressman Inslee both needs and welcomes your thoughts. As email correspondence to Congressional offices has more than doubled in the past five years, the web-based message system is a way to improve the accuracy and timeliness with which your comments are viewed and replied to by Congressman Inslee. Thank you for your understanding.

Again, your comments can be sent at any time to Congressman Inslee through the following link: http://www.house.gov/inslee/contact/

Not being a big fan of web forms as they don't offer the same kind of paper trail (for me) as email, I went looking for another email address that I saw in his bulk email which ended with

DISCLAIMER I cannot guarantee the integrity of the text of this letter if it was not sent to you directly from my Congressional Email Account: wa01ima@mail.house.gov. If you have any questions about the validity of this message, please email me at: Jay.Inslee@mail.house.gov or call my Washington, DC office at: 202-225-6311. If you would like to be removed from my email update list, please email me your name and address at: Jay.Inslee@mail.house.gov and type "REMOVE" in the subject line.

With this new address in hand (one he also mentioned at the town hall meetings), created a new reply, and a couple of copy and paste jobs later later clicked send... only to get another bounce with the same text as above... but from the same address as the first.

That's right... the Congressmen and his office are giving out an email address that doesn't work. Rather than allowing his constituents to use a communication medium that most are well accustomed to, are forced to use a web form with a broken tab order (Issue comes after Zip, not the check box) and asks for more information that I should have to specify to reply to an email which has all of the same information.

Way to go Jay!

See ya in Rio!

2009-10-02T14:59:00.001-07:00

Given the recent failure of President Obama to secure the 2016 Summer Olympics for his home town of Chicago and the growing realization that the President is not as competent as people once thought, after seeing this image on the New York Times website, only one thing could be done with it:

I knew I heard it before...

2009-09-23T23:04:00.001-07:00

For the second time this evening I saw the following commercial:

Both times the tone was very similar to something I'd read several times before... then I remembered the quote:

"The John Galt Plan," Wesley Mouch was saying, "will reconcile all conflicts. It will protect the property of the rich and give a greater share to the poor. It will cut down the burden of your taxes and provide you with more government benefits. It will lower prices and raise wages. It will give more freedom to the individual and strengthen the bonds of collective obligations. It will combine the efficiency of free enterprise with the generosity of a planned economy." - Ayn Rand, Atlas Shrugged, p1124

This is by no means the first time I've heard words from this Administration or it's supporters that could have just as easily have been spoken by the looters or moochers in Atlas Shrugged... and somehow I doubt it will be the last.

Most moronic bumper sticker EVER!

2009-09-11T20:23:00.001-07:00

A few years back Channel 9 had a video about "sensecam", a device that one could wear from their neck and which would take periodic pictures of your day so as to augment your memory of what you saw/encountered through the day.

I want the same thing.. but in a high-resolution form, and for my car as last weekend I saw three things that were not only shocking, but almost unbelievable, especially considering I was not able to take photos of any.

The first... while driving through Bellevue saw a Sears store to my left with a large banner which said "Now Hiring"... while on my right was a couple sitting on a street corner with a cardboard sign asking for handouts due to their prolonged unemployment.

The third, was a woman with a poorly wrapped leg that tried to portray the appearance of being in a cast but was an obvious DIY job, sitting atop of one of two overturned Target shopping carts (1/4th of a mile from the nearest Target) and a cardboard sign that said something to the effect of "Hurt leg, can't work"

In both cases... no "god bless" was to be seen.

The biggest reason though that I want this technology was something I saw while on a freeway, it was a bumper sticker on the back of a minivan I passed which said:

1-20-08

THE END OF AN ERROR

It was a sight that I had to read several times to make sure I was reading right... as if my eyes were deceiving me, and then saw me fumbling around to see if I had my digital camera at hand (I didn't and my cell phone came could not have taken the photo well enough to be reprinted).

In shock I made a couple of quick calls to relay what I'd seen.

When tdaxp returned my call later in the evening I relayed this bumper sticker and he was silent for a full 7 seconds before bursting into uncontrollable laughter which lasted for a full 30 more seconds, only to be followed by another 60 seconds of trying to talk but unable to due to continued laughter.

Me thinks I need to go have a chat with some of the Research folks to see if this kind of technology might be part of a 2010 or 2011 Ford... if so, I may just have to buy a new car much earlier than I'd planned.

Explanation:

For those who still do not understand the meaningfulness of this bumper sticker... a number of people who were eagerly looking forward to the Bush administration and the swearing in of any other President looked forward to 1-20-09... however this sticker was assuming that all would be grand a full year earlier and indicates that not only was the driver of the vehicle a complete and utter moron (assuming they were the one who attached it to the vehicle (which given some of the other bumper stickers, isn't fairly likely))... but so to was whatever store sold them the sticker as well as whatever manufacturer printed the sticker and other persons involved in it's approval.

Granted... this idiocy may be limited to the driver of the vehicle who placed a custom order for it online (which I can only hope for so as to reduce the circle of stupidity).

Interestingly... this van owner was not the only person to make this mistake:

Agreed... the above are just a small number of people who goofed on various web forums. That does not in anyway reduce the stupidity of those involved in the creation and use of a bumper sticker with the wrong date.

"Speaking truth to power"?

2009-09-09T19:47:00.001-07:00

A few weeks back I wrote about my cowardly and disingenuous Congressman Jay Inslee and his lie of omission that illegal aliens would not be covered under the current health 'insurance' reform being considered in congress.

While I certainly can sympathize with the President and having his Congressional Address momentarily interrupted by a heckler... when one is going to go out of their way to call someone a liar while not being honest themselves... even then civility has it's limits, even when it is later apologized for.

One wonders if the likes of Pelosi and others will apologize for their likening some town hall goers to Nazis, racists, Astroturf, evil-mongers, gun-toting, angry mobsters.

Ok... maybe that last one is true:

h/t to Gateway Pundit via HotAir.

Seattle area oddities – the homeless

2009-09-05T20:33:00.001-07:00

Since moving out to Redmond last year I’ve encountered countless oddities that were quite different than what I’d come to know in South Dakota and Minnesota... a few weeks back I finally put words to something that I'd not been able to quite explain... the homeless and other beggars here are not of the sort I've seen in past.

Despite being raised Catholic (and still technically caucusing with them for cultural and family reasons)... I am not a God fearing man... the same it seems can be said for the homeless/beggars around here... or their intended audience.

Over the years I always found it... interesting when the majority of street/exit side beggars would end their cardboard sign with the words “god bless”... it occurred to not long before writing this post (but several weeks before posting it I fear) that since moving to Redmond, I’ve not seen a single sign that ends that way.

Does this mean that the homeless/beggars are not particularly religious themselves... or they believe that such words might turn off potential donors?

Truly I am no longer in Kansas, Madison, or Sioux Falls anymore.

And this all being said by a non-religious, non-God-fearing but still (most) religion respecting guy.

"Wild" Bill Janklow Sues Dell?!?!?

2009-09-03T21:19:00.001-07:00

I've got another political post in the queue... but I had to post this first after hearing about it while chatting with tdaxp on the phone this afternoon while waiting for the ferry.

Former South Dakota Governor, Congressmen (at large) and convicted manslaughter(-er?) Bill Janklow has recently decided to sue Dell over some tech support issues.

While I voted against him every chance I could (granted only once)... watching the following video I am reminded of part of why I voted against him when I lived there and why I was so anti-him the rest of the time.

While I agree with him in principal with regards to his case... his presentation and... rather whiney/nasal attitude... doesn't instill much sympathy in me, watch for yourself:

Don't get me wrong... he did some good things for the state... reintroduction of the death penalty, massive wiring of the schools (K-12 and higher ed), helping to bring various banks into the state (most notably Citibank), reduce the damages required to make a crime a felony ($500 IIRC), not to mention serving as a joke for citizens and former residents well beyond his time in office.

Granted... I am semi-biased in all of this because I had a couple of email arguments with him when I was a student in the state (yes.. that is the sort of State that South Dakota is and that was the sort of Governor Bill Janklow was (I really wish I still had those emails))... hell, I even got to shake his hand once and ask him a question regarding state law (~3-4 weeks into my freshmen year of college no less).

Of course he did top it all off with a big ole middle finger to the state of South Dakota (after his conviction and subsequent joke of a sentence (100 days for a man's life)) when he agreed to represent the Mayo Clinic (in Minnesota) against the DM&E railroad expansion in the area (of the Clinic specifically)... a campaign that was eventually joined by Tom Daschle (a man who also had a reason to be angry with South Dakota (we did after all run him out of office the same way that Harry Reid will be in 2010).

</RANT>

On an unrelated note... oh how I hate you Kelo... I always refused to watch you simply because of your labeling of the area as "Keloland" rather than something more generally acceptable as "Sioux Empire"... and that despite the fact that my aunt used to work for you as an on air personality!

</RANT4Real>

... what can I say? South Dakota is a rocking place and I miss it greatly... and a place I expect to see this fall and taunt (and hopefully take home) some deer within.

Photos from the Jay Inslee town hall (8/30/2009)

2009-08-31T09:22:00.001-07:00

Do note the box sitting on top of the garbage next to the bench on the left... we'll come back to that later:

Planned Parenthood was there as well... complete with pink shirts (shame it's not my color):

Hand outs about the bill, unfortunately they aren't the most accurate given they to make the false claim that illegal's will not be covered under the plan:

Those with questions were asked to write their name and city on a peice on a card and put it into one of 3 boxes... Agree, Undecided, and Disagree... only the bulk of the questions on Sunday seemed to be more of the Agree sort... but they claimed to be drawing from all of the boxes equally:

~1 hour to go:

The beginnings of our conservative section:

"Make no mistake... let me be clear... I am not paid to be here":

The above gentlemen wasn't the only one sporting an Obama 2008 shirt:

If it is now fair to use Ted Kennedy's memory to push this bill... is it also not fair to push back and remind people of his actual history?

Fox News was also not a popular group:

This woman wanted to go beyond HR 3200, all the way to actual universal healthcare (as proposed under HR 676)

Despite the box out front, not as many pink shirts were seen within:

This was by far my favorite sign, but not because of the front...

But the back:

"This signs was made by two seniors from garage stuff"... I think it's safe to say that he is a garage logician.

About 15 minutes before the go official starting time, we saw a start of a parade around the room of various people holding their signs, and in all cases getting various reactions from the crowds.

Another sort of professional sign we saw more of on Saturday than Sunday:

Below is by far the sign that got me going the most... (and I'm still kicking myself for not getting a good shot of it)... it said "I (heart) socialism & communism too":

Oddly enough this man's sign was a converted sign for Dino Rossi (two time GOP candidate for Governor of Washington)... which on the other side said something to the effect of "Have you no shame Republicans?"

We even had a couple of SEIU members join us:

Standing room only midway through:

Socialist Alternative... .ORG?

While leaving I noticed something strange sitting upon the trash can:

What is it? The very box that likely the bulk of the "Health Care for America NOW" signs came in, all 41 lbs of them that fit in this first (of 2) boxes:

Who is Health Care for America NOW? A quick read of their About Us page indicates that:

Our Steering Committee includes: ACORN, AFL-CIO, AFSCME, AFT, Americans United for Change, Campaign for America’s Future, Center for American Progress Action Fund, Campaign for Community Change, Children’s Defense Fund Action Council, Communications Workers of America, International Union, United Automobile, Aerospace & Agricultural Implement Workers of America (UAW), MoveOn.org, NAACP, National Council of La Raza, National Education Association, National Women’s Law Center, SEIU, UFCW, USAction, Women's Voices, Women's Vote and Working America.

What's even better... is that it appeared that the person who brought this box (though different than who it was addressed to (who appears to be a rather prolific protester/organizer in the area)) was the same person who was responsible for the "Single Payer Now" banner which was being taken down as I photographed this trash.

For all of the photos, see the Flickr set.

Jay Inslee Town Halls

2009-08-31T08:36:00.001-07:00

As mentioned yesterday, I had the 'pleasure' of attending both of Jay Inslee's town halls this weekend, the first in Poulsbo and the second in Edmonds.

While the first I was surrounded entirely by supporters of the bill (a couple of whom refused to listen to anyone who had anything unkind to say about such a program, despite they being the ones who engaged me), I did find a couple of others who were willing to talk and listen... even one gentlemen who commented:

It's a shame that those who are so against the bill don't say anything about an alternative

I agreed, but added:

I can tell you how to fix the bulk of the problem in 5 minutes, problem is most of the slogans based on it don't generally fit well on a sign. If I hold a sign that says "Support inter-state commerce" or "make all healthcare tax free"... it's neither catchy nor understandable without a minute or two of explanation.

He was intrigued and asked me to explain... so I did. I talked to him about the need to make all health care (both insurance and out of pocket expenses) tax deductable or none at all and how that gives employers and Flex spending accounts an unfair advantage... as well as the competitive advantages of opening up the health insurance market to allow plans to be purchased from out of state.

#2 though was a far better experience (despite getting through fewer questions and seeming to have a more hostile crowed towards liberty) where not moments after finding my seat in the bleachers of the gym and getting off the phone with tdaxp after describing some of the interesting attempts at 'grass-rooting' from the other side that I saw walking in to the town hall I had a woman a few rows below me turn and ask:

"Who are you with?"
"No one, it's just me" I responded.
"I mean, you've got a lot of equipment there, are you a reporter? Or blogger?" noting my netbook, digital camera and itty bitty flash camcorder.
I laughed and said "While I do blog from time to time, occasionally politically... I'm just here as another angry constituent."

Since moving out here probably the most important thing I've learned... is it's best to be reserved with regards to ones political views until you know how the other side stands... because if you aren't careful you may just find yourself talking to a rabid communist, socialist or statist... of which the Seattle area has many.

We started chatting from afar... and I ended up moving down to chat more face to face, eventually I learned that she was a recently laid of nurse who was a conservative and opposed the current bill... so 2 out of 3 isn't bad.

A short time later later a couple of elderly people who turned out to be conservative came and sat down next to her, of course we didn't know it at first and expressed curiosity in their sign... and approved.

As the gym continued to fill another elderly couple came and sat down next to me to the left, we briefly got a chatting about the weather and other such trivialities when they looked closer at the signs in front of us (anti-bill) and didn't feel comfortable remaining... so moved elsewhere.

Shortly later another elderly couple sat in the same place and those in front of me and I laughed and said "you know, the people who sat there last weren't too happy with some of these signs... you may want to take a quick look to see if you want to sit near us."

They looked, they laughed, agreed with them and stayed.

To the right of me eventually found another semi-elderly couple, a woman and her husband who turned out to be a mixed marriage, she a democrat (of the Regan sort), and he a staunch conservative... though both were against the bill... and she even mentioned that she voted for McCain back in November.

Eventually three more anti-bill people found their way to the row behind me, a mother and her adult son (~20) and another man.

It was strange... while a few were well dressed and my looking like a crazy hippy who would be expected to support the bill(something mentioned to me several times over the weekend)... no one had any swastikas, assault rifles, Astroturph or pay stubs from the lobbyists funding us to be there... and yet we all managed to find each other (thankfully).

Because of that... the strength in numbers and reminder that we are not alone in this fight (even if just a sub section) gave us a better voice when the congressmen would pat himself on the back while delaying his answer to a question... or worse filibuster for 5 minutes to a simple question that was limited to 60 seconds.

Another neat thing about finding some like minded people, was that it gave me the opportunity to get up and run around the gym for a few minutes taking some additional pictures while having them momentarily watch my stuff.

Why couldn't I trust some bill supporters to do the same? Call me crazy, but if you are so hell bent on raising my taxes to pay for things like universal healthcare, cash for clunkers, the stimulus bill (and all of it's pork), nationalizing banks and auto companies or other complete wastes of money... I just can't trust you with my physical property either unless I'm fairly sure that you aren't going to try to redistribute it.

A number of photos I took from Sunday's event can be seen here.

Congressmen Jay Inslee: Liar, or blatant incompetent?

2009-08-30T18:43:00.001-07:00

Yesterday I had the... 'pleasure' of attending the first of two town hall meetings on universal healthcare.. I mean national health care, wait no, health care reform... no... now it's health insurance reform.

To restart... yesterday I had the... 'pleasure' of attending the first of two town hall meetings on health insurance reform and HR 3200 as is being negotiated and re-written in Washington DC at present.

While there I came with a camera in hand to document events, but also to see if the arguments of the congressmen had changed at all since his pair of telephone 'town hall's earlier in the month. (they had).

Unfortunately though, he repeatedly revealed himself to not be the most honest on the issues at hand.

During the opening of the meeting he talked for about 20 minutes about the status of the work in Washington, why it is needed and some common myths about the bill... #2 was with regards to the coverage of illegal aliens:

Seems pretty clear cut... but I was puzzled, because I knew about the amendment proposed by Representative Dean Heller (R-NV) which would have expressly forbidden inclusion of illegal aliens through explicit verification of legal status... but was rejected by the House Ways & Means committee... along party lines no less.

This is important... because without an explicit declaration and mechanism to enforce said declaration, any implicit allowance or vagueness can be used at the local level to allow it or through the courts to explicitly grant it (as was the case with public education).

On the way home while listening to Wednesday's episode (mp3) of the Mark Levin show, Mark mentioned a report from the Congressional Research Service titled "Illegal Aliens Can Receive Benefits Under House Health Care Bill" (PDF warning)... and upon getting home also found a write up of this press release on HotAir.com.

To quote the report specifically:

Under H.R. 3200, all legal permanent residents (LPRs),23 nonimmigrants, and unauthorized aliens who meet the substantial presence test (defined above) would be required to obtain health insurance.24 Noncitizens meeting the definition of nonresident aliens (e.g., temporary visitors, temporary workers in the United States for less than 183 days in the year) would not be required to obtain health insurance. Notably, the IRC does not contain special rules for individuals who are in the United States without authorization (i.e., illegal or unauthorized aliens). Instead, the IRC treats these individuals in the same manner as other foreign nationals—an unauthorized individual who has been in the United States long enough to qualify under the substantial presence test is classified as a resident alien; otherwise, the individual is classified as a nonresident alien.25 Thus, it would appear that unauthorized aliens who meet the substantial presence test would be required under H.R. 3200 to have health insurance.

So 3200 does refer to them... and even require them to carry insurance, but would we force poor illegal's to pay when poor citizens not to? HR 3200 does contain the following blurb:

Nothing in this subtitle shall allow Federal payments for affordability credits on behalf of individuals who are not lawfully present in the United States.

This would seem to be something that would prohibit money from going to illegal's... there is zero enforcement mechanism.

Under the current plan anyone who seeks assistance would be required to show that they are in fact in need and make less than 400% of the poverty level through IRS records and so on... and yet we do not have a similar requirement to check with INS records.

Odd that eh?

While some might say that this is not a lie because he may not know the truth and is simply pushing what he believes... if he is either unwilling or unable to keep with reports and non-partisan research on the subject (coming from the Congressional Research Service no less)... then this would be more of a lie due willful ignorance.

What's worse though... is today he repeated the exact same myth at his latest town hall today:

Suspecting his story wasn't going to change due to the facts I came with a copy of the CRS report and amendment in hand and waited for my name to be drawn from the box... sadly I did not get the chance to point out this strange double-standard... but did instead get to talk with a number of great conservatives and tell plenty of others about the fact that Jay Inslee clearly seems to not know what he is talking about.

Had I had my wits about me this morning (and more time)... I would have shown up with a large sign that said "Jay Inslee is wrong on healthcare for illegal's and I can prove it"... only to be displayed after he made the claim one more time. Maybe next time.

Sadly I'm rather new to this whole, going to town halls and heckling your elected representative when they pat themselves on the back rather than answer simple questions thing.

In either case... I truly think it is time to start offering Mr. Inslee some end of political life counseling... even though at both town halls he was rather popular with his constituents.

Snitch #14: The final chapter?

2009-08-19T00:06:00.001-07:00

Given the continued evidence that the snitching program has ended... coupled with the fact that I really am quite busy with my day job, it's become quite clear that maintaining a daily letter writing campaign to the White House just isn't wasn't going to work for too long... so tonight I present my final letter (for the time being) in this series:

From: Brendan Grant
Sent: Tuesday, August 18, 2009 11:58 PM
To: president@whitehouse.gov
Subject: It's time for a change...

To whom it may concern,

For the last 2 weeks I have daily written you regarding various fishy statements coming out of the White House or from its closest supporters, and in all of this time no one there has seen fit to reply to me or even add me to David Axelrod’s spam list... so I am sad to say that this will be my last daily email to you for the foreseeable future.

None the less I wish to write you a final (at this time) email with a few thoughts to expand on mine from the previous night on the kinds of healthcare reform that would actually produce measurable gains and benefits without restricting personal freedoms in this country.

While it is rumored that the President is content to be a one-term president if he can get his health care agenda passed, should he rely on the congress to utilize Reconciliation (aka the so called ‘nuclear option’), he risks not only making himself a one-term president, but alienating a significant portion of the electorate so that in 2010 not only are reconciliation supporting democrats (in the house) punished... but so to would they in the Senate... just as they would be in 2012 and 2014.

In the spirit of the death-panel provision of various bills which were pointed out by Sarah Palin and eventually removed from the Senate bill that referred to ‘end of life counseling’... please allow me to offer some end-of-political-life counseling, not only to the president and his cabinet... but to the entire Congress.

The unfortunate fact is that between the stimulus bill, the continued bank bailouts, the AIG bonuses, cash for clunkers, S-CHIP, brining a new unifying tone to Washington, and the appointment and confirmation of Timothy Geithner... this administration has utterly failed in virtually all of it’s domestic pushes... and rather than admit their own failures, has spent a great deal of time trying to blame the previous administration (despite the current one being all too eager to pick up the previous ones torch and run with it) but also to claim that there wasn’t enough regulation (ultimately a failure of government) and claim that the only solution is more government.

While some would say that your foreign policy has largely been a success... I’m forced to disagree. On Iran you opted to side with those who rigged an election and stand back as they brutally oppressed the opposition. In Honduras you once again sided with the clearly illegitimate party against the will of the people. You have time and time again alienated the British. You’ve allowed the North Koreans to continue to test its arms, negotiated with them for hostages and all but ignored the Russians and their continued attempts to re-assert themselves.

Perhaps... it is time that this administration take a second look at what they’ve done since January, see that their actions and initiatives thus far have been wildly unsuccessful, admit that they may just have been wrong and try a different direction... but instead of a government managed/mandated/implemented direction, consider a free market one.

This administration like many on the left has been quick to attack the free market while luxuriating in its benefits. When will you recognize that these evil corporations and rich people are the very same people that create jobs and wealth in this country, not the government. That they are the drivers of economic growth, not the government. That partnering with and reducing restricting and taxes on them is the way to bring about massive growth and expansion in our country... not further regulation and taxes.

Brendan Grant,
Redmond, WA

And of course... I also submitted this letter through the new web based snitch page as well:

(Click for full size)

Ahh how one day I look forward to looking through the Obama archives to see the letters I sent to them so long ago.

Snitch #13: A missing apology or two

2009-08-17T23:58:00.001-07:00

With the sad news that the White House's snitching program has apparently ended (or at least perhaps, transformed), this evening I opted to write the White House through their new snitch page which actually asks you not to snitch interestingly enough:

Please refrain from submitting any individual's personal information, including their email address, without their permission.

Is it just me... or is refrain not a strong enough word?

Anyway... tonight's letter in the web form:

(Click for full size)

And in text:

While it is certainly noble that you have abandoned your domestic snitching program, especially with the news that the White House was spamming people who did not request information from it and now even are clear that people should not submit other people’s personal information or email addresses without their permission… I find it fishy that an administration that has been so quick to apologize for so many things that he thinks that we might have done wrong through history... that he nor Commissar Douglass have been so quick to come out and apologize for either the previous spamming or their now likely seen as incorrect request to have the American people snitch on their fellow citizens should they encounter something that seems fishy.

In fact... this reversal seems rather fishy if you ask me, almost as if the way the American government is viewed abroad is more important than how it is viewed by its own people.

Tell me... how many electoral votes are there in Germany again?

Brendan Grant
Redmond, WA

Jay Inslee: Less of a coward?

2009-08-17T23:52:00.001-07:00

After the joke that was the telephone 'town hall' 3 weeks ago, it appearances that Congressmen Inslee has finally decided to stand before his constituents in person and not just hide behind screened phone calls.

It seems though the person writing the press release didn't get the memo that this is no longer a debate over health care, but now health insurance.

I cannot tell say how thrilled I was at this news (which I've been slow to post I'm afraid) as I had called his office several times during the first week of the august recess asking when such town halls would occur... a question that generally didn't receive the most favorable answer.

I for one will be there with camera in hand and questions related to why he wants to open the market up to only a single competitor and not invoke Article I, Section 8 and supersede state insurance mandates and open up the field to out of state competition when it comes to health insurance.

Given his behavior during the telephone town hall and initial reluctance to have these in person town halls... I'm forced to leave the question mark in place in the title of this post. Only time will tell if it is warranted or not.

Snitching program over?

2009-08-16T22:34:00.001-07:00

After posting tonight's snitch, I noticed that I had a new item in my Junk Mail folder... it turns out to be a delivery failure of the most recent email:

From: postmaster@mail.hotmail.com [mailto:postmaster@mail.hotmail.com]
Sent: Sunday, August 16, 2009 10:04 PM
To: Brendan Grant
Subject: Undeliverable: Secretary Sebelius and her distrust of the free market

Delivery has failed to these recipients or groups:

flag@whitehouse.gov
There's a problem with the recipient's mailbox. Please try resending this message. If the problem continues, click Help.

Diagnostic information for administrators:

Generating server: bay0-omc2-s6.bay0.hotmail.com

flag@whitehouse.gov
#< #5.2.1 smtp;550 5.2.1 <flag@whitehouse.gov>... The email address you just sent a message to is no longer in service.We are now accepting your feedback about health insurance reform via:http://www.whitehouse.gov/realitycheck> #SMTP#

Given the seeming admission that the public option is dead... it would appear that they are in the process of a larger shift, something that includes moving away from the previous snitching system.

Shame... I've enjoyed my daily snitches to the White House thus far.

Snitch #12: More dissent from within

2009-08-16T22:10:00.001-07:00

The news seems to indicate that the health ~~care~~ insurance reform with a 'public option' is largely dead (score one for us!)... now the question comes in of just how much we (the American people) allow them to ram through in their second attempt.

Tonight's snitch gives some ideas as to what such real reform should include:

From: Brendan Grant
Sent: Sunday, August 16, 2009 10:04 PM
To: flag@whitehouse.gov
Subject: Secretary Sebelius and her distrust of the free market

During a time when the public option of the current health ~~care~~ insurance debate is becoming more and more unpopular... and may even be dead say some (http://thehill.com/leading-the-news/sen.-conrad-public-option-a-wasted-effort-2009-08-16.html) that Kathleen Sebelius, the Secretary of Health and Human Services uses the opportunity to belittle the private insurance industry once again.

I do apologize... but must take a couple of snippets of her appearance on CNN this weekend and some statements she made and discuss them with you as the whole thing was rather fishy: http://www.politico.com/singletitlevideo.html?bcpid=1155201977&bctid=34089722001

> What I think is important is choice and competition

While few will disagree with that statement on the surface, the mechanism of doing that is in the question. Rather than... bring in one single government option, why not throw the field open to even more competition?

Never forget that one of the biggest hindrances to competition in the insurance market is not the companies themselves... but the states that not only put expensive mandates in place as to what a given policy must include (even when few would willingly purchase such coverage if given the choice), but also helps to prevent insurance plans being purchased in one state and used in another.

Why should I as a Washington State resident be forced to buy insurance from a company here... when I can buy a car from a company in Michigan, a TV from a company in New York, and a computer in California... and still use them all just as easily and fully as I would if I were to purchase them locally?

While I am not a lawyer... I would think that the various state regulations out there likely run afoul of Article I, Section 8, Clause 3 of the US Constitution which says:

>[The Congress shall have power] To regulate commerce with foreign nations, and among the several states, and with the Indian tribes

After all, one of the reasons that the Articles of Confederation were replaced by the Constitution was because some of the states were not only engaging in their own foreign policy... but also limiting inter-state commerce through their own taxes and regulation of ‘imports’ and businesses beyond what the framers intended.

You’d think that such federal intervention in this case would be popular with the current President and Congress... why not do so? Why not open up the insurance market in one state to competition from the other 49?

Furthermore, why not expand the COBRA program and allow more people to maintain their insurance after they leave their job and not just the 18 months mandated by federal law?

Of course a better option would make it easier for an individual to buy their own insurance... and while that is possible to day (though more expensive than getting it through ones employer), why not remove the advantage that employers have over people and change the tax system and even the playing field?

Today employers are able to deduct the cost of subsidizing health insurance to their employees, and the employees are able to use pre-tax dollars to pay for their premiums. Not so if the employee decides to get insurance on their own elsewhere, instead they are paying with post tax dollars which effectively raises the cost of such a purchase, but also reduces the incentive of people to do so on their own, lowering the risk pools and ultimately raising prices even more.

And of course... there is tort reform... but then this administration and congress hasn’t been all that willing to talk about it. Any reason why?

>You don’t turn over the whole new marketplace to private insurance companies and trust them to do the new thing

This is the fishy she said... she seems to be making the assumption that private insurance companies do not at present compete with each other... and that a single government run entity would be able to do what a couple hundred years of a mostly free market in this country hasn’t been able to do.

Why is that? More so to go back to one of my points above, why not stop allowing the states to continue to disrupt interstate commerce and enable an insurance company in Tennessee to sell their health insurance anywhere in the nation?

There are countless things that can be done to improve the options of the American people to have even better and more competitive and complete access to health insurance (and health care)... and yet you have so refused to take any of those steps other than even contemplating.

Brendan Grant
Redmond, WA

Snitch #11: Dropping polls

2009-08-16T00:01:00.001-07:00

And now...Saturday's letter.

Though you'd think after all of these someone.. somewhere would see fit to reply in some way.

From: Brendan Grant
Sent: Saturday, August 15, 2009 11:57 PM
To: flag@whitehouse.gov
Subject: Where are the legions of supporters?

We keep hearing at various town halls and press conferences that the American people want health ~~care~~ insurance reform and that the only people who oppose it are k-street lobbyists, insurance company executives, people who wish to destroy the presidency of the President, or those being bused in for Astroturfing by the first three groups... and yet a recent Rasmussen Reports poll (http://www.rasmussenreports.com/public_content/politics/current_events/healthcare/august_2009/54_say_passing_no_healthcare_reform_better_than_passing_congressional_plan) says that only 35% of polled likely voters think the current bill being worked on in congress... while another 54% think that not passing any kind of health care reform this year would be better than passing what is currently being proposed.

Why is this?

While those in the administration and the 35% are quick to claim that it is because of misinformation and astroturfing that people are turning away from reform... isn’t it more likely that a sizeable chunk of the 54% have read some portions of the bill and don’t like what they are seeing? Or perhaps are hearing what their elected officials are telling them and realizing it doesn’t jive with the bill?

2 weeks ago my very own congressmen Jay Inslee during a telephone ‘town hall’ (he’s so brave) said that illegal aliens would not be covered under the proposed legislation... and yet when an amendment was proposed to specifically exclude them... it was rejected by Democrats on the House Ways and Means committee (http://www.sodahead.com/blog/118927/closing-health-coverage-loophole-for-illegal-aliens-is-rejected/).

Is it not more likely that after all of this time, the American people are not buying what the president and his supporters are selling? His daily tracking numbers do seem to indicate that (http://www.rasmussenreports.com/public_content/politics/obama_administration/daily_presidential_tracking_poll).

Rather than try to act so fast and move in leaps and bounds... why not be more measured in your response. If there are in fact 46 million Americans who are uninsured (a routinely debunked number http://hotair.com/archives/2009/07/24/ramirez-meet-the-uninsured/), why not target those who are actually unable to get insurance specifically rather than try to change the entire system when the vast majority of Americans are happy with their coverage at present (http://www.rasmussenreports.com/public_content/politics/current_events/healthcare/august_2009/confidence_in_u_s_health_care_system_has_grown_in_recent_months).

I continue to wait for your reply,

Brendan Grant
Redmond, WA

Snitch #10: Defection from within

2009-08-15T23:59:00.001-07:00

Forgot to click "Publish" last night... so the blog gets two new snitches this evening, even though this one was sent a hair later than planned:

From: Brendan Grant
Sent: Friday, August 14, 2009 11:56 PM
To: flag@whitehouse.gov
Subject: Murtha defecting?

First the President puts a deadline of before the august recess to get health care reform passed... then he backs down and moves to a September deadline... isn’t it fishy that John Murtha is now suggesting that maybe it won’t happen until January... the year of a mid-term election no less.

Source: http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2009/08/14/murtha-differs-from-obama-on-health-care-timeline/

What can we do to bring him in line again?

Brendan Grant
Redmond, WA

Flag #9: Self incrimination

2009-08-13T20:00:00.001-07:00

I've been at flagging fishy bits related to health ~~care~~ insurance reform for the last week. I'm happy to see that others are getting involved:

In that spirit tonight I report a truly fishy character:

From: Brendan Grant
Sent: Thursday, August 13, 2009 8:00 PM
To: 'flag@whitehouse.gov'
Subject: A seemingly deliberate attempt at (mis)information

Comrades,

While there is little doubt that that the campaign of the Dear Leader’s White House to identify opponents of their glorious health ~~care~~ insurance reform has been a resounding success... recently I encountered a person who actively seeks to fill up the system with seemingly fake emails.

This person identifies himself as one Brendan, living in Redmond, WA and blogs out of http://ihatelinux.blogspot.com/

Specifically he even has an entire tag category related to his attempts to send emails unrelated to your calls to report fishy things related to opposition to health ~~care~~ insurance reform: http://ihatelinux.blogspot.com/search/label/Snitching%20to%20the%20White%20House

He must be stopped, how can we work together to achieve this?

Brendan Grant
Redmond, WA

P.S. Why am I not so lucky so as to be on the David Axelrod propaganda email list? I feel so left out :(

Snitch #8: The man at the top, redux

2009-08-13T00:04:00.001-07:00

Ahh the joys of a late night at home working on work, almost keeping you away from necessary bits of blogging.

Tonight's snitch is an indirect expansion on last nights.

From: Brendan Grant
Sent: Thursday, August 13, 2009 12:00 AM
To: flag@whitehouse.gov
Subject: Why does the President continue to misrepresent his (perceived) allies?

While there is certainly plenty of fishy things floating around out there (like Levi Johnson being seen in public with Kathy Griffin (who knew she was that desperate?))... it is far more fishy the mounting evidence that our Dear Leader has once again misrepresented his perceived allies.

First we are told by the President that if the stimulus bill passes that Caterpillar will be able to re-hire some of its recently laid off workers, only to be later contradicted by the CEO of the very same company.

Later we have the President suggesting that doctors are eager to remove peoples tonsils because of the money they’ll make... only to be challenged by the American Academy of Otolaryngology - Head and Neck Surgery.

Still not deterred by what others may think... this week he once again proclaimed that if said legislation passed, fewer limbs would be amputated because of the cost benefits to the doctor, and yet the next day, the American College of Surgeons says otherwise.

Seems... fishy. One would think that after so many unsuccessful casts into the lake that our Dear Leader would try a different lake... or perhaps a different type of bait.

Brendan Grant
Redmond, WA

Snitch #7: The man at the top

2009-08-11T23:03:00.001-07:00

While this administration has thus far had a few notable 'press conferences'/'town halls' which had questions which seemed more than a little fishy (Huffington Post question on Iran, Gates arrest question at healthcare press-conference, etc)... for the most part they've been ignored by the wider media.

Today we had another such event... and like both of the cases I mentioned above, their was a fair bit if fishiness to go along with it when one digs into names and details... which is the subject of my latest snitch to the White House:

From: Brendan Grant
Sent: Tuesday, August 11, 2009 10:55 PM
To: flag@whitehouse.gov
Subject:The President Himself

Comrades,

I believe I have tracked down further information on the previously reported “Senator” Obama... I have reason to believe that he may just have become our Dear Leader... though as yet it seems he has not been able to purge the records of his past, something that is quite unfortunate.

During today’s town hall, our Dear Leader took a question from young Julia Hall from Malden, MA... only her presentation seemed... fishy and further investigation by persons opposed to healthcare reform indicates that Julia is the tougher of one Kathleen Manning Hall, someone who donated nearly $2000 to the glorious campaign of Dear Leader during 2007 and 2008... as well as the firm she worked for donating more than $12,000 to Democrats in 2008 and not a dollar to Republicans.

Source: http://www.ar15.com/forums/topic.html?b=1&f=5&t=911911

Don’t believe me? Let’s look at the photos. Who is that woman sitting next to the questioner? Does she not have more than a passing resemblance to the woman standing next to the president on Ms Hall’s Facebook page?

Smell or not, this cannot stand! Our Dear Leader must set the record clear that these photos and donations were to “Senator” Obama, a man who no longer exists and never really did. That he distances himself from those donations and those times and that this question was the work of Julia Hall who did not know she was going to be called on until she was.

It is funny though... this is not the first time we’ve had a softball question at a press-conference/town hall that stunk of being a plant... surly our Dear Leader is so powerful that he can handle a hundred fast-balls at once... only why does he not take them all on at once, instead of playing things down? Does he fear that we will tremble in fear of his awesome batting abilities? Or is it something else? If so... I pray that we never learn it, that that, like the healthcare debate and speaking without a teleprompter... could destroy his presidency.

Brendan Grant,
Redmond, WA

Once may be an accident... twice indicates poor judgment... three times though... ~7 months in and we've got such a clear pattern? At this rate I guess we can can count on another 18 or so planted questions before his first term is up. Happy hunting (for plants)!

Snitch #6: Fishiness from within

2009-08-10T23:37:00.001-07:00

Another day, another report, this time reporting an unexpected person... the original requester of the reports.

To: flag@whitehouse.gov
From: Brendan Grant
Sent: Monday, August 10, 2009 11:33 PM
Subject: Say it isn't so!

Commissar Douglass,

At your request last week I began submitting reports on fishy activity with regards to the health insurance debate going on in the nation right now and have taken up this job reluctantly as I while I certainly believe whatever my government tells me... I am always hesitant to turn in those for re-education that I think may not require such a firm hand.

With that in mind... it pains me to no end this evening as I make this report and turn you, Commissar Douglass in after your appearance on CNN’s show Reliable Sources... where you asserted that while specific facts/sites were being collected... no personal information was being retained (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=alUHihwwri0).

Forgive this lowly MSNBC viewing, tree hugging, change loving, gun-hating, granola eating, once weekly bathing, bicycle riding, paper recycling, bio-fuel burning, limousine riding, tofu eating, organic soap loving, godless, vegan citizen... but isn’t not retaining such information (by virtue of it being sent to and processed by the White House)... illegal?

Please... tell me it isn’t so, tell me that you are not breaking federal law and not actually deleting any part of the information you receive... for if it was true... I do not know how I could live with myself knowing that I helped you break the law.

Brendan Grant,
Redmond, WA

Snitch #5: But he was asking for it

2009-08-09T15:07:00.001-07:00

On Friday the Denver Post had an op-ed titled "Presenting new rules for radicals", a reference to the book Rules for Radicals by Saul Alinsky and a person whose ideas allegedly "intrigued and influenced" both President Obama and Secretary Clinton in their younger days.

Unfortunately... the article opens quite clearly:

If you're a virtuous and patriotic American, you may find this column either offensive or misleading. If so, please forward it to White House authorities at the Department of Fishy Activity. (E-mail the good people at flag@whitehouse.gov.)

Which of course means I had little choice yesterday:

(Click for full size)

The text of my 'brief message' to the tip address:

As "virtuous and patriotic American" who also happens to be a "freaky right-wing zealot" who of course does everything that Rush, Sean and the rest of talk radio tells me... not to mention the K-Street lobbyists and insurance executives who are funding my manufactured outrage... I recently ran across the following article contains numerous bits of fishiness regarding the health care reform debate (which alone makes it worthy of reporting)... but also instructs me to do so... so I am.

Brendan Grant - Redmond, WA

Know what's worse than my not having yet received a response to anything I've reported (even something automated would be a delight)? The fact that they haven't even bothered to reply to insult my failings with regards to grammar.

Perhaps... they are starting to see through me.

Snitch #4: Someone we'd never expect...

2009-08-08T18:23:00.001-07:00

It's another day and time for another bit of snitchery:

From: Brendan Grant
Sent: Sat 8/8/2009 4:31 PM
To: flag@whitehouse.gov
Subject: FW: Fw: FW: THE TRUTH ABOUT OBAMA CARE!!!!

Recently the following email came way which is fishy to say the least... I’ve edited out some of the more recent forwards to protect my direct source.

It appears though... that we have a leak...

From: Mollie
Sent: Tuesday, August 04, 2009 8:53 AM
To: Lauren; Audrina; Heidi; Spencer; Spencer’s Creepy Flesh-Colored Beard; Brody; Lo; Stephanie; Justin
Subject: FW: Fw: FW: THE TRUTH ABOUT OBAMA CARE!!!!

OMG! Kevlar makes me so hot.

From: Snowball
Sent: Tuesday, August 04, 2009 12:07 AM
To: Napoleon; Snowball; Boxer; Squealer; Old Major; Clover; Moses; Mollie; Benjamin; Muriel; Mr. Jones; Mr. Frederick; Mr. Pilkington; Mr. Whymper; Jessie and Bluebell; Minimus
Subject: Fw: THE TRUTH ABOUT OBAMA CARE!!!!

Dude, this is sick! You’ve got to see it!

From: Joe Biden
Sent: Monday, August 03, 2009 3:45 PM
To: Winston Smith; Julia; O’Brien; Mr. Charrington; Ampleforth; Parsons; Symes; Jones; Aaronson; Rutherford; Emmanuel Goldstein; Big Brother
Subject: FW: THE TRUTH ABOUT OBAMA CARE!!!!

Have you seen this?!?!

Pass it on! (BUT ONLY TO THOSE YOU TRUST! WE CAN”T HAVE THIS GETTING OUT YET)

Maybe now we have a way to get Nancy to step down.

From: Nancy Pelosi
Sent: Monday, August 03, 2009 3:22 PM
To: Congressional Democrats; Congressional Republicans; My Plastic Surgeon
Subject: THE TRUTH ABOUT OBAMA CARE!!!!

OMG! I FINALLY FOUND OUT WHAT THE OBAMA CARE PLAN IS ALL ABOUT! IT”S NOT ABOUT TREATING THE SICK OR COMFORTING THE DIEING>>> IT”S ABOUT FORCING PEOPLE OUT OF THEIR HOMES FOR “TREATMENT” WHEN THEY DISSAGREE WITH THE PRESIDENT!!!!

DON”T BELIEVE ME? SCROLL DOWN FOR AN IMAGE THAT I FOUND HIDDEN ON THEIR WEBSITE (BUT HAS SINCE BEEN TAKEN DOWN)

KEEP SCROLLING

KEEP SCROLLING

DON”T YOU SEE?!?!?! THE CAT IS YOU>>> AND OBAMACARE IS THE GUY IN RIOT GEAR!

UNDER THE PRESIDENTS PLAN< YOU”LL HAVE TO GET TREATMENET NO MATTER WHAT!!! REGARDLESS OOF IF YOU WANT IT OR NOT> WHO IS TO SAY IT”S EVEN THE RIGHT TREATMENT? THIS POOR KITTY TRIED TO RESIST IN PAST>>> LOOK WHERE IT GOT HIM.

FORWARD THIS TO EVERYONE YOU KNOW> THE TRUTH MUST BE KNOWN!!!

After yesterday's letter... I just couldn't resist some lolcats from icanhascheezburger.com

Snitch #3: LOLmobz Edition

2009-08-07T20:26:00.001-07:00

Still no word from the White House or the Speakers office to my previous reports/questions. Thankfully I'm still not deterred.

Today I encountered a page which takes the brilliance of lolcats... and a the timeliness of the angry mobs we continue to see at many town hall meetings throughout the nation.

Below is an example of one of the shots from that site:

This site and it's contents are the subject of my latest report to the White House snitch line:

TO: flag@whitehouse.gov
CC: president@whitehouse.gov
From: Brendan Grant
Sent: Fri 8/7/2009 7:55 PM
Subject: Reporting members of "The Mob"

Attention: Representatives of the People’s Central Committee

Recently our glorious DNC created an advertisement to call attention to angry mobs that were disrupting town hall events throughout the nation and causing general chaos and disorder in or ordinarily serene society (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PtTBkxvBq88).

Today I uncovered this web site (http://thedanashow.wordpress.com/2009/08/06/meet-the-mob/) which purports to contain countless detailed photos of members of the mob.

It is obvious that my report to you yesterday on Barbra Boxer calling out the "well dressed" protestors had some effect... as these protestors do not appear to be as well dressed as asserted previously.

If there is anything I can do to help identify these angry, well dressed, swastika carrying, funded by lobbyist mob goers so that they may be re-educated, please do not hesitate to let me know.

Given the natural reaction to seeing such anger, I would encourage you to follow forthcoming link afterwards to help cool your nerves as it links to a Bing Images search cute puppies: http://www.bing.com/images/search?q=cute+puppy

Long live the revolution, long live ObamaCare, long live the enemies of the mob.

Signing off,
Brendan Grant
Redmond, WA

P.S. Given I've not had the pleasure of hearing back from you yet on my reports, I have opted to widen the recipient list of this to help ensure that the vital information I pass along is received by the proper people.

Interestingly when finishing this blog post... I received a response (of sorts):

TO: Brendan Grant
From: comments@whitehouse.gov
Sent: Fri 8/7/2009 7:56 PM
Subject: <blank>

Dear Friend,

Thank you for your message. On behalf of President Obama, we appreciate hearing from you. The President has promised the most transparent administration in history, and we're committed to listening to and responding to you.

In order to better handle the millions of electronic messages we're receiving and respond more quickly, we've implemented a new contact form on our website:

http://www.whitehouse.gov/contact

Please note that this web form has replaced comments@whitehouse.gov. That email address is no longer monitored, so we encourage you to resubmit your message through the link above. Thank you for using the web form and helping us improve communications with you.

Sincerely,

The Presidential Correspondence Team

Given the repeated failures of this administration thus far to be as transparent as they promised... one wonders for how much longer they will continue to make the claim that it will be "the most transparent administration in history."

It's laughable for them to be saying so now... if they keep this up for much longer, it'll just be downright sad.