The Decline and Fall of the American Empire

The Decline and Fall of the American Empire
Where are we going, and what are we doing in this handbasket? It sure is getting warm...

Updated: 5/19/03; 1:03:49 AM.

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Saturday, July 13, 2002

White House projects higher budget deficit The White House revised this year's federal budget deficit estimate upward to $165 billion, from an earlier $106 billion projection. Congressional budget experts project the deficit to grow again in fiscal 2003. With midterm elections on the horizon, the new numbers reignited the debate over why the government is back in the red after surpluses at the end of the Clinton administration. Democrats say the Bush administration's $1.3 trillion tax cut helped push the figures into the red. [CNN]
11:51:05 PM

Landmark debt clock revived as U.S. deficits soar The U.S. government has returned to its old ways of bursting budgets and so New York's landmark national debt clock lit up again Thursday after a two-year hiatus, whizzing higher by $30 a second. After taking a few seconds for the 13-digit figure to sharpen, the sign read $6.1 trillion, or $66,791 per U.S. household, and immediately began ticking higher. [Forbes]
11:36:59 PM

McCain remains Bush's top nemesis As if re-explaining his silver-spoon-fed business career wasn[base ']t hard enough, George W. Bush has another burden to carry through this nervous breakdown of the American economy: John McCain. Two years after Bush dispatched him to the dust of Arizona in the Republican primaries, McCain remains Bush's most dedicated -- and effective -- foe. [MSNBC]
I have to say, I kind of like and admire John McCain. I read his recent speech to the National Press Club, and where Dumbya talks the talk, McCain walks the walk. Instead of mouthing strong-sounding words but doing nothing, McCain wants to put into place actual reform. And his ideas sound like they would be both effective, and not terribly burdensome, from a regulatory standpoint (no surprise, he is a Republican). I wish there was a way to vote for this guy over Dumbya!
11:22:34 PM

Bush rides the Whitewater. Through the length of Bill Clinton's presidency, the press scrounged for details on the arcane Whitewater controversy. Will it do the same for Harken Energy? [Salon.com]
9:51:30 PM

Microsoft patents may hamper OpenGL. It looks like the OpenGL graphics system used in recent Apple software and by other companies could be in trouble thanks to recent Microsoft patent claims. MacCentral has some details, but it boils down to the fact that Microsoft has been buying up intellectual property from other companies and cornering the market on some key computing technologies, and now the behemoth from Redmond is likely to start charging licensing fees for using what are now considered open technologies... [Mac Net Journal]
9:30:45 AM

3D graphics world shaken by patent claims The body governing the widely used graphics standard OpenGL faces tough decisions after Microsoft stakes a claim in the technology. Users of Mac OS, Unix and Linux may have a reason to worry. [ZDNet UK]
This is exactly why we cannot let Microsoft succeed in taking over standards that are critical to the Internet. Here they are, attempting to "tax" an open standard. And look at their "contributions" to things like Web Services, and the much-hyped Palladium for "secure" computers. You will pay Microsoft for those, and if we let them have completely have their way, you'll be paying Microsoft whether you're using any software they developed, or not.
9:29:11 AM