Thursday, June 06, 2002

INDIVIDUAL ACCOUNTABILITY FOR A JOB WHAT WAS MISSING from Bush's speech. UPDATE: Here's a link to the Department of Homeland Security proposal. [InstaPundit] 10:27:31 PM     Comments[]

WHEN STORIES SUCH AS THIS FLOW through the weblogs and the news aggregator, I find myself wondering the following: Is this simply another case of "don't believe everything you find on the Internet?" Is this a story by someone with an ax to grind? Was this so insignificant that the mainstream media decided not to pursue it? Is some other dynamic at work? Have I found a weblog run by a top-notch person with great skills? Clearly, there are times when I've read a weblog story and used the mainstream media to verify or fact-check it. As I come to know the weblog writers's styles and approaches, I find myself checking mainstream media stories against the weblogs. I was engineering school at a time when electronic calculators were invented. I know it is hard for anyone to imagine today, but we literally "checked" our first calculators with the sliderules "we knew we could count on." It seems silly now, but it was the only way we could gain confidence in the new tool! Checking weblog reporting is sometimes like this! Once we get to know our "reporters" we'll gain more confidence. Talking with a British friend a few minutes ago, he told me of a recent story...  The story appeared in Der Spiegel, and quite a few weblogs, but appears to have not been carried by US publications. Why? [Scripting News] 10:19:30 PM     Comments[]

DEFINING THE USA's INTELLIGENCE PROBLEM AND SOLUTION? I agree that a cabinet level post smacks of a political response to all of the sniping by the media and the second-guessing by many Democrats. That's the wrong reason to do anything. Most of the problems stem from government bureacracy running away with itself. We need to define our needs and put leaders in place to meet those needs. Do we need the FBI, CIA, NSA et al? Probably, in some form. Do we need more agencies like them. Definitely, not! We need to tell them what we want done and see that the metrics are in place to monitor whether or not they are doing it! Another Cabinet. Dubya is about to announce the creation of a new Cabinet level post for Homeland Security. Great, just what [The Trommetter Times] 1:51:08 PM     Comments[]

DAVE'S ESSAY HAS LEGS People want answers IN LIGHT OF MY JOURNALISM-AND-COWARDICE POST... readers may want to check out these real-life stories by Dave Winer. Journalists say that blogs can't be trusted because there's no oversight. Read, and see what oversight means. Bloggers have biases -- but they're usually right out in the open. And bloggers don't pretend to be objective professionals. [InstaPundit] It gets better: Scripting News Mail Pages Steve Outing comments on today's piece, and links to a response from Knight-Ridder's Rajiv Pant. [Scripting News] Follow up to today's piece [Scripting News] 12:36:36 PM     Comments[]

ARE THESE SIMILAR SITUATIONS? Read this story about the Air Force Colonel who got suspended for criticizing his boss. Then, read one of the best DaveNet emails I've seen. Are there similarities here? Do things change when we're talking about our nation vs. our employer? What was the original historical context of "freedom of speech"? Can an employee openly criticize his or her employer? Can an employee openly criticize his or her boss? We live in a time when some are becoming more strident in their criticism of governments, some consider it patriotic to "go along," and others won't say or write what they really think for fear of the government's newly-exercised powers of investigation. Whether a government, business or church are there any limits on criticism? Do insiders to one of these have greater or lesser responsibilities than reporters, journalists or outsiders? When is one a whistle-blower and when is one merely a concerned party? The DaveNet is relevant to nearly all of our current national news stories - Catholic priests out of control, accounting scandals, government intelligence gathering and analysis and the prosecution of a war. Who is "allowed" to speak out and how forcefully? Who should speak out? Great stuff, Dave, and thought-provoking! 10:40:18 AM     Comments[]

"OK, $20 FOR A RIDE... $40? $100 for one lap around the block! What if I get everyone in the neighborhood to repave their driveways? No, I don't want the mail, I just want a ride! I know that, but what if I get everyone in the neighborhood to sell their dogs? No, I don't want your USPS regulation issued safety helmet, I just want to ride 5 mailboxes down the street and come back!" Memphis was selected as another of the cities where the USPS will test Segways. Taking a Segway for a spin may come sooner than we thought. Segways up for auction on eBay. Consumers are once again bidding big bucks for a Segway Human Transporter--but this time the auction is on eBay and it's being conducted without participation from Segway. [CNET News.com] 7:49:13 AM     Comments[]

© Copyright 2002 Steve Pilgrim.