Resonance

Stolen Laptops

I was reading the Washington Post this morning; online, as I don't need even more paper cluttering up the joint; and the first thing that caught my eye was the fact that Apple has released several patches to fix the wireless security issues that made them vulnerable to wireless hackers.

The more interesting story, however, is that the Department of Commerce, in response to a Congressional request, has admitted that over 1100 laptops have gone missing since 2001, containing personal information such as ssn's, addresses and names of over 6200 households.

WTF!!?? It wasn't too long ago when the Department of Veteran's Affairs let the world know that they had compromised the personal information of over 26 million veterans when a laptop had been stolen. I am a veteran and got the letters from the VA letting me know how to keep my personal information safe. I am guessing the first way would have been to NEVER LET THE FUCKING LAPTOP GO MISSING IN THE FIRST PLACE!

Seven other Governmental agencies have yet to reply to the Congressional request, leading one to believe that the reason why has something to do with not wanting to acknowledge that more sensitive information has been released into the wild via lost or stolen laptops.

How about this: stop letting these idiots take them home! Maybe the government should go back to the good old days when computers were as large as most people's cars and used punch cards. Big Blue probably has a few of those oldies sitting around somewhere just begging to be put back into the game. This would keep all of our information safe. Or, perhaps, the Government could treat this information as if people were asking for it under the Freedom of Information Act, that would keep it safe.

If these people can't keep tabs on laptop computers, how can we possibly believe that they are keeping us safe from any other threats? Just wondering...

Within the Law

Okay, most of the time, I think that Matt Lauer is an arrogant bore. However, he managed to get an interview with President "I'm Trying to Protect You and Your Family from Terrorists" Bush and instead of rolling over and asking the easy questions, Matt took some serious initiative and asked about something that should matter more to the American Public; whether or not we are acting within the law when it comes to this war on terror.

One of the comments that Bush made involved getting information that can be used to prevent future attacks against us and our families by interrogating combatants caught on the battlefield. As a veteran, I can assure you that the common soldier caught in battle is only going to have a limited amount of information at hand. Mainly about what that particular group of fighters is doing or supposed to do. Odds are, Mohammed al Q'hal is not going to know of the next great threat to American soil.

When Bush claims that he is trying to keep the American people safe, he is playing on the fears of another attack like 9-11 to keep us in line and from asking too many questions. However, we have an obligation to ask questions, this is a right that was considered important enough to be guaranteed in the First Amendment of the Constitution. That, as well as freedom of the Press and Religion. Just something to think about... Watch Matt Lauer's body language when Bush starts to get really dogmatic, evasive and talking to Matt as if he were a boy of ten.

Here's the video, courtesy of Youtube:

A Year Ago Today

We learned just how poorly prepared our government was for any sort of devastating natural catastrophe when Hurricane Katrina's storm surges broke the levees that were built by the US Army Corps of Engineers in the 60's. Originally, the claim was that the levees couldn't have protected the city of New Orleans from a storm of such ferocity; but the truth is more likely that there were massive structural failures that allowed one of the most storied cities in our country to be leveled. Homes demolished, people killed and displaced (over 1500 people were killed because of Katrina, over one-third the toll from the attacks on the WTC) and a Federal Emergency Management Administration that was unable to provide a viable plan for an event of this magnitude.

The Bush administration lied in the immediate aftermath of the event about the response to Katrina, creating a series of scapegoats from then FEMA Director Michael Brown to the Governor of Louisiana, Kathleen Babineaux Blanco. The reality is that our government didn't care enough about the possibility of something like this happening to adequately prepare for it financially. They were too busy trying to cut taxes and diverting money into this misguided war effort in Iraq to be mindful of the needs of it's citizenry.

Now, a year later, the city is still not rebuilt, and some people think that it will take another ten years to really get the city viable again. Of course, this would mean that the Bush administration will be out of office and maybe, just maybe, the next President will actually keep the promise made by this administration to help rebuild. Instead of lip-service. Maybe someone can untie all the billions promised and start something in the city instead of wandering through the bureaucratic nightmare that is appropriations. Not to mention ensuring the levee system will withstand another catastrophic hurricane as well as the money needed to maintain it.

Until then, people like my friend Christal, a native who had just bought a house which was destroyed by Katrina, will have to live elsewhere. In the meantime, a romantic and highly storied city that gave us more than food and jazz, will only have a real life in the memories of it's natives and those who had the great fortune of wandering it's streets. I was one of those people. I got to do it twice. At least I have some stories of my own as well as plenty of pictures.