Looks like special interests and irrational fear win again.

“This, I believe, is the right way to go for the security of the nation,” said Senator John D. Rockefeller, the West Virginia Democrat who leads the intelligence committee.

His support for the plan, after intense negotiations with the White House and his Republican colleagues, was considered critical to its passage but drew criticism from civil liberties groups because of $42,000 in contributions that Mr. Rockefeller received last year from AT&T and Verizon executives.

NY Times: Bush Presses House to Approve Bill on Surveillance

I understand the near insurmountable obstacles posed by such an objective. Geopolitical pressures, infrastructure renovation in the trillions, and a fleet of light trucks that consume more oil than much of the third world combined. And that’s assuming we can coerce the energy corporations into giving up a slice of their record profits.
That’s exactly whey we need a national energy policy, with teeth.I can’t propose all the details of such a plan, but I have a few ideas:

• We need a series of modest goals, all achievable in gradual steps. I use the health care industry as an example. Modest improvements (VA hospital, Medicaid/Medicare) are achievable, loftier ones near impossible (universal health care).
• It would need to echo Carter’s much ignored conservation principles.
• Gradual increases in the CAFE standards. We could look to Europe or even China for ideas on this one.

Carter tried a lot of this and failed. Why? America wasn’t ready. After the oil crisis faded away America reverted back to business as usual. There’s mounting evidence indicating that isn’t the case anymore.

Green is fashionable.

Hybrid vehicles are beginning to turn a profit. Every company now has their own line of highly efficient hybrid cars. But even more telling is marketing. If you watched the Super Bowl this year you saw GMC’s Yukon commercial… touting their newest luxury SUV as a “fuel efficient hybrid.” GMC was willing to spend three million dollars to advertise its fuel efficiency commitment to the American public. Why?
Because America is ready.

So who’s it going to be? Democrat or Republican. Man or woman. I’ll vote for whoever will set such a goal. Whoever, over the next decade, will set a national energy objective. An objective that truly will measure the best of our energies and skills. A challenge we intend to win.

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The economist summed it up perfectly.

… At his best he may be the finest public speaker of his generation: a man who echoes John Kennedy and Martin Luther King but nevertheless speaks in a voice that is all his own.

It is not just that he says it well: it is also what he says.

I always wondered why Apple chose AT&T’s sub par network for such a data heavy device… Might have to do with the $20 / iPhone user PER MONTH that apple receives. Unbelievable. I’m a firm believer that Apple’s allure is part superior product and part elitism (engineered by the man himself, Steve Jobbs). That said, the iPhone definitely falls under the technical appeal. It really is a cut above the other devices on the market today.

I’m not a Mac fanboy by any stretch, but I absolutely love the iPhone. The device itself is great, but even more so I’m in awe at what it’s done to the industry (the article above is spot on). It was a much needed jolt to break us out of the anti-data paradigm. Coupled with Verizon’s open access announcement and 700 MHz spectrum auction, I think the American consumer will have unparalleled choice for the next few years.

I see the US cellular industry as having gone through four stages:

1. Analogue

For years my Dad had an analogue Motorola set with a bright orange keypad. It was the size of an overstuffed pita with a big long extendable antenna. I used to use a UHF tv and listen into some of his conversations. Ah, the good old days.

2. Early Digital

Nokia 5160… Enough Said.

3. “Take a picture for tha camera phone!”

These were the first “fashionable phones.”

4. Early 3G

Walled garden internet and lots of text messages.

5. True 3G (today)

Pictures, Videos, and data packages.

Microcredit is a financial innovation which originated in developing countries where it has successfully enabled extremely impoverished people to engage in self-employment projects that allow them to generate an income and, in many cases, begin to build wealth and exit poverty. -Wikipedia

Kiva.org was the first microcredit organization on the web. They’ve grown to the point where they must limit user’s contributions in order to allow everyone to participate.

Success: the point when you’re forced to stop people from doing good. It’s amazing that someone, even a poor student, can actually help fight poverty.