Archive for the ‘internet/free speech’ Category

Just to put the AOL think in perspective

Posted: February 7, 2011 by datechguy in blogger for hire, blogs, business, DaTechGuy on DaRadio, internet/free speech, media
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Stacy McCain does the match on AOL and points out something interesting about the money in the AOL deal:

What it means, I suspect, is that the Left is willing to “invest” in liberal media ventures that are supposedly for-profit but which, in fact, lose money. Because, after all, whose money is being invested? Not theirs.

Five words: Government employee union pension funds.

That, I suggest, explains this whole deal. Private investors are now selling their AOL shares, while managers of pension funds for AFSCME, SEIU and other unions are buying AOL stock, thus providing the investment capital necessary to fund expansion of the Left’s online media presence in advance of Obama’s re-election campaign.

Belvedere notes that this is not an issue for the left:

Profit doesn’t mean much to the Committed Left — not if you mean the word in it’s classical sense [OED: ‘financial gains’]. Oh sure, they need money to fund their various schemes, but the Manic Progressives are always willing to sacrifice dollars for propaganda [see: MSNBC]. Besides, if they play it right, they can always funnel some taxpayer dollars into funding their schemes.

Broadcasting their lies relentlessly until they get absorbed by enough of the masses is a tactic the Leftists have employed successfully for a century now.

The daytime range of my radio show, looks pretty good for ads doesn't it?

I did the math, If I sold every second of every moment of ads for my radio show for one year that comes up to $64,800. If the liberals were to be believed about some giant conservative conspiracy I would have already had the Koch Brothers buying the entire time to support my radio show and blogging for an entire year.

Alas that is not the case, every day I’m going door to door pitching the show, extolling the range of the radio station, the strength of my guest and the appeal of my show to a growing audience, doing my best to make the sale and pay the mortgage.

The “interests” I’m beholden to are Basement Technologies of Western Mass., Aaron Pallet, Putnam Street lanes. and every other advertiser who buys time on my show. Each of them offer valuable services or produces to my listeners and buy ads on my show to attract customers. Yet ironically the left would paint me because I’m a person of the right as beholding to rich interests while at the same time they are paid millions for a product that doesn’t justify its value.

The world is a weird place.

Wishful thinking from the Ahmadiyya Muslims

Posted: February 7, 2011 by datechguy in internet/free speech, opinion/news
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I’ve mentioned the Ahmadiyya Muslims on my blog before, they have a mosque on main street Fitchburg and march regularly in our 4th of July parade. They are good people and they certainly mean well with this effort:

“Our hope is to emphasize to our fellow Americans,” Sayed said, “that it is the religious duty of a Muslim to be loyal to the country where he resides…Number two that there are negative influences being exerted — upon especially the Muslim youth in the United States — by people like al Awlaki on the Internet and third the press pays attention to violent acts that people commit in the name of Islam….If we just sit by, more and more these extremists will take hold the banner of Islam and say this is what Islam is.”

I’m torn by this. It’s a worthy effort and a necessary one, and Islam needs reforms from within. Unfortunately many Muslims consider the Ahmadiyya’s a breakaway sect, they have been targets of terror and murder for their peaceful views. I don’t know if western support would simply marginalize them further within greater Islam.

So as I applaud their efforts I don’t have a lot of hope that we will see more of their point of view and less of this:

An Afghan physiotherapist will be executed within three days for converting to Christianity.

Said Musa, 45, has been held for eight months in a Kabul prison

and remember this is not Pakistan, this is Afghanistan!

He claims he was visited by a judge who told him he would be hanged within days unless he converted back to Islam.

But he remains defiant and said he would be willing to die for his faith.

He told the Sunday Times: ‘My body is theirs to do what they want with.

‘Only God can decide if my spirit goes to hell.’

Defence lawyers have refused to represent him, while others have dropped the case after receiving death threats.

As long as Islam is generating these headlines it will be a tough sell.

Just remember AOL owning it is OWNING IT 

Posted: February 7, 2011 by datechguy in blogs, business, internet/free speech
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We see that Arianna Huffington has made her blog pay off:

I got an email from Tim Armstrong (AOL Chairman and CEO), saying he had something he wanted to discuss with me, and asking when we could meet. We arranged to have lunch at my home in LA later that week. The day before the lunch, Tim emailed and asked if it would be okay if he brought Artie Minson, AOL’s CFO, with him. I told him of course and asked if there was anything they didn’t eat. “I’ll eat anything but mushrooms,” he said.

The next day, he and Artie arrived, and, before the first course was served — with an energy and enthusiasm I’d soon come to know is his default operating position — Tim said he wanted to buy The Huffington Post and put all of AOL’s content under a newly formed Huffington Post Media Group, with me as its president and editor-in-chief.

As a person who pays his mortgage one knock on a strange door at a time I must congratulate Arianna on making her site pay off. Granted she was already doing good personally but it’s always nice to see someone do OK.

There is one side thought that instantly comes to mind however. When you are buying something like the HuffPo you are not only buying the structure and the “writers” so to speak, you are also buying the commentators.

It’s axiomatic that you can’t hold a blogger responsible for the comments of individuals on a site and most people simply don’t have the time to police comments to the degree that is necessary for proper decorum, but AOL is a large company. A VERY large company with a fair amount of employees and the manpower to stay on top of that kind of thing.

There have been cases when the Huffpo has made it a point to keep comments closed to make sure some of their more, shall we say enthusiastic leftists don’t embarrass them. With “civility” now the code word of the left and with AOL brand at stake, they will now find themselves of necessity diligently policing the site, and if they don’t well I’m sure there are bloggers on the right with a lot more time on their hands than me who regularly read the Huffpo who will take the time to find this kind of stuff and helpfully point it out to the new owners at AOL.

So AOL I hope you like your purchase, but now remember you OWN it, all of it.

Update: Stacy notes the relative value of his blog. No word on what DaTechGuy on DaRadio might be worth, but then again I’m just looking to make enough to pay the bills every week.

Ace links. I actually think its the first time AOSHQ has linked here. Welcome Ace readers, take a peek around, we have interviews from the GOP Growing Grassroots convention this weekend in Milford Mass. and check out radio show on WCRN AM 830 (50,000 Watts of true talk) you can listen to the latest one featuring bloggers such as Dan Collins of POWIP, Roxeanne De Luca of Haemet, Tom Bowler of Libertarian Leanings and this week we had Congresswoman Renee Ellmers chairwoman of the House Sub Committee on health and technology.

You can listen live to last weeks show here and remember we will be on at our new time 10 a.m. to noon starting Saturday Feb 12th from CPAC!

Doesn’t anybody remember history?

Posted: February 6, 2011 by datechguy in internet/free speech
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It’s one thing to not know ancient history or even history of the centuries ago. But it is another to not remember the history of just a few decades ago:

There is much debate over President Reagan because we all think of him differently. And over time, history sweetens our memories. But no matter what policy disagreements you may have had with him, you have to admire his style of politics. He embodied a spirit of bipartisanship.

He was a conservative Republican, but he understood that in order to get anything done he had to work across the aisle, which he did very effectively.

Ah yes those halcyon days of yesteryear. Before we get all teary eyed over those days of love and peace let me bring you some numbers:

97th congress:                98th Congress               99th Congress               100th Congress

House 244-191 (D)        House 272-163 (D)    House 253-182 (D)        House 258-177 (D)
Senate 53-47    (R)        Senate 55-45     (R)    Senate 53-47     (R)        Senate 55-45 (D)

 

You might recall in the lame duck session with a new majority only pending the administration felt compelled to make a deal they didn’t like.  Ronald Reagan in eight years never controlled the house and for at least 2 years did not have a majority in the senate to back him up.  Reagan compromised with democrats on spending, tax cuts and treaties not because he loved bipartisanship but because he never had the votes to do anything else.

When Dianne Feinstein wishes for the age of bipartisanship, she is actually pining for the days of democratic control and a cowed conservatism.  She counts on American’s ignorance of history to pull the deception off.

 

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