WashingtonWatch.com

Washingtonwatch.com is a site I became privy to by watching the Geekbrief.com video podcast. This site may be old news to some, but WashingtonWatch now offers up congressional bills and information in wiki form where users can edit, discuss, vote on and basically do other Web 2.0 things to the content. It is actually reminiscent of OpenCongress.org which was previously posted about on PoliticalReps.

But the crux of WashingtonWatch.com is the fiscal impact of congressional bills on "our nation's budget - and yours". Two tabs in the middle of the page -- "Greatest Cost" and "Greatest Savings" -- break down certain bills into how much money they either cost or save each family. While the figures are not exact, and it is unclear as to how many constitute an "average family", it is interesting to see possible government expenditures broken down in this fashion. For example, Senate Bill 509, The Aviation Security Improvement Act, would cost the average family $66.59. When the bill is clicked on, more details -- like how much it would cost an individual or a couple -- are available from a drop down box.

Michael Arrington from TechCrunch.com offers this comment about the site's new wiki form:

I expect lobbyists, lawyers and congressional staff will get heavily involved in spinning legislation according to their own agendas, and we’ll soon see the beginning of a Washinton D.C. version of Wikipedia wars. This should be fun.

-Dippold

Political Online Reputation

Department of Homeland Security seeks New Radiation-Detecting Gear

The Bush Administration wants to put new devices that would detect radiation at our nation's land crossings and ports.

Old monitors have trouble telling the difference between weapons of mass destruction and the radiation in naturally occurring items like bananas and ceramics.

Despite the inefficiency, some are questioning the $1.2 billion cost.

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is testing some of the new detectors on cargo coming into the port of New York. The program is aimed at stopping malevolent materials terrorists attempt to ship into the United States.

Critics believe nuclear materials that are heavily shielded -- for instance, encased in lead -- could fool even the most advanced detectors.

John Bowen of the Hometown Security blog chimes in, offering some solutions:

It's all protective intervention, with the goal of finding radioactive needles in the haystack of cargo. They are going to rely on state and local officials to do some of this detection, with some limited guidance from DNDO.

But the testing data on the radiation detectors is somewhat questionable, and the deployment schedule is falling behind. Hmm...

State and local authorities might want to consider other steps, such as identifying local sources of radioactivity and collaborating with their caretakers regarding their security (e.g., hospitals, food irradiators, oil and gas drilling operations, etc.) Another idea is what New York did - conduct a baseline radiological survey of the area, so that it easier to spot anomalous radiation.

The best security system will not solely rely on detection. The "detection" set of concentric rings should only be one in a system of concentric rings.

The Bush administration is expected to present its case for mass installation of the new devices to congress later this year.

-Dippold

Political Online Reputation

Imusgate

All over the 24-hour news networks on television last night was seemingly non-stop, total coverage of the controversy surrounding Don Imus' remarks about the Rutgers women basketball team.

Amanda Chapel at Strumpette.com mentions this of the media frenzy:

Imus, what the Hell were you thinkin'? Better question... were you thinking? Well, that's spilt milk.

UNDERSTATEMENT OR WHAT?!!! Now it's the Nation's number one topic for discussion. It's eclipsed everything. You just cannot turn on the news without discussion of Rutgers flap. As we speak, the Imus franchise is being lashed by 165 mile-an-hour winds. The National Weather Service has officially labeled this a Category Five. Yikes!

He called the players some "hardcore hos" and "nappy headed hos". This set off a maelstrom of condemnation and debate. Many commentators called for Imus' resignation while some advertisers, such as Staples and Bigelow Tea, pulled ads from his show.

A major point of contention is rap lyrics and how they say the same type of thing. And why rappers don't garner equal media attention. To which the reply was there have been attempts to condemn rap lyrics and rappers don't have the same kind of platform as Don Imus. On and on.

People are taking his comments very seriously. Nearly everybody seems to believe what he said is racist, sexist and just outright wrong. Don Imus has apologized over and over which raises the question: Should he be forgiven? Should Imus be allowed to keep his job thus maybe sending the message that he can get away these comments?

"Crimsonline" has a few questions of his own on his Livejournal:

My question is, when has Imus NOT been offensive? His show was on during the morning on the local talk station when I went to the gym while I lived in Massachusetts. I frequently had to turn the radio off, disgusted by Imus' innuendo-filled, insult-packed, foul brand of humor.

Compared to some of the things rap stars and stage comedians say these days, Imus' comment is maybe a "7" on the insult-o-meter, but when Imus is continually at "6," and people lap it up, why the furor when he kicks it up a notch?

I'm not defending Imus - far from it! - I'm just saying that you get what you pay for. Imus makes his living insulting people, saying offensive things, and making a moron out of himself. Why are people shocked - shocked! when he does it now?

According to Shawn Hansen at The Pissed off Professor, Imus is a coward and a bully:

I think the focal point needs to be that is Don Imus is a bully, and he bullied his way across an unforgivable line pleading the humor defense.

Don Imus did not level his hair comments at Barack Obama, nor did he take a shot at Hillary Rodham Clinton’s womanhood. This genius of comedy didn’t take his words and toss them at Oprah Winfrey, and he completely missed the boat by not including Dennis Rodman instead of the Toronto Raptors in his joke.

I’ll tell you why he didn’t do these things: he’s a bully and a coward not a comic. Instead of picking on anyone who might have had the power and the authority to fight back, he picked on a group of college women who had just suffered one of the greatest defeats in women’s basketball history.

And he kicked them when they were down.

Don Imus has been handed a two week suspension. He is also set to meet with the Rutgers team in private.

-Dippold

Political Online Reputation

The Push for More Helmet Laws

Safety advocates and lawmakers in eight states are pushing for new motorcycle helmet laws due to rising motorcyclist fatalities and last year's crash of NFL player Ben Roethlisberger.

This effort is more controversial than past attempts of stressing education and rider training to increase motorcycle safety.

Rider groups like American Bikers Aimed Toward Education (ABATE) are opposed to such laws saying that wearing a helmet should be the rider's choice. Such groups have worked to weaken helmet laws in 27 states since 1975 by applying them only to young riders.

But other organizations like the Governors Highway Safety Association support helmet laws citing the rising number of motorcycle deaths. In 1997 there were 2,116 motorcycle fatalities. The number increased to 4,553 in 2005 while other road deaths decreased.

Twenty states currently require helmets for all motorcyclists. And 27 states require them for some riders under a certain age, usually 18 or 21. Only three state have no helmet laws.

Deb at Debsweb halfheartedly offers this comment:

Helmet laws. Should people who are too stupid to protect their most valuable organ be forced to wear a helmet so society doesn't have to pay for their vegetative care? Not that I have an opinion on the matter. Let them ride free, there are many people on the transplant lists that will appreciate a second chance at life. They aren't called donorcycles for nothing.

With choices like the snappy helmet pictured above, who in the world would want to forgo the cranium defenders.

-Dippold

Political Online Reputation