Tonight’s post is going to be short. I wish it could be longer but my busy day prevented it.
My re-entry from the trip into work sucked. I woke up this morning starting my normally meeting-filled day when I started getting pinged like crazy. It turns out we pretty much had a red-hot issue that needed to be addressed and I was basically the only person who could handle it, so I got pulled out of all of my meetings and spent all day working on these issues. What makes it worse is that the problem lies with something beyond our team’s control, so I’m really at the mercy of a whole other group. Basically it was just crappy. Oh, and not to mention the mountain of email that I got for being for one day – talk about nuts! Ugh…
I really want to write more, especially in regards to some of these Supreme Court Decisions that have been handed down these last few days. There are two that I’m pretty pissed about, and hopefully would like to rant a little more on them later on, but for now I must say this:
Kelo v. New London – Eminent domain can now be exercised for development of commercial property. What the heck were they thinking when they ruled this way. Way to KILL the 5th Amendment! This is income redistribution at it’s worst. Basically they take your property at "fair market value" – what they feel it’s worth to them (typically below that you’re willing to sell it for), and hand it over to someone who’s going to turn that same land into far more valuable real-estate in which the commercial developer will profit from. This is one of the core reasons I lean on the conservative side – I am firmly against the government taking someones money and giving it to other people. More on this to come…
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc. v. Grokster, Ltd. – I don’t get this ruling. So I guess companies that create P2P software CAN be held liable, if they MARKET their software for the use of illegal downloads. But how exactly do you determine marketing intentions? Do companies now have to be responsible for EVERY mention or appearance of their product? Maybe I’m reading this on, I need to do some more studying, but right now I just see this as another excuse for frivolous lawsuits by the RIAA and MPAA, used to harass and intimidate their own customer-base. In the end the only people that will be getting rich are Lobbyists and Lawyers. NIIIIIIICE!
I’m still really pissed about this, enough to renew my gift contribution to the EFF. Want a really good perspective on this issue? Check our Dallas Mavericks owner & Internet entrepreneur Mark Cuban’s blog.
The Conflicting Ten Commandments Rulings – Ok… So I guess through your mental powers you’re supposed to figure out what SOMEONE’S INTENTIONS are for putting up the 10 Commandments, and based on what you THINK their intentions are, they’re violating freedom of religion… Hmmmm…
Lol, also today was finance day… Not fun, I tallied the receipts from last weekend’s trip:
Concert Tickets – $140
Round-Trip Airfare – $150
2 Nights in Hotel – $189
Rental Car – $74
Flying cross country to go see a band that you thought wasn’t going to be in your home town, only to find out they’re not going to be there three nights – PRICELESS!
Okay, complaining about money aside. The trip was freakin’ worth every penny, and I’d do it again in a heartbeat.