Sheriff Joe: so consumed with pandering to bigots, he forgot to be a sheriff

McCain 'Outraged' By Sheriff Joe Arpaio's Sex Crimes Negligence | ThinkProgress

Higher education is a rip off

That's not to say your not better off without it. But just because its better to have a higher education than not is no defense of universities predatory practices, either. ANd it just so happens that law school - where they push ethics ethics ethics - is where the festering wound is most obvious.

Report Says Law Schools Reflect Wider Problems

Strangely, bankers never seem to fall through the cracks when it comes time for free money

http://www.law.com/jsp/nj/PubArticleNJ.jsp?id=1202536622067&et=editorial&bu=New%20Jersey%20Law%20Journal&cn=NJLJ%20Daily%20News%20Alert%3A%20December%2028%2C%202011&src=EMC-Email&pt=New%20Jersey%20Law%20Journal%20Daily%20News%20Alert&kw=NO%20RELIEF%20FOR%20HOMEOWNERS%20SHUT%20OUT%20BY%20REFINANCING%20OVERHAUL%20

Republican accomplishment: preventing predatory lenders from being prosecuted

"That was the CFPB in 2011: docile and crippled. But many Republicans in Congress remain convinced there's a wolf under those sheep's clothes, just waiting to tear out the throat of American businesses.

They've steadfastly blocked the nomination of former Ohio Attorney General Richard Cordray to head the agency, and without a director, the CFPB's powers are severely limited. The agency can exercise the authority it inherited from seven other agencies, but it can't perform what is perhaps its most important new function under the Dodd-Frank Act: policing the murky world of nonbank lenders.

Instead, the CFPB in 2011 released reports, created task forces and made new, simplified forms for mortgage disclosures, credit cards and student financial aid. But it didn't bring a single enforcement action against a predatory lender."

http://www.law.com/jsp/nj/PubArticleNJ.jsp?id=1202536608348&et=editorial&bu=New%20Jersey%20Law%20Journal&cn=NJLJ%20Daily%20News%20Alert%3A%20December%2027%2C%202011&src=EMC-Email&pt=New%20Jersey%20Law%20Journal%20Daily%20News%20Alert&kw=ROCKY%20START%20FOR%20NEW%20FEDERAL%20CONSUMER%20AGENCY%20&slreturn=1

Interesting post on the science of making popular music

first, a great quote:

"pop music, while not necessarily devoid of substance, is something of an item where substance has little or no positive or negative value on its appeal."

Either way, a scientific formula for popularity doesn't scare me as a music fan. worst case scenario, the big labels and their affiliated vehicles (radio, tv, etc) become even more fearful of wasting airtime (or whatever) on music that falls outside their formulas. That hasn't stopped real rock & roll yet - because so long as there are people that want it raw, there will be those that serve it. Besides, a sonnet or a haiku are forms of poetry with strict format rules. Yet within those forms there are poems that accomplish the bare minimum and poems that knock your socks off. No matter how formulaic pop music becomes, there will always be the potential for somebody with true talent to use the formula to shine.

Researchers Claim to have Discovered the Secret of Successful Pop Music

Techrights group calls for Apple boycott - Android lawsuits show something's off | TechEye

Personally, I won't but Apple products for four reasons:

1. Apple is a corporate censor. We cherish First Amendment protections against government interference with speech. Unfortunately, too many of us - including the Supreme Court - define government as the institution we elect and pay taxes to, not the broader power structure. After all, if a group of government officials asked a company like Apple to censor an application and Apple obliged, its no less censorship - and Apple has "private" power as opposed to "public" power means there's nothing anyone can do about it. That's exactly what happened when a group of senators asked Apple, RIM (Blackberry), and Google (Android) to block an application that allowed citizens to share information about speed traps and DUI check points. Only Google said no.

And it doesn't stop there. Apple has censored games designed to make statements about immigration, applications focused on healthcare reform, and even wikileaks' application. Who cares if government is prohibited from engaging in censorship if the dominant means of communication are controlled by a small handful of like minded individuals willing to play the role of "private" censor.

2. Apple is a hypocritical bully. Apple didn't invent the personal computer, the mp3 player, or the smart phone. It simply branded those products and marketed them with a hearty dose of hipster snob appeal. Yet Apple uses dubious patent claims to stifle its competitors - often just teams of hackers working on a free and open project. Few can afford to take on Apple in an expensive lawsuit, so Apple wins just by being big - even if their patent claims are bogus. That's not just being a bully, its being a hypocritical bully.

3. Apple is over priced. This is true whether your purchasing a desktop, laptop, music player, or smart phone. Shop around. You can almost always get a non-Apple product of comparable build quality and superior specs for hundreds of dollars less than the Apple piece.

4. The Apple hipster snob cult is annoying. Remember back in the day when people would spend close to $100 on a pair of pants and more than $50 on a sweat shirt because they said "Z. Cavericci" or "IOU" They'd tell you they spent that money because the clothes were more comfortable - which was obvious bullshit. Then they'd look down their noses at - and sometimes outright ridicule- - the kids in the "K-Mart" clothes. I remember those people. They were huge assholes. The Apple crowd is a little more polite about it, and an adult's choice in computing equipment is rarely as divisive as the boundary lines that divide teenage fashion cliques - but at its core, Apple fan's attitudes about their hardware choices are similarly farcical and condescending. I don't want any part of that.

Techrights group calls for Apple boycott - Android lawsuits show something's off | TechEye

idiots are taking over everywhere

If it seems outrageous for mainstream politicians (especially in nations that wear a commitment to freedom and equality on their sleeves) to pander to right wing extremists that engage in direct harassment (and sometimes outright violence) of individuals - your not paying attention. Its the trend around the world. Even here, right wing politicians bend over backwards to appease the moral sensibilities of conservative moralists- while fighting against such things as expanding hate crime legislation to protect gays from deadly violence.

Israel's deepening religious divide - Inside Story - Al Jazeera English