Getting Closer...

Apple's dopily named MobileMe is sort-of up and running--the mail interface is nice, but much of the rest of it is, apparently, still to come. Meanwhile, a visitation to the old mac.com address produces the following, slightly different from yesterday's message:


So we remain in wait-and-see mode, since, really, what are our options?

Leaving Us to Wonder What "Scheduled" Means

I have as yet been unable to access the reconstructed .Mac website, now known as MobileMe. Which is an even dopier name than dot-Mac was. Trying to access my dot-Mac account produces this:
That "scheduled maintenance" part slays me: So Apple planned to have both the old and the new service unavailable on the big roll-out day?!

Some users have reported being able to log in, only to be booted out in short order; others have reported being able to access some but not all of the services. Me, I only see this when I visit the MobileMe website, whose address is me.com (see above in re dopiness):


It's a little sadistic to allow us to check out the swell features MobileMe promises without our being able to actually log in and use them, no?

Meanwhile, my e-mail--which is mostly what I use mac.com for--seems to be working, albeit pokily.

The best-laid plans, I guess...

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FISA Fight: Just Another Epic Failure in America's History

Today is going to go down as a dark day in our nation's history, as the Senate completes its total capitulation to the Bush administration and its corporate masters, through passing legislation that dramatically expands the government's surveillance powers and immunizes the companies responsible for illegally spying on us.

read more | digg story

Once again, I'm experimenting a bit with the "blog it" button on Digg. Works pretty slick, as you can tell from the above as well as the previous post. (Well, actually, how could you tell that it works pretty slick? Guess you just have to take my word for it.) I think it could do a better job of indicating the item's origins--there's nothing up above there that tells you that the item is in fact by Martin Bosworth, not yours truly, as published in The Huffington Post. You're required to click through a read the whole article, which a lot of blog-skimmers won't do. That should be addressed. Also, it would be nice if Digg gave one the ability to add commentary to an item as he or she posted it to the blog. But I know they're looking at the blogging experience in a different way than I am.

Naturally I'm pretty peeved about how the Senate acted on FISA. I'm disappointed in my senior Senator, Tim Johnson. (Not disappointed in junior Senator John Thune: I knew all along he'd play his usual role of White House dittohead.) I'm disappointed in Barack Obama. Mostly, I'm disappointed in the system, which now leaves me no alternative except disappointment.

After all, what are my choices here? Shall I be ticked off at Tim Johnson and say, Well, that's it, then, I'll vote for the right-winger that the local GOP has propped up to run against him? Hah. Likewise for Obama: I'd've liked it a lot better had he not joined into the mass capitulation to the White House (latest in a series), but I can hardly envision myself ever voting for McCain. So I'm annoyed at the both of them, but they still get my vote.

I have decided, as a result of yesterday's roll-over-and-play-dead in the Senate, that I will no longer contribute to Tim Johnson's reelection campaign. To date I have made no contribution to Obama's campaign, and I shall think long and hard before I do so. It's not much, I grant you, but I believe that their actions should have some consequence, however minuscule.

Note that the idea of not voting doesn't enter the picture. (Well, except for now.) Let's not kid ourselves: To not vote for X is to cast a vote for Y, no matter how many times you say it isn't. As unhappy as I am right now with Senators Johnson and Obama, I'm unwilling to help hand their respective elections to the other guys.

Although, truth to tell, there's a part of me that says it would serve 'em right.

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True Patriotism: An Independence Day Reflection

Conservatives believe it’s easy to be a patriot; liberals know why it’s sometimes hard. It’s not hard because America is a bad place or because it’s not easy to love one’s country. It’s hard because being a true patriot means we must elevate reason over base emotions, tamp down our worst impulses and always remember that our Constitution is more than mere words on paper.

read more | digg story