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Quick Fact: Hannity falsely claims former Obama nominee “sees similarities between pregnancy and slavery”

On his April 29 show, Sean Hannity twice falsely claimed that Dawn Johnsen, President Obama’s former nominee to head the Justice Department’s Office of Legal Counsel before withdrawing her nomination, “sees similarities between pregnancy and slavery.” In fact, in the brief to which Hannity refers, Johnsen compared “forced pregnancy” to involuntary servitude.

Hannity: Johnsen “seems the similarities between pregnancy and slavery.”

During a discussion of Obama’s judicial nominees on the April 29 edition of Fox News’ Hannity, Hannity article:

The Republicans are referring to a 1989 brief in Webster vs. Reproductive Health Services, a case that tested whether states could prohibit abortions in public health institutions. Johnsen was then legal director of the National Abortion Rights Action League, one of 77 organizations to sign the brief.

Footnote 23, part of the brief that Johnsen said in a Senate hearing that she wrote, said the following: “While a woman might choose to bear children gladly and voluntarily, statutes that curtail her abortion choice are disturbingly suggestive of involuntary servitude, prohibited by the Thirteenth Amendment, in that forced pregnancy requires a woman to provide continuous physical service to the fetus in order to further the state’s asserted interest. Indeed, the actual process of delivery demands work of the most intense and physical kind: labor of 12 or more grueling hours of contractions is not uncommon.”

So Johnsen compared “forced pregnancy” — not motherhood — to involuntary servitude.

After we asked the Republican Conference about the claim, staffer Ericka Andersen acknowledged it was wrong. “You are correct that the post was written inaccurately,” she told us in an e-mail. She corrected the post to say Johnsen “equated forced pregnancy with ‘involuntary servitude.’”

Kudos to the conference for acknowledging the error. But we still find the original claim False.

AZ Immigration Bill Writer’s Resume: GOP Activist, Ashcroft Aide, Arpaio Ally
The controversial Arizona immigration bill signed into law last week was written in part by a conservative immigration law expert and Republican activist who’s a former top aide to John Ashcroft, was recently hired by Sheriff Joe Arpaio, and is running for statewide office.

House Passes New Bill Banning RNC ‘Census’ Mailer Once And For All
Moments ago, the House passed a new bill that seeks to ban misleading Census mailers once and for all.

Seems like only yesterday that we were talking about the HP Compaq Airlife 100 Android netbook — oh, wait, it was, both here and on the special Emergency PalmCast Broadcast in the wake of HP buying Palm for $1.2 billion. Anyhoo, we got a good look at the Airlife 100 at Mobile World Congress but had seen neither hide nor hair of it since. But, as expected, it’s now available on Telefonica in Spain, bringing its 10-inch screen and 1 GHz Snapdragon processor for about $300, not counting data plan. [Carrypad via Slashgear]

McCain’s Enemy Belligerent Detention Act: Is SCOTUS keeping Richard Fine in jail for a reason?
Well, the U.S. Supreme Court just reviewed attorney Richard Fine’s habeas corpus case and gave it a pass. Poor sweet attorney Fine has been held in the slammer on a bogus contempt-of-court charge for over a year now. Further, he’s being held in the Los Angeles County Central Men’s Jail, one of the violent and […]

Billionaire Jumps Into Florida Senate Race
“Just in case Florida’s Senate race wasn’t interesting enough, Palm Beach billionaire Jeff Greene plans to file papers this morning to enter the contest as a Democrat,” the Palm Beach Post reports.

Adam Smith: “His colorful profile — Mike Tyson was best man at his 2008 wedding, ex-Hollywood madam Heidi Fleiss lived in his guest house after prison, and he made many of his millions betting on the housing collapse that killed Florida’s economy — normally would make a candidate like Greene a long shot. But in a race where Democratic frontrunner Kendrick Meek is little known to most voters and Crist non-partisan candidacy means it will be a three-way race, Greene’s ability to saturate Florida TV with commercials could make him a major contender.”

In the future, the difference between social networks and corporate websites will be hard to distinguish.

HP’s social strategist Tony Frosty Welch gestured for me to check out Levi’s recent social moves, his instincts were right, this is unique. Two weeks ago, Facebook announced a crusade in social colonization to spread Facebook across the web, and we’re starting to see Levi’s take advantage of it.  While most brands are only at level 1 of social integration, Levi’s has jumped to level 6 and 7.

Breakdown: How Facebook Enables Levi’s Social Shopping

Awareness (Above Screenshot): Levi’s homepage indicates that it now has Facebook integration

Education (Above Screenshot): An intro video indicates how users can gesture they like a product, by “liking” it on the Levi’s site –even if they are not logged into Levis.com, you can watch the video also on YouTube.

Social Gestures (Above Screenshot): On each product page, Levi’s encourages users to “Like” the products, and uses standard social features from Facebook that prompt viewers to be the “First of your friends” to like it.

Social Commerce (Above Screenshot):  Using the aggregated Facebook data, Levi’s creates a personalized shopping cart based on what your friends have suggested you’ll like, hoping to increase upsell.

Customer Demands Signals From Social Networks An Opportunity for Retailers
Levi’s has launched a promising marketing opportunity at low cost. By simply installing existing social features into their content management systems, they can increase the mouth of the marketing funnel, and benefit from word of mouth marketing.

• Your friends are shopping with you –even if they aren’t present. This has two major impacts: 1) Consumers real friends are part of the shopping experience –even if they are not physically present. 2) The level of engagement will eventually cascade to mobile devices in store, so eventually as consumers walk into a retailer that has Levi’s they could scan the product and see which one of their friends likes or recommends it.
• A more engaged user, without forcing them through registration. Registration forms are the bane of marketers: Most consumers disdain them, enter garbage data, and fall off as the forms get longer.  However, As long as users are logged into Facebook they can do this even if they are not logged into Levi’s.com. This means that consumers can ‘like’ a product and engage with the Levi’s product and spread it to their friends on the corporate site and on Facebook. As a result, expect the mouth of the marketing funnel to be wider
• Consumers take part in marketing and recommendations, increasing upsell opportunity. Levi’s has had social shopping features on their site for some time, you can see the ratings, rankings and comments on each product page, yet in most cases, consumers don’t know who those reviewers are.  Edelman’s Trust research indicates that customers trust each other or ‘people like them’ so this has the opportunity to increase. In theory there could be a great chance of up and cross sell as consumers rely on their actual friends to influence buying decisions. Expect celebrities with large followings to be more influential as what they ‘like’ will cascade over thousands.
• Social commerce vendors will integrate with Social CRM –yet should be cautious of user privacy. Social vendors like Bazaarvoice, Kickapps*, and Pluck and other customer rating tools that occur post login, need to quickly pay attention to this as it’s both a threat an opportunity. They should develop integration tools and integrate their social data with CRM systems (called Social CRM) to create new and unique forms of data that can anticipate customer needs. Facebook users aren’t fully aware of the long term impacts this has, expect some embarrassing and news worthy stories to appear where a consumer ‘likes’ a product resulting in an unexpected result.

The biggest opportunities are actually unseen. Expect savvy brands to use demand signals from consumers to indicate which products should be ramped up on production, distribution, and marketing, to learn more read my colleague’s blog on Supply Chain Management, by Altimeter’s Lora Cecere.

*An Altimeter client, see disclosure page. We hope you’ll trust our analysis more if we disclose our relationships.

Why Law Enforcement Officials Should Hate Arizona’s Racist New Law
Arizona’s draconian anti-immigration law will create a chilling effect in the very communities police officers rely on to fight crime.

Arizona's draconian anti-immigration law will create a chilling effect in the very communities police officers rely on to fight crime.

Food Among the Ruins: Should Detroit Be Converted Into a Farming Mecca?
Our country’s most ramshackle city has an opportunity to re-invent itself — and perhaps the future of American food production.

Our country's most ramshackle city has an opportunity to re-invent itself — and perhaps the future of American food production.

Thousands Rally in New York for Showdown with Wall St.
Over 10,000 protesters gathered in New York’s financial district to demand financial reform.

Over 10,000 protesters gathered in New York's financial district to demand financial reform.

Exploring the Mind-Bending World of Salvia Divinorum
"Within around thirty seconds of smoking the dark herbal extract the effects rapidly began, and I felt my entire sense of identity suddenly shift."

"Within around thirty seconds of smoking the dark herbal extract the effects rapidly began, and I felt my entire sense of identity suddenly shift."

Greenwire: Though the Cape Wind offshore wind farm secured approval yesterday from Interior Secretary Ken Salazar, residents of Cape Cod do not expect a conclusion anytime soon to a battle that has already dragged on for nearly a decade.

“I don’t think it’s over yet,” said Rob MacNamee, 42, an attorney from Barnstable, Mass. “It’s been going on for how long? All the stickers for and against have washed off the cars, and the signs have blown down.”

The 130 wind turbines would be visible from much of the region, but residents do not expect to see the 440-foot structures to be built anytime soon. Several groups have threatened lawsuits to block the project.

Critics of the project say the turbines would change the character of Nantucket Sound, ruining scenic views and obstructing the routes currently taken by boats. Backers say the project would make Massachusetts a leader in renewable energy and provide enough energy to meet most of Cape Cod’s electricity needs.

Steven Spagnohe, a 46-year-old musician from Hyannis, Mass., described opponents of the project as “old money,” saying they “don’t want to lose tradition.” Ian Parent, the owner of a cafe in Hyannis, said he supports renewable energy but does not think Nantucket Sound is the right place for the technology.

“I’m 100 percent for alternative energy, but just not in Nantucket Sound,” Parent said. “There’s no guarantee that the electricity will be cheaper. And once you put those windmills out there, you can never take them away” (Katie Zezima, New York Times, April 29). – GN

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VIDEO Jerusalem: A Great Model For Arizona
I don’t know what we would do without Al Jazeera. Like the Israeli media, it goes where the American media fears to tred. Check this out. The occupied areas of Israel (including Arab East Jerusalem) have a segregated road system….



Israel – East Jerusalem – United States – Middle East – Warfare and Conflict

Neocons: Playing The Dual Loyalty Card ++ Nadler, Weiner Speak Out For The Occupation
The neocons AIPAC, its think-tank (the Washington Institute of Near East Policy), and the rest of the usual Israel-can-do-no-wrong crowd is now harping on the question of dual loyalty. Are American Jews being accused of being more loyal to Israel…


United States – American Israel Public Affairs Committee – Middle East – Dennis Ross – Israel

Gingrich?s ?Drill Here, Drill Now? campaign continues as oil rig disaster grows.
The Earth Day oil rig disaster that began with an explosion that claimed 11 lives is becoming an ecological catastrophe. The Coast Guard has set some of the West-Virginia-sized oil slick ablaze, even as it grows by thousands of barrels a day. Although this deadly catastrophe calls into question the pro-drilling campaigns by the oil […]

The Earth Day oil rig disaster that began with an explosion that claimed 11 lives is becoming an ecological catastrophe. The Coast Guard has set some of the West-Virginia-sized oil slick ablaze, even as it grows by thousands of barrels a day. Although this deadly catastrophe calls into question the pro-drilling campaigns by the oil industry and its conservative allies, the propaganda continues. In 2008, Newt Gingrich began American Solutions for Winning the Future (ASWF), the casino-funded 527 that used the slogan “Drill Here, Drill Now, Pay Less” to promote the false idea that new offshore drilling could lower gas prices. On its website, Gingrich’s ASWF is continuing its petition while reporting on the inevitable consequences of dependence on dirty oil:

Similarly, other oil-industry front groups — American Petroleum Institute, Energy Tomorrow, Institute for Energy Research, Americans for Prosperity, Heritage Foundation, and the Institute for 21st Century Energy — are still promoting increased drilling and attacking green economy legislation that would reduce our dependence on oil. (HT Wonkette)

Obama: ‘There may not be an appetite’ to tackle immigration this year
President Obama said late Wednesday that “there may not be an appetite” to overhaul the nation’s immigration laws this year, even though he believes there is a pressing need to do so.

Goldman Sachs adds to its ranks of lobbyists
Until a few years ago, Goldman Sachs operated a sleepy lobby shop in the nation’s capital.

Hunter says she didn’t wreck John Edwards’ home
John Edwards’ mistress said on Thursday’s episode of “The Oprah Winfrey Show” that she doesn’t believe she destroyed the former presidential candidate’s marriage.

Independence Day for Charlie Crist
Independence Day for Charlie Crist 1. Florida Gov. Charlie Crist (R) will announce his future political plans today, a decision widely reported — by the Fix among many others — to be a stepping-away from the Republican party to run for the Senate this fall as an independent. Crist, perhaps see…

LONDON: The third and final face-to-face US-style debate between the contenders for the U.K. Prime Minister job is now history. There was no “knock-out punch,” no major gaffe, no “game-changer.”

But our sister newspaper The Sun probably summed it up best on their front page :

“Breakfast Election Special : Scrambled Clegg and Toast…Cameron’s full of Beans”

Translation for Americans :

Third –party challenger Nick Clegg is doing well but stumbling on his own rhetoric.

Hapless incumbent PM Gordon Brown and third standing in the polls is “toast.”

And Conservative candidate David Cameron is out in front.

The theme of the last debate was the economy. And while that did spark some back and forth, the one thing most people were waiting for was whether Brown would mention again his sorrow about calling a voter a “bigot” behind her back but on microphone.

We didn’t get a real apology, just a throwaway line at the outset about how he doesn’t always get things right.

So now with election day next Thursday, May 6 we are in the homestretch. The only real drama among most analysts is whether front runner Cameron’s party will garner enough Parliamentary seats to govern on its own and not via a coalition or despite an unworkable “hung parliament.”

Then again who knows? A week in politics in the UK is the same as in the States : A lifetime. Keep your fish and chips ready.

I know I’m not alone in my lust for decent phones with QWERTY keypads.

While I’ve been thoroughly enjoying the company of my touch-screen-only HTC Hero for 7 months now, I must admit that I am looking at other (more well endowed) phones while Hero’s back is turned.

But you know what? She’s ok with that. I guess that’s why we work so well together… even though I dream of the days where I could type without looking at the keyboard.

…and along comes Ally…

She has a full QWERTY, y’know. I like that in a phone, but I need something more than just a QWERTY if I am to consider acting on this whimsy.

Did you say Snapdragon? Oh my. I like those. A friend of mine is currently with a snapdragon-powered thing called Desirée, and he says it’s a whole new experience.

Of course, the Snapdragon is just the beginning: Ally also has a 480×800 AMOLED, a 5MP camera, and 720p video, all running on top of Android 2.1. While those specs are a bit girl-next-door these days, I think I’d like to meet this Ally. Wouldn’t you?

I hear she’s changed her name twice already: she used to be called “Aloha”, and before that she was just “LU2300″. She’s an elusive type, y’see.

In fact, I’ve just told you everything I know. But rest assured, I’ll pass on any details as I find them. I’m sure we’ll become the best of friends.

[via Android Central]

To Massachusetts resident Carla Howell, the only good government is small government.

“[Big government] always makes the economy worse,” she said.

And so, every time she goes shopping she feels she’s only contributing to the big government problem.

“Every time I buy something, I am putting money into the hands of politicians and taking it away from working families,” Howell said on Tuesday right after buying a bouquet of tulips from Heather’s Flower Boutique in Wayland, Mass.

Massachusetts currently has a sales tax of 6.25 percent. Carla, who is a registered libertarian, is now supporting a ballot initiative that would cut it to 3 percent. She says the only way to cut big government spending is to cut big government funding.

“[Cutting the sales tax] will be wonderful for the people of Massachusetts. More people will be back at work. More savings. More people able to take care of their families.”

But not everyone is as excited as Carla about a reduced sales tax.

“If this passes it will be a complete disaster for Massachusetts,” said Donna Kelly-Williams. “Once again we will be passing a burden onto our kids.”

Kelly-Williams is a nurse in Cambridge and a member of the Massachusetts Coalition for our communities, the main group opposing Howell’s initiative. She points out that the cut would leave a $2.5 billion hole in the state budget.

“And we already have a shortfall of $2.5 billion. Where is this money going to come from?”

Kelly-Williams says she already knows the answer.

“I fear devastating cuts to educational services, as well as fire and police safety for our communities.”

In any case it will certainly mandate some tough decisions from Bay state lawmakers who only have about $28 billion to work with each year.

And Massachusetts isn’t the only state to face potential tax restrictions from voters. Twelve other states including Maine, Ohio, Michigan, Indiana, Missouri, Arkansas, Louisiana, Colorado, Arizona, Washington, Oregon, and California all have various petitions circulating that may cut property, corporate and fuel taxes.

And with a bad economic climate, voters are certain to pass many.

“This will mandate cuts that will be devastating,” said Kelly-Williams.

Howell isn’t buying it. “This is the sky is falling defense.”

“These guys,” she said, referring to Massachusetts elected officials, “are addicted to spending. While the economy has been shrinking, these guys have been spending more money.”

She says the only way to stop them, is through a voter mandate.

“This is it,” she said. “They won’t stop on their own.”

Prime Time! NFL Draft Starts Slightly Later!

This was the big selling point of this year’s draft.  The first round will be in PRIMETIME.  I’d rather they promise they make it less boring than watching paint dry, but I guess baby steps will get us there.  No scheduling moves will change the fact that the first round is thirty-two moments of minimal interest punctuated by fifteen-minute intervals of weird-looking men yelling, but the stage is set tonight at Radio City Music Hall for the 2010 NFL Draft.

Due to boredom, I figured I would straddle the line between football fan and recreational TV critic by jotting down some thoughts during the next three-and-a-half hours.  I care more about college ball than pro, but this seems like a pretty happy marriage of the two.  Let’s go.

2:38 ESPN is the proud owner of the world’s largest iPad for the draft analysis.  Wildly unnecessary, but the Minority Report-style movements and screens are pretty cool.  I’m going to give them this one.  Certainly less garish than the Will.I.Am hologram CNN used during the last presidential election.

2:42 They seem to be really celebrating the host city, New York, in the pregame show.  Naturally, that means Jay-Z and Alicia Keys are now bouncing around my skull like a spastic pinball.

2:44 TebowTebowTebowTebowTebowTebowTebow.  Ugh.  I’m not sure when a character ever garnered this much disproportionate attention.  I say “character” because he’s only expected to go late-2^nd, 3^rd round, but has generated more discussion than any prospect I have ever witnessed in my zero years of covering the NFL Draft.  His character supersedes his athleticism.

2:47 Free association exercise: Tim Tebow – heart, character, leadership, integrity, unique, locker room.  The studio hosts are doing the roundtable on Tim Tebow.  Really divisive – opinions range from “can’t make it in the NFL” to “good locker room guy” to “will do whatever it takes to be a champion”.  Actually a fairly intriguing plot line.

2:52 On the opposite end of the spectrum is Dez Bryant, who has all the talent in the world, but is by no means a sure thing due to his prima dona behavior that we see so often from standout receivers.  See also, Keyshawn Johnson, Terrell Owens, Plaxico Buress, Chad Johnson (I can’t bring myself to do it, I’m sorry).  He is being interviewed now, and I can comfortably declare him the anti-Tebow.  That said, the legacy of Randy Moss demonstrates the danger of putting too much stock in a college player’s past. Then again, Ryan Leaf demonstrates the danger of not putting enough stock in a player’s past.  Tricky business, this draft.

2:55 I hope there is a moment in my life that is as exciting as the draft probably is for these prospects.  I’ve never had a camera crew film me watching TV.  As far as I know.

3:08 Sam Bradford seems like a pretty good dude.  .  I hate Oklahoma, so typing that last sentence made my hands cramp a little bit.  He looks like he fake tans, but I don’t FEEL like he does.  Jimmy Clausen had a better year and has the potential to be more spectacular, but Jimmy Clausen seems to be a little more….Roethlisburger-esque.

3:13 “Empire State of Mind” one more time?  OK!

3:28 Mel Kiper just flew off the handle.  Screamed at some other ESPN reporter, brutalizing his picks, then ended with “I respect your opinion”.  You sure about that, Mel?  Mel looks like the type of guy who would go ballistic at his kids if they didn’t finish their vegetables or if they didn’t look at him when they told him about their day.  Not a guy I would want at a dinner party, but definitely a guy I want if I have to watch 4.5 hours of a studio show.  The next time ESPN cuts to him, I hope he’s sharpening a knife and whistling “When Johnny Comes Marching Home”.

3:38 When did young athletes become such tasteful dressers?  Unless Jimmy Clausen shows up in a sixteen-button suit and pocket watch, I’m about to lose 40% of the premise of this piece.  Shit.

4:35 I passed out for a few minutes during the parade of “Hey, look it’s famous NFL players!”.

4:36 The St. Louis Rams are on the clock.  I’m secretly hoping they draft a little-known player called “Black Tim Tebow”, but analysis indicates they will draft Sam Bradford, regardless of whether or not Black Tim Tebow should even exist.  Seems short-sighted to me.  Bradford is talking on his phone and smiling.  Looks like he’s their pick.

4:39 How much do draft tickets cost?  Where do you buy them?  Why does a person want to attend the draft?  “I love seeing commissioners at podiums, but I hate expert analysis of the thing that the commissioner is discussing.”

4:40 Oh man!  Not only is Bradford going to receive a contract with $15mm in guaranteed salary, but he also gets a St. Louis Rams lapel pin, jersey and hat!  This has to be a great day for him.  I would sell the jersey and hat on eBay and keep the cash!

4:43 Detroit is on the clock.  You can’t draft a new hometown, so they’ll probably select a player with their pick.  Sounds like they’re going Gerald McCoy, a defensive tackle, which works for them, cause they need help at every position but QB.  Uh, oh…other tackle is on the phone!   Last minute switch.  They got Ndamukong Suh.

4:47 Suh didn’t look too stoked about becoming a Lion, but I’m still holding out for the “abject horror” look of a player getting selected by an undesirable team.  My dark horse in that category is Jimmy Clausen/Cleveland Browns.

4:49 Coors Light Home Draft has piqued my interest.  I looked it up online and it costs $18 for 16 12-oz beers, which isn’t the bargain I hoped.  In the “pro” column, it’s new, goofy, and wildly impractical.  I’ll take three.

4:54 Gerald McCoy is selected by Tampa Bay.  He’s crying pretty hard.  Would it be legal (provided there is ample time left on the clock) to select a player, witness him crying, then inform the player “we are going to need someone a little tougher than you, crybaby”, then pick a different player?  It wouldn’t?  Ok.

4:56 McCoy has a baby girl.  I don’t think he’s married either.   Tampa Bay just drafted a sinner.

4:57 While ESPN shows graphics of the players skills, shortcomings, stats, etc, they have video of the player on the left hand side of the screen, grinning, playfully tossing a football, and dancing.  There is so much of the draft process I’m jealous of.

ESPN producer: Hello, Penn?

Penn: Yeah?

ESPN Producer: We need you to come down to our studios to film you while you dance in your workout gear.

Penn: Awesome.

5:00 Redskins pick Trent Williams.  Third OU player taken in first four picks.  My only comfort comes from knowing that OU no longer has these awesome players.  I’m also happy that these three won’t be forced to live in Oklahoma anymore.  Meanwhile, Kevin Durant wonders why the leagues leading scorer is forced to live in a three-bedroom apartment that overlooks, well…Oklahoma.

5:03 Kansas City is on the clock.  Made me think of Hard Knocks, which makes me think that a team should be able to forfeit a fifth-round pick to be featured on the HBO reality show.  If a team doesn’t have a fifth-round pick, they are still eligible for the show, but every member of the 55-man roster must kick their punter in both shins.

5:06 (Solemnly staring out the window) It was three years ago that JaMarcus Russell was picked number one in the 2007 NFL Draft.  We will never forget.

5:09 Eric Berry was selected by Kansas City.  Here is what I know about Eric Barry:  He went to Tennessee, he’s a safety, and he’s wearing a shirt/tie combo that would be described as “flesh-colored”.  Not his flesh, mind you.  But mine.

5:11 An ESPN Interactive poll shows 70% of the voters think that Barry’s selection merits an “A” grade.  I bet most of those people voting know even less about Barry than I do.  They probably would have called his shirt/tie combo “salmon”.  Yuck.

5:13 Just came to the realization that nothing interesting has ever, nor will ever happen in the televised coverage of the draft.  I wish I had realized this three hours ago.

5:16 Most interesting stat of the night so far: The average diameter of the watches worn by selections thus far is 3.68 inches.  Unfortunately, this number will almost certainly trend downward in later rounds.

5:17 Russell Okung selected by Seattle.  He’s a left tackle.  Consequently, they are showing a montage of plays that would look totally mundane were he not highlighted in each one.  You know what’s hard, even for a seasoned sports fan like myself?  Figuring out if an offensive lineman is good or bad.  Hindsight is 20/20, but I find it very strange that despite the lack of statistical analysis, scouts are more on the money with offensive linemen than any other position.  Good job, scouts!

5:21 The draft day hats are available at NFL.edu

5:21 Excuse me.  NFL.com

5:22 They’re using the Minority Report board again!  I wonder if a little black ball rolls down if they find out that Colt McCoy is going to kill someone in the future.

5:23 A few of the twists that would make the draft telecast interesting:

• Steve Young claiming that he’s still a better quarterback than 23 year old Jimmy Clausen
• Texas receiver Jordan Shipley confessing that he is the result of an Army experiment to make arms more sexy.
• A player is so excited to be selected that he starts crying.  Blood.
• A player getting selected by Tennessee then seen whispering to commissioner Roger Goodell, “It’s an honor to play where Davey Crockett hung his hat”.

5:28 Joe Haden is selected by Cleveland.  He was weeping like a baby.  Don’t think they were tears of joy.

5:33 Oakland selects Bizarro Jamarcus Russell.

5:34 “The Jamarcus Russell experiment has failed miserably and I don’t think any organization can overcome that.”  – Steve Young

5:35 Oakland’s pick is anyone’s guess.  Oops.  Not anymore.  Rolando McClain.  Linebacker from Alabama.  Father is John McClaine, retired NYPD cop, divorced father of two.

I wish teams drafted more stereotypically.  Oakland’s up?  Draft the egocentric headcase wide receiver.  St. Louis?  Draft a white person!

5:38 Buffalo Bills draft CJ Spiller, explosive RB from Clemson.  An exciting player for an exciting city!!!

5:39 My wishes are that Colt McCoy gets taken by Seattle and that Tim Tebow gets drafted by someone who’s going to use him in the backfield.  White players that get drafted as either receivers or running backs must go by the more specific designation WWR and WRB.

5:43 Why attend the draft when you could throw the craziest party ever at home and have the cameras follow it?

5:47 Denver and SF traded picks.

5:51 Just heard “He’s had some problems at Rutgers”.  I think someone just drafted Tony Soprano.

5:57 Ok. Watching four hours of analysis of something I don’t really care THAT much about is probably enough.  Let’s kill this bitch before I say something racist for the sole purpose of being provocative.  Good night, draft.  Good night, cow jumping over the draft.  Good night, big bowl of mush.

Related posts:

1. Apparently NFL Pre-Draft Questions Include: Is Your Mother a Whore?
2. The Manly Link Round-Up for May 8th
3. Manly Link Round-Up for May 15th

Avatar put me to sleep, but I admire James Cameron‘s thirst for new film technologies. Now I admire him even more after he convinced NASA Administrator Charles Bolden to put back the 3D camera in Curiosity, the next Mars rover. More »

Mankato-based Hickory Tech is expanding to Sioux Falls, South Dakota and Fargo, North Dakota. According to the HickoryTech web site…

The network expansion to Sioux Falls and Fargo will add 350 fiber route miles to HickoryTech’s existing 2,400 fiber route miles. These initiatives are evidence of the company’s commitment to grow its Enventis business services and provide cost-effective, high-capacity fiber-based solutions.

They have also been increasing “the capacity of its network between Minnesota and Des Moines, Iowa and is investing in local fiber infrastructure in Des Moines to grow its Enventis business services.”

So it will be interesting to see the growth pattern. They are also hoping to expand or deepen their connections in Minnesota. HickoryTech/Enventis applied for $16.8 million in ARRA broadband grants to extend its middle mile fiber-optic network connecting community anchor institutions across Minnesota to an advanced high capacity broadband network.

Go Auto has an article on Better Place Australia and their plans to start rolling out their network in 2011 – Better Place “on time and budget” for its EV recharge and battery swap site rollout.

BETTER Place Australia CEO Evan Thornley says the electric vehicle infrastructure company will prove sceptics wrong by ‘building it’ rather than ‘dreaming it’ when it starts rolling out its battery-swap and recharge stations in Australia, starting in Canberra in 2011.

Mr Thornley said Better Place was well advanced on its network plan for battery switch sites around the country, with at least one “in key districts and then more detailed site acquisitions to occur” as the rollout of EVs gathered pace.

“Most of those will occur in the second half of 2011 or early in 2012,” he said.

Speaking in Tokyo at the opening of Better Place’s world-first taxi battery swap station, Mr Thornley said he had overcome every obstacle put in his way.

He said opponents of Better Place’s pledge to ‘rid the world’s addiction to oil’ only had fear, uncertainty and doubt to rely on, and the company had continued to grow and attract investment, despite the global financial crisis and the massive trough the world’s car industry was in.

The company believes this momentum will continue as more Australians grasp the fact that – based on average mileages for vehicles – it will actually be significantly cheaper to switch from fossil fuel to electricity when mainstream EV sales commence. …

Accessing ‘clean’ electricity that does not require brown coal or other carbon-releasing methods to make it is also one of Better Place Australia’s core goals.

Mr Thornley – a former Victorian Labor politician – explained that although wind power would probably be the company’s primary electricity source for Australia, the fact that it can come from a variety of generators without impacting the EV infrastructure or the car itself was another benefit.

These other sources will include geo thermal (“certainly if that is brought to industrial scale”), solar thermal, and clean coal technology “if that comes good”.

“We certainly don’t see the availability of premium electricity as a barrier at all,” he said. “We are very confident about plenty of renewable electricity being available.

“That’s an important point about EVs – your energy source is independent. You can move from one form of zero emissions electricity source to another without a single dollar of new investment in the car fleet or the charge network.”

However, Better Place Australia would not comment on whether it supports nuclear power sourcing.

“That’s not for us to comment. If the community decides that is the path it wants to go down, then it does. We are not in the business of advocating one way or another,” Mr Thornley said.

“We see plenty of zero emissions energy sources available today – and on a practical matter there’s not a snowball’s chance in hell of any nuclear power being available in this country within the next 15 years anyway, so if or when it happens we will deal with that then.”

Vodafone UK have put the Google Nexus One up for sale, and there’s no sign of the stock delay reported earlier this week.  The launch marks the first time the Nexus One has been available through a UK carrier rather than demanding buyers import a device from Google in the US.

As for price, that’s likely enough to make US Nexus One owners livid.  Vodafone are offering the Google Nexus One for free with a new two-year contract, as long as you’re spending £35 a month or more ($54).