On December 21, 2010 the Barack Obama Administration–via its Federal Communications Commission (FCC)– illegally imposed Network Neutrality. Net Neutrality allows the government to regulate every website on the World Wide Web–a tremendous First Amendment free speech problem. Net Neutrality came from
The ironically named left-wing website, Think Progress, is now demanding Nike stop sponsoring Filipino boxer Manny Pacquiao, an eight-division world champion who had the temerity earlier this week to agree with the 31 out of 31 states (including California) that have voted to oppose
Patents are back in the news. In the past few weeks alone, Microsoft bought AOL’s patent portfolio for $1 billion, then resold much of it to Facebook for $550 million. Twitter pledged to use its patents only defensively, and to give its employee-inventors a say in
By MATTHEW CRAFTAP Business WriterNEW YORKNews that Spain’s economy entered another recession renewed worries about the fragility of Europe’s finances on Monday and nudged stocks lower. The Dow Jones industrial average slipped 35 points to 13,192 shortly after noon Eastern.
Howard Rich in the Washington Times: Having failed earlier this year to foist an Orwellian kill switch on Internet free speech, Congress is now peddling a kinder, gentler piece of “cybersecurity legislation.” However, Washington’s latest attempt to play Big Brother
Consumer demand and technological change will drive stunning growth in online video for years to come, so long as Internet access is widely available to all, a Senate committee heard Tuesday. But he urged Congress to ensure that “the rules
Powerful and forward-thinking players are coming together with the launch of the Planetary Resources company to begin work on what could potentially create a sort of “Gold Rush” in space, as man’s quest for knowledge and wealth continues to grow,
The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation has withdrawn its support for the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC), according to a report by the liberal corporate free speech police site, Republic Report: Republic Report’s Suzanne Merkelson covered how the Bill and Melinda
US President Barack Obama called Saturday for higher tax rates on wealthy Americans, saying the current system of tax breaks for top income earners was unfair. He pointed out that under the current system people like billionaire investor Warren Buffett
I’ve come to a cross roads, and I believe many of you are with me. I no longer have faith that members of the Grand Old Party can represent me as a classical liberal or more specifically as a Conservative-Libertarian,
Newt Gingrich has had his ups and downs lately in the Republican Presidential primary. Though much of the setback has been due to his own miscues, he recently hit the nail on the proverbial head when he proclaimed that the
MICROSOFT BRINGS FOX NEWS, SESAME STREET, COMCAST TO XBOX Can someone please tell me how this works? Is this a subscription service like Netflix Streaming? Corp. content from Twentieth Century Fox Films, Fox Television, Fox News and The Wall Street
It’s simply hard to imagine this passes for a Presidency. At what point does he become simply too much for the senses? Sure we have had some interesting and bad Presidents before – recently in fact. Nixon changed our view
Peter Schweizer’s new book Throw them All Out, (full disclosure: Peter is a friend and I had a miniscule part in editing the book) chronicles the long running graft in Washington. Congress is exempt from insider trading laws, which allows
In 2007 Google decided it wanted a more permanent role in the political game. The company launched its D.C. public policy headquarters the following January. Google and policy makers in D.C. were excited to see this step being taken by
Governor Perry made significant strides toward producing a pro-growth tax proposal with his announced “Cut, Balance, and Grow” economic plan. Unfortunately, his plan has some glaring deficiencies. (1) It is NOT strictly a flat tax and will SHRINK the tax
[audio: http://newledger.com/podcasts/CoffeeandMarkets102411.mp3] Download Podcast | iTunes | Podcast Feed On today’s edition of Coffee and Markets, Brad Jackson and Ben Domenech are joined by Francis Cianfrocca to discuss earnings season, Google and Microsoft bidding for Yahoo, and the $1 trillion
CUPERTINO, Calif. (AP) – Steve Jobs, the Apple founder and former CEO who invented and masterfully marketed ever-sleeker gadgets that transformed everyday technology, from the personal computer to the iPod and iPhone, has died. He was 56. Apple announced his
Another day, another desperate email from Team Lightbringer: Stephen — I’m the national finance director here at OFA. I know we’ve been sending you a lot of email lately. That’s because we’re staring down a critical fundraising deadline tomorrow at
Carol Bartz waylaid her former employer in her first interview since she was fired over the phone from her job as Chief Executive of Yahoo. Barely 24 hours after company chairman Roy Bostock fired Miss Bartz in a call to
The Fourth of July weekend is a time when we Americans expect our 1400 newspapers to take a reprieve from their endless ridicules and criticisms to dutifully celebrate all that is good in our nation. We look forward those beautiful
Inside the political vacuum, the headline story on Drudge was none other than Obama’s birth certificate. It’s the story that just won’t go away-and it won’t go away until Obama himself releases the long-form document. But with the coming release
From The Wall Street Journal: U.S. government lawyers in December argued that Google hadn’t received an important security clearance for a suite of online applications despite the company’s statements to the contrary, according to a court filing unsealed last week.
Yesterday, Grover Norquist’s weekly Americans for Tax Reform conclave was the venue for an announcement by Suhail Khan that he was becoming director for external affairs for Microsoft. Khan’s transformation into a corporate lobbyist comes amidst rising concerns in conservative
I’ve started more than a dozen small businesses. For one, over $20 million was invested by me and investors who believed in me. I’ve paid payrolls, health insurance, payroll taxes, workers comp, and unemployment insurance for hundreds of employees. Because
Last week’s Hollywood Reporter has yet another excellent story (Variety who?) looking into the many fascinating details of where digital technology is currently taking home video — a subject I’m even more obsessed with than Jon Stewart. Powered mostly by
Bill Gates of Microsoft fame (or infamy) visited the Claremont Colleges this past week. You can watch that visit here. What follows is a transcript typed by one of my associates of that event. Gates, after discussing his foundation’s work,
Simply priceless to watch WI Democrat Gordon Hintz have this meltdown on the Assembly floor. Take away his anger and you’d think he was talking about the Obamacare bill that was rammed down our throats this time last year. But,
At two hearings over the past month, including one yesterday, senior officials from the Department of Justice asked Congress to significantly expand its ability to monitor and investigate the online communications of Americans. Law enforcement officials claim that it is
We are all supposed to sacrifice, right? Well, not all of us: The tennis court at former President Jimmy Carter‘s private home is swept twice a day, his pool is cleaned daily and his grass cut, his flower beds weeded
Over at Slate, the always interesting Jack Schafer imagines a world where government always regulated the Internet: In January 1993, idle regulators at the FCC belatedly discover the burgeoning world of online services. Led by CompuServe, MCI Mail, AOL, GEnie,
This is extremely unsettling. The Chinese government has the keys to the kingdom as far as software information is concerned. And they were essentially given it through a Microsoft tech program designed to improve the software. Only problem? The Chinese
(CNSNews.com) – The CEO and Chairman of Microsoft Bill Gates said that capitalism’s “systemic” problems are not doing enough for research and “the needs of the poorest.” “In general, the world under funds research because the person who takes the
In the annals of history, there are fewer people easier to rile up than myself. I blame it on my Irish ancestors. Case in point, one time in Afghanistan I was in a guard tower with one of my best
Scholars, journalists, bureaucrats and lawmakers persist in viewing the body of antitrust law as serving the public interest. They still believe in monopolies apart from the ones governments deliberately create. New reports show that the remedy imposed upon Microsoft by
A few months back, I reported that President Obama reauthorized the Patriot Act–you know, the one signed by Bush that enraged the left and right and the one Obama wanted to change: Apparently without Bush, the Patriot Act is no
A major computer virus attack has spread to the Windows computers at Iran’s Bushehr nuclear power plant, according to the Telegraph. However, the project manager at Bushehr said that the major systems at the plant have not been damaged. Iran’s
Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy A firm owned by billionaire Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen today sued Apple, Facebook, Google, YouTube, and seven other companies, charging them with infringing patents filed more than a
As you probably know, the new TV season begins in the middle of September. That’s when all the TV networks spruce themselves up and reveal the new programming lineups for the next twelve months. MSNBC has planned a major overall
Just one day after the Democrats seized control of Congress, the Chief Executive of Fannie Mae, Franklin Raines, received the patent for a residential cap-and-trade system (Patent 6904336), What this means is that Raines, along with several colleagues who also