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Saturday, February 21, 2009

When it's too cold to go to the Gazebo. . .

The View From the Gazebo is pretty darn cold today, snow is expected over the weekend. Yuk! Nevertheless, life is good. As you can see from the video, the SR's are happy and enjoying life. Wouldn't it be great if all dogs everywhere were as safe and happy as this crew?


Tuesday, February 3, 2009

A Tempest in a Teapot


President Obama's new blackberry type phone has the public tittering. The announcement that a small group of senior staff and personal friends would have access to the President's email & phone resulted in status seekers whining they should be included on the list. Some disgruntled Americans are accusing the President of deception - using the device to bypass the FOIA. Others are concerned about the President's safety, the possibility of a security breach, hackers gaining access to classified information.


Is everyone forgetting this is the man who, prior to becoming President, has always used a blackberry? Was his phone compromised when he was a senator and had less security? Do you really think the President is going to send and receive messages that would compromise national security?


Our 44th President has a better understanding of technology than his predecessors and agreed to compromises recommended by the Secret Service and National Security Agency. He wants to stay in touch with personal friends and a few select members of his senior staff. The public is making too big a deal out of this. It has become a tempest in a teapot!


Those who are concerned about the GPS capabilities of the phone should consider that the President and their family members have been tracked via similar technology for years. This is nothing new. The FOIA concerns have been dealt with, all Presidential communications will be preserved, all personal communications will be exempt - exactly the way all other communications are treated.


What surprises me the most is why this is such an issue. Is it a result of the news media making it into a story? Is it the result of segments of our society that just want to fuss and complain? Or maybe it's because the country is in turmoil at the moment. Every day brings news of additional lay-offs, the stock market has not recovered, personal and government debt is high, the war in Iraq and the safety of our soldiers is a national concern, thousands of Americans have no health insurance - the list goes on. The offered solutions are complex, debated and argued and no single plan seems optimum.


Most of us don't have a solution to the global economic crisis or how to put our people back to work or the key to stabilizing the economy. We may have opinions on the problems facing our nation, but answers, solutions - not so much.


Should the President use a secure blackberry type device? The answer is a straight forward yes or no. Maybe that's the draw. . . . finally an answer the American people can understand.