Democrats name Microsoft ‘official software and HD Web content provider’ of convention

“The Democratic National Convention Committee announced Monday that Microsoft will be the ‘official software and HD Web content provider’ for the convention, which runs August 25-28 in Denver. The move is a vote of confidence for Silverlight, which is in a battle against incumbent Adobe Flash,” Ina Fried reports for CNET.

“The software maker will power real-time online voting systems for delegates as well as live, gavel-to-gavel streaming coverage of the event at DemConvention.com,” Fried reports. “‘Silverlight multimedia applications will provide an all-access pass for the Convention’s online audience, offering an unprecedented opportunity for viewers to individually tailor their Convention experiences,’ the party and Microsoft said in a statement.”

Full article here.

[Thanks to MacDailyNews Reader “Mike in Helsinki” for the heads up.]

191 Comments

  1. You can trust a Democrat to be a Democrat. Who would think with all the hype that liberals choose Apple over Microsoft that they would officially choose Microsoft. They truly get the chaos they deserve!

  2. ” Unregistered Blahger
    I’ve noticed there hasn’t been a political story completely irrelevant to apple recently…”

    Yeah, MDN tends to throw out these political nothings when their hit counters are running low for the month.

  3. So much for Macs being the choice of Democrats. ” width=”19″ height=”19″ alt=”raspberry” style=”border:0;” />

    And WTF anyway, doesn’t Al Gore have any more influence than that??

    Then again there might be a HUGE opportunity for Mac users to save the day grassroots-style, when the MS stuff doesn’t work.

  4. A History Lesson

    SOME OF US ARE NOT OLD ENOUGH TO REMEMBER THAT NEARLY EVERY FAMILY IN AMERICA WAS GROSSLY AFFECTED BY WW II. MOST OF YOU DON’T REMEMBER THE RATIONING OF MEAT, SHOES, GASOLINE AND SUGAR – NO TIRES FOR OUR AUTOMOBILES AND A SPEED LIMIT OF 35 MILES AN HOUR ON THE ROAD, NOT TO MENTION, NO NEW AUTOMOBILES. READ THIS AND THINK ABOUT HOW WE WOULD REACT TO BEING TAKEN OVER BY FOREIGNERS IN 2008.

    Historical Significance

    Sixty-three years ago, Nazi Germany had overrun almost all of Europe and hammered England to the verge of bankruptcy and defeat. The Nazis had sunk more than 400 British ships in their convoys between England and America taking food and war materials.

    At that time, the US was in an isolationist, pacifist mood, and most Americans wanted nothing to do with the European or the Asian war.

    Then along came Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, and in outrage, Congress unanimously declared war on Japan — and the following day on Germany, who had not yet attacked us. It was a dicey thing because we had few allies.

    France was not an ally, as the Vichy government of France quickly aligned itself with its German occupiers. Germany was certainly not an ally, as Hitler was intent on setting up a Thousand Year Reich in Europe. Japan was not an ally, as it was we ll on its way to owning and controlling all of Asia.

    Together, Japan and Germany had long-range plans of invading Canada and Mexico as launching pads to get into the United States over our northern and southern borders, after they finished gaining control of Asia and Europe.

    America ‘s only allies then were England, Ireland, Scotland, Canada, Australia and Russia. That was about all of Europe, from Norway to Italy (except Russia in the East) as was already under the Nazi heel.

    The US was certainly not prepared for war. We had drastically downgraded most of our military forces after WW I because of the depression, so that at the outbreak of WW II, Army units were training with broomsticks because they didn’t have guns, and cars with “tank” painted on the doors because they didn’t have real tanks. A huge chunk of our Navy had just been sunk or damaged at Pearl Harbor.

    Britain had already gone bankrupt, saved only b y the donation of $600 million in gold bullion to the Bank of England (that was actually the property of Belgium) given by Belgium to England to carry on the war when Belgium was overrun by Hitler (a little known fact).

    Actually, Belgium surrendered on day one because it was unable to oppose the German invasion, and the Germans bombed Brussels into rubble the next day just to prove they could.

    Britain had already been holding out for two years in the face of staggering losses and the near decimation of its Royal Air Force in the Battle of Britain. It was saved from being overrun by Germany only because Hitler made the mistake of thinking the Brits were a relatively minor threat that could be dealt with later. Hitler, first turned his attention to Russia, in the late summer of 1940 at a time when England was on the verge of collapse.

    Ironically, Russia saved America’s butt by putting up a desperate fight for two years, until the US g ot geared up to begin hammering away at Germany.

    Russia lost something like 24,000,000 people in the sieges of Stalingrad and Moscow alone – 90% of them from cold and starvation, mostly civilians, but also more than a 1,000,000 soldiers.

    Had Russia surrendered, Hitler would have been able to focus his entire war effort against the Brits, then America. If that had happened, the Nazis could possibly have won the war!

    All of this has been brought out to illustrate that turning points in history are often dicey things. Now, we find ourselves at another one of those key moments in history.

  5. I’m smelling something – could it be a large, corrupt, monopolistic corporation trying to stay in the good graces of whoever wins the elections this year?

    MW: money – how apt. ” width=”19″ height=”19″ alt=”wink” style=”border:0;” />

  6. “Congress unanimously declared war on Japan — and the following day on Germany who had not yet attacked us”
    –Wrong on 2 counts. It wasn’t unanimous and Germany wasn’t included until Germany, unprovoked, declared war on the US on Dec 10

    “Together, Japan and Germany had long-range plans of invading Canada and Mexico as launching pads to get into the United States”
    –Hardly. They planned to win by forcing a negotiated settlement.

    “Actually, Belgium surrendered on day one”
    –False. Belguim capitulated after 18 days.

    “…because it was unable to oppose the German invasion, and the Germans bombed Brussels into rubble the next day just to prove they could.”
    Wrong. You are confused with Rotterdam, but even then, you still have the details wrong.

    “…it was saved from being overrun by Germany only because Hitler made the mistake of thinking the Brits were a relatively minor threat…”
    –Britain was saved by the Royal Air Force and the Royal Navy. Hitler, like Napoleon, could not solve the age-old question of how does a land power defeat a sea power.

    Russia lost something like 24,000,000 people in the sieges of Stalingrad and Moscow alone”
    — No, they lost something like 24,000,000 people in the entire war.

    Had Russia surrendered, Hitler would have been able to focus his entire war effort against the Brits, then America. If that had happened, the Nazis could possibly have won the war!
    –That’s why America developed the atomic bomb, and long-range bombers to carry it. With that card in hand, we really couldn’t lose.

  7. Ahhh looks like that old adage is running true: Republicans don’t win elections, Democrats loose them.

    Those conspiracy theorists claiming Bush & Cheney would pull some sort of “emergency” stunt where really off the mark… they new Billy G’s company would offer to run the Democrats show…

    Diebold and Microsoft… who needs ballots anyways!

    If we want your opinion we’ll tell you what to say

  8. “Rob
    Looking on the bright side,

    it’s a huge opportunity for M$ to embarrass themselves.
    …and hackers to influence the vote.”

    Riiiiiight. Democrats vote-rigging their own nomination – of course!!!

    I see a Clinton in here somewhere.

  9. MS is the official providers…. Thats the last straw! I’m not voting Democrat or Republican. I’m writing in a vote for Dita Von Teese for President. ” width=”19″ height=”19″ alt=”wink” style=”border:0;” />

  10. Leave it to SteveJack and MDN to use any excuse to attack the Democrats…agreed with earlier posts: WHAT DOES THIS HAVE TO WITH APPLE/MAC OTHER THAN FOR A CHANCE AT YOUR DAMN POLITICAL PROSELTYZING??? IF YOU WANT TO START A RIGHT-WINGNUT WEBSITE, DON’T ADVERTISE IT AS A MAC SITE!!

  11. Figures that one loser would team up with another. Democrats and Microsoft definitely go together perfectly.

    So now we can watch all of the chaos and rioting to come at their convention in stunning Silverlight HD. Wow, I can’t wait.

  12. Barack could have bought Mac Daily News by now with all these ads. Does he know I’m an Indiana voter? So, what is this with Mr. Softy being the official Democrat? Maybe it’s a giant Tarot card telling us the future…of both Mr. Barack and Mr. Softie. We will see.

  13. If this does not once and for all prove that liberals and democrats and the largest bunch of hypocrites – well, they deserve each other.

    As far as lessons in history – embarrassing (shaking head). Must be a liberal as well – can never get facts straight – truth to them is always relative.

  14. Jared, “READ THIS AND THINK ABOUT HOW WE WOULD REACT TO BEING TAKEN OVER BY FOREIGNERS IN 2008.”

    Jared, just come to the San Diego area and you’ll see that it’s already too late to talk about being taken over by foreigners.

  15. This wouldn’t happened if Joe Biden were the
    Dem. choice.

    On another note, I enjoy the simplistic comments made by ditto-heads and great amUricans here.

    Please, more.

    That reminds me.

    “I can press when there needs to be pressed. I can hold hands when there needs to be — hold hands.”

    GW

  16. Leave it to MDN to post a headline that brings out a wealth of you political nutbars.
    I come here just to laugh at these stupid political comments by stupid asses who probably spell stupid as stoopid.

    Hey…stupid is as stoopid does….think I will make a t-shirt with that.

  17. Wow, if any one were to need convincing that our collected intelligence level has fallen to an all-time low, all I would need to do is point them to this link, and tell them to have a look-see at the assorted posts.

    So much partisan ignorant garbage coming from both Reps and Dems alike here… it’s really very sad.

  18. There is a very dangerous minority in Islam that either has, or wants, and may soon have, the ability to deliver small nuclear, biological, or chemical weapons, almost anywhere in the world.

    The Jihadis, the militant Muslims, are basically Nazis in Kaffiyahs. They believe that Islam, a radically conservative form of Wahhabi Islam, sh ould own and control the Middle East first, then Europe, then the world. To them, all who do not bow to their will and thinking should be killed, enslaved or subjugated. They want to finish the Holocaust, destroy Israel – and purge the world of Jews! This is their mantra (goal).

    There is also a civil war raging in the Middle East. For the most part not a hot war, but a war of ideas. Islam is having its Inquisition and its Reformation, but it is not yet known which side will win — the Inquisitors or the Reformationists.

    If the Inquisition wins, then the Wahhabis/the Jihadis will control the Middle East, the OPEC oil, and the US, European and Asian economies.

    The techno-industrial economies will be at the mercy of OPEC — not an OPEC dominated by the educated, rational Saudis of today, but an OPEC dominated by the Jihadis. Do you want gas in your car? Do you want heating oil next winter? Do you want the dollar to be worth anything? You had better hope the Jihad, the Muslim Inquisition, loses, and the Islamic Reformation wins.

    If the Reformation movement wins, that is, the moderate Muslims who believe that Islam can respect and tolerate other religions, live in peace with the rest of the world, and move out of the 10th century into the 21st, then the troubles in the Middle East will eventually fade away. A moderate and prosperous Middle East will emerge.

    We have to help the Reformation win, and to do that we have to fight the Inquisition, i.e., the Wahhabi movement, the Jihad, Al Qaeda and the Islamic terrorist movements. We have to do it somewhere. We can’t do it everywhere at once. We have created a focal point for the battle at a time and place of our choosing…..in Iraq, not in New York, not in London, or Paris or Berlin, but in Iraq where we are doing two important things.

    (1) We deposed Saddam Hussein.& nbsp; Whether Saddam Hussein was directly involved in the 9/11 terrorist attack or not, it is undisputed that Saddam has been actively supporting the terrorist movement for decades Saddam is a terrorist! Saddam is, or was, a weapon of mass destruction, responsible for the deaths of probably more than a 1,000,000 Iraqis and 2,000,000 Iranians.

    (2) We created a battle — a confrontation, a flash point, with Islamic terrorism in Iraq. We have focused the battle. We are killing bad people, and the ones we get there we won’t have to get here. We also have a good shot at creating a democratic, peaceful Iraq, which will be a catalyst for democratic change in the rest of the Middle East, and an outpost for a stabilizing American military presence in the Middle East for as long as it is needed.

    WW II, the war with the Japanese and German Nazis, really began with a “whimper” in 1928. It did not begin with Pearl Harbor. It began with th e Japanese invasion of China. It was a war for fourteen years before the US joined it. It officially ended in 1945 — a 17 year war — and was followed by another decade of US occupation in Germany and Japan to get those countries reconstructed and running on their own again — a 27 year war!

    WW II cost the United States an amount equal to approximately a full year’s GDP — adjusted for inflation, equal to about $12 trillion dollars! WW II cost America more than 400,000 soldiers killed in action, and nearly 100,000 still missing in action.

    The Iraq war has, so far, cost the United States about $160,000,000,000, which is roughly what the 9/11 terrorist attack cost New York. It has also cost about 3,000 American lives, which is roughly equivalent to lives that the Jihad killed (within the United States) in the 9/11 terrorist attack.

    The cost of not fighting and winning WW II would have been unimaginably greater — a world domin ated by Japanese Imperialism and German Nazism.

    This is not a 60 Minutes TV show or a 2-hour movie in which everything comes out okay. The real world is not like that. It is messy, uncertain and sometimes bloody and ugly. It always has been, and probably always will be.

  19. The bottom line is that we will have to deal with Islamic terrorism until we defeat it, whenever that is. It will not go away if we ignore it

    If the US can create a reasonably democratic and stable Iraq , then we have an ally, like England , in the Middle East, a platform, from which we can work to help modernize and moderate the Middle East. The history of the world is the clash between the forces of relative civility and civilization, and the barbarians clamoring at the gates to conquer the world.

    The Iraq War is merely another battle in this ancient and never ending war. Now, for the first time ever, the barbarians are about to get nuclear w eapons. Unless some body prevents them from getting them.

    We have four options:

    1. We can defeat the Jihad now, before it gets nuclear weapons.

    2. We can fight the Jihad later, after it gets nuclear weapons (which may be as early as next year, if Iran’s progress on nuclear weapons is what Iran claims it is).

    3. We can surrender to the Jihad and accept its dominance in the Middle East now; in Europe in the next few years or decades, and ultimately in America.

    OR

    4. We can stand down now, and pick up the fight later when the Jihad is more widespread and better armed, perhaps after the Jihad has dominated France and Germany and possibly most of the rest of Europe. It will, of course, be more dangerous, more expensive and much bloodier!

    If you oppose this war, I hope you like the idea that your children, or grandchildren, may live in an Islamic America under the Mullahs and the Sharia, an America that resembles Iran today.

    The history of the world is the history of civilization clashes and cultural clashes. All wars are about ideas — ideas about what society and civilization should be like, and the most determined always win.

    Those who are willing to be the most ruthless always win. The pacifists always lose, because the anti-pacifists kill them.

    Remember, perspective is every thing, and America ‘s schools teach too little history for perspective to be clear, especially in the young American mind.

    The Cold War lasted from about 1947 at least until the Berlin Wall came down in 1989; forty-two years!

    Europe spent the first half of the 19th century fighting Napoleon — and from 1870 to 1945 fighting Germany!

    World War II began in 1928, lasted 17 years, plus a ten year occupation, and the US still has troops in Germany and Japan. World War II resulted in the death of more than 50,000,000 people, maybe more than 10 0,000,000 people, depending on which estimates you accept.

    The US has taken more than 3,000 killed in action in Iraq. The US took more than 4,000 killed in action on the morning of June 6, 1944 , the first day of the Normandy Invasion to rid Europe of Nazi Imperialism.

    In WW II, the US averaged 2,000 KIA a week — for four years. Most of the individual battles of WW II lost more Americans than the entire Iraq war has done so far.

    The stakes are at least as high — a world dominated by representative governments with civil rights, human rights, and personal freedoms — or a world dominated by a radical Islamic Wahhabi movement, by the Jihad, under the Mullahs and the Sharia (Islamic law).

    It’s difficult to understand why the average American does not grasp this. They favor human rights, civil rights, liberty and freedom, but evidently not for Iraqis.

    “Peace Activists” always seem to demonstrate here in America where it’s safe.

    Why don’t we see Peace Activist demonstrating in Iran, Syria, Iraq, Sudan and North Korea, in the places that really need peace activism the most? I’ll tell you why — they would be killed!

    The liberal mentality is supposed to favor human rights, civil rights, democracy, multiculturalism, diversity, etc., but if the Jihad wins, wherever the Jihad wins, it is the end of civil rights, human rights, democracy, multiculturalism and diversity, etc.

    Americans who oppose the liberation of Iraq are coming down on the side of their own worst enemy!

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

    Raymond S. Kraft is a writer living in Northern California who has studied the Middle Eastern culture and religion for years.

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

    Please consider passing along copies of this article to students in high school, college and university as it contains information about American history that is very meaningful today. This critical perspective on America is very likely unknown to them (and lost on their instructors, too). By being denied the facts of our history, they are at a decided disadvantage when it comes to reasoning and thinking through the issues of today. They are prime targets for misinformation campaigns beamed at enlisting them in causes and beliefs that are special interest agenda driven.

  20. A Dutch perspective on the US Presidential Election

    “We in Holland cannot figure out why you are even bothering to hold an election.

    On one side, you have a bitch who is a lawyer, married to a lawyer, and a lawyer who is married to a bitch who is a lawyer.

    On the other side, you have a true war hero married to a woman with a huge chest who owns a beer distributorship.

  21. Part 1:
    Remember the election in 2006?
    Thought you might like to read the following:
    A little over one year ago:

    1) Consumer confidence stood at a 2-1/2 year high;
    2) Regular gasoline sold for $2.19 a gallon;
    3) The unemployment rate was 4.5%.

    Since voting in a Democratic Congress in 2006 we have seen:

    1) Consumer confidence plummet;
    2) The cost of regular gasoline soar to over $3.50 a gallon;
    3) Unemployment is up to 5% (a 10% increase);
    4) American households have seen $2.3 trillion in equity value evaporate (stock and mutual fund losses);
    5) Americans have seen their home equity drop by $1.2 trillion dollars;
    6) 1% of American homes are in foreclosure.

    America voted for change in 2006 ~ and we got it!

    Remember it’s Congress that makes law ~ not George Bush. He has to work with what’s handed to him.

    Quote of the Day……..”My friends, we live in the greatest nation in the history of the world. I hope you’ll join with me as we try to change it.” — Barack Obama

    Part 2:

    Taxes…Whether Democrat or a Republican you will find these statistics enlightening and amazing.

    http://www.taxfoundation.org/publications/show/151.html<http://www.taxfoundation.org/publications/show/151.html&gt;
    Taxes Under: Clinton 1999 Bush 2008
    Single making 30K $ 8,400 $ 4,500
    Single making $14,000 $12,500
    Single making 75K $23,250 $18,750
    Married making 60K $16,800 $ 9,000
    Married making 75K $21,000 $18,750
    Married making 125K $38,750 $31,250
    Both democratic candidates will return to the higher tax rates. It is amazing how many people that fall into the categories above think Bush is screwing them and Bill Clinton was the greatest President ever. If Obama or Hillary are elected, they both say they will repeal the Bush tax cuts and a good portion of the people that fall into the categories above can’t wait for it to happen. This is like the movie The Sting with Paul Newman; you scam somebody out of some money and they don’t even know what happened.

    PART 3:

    You think the war in Iraq is costing us too much? Read this:
    Boy am I confused. I have been hammered with the propaganda that it is the Iraq war and the war on terror that is bankrupting us.

  22. re: “A Dutch perspective on the US Presidential Election”

    And why should we care what the Dutch think?
    When they are abandoning parts of their major cities to Sharia law?

    For those who don’t know what Sharia law is and what its effects might be on your life, look it up!

  23. Had Russia surrendered, Hitler would have been able to focus his entire war effort against the Brits, then America. If that had happened, the Nazis could possibly have won the war!
    –That’s why America developed the atomic bomb, and long-range bombers to carry it. With that card in hand, we really couldn’t lose.

    —-Germany and Russia had signed a treaty to divide up Poland and were at peace/ Germany could have devoted all of its efforts against England…except it invaded Russia. Whoops.

  24. @Jeff

    NO, this link was posted on MDN. CNN did not post it for them. They don’t need to incite flamewars for the purposes of hit-whoring. CNN may have reported the story but MDN doesn’t have to post the link, knowing the ensuing barrage of hits, in this Mac forum.

    So whatever yourself JEFF.

  25. I say we throw all the bums out. They all suck. It’s time for some new faces on the Hill to make some actual changes and burn some red tape. Who would have thought that we’d be looking at the best choice of three evils instead of two! It’s like having to vote for Windows ME, XP or Vista when what we really need is OS X!

  26. Amen brother. Too bad I’ll be the only one agreeing with you, while the rest of the jerkoffs on this board snipe at each other.

    You’re all idiots. THERE IS NO DIFFERENCE between the parties anymore. Wake up morons.

  27. Its not about Democrates being stupid enough to use Microsoft, Its about Apple not being dumb enough to pay the Democrates to let them provide software, hardware, and support to a bunch of fighting babies.

    Just a thought

    en

  28. “If Con is the opposite of Pro, then Congress must be the opposite of Progress!”

    actually, i believe that you will find that the opposite of progress is conservative.

    or, to quote a great conservative writer, “being a conservative means standing across the path of time and shouting ‘stop!'”

    to be a conservative means to oppose all moves forward. if the conservatives ever won the momentum, we would still be in the trees, and they would throwing stones at “them liberal commies that think we should live in those elitist caves with all that fire and stuff.”

    that is the path of the long history of humanity, the majority attempting to move forward, and the conservative and vocal minority attempting move backward.

    …please notice that despite them, we continue to move forward. they just can’t get over the fact that they will always be a minor speed bump in the way forward.

    sometimes the truth hurts, but in the case, it only hurts the backward thinking, slow, and fearful of change.

    get over it. ” width=”19″ height=”19″ alt=”grin” style=”border:0;” />

  29. What I love about this story is that if Apple would have been chosen as the “Official whatever of the 2008 Democrat Convention”, the same right-wingnuts would be posting messages along the lines of…

    • Steve Jobs should keep his personal politics out of Apple.
    • This is all Al Gore’s work: he sucks and should be burnt at the stake, before being stoned. Then he should be made to listen to three days of rap music.
    • Apple should be careful or it will alienate 50% of the country.

    Talk about flip-flopping…

  30. MCCFR…

    two things.. the media provider should NOT be the same provider of vote counting and tabulating machines..

    and 2… you can trust M$ about as for as you can throw the… who do you see making an underhanded deal with politicians? M$ or Apple??

    OGC

  31. Well, I’m not a U.S. citizen, but if I were I would want to ask any political party that named Microsoft their “official software and HD Web content provider” what their views were on companies that don’t pay tax in their home states. They’d have no good answer, but at least it would embarrass them, and reveal them for what they are.

    “The Redmond company makes products here but records software sales to PC makers and high-volume customers through an operation in Nevada, where there is no corporate tax. So Washington is missing out on revenue it could use for badly needed infrastructure needs — like replacement of the 520 bridge.”

    http://www.crosscut.com/microsoft/11167/Microsoft's+$528+million+Washington+tax+break/

    Microsoft is probably giving backhanders to people on *both* sides. The unfortunate thing is Microsoft will suck up to whoever is in power, and whoever is in power will be glad to be of service. “You scratch my back and I’ll scratch yours”. And that goes for NGOs, too. Need I mention ISO?

  32. C’mon!… Democrates have only choosen M$ to “look neutral”! He! He! Looks like it has missed the goal!… But who cares? You have only choice between two political groups… making the same politics… USA has 2 right hands, fighting each other for nothing to change.

  33. Holy S#!t!
    Can you say ‘off-topic’?
    I know you can.
    This has got to be the weirdest frickin string of feedback I’ve ever seen on this site.
    How about discussing why the Mac wasn’t chosen?

    MDN Magic word – ‘ill’ (no kidding!) as in This cherry-picked, fact-flaunting political tirade is making me ill!

  34. tt…

    Congratulations for totally ignoring my point, which was that the Rabid Right on this site are engaged in a “Heads I win, tails you lose” argument where the Democrats are losers for using Microsoft software, but Apple would have been wrong had they gotten involved in the Democratic convention in any way.

    This is what I love about the Rabid Right (and, to the same extent, the Loony Left): they’re all very, very angry but they don’t really know why and they certainly haven’t got a clue as to what they should do.

  35. I smell 6 pages at least of Democratic AND Republican whining. Yes that’s right ,you “Rethug-licans” are just as annoying and whinny as the left. And the democrats? Pfffttttt, don’t even get me started.

    <dons flame suit and sits back to watch the hilarity ensue in 3,2,1..>

  36. tt…

    And as a rebuttal to your other point…

    Diebold
    Walden O’Dell

    Which is the greater conflict of interest, a company that supplies webcasting technology and the tabulation systems or the company whose board is almost unanimously Republican and delivers the voting machines?

    Or is that not a story that suits your agenda??

  37. @ 84 Mac Guy
    RE: Ron Paul: You and me both… but this had nothing to do with that. The other lame, tax-you-to-death candidates made that choice for me long ago. McCain, Obama, Clinton…. they are all going to tax you to death.

    People, do your research on why taxes were imposed… and then ask why we are still taxed today. Then go find what percentage of the money these numb-nuts spend comes from our taxes.

    Ron Paul is a constitutionalist… and he is labeled as a radical. How sad is that that a person who wants to follow our most basic foundation is called a radical?? I guess that just shows how far we have gone off the road map the founding fathers provided.

    The Dude bides.

  38. @Where did you learn history? — an impressive display of corrections to Jared’s historical commentary. Well done.

    As for MS being a sponsor to a convention, why does this matter. The party needs the tech support, MS wants the marketing. It’s not a statement against Apple. Apple couldn’t even pull that kind of support together. It’s not what they do.

  39. Only the smartest people in the world argue politics on the internet. And here they are.
    Behold the sober, well thought out replies. The deep, subtle, and nuanced views. The mature even-handedness.
    Makes me proud to be an American, it does.

  40. Nice try, Jared. BUT…

    1. The war with Japan resolution was not unanimous. (HINT: the
    person who had opposed war with Germany in 1917 also voted
    against war with Japan.)

    2. Germany declared war on USA before we took any action about
    Europe.

    3. FDR had talked Congress into a naval buildup before war
    started with Japan.

  41. I heard that a Linux engineer and part-time student will be the official software and web content provider for Ralph Nader broadcasting from a Motel 6 on Route 109 but only if the mini-bar stays stocked.

  42. who cares what they are using. This shitty site loves to promote mac fanboys to get all upset over something stupid like this.

    what’s ironic is this site’s spam is linked to microsoft livesearch. Mouse over the “image” link below this box. Dumbasses

  43. It was the bigger donation – whether dollars or freebies. So might the contribution have to be reported?? Certainly it was not the Democrats ability to assess technical competency or future importance. I wonder if the Groklaw people might be at all interested in looking onto this angle?? I think it could be the publicity that Rush and Carl like Macs.

  44. Jared…

    Before you f**k off and shove your off-topic bullshit up your ass, learn that America’s allies included New Zealand, a country that, per capita, lost a hell of a lot more than any other country. In _both_ world wars!

    And Russia, who lost closer to $35 million than your figure, was only an ally of convenience. Stalin manipulated Roosevelt and Churchill for his own selfish outcomes.

    (A New Zealander living in Russia)

  45. @grh…I am glad you said what you did to Jarad though I didn’t think it worthwhile to respond to at first. I guess I get angry at someone who says US this and US that in these wars without recognizing they were late to the party and many of our countrymen (Canada here) lost their lives as well. Indeed in the Battle of Britain and the liberation of Holland (to mention a few), Canada was instrumental just as we are today fixing the problem the US left behind in Afghanistan.
    Anyway, it is off topic and should not be posted here. What the hell was he thinking.

  46. @SAB
    I say we throw all the bums out. They all suck. It’s time for some new faces on the Hill to make some actual changes and burn some red tape.

    As bad as the two parties suck, they HAVE succeeded in keeping the really bad folks (extreme left & right) from getting a foothold.

    What if in the 1930’s, we said “Damn, look how we fail while Germany succeeds. Maybe if we marginalize our parties and give those National Socialist folks a try…”.

    So we should be a little careful in wishing for new faces and some actual changes.

  47. On the other side, you have a true war hero married to a woman with a huge chest who owns a beer distributorship.

    Damn now that’s a factor.

    Put her next to the Prez with her high beams on, and I’ll watch all the news conferences. =)

  48. Man, there are some real idiots on this site, who’ve suckled greedily on propaganda.

    Look, jackasses, the Democrats are not socialists. If you think the Democrats are socialists, you’re going to be mighty shocked when you meet a real socialist someday. The Democrats are RIGHT WING. It’s just that you’re indoctrinated in some stupid extremist dogma that you don’t realise it.

    A socialist would have a lot of control over corporations, and that’s the moderate ones. A far left socialist would either demolish coporations or give its ownership to the people who work there. I don’t see a single Democrat promoting such an ideology, so SHUT UP YOU FRIGGIN’ MORONS.

    Go learn something about the world. Get out of your Fox News echo chamber, you pathetic idiots.

  49. Wow, everyone os on fire! This is a great one!

    First Peters’ comment about beer distributorships, then ChrissyOne and her ‘pre-emptive’ Mary strike, then Ampar with the not recalling the last time he did dutch. These have induced some great laughs.

    I swear some of you could be pretty serious comedy writers. Just lovin’ it.

    As for the politics, meh, hope it all works out for ya. It simply has to be better than the last 7 years have been no matter who wins…

  50. @Whitfield….whoa laddie….chill.

    I agree with you for the most part but you lose all credibility with your aggressive, childish, name calling approach.
    And democrats are not right wing.
    On the scale of ‘how much government’ you want in your life, it goes revolutionist, communist, socialist, liberal, center, conservative, self-centred nutbars, dictator revolutionist
    (heh heh…got a little carried away at the end there)

  51. ron:

    “Jared, just come to the San Diego area and you’ll see that it’s already too late to talk about being taken over by foreigners.”

    Not really. It depends on what you mean by foreigners? The people who lived in the continent in the first place or the people who drove off the original population and now find themselves in the minority, through both legal and illegal immigration? I’m not of anglo-saxon northern european ancestry and I’ve lived in San Diego since the early 1970s… and so are tens of thousands of San Diego natives…

    So, what exactly DO you mean by “foreigners?”

  52. This is the 21st century, not the 18th. Get over it, there’s no undoing it now.

    For those who need the explanation, “foreigner” = someone who moves into an area illegally, refuses to integrate (i.e. learn the language, culture, etc), expects a handout, and justifies it because of events that happened centuries ago.

    America is turning into Babel. Next we’ll be using foreign currency. Which might happen anyway if the dollar keeps tanking….

    From what I’ve seen, neither party has a plan for fixing the melting pot (besides offering polling instructions in enough languages). The stew is separating, and that’s not good.

  53. Whitfield,

    A little sensitive are we? Democrats are absolutely trying to bring the US to socialism. They are totally anti-business, anti-success, want as many people as they can possibly get addicted to government hand outs so they will then vote more democrats back in. I’m not a Republican but they sure are a much, much better alternative.

  54. 11. During the year of 2005 there were 4 to 10 MILLION illegal aliens that crossed our Southern Border also, as many as 19,500 illegal aliens from Terrorist Countries. Millions of pounds of drugs, cocaine, meth, heroin and marijuana, crossed into the U. S from the Southern border.
    Verify at: Homeland Security Report: http://tinyurl.com/t9sht
    12. The National Policy Institute, “estimated that the total cost of mass deportation would be between $206 and $230 billion or an average
    cost of between $41 and $46 billion annually over a five year period.”
    Verify at: http://www.nationalpolicyinstitute.org/pdf/deportation.pdf
    13. In 2006 illegal aliens sent home $45 BILLION in remittances back to their countries of origin.
    Verify at: < SPAN>
    14. “The Dark Side of Illegal Immigration: Nearly One Million Sex Crimes Committed by Illegal Immigrants In The United States .”
    Verify at: http://www.drdsk.com/articleshtml
    The total cost is a whopping $ 338.3 BILLION DOLLARS A YEAR.
    Are we THAT stupid?
    If this doesn’t bother you then just delete the message. If, on the other hand, it does raise the hair on the back of your neck, I hope you
    forward it to every legal resident in the country including every representative in Washington, D.C. – five times a week for as long as it takes to restore some semblance of intelligence in our policies and enforcement thereof.

  55. @Ken
    My my m,y aren’t we a pleasant person. Let me dispel a bit of your ignorance in which you seem to be deeply immersed.
    Canada has taken over to keep the lid on in Afghanistan. We are getting our people killed right left and center and we do not like it. Remember we (and many others) did not want to be part of Iraq because we knew Bush was lying to you. Afghanistan is where the terrorists were, not Iraq. Bush loves to play cowboy there but should be where he started this conflict in the first place.

    Please try to read up on current events before you have the temerity to spout such childish nonsense.

    Yeah….”Canada…that says it all”…..is what I would expect from some pimply-faced 14 year old.

    Wait….how old ARE you?

  56. Nate….it takes courage to stand up for what is right. That is why we said no to Iraq and yes to Afghanistan. Clearly you are too stupid to understand that and believe everything you are told like a good little boy…..

    PS… and I love how you generalize…another childish trait.

  57. Nunya
    If I had a nickel for every time I heard that….back when Reagan was President and he took on the Soviets.

    When Iraq becomes stable and Iran capitulates from within, people in 2025 will look back on Bush as the major architect for Middle East stabilization and prosperity.

    Is that so horrible an aspiration?

  58. @Ampar…I’ve been doing my part ” width=”19″ height=”19″ alt=”grin” style=”border:0;” />
    (am resisting replying to TT’s Bush as a major architect comment)

    Did you know this girl in the pic? She is dangling what I call a weed in a pond (Sunfish).

  59. I guess I’ve been fooling you faithful all along. Meanwhile I’ve been spending long weekends as a guest on the Forbes estate, as well as going horseback riding in Crawford.

    BTW, did anyone notice that they’re now using MacBooks and NOT covering the Apple logo on Fox News? A special gift from me to Rupert.

  60. Come on, you have to be kidding! Courage, give me a break. Everyone knows Canada has zero courage and is a terrorist haven. You are laying the ground work to be run over like Europe in your socialist country. Fool.

  61. TowerTone,
    More nickels for you…

    When France becomes stable and Great Britian capitulates from within, people in 1970 will look back on Hitler as the major architect for European stabilization and prosperity.

    Is that so horrible an aspiration?

    MDW ‘brought’ as in This message brought to you by history…

  62. Endorsing Microsoft… good grief. And I thought the Democrats had a clue. How wrong I was… this seriously makes me rethink whether I will vote Democrat.

    They seem to be doing everything in their power to screw up and negate their good fortune resulting from the Bush Administration’s misadventures.

    They are going to piss away what has to be the most lopsided voting majority in modern history.

  63. Endorsing Microsoft… good grief. And I thought the Democrats had a clue. How wrong I was…

    Dude, again this’ll be a MAJOR opportunity for the Apple grassroots folks to step in and save the day when MS’s crapware goes down at showtime.

    Sweet will be when an ad-lib team of geeks with MacPros outdo months of preparation by MS. And do it with the national media watching. ” width=”19″ height=”19″ alt=”smile” style=”border:0;” />

    this seriously makes me rethink whether I will vote Democrat.

    If this was the worst our politicians could do, things would be easy.

  64. “MDW ‘brought’ as in This message brought to you by history…”

    Could you elaborate on your fixation with Hitler in relationship to your vexation for Bush, and why you believe, without drawing on banal commonalities, there are similar attributes?

    I know it’s probably past your bedtime and all.
    Maybe in the morning, after cartoons……

  65. TT: Don’t knock the cartoons! It pays the bills for some of us.

    Jim said, “George Bush will go down as one of the best presidents ever. History will prove it.”

    I needed the chuckle. Thanks!

  66. Well, besides the most obvious one of one country (Germany/USA) invading another sovereign country (Poland/Iraq) without any legitimate provocation and against the will of most countries in the world save a few allies and then threatening to invade other countries to continue the march? Besides the fact that this was done primarily on charisma of one individual who used false assertions and outright lies to justify their claims (Read most of Bush’s speeches after 2003 regarding Iraq and Hitler’s Reichstag speech in 1937) and who used adjective and innuendo when facts weren’t present? Besides the fact that both governments tortured their prisoners? Besides the fact that good honest people in both countries blindly followed their leaders?
    It’s the fact that folks like Jared and Bush continue to bring up Hitler. That’s why.
    MDN Magic Word ‘past’ as in ‘Learn from the past – don’t be it!”

  67. Well, besides the most obvious one of one country (Germany/USA) invading another sovereign country (Poland/Iraq) without any legitimate provocation

    That’s OK, we’ll just overlook the little details. Like unfinished business from 1991, 12 years of nose-thumbing and human-rights abuses by Saddam, WMD intelligence that both Bill Clinton used and the Democrats signed off on, and the still-unexplained source of the post-9/11 weaponized anthrax letters.

    No sir, no provocations of any kind there. /sarcasm ” width=”19″ height=”19″ alt=”raspberry” style=”border:0;” />

  68. @Me
    I’m sorry. I thought I was discussing a topic with someone who has at least a modicum of historical perspective.

    Holy shit was I wrong.

    What part of “banal commonalities”, which is ALL that you listed, did you not understand? When you get a chance, pick up a real history book. It will be the one that is heavier than your cliff notes.

    Seriously, this is not a challenge that you will enjoy. First order of business: List the absolute similarities between Hitler and Bush’s speeches. Please be specific. We can all benefit from this knowledge.

  69. You got me on that one. banal meaning boring and obvious. These are indeed obvious commonalities.
    Sadly, you resort as to so many these days to taking discussions down to insult. I assure you that I have more than a modicum of historical perspective. And have read a significant amount of history. I have no idea what you have read so I will not make any comments on you – I don’t know you. Suffice it to say that my modicum is different than yours.
    As to the provocations in the @@tt post. GHWBush AND Dick Chaney said it was finished. Clinton’s intelligence was based on international and UN inspectors. AND that intelligence later said that the WMDs were gone. Antrax letters could have come from anywhere, say, Saudi Arabia where all the 911 terrorists were from, and finally, if we attacked every leader with human rights abuses or who made verbal attacks at the US, we would be attacking half the world.
    Well, I guess I better get back to my cliff notes.

  70. @Me
    Apparently, you don’t see that your post are insulting. Also, using a real name helps.

    Try reading and comparing Lincoln, Churchill, and other speeches, and see if you don’t see the similarities to Hitler’s speeches.

    Picking and choosing what you perceive as the true meaning is easy and lazy, as ANY comparisons between Hitler and Bush are, while at the same time denigrating the true horror that Nazism was.

    That is what is insulting, yet too many on the left hurl those simple insults without ever considering their ramifications.

    It is also obvious that you relish in the demise of the US, and could care less about a true solution in the Middle east, all just for the sake of the left gaining power.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.