Obama to Tap Tech Adviser as FCC Chief

The Wall Street Journal ^ | JANUARY 13, 2009 | By AMY SCHATZ and LAURA MECKLER

[Texas Fossil]

I do not question that what you say is true.

My question is how you resolve his background with his actions.

He is jewish. (From East European Parents- not stated from where)

He clerked for Souter- who is not liberal.

More recently he has worked exclusively for the Dark Side.

I have tried to understand for years how the majority of the U.S. Jewish community can reconcile voting Democratic (Socialist/Statist at minimum- Marxist/Communist extreme).

Over 30 years ago I read Hanna Arendt’s “The Origins of Totalitarianism” (first published in 1951) trying to get a handle on how the Jews were so passive in Europe in the beginning. That was the most difficult book to understand that I have ever read.

I admire her grasp of the subject, but get a gray headache thinking about trying to digest that book.

[EDINVA]

We will have to agree to disagree about Souter. To me he’s a sure’nuff liberal.

Souter replaced Brennan when he died, so Clerks who had worked with Brennan continued with Souter. Clerking for a SCOTUS Justice is as good as it gets for a recent law school grad. It carries professional prestige that cannot be matched.

Before Brennan he worked for Abner Mikva, another certifiable liberal. Mikva probably had a strong hand in Genchowski getting the clerkship with Brennan at SCOTUS.

I don’t see a break in the pattern. Even if Souter were not (imo) a liberal, no clerk is going to leave his/her SCOTUS position.

As to why so many American Jews vote for socialist/statist/ marxist candidates, it is a question for the ages. I understand the first generation of Eastern European Jews going Democrat. Most immigrant groups do. But since the 1970s the Democrat Party is no longer your father’s (or grandfather’s) party.

From observing the most recent election, it seems that the older generation (60/70/80’s) of American Jewish voters was set to go with McCain until he chose Sarah Palin as his running mate. Then there was the “Great Schlep,” and those old folks went back to the Dems, regardless of their fears about Obama. They were more afraid of an openly Christian woman. Only explanation I can think of.

[Glenn]

I spent a rather inebriated afternoon in the Atlanta Airport with one of the Obama campaign’s computer wiz kids. It was very entertaining listening to him spout off about his techniques (he had none) and the way Obama was earning the vote by high technology superiority (he had a point). He was also bragging about his 200k payment for 8 months work.

I want to serve the next Republican nominee. Pragmatic programmers will kick Obama’s ass to the curb. All we need is a place at the table.

Call me, Sarah.

I won’t let you down.

[Texas Fossil]

I spent a rather inebriated afternoon in the Atlanta Airport with one of the Obama campaign’s computer wiz kids.

I am not a programmer, but I built my first PC in 1982. I am 61 and a fossil. Am still current on most apps, and have years of experience with CAD, Publishing, and Image apps. All enviornments DOS, Windows, Linux, AS400 etc.

If it has wires and RF I can really handle that.

The confidence of youth is sometimes deceiving.

I can hold my own technically with "Die Wunderkinder", but I run circles around them when it comes to taking things in context. They understand the technology, but don't have a clue about how everything fits together.

At my age, we do not learn as fast. But the accumulated experience gives perspective like looking at a Mosaic Picture. It is clearer farther away.

30+ years in outside sales is a real education.

[Glenn]

At my age

I'm just five years younger and I eat bits and bytes for breakfast. My brain has been patterned to learn new technology for 34 years. I fear no computer wonk.

I am glad you are the same.

Computerism, unlike other isms, has degraded to keep up with the gray haired.

[Texas Fossil]

My real love is RF. Have been a ham since 1976. Also hold GROL license.

In late 70’s I was etching PC boards, home-brewing circuits, and fabricating test equipment.

We built the first computer controlled repeater I ever saw in about 1980. It was CMOS (RCA COSMAC 1802 CPU)and the entire system drew 50ma quiescent current in standby. It had Repco transmitters and receivers, with IC2 & IC4 Icom talkies for programmable link. It was solar powered on a 9020 ft. peak. We had autopatch, and long before cell phones we could dial into the phone line (from some cases 100 miles) with a touch tone pad on transceiver. It worked both VHF and UHF bands programmable by touchtone from mobile. You could link the system with the same input device.

An RF engineer from Los Alamos designed the hardware and a computer programmer (Amdol rep) from NM State did the software. He wrote a special assembler to get the job done. The two of them together in a room was like watching a magic show.

Enough of the war stories, but I still love it.