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GOP Leadership to Issue the iPod Touch to House Republicans
businessandmedia.org ^ | March 17, 2009 | Jeff Poor

Posted on 03/17/2009 2:27:06 PM PDT by Rufus2007

A group thought by many to be devoid of tech-savvy compared to their Democratic counterparts is attempting to break that stereotype by using technology that a lot of people have incorporated in their daily lives.

Rep. Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., told a group assembled at the Heritage Foundation’s Blogger’s Briefing on March 17 that he and House Minority Whip Rep. Eric Cantor, R-Va., are developing an application for the iPod Touch, a product of Apple, Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL), that would be used to keep the entire House GOP on a unified message.

“The one thing Cantor and I have done, we’re buying, all the [members], what we call ‘Whip Pods,’ the i[Pod] Touches,” McCarthy said. “And the reason that we’re doing this is threefold. One is, we spend a lot of time in airplanes, so what you will do is – we’re creating an app, so when the members get them, they’ll have an app that’s automatically updated. When they go to get on the airplane, what are they going to do? They’re going to listen to it.”

...more (w/audio)...

(Excerpt) Read more at businessandmedia.org ...


TOPICS: Business/Economy; Culture/Society; Government; Politics/Elections
KEYWORDS: apple; ericcantor; ipod; kevinmccarthy
Not sure what to think of this, but if you want to catch a member of Congress, look for the one with the iPod headphones on any particular flight leaving Reagan or Dulles on a Thursday afternoon/evening.
1 posted on 03/17/2009 2:27:07 PM PDT by Rufus2007
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To: Rufus2007

Rush podcasts?


2 posted on 03/17/2009 2:28:20 PM PDT by Sybeck1 (All Hail Our Dear Leader..........)
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To: Rufus2007

They’ll all get hacked in no time flat.

...and the jackass party will know their every move.


3 posted on 03/17/2009 2:30:56 PM PDT by xcamel (The urge to save humanity is always a false front for the urge to rule it. - H. L. Mencken)
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To: Rufus2007
This sounds like an audio podcast, not an "application".

I'm not sure how they will get them updated, though. Podcasts are synced to the device when docked with the host computer, which requires a wired USB connection.

The iPod Touch has Wi-Fi, but that requires an access point or "hot spot" with either public or private 'Net access. It cannot be used for synchronization, at least not in the current incarnations of iTunes and firmware.

However, I disagree with McCarthy when he said: “If you’re like me, it’s easier to listen than to read [...]”. No thank you, I can read something in a fraction of the time it takes to listen to it, and my retention afterward is much better.

4 posted on 03/17/2009 2:40:21 PM PDT by justlurking (The only remedy for a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun.)
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To: Rufus2007

The GOP problem is a lack of principles and leadership, not the lack of a unified message.


5 posted on 03/17/2009 2:43:53 PM PDT by Moonman62 (The issue of whether cheap labor makes America great should have been settled by the Civil War.)
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To: Moonman62

I thought it was because they weren’t ‘hip hop’ enough /sarc


6 posted on 03/17/2009 2:45:14 PM PDT by ari-freedom (Hail to the Dork!)
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To: Rufus2007

Like giving glasses to the blind.


7 posted on 03/17/2009 2:45:40 PM PDT by Jagman (What were once vices are now stimulus elements!)
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To: justlurking

I can see as an application, reading off an RSS feed or something.

There are Wi-Fi signals all over Washington, including the airports. So, it isn’t that far-fetched for them to try to do something like this.


8 posted on 03/17/2009 2:45:54 PM PDT by Rufus2007
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To: Rufus2007

So they can get accused of indulgence during a time of economic turmoil? That Michael Steele must be doing some fantastic fundraising. I don’t think Republican lawmakers should get free iPods just so they can get some bragging rights. “A group thought by many to be devoid of tech-savvy compared to their Democratic counterparts is attempting to break that stereotype by using technology.”

And how long will it be before the media announces the GOP is now getting their marching orders from an iPod? The seeds are already planted in this very article, where it flat out states the iPod application: “would be used to keep the entire House GOP on a unified message.”

And what if someone loses one of these iPods? And someone less friendly to the House GOP gets their hands on it?


9 posted on 03/17/2009 2:46:28 PM PDT by COgamer
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To: Moonman62

“The GOP problem is a lack of principles and leadership, not the lack of a unified message.”

Like when every GOP member of the House voted against the budget/bailout?

That showed both principle and leadership.

Besides, what is your alternative to the GOP?


10 posted on 03/17/2009 2:47:35 PM PDT by truth_seeker
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To: justlurking
“If you’re like me, it’s easier to listen than to read"

So far they haven't done a very good job of listening... to their constituents anyway. :/

11 posted on 03/17/2009 2:47:57 PM PDT by nodumbblonde (Produce, and feed us in exchange for our not destroying your production.)
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To: justlurking
No thank you, I can read something in a fraction of the time it takes to listen to it, and my retention afterward is much better.

I'm glad you said that. Lately, I've been disheartened at the number of video and audio links sent me, and even here at FR. I'd much rather read something and watch or listen.

12 posted on 03/17/2009 2:50:29 PM PDT by Melas
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To: COgamer
And what if someone loses one of these iPods? And someone less friendly to the House GOP gets their hands on it?

If the security is engineered properly, each iPOD will have a security certificate that has to be authenticated by a trusted server. If you lose the device, the certificate is revoked. The device loses access to the secured network. They should be using AES crypto to keep unfriendly parties off their private network.

13 posted on 03/17/2009 3:37:04 PM PDT by Myrddin
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To: justlurking
No thank you, I can read something in a fraction of the time it takes to listen to it, and my retention afterward is much better.

My iPod is my commute buddy. I use audible books and get a couple of hours of reading a day in while crawling in traffic that I wouldn't otherwise. My retention is as good as reading.

14 posted on 03/17/2009 3:41:49 PM PDT by Glenn (Free Venezuela!)
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To: truth_seeker
Like when every GOP member of the House voted against the budget/bailout?

That's opposition, not leadership. The GOP still doesn't have a clue.

15 posted on 03/17/2009 3:56:09 PM PDT by Moonman62 (The issue of whether cheap labor makes America great should have been settled by the Civil War.)
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