Honda Classic 16th

A message about StopFCC.com from Scott

I started StopFCC.com because I’m tired of politicians standing up and talking about “Protecting our Freedom” one day, and then the next day they are pushing the FCC to fine a broadcaster millions of dollars over words that offend a few campaign contributors. A few large media companies and politicians get to decide what I can watch, read and listen to? I guess in this election year “Freedom” only means “Fighting Terrorism” and does not include the First Amendment.

Now the FCC is talking about trying to regulate cable and satellite? When did this country turn Communist? We need to tell the Government that this is NOT acceptable, and the only thing they seem to want to listen to is votes and money- especially in an election year.

The whole idea here is to collect a LOT of legitimate names, not like some of these other petitions that you see on the net that are more about advertising than making a difference. This is for real, we verify email addresses, and we ask for an “e-signature” (Made possible by legislation passed by President Clinton). When you sign this petition it’s like signing a legal document. This is the real deal.

Once we get a lot of names, we plan on sending letters to politicians that say things like “Dear Senator ABC, based on the statistics from the petition at StopFCC.com, there are 12,345 people in your district that have pledged support for free speech and against further censorship. We urge you to reconsider the recent actions of the FCC and pledge your support for free speech. Show the voters you are serious about their first amendment rights.” — We have already had people from different government servers looking at the petition- the more people that sign the petition the more attention we will get.

Help support the campaign. Sign the Petition and then tell as many people as you can about what we are trying to do.

Thank you for your support!

-Scott

-Email: webmaster -at- stopfcc.com

Groxis‘ Grokker 2 was released at DEMO 2004. I downloaded the free trial, and all I can say is YUCK. What are these guys thinking? The idea of an interactive graphical representation of complex interrelated clusters of information (I think that’s what this is) is certainly attractive. It’s just that it never works. Maybe it’s because really complex data ends up represented by really complex graphs, when the point is really simplification. Google simplifies complex information by doing a decent job of presenting the most important (or at least the most popular) stuff at the top of the list. Not perfect, but works for me.

On the other hand, I have been using X1 for about a month and I love it. In fact I love it so much that I paid $100 for it when the trial expired even though it crashes or locks up every day or two. This little jem indexes all your email, attachments and files and lets your search them REALLY FAST – including file content. Wow!

For those (of which I am one) who are compulsively unable to suspend disbelief, here is a useful website, which rates movies as follows:

* GP = Good physics in general

* PGP = Pretty good physics (just enough flaws to be fun)

* PGP-13 = Children under 13 might be tricked into thinking the physics were pretty good; parental guidance is suggested

* RP = Retch

* XP = Obviously physics from an unknown universe

* NR = Unrated. When a movie is obviously a parody, fantasy, cartoon or is clearly based on a comic book it can’t be rated but may still have some interesting physics worth discussing.

Strangeberry acquired by Tivo.

MAINE VOICES: George D. Hepner III, Friday, January 23, 2004

There are no more countries

Copyright 2004 Blethen Maine Newspapers Inc.

President Bush is calling for some form of guest worker program, allowing foreign nationals to work in the United States for an initial period of three years, even those workers now here illegally.

At first blush, this program seems to recognize the new reality of Mexamerica, that part of Mexico and the United States that functions economically as one country. The question is, however, whether the Bush program is the correct way to deal with this new reality.

I say no. Tinkering with a statute as complex as the U.S. immigration law is always asking for trouble. The incredibly convoluted deportation system will have to be rethought and rewritten if the Bush proposal is made into law.

The demand on government resources also would be immense. The great majority of the 8 million to 12 million illegal aliens in the United States will be seeking benefits under this quasi-amnesty and will all eventually seek permanent residence (a “green card”). Imagine 8 million people seeking permanent residence in one year.

Regardless of one’s position on this new program, there already is a crying need for reform in the processing of applications. It can take months to obtain a simple work permit, and applicants for a permanent labor certification often have to wait four years or more. Those who appeal application denials usually give up after years of waiting. This new program cannot be implemented without massive new funding.

These lengthy delays are increasingly causing the world’s technical and scientific elite, including the world’s most talented computer programmers, engineers and scientists, to go elsewhere. Recently I learned that in the United Kingdom, a work permit is usually issued within 24 hours.

The solution is fairly simple, once one accepts the new reality.

There are no more countries. Not like there were even 30 years ago. Yes, there are still borders, different legal systems, different flags and different languages, but look at what is happening:

A large Russian company recently acquired a U.S. steel mill. The acquisition attracted scant media attention.

Here in Portland, I am person- ally familiar with British, French, German, Swiss, Dutch, Italian, Canadian, Norwegian, Danish, Indian, Irish, Cambodian, Vietnamese, Chinese and Japanese nationals, both investors and entrepreneurs, buying existing businesses and establishing new ones.

There are now only a handful of currencies that really matter in the international business world – the U.S. dollar, the euro and the yen.

The number of persons worldwide with two or more passports (dual nationals) is exploding.

The solution? Open all the borders from Hudson Bay to Mexico’s southern border. Embrace the concept of being a citizen of North America. Along with the open borders program, create a new NAFTA permitting a citizen of any of the three signatory countries to live and work in any of the three signatory countries, effectively creating a North American Economic Union.

In 20 years the open borders area would extend to the Panama/Colombia border, and later, even farther south. This is not as radical as it sounds. France and Germany, once bitter rivals, now have an open border, as does the rest of the European Union.

Opening our border would not cause a huge influx from Mexico, as some might fear. Most Mexicans are not dying to work in the United States. Most Mexicans like their country and want to stay. Yes, some Mexicans would head north, but if they could not find work, they would probably go home.

Let’s recognize where North America and the world are headed. We need to open our borders and create a true North American economic zone.

– Special to the Press Herald

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

George D. Hepner, III of Gorham is the Co-Chair of the International Practice Group at Bernstein, Shur, Sawyer & Nelson. He regularly represents clients in virtually all areas of immigration law, including family, investor, business, student, deportation, exclusion and asylum-related immigration matters. A certified translator, he regularly conducts business in French, German, Spanish and Italian.

You can go a long way with a smile. You can go a lot farther with a smile and a gun.

— Al Capone

Louis Wain’s cat paintings as his schizophrenia progressed, from The Neuroscience Art Gallery