email: tompoe [ at ] fngi dot net
My local editor sends the following:
Tom,
Your recent letter to the editor submission — Charles City takes a big step — makes a number of strong points, but it is just too long to be run on our opinion page as is. I couldn't even fit it down one-half of the page. Run out on letter-size paper it is 2-1/2 pages long. I encourage you to try and summarize a little more and cut it down considerably. I try to accommodate our readers who write in, but we recommend keeping it within 300 words if possible. I am willing to go longer, but this is simply too long for us to use as is.
The Charles City Press couldn't cut my submission down, even with all their journalistic expertise, without losing the content to the point of nonsensical content. So, I've been silenced . . . unless I want to approach the subject in another way. I could do that, I suppose. Here's the letter to the editor that was censored:
Charles City Takes a Big Step
Tom Poe
1315 Cleveland Avenue
Charles City, Iowa 60616-1423
Ph: 228-3271
email: tompoe@fngi.net
The big step incorporates a couple of interesting points as follows:
Every so often, it's a good idea, I think, to remind ourselves, as to who's running our country.
Food Prices Rise At Fastest Rate In 17 Years
From the article:
"NEW YORK — Steve Tarpin can bake a graham cracker crust in his sleep, but explaining why the price for his Key lime pies went from $20 to $25 required mastering a thornier topic: global economics."
"The Food Bank recently got a letter of its own from a key vendor. Its grim message: Sorry, but the prices they charge the Food Bank would be increasing 20 percent, due to food inflation."
The next time you see corporate media trying to convince you that food prices are rising 4% or some ridiculous propagandistic nonsense, contact the Food Bank, and ask for a copy of their letter.
This image represents telecommunications in our world, today. What's interesting about the image, is the very center of the image. It contains a representation of centralized control over our Internet. In the past, when analog technology drove our telecommunications, there was agreement that the "noise" generated by transmissions too close to each other, would inhibit the effectiveness of those who would use the airwaves that we own. The infrastructure for telecommunications was expensive, and as a result, much of the telecommunications infrastructure was turned over to the private sector to build and operate. The question, now that we have entered the digital age, is, do we need to continue relying on a centralized, for-profit private sector to build and operate our telecommunications infrastructure?
Wireless Mesh May Be The Right Choice
The pentagon has opted for wireless mesh technology as the right choice for Afghanistan and Iraq. San Francisco, California, has opted for wireless mesh technology as the right choice for local broadband infrastructure. Ypsilanti, Michigan, has opted for wireless mesh technology as the right choice for a nontechnical approach to local broadband infrastructure, monitored and operated by two fellows with laptops. Perth Amboy, New Jersey, has opted for wireless mesh technology as the right choice for their "Canopy" approach to local broadband infrastructure for their city.
Perth Amboy has completed their pilot program, and reports the city will save some $10,000 per month in communications expenses. The cost for the canopy, on the other hand, is a cool $500,000. Five months break even point? You gotta be kidding!
Global Internet access will be handled separately. That means every house will most likely have either a home network with internal network routing (technical stuff), or, as the majority option, multiple computers that can be obtained through recycling centers (nontechnical preferred approach). If I were still in the labor force, I'd definitely get into the webcam reselling business in Perth Amboy.
Corrupt Washington Disappears Overnight
If political candidates no longer relied on campaign donations to run their campaigns, and elected representatives no longer relied on lobbyists for financial support, would corruption in Washington be eliminated? Probably not. There's this little thing about performance. Who brings home the federal bacon?
Let's worry about that, later. Right now, it's a good time to bring our election process under control. How do we do that? Easy. Simple. Requires no technical expertise. Is totally under the control of the People.
Each community creates a local broadband infrastructure. Open-mesh.com sells little boxes, that look something like the digital tv boxes. Have you seen the idiotic digital tv converter box national policy our country is engaged in? It's called, make sure every American can watch digital tv national policy. Next February, all telecommunications switch to digital transmission mode. The digital tv converter boxes cost $50.
That's $50 per household, and the country is determined to make sure every household in every community has one box. The federal government is footing the bill to the tune of $450 million. To create a local broadband infrastructure in every community in the country, which would enable all local telecommunications including phone, tv, radio, every house would need to spend $50.
The radio was playing, the announcement that AT&T and Verizon won the bidding wars over wireless spectrum that was auctioned off. I leaned against my shovel, looked up at the supervisor next to the ditch. "Did that DJ just say the FCC awarded our airwaves to the same companies that have been tapping our phones?", I asked.
"Yep.", he said. The FCC is just doing their schtick. It wasn't but a matter of days ago, AT&T commissioned a report by www.connectednation.org that reported the economic impact of giving the airwaves back to the public would top $134 billion a year. These guys then arranged with Martin to license the airwaves for a one-time payment of less than $20 billion.
Maybe it's the ditch shoveling that confuses me. Personally, I tend to disagree with the AT&T sponsored report. I received this response from the folks that did the report:
"The digital recording studio is a wonderful example of broadband opportunities.
Secondly, as far as the EIS report itself, the employment numbers are not based on specific industries or jobs - they reflect the impact of broadband adoption levels on total non-farm employment, as reported by the Bureau of Labor Statistics."
"He sees interactive tablet PCs replacing textbooks and notebooks in schools. Students will call up everything they need on their tablet PCs and write everything directly on the screen to be stored there. His daughter’s school, he said, is already using this technology."
Free Press News
Bill Gates’ Vision for the Future
From Washington Post, March 13, 2008
By Kim Hart
So, what school is that? Here in Charles City, Iowa, under the auspices of our distinguished mayor, Jim Erbs, our distinguished governor, Chester Culver, our distinguished deputy director of Iowa Communications Network, there's not a child in the state getting a true 21st century education. Why? I can only imagine it has something to do with power, greed, and a total disregard for the health and well-being of the people these elected officials are supposed to be representing. And, for those who will try to use cost as an excuse, please don't. You all know, as we do, that a $50 per house, one time payment, puts a lasting legacy for our children in place. A community broadband infrastructure that enables every child to get the true 21st century education that the privileged members of our society get.
McCain then said: "I'm sorry, the Iranians are training extremists, not al-Qaeda."
Will You Be Ready on February 19, 2009?
Let's get ready for the switch to digital transmission on February 19, 2009, shall we? It's not about tv broadcasts going digital, you know. It's about all telecommunications going digital. From that moment less than a year from now, you will be making all your calls with Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP). All your voice calls will be converted to digital files. All your tv shows will be digital files. All your radio shows will be digital files. Just like your email, web pages, blackberry stuff. The world will formally signal the start of the Digital Age, big time. Let's get ready. Let's assume we will be purchasing a device that does everything the tv converter device does, and more. For the same price, $50, we'll pick up a Meraki unit, or one from www.ubnt.com, called, Nanostation2, or other similar device. For the same price as the tv converter device, you will set yourself up for sending/receiving all those digital files at broadband speeds that are tenfold faster than what the phone and cable monopolies are charging.