Rich Fiscus 's Techdirt Comments

Latest Comments (218) comment rss

  • On the post: Pace Of Cord Cutting Continues To Quicken

    Rich Fiscus ( profile ), 07 Aug, 2013 @ 11:00pm

    Re: Re: to much to cover

    I don't understand why everyone expects things to get magically cheaper "because the Internet."

    How about because prices are artificially inflated "because one sided technology-driven monopolies."

  • On the post: Pace Of Cord Cutting Continues To Quicken

    Rich Fiscus ( profile ), 07 Aug, 2013 @ 08:28pm

    This is exactly why market leaders don't see disruption coming. The process itself is basically the viral spread of ideas. It starts so small as to seem inconsequential and in the beginning it spreads so slowly as to look completely non-threatening.

    But it's basically a viral process. An idea spreads from one person to 2 or 3 friends. Each of them spreads it to another 2 or 3 people. They each spread it to another 2 or 3 people, and so on. Eventually it reaches critical mass and it's spreading to 2 or 3 thousand people at a time and then 20 or 30 thousand.

    By the time the legacy players realize what's going on a single snowflake has turned into an avalanche that buries their entire business model.

  • On the post: Every Time The NSA Is Asked About Its Ability To Spy On Everyone… It Answers About Its Authority

    Rich Fiscus ( profile ), 07 Aug, 2013 @ 11:13am

    It's funny how he thinks he can tell people what they have to assume, as if we don't have a choice but to march in lock step with the government's chosen narrrative.

    The only thing I need to assume is that dodging questions indicated a lie by ommission.

  • On the post: There Is No 'True' Price For Anything

    Rich Fiscus ( profile ), 06 Aug, 2013 @ 05:04pm

    Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re:

    That rooster's name isn't Cogburn is it?

  • On the post: There Is No 'True' Price For Anything

    Rich Fiscus ( profile ), 06 Aug, 2013 @ 03:59pm

    Re: Re: Re: Re: Re:

    You might want to see a doctor about that.

  • On the post: Former NSA Boss Calls Snowden's Supporters Internet Shut-ins; Equates Transparency Activists With Al-Qaeda

    Rich Fiscus ( profile ), 06 Aug, 2013 @ 02:59pm

    Re: slander and defamtion of character

    The best punishment for this kind of person is to simply point and laugh.

    Suing him makes him important.

    Dismissing him makes him impotent.

  • On the post: Former NSA Boss Calls Snowden's Supporters Internet Shut-ins; Equates Transparency Activists With Al-Qaeda

    Rich Fiscus ( profile ), 06 Aug, 2013 @ 02:34pm

    Re:

    Actually everyone naturally projects themselves onto others. It's a survival mechanism that makes us feel connected to the group. It allows us to believe we can read minds. That's the purpose of looking each other in the eye.

    For most people, at least to the extent they have similar influences in their development, it's relatively true. It's also a good way to spot issues like this douchenozzle has. If you think everyone is a liar it's probably a sign you lie a lot. If you think all spouses cheat you're probably a cheater.

    It's not universal but it's fairly consistent.

  • On the post: Former NSA Boss Calls Snowden's Supporters Internet Shut-ins; Equates Transparency Activists With Al-Qaeda

    Rich Fiscus ( profile ), 06 Aug, 2013 @ 01:49pm

    Re: Hayden is wrong!

    I get laid a TON more than he does, with much hotter women, and I don't even have to pay for it.

    I'm sure he doesn't pay for it either. We're probably picking up the tab for him.

    Or maybe his old buddies in the NSA just dig through all that communications they haven't collected to help him out. Oh wait, we're paying for that too.

  • On the post: Former NSA Boss Calls Snowden's Supporters Internet Shut-ins; Equates Transparency Activists With Al-Qaeda

    Rich Fiscus ( profile ), 06 Aug, 2013 @ 01:44pm

    Re:

    They've run a successful psychological warfare campaign against US citizens for over a decade. They can't be too stupid.

  • On the post: There Is No 'True' Price For Anything

    Rich Fiscus ( profile ), 06 Aug, 2013 @ 03:26pm

    You have to consider the fact that whatever price you put on the cover, Amazon is going to reduce it by as much as half ? unless they don?t ? or they may, but only for a while.

    This one sentence tells you everything you need to know. If you're focusing purely on Amazon to set your prices by definition you are ignoring the consumer. It's hardly shocking you don't know what he's willing to pay.

  • On the post: Former NSA Boss Calls Snowden's Supporters Internet Shut-ins; Equates Transparency Activists With Al-Qaeda

    Rich Fiscus ( profile ), 06 Aug, 2013 @ 01:39pm

    This sort of propaganda is exactly why the government does things like keeping leaked secrets classified, attacking organizations like Wikileaks and issuing vague threats against websites like Techdirt. Propaganda only works if there are no dissenting voices to correct it.

    There's no bigger threat to tyrants than a true believer with an idea.

  • On the post: Lawmakers Issued License Plates That Make Them 'Invisible' To Traffic Cams And Parking Tickets

    Rich Fiscus ( profile ), 06 Aug, 2013 @ 01:36pm

    Municipal, state and federal government agencies are among the biggest offenders when it comes to illegal parking and non-payment of parking citations. A report released last week by the US House Committee on Transportation documented 4000 cases last year where employees in federal vehicles skipped out on paying parking tickets worth $700,000 in Washington, DC and New York City. The total does not include unpaid tickets in foreign countries and other cities throughout the fifty states where 642,000 automobiles registered to the US government are in use.


    This reminds me of when I worked at a convenience store in my youth. We accepted state charge cards, but not federal cards because it took forever to actually get the money.

  • On the post: Lawmakers Issued License Plates That Make Them 'Invisible' To Traffic Cams And Parking Tickets

    Rich Fiscus ( profile ), 06 Aug, 2013 @ 12:22pm

    Earlier this year, Iowa Governor Terry Branstad's speeding SUV was pursued by a highway patrol officer who decided (or was instructed) not to pull it over after realizing whose vehicle it was.


    It wouldn't have been worth his time to write the ticket anyway. Terry Branstad isn't a crony capitalist so much as the old school political machine, Boss Tweed / Richard Daley sort of political hack.

    In 1991 his 16 year old son caused an accident on a rural highway which killed an elderly couple. He was attempting to pass another car while speeding in a van paid for by campaign contributions and, despite protestations to the contrary from the governor's office, almost certainly drunk.

    He was fined a whole $15.

  • On the post: Pat Robertson: Murder Committed In Video Games Is No Different Than Real Life Murder

    Rich Fiscus ( profile ), 06 Aug, 2013 @ 08:58am

    Why is anybody talking about what this guy says. He is not, in fact a senile, doddering, or batshit crazy old man. He just plays one on TV. If you don't like what he says stop giving him all the free promotion. The worst thing you can do to people like that is simply ignore them.

  • On the post: Other Government Agencies Wanted Access To NSA Surveillance Data For Other Investigations… Including Copyright Infringement

    Rich Fiscus ( profile ), 05 Aug, 2013 @ 04:53pm

    I really need to use the Preview function when I'm switching between ubb and html boards

  • On the post: Other Government Agencies Wanted Access To NSA Surveillance Data For Other Investigations… Including Copyright Infringement

    Rich Fiscus ( profile ), 05 Aug, 2013 @ 04:52pm

    [blockquote]To its credit (and I can't believe I'm saying that), it appears that the NSA has rejected most of these requests, saying that those other issues are not high enough of a priority and they don't want to violate privacy rights (don't laugh).[/blockquote]

    Don't be too quick to give them credit. You already know that aren't concerned about privacy - except for theirs of course. A much more likely explanation is that it's nothing more than a power game.

    Why give away what you can trade for almost anything you want? This is the most valuable commodity on the political market. It's like an unlimited supply of IOUs from every other branch of government. The only value this has anything to do with is trade value.

  • On the post: Staffers For Rep. Mike Rogers Apparently Claim They Could Sue Me For Defamation

    Rich Fiscus ( profile ), 30 Jul, 2013 @ 05:19pm

    I'm so smart I posted this on the wrong discussion the first time...

    In the absence of any official statement from Mike Rogers explaining his position with respect to potentially defamatory allegations by members of his staff against Mike Masnick it seems only fair to offer an explanation for the unwashed masses of ignorant halfwits populating the Internet. After years spent closely observing the species Vitulamen Sanguinem Parasitus, more commonly known as the garden variety politician, I have become something of an expert on their highly idiosyncratic communication style.

    Based on my years of study I am confident what appears at first to be an organized campaign of borderline defamatory rumor mongering is, in fact, a completely unintentional misunderstanding. This is much more common than you might suspect due to the difficulty in translating from that species' significantly more nuanced and sophisticated communication into the crude and limited vocabulary used by us ordinary folk.

    It is impossible for me to definitively identify the subtleties of Mike Rogers' staffers, not having witnessed the exchange personally. I can, however, provide some insight about how the benign behavior of these elegant creatures is often misunderstood by ordinary people. In the spirit of furthering relations between our two species I will endeavor to do so. I will also attempt to replicate the delicate nuance of their language in the hope increased exposure to it will increase your understanding.

    Let's start with the alleged comments by Representative Rogers' staffers to a Michigan reporter insinuating, but likely falling just short of actually accusing, Mike Masnick of defamation. There are many ways to characterize his staffers' actions. In some places it would be called innuendo, half truth, or perhaps even lying. A blogger with a legal background and significant experience in First Amendment defense, Ken White at Popehat for example, might refer to it as censorious thuggery. Such a person might even go so far to call it douchebaggery. On this very thread it has been described as corruption.

    On Capitol Hill they call that Tuesday.

    If you go back to the original Techdirt pieces which led to this reaction you will notice a similar communications gap. On July 26 Mike characterized Mike Rogers' selective and out of context quotes about Supreme Court precedents misleading.

    On Capitol Hill they call that Tuesday.

    A day earlier Mike called out Representative Rogers for conflating different NSA programs to paint a rosy picture which is entirely and categorically false.

    Once again, on Capitol Hill they call that Tuesday. I could go on but in every case the comparison would ultimately be the same.

    You might agree with me that Mike Rogers, purely for personal gain, blindly supports government programs which are clearly and blatantly unconstitutional. Like me you might suggest Mike Rogers is a typical crony capitalist, irreversibly corrupted by the lure of power, prestige, and a likely future of wealth and comfort lobbying for the equally corrupt corporations he has thrown his support behind. In fact you may believe, as I do, that his public statements alone easily meet the Constitutional criteria for impeachment and his protestations to the contrary amount to nothing more than a claim of first degree butthurt.

    Try to remember, though, that he truly does not understand any of that. In Mister Rogers' Neighborhood it's just Tuesday.

  • On the post: Oh Look, Rep. Mike Rogers Wife Stands To Benefit Greatly From CISPA Passing…

    Rich Fiscus ( profile ), 30 Jul, 2013 @ 05:18pm

    In the absence of any official statement from Mike Rogers explaining his position with respect to potentially defamatory allegations by members of his staff against Mike Masnick it seems only fair to offer an explanation for the unwashed masses of ignorant halfwits populating the Internet. After years spent closely observing the species Vitulamen Sanguinem Parasitus, more commonly known as the garden variety politician, I have become something of an expert on their highly idiosyncratic communication style.

    Based on my years of study I am confident what appears at first to be an organized campaign of borderline defamatory rumor mongering is, in fact, a completely unintentional misunderstanding. This is much more common than you might suspect due to the difficulty in translating from that species' significantly more nuanced and sophisticated communication into the crude and limited vocabulary used by us ordinary folk.

    It is impossible for me to definitively identify the subtleties of Mike Rogers' staffers, not having witnessed the exchange personally. I can, however, provide some insight about how the benign behavior of these elegant creatures is often misunderstood by ordinary people. In the spirit of furthering relations between our two species I will endeavor to do so. I will also attempt to replicate the delicate nuance of their language in the hope increased exposure to it will increase your understanding.

    Let's start with the alleged comments by Representative Rogers' staffers to a Michigan reporter insinuating, but likely falling just short of actually accusing, Mike Masnick of defamation. There are many ways to characterize his staffers' actions. In some places it would be called innuendo, half truth, or perhaps even lying. A blogger with a legal background and significant experience in First Amendment defense, Ken White at Popehat for example, might refer to it as censorious thuggery. Such a person might even go so far to call it douchebaggery. On this very thread it has been described as corruption.

    On Capitol Hill they call that Tuesday.

    If you go back to the original Techdirt pieces which led to this reaction you will notice a similar communications gap. On July 26 Mike characterized Mike Rogers' selective and out of context quotes about Supreme Court precedents misleading.

    On Capitol Hill they call that Tuesday.

    A day earlier Mike called out Representative Rogers for conflating different NSA programs to paint a rosy picture which is entirely and categorically false.

    Once again, on Capitol Hill they call that Tuesday. I could go on but in every case the comparison would ultimately be the same.

    You might agree with me that Mike Rogers, purely for personal gain, blindly supports government programs which are clearly and blatantly unconstitutional. Like me you might suggest Mike Rogers is a typical crony capitalist, irreversibly corrupted by the lure of power, prestige, and a likely future of wealth and comfort lobbying for the equally corrupt corporations he has thrown his support behind. In fact you may believe, as I do, that his public statements alone easily meet the Constitutional criteria for impeachment and his protestations to the contrary amount to nothing more than a claim of first degree butthurt.

    Try to remember, though, that he truly does not understand any of that. In Mister Rogers' Neighborhood it's just Tuesday.

  • On the post: Maybe The Answer To The $200 Million Movie Question Is To Not Focus On $200 Million Movies?

    Rich Fiscus ( profile ), 23 Jul, 2013 @ 02:42pm

    Investing $200 million in anything is a gamble. Anybody who tells you otherwise is selling something - probably something they're asking $200 million for.

  • On the post: Microsoft Fires Off Rebuttal To Latest Leak; Angry Letter To Eric Holder

    Rich Fiscus ( profile ), 17 Jul, 2013 @ 08:18pm

    Re:

    1. If MS where giving full access to the NSA, wouldn't it be illegal at this point to let it be known?

    Absolutely. OTOH if any of the allegations in those leaks were false it would be entirely legal to flatly deny them. They chose not to do that across the board.

    This is the same tactic I've seen many times when companies try to scare a website to retract something they've published. I'm sure Mike has experienced this as well. They send you an email implying what you wrote isn't true but never actually come out and refute a single fact. Instead they provide some sort of alternate story that implies you have the facts wrong.

    If a company wants to deny a rumor or an allegation they come out and unequivocally do so. They cite a specific claim and say "that's not true." If they dance around the subject instead it means they have decided, for whatever reason, not to deny the allegation. Full stop.

    In case I'm not being clear (I do that a lot), here's an example of what I'm talking about.

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