Free Republic

...Kopelman presented a scenario for the rise of the "implicit" Internet. I'm simplifying, but he was referring to the vast web of personal data that until now has existed relatively undisturbed in different corners of the data world. For example, you may have made a reservation over the Internet one day, or bought a book from an online reseller on another. But that that data is going to get collected from heretofore separate "silos" as companies that figure out ways to break through the barriers and deliver information based on that implicit cyber data. That shouldn't strike anybody as a...

When Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton needed help rounding up superdelegates, she turned to Harold M. Ickes, the ultimate Democratic fixer, ... ... Mr. Ickes is also wearing another hat. He is president of Catalist, a for-profit databank that has sold its voter files to the Obama and the Clinton presidential campaigns for their get-out-the-vote efforts. With his equity stake in the firm, Mr. Ickes stands to benefit financially no matter which candidate becomes the Democratic nominee. In creating Catalist, Mr. Ickes, ... has formed a rare entity on the political scene, a for-profit limited-liability corporation that allows wealthy Democratic donors...

Beside the war in Iraq and the scrap over the President's Supreme Court nominee, last month's announcement of the Rocket Racing League--the what?--came off as comic relief. What's this, a new Jetsons movie? Or could George Plimpton be risen from the dead and writing spoofs? The Rocket Racing League, though, is no put-on. It's real, the brainchild of Dr. Peter H. Diamandis, M.D., the private-space-travel entrepreneur, and Granger B. Whitelaw, entrepreneur, venture capitalist and two-time Indy 500 team winner. Diamandis was the force behind last year's Ansari X Prize, won by Burt Rutan's SpaceShipOne for kissing the boundary of space...

SAN ANTONIO -- For the first time since Hurricane Katrina forced them into shelters, 6,000 people at Keesler Air Force Base, Miss., ventured outside for a breath of fresh air. That was late in the day on Aug. 30, just after eating their first hot meal since the devastating hurricane nearly blew the base and that section of the Gulf Coast off the map. People stood in line for up to two hours to get their first hot food in days, said Lt. Col. Claudia Foss, the 81st Training Wing spokesperson. “We were able to feed 6,000 people at one...

SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- Calpine Corp.'s (CPN) proposed partnership of its energy-trading operations with a major U.S. financial institution is a done deal with details to be announced in about a week, according to the company's chairman and chief executive, Peter Cartwright. As part of a broad financial reorganization the company announced two weeks ago, Calpine said it was in discussions to combine its marketing and trading operation, Calpine Energy Services, with the credit support of a major financial institution. The investment-grade partnership would result in hundreds of millions of dollars in collateral being returned to the parent corporation, and...

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) - Former Minnesota Gov. Jesse Ventura will participate in a conference call next week to help launch a new group called Operation Truth, an organization being created "to give voice to troops who served in Iraq." The New York-based group is holding its official launch party and fund-raiser Wednesday, according to its Web site, http://www.paulrieckhoff.com/ The site lists its mission as: "Operation Truth will educate the American public about the truth of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan from the perspective of the soldiers who have experienced them firsthand. We will provide returning veterans with national,...

How Bush can lose Posted: January 8, 2004 1:00 a.m. Eastern © 2004 WorldNetDaily.com There's a kind of smug self-confidence emerging in the Bush White House based largely on incompetence in the Democratic Party, an improving economy and better news on the Iraqi war front. Polls are showing President Bush handily beating Howard Dean or any other potential Democratic nominee in the November election. That may happen. But let me offer another scenario. Whether it's Howard Dean or Daffy Duck who is nominated by the Democrats this summer, Bush's major opponent is going to have a lock on anywhere from...

Minutes of the Executive Committee Reform Party of the United States of AmericaSeptember 13, 2003 -Old Business:  Motion to Invite Speakers to 2003 Convention At the previous meeting, the following was moved: Mr. Lauterman moved that the ExCom formally invite Ross Perot, Jesse Ventura, and Pat Buchanan to speak at the convention.  Seconded.  Ms. Kennedy moved to amend by striking Pat Buchanan's name from the motion.  Seconded.  (Business taken up at this point) The question was called. Those voting yes on the amendment:  Ms. McKelvey, Ms. Campbell, Ms. Kennedy, Mr. CollisonThose voting no on the amendment:  Mr. Lauterman, Mr. Richardson The amendment passed.

Philadelphia’s Cradle of Liberty Boy Scout Council self-destructed last week. Its executive board voted unanimously to include "sexual orientation" in its nondiscrimination code. The outrageous move came after years of intense pressure from radical homosexual and atheist rights groups in the area and nationwide. The Philadelphia Council is the third largest local council in the country, serving 87,000 boys and men. It is an unfortunate addition to a list of councils that have eagerly given the finger to the Boy Scouts of America and its associated moral codes. Last year, San Francisco and Boston became the first branches to reject...

Donald Valentine is a Republican. Check out the Soft Money Contributions of his Venture Capital Company below: Soft money donors found for Sequoia Capital:  Cycle Organization Total to Dems to Repubs 2002 election cycle  Sequoia Capital $195,271  -  $195,271  2000 election cycle  Sequoia Capital $420,000  -  $420,000  1998 election cycle - - - - Now read the article: Veteran venture capitalist foresees plenty of start-up opportunitiesBy Rick Merritt, EE Times May 16, 2003 (5:32 p.m. EST) URL: http://www.theworkcircuit.com/story/OEG20030516S0048SAN JOSE, Calif. — It's a great time to start a new high tech company despite the current economic malaise, said a veteran...

Used and Violated in Minnesota "I Feel Used. I Feel Violated" So says Jesse Ventura following his being snookered into attending what was supposed to be a memorial for the late Senator Paul Wellstone and by all accounts, even Democratic ones, turned into a Democrat Campaign rally - an appalling display by our account and that of many others. As Governor of the great state of Minnesota, Ventura has the power to even the score. He can appoint a replacement to fill the seat of Wellstone and he has now said he will do just that. Conventional wisdom says any...

Warning that Minnesota Governor Jesse Ventura's planned late September visit to Castro's Cuba would hurt Cuban workers and anti-government dissidents Florida's Gov. Jeb Bush asked his fellow governor to change his plans. In a letter excerpts of which were quoted in the Miami Herald Jeb Bush wrote: "I want to share some information that I hope will provide you with a broader and more-realistic picture of life in Cuba. While I don't expect you to cancel your trip, I strongly believe doing so would be the right thing to do. I encourage you to consider other options as you look...