Blogcritics Author: John Bambenek

Is Obama Afraid of Change for Illinois?

John Bambenek — Wed, 9 Jul 2008 13:35:01 EDT

The Obama campaign is telling Illinois, "No, you can't" to fixing our broken state.
The presidential candidate for change has adopted the twin themes of "hope" and "change" for his political campaign. These themes are the creation of David Axelrod, Barack Obama's senior campaign adviser. It was a stroke of brilliance to tap into the widespread disaffection with Washington D.C. and the growing irritation...

Praise the Lord and Pass the Ammunition: Supreme Court Rules for Gun Rights

John Bambenek — Thu, 26 Jun 2008 13:34:00 EDT

In a 5-4 decision, the Supreme Court has ruled that individuals have the right to own firearms for self-defense and hunting.
The Supreme Court of the United States has finally settled one of the most contentious constitutional questions in decades. Do individual citizens have the right to keep and bear arms in the Second Amendment or can governments disarm their people? In one of the few cases that wasn't depressing to read, the Supreme Court ruled individuals can...

What if Chavez Isn't Bluffing About War with Colombia?

John Bambenek — Tue, 4 Mar 2008 12:40:27 EST

Will Venezuela, spurred on by Russia and China, start a war in South America?
Hugo Chavez is making news again, this time threatening war with Colombia (a U.S. ally) over the assassination of terrorist elements that have taken refuge in Ecuador. The facts aren't quite known, but it is alleged the Colombia sent military forces into Ecuador to attack members of the FARC, a terrorist group that has been staging attacks in...

The Health Care Crisis and Why it Was Inevitable

John Bambenek — Tue, 19 Feb 2008 00:09:04 EST

The health care crisis is a product of federal legislation that was designed to take away choices from patients and doctors at every step.
Since 1970, the health care industry has undergone a revolutionary change. Before that time people were overwhelmingly (about 70%) in traditional indemnity plans where patients pay a certain percentage of health care costs. With the passage of the Health Maintenance Organization Act written by Ted Kennedy (D-Mass), very quickly over 70% of...

How Redstate.org is Responsible for the CNN/YouTube Republican Debate Screw-up

John Bambenek — Sun, 2 Dec 2007 00:50:34 EST

Redstate.org and their friends are partly responsible for the CNN/YouTube Republican debate screw-up and now they want a "do-over".
By now it should be well-known that the recent CNN/YouTube Republican debate featured questions largely from Democratic partisan plants. Ostensibly, CNN claims they didn't know that the questioners were staffers on various campaigns or left-wing organizations which only goes to show they simply aren't informed about the subject of their...

Book Review: Linux Firewalls - Attack Detection and Response with iptables, psad, and fwsnort by Michael Rash

John Bambenek — Tue, 27 Nov 2007 07:50:42 EST

A great resource providing insight into getting the most out of iptables, and offering help and tools for additional functionality.
Working in a university environment, one gets used to doing more with less. Security, particularly, seems to never get the budget it deserves though it has increased in recent years. For all their limitations, open-source tools are the vital lifeblood that makes IT work, and work securely, in academia.Using Netfilter (or commonly called iptables)...

ACLU Brings War on Christmas to Fort Collins, Comes Up Short

John Bambenek — Wed, 21 Nov 2007 16:01:03 EST

The ACLU comes to Fort Collins, Colorado, and loses the latest battle in the War on Christmas.
Much like the Christmas shopping season, the ACLU's War on Christmas begins earlier and earlier every year. This year in Fort Collins, Colorado, the city council decided to revise their policies to honor appropriately the holiday that almost ninety percent of America celebrates as Christmas. A task force was drawn up, given their task, and...

Satire: ACLU Files Suit to End Federal Recognition of Christmas

John Bambenek — Tue, 13 Nov 2007 16:44:24 EST

Christmas is the only religious holiday recognized by the federal government. The ACLU is going to stop that and take the War on Christmas to a whole new level.
Today, in the United States District Court in San Francisco, California, the ACLU has filed suit against the United States over the holidays that are designated as federal holidays where the federal government is closed. They argue that Christmas is the only religious holiday on the list and that it does not recognize religious holidays of other...

Hollywood Writers to Strike, Entertainment Industry Improves

John Bambenek — Sat, 3 Nov 2007 16:54:31 EDT

Now is a great time to remember to turn off the TV -- there was nothing good on anyway.
The Writers Guild of America has announced that it intends to strike beginning at 12:01 am on Monday, November 5. This strike results from a three-month failure of the studios and the union to agree on royalties for works that end up on so-called "new media" (i.e. DVDs and Internet streams). The union wants royalties if their work is...

Pissing and Moaning in Cyberspace

John Bambenek — Thu, 18 Oct 2007 21:50:09 EDT

China has a digital temper tantrum and blocks popular western websites. The world yawns.
Today, in what is considered by some to be retaliation, many Chinese web users tried to get to Western websites like Google, Yahoo and YouTube to find those websites blocked or that they were redirected to Chinese equivalents. This comes on the heels of President Bush awarding the Dalai Lama the Presidential Medal of Freedom.The problem China has...