Twitter Updates for the week ending 2008-12-14

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American Airlines Mobile Boarding Pass

Tested out American Airlines’ new mobile boarding pass option on my flight from LAX to ORD for Thanksgiving. It worked out, but I was glad that the airport wasn’t busy. I recommend carrying a printed boarding pass for backup while they work out the kinks.

At the checkpoint, it was scanned no problem — in fact the guy tried to spread-zoom my screen iPhone style. Heh. He gave me a laminated green slip of paper with a number on it. Mine was “59” My first green card! After passing through the scanner, the TSA woman (who was obviously new on the job) didn’t know what to do and called for a supervisor who in turn snapped at her for turning her back on the human walk-through scanner. “I’ve seen people run through these before,” he warned.

At the gate, American’s scanners didn’t quite pick up the code, but they were able to check me thru by matching the info on the image on my phone with that in the database.

And then the obvious “joke” about someday soon we’ll all just have barcodes embedded into our foreheads. Maybe we already do.

How Did Blagojevich Manage to Stay in Power so Long?

Guilty Rod BlagojevichWhat the whole world now knows about Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich comes as no surprise to Illinoisians and other observers. a quick search reveals that one of my earliest blog entries here, in Sept. 2005, mentions him as a criminal. Unbelievable?!? Hardly — Blagojevich is the fifth Illinois governor of the last nine to be indicted.

Of course, he got reelected, as Daley always does, because the machine wins — or else. And fortunately Obama made his run this year instead of waiting until the rest of the world got wind of the stench of corruption perennially consuming Springfield / Chicago politics. It always seemed Obama was careful to skirt the machine, with relationships that were chilly — at best — with Blago and Daley.

The real crime here may be at the hands of the Chicago Tribune. How long were they sitting on the story of Blagojevich’s jockeying to dump Tribune editorial board members who slammed him in exchange for working a sweet deal for the sale of the Cubs? Gotta love these quotes though:

“Unless I get something real good [for Senate candidate 1], shit, I’ll just send myself, you know what I’m saying,” Blagojevich was taped saying on November 3rd, the day before Election Day.

“[The Senate seat] is a fucking valuable thing, you just don’t give it away for nothing.”

Justice at last. Full coverage at Chicago Public Radio.

Click here for the full 76-page indictment (PDF).

Continue reading “How Did Blagojevich Manage to Stay in Power so Long?”

Twitter Updates for the week ending 2008-12-07

  • innovation: 1)must ensure net neutrality b4 investing in innovation/infrastructure/govt incentives 2) #
  • concensus for action: 1) make internet a public utility, distant 2) gov’t reform 3) education #ife #
  • Off to #IFE Internet for everyone interactive town hall. Will miss #HHill, #time4wine but will represent ur ideas and Q’s. Bring em on! #
  • Nice to see nic and everyone @theroxy. Now to Seven Grand. Hoping it’s not packed. Dey got jackalopes dere! Who’s downtown? Hit me! #
  • Continue reading “Twitter Updates for the week ending 2008-12-07”