Tech Daily Dose

Tech Firms, Bush Tout Stimulus Plan

A couple of high-tech executives will meet with President Bush on Monday afternoon to discuss the short and long-term benefits of the recently enacted economic stimulus package. The CEOs will offer specific anecdotes of how the plan will stimulate their businesses -- particularly how its tax incentives let them spend money on new equipment, thereby improving productivity, efficiency, and capacity.

Raymond Pinard of 48HourPrint.com, a Boston-based business-to-business online printing firm, and Thomas Sawner of Educational Options, an Arlington, Va.-headquartered provider of Web-based educational products, are among the invitees. Other executives hail from Signal Metal Industries of Irving, Texas, and Permac Industries of Burnsville, Minn.

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State Of The Union: A Trip Down Memory Lane

Can't wait until 9:01 p.m. ET on Monday night for President Bush's final State of the Union? Well, a special page on the White House Web site lets you relive speeches from the past seven years with an array of photo essays.

Some helpful links:
>State of the Union 2007
>State of the Union 2006
>State of the Union 2005
>State of the Union: The First Four Years
>State of the Union 2008: Guests of First Lady Laura Bush
>State of the Union 2008: Policy Initiatives

C-SPAN can also assist in your stroll down memory lane. The network's State of the Union Web page features video and transcripts of Bush's previous addresses as well as those made by his predecessors. Transcripts date back to President Harry S. Truman's 1945 speech.

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BarneyCam VI: "Holiday In the National Parks"

(Photo Credit: Eric Draper/White House)

As promised, the White House unveiled its annual holiday video starring President Bush's Scottish Terriers Barney and Miss Beazley on Wednesday. In this year's installment, the dogs want to become junior park rangers with the National Park Service… but first, they have to help decorate the White House for Christmas.

The Web video features a cameo appearance by Interior Department Secretary Dirk Kempthorne (one of the lesser-known members of the administration) as well as some pretty bad acting by First Daughters Jenna and Barbara. Oh, and former Prime Minister Tony Blair also shows up. I guess he didn’t have much else going on.

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First Dog's Holiday BarneyCam Video To Debut

(Photo Credit: Susan Sterner/White House)

First Lady Laura Bush is expected to speak at the Children's National Medical Center on Wednesday and unveil BarneyCam 2007 -- the annual holiday video featuring first dogs Barney and Miss Beazley.

In last year's film, available on the White House Web site, Barney (the elder Scottish Terrier) takes meetings with President Bush, former Office of Management and Budget Director Rob Portman, Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson and Education Secretary Margaret Spellings as he plans his annual holiday stage show.

Other featured performers in the skit included three-time Super Bowl champion and winner of ABC's "Dancing with the Stars" Emmitt Smith, former presidential adviser Karl Rove and former White House Press Secretary Tony Snow.

The best cameo, in my opinion, was from country crooner Dolly Parton, who showed up for the performance and exclaimed: "I wouldn't have missed this for nothing in the world. I'm intendin' to have a doggone good time with Barney!"

One can only imagine what we're in store for this year ...

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President Bush Will Talk Turkey On Tuesday

(Photo Credit: Paul Morse/White House)

On Tuesday morning, President Bush is scheduled to take part in the White House's annual Thanksgiving turkey pardon. The current ceremony dates to 1947, when the first bird was presented to President Harry Truman.

The 2007 turkey and its alternate are from Dubois, Indiana, according to the White House Web site. This year, citizens can vote online to name the prized poultry. I cast my ballot for "Wing & Prayer" and you can cast yours here.

After the official presentation, the celebrity gobbler will be flown first class to Disney World in Orlando, Fla. where he will be the grand marshal of amusement park's Thanksgiving Day parade.

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Reax To Bush's AG Nominee, Michael Mukasey

Technology Daily's PM Edition has coverage of President Bush's nomination of retired federal judge Michael Mukasey to serve as attorney general. The story has some stakeholders' early reactions, but here's a bit more:

The American Civil Liberties Union urged senators to refuse Mukasey's nomination unless he agrees to a list of demands. "It is imperative that the Senate receive a pledge under oath that the nominee’s first allegiance will be to the rule of law and the Constitution, not to a president or a political party," ACLU chief Anthony Romero said.

The ACLU wants him to pledge to give the Senate Judiciary Committee all documents in the Justice Department's possession concerning the authorization to monitor phone calls in the United States without a warrant, and concerning the use of "national security letters" to obtain documents domestically.

Senate Intelligence Committee ranking Republican Christopher (Kit) Bond of Missouri said he believes that Bush's nominee "will uphold the rule of law, protect our civil liberties and ensure that terror-fighting intelligence officers have the information and tools they need to protect our families.

Continue reading "Reax To Bush's AG Nominee, Michael Mukasey" »

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White House Continues FISA Reform Push

The Bush Administration made another push for Congress to reform the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act over the weekend. Homeland Security Advisor Fran Townsend told "Fox News Sunday" that "Congress and our overseers cannot walk back the vital tools that we need."

The controversial FISA changes that were enacted in August will expire in February unless lawmakers make the mandate permanent. "We need those tools. … And so we need FISA reform made permanent," she said.

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White House Signals Opposition To Patent Bill

From Friday morning's Technology Daily AM Edition:

The White House on Thursday announced its opposition to House legislation that would revamp the nation's overburdened patent system on the grounds that it would dramatically overhaul the procedure for calculating damages in infringement cases. CongressDaily reports that the Bush administration said the bill would limit a court's discretion in determining damages in infringement cases.

"Making this change to a reasonably well-functioning patent legal system is unwarranted and risks reducing the rewards from innovation -- a result that would undercut the other useful reforms in this bill," according to the statement of administration policy.

House floor debate begins shortly. More details should be available in Technology Daily's PM Edition.

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Bush Trumpets eBay Success

President Bush on Wednesday gave a shout-out to online auction site eBay on Wednesday after lunching with Treasury and State Department officials. He said the entrepreneurial spirit has helped our economy keep pace with new technologies, and America is a leader in innovation.

"Twelve years ago, eBay did not exist. Today eBay is a global business that reported nearly $6 billion in net revenues last year," Bush said. He called the site an "entrepreneurial success story" that has helped thousands of Americans become entrepreneurs themselves.

It's worth noting that eBay CEO Meg Whitman was named chief California fundraiser for Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney earlier this year. In previous campaign cycles, she has supported Rep. James Sensenbrenner, R-Wis., and former GOP Sen. George Allen of Virginia.

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President Bush On Music & Copyright

The recently launched musicFirst campaign, an effort aimed at getting musicians more money under copyright law, tried to get President Bush on their bandwagon last week. During the commander-in-chief's trip to Nashville, he was asked if he would support a performance right.

Here's the official White House transcript:

Question: Mr. President, music is one of our largest exports the country has. Currently, every country in the world -- except China, Iran, North Korea, Rwanda and the United States -- pay a statutory royalty to the performing artists for radio and television air play. Would your administration consider changing our laws to align it with the rest of the world?

President Bush: Help. (Laughter.) Maybe you've never had a President say this -- I have, like, no earthly idea what you're talking about. (Laughter and applause.) Sounds like we're keeping interesting company, you know? (Laughter.) Look, I'll give you the old classic: contact my office, will you? (Laughter.) I really don't -- I'm totally out of my lane. I like listening to country music, if that helps. (Laughter.)

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ACLU Decries 'Childish' Treatment Of Privacy Board

The American Civil Liberties Union ridiculed the White House for censoring a report submitted by the Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board to exclude previously released information. The edits resulted in panel member Lanny Davis's resignation. Bush spokeswoman Dana Perino said the tweaks were "standard operating procedure."

ACLU Washington Legislative Office Director Caroline Fredrickson said attempting to keep civil liberties violations secret is "nothing short of childish." She also called the board "a toothless entity that blindly and obediently advances the Bush agenda." Read more about Davis in Technology Daily's PM edition.

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Aides Stop E-mailing After Controversy

Washington Whispers editor Paul Bedard at U.S. News & World Report says the controversy over the firing of federal prosecutors and what administration officials knew about it is renewing concerns among Bush aides about e-mailing.

A week after e-mails in the U.S. attorneys case became a main focus of the probe by congressional Democrats, several staffers said that they stopped using the White House system except for professional correspondence.

"We just got a bit lazy," said one aide. "We knew e-mails could be subpoenaed. We saw that with the Clintons but I don't think anybody saw that we were doing anything wrong." Bedard reported that some aides said they bought private e-mail accounts and are relying on text-messaging on personal cellular phones.

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White House Adds 'Get Well Tony' Web Feature

President Bush's Internet guru David Almacy said in an e-mail to reporters on Wednesday that the West Wing has heard from many people wanting to send get-well notes to press secretary Tony Snow, whose cancer has returned after undergoing surgery and chemotherapy two years ago.

So, a feature on the White House Web site was launched that allows the public to do just that. Internet users can find the "Get Well Tony" tab in the top right-hand corner of the main page. After only a few hours, Almacy told us his office had seen a "steady" flow of electronic well-wishes. As of 2 p.m., nearly 1,000 notes had come in.

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