New Bill Would Ban Public NOAA Weather Data

[fez]

If you are like me and like your weather data without the fluff and spin you should be writing your senator.

From Slashdot:

http://politics.slashdot.org/article.../04/21/2058212

"Here we go again. Apparently for-pay weather companies (specifically Accuweather) have lobbied Senator Rick Santorum to introduce a bill to ban the National Weather Service from 'competing.' The NOAA just made data available for free on the internet in XML format. Essentially, that means no more free data, and the possible elimination of the NOAA web presence all together. Nothing like being able to buy off a clueless Senator - lets hope the rest do not fall in line, as I for one, do not like to pay for my information twice." This debate picks up where the last one left off. According to the article, the bill's biggest critics are complaining of the bill's vague wording which makes it unclear what exactly is being banned.

Another article:
http://www.palmbeachpost.com/news/co...a_wx_0421.html

[Karl Stall]

that's fucked

[extreeski]

That's fucked. I use NOAA all the time. It is so useful. One unit I teach is weather science, we use the noaa site to track our weather every day in my classroom. And as a skier who follows storms and skis em for a hobby it is totally essential to my life. As well it is essential for so many reasons

Fuckin' war. No money for noaa.

We have to stop this.

Public access to public information paid for with public money must not be impeded. Next thing it will be pbs and arts funding. It's time the super rich paid more taxes. Write your letters to congressman and senators. Email them.

[jimmy page]

Wow, I would be very suprised if this bill passes. It does looks like Accuweather has Senator Santorum in their pocket though.

[Plakespear]

Hey Sen. Santorum:

[Woodsy]

Santorum is a jack ass, always has been.

His name has become an interesting descriptive noun in the language though

[Red Baron]

If you are like me and like your weather data without the fluff and spin you should be writing your senator.

I like my weather data without fluff and spin as well.

[freshies]

you have got to be fucking joking, right? this is insane...we, the tax payers, fund NOAA, and their weather sites rock. i am outraged by this....i mean, what's next? these GOP ass holes need to get a clue...they want to keep access to automatic weapons available to any fucking nut that wants a machine gun, but ban the public from getting weather reports???

[fez]

I like my weather data without fluff and spin as well.

so would you then be the weather fluffer?

[FreakofSnow]

Letter sent to good old Max Baucus, if he can't fix it no one can

[Arty50]

Wouldn't this actually be illegal under the Freedom of Information Act? Something along the lines of...NOAA is a public organization, and thus by law must make it's documents available to the public.

[Woodsy]

Wouldn't this actually be illegal under the Freedom of Information Act? Something along the lines of...NOAA is a public organization, and thus by law must make it's documents available to the public.

laws?
they dont need your steenking laws.

"The damn Jooodishuaryee has been running this country long enough!
They are out of hand.
We need to bring governement back to the people! "

[hucksquaw]

Hey Sen. Santorum:

seconded

[Core Shot]

This fucking sucks.

Great link to the www.spreadingsantorum.com website Woodsy.

the wikipedia listing and rotten.com stuff is hillarious:

san-TOR-um n. A frothy mixture of lube and fecal matter that is sometimes the by-product of anal sex. See also: Sen. Rick Santorum (R - PA).
In April 2003, Republican senator Rick Santorum made some asinine comments in defense of laws banning gay sex. While this in itself may seem unremarkable, many people were amazed at how much detail he went into. Rick wasn't satisfied to call it 'degenerate' and move on. He really, really wanted to talk about sex, so he told the Associated Press: "If the Supreme Court says that you have a right to consensual sex within your home, then you have the right to bigamy, you have the right to polygamy, you have the right to incest, you have the right to adultery. You have the right to anything." Well, little did he know that two months later the Supreme Court would rule anti-sodomy laws unconstitutional... whoops!

It's not every day that a U.S. Senator squirts out a nugget like that. Public outcry was considerable, yet readers of Dan Savage's syndicated sex column Savage Love feared the ensuing scandal would soon be flushed away and forgotten. Acting on the suggestion of a reader, Savage issued this challenge:


There's no better way to memorialize the Santorum scandal than by attaching his name to a sex act that would make his big, white teeth fall out of his big, empty head. And don't doubt for a moment that Savage Love readers have that power. Savage Love readers selected "pegging" for a woman doing a man in the ass with a strap-on dildo—much to my Aunt Peggy's dismay—and "pegging" is already showing up in dictionaries of sexual slang. So, readers: Should a "Santorum" be a common or a rare sex act? Vanilla or kinky? Sweet or gruesome?
Submissions were published in a later column, readers voted, and the lube-fecal matter concoction entry won by a landslide:


While I agree with the spirit of naming something objectionable (to him) after Rick Santorum, I think it should be a substance, not an act. I would never want to Santorum anyone I liked. What a turnoff. Instead, I think it would be better to name some kind of sexual byproduct after him. After all, ending up with idiots like Santorum in elected office is a byproduct of the otherwise desirable practice of letting any old yokel vote. Specifically, I nominate the frothy mixture of lube and fecal matter that is sometimes the byproduct of anal sex. As in, "We had a great time, but we got Santorum all over the sheets." Or better yet, "Before I sodomize my gay, unmarried dog, I like to give him an enema so there won't be any Santorum."
—Wipe Up That Santorum, Anal Pokers

Since then, efforts to promote use of the word have had considerable success.

[13]

Whoa -- that's a steaming pile of shit if I've ever seen one.

Is there a petition anywhere, or do I have to draft a letter to my Congressman from scratch?

[lemon boy]

Who's On First
George: Condi! Nice to see you. What's happening?

Condi: Sir, I have the report here about the new leader of China.

George: Great. Lay it on me.

Condi: Hu is the new leader of China.

George: That's what I want to know.

Condi: That's what I'm telling you.

George: That's what I'm asking you. Who is the new leader of China?

Condi: Yes.

George: I mean the fellow's name.

Condi: Hu.

George: The guy in China.

Condi: Hu.

George: The new leader of China.

Condi: Hu.

George: The main man in China!

Condi: Hu is leading China.

George: Now whaddya' asking me for?

Condi: I'm telling you, Hu is leading China.

George: Well, I'm asking you. Who is leading China?

Condi: That's the man's name.

George: That's who's name?

Condi: Yes.

George: Will you, or will you not, tell me the name of the new leader of China?

Condi: Yes, sir.

George: Yassir? Yassir Arafat is in China? I thought he's dead in the Middle East.

Condi: That's correct.

George: Then who is in China?

Condi: Yes, sir.

George: Yassir is in China?

Condi: No, sir.

George: Then who is?

Condi: Yes, sir.

George: Yassir?

Condi: No, sir.

George: Look Condi. I need to know the name of the new leader of China. Get me the Secretary General of the U.N. on the phone.

Condi: Kofi?

George: No, thanks.

Condi: You want Kofi?

George: No.

Condi: You don't want Kofi.

George: No. But now that you mention it, I could use a glass of milk. And then get me the U.N.

Condi: Yes, sir.

George: Not Yassir! The guy at the U.N.

Condi: Kofi?

George: Milk! Will you please make the call?

Condi: And call who?

George: Who is the guy at the U.N?

Condi: Hu is the guy in China.

George: Will you stay out of China?!

Condi: Yes, sir.

George: And stay out of the Middle East! Just get me the guy at the U.N.

Condi: Kofi.

George: All right! With cream and two sugars. Now get on the phone!

[extreeski]

Wouldn't this actually be illegal under the Freedom of Information Act? Something along the lines of...NOAA is a public organization, and thus by law must make it's documents available to the public.

FOIA applies to other things.

But since NOAA is a public organization paid for with public monies we DO have a say and can be heard. Write to your senators, or call them, telling them how you feel about this. Here's a link to their contact info:

http://www.senate.gov/general/contac...nators_cfm.cfm

[bossass]

Goddam republican corporate cock suckers. Do they even think to blink in the face of private interests? Taking away public access to detailed weather info might be fine for somewhere like Nebraska, but in Oregon you have people who travel in mountain environments and ocean environments that rely on that data. Nothing having to rely on animated snowflakes or the number of little nautical flags to figure out what the weather will be like.

Off the subject, this thread made me think of this, but another reason I hate Republicans is how they can't even help out the poor people they tricked into supporting them based on their love for "freedom". I'm not clear on specifics here, but a couple weeks ago Congress approved $81 mil. of bush's $82 mil. request for money to fund his fucking war. At the same time, all but one Republican voted "No" on a bill to give a paltry 1.5 mil. to improve veteran's services and benefits. A fucking drop in the bucket. So, they're creating disabled and emotionally damaged vets left and right over there, but they won't help them out when they get home. That's a fucking pretty cowardly thing to do in my book. And the best part is the mainstream media just didn't cover it. Instead they covered bush's visit to some army base and how he spoke to injured service men and their families and he looked real sad like a puppy. Makes me wanna puke. Sorry for the hijack.

[lemon boy]

Taking away public access to detailed weather info might be fine for somewhere like Nebraska, but in Oregon you have people who travel in mountain environments and ocean environments that rely on that data.

This is perhaps the most ignorant thing I've heard in a lllooooooooooong time* for the fucking record I would bet more people per capita by a FUCKING LOT use and rely on weather reports. They have these funny things called farms there you know.



*squackman's posts excluded

[char]

Nice, so they make it illegal for us to get it from NOAA and only Accuweather can get their hands on it, so you have to buy it from them.

Nice.

[Core Shot]

Whats next?
No more sesame street on PBS - you can only watch it on Nickelodeon???
WTF!!

I feel so dirty and covered in "santorum"

[Ski Monkey]

Here's a link to the members of the committee that is considering the bill:

http://commerce.senate.gov/about/membership.html

I emailed four or five last night as well as sent a nasty gram to accuweather for my own self gratification. I thought I read Bill Nelson was the one in charge of it in the committee.

[p-tex]

Fucking Accuweather! This is just sleezy. I sure hope the AP picks this story up and it starts making headlines. The more publicity something like this gets the better for all us weather junkies and the better for the public.

Your tax dollars pay for the NWS operations and companies like Accuweather use this data to make money. Now they want the data and don't want NWS to provide the public what they paid for.

[Mountain Junkie]

Your tax dollars pay for the NWS operations and companies like Accuweather use this data to make money. Now they want the data and don't want NWS to provide the public what they paid for.

They also use the data to come up with a crappy forecast.

[kyle christenso]

I wrote Maria Cantwell.