Monthly Archive for July, 2001

Page 2 of 8

Mandatory “Off” Button Proposed for Televisions

Published by Waldo Jaquith on July 30, 2001 in Satire. 1 Comment

Jackson Landers has provided another satire piece, this one lampooning the v-chip and the television industry.

“In a seven page open letter to the Virginia House of Delegates, Parents for Safe Children proposed new, mandatory standards for the manufacture of new televisions that would include an ‘off’ switch on the front of the device. The idea is quickly gaining support on both sides of the aisle.”

However, the proposal will have many staunch opponents to overcome before it becomes law. The ACLU has wasted no time scrambling to lobby against the proposal.

“This is just the type of thing we have a constitution in place to protect,” said Willis Carroll, attorney for the ACLU. “The government has no right to tell the people what they can or cannot freely say, or for that matter, tell them whether or not they can stop listening to what the TV has to say. We may not like everything that the television says, but we have to respect its right to say it.”
Manufacturers are equally opposed to the measure, citing reasons similar to those of the ACLU. Frank Minter, CEO of Zenith Technology Group, explained his industry’s position to cvillenews.com.
“Look, if we go ahead with something like this it’s going to add at least $1.23 to the cost of each television. That’s a burden that the consumer is ultimately going to have to absorb, whether they want the censorship button on there or not.

“We also have to ask ourselves where all this is going. First it’s an ‘off’ switch. Next, you’re going to hear people talking about removing televisions from their homes altogether. They’ll start reading newspapers, listening to the radio and surfing the Internet. Maybe even engaging in conversation with one another. It’s a slippery slope, my friend. A slippery slope.”

Orange County Goes Tech

Published by Waldo Jaquith on July 30, 2001 in Satire. 2 Comments

This is in the satire category because it’s almost unreal. Orange County supervisors have just spent $15,000 to get themselves outfitted with laptops. They come with, according to the Progress, “dial-up modems and a CD-ROM.” They hope that the laptops will streamline things. Currently they have to be physically given packets of paper prior to each meeting. Now, in a huge leap for efficiency, they’ll be physically given floppy disks. Says the board chairman Roderic Slayton, “Initially there’s some expense, but I think that in the long haul it’s going to save the county money.” The article goes on to say that Supervisor Sonny Dodson has been using his new $1,800 laptop to play solitaire, while Supervisor Grover Wilson became quite frustated with his. Albemarle County spokeswoman Lee Catlin, quick to play catch-up, says that Albemarle is looking to move to an electronic medium, too. One hopes they’ll avoid the teletype.

Protesters vs. Chamber of Commerce

Published by Waldo Jaquith on July 28, 2001 in General News. 1 Comment

On Tuesday, living wage activists will descend on the Chamber of Commerce, armed with toilet bowls to protest the Chamber’s opposition to a living wage. The protesters intend to set up several johns in front of the Chamber’s Market Street offices and offer $6.50 to anybody that’s willing to spend an hour scrubbing one of them. Even City Councilor Kevin Lynch will be attending to lend his support. It should be interesting to see how the Chamber handles the protesters.

Horn-Honking Protesters Ticketed

Published by Waldo Jaquith on July 28, 2001 in Law and Justice. 2 Comments

Today’s Progress reports that Charlottesville police have begun to issue tickets for “excessive horn-honking” to drivers on West Main that are honking to support living wage protesters at the Marriott. Section 46.2-1060 of the Virginia Code says that it is illegal “to use a horn otherwise than as a reasonable warning,” so it appears that the police are legally correct. Protester Nicholas Graber-Grace (arrested for trespassing at The Omni quite recently) says that “this is a form of speech, people expressing their discontent and desire for justice.”

Aerial Photos of Town

Published by Waldo Jaquith on July 28, 2001 in Politics. 1 Comment

How cool is this? In March of 2000, City Mapping took these aerial pictures of town, and broke them up via a grid so that you can look at a photo of any part of town. I found my office and my apartment!

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