Saturday, May 07, 2005
Observational Comedian General
Eliot Spitzer, Middle Class Crusader!
Spitzer has got to be the canniest Democrat in New York, and if he weren't an unelectable Northern Secular Humanist-Belt pol he'd be Presidential material. His method should be studied by all aspiring young Dems. It's fairly simple: Find something bad. Launch a public campaign against it. Paint it in class warfare-lite terminology.
The AP describes it thusly:
You know what people don't like? Spyware. On behalf of the little and medium-sized guys, I will take spyware down!
Spitzer's next high-profile fights will be against similar menaces to the public good. I have it on good authority that he'll go after the following targets soon:
He will not rest until these injustices are investigated and high-profile hands are slapped. |
Enter Spitzer, a candidate for governor in 2006, is best known for his high-profile crusades against conflicts of interest in business but hasn't ignored cyberspace. Last year, his office settled a spam lawsuit against OptInRealBig.com of Colorado as his year-old investigation of a "spam ring"" continues.
In pursuing spyware, last week's civil lawsuit against Intermix Media Inc. of Los Angeles is likely just the opening salvo.
Spitzer accused the company of secretly installing software that delivers nuisance pop-up advertisements and can slow and crash personal computers. Spitzer said such programs are fraudulent and threaten to discourage e-commerce.
"Mr. Spitzer has put a match to this and it will be interesting to see just how many volleys take place," said David Moll of Webroot Software Inc., an anti-spyware vendor.
Spitzer has got to be the canniest Democrat in New York, and if he weren't an unelectable Northern Secular Humanist-Belt pol he'd be Presidential material. His method should be studied by all aspiring young Dems. It's fairly simple: Find something bad. Launch a public campaign against it. Paint it in class warfare-lite terminology.
The AP describes it thusly:
A consumer concern is followed by a single lawsuit in an enforcement no man's land.
Negotiation for settlements follow, along with reforms to create new industry standards.
You know what people don't like? Spyware. On behalf of the little and medium-sized guys, I will take spyware down!
Spitzer's next high-profile fights will be against similar menaces to the public good. I have it on good authority that he'll go after the following targets soon:
- CD packaging. That damn tape is impossible to peel off! The robber barons of the music industry have moderately annoyed their last consumer!
- The Thursday Styles section in the Times. I mean, Gwen Stefani's wearing coats with big-ass ribbons on 'em. Who the hell cares? This abuse of the public trust will be stopped!
- The Yankees. C'mon, Torre, 11-19? You're going down.
- The new Springsteen album. The "Boss" is clearly phoning it in. Selling second-rate outtakes from Ghost of Tom Joad as important new material is corruption on an unheard of scale.
- Why won't Atrios link to you? Spitzer's gonna find out!
He will not rest until these injustices are investigated and high-profile hands are slapped. |
