What is it with the popularity of wines that run smack into the far right end of the dryness scale? Personally I don’t get into vintages that make we want for an ice tea chaser after taking a swig. That’s not to say that only Reislings and dessert wines are what I shoot for, but find me a sommelier who I don’t have  to ask whether or not I have a goblet of shiraz or a mug of red dustbunniees with interesting flow characteristics.

Just sayin’.

…is a small detail buried in a few of the writeups concerning the search ‘n seizure of Jason Chen’s ‘puter equipment- among them, here. It states that Apple, among other companies, control how a law enforcement agency might seem to be doing the bidding of Steve Jobs’ whims. I’ve been wondering about the REACT task force’s backing of the Apple Corporation and it’s presence on the steering committee for said task force. Hot Air picked up on a Yahoo! news item and seems to be wondering on along the same lines as I am; whether law enforcement task forces might be unconstitutional, or at least in violation of impartiality rules, if their own governing entities are party to the investigations at hand.

Preceded in the article is the debate whether Jason Chen should be considered a journalist for purposes of protection under the reporter shield law. Given that the overwhelming majority of people think that Gizmodo is a legit New Media site, I don’t see how the notion of the possible payment for the iPhone negates the shield protections: the law does not have language akin to “Cannot confiscate any material of a journalist unless said journalist greased somebody’s palm to pick up evidence.” Or at least I didn’t read that part; tell me if I missed it.

Anyhow, I am nailed to the news feeds until Gawker’s lawyers peel themselves away from their turbocharged Smith Coronas long enough to file a complaint to the court in the area. More than anything else, I love watching a good geekfight and this will likely prove to be a doozy.

Edited to include additional link for background.

Another day; another round of capitalist mashing on Capitol Hill. Toyota Motor Corporation head Akio Toyoda (It has a ‘d’?) appeared before a Congressional subcommittee today to produce a pound of flesh before the owners of the Chrysler and General Motors.

After a series of recalls including nine Toyota models, Congress has instituted a criminal probe of the company, yet few question the impropriety or conflict of interest in the controlling authority of two of the three largest American automobile companies controlling the proceedings. More on this shortly.

I’ve listened to the testimony of some of the victims of the alleged defect vehicles, including the Rhonda Smith one- and I have to say that I question the testimony.

It’s not particularly relevant, my overall work experience; but suffice it to say that I am “knowledgeable” in auto mechanics. There are quite a number of things that come to my mind regarding the inability to stop these vehicles by the drivers. Mrs. Smith recalled trying to change gears during her ordeal, but it just doesn’t ring true.

Here are some methods of controlling a vehicle in which the accelerator pedal has become “stuck”, either as a result of a binding linkage or a floormat interposing itself on the pedal:

Rapidly depressing the accelerator to loosen it,
Stepping on the brake,
Ensuring the cruise control was not set during a heavy acceleration period, (turn it off)
Shifting out of a forward driving gear,
Using the handbrake,
Turning off the ignition

Mrs. Smith’s testimony, in order to be true, would have to be accompanied by the complete failure of five separate systems within the vehicle, none of which was identified in the investigation after the crash. The changing of gears alone may not be the same as firmly planting one’s foot on the brakes, but I tell you that jamming a car into reverse at 80 mph will magically transform a transmission into an aluminum box of yogurt* in a frightening hurry- thus disconnecting engine power from the car.

Even going through all of the motions outlined above, turning off the ignition would certainly do the trick. I can see where this might be slightly dangerous if the driver, in a panic, turned the key too far and locked the steering wheel, but I doubt that one claiming to be doing 100 mph would have the wheel turned to the left or right to any significant degree would be the case, thus obviating that fear to a large degree.

This is what I believe to be happening, courtesy of a personal friend of mine named William, resident of an English town called Ockham in the 14th century. He might not be much into auto mechanics (tuning a donkey would be more his speed, I suppose) but he had quite a lot to say about making assumptions. Take a look at these two scenarios, and tell me what is more likely…

A) Older citizen is driving along, entering onto the freeway and using the cruise control. The vehicle speeded up on it’s own volition, defying the utilization of the speed controls, the cancelling of the cruise control, the failure of the gear shifting, an inoperative handbrake and an ignition switch which refused to respond, none of which was detected by investigators after the event. Additionally, when the wrecker came awhile after to tow the car, when the vehicle was shifted into neutral it attempted to start itself and again drive away. All five separate systems that had to fail for the above scenario to occur unexpectedly repaired themselves so that the subsequent inspection saw no flaws in their operation.

Or this…

B) Older citizen is driving along, becomes distracted and/or accidentally gets a shoe jammed under the accelerator, and not being a mechanically-minded person (not everyone is meant to be, it’s not her fault) doesn’t think to try all of the above actions. But, embarrassed, she blames the high rate of speed on the manufacture or design of the car so as not to have to be considered a less-than-expert driver.

In the last three years, there have been 134 complaints of “unintended acceleration” involving Toyota and Toyota-manufactured vehicles, which tellingly is “in line with their market share” (quoted from this Reuters article) as it means that it is no less or more prone to being reported as a problem as compared to any other car in the US market, adjusted for the number of vehicles it sells. So if there is not a statistical bump in Toyota cars being a problem, why is Akio Toyoda getting grilled in front of Henry Waxman?

My guess is numbers. Or rather, the lack thereof- in terms of sales for two thirds of The Big Three. Obama needs to be seen as being a good thing for the auto industry, which he now owns a majority interest for domestic production. Economic numbers are “unexpectedly” (read: “very expectedly) moribund and new car figures are slow for nearly all concerned. Heightened sales figures for GM and Chrysler would be a feather in the cap for the current administration and the Democratically controlled Congress which faces steeper criticism for domestic economic policy. What better way than to reapportion the new car market share in the US than to bump off the number one auto manufacturer in the world from it’s competitors in this market?

I’ve got to follow William of Occam here. How can I put my money where my mouth is? Simple: my wife and I just bought a Toyota Sienna, and we’re happy with it.

* I’ve done it.

(UPDATED, scroll down)

True to his word, Captain Ed has expanded more upon the sale of HotAir.com to Salem communications, which appears to take effect today, if I read Ed’s words aright. More, it seems from his tone that really not much is expected to change, but Salem being a business the most that I personally expect to see is perhaps a change in the ad serving (ad management, possible ad clients, perhaps more Salem partner sites in promotional ad positions) which is par for the course for such things. By the way, I state this purely on my own assumptions and not from any source, public or private; but I’m in the web business for the day job and know how many of these things often work.

He states that Ed and Allah retain editorial control as was indicated yesterday, so I think all of the Hot Air readership can breathe a collective sigh of relief. Now, if only TownHall.com can prune some of their ad delivery options and clean things up a little…

More: a brief congrats from Jim Treacher, who I’ve been reading more and more since the ongoing SUV-meets-knee fiasco began.

UPDATE:
In the interim, AP has posted his opinions, and his detail of expected site changes are pretty much what I surmised regarding ad serving, above.

Good luck to all!

…By Salem Communications, according to the post by Captain Ed this morning. Wow, just wow; it’s going to take me a few minutes to process this one.

[Updated; scroll down.]

When Hot Air started, it was a dedicated video blog with Michelle Malkin in a day-to-day operative capacity, with Bryan Preston in the Producer’s slot (he’s now working for the Republican Party of Texas). I’m acquainted with Bryan (under another name :/), I ran a blog that was a founding “Hot Air affiliate” (no longer listed; I became inactive after a while. Given you a hint yet?)  and with the evolution of HA of the years, I’ve seen a number of iterations but the addition of both Allahpundit and Captain Ed and others (especially some inspired guest blogger choices) the site has never been in any doldrums and always grown out of their catalytic episodes to greater strength.

The purchaser is reported to be Salem Communications, the owner of TownHall.com, the current #1 Conservative website, so I don’t think message dilution is going to be an issue, as well as the comforting response from Ed that both AP and he will be remaining on staff for the foreseeable future  (his words, I believe).

If I have any questions at all, it will be what the larger corporate power a Salem Communication ownership will deliver to the site in regards to marketing, and possibly even more “mainstream” (*gag*) exposure to the site. Thusfar, even though HA is a particularly popular site, it still has the feeling of an “insider’s lounge” or like the locals-only pub in the obscure section of the Old Town, wherever it might be in your imagination. I hope it retains that feeling.

UPDATE: The Other McCain puts it succinctly:  ”Good News! Allahpundit Now Employed by ‘Christian and Family-Themed’ Media Conglomerate!”

Oh crap- There goes the humpbot!