It takes an exceptional act of shamelessness to rise above the general level of shamelessness in Washington DC and merit comment, but noted antennae expert and Senate Finance Committee member Charles Schumer’s decision to weigh in on iPhone 4 reception issues breaks through the noise. Clearly this takes precedence over less pressing issues like cleaning up the multi-hundred billion dollar and growing double black hole of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. I for one look forward to Senate hearings on the matter. No doubt a several thousand page “antennae reform and signal stimulus” bill will follow.
Not to endorse Senator Shakedown’s grandstanding, but I do think Apple’s reality distortion field has worn off and everyone knows it except Apple. Dave Winer nails it. Companies are always the last to internalize they’re not the plucky little upstart any more and public expectations have changed.
Our runner-up in inanity emanating today is the New York Times’ apparently un-ironic call for the government to manage Google’s search algorithm. Fortunately, this has been comprehensively addressed by Danny Sullivan.