Ed Markey, not to be out Goofied

Congressman Malarkey was looking for a meaty issue (0.00 / 0)

upon which to leverage his run for the US Senate.  I guess monitoring Disney park technology is it?  

How many kids mistook Rep Malarkey for Dumbo?

Ed Markey is now the official 'cheapest' man on earth.  1.5 percent to charity while the average American gave 3 times as much...

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by: Vote3rdpartynow @ Mon Jan 28, 2013 at 17:49:41 PM UTC

Liberal lion (5.00 / 1)

How many kids mistook Rep Malarkey for Dumbo?

 

Not many may mistake Markey for Dumbo, but the Liberal Lion of the Senate?  There may be a resemblance:

Elizabeth Warren: a bankruptcy professor, bankrupt of ideas

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by: gary @ Tue Jan 29, 2013 at 18:29:27 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

MGM (0.00 / 0)

Well, the Wizard of Oz isn't a Disney film.  However, I'll give you credit in that the movie is prominently featured in the Great Movie Ride attraction in Disney's Hollywood Studios (formerly called Disney-MGM Studios).  

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by: BNCordeiro @ Tue Jan 29, 2013 at 21:53:32 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

If Markey's upset about the creepiness of the MagicBand what does (0.00 / 0)

he have to say about the exquisite data mining put to use by the Obama campaign last fall. Now that's really creepy stuff, in the Total Information Awareness league. But, of course, the press sees nothing wrong with it. In fact the MSM glorifies it by implying how freaking great it is.


"Work is the essence of Man."

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by: Karl Marx @ Mon Jan 28, 2013 at 20:59:36 PM UTC

Disney Fanatic (0.00 / 0)

As RMG's resident Disney fanatic (206 days until my 7th Disney Cruise vacation, this time around the Western Mediterranean) it's not hard to imagine that I've followed the Disney MagicBand developments very closely.  I welcome the concept!

I won't bore everyone with the benefits of the system, and there are very many, but I'll simply note that anyone visiting a Disney theme park who is not comfortable with the RFID technology can opt out and use the current, hard ticket, methods.  

Here is a good NY Times article on the Disney MagicBands.

I was last in Walt Disney World for a day ahead of my last cruise, a little before Thanksgiving, and I certainly would've used the band system - even more so were I there for several days or a couple of weeks.

Finally, the Disney Cruise Line already employs a version of this system for children aboard ship as a safety device.  It's entirely opt in there as well upon the wishes of the parents.

When I first saw news of Markey's letter the first thing I did was email a few friends to note that I had yet another reason to support any Republican candidate against Markey.  Heck, if I was unenrolled I'd vote for Markey's Democratic primary opponent!  

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by: BNCordeiro @ Mon Jan 28, 2013 at 22:00:50 PM UTC

OK, I'll Say It... (0.00 / 0)

...Ed Markey is a vacuous douche-bag.

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by: geo999 @ Tue Jan 29, 2013 at 03:29:36 AM UTC

Peg-leg Pete or Mortimer Mouse? (0.00 / 0)

Which one is more like Ed Markey?

or

I'm thinking classic Mickey Mouse & Friends villains!  ºoº

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by: BNCordeiro @ Tue Jan 29, 2013 at 03:37:18 AM UTC

[ Parent ]

What if it wasn't optional? (0.00 / 0)

One of Markey's questions is what do you give up by not wearing the Magicband RFID bracelet? It may as well just be mandatory, because most people are going to want the benefits.

It's interesting that everyone here is gung ho about this, because it is a Transhumanist idea, to become merged into an overlapping cyberspace that unlocks our doors and pays our bills automatically. Right now it's only at Disney, but all those thousands of brainwashed tourists are going to get home and miss being connected to the grid, and wish the bracelet worked everywhere. And that could be really cool, but it could also be unsustainable and expensive and complex and intrusive. Can we program it so that our privacy is protected and our persons secure? I think Markey is right to be concerned about it.

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by: John Howard @ Tue Jan 29, 2013 at 08:30:20 AM UTC

Vacations are Optional (0.00 / 0)

The question is moot because the MagicBand IS optional but since you want to engage in speculation then well here is my answer:

Vacations are optional.  Nobody forces anyone to attend Walt Disney World, Disneyland, or any other theme park.  The governments of neither United States of America nor the State of Florida require attendance.  Theme parks are not compulsory, they're voluntary.  Tens of thousands of people per day, many millions of people per year, freely choose to visit Disney Theme Parks & spend their hard earned money.

Btw, just "because most people are going to want the benefits" doesn't make it mandatory.  Mandatory is forcing people, whether they want it or not, to accept something.  There are many choices here, first...to choose to visit a Disney Theme Park.  Second, to opt in or out of the MagicBand.  Third, how much information you permit to be shared with Disney for the MagicBand.  Fourth, you already choose whether or not to link your credit card to your room key, called the Key to the World Card.

If someone opts out of the MagicBand system then they are no worse off in their Disney vacation experience than they are now or were back around Thanksgiving when I visited both Epcot and the Magic Kingdom.

You do realize that Disney Theme Parks do scan your fingers (actually, your knuckles) for identification purposes already?  Tickets are technically non-transferable and the process originally began with annual passes & other high volume or importance tickets. You choose whether or not to enter the parks.  Also mandatory are compulsory bag searches outside of the ticket turnstiles (ever since September 11, 2001).  I've made 11 trips to Disney Theme Parks (Walt Disney World & Disneyland) in my 34 years in addition to 6 Disney Cruises.  That's almost entirely in a period of 15 years.  I've chosen to follow the rules each & every time, which on the Disney Cruise Line includes photographic recordings in a database, metal detectors, and scanning in & out of the ship (using my room key).  Now, THOSE are mandatory.  The MagicBand is not mandatory.

"Connected to the grid"?  It sounds as if you've watched Disney's Tron and Tron: Legacy one too many times.  Is CLU out to get you, too?!

Btw - Walmart & other retail stores have been using RFID tags for years now.  What do you think sets off the alarms when you walk out the exit door & don't have your item deactivated.  Everyone says it's magnetic (even with customers holding bags of goldfish over their heads to protect them from the magnetic field) but well, no... it's RFID technology.  To feed the conspiracy theories, not only pallets and boxes but individual items can be inventoried with handheld scanners right to your front door and into your house.  Now, in THOSE instances Markey may have more of a point (although I'd argue that purchasing a product is still a choice and you choose to buy the product, just as you choose to be videotaped by the Walmart surveillance cameras while shopping in their stores and being in their parking lots).

As for me?  I'll be going through the Disney Cruise Line mandatory items on August 22 when I board the Disney Magic for my cruise from Spain to France & Italy.  As a Disney Vacation Club member, I'll undoubtedly be going back to Walt Disney World or Disneyland sometime in the near future and when I'm there, hopefully at my home resort of the Bay Lake Tower at Disney's Contemporary Resort in front of the Magic Kingdom, I'll eagerly anticipate using the MagicBand and I can almost promise you that I'll fully embrace its perks and convenience as a guest.  I can, and will, fully choose to opt in to the ever increasingly interactive Disney experience.  

Congressman Markey, get out of my vacation planing!  

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by: BNCordeiro @ Tue Jan 29, 2013 at 22:11:09 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

Markey has been after theme parks for years. (0.00 / 0)

He has been after them for all sort of things - not sure why - maybe he doesn't like fun ?

I think I might have you beat on number of Disney visits, probably  been there 30 times - though some are for business.

Try the backstage tour - it's very cool.
 

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by: roarkarchitect @ Wed Jan 30, 2013 at 00:44:02 AM UTC

[ Parent ]

Keys to the Kingdom (0.00 / 0)

I've done several backstage tours including WDW's Keys to the Kingdom Tour & DL's A Walk in Walt's Footsteps.  I'm planning on doing the latter one over again as now they've added a stop in Walt's original apartment since last I took that tour.

My favorite tour was the Undiscovered Futureworld tour in Epcot when I was the only "civilian" on the tour and everyone else were the managers of the co-sponsoring companies of the various attractions.  As Figment is my favorite character, Kodak took me back to her office to show me around.

My trips have all been for pleasure and all but one after age 19.  My latest stay was only a day but I've gone as long as 16 days at a time.  I average about 10-14 days total per trip.

Markey simply reminds me that liberals are simply sour people who hate other people having fun.

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by: BNCordeiro @ Wed Jan 30, 2013 at 00:52:41 AM UTC

[ Parent ]

you got me beat on the days (0.00 / 0)

Markey reminds me of the EPA official from Ghost Busters

You have got me beat on the tours and days. I usually visit for just a day or so, many many times.

My firm did some work at the Muppet's Theater in MGM - I got a behind the scenes tour before it opened - very cool - that was awhile ago - they had racks and rack of laser disks - I'm sure it's all solid state disk now. That ride has aged well.

Harry Potter at Univeral is interesting - I think the ride is ok - but the live action Ollivanders Wand Shop is really well done.

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by: roarkarchitect @ Wed Jan 30, 2013 at 01:28:58 AM UTC

[ Parent ]

Yes they are (0.00 / 0)

Yes, Disney uses solid state for their Digital Animation Control Systems (DACS).  Many a documentary on WDW shows some of the control rooms and the Keys to the Kingdom tour does let you look into one.  

I haven't yet been to Universal since Harry Potter but the Muppets is one of my perennial favorites.

Back in May 2011, I bought into the Disney Vacation Club.  Perhaps we can have a MassGOP event down there sometime! :)

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by: BNCordeiro @ Wed Jan 30, 2013 at 02:06:47 AM UTC

[ Parent ]

There's a big difference (0.00 / 0)

...between a value added option at a theme park and the creepy Big Brother type experiments being conducted in school systems to condition youth for mandatory personal tracking regimes.  

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by: geo999 @ Wed Jan 30, 2013 at 05:28:25 AM UTC

[ Parent ]