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President Donald Trump signs a letter of initiative to privatize the nation's air traffic control system during an event in the East Room of the White House in Washington, DC on June 5, 2017.(Photo: Pool, Getty Images)

President Trump blasted the Obama administration Monday for failing to modernize air-traffic control faster but the Federal Aviation Administration said it has made progress.

After billions and billions of tax dollars spent, and the many years of delays, were still stuck with an ancient, broken, antiquated, horrible system that doesnt work, Trump said in announcing his plan to move controllers from the FAA to a non-profit corporation. Other than that its quite good.

D.J. Gribbin, special assistant to the president for Infrastructure, said the corporation could borrow money to finance projects and avoid the cumbersomefederal procurement process.

Trump complained that the previous administration spent $7 billion on upgrading the system without much result.

Honestly, they didnt know what the hell they were doing, Trump said. A total waste of money.

The Government Accountability Office and the Transportation Departments inspector general have issued reports for years critical of FAA for falling behind schedule and going over-budget on the modernization program called NextGen.

But FAAAdministrator Michael Huerta has estimated that NextGen has already delivered $2.7 billion in benefits and is projected to provide $160 billion in benefits by 2030.

Much of the spending so far has built the foundation for GPS tracking with a network of stations to relay aircraft positions by satellite. Planes are required to install equipment to communicate with the network by 2020.

Airlines are already gliding to more efficient landings at some airports with new flight paths, rather than taking previous stair-step descents that burned more fuel.

Another facet of the program is to move from radio communications to text messages, for less confusion between controllers and pilots about complicated instructions. Controllers at 55 airports including Newark and Miami are already sending texts to pilots at a few airlines, such as United and UPS.

The proposal to create a separate, non-government air traffic control service provider is a step in a process that needs to involve all users of the airspace system and deliver benefits to the system as a whole, the FAA said Monday in a statement.

The top Democrat on the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, Rep. Peter DeFazio of Oregon, said FAA had huge procurement problems a decade ago, but is now making progress.

A decade ago, I would probably would have said, yeah, lets roll the dice, DeFazio said. But today the FAA is on a good path to procurement. The bottom line is this could be very disruptive.

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President Trump attacks Obama administration over air-traffic control - USA TODAY

Wall Street Journal (subscription)

Surveillance in the Obama Era Wall Street Journal (subscription) How far did the Obama Administration go in collecting intelligence on Americans, including members of the political opposition? This question has aroused little curiosity in much of the press corps or among Democratic politicians like Rep. Adam Schiff ...

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Surveillance in the Obama Era - Wall Street Journal (subscription)

(Pete Souza/White House Archives)

Even The Most Interesting Man In The World needs someone to look up to. And you cant do much better than Barack Obama.

In a delightful story that would fit right in during one of his legendary Dos Equis beer commercials, the actor who played the iconic TV pitchman writes in Politico about he struck up an unlikely friendship with President Obama.

The two men first met back in August 2011 when Jonathan Goldsmith, aka The Worlds Most Interesting Man was attending a fundraiser in Vermont for Obamas 2012 re-election campaign.

The two immediately hit it off, as it turned out Obama was a huge fan of the commercials, quoting some of Goldsmiths most famous lines like, Stay thirsty, my friends.

Months later, Goldsmith got a secret invite from the White House: he was being invited to attend President Obamas elaborate 50th birthday party weekend.

Theres no way he could have been as happy and amazed as I was to be there, Goldsmith wrote.

I thought, this must be a setup. Someone has to be playing a joke on me, and they had prompted him with information. But when Obama mentioned that he loved aNew Yorkerarticle about me and quoted from the commercials, I knew he was being sincere. I drove home feeling as if it was a dream.The president of the United States is interested in me, the imaginary most interesting man in the world.

Friends of Obama had invited Goldsmith as a surprise birthday present for the president.

But what was probably meant to be nothing more than an endearing gag, turned into a weekend where the two men struck up a friendship that continues to this day. For the surprise, Obamas team had Goldsmith show up during a trip to an archery course. Much like his fictional character, Goldsmith landed several arrows, prompting a comment from Obama, Damn, this guys good.

When Goldsmith finally revealed himself, Obama reportedly burst into laughter. By the end of the weekend, the two men were sharing a table and insider stories about the presidency.

Later in the piece, Goldsmith tells the equally cool history of how he first landed the Dos Equis gig. After a long career in Hollywood, he had retired. Along the way, Goldsmith had successfully launched a $150 million marketing company. But that went belly up, leaving the Gunsmoke veteran practically homeless, living in a camper tied to the back of his 1960s pickup truck. Needless to say, it was an incredible turnaround to becoming a nearly universally recognized face on TV and one that would become admired by the most powerful person in the world.

For the rest of us, the incredibly humble sounding Goldsmith offers a bit of parting advice:

As I approach my eighth decade, with more fans and adulation than I could ever deserve, I can say with certainty that to beinterestingyou have to beinterested.You can watch the parade that is lifeand live vicariously through others, as many door you can get in and participate in your own journey. And the best time to go for broke is when youre already there.

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How Obama And "The World's Most Interesting Man" Have Quietly Become The Best Of Friends - GOOD Magazine

Michelle Obama will speak at Apple's WWDC.

Michelle Obama is making a stop in Silicon Valley on Tuesday.

The former first lady will join an open session of Apple's annual Worldwide Developers Conference for a "fireside chat," the company's CEO Tim Cook announced Monday.

"She'll talk about empowering people from all walks of life," Cook said as he concluded his keynote address on the first day of the five-day conference.

Under Cook's leadership, Apple has become more vocal on political and social issues. Along with taking strong stances on privacy and security, the company has put itself at the front of social causes like LGBT rights, racial equality and the tech industry's need to improve workforce diversity.

It also has condemned actions by the current US federal government, like President Donald Trump's decision to withdraw from the Paris climate agreement. Cook wrote in a letter to employees that he pleaded with Trump to stay in the Paris climate accord, "but it wasn't enough." He wrote, "Climate change is real and we all share a responsibility to fight it. I want to reassure you that today's developments will have no impact on Apple's efforts to protect the environment."

Apple is known for its allegiances with some democratic leaders. Former Vice President Al Gore is on its board of directors, and the company hired former US Environmental Protection Agency chief Lisa Jackson tohead its environmental initiativesin 2013.

WWDC 2017: All the news so far

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Michelle Obama to talk empowerment at Apple's WWDC - CNET

No doubt, President Trump is under siege. And it is not just the media and the opposing party. He is also being attacked internally by establishment politicians and Obama holdovers within his own administration who are leaking sensitive information and carrying over Obama era policies even against Trumps own public policy statements.

Whatever Trump says about inventors, IP, trade imbalances, national security and other things, it is confounding that the actions of his administration do not mirror his words. He says one thing, but his administration does another. Is Trump being googled (as in bamboozled) by Obama holdovers? Or is Trump himself the swamp?

Last week, we saw the Trump Administrations policy perspective on patents in the fiscal year 2018 budget. Fortunately, Trumps budget lets the USPTO keep the fees it collects. However, comments in the Trump budget conjure up the ghost of Obama policies. To quote the Trumps FY 2018 budget:

The Budget supports USPTOs administrative efforts to address abusive patent litigation practices and repeats the Presidents call for Congress to enact legislation that promotes greater transparency in the U.S. patent system and prevents frivolous lawsuits that stifle innovation.

The Trump White House says the same thing. The problem is that Trump has never said anything like this as a candidate or as President. In fact his statements on the record contradict this policy stance. He clearly calls patents private property just like land protected by the Constitution. He agrees that the theft of IP is elevated to a national security issue. He even said in his first speech to Congress that inventors made America great at the century celebration of America and will do so again when America turns 250.

The first reference I could find of the FY 2018 budget quote above was a March 13, 2014 USPTO Leadership Blog by then USPTO CFO (now acting Deputy Director) Tony Scardino, which was nearly word-for-word identical.

The budget also supports administrative efforts to address abusive patent litigation practices and repeats the presidents call for Congress to enact legislation that promotes greater transparency in the U.S. patent system and prevents frivolous lawsuits that stifle innovation.

That same quote later became part of Obamas 2015 Budget and was carried on exactly the same through the 2017 budget.

The Budget supports USPTOs administrative efforts to address abusive patent litigation practices and repeats the Presidents call for Congress to enact legislation that promotes greater transparency in the U.S. patent system and prevents frivolous lawsuits that stifle innovation.

The USPTOs Obama holdovers Michelle Lee and Tony Scardino are simply co-opting the exact language used in Obamas budgets for fiscal years 2015 to 2017 into Trumps 2018 budget and then directly attributing Obamas policies and statements to President Trump even though Trump has never taken a position on anti-patent legislation.

The 2018 budget is not the only output from Obama holdovers in the Trump Administration carrying over destructive Obama era policies. Just a few weeks ago, the Trump Administration argued in Oil States that patents are not property rights they are instead some sort of public entitlement, something more akin to food stamps than property rights, that can be given and taken by the administration. Im pretty sure it is not possible to collateralize public entitlements like food stamps. So if patents are public entitlements, how can they be collateralized to fund early stage startups?

Obama era policies crushed the U.S. patent system. It is now ranked 10th in the world, tied with Hungary. China, Trumps primary target of trade equalization and IP theft, saw how Obamas patent policies were crushing Americas technology and job creation engine and did what is best for China they created a more stable and predictable patent system, which resulted in a tectonic shift of venture capital, patenting and startups from the U.S. to China.

This shift will quickly become a national security disaster. In just a few short years, we will be purchasing technologies that fuel our infrastructure and military from China. These new technologies will not only be manufactured in China, but they will be invented there too. At that point, we will no longer be the worlds technology leader. China will. And, as a result, we will be forced to comply with the demands of a Communist oligarchy in our financial, foreign, and military policies.

Are these failed Obama era policies now carried over into the Trump Administration by Obama holdovers simply mistakes? Some sort of scriveners error? Or is it a direct attempt to carry over failed Obama policies in the name of President Trump? You be the judge. Perhaps you can tell me: Is Trump being googled by Obama holdovers? Or is Trump himself the swamp?

Paul Morinville is Managing Director of US Inventor, Inc., which is an inventor organization working in Washington DC and around the US to advocate for strong patent protection for inventors and startups. Paul has been walking the halls of Congress knocking on doors and sitting down with hundreds of offices to explain the damage suffered by inventors due to patent reforms. Paul is an independent inventor with dozens of patents and pending patent applications in enterprise software. He is also CEO of OrgStructure, LLC, an early stage enterprise middleware provider in Northwest Indiana.

Link:
Is Trump being bamboozled by Obama holdovers on patent policy? - IPWatchdog.com