Yesterday, the U.S. federal government bought its first batch of electric vehicles, some 116 in all; a mix of Chevy Volts, Nissan Leafs, and THINK Cities, they’ll be spread among 20 U.S. agencies. But this is only the beginning of the government’s green vehicle ambitions. According to a memorandum issued yesterday by President Barack Obama, by the end of 2015, all vehicles bought for use by the federal fleet must be powered by alternate fuel sources.

The Federal Government operates the largest fleet of light duty vehicles in America. We owe a responsibility to American citizens to lead by example and contribute to meeting our national goals of reducing oil imports by one-third by 2025 and putting one million advanced vehicles on the road by 2015.

…

By December 31, 2015, all new light duty vehicles leased or purchased by agencies must be alternative fueled vehicles, such as hybrid or electric, compressed natural gas, or biofuel.

Vehicles “larger than a midsize sedan” that do not use alternative fuels must be disclosed on agency websites within 180 days.

(via AFP, The Hill | White House memo)

Well, that’s one way for Facebook to get a quick leg up in Washington: The New York Times‘ Andrew Ross Sorkin reports that Facebook is lobbying former Obama press secretary Robert Gibbs hard to take a job as a top corporate communications manager with the social media juggernaut.

While Gibbs has always had his eye on a job in the private sector following his stint as press secretary, he reportedly wanted to help set up Obama’s reelection campaign first. However, Facebook is said to be pushing hard to get him onboard sooner. Why? The company’s plans to go public may have something to do with it:

A job for Mr. Gibbs at Facebook could be worth millions of dollars. While details of his potential compensation package have yet to be discussed, people briefed on the talks said that he would receive a cash salary as well as shares ahead of the initial offering. Facebook is being valued by some investors at more than $60 billion and could be the largest offering in history.

…

Facebook is increasingly in the public eye and is looking to build its communications team ahead of an initial offering.

But Facebook is far from putting all of its Washington eggs in one basket: The company has hired two top lobbying firms that target Democrats and Republicans, respectively, in a bid to manage lawmakers on both sides of the aisle as regulatory interest in Facebook grows.

(via NYT)

The President has recently announced a new plan to free up huge chunks of the wireless spectrum, increase the national coverage of 4G networks, and install a wireless public safety network. These are ambitious goals being set by the administration, perhaps the most being the 4G investment which the President has pledged will cover 98% of Americans.

To make this all work, the White House is planning to raise $27 billion in spectrum auctions, and then turning that money around to fund the investment in these areas:

• $5 billion to bring 4G internet connections to rural America
• $3 billion for 4G research and development to coincide with the construction
• $10.7 billion for the wireless public safety network, which was called for years ago by the 9/11 commission
• $9.6 billion for budget deficit reduction

The push behind this investment invites comparison to the past efforts to bring telephone communication and highway travel to all corners of America, and the administration has framed it’s arguments in support of the investment in the same light. From Networkworld:

“America’s businesses are building out 4G networks to much of the nation,” the White House said in a statement. “Nevertheless, absent additional government investment, millions of Americans will not be able to participate in the 4G revolution. This investment will … extend access from the almost 95 percent of Americans who have 3G wireless services today to at least 98 percent of all Americans gaining access to state-of-the-art 4G high-speed wireless services within five years.”

Commentators have noted, however, that the entire plan hinges on the money brought in from auctions. As any eBay patron can tell you, those don’t always work out how you want. But the emphasis on bringing Internet connectivity (and public safety) to the nation as a whole, is a worthy one. Keep in mind, this isn’t so much about 4G as it is bringing the Internet to mostly poor, isolated, outlying communities. Hopefully this initiative, however it really pans out, will give every American a more equal footing in the burgeoning information economy. Perhaps it will be little things like someone making some extra money on Etsy, or bigger things like a farmer finding a better price for his crop.

Either way, it will bring us a step closer to all being united, as as a people, underneath that glorious community that truly identifies this country: Facebook. I mean, uh, the American dream.

(Via Engadget, Networkworld)

Chugging along in a claustrophobic passenger train for hours on end can be a nauseating affair, so President Obama is calling for a six-year plan to create 250 mph trains across the US — making those weekend trips to see the in-laws mercifully zippier.

Obama aims to provide 80 percent of Americans with access to high-speed rail within 25 years, and create tens of thousands of jobs in the process.

The plan still needs to make its way past the stuffy geezers in Congress, and considering the project will cost $53 billion to implement, it may be up for a decent fight. Obama’s State of the Union speech had an emphasis on technological innovation (as well as a dash of “keeping up with the Joneses“), so snapping together pieces of high-speed track would make an excellent side project to help fulfill his dream.

[Huffington Post]

Yesterday’s State of the Union address had a heavy dose of geek as President Obama expressed America’s need for further technological innovation. There was a strong focus on “rebuilding for the 21st century” and making sure America keeps pace with other countries — from both an industrial and scientific standpoint. Most excitingly was Obama’s plan for 98 percent of Americans to be covered with wireless high-speed internet in the next five years.

We’re the nation that put cars in driveways and computers in offices; the nation of Edison and the Wright brothers; of Google and Facebook. In America, innovation doesn’t just change our lives. It is how we make our living.

Within the next five years, we’ll make it possible for businesses to deploy the next generation of high-speed wireless coverage to 98 percent of all Americans. This isn’t just about faster Internet or fewer dropped calls. It’s about connecting every part of America to the digital age. It’s about a rural community in Iowa or Alabama where farmers and small business owners will be able to sell their products all over the world. It’s about a firefighter who can download the design of a burning building onto a handheld device; a student who can take classes with a digital textbook; or a patient who can have face-to-face video chats with her doctor.

The White House as a whole has become increasingly up-to-date: following the President’s speech, government officials monitored Twitter and Facebook for a Q&A session with we the people, and on Thursday, Obama will be answering user-submitted questions live via YouTube (and we fully hope Obama responds in kind to YouTube’s regular demographic).

The U.S. federal government has declared in a recently issued brief that naturally occurring genes should not be subject to patents, backing up a District Court judge who in March had struck down several attempts to patent human genes associated with cancer.

While the impact of the government’s brief should not be exaggerated — it’s not clear whether it will be implemented as policy by the U.S. Patent Office, which would have a major impact on the pharmaceutical and biotech industries — it is a surprise. Law professor and patent watcher Dennis Crouch writes that “Last month, I heard a rumor that Obama administration science and legal advisors outside of the USPTO supported Judge Sweet’s ruling [invalidating the patents].  At the time I disregarded that suggestion as unlikely. I was wrong.”

Constable Adam Josephs has earned online notoriety and the nickname “Officer Bubbles” thanks to the above video, in which he was caught reacting disproportionately to a young woman blowing bubbles at a protest of Toronto’s G20 summit earlier this year. Actual quote: “If the bubble touches me, you’re going to be arrested for assault.” It’s also led to a trend on YouTube: One or more users of the free online animation program Go! Animate have created a series of cartoons ridiculing “Officer Bubbles” as a heavy-handed law enforcer, arresting, among other figures, Santa Claus and Barack Obama. (You can see one such cartoon below.)

As a result, Josephs is suing YouTube for defamation, to the tune of $1.2 million.

We all already knew that President Barack Obama was a bit of a geek, what with his buying Star Wars memorabilia in public, joking about dilithium crystals, and telling reporters that he was actually born on Krypton, sent by his father Jor-El to save Earth. (Maybe that’s what all those birth certificate rumors are actually about?) Now, he’s about to add another feather to his cap o’ geekiness by appearing on the Discovery Channel’s Mythbusters.

Obama will appear in an episode exploring the ancient Greek myth that scientist Archimedes was able to set invading Roman ships on fire using reflected, focused light.

EA Sports’ rebooted NBA Jam hits stores today, and the company has revealed that it’ll be continuing one of the popular basketball gaming franchise’s long-standing traditions: Playable politicians. On the Republican side, you’ll be able to suit up as George W. Bush, Sarah Palin, John McCain, and Dick Cheney; meanwhile, there’ll also be a Democratic roster of Barack Obama, Joe Biden, Bill and Hillary Clinton, and Al Gore.

Will these politicians be able to dunk? You bet they will. And they’ll bring their “dunk faces.”

Please do not adjust your computer screen—this is, in fact, a real cover for a real Archie comic that’s coming out in December. In case you can’t read the speech bubble, Archie is saying exactly what you’re thinking right now: “Wow! I guess anything’s possible!”

Here’s the logline for the issue in question, Archie #616: “Campaign Pain” Part 1:

“President Barack Obama and famed politician Sarah Palin get involved as Student Government campaigns spiral out of control at Riverdale High! The race between Archie and Reggie gets hot as campaign chaos reaches to the top, forcing an impromptu visit from these big-name politicos, who get pulled into the fray!”

As if that weren’t enough, there’s also a Part 2 that’ll be released one month later:

>>>More at Mediaite.