In fairness to Schwarzenegger, it would have been hard for him not to sign the bill outlawing mandatory implants – the PR consequences of such a move might have been disastrous.  So much of the blame lies with Senator Joe Simitian, who authored the piece of legislation, and apparently feels that RFID implants pose some sort of clear and present danger in modern-day America.

“RFID technology is not, in and of itself, the issue. RFID is a minor miracle, with all sorts of good uses,” Simitian stated about a year ago.  “But we cannot and should not condone forced ‘tagging’ of humans.  It’s the ultimate invasion of privacy.”

And a certain senator is a master of the obvious.  Also, now seems like a good time to point out that someone (whether it was Simitian or another supporter of the bill, I can’t say) misspelled “governor” in the relevant press release’s title.  Brilliant.

At least Simitian’s bill-turned-law won’t do any harm.  It just doesn’t seem like a necessary piece of legislation.

You may be able to judge how “good” or “bad” a thing this is based on your feelings about Google’s deal with DoubleClick; the Wall Street Journal reports that Makan Delrahim was hired specifically for that case.

The WSJ actually acknowledges that Delrahim “is one of four lawyers registered to lobby on behalf of Google,” yet Delrahim, “a former deputy assistant attorney general for the Justice Department’s antitrust division,” is the big name among the bunch.

So . . . what does Delrahim have to say about his new employer and its arrangement with DoubleClick?  “The combination of the two companies will only help create a more efficient system for the online advertising world,” he stated, according to Bloomberg News’s Jonathan Thaw.

As for those antitrust concerns, well, there’s nothing to ‘em.  “Ultimately this is a very robust, dynamic industry,” Delrahim said.

Whether you trust Delrahim (or lobbyists in general, or Google itself) or not, he is, at least, playing by the rules.  The WSJ reports that, “[u]nder a federal law enacted in 1995, lobbyists are required to disclose activities that could influence members of the executive and legislative branches.”  It was in the act of obeying this law that Delrahim made his presence known.