WLOX news just confirmed that Mississippi Governor Haley Barbour will not enter the presidential race in 2012. For months now, Governor Barbour has made numerous appearances in key states outlining the mistakes of the Obama administration and touting conservative rhetoric.

I have a few sources close to the Governor and they have informed me that the main reason he has decided against being a candidate for president is his wife’s disapproval and fear of such an endeavor. Mrs. Barbour has been very vocal about her fears of a presidential race. She is quoted as saying “it horrifies me”.

I have my own opinions about why the Governor has decided not to run for president. The country has repeatedly declared that they [the voters] are tired of the same old politics and want something different. Governor Barbour is the “same old politics”. He epitomizes what is wrong with the American political system and has given no signs of changing. His extensive experience of being a lobbyist shows that he knows how to manipulate the system for his benefit and there is no reason to believe that it would be any different if he were president.

Governor Barbour is a career politician. I for one, am of the belief that we need something different. We need someone who knows how to succeed in the private sector as well as in the public eye. I am pleased to know that Governor Barbour will not be a candidate for president. Perhaps this will make more room for someone who wants what is best for America. Donald Trump anyone?

Dropbox, Keep Your Hands Off My Data!!!!

Yesterday, Dropbox, which is a very popular file syncing utility that stores user’s data in the cloud, announced that it would decrypt and hand over files if the U.S. Government requested it.

The issue I have with this is not that they would give the requested data to the Feds, they really have no choice if the Feds have a warrant, buts its that Dropbox employees even have the ability to decrypt user’s data in the first place.

Maybe I am paranoid, but I do not like the idea that the employees of data storage companies have the ability to see my files. It seems to me that there now is a place in the market for another “Dropbox” like company, but one that gives the user control over its own encryption key.

Sure, there are tools out there that can be used to encrypt data before it even reaches the Dropbox servers. The first one that comes to mind is the wonderful, feature rich, and absolutely free tool called Truecrypt. However, using that with Dropbox its a hassle at best, not to mention that it would make the smartphone app completely useless.

Dropbox, we all love your service and you provide a great cloud storage solution, but please for the love of God, give us control over our own encryption keys. Give us the ability to ensure that we are the only ones that can access our data.

Below is a link to another article about this topic from PCWorld.com

Update: Dropbox Will Hand Over Your Files to the Feds If Asked