ISIS Prisoner Interview
Fascinating, at least to me. Also it makes a lot of sense.
Policy
Little Pink House
As someone who followed the Kelo case closely and was sorely disappointed by the decision, I am excited to see this.
Business, Government, History, Law, Movies, Policy, Politics, Regulation, Video
One Way to View Laws
The Jews In The Attic Test to evaluate whether a given law or policy would make it harder/impossible to protect the innocent from a government of evil intent.
Cleveland Owes These Men
It’s not much compared to stealing decades of their time, but it ought to be a law – and I don’t say that lightly because that is one of the most dangerous phrases in English – requiring a minimum of what they might have earned over those years in compensation. At current pay and/or with accrued interest. And the pension that would go with it, if they were in a position that pays one. Mistakes are bad enough, but to coach a kid and rely on that bogus testimony to wrongfully convict… well, there are some cops who belong in jail, if not the prosecutor in this case.
Almost Losing Columbia Early
Here’s the fascinating story of how the shuttle was almost lost in 1999.
Stop blowing smoke up my ass.
This business with e-cigs being treated the same as good old-fashioned cigarettes has got me more than a little annoyed. Part of it is no doubt a crusade against anything anybody enjoys; the rest is most likely that they haven’t figured out how to tax the hell out of the things yet. Not to mention a generous sprinkle of superstitious nonsense…
We The People
It’s important to remember we are in charge and, as V would say, our government should be afraid of us. Snowden has clarified that things are backward.
If you read the post linked above without also clicking through and reading the link it contains, you are missing out. I only have the vaguest memory that there was ever a scandal regarding something called INSLAW, so I looked it up and found it fascinating. Especially given that it involved case management software that was so early, and made me think of software with which I’ve been involved, but used for nefarious purposes, and used/adapted heavily for making connections every which way between people, not just documents or legal cases.
It seems like we’re on a precipice, windmilling our arms, trying to maintain balance, but we’re failing… and perhaps we’ve been closer to the edge for longer than we could preceive.
That Was Close!
I just almost linked a story about a Twitter chatbot someone wrote to argue with “anti-science” types, regarding AGW, and at the last second I realized that the writer and bot were arguing FOR global warming and the title of the article was being misleading in referring to skeptics as “anti-science.” Pretty impressive, though, defending the increasingly indefensible by wearing down people until they stop responding.
AGW seems to be a huge blind spot. I have a friend who is all science when it comes to vaccinations and other things, but in keeping with the above, gets all religious on AGW and considers “deniers” to be “anti-science.” It’s bizarre.
Hounded
I can remember being deeply offended by this sort of thing as far back as childhood, and I am no longer young by most standards. If you are there and things are how they are, it is entirely wrong for people to come along later and complain, just because they had the audacity to build or occupy new construction in your area. The story I remember from my youth is of new neighbors shutting down a small airport that long preceded them. Bad enough that new arrivals can change the character of an area in more subtle ways, like making it less purple and more blue in nature.
Nascent Police State
When I was a kid, I was horrified by the idea of living in the Soviet Union, or somewhere like it, where I perceived that you could be locked up on a whim, for doing something that shouldn’t be illegal, or for no reason at all. As an adult, I am horrified that the United States has an absurd incarceration rate, overuses SWAT, has overzealous (not to mention any) enforcement of victimless crime, and that the use of punishment after your punishment for “sex offenders” is not only done, but to popular acclaim. I am not alone.
Culture, Government, History, Law, Policy, Regulation, World