Civil Liberties
mikethemadbiologist | August 20, 2011So there's been a bit of discussion about libertarians who want to establish a bunch of off-shore countries on floating oil-rig type platforms that would be lil' loonitarian paradises:
Thiel has been a big backer of the Seasteading Institute, which seeks to build sovereign nations on oil rig-like platforms to occupy waters beyond the reach of law-of-the-sea treaties. The idea is for these countries to start from scratch--free from the laws, regulations, and moral codes of any existing place. Details says the experiment would be "a kind of floating petri dish for implementing policies that…
mikethemadbiologist | August 4, 2011Guess who Mitt Romney picked as co-chair of his "Justice Advisory Committee"? Robert Bork. Yes, this Robert Bork:
Banning Porn, Art and Science : Bork also called for shrinking the size of the First Amendment until it is small enough to be drowned in a bathtub. "Constitutional protection should be accorded only to speech that is explicitly political. There is no basis for judicial intervention to protect any other form of expression, be it scientific, literary or that variety of expression we call obscene or pornographic."
Here are some other blasts from the past:
Opposition To Civil…
mikethemadbiologist | July 19, 2011In the midst of all the chatter about Google+, many people seem to have ignored what this is really about: monetizing the cloud. What Google wants to do is make easy for you to store all of your documents and files on their servers, for which they will charge a small fee and/or use your registration and user habits for marketing purposes. Vincent Wong explains:
That toolbar is pretty important:
Apple is also trying to capitalize on the cloud.
The recent 'upgrade' of iTunes which can put all of your iTunes purchases on the cloud is the most obvious effort. But the iPad with its…
mikethemadbiologist | June 25, 2011I suppose we can start referring to 'unlocked' iPhones as FreedomPhones. Why? Well, I guess you could say, "Dictatorship, there's an app for that":
The days of filming a live concert or sporting event on your iPhone may soon be a distant memory.
Apple is developing software that will sense when a smartphone user is trying to record a live event, and then switch off the device's camera.
Anybody holding up their iPhone will find it triggers infra-red sensors installed at the venue.
These sensors would then automatically instruct the iPhone to shut down its camera function, preventing [any]…
mikethemadbiologist | June 18, 2011While there are probably more immediate concerns when it comes to the security nanny state the U.S. erected after 2001, such as the continuing erosion of civil liberties (especially when the servant learns to love the lash), this recent article about Boston's Logan Airport security reminds me that there's been another casualty of our security paranoia:
State police say nitrates detected in a piece of checked luggage at Boston's Logan International Airport were traced to a sample of mud brought back from a river in Hong Kong.
Two gates at the American Airlines terminal were closed as a…
mikethemadbiologist | May 29, 2011This is disgusting:
Following up on their threat, Catholic Charities of Rockford, IL, have voluntarily ended all their adoption and foster care services rather than comply with the civil unions law that will take effect next week. In doing so, the organization terminated $7.5 million in state contracts, fired 58 workers, and likely displaced 350 foster children.
Despite claims of religious freedom, this is what it's really about:
But the decision had nothing to do with the children (who will do just fine with same-sex families) and nothing to do with religious liberty. It was a blatant choice…
mikethemadbiologist | May 18, 2011So batshitloonitarian libertarian Ron Paul, who isn't a racist, but just happens to adopt civil rights positions completely identical to those held by racists, has a slight problem. As Brad DeLong notes, he does believe in a very active role for government--but only on behalf of certain people (italics original; boldface mine):
When you own a hotel and bar Black people what happens is that if Black people comes in and sleep in the beds you call the police--functionaries of the state--and they then take the Black people away and charge them with trespass. When you own a bus and require Black…
mikethemadbiologist | May 8, 2011We read about "the dumbest-ass things that any state could possibly do" according to one retired New Orleans judge to prevent prostitution:
In their neighborhoods, they are sometimes taunted with dirty looks and jeers. Their pictures hang on the walls of local community centers where their children and grandchildren play. And their names and addresses are listed in newspapers and mailed out on postcards to everyone in the neighborhood.
Landing a job or even finding a landlord willing to give them a place to stay is a challenge.
These women wear a scarlet letter -- rather, 11 letters --…
mikethemadbiologist | April 29, 2011By way of Jay Ackroyd, we come across this article about the whole "liquids and gels" silliness. If you fly regularly, it's nothing you don't normally experience:
My carry-on goes through the scanner and comes out the other side. One of the guards squints at his monitor, then shoots me a hostile look. What's this, no plastic baggie? He pulls my luggage aside, opens it, and asks me to repack my liquids and gels "the right way."
I do as he wants. When I'm finished, I hand him the baggie so he can run the items through again.
To my surprise, he won't take them. "No," he says. "Just put them in…
mikethemadbiologist | April 2, 2011You might remember the recent assault on Planned Parenthood by the rightwing. Well, I forgot that former congresswoman Marilyn Musgrave also got in on the act:
Former Congresswoman and anti-abortion rights advocate Marilyn Musgrave (R-Colo.) suggested Planned Parenthood covers up sexual assaults against underage girls during the Conservative Principles Conference in Des Moines on Saturday.
When asked by another advocate in the audience how to best pressure the Senate into defunding Planned Parenthood, Musgrave recalled watching a recent interview with former star NFL linebacker Lawrence…
mikethemadbiologist | March 26, 2011A few weeks ago, Glenn Greenwald gave a speech where he discussed the climate of government intimidation in the U.S.:
I received a lot of comments from people via email, from people in person telling me at my attended events, from people in my comment section, American citizens who said the following: "I understand and agree with the idea that Wikileaks has a lot of potential to do good, but I'm actually afraid of donating money, because I'm afraid that I'm going to end up on some kind of a list somewhere; or that eventually I will be charged with aiding and abetting, or giving material…
mikethemadbiologist | March 19, 2011Even movie villians aren't this twisted. And, no, I'm not making this up (italics mine):
Under a GOP-backed bill expected to sail through the House of Representatives, the Internal Revenue Service would be forced to police how Americans have paid for their abortions. To ensure that taxpayers complied with the law, IRS agents would have to investigate whether certain terminated pregnancies were the result of rape or incest. And one tax expert says that the measure could even lead to questions on tax forms: Have you had an abortion? Did you keep your receipt?
In testimony to a House taxation…
mikethemadbiologist | March 13, 2011Last week, I described how the Texas Republican party proposed legislation that would require a woman who wants to have an abortion to receive a vaginal exam (two actually). Well, the Texas Democrats at least fought back (which is more than the national Dems ever do):
Houston state representative Harold Dutton got the most coverage for repeatedly making the point that "pro-lifers" drop all pretense of caring about life the second it can't be used to punish sexually active women. In rapid order, he introduced three amendments that were tabled by the majority, who really didn't want to…
mikethemadbiologist | March 7, 2011Movement conservative Grover Norquist is famous (or infamous) for his slogan, "Our goal is to shrink government to the size where we can drown it in a bathtub." (There are different versions of this saying). In response, some on the left will quip, when discussing the theopolitical right, that the theopolitical right wants to shrink government to the size where it will fit in the bedroom--or a woman's vagina. Sadly, by way of Digby, we find that this does appear to be the guiding principle for the Texas Republican Party (italics mine):
Women seeking an abortion would have to first get an…
mikethemadbiologist | February 25, 2011Before I get to two videos of Democratic congresswomen talking about abortion and birth control, something that Adam Serwer wrote is very germane:
These videos are striking because they're a reminder of how little of media coverage of political battles over abortion reflects the views of real human beings, as opposed to the reductive, paternalist caricatures that seem to dominate the conversation.
Anyway, here's Democratic congresswoman Jackie Speier:
And Democratic congresswoman ties together the importance of birth control and poverty:
As regular readers know well, one of the things I…
mikethemadbiologist | February 5, 2011While there is a strong economic argument for tenure in higher education, let's not forget that the ability to speak freely is vital:
This attack on academic freedom -- an adjunct hired to teach a course was fired by Brooklyn College [part of the CUNY system] administration after a state assemblyman sent a letter arguing that the syllabus and instructor were too critical of Israel -- is depressing. First of all, there's assemblyman Hikind:
Hikind, who said he earned his master's degree in political science from Brooklyn College, told Inside Higher Ed that he reached these conclusions after…
mikethemadbiologist | January 21, 2011Note: I wrote this before stumbling across this post which provides pretty good evidence that President Obama's recent sale of his house was also signed by a robosigner. Brazen doesn't even begin to describe the situation....
It's beyond trite to state that the foreclosure crisis has had a huge effect on the economy. But I don't think most people realize how much of the crisis--and the response by banks to the crisis--involves flat-out law-breaking. A small anecdote related to if banks will refile foreclosure applications in Florida from Yves Smith (italics mine):
To be blunt, whether…
mikethemadbiologist | January 19, 2011From, Robert Bentley, the Republican governor of Alabama:
"I was elected as a Republican candidate. But once I became governor ... I became the governor of all the people. I intend to live up to that. I am color blind," Bentley said in a short speech given about an hour after he took the oath of office as governor.
Then Bentley, who for years has been a deacon at First Baptist Church in Tuscaloosa, gave what sounded like an altar call.
"There may be some people here today who do not have living within them the Holy Spirit," Bentley said. ''But if you have been adopted in God's family like I…
mikethemadbiologist | January 14, 2011...getting an abortion. Because that seems to be the message from the presidents of the third-year class of the UC Davis veterinary school--with the apparent approval of the Chair of the Department of Medicine & Epidemiology. By way of ScienceBlogling Dr. Isis, the enlightened solons:
Dear Colleagues,
One of our classmates recently gave birth and will be out of class for an unknown period of time. This means she will undoubtedly miss one, or more, or all quizzes in VMD 444. Dr. Feldman is not sure how to handle this and has requested the class give input and vote. He has provided us…
mikethemadbiologist | December 29, 2010Before Congress took off before the Christmas break, they actually managed to do something productive and pass the repeal of the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" act, which banned open gays and lesbians from serving in the U.S. military. Unfortunately, the DREAM Act, which would have allowed undocumented students brought to America as children to obtain a path to citizenship through higher education or military service, did not pass (MEXICANISTS!!! AAAIIEEEE!!!!). To me, there's a very simple lesson from this: if you don't make the Democratic Party miserable, they won't do what you want.
If you…