Tag Archives: Government

Mar 10

Appeals court raises standard for laptop searches at US border

Posted on March 10, 2013 by Tom

In a kind of good news/bad news thing, a federal appeals court raised the standard for laptop searches at US borders while at the same time ruling the search in the case was acceptable under “reasonable suspicion” criteria. Borders have … Read More →

Posted in Freedom, Government, Privacy | Tagged border, forensic, fourthamendment, Freedom, Government, Privacy, search | Leave a comment

Feb 24

White House announces new US open access policy

Posted on February 24, 2013 by Tom

While they have said nothing in the aftermath of Aaron Swartz’s death, the White House recently announced that taxpayer-funded research will be free to access after a year. This policy was formerly only applied to biomedical research but not has … Read More →

Posted in Freedom, Government | Tagged AaronSwartz, Government, openaccess, policy, research, WhiteHouse | Leave a comment

Mar 19

Only 14 states more corrupt than New York

Posted on March 19, 2012 by Tom

The Center for Public Integrity ranked the 50 states in terms of levels of government corruption. New York State ranks 36th overall. I’m sure there are a a lot of New Yorkers who’ll be surprised to find we did this … Read More →

Posted in Fail, Government | Tagged corruption, Fail, Government, NewYorkState | Leave a comment

Dec 19

Dear Congress, It’s No Longer OK To Not Know How The Internet Works

Posted on December 19, 2011 by Tom

Joshua Kopstein doesn’t think willful ignorance of the Internet by both major parties in Congress is acceptable in the age of SOPA and PROTECT-IP.

Posted in Fail | Tagged censorship, Congress, Fail, Freedom, Government, ignorance, Privacy, PROTECT-IP, Security, SOPA | Leave a comment

Aug 05

What the debt-ceiling crisis revealed

Posted on August 5, 2011 by Tom

Jacob Weisberg, writing in Slate, says this about the debt-ceiling crisis: The debacle revealed that politics is broken in every possible way, and that there is no point in explaining complicated matters to the American people. Thanks to the Tea … Read More →

Posted in Fail | Tagged Congress, debtceiling, economy, Fail, Government, Politics, spite, treason | Comments Off

May 16

Is Thomas Drake of the N.S.A. an enemy of the state?

Posted on May 16, 2011 by Tom

Thomas Drake was a senior level executive at the National Security Agency who saw the waste, mismanagement and intelligence gathering on US citizens as wrong and attempted to address them through the normal channels. When his efforts were ignored, he … Read More →

Posted in Government | Tagged espionage, Government, NSA, whistleblower | Comments Off

Mar 31

How a Bill Could Make It Hard to Buy Your Favorite Beer

Posted on March 31, 2011 by Tom

You may not be aware of it, but the US has what is called a three-tier-system for most beer sales. A brewery sells to a wholesaler/distributor who then sells to retailers who sell to you. Since 2005, however, it has … Read More →

Posted in Fail | Tagged beer, distribution, Fail, Government, monopoly | Comments Off

Jan 25

Alesi surprised constituents think he’s a scumbag

Posted on January 25, 2011 by Tom

New York is infamous for its horribly corrupt state government. Everyone complains, yet New Yorkers keep re-electing the sleazy incumbents year after year. Take for instance state senator Jim Alesi. He illegally entered a home under construction, climbed a ladder … Read More →