It’s not fascism when we do it
Mike Lofgren, a former congressional staffer, makes a non-compelling case in the Atlantic for voting for Barack Obama in tomorrow’s US presidential election. Basically, Lofgren’s argument boils down...
View ArticleObama’s constitutionally questionable civil liberties missteps
Among President Barack Obama’s many accomplishments — both in and out of the US presidency — is constitutional law professor. Presumably he knows more about — and respects — the US Constitution, its...
View ArticleObama signs whistleblower bill into law
With nary a whiff of a regard for either Bradley Manning or Julian Assange, President Obama yesterday signed the Whistleblower Protection Enhancement Act (.pdf; 219KB) affording greater protection to...
View ArticleITU/WCIT threatens open internet
The International Telecommunication Union (ITU) is a tiny agency within the United Nations hosting the World Conference on International Telecommunications (WCIT) 3-14 December in Dubai. The...
View ArticleUS Justice Department warrantlessly seizes AP phone records
Earlier this month, the US Justice Department informed the Associated Press (AP) that federal law enforcement had — without notice — seized two months of telephone records of more than 20 AP editors...
View ArticleUS entertainment cartel demands ability to deploy malware
The Commission on Theft of American Intellectual Property has published its “IP Commission Report” (.pdf; 1.7MB) that would be 84 pages of off-the-rails hilarious if it weren’t likely to be adopted in...
View ArticleVerizon’s share everything plan isn’t what you think it is
The US National Security Agency (NSA) is siphoning the telephone records of Verizon’s US customers under a secret Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court (FISC) order issued last April. Glenn...
View ArticleEyes of the world: Candidate Obama v. President Obama
Wake up to find out that you are the eyes of the world but the heart has its beaches its homeland and thoughts of its own Wake now, discover that you are the song that the morning brings but the heart...
View ArticleObama administration walks back Clapper appointment
President Obama’s statements are no longer allowed time to cool off even a little bit before they become outright lies. On 9 August, President Obama took to the TelePrompTer to assure the nation that...
View ArticleNow the surveillance cat’s really out of the bag
The latest cache of classified documents leaked by Edward Snowden reveals that the US National Security Agency (NSA) has continued to conduct a secret war on strong cryptography and has enlisted the...
View ArticleA move to expand Social Security
As the wingnuts on the right continue to howl for cuts to Social Security and Medicare benefits in the US — even President Obama wants to cut benefits by using chained consumer price index (chained...
View ArticleObama’s Orwellian surveillance reform
Last Friday, President Barack Obama announced “reforms” for the US National Security Agency’s (NSA) surveillance programs that are little more than lipstick on a pig. Like putting Bondo on a car’s...
View ArticleFCC’s Wheeler: Don’t make my pull this car over
As I recently wrote with regard to US Federal Communications Commission (FCC) chair Tom Wheeler‘s proposed rules eliminating network neutrality in favor of a bifurcated internet, the FCC is caving to...
View ArticleObama administration calls for limits on commercial data; ignores government...
Just in time for May Day, the Obama administration released a report recommending limits on how corporations use customer data while totally ignoring any mention of pervasive government surveillance...
View ArticleTake your war toys and leave
Several nights last week, black and mostly unmarked combat helicopters flew at very low altitude through our neighborhood (Mac Groveland in Saint Paul) and it scared the living shit right out of me....
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