Believe it or not, there are people who think President Obama is liberal. Isn’t that a good laugh?
In Closing: miscarriage; I already said this; measles; and beavers…. with parachutes.
Tag: NSA
Privacy? Oh, were you using that?
The incident in Paris is already being used as an excuse to take away what little privacy (and other rights) remain in the world, despite the fact that privacy is a necessary feature of security. In the meantime, bulk data will continue to be collected by both the government and various corporations (who of course, can sell that information to the government without anybody having technically violated the 4th or 5th Amendments). Nor is the NSA the only agency collecting information; the DEA is doing it too. Are they at least sharing nicely, or are We The Taxpayers paying to collect all this stuff twice?
Now, don’t forget for one minute that the President is proposing laws that crack down on “hackers”. Those laws would make a dizzying array of normal and sometimes necessary activities illegal. That’s on top of the undead CISPA cyber”security” bill. Oh yeah, and that nasty old TPP that would make corporate rights more important that national rights.
At what point does Joe Average get fed up? Congress is doing the opposite of what he wants almost every chance they get. And thanks to rigged Congressional districts, all of our political voices are diluted. Further even though the amount of money made in our nation per person is near a record high, Joe Average has very little to show for it. What happens now?
In Closing: why you can’t have hot and cold running municipal internet; misinformation; how dare you be a crime victim; brother, can you spare a bridge; some of us would like our sons to know this stuff too; backfire; denial; take the money and run.
Sign of the Times
“Vintage Antiques? Well, honestly I was hoping you had some brand new antiques!”
In Closing: sick and tired; CISPA is back from the dead; “Lack of exercise responsible for twice as many early deaths as obesity”; ok ok, we’ll tell you what the NSA is doing, but we aren’t planning on stopping; institutional sexism; a third of Americans think cops are liars; Target pulling out of Canada; on a living wage.
Music Monday: Time to Party
Vegas is apparently one of the top destinations to ring in the New Year. This year, however, we have a chance at 3 inches of snow!
In Closing: Some NSA and CIA stuff; um yeah, what were you saying about how secure biometrics are?; plastic diamonds; on income and wealth inequality; fallacies; Dave is the only guy out there warning us about the next bad deal; and the perfect site for a world traveler.
Happy NSAmas!
The Feds took advantage of the fact that nobody was expecting anything newsworthy to happen on Christmas Eve to quietly release a treasure trove of documents (links to source material here!) showing that they have been very very bad stewards of our private information.
And all of you who bought the Elf on the Shelf? You’re teaching your kids to submit to constant surveillance. Hope you’re proud.
In Closing: A few items on the police; air travel; on screwing the non–rich; because clearly the race of fictional characters is newsworthy; what if the terror threats were in fact a brilliant publicity stunt to puff up what is by all accounts a not-very-good comedy?; and wolves are better at math than dogs.
The Shorties Man
Federal Judge uses Common Sense: It is super effective.
Net Neutrality: It’s not dead yet.
Our waning privacy: The FBI is trying to scare Congress. The NSA might find themselves near the end of their leash (a girl can dream).
Strangest thing you’re likely to read today: I promise.
Ok, maybe it’s not a magic anti-aging pill after all: Resveratrol.
Women With Ballots: scary! Be sure to vote, ok?
The Pope: Look, he either speaks the words of God or he doesn’t.
Alcohol: Why doesn’t a bottle of liquor have calorie info on it?
Resume: Um, yeah.
I apologize: I mentioned this story last week, and I am sorry to have gotten pulled in to the hype.
Modern: World War I.
Music Monday: October 31
Sure, that’s Halloween. It’s also the anniversary of the founding of the Great State of Nevada. And there’s an interesting story concerning that. It involves lost documents, the most expensive telegraph ever sent, and Republicans trying to steal elections garner additional electoral votes.
So in honor of Nevada’s 150th birthday, please enjoy some Nevada items.
In Closing: how dare victims call sexual assault what it is; sugar; Russians turn back time (in a way); some nice juicy NSA items; wages; Israel; War on Drugs; some random global climate change (formerly global warming) items; maybe they’re not overpriced after all; diversity; smile, you’re on cop camera; fixing COLA would require admitting that inflation is higher than most people know; and American cat cafe.
Music Monday: Manic
I was going to write something about Ebola, but the stupid out there is so strong it burns. Look I know that I’ve had a total of one course in Microbiology, but clearly I know more about the subject than 90% of Congress. Seriously, I hope I that Ron Paul, Joe Heck, and Howard Dean know more than me since they’re doctors.
In Closing: selective breeding; change; a couple diet items; a big turn-off; African Samurai; TPP sucks; fail; backdoor; a higher minimum wage is good for a small government.
Double Down
The Freakin NSA
The Executive Director of Google says that the NSA is going to break trust in the internet, and thereby break the very internet itself. I don’t think the government cares. The NSA will do whatever it likes, thankyouverymuch. Further, it will do what it likes in whatever country it chooses! Ed Snowden still believes that the whole thing will be found unconstitutional by the Supreme Court. Only problem with that is that by his own admission, none of the felonies uncovered have been prosecuted. A case has to get to the Supremes before it can be heard there. Chalk it up to terror-phobia.
The Freakin Economy
This is why I like Elizabeth Warren: she knows what she’s talking about and she’s not afraid to say it loudly. In this case, she’s willing to say the system is rigged against Joe and Jane Average, in favor Wall Street — a group of institutions almost as untouchable as the freakin NSA. Gee, maybe that’s why Americans are flat-out broke. And for African-American or Hispanic-American families, median assets are worth less than a decent used car. By the way, notice that infographic doesn’t say net assets, just assets. Oversight, or does that not reflect debt owed on assets?
In Closing: a couple of TSA items; Can we please have more cops like this guy and fewer cops that see the public as a bunch of incipient criminals, please?; “shut the whole thing down“; fight to the death and reap the profits thereof; please be sure to take this quick ebola quiz courtesy of Southern Beale — you’re much more likely to encounter Enterovirus D68; two items on diabetes; and I didn’t get the memo either.
Fear-mongering at its finest.
The TSA really doesn’t like that Apple and Google both have products they can’t just hack remotely. As in, they are trying desperately to make them stop it. Poor babies may actually have to get search warrants. Oh, and here’s a nice article on some of the NSA’s computing issues and an item on how this mess got started.
In Closing: our rising police state; bankers gone wild; be afraid!!!; don’t you have anything better to do?; and adorable kittens.