Mad Statists

New Jersey’s decision to allow post-Sandy email voting prompts firestorm of protest

"Lieutenant Governor Kim Guadagno said the move was designed 'to help alleviate pressure on polling places.' But some experts say email voting, which is being allowed by some states for military and overseas voters, has not been tested on a large scale and opens up a host of technical and legal obstacles. Email ballots could be vulnerable to hacking or computer viruses, and could put the election at risk, says Matt Blaze, a University of Pennsylvania computer scientist specializing in security." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingNew Jersey’s decision to allow post-Sandy email voting prompts firestorm of protest

How DC Is Going to Ruin the Driverless Car

"One issue is that the laws are requiring licensed drivers to sit in the driving seat, eliminating one of the main advantages of the technology. Yet there are more problems. Bizarrely, Cheh’s bill also requires that autonomous vehicles operate only on alternative fuels. Another flaw in Cheh’s bill is that it would impose a special tax on drivers of autonomous vehicles. Instead of paying fuel taxes, 'Owners of autonomous vehicles shall pay a vehicle-miles travelled (VMT) fee of 1.875 cents per mile.' Administrative details aside, a VMT tax would require drivers to install a recording device to be periodically audited by the government." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingHow DC Is Going to Ruin the Driverless Car

Support for Kill List and NDAA make Obama and Romney unfit for office

"It wasn’t so long ago that the following statement could only appear in a dystopian novel or movie script. The U.S. President has killed an American citizen without due process, without even charging him with a crime. His decision to do this has been challenged by members of neither party. While the media-fueled frenzy goes on about how supposedly different Romney and the conservatives are from Obama and the liberals, no one even raises an eyebrow about this terrifying political development. Not even the left, which quite correctly howled at the Bush administrations’ assaults on freedom." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingSupport for Kill List and NDAA make Obama and Romney unfit for office

Israeli PM ordered strike on Iran in 2010

"Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defence Minister Ehud Barak in 2010 ordered the army to prepare an attack against Iranian nuclear installations, though the order was later rescinded, Israeli television said Sunday. According to private television Channel 2, the order was not implemented due to opposition from the army chief at the time, General Gabi Ashkenazi, and from then Mossad chief Meir Dagan." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingIsraeli PM ordered strike on Iran in 2010

Former Obama drug policy adviser predicts weed war if states legalize

"The Obama administration will not just sit by and watch as up to three states attempt to implement laws legalizing marijuana, one of the president’s former senior drug policy advisers predicted Sunday. Dr. Kevin A. Sabet, who spent three years as a senior adviser to Obama’s Office of National Drug Control Policy, warned that voters in Colorado, Washington and Oregon may just bring fire and brimstone down on their heads if they vote for ballot measures that would legalize marijuana under state law." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingFormer Obama drug policy adviser predicts weed war if states legalize

Gas Lines, Gouging, and Hurricane Sandy: Keeping Prices Low Means Nobody Gets Fuel

"So why does it look 1973 all over again at gas stations throughout New York and New Jersey? Hurricane Sandy knocked power out to New Jersey's gas refineries, causing shortages throughout the region. Govs. Chris Christie and Andrew Cuomo responded by doing exactly the wrong thing: They threatened to prosecute any station owners caught raising prices, thus removing any incentive to truck more gas in from other parts of the country. Thanks to a cadre of small businessmen, though, Brooklyn residents have an alternative to spending all day in line." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingGas Lines, Gouging, and Hurricane Sandy: Keeping Prices Low Means Nobody Gets Fuel

How to Fix the Gas Shortage: Let ’em Gouge

"A lot of people suppose that the anti-gouging laws are a remnant of some puritan past, like laws that ban buying alcohol on Sundays. But they aren’t. The first one was passed in New York in 1979 in response to rising heating oil prices, according to an essay on the laws by Michael Gibberson published in Regulation last year. Three more states adopted similar laws in the 1980s, eleven more in the 1990s, and 16 in the last decade. These aren’t ancient blue laws—they are a growing legal innovation. Again you’re probably asking: why? As it turns out there is one set of actors who does benefit from these laws—politicians." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingHow to Fix the Gas Shortage: Let ’em Gouge

New Jersey kicks out Sandy volunteers because they aren’t unionized

"Crews coming to assist all the way from Alabama’s Decatur Utilities were turned away because they aren’t unionized, despite making the 800-mile jaunt to lend a hand. Left with nothing to do in New Jersey, Moore and other members of the Decatur team are reportedly waiting in Roanaoke, Virginia to see if Seaside Heights authorities will change their mind. Meanwhile, though, millions of residents up and down the East Coast remain without power after a powerful tropical storm downed power lines and flooded streets from North Carolina to New England." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingNew Jersey kicks out Sandy volunteers because they aren’t unionized

Some Private Sector Contestants for the U.S. vs U.K. Stupidity Contest

"I’ve had some fun on this blog by comparing moronic government policies in the United States and United Kingdom. In my never-ending search for cheap laughs and juvenile entertainment, I’ve ever turned this into a contest to see which nation has more pathetic and useless bureaucrats. The United Kingdom has some very strong contestants. But as a patriotic American, I’m proud to say that we’re giving the Brits a run for their money. As you can see, the United States is filled with equally stupid and clueless government officials." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingSome Private Sector Contestants for the U.S. vs U.K. Stupidity Contest

Former Mich. mayor sets bronze statue of himself outside home

"The former mayor of Flint, Mich., Don Williamson, recently set a bronze statue of himself outside his gated home surrounded by six bronze lions, reported Michigan Live. Williamson says the statue itself was made 20 years ago and at one time sat in the building of a company he ran, The Colonel’s Inc., which burned down in 1993 in a suspected arson. His wife imported the lions. Williamson, who now lives in nearby Davison Township, resigned as mayor of Flint soon before his looming defeat in a recall election in 2009." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingFormer Mich. mayor sets bronze statue of himself outside home