statism

The Costs of War in Syria

"Politicians want a war to appear cheap, at least up front, while the bureaucrats want bigger budgets. Once the war starts, though, all bets are off, and any political or legal authorization given to the administration to wage war will be a de facto blank check for future unlimited outlays for occupation and conflict on an unlimited timeline. We’ve already seen this in both Afghanistan and Iraq, and while the two countries descended into chaos, the claim was made that since the U.S. regime had 'broken' Iraq and Afghanistan, the taxpayers were now on the hook to finance the 'fixing' of the broken countries. The regime knows that all it needs to do is start a war, and the money will begin to flow indefinitely." Continue reading →

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Internet Governance Meltdown II: The Unilateral Right to Amend

"The U.S. government was one of the only commentators to express unqualified endorsement of the proposed changes in the registry agreement. And it was pressure from law enforcement interests promoted by the U.S. government that also led to the troubles in negotiating the RAA. We see accountability and responsibility for policy making migrating further and further away from the individuals and organizations who participate in ICANN’s bottom up process, and towards state actors and ICANN staff. A key contributor to this migration is the idea of a monarchical ability of the authorities to discern 'the public interest' and impose rules, top down, on the public itself to pursue that 'public interest.'" Continue reading →

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Federal Election Commission rules requested on Bitcoin campaign donations

"Coming soon to a political campaign near you: Bitcoin donations? The Federal Election Commission is poised to determine rules governing donations made in Bitcoins and how they apply to political campaigns. 'As increasing numbers of individuals trade in Bitcoin, political parties and candidates also wish to accept and spend this new currency,' Dan Backer of DB Capitol Strategies wrote in the request. The request lays out 24 technical questions for the FEC regarding the use of Bitcoin as political contributions. Backer told POLITICO that he expects that by 2014, many federal candidates will be interested in accepting the currency — and that many donors will demand it." Continue reading →

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Administration Gives States Conditional Okay on Marijuana Legalization

"Attorney General Eric Holder told the governors of Colorado and Washington Thursday that the Justice Department would not -- at least for now -- block their states from implementing regimes to tax, regulate, and sell marijuana. The memo listed a number of activities that could draw federal prosecutorial attention or result in a Justice Department reassessment, including sales to minors, profits going to criminal actors, diversion to pot prohibition states, marijuana sales as a cover for other drug sales, violence and the use of firearms, drugged driving and other 'adverse public health consequences,' and growing marijuana on public lands. That leaves some wiggle room for federal prosecutors." Continue reading →

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Man rescued to death by Australian ambulance helicopter

"The 68-year-old man was bushwalking with a group at Macs Cove, near Mansfield in Victoria's north-east, when he broke his ankle about 10:30am AEST yesterday. The ambulance helicopter was sent in to rescue the man about midday because of the terrain. However, Ambulance Victoria chief executive Greg Sassella says at about 12.30pm he fell approximately 30 metres to his death while he was being winched into the helicopter with a paramedic. Mr Sassella says Ambulance Victoria has suspended all winch rescues while the equipment is tested and an investigation is completed. Mr Sassella says the winch equipment will be thoroughly tested." Continue reading →

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Reporter Asks Obama if Nobel Peace Prize ‘Dilemma’ on Syria Attack

"President Barack Obama flew to Sweden on Wednesday for a diplomatic meeting ahead of a two-day G20 summit in St. Petersburg, Russia. Obama held a wide-ranging press conference in Sweden relating to the White House's effort to build support for a strike on Syria in the wake of that government's use of chemical weapons on civilians. One Swedish reporter cornered Obama on the contradictions contained in the fact that a Nobel Peace Prize winner is planning to launch his second war against a sovereign nation." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingReporter Asks Obama if Nobel Peace Prize ‘Dilemma’ on Syria Attack

Can the Police Go to the Front Door of a Home With “No Trespassing” Signs?

"The Supreme Court indicated that a police officer’s right to walk up to a front door of a person’s home is subject to an implied license based on existing social norms. Going on to the property and approaching the front door is a physical intrusion onto the curtilage, Jardines holds. But there is an implied license to approach a front door with the intent to knock and try to speak to the homeowner. Jardines holds that the implied license does not extend to bringing a dog to the front porch of a house with the intent to search the home. One question that arises from Jardines is whether the police can go up the front door when a homeowner puts up 'no trespassing' signs or something similar." Continue reading →

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FTC Begins Sanctions Against Insecure Internet-Connected Device Companies

"The FTC is steadily hacking the law to make itself the country’s de facto privacy regulator. In this case, it’s using its right to punish a company for being 'unfair' to consumers. But its power is limited: it can’t fine TRENDnet; it can only require it to notify customers, establish 'a comprehensive security program' — that includes pen testing its products — and agree to 20 years of privacy audits (just like Facebook and Google). If TRENDnet messes up again after this, the FTC can then fine it up to $16,000 per violation (a power it used to fine Google $22.5 million). There may well be more FTC orders to come." Continue reading →

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Senate-crafted Syria resolution riddled with loopholes for Obama

"Senators on Wednesday tried to write a tight resolution authorizing President Obama to strike Syria under very specific circumstances, but analysts and lawmakers said the language still has plenty of holes the White House could use to expand military action well beyond what Congress appears to intend. 'Wiggle room? Plenty of that,' said Louis Fisher, scholar in residence at the Constitution Project and former long-time expert for the Congressional Research Service on separation of powers issues. Mr. Fisher pointed to the 1964 resolution that authorized a limited response to the Gulf of Tonkin, but that ended up being the start of an escalation of U.S. involvement in the Vietnam war." Continue reading →

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How “Your” Government Works

"The Obama administration has announced the formation of a panel of “outside experts” to review the NSA’s surveillance practices. And a wide-ranging, diverse collection of experts they are; when it comes to institutional backgrounds and viewpoints, they span the entire spectrum from A to B. They remind me a bit of the space shuttle crew in an episode of The Simpsons: 'They’re a colorful bunch … There’s a mathematician, a different kind of mathematician, and a statistician.' If you think all this insider involvement in policy represents 'regulatory capture,' or the corruption of an originally pristine system by campaign money and lobbyists, you’re missing the point." Continue reading →

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