It's sad when . . .

... you get more coverage of privacy issues in Popular Mechanics than you do on network news.

I guess there's something to that whole technogeek/libertarian correlation thing after all.

P.S. The same issue contains this excellent editorial, which reminds us, among other things, that:

Police cars have dashboard cameras, cities and counties are posting red-light and speed-limit cameras, and it seems that the dream of many government officials is to put every public space under 24-hour video watch. But try shooting photos or video of police or ­other public officials as they go about their business and you might find yourself in wrist restraints.

...

Supporters of widespread surveillance often argue, "If you're obeying the law, you have nothing to fear." Why shouldn't the same go for police officers?

I warn you ahead of time . . .

. . . this is going to sound like one of those Kip questions.

Is requiring college students to buy a Sprint cellphone with GPS tracking a legitimate government* function?

What if the student's dad works for AT&T? What if the student is Amish?

When I went to [S]MSU, they had an exclusive Coke contract so that no Pepsi vending machines would be allowed on campus, but even THEY did not require you to purchase Coke. You could always go to Dillon's or Git-n-Go and buy Pepsi and bring it back to campus.

[H/T 2 Two Johns No Waiting on KMOX.]

* - Montclair State is a public college, supported with tax dollars and therefore a tentacle of the government.

Mike Rogers: Follow your Big Gay Marching Orders or else!

Mike Rogers engages in a high-tech lynching of uppity gays.

In Rogers' mind, if you're against gay rights in your public life and you
live a secret homosexual life, all bets are off.

Yeah, except that the Big Gay Marching Orders include among their "gay rights," criminalizing what people think. And taking away the rights of business owners to run their businesses the way they see fit. Does the privilege of enjoying dude-on-dude action require the outsourcing of one's decision making to Gay Central Command?

And Rogers doesn't seem to realize that the freedom to choose to live his life out of the closet is THE VERY SAME DAMN FREEDOM as the freedom to choose to live one's life IN the closet.

But there I go again, having an opinion of my own that doesn't fall into lockstep with Gay Central Command. How uppity of me.

Big Brother is whacking off.

Feds plan database containing every porn star in America.

Tell me something.

How does keeping tabs on Frank Martini's little side job help the children?

And are they going to chase down and identify every peckershot on the Internet?

And how does one sign up to be the Official Government Porn Looker-Atter?

[H/T 2 Kippy. (He LOVES it when I call him 'Kippy.')]