Blackmoor Vituperative

Alien: “It’s true: we are aliens. But what are you going to do about it? It’s a two party system. You have to vote for one of us!”
Human: “Well, I believe I’ll vote for a third party candidate.”
Alien: “Go ahead. THROW YOUR VOTE AWAY! HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!”
*cut to inauguration day, where the alien sits on a throne*

This is funny because it’s true. I may not even vote this year. I have completely lost faith in the political process.

This is a novel legal strategy. And so far it’s working. Last month, in an effort to preserve the state’s monopoly on legal gambling, Kentucky Gov. Steve Beshear sued to have 141 online gambling sites’ domains transferred to the state’s control. According to the Washington Post, a big part of Beshear’s election was based on bringing casinos to Kentucky.

Kentucky circuit court judge Thomas Wingate granted the request, ordering domain registrars to do just that. Wingate found that Kentucky’s anti-gambling statutes allowed such a court order in that gambling website domains are “gambling devices” under the state’s law.

But what jurisdiction does the Kentucky court have? Opponents say none, since none of the sites or the registrars are based in Kentucky.

(from Poker sites fight to get domain names back from Kentucky, ZDNet)

If a court in Elbonia is permitted to seize assets in Freedonia because an Elbonian law says they can, this is a HORRIFIC precedent. What’s next, if this travesty of jurisdiction is permitted to stand? China charging Americans with “crimes” like “counterrevolutionary acts”, or the USA charging foreign citizens with “crimes” like “copyright violation”, would not be too far behind.

This is a gross injustice and perversion of the law, and it needs to be stopped stone dead right now.

It is interesting to look back over interviews given by Ron Paul and people like Peter Schiff (former economic advisor to Ron Paul) in the past couple of years to see how utterly oblivious the US government has been. There have been voices of reason: Dr. Paul, Schiff, and others. They have been ignored. They are still being ignored. And the idiots in Congress just don’t get it. The house is on fire, and rather than put out the fire, they rush to build more rooms, as if this will keep the fire under control.

When interest rates are artificially low, below market rates and insidious malinvestment and excessive indebtedness inevitably brings [sic] about the economic downturns that everyone dreads.
(Ron Paul from committee floor, House Financial Services Committee, 2007-02-17)

And the idiots behind this mess blame the market for it.

Where is Ron Paul when we need him?

The $840 billion dollar downpayment on the $3 trillion bailout was signed into law today by President Bush. This is like getting cash advances on your credit cards to make payments on the house that you can’t afford because you stupidly got a bigger mortgage than you can afford to pay. Ironic, isn’t it.

Actually, it is more like your irresponsible neighbor stealing your credit cards to get cash advances to pay off the cash advances he already has on his own credit cards, after you told him that no, you were not going to loan him the money. So the bastard broke into your house and took them anyway.

I am more disgusted than I can coherently express.

This is cool. HP will send you a postage-paid envelope to send back empty inkjet and laserjet cartridges to be recycled.

it’s disheartening — actually downright disgusting — that the Mayor, the City Council and the Attorney General of our nation’s capital would flagrantly flout a constitutional decision from the highest court in the land — not to mention bragging about it to the media. But that’s exactly what happened earlier this week.

On Tuesday, the D.C. City Council unanimously enacted new firearms restrictions on an emergency basis in response to the Supreme Court’s decision in District of Columbia v. Heller, No. 07-290.

(From D.C. Disses Supremes on Gun Law, CFIF.org)

Disgusting is a good word for it. In a sane world, enacting a law or regulation in violation of the US Constitution would be a felony.

Please contact your representative and urge him or her to support the repeal of the D.C. gun ban and to sign the Souder discharge petition. You can visit the Gun Owners Legislative Action Center at http://www.gunowners.org/activism.htm to send your reps a message.

The best news, for me, is that a Knights Of The Old Republic MMO is on the way.

Also, I dig Cory Doctorow.

I do not dig the death of the Public Domain. I thought Europeans were smarter than this. Or at least, less under the thumb of the media robber barons.

The head of the Federal Communications Commission said Thursday he will recommend that the nation’s largest cable company be punished for violating agency principles that guarantee customers open access to the Internet.

[…]

“The commission has adopted a set of principles that protects consumers access to the Internet,” FCC Chairman Kevin Martin told The Associated Press late Thursday. “We found that Comcast’s actions in this instance violated our principles.”

Martin said Comcast has “arbitrarily” blocked Internet access, regardless of the level of traffic, and failed to disclose to consumers that it was doing so.

(from FCC chief says Comcast violated Internet rules, Yahoo! Finance)

That is remarkable. I am not used to seeing the FCC as the good guys.

The 5 real reasons to avoid iPhone 3G

• iPhone completely blocks free software. Developers must pay a tax to Apple, who becomes the sole authority over what can and can’t be on everyone’s phones.
• iPhone endorses and supports Digital Restrictions Management (DRM) technology.
• iPhone exposes your whereabouts and provides ways for others to track you without your knowledge.
• iPhone won’t play patent- and DRM-free formats like Ogg Vorbis and Theora.
• iPhone is not the only option. There are better alternatives on the horizon that respect your freedom, don’t spy on you, play free media formats, and let you use free software — like the FreeRunner ().

We can trade our freedom and our money to get something flashy on the surface, or we can spend a little more money, keep our freedom, and support a better kind of business. If we want businesses to be ethical, we have to reward the ones that are. By not enriching companies that want to take away our freedom and by rewarding those that respect us, we will be helping to bring about a better future.

In solidarity,

John, Josh, Matt, and Peter

(from Defective By Design)