Commentary

Bad news for free speech in Bow, NH

This entry was posted in Censorship Commentary News and tagged censorship law New Hampshire on by

This has been a bad year for freedom of expression in the United States. ICE thugs have hauled people away without charges for expressing views that the government doesn’t like. In New Hampshire, a federal judge has delivered an outrageous decision regarding a protest in Bow, New Hampshire.

The ruling by Judge Steven McAuliffe is full of absurdities and disregard for the First Amendment. The basic argument is that school athletic events are a limited public forum, and the schools retain some control over types of expression at them. This is true, but it doesn’t mean they can arbitrarily decide what people can say or can’t. The restrictions have to serve a legitimate purpose and be viewpoint-neutral, and they have to be enforced evenly.
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Some vandalism and a look at the MAGA mindset 3

This entry was posted in Commentary Personal and tagged liberty Massachusetts on by

My rear windshield has a decal with the text, “My cat is smarter than your president.” On Monday I noticed that several letters were no longer on the windshield. Some were still on the car, in the gap between the windshield and the trunk lid. Given that so many letters came off at once, It was most likely vandalism. I don’t think any of my neighbors did it. The day before, I parked in a large public lot in Massachusetts for several hours. Most likely it happened then, and I didn’t notice till the next day.

Windshield sticker with missing letters indicated by brackets: "My [c]a[t] is sm[art]e[r] than your president"
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ICE: America’s Gestapo

This entry was posted in Censorship Commentary and tagged censorship ICE liberty on by

“Geheime Staatspolizei” means “secret state police,” usually shortened to “Gestapo.” It was the Nazis’ enforcement bureau, the ones who snatched people without charges and sent them away to prisons or execution. In the United States, it’s shortened to “ICE.” Its masked thugs have snatched people off the street, not presenting any criminal charges, and shipped them to offshore hellholes. So far I haven’t heard of its intentionally killing anyone, though people have died in its custody.
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Why is Trumpism still popular?

This entry was posted in Commentary and tagged liberty psychology on by

In less than three months since he’s taken office, Donald Trump has imposed huge taxes by decree, harassed lawyers and judges, brought federal agencies into chaos, had people abducted from the streets without charges or access to legal counsel, antagonized America’s allies, and hinted at several acts of military aggression and conquest. The economy is already suffering from his actions and is likely to get a lot worse. In spite of this, his approval rating stands at close to 50%. Nearly half of registered voters, according to polls, approve of what he’s doing. Why?

In the past, I’ve discussed a couple of reasons. News media have abandoned objectivity. It’s hard to get just the facts. A second reason is the miserable state of education in the US. Schools turn out students who seldom read and lack critical thinking skills.

Here I’d like to talk about a third factor: the attitudes of the left.
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How surveys snoop on people’s locations

This entry was posted in Commentary and tagged privacy technology on by

The “Religion for Breakfast” YouTube channel reported on a survey to determine how often people go to church, eliminating the need for self-reporting and the biases that go with it. The video focused on the numbers obtained, but the way the survey was conducted is disturbing and offers a warning about how much information phone applications collect and pass on to third parties.

According to the video, Dr. Devin Pope of the University of Chicago conducted this survey, obtaining information from people without their knowledge or consent. “Dr. Pope analyzed the movement patterns of 2.1 million Americans, tracking visits to religious buildings on their main day of worship. Think of it like instead of asking someone how often they go to the gym, you just check their gym’s key card records. But let’s pause because I know what you’re all thinking. How can he even know how often people go to a place of worship? Isn’t tracking cell phone data kind of — creepy?” (Yes, it is.)
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