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Category: Politics

  • NSA dreams of smartphones with “split” crypto keys protecting user data | Ars Technica

    NSA dreams of smartphones with “split” crypto keys protecting user data | Ars Technica. Ideally, the legal and technical difficulties involved in getting past someones encryption, and getting past the lock on their safe, should be the same.  After all, these two things do essentially the same job.  Some details of various laws and regulations…

  • House GOP Wants to Eliminate Pentagon Climate Change Research

    House GOP Wants to Eliminate Pentagon Climate Change Research. Seriously, what the hell? Sea levels *are* rising.  The agricultural productivity of various areas *is* changing.  Droughts *are* becoming more common. Debate the causes of these things all you want, but these things are happening, and they *will* have implications for the national security of basically…

  • Elkhart Four

    Felony murder: Why a teenager who didn’t kill anyone faces 55 years in jail. You can certainly argue whether the relevant law is a good law or bad law, but it is what it is. And the law appears to require that the accused actually do the killing, not that it simply happens.  It seems…

  • To The FDA, Everyone Transgender Is a Gay Man | Advocate.com

    I could see an argument for trans women being treated as AMAB men for this policy for sexual history when they were living as men, or perhaps while they still have a penis should be the determinant- the risks under those circumstances would be comparable .  But for activity after SRS?  The risks at that…

  • Bathroom objections to transgender rights are bullshit

    Thinking about the bathroom access objections to transgender rights- the idea that men would suddenly dress as women to access womens bathrooms and commit sexual assault. One, there’s precious little evidence this happens often. I wouldn’t be shocked if it has, somewhere, but it’s clearly not remotely common.  If it was, I’d expect long lists…

  • Fox Panelist fails to apologize.

    Fox Panelist Apologizes for Comments About Japanese Internment | Mediaite. At most, he successfully made the point that profiling doesn’t automatically mean we lose a war. I’m also wondering how he draws a parallel between what someone looks like, and an ideology. The example is horribly flawed, even if all he was trying to show…

  • Bi: Notes for a Bisexual Revolution -Thoughts on further reading

    Reading Bi: Notes for a Bisexual Revolution by Shiri Eisner. I’m still early in the book, and trying to withhold final judgement, but there have been a few points where I’m thinking “Fuck you, I’m not a weapon in your silly revolution”. Some of this may be more writing style than a criticism on the…

  • Bi: Notes for a Bisexual Revolution by Shiri Eisner- Intial review through Chapter 1

    Picked this one up on Amazon for all of 99 cents.  By Shiri Eisner Started reading it- It’s interesting.  It opens with an explanation of the authors view of radical politics- taking things down to the root of the problem and attacking it there, with little to no regard for existing power structures- viewing them…

  • Missouri House OKs Bill That Could Allow Babysitters, Bar Patrons, And Shoppers To Use Deadly Force | ThinkProgress

    Missouri House OKs Bill That Could Allow Babysitters, Bar Patrons, And Shoppers To Use Deadly Force | ThinkProgress. The stated intent to make sure babysitters can use deadly force to protect themselves- basically, allowing the Castle Doctrine to apply to them even if they aren’t in their own home- I think is fine. But either…

  • Wages rise in Right-to-Work states | Springfield News-Leader | news-leader.com

    Wages rise in Right-to-Work states | Springfield News-Leader | news-leader.com. Interesting points as far as it goes, but many relevant factors are left out.  Ok, wages rise faster, at least when compared to local cost of living.  But generally, union pay is higher to start with.  There’s less room for it to go upwards, so…