… has left JPFO.

(H/T Carl-Bear)

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• Seems most of the commentors on this piece don’t understand the concept of the straw that broke the camel’s back.
• A reminder of how fragile the infrastructure of modern communications can be. (And here’s some analysis with links to some conspiracy theorizing.)
• The sad irony in Boris Nemtsov’s murder.
• “Dark Leviathan.” A darkly cynical look at Ross Ulbricht, Silk Road, the Darknet, and what the author believes is the inevitable fate of libertarian ideals. Someone needs to give this article a great fisking.
• F*c*b**k blocks a fundraiser to help a father reunite with his son. (Hint: the reason is G-U-N-S.)
• Kevin D. Williamson has one of the best takes on the death of Leonard Nimoy. But I like the one Ellendra found even better.

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• Dear foolish and gullible Americans. There’s a reason the government wants into the ‘Net.
• Religious freedom blogger Avjit Roy hacked to death. By guess who. And guess why. More.
• Cultural treasures and books have to go, also.
• Dog is shot twice but still stops home invasion. (H/T MR) This was a freelance home invasion. Had the thugs been wearing badges, presumably they’d have used large enough calibers to off the pesky mutt.
• The feds are now attempting to halt the liberty movement in Washington state using extralegal “detention” and intimidation.

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(Source.)

So if you haven’t heard by now (and there’s been surprisingly little coverage), the FCC is about to v*te to regulate the Internet. ‘Cause, you know, the ‘Net is just precisely like the telephone system in the 1930s and now there are all these terrible, terrible unfair things going on like people not being allowed to express their opinions big traditional media companies triumphing over blogs and social media … well, like something. Whatever it is, the fedgov MUST save us from it!

Not only that, but tomorrow’s big v*te will be on a 300+-page secret plan that you and I (e.g. the alleged beneficiaries of regulation) aren’t even allowed to see.

Despite three of the five FCC v*ters (ah, the magic of democracy!) being Dems, the plan may yet choke. One of the Dems is reportedly just a teensy bit restless about the whole matter. And even if the Big Five v*te themselves the authority, court challenges could drag out for years. But as usual We the Peasants have no say in the situation, one way or the other. (Did I mention ah, democracy!)

Even one of the big forces supposedly looking out for “our” side has gone over to the other side.

And (ah, justice!) they’re already regretting it, despite not quite understanding why. MtK, who sent me the link in that last paragraph noted that the Electronic Frontier Foundation has become the NRA of ‘Net freedom.

You ask for federal regulation? You support federal regulation? Then you’re shocked, simply shocked! when you get federal regulation — and it turns out it benefits the feds more than you? Oh, you pooo widdle baby! Such a surprise! Who could possibly have predicted that?

Oh wait … anybody who’s been standing on the outside watching could have predicted that. Heck, we could have predicted it even before there was such a thing as the Internet to regulate. Because that’s just the way it works.

How is it that only those who so desperately cherish their “seats at the table” during fed dealmaking (and incidentally, we’re talking to you, Mr. Gottlieb, with your notorious seat-at-the-table on Manchin-Toomey, as well as the formerly principled folks at the EFF) are somehow the only ones who can’t see the inevitable result of playing footsie under that table with the fedgov?

—–

SIDENOTE: How is it, also, that the big gov faction always comes up with the good memes? I mean “net neutrality” and “open internet” — what kind of villain could possibly be opposed to those? Being against neutrality and openness would be like hating kittens. Never mind that “neutrality” and “openness” are just verbal Halloween costumes disguising government control. And this has been going on for a long time, clear back to when the noble slogan “one man, one v*te” was used to shift all political power from rural areas to urban centers. How come freedom never gets the good memes?

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• Oh, those witty Canadians. The Syrup Trap sends up someone’s (not naming any names) notion of a proper earthquake survival kit. (H/T MJR)
• Seems Mr. Gottlieb may be forbidding anyone to post Mike Vanderboegh’s views on KABA.
• Snoozing hound dreams big dreams in magical scenes.
• Though I continue to watch the Elio with anticipation, I’ve long been suspicious of their seemingly ironclad claims: $6,800 price, 84-mpg highway, and engineered for a 5-star crash rating. They keep making these claims despite production delays, despite not even having an engine yet, and despite the fact that 5-stars is a very difficult achievement. So call me eager but skeptical. I tend to agree with this Jalopnik article from last fall. And I was wildly disappointed to learn this week that Elio Motors is seeking government money. Sigh.
• RIP Mike McNulty. He should be better remembered and more honored than he is. I had the privilege of privately screening Waco: The Rules of Engagement at his home before it was released. I was not ashamed to weep with rage over its revelations.

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Over at TZP, I Make An Official Statement then muse on assassinations, revolutions and other generally bad ideas.

Don’t miss the latest by Nicki Kenyon (on the most recent hoplophobic idiocy out of New York) and Y.B. ben Avraham (on the revival of a sadly stubborn European tradition) while you’re there.

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Was up all night feeling creaky. Not actually ill; just too sour, achy, and generally uncomfortable to sleep. Useless today. But no doubt I’ll be brilliant (or at least brilliant-er) tomorrow. Would be hard to be less brilliant.

• Lucy and Ethel speak for the U.S. Department of State
• A letter concerning Muslim toleration.
• Ronald Ritchie, felony murderer of two, still thinks his primary victim deserved what he got.
• Oscar odds. Being mostly stuck with DVDs that aren’t out yet, I’ve seen very few of these films yet; probably soon. Looking forward to The Imitation Game, Foxcatcher, Birdman, and Kill the Messenger (based on the tragic truth telling of Gary Webb, who fought the fedgov and the major media and lost). Did see and loved The Grand Budapest Hotel. Everybody says Boyhood is going to win best picture, but the weird thing is that nobody ever says anything about it except, “Wow, they took 12 years to film it.” Anybody here seen it?
• The Mountains of MIT and other images from parts east. Holy cats, people! Get with the program; it’s still 60 degrees hereabouts. What’s wrong with you guys back there?
• From A.G. in comments: the beautiful typeface caught up its designer’s mini-madness.

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• The Lt. Gov. of Texas asked the Chancellor of the Texas A&M University System to weigh in on campus carry of firearms. Pretty good response (pdf) for a bureaucrat. He nails the central issue: trust. (H/T LarryA)
• The legalization of pot and “drugged” drivers who aren’t.
• The rich and the poor. Which in this case also seems to extend to the powerful and the powerless. They both cheat but from very different motives.
• Bovard on Obama’s rosy belief that the U.S. can squander its way to prosperity.
• The Freedom Feens say that effective libertarians (blush) study Claire Wolfe. (That one got me so flustered I just spelled my own name wrong.)
• The Atlantic prints the politically incorrect (but useful) fact: ISIS is genuinely, indisputably Islamic.
• How one domino the size of a Tic Tac could topple a whole building. I’d like to think this makes a great metaphor for freedom, but even if it doesn’t, it’s a great fun physics fact.

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• Australia’s oldest man, aged 109, still … um knits sweaters for penguins. (H/T jed)
• In your face: The Inaugural Muhammed Art Exhibit and Contest. Big prizes. Great poster illustration. :-)
• Charles Manson deserves this. He deserves much, much, much more than this of course. But he deserves this.
• The double lives of Hasidic atheists.
• Violence against Jews doesn’t exist in the strange crevasses of Obama’s mind.
• First thought (quickly suppressed): If only it were true. Wouldn’t want it to come to that pass. But am glad to see politicians fearing it.
• So which country in the world demands the most data on everybody? Russia? Venezuela? China? North Korea? Go ahead. Guess. I’ll wait.

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• Oh yeah, let’s “fix” I-594 by making exceptions for only ones. ‘Cause you know, only us peasants (e.g. we who don’t work for the state or its cronies) ever commit crimes.
• The day long feared has arrived. Samsung warns customers to be careful what they say in the vicinity of their “smart” TVs. And we’re just supposed to lie back and enjoy it now that the loss of privacy is “inevitable.”
• “Impaired Self Defense.” Good observations by MamaLiberty.
• The SunSaluter. Interestingly simple concept from one of Peter Thiel’s young Fellows. A solar tracker/water filter. Looks like it would be most effective only in the tropics where the sun always arcs high in the sky. Any comment from you physics guys?
• Speaking of physics guys … you may recall my impressively failed experiments with flower pot candle heaters. Engineers predicted the failures ’cause (to put it in kindergarden terms) you can’t get more energy out of a candle than is in the candle in the first place. What you can get out of it, though, is a bunch of money. Provided you give your version of it an “eco” name. (Via S., who notes, “Unless paraffin tea candles have energy density approaching that of highly enriched uranium, it is flat-out impossible to do any meaningful heating with an ounce or three of wax.”)
• I suspect that the first thing that’ll happen when you register with NoFlyZone.org to declare your home a no-go for drones … is that various governments will wonder what you have to hide and will target you for drone flights bearing various cams and eventually weapons.

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Too much for just links, too little for one of my blogosauri. Randomish thoughts …

« Read the rest of this entry »

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• In Washington state and in Colorado, banks (caught between state opportunity and federal terror tactics) struggle to deal with new cannabis businesses.
• Well, now those who won’t comply with the outrages of I-594 are not just “extremists” (per Gottlieb) but “a clique of gadflies” (per a Gottlieb henchman). Remember people: if you want a seat at the table so you can help Our Masters arrange the terms of our extermination, always comply-comply-comply with the law. Any law. We don’t care what law. It’s the LAW!
• Where oh where is Germany’s gold?
• Jim Bovard looks back on redneck ethnic cleansing that happened in his own neighborhood. (A review of Shenandoah: A Story of Conservation and Betrayal.)
• Do these 7700-year-old bones tell a sad story — and give the first historic evidence of twins?
• Michael Bane wants to be a network anchor exactly like Brian Williams. :-)

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