Monday, June 25, 2007

Habeas Corpus

Protecting the liberties and freedoms our nation enjoys, should be everyone's top priority. I realize, that most Americans assume that they freedoms they enjoy will always be there. Why shouldn't they, our own government is there to protect them, besides, things are good right now.

It's both naive and shortsighted to make these assumptions, but Americans do it any way. Each and every day, the Federal government looks for ways to make things easier to ensure that they stay in power. The U.S. Constitution be damned. It stands in the way of our benevolent leaders from doing their job of protecting us from the enemies they themselves created.

If we believe that the government must have the power to remove our rights to protect us in a time of war, our government will keep us in a constant state of war. (Sound familiar).

We are currently in the "War on Terror." This "War", as no clear enemy and no clear resolution. We can stay in this state for as long as someone feels that someone on the planet intends to cause harm to Americans. This is the most convenient war ever devised by a government that derives it's special powers from being in a state of war.

One of my favorite lines from the movie "V for Vendetta" is "People should not fear their government, the government should fear the people." In this movie, a Conservative government consolidates power and removes rights of the people in order to protect them from terrorists. V, the title character, sparks a rebellion of the people to return the business of governing to the people. We need to ensure, we protect our rights.

I read a fantastic explanation today of Habeas Corpus by Jacob R. Hornberger. The Bush administration has actively sought to have The Great Writ suspended. Many legal scholars believe that this is the key to all of our other freedoms. It is the great neutralizer of power in our legal system. Without it, there is no checks and balances. It provides everyone the right to question the governments ability to incarcerate them. Without it, you can not ask a court to protect any of your constitutional rights.

A humorous rendition of this was done by Keith Oberman. Check it out...it's some dang fine political satire.

Wake up America. We need to be diligent and keep our own leaders in check. Don't give up your rights in the name of security. If you give up freedom for security, in the end, you will have neither.

Wednesday, June 20, 2007

You can trust us, we the goverment for Pete's sake!

In a glorious upholding of our constitutional rights, 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the notion that email are the same as phone calls and snail mail. The government can not just ask the ISP to hand over email to be scanned with a warrent and notifying the people involved.

In this day of "Global Terror," we can not let the terrorists, Facists, dictators and fear mongers push us into giving up our freedom for security. They win if we do. We have a thriving republic based on the rule of law and protected by a Constitution. This document is still the most important document we've ever created.

Fighting crime and terror is not supposed to be easy. The government is to defend the Constitution. The people are to defend the Constitution.

Monday, June 18, 2007

Apple Safari - Bugs sure, yawns? Plenty

I'm really suprised that the biggest press about Apple's Safari browser for the PC is that there a bugs. Sure, it's beta code. There's bound to be bugs, why isn't anybody reporting that the browser is just plain boring and lacks any real functions?

I tried Safari, I gotta admit, it's fast. But that's all it has going for it. It looks like iTunes with the shiny aluminum finish, which is great if you like that, but that's getting old too.

The browser's tabbing system is really confusing. I still don't have it working like I like it. Firefox and IE are vastly superior in this category. I think Safari's tabbing was just added in so they can say they have tabs.

The biggest thing you will notice is that its almost not customizable. I'm not sure if this will be fixed in later releases, but anyone that is used to tricking out the browser need not apply for this one. Like iTunes, you get what you get. No extensions. No skins. No real settings to play with.

Maybe this will work for some, but I really doubt this will cause any mass migration. Let the yawns begin.

The wicked witch is dead!

As reported by Fox News, Mike Nifong has been disbarred in North Carolina.

As a big fan of the legal system we have here in the US, I couldn't be happier with this.
It's a tough problem we have here. Electing officials to positions such as this, but pressure on them to serve their constituancy, but on the other hand, puts pressure on them to get re-elected. Sometimes, justice is set aside so that someone can be re-elected.

For the most part the system works. Justice finds a way.

Now don't get me wrong, I have no sympathy for Mike. He chose the path of being re-elected. And now he's paying the penalty, his life is slow being destroyed. He's can't practice law and the civil penalties will take everything he owns. I'd doubt anyone would hire him. He's show a lapse in ethics so great that most won't trust him. He chose to prosecute and destroy people to make his own career last a little longer. Who will chose to destroy next? He chose himself. May God have mercy on his soul.

Friday, June 08, 2007

Spread it loud, spread it proud - Censorship Update!

Amnesty International's report on the state of the internet is quite disturbing. As more governments setup filtering of the web content from their citizens, the idea of free speech disappears.

It's really sad that more people don't realize that Freedom of Speech is the single most important freedom humans have. It is the foundation on which all other freedoms rest. Governments don't impose restrictions on Free Speech to protect their citizens, they do it to protect themselves. To ensure that they stay in power.

Government censorship has always failed in the past to achieve its goal, because human communication always seems to find a way, but we can't assume that this will be true. We must be vigilant and demand our freedom. It's certainly not going to be protected by those people who get the advantage with it's restriction.

Google, Yahoo and Microsoft are complicit in this and should be held accountable. In order to preserve their large rivers of cash, they have chosen to cozy up to these governments. History shows us that when sleep with the snakes, they do eventually bite you. I hope they have some secret plan, easter egg, or backdoor that can't be fixed to let the words flow. If not, hang your head low and enjoy the company you keep. The will kill you. I've linked to the companies stated values. Let's hold them to it. We are all in this together.

If you give up your rights for security, in the end you will have neither.