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Category: Privacy and self ownership

Owning our own information and telling Big Brother to get lost

Tuesday links

Published September 25, 2018 11:37 am by Claire
  • J.D. Tuccille on Google and privatized authoritarianism.
  • If there’s a hell, a very low ring should be reserved for petty bureaucrats who use the law against good, kind, brave people. The charges against Tammie Hedges for administering medicine to rescued pets and “soliciting a controlled substance” are barbaric. Good thing her legal fundraiser is surpassing all expectations.
  • The U.S. is about to get its first “robot brothel.” Don’t expect this to be The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas. (H/T DB)
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    • Monday links

    Published September 24, 2018 1:16 am by Claire
  • Solar panels replaced paving on several roadways. For the environment and the climate and all, you know. Results were predictably underwhelming. Quite expensive, too.
  • Commander Zero, who knows whereof he speaks when it comes to preparedness, says Joel’s current experiment in living off an Augason Farms emergency food kit won’t end happily. I’m pretty sure Joel would have agreed from day one.
  • Speaking of which, Wired says that the science behind disaster preparedness kits is a disaster. They have suggestions some of us might not agree with, but the article’s interesting.
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    • Friday links

    Published September 21, 2018 11:06 am by Claire
  • Happy Paratus! Commander Zero, who invented this holiday for preparedness, has celebration suggestions.
  • That mysterious observatory closure? They claim it’s because a janitor had kiddie porn on a computer. Hm.
  • Sheesh. No wonder Kavanaugh’s accuser can’t remember any details. Given the party-and-pickup culture of the pricey school she went to, it’s a wonder she can remember anything from her teens.
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    • Monday links

    Published September 10, 2018 1:47 am by Claire
  • All those NFL team owners and not a single spine among them. As I’ve said before, this isn’t about free speech or racism; it’s about employees misusing their employers’ time to damage their employers’ bottom line. And now about employers letting it happen. (H/T Shel in comments)
  • Equally unsurprising; there’s dissension in the ACLU over supporting free speech and free association for the NRA.
  • “F*** that gator,” has replaced “Hold my beer” as the national shorthand for Darwin-level stupidity. Apparently that’s very unkind of us.
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    • Freedom in the 50 States

    Published August 23, 2018 4:24 pm by Claire

    Cato has released its 2018 rankings of freedom in the 50 states, compiled by William Ruger and Jason Sorens of the Free State Project. Yep, these ranks are subjective — and Cato recognizes that by allowing users to customize their own rankings by what they consider important. (Gun rights forever! Down with civil asset forfeiture!) And rightly so. Just glancing at the map is mindboggling. Wyoming next to and below Washington and Minnesota in freedoms? Seems unlikely — until you start playing around with the factors. Quite interesting. You could spend hours with the interactive map and customized rankings. Thank…

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