Google Blows It

Looks like our wayward host has decided to add some new anti-spam features that have managed to get a number of legitimate blogs classified as spam blogs. David Codrea's "War On Guns", REAL ID Rebellion and many others have been blocked from posting and are currently threatened with deletion by the Google Powers That Be.

Real ID Rebellion
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58 Posts, last published on May 14, 2007

This blog has been locked due to possible Blogger Terms of Service violations. You may not publish new posts until your blog is reviewed and unlocked.

This blog will be deleted within 20 days unless you request a review.

While I can commend a private company for their efforts to block unethical spammers in an attempt to maintain a respectable reputation and give a good experience to their members, my head spins when I think of the incompetency that must reign in their software division. Add to that the fact that they say it will take a minimum of two days to respond to your request to review your blog and allow you to post again and you have a FUBAR situation that should make the evening news. They've used a spray and pray method and wounded who knows how many innocents in their attempt to limit spam. Apologies and rapid response should be Google's top priority right now, but I won't hold my breath on that one. If you have a Blogger account, keep your eyes open and your fingers crossed.

Technorati Tags:
Google, Blogger, FUBAR, Censorship

D.C. To SCOTUS: Screw You

It looks like the powers that be in the District of Columbia have decided to give a hearty "screw you" to the Supreme Court.

Dick Heller, the man behind the case which brought down the DC handgun ban has been denied a permit by the DC powers. It's also likely that his firearm has been confiscated, as well, even though the article fails to mention it.

WASHINGTON (WUSA) -- District residents can start registering their guns today. But at least one very high profile application was already rejected.

Dick Heller is the man who brought the lawsuit against the District's 32-year-old ban on handguns. He was among the first in line Thursday morning to apply for a handgun permit.

But when he tried to register his semi-automatic weapon, he says he was rejected. He says his gun has seven bullet clip. Heller says the City Council legislation allows weapons with fewer than eleven bullets in the clip. A spokesman for the DC Police says the gun was a bottom-loading weapon, and according to their interpretation, all bottom-loading guns are outlawed because they are grouped with machine guns.

So, semi-automatic handguns are now "machine guns"? Insanity certainly rules inside the Beltway, (but, we already knew that now, didn't we?). Looks as if we are in for yet another round of court battling. I can't help but wonder if this will be an example of Scalia's "reasonable restrictions".

As an aside, I cannot help but wonder if Mr. Heller and his attorneys did not pursue this particular course on purpose. It would certainly be a good case to bring before the courts in order to force DC to implement a rational policy, rather than the overly restrictive current policy.
Technorati Tags:
2nd Amendment, Libertarian, Heller, Police State

Obama's Army

It looks as if Comrade Obama has, yet another use for government. He would like it to be the next big service sector for the youth of America.

"We cannot continue to rely only on our military in order to achieve the national security objectives that we've set," he said Wednesday. "We've got to have a civilian national security force that's just as powerful, just as strong, just as well-funded."

He said he would make federal assistance conditional on school districts establishing service programs and set the goal of 50 hours of service a year for middle school and high school students.

I've seen this in action before and cannot help but wonder what colour the kerchiefs will be. Maybe he'll regress to the older brown shirted uniforms. The simple fact is that requiring service, as he wants is nothing less than state sponsored involuntary servitude and is forbidden by the US Constitution. Not that something like that means anything to him or other politicians of his stripe. Service to the state is not something any candidate needs to be calling for at any time. It's repugnant on more levels than I even like to think of.

"Loving your country must mean accepting your responsibility to do your part to change it. If you do, your life will be richer, our country will be stronger."

This man needs to learn that the country is not the same as the government. I don't want a stronger American government. I want it weaker than a kitten. That leads to a stronger America, better communities and healthier people. There are thousands of opportunities for voluntary voluntarism every day, in every community. Those who wish to freely associate are able to do so in myriad ways, without Mr. Obama's government compulsion. The last thing we need is more DHS lunacy. We've seen where "civilian national security force"'s lead. The 20th century was filled with them, most led by people like Mr. Obama.

"We will ask Americans to serve," the Illinois Democrat said. "We will create new opportunities for Americans to serve."

Yep...he'll make government even larger than George Bush did and reach his tentacles into every corner of our lives, starting with our children. No thanks.

Technorati Tags:
Obama, Politics, Libertarian, Marxism

Privacy Online? Not So Much...

If you've ever watched or posted a video at Google's YouTube service then your information is about to be handed over to the Viacom Corporation.

Google has been ordered to hand over details of YouTube users' viewing habits by a judge presiding over a copyright infringement case against the site.

Viacom, the parent company of MTV, filed a $1 billion lawsuit against the video-sharing site last March. It demanded that Google, which owns YouTube, should hand over data about how people use the site, arguing that the information would show that copyright-protected material was routinely posted and watched.

Judge Louis Stanton of the US District Court granted the request, ordering Google to divulge details of every video clip uploaded to the site, along with viewers’ YouTube usernames and IP addresses.

It's really not very "speculative". My user ID, along with all the others, will be turned over to a private corporation for an unknown purpose. They'll also have access to IP numbers and logs of what people have watched, as well as what they may have posted. Will they be going after everyone who's ever looked at one of these video clips? Like any corporation they're about making money. What's a faster way to make money than following the same path as the RIAA and extorting it via threatened lawsuits?

Make no mistake. This ruling bodes ill for the future of privacy rights in this country. All because some ill educated geezer of a judge has no idea what he's even ruling on. Here's hoping that the EFF, Google and interested parties appeal this bad decision to a higher, and better educated court.

Technorati Tags:
YouTube, Google, Privacy, Libertarian