Open Threads

I have given the Republicans no slack for their seeming willingness to blow up the Senate by exercising the nuclear option, but if the Democratic activist I saw on Hardball tonight is any indication, it is going to happen, and I can;t fault the GOP.

This idiot, having learned nothing, said that the Democrats should filibuster Scalia, Thomas, and she would have to think about Sandra Day O’Connor. If three sitting justices are too extreme for the modern Democrats, then they have lost their damned minds.

Filibuster UpdatePost + Comments (67)

Am I the only one who can not get the Washingtopn Post to load?

With any browser?

Wa Po No No?Post + Comments (3)

This post is bizarre:

ON TRAVEL: Back later.

Can anyone come up with the genesis of the phrase “On Travel?” It sounds British, almost. I would probably never phrase that statement that way, instead writing something along the lines of “I am travelling: Will be back later.”

“On Travel” seems like it will be the title of a treatise on travelling, such as On Bullshit or On Power, Dissent, and Racism: A Discussion with Noam Chomsky.

Discuss.

Curioser and CurioserPost + Comments (7)

No, this is not my cat, but he truly is something you have to see for yourself:

Sacramento’s “fat cat” finally has a new home.

The 33-pound cat was dropped off at the Sacramento County Animals Shelter a few weeks ago. Now, he has a new name and a new home.

Victoria Meyers adopted the cat, now named Romeo. He is about three times the size of an average cat, but Meyers says she’s partial to his size.

“(I’m) just partial to big cats, and they’re nice and keep you from being stressed. And I just love him. I just love him,” Meyers said.

Goodness. That is one helluva lot of cat. More pictures here.

This clip, “Meet Pinky,” is priceless as well.

Friday Cat BloggingPost + Comments (11)

Uh oh. Someone set us up the bomb:

A Minnesota appeals court has ruled that the presence of encryption software on a computer may be viewed as evidence of criminal intent.

Ari David Levie, who was convicted of photographing a nude 9-year-old girl, argued on appeal that the PGP encryption utility on his computer was irrelevant and should not have been admitted as evidence during his trial. PGP stands for Pretty Good Privacy and is sold by PGP Inc. of Palo Alto, Calif.

But the Minnesota appeals court ruled 3-0 that the trial judge was correct to let that information be used when handing down a guilty verdict.

“We find that evidence of appellant’s Internet use and the existence of an encryption program on his computer was at least somewhat relevant to the state’s case against him,” Judge R.A. Randall wrote in an opinion dated May 3.

Randall favorably cited testimony given by retired police officer Brooke Schaub, who prepared a computer forensics report–called an EnCase Report–for the prosecution. Schaub testified that PGP “can basically encrypt any file” and “other than the National Security Agency,” nobody could break it.

So, basically, according to this article, if you use encryption to protect financial files or other personal records, and the man is investigating you for anything, the simple use of common encryption software could be used as evidence of you guilt.

This is truly frightening.

*** Update ***

As with all things law, I am not a lawyer, so there is the very distinct possibility that there are fine points that I simply do not understand and am thus getting my panties all in a bunch over something that already is a quite commonplace practice. I am after all, an idjit.

At any rate, more here on why maybe I am understating the case. And more here from Corante, and here from TechDirt.

I don’t think I am wrong.

All Your Computers Are Belong To UsPost + Comments (13)

A bill that will most likely be found unconstitutional just passed the Illinois Senate:

The Illinois Senate voted overwhelmingly Thursday to approve a revamped version of Gov. Rod Blagojevich’s plan to ban the sale of violent and sexually explicit video games to minors.

But one lawmaker said the governor’s pet project actually could cost the state money.

The Senate approved the measure 52-5, and now a few changes made on the floor will need to be approved in the House before the bill goes to the governor’s desk.

Under Blagojevich’s plan, businesses and clerks caught selling violent or sexually explicit games to a person younger than 18 would be charged with a petty offense and fined $1,000. Retailers would be required to affix stickers labeled “18” to games depicting “dismemberment, decapitation, disfigurement, maiming, mutilation of body parts or rape.”

The industry’s Entertainment Software Ratings Board already labels games as A for adult, M for mature, T for teen and E for everyone, but those ratings aren’t legally binding. Under this bill, retailers would put the mandated stickers on games rated A or M that fall under the bill’s definition of violence.

Other than the rape, the dismemberment, maiming, mutilation and other stuff pretty accurately describes almost every video game I have bought in the past couple of years.

My gut instinct is to oppose this, but, this does not seem terribly onerous. Discuss.

*** Update ***

For whatever reason, the dismemberment/maiming bit reminded me of one of the best quotes in movie history. From Blazing Saddles:

Hedley Lamarr: Qualifications?
Applicant: Rape, murder, arson, and rape.
Hedley Lamarr: You said rape twice.
Applicant: I like rape.

Regulating Video GamesPost + Comments (7)