Techdirt: On The Constitutional Reasons Behind Copyright And Patents: This short series of posts starts out really well – by quoting (of all people) Thomas Jefferson: “Stable ownership is the gift of social law, and is given late in the progress of society. It would be curious then, if an idea, the fugitive fermentation of… Continue reading On Copyrights, Patents, and the Constitution
Category: society
The Four Boxes used to Defend Liberty
Still another great sig seen on Slashdot: There are 4 boxes to use in the defense of liberty: soap, ballot, jury, ammo. Use in that order. Starting now. I hope you’ve been using the first two recently – I know I have.
Effects of REAL ID
C|NET News has a great writeup on what the effects of REAL ID are going to be to people in different states – depending on whether your state has complied or not. There are some SERIOUS problems here of course – for example, you may not be able to go visit your representative in Washington… Continue reading Effects of REAL ID
The Power of Nightmares
An interesting BBC Video that explores the origins of Islamic Fundamentalism and Neo-conservatism. Well worth the time it takes to watch. “Both [the Islamists and Neoconservatives] were idealists who were born out of the failure of the liberal dream to build a better world. And both had a very similar explanation for what caused that… Continue reading The Power of Nightmares
Security vs. Privacy
As usual, Bruce Schneier puts it more eloquently than I can: …it’s precisely why, when people in their business are in charge of government, it becomes a police state. If privacy and security really were a zero-sum game, we would have seen mass immigration into the former East Germany and modern-day China. While it’s true… Continue reading Security vs. Privacy