Archive for February, 2012
Paul Butler: Jurors need to know that they can say ‘No’
Thursday, February 23rd, 2012I loved this column in the New York Times by Paul Butler: Jurors Need to Know That They Can Say No: If you are ever on a jury in a marijuana case, I recommend that you vote “not guilty” — even if you think the defendant actually smoked pot, or sold ...
The problem with science funding is that it comes from the government
Sunday, February 19th, 2012Much writing about science funding and policy reveals how a consistent libertarian morality and an understanding of basic economics could add valuable insight into otherwise vacuous writing. It also shows how handicapped scientists and science writers are by being stuck in the mindset that government should fund science research and ...
Red Hat’s open-source, democratic work culture
Saturday, February 11th, 2012I was really intrigued by this article about the culture that Red Hat, a Linux-based open-source software company, fosters in its work environment. Because Red Hat is a pure open source company, its culture is something between a democracy and a commune. This comes from the nature of open source, where ...
Michael F. Cannon on Susan G. Komen and Planned Parenthood
Sunday, February 5th, 2012I liked Cato's Michael F. Cannon's take on the Susan G. Komen for the Cure Foundation's decision to suspend its partnership with and funding of Planned Parenthood: First, this controversy provides a delightful contrast to the Obama administration’s decision to force all Americans to purchase contraceptives and subsidize abortions. The Susan G. ...
Quote of the day
Saturday, February 4th, 2012The very same faction that pretended for years to be so distraught by Bush’s mere eavesdropping on and detention of accused Terrorists without due process is now perfectly content to have their own President kill accused Terrorists without due process, even when those targeted are their fellow citizens. —Glenn Greenwald, on ...
Maybe free speech is less popular than I thought
Friday, February 3rd, 2012I had a bizarre experience yesterday: I encountered two people who were wrong on the internet who asserted that words can harm people and so their (mis)use should be punishable by law. I don't mean using libel or slander to harm someone's reputation, which should not be considered crimes anyway. ...
PCIPA: another internet-censoring, privacy-violating bill that goes overboard
Wednesday, February 1st, 2012I was impressed by this article in The Atlantic by Conor Friedersdorf about the Protecting Children from Internet Pornographers Act of 2011 (PCIPA), The Legislation That Could Kill Internet Privacy for Good. This article was written on August 1, 2011, and apparently the bill, H.R. 1981, is almost a year ...