Zed?….

There are two right-wing political parties in the U.S.

God I wish I lived in a country that would legislate morality for me. Oh wait, I do. Thanks. /snark

Oh….

Be careful what you wish for…

funnee…

I wish they would stop legislating all together at this point. Just go home to your constituents. Leave America alone. Just stop it. Go away.

It’s amazing, Broun is my Rep and these goobers are going to go nuts about his vote.

Any explanation of why broun voted that way? Has he been tarred and feathered yet?

Not that it really matters with the new “we do not respect precedent” Supreme Court in place. But hasn’t most of the obscenity laws that congress has passed been struck down as unconstitutional? Maybe Nancy is going for the Big Mother or Big Grandmother Government. The REPUBS have the Big Daddy and Big Brother spot all locked up.

These actions are pure politics. Politics at it’s worst. And as for Joe Lieberman and HRC. I have no doubt that should Clinton become president there will be a place for Joe. Perhps as AG.

I wish they would stop legislating all together at this point. Just go home to your constituents. Leave America alone. Just stop it. Go away.

indeed

Jane!

I assume that airport Wifi would fall under the “some government agencies” you mention?

Now who/what would most benefit by there NOT being access to free Wifi…Let’s see…ATT? Verizon? Comcast? Now why on earth would these congress critters feel the need to offer this support? Hmmm?

We need Larry Flynt to release the DC Madam stuff…pronto!!

I seriously wonder if even one of those jokesters read the bill before signing on. Or did they just universally believe the raving lunatics who had been waving paper in front of their faces saying it would prevent the erection of a stripper pole in the well in front of the speaker’s podium.

not just starbucks… but a lot of people like to leave their wifi open for public use – there are even efforts in some more population dense areas to create local wifi networks where local businesses and even some individual are asked to host equipment.

in apartment buildings it’s a great way for multiple people to pitch in a smaller amount and share a connection.

all these laws do is try to prevent this kind of local community organizing.

sucks indeed.

What would be the mechanism for detecting illegal images? Does this mean that every place that offers WiFi has to monitor everything their WiFi users access on the internet?

Obviously the Republicans don’t like the internet. But they are not alone. There are more than a few politicians from my party who are anti-net too. In both cases it seems it is a matter of not being able to control the internet, the way talk radio, print, and television media are.

Okay, this public Wifi was pushed through without benefit of committee or hearings, who exactly sponsored it and was there any lobbyists involved?

Our Congresscritters, being dumb as Pet Rocks, probably should ask themselves just how in blue blazes Starbucks clerks are supposed to “monitor” what content is flowing across their WiFi connections?

Our Congresscritters, being dumb as Pet Rocks, probably have no answers.

Our Congresscritters, Pet Rocks.

Could we please just cut to the chase and indict Intel, AMD, Microsoft, Apple, HP, Dell, International Paper, etc., etc….? They all have contributed, albeit as passive participants or conduits, in dissemination of child pornography, terrorist literature and messages, among God knows what else. This proposed legislation aims in principle at nothing less than shutting down the internet and print media. I would just love to see one of the big guys accused of providing material aid to terrorists by manufacturing the paper or pens (hey, BIC, we know where you live!)used to send missives to terrorist cells. Think about it. It is the natural endpoint of this bill.

It was introduced October 10, but has never received even one hearing or committee vote. In addition, the legislation approved this week has changed substantially since the earlier version and was not available for public review.

Did Nancy Pelosi put Tom Delay in charge of House procedure? This is an outrage. Where’s the “most open, ethical, transparent Congress” you promised America, Madam Speaker??

we are the home-
grown
terra
ists
now
boo!
congregating
on the
nets.
hi!
jane!
(harmon!)

That’s another thing that’s “off the table”.

What would be the mechanism for detecting illegal images? Does this mean that every place that offers WiFi has to monitor everything their WiFi users access on the internet?

Yes, and store it — as well as pass it on to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, John Walsh’s outfit.

No one should be worried. In a bit over a year, we may have a President HRC. She, Nancy, Harry and Joe Lieberman will take care of “matters”. Just as they’ve always done.

This is what happened when Philadelphia decide to take the whole city wifi
from December 2004

“The signal is clear: In the tug of war betweeen Big Telecom and little governments, the powerful telecommunications lobby is winning, which could have major implications for how wireless Internet and other high-speed Internet service is doled out countrywide.”

Please digg this post and spotlight it, we can’t let them get away with this.

The internet is the most democratic invention since the printing press.

The fascists hate it and will take it from us. It’s too dangerous and empowering to the people.

The MSM is seeing the end of their reign of terror too. Soon there will be no bloated salaries for dumb blond bots. No one will be watching.

I suspect there’s a lot of ignorance about the internet in Congress.
Of course, they also seem to think everyone in the country (a) has access to the internet already and (b) has access to cable already.

I have news for them ….

(Then there was the story in this morning’s LA Daily News, about a local phone tax that would impact internet users too. The argument that it isn’t really taxing the Internet is, literally, unbelievable. ‘We were just writing it as broadly as possible to allow for new technology’ indeed.)

Want to shut down liberal/progressive community hubs? Surreptitiously use an anonymous mole to get within reception range of their WiFi and transfer some porn files, then use enforcement of the outrageous civil penalties to cumulatively put them out of business. And while you are in the process, you put out press releases of the people and businesses that have been “trafficking in porn”. Who here thinks that will not be a prime tact?

WHAT lobby wants this language in the bill? Moral majority? Wifi Equipment vendors?

Are committee markup conferences part of the public record?

Well, I say THANK GOD somebody is doing something about the scourge of pedophiles viewing those vile images at Starbucks. I mean, I just can’t go into a coffe shop without being assaulted by all those drooling, greasy-haired men in trenchcoats hunched over their laptops.

I tell you, it’s a real problem in this country.

/s

I’m not defending kiddie porn, but turning barristas into big brother’s monitors is NOT the way to deal with the issue.

The good news: torture is “necessary,” so you can still download your favorite episodes of 24.

“One of the things I frequently get asked about when talking about blogs, online journalism and internet activism is the lack of availability of online access to people of color and those with limited means, who thus find themselves largely excluded from many organizing and communications opportunities.”

The great equalizer neutered???

This goes well beyond kiddie porn. There are larger objectives involved.

Oh fellow Californians – it grieves me that both our senators and Madam Speaker Pelosi are nothing more than good ole boys in Rethuglicans in drag.

Absolutely.

oh good grief!

please tell congress to grow up.

bmaz! yes, I was wondering about that.

And, a question for you and the other legal eagles. If this becomes law, does some place (say Starbucks) have to have a suit brought against them to challenge the law, or are there grounds for a pre-emptive challenge? Like from Starbucks, or some big hotel chain? (IANAL- so language might not be correct)

Oh fellow Californians – it grieves me that both our senators and Madam Speaker Pelosi are nothing more than good ole boys in Rethuglicans in drag.

Cindy Sheehan

So a internet provocateur is created, huh?….

I have to say, though I don’t agree with most of Ron Paul’s positions, he’s right on two biggies. This and Iraq.

And as for Hillary, it’s just more politics and pandering to the right.

I’ve met pet rocks that are apparently smarter than most of the people who populate the Village. ;-)

kiddo December 11th, 2007 at 12:48 pm 33

This goes well beyond kiddie porn. There are larger objectives involved.

And bmaz nailed it!

bmaz December 11th, 2007 at 12:47 pm 28

Want to shut down liberal/progressive community hubs? Surreptitiously use an anonymous mole to get within reception range of their WiFi and transfer some porn files, then use enforcement of the outrageous civil penalties to cumulatively put them out of business. And while you are in the process, you put out press releases of the people and businesses that have been “trafficking in porn”. Who here thinks that will not be a prime tact?

It’s another repuke trick…if you go against the bill, you are for kiddy porn…and they get paid to play all those tricks…

Flynt!!! Where are you!!!!? Nail these people now, pretty please!!

Not that it really matters with the new “we do not respect precedent” Supreme Court in place. But hasn’t most of the obscenity laws that congress has passed been struck down as unconstitutional?

That’s the problem: The legislative branch can’t depend on the judicial to bail them out any more.

Welcome to the Fourth Reich.

Maybe the wheels of justice can turn quickly, Gitmo Lawyers and the Judiciary want answers now:

In the Abdullah motion filed Monday (and cleared for release in the afternoon), argued that “inquiry into the scope of this likely spoliation of evidence should best come from the Court rather than from [Justice Department] counsel seeking ‘assurances’ from the very agency which has confessed to destruction of evidence.”

The attorneys reminded Judge Roberts that they had complained of government “illegal behavior” — “including destruction of evidence” — before he issued his evidence-preservation order. “Out of an abundance of caution,” the attorneys recalled, they sent the order to the CIA on July 22, 2005.

According to news accounts in recent days, the CIA decided internally to destroy the two tapes in November 2005.

In asking Judge Roberts to order a compliance report, attorneys for Abdullah also requested that CIA officials and any official of other agencies “who has personal knowledge of all evidence potentially subject to the Court’s preservation order” be made available for questioning at a hearing — “subject to such security procedures as the Court may deem justified.”

http://www.scotusblog.com/wp/u…..s/#respond

Yes, to control the flow of information, its content and protect US government officials, police, and corporations) from the concerns and or anger of the governed!!!

Dow -295

Umm, just how and who are to make the determination that they’ve spotted something obscene/illegal?

Hell, the courts haven’t figured out how to do it – so the responsibility has now been passed to librarians and coffee-selllers?

Bumper sticker I saw… Oh ,go ahead take my civil rights… I wasn’t using them any way.

Wow. even after the Fed cut rates? Any word on why? Other than Bush’s voodoo economics.

What? Did you think that those in power, Dem and Repub alike, would let us challenge their power and not strike back? I don’t think Hillary or Nancy likes the heat they are getting from the internets any more than rethugs do. When you lose control of the messenger you lose control of the message, and when you lose control of the message, you lose control, period.

The toobs are the biggest threat to the status quo since the invention of the printing press.

Hmmmm….good way to justify spying on Americans…then they will have to give the Telcos immunity, because it will be up to them…

See, it’s another dirty trick.

Perhaps we should state that Congress screams “obscenity” rather than online child pedophilia. I think all the “kiddie porn” title does is minimize the real danger of online child rape. I know that’s not the intent, but in effect it does that. Even if Congress does exploit that angle we shouldn’t help them out.

Instead we should target them for failing to combat this scourge by refusing to set aside funding to locate and arrest these child rapists who are documenting and commercializing their barbaric crimes (Online child rape is an multi-billion dollar black market that is growing exponentially). Just last month (I believe), one young woman testified about her ordeal and told Congress that we have the technology to track these bastards down but not the political will to raise taxes. That we should discuss more.

What if I live across the street from a library (I do) or a Starbucks and steal the signal?

They say it is because they only cut 1/4 instead of 1/2.

I got that refrigerator magnet the day the PATRIOT Act passed.

This WiFi shady business is a matter of the fact, that truth can hurt. And the politicians know this better than most.

last year i knew hoyer and emmanuel were right-wing assholes.

last year i thought pelosi was a progressive.

in this case 2 out of 3 sucks. how did i get it so wrong about speaker pelosi?

Wow. even after the Fed cut rates? Any word on why? Other than Bush’s voodoo economics.

I think it was because of the cut. The moment they announced it, market dropped nearly 100 points.

According to the Financial Times, it was because of disappointment that they only cut rates 25 points.

The Constitution is becoming more quaint with each passing day.

The Panera Bread in Lynchburg has a pretty heavy duty filter on their wireless. I couldn’t get to the Athens “alternative” newspaper, the Flagpole on it.

See…if they tell the Telcos they “have” to spy on us to find the kitty porn…then they will have to allow them to spy legally via the Protect America or Restore America acts….something like that…they just won’t specify why or for what…the language can be broad. It’s a trick.

It’s the Patriot Act of wireless porn

Turning citizens into suspects since 2001

What if I live across the street from a library (I do) or a Starbucks and steal the signal?

Then a librarian or a barista is obliged by this law to monitor your datastream for badness. There are, I believe, huge penalties for noncompliance that providers risk by not monitoring their wifi content.

I did too. Granny. Spit!

If I’m sitting outside the Starbucks or the library, will I have a chaperon?

Memo to Democrats:

It doesn’t matter how much bullshit like this you do: The Media will still keep calling you a bunch of family-hating amoral Hollywood-worshiping sleaze addicts.

Even middle America isn’t gonna like this…porn of all kinds is very popular…

Even Huckster voters watch and buy porn…..

So, god steadied her hand and told her what to do and shot to wound?

CNN) — Matthew Murray, the man who police say shot and killed four people at two separate locations in Colorado on Sunday, died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound, the coroner’s office said in a statement Tuesday.

A former roommate took this photo of Matthew Murray performing in a December 14, 2002, Christmas program.

Murray was shot multiple times by a security guard at New Life Church, but the El Paso County Coroner’s Office said the shot that killed him came from his own weapon.

“The death of Matthew Murray has been ruled a suicide. It should be noted that he was struck multiple times by the security officer, which put him down. He then fired a single round killing himself,” the statement said.

The Panera Bread in Lynchburg has a pretty heavy duty filter on their wireless. I couldn’t get to the Athens “alternative” newspaper, the Flagpole on it.

Yup. Most public WiFi is already filtered to the point of uselessness. This will just give companies a reason to turn it off totally: Cheaper than being prosecuted in Federal court.

If I’m sitting outside the Starbucks or the library, will I have a chaperon?

Don’t you already?

Don’t feel bad. I voted for DiFi when I lived in Cali, clear back to her first mayoral election. I also voted many times for Pelosi too. What can I say; these two seemed to have gotten more conservative, while I’ve become more reality-based.

Do they have wifi service inside the capitol? Who’s watching the porn habits of congress members and their staffs?

Raven — the woman is a former Minneapolis cop who was fired for “truthfulness” issues, per the cop union.

((((TexBetsy!)))) ((((hug))))

Hugs back PW!!!!

Press (Enter) if by land……….

Press (Tab) if by sea…………

Press (Delete) when they come for me!!!!

Do they have wifi service inside the capitol? Who’s watching the porn habits of congress members and their staffs?

Paging Larry Flynt! We have a job for you!

the maddams with black books……….

Imagine this. Come January 2009, the possibility that HRC, Pelosi, Reid, DiFi and Lieberman may be calling the shots.

Dead eye dick? Guess not.

this law has, in effect, turned private citizens into agents of the government, without their permission. Also, obscenity is by its nature a totally subjective call.

Two possible prongs of a future attack against the constitutionality of this tripe.

I have never used WiFI anyway. I never liked the idea that what I might be reading, even emails from my nephew, is out in the public domain.

Tempe AZ offers Wifi for the whole city
Tempe to be 1st U.S. city to offer all Wi-Fi Internet

U.S. Sen. John McCain sent his regards in the form of a video message to the crowd of about 80 who gathered at the Town Lake’s Tempe Beach Park.

He said he is advocating for Internet access for all in Congress, and he’ll use Tempe as the “best example in America” of public and private sectors working together to make wireless Internet available.

“You are looking at the future of Internet in America today in beautiful Tempe, Arizona,” McCain said in the recording.

The Tempe network will reach more than 65,000 households, 1,100 businesses and 50,000 students.

So lets see if McCain stands by this….. ya right

God said, Kill!!! Think of the lives you’ll save…
God said, Torture!!! Think of the lives you’ll save…
God said, Spy!!! Think of the lives you’ll save…
God said, Bomb Iran now!!! Think of the lives you’ll save…
God said, Stop the fornicators!!! Think of the lives you’ll save…
God said, Elect a Republican!!! Think of the lives you’ll save…
God said, Lie to the Nation!!! Think of the lives you’ll save…
God said, Don’t rescue those people in New Orleans, and for My sake, don’t give them any water!!

Ummmmmmm….God???? Is that you?????

This is Pasadena TX:

Pasadena moves to ban protests after Horn case
from HoustonChronicle http://www.chron.com/disp/stor…..68894.html
A demonstration at the home of Joe Horn, who killed two men outside his neighbor’s house, pushed the city to tentatively approve an ordinance today.

That’s just perfect.
What about if some jerk has a beef against somebody else?
Is this ball of wax heading towards the Salem witch trials?

Here’s the article on her from the StarTribune:

The security guard credited with bravery for shooting a gunman at a Colorado church was fired from her job as a Minneapolis police officer in the 1990s for lying, Minneapolis police officials said Tuesday.

And what did this God-fearing, upright person lie about? Cussing!

I kid you not:

Sgt. Jesse Garcia, a Minneapolis police spokesman, said Assam worked at the department from March 1993 to November 1997, when she was fired for lying during an internal investigation.

Sgt. John Delmonico, president of the Police Officers Federation of Minneapolis, said police were investigating a complaint that Assam swore at a bus driver while she was handling an incident on a city bus.

Delmonico said Assam was dealing with an incident on the bus and for some reason she swore at the bus driver as she exited the bus. The bus driver became angry and filed a complaint.

“In giving a statement about the incident, she was untruthful and she was fired,” Delmonico said. The swearing was caught on tape, he said. “The union arbitrated the case and the arbitrator upheld the termination.”

Jeez. I just thought of Terry Gilliam’s ‘Brazil’.

Also, obscenity is by its nature a totally subjective call.

Which Justice was it that said; ” I can’t define it, but, I know it when I see it…”

At least the Salem witches got trials. Today, who knows?

I can’t understand the house and their vote on this.

Why should places of business be responsible for what people access online? I don’t see how a library or coffee shop can afford the costs of having someone monitor all their internet users accessed websites -OR- personal emails.

By the way, actions like this are turning the entire online community against the democrats in 2008. Gamers, bloggers, site owners, casual users, online researchers, everyone. And word travels quick online – So it won’t be ong before my rightwing friend starts sending out broadcasts about how much the democrats are dopes. And I will have to agree with them. And this will affect voter turnout.

If I’m sitting outside the Starbucks or the library, will I have a chaperon?

Don’t you already?

So that’s who that ugly son-of-a-bitch is? I want an amendment to this law.

All wireless-morality chaperons must be cute – and legally blind.

Excellent point….

Geesh…

Well, got to get off my tired bird butt and fly off the lake for now…

Play nice everyone—–

Potter Stewart

Jane — this wasn’t just a shot over the bow at any little coffee shop chain.

This was a head-on assault against certain companies that are looking to break the stranglehold telcos have on WiFi.

And underneath this is the tug-of-war about domestic spying. The telcos have Congress locked into a quid pro quo: save our failing, dinosaur business model, and we won’t tell them how you forced us to spy on the public.

What this bill represents is Congress holding up its end of the bargain. This was an effort to stop what might happen once the 700 Mhz band falls into the hands of innovative young companies that aren’t engaged in the quid pro quo; that 700 Mhz band, now used for television broadcast, could become a platform for pervasive WiFi.

Imagine cheap WiFi, not supplied by a telco, wherever we now get television by broadcast; that’s what really freaks them the hell out of their skin.

And the Democrats are either deeply in bed with telcos or too f*cking stupid to figure this out.

jayt- are you a lawyer?

Mahalo! Shaka, Bra!

jayt — deaf too?

Rayne — I’m betting the Democrats are both deeply in bed with telcos AND too stupid to figure this out. The two are not mutually exclusive, are they?

Rayne,
Did you see my #11?

And the Democrats are either deeply in bed with telcos or too f*cking stupid to figure this out.

(C) All of the above — ?

Well, I guess I shouldn’t diss her too much. How and whyever she did it, it took guts.

here’s the thomas link for the safe act.
here’s the roll call vote: 409 – 2

representatives phone numbers (for download or online)

looks like most of us have a representative to call.

Ah, good old Potter Stewart. On the first night of my Celtic archaeology class, I talk about the ins and outs of defining “Celtic.” I open with his famous statement. And the one or two students who will laugh will probably also get As.

jayt- are you a lawyer?

Yes.

Rayne – a belated happy birthday?

How much money will it cost? Will W veto it? Or, is that not a factor in relation to this.

It was a serious question from me for jayt- I just couldn’t remember.

I’d really like to have the legal eagles weigh in on my question above- #37

I read an early version of the bill a few days ago. From what I’ve heard, the version that passed is at least somewhat different. But, the version I read did not require that these agencies (libraries, Starburcks, etc.) monitor the activity of those using the WiFi they provide. It required “only” that they report any precluded activity that they become aware of and delineated the mechanisms for them to do so.

This is not to say that it isn’t a bad bill. It is. But it may not be quite as bad as is being indicated here. We’ll have to see the final language.

What do you think the odds are of Mark Foley being snagged again?

I’m now headed to the library (really). Maybe while I’m there I could apply for the new opening they don’t know they have – “Pornography Evaluator”.

Wonder if I should create a new resume?

Suspicion Breeds Confidence.

From comment I made in previous thread……turning this woman into a cult figure creeps me out; add to that, God steadying her hand and words fail!

God awful. This is worse than any other legislation. What do they think librarians have the time to patrol in loco parentis?!? for both children and adults. It’s considered totally unethical to look at someone’s cache, report reading habits etc. etc. Filters are a disastor because they may block anything that says tit, but will also block breast cancer sites, sites about titmouse birds, you name it. I am curious as to what the ALA’s response will be. I think if this monster bill passes into law, and it hasn’t right? Then it’s time for the ALA to team up with the ACLU, again.

Golly, and all this time I’ve been calling torture “obscene”. You mean it isn’t? I should have stayed longer at lunch.

From the bill:

`(f) Protection of Privacy- Nothing in this section shall be construed to require an electronic communication service provider or a remote computing service provider to–

`(1) monitor any user, subscriber, or customer of that provider;

`(2) monitor the content of any communication of any person described in paragraph (1); or

`(3) affirmatively seek facts or circumstances described in subsection (a)(2).

Here, when children apply for a library card parents can check a box that indicates what access level they have if they log on to a library computer with their own account. If they bring a laptop and connect wirelessly, all bets are off.

This bill makes no sense. I want to scream.

Or switch to a liquid lunch… Say, two or three martinis… ;-)

Texteen had a sleepover with friend at age 12 and called me at midnight because the other boy was only interested in looking at porn on the computer and my son was bored and wanted to come home. I did tell that child’s mother that she might want to monitor her son’s internet use as I do with mine.

Sssssllluuuuup;;;;;)

QuakerGirl
Sounds good. Will you share?

This bill makes no sense. I want to scream.

You’ll get no argument from me. It’s pandering of the worst kind and it seems to go on all the time in Congress. Very sad.

Kudos to Seline for posting Thomas links. For me at least, finding bills in Thomas is a difficult process. Thanks, Seline.

Filters. And guess what a huge number of people are often most concerned with, contrary to what nanny Congress believes? Their health. That means pictures and plenty of use of t words that shouldn’t be banned, because the most up to date sh*t is on the web. Many libraries can’t afford to buy so much info that just goes out of date so quickly. Support groups for scary illnesses are also on the web /rant off. maybe.

Kudos to Selinse for posting Thomas links. For me at least, finding bills in Thomas is a difficult process. Thanks, Selinse.

.

Sorry.

That’s different if you are a parent. That’s fine. Librarians and educators on the other hand do not want to act in loco parentis. For ethical as welll as practical reasons. It’s up to the parent to monitor their own kids activities.

Some libraries have filters. Filters suck for many reasons. Many block useful info sites, including medical.

mui1 The school districts block all kinds of things as well. Facebook, myspace, anything involving p0kr, and presumably porn.

You’re a good mommy. We do the same in my family. One teenage indiscretion and your access to the net is gone. Now you are stuck using the computer in the family room with all your younger siblings and parents checking every site not to mention you are dependent upon them giving you access. How long, Mom? How long is it going to be like this? Mom says, YEARS.

Pull up a bar stool and let’s talk.

one indiscretion is a call for discussion. pattern is a call for losing the privilege.

I am aware of that. But it’s not across the country. I think those receiving fed funds are required to do so. That often means the poorest districts limit access. Like I said filters suck. And many will block useful information like medical stuff for instance. Would we be able to find breast cancer info in those districts??

Killing public WiFi is an unfortunate side effect from manufacturing a hot button issue for the next election.

And she didn’t even kill the kid .. it sounds like she wounded the guy .. and he killed himself .. according to the news reports

just don’t call me late for dinner *g*

thomas is definately not user friendly – and soon there will be better tools reliably available. but for now, there are some tricks…

trick number 1:

when the bill was recently voted on in the house (and jane even gives us the day the vote was taken), you can find the vote (and therefore the bill’s thomas link) here. that’s waht i did this time.

I don’t know how many have heard of Bernie Ward, but he has already gotten trapped in this.

He is a radio talk show host in San Francisco. Just last week, he got arrested for “child porn.” Why? He accessed some 4 YEARS AGO. A few times. Now I am not saying Ward is not a pedophile, but it sure doesn’t look like it.

He claims he was researching for a book on right-wing hypocricy. Listening to his show for years, this makes sense to me. But again, this was FOUR YEARS AGO. At that time, they confiscated his computer. So — what has happened for the past 4 years? NOTHING.

If they REALLY thought he was a pedophile, wouldn’t they have arrested him 4 years ago? You know, to save other children from being exploited?

They told him, last week, that they were pretty much making an example of him. They knew he wasn’t a pornographer. But, he lives in San Francisco. He is an unabashed liberal.

Don’t the feds have enough on their plates, catching TERRORISTS, or REAL pedophiles?

At age 12? Where were these parents?

The shooter killing himself with one shot after taking multiple hits sounds, well, about as likely as the Dems in Congress doing the right thing and not caving: It’s possible, but not likely.

Selise ain’t no Lexis Nexis in terms of bells and whistles but at least it’s “free.” Sometimes I find it easier to google Thomas.loc.gov.

And what the fuck is the deal with firearm-toting church security? We’ve got God and guns–if we can just work the gay angle in, we’ve hit the trifecta.

older brother was baby-sitting, which i did not know when i agreed to the sleepover.

but, i do know a mom who leaves 13 yr old home from 6pm until some time the next day. he knows that my couch or sleeping bag on floor are always available and that he is welcome here.

that works so long as you know how to put the results into a permanent link – thomas search results are infamous for returning temporary links.

To modernize and expand the reporting requirements relating to child pornography, to expand cooperation in combating child pornography, and for other purposes.

Orwellian language. WHAT other purposes?!?

Yeah, then you double around. Thomas actually looks better. Much better than it did several years ago.

this is improved!?! wow.

i’ve only been using thomas regularly for a couple of years (and this year much more than last)… so i have nothing to compare it too (other than the replacements that are coming like louis). bills are too bad, but congressional record links suck big time.

I’m not a ConLaw guy, so I’m not going to pretend to give a definitive answer.

Normally, a case is not justiciable (ripe for hearing) until there is a “case in controversy”. That means that only someone who can show, or at least allege, actual damages incurred has standing to challenge the constitutionality of a given law.

On the other hand, the ACLU has for years been bringing cases for Declaratory Judgments – and frankly, I don’t know how they get around the normal requirements. In fact, it might well be that they aren’t; I think that maybe they style their representation as being on behalf of *some* complainant, who *might* be damaged in the future. Never have figured out how they get in the door.

Sorry I couldn’t be of more help. And after seeing Bilbo @118, I’ve now become confused as to the reason that the bill was even created.

Goodness I remember when they had this plain text for reading bills, and the search engine was absolutely unwieldy. There were no links within the summaries I think too. and you had to know which congress and at least a part of the title, if not the bill number or your search results would look bizarre.
My memory could be wrong though.

Oh selise, are you thinking of going to New Hampshire anytime soon?

i wasn’t… (got some heath issues keeping me close to home at the moment) – are you going? if so, you must (well, i hope) you will stop in worcester on your way for coffee or dinner or something.

worcester, mass? Definitely. I am thinking of this weekend. But I am not sure. However, I am looking into a Hartford alternative. You are right next door. So that would be cool.

Selise, catch you later, but Hartford/Worcester Mass? Sound doable? Maybe in the future or near future?

Well, it certainly is weird that in all the years I have used the net, I’ve never tripped over so many obscene images as I have in the past couple of weeks. I don’t go looking for them but there they are. I haven’t seen anything illegal but if I ever did, I wouldn’t think twice about reporting it. If there are children involved, that’s a serious thing, Jane.

Bilbo — and did the bill define exactly who/what is an “electronic communication service provider or a remote computing service provider”?

I can drive a Mack truck through that loophole.

do you have my contact info?

if you’ll email me (contact page link at my name), i’ll send you my phone number.

Haven’t seen anything discussed about how all these little wifi nets are going to capture all the traffic on their node. No one but the big telcos can afford the storage space for all that traffic and then someone needs to analyze all the traffic, Sounds expensive to this old IT dude! Where are they going to locate all that disk space, maybe this will be the next big thing for all these techies who’s jobs were outsourced overseas. They will be needed where ever there is a wifi node!!

It does seem like this legislation is discriminatory and has equal protection problems.

Why do WiFi outlets need to police this when other ISPs don’t?

And will private individuals be prosecuted for letting their neighbors use their WiFi signals?

Pandering to the right wing screech monkeys? Backing the big telecoms? Paybacks to lobbyists? Probably all of the above but what it is not is logical and reasonable and for the good of the people. This nation is in a sad state and this just highlights how bad things have gotten and is a disturbing sign of how much worse things are gonna get.

The last 10 years of republican rule and the perfection of the right wing propaganda machine has ruined this nation and I honestly do not believe we will ever recover. The damage is done and WE ARE SCREWED.

You know, I think this and the recent Copyright Penalties legislation coming up is them tipping their hand – Guess who is gonna get immunity in the FISA Bill?

This legislation shows the power of the telecoms in Congress. They will not suffer under this House leadership.