Libertarian Lefties for Obama

Andrew Sullivan had an insightful post up this morning on the generational divide in this presidential election cycle:

The Millennial Generation

Mainstream candidates don't really appeal broadly to the Libertarian Left, but Obama offers a tempting carrot, as I mention in this open letter to Mr. Sullivan:

"I thought this was an excellent post. I've been thinking a lot about this lately, enough to go to Ron Paul's web site and see where I agree and where I don't. Ron Paul has some interesting positions, but it looks in part like too much religion has crept in. In some ways, I'm an olde skool small-government free-markets Republican. But I'm for Obama this election cycle in a big way. Not because I agree with him on every issue (I don't). But because we need serious process change to move the country back toward a government of, by, and for the people rather than of, by, and for special interests and liberty-crushing authoritarianism."

It will be interesting to see how Obama's economic policies shake out. An Obama presidency may be our best path to a more functional government that would finally be capable of simplifying its bureaucracy and letting individuals and free (but fair) markets set our directions.

In a Twitter about Twitter (cache woes)

Twitter has been having cache woes for a few days. Your cache is not automatically updating as it should. But you can keep your stream periodically up-to-date by keeping a tab open of another Twitter user, that you don't ordinarily follow (maybe a commercial feed or one in disuse). Any time you want to refresh your queue, follow then immediately unfollow the sacrificial Twitter account, then refresh your own Twitter stream.

[via Colin (cdevroe) via engtech tweet via mashable tweet]

Legitimacy of the Administrative State

I really dug this conclusion in one of Frank Pasquale's articles today, A Majority of a Third of a Majority Running EPA:

This is one reason why the legitimacy of the administrative state rests not only on political "accountability moments," but on scientific expertise and legal regularity. To the extent these latter two ideals are abandoned, there is little point to giving the executive the expansive powers it's grown accustomed to.

Concurring Opinions is a great read, particularly Daniel Solove's occasional posts on privacy and Frank Pasquale's frequent, thought-provoking posts on just about everything under the sun.

Expelled Gets Exposed

What Ben Stein isn't telling you about the "documentary" Expelled. [via Pharyngula]

Also very relevant, from Good Math, Bad Math:

Science isn't morality. Science describes what is. Morality defines our understanding of right and wrong. Science doesn't tell us what's morally right and wrong. It tells us what is. It can allows us to reason from what we know, to determine the effect of an action, which can allow us to decide whether that action is morally right or wrong. But the science doesn't tell us what's moral.

What Stein and friends are doing is trying to say that it's appropriate to judge science based on what kinds of moral judgements a lunatic can derive from it - and further, they're basically trying to argue for suppressing the truth when they don't like the results of trying to infer morality from that truth.

UPDATE: More resources exposing the "crockumentary" at Scientific American.

Origin of Cubicles

This just in:

The Moral Life of Cubicles: The Utopian Origins of Dilbert’s Workspace

[via The Daily Dish]

UPDATE: Oh wait, so cubes are good?

Related Posts:
More Cubicle Fun
Eccentric Cubicle
More Cubicle Decorating Guidelines
Office Supply Fetish
High IQ Decor
Cubicle Decorating Guidelines

A moment of silence for the Pledge of Allegiance

I finally thought of the perfect way for students to have an appropriate moment of silence in public schools, without taking more time away from education. Allow the moment of silence during the Pledge of Allegiance, which would revert the Pledge to its pre-1954 wording:

I pledge allegiance to the Flag of the United States of America, and to the Republic for which it stands, one Nation, {MOMENT OF SILENCE}, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.

E pluribus unum, bitches.

Surveillance via abandoned DNA

How do I surveille thee?* Let me count the ways...™

"Do People Have a Reasonable Expectation of Privacy in Abandoned DNA?"

DNA is sensitive information in many people's books, but it is also very hard to keep contained. We leave traces of DNA everywhere we go -- in hair and skin we shed, in saliva, etc. It is quite easy for law enforcement officials to obtain our DNA.

DNA is one illustration of where the current Fourth Amendment regime doesn't work very well with information privacy. It works well with papers and things -- we can hide papers away in our homes or in bags, and we can have protection in our homes. But information in today's Information Age often is hard to contain. It is hard to tuck away. The result is that our personal information is increasingly in places where the police no longer need warrants and probable cause.

But I suspect that the framers didn't conceive of mass collection and databases.

Related Posts:

- Federal DNA Database

* with apologies to Elizabeth Barrett Browning

Surveillance via Tire Pressure Monitoring Systems

How do I surveille thee?* Let me count the ways...™

In April 2005, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration issued a rule requiring automakers to install TPMS sensors in all new passenger cars and trucks starting in September 2007... With minor limitations, TPMS can be used for the very purpose of tracking your vehicle in real time with no substantial investments! TPMS can also be used to measure the speed of your vehicle. Similarly to highway/freeway speed sensors that measure traffic speed, TPMS readers can be installed in pairs to measure how quick your vehicle goes over a predefined distance. Technically, it is even plausible to use existing speed sensors to read TPMS data!

[via Schneier]

* with apologies to Elizabeth Barrett Browning