do the right thing

What Makes The iPhone Location Logging Story So Bad?

Following up on my previous post about iOS 4 powered devices logging your every move, I just noticed this story from Time:

The Michigan chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union has accused the MSP of using devices to extract information from the cellphones of drivers they've pulled over without the owner's knowledge, thereby violating Fourth Amendment rights. Mark Fancher, an ACLU attorney told reporters that cellphones "can contain information that many people consider to be private, to be beyond the reach of law enforcement and other government actors... There is great potential for abuse here by a police officer or state trooper who may not be monitored or supervised on the street."

These devices, the Cellbrite UFED, have been in use since before 2008. It doesn’t matter if you password protect your phone or not – it will retrieve the data in about 30 seconds. What 4th amendment?

The police aren’t the only ones you have to worry about either. Curious spouses, private investigators or anyone at all. The data is stored in your phone in very unsecure manner. Got a stalker? Great – just let him grab your phone in a bar. Now he’ll know everywhere you have been and can figure out a pattern.

All we can hopeful now is that some one in Congress will take notice and do the right thing. Steve Jobs needs subpoenaed and forced to answer about this egregious invasion of privacy. If he refuses to answer there, then it’s time for the DOJ to take action. This isn’t an issue of right or left, but rather right or wrong.

Society

Government Regulations Saves Lives!

Today’s earthquake is another stark reminder that government regulations do save lives:

From seawalls that line stretches of Japan’s coastline, to skyscrapers that sway to absorb earthquakes, to building codes that are among the world’s most rigorous, no country may be better prepared to withstand earthquakes than Japan.

Had any other populous country suffered the 8.9 magnitude earthquake that shook Japan on Friday, tens of thousands of people might already be counted among the dead. So far, Japan’s death toll is in the hundreds, although it is certain to rise somewhat.

Ironically, it was just over a year ago that I posted something along the same lines. That was following the Chilean earthquake, where the loss of life was minimal. In terms of regulations, Chile ranks right up there with Japan.

I really hate turning devastation, like we are seeing right now, into political debate, but this is life and death we are talking about. Every time I hear some Republican or Tea Partier talking about “government controlling our lives through regulation”, I got to wonder how dense they really are. I know I want to make sure my family is in buildings that can sustain whatever mother nature, or any other disaster, might throw its way. I don’t trust corporations to “do the right thing” and neither should you, because when you find out that they did lie, or cut a few corners, it’s usually too late.

Politics

SCOTUS To Hear Arguments About Westboro’s Protesting Funerals

As early as next week we could get a ruling from the high court in regards to Fred Phelps and his band of merry hate mongers from Westboro Baptist Church:

The court is set to decide whether members of a fundamentalist church in Kansas who picketed Matthew's funeral with signs bearing anti-gay and anti-Catholic invective have a constitutional right to say what they want.

Or, in intruding on a private citizen's funeral in a hurtful way, have the protesters crossed a line and given Snyder the right to collect millions of dollars for the emotional pain they caused?

The justices will hear arguments in the case next Wednesday.

This will provide an interesting conundrum for the more conservative justices. They claim to be “constitionalists”, and as despicable as Westboro is, they are exercising their first amendment right. On the other hand, the main target of these “protests” are those who gave the ultimate sacrifice for our nation. The question boils down to if we have a right to mourn in piece or not. Hopefully they do the right thing and rule against the idiots that are Westboro Baptist.

National Security

Republicans Show Their Disdain For The Constitution

With the arrest of a Pakistani born, U.S. citizen in connection with the failed car bombing on Times Square, the Republican members of Congress are starting to show that they have absolutely no respect for the Constitution of this land:

The morning after the arrest of 30-year-old Faisal Shahzad at John F. Kennedy airport on Monday evening, the usual suspects in the GOP took to print and the airwaves to whack away at the president and his top lawyer. Rep. Peter King (R-N.Y.) mocked the idea that Attorney General Eric Holder might read the suspect his Miranda rights or consider trying him in a civilian court.

"I hope that [Attorney General Eric] Holder did discuss this with the intelligence community. If they believe they got enough from him, how much more should they get? Did they Mirandize him? I know he's an American citizen but still," King said.

Notorious for jumping into the political fray in the wake of attempted or successful terrorist acts, King was quickly joined in the ring by Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), who called the idea of reading Miranda rights a "serious mistake."

As matter of fact McCain has even gone to the right of Glenn Beck now:

"He is a citizen of the United States, so I say we uphold the laws and the Constitution on citizens," the bombastic Fox News host said to the stunned co-hosts of "Fox and Friends". "If you are a citizen, you obey the law and follow the Constitution. [Shahzad] has all the rights under the Constitution."

"We don't shred the Constitution when it is popular," Beck added. "We do the right thing."

Science

The Big Week

So here we are, the final week for the health care reform push. It’s going to be interesting to see what happens today. I got a feeling the signals will be mixed all the way up to the final vote this weekend. From one minute to the next we will hear “they have the votes”, “they don’t have the votes”.

A lot of Democrats in the House have a problem with trusting the Senate to do the right thing later on, and I can’t blame them one bit. On the other hand, a lot of the pro-life Democrats who were going to vote against the bill seem to be switching now. That really adds to the complication of the whip count.

So what do you think the final outcome will be? I really have no idea at this point.

Media

So This Is What It Has Come To?

Wingnut mouth piece Confederate Yankee:

Senator Robert Byrd (D-WV) has seen far better days, and is often little more than a warm body when he is helped into the Senate. Granted, lucidity and coherence is not a priority among Senate Democrats, but Byrd is an embarrassment even for a party that regular drafts the imaginary or dead to vote.

Robert Byrd has been around a very long time, and his many decades of service have made West Virginia a wonderful state in which to manufacture methamphetamine or frame the locals for murder. But it's time for Senator to do the right thing, and expire.

It isn't too much to ask for Byrd to step off for that great klavern in the sky before the Senate vote that may force this nation to accept government-rationed health care. Even a nice coma would do.

Without his frail, Gollum-like body being wheeled into the Senate's chambers to cast the deciding vote, the Senate cannot curse our children and grandchildren with crushing debt and rationed, substandard healthcare.

I suppose some will be shocked and appalled that I'd wish for the former kleagle to die on command. I'd remind them that the party wheeling in a near invalid to vote in favor of this unread monstrosity of a bill is the one that should feel shame.

Yup – the party of God® wishing for people to die.

Science

Statement From Anthony Weiner On Joe Lieberman

Earlier today Joe Lieberman said he changed his stance on the Medicare buy-in because liberals like Anthony Weiner liked it. Now Anthony Weiner has responded:

This afternoon The New York Times and other news outlets reported that Senator Lieberman was backing away from his own health care proposal, in part because I liked it.

If this wasn't so sad, it would be amazing. Here you have the most important legislation for millions of Americans' health and welfare, and apparently Senator Lieberman backs away from his own proposal. Why? Because I and a professor at Yale like it.

All I can say charitably is I hope Senator Lieberman looks into his heart and does the right thing. This is not the time for anyone to act for politics, but to do the right thing. Let's be clear, this is an idea Senator Lieberman has proposed, repeatedly. That others embrace it should not be the criteria for leaders to make decisions. It would be tragic if this is what it appears, a decision based on hurting proponents of reform not helping the millions who need affordable health care coverage.

Some may say reformers should never have praised this measure. But that suggests we all agree to live in an Alice in Wonderland world of saying the opposite of what we mean. Now is the time to talk and act on the merits of an issue. Now is the time for leaders to make the right choices, not political calculations.

Sanford Gets Religious

I find it very interesting that Mark Sanford is now equating himself to King David:

I have been doing a lot of soul searching on that front. What I find interesting is the story of David, and the way in which he fell mightily, he fell in very very significant ways. But then picked up the pieces and built from there.

No where in the Bible does it say you can pick and choose which parts you want to live by, so I have to Matthew 7:1

Don't judge, so that you won't be judged either

Judge is exactly what Mark Sanford did back in 1998 during the Clinton impeachment hearings:

In 1998, Sanford was a Republican congressman from South Carolina when he demanded "moral clarity" from Clinton and called on him to resign. "Very damaging stuff. This one's pretty cut and dried," Sanford told The Post and Courier in September 1998. "I think it would be much better for the country and for him personally [to resign].”

Sanford is refusing to leave office, yet he judged Bill Clinton and voted for him to be removed from office. This is a pure double standard, and one becoming more common amongst Republicans every day. Sadly the religious right is the enablers of this double standard. Like the guy on the corner trying to sell drugs, the religious right tries to sell votes to Republican politicians by getting them to say what they want to hear.

Jane Harman The Liar

After yesterday’s back and forth of rather or not Jane Harman got the New York Times to hold the wiretapping story in 2004, it is now confirmed. She in fact did:

Congresswoman Harman spoke to Washington Bureau Chief Phil Taubman in late October or early November, 2004, apparently at the request of General Hayden. She urged that The Times not publish the story. She did not speak to me, and I don’t remember her being a significant factor in my decision. In 2005, when we were getting ready to publish, Phil met with a group of congressional leaders familiar with the eavesdropping program, including Ms. Harman. They all argued that The Times should not publish. The Times published the story a few days later.

Harman did so at the request of Michael Hayden, Bush’s National Security Adviser.

This lady is a traitor all the way around. Being a traitor to her party is bad, but being a traitor to our nation is unacceptable. I hope the Democrats do the right thing and start an investigation of their own. She also shouldn’t be allowed to remain on any committees during this time.

The Growing Case Against Coleman

There is a growing movement out there for Norm Coleman to throw in the towel, and it’s not just limited to the right. Ramesh Ponnuru, a senior editor for the National Review and right wing pundit writes a simple one line post regarding Coleman:

I think it's time for him to give up this fight.

Scott Johnson from Powerline has a much more verbose article, which also appears on the National Review, about the entire recount and concludes the following:

And I don’t think it can exactly be said that he (Franken) won the election fair and square. Indeed, I can’t find a single good thing to say about him except that he didn’t steal the election

While that is kind of a sinister statement, it pretty much sums it up by saying Coleman is done.

If Coleman continues the fight he is going to not only hurt himself, but also his own party. The governor of Minnesota, Tim Pawlenty, is considered a front runner for the GOP in 2012. Now he might have to make a very tough decision – certify the election for Franken, or not. If he does he will certainly upset party insiders, and that hurts his primary chances. If he doesn’t he will risk any chance at winning a general election, already a battle against a highly admired incumbent President.

But Coleman is also committing political suicide. He should take this chance and be the statesman. Bow out of the race and then plan a rerun, or even run for governor – chances are the seat will be vacated. But the longer Norm continues this fight and deprives Minnesota of a Senator, the harder his chances of a political comeback become.

Remember This?

"A sad day for Alaska yesterday when he was found guilty of seven felonies. But -- and now he needs to do the right thing, and the right thing is, as he's proclaiming his innocence and proclaiming, too, that he will go through the appellate process, OK, then he needs to step aside and allow our state to elect someone who will be supportive of those ideals of America: the free enterprise, the missions that we're on, to win the war, those things that have got to take place in order to progress this country. Ted Stevens has got to play a very statesmanlike role in this now."

That was Sarah Palin talking about Ted Stevens last October. Now she thinks that Mark Begich should resign so Alaska can hold another election, despite Begich wining fair and square.

I think what really gets me on this whole thing is how Republicans acted when the Democrats started talking about problems at the Bush Justice Department. Democrats were on a “political witch hunt” according to all those on the right. Now that the flaws of Bush justice has ensnarled one of their own, the Republicans want to declare a mulligan. Sorry, but this is the price you –pay for putting party loyalty above country.

How The Stimulus Should Proceed

We are rapidly losing jobs. The economy is on the brink. This week has been no better, yet Republican leadership continues to play games with the stimulus bill. Here’s how the Democrats need to proceed on it.

The stimulus package has strong public support, while the Republican leaders opposing it have some of the lowest approval ratings. So the Democrats should place all the concessions they made to appease Republicans right back in the bill and bring it up for a vote. Then they need to get every surrogate out to the networks explaining to the American people that they were trying to work with Republicans, but Republicans had no intention of seeing this bill passed. All of this went down while hundreds of thousands of Americans lost their jobs.

Elections have consequences and the people spoke during the last two election cycles by denouncing Republican ideas. It’s time for the Democrats to start listening to the people and recognize their new found power, instead of bowing to the highly unpopular Republicans.

The American electorate is smart, and they will see that the Republicans are trying to block the salvation of our economy. The people were able to see through the Republicans in the last session of Congress. We had the worst approved Congress in our nation’s history, yet the people voted overwhelmingly to give more control to the party of power. That means they knew the Republicans were the taint, and if the Democrats do the right thing now then they will continue to see that taint and give the Democrats even more power in 2010. It’s not that complicated. Stop acting like a bunch of "friends” and “good ol’ boys” up there on Capital Hill and act like leaders.

Money For Nothing

I can't say that this comes as any shock:

In the six weeks since lawmakers approved the Treasury's massive bailout of financial firms, the government has poured money into the country's largest banks, recruited smaller banks into the program and repeatedly widened its scope to cover yet other types of businesses, from insurers to consumer lenders.

Along the way, the Bush administration has committed $290 billion of the $700 billion rescue package.

Yet for all this activity, no formal action has been taken to fill the independent oversight posts established by Congress when it approved the bailout to prevent corruption and government waste. Nor has the first monitoring report required by lawmakers been completed, though the initial deadline has passed.

"It's a mess," said Eric M. Thorson, the Treasury Department's inspector general, who has been working to oversee the bailout program until the newly created position of special inspector general is filled. "I don't think anyone understands right now how we're going to do proper oversight of this thing."

Isn't that irony? We got into this mess because of a lack of oversight, a cornerstone of the GOP platform, and now the mess is getting even worse after the government got involved - because of a lack of oversight. If people can be so trusted to do the "right thing" without oversight, then why do we have laws and law enforcement?

4,000

A very grim number from the war that will never end. 4,000 American lives lost for a lie - a lie our leaders have given a pass on. Sadly these wrongs will never be made right. Politicians are to busy patting each other on the back to do the right thing.

Democrats Get Stone Walled On Tape Inquiry

Thanks to our new Attorney General. Thanks to Chuck Schumer and Diane Feinstein!

Attorney General Michael Mukasey refused Friday to give Congress details of the government's investigation into interrogations of terror suspects that were videotaped and destroyed by the CIA. He said doing so could raise questions about whether the inquiry is vulnerable to political pressure.

In letters Friday to leaders of the House and Senate Judiciary committees that oversee the Justice Department, Mukasey said there is no need right now to appoint a special prosecutor to lead the investigation. The preliminary inquiry currently is being handled by the Justice Department and the CIA's inspector general.

I'm so glad Schumer knew Mukasey was a good guy and would do the right thing. Now why don't he take Diane and they both just go to hell.