Yes Virginia, many people do socially beneficial things without taxpayer support! Take homeschoolers. “Please” say those who think homeschools turn children into illiterate religious nuts. As opposed to illiterate godless nuts. No such thing as a godless nut? Think again.
Archives: December 2006
First 1,000 to move for liberty
Posted: December 30, 2006 8:49 pm
The 1,000th signer of the Free State Project’s First 1000 pledge, to move to New Hampshire by the end of 2008 and work toward individual liberty and smaller government, signed up at about 8 p.m. Saturday night, 23 hours before the pledge deadline.
The TSA Follies
Posted: December 29, 2006 7:42 pm
Are you more afraid of airport security procedures than of terrorism? Do you think the Department of Homeland Security is out of their minds? If so, you aren’t alone. Here are three reports from recent air travelers of the lunacy they encountered at the airport security checkpoint.
OneDOJ, two databases
Posted: December 28, 2006 6:01 pm
The U.S. Department of Justice is building a set of databases and database interconnections which will allow state and law enforcement agencies to search not only federal law enforcement agencies’ case files, but also other state and local agencies’ data.
It’s rare that I get to say a major news outlet screwed up a news story, so I’ll say it now. A major news outlet omitted several key details on the nature and extent of “OneDOJ,” the department’s new information sharing initative.
“Some rights must be repealed”
Posted: December 27, 2006 4:40 pm
The so-called Global War on Terror is having serious ramifications at home. Over the past five years we’ve watched the erosion of civil liberties in the name of “homeland security.” Now the erosion is picking up speed, with recent direct attacks on both the First Amendment and the Second Amendment.
Being forced to give to charity?
Posted: December 26, 2006 11:39 am
Updated: December 26, 2006 11:59 am
Founded in 1888 as Travelers Aid, the Heartland Alliance for Human Needs and Human Rights calls itself “the country’s premier service-based human rights organization.” And while federal law may say they’re a charitable organization, the truth is that the majority of the income for their “humanitarian” work comes not from charitable contributions, but from taxes.
A Baghdad Christmas
Posted: December 24, 2006 12:53 pm
It’s no secret that I’m no fan of the war in Iraq. It was based on a flawed premise and, as far as I can see, has degenerated into a quagmire just short of civil war. And it’s been a colossal waste of money, thanks to the Department of Defense’s complete inability to keep a proper set of books.
Yet the people over there waging that war are fighting a dangerous enemy which wants to kill not only them, but eventually, the rest of us.
Pranking the Virginia DMV
Posted: December 23, 2006 9:02 am
Most people, for some odd reason, care deeply about how their driver’s license photo appears. They want it to be just perfect. And yet the pictures seem to always come out bad anyway.
But when you go in to the DMV and you actually want your picture to look bad, the pictures which actually come out are pretty funny.
Flying home for the holidays?
Posted: December 22, 2006 1:21 pm
A lot of you will be getting on planes this evening or this weekend to go home and spend the holidays with friends and relatives.
Here are a few tips to make your journey through the airport a little less of a nightmare and a little more of a joyous occasion.
Lauren Canario freed after three months
Posted: December 22, 2006 4:36 am
Almost three months to the day from when she was arrested, eminent domain protester Lauren Canario, the last holdout in the Kelo v. New London case, has been released from jail.
Two years of Homeland Stupidity
Posted: December 21, 2006 3:29 pm
Updated: December 21, 2006 3:54 pm
Homeland Stupidity is a bit over two years old, so as 2006 draws to a close it’s time again to look back at what has passed, and to look forward at what may come.
Some other site I read is doing a “Top 20 posts of 2006″ as a year-end review. But I’ve always been about bringing attention to important things which might otherwise pass unnoticed, so I’m going to do something different: The top stories you probably missed.
Kelo: “May you all rot in hell”
Posted: December 21, 2006 7:06 am
Updated: December 21, 2006 1:52 pm
Susette Kelo fought the eminent domain taking of her house for a private redevelopment all the way to the Supreme Court and lost.
Yet she’s still managed to get in the last word.
DHS: Passenger screening no threat to privacy
Posted: December 20, 2006 4:16 am
The Department of Homeland Security defended its use of a controversial passenger screening system Wednesday, saying the system uses link analysis techniques of the kind which would have caught the 9/11 hijackers had they been employed and that the program “does not pose a threat to privacy.”
Front page news
Posted: December 19, 2006 9:36 am
Updated: December 19, 2006 9:52 am
A significant number of national journalists read Homeland Stupidity. You all should just skip right over this post, because you aren’t going to be impressed at all.
But I’m rather proud of myself, having gotten a story into print for the first time.
Border fence company hired illegal immigrants
Posted: December 19, 2006 5:43 am
The company which built much of the U.S. border fence in San Diego, Calif., agreed to pay $5 million in fines for hiring illegal immigrants.
Police in our schools
Posted: December 18, 2006 4:45 pm
I think there is something fundamentally wrong with a society that has become so violent that we must have a show of armed government force to keep order in a public school. If anything should hint to America that school is no longer a safe place for children, the perceived necessity of police force should.
US-VISIT land exit tracking to be sidelined
Posted: December 18, 2006 2:55 am
A Department of Homeland Security plan to track foreign visitors leaving the U.S. by land will be set aside after a report showed that it would be too expensive and cause significant inconvenience to travelers who frequently cross the border.
Preschool for all
Posted: December 17, 2006 3:40 pm
Virginia is planning a pilot program for the state’s proposed universal preschool program. The pilot program is to begin next year for 1,000 children and gradually expanded to include all four year olds in the state.
Chertoff: Real ID not “invasion of privacy”
Posted: December 17, 2006 5:45 am
The REAL ID Act of 2005, which mandates that states conform their driver’s licenses and identification cards to a common standard defined by the Department of Homeland Security and that states put personal information into a central database, is being sold as a secure document which will protect us all from terrorism, illegal immigration and identity theft.
But it will do no such thing.
Animal ID program remains voluntary for now
Posted: December 16, 2006 11:31 am
There has been quite a debate raging about the National Animal Identification System among farmers and ranchers. Ostensibly in the interest of disease control, the U.S. Department of Agriculture has been pushing for improved tracking of animals.
While the program is voluntary for now, the hope is to have all animals registered by 2008 and full implementation by 2009. No chicken, cow or horse shall be left behind.
Denial of service
Posted: December 16, 2006 7:32 am
Updated: December 18, 2006 2:04 am
Homeland Stupidity was unavailable for six hours Friday night due to a distributed denial of service attack. Steps are being taken to mitigate the effects of future denial of service attacks. All services have been restored as of early Saturday morning.
Mail call
Posted: December 15, 2006 8:44 am
Running a Web site like this, I get a lot of strange e-mail. And I don’t mean the spam, though some of that is pretty strange. I also get a wide assortment of hate mail, though less of it than I’d expect. A couple of things that came in lately, though …
“Nothing is going well” with border agriculture inspections
Posted: December 15, 2006 5:21 am
One of the lesser known functions to be rolled into the Department of Homeland Security was the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service’s port inspectors. Charged with inspecting people and things entering the country to prevent foreign pests and diseases from entering the country, Agriculture and Quarantine Inspection was formerly under the U.S. Department of Agriculture. But many agriculture inspectors believe the service has become less effective since they were merged into DHS’s Customs and Border Protection, according to a recent survey.
Chertoff: We will “vigorously” enforce bad laws
Posted: December 14, 2006 12:36 am
At a press conference Wednesday, Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff defended the negative effects to the U.S. meat industry of a Tuesday immigration raid in which over 1,200 suspected illegal immigrants working at meat packing company Swift & Co. were detained.
Strike the root of evil
Posted: December 13, 2006 7:09 am
Henry David Thoreau once said something like: “There are a thousand hacking at the branches of evil to one who is striking at the root.”
And that’s what we defenders of liberty must begin doing more of: striking at the root of evil.
Save liberty before America finally destroys it
Posted: December 13, 2006 4:15 am
How much freedom, how much liberty, how much of America’s very soul, are you willing to give up to be secure? Homeland Security secretary Michael Chertoff says freedom should be subject to a cost-benefit analysis. He says that’s what you want.
DoD: Don’t be “That Guy”
Posted: December 12, 2006 10:43 pm
Updated: December 13, 2006 12:35 am
The Department of Defense is engaging in yet another war — this time, against binge drinking. And it’s called in reinforcements to wage a propaganda campaign to win the hearts and minds of the population, its own servicemembers.
The consequences of milk socialism
Posted: December 12, 2006 3:21 am
For those of you who still think that evil corporations need to be restrained from price gouging and profiteering by government regulation, that bottle of milk in your refrigerator shows that exactly the opposite is true: government regulation enables evil corporations to price gouge and profiteer.
Rocky Mountain Mortgage Fraud Fever
Posted: December 11, 2006 11:03 pm
Hundreds of illegal immigrants recruited to act as “straw buyers,” the lowest players in the mortgage fraud game, were supplied with stolen identities, including drivers licenses, social security cards, and income tax returns. Some were given green cards of legal immigrants. What couldn’t be stolen was forged.
Dispatches from the Drug War
Posted: December 11, 2006 5:23 am
Updated: December 11, 2006 5:44 am
How far will the government go to prosecute its so-called War on Drugs? It will look the other way while one of its informants commits multiple murders. Then it will try to cover up its own complicity.
The news just keeps breaking
Posted: December 10, 2006 3:06 am
Updated: December 10, 2006 3:22 am
Updates to stories previously covered at Homeland Stupidity include a successful national security whistleblower, a whistleblower in trouble, and — Look! A terrorist!
Traveler risk scoring system illegal?
Posted: December 9, 2006 7:44 am
Secretary of Homeland Security Michael Chertoff is one frustrated bureaucrat. You can hear it in his voice, even when you are only reading his words.
The Department of Homeland Security is under fire from lawmakers and privacy advocates who are outraged at last month’s news of the Automated Targeting System, which assigns a terrorism risk score to international travelers, and saying the program is illegal.
Is liberty centrist?
Posted: December 9, 2006 1:51 am
As you probably know Homeland Stupidity has been selected as a finalist in the Best Centrist Blog category of the 2006 Weblog Awards, and we need your vote every day from now until voting closes on December 15. I’ve been checking out the competition, and it’s quite stiff.
Corruption, crime inside Homeland Security
Posted: December 8, 2006 10:17 pm
Updated: December 9, 2006 2:26 am
Buried in what would otherwise have been a dry summary of financial audits and inspections, the Department of Homeland Security Inspector General’s semiannual report to Congress also contains dozens of reports of misconduct and criminal activity perpetrated by DHS employees themselves.
FEMA still handing out Katrina cash inappropriately
Posted: December 8, 2006 3:01 am
A Congressional investigation found that the Federal Emergency Management Agency paid out an estimated $1 billion inappropriately after Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, but to date has recovered less than one percent of that amount.
Homeland Stupidity nominated for Weblog Award
Posted: December 8, 2006 1:49 am
Updated: December 8, 2006 2:11 am
Homeland Stupidity has been nominated for an award in the 2006 Weblog Awards. Vote for Homeland Stupidity today!
White House privacy board protects its own privacy
Posted: December 7, 2006 10:17 pm
The White House Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board, created to advise the President on privacy and civil liberties concerns in the war on terrorism, met in public for the first time Tuesday to hear from experts in the field. And did they get an earful.
TracFone wants unlocking phones to be a crime
Posted: December 6, 2006 11:56 pm
TracFone, a wireless phone carrier in the U.S. which offers low-cost prepaid wireless service, does not want people to be able to purchase phones it puts up for sale and use them with other wireless carriers. That’s fine, as far as it goes. But now TracFone is trying to use force against people who want to do this.
Until today, I had an affiliate relationship with TracFone and offered its products for sale. A few minutes ago, I ended that relationship and sent the program manager the following letter:
I can take you on one-handed
Posted: December 6, 2006 11:00 am
The second worst nightmare of anyone who uses a computer to make a living is getting a repetitive stress injury. It inevitably leads to the worst nightmare of anyone who uses a computer to make a living: losing the ability to type entirely. The resourceful person then goes shopping for things like one-handed keyboards and promptly discovers what most disabled people already know: adaptive technology is expensive.
FBI counterterrorism expert “blackballed”
Posted: December 5, 2006 7:28 am
Federal Bureau of Investigation special agent Bassem Youssef has, in his 18 year career, gotten “rave reviews” and even the intelligence community’s highest honor for his counterterrorism work. Yet, after September 11, the FBI moved him as far away from the front lines of counterterrorism as it could, even though it needed all the help it could get from people just like him.
Education news with a grain of salt
Posted: December 4, 2006 8:12 am
Research done by Tel Aviv University Professor of Psychology Avner Ziv confirms that students retain more information when humor is used effectively to illustrate important points. Of course, humor is very subjective, but here is a roundup of stories that I have run into recently that are at least worth a smile.
Bits of homeland stupidity
Posted: December 4, 2006 1:27 am
Updated: December 4, 2006 2:22 am
Some of the news headlines you might have missed over the last week range from the simply inane to the truly frightening.
Military radios kill garage door openers
Posted: December 3, 2006 4:09 am
If you have a remote controlled garage door opener, you may need to get it replaced, and soon, before the military rolls out its new Land Mobile Radios which interfere with them.
Closing the achievement gap
Posted: December 1, 2006 10:45 am
It is possible for students from lower socio-economic backgrounds to achieve at levels equal to and even superior to their more economically advantaged peers. The problems inherent in poverty are great, but they are not insurmountable. I know this because I have seen it done, and the children involved are not statistical anomalies.
Boarding pass creator: Out of frying pan, into fire?
Posted: December 1, 2006 5:25 am
Security researcher Christopher Soghoian, who was raided by the Federal Bureau of Investigation last October after he created a fake boarding pass generator, has gotten his computer equipment back, but remains under investigation by the Transportation Security Administration, which had ordered his Web site shut down.
The order, delivered to Web hosting provider DreamHost, raises questions on whether the government can order a Web site taken offline without a court order.
UK bloggers should be regulated, commission claims
Posted: December 1, 2006 1:04 am
The UK Press Complaints Commission, a regulatory body for the newspaper and magazine industry, has called for a “voluntary code of conduct” for blogs similar to the one adhered to by the mainstream press.
