Monday, June 27, 2005

And the land grab race is on!

Looks like local governments around the country are racing to seize as much private property as they possibly can to build hotels, marinas and shopping malls now that they feel the Supreme Court decision in favor of the city of New London, CT gave them the green light to do so.

Who's the first property owner to use lethal force to protect their property?

-TPP

1994 - The Year Internets Started

Someone tell CNN they're off by about a decade, mmm'kay?

-TPP

Thursday, June 23, 2005

The Supreme Court has lost it?

The Supreme Court ruling today on a case against the city of New London, CT greatly expanded local government's "rights" to seize private property under eminent domain.

Originally the use of eminent domain was restricted only for public use (roads and other public infrastructure) or to get rid blighted property. Today's ruling allow local governments to seize ANY property if they can demonstrate the planned use for the land would generate more tax revenue for the city.

The reaction to the ruling has been a big "wtf". A quick Internet search reveals widespread opposition to the ruling from the American Farm Bureau Federation to small business owners across the country. Several local newspapers have written about local residents' and business owners' concerns about specific projects (New York Nets stadium in Brooklyn, a shopping center in DC targeted for demolition so that another shopping center operator could take it over, etc.).

It seems to me that The Supreme Court just abolished private property rights in the US. I am puzzled as to why.

-TPP

Fuck You Karl Rove

"Conservatives saw the savagery of 9/11 in the attacks and prepared for war; liberals saw the savagery of the 9/11 attacks and wanted to prepare indictments and offer therapy and understanding for our attackers."

Fuck you Karl Rove.

-TPP

Friday, June 17, 2005

The state of data privacy in the United States

A hacker gains access to a payment processing system and installed a trojan in the system that listened to credit card transactions. MasterCard reports "More than 40 million credit cards may have been breached."

Good thing the financial institutions are keeping our financial information secure these days, though. It's not like this sort of thing happens every week...oh, wait, but it does.

-TPP

Wednesday, June 08, 2005

Senator Barack Obama's Knox College Commencement Address

Barack Obama, once again, delivered an awe inspiring speech during his Commencement Address at the Knox College in Galesburg, Illinois.

Audio and video replays of the webcast as well as a transcript of the address can be found at the Knox College website.

The speech touches on the unique challenges the global economy imposes on Americans, what can we do about it and what we should not do about it. In particular he very eloquently dismantles and exposes the problems of the Ownership Society currently championed by our puppet leaders.

-TPP