It took 2 weeks for Musk to consolidate direct control over the core functions of the U.S. government and start deploying them for his own purposes. That was quick. So, Musk and His Minions (TM) now directly control the functions…
Well Actually: Just Use the ‘C’ Word
No, although those are good guesses. Except ‘colander’; I have no idea what you were thinking with that one. It’s ‘coup’. It’s being reported that Musk’s personal staff have taken direct control of multiple federal offices and computer systems, locking…
Prosecuting Former Presidents: Don’t Threaten Me With A Good Time
So, Trump thinks it’s not possible to be President without breaking the law? He may very well be correct. Bush took the country into a war under false pretenses, and Obama certainly broke the law forbidding assassinations. Trump broke that…
Getting Real: Artificial Intelligence Is Not The Problem
Let’s put aside for the moment whether the current crop of trainable software that’s causing all the furor is actually “Artificial Intelligence”, much less whether it even works reliably at all. (It isn’t, and it doesn’t.) It makes no sense…
Freedom & Consent: There Are No Legitimate States
Countries like to claim that they are constituted “with the consent of” their populations. This is generally nonsense. While many countries today have constitutions that were adopted by referendum within living memory, few of them were adopted recently enough that…
That’s Me In The Corner: Privileging My Religion
Well, not me; I don’t have a religion. But a lot of people do. And a lot of them think that means they should get special consideration from the law. They shouldn’t. Today’s example: California bill would allow Sikh motorcyclists…
Be Sensible: It’s Not Self-Defence If You Started It
I have talked about self-defense before (They’re Comin’ Right For Us: Fixing Self-Defense); in that one, I argued that you should have to be correct about being threatened. It’s not enough to “feel” threatened. Your feelings are not more important…
Legal Zombies: Laws Should Not Come Back From The Dead
When the courts declare a law to be unconstitutional, it should actually be removed from the books. It shouldn’t just be ignored. If I understand correctly, the actual term is “unenforceable”, but it’s the same thing. The courts will ignore…
Expansive Freedom: The 1st Amendment Is Too Limited
The United States has stronger restrictions on State interference in personal speech than any other country, so in that sense the 1st Amendment is doing pretty well; it’s doing a good-but-not-great job preventing press interference and an OK-but-not-good job protecting…
Let’s Be Clear: Both Sides Of The Civil War Were Wrong
Contrary to popular belief, neither side of the U.S. Civil War was really into “freedom”. They were both fighting for the power to control other people. This tends to get skipped over in modern discussions, since the current culture war…