Smoke ‘Em If You Got ‘Em
Tonight at midnight the statewide smoking ban goes in to effect here in Michigan. Not exactly sure how that works… does a bouncer come around at midnight and remove all the ashtrays from the bar? Immediately start kicking people out for burning squares? Do the Gestapo come in and start issuing citations? Probably “Yes” to all of the above. Logistics aside… I’ve been covering this topic for a few years now as the proposals and bills have been stalled or shot down or whatever. But here we are, hours away from what is essentially an irrevocable ban. Short of full collapse, the likelihood of this ban ever being popularly overturned is zero. I don’t really know what to say that I haven’t already said. I listen to the radio and I … Read entire article »
Why Did The Police Seize Jason Chen’s Computers?
Last week, blogger Jason Chen of Gizmodo published an article after coming in to possession of an Apple iPhone prototype. An Apple employee lost the phone at a bar, and Chen eventually purchased the prototype from an as-of-yet unnamed source. Gizmodo’s Jason Chen told ABC News technology reporter Becky Worley that $5,000 was paid for the device. For Chen, the shit has hit the proverbial fan. A computer crimes task force recently seized all of his computers, a server, mobile phone, etc., and he faces possible felony charges. An investigation appears to be underway to determine whether trade secrets were sold and whether Gizmodo was in possession of stolen property. Says one ABC legal analyst, Dean Johnson: “It’s a crime to offer money to obtain an article that contains a trade secret, so … Read entire article »
Filed under: Blog Reactions, Legalese
It Doesn’t Matter Whether Income Taxes are “Constitutional”
There is no law which will restrain a legislative branch that is set on robbing you blind. And perhaps more importantly, there are no words that any legislature, anywhere, ever, can put on paper or parchment, in order to legitimize theft. All taxes are immoral. All taxes are theft. Pretending that there’s a “legal” way to go about it is conceding defeat. Responding to “Take the Red Pill,” Jeff Molby comments: The problem with this type of argument is that the battle has already been lost. Even if you could conclusively prove that the income tax is unconstitutional, what good would it do? The populace wants a government that spends $3+ trillion per year. They’re not even willing to cut expenditures enough to balance the budget, so they’re … Read entire article »
Filed under: Legalese, Taxation is Theft