Category Archives: Government / Law

FFRF blasts USPS for its plans to issue Mother Teresa stamp

By thecodepounder | Published January 28, 2010

Even putting aside the FFRF’s complaint that the move violates postal regulations prohibiting the honoring of “individuals whose principal achievements are associated with religious undertakings”, you just gotta ask yourself why Mother Teresa?
No really. Let’s just say that Mother Teresa was no saint! You do your own research and your own thinking on this [...]

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Cringely on homeland security

By thecodepounder | Published January 11, 2010

Contrast these three situations: 1) you are sitting in a hotel bar in Mongolia and want to use your Visa card to buy a round of drinks for your friends, and; 2) your Mom is at the check-out counter at a Sears store when the clerk asks her if she wants to apply for a [...]

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Wilson County, Tennessee schools agree to end Bible distribution

By thecodepounder | Published January 10, 2010

Another victory for religious freedom.
So here’s the setup: one day, in Wilson County, Tennessee, the principal of Carroll-Oakland Elementary School brings all the students from the whole school into the gym, where she introduces representatives of the Gideons and explains why they are there, and then proceeds to tell the whole student body about the [...]

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5 things you should know about photo copyrights

By thecodepounder | Published December 15, 2009

Nice, short piece at Popular Photography covering some of the basics of photo copyright.

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National Institutes of Health approves new stem cell lines for researchers

By thecodepounder | Published December 4, 2009

The action followed President Obama’s decision in March to expand the number of such cell lines beyond those available under a policy set by President George W. Bush, which permitted research to begin only with lines already available on Aug. 9, 2001.
Bravo.  Science is a good thing.

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Will secret copyright treaty restrict your digital rights?

By thecodepounder | Published November 22, 2009

Most Americans expect that their laws are only passed after some period of public debate between Republicans and Democrats or their news-channel proxies. However, the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) may be an exception to this rule, and if it is signed, many United States laws concerning the Internet and ownership of data may become substantively [...]

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Kentucky’s god in homeland security law unconstitutional

By thecodepounder | Published August 29, 2009

The Kentucky state law requiring the Kentucky Office of Homeland Security to stress “dependence on Almighty God as being vital to the security of the commonwealth” has been struck down as unconstitutional:
“Even assuming that most of this nation’s citizens have historically depended upon God by choice for their protection, this does not give the General [...]

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President Obama besieged for reversing Reagan gun control

By thecodepounder | Published August 15, 2009

Here’s one from the you can’t please them all files: President Obama was besieged today at Yellowstone for allowing firearms into National Parks.  The President in May signed into law a provision that reversed Reagan administration gun control (yes, that’s right, Reagan gun control) rules which required that firearms in National Parks remain locked in [...]

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Atheists sue to keep ‘In God We Trust’ off Capitol Visitor Center

By thecodepounder | Published July 27, 2009

I missed this a couple weeks ago (when my wife was in the hospital), but the Freedom From Religion Foundation is suing to stop the government from engraving the words “In God We Trust” in prominent spots at the Capitol Visitor Center in Washington.
For those of you who just can’t get your head wrapped around [...]

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Even today, Congress just has too much time on its hands

By thecodepounder | Published July 24, 2009

David Pogue, technology columnist for the New York Times, The Irksome Cellphone  Industry:
In recent weeks, the Senate Commerce Committee has been holding hearings about handset exclusivity. That’s when a phone maker (like Apple) offers a particular model (like the iPhone) to a carrier (like AT&T) exclusively for a period of time (like five years).
Come to [...]

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Racism still ‘alive and well’ in the Tennessee Legislature

By thecodepounder | Published June 17, 2009

While we’re on the subject of sad commentaries… It would appear that racism is quite unfortunately still alive and well in the Tennessee Legislature.
The Tennessean:
Sherri Goforth, a legislative aide for Senate Republican Caucus Chairwoman Diane Black, sent the e-mail last month to other staff for Republican senators. It shows a portrait or photo of each [...]

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Tennessee’s restaurant and club owners rejecting new gun-carry law

By thecodepounder | Published June 17, 2009

Tennessee’s restaurant and club owners are rejecting the state’s new “booze it and shoot it” law in droves by establishing policies for their business(es) that prohibit the carrying of firearms on the premises.  Many are concerned with the obvious (well, obvious to everyone but the NRA’s lobbyists and the lawmakers who take their money, er [...]

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