Should we let government attach their GPS’s to our cars?

Earlier today the Court heard arguments in United States v. Jones. For a solid month, the feds tracked Jones with the aid of a GPS device hidden on his car. And they got him. He dealt drugs. The feds figured it out and convicted him. Why should anybody care? GPS data can be very revealing. Shouldn’t we cheer?

Obama’s Choices Among Boehner’s Disasters

I’m going to be away for a few weeks and it looks like all heck will be breaking loose in Washington while I’m away. Meanwhile, I’ve been trying to figure out President Obama’s options.

The Climate is like an Angry God

I’ve had a lot to say recently about the economic snake oil being poured in the House of Representatives. I’ve been talking about it because it’s so current. Mishandling the economy has become a Republican trademark since the Great Depression, and they’re so impressed by their foolishness that they keep repeating the same time-tested mistakes. I’ve been talking about it because it is going to do so much harm. But the truth is, it is not what I think is the most important issue facing us.

What’s creepin’?

I’ve been hearing Republicans bellyaching about creeping socialism since I was a kid in the 40s. People afraid of socialism under every bed. ‘Modern American conservatism began in an effort to … roll back creeping socialism,” Sarah Bramwell told a  conservative club. Socialism has been creeping up on us for decades according to the National Review. Senator Taft told us in 1952 “that … the [presidential] campaign … [was about] ‘liberty against the creeping socialism in every domestic field.’”

Bargaining with Pirates

The Republicans are playing hardball. They want Democrats to cut the budget, repeatedly, without raising taxes, and without cutting military expenditures. And in return they’re willing to give nothing.

The story is that the Democrats cave. But it’s more insidious.

Directing Anger Where it Belongs

Let’s separate the wheat from the chaff. Lots of Americans are angry. The tea party is angry about taxes and spending. Workers are angry about not having jobs or prospects. The middle-class is angry about getting squeezed. And they are all right to be angry. It doesn’t follow that the anger is directed at the causes of their problems. So let’s sort it out.

“So-called” Investment

After noting that China and India are “investing in research and new technologies,” President Obama made investment a major theme of his State of the Union Address. The first Soviet space launch in the 50s spurred us to invest in research and education. Obama wants us to ” invest in biomedical research, information technology, and especially clean energy technology – an investment that will strengthen our security, protect our planet, and create countless new jobs for our people.” Other countries, he added, are investing much more in infrastructure.

The appeal of that way of thinking obviously bothered Republicans.

Vote

I’ve been thinking about my retirement account. From the time George Bush entered the White my account has been flat – even though my employer and I add to it every pay period.

Harry Reid and Barack Obama

Regular listeners will have noticed my reluctance to criticize the Obama Administration from the left. I have not been happy about the results from Washington but the question is who or what is to blame for that.

Deer in the headlights

For most of the past two years, we have had a President who has been trying to make changes and an opposition party that has been blocking everything, leveraging 40 votes with arcane senate rules to block the majority in both houses of Congress.