Back Tomorrow in Full Force

I've had out-of-state relatives as house guests all weekend, thus the minimal posting. It was great.

No point in more new posts today as most site visitors have already come and gone by this time. I hope to be back in full swing tomorrow and start addressing the many tips and inquiries that have been piling up. Sorry for not getting back to all of you promptly.

You Wanna Go Where Everybody Knows Your Name...

Recently Lori Drew was charged with violating the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act for signing the up for a MySpace account under a fake name. While the larger circumstances were quite shocking (and have been covered enough I don’t think I need to go into them), she was charged for nothing more than pretending to be someone else on the Internet. The indictment calls this a felony, under title 130 section (a) (2) (c) of the US Code, which criminalizes anyone who “intentionally accesses a computer without authorization or exceeds authorized access, and thereby obtains information from any protected computer if the conduct involved an interstate or foreign communication.” The access to MySpace was unauthorized because using a fake name violated the terms of service. The information from a “protected computer” was the profiles of other MySpace users.

Huh. I wonder if this could affect the ability to blog or comment under an alias?

[Via Carl S]

L. Neil on Barr

Via email:

My name is L. Neil Smith, and and I am a writer. I first joined the Libertarian Party during the first full year it existed, 1972. I am also the libertarian movement's foremost advocate of the right to own and carry weapons.

I am writing this because it's important that you understand that the national organization has been infiltrated and taken over by neoconservatives. There are reasons this happened, and they go back a long way, mostly to idiots and shapeshifters who wanted to broaden the appeal of the party by watering down what it stands for.

For more on this, see:
http://www.ncc-1776.org/tle2008/tle471-20080608-02.html

It's equally important that you understand that real libertarians are working to take their party back. This will require some time and effort, but it _will_ happen. So withhold your vote for Barr, just as you should for Obama and McCain. Libertarians have had a harsh wake-up call, but they are responding.

We're the Only Ones Two-Wheeling Enough

Chinese elite anti-terror police officers are wheeling into action ahead of next month's Beijing Olympics on two-wheeled scooters.

You knew it would only be a matter of time before "The Only Ones" took these dopey things and turned them into assault...I mean "patrol" vehicles.

[Via Matt Maynard]

This Day in History: July 7

It is with inexpressible Concern that the General upon his first Arrival in the army, should find an Officer sentenced by a General Court-Martial to be cashier'd for Cowardice. A Crime of all others, the most infamous in a Soldier, the most injurious to an Army, and the last to be forgiven; inasmuch as it may, and often does happen, that the Cowardice of a single Officer may prove the Distruction of the whole Army...