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Comment Re:Ridiculous, Impossible, Etc. (Score 1) 398

by rilian4 (#40088639) Attached to: Legislation In New York To Ban Anonymous Speech Online

This is why I never bought the whole "we should leave more things up to the states to decide" line of argument: as bad as the US Congress is, state legislatures are generally solidly worse; they just don't get as much press. Or maybe this is just a New York thing and other states are different, I don't know.

The constitution doesn't give you a choice. It clearly states that power not explicitly delegated to the federal government must be relegated to the states or the people. You don't like it? Amend the constitution.

Comment Re:About time.. (Score 1) 278

by rilian4 (#40045453) Attached to: Vermont Bans Fracking
Do you realize how many every day objects you use that utterly rely on the oil industry? Most all plastics for starters...I'm not condoning illegal activity but be very careful when making broad statements condemning an entire industry.

Comment Re:wait until after graduation (Score 2) 238

by rilian4 (#39879863) Attached to: NYC Teachers Forbidden To "Friend" Students
Your statement is over-broad. In general, you might be correct but what if, for example, that teacher has kids that are best friends with a student in the school s/he teaches in? What if that teacher is something like a scout-master and interacts w/ students that way outside of school? What if they wish to use social media in those ways? Why would that be wrong all of a sudden? I could go on all day with examples...

The problem here is in defining a non-harmful action (in this case friending someone through social media) as criminal simply because it *might* lead to a harmful criminal action (inappropriate physical/sexual relationship). This entire line of thinking has handcuffed American society for decades and taken away freedoms constantly. The government should not interfere (at any level, fed, state or local) with citizens lives unless harm has been done to a citizen by another citizen (that harm can take many forms...financial, physical, sexual, etc).

Comment Re:Ötzi no bang Utz's wife again! (Score 1) 104

by rilian4 (#39870375) Attached to: Oldest Intact Red Blood Cells Found on Iceman

Monogamy is relativity new. A few hundred years old.

Your ignorance of history is astounding. Even if you choose not to follow what it teaches, the Bible has taught Monogamy for several thousand years. The Apostle Paul's letters on the subject date back to the first century and the Ten Commandments(Do not commit adultery) to before 1000 BC.

Comment Re:Shit Like This... (Score 1) 345

by rilian4 (#39771329) Attached to: US Judge Say Kim Dotcom May Never Be Tried or Extradited
At least you figured out that voting 3rd party is worthwhile. That said, I personally disagree with your choice of 3rd party but hey, it's a free country... I prefer voting for those who cherish freedom and are willing to abide by the constitution. As you say, R's and D's for the most part have long since stopped doing that and Socialists by definition can't possibly abide by the constitution as their philosophy is diametrically opposed to the protections in the constitution. The US constitution sets limits on the powers of the Federal government and Socialism removes all those limits.

Comment Re:Damn you George Bush! (Score -1, Redundant) 355

by rilian4 (#39739871) Attached to: FBI Seizes Server Providing Anonymous Remailer Service
I simply don't get this comment. Bush is not in power nor is he up for any election. The FBI currently is taking orders from a Democrat and you blame Bush? This is just ludicrous whatever you might think of Bush's presidency.

If Obama was the god of freedom that Leftists claim, he would have overturned the over-extending post-911 policies of the Bush Administration such as the Patriot Act instead of reveling in them and expanding them like many non-liberals warned that he would.

Comment back in the early days... (Score 1) 513

by rilian4 (#39645051) Attached to: Best Buy CEO Brian Dunn Resigns After $1.7 Billion Loss
Back in the mid 1990s, I knew a fellow student in my CS classes that worked at Best Buy. One of them was telling a story to the class about how Best Buy was marketing power strips as Windows 95 compatible. We were all rolling in our seats laughing. It seemed so ludicrous that anyone would believe that a simple run-of-the-mill power strip cared what was plugged into it and yet the student said they were flying off the shelves compared to other power strips. All we could do was shake our heads.

Comment Re:Wow (Score 5, Informative) 229

by rilian4 (#39571479) Attached to: Federal Court Tosses Colorado's Amazon Tax
Not exactly. This was a state law that was struck down...Not a federal one. It sounds (I haven't read the ruling) like it was a proper ruling but it does nothing to curb the federal government...only state governments.

That said, I agree that the federal government has gotten away w/ far too much for far too long by claiming all kinds of powers under the commerce clause. No doubt about it.

Comment Re:EAT IT, Thomas! (Score 1) 166

by rilian4 (#39484545) Attached to: Record-Setting 100+ T Magnetic Field Achieved At Los Alamos

Sadly, there is an award named after Edison and he gets all the attention in schoolbooks. Seems Edison's slow, amateur progress from a telegraph addict to inventing one of the least efficient light sources known to man is preferable to teaching about the 'madman' who repeatedly did the 'impossible' and established the technological foundation for the majority of modern age.

Probably just a bunch of teachers scared about what the middle-school science fairs would look like if Tesla had been part of the lesson plan...

Dude did invent quite a few things. He *does* deserve mention as a great inventor. You're right that Tesla is under-appreciated but that's no reason to beat down Edison.

Comment Re:Garmin lobbyists (Score 1) 516

by rilian4 (#39484411) Attached to: NHTSA Suggestion Would Cripple In-Car GPS Displays

I also stuff it in the cup holder and just listen to the auditory commands, if I'm using it for navigation. The screen *is* a distraction. If I want to study the route, I'll do it when the car isn't moving.

You're one person. Not all of us find an in-car map distracting. You don't want to use one, that's your choice. Don't force the rest of us to lose something we find very useful.

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