They're supposed to check all IDs, but yeah. Security theater.

It's actually much easier.

They don't. It's a huge problem (no pun intended). It's been one of the impetuses for "big data," but there hasn't been a single plot disrupted so far. Targeted surveillance is the only way to get effective intelligence. Mapping phone numbers and/or communications to specific phones, and from phones to individuals is far from trivial on a mass level, although it's usually possible with targeted efforts. Dragnets only work if you don't care who or what gets caught up in them.

Soo, you want to replace a democratically elected government because you disagree with the electorate? Because your individual vote didn't outweigh all of theirs? How is that better? That sounds worse to me.

Keep in mind, I'm on the side of strong civil liberties, but I don't think that can be accomplished through tyranny. If people know they're right, and they're dedicated to making change, and convince others, then change can happen. See the decriminalization of marijuana as one of the most recent examples. Or gay marriage. It may take a generation, or even two, but it happens. As Churchill said, America always does the right thing -- after trying everything else first.

This is more about expectations. It seems that you expect things to change quickly and decisively just because you see them a certain way. That expectation seems unreasonable to me, even if I agree with the way you see things. Maybe I will have to deal with intrusive government surveillance for the rest of my life, but prior generations have had to endure worse. I'll do what I can to change minds and votes, but I don't expect it to happen overnight. That's not how society works.

Right? Same thing goes for allowing private citizens to drive. Only truck drivers and taxis should be on the road. Freedom is so anti-American.

I agree.

It doesn't really need to be that difficult -- just require a license, like flying a plane. Educate people on restricted airspaces, and that will resolve 99% of the problems. There will always be scofflaws, but most people are law abiding.

Spending money for making sure you can protect yourself from Muslims is never "wasted"

I beg to differ...

You and me baby ain't nothin' but mammals

If so, I hope they use a much softer material. :(

The heavier the phone, the easier it is to break.

Did you mean "the lighter the phone," because if not, I've got a steel phone that begs to differ.

Not really. Anyone with sufficient skill and patience can cheaply replace their own battery, and manufacturers and third parties both offer that service if you'd rather not DIY. Whether it's worthwhile, of course, depends on how new your phone is, and the cost of an upgrade, but for many people in a 2 year contract, it's much cheaper to replace the battery, even through a service, than to upgrade or replace the phone.

You would need half the cycles to do the same amount of work, but how long would "the same amount of work" really happen though? I think manufacturers would probably add features that are prohibitively expensive from a power budget standpoint today. That's an easier and more distinguishing selling point for competition than battery life. I mean, a flip phone will go for many days without needing to be recharged, if that's someone's primary consideration.

Right, just like a chalkBOARD, a chessBOARD, and a leaderBOARD. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to take my keyBOARD and go home.

The difference is that both genders have locker rooms. What if there were only locker rooms for girls, and boys just had to change anywhere they could? That's what this is.