"Used to" being the operative phrase.

Obama wanted six lemons.

Both of you are being blinded by your preconceptions.

None of the examples of terrorist plots given by Chrisq were FBI instigated plots (not sure about the Brooklyn Bridge one though). On the other hand, the FBI does have a long track record of borderline entrapment (e.g. the Christmas Bomb plot in Portland, OR in 2010(?)).

But, and this is the crucial part, all of those plots were carried out by Americans, just like the OK City bombing, the Unabomber bombings, and the stand-offs at Ruby Ridge and Waco. The FBI, as a law enforcement agency tasked with investigations on US soil, as subsequently overwhelmingly of US citizens, has a duty to the people to uphold the Constitution. There are legitimate threats*, but that doesn't mean we need a secret police.

*I happen to think our perception of these threats is wildly exaggerated. We are far more scared of, and devote far more money to, terror attacks than their frequency and lethality deserve.

Dish Network has had exactly this same button on their DVR remotes for at least the last 4-5 years. In fact, I believe it is unique to them and a (minor) selling point in their marketing material. This technology (skipping ads) is only slightly different, but I think fundamentally so, in that it is specifically targeting a type of material as opposed to simply skipping ahead a fixed amount of time.

They are de-listing the sites in their search results, not confiscating the domain.

LOL
Worth the price of my /. account.

We bought our house from, and are friends with, a couple who are both symphonic musicians - she with the LA Phil and he with Long Beach. AFAIK they don't have other jobs, yet they are doing fairly well.

And knowing one's SSN allows you to divine their guilt or innocence, or whether their a combatant or civilian.

Maybe we're doing it backwards. Maybe if software engineers (helped) design government processes they would be more efficient.

I'm not a software engineer, but I do have that kind of logical thought process, and I know this has helped immensely in my career as I spec out business processes and design/refine the way of doing things (i.e. processing information, moving paperwork, reporting data, etc.)

Well, Medicaid is already for the poor.

How would this work for SS though? I'm upper middle class, my wife an I contribute to our 401(k)s, etc. So do I get a pass on my SS tax? Or do I pay into it without the expectation of getting anything back? What happens if the market tanks right before I retire, and the $1m I expected to have is now $500k? Am I eligible for SS to make up the difference? I don't think you've thought your plan through (or at least, not described it very well).