One of the problems with the "three strikes" laws is that a person already facing life without parole has little to lose by killing the policeman they send to arrest him.

This veers into the same territory. A person already facing ten years has little to lose by setting a fire or two or lobbing a rock through a window, and has a strong incentive to resist arrest.

I think the real problem is the "all or nothing" approach the public tends to take.

"I found a study on climate change that is mistaken; therefor, every study on climate change is mistaken!" "I found a minor tenant of Darwinian Theory that has been modified; therefor, every theory of evolution must be a lie!"

Science has always been contentious. It's really hard to admit we're wrong.

The artists who say they support Megaupload could have put a CC license on their work and let them distribute it legally, or gone a step further and put it on their own websites.

A lot of people purposely violated Thailands lèse majesté laws on the internet because they thought it was funny. We'll see if they're still laughing while they're on their way to Bangkok in shackles. Anyone who ever posted a less-than-modest photo will soon find themselves on the way to Iran.

If it's illegal anywhere, not it's illegal everywhere.

It's not *you* they're targeting, it's your friends. I hope your friends are as into Team Fortress and Nickelback as you are.

The state I live in, Texas, doesn't just have a state sales tax, we've also got county and city sales taxes- and each city and county sets their own, within guidelines set by the state. This is going to be a nightmare for retailers to keep up with, especially the little guys.

I like The Fruit Tree Planting Foundation. It's good for the environment, it creates pretty parks, and it feeds people. http://www.ftpf.org/

It's not so terrible different than the large number of Americans who want to ban flag burning. People don't like it when their national symbols are desecrated.

Part of the reason I hate updates is, honestly, my geek skills erode with each new package. With DOS I was a god; with Windows 7 I'm just a n00b.

In my day, we all had crappy jobs, with low pay and long hours and soul-crushing tedium- and we were grateful!

First they came for the newsgroups,
- but I did not use newsgroups, so I did not speak out.
Then they came for the chatrooms and bulletin boards,
- but I used neither, so I did not speak out.
Then they came for the P2P users,
- but I did use P2P, so I did not speak out.
And when they came for me, there was no one left to speak out for me.