The US Government imposes an income tax on all of its citizens, even if they do not work within the legal jurisdiction of the United States.

So, clearly there is nothing jurisdictional preventing France imposing this tax. If the US can do it, so can everyone else.

Haha that scene sounds like it came right out of Idiocracy: Part Dew

Whistleblower laws typically only apply to employees of the agency that is having the whistle blown on them.

They do not generally apply to outside hackers who are trying to gain unlawful access into the agency's resources.

I don't. There's only so much you can do, but I live in a rural agrarian place where there are no megafarms, feedlots, or other industrial agriculture (the terrain is not forgiving enough for that in the foothills of the blue ridge mountains).

My wife is an Environmental Engineer, so she keeps tabs on our soil and water quality and we've never had any problems with contamination.

Nobody can live in a vacuum, so there is always going to be a small contribution from the rest of humanity, but it's like putting a thimble full of tequila into a swimming pool. Nobody's going to get drunk off of that.

100%, grass-fed on my acreage with no hormones, steroids, or antibiotics - processed in town by a local processor for $0.60/lb + a $50 kill fee, which includes vacuum packing and freezing.

When I say this article, I turned to my wife and said "Hey, someone posted an Ask Slashdot asking 'How do I get my spouse to start gaming with me?'"

And, she just busted out laughing, saying that was the most ridiculous question she'd ever heard. The answer is, of course, "you don't."

If she's not a gamer, she's not a gamer. Don't try to change her.

Little did we all know that this was actually the root password on HAL9000.

You are asking the equivalent of abolishing social security. All the TSA is, is a federal jobs welfare program. Think of all the poor, downtrodden, underrepresented people you will be kicking out on the street to starve to death. Certainly you can't be a proponent of that, can you?

I've had commercial service from Comcast for years and I've never been NATed.

They want their industrial PC architecture back.

The logical conclusion of this absurd line of reasoning is that we should not charge criminals for violating the law if doing so might make them feel bad about themselves.

It's the absurdity of our public education system (can't fail a kid if it might damage their self-esteem) expanded into absurdity in the application and enforcement of the law.

Ever been to Tel-Aviv?

Point taken - but that is still not why the administration set up the petition website. It's just a tertiary or quaternary consequence of it.

How dare you bring logic, facts, and reason into a political argument with commie pinko lefty wingnuts about the oil and gas industry, or any other profitable industry for that matter?

The company I work for did just that this year. Apparently one of the new things with the health care law is that health insurance can require participation in a "wellness" program where the insurance company manages your diet and exercise plan, with premiums tied to your performance - all based on junk science, too (the BMI).

I'm 71" tall and 180lbs, 6% bodyfat, and they are commanding I lose 13lbs by October 15th or pay $300 extra for my health premium in 2014, because the BMI says I'm overweight.

Idiots.