But my modest proposal had them assigned to be fed to the Irish.

Serious rethinking is what people who think they want smart toasters need to do.

I really don't feel the need to see every device under the sun attached to the internet. And I certainly don't want my car being tracked by smart roads and bridges. It's bad enough that they're already using license plate cameras to track us all.

If you think "no reason" applies to this situation, you don't know much about how the feds get when they are trying to destroy a person as an example. They don't let the facts get away of "sending a message".

Tell them where to be putin it!

The problem with your argument is that he did not actually ignore the law. Mr. Swartz did have access to JSTOR and was authorized to access the material he accessed. At worst, he entered an IT closet. If he damaged any part of the closet, I wouldn't know, as I consider it such a minor matter as to be negligible in this case. Especially since he did have the right to have his laptop on that network.

A young man is dead because the government set out to destroy his life over some documents. Beyond that, very little matters at this point.

He gave information that could help the American people make better informed decisions regarding their governance. I think that counts as aiding an enemy of the state at this point.

Basically, if anything makes copies of things, if it makes copies of random bit of stuff floating by you'll end up with as much random stuff as useful stuff.

I meant makes copies of itself, or at least something that can also make copies. If a "baby" can't make copies, then there will not be more of it.

Maybe it eventually "learns" to consume the other experiments such that in the end, there's nothing left in the pond but successful reproducers, which then spill into adjacent ponds.

These actions are never about the dissidents they find. It's always about making an example of someone. It doesn't even have to be a real person, as long as the coverage is public enough and people believe it.

True, but it's much more efficient to inspect each cow, pig, or chicken than it is the thousands upon thousands of insects it would take to equal one cow's worth of food.