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The Washington Post has an article on how the FBI has sent has adopted a practice of using these “National security letters” to find out all sorts of information on someone without them knowing. There is practically no oversight of what kind of information can be collected or why the information is collected.

As of a few years ago, collected information that was deemed not useful was destroyed. Now the information is held forever in databases, to be used for whatever purposes the FBI thinks is necessary. The increased abilities in the FBI to issue a National scurity letter is thanks to the Patriot Act.

This Bush administration seems bent on becoming Big Brother. We’re at war with terror, and it doesn’t seem like that will end any time soon. The government is scandal-ridden, and there is no transparency anymore.

Things are getting ridiculous now. The government can find out who we talk to, where we go, or what we do, and we don’t even know that they know. And it’s all in the name of “national security.” Give me a break.

An advisory panel for tax reform recommended a huge reduction in the tax deduction for homeowners, and elimination of state and local tax deductions for federal taxes.

I’m still trying to figure out how this would affect me. I do have a feeling that we are going to get screwed. But then again, I’m not so sure. The places the NYT talks about have housing that is much more expensive than here in Greensboro, so maybe it won’t be so bad.

In any event, these are just recommendations. And I think any politician that endorses this would get attacked as being against home ownership. So I think when it comes down to it, we’ll just see more of the status quo.

What do you think? Do you think that these recommendations will actually be implemented?

A new CD offering by Sony will secretly install a program (a “rootkit“) on your Windows PC if you install the software that comes with the CD. The secret program basically hijacks the CD drive and rewrites a chunk of Windows code, so the files running it are hidden from the system. The files are also hidden from any virus scanners out there. Taking that fact a little further, a virus writer could exploit that and create a nasty little virus to wreak havoc on any PC out there, thanks to Sony and it’s anti-piracy efforts. Removing the software (if you can) makes the CD drive inoperable. Nice touch there.

That pretty much does it for me and Sony. I’ll no longer do any business with them, and support these unethical and likely illegal activities. They have no right to install software on my PC without my knowledge, and they certainly have no right to hack the operating system like this.

For (much) more detailed info, see the article that started the whole controversy for yourself.

Kansas is one of several states revamping their science curriculum to lessen the role evolution plays, promoting other ideas, like intelligent design or creationism, as science. As a result, two science organizations have refused to grant them permission to use their copyrighted materials in their standards.

I’m not sure that this is the best way to go about promoting evolution. However, there is no mistaking that evolution is a fact. It is not a theory on how the world has come to be. The “bird-flu” virus is a perfect example of evolution in action. Since the time between generations is quite short, genetic mutations happen frequently. Some mutations are good, some aren’t so good. The good ones get passed on down to future generations, the not so good ones die out. Kind of sounds like Darwin…

But I digress. Not allowing Kansas to use evolution material will only backfire. It is like the science organizations just don’t want to play with Kansas anymore, so they are taking their marbles home. I think the information needs to be available, if only to not put the students of Kansas schools at a scientific disadvantage when they enter college and the workforce.

What do you think? Do you agree with the science organizations? Should they not let Kansas use their copyrighted material?

Does eating poorly lead to poor behavior? This article seems to think so, and they have some scientific evidence to back it up.

We all know the saying, “You are what you eat.” So if we eat bad, does it stand to reason we’re not as well behaved? This article from CNN suggests people are getting ruder. The suggestion is that our high-paced society is causing the rudeness. But what if it was poor nutrition?

The article also reminds me a scene from Super Size Me. Actually, the beginning of this article references (I think) the same High School for troubled students. Kids start eating better, and their behavior gets a whole lot better.

What do you think? Do you think poor nutrition causes poor behavior?