Regulation

Congress Critters aren’t Immune Either

This entry was posted in Constitution Economics Law Law Enforcement Libertarianism Regulation on by

Immune to what? The same thing as the police in the last post: wasting their time (not worth much) and ours with laws that should not exist in the first place.
Nick at Hit & Run tells us about Rep. Doug Ose’s (R-Calif.) current important legislation:

to increase the FCC’s infamous seven dirty words to eight (by doubling up on versions of “asshole”).
No grammatical novice, Ose wants to ban noun forms as well as “verb, adjective, gerund, participle, and infinitive forms” of the words too terrible to speak. Ose is pissed–excuse me, peeved–that U2 frontman Bono got away with saying “fucking” during the Golden Globes Award broadcast a while back.

Ose is not alone in his concern nastiness on the airwaves:

The FCC’s enforcement bureau ruled that Bono’s utterance was neither indecent nor obscene because it did not describe a sexual function.
Sens. Ernest F. Hollings (D-S.C.) and 11 Republicans, including Pete V. Domenici (R-N.M.), introduced a resolution last week blasting the FCC’s ruling on Bono.

These critters need to spend more time at home relaxing instead of worrying about our sensitve ears. Get rid of the rules/laws and let folks use the tuner to listen to whatever makes them happy.
Nick closes his post with this question:

Question for all you amateur lawyers out there: Would it be illegal to go on TV and call Ose a fucking asshole who’s wasting everyone’s time with shit like this?

I don’t know about the legality but I do know that the expletives whether used as above or by Bono add no value to the discourse so why use them in the first place.

Warding off door-to-door peddlers

This entry was posted in Capitalism Constitution Economics Libertarianism Privacy Regulation on by

The Age has some suggestions for warding off door-to-door sales folks of all varieties. For instance:

If Witnesses, Mormons, and other evangelists, such as mobile phone salespeople, provided some notice then things would be different. Forewarned, you could answer the door wearing a Charles Manson T-shirt, carrying a copy of Aleister Crowley’s The Book of the Law in one hand and a dead chicken in the other, with Alice Cooper’s Welcome To My Nightmare blaring out of the stereo. Or you could answer the door dressed as a Teletubbie, gently cradling a tissue box full of chopped liver. Either strategy would work.

There more, enjoy.
Via The Pagan Prattle.

Two faces of Michael Powell

This entry was posted in Capitalism Constitution Domestic Terrorism Economics Federal Government Internet Regulation Technology on by

Yesterday Michael Powell said the following (PDF) in remarks opening a forum on Voice over IP:

As one who believes unflinchingly in maintaining an Internet free from government regulation, I believe that IP-based services such as VOIP should evolve in a regulation-free zone.
No regulator, either federal or state, should tread into this area without an absolutely compelling justification for doing so.

This is the same guy that recently supported the implementation of the broadcast flag and willingly accepts it as his duty to use regulation to push the implementation of HDTV which may be nifty high quality but, nevertheless, should be left to find its own way in the market. We will either embrace it or ignore it.
Something that could bring the development of VoIP to a grinding halt is this push (requires free registration) by the FBI and the Justice Department to have the FCC assure that they will be able to eavesdrop on our VoIP calls:

The FBI and Justice Department want the FCC to classify Internet-based telephony as a traditional telecommunications service, which would subject it to federal laws requiring carriers or software companies “to develop intercept solutions for lawful electronic surveillance.”

It is time to just say no to these folks.
Via beSpacific here and here.
Update (12/3): For more on the FCC’s VoIP forum see The Knowledge Problem.

More Do Not Call

This entry was posted in Constitution Law Regulation Spam on by

Thudfactor is just thrilled with MCI’s telemarketers.
This is a good example why it should be made easy for us to take these folks to court and collect damages. And it is a good example why you should be able to call your local police, complain about harassment and trespassing, and have them actually do something about it.
A Do Not Call List should not be required.