Am I the Only One Who Finds it Ironic that a Guy From a Show Called "Growing Pains" is Railing Against the Theory of Evolution?

Nearly a century and a half after the publication of Charles Darwin’s ‘The Origin of Species’, the debate over evolution goes on with no end in sight.

Now former Growing Pains star turned ubber evangelical Christian Kirk Cameron is promoting an effort to give away free copies of the book, but with a 50 page introduction that lays out the creationist theory, as well as allegations that Hitler liked Darwin, Darwin was racist, and hated women. Now the video of one Romanian woman is making the rounds as she rebuts Cameron’s claims that American is under assault by atheists.

H/T: Suburban Guerrilla

Bill Seeks to Give President Control of the Internet in an Emergency

Interest groups left, right, and center. Those who stood alongside Bush/Cheney when they took steps in the direction that many viewed as taking liberties with civil liberties, torture, rendition, and wiretapping; are now voicing opposition to a proposal that would in an emergency allow the President of the United States to seize control of the internet in an emergency, investing in him the authority to declare a cyber emergency and possibly disconnect non-government comnputers and internet providers.

Proponents of such a measure say that the President already has similar powers over other aspects of the national infrastructure, citing then President Bush’s ability and orders in the immediate aftermath of the 9/11 attacks to ground all civilian related aircraft from taking to the air. That so much data and so many transactions of commerce and security in the age we live in take place or are stored on the internet, that a cyber attack could reek havoc on the country.

But opponents assert that it could place more hands in the power of the federal government and is authority that could either be severely abused or lead to regulation of the internet.

Internet companies and civil liberties groups were alarmed this spring when a U.S. Senate bill proposed handing the White House the power to disconnect private-sector computers from the Internet.

They’re not much happier about a revised version that aides to Sen. Jay Rockefeller, a West Virginia Democrat, have spent months drafting behind closed doors. CNET News has obtained a copy of the 55-page draft of S.773 (excerpt), which still appears to permit the president to seize temporary control of private-sector networks during a so-called cybersecurity emergency.

The new version would allow the president to “declare a cybersecurity emergency” relating to “non-governmental” computer networks and do what’s necessary to respond to the threat. Other sections of the proposal include a federal certification program for “cybersecurity professionals,” and a requirement that certain computer systems and networks in the private sector be managed by people who have been awarded that license.

“I think the redraft, while improved, remains troubling due to its vagueness,” said Larry Clinton, president of the Internet Security Alliance, which counts representatives of Verizon, Verisign, Nortel, and Carnegie Mellon University on its board. “It is unclear what authority Sen. Rockefeller thinks is necessary over the private sector. Unless this is clarified, we cannot properly analyze, let alone support the bill.”

Representatives of other large Internet and telecommunications companies expressed concerns about the bill in a teleconference with Rockefeller’s aides this week, but were not immediately available for interviews on Thursday.

This is no doubt disturbing. This combined with Obama’s decision to allow authorities to continue with the Bush/Cheney policy allowing officials to seize the laptops of travelers at airports, shows that fear and the guise of national security is the area where citizens must remain the most vigilant and where their is the most potential for possibly irreversible abuses and injustices. It is the field where government has the greatest power and often times where the interests of government and the interests of the individual are most at odds. Conservatives and those who say they are most concerned about the scope and expanse of government should be more worried about actions and policies such as these, then excessive spending or taxation which well may be excessive, but can easily be reigned in and either truncated or eliminated.

Many of the conservatives now ridiculously say we are heading towards fascism because Obama and the congress are spending so much money and they want healthcare reform. Well governments spending and living within in our means is a legitimate issue, I hardly think that qualifies as the central tennet of Fascism or totalitarian ideology.

Two more points. First well the security of information on the internet is something worthy of thought and perhaps necessary, in this age of the Executive branch of government amassing sweeping powers in the name of national security, the ineptitude and abuses that have taken place as a result of this shows that a policy of this magnitude granted to a single branch of government with few safe guards, ample ambiguity, and that could curtail and control the flow of information to citizens; this is the sort of power that could be abused and shouldn’t be granted to a responsible government. In the words of one opponent of FDR’s court packing effort “it is more power then any bad man should have, and more power then any good man should want.”

Personally I would agree with those conservatives who voice strident opposition to this (hyperbole aside). Having said that, where the hell were you when the previous administration laid the foundation, precedent, and even took other sweeping measures (torture, rendition, Guantanamo, warantless wiretappings, spying on Quakers; etc)? Because when extreme power is put in the hands of one President it is transferred and allowed to grow in the hands of every President that comes after.

The Text Generation

The Internet, cellphones, text messaging, and social networking sites have immensely altered how people interact, do business, and as the New York Times finds even the morning rituals.

For generations; staggering out of bed, going to the bathroom, and either vying for the shower or being seated together at the kitchen table with the house patriarch with a face veiled by the newsprint of the morning edition of the newspaper; as the mother darts about the kitchen in a discombobulated state, and the children scurry about. But since them the nuclear family has changed and so have morning activities, as family members increasingly find themselves immersed in their own personal digital universes either on their lap tops or in the palms of their hands (i.e cellphones, video games, and blackberries).

Man blames Cat for downloaded Child Pornography on his computer

Well hey, sad to say if the twinkie defense can work I guess this can too.

Birthers

In the wake of the surfacing of the bogus Obama Kenyan Birth Certificate, Josh Marshall found a way that you can get an artificial Kenyan birth certificate.

The Changing World of Print Journalism

Following over a century in print, diminishing advertising revenues and a tectonic shift in the world of news print; the Ann Arbor News newspaper ceased its daily print edition Thursday. Instead it will release print editions only on Thursdays and Fridays; and shift the bulk of its energy as well as editorial and news gathering resources towards its website.

Is Michael Jackson really dead

Following the ultimate departure of Elvis Presley thirty two years ago, conspiracy theories that he is still alive and faked his own death, as well as a steady stream of Elvis sightings.

Now following the death of his ex-son-in-law Michael Jackson, the question may start to be asked Is Michael Jackson actually still alive? One site has what it thinks is the answer.

Iran Wrap-up 6/21/09 Neda Rest in Peace

The unrest and demonstrations in Iran continue in the wake of the controversial presidential election. Reports have surfaced that some family members of an ex-Iranian President have been imprisoned, as the suppression of professional media in the country has continued. A BBC News Corespondent has been instructed by the government to leave and the Bureau of the Arab news channel Al-Arabiya has been closed down. The U.S media has also been prey to the crackdown as a Newsweek journalist has also been detained. As many as 24 reporters have been arrested thus far.

Amidst the bedlam and discord though one death has become the tragic and brutal hallmark of the Iranian dissident movement. Neda Soltani, a girl who was as young as 16 years old according to some accounts was brutally assassinated by some of the security forces, and was left to have the last of life expelled from her body as she lay in her father’s arms awash in blood. Footage of Nada’s final terrifying moments of life is posted all over the internet, including above on here. The images are violent and disturbing, but the truth is far more so.

Nada was buried almost immediately so the Iranian government and their jardinieres would not have to endure a mourning ceremony, but something tells me they will endure far more resistance now both domestically and abroad. Yesterday in demonstrations the Basij, some of the most steadfast supporters of the regime were fought back when they sought to violently suppress demonstrations, some even being pushed off their motorcycles. Protesters, especially the young are said to be shouting her name as a rallying cry for the demonstrations. It is truly a tragedy that has unfolded over the past week and it has culminated in true horror.

One last note, for a regime that ascended to power three decades ago using the latest in technology at the time (audio cassettes) it is ironic that they now find themselves fighting to maintain power from a movement that is now in this age disseminating its message through a technology (the internet) that like in 1979 the current government doesn’t understand.

Internet + Recession= Return to the barter system?

Reportedly the volume of barter ads has doubled on Craig’s List.

On a national level, the increase in barter ads equals the international statistics, rising 100 percent in the last 12 months. Cook blamed the economy for some of the rise in Craigslist traffic.

“Obviously, in the face of financial hardship,” she explained, “people are finding creative ways to get what they want.”

Cook said statistics for the Akron/Canton Craigslist site, which she called “relatively new,” have increased even more dramatically.

“There has been a 450 percent increase in For Sale postings and an 800 percent increase in Barter postings over the last 12 months,” she said. “Obviously, the site’s popularity is growing rapidly, much of it tied to the economy, I’m sure.”

Editor’s Note

Note to my small number of loyal readers and those just stopping by on my rest stop of knowledge and banter on the vast highway of the internet. You can now reach this blog by simply writing in www.boxothoughts.com. The old address of http://boxothoughts.blogspot.com however also still works.