I keep thinking there is hope Isthmus Editor Bill Lueders may one day come to understand that expensive intrusive government is bad for life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. The history of his writing shows he believes the non sequitur that progressive government means good government, but at least he still has some residual sense that big brother has some downside potential.
Big Bro Comes to Your House: Check out this chilling passage from the city's "Cart Chronicle," delivered to Madison residents along with their new garbage bins:
"Microwaves, TV's, Fluorescent Bulbs, Computer Monitors, and CPU's require a fee for collection. Putting these items in your cart is illegal and you could be fined. Our trucks are equipped with cameras that monitor what is emptied and you can be billed for materials illegally placed in your cart."
Holy police state, Batman! Besides making profligate use of capitalization and apostrophes, the city's garbage Gestapo are watching what you toss, so violators can be punished.
A Real Bush Administration Assault on Civil liberties: The Bush Administration has now approved a program that can be rightly considered a direct assault on civil liberties. [Quoting the Washington Post source] The Bush administration has approved a plan to expand domestic access to some of the most powerful tools of 21st-century spycraft, giving law enforcement officials and others the ability to view data obtained from satellite and aircraft sensors that can see through cloud cover and even penetrate buildings and underground bunkers.
A program approved by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence and the Department of Homeland Security will allow broader domestic use of secret overhead imagery beginning as early as this fall, with the expectation that state and local law enforcement officials will eventually be able to tap into technology once largely restricted to foreign surveillance...
