Under a Gibbous Moon

This is what happens when agencies don’t cooperate and share information.

Hat Tip: Schneier on Security

Reversing their previous position, the Menifee School District has decided to reinstate the dictionary in the classroom. Previously, they had stated that, despite it being hard, they would read the dictionary to look for “other things of a graphic nature”.

Seems the task was took difficult so they just said hell with it and put the book back on the shelves.

This is a good one. People always said that George W. Bush did better when he stayed on his prepared remarks. Apparently the same can be said for South Carolina Lt. Governor Andre Bauer.

Given his recent statements, there is no way this man should be allowed anywhere near a podium with out someone vetting his statements. Of course, a man like him probably shouldn’t be holding office to begin with. Just reading the text of his remarks doesn’t give a good feel for the true vileness of this man, no it is far better to hear his words for yourself.

It’s one thing to be opposed to welfare or other social programs, it is quite another to believe that they are wrong because the recipients are nothing more than animals.

The Menifee School district in southern California has decided to ban a book from the classrooms for containing vulgar words.

The dictionary.

That’s right. It is a filthy book. Almost every conceivable obscene and vulgar word is not only contained within its pages, but defined as well. Sure it’s always been this way, but they are just now finding out about this (and the tooth fairy).

This is just the height of stupidity. Roth v United States defined obscenity as appealing only to prurient interests. If you get titillated from reading the dictionary then you are going to have a real hard time handling television.

Miller v California then went on to further refine the obscene as having no literary, artistic, political, or scientific value. The dictionary, of course, is the repository of our language and is therefore of great scientific value. That’s why we keep them in schools, universities, and other such places of learning.

But, of course, the book burning shall not stop there. Betti Cadmus, the school district spokeswoman, has vowed to scour the dictionary to uncover the filth that lay within.

“It’s hard to sit and read the dictionary, but we’ll be looking to find other things of a graphic nature.”

Hey look, your tax payer dollars at work.

Hat tip: Boing Boing

In an attempt to make England the most surveilled country next to China, the government has contracted out for its own fleet of UAV drones. You know, like the ones we use to spy on terrorists.

Not content to merely spy on its citizens with security cameras on every corner, the British government has taken to the skies. From there they will monitor maritime traffic as well as road traffic. In fact, covert urban surveillance is one of the key components of the program. Which is great since, in order to offset its costs, they plan to sell surveillance data private companies.

The way things are going over there, England will soon be declaring war on Eastasia (or was it Oceania?) and shoveling their citizens down the Memory Hole.

Hat Tip: Schneier on Security