Archive for the ‘Politics’ Category

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Amend the ECPA to protect email privacy!

Thursday, November 22nd, 2012

The privacy of our email is protected by the Electronic Communications Privacy Act, passed in 1986, which requires law-enforcement officials to obtain a warrant to intercept and read private email.

However, the law has a critical flaw: it does not require a warrant for emails “left on servers” for more than 180 days. This made sense when people downloaded their email and deleted it from servers, but it’s completely obsolete in an era when email is left on servers so that people can access it from anywhere on any device.

A coalition of email service providers is seeking a revision of the law to treat email stored on servers the same as email stored on home computers. This revision should be written into law and signed by President Obama as quickly as possible to protect the privacy of American citizens’ email.

Please sign and pass on this petition to help convince President Obama and Congress to fix the ECPA!

https://petitions.whitehouse.gov/petition/amend-electronic-communications-privacy-act-protect-email-privacy/S2W89zXV

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Posted in Computer Security, Computers, email, Government activism, Internet, Politics | No Comments »

Some truths about the Palestinian-Israeli conflict

Sunday, November 18th, 2012

I know there’s probably no point, but I finally snapped and dished some truth to some Israel haters in my Facebook feed. What finally set me off was this comment: “I find it inescapable that the Israelis took Palestine from the folks who were living there in 1946. Out of that injustice springs the current strife. I think the Israelis need to (1) apologize and (2) foot the bill for building a viable Palestinian state (a la the Rand plan), and (3) pay reparations. That would be a solid start to ending the conflict.”

Here’s what I wrote: (more…)

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Posted in Israel, Politics | 8 Comments »

Vote YES on Massachusetts Question 3 (“Medical Marijuana”)

Sunday, November 4th, 2012

Question 3 on the Massachusetts ballot in 2012 proposes to allow marijuana to be cultivated and sold in Massachusetts for the use of qualifying patients. To qualify, a patient must have been diagnosed with a debilitating medical condition, such as cancer, glaucoma, HIV-positive status or AIDS, hepatitis C, Crohn’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, ALS, or multiple sclerosis. The patient would also have to obtain a written certification, from a physician with whom the patient has a bona fide physician-patient relationship, that the patient has a specific debilitating medical condition and would likely obtain a net benefit from medical use of marijuana.

I recommend a vote of YES in support of medical marijuana in Massachusetts.

My recommendation is based on several independent, but related, factors:

  • Marijuana is medically beneficial to certain patients.
  • This is a clear-cut states’ rights issue.
  • The harm that might arise from the passage of this law is being exaggerated by its opponents, and the benefit from passing the law far exceeds any potential harm.
  • I support the lessening of restrictions on marijuana in general, and medical marijuana laws in other states have led to a change in attitude about marijuana and a better understanding that it is far less harmful than most other illegal drugs and deserves to be treated differently.

(more…)

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Posted in Government activism, Politics | 1 Comment »

Vote NO on Massachusetts Question 2 (“Death with Dignity”)

Saturday, November 3rd, 2012

Ballet Question 2 this year in Massachusetts proposes a “Death with Dignity” law, mirroring similar laws which have been enacted in two other states, Oregon (14 years) and Washington (3 years).

Though I support the right of individuals to choose to end their lives at a time of their own choosing, I cannot support the law proposed by Question 2. It has serious structural issues and establishes a precedent which could be used by anti-abortion groups to make it harder for women in Massachusetts to gain access to abortion services, and could be used as model legislation to create similar difficulties in other states as well.

(more…)

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Posted in Politics | No Comments »

Vote NO on Massachusetts Question 1

Saturday, November 3rd, 2012

I recommend a vote of NO on Massachusetts 2012 Question 1, the “Right to Repair” initiative.

Its purported goal is to ensure that independent automobile repair facilities have access to the same diagnostic information as car dealerships, so that consumers can have their cars maintained and repaired by whomever they want. This is a laudable goal, but Question 1 is the not the right way to accomplish it; it isn’t even necessary anymore, since a law has already been passed to do what Question 1 would do; and there are some highly questionable games being played at the last minute by supporters of the initiative.

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Posted in Consumer activism, Politics | No Comments »

Salty endorsements

Sunday, October 21st, 2012

UPDATE: The Salt Lake Tribune endorsed George W. Bush in 2000 and 2004, so contrary to what I wrote below, it probably is sort of a big deal that they endorsed Obama in 2012. I think what I said about the other newspapers listed below still stands, though I’d be happy to be proven wrong.

I want Obama to be reelected as much as anyone, but I’d really rather he win it fair and square, with full — and I mean FULL — transparency and honesty in pro-Obama stuff being posted online.

Much ado has been made in the last couple of days about the following newspapers endorsing Obama: Durango Herald (Colorado), Akron Beacon Journal, Asheville Citizen-Times (North Carolina), Arizona Daily Star (Tucson), and Salt Lake Tribune.

The Facebook postings and articles about these endorsements have made out like they’re a big deal because they’re all in important swing states where Republicans have traditionally done very well. The implication, which isn’t always stated explicitly but is clearly meant to be understood, is that it’s surprising that these newspapers have endorsed Obama. This implication is particularly strong in the case of the Salt Lake Tribune. After all, Romney is a Morman, Utah is the home state of the Mormons, so newspapers in Utah obviously should be endorsing Romney, right?

The truth is that these endorsements are not news, because every one of these newspapers also endorsed Obama in 2008 (funny how no one is mentioning this, eh?). Maybe that’s because their clear-thinking, visionary editorial boards recognized the potential danger in a McCain / Palin win, or recognized Obama’s greatness and a great moment in history, but frankly, I’m guessing it’s more likely it’s because they’re liberal newspapers.

It’s echo-chamber self-congratulatory chest-thumping to pretend that these are noteworthy endorsements. If you want Obama to win and you have time on your hands for gloating over these endorsements, it would probably be better spent canvassing or making phone calls for the campaign. Or just send them a check to help them run ads to combat the smear campaign by Romney and his SuperPACs in battleground states.

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Posted in Barack Obama, Politics | No Comments »

Why gays talk about leaving the country if Romney gets elected

Wednesday, October 3rd, 2012

To:askamy@tribune.com

Amy,

Responding to “Confused Neighbor,” you wrote, “Sophisticated people living in a country devoted to free speech should be able to tolerate different — or even offensive — perspectives without wanting to leave the country, but you don’t seem able to see things this way. This is something for you to work on.”

Rather than try to explain to you myself by just how much your comment above misses the point, I am going to refer you to someone who said it far better than I possibly could. I urge you to read this blog posting. When you’re done with that, do a little research and see if you can find out how many people have been killed in the United States of America in the past five years just because they were gay.

These will, I hope, help you to understand, that to gays living in the U.S.A. in 2012, it isn’t about free speech or offensive perspectives; it is about serious threats to their happiness, their well-being, and even their lives.

Regards,

Jonathan Kamens

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Posted in Politics, Social Activism | No Comments »

In support of the Boston Public Schools relocation plan

Wednesday, May 16th, 2012

Dear Mayor Menino,

A small, vocal group of parents with children at the Mission Hill School have been waging a campaign to derail the BPS administration’s plan to relocate the school to Jamaica Plain.

I am writing in opposition to their campaign and in support of the relocation plan as proposed by Dr. Johnson.

(more…)

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Posted in Boston, Government activism, Politics | 2 Comments »

International Criminal Court Indicts God for Mass Murder

Friday, February 10th, 2012

One of God's victims?

The Hague, The Netherlands – February 10, 2012 - The International Criminal Court today announced a sweeping indictment of the Lord God Almighty for mass murder.

An ICC spokesman explained the indictment. “We are emerging from a dark era in which humanity failed to recognize the full personhood of fertilized eggs. Now that we know the truth, we must seek justice for the trillions of innocent babies slaughtered in cold blood by the Creator. Even now, as I make this statement, the killing continues unabated.

“Since a fertilized egg has all the rights and privileges of a full-fledged human being, anything which prevents one from developing into a healthy baby is an act of murder. Anyone who has watched a teen-aged girl pee on a stick, look at it five minutes later, and cry out ‘Thank God!’ while slumping to the floor crying hysterically, knows that when a zygote fails to implant itself in its mother’s uterus, the Master of the Universe is to blame.”

“The target of this indictment is the most cruel, merciless, evil, psychopathic mass murder the ICC has ever pursued,” the ICC spokesman continued. “Since the birth of man, the the Heavenly Father has caused countless deaths of the most defenseless and innocent of victims. Not only that, but he openly boasts about his crimes in his memoir, The Old Testament, where he admits preventing the implantation of zygotes in Sarah, Rachel, and Hannah, among others.”

The indictment is not limited to the zygote murders mentioned by name in The Old Testament, which are merely specific examples of the Prince of Peace’s crimes. The Just One also readily admits to the general accusation against him: “Behold, children are a heritage from the Lord, the fruit of the womb a reward.”

The indictment includes only the crime of preventing zygote implantation, not of causing miscarriages. According to the ICC spokesman, “Everybody knows that when a woman miscarries, it’s her own damn fault, so the Court expects signatories to the Rome Statute to  to speedily enact legislation mandating murder charges for any woman who loses a baby.”

The Merciful One, Blessed Be He, was unavailable for comment.

 

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Posted in Politics, Religion, Social Activism | 2 Comments »

Herman Cain judged appropriately

Monday, December 5th, 2011

Today’s letter to the editor of the Herald:

To the editor:

Herman Cain was forced out of the campaign by his immoral acts and lies about them, not by liberal ideologues as Joe Fitzgerald claims. Cain’s plummeting poll numbers came from conservatives who might have actually voted for him.

It’s true that other politicians, on both sides of the aisle, have dallied, gotten caught, and emerged with little damage. The difference is not their politics or their race, but rather their reaction to exposure. It’s obvious that Cain is lying through his teeth, and as usual, the coverup was worse than the crime.

As is befitting in an America which is increasingly post-racial, Cain was judged not by the color of his skin, but by the content of his character.

Sincerely,

Jonathan Kamens

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Posted in Boston, Politics | 2 Comments »

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