The comment about cracking safes is golden. Our country has a really big problem with this train of thought in general -- they attempt to fix the symptoms of problems, not the cause (ie. it's not bad security practices to do this -- just avoid this one guy who who know may be able to crack your safes!).
Politicians are especially bad at this, because usually causes are much more complex than the symptoms they manifest as. So it looks like they're "doing something" and getting that re-electability cred they so desire.
Whether some law abiding citizen chooses to own a gun or not is *THEIR* business. Putting their name and address out there for the whole world to see, as happened in NY, seems to actually run counter to the whole public safety ideal, doesn't it?
There were a lot of fantastic funny/insightful posts on that Sony story. Glad to know I'm in good company of people who are so offended by their track record (new DRM scheme, the old rootkits scandal, failure to give a shit about customer's information ala PSN hacking) who refuse to buy or use another Sony product.
Perhaps you remember when the Associated Press attempted to get this information on Illinois FOID card owners? Well, the state AG said they had to be turned over, and the ISP said "no", and they passed a law that kept this information private (law enforcement and such agencies only).
In my personal view, Illinois actually got that one right -- it's information that does not need to be public.
This reminds me of a computer component where the box had the instructions for installation say "visit this website", but unfortunately I had my computer apart before I read that, and needed the part to continue before I could get on the internet. What do.
I have determined that 'corporations are people' stops immediately when it comes to assuming actual responsibility or sending people to prison for criminal activity. So basically it's a matter of convenience.
Breaking the law isn't magically protected under the guise of journalism. Especially when it's something that the average joe probably feels they'd get arrested or fined for.
To be fair, David Gregory waving around an illegal object (a gun magazine) on national TV was a pretty stupid way to make a point. Something that most of the rest of us would have gotten arrested for, no doubt. I'm not sure that breaking the law to make a point that something should be illegal makes any sense. I think most people are complaining about the appearance of a double standard. The same way people feel slighted when corporations get off with "fines" for stuff that most of us would spend life (or worse) in prison for. Trying to play devil's advocate here -- be either side right or wrong, it's not hard to see the point people are making here. The petition is pretty stupid, though.
Also, someone should remind Piers Morgan that Freedom of Speech is not Freedom of Consequences from saying stupid shit.
1) Friend gets new CD
2) We ride around in his car and listen to it
3) If good, more of us buy the CD
4) If bad, we ridicule it
I'm sure certain people would like to make this activity illegal. I mean, if we don't all buy the CD individually and then judge how good or bad the album is, aren't we also just dirty pirates!?
The joke is that thinking that once you've uploaded a picture to the internet that it somehow stay inside this magic privacy box. If you don't want stuff shared on the internet -- Don't. Fucking. Post it.
On the post: Funniest/Most Insightful Comments Of The Week At Techdirt
Safe Crackers
Politicians are especially bad at this, because usually causes are much more complex than the symptoms they manifest as. So it looks like they're "doing something" and getting that re-electability cred they so desire.
On the post: New York State Starts Walking Back On Transparency; Grants Gun Owners Exemption From Disclosure Of Public Records
Come on Techdirt, you're better than this.
On the post: NRA: Games To Blame For Violence! Also, Here's A Shooting Game For 4-Year-Olds!
Re:
On the post: GEMA Vs. YouTube Hits The Three Year Mark As Rate Negotiations Fall Through Again
I mean, damn it, they're established middlemen and gatekeepers of the industry. They're just too big to fail!
On the post: Was An Advertisement In Vogue The Inspiration For The Star Wars Opening Crawls?
Re: Re: Flash Gordon?
http://youtu.be/VGbSOEWRgu0?t=1m30s
Tim's point still stands, though.
On the post: Time Warner's 'Conversation' Website Ditches All Comments; The Conversation Is Just Them To You
On the post: The Flipside: Embracing Closed Gardens Like The Apple App Store Shows Just How Un-Free You Want To Be
"I reject your reality, and substitute my own."
On the post: Funniest/Most Insightful Comments Of The Week At Techdirt
On the post: Sony Patent Application Takes On Used Game Sales, Piracy With Embedded RFID Chips In Game Discs
Oh wait, I already don't, thanks to other various stupid crap from the past (rootkit scandal, anyone?).
On the post: Blowback From Publication Of Gun Owner Data Continues -- Threats, Lawsuits And Rejected FOIA Requests
In my personal view, Illinois actually got that one right -- it's information that does not need to be public.
On the post: Razer Updates Synapse Software With Better 'Offline Mode,' Other Problematic 'Features' Remain Unchanged
On the post: FBI, Working With Banks, Chose Not To Inform Occupy Leadership Of Assassination Plot On Its Leaders
Re: Even Better
On the post: Funniest/Most Insightful Comments Of The Week At Techdirt
Re: Re: Re:
Bloody hell.
On the post: MTP's David Gregory Does Journalism, Some Citizens Want His Arrest
On the post: Funniest/Most Insightful Comments Of The Week At Techdirt
Re:
We really need an edit button. D:
On the post: Funniest/Most Insightful Comments Of The Week At Techdirt
Also, someone should remind Piers Morgan that Freedom of Speech is not Freedom of Consequences from saying stupid shit.
On the post: Copyfraud: Copyright Claims On CDs Say It's Infringement To Loan Your CD To A Friend
Re:
1) Friend gets new CD
2) We ride around in his car and listen to it
3) If good, more of us buy the CD
4) If bad, we ridicule it
I'm sure certain people would like to make this activity illegal. I mean, if we don't all buy the CD individually and then judge how good or bad the album is, aren't we also just dirty pirates!?
On the post: Mark Zuckerberg's Sister Should Just Admit She Doesn't Understand Facebook's Privacy Rules Either
On the post: Intellectual Ventures: Don't Mind Our 2000 Shell Companies, That's Totally Normal
Re:
On the post: Prenda Law Accused Of Trying To Start Over Again Under A New Name
But fortunately it is now the holidays, and the necessary 5 gallon buckets of it are readily available!