ShellMG 's Techdirt Comments

Latest Comments (74) comment rss

  • On the post: Why James Clapper Should Be Impeached For Lying To Congress

    ShellMG ( profile ), 11 Jun, 2013 @ 11:38am

    Re:

    Impeachment is the process by which an official is found guilty or innocent of malfeasance. If he/she is found guilty they are Removed.

    I'm convinced that nobody will ever be removed from office or fired because of these ongoing IRS, NSA, PRISM, Benghazi, etc. violations. NOBODY is going to stop the abuse, no one is going to confess to abuse, and they're going to get away with it.

    In fact, Susan Rice got promoted to LEAD the NSA after a marathon lying-to-the-media session post Benghazi attack. Seems to me Clapper can expect a nice raise and title in the near future.

  • On the post: Author Of The Patriot Act Says NSA Surveillance Is An Abuse And Must End

    ShellMG ( profile ), 10 Jun, 2013 @ 01:35pm

    Re: Only himself to blame

    "First a question, why in Rep. Sensenbrenner do his opinion piece on a British news site (The Guardian) rather than an 'merican one?"

    Most likely because US papers, especially the NY Times, Washington Post, etc. wouldn't print it.

  • On the post: Author Of The Patriot Act Says NSA Surveillance Is An Abuse And Must End

    ShellMG ( profile ), 10 Jun, 2013 @ 01:24pm

    "The Patriot Act itself provides statutory damages of $10,000 per person for damages...if there is a successful lawsuit then the money comes out of the Justice Dept.'s funding." - Rep. Sensenbrenner in a radio interview.

    I wonder if we Verizon (and VZW) customers are due a refund? Maybe a class action is in order, but then we'd see a small sum and the lawyers would cash in.

  • On the post: Author Of The Patriot Act Says NSA Surveillance Is An Abuse And Must End

    ShellMG ( profile ), 10 Jun, 2013 @ 01:21pm

    Rep. Sensenbrenner says the Patriot Act is supposed to sunset in 2015, and just said "my fear is the FISA court...is obviously not doing it's job. Decisions have been the opposite of what the Church committee intended" in an interview.

  • On the post: NSA Says It Doesn't Spy On Americans As Obama Administration Defends Letting NSA Spy On Americans

    ShellMG ( profile ), 06 Jun, 2013 @ 11:41am

    Not just We The People

    Apparently Eric Holder's "justice" department may be spying on Congress...and possibly the SCOTUS too.

    http://m.washingtonexaminer.com/kirk-to-eric-holder-is-doj-spying-on-congress/article/2531286/?page=1&referrer=http://t.co/TbRIhUztmc

  • On the post: IRS Audited Over Inappropriate Spending, Claims It Can't Find Its Receipts

    ShellMG ( profile ), 05 Jun, 2013 @ 10:10am

    We'd be in jail, our bank accounts frozen, our assets seized and more.

    IRS heads get paid vacations, aka "paid suspension" (Lois Lerner) or promoted. No one will be charged or held responsible.

    The Fair Tax would put the IRS out of business. It's fair and the antidote to the malignancy that is DC.

    It's also why congress will never vote for it.

  • On the post: Piano Instructor Claims Copyright On Writing Letters On Piano Keys

    ShellMG ( profile ), 29 May, 2013 @ 10:55am

    For their next trick: filing copyright/trademark on FACE and Every Good Boy Does Fine Always.

    Er...it's been +30 years so I can't remember the bass clef.

  • On the post: DOJ's History Of Ignoring The Rules When Getting Phone Records Of Journalists

    ShellMG ( profile ), 14 May, 2013 @ 12:13pm

    Re: Re: Re: Re: EVERYONE should be concerned.

    The disclosures of malfeasance by the Obama Administration are coming so Fast and Furious (God help me for that)I need two screens to keep up.

    This keeps getting screaming-head worse. Despicable doesn't even cover it.

  • On the post: DOJ's History Of Ignoring The Rules When Getting Phone Records Of Journalists

    ShellMG ( profile ), 14 May, 2013 @ 12:06pm

    Re: Re: EVERYONE should be concerned.

    Yes. A reliably liberals source, as well.

    http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/federal-eye/wp/2013/05/14/irs-released-confidential-info-on-conservative-groups-to-propublica/

    "ProPublica on Monday reported that the same IRS division that targeted conservative groups for special scrutiny during the 2012 election cycle provided the investigative-reporting organization with confidential applications for tax-exempt status."

    More articles may be forthcoming unless the media decides to just "let this one slip by..."

  • On the post: DOJ's History Of Ignoring The Rules When Getting Phone Records Of Journalists

    ShellMG ( profile ), 14 May, 2013 @ 11:46am

    EVERYONE should be concerned.

    (Mod, can you please delete prior post?)

    The liberal journalism group ProPublica was given IRS applications for conservative-leaning non-profits *before* they'd been approved or denied. ProPublica then USED that information to plant stories in the media on the tax status of individuals, including GOP candidates. This information came from ProPublica themselves in a rather surprising admission. Why did they decide to grant themselves golden boy status? So they can look like the "good guys" even though they used confidential info, given to them by the IRS, to play politics.

  • On the post: DOJ's History Of Ignoring The Rules When Getting Phone Records Of Journalists

    ShellMG ( profile ), 14 May, 2013 @ 11:43am

    Everyone. EVERYONE should be concerned.

  • On the post: More Details Show IRS Targeted Groups Critical Of How The Government Was Run

    ShellMG ( profile ), 14 May, 2013 @ 09:51am

    FOIA

    Given the fun and games sites like Techdirt and Popehat enjoy FOIA, this is a variation on a theme of the current administration:

    "Conservative groups seeking information from the Environmental Protection Agency have been routinely hindered by fees normally waived for media and watchdog groups, while fees for more than 90 percent of requests from green groups were waived, according to requests reviewed by the Conservative Enterprise Institute."

    Really, using government extensions and groupthink has been the MO of the Obama Administration since Day 1. This "news" on the IRS and Benghazi has been known and reported for years; the only surprise was the AP's admission.

    http://washingtonexaminer.com/article/2529609#.UZJpr5r5fMM.twitter

  • On the post: DOJ Unconcerned About The Constitution, Obtained AP Reporters' Phone Records

    ShellMG ( profile ), 13 May, 2013 @ 05:08pm

    Re:

    You can also add using the IRS to go after conservative and libertarian 501(c)(4) applicants. The IRS demanded their donor lists, names of friends and relatives, printouts of any and all social media account pages (Facebook and more), and so on. The demands were so twisted and unconstitutional the groups simply gave up and tried to shoulder the costs themselves.

  • On the post: Monsanto Wins Case Of Seed Patents; Planting Your Own Legally Purchased & Grown Seeds Can Be Infringing

    ShellMG ( profile ), 13 May, 2013 @ 01:46pm

    In case you were wondering...

    I didn't see it in the post here, but the USSC decision was unanimous. Kagan wrote the opinion.

    I guess I'll keep safer guards on my heirloom seed.

  • On the post: Judge Wright Tells Team Prenda To Pay $80k, Refers Their Activity To State Bars, Feds & IRS

    ShellMG ( profile ), 06 May, 2013 @ 04:55pm

    I used to work for attorneys and know briefs can be very dry (sometimes in the "family law" area, too), and this is a must-read. Where else can you read about a judge launching verbal photon torpedoes at the plaintiffs and referring them to the "upper decks," specifically the Feds and the IRS?

    It's short, just 11 pages PDF. WORTH the reading!

  • On the post: National Institute For Mental Health Abandons DSM Just As American Psychiatric Association Prepares Massive Update

    ShellMG ( profile ), 06 May, 2013 @ 02:37pm

    I wonder if this will eventually affect the medical fields and diagnosis of mental illness. A lot of health insurance providers use DSM codes in billing and actual care can shift with the decimal point.

  • On the post: CISPA Passes The House, As 288 Representatives Don't Want To Protect Your Privacy

    ShellMG ( profile ), 18 Apr, 2013 @ 11:11am

    In case you missed it, here's the clerk's list:

    http://clerk.house.gov/evs/2013/roll117.xml

    Sadly, my congressman voted for it.

  • On the post: Latest CISPA 'Privacy' Amendment Is More Of The Same: Minor Changes Dressed Up As Real Solutions

    ShellMG ( profile ), 18 Apr, 2013 @ 08:32am

    FYI: Justin Amash has linked this article on his Facebook page. He's been stellar when it comes to keeping voters updated on his voting record and *why* he votes as he does. I know there's a lot going on in the US at the moment, but now would be a good time to fire off a polite note to your congressman.

  • On the post: Thousands Of People Tweet To Rep. Mike Rogers That They're Not 14, Not In Their Basement, And They Still Oppose CISPA

    ShellMG ( profile ), 16 Apr, 2013 @ 04:35pm

    What's worrisome is he's planning to run for the Senate seat soon to be vacated (thank God!) by Carl Levin. I've voted in every primary since 1986, and I'll be voting for Justin Amash if he runs. Oh, here's what Red State's Neil Stevens (conservative site) said regarding Justin's stand on CISPA:

    "Fortunately, a bipartisan group of lawmakers led by Rep. Justin Amash (R-Mich.), a rising conservative star in Congress, has offered an amendment (PDF) to CISPA to fix this problem. By adding 16 words, their amendment clarifies that CISPA?s liability exemption does not permit companies to break the contractual promises they?ve made to their customers. This simple, elegant fix does nothing more than align CISPA?s language with its sponsors? public statements ? that information sharing must be truly voluntary ? while still clearing the regulatory 'thicket' that may hinder beneficial information sharing today."

    http://www.redstate.com/2013/04/16/cispa-shouldnt-infringe-on-freedom-of-contract/

  • On the post: States Continue To Make Photographing Or Taping Farms A Crime

    ShellMG ( profile ), 12 Apr, 2013 @ 11:46am

    Maybe some animal-rights activists should've wasted a bit of data usage and snuck a camera into Kermit Gosnell's "clinic." That way we would have known about his house of horrors before the murders.

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