Trump, The Worm In The Apple
Feb 20, 2016 2016 Election, Commentary
The terrorists who murdered people in San Bernardino before they were shot to death by law enforcement left behind an Apple iPhone and the FBI can’t crack into it. It seems the encryption in place will not allow the FBI tech folks access to the phone. The FBI wants Apple to access the device.
Apple claims it cannot do so unless it creates some kind of back door access that would affect all other iPhones. It seems Apple really did a bang up job of securing their phones after a lot of public outcry about privacy and the assistance given by the government to many tech companies.
[note]Apple made a point when it launched its new security to tell us they could not access an individual’s phone. At that time government protested and is evidently using this phone to make its case.[/note]
The issue here is a big picture issue. Apple says it can’t access the phone without building a means that would allow access to all phones. This, of course, is what the FBI (read government) wants. The government does not like the idea that it can’t access your stuff. I know there will be promises that this is just one phone and they would never use the technology to access other phones but they lie. We have seen far too many instances of surveillance overreach by the government. Stingray is one little thing they have developed and overused even allowing local police to use it provided they keep it secret.
Government will always abuse any tool or power it gets. They always justify it (or should I say rationalize it) by saying they are trying to keep us safe or that it is for the greater good but the reality is they want power and control and the San Bernardino terrorist attack provided the catalyst for the FBI to gain access.
Look, there might be important things on the phone that would help round up other terrorists but that alone is not a reason to develop something that would allow access to millions of phones that belong to people who have done nothing wrong. If accessing this phone at the expensive of others is deemed acceptable then what will stop them when the argument is eavesdropping on all of us is OK because they might find a few bad guys while doing it?
Donald Trump threw his hat into the fray over the phone by declaring Apple should do what the FBI wants and people should boycott Apple until they acquiesce. When asked by commentators at Fox about how the back door could be used to access even his phone the Donald said if it meant more security he was OK with it. Security was more important than liberty, in the mind of the Donald.
Donald, a Founding Father of this nation had something to say about people like you:
“They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety.” ~ Ben Franklin
The quote may well have dealt with security and taxes during the French-Indian War but the words are well adapted to our civil liberty. If you Donald are willing to give up your liberty (as you stated when you said it was Ok for the government to have access to your phone, and by extension all of ours) because it was for security then you really deserve neither.
The ends do not justify the means in this case and if Trump thinks they do then he might as well be quoting Rules for Radicals.
There are plenty of tech experts in this country and no doubt a number of them have the ability to hack into that particular phone. If the FBI wants to pay one such person (one has already offered to do it for free) then that is up to them.
To leave all of us vulnerable to unwanted and unconstitutional violations of our privacy because of one phone that belonged to a terrorist is not a tradeoff worth considering.
Maybe, just maybe, if you believe in liberty you should consider boycotting Trump instead of Apple…
Cave canem!
Never surrender, never submit.
Pope Francis; Tear Down Those Walls
Feb 18, 2016 2016 Election, Immigration
Pope Francis, a man whose actions call his devotion into question, has entered the US political fray by attacking Donald Trump. The Pope was in Mexico and was asked about Trump’s positions regarding immigration and particularly his stance on building a wall. The Pope commented that we should be building bridges, not walls, and that anyone who would build such a wall is not a true Christian.
I am sure the Pope is aware that Christians read the Old Testament and follow its doctrine even though it was the Jews involved as Christians were not yet around. In the Old Testament there is some mention, I am sure the Pope can have a Bishop look it up, of at least one walled city.
In fact, if the Pope looks out his bedroom window he can see the very same thing.
You see Vatican City, which is its own small sovereign state, is surrounded by very high walls making it nearly impossible to get in. The Vatican has millions of people who enter it as tourists to visit the place but only about 800 people there are CITIZENS and the rules to gain citizenship are very strict.
Not just any Tom, Dick, or Harry can enter the Vatican and request citizenship. No one can scale the wall (thus entering illegally) and expect to stay and reap the benefits that those who come to America illegally get.
Pope Francis, you need to tear down those walls lest people take you at your word and claim you are not a Christian because you have walls surrounding you.
Why are there walls surrounding Vatican City in the first place? What’s that you say? For safety. Oh, I get it. You want to be able to control who enters YOUR sovereign little slice of the planet.
Well we want the same thing and we don’t need a socialist Pope prancing around telling us we should be doing otherwise.
So either tear down the walls and build a few bridges or sit down and shut up.
As an aside, if you tear down the walls ship the bricks over here. We could use them to lower the cost of our wall.
References:
Washington Times (A lot of pop ups and auto running video)
The American Mirror (great pictures of the WALLED CITY)
The New York Times
Cave canem!
Never surrender, never submit.
Tags: huge wall, Immigration, politics, pope francis, socialism, vatican city
Judging From Their History Dems Should Be OK With A Delay
Feb 17, 2016 2016 Election, Tyranny
A lot has been going on since Justice Scalia died over the weekend. The liberal left celebrated his death and mocked his life and the job he did in the Supreme Court. They mocked him because he had the audacity to actually use the Constitution when he interpreted law instead of using his feelings or his partisan beliefs like say, Ginsberg, Kagan or Sotomayor.
Barack Obama and Democrats in the Senate, smelling blood in the water and not wanting to let an opportunity to give the court a liberal majority, made demands of Republicans who, thank goodness, hold the majority in the Senate. These Democrats demanded that the Republicans make sure Obama’s nominee gets a shot. They basically want a rubber stamp for whichever left wing socialist America hater Obama nominates.
Republicans, so far, are having none of it. They want to wait and let the next president make the nomination.
The Democrats have a point (besides the ones on top their heads) in that the president, under the Constitution, has a duty to nominate. We can ignore for a moment that Obama has never abided by his duty under the Constitution and focus on what they want. They want Obama to nominate and that nomination not to be blocked.
They seem to forget that the Constitution also says that the president nominates with the advice and consent of the Senate. So the Senate has to consent and they do this by voting yes or no. Obama can put forth all the nominations he wants but there is nothing wrong with voting no on each and every one of them.
Democrats would have you believe this is out of the ordinary and unprecedented but our history shows it has been done before and that one vacancy existed for over two years because the Senate and president did not see eye to eye.
Now that was a long time ago but blocking nominees has happened in the recent past. Hell, Chuck Schumer, a guy who looks like his neck threw up, vowed that any vacancy in the Court that happened during George W Bush’s lame duck term would be blocked. Schumer made this declaration 19 months before Bush’s term would end. No vacancy came up but it was already out there that if one did no nominee would be considered.
In 1960 Democrats passed a resolution that presidents could not nominate during an election year.
Many Democrats now screaming for the vacancy to be filled have records of voting against nominations and of holding up the process. So the reality is there is no reason for Republicans to give in and allow Obama to get another liberal on the SCOTUS.
If they do not like it well that’s just too bad.
But if he does nominate anyone I think it would be reasonable to expose their entire life, make a mockery of their judicial experience, chastise them for their views, pick apart their judicial opinions, and generally make their life and the lives of their family miserable until they decide to withdraw from consideration.
Oh how horrible!
Two words, Robert Bork.
Now liberals, please quit your whining and sit back and accept that which you were so willing to do when you were in the majority.
And Republicans, do not give in to these morons. Mitch McConnell, you have a history of caving to Obama. If you do then you can rest assured you will lose control of the Senate and Trump will likely be the nominee for the Republican Party. Screw us over and we will strike back.
Do not let Barack Obama get another young liberal partisan hack on the court so the rest of us will be forced to live with their anti-American decisions for decades to come.
It is time to sack up and fight.
Cave canem!
Never surrender, never submit.
Tags: delay, ginsberg, kagan, liberals, lies, nominee, Obama, scalia, scotus, sotomayor
So Obama Did Lie, Shocker
Feb 9, 2016 2016 Election, SCOTUScare, Tyranny
You can’t see it but I have my shocked face on display. It is not like saying Obama lied is some startling revelation since he lies constantly. I don’t need to go through the list so I will just cite one; if you like your doctor you can keep your doctor.
When Obama was selling us the snake oil known as Obamacare he and the Democrats who supported it (all of them) told us it would bend the cost curve down and that it would be wonderful. We knew it was a pack of lies (they need to control health care in order to carry out rules for radicals rule #1) but now that it has been in effect for a few years the truth and what we believed all along are on full display.
Obamacare costs too much money, it makes health insurance unaffordable for many people, it adds to the nation’s debt and the individual’s tax burden and it is being dropped by many insurance companies that once supported it (for big money, no doubt).
Lost in all the Obamacare lies is the whopper he told about illegal aliens not being able to get Obamacare coverage. Joe Wilson, a Congressman, once famously shouted “you lie” when Obama said illegal aliens would not be covered. Wilson held the view that bill would provide government subsidies to illegals. He had to apologize for his breech of decorum but apologizing for saying it does not mean he was incorrect in his assessment.
In fact he has been proven right to the tune of $750 MILLION. A Senate report shows that the federal government provided 750 million dollars in subsidies to illegal aliens. These are people known to be here illegally or who failed to provide the required documentation to show they were here legally.
In true government fashion, rather than wait for proof to provide coverage the government provided the money and now wants it back.
Yes, the law technically does not allow illegals to receive this handout (and all subsidies are handouts, period) but that did not stop illegals from getting the money. This was all by design. You see, now that the money was dispensed the government will have one hell of a time getting any of it back. This was certainly by design. Obama needed millions to sign up for his disaster of a law and blindly giving away money got people signed up. The government does not care that 750 MILLION dollars went into the garbage bin as long as illegals were covered and the numbers looked better (they never looked good).
Yes, the law prohibited illegals from getting subsidies but it did not verify status and it did not stop them from buying their own coverage on the exchanges.
All by design.
Wilson was right and we are out 750 MILLION dollars.
Obamacare has been a failure and a disaster. So it was a success for Obama. He needed it to be to push for more government control (rules for radicals). Remember that when you go to the polls this November. Hillary and Bernie supported Obamacare and Bernie wants to give you even more costly socialized medicine. When you get your penalty notice (the Supreme Court calls it a tax and the IRS calls it a shared responsibility but the law calls it a penalty) and have to pay the IRS or your change (it is not a refund it is the change due you from your remittance) is lower than it should have been you can blame Obama and his Democrats and know that Clinton and Sanders mean more of the same.
America needs to be free again and it can only do so if we remove the shackles the government has placed upon us.
That starts by rejecting the task masters on the left (and that includes the tyrants in the House and Senate).
We need to replace as many of them as we can while we still have a republic (no, not a Democracy).
God Bless America.
Cave canem!
Never surrender, never submit.
Tags: illegal aliens, irs, joe wilson, lies, obamacare, tax payers
It Sure Was Challenging For Hillary
Feb 3, 2016 2016 Election, Tyranny
Hillary Clinton, fresh off her tie in Iowa, is in New Hampshire to discuss why she should be the Democrat nominee for president. At the end of an event she was asked about cyber security and she was actually able to answer it with a straight face.
Hillary stated that cyber security is one of the most important challenges the next president faces and that there are nations constantly attacking our cyber networks and that we, among other things, have to let them know we will not tolerate their cyber evasiveness.
The very same woman who used an unsecured personal server for official emails, a server that was undoubtedly hacked by the very nations she mentioned, and who was very evasive with her cyber footprint wants us to believe that she is able to handle cyber security.
Hillary Clinton mishandled classified information and put it at risk of disclosure, particularly to hostile nations. She broke the law and she did this in order to avoid having her email archived in accordance with federal law (cyber evasiveness).
Hillary Clinton said that cyber security would be an important challenge for the next president.
She should know since cyber security was very challenging for her. In fact it was so challenging that she failed it miserably and will only avoid indictment if the hacks in DC play politics and give her a pass.
Loretta Lynch is unlikely to prosecute any Democrat particularly the one running for the presidency.
In any event, Hillary broke many laws.
During the last election Hillary asked us who we wanted to answer the 3 am phone call. Turns out she was not the right choice as demonstrated by her response to the events in Benghazi. She failed the 3 am test miserably.
[note]Obama proved to be equally unqualified to answer a 3 am phone call.[/note]
Hillary is no more qualified to handle cyber security than she is to handle a 3 am phone call.
We don’t need Hillary in cyber security, we need her in maximum security.
Cave canem!
Never surrender, never submit.
Tags: classified information, cyber security, email server, failure, Hillary Clinton, liar