Joey Baker

2012-01-31

[Flash 10 is required to watch video]

(via Wat — Destroy All Software Talks)

2012-01-26

Fog fun / on Instagram http://instagr.am/p/k0DgE/

2012-01-22

Such a strange cultural habit. / on Instagram http://instagr.am/p/jvmKW/

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Leijonhufvud postulated that a macroeconomy will adapt well to small shocks but “outside of a certain zone or “corridor” around its long-run growth path, it will only very sluggishly react to sufficiently large, infrequent shocks.

— The Euro and the Resilience-Stability Tradeoff at Macroeconomic Resilience

2012-01-17

The latest “screw off” from my senator

Hi Joey,

Thank you for contacting our office to arrange a meeting with Senator Feinstein to discuss the PROTECT IP Act. Unfortunately, Senator Feinstein has received more than 200 individual requests to meet on this bill. She is travelling around California and it is difficult for her to accommodate every request.

However, Senator Feinstein understands your concerns regarding the PROTECT IP Act. She is working with members of Congress and representatives from the technology industry to resolve some of the issues you have raised and hopes a package of changes will be incorporated into the legislation that will address your views to the greatest degree possible.

Thanks very much,

Shaeda Ahmadi
Deputy Scheduler
Office of U.S. Senator Dianne Feinstein
202.224.3841

I received your letter and want to thank you for expressing your concerns about government surveillance authorities. I recognize that this is an important issue to you, and I welcome the opportunity to share my points of view.

I believe that law enforcement and the intelligence community need the authorities in the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) to collect intelligence information necessary to prevent terrorist attacks and protect our nation. Under FISA, surveillance authorities are subject to judicial oversight from the FISA Court, require approvals from senior officials in the Executive Branch, and are subject to full oversight by the Department of Justice and the Congress.

As Chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, and as a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, I can assure you that oversight of the government’s surveillance authorities is a major priority for these Committees.

Earlier this year, I supported the FISA Extensions Act of 2011 (Public Law 112-3), which Congress passed on May 26, 2011 to extend three provisions in FISA—known as “roving wiretaps,” “lone wolf,” and “business records” provisions—until June 1, 2015. I believe these are important counterterrorism tools, and that the expiration of these authorities would reduce our security.

During the debate, I pledged, as Chairman of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, to hold hearings in that Committee on the uses of these three provisions and other FISA authorities, and those hearings have taken place. I intend to hold further hearings in 2012 to continue considering FISA authorities and whether they should be extended.

Be assured that I recognize your concerns about the transparency and oversight of the Government’s surveillance authorities. Like you, I strongly believe in transparent government, and protecting Americans’ personal privacy rights. Unfortunately, there is a limit to the amount of transparency possible when discussing classified intelligence programs, which is why I believe that congressional oversight of these matters is vital.

Again, thank you for your letter. Hearing your perspectives is very helpful to me. Should you have any additional comments or questions, please contact my Washington, D.C. office at (202) 224-3841.

Wishing you a happy 2012.

Sincerely yours,

Dianne Feinstein United States Senator

2012-01-04

Growing wealth widens distance between lawmakers and constituents - The Washington Post

Fantastic examples of the corruption of congress.

2011-12-31

For real. / on Instagram http://instagr.am/p/dWdDS/

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/ on Instagram http://instagr.am/p/dUxVU/

2011-12-29

@Google: Lawrence Lessig: Republic, Lost: How Money Corrupts Congress—and a Plan to Stop It
In an era when special interests funnel huge amounts of money into our government-driven by shifts in campaign-finance rules and brought to new levels by the Supreme Court in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission-trust in our government has reached an all-time low. More than ever before, Americans believe that money buys results in Congress, and that business interests wield control over our legislature. With heartfelt urgency and a keen desire for righting wrongs, Harvard law professor Lawrence Lessig takes a clear-eyed look at how we arrived at this crisis: how fundamentally good people, with good intentions, have allowed our democracy to be co-opted by outside interests, and how this exploitation has become entrenched in the system. Rejecting simple labels and reductive logic-and instead using examples that resonate as powerfully on the Right as on the Left-Lessig seeks out the root causes of our situation. He plumbs the issues of campaign financing and corporate lobbying, revealing the human faces and follies that have allowed corruption to take such a foothold in our system. He puts the issues in terms that nonwonks can understand, using real-world analogies and real human stories. And ultimately he calls for widespread mobilization and a new Constitutional Convention, presenting achievable solutions for regaining control of our corrupted-but redeemable-representational system. In this way, Lessig plots a roadmap for returning our republic to its intended greatness. While America may be divided, Lessig vividly champions the idea that we can succeed if we accept that corruption is our common enemy and that we must find a way to fight against it. In Republic, Lost, he not only makes this need palpable and clear-he gives us the practical and intellectual tools to do something about it.

2011-12-27

Let’s set aside the absurdity that Google has been so abusive to both companies that they “only” get 65 to 75% of all their traffic from Google for free. If that’s abuse, please sir, may I have another?

Seriously, no one on the committee questions how a company can claim they’ve been harmed by a competitor that sends them 2/3 to 3/4 of their traffic for free? That doesn’t get a mention, a metaphorical raised eyebrow, in this letter?

— Dear Congress: It’s Not OK Not To Know How Search Engines Work, Either

2011-12-26

Whenever political leaders have presumed that their expertise and their background make them special repositories of wisdom above the wheeling and dealing and “spoilsmanship” of democratic politics, the result has been a fatal disconnection between themselves and the citizenry. And not just the citizenry—for without the trust and continuing cooperation born of strong party loyalties, it has been impossible for presidents to work closely with Congress to enact legislation, or to construct an effective executive branch.

— The Mirage