INTERNET DEPT.
The Future of Net Neutrality?
So, I hear the FCC is going to give us net neutrality: For the stuff that matters to us most, as an online community: the order bans paid prioritization, throttling and blocking. That means that outright blocking of content, slowing of transmissions, and the creation of so-called “fast lanes” available on a pay-to-play basis are… Read more
SEX DEPT.
Who Should Control Women’s Sexual Desire?
Sprout Pharmaceutical is again asking for FDA approval for flibanserin, a pill that they say will help women experiencing low levels of sexual desire. In a New York Times op-ed, sex educator Emily Nagoski is skeptical: But the biggest problem with the drug — and with the F.D.A.’s consideration of it — is that its… Read more
COMPUTER SCIENCE DEPT.
Random Thoughts About Hillary Clinton’s Email
Hillary Clinton is taking some heat for using her own private email account for her State Department email. I haven’t been following the story very closely, but I have a few random thoughts: I keep hearing that she turned over 55,000 pages of email. Pages? Who measures email in pages? People who use email either… Read more
CRIME AND PUNISHMENT DEPT.
The Crime You Dare Not Stop
I’ve always thought that “possession” was an odd type of crime. Legal possession is such a passive concept. It doesn’t seem right to even call it a behavior. I’m pretty sure you can be guilty of possessing contraband even when you are literally asleep in bed. That just doesn’t sound harmful enough to justify punishment.… Read more
POLICE DEPT.
Racism Detected In Ferguson
New York Times reporter Matt Apuzzo says that the Justice Department’s investigation into the Ferguson, Missouri police has found extensive racial problems: Police officers in Ferguson, Mo., have routinely violated the constitutional rights of the city’s black residents, the Justice Department has concluded in a scathing report that accuses the officers of using excessive force… Read more
Classical liberalism, criminal laws, the war on drugs, economics, free speech, technology, photography, sex work, cats, and whatever else comes to mind.