Episode 54: Remote government; Leaks; Are these your genes?

Music Free Static Episode 54

Table of Contents

• 1. 0:00:00 Introduction
• 2. 0:01:54 Remote Government
• 3. 0:19:50 Sponsor: Audible.com
• 4. 0:24:01 Taking a Leak
• 5. 0:31:45 Are these your genes?
• 6. 0:55:48 Copyright

1 0:00:00 Introduction

Welcome to Music Free Static. This is episode 54 recorded on June 15th, 2013. I'm your host, Randall Smith, bringing you all the static of those other podcasts but none of the music.

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2 0:01:54 Remote Government

• Rep. Scott Tipton proposed giving states more control to reduce fire risks, etc. on Federal lands http://thecoloradoobserver.com/2012/08/tipton-wildfire-prevention-measure-clears-house-panel/
• CO Democrats refused to fund air takers http://presnapreads.com/2013/06/11/champ-bailey-understanding-the-difference-between-reality-and-perception/

3 0:19:50 Sponsor: Audible.com

4 0:24:01 Taking a Leak

• Boehner, Feinstein call Edward Snowden a traitor http://hotair.com/archives/2013/06/11/boehner-feinstein-snowdens-a-traitor/
• Snowden may have been less than truthful http://minx.cc/?post=340793
• How did he get the data? http://hotair.com/archives/2013/06/11/senior-nsa-official-only-30-or-40-agency-officials-had-access-to-that-fisa-order-that-leaked/
• LOPSA Code of Ethics https://lopsa.org/codeofethics
• Media making Snowden the story rather than NSA actions http://hotair.com/archives/2013/06/11/reason-demonization-machine-revving-up-on-snowden/
• What do we need to know about PRISM? https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2013/06/what-we-need-to-know-about-prism

5 0:31:45 Are these your genes?

• SCOTUS ruled 9-0 that human genes may not be patented http://www.nytimes.com/2013/06/14/us/supreme-court-rules-human-genes-may-not-be-patented.html?_r=0

6 0:55:48 Copyright

Music Free Static Video Podcast by Randall Smith is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 United States License.

Farm Bill is More Spam than Bacon

See, this is why we can't have nice things. The proposed Farm Bill is more about welfare and entitlements than actual farming. Heritage has a list of a few of them at that link.

The Farm Bill is one of those "Mom and Apple Pie" bills that politicians don't dare to vote against. (Who wants to be the one who votes against Mom and Apple Pie, right?) That why this bill and many ones like it get so much crap attached to it. It doesn't matter how much crap is attached and how often a politician tries to explain why, their opponents will rake them over the coals for hating farmers or some such crap. I saw it during the debate between Scott Tipton and Sal Pace at Adams State before the last election.

This is one of the reasons I'm such a big fan of single subject bills. Cotton quotas and policy research centers would have to stand on their own merits. Sadly, such pork is how politicians bring home the bacon and how they buy off voters. The politicians hope that their constituents are too stupid to realize that the supposed bacon is actually spam bought with their money. Too often, they're right.

Alexander Proposes Rearranging Education Deck Chairs

Senator Lamar Alexander has proposed the Every Child Ready for College or Career Act which, according to Heritage, fixes many of the problems with No Child Left Behind. The problem that both Alexander and Heritage are overlooking is that NCLB doesn't just need to be fixed. Rather the entire Federal Department of Education needs to be scrapped.

Alexander's plan calls for more money to be given to states in the form of block grants as well as giving states more control over standards. Both are laudable but neither goes far enough. States should have absolute and total control over their educational systems. Not only that but states shouldn't have to deal with their educational funds being laundered through a Federal bureaucracy which then requires states to come as beggars to regain a portion of their own. If states want to get Federal education funds, they have to dance to the tune the Federal government calls. Sometimes it's the Hokey Pokey. Other times the Federal government gives the states a proverbial thong and tells them to work the pole.

Every time the Federal government gets involved, school districts are inundated by a torrent of regulations and crippled by the ever mounting costs of compliance. That money would be better spent educating students, not paying government cronies who want to play God with your child's education.

Enough is enough. It's time to stop the Feds from meddling in the educational affairs of the states. If Sen. Alexander really wanted to help students, he would be proposing a bill to eliminate the DOE and all Federal education programs. He could call it the Education Freedom Act.

Episode 53: Domestic spying; Too big to succeed; Urban vs Rural Colorado

Music Free Static Episode 53

Table of Contents

• 1. 0:00:00 Introduction
• 2. 0:02:00 NSA Domestic Spying
• 3. 0:17:16 Sponsor: Audible.com
• 4. 0:22:55 Too Big to Succeed
• 5. 0:34:24 Urban vs Rural Colorado
• 6. Copyright

1 0:00:00 Introduction

Welcome to Music Free Static. This is episode 53 recorded on June 8th,

1. I'm your host, Randall Smith, bringing you all the static

of those other podcasts but none of the music.

Subscribe to Music Free Static:

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• Twitter: @musicfreestatic @PerlStalker
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• Music Free Static

2 0:02:00 NSA Domestic Spying

• NSA gets call data from Verizon http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/verizon-providing-all-call-records-to-us-under-court-order/2013/06/05/98656606-ce47-11e2-8845-d970ccb04497_story.html
• Ongoing for the last seven years https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2013/06/confirmed-nsa-spying-millions-americans
• Washington Post reveals PRISM http://www.washingtonpost.com/investigations/us-intelligence-mining-data-from-nine-us-internet-companies-in-broad-secret-program/2013/06/06/3a0c0da8-cebf-11e2-8845-d970ccb04497_story.html (h/t @InfidelAlie)
• Background on PRISM http://minx.cc/?post=340728
• Sen. Mark Udall is impotent (on privacy) http://www.denverpost.com/politics/ci_23406958/sen-mark-udalls-warnings-federal-domestic-spying-have
• Programs declassified http://www.9news.com/rss/article/340095/166/US-declassifies-phone-program-details-after-uproar
• Gov. claims to have stopped subway bombing with info gained from PRISM http://hotair.com/archives/2013/06/07/report-internet-spying-foiled-09-planned-attack-on-subway/
• Sen. Feinstein supported extending FISA http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/12/28/fisa-warrantless-wiretapping-senate_n_2376039.html
• "Frank La Rue, the U.N's free speech watchdog, makes clear that anonymous

expression and secure communication are critical for an open society" https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2013/06/anonymity-encryption-and-free-speech-what-nations-need-to-do

3 0:17:16 Sponsor: Audible.com

4 0:22:55 Too Big to Succeed

• Out of control IRS spending http://thecoloradoobserver.com/2013/06/lavis-irs-spending-embarrassing-out-of-control/
• "Man caves" found in EPA warehouses http://www.mediaite.com/online/hidden-man-cave-uncovered-in-epa-funded-warehouse/

5 0:34:24 Urban vs Rural Colorado

• Rural counties propose succession http://www.coloradoan.com/article/20130606/NEWS01/306060026
• Observer on succession http://thecoloradoobserver.com/2013/06/rural-counties-propose-plan-to-split-from-colorado-create-51st-state/
• Gov. Hickenlooper signs renewable energy mandate http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/verizon-providing-all-call-records-to-us-under-court-order/2013/06/05/98656606-ce47-11e2-8845-d970ccb04497_story.html

6 Copyright

Music Free Static Video Podcast by Randall Smith is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 United States License.

Episode 52: Lobato reversed; Education reform

Music Free Static Episode 52

Table of Contents

• 1. 0:00:00 Introduction
• 2. 0:01:51 Lobato overturned
• 3. 0:17:51 Education reform
• 4. 0:41:08 Sponsor: Loving Hands Crochet
• 5. 0:47:30 Helping college students
• 6. 0:57:41 Copyright

1 0:00:00 Introduction

Welcome to Music Free Static. This is episode 52 recorded on June 1st, 2013. I'm your host, Randall Smith, bringing you all the static of those other podcasts but none of the music.

Subscribe to Music Free Static:

• YouTube
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• Twitter: @musicfreestatic @PerlStalker
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• Music Free Static

2 0:01:51 Lobato overturned

• KDVR's Eli Stokols was the first to report on the ruling http://kdvr.com/2013/05/27/colo-supreme-court-sides-with-state-overturns-lobato-school-funding-lawsuit/
• Colorado Observer article http://thecoloradoobserver.com/2013/05/supreme-court-overturns-lobato-lawsuit-state-averts-funding-crisis/
• Denver Post http://www.denverpost.com/breakingnews/ci_23335957/court-reverses-lobato-finds-state-school-funding-constitutional
• Colorado Peak Politics http://coloradopeakpolitics.com/2013/05/28/lobato-overturned-supreme-court-sides-with-state/
• CO ranks 15th in student performance http://completecolorado.com/pagetwo/2013/05/28/colorado-supreme-court-rejects-school-funding-litigation/

3 0:17:51 Education reform

• Scholarship tax credits http://www.ediswatching.org/2013/05/scholarship-tax-credits-gain-in-popularity-sounds-like-a-win-win-win-for-colorado/
• Blended learning disrupting K-12 http://www.ediswatching.org/2013/05/identifying-the-good-kind-of-disruption-in-colorado-blended-learning-innovation/
• CU teams with Coursera http://www.denverpost.com/news/ci_23349851/university-colorado-offer-moocs-part-online-initiative

4 0:41:08 Sponsor: Loving Hands Crochet

Choose from hundreds of crocheted afghans, hats, scarves and more.

Loving Hands Crochet - http://lovinghandscrochet.etsy.com

5 0:47:30 Helping college students

• Overdue student loans at an all time high http://hotair.com/archives/2013/05/29/overdue-student-loans-hit-an-all-time-high-as-obama-prepares-to-hype-low-rates/

6 0:57:41 Copyright

Music Free Static Video Podcast by Randall Smith is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 United States License.

The Politics of Fear

Security guru Bruce Schneier has great article on the politics of security. The point he makes is that it's in politicians' best interests to exaggerate threats.

The third is that the "fear preacher" wins, regardless of the outcome. Imagine two politicians today. One of them preaches fear and draconian security measures. The other is someone like me, who tells people that terrorism is a negligible risk, that risk is part of life, and that while some security is necessary, we should mostly just refuse to be terrorized and get on with our lives.

Fast-forward 10 years. If I'm right and there have been no more terrorist attacks, the fear preacher takes credit for keeping us safe. But if a terrorist attack has occurred, my government career is over. Even if the incidence of terrorism is as ridiculously low as it is today, there's no benefit for a politician to take my side of that gamble.

It's like the old saw "I'm a pessimist because I'm either right or pleasantly surprised." It's exactly the same in fields like economics ("We don't have a debt problem!") or the environment ("The world will burn up unless we do something!").

Go back and look at Schneier's first two points (which I didn't quote here). It's the "We have to do something!" disease that so many politicians get. See also: "Never let a crisis go to waste." Those are the symptoms. The cause is the "fear preacher" view quoted above.

The problem is that most people buy into it so easily because they have no idea how to evaluate risk. They fear flying because the plane might crash but they overlook the more dangerous risk of drive in their own neighborhoods. They fear the crazed shooter or bomber but ignore the more violence on "the other side of the tracks". Even when they do acknowledge that there's a problem (such as gun violence) they drastically overestimate how much of a problem it is. Of course, politicians and other nosy types don't help matters because it's in their best interest to make things sounds worse than they are.

There are two problems. The first is exactly what I just described. Politicians overstating problems to make things better for themselves. The second is caused by the first. Because politicians spend so much time fear mongering, the citizenry gets, sort of, used to it. That means that, when there's a real problem, it takes a lot more work to convince the people that the problem exists and its not just more of the same fear mongering they've been hearing day after day. See also: Chicken Little and The Boy Who Cried Wolf.

There will be no solution to the second problem until we solve the first. Unfortunately, that contrary to human nature. It will be difficult or nigh impossible to change. Now's as good a time to start as any.

Roles and Stuff

This a was an interesting series of posts about the roles of men and women. I found Ben Domenech's tweets especially interesting.

The way I see it (which is, of course, the most important way :) ), is that if there are no kids in the family, it doesn't matter who works or if both partners work. It's only when kids enter the picture that things get interesting.

For the sake of the kids, it's best if there is a parent at home with them. That parent, mother or father, should be there to care for the children when they are young and to teach them the family's values. Even when the kids start going to school, it's better for a parent to be home, ready to deal with the inevitable sick kids and other problems that come up. That parent is then available as a friendly face when the kids get home and help them get to activities or, increasingly strange, encouraging them to get their schoolwork done.

For practical reasons, I think it's best if the stay-at-home parent is the mother. After all, it's the women who have to deal with the inconveniences of pregnancy which can be problematic at work. (Heck, it's problematic at home, too, but women are better able to pace themselves at home.) Contrary to all of "men and women are the same" talk, I think women tend to be more nurturing and empathic than men. Like all things related to human behavior, there are exceptions. In the end, it's up to the family to decide what's best for them. It's their family and not mine.

Ben makes a couple of other, tangential, points which I find a lot more interesting.

One thing that's really interesting is to see how women have totally surpassed men on the education front.

— Ben Domenech (@bdomenech) May 31, 2013

Women are dominating men in higher education, especially at the graduate level.

...Women earned 57.2% of all bachelor’s degrees granted in 2011, which also means that there were almost 134 women graduating with bachelor’s degrees in 2011 for every 100 men.

... Female over-representation in higher education gets even greater at the master’s level. In 2011, women earned more than 60% of the graduate degrees awarded, which means that there were almost 151 women earning master’s degrees in that year for every 100 men. Women also earned a majority (53.2%) of all doctoral degrees awarded in 2011.

What's keeping men out of education? I have no idea. It may be, as Ben says, men are just lagging behind.

The second point has more to do with the pursuit of higher education in general.

A lot of men would be better off going to technical schools and getting a certificate, leaving that debt behind.

— Ben Domenech (@bdomenech) May 31, 2013

I think there are a lot of people, men and women, going to college who don't need to. Part of that is cultural. Ben is right that many men would be better off at tech schools and stuff but American culture has stigmatized blue collar jobs such as plumbers and electricians. A person can make a decent living at those jobs without incurring the sometimes crippling debt of college. Despite that, the prevailing thought seems to be that a person who goes down that road has, somehow, failed at life. It's just not true.