Monthly Archives: April 2011

Police Violating The 4th Amendment… There Is An App For That

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Your iPhone has been tracking your whereabouts with out your knowledge.

Security researchers have discovered that Apple’s iPhone keeps track of where you go – and saves every detail of it to a secret file on the device which is then copied to the owner’s computer when the two are synchronised.

The file contains the latitude and longitude of the phone’s recorded coordinates along with a timestamp, meaning that anyone who stole the phone or the computer could discover details about the owner’s movements using a simple program.

For some phones, there could be almost a year’s worth of data stored, as the recording of data seems to have started with Apple’s iOS 4 update to the phone’s operating system, released in June 2010.

“Apple has made it possible for almost anybody – a jealous spouse, a private detective – with access to your phone or computer to get detailed information about where you’ve been,” said Pete Warden, one of the researchers.

And guess who, besides a jealous spouse, can use this information? How about The Michigan State Police.

The Michigan State Police have a high-tech mobile forensics device that can be used to extract information from cell phones belonging to motorists stopped for minor traffic violations. The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Michigan last Wednesday demanded that state officials stop stonewalling freedom of information requests for information on the program.

ACLU learned that the police had acquired the cell phone scanning devices and in August 2008 filed an official request for records on the program, including logs of how the devices were used. The state police responded by saying they would provide the information only in return for a payment of $544,680. The ACLU found the charge outrageous.

“Law enforcement officers are known, on occasion, to encourage citizens to cooperate if they have nothing to hide,” ACLU staff attorney Mark P. Fancher wrote. “No less should be expected of law enforcement, and the Michigan State Police should be willing to assuage concerns that these powerful extraction devices are being used illegally by honoring our requests for cooperation and disclosure.”

A US Department of Justice test of the CelleBrite UFED used by Michigan police found the device could grab all of the photos and video off of an iPhone within one-and-a-half minutes. The device works with 3000 different phone models and can even defeat password protections.

“Complete extraction of existing, hidden, and deleted phone data, including call history, text messages, contacts, images, and geotags,” a CelleBrite brochure explains regarding the device’s capabilities. “The Physical Analyzer allows visualization of both existing and deleted locations on Google Earth. In addition, location information from GPS devices and image geotags can be mapped on Google Maps.”

The ACLU is concerned that these powerful capabilities are being quietly used to bypass Fourth Amendment protections against unreasonable searches.

We have the TSA frisking nuns, senior citizens and children. Now, we have the Police pushing for access to your cell phone.

Whatever happened to the land of the free and home of the brave?

An extra big tip O’ the hat to the ‘Bot and Martin

Mexican Trucks Are Being Upgraded To Meet U.S. Clean Air Standards At U.S. Taxpayer Expense.

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Yep. Mexican trucks are being upgraded to meet U.S. clean air standards and the American taxpayer is footing the bill.

The Mexican trucks enter the U.S. under a 17-year-old international trade pact known as the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and they’ve created an air pollution crisis. The air quality in border towns has been especially impacted by the exorbitant levels of exhaust released by the Mexican trucks, which also fail to meet American safety standards.

Since the Mexican truckers have no intention of fixing the problem, Uncle Sam has stepped in to save the environment. U.S. taxpayers have picked up the cost to replace old mufflers on dozens of trucks and many more are scheduled to be upgraded by the middle of this year. The unbelievable story was reported this week by an Arizona newspaper that says replacing the old mufflers with new catalytic converters will reduce harmful diesel emissions by up to 30%.

The Arizona Department of Environmental Quality is running the operation but the money is actually coming from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the same bloated federal agency that’s dedicated millions to “environmental justice” programs that help minorities get green. Under that brilliant EPA project, leftwing groups get federal dollars to teach black, Latino and indigenous folks how to recycle, reduce carbon emissions and participate in “green jobs” training.

In this genius case, EPA grants have upgraded 55 Mexican trucks and many more will be enhanced this year. Each truck costs U.S. taxpayers about $1,600. The feds justify the expenditure by claiming that it will improve air quality on both sides of the border, especially in towns that are helpless due to lack of resources. The director of Arizona’s Department of Environmental Quality says it’s all about establishing a “relationship on environmental issues.”

According to azcentral.com the cost of the upgrade to a single truck is $1,600 per vehicle. Of course, American truckers had to pay for their own equipment when they purchased their trucks.

h/t Martin…

Video: PGA golfer Kevin Na cards 16 on 9th hole during round 1 of Texas Open

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Via Golf Digest:

The AT&T Oaks Course at the TPC San Antonio is generous off the tee but woe unto those who stray too far. In the Texas version of the Florida recount, Kevin Na went for 14, no 15, oops 16, on the ninth hole after driving it right, hitting a provisional, finding the first ball, declaring it unplayable, re-teeing and hitting it back into the gunch, then flailing about in the forest primeval, hitting himself with one shot and whiffing another.

Going into the ninth, Na was one under par. He was three under on the back. But, a 16 rarely does wonders for the scorecard. “I thought I made a good putt on the last hole to break 80 and I was pretty happy,” he said afterward, only to find out he posted the eight-oh on the number.

And here is the video-

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Looks like a normal round of golf to me.

Guest Post: Obama and his Administration’s Complete Lack of Regard for the Rule of Law

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Marcia, contributor to the excellent web page What Would Founders Think, sent me the following post that covers a subject near and dear to conservatives everywhere.

We have known for some time that this administration lacks regard for the rule of law. The Holder Justice Department, a designation that has become ironic, decided that prosecution of civil rights violations depends upon the color or ethnicity of violators. Thus, the New Black Panther Party gets the equivalent of a “get out of jail free” card for attempting to intimidate white voters at a 2008-polling place.

The passage of the Affordable Health Care Act, in open disregard of the Constitution, so violates basic liberties that, prior to the current administration, it would have been considered unthinkable by most Americans. The president followed up by misrepresenting the bill in countless speeches and taxpayer financed communications.

Last week, the President’ so mischaracterized the provisions of the Ryan budget bill that he crossed the line from exaggeration to mendacity. The difference between overblown statements permitted a candidate, and the standard of truth to which a President is, or should be, held, apparently are not understood by this president.

However, the latest affront outdoes prior violations. After agreeing to defund four czar positions (overseeing health care, climate change, the auto industry and urban affairs) as part of the compromise budget resolution of 2011 and signing the legislation,* the President announced that he would ignore the part about the czars. He said those positions “violate his constitutional authority.

It seems unlikely that he was unaware of the “violation” before the agreement was reached. Therefore, the only conclusion to be drawn is that he bargained in bad faith. The ramifications are breath taking. Rep. Steve Scalise, R-La, asked, “… if he cannot be trusted to keep his word on this, how can he be trusted as we negotiate on larger issues like federal spending and the economy?”

An equally important question is how far a compliant media will go in ignoring or excusing the duplicitous conduct of this president?

*It should be noted that candidate Obama excoriated President Bush for using signing statements “in an effort to change the meaning of the legislation, to avoid enforcing certain provisions of the legislation that the President does not like, and to raise implausible or dubious constitutional objections to the legislation.” Candidate Obama pledged he would “not use signing statements to nullify or undermine congressional instructions as enacted into law.”

Great post.

Sarah Palin to Obama: You ignored us in 2010, you can not ignore us in 2012

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I can picture all the 2012 potential and declared candidates and their advisors (including Obama) sharing more than a few nervous glances at each other after watching Sarah Palin’s terrific ’stump’ speech.

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John Nolte @ Big Government has the best quote on this speech:

I’ll ask again: How can someone so “dumb” be so right about everything?

Excellent.

H/T Josh @ T4P… The best source for Sarah Palin news

Scary Charts: What “hope” and “change” look like

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Charts illustrating what the Democrat Congress and Obama have inflicted on our economy.

Charts shamelessly lifted from Moonbattery:

This mess is going to take a long time to unwind. That is if Obama is thrown out of office in 2012. Otherwise we are going over a cliff .

Extra big tip O’ the hat to BUUUURRRRNING HOT(I hope I have the correct number of U’s & R’s in the title).

Saturday Morning Links: The Motor City Beard and Moustache Championship Edition

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Tonight:

Join us, as we create history on April 16, 2011. GAFBO is teaming up with the Detroit Beard League, The Great Lakes Beard and Mustache Camaraderie, and Grand Circus Media to bring you an epic night of epic epicness. We will have beards. We will have mustaches. We will have live music provided by Detroit Beard League founder and 2009 WBMC veteran Mike Dutkewych. We will be featuring local artists and their facial hair masterpieces.

Sounds like a really good time.

Obama’s Budget Speech Mentions the Death Panel?

CP Jukebox…Tea Party Rise Again !

America’s greatest threat:

My vote goes to losing our private property rights. It is paramount to liberty and a bedrock of the Founders intent to guarantee freedom in America. It is under attack from a multitude of fronts. Some of it is likely unknowingly such as the response I’ve received on my post concerning corporate tax evasion. I see both conservatives and libertarians alike jumping in with the left with the view that the wealthy and the big corporations should pay more in taxes. This is a result of our deeply flawed system of taxation.

When you think of what is driving most of our elections and our differences in ideologies politically, it has its genesis in class warfare, envy and greed. Our two-party system only serves to magnify this as both parties push for big government. The fuel for their arguments is our wealth. You can throw out all of the window dressing as both parties have a different sales pitch, but they both have the same prize in mind. Both would also vehemently deny this accusation and place the blame at the feet of their opponents but the results don’t lie.

Be sure to read the rest.

Ryan’s Path to Prosperity Passes the House

Crochet Viking Costume

Late Friday Night Ramblings: Trump

Eat the Rich

Fleece: Power Of The Press

The goal is influence. And through influence, the exertion of power. The news media accurately understands the power they hold in America; in many ways a power much greater than any politician could dream of wielding. This power stems from our naiveté and the fact we truly have no other resource to get information about our society. If not the news, whom are we to trust? The politicians? Most people don’t even trust the guy they voted for. How about your friendly neighborhood bureaucrat? Yeah, thought so. The truth is, we have to rely on someone to tell us what is going on. None of us have the resources nor the time to sit in on press briefings. None of us have the influence to get an one-on-one interview with the President to ask him all the hardball questions we so want to. Thus, we are forced to rely on the people who do.

Headline of the day: Barney Frank Bares All In Playboy….Ugh!

From the Mail Bag… The new American dream

Obama and his Budget signing statements

CoF: Reclaiming the Republic from Democracy

WWTFT: Private Hosea Rogers

PR: Obama’s Deficit Reduction Plan – Raise Taxes

TWN: Japan equates nuclear crisis severity to Chernobyl

The Eye: It is Tax Day. Do You Know What Your Elected Officials Are Doing?

WyBlog: House Dems played Rope-A-Dope on John Boehner and Paul Ryan

Note From Thaddeus: Big Government does not stop chaos — Big Government is chaos.

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I got a note in my e-mail* today from Congressman Thaddeus McCotter. Here is part of it:

Congress must remember what hard-working Americans already know: Big Government does not stop chaos — Big Government is chaos. We simply cannot build a stable economy on government spending.

Forcing government to live within its means (the way your family must) will not be easy. In my eight years representing you in the Congress I have come to the conclusion that these politicians are never going to balance the budget unless they’re required to do so by law.

That is why I have again co-sponsored a resolution proposing a balanced budget amendment to the constitution, and called for the President to submit a BALANCED budget to the Congress. I have also consistently supported Republican efforts to end “earmarks.” Rest assured, I did not submit any FY10, FY11, or FY12 earmarked appropriations requests, and will continue to support earmark reform during the 112th Congress.

I can’t make my fellow congressmen vote the right way, but they can’t stop me from trying.

Well put.

And here is a video of McCotter discussing the “soak the rich-spread the wealth” liberal model.

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*My attempt to make my web site appear more important. I’m on Thaddeus’s mailing list…