5 - 2006 | ***Dave Does the Blog

Money as art

Nearly all of us – nearly all of us who live in the United States, at least – have spent all our lives looking at the same style of paper…

Nearly all of us – nearly all of us who live in the United States, at least – have spent all our lives looking at the same style of paper currency: those things that say “Federal Reserve Note” and have a dead President in the center of the bill in an oval frame. Now that the Bureau of Engraving and Printing has begun distributing a new design of U.S. currency, we’ve started seeing some variations in the theme; certainly we get to see the details of the portrait engravers’ work much more clearly. Still, though, we rarely stop to appreciate the skill and artistry of the engravers… after all, it’s just money. We just take it out and spend it.
But what if the Bureau of Engraving and Printing decided, as they did in the 1890s, to use our paper money as a showcase for art?

The 1896 results were — and could be — beautiful. Such as one of the first examples, this dollar bill.

Will H. Low’s design for the $1 note, entitled History Instructing Youth, shows a female History with a young student standing beside her, gesturing to an open book of history before her. An olive branch rests against the book, holding it open to show the Constitution of the United States upon the page. Both the Washington Memorial and the Capitol Dome can be seen in the background landscape. The outside border of the note shows 23 wreaths, each bearing the name of a noteworthy American – not surprisingly starting with Washington, Jefferson and Franklin, but also including such names as poet Henry Longfellow, inventor Robert Fulton, and author Nathaniel Hawthorne, among many others. The seal of the Treasury appears in the lower right.

Though you can’t tell it from the picture, the Constitution has a clearly readable Preamble and initial article text.

Many other even more gorgeous “money as art” examples are shown on the page.

While money design can be controversial today, it wasn’t much easier in 1896. Take for example the controversy over Walter Shirlaw’s design for the $5 bill.

Though most people were impressed with what the Times called the bill’s “beautiful and imposing” design, however, Anthony Comstock was not. Comstock, a religious fundamentalist and founder of the Watch and Ward Society, found the use of feminine nudity on the nation’s currency to be appalling and loathesome. The Society therefore actively campaigned for the recalling of all the bills. To appease this radical group, the BEP made plans to install more clothing on the figures for the 1897 issue of the note.
It’s of interest, perhaps, to note that the U.S. Mint has also faced difficulties with the Watch and Ward Society. The “Standing Liberty” quarter of 1916, pictured at left, raised the Society’s objections to Liberty’s partially-uncovered breast, and because of their opinionated influence the coin was redesigned soon later.

The money-as-art movement was doomed, alas. Banks objected that the denominations were not clear enough. And the Treasury Secretary who led the cause, J. G. Carlisle, resigned for political reasons; his 1897 successor had more of an eye for designs that were “simple, clear and straightforward” and scrapped the whole line of bills.

It’s a shame that the goal of today’s money is to be counterfeit-proof, rather than pleasant to the eye. One (small) reason, perhaps, folks prefer to use plastic.

(via BoingBoing)

Animal noises

What noise does a bee make in Japanese? (boon boon) What noise does bird make in Greek? (tsiou tsiou) Various animal noises, across langauges, plus animal commands, all listed here….

What noise does a bee make in Japanese? (boon boon)

What noise does bird make in Greek? (tsiou tsiou)

Various animal noises, across langauges, plus animal commands, all listed here.

(via kottke)

Authors Night

Much, much fun! UPDATE: The bulk of the evening was actually taken up with a stirring rendition of “The Three Piggy Opera” (not, however, by Berthold Porkt), a musical telling…

Much, much fun!

UPDATE: The bulk of the evening was actually taken up with a stirring rendition of “The Three Piggy Opera” (not, however, by Berthold Porkt), a musical telling of the three pigs put on by the Kindergarten classes of the school. Very fun, and Katherine did, naturally great.

Afterwards, it was “Author’s Night,” where we got to see (a) a book that Katherine wrote and illustrated (on animals), (b) an alphabet book illustrated by Katherine, and (c) a class yearbook (shown). Great stuff.

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Flight 77 video released

While I’m sure it will not satisfy the various 9-11 conspiracy theorists out there, the Defense Dept. has released a video of Flight 77 striking the Pentagon. The government had…

While I’m sure it will not satisfy the various 9-11 conspiracy theorists out there, the Defense Dept. has released a video of Flight 77 striking the Pentagon. The government had previously refused to release the video, and it was obtained under a Freedom of Information Act petition by Judicial Watch.

Judicial Watch filed the freedom of information request in 2004, but the Pentagon refused to release the video because it was part of the investigation involving al-Qaeda plotter Zacarias Moussaoui, the group said.
This February the group sued the government over its refusal, saying there was “no legal basis” for it.
Washington agreed to release the video after a court sentenced Moussaoui to life in jail for his role in 9/11 earlier this month, a Judicial Watch spokeswoman told the BBC.

It’s actually not a very good video (“Fake! Clumsy fake!” I can already hear the cries), since it’s from a slow security camera near the site.

Stop me if you’ve heard this one

From the anything-but-Left-Wing Cato Blog: Remember when conservatives wrote books with titles like Absolute Power: the Legacy of Corruption in the Clinton-Reno Justice Department? Those were the days. But here’s…

From the anything-but-Left-Wing Cato Blog:

Remember when conservatives wrote books with titles like Absolute Power: the Legacy of Corruption in the Clinton-Reno Justice Department? Those were the days. But here’s a new selection from the Conservative Book Club: Can She Be Stopped? Hillary Clinton Will Be the Next President of the United States Unless… What? I don’t know, but that’s the title of a new book from John Podhoretz of NRO and the New York Post.
What I do know is that if Hillary is the next president, she’ll be able to lay claim to a number of vast, extraconstitutional powers championed by right-wingers like, uh, John Podhoretz. Among those powers is the ”inherent executive authority” to wiretap at will and, perhaps, to seize American citizens on American soil and hold them without charges for the duration of the war on terror — in other words, forever.
The ’90s weren’t that long ago. And I remember a lot of wailing and gnashing of teeth over misused FBI Files and suspicious IRS audits. Over the last four and a half years, many of the same wailers and gnashers have cheer-led the concentration of unreviewable power in the executive branch, as if George W. Bush would be the last president ever to wield that power. And now, lo and behold, there’s the mistress of Travelgate warming up in the on-deck circle. Join me in a bitter chuckle.

Payback is a bitch. And payback based on the precedent you set is even worse.

I’m not certain Hillary is such a shoo-in — but whoever gets in is going to reap both the benefits and the costs of this prsent administration. Hopefully the nation will get the Executive we need, not the one we deserve.

(via Les)

There, don’t you feel better?

President Bush assures the nation that the government isn’t doing things we don’t want them to do, though if they were, they wouldn’t have to tell us. President Bush insisted…

President Bush assures the nation that the government isn’t doing things we don’t want them to do, though if they were, they wouldn’t have to tell us.

President Bush insisted Tuesday that the United States does not listen in on domestic telephone conversations among ordinary Americans.

And, of course, we can now officially believe that. Until someone discovers differently.

“We do not listen to domestic phone calls without court approval,” Bush said in an East Room news conference with Australian Prime Minister John Howard.

Unless, of course, we deem it necessary to national security. Or say we do.

“What I’ve told the American people is we’ll protect them against an al-Qaida attack. And we’ll do that within the law,” Bush said.

And you therefore need to be compiling phone call records because …?

Bush said, “This government will continue to guard the privacy of the American people. But if al-Qaida is calling into the United States, we want to know, and we want to know why.”

And we’ll find out, by hook or by crook.

However, he did not respond directly when asked whether it was a violation of privacy for the National Security Agency to seek phone records from telephone companies. […] Bush did appear to acknowledge the NSA sweep of phone records indirectly, saying that the program referred to by a reporter in a question “is one that has been fully briefed to members of the United States Congress in both political parties.”
“They’re very aware of what is taking place. The American people expect their government to protect them within the laws of this country and I’m going to continue to do just that,” he said.

“Laws” being defined as that legislation which we declare, privately, does not endanger national security or adminisration policy.

Except, of course, he wasn’t really talking about the most recent NSA revelations, just the ones prior to that.

However, [Press Secretary Tony] Snow, in his first on-camera briefing as press secretary, later denied that Bush was confirming a story about collecting domestic phone records that was first reported last week in USA Today.
“He was talking about foreign-to-domestic calls,” Snow said. “The allegations in the USA Today piece were of a different nature.”

Except that they were secret, they involved the NSA and telephones, and Congress is torqued off about it.

“There seems to be a notion that because the president has talked a little bit about one surveillance program, and one matter of intelligence gathering, that somehow we have to tell the entire world – we have to make intelligence-gathering transparent,” Snow said. “Let me remind you, it’s a war on terror. … Al Qaida does not believe in transparency. What al Qaida believes in is mayhem.”

We think it’s legal, and we don’t dare ask anyone else if it’s legal, so we’ll just assert it’s legal and assure you we’re only doing legal stuff. Trust us — we’re from the Federal Government.

Nobody is proposing, of course, complete “transparency” in intelligence gathering. What most folks want, though, is accountability — something more than general assurances that, yes, this is all legal and on the up and up and like that, nothing to see here, move along.

That’s what the administration refuses to provide, and why, frankly, nobody is willing to trust them.

Kiss a loved one. Do it for them.

Kissing may actually have some positive health benefits, in terms of curing hayfever. A 30-minute kissing session may suppress the body’s allergic reaction to pollen, providing welcome relief from hay…

Kissing may actually have some positive health benefits, in terms of curing hayfever.

A 30-minute kissing session may suppress the body’s allergic reaction to pollen, providing welcome relief from hay fever, a new study suggests.
Scientists based at the Satou hospital in Japan found that kissing worked by relaxing the body and reducing the production of histamine – a chemical that the body produces in response to pollen, causing the sneezing, runny noses and streaming eyes that characterise hay fever attacks.

Of course, when your head and nose are full of snot, that’s probably one of the times you’re least interesteed in a half-hour snogging session. And, alas, simply cuddling, doesn’t seem to alter histamine levels.

(via BoingBoing)

The best fan costume ever!

Some people go to incredible extremes in putting together costumes and masks for fan conventions. Such as this guy. “Get a life!” as Shatner said. (via David)…

Some people go to incredible extremes in putting together costumes and masks for fan conventions. Such as this guy. “Get a life!” as Shatner said.

(via David)

Nature, red in tooth and claw

When you keep carnivores or omnivores in an enclosure with, well, things made of meat, sooner or later you’re going to run into this kind of trouble. AMSTERDAM, Netherlands -…

When you keep carnivores or omnivores in an enclosure with, well, things made of meat, sooner or later you’re going to run into this kind of trouble.

AMSTERDAM, Netherlands – Bears killed and ate a monkey in a Dutch zoo in front of horrified visitors, witnesses and the zoo said Monday. In the incident Sunday at the Beekse Bergen Safari Park, several Sloth bears chased the Barbary macaque into an electric fence, where it was stunned. It recovered and fled onto a wooden structure, where one bear pursued and mauled it to death.
[…] Witness Marco Berelds posted a detailed report on the incident, including photos, on a Dutch Web site. He said one Sloth bear tried unsuccessfully to shake the monkey loose after it took refuge on the structure, built of crossing horizontal and vertical poles.
Ignoring attempts by keepers to distract it, the bear climbed onto a horizontal pole, and, standing stretched on two legs, “used its sharp canines to pull the macaque, which was shrieking and resisting, from its perch.” The bear then brought the animal to a concrete den, where three bears ate it.

Zoo officials, who described the incident as a “temporary disturbance” in the “harmony” of the enclosure, where the macaques and bears have coexisted for some time without incident, are moving the monkeys elsewhere.

Katherine went to the Denver Zoo yesterday, on a field trip. Didn’t run into something like this, though, so far as we know.

Australia as the stalking horse for American DRM

In Australia, it’s been techncally illegal to record a program for later viewing, or do other sorts of activities we Americans take for granted under the Sony ruling and with…

In Australia, it’s been techncally illegal to record a program for later viewing, or do other sorts of activities we Americans take for granted under the Sony ruling and with fair use. The Australian government is proposing legislation, written by a major Digital Rights Management (DRM) consortium, that would remove that illegality (which nobody paid attention to), but replace it with … well, just what Big Media wants to see implemented globally.

Per the FAQ on the Australian Attorney General’s site:

Does this mean I can record my favourite television or radio program to enjoy later?
Yes. For the first time you will be able to record most television or radio program at home to enjoy at a later time. This will allow you to watch or listen to a program as it was made available to the public at the time of the original broadcast.
How long can I keep the recording?
The recording must be deleted after one use. It will not be possible to use the recording over and over again.
Can I make a collection of copied television and radio programs?
No. You will not be able to burn a collection (or library) of your favourite programs on DVD or CD to keep. (It will be permitted to record a program on DVD or CD but only temporarily until you watch or listen to it for the first time.)
What can I do with recorded program?
You can watch or listen to the recording with your family or friends. It will not be permitted to sell or hire a recording or to play it at school or work or in any kind of public audience.
Can I give a recording I have made to a friend?
No. A recording is for the personal use of the person who made it. You can invite a friend over to watch or listen to your recording but you can’t lend or give it to a friend to take home with them.

This is the sort of thing Big Media would love to see in the US, and has been pushing in a dozen different legislative and technical directions to do: limit recording and replay of media, first by law, then by technology to enforce the law.

So, consider — I record an episode of, say, Doctor Who onto tape (or DVD). Under the proposed Australian law, I could watch it — once. After that, I’d be obliged by law (or my DVR would be pre-programmed) to delete the recording. And loaning the tape to a friend would be absolutely out of the question.

Further, similar restrictions apply, in the FAQ to CDs.

Doubtless if they could figure out a way to do this with books, they’d impose the same restrictions. Which sounds like a fabulous argument against e-books.

Hopefully the Australian people, if not the Australian government, will be smarter than this.

(via BoingBoing)

We only want it to fight the terrorists, right?

So last week, ABC News reported that a “senior law enforcement official” had told them that the phones of their investigative correspondents were being “tracked” by the government, in an…

So last week, ABC News reported that a “senior law enforcement official” had told them that the phones of their investigative correspondents were being “tracked” by the government, in an attempt to ferret out leaks of confidential information. The content of the calls was not being monitored (so they were told), but the numbers being called were being recorded and analyzed.

Now, leaks of governmental secrets are a serious matter. On the one hand, they serve, as a last resort, as a public oversight of the government. In an administration where such oversight has been resisted, denied, or legislated away, such leaks are sometimes the only way the public can find out about programs that it, rightly, ought to be unhappy with.

On the other hand, there are activities that the government must do in secret, to some degree at least. Revealing such programs can endanger folks on the ground, threaten future abilities (or sources), or otherwise hamstring govern,ental action against threats to national security. One would expect, then, the government (whether consisting of evil crypto-fascist or white-hatted defenders of liberty) to go after those who leak secrets, however they can.

Interestingly, though, further info obtained by ABC, while indicating that the phones of ABC, the WaPo, and the NY Times, are not being “tracked,” says that what’s being gathered up by governmental sources are phone call records after the fact.

“It used to be very hard and complicated to do this, but it no longer is in the Bush administration,” said a senior federal official.

Swell.

In a statement, the FBI press office said its leak investigations begin with the examination of government phone records. “The FBI will take logical investigative steps to determine if a criminal act was committed by a government employee by the unauthorized release of classified information,” the statement said.
Officials say that means that phone records of reporters will be sought if government records are not sufficient.

Which, I suppose, makes sense. As long as, well, it’s something that can’t be abused.

Oops.

Officials say the FBI makes extensive use of a new provision of the Patriot Act which allows agents to seek information with what are called National Security Letters (NSL).
The NSLs are a version of an administrative subpoena and are not signed by a judge. Under the law, a phone company receiving a NSL for phone records must provide them and may not divulge to the customer that the records have been given to the government.

Because the PATRIOT Act was, of course, intended to help the government track down whistleblowers and internal leaks, hence its lack of judicial oversight. Of course … not. It was intended and presented to allow shortcuts, expediencies, and highest security to allow the feds to combat terrorists.

But these aren’t terrorists, of course. They may be illegal/criminal activities, but that’s not what PATRIOT was purported to be about. Except, of course, whenever you give the government authority, especially without oversight, it will be used however it can be used. If that means checking out reporters’ phone records, so be it. If that means checking out my phone records, and the phone records of folks I’ve talked to, and the phone records of folks they’ve talked to — well, why not. And, more importantly, what’s to stop them?

“Power corrupts,” as Lord Acton put it. The secrecy of administration activities — secrecy about which the administration has been, if not paranoid, then fiercely adamant about, even to the point of putting out innumerable singning statements on laws saying that, well, if the Presdient decides it needs to stay secret, it will stay secret, regardless of what the law itself says — has built a reputation, not of security, but of mistrust. We don’t know that these powers are being egregiously misused, but we know they’re being stretched — and knowing the magnitude of what we don’t know (because it’s a secret, right?) can only lead one to wonder how much abuse is actually taking place, and how it could ever be stopped if it were.

(via J-Walk)

Recently Read (etc.)

Trying something new here, courtesy of Kate, Over in the sidebar (on just the main page, for the moment), you’ll find a “Recently” section, wherein, via the wonders of Blogfuel,…

Trying something new here, courtesy of Kate, Over in the sidebar (on just the main page, for the moment), you’ll find a “Recently” section, wherein, via the wonders of Blogfuel, I have the most recent stuff I’ve been reading (or listening to, or watching).

Now, I do consume media at a furious rate, and I don’t want to overfill the sidebar, so, aside from books (print or audio), I’ll only be putting things in (music, movies) that bear some mention.

For those trying to use Blogfuel for this sort of thing (a list of items), the way to do it isn’t immediately obvious (at least, it wasn’t obvious to me until I dove into the source code on Kate’s blog). Essentially, I’ve created a new “wish list” with the “recently” items in it; I then point Blogfuel toward it, adjust the other settings accordingly, and it spews out the appropriate items. Note that this is a lot more doable now that Amazon allows multiple wish lists per account, and note that you need to make it a public wish list (I’ve flagged it with a message noting that it’s stuff I’ve already read).

In theory, you should be able to do the same thing with “List-Mania” lists, but the experiment I tried failed; wish lists are also a bit more flexible to add to and substract from, so I think that’s a better (if mildly counter-intuitive) way to go.

The interface for the Blogfuel screen is kind of annoying — the settings all reset each time you generate a code, so if you’re going through multiple generations, refining it, it’s possible/probable that you’ll inadvertently forget to change one of the settings, which means having to try it again, which means another chance to miss a setting change, etc. That said, it’s a keen little widget, and it will be interesrting to see how robust the server is for it.

I think I can keep up this sort of thing, probably easier than doing reviews (though I need to catch up with those, too). It’s possible, if this experiment works, that I’ll throw in some graphic novels/comics TPBs, either in the main list or in their own section.

Obligatory Disclosure: If you click through on anything listed there and buy it, I’ll get an Amazon finder’s fee — except that a couple of the items (at random) will give a fee to the Blogfuel developer (which seems only fair).

Coffee, Tea, or Me?

I am the Coffee Man. Koo-koo-ka-jook. When I arrive at work at 6, I move my little magnetic button over to show I’m in, toss out two-day-old output from the…

I am the Coffee Man. Koo-koo-ka-jook.

When I arrive at work at 6, I move my little magnetic button over to show I’m in, toss out two-day-old output from the printer, hit the printer warm-up button, then go in and get my computer set up and booting.

Then I make coffee.

I drain the four carafes. I swap out all the FRIDAY stickers for MONDAY. I replace the paper towel under the coffee maker. I set up a filter with each carafe’s flavor, and start the Vanilla Nut one (since that’s what I drink).

From my office, I can hear the coffee maker go beep when … well, it’s actually still making coffee at that point, but it’s a reminder in a few minutes to go and swap out carafes and filters and start up the next one.

By the time the fourth pot is done, my Vanilla Nut is down about 2/3 (mostly me), so I start up another batch of that.

It’s a pretty low-population floor — those four carafes will get mostly consumed over the course of the day, without much further attention.

I have no idea if anyone has noticed that a Brewing Fairy has alighted on this floor, or how it was all handled before, or by whom. But I feel a great sense of fulfillment, as well as assurance that there is coffee available for myself (as well, as, secondarily, others).

Mao was never like this

DOF points out the irony in a “Friends in Christ” pencil, complete with ICHTHYS logo — apparently manufactured in China (where, one suspects, carrying around such a pencil could have…

DOF points out the irony in a “Friends in Christ” pencil, complete with ICHTHYS logo — apparently manufactured in China (where, one suspects, carrying around such a pencil could have … consequences).

Though I suppose there are any number of things manufactured in China for export that the average Chinese worker would be discouraged from wearing, having, or using.

“I will wear my trousers rolled”

Spent a goodly chunk of Saturday replacing sprinkler heads and moving several of them. Lots of on-the-knees work and shovel work and shifting big mounds of dirt work, etc. On…

Spent a goodly chunk of Saturday replacing sprinkler heads and moving several of them. Lots of on-the-knees work and shovel work and shifting big mounds of dirt work, etc.

On the positive side, so far so good. The replaced sprinkler heads are doing just what they’re supposed to, with no obvious gushing leaks or anything. The western side of the yard is now well covered.

On the negative side — I’m still sore in my legs today, despite a fair amount of Advil consumed over the weekend (and this morning).

Remaining to be done:

Under the deck, finish killing the grass and getting some plantings in. Replace the existing legacy sprinkler head there with a hydra going to little drip nozzels and sprayers. run a couple of lines up to the pots on the deck, the rest to water the area down there. (Putting that zone back online will also test another sprinkler I moved Saturday to over by the back steps.)
Shift the two sprinklers in the middle of the back yard to further back in the back yard, so that they aren’t spraying the deck (which, to be fair, has moved several feet closer to them).
Replace the head of the sprinkler on the west side by the rose bushes to be a “strip” head, so that it stops spraying the deck, too (ditto).
Replace the motorized head by the back “new” fence. Not turning properly, and spraying funny. Just change it to a 180 and be done with it.

Fortunately, as Margie pointed out, it’s the time of year when I can expect to have sunlight to get some end-of the-day work done all week. Joy.

Also need to plant the plants that we bought over the weekend (*cough*), and all of this before we go halooing off on vacation in a few weeks.

The Great Baklava War of 2006

Because there’s no issue too trivial to latch onto when it comes to nationalistic impulses. To wit, the ongoing Baklava Dispute. Turkey’s baklava makers are up in arms over European…

Because there’s no issue too trivial to latch onto when it comes to nationalistic impulses. To wit, the ongoing Baklava Dispute.

Turkey’s baklava makers are up in arms over European Union posters presenting their sweet, sticky dessert as the national dish of ethnically Greek Cyprus. “Baklava is definitely more Turkish than Cypriot,” Halil Dincerler, owner of Haci Sayid baklava makers, told Reuters.

Evidently, baklava was attributed to Cyprus in some sort of EU “desserts of the union” display.

An aide to Turkey’s EU chief negotiator Ali Babacan has promised to raise the baklava dispute at EU headquarters in Brussels, Turkish newspaper Hurriyet said.
Another Istanbul sweets producer said there would be a demonstration Saturday in Istanbul’s historic Sultanahmet district, with more than 200 baklava makers expected to attend.

No doubt sabres will be rattled, especially when the Cypriots decide to stoke the fires.

In comments unlikely to sweeten Ankara’s mood, the head of the Cyprus Chefs Association disputed Turkey’s claim to sole rights for baklava.
“The basis of Turkish cuisine was Byzantine cuisine,” said Yiannakis Agapiou, referring to the Greek-speaking empire once centered on Istanbul and which fell to the Ottoman Turks in 1453.
Agapiou said “personally I think baklava is a sweet served in Turkey” but noted “Turkey cannot claim it exclusively as its own. It is made in Lebanon, Jordan,Syria, several countries in the region.”

Why Katherine’s Mom loves her

Reading the story kitten colored for her. Cool. We had a big special Mother’s Day Celebration Party Room in the living room — various drawings Katherine had done, gifts to…

Reading the story kitten colored for her. Cool.

We had a big special Mother’s Day Celebration Party Room in the living room — various drawings Katherine had done, gifts to her from our ‘rents and from Kitten, some giant colored zinnias (fake) that Katherine had latched onto at Great Indoors. And, as a special treat, German Pancakes for breakfast.

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Why Katherine loves her Mom

Bonus points for the first correct translation. 🙂 this post enabled by airblogging.com….

Bonus points for the first correct translation. 🙂

this post enabled by airblogging.com.

Mom

I have a pretty damned spiffy one. Can’t think of much more to say, other than that I love her. Happy Mother’s Day, Mom….

I have a pretty damned spiffy one.

Can’t think of much more to say, other than that I love her.

Happy Mother’s Day, Mom.

Perhaps bubble wrap is in order

I take the prevention of pedophiliac predation on children very seriously. Extremely seriously. But it sure seems that some Congresscritters like to hop on the War on Pedophilia train as…

I take the prevention of pedophiliac predation on children very seriously. Extremely seriously. But it sure seems that some Congresscritters like to hop on the War on Pedophilia train as eagerly as others do the War on Terror train, with some awful legislative proposals cropping up like kudzu whenever someone’s looking for a Campaign Issue to Exploit.

Some in Congress want to make sure there’s no space for MySpace at public schools and libraries. Concerned about reports of pedophiles trolling wildly popular “social networking” websites for teenage victims, Rep. Michael G. Fitzpatrick (R-Pa.) has introduced a bill to prohibit anyone under 18 from accessing them on school or library computers.
“The social networking sites have become, in a sense, a happy hunting ground for child predators,” said Fitzpatrick, a father of six children, including three teen girls. His legislation, called the Deleting Online Predators Act, “is essentially a bill to protect children from the Internet.”
It also would ban access to chat rooms and could block a variety of online forums. In addition, the bill would require the Federal Trade Commission to create a special website for parents and teachers warning of the potential dangers of social networking sites. Those sites, among the fastest-growing on the Internet, allow people to create their own Web pages and share photos and messages.

Street corners, schools, and city parks are popular places for pedophiles to troll, too. Should we ban those?

But the legislation raises questions about how much the federal government should regulate the Internet and about the value of social networking sites in an era in which many teens have few real places to gather. “There’s so much fear, even in suburban regions, where teenagers aren’t allowed to just go and hang out,” said Danah Boyd, a UC Berkeley graduate student who is studying social networking sites.
Teens — particularly those from poor families or rural areas — need school and library computers to gain access to social networking sites, she said. “Of course there are bad situations. But … I can tell you a number of kids who have been molested in school by teachers,” Boyd said. “Does that mean we don’t send kids to school?”

Ah, but it isn’t about promoting responsibility, diligent parenting, and reasonable behavior. It’s about Taking Dramatic Action to Garner Votes!

In response to letters from some members of Congress, the FTC issued a consumer alert Tuesday about social networking sites with safety tips for parents and kids.
But Fitzpatrick wants more. “The Internet is a great resource for children. It’s a wonderful thing when used well … but we need to recognize there’s a real risk in the interactive social networking sites,” he said. “It’s a problem for families. It’s a problem for all of us.”

Yes. But does every risk warrent federal action — especially over locally governed resources like school and library computers? There are a lot of problems and risks that we, as a family, face, and that we are concerned about for Kitten. I don’t expect Uncle Sam to resolve many of them, especially through heavy-handed tactics.

And heavy-handed they are, since this particular legislation considers a whole slew of things beyond MySpace as potential banning targets.

This legislation broadly defines social network sites as anything that includes a Profile plus an ability to communicate with strangers. It covers social networking sites, chatrooms, bulletin boards. Obviously, the target is MySpace but most of our industry would be affected. Blogger, Flickr, Odeo, LiveJournal, Xanga, Neopets, MySpace, Facebook, AIM, Yahoo! Groups, MSN Spaces, YouTube, eBaumsworld, Slashdot. It would affect Wikipedia if there wasn’t a special clause for non-commercial sites. Because many news sites (NYTimes, CNN, the Post) allow people to login and create profiles and comment, it might affect them too.

I don’t ask for a profile here — except insofar as, well, I require registration with TypeKey. Does that make me a social network site? In some ways, I suppose — which means, boom, no access from libraries or schools. Not that I think I get that much access from those places, but there’s sort of a “principle of the thing” at stake here: why should my site be considered a risk to children?

(via BoingBoing)