The internet is clearly "interstate". People pay money for it. Accordingly, it falls within the purview of interstate commerce as it has come to be defined.
Off the top of my head, I can only recall one recent case wherein the Supreme Court struck down a law that was allegedly based upon interstate commerce. It had to do with a federal law imposing penalties or stiffer penalties or something like that for the possession of a firearm in a school zone. Congress and the DOJ claimed the Feds authority for the bill arose from the commerce clause. The Supreme Court struck that one down. US v. Rodriguez I think.
Contrariwise, the most outrageous extension of the commerce clause that was upheld by the Supreme Court was back during the depression and one of the great legacies left by the FDR administration. Crop controls were placed upon farmers through a federal bill limiting the amount of grain that a farmer could grow. A farmer in Illinois, if I recall correctly, grew more than he was permitted, but he didn't sell it or anything. He just grew the grain for his own use on his own farm.
The Supreme Court at the time opined that because the farmer grew more than he was permitted, he would buy less from the general market decreasing the interstate demand for grain. Accordingly, his actions on his own private land for his own private needs and uses affected interstate commerce and the law was enforceable.
The point is: the use of the internet is clearly within the purview of the interstate commerce clause and is subject to regulation by the federal government. While I don't like this idea in the least, technical limitations aside, I would prefer it if the individual users maintained the logs instead of the ISPs. That way, the Feds have to get a warrant to get your logs instead of just asking your ISP nicely.
If you're a congressman who does not have to worry about getting reelected due to term limits, then you have more freedom to do what is good for your country as a whole instead of what is good for your reelection.
I hope most of us can agree that pork projects are a major problem and one of the reasons of the bloat in the federal budget. "Buying" your reelection is one source of said pork. In fact, I would argue it is the major or primary source of pork.
Following tangent off-topic, but Thomas Jefferson would not endorse anything the feds are doing. Don't forget that the democratic party that Jefferson founded is worlds apart from its current day namesake. He was a big believer in a strictly limited federal government. He was sort of the Ron Paul of his era (as in ideology, not insanity).
I wish we had more sane, effective politicians like that today.
Prior to joining my current firm, I was in private practice for about two years. I had a few clients "on retainer", but that was because those few were business clients who frequently called with questions and for help with paper work. Depending upon the amount of work I expected, I would ask for anywhere from 5x to 10x my hourly rate to place in my trust account replenished when it got down to about 1x hourly rate.
It was/is unusual though, at least where I was, for normal people just to have a lawyer "on retainer" just in case they need one.
I saw recently a fairly well done documentary on the subject featured on the Sundance Channel:
Burning the Future: Coal in America
It focuses on the effects of coal mining on the residents of a few small towns in West Virginia.
No fancy space walking required right? Just drilling?
It would be fascinating to see the results of core sample drilling done on Mars. I suppose a rover of some sort could be fashioned to perform this task; however, as the late great Harry Stamper said, "drilling is an art".
Slashdot Mirror
No worries. With all the extra electricity, we can just air condition the atmosphere. Or we can just convert the CO2 back into rocks.
The internet is clearly "interstate". People pay money for it. Accordingly, it falls within the purview of interstate commerce as it has come to be defined.
Off the top of my head, I can only recall one recent case wherein the Supreme Court struck down a law that was allegedly based upon interstate commerce. It had to do with a federal law imposing penalties or stiffer penalties or something like that for the possession of a firearm in a school zone. Congress and the DOJ claimed the Feds authority for the bill arose from the commerce clause. The Supreme Court struck that one down. US v. Rodriguez I think.
Contrariwise, the most outrageous extension of the commerce clause that was upheld by the Supreme Court was back during the depression and one of the great legacies left by the FDR administration. Crop controls were placed upon farmers through a federal bill limiting the amount of grain that a farmer could grow. A farmer in Illinois, if I recall correctly, grew more than he was permitted, but he didn't sell it or anything. He just grew the grain for his own use on his own farm.
The Supreme Court at the time opined that because the farmer grew more than he was permitted, he would buy less from the general market decreasing the interstate demand for grain. Accordingly, his actions on his own private land for his own private needs and uses affected interstate commerce and the law was enforceable.
The point is: the use of the internet is clearly within the purview of the interstate commerce clause and is subject to regulation by the federal government. While I don't like this idea in the least, technical limitations aside, I would prefer it if the individual users maintained the logs instead of the ISPs. That way, the Feds have to get a warrant to get your logs instead of just asking your ISP nicely.
Successful troll was successful.
Er, maybe too successful.
If you're a congressman who does not have to worry about getting reelected due to term limits, then you have more freedom to do what is good for your country as a whole instead of what is good for your reelection.
I hope most of us can agree that pork projects are a major problem and one of the reasons of the bloat in the federal budget. "Buying" your reelection is one source of said pork. In fact, I would argue it is the major or primary source of pork.
Following tangent off-topic, but Thomas Jefferson would not endorse anything the feds are doing. Don't forget that the democratic party that Jefferson founded is worlds apart from its current day namesake. He was a big believer in a strictly limited federal government. He was sort of the Ron Paul of his era (as in ideology, not insanity).
I wish we had more sane, effective politicians like that today.
Prior to joining my current firm, I was in private practice for about two years. I had a few clients "on retainer", but that was because those few were business clients who frequently called with questions and for help with paper work. Depending upon the amount of work I expected, I would ask for anywhere from 5x to 10x my hourly rate to place in my trust account replenished when it got down to about 1x hourly rate.
It was/is unusual though, at least where I was, for normal people just to have a lawyer "on retainer" just in case they need one.
I saw recently a fairly well done documentary on the subject featured on the Sundance Channel: Burning the Future: Coal in America It focuses on the effects of coal mining on the residents of a few small towns in West Virginia.
No fancy space walking required right? Just drilling?
It would be fascinating to see the results of core sample drilling done on Mars. I suppose a rover of some sort could be fashioned to perform this task; however, as the late great Harry Stamper said, "drilling is an art".
I forget the exact quote, but it goes like: Democracy does not give us the best government, it gives us the government that we deserve.