I recognized a lot of these phones – I owned a few of them. Now, most of the cell phones easily far exceed the capabilities of my early desktop and laptops. (H/T: LIKE COOL)
In a 5-4 decision (and wait until you read who), the US Supreme Court has ruled that cell site records are protected by the Fourth Amendment.
Holding: The government’s acquisition of Timothy Carpenter’s cell-site records from his wireless carriers was a Fourth Amendment search; the government did not obtain a warrant supported by probable cause before acquiring those records.
We explore the problem of legislatures creating victimless crimes with unenforceable legislation like attaching flags to swimmers near boating lanes, and lapdog legislation. Then the conversation shifts to the ineffectiveness of gun control laws and a discussion of deadly and non deadly force.
(Originally posted Oct 11th, 2010 – Seem relevant to re-post this given that NH HB 1117 went to executive session yesterday.) Bloomberg reports that Transportation nanny Ray ‘Sister Mary’ LaHood believes that all cell phone use in motor-vehicles, including hands free, are distracting. Well, no kidding Mr. Einstein. Prior to the invention of the cell … Read more
The paper pushers at the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), would like to ban all cell phone use in motor vehicles. That includes hands free, hand-held, all of it. But after looking at the collision and fatality statistics, and skimming through the NHTSA’s Dec 2011 report on distracted driving, the thing most likely to accomplish the stated goal of reducing distracted driving injuries and deaths would be to ban passengers altogether, prohibit talking, and then move the legal driving age up to 25.
From the NHTSA Dec 2011 Report exevutive summary key findings.
The most commonly performed potentially distracting behaviors while driving are talking to other passengers in the vehicle (80%) and adjusting the car radio (65%). Other common behaviors include eating/drinking (45%), making/accepting phone calls (40%), interacting with children in the back seat (27%), and using a portable music player (30%).
What is even more amusing is that if you look at the national data, deaths, accidents, and injuries have all declined as cell phone use has increased.
HB 546 would ban cell phone use in your vehicle while driving. But is that the actual problem? Up until we had Ray LaHood the phone-o-phobe running the NHTSA from the department of Transportation most of the data indicated that talking on a cell phone was no less dangerous than having a conversation in the vehicle with another person. As of this writing, you can’t find that data anymore. In fact the NHTSA and the government have a dedicated web site to distracted driving that highlights cell phones as a major cause of driver distraction and even Oprah is in on the action, but that tidbit appears to be missing.
Suspicious? You should be.
Looking at the large picture cell phones have become the bogeyman equivalent of CO2. The Democrats and their green $pecial intere$t friend$ say CO2 is making the planet hotter but despite there being millions more tons of it about it hasn’t gotten warmer. It has gotten cooler. And rich liberals keep buying up expensive ocean front property despite dire warnings of rising sea-levels. Insurance scam or hypocrisy?
So what’s the deal with cell phones?
Riding in on the heels of the UNH/Hirshberg cow fart research we have other news from the research front of which is just begging to be made fun.
Someone has discovered that oral sex is a gateway drug to intercourse among teenagers. A three-year study determined that teens who have oral sex are more likely to have intercourse than teens who do not. And if you ask the Baptists they will tell you that intercourse leads to dancing, or was that the other way around?
“I see most of the health policies out there and guidelines for preventive services talking about sex generally, but they do not specify oral sex. That is an important distinction because teens don’t consider oral sex to be sex, and many are not aware of the risks involved,” Halpern-Felsher said.
So oral sex leads to intercourse and intercourse leads to unwanted pregnancy. Who is surprised? The experts, of course.