Wednesday, October 31, 2007

Even a blind squirrel finds the odd acorn.

Known for chittering madly and running headlong into every stump and rock in the forest, Sheila Copps is the very Platonic Ideal of a blind squirrel.  Today is a red letter day, for our Sheila has found an acorn.
Nothing makes my blood boil more than to see a parade of so-called experts trashing reductions to the Goods and Services Tax. Having endured the scars of that hated tax a, I welcome any move by any government to listen to the people.
Behold, even Sheila "Tax'em 'till they bleed!" Copps knows the GST is a bad thing, and every reduction in it is a good thing.  Even Sheila understands that the Federal government can't keep jacking up taxes while running record cash surpluses.  Even the Blind Squirrel of Hamilton understands that a party which defends the GST is doomed to destruction.  Somebody phone Dion and McGuinty, tell them their own alumni is firing on them.  Incoming!

Repeat after me everyone:  "There is no such thing as a bad tax cut."

The Over Taxed Phantom

Wednesday, October 10, 2007

I hate being right. Again.

Ladies and gentlemen, y'all will recall a while ago I posted some articles to do with the computer in your car, and how it stores data on your driving habits.  The cops can and do use this data in court against drivers all the time.  Cars also phone home to Momma, OnStar can track any of their units with GPS already, and do.  Sometimes to catch car thieves, sometimes just speeders.

At the time I opined in typical feverish Phantom paranoia that pretty soon the computer would be able to shut the car down if the cops didn't like what you were doing.  Well, it didn't take long.  I hate being right.  From the AP write up:

Starting with about 20 models for 2009, the service will be able to slowly halt a car that is reported stolen, and the radio may even speak up and tell the thief to pull over because police are watching.

OnStar already finds 700 to 800 cars per month using the global positioning system. With the new technology, which OnStar President Chet Huber said GM will apply to the rest of its lineup in future years, OnStar would call police and tell them a stolen car's whereabouts.

Then, if officers see the car in motion and judge it can be stopped safely, they can tell OnStar operators, who will send the car a signal via cell phone to slow it to a halt.

Why would GM do this?  The cops asked them to.  Seems the cops would very much like to be able to stop cars by remote control as well as track them anywhere.  One immediately assumes the criminal car chase scenario, which would be just fine.  But how about if they would like to stop all the cars on a certain street?  Or all the cars in a certain town between the hours of 11 PM and 7 AM, or ... you get the picture.  And remember kids, what is optional now can be made compulsory any time.

Man I hate being right.

The Not Nearly Paranoid Enough Phantom