Today Is July 4th; And It's Time To Restore The 4th Amendment

from the join-in dept

Thu, Jul 4th 2013 9:00am — Mike Masnick

Today is July 4th, and as mentioned, people are gathering around the country -- both offline and online -- to tell the government that it's time to finally start obeying the 4th Amendment again. If you click the image above, it takes you to CallForFreedom.org, a new campaign from Fight for the Future. You should also check out RestoreTheFourth.net, for details on local protests all around the country from people who believe in the 4th Amendment of our Constitution, and are worried that the government has decided to ignore it with its widespread surveillance efforts, led by the NSA and the DOJ.

Oh, and in case you want a somewhat more amusing look at the concept of restoring the 4th Amendment, we have everyone's favorite Taiwanese news animators, who always seem to have a way with making the news that much more entertaining: We're taking today and tomorrow off from regular posting for the holiday, though we'll have a some posts over the next few days.

Thank you for reading this Techdirt post. With so many things competing for everyone’s attention these days, we really appreciate you giving us your time. We work hard every day to put quality content out there for our community.

Techdirt is one of the few remaining truly independent media outlets. We do not have a giant corporation behind us, and we rely heavily on our community to support us, in an age when advertisers are increasingly uninterested in sponsoring small, independent sites — especially a site like ours that is unwilling to pull punches in its reporting and analysis.

While other websites have resorted to paywalls, registration requirements, and increasingly annoying/intrusive advertising, we have always kept Techdirt open and available to anyone. But in order to continue doing so, we need your support. We offer a variety of ways for our readers to support us, from direct donations to special subscriptions and cool merchandise — and every little bit helps. Thank you.

–The Techdirt Team

Filed Under: 4th amendment, nsa surveillance, restore the 4th, search, seizure, surveillance, warrants

85 Comments

If you liked this post, you may also be interested in...

Reader Comments

Subscribe: RSS

View by: Time | Thread

Anonymous Coward, 4 Jul 2013 @ 9:18am

Stop your unconstitutional spying, but feel free to continue what you have always been doing within the constitution.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
- Josef Anvil (profile), 5 Jul 2013 @ 5:20am
  
  Re: Send
  Someone needs to forward this article to the NSA
  [ link to this | view in chronology ]
  - Josef Anvil (profile), 5 Jul 2013 @ 5:21am
    
    Re: Re: Send
    Nevermind. They got it.
    [ link to this | view in chronology ]
Anonymous Coward, 4 Jul 2013 @ 9:20am

you got all the color's right, red, white, blue and shades of grey.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Anonymous Coward, 4 Jul 2013 @ 10:03am

And there goes another one - apparently the bill of rights means nothing to these people.

Henderson police arrested a family for refusing to let officers use their homes as lookouts for a domestic violence investigation of their neighbors, the family claims in court.
https://www.courthousenews.com/2013/07/03/59061.htm

Soon there will be mandatory goose stepping thru the streets celebrating our freedoms - WoooHoooo
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
- Greevar (profile), 4 Jul 2013 @ 2:30pm
  
  Re:
  King George has no right to demand that I grant quarter to his soldiers! As true today as it was then.
  [ link to this | view in chronology ]
Anonymous Coward, 4 Jul 2013 @ 10:33am

The fourth of july amendment? That sounds like a lost cause. It is simply not gonna be feasible with the current political climate.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Anonymous Coward, 4 Jul 2013 @ 10:42am

Please
No flag burning. Fly it upside down instead. It more accurately sends the message that you want to send and it isn't disrespectful to the principles our founding fathers stood for.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
- Anonymous, 4 Jul 2013 @ 2:24pm
  
  Re: Please
  I have a Rage Against The Machine shirt that shows the flag upside down and backwards.
  [ link to this | view in chronology ]
- Greevar (profile), 4 Jul 2013 @ 2:32pm
  
  Re: Please
  No, our government's behavior is disrespectful to the principles our founding fathers stood for.
  [ link to this | view in chronology ]
  - Anonymous Coward, 4 Jul 2013 @ 4:39pm
    
    Re: Re: Please
    I agree, but the flag is a representation of our country (ie the PEOPLE) not the government. The people are under attack from their government and flying an upside down flag is a signal of the distress the people are under because of this attack. It is the appropriate response.
    [ link to this | view in chronology ]
    - Anonymous, 5 Jul 2013 @ 2:16pm
      
      Re: Re: Re: Please
      Both the people and the government are evil and corrupt.
      [ link to this | view in chronology ]
- This comment has been flagged by the community. Click here to show it
  
  Anonymous Coward, 4 Jul 2013 @ 5:28pm
  
  Re: Please
  No flag burning. Fly it upside down instead.
  
  Don't worry. I'm sure Mike likes to burn his American flags upside down. I suspect he has a little soap box that he stands on while screaming at the moon and waiving a copy of the Constitution. And then he has a snack. Cookies and milk.
  [ link to this | view in chronology ]
  - Anonymous Coward, 4 Jul 2013 @ 6:01pm
    
    Re: Re: Please
    Source?
    [ link to this | view in chronology ]
  - Anonymous Coward, 4 Jul 2013 @ 6:17pm
    
    Re: Re: Please
    This isn't about Mike you dumbass troll.
    [ link to this | view in chronology ]
  - Anonymous Coward, 5 Jul 2013 @ 4:05am
    
    Re: Re: Please
    You seem to have this massive obsession with milk. Did your mother not breastfeed you enough as a kid? ...Or is the problem more of an overdose?
    [ link to this | view in chronology ]
  - Anonymous Coward, 5 Jul 2013 @ 8:11am
    
    Re: Re: Please
    You and your milk fetish, give it a rest.
    [ link to this | view in chronology ]
Anonymous Coward, 4 Jul 2013 @ 10:48am

The government has sunk billions possibly trillions over time into these spying capabilities. They will not willingly give that up. While protests say it isn't acceptable by the people, it won't magically cause it to all go away. There's too many nuts in Washington on the bandwagon supporting the police state.

It's time for the reps to show that their budget cutting is not all just words and get some sanity into the budgeting process. Cutting social services during the times of economic disaster isn't the way to go. The savings are barely noticeable in national spending. Here's where a difference can really be made.

For the Dems, you have left your base support behind. What you say you support and what your actions are saying are different things. Obama won't have a third term but right now I am questioning whether either party deserves their incumbents to continue to serve.

This insanity has gone on long enough and I think we now know why Homeland security, DOJ, IRS, and Social Services have been buying all the ammunition. They've seen the day coming when this could no longer be hidden and that day has arrived. This buying of ammunition tells me no plans are made to change things but rather to fight to prevent it.

Enough with this insanity in our government.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
- Greevar (profile), 4 Jul 2013 @ 2:35pm
  
  Re:
  It's impossible for any president to serve more than two terms; two is the maximum allowed, consecutive or otherwise. It's been that way since Roosevelt's term.
  [ link to this | view in chronology ]
  - Anonymous Coward, 5 Jul 2013 @ 7:32am
    
    Re: Re:
    The balance of power is off because we put limitations on the executive branch and did not also apply limitations to the judicial and legislative branches of government.
    [ link to this | view in chronology ]
    - Anonymous Coward, 5 Jul 2013 @ 8:33am
      
      Re: Re: Re:
      The balance of power is off because the branches are colluding together to make the separation of them irrelevant.
      [ link to this | view in chronology ]
      - Anonymous Coward, 5 Jul 2013 @ 8:35am
        
        Re: Re: Re: Re:
        AND they all are influenced by the money of same corrupt corporate masters.
        [ link to this | view in chronology ]
- Anonymous Coward, 5 Jul 2013 @ 9:35am
  
  Re:
  "The government has sunk billions possibly trillions over time into these spying capabilities."
  
  Is this the "small government" I keep hearing about?
  [ link to this | view in chronology ]
[citation needed or GTFO], 4 Jul 2013 @ 11:13am

We're taking today and tomorrow off from regular posting for the holiday, though we'll have a some posts over the next few days.

So any bets on how long it'll be before someone asks why there haven't been any new posts?
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
- Anonymous Coward, 4 Jul 2013 @ 11:35am
  
  Re:
  Wow Mike, why are there no new posts?
  What a lazy bum - you think you're entitled to vacation?
  
  As we all know, only the uber 1% are allowed such privileges, (and cops who break the law). The rest of us are required to sweat and toil for our sustenance.
  
  And those of you bitching about being paid with fee laden debit cards - better just suck it up cause there are plenty of unemployed waiting in line for your menial job. It's a shame those jobs can not be off shored like all the rest.
  
  Damn middle class folks, they think they drive the economy with their buying - oh please ... the economy will recover just fine without their buying, just you wait and see - it won't be long now ... anytime ... soon ... it will - really !
  [ link to this | view in chronology ]
  - CK20XX, 4 Jul 2013 @ 11:48am
    
    Re: Re:
    Well, that takes care of that. What's next on the agenda?
    [ link to this | view in chronology ]
  - [citation needed or GTFO], 4 Jul 2013 @ 12:28pm
    
    Re: Re:
    Well played, good sir/madam. Well played. :)
    [ link to this | view in chronology ]
Michael, 4 Jul 2013 @ 1:12pm

NSA Data Intercept
Dear Mr. Clapper,

With the various "terrorist attacks" you tell us the intercepts have stopped, how in hell did you miss the attack on the economy by Wall Street?

A VERY Concerned Citizen
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Anonymous, 4 Jul 2013 @ 3:06pm

http://www.prisonplanet.com/some-americans-abandon-july-4-celebrations-over-outrageous-security-meas ures.html

http://www.prisonplanet.com/park-rules-sign-summarizes-sorry-state-of-freedom-on-indepe ndence-day.html
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
- Anonymous Coward, 5 Jul 2013 @ 7:49am
  
  Re:
  Tea Partiers Explain How to Properly Celebrate the 4th of July
  
  http://www.motherjones.com/mojo/2013/07/tea-partiers-explain-how-celebrate-4th-july
  [ link to this | view in chronology ]
This comment has been flagged by the community. Click here to show it

horse with no name, 4 Jul 2013 @ 5:39pm

4th amendment doesn't mean you can hide everything
The current situation is pretty much better balanced than it has been. I think most of the online people are upset because the government has caught up, and is now using many of the same tools that companies like Google use to sell ads. They know more about you by harvesting all the publicly available information, as well as third party information that the courts have allowed.

It's more unreasonable to assume that you can hide you public activities behind the 4th. If you couldn't do it AFK, then you shouldn't be able to do it online. Adding "on the internet" doesn't suddenly make something private.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
- The Real Michael, 5 Jul 2013 @ 5:17am
  
  Re: 4th amendment doesn't mean you can hide everything
  "It's more unreasonable to assume that you can hide you public activities behind the 4th."
  
  This is a false dichotomy: the presumption that a person does something in private has got something to hide.
  
  People are entitled to the expectation of privacy, including with regard to their communications. The government has taken it upon itself to pry into American citizens' personal activity on an unprecedented level, without probable cause.
  [ link to this | view in chronology ]
  - horse with no name, 5 Jul 2013 @ 8:10am
    
    Re: Re: 4th amendment doesn't mean you can hide everything
    This is a false dichotomy: the presumption that a person does something in private has got something to hide.
    
    Not at all correct. The question isn't some assumption that they have something to hide, rather that they are doing online what would be considered "public" in any other circumstance, and suddenly expect it to be private.
    
    Handing a note to a third party and having them give it to someone else (or a group of someone elses) doesn't make it private.
    
    Posting on Facebook, even if you make it "private" isn't really private.
    
    You are trying to act like I offered up an "either or" choice that does not matter. The point is only if you are going to yell across a crowded room to someone, it's public - doing the same thing online doesn't magically make it private.
    
    The American government is doing only what technology allows. The one thing I learned from Techdirt is that if technology allows something, it must be okay. If they are not specifically violating your personal rights, they are just being EFFICIENT. Sucks when the government is taking lessons from Google.
    [ link to this | view in chronology ]
- Anonymous Coward, 5 Jul 2013 @ 6:36am
  
  Re: 4th amendment doesn't mean you can hide everything
  There is a big difference. Google collects information voluntarily given to THEM as a part of using their service. People have a choice to use a different service if they like that doesn't collect such data. The government isn't voluntarily given anything.
  [ link to this | view in chronology ]
  - Anonymous Coward, 5 Jul 2013 @ 7:53am
    
    Re: Re: 4th amendment doesn't mean you can hide everything
    This point is lost on many folks, it's like they have tunnel vision.
    [ link to this | view in chronology ]
    - Anonymous Coward, 5 Jul 2013 @ 8:05am
      
      Re: Re: Re: 4th amendment doesn't mean you can hide everything
      Or in some cases, like horse with no name, he has an axe to grind. A big, fat, idiotic axe to grind.
      [ link to this | view in chronology ]
  - Digitari, 6 Jul 2013 @ 3:01am
    
    Re: Re: 4th amendment doesn't mean you can hide everything
    The federal law should NOT be able to infringe on the rights of the individual
    [ link to this | view in chronology ]
- Anonymous Coward, 5 Jul 2013 @ 7:37am
  
  Re: 4th amendment doesn't mean you can hide everything
  Texts and private instant messages are private. There is a reasonable expectation of privacy when you send a text message or private instant message. If people did not reasonably expect these to be private, then the word sexting would not have come into existence and end up in the dictionary.
  [ link to this | view in chronology ]
- Anonymous Coward, 5 Jul 2013 @ 8:06am
  
  Re: 4th amendment doesn't mean you can hide everything
  Rationalizing abhorrent behavior suits you well, your benefactors will be pleased.
  
  If you want to debate whether online activity is private, then maybe you should address that topic, as it is not cut and dried nor set in concrete. Simply waiving your hands does not make your opinion the law of the land.
  
  I'm relatively certain that big business does not consider their emails and financial transactions to be public, what exactly is different about the same thing being performed by an individual? Seems corporations have more rights than people ... oh wait - they are people, with more rights than non corporation people.
  
  I am not forced to use Gmail, HR Block, BOA, MC, etc ... and they do not get a free pass when it comes to privacy either. They think they can get away with it because the AG/DA are all in on it with them, this doesn't make it right and being their mouthpiece should leave a bad taste in your mouth, you getting paid?
  [ link to this | view in chronology ]
FM Hilton, 4 Jul 2013 @ 5:40pm

A reminder
"Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely in such manner that great men are almost always bad men"
John Dalberg-Acton, 1st Baron Acton

It is also sadly true that once power is given or taken, it is rarely relinquished by or removed from those who have it.

Who's going to tell the NSA to stop spying? Who is going to force them to stop?

Our laughable, contemptible Congress? Little chance of that.

Our President, who has looked the other way all this time, and indeed, increased their power?

Our Supreme Court, who, in their mighty wisdom, gave corporations the power to corrupt the government?

No, the American people have lost whatever sway they had over all of these institutions.

Sorry to say, it's going to take another revolution to stop it all, and I doubt that there are enough interested people who can be torn away from their reality shows to even think about the issue.

Happy 4th of July, everyone.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
jingoi, 4 Jul 2013 @ 5:42pm

The only way our fucked up government will stop their illegal actions is if we the american people get off our asses which means stop fapping to porn/obsessing over bieber-*insert celeb*/playing CoD, get some weapons and force them to stop or we spill some blood, obviously theirs.
Petitions, paper or online, will not work. They can say they won't redirect money to their bank accounts or spy on us anymore but their actions don't have to match their words.
I cannot celebrate a american holiday anymore knowing wall st, trump, romney and their partners in crime get away with large crimes while am 18 yr old goes to jail over a fake death threat towards kids.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
- The Real Michael, 5 Jul 2013 @ 5:24am
  
  Re:
  The problem with a violent uprising is that it would give them justification to use violence themselves. Any manner of uprising would have to be done in a manner of civil disobedience, i.e. refusal to work, pay taxes, etc. Only after all other avenues have been exhausted would resistance become necessary.
  [ link to this | view in chronology ]
Pixelation, 4 Jul 2013 @ 5:54pm

The 4th of *redacted* Americas *redacted* day.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Pixelation, 4 Jul 2013 @ 5:55pm

The 4th of *redacted* Americas *redacted* day.

Censorship brought to you by Visa and Mastercard.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Anonymous Coward, 4 Jul 2013 @ 6:42pm

t's impossible for any president to serve more than two terms; two is the maximum allowed, consecutive or otherwise. It's been that way since Roosevelt's term.

There's always someone that will bite on that... go back and read it carefully at what it says. It doesn't say Obama will have a third term, it says

Obama won't have a third term...
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
TDR, 4 Jul 2013 @ 6:47pm

Here's a possibility:

Picket the White House. And the Capitol Building.

Nonstop until the NSA is disbanded and all spying programs are ended, the military size and budget cut in half, all money (both private and corporate) is removed from all political arenas, corporate personhood is revoked, major copyright reform is enacted, the illegal actions against Kim Dotcom, Bradley Manning, and Ed Snowden are ended and all charges are dropped, all those on Wall Street involved in the collapse of the economy are prosecuted and imprisoned, a serious investigation is begun into the legacy entertainment industries and their illegal financial and legal practices is begun and those responsible are tried and imprisoned, DC's entire two-faced nature is exposed and admitted to publicly on air, the revolving door between politicians and corporations is closed for all time, and other issues we deal with here are seriously addressed.

When I say picket, I mean as in tens of thousands�perhaps even hundreds of thousands�of people surrounding both buildings in peaceful, nonviolent protest but refusing to leave until all the above conditions are met. People within the crowd would come and go as their time and schedules permit, but the crowd itself would remain in place at all times, ever-changing but ever-present. If the crowd is sizable enough, it could perhaps deny access to and from the buildings to anyone and everyone, forcing the issues to be addressed more quickly.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
- Anonymous Coward, 5 Jul 2013 @ 6:46am
  
  Re:
  I wouldn't go so far as to say the NSA needs to be disbanded. What needs to happen is for key people that are in charge and responsible like Alexander and Clapper to be removed and held accountable sending the clear message that these sorts of violations will not be tolerated.
  [ link to this | view in chronology ]
  - Anonymous Coward, 5 Jul 2013 @ 7:43am
    
    Re: Re:
    I'd go so far as to say America needs a complete reboot. Throw out all laws and court rulings and start completely over with only the constitution and subsequent amendments.
    [ link to this | view in chronology ]
  - tqk (profile), 6 Jul 2013 @ 7:55am
    
    Re: Re:
    I wouldn't go so far as to say the NSA needs to be disbanded.
    
    It is the simpler and most effective solution. Disband it and start over recognizing what went wrong, use proper oversight and determine what the rules are this time before you do it. Take your licks and accept the horrific waste of cash invested in the failed NSA as a learning experience; an expensive education. This time, do it right.
    
    Just cutting off its heads (Alexander and Clapper) won't change much. An org that size will have built up a lot of inertia that needs to be overcome.
    [ link to this | view in chronology ]
    - Anonymous Coward, 7 Jul 2013 @ 7:51am
      
      Re: Re: Re:
      Possibly. However it might be possible to replace those responsible, hold them accountable, then bring the organization under a Congrssional oversight with a mandate for transparency and a defined course of punitive action for violation of the public trust.
      [ link to this | view in chronology ]
Anonymous Coward, 4 Jul 2013 @ 7:45pm

Nice idea, won't work.

Occupy Wall Street was the same idea with less people. They were protesting and non-violent. What happened? The cops created their own violence as an excuse to go in with force.

The FBI called them terrorists and put them in the databank to find out what they were doing, where they came from, and everyone with a cell phone was tracked. Houston had plans drawn up to place snipers with silencers to 'take out the leaders'.

https://www.truthdig.com/eartotheground/item/redacted_fbi_document_shows_plot_to_kill_o ccupy_leaders_20130629/

These people will not be taking no for an answer unless you hammer on the politicians in every state.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
- Zem, 4 Jul 2013 @ 11:09pm
  
  Re:
  and to take this, and maybe stretch it out further, maybe even a little too far.
  
  A democratically elected government decides to ignore the people, to take away their rights, to take upon itself secret powers.
  The people know, and they protest.
  
  In Egypt, the military supported the people, and stepped in to stop it.
  
  In the US, the military ...............
  
  Alright, yes, I have taken it too far..... but hell, I should't have even been able to get here.
  [ link to this | view in chronology ]
Anonymous Coward, 4 Jul 2013 @ 7:50pm

Oh, forgot to mention, the FBI held daily meetings to co-ordinate response across the nation with the cops, pretty much giving them a laid out plan on how to 'crack the nut' of non-violence so they could act. Oakland to NYC got the same briefings.

Oakland just lost a court case over the injuries that were done by the cops in court. 12 that brought the case will share something like $1 million dollar award from the court.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Anonymous Coward, 4 Jul 2013 @ 10:41pm

We fire off fireworks because of the imprisonment of the poet lawyer Francis Scott Key. During the War of 1812, Key, accompanied by the British Prisoner Exchange Agent Colonel John Stuart Skinner, dined aboard the British ship HMS Tonnant, as the guests of three British officers: Vice Admiral Alexander Cochrane, Rear Admiral George Cockburn, and Major General Robert Ross. Skinner and Key were there to negotiate the release of prisoners, one of whom was Dr. William Beanes, a resident of Upper Marlboro, Maryland who had been arrested after putting rowdy stragglers under citizen's arrest. Skinner, Key, and Beanes were not allowed to return to their own sloop because they had become familiar with the strength and position of the British units and with the British intent to attack Baltimore. As a result of this, Key was unable to do anything but watch the bombarding of the American forces at Fort McHenry during the Battle of Baltimore on the night of September 13�14, 1814.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Jonathan Weavers, 4 Jul 2013 @ 10:59pm

Hey -

Your last post [Today Is July 4th; And It's Time To Restore The 4th Amendment] was freaking awesome. I have gone ahead and added your stuff to my Feedly account. Please keep me updated if you post anywhere else.

Keep rocking �

Jon
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Anonymous Coward, 5 Jul 2013 @ 12:21am

Just like SOPA...
...watch as the US conducts another raid to distract everyone again when Anonymous retaliates.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Anonymous Coward, 5 Jul 2013 @ 7:48am

The constitution gives the states the ability to call for a constitutional convention in which state leadership gets together to modify the constitution without the interference of the federal government. You only need to push your state legislatures to file the requests.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
This comment has been flagged by the community. Click here to show it

Anonymous Coward, 5 Jul 2013 @ 8:07am

Hey Guys,

Check this out. Mike is so scared of me criticizing him that he has his censorship filter catching the following phrases:

Mike's *** Greatest *** Hits

or

Mikey's *** Greatest *** Hits

Trying posting that, but without the ***'s. It will be held for moderation by Mike the Censor, Controller of Thoughts.

Wow. Thin-skinned much??? Scared of criticism much???

Classic.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
- AC Unknown (profile), 5 Jul 2013 @ 8:13am
  
  Re:
  Where's your evidence? Just as I thought.
  
  It's called a spam filter, you idiot. You keep spamming the same shit over and over, it'll start holding your comments in moderation.
  [ link to this | view in chronology ]
  - This comment has been flagged by the community. Click here to show it
    
    Anonymous Coward, 5 Jul 2013 @ 8:16am
    
    Re: Re:
    It's called a spam filter, you idiot.
    
    So posting "Mikey's %&%& Greatest %&%& Hits" (but without the %&%&)is spam? LOL!
    
    Mike is doing it for the sole purpose of keeping a dissident point of view that criticizes him from his comments.
    
    He ONLY started blocking that phrase after I used it to criticize him.
    
    Just like a Chinese dictator. Right out of China's playbook.
    [ link to this | view in chronology ]
    - AC Unknown (profile), 5 Jul 2013 @ 8:27am
      
      Re: Re: Re:
      How about you stop spamming the same shit over and over again?
      
      Maybe then your comments wouldn't get held in moderation. Or did my advice just whiz past your face?
      [ link to this | view in chronology ]
    - Rikuo (profile), 5 Jul 2013 @ 8:39am
      
      Re: Re: Re:
      Okay, guess what? I posted a comment, with just those words, Mike's Greatest Hits. As I fully expected, the comment was held in moderation.
      
      Now, before you rush off and get your knickers in a twist, that was all the comment had, just those three words. Accordingly, the spam filters recognised it as spam, as a meaningless comment that doesn't advance the conversation in any way, and so, held it. If Mike is indeed censoring his "critics" (and no, you are not a critic, real critics actually make decent arguments), then he's censoring those who support him too.
      I mean come on, you're not being censored. Your post is still up there for everyone to see. They only get held in moderation if it's far too short (three words), contain only a link, etc.
      [ link to this | view in chronology ]
  - Anonymous Coward, 5 Jul 2013 @ 8:21am
    
    Re: Re:
    And, honestly, I'm not surprised that the hardcore Mike supporters and Mike sockpuppets are playing the "spam" card.
    
    You know that's a bullshit excuse. I will take Mike on directly on the merits on any issue. I won't run away. I won't mince words. I'll answer every question of his with 100% truth and honesty.
    
    He's blocking me because he can't stand the criticism. He's blocking me because he's scared of having a substantive discussion on the merits.
    
    That's not spam, and you know it.
    
    Defend him all you want, but he's the one running away from a productive discussion. Not me.
    
    Calling my posts "spam" is just another stupid excuse in the long, long line of excuses that have been fabricated to "explain" why Mike shouldn't actually defend what he writes.
    
    It's total bullshit.
    [ link to this | view in chronology ]
- Anonymous Coward, 5 Jul 2013 @ 8:22am
  
  Re:
  Does it make you feel better that if you were to die tomorrow the population as a whole would rather spit on your grave than mourn you?
  [ link to this | view in chronology ]
  - This comment has been flagged by the community. Click here to show it
    
    Anonymous Coward, 5 Jul 2013 @ 8:23am
    
    Re: Re:
    LOL!
    
    I'm here to discuss the merits. Funny how Mike isn't.
    [ link to this | view in chronology ]
    - Rikuo (profile), 5 Jul 2013 @ 8:41am
      
      Re: Re: Re:
      Funny because Mike isn't at the office, he and his crew are taking two days off...? Yeah, how dare Pirate Mike not stay glued to his keyboard and respond to every single one of your comments, what do you think you're paying him for (you're not!)
      [ link to this | view in chronology ]
    - Anonymous Coward, 5 Jul 2013 @ 11:47am
      
      Re: Re: Re:
      It's a forum, post your discussion of the merits now and Mike can respond later, and then you can respond sometime after that. Wow, this internet thing facilitates conversation on the merits really well, doesn't it?
      [ link to this | view in chronology ]
- Rikuo (profile), 5 Jul 2013 @ 8:35am
  
  Re:
  Mike's Greatest Hits.
  [ link to this | view in chronology ]
This comment has been flagged by the community. Click here to show it

Anonymous Coward, 5 Jul 2013 @ 8:14am

You know what's even funnier?

Mike is blocking TOR exit nodes like crazy. Fire up TOR and try and post on Techdirt. Your post is very likely to be held up in the Techdirt Thought Control Moderation Queue.

Mike, who pretends to support anonymity, blocks TOR exit nodes like a Chinese dictator. Yep.

And many of those nodes were blocked for the sole purpose of trying to prevent me from criticizing Mike. They weren't being used for spam. They were being used to voice a dissident point of view.

But Mikey blocked them.

Just like a Chinese dictator.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
- Rikuo (profile), 5 Jul 2013 @ 8:43am
  
  Re:
  Yes...your post criticizing Mike, the one just above mine, was censored by Mike, that's why I was able to see it and respond to it, because it was censored, hidden from view...wait, what?
  
  What is censorship in your book? Define it for us.
  [ link to this | view in chronology ]
- Anonymous Coward, 5 Jul 2013 @ 9:27am
  
  Re:
  Funny how you have something to hide. If you're doing nothing wrong you've got nothing to hide. Why are you hiding with TOR like a filthy, piratey, douchey mother's-basement-dwelling teenager?
  [ link to this | view in chronology ]
- Anonymous Coward, 5 Jul 2013 @ 9:40am
  
  Re:
  "Mike, who pretends to support anonymity, blocks TOR exit nodes like a Chinese dictator"
  
  Are you sure it was Mike?
  [ link to this | view in chronology ]
  - This comment has been flagged by the community. Click here to show it
    
    Anonymous Coward, 5 Jul 2013 @ 10:58am
    
    Re: Re:
    I found a TOR node that wasn't blocked, posted one thing critical of Mike using it, and then it was immediately blocked. Of course it was him, using plays right out of China's play book.
    
    I've been at my summer home the past couple weeks, and frankly I'm surprised he hasn't been blocking me. I'm sure he will soon. Of course, as he so often preaches, it's completely futile.
    [ link to this | view in chronology ]
    - Rikuo (profile), 5 Jul 2013 @ 11:45am
      
      Re: Re: Re:
      You were just critical of Mike. As in, just now. Yet your post is still there, visible for anybody to read. So...when is he going to start censoring you again?
      
      Maybe...just maybe, if Mike actually is blocking TOR nodes, he does it for reasons that have nothing to do with censorship. I've heard horror stories of people operating TOR nodes and then being raided by police for child porn charges.
      [ link to this | view in chronology ]
    - Anonymous Coward, 5 Jul 2013 @ 12:47pm
      
      Re: Re: Re:
      That proves nothing dude.
      I thought you had some sort of trace bullshit going on there.
      [ link to this | view in chronology ]
    - Anonymous Coward, 7 Jul 2013 @ 10:14am
      
      Re: Re: Re:
      I don't know if it's a spam filter or "chinese dictator" tactics, but the quality and maturity of discourse has been massively improved in the brief time your bullshit has been kept off the site, so it's definitely not "futile". Whatever it was, it was highly effective, and I hope it shuts you up again soon. Think of it as a "you must be at least this grown up to ride" sign at the gate.
      [ link to this | view in chronology ]
This comment has been flagged by the community. Click here to show it

Anonymous Coward, 5 Jul 2013 @ 8:22am

test
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
RyanNerd (profile), 5 Jul 2013 @ 9:27am

NSA using DCMA takedowns maybe?
I'm unable to get to the site: HTTP://CallForFreedom.org
Is it just me and the NSA has limited my Internet access or is the site really down?
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
- Rikuo (profile), 5 Jul 2013 @ 11:46am
  
  Re: NSA using DCMA takedowns maybe?
  It's just you. I was able to get it open.
  [ link to this | view in chronology ]
FM Hilton, 5 Jul 2013 @ 11:47am

Lord, love a duck..or dick
Why don't you go back to your subterranean basement, put on your tinfoil hat and sun yourself by the rays of the ultraviolet light you use to read your secret messages by?

Sure, you're being blocked by a spam machine. You're the spam, and it's just doing it's job.

God, don't I hate tiresome idiots in the summer. I guess their brains become puddles of mush in the sun or something.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
- Anonymous Coward, 5 Jul 2013 @ 1:18pm
  
  Re: Lord, love a duck..or dick
  It's not a basement, it's his command center!
  [ link to this | view in chronology ]
Anzablazer, 5 Jul 2013 @ 12:48pm

Just one more nail in America's coffin. The Damage is done. There is no way to turn back now short of bloodshed.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Anzablazer, 5 Jul 2013 @ 1:10pm

Only in your deluded minds will you ever have privacy again.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Anonymous Coward, 5 Jul 2013 @ 1:19pm

This is one way to fight back against the NSA...
Show up at all of their recruiting attempts and do this...

http://guardiannews.com/world/shortcuts/2013/jul/05/national-security-agency-recruitment- drive
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
hiedak, 9 Jul 2013 @ 10:54am

the brain initiative = the great deception
I am a victim of "the brain initiative". It is the great deception. Law enforcement are implanting everyone with radio frequency communication chips aka nerve stimulators or wireless in-body antennas. In Virginia, state and local police give you three options: 1) be put in a stabilization ward and be tortured, 2) be put in jail and be tortured, or 3) be infected with an infectious disease. They have tried the first two and are threatening the third. The chip is protruding from my cancer surgery scars. Even though it was implanted without my knowledge and consent by Dr. Lawrence Chang of Pariser Dermatology, surgeons refuse to remove it. It uses technologies like the audio spotlight by Holosonics. They bombard your mind with obscenities, cursing, and all manner of evil things. Wireless tazing with lasers that come through the electrical outlets - see network world (hacking your computer through elctrical outlets). The Army at Picatinny created a laser induced plasma channel and steered lightening at a target. Police use lasers and steer electricity at my mind, body, heart, and private parts. State Trooper Jared Vance informed everyone they come through the electronics in your home. They use radio frequency software, lasers, and millimeter wave transmitters to create holograms and tap into your mind seeing through your eyes what your brain sees and hearing what you hear. (See The Mind Weapon by DARPA scientists). It is a microchip implant initiative to enable law enforcement ubiquitous surveillance. See Safeguards in a World of Ambient Intelligence by Springer to learn about the project. The Verizon phone records are to clone the sim card in your phone with the sim card in your body. At least the European Union is trying to inform their public and protect them. After everyone is defamed, defrauded, unemployable, crippled and suffering, who takes care of us. Will there be indentured servitude? Even the Federal District Court Judge knew I was in excruciating pain (according to her own clerk of courts) and she refused to grant a motion for cessation of torture. This is the weapon of the anti-Christ and the mark of the beast. These law enforcement officers are criminals and do not uphold the Constitution, the state statute banning implantation of chips, and federal statute banning torture. People need to read about these new weapons. (See Mental Illness and Terrorism: New weapons mimic mental health disease). See forbes.com and search Brandon Raub. Virginia has one of the highest suicide rates in the country! Check out Brian Castner's book The Long Walk - our vets are being tortured into suicide. In it he says, "This is my new life. It's intolerable." I never served in the war, but I know how he feels. I am no longer free to live my life. I am enduring it.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]