You didn’t want your Fifth Amendment rights, anyway, did you?

by Eileen McGuire-Mahony | 8:00 am, January 25, 2012

Monday afternoon, a federal judge in Denver ordered a criminal defendant to turn over a decrypted version of her entire hard drive. Yes, that alone should have you sweating bullets. Worse yet, the woman, Ramona Fricosu, has only been immunized for the act of producing the material, not for anything that might be found.  The [...]

In which the Washington Bureau Chief does not accept insincere apologies.

by Eileen McGuire-Mahony | 1:42 pm, January 18, 2012

Effective security is more about judgment than thoughtlessly enforcing a set of Byzantine rules.  However, an organization that abides religiously by published rules, even if those rules are asinine, is a step above my favorite whipping boys, the TSA. (UPDATE: The TSOs at Dallas Fort-Worth apparently don’t recognize a .38 handgun, as they let one [...]

In which the Washington Bureau Chief declines to disclose her uterine contents to the state

by Eileen McGuire-Mahony | 10:00 am, January 13, 2012

What a horrifying headline.  Yet, it would not be there to sicken you without a reason.  I am not, quite, that cruel.  Brazil, which is the land of the future and shall always be, is now officially compelling women to register their pregnancies with the state. The official reason is benign.  They always are.  PM [...]

In which the Washington Bureau Chief is cryptic

by Eileen McGuire-Mahony | 8:00 am, January 13, 2012

Privacy could be greatly enhanced (or not) right here in Colorado. Can Uncle Sam compel you to turn over a passphrase to an encrypted computer, or compel you to decrypt a device for them, in spite of the Fifth Amendment? The facts, briefly, are these. A woman’s laptop was confiscated pursuant to a warrant by police as [...]

In Praise of the Political Insult

by Eileen McGuire-Mahony | 8:30 am, October 24, 2011

A gentleman never insults someone unintentionally. ~ Oscar Wilde Much too much of what passes for political sparring today is only clever, mean people taking gimme shots, if it’s even that good.  Statements are made in a condescending tone as if something is automatically funny and self-evidentally demeaning, without the alleged wag explaining why. Talking [...]

Zuccotti Park: A song of soap and sophistry

by Eileen McGuire-Mahony | 1:43 pm, October 18, 2011

I spent part of this morning reading a little article titled, “Intellectual Roots of Wall St. Protest Lie in Academe”  Yes, I know I need to use my time more wisely. I will start by sharing some of my thoughts on the alleged intellectual majesty and mystery of the shenanigans currently gripping America.  One thing [...]

In which the Washington Bureau Chief is officially old enough to rant about the nation’s youth

by Eileen McGuire-Mahony | 11:54 am, October 14, 2011

A young man starts a website dedicated to surveillance style photos of a woman he barely knows. It attracts several hundred followers and the people who personally know the subject find it rather funny that she is unaware she has a stalker and that she is the subject of a blog. When someone does spill [...]

In Which the Washington Bureau Chief Prays This One Doesn’t Get Passed Ex Post Facto

by Eileen McGuire-Mahony | 8:30 am, October 14, 2011

Buried in the GOP plan to re-authorize the TSA is a clause that could make it a felony to satirize or parody that cadre of polyester clad perverts*. The language of the proposed law bans, “without written permission, us[ing] the words, acronyms, or symbols of those agencies on apparel or in a publication “in a [...]

In which the Washington Bureau Chief blocks your number

by Eileen McGuire-Mahony | 10:00 am, October 6, 2011

Congress apparently thinks that what this country needs most is a greater sphere of influence for the Privacy Raping Death Beasts (PRDBs).  It’s either that or the fools actually think campaign robocalls do any good. One of these fallacies is likely behind Congress’ current perusal of the “Mobile Informational Call Act” (HR 3035), something that [...]

In which the Washington Bureau Chief ponders stupid business models

by Eileen McGuire-Mahony | 5:19 pm, October 4, 2011

The world is full of willing people;  some willing to work, the rest willing to to let them. ~ Robert Frost Yesterday, I was having a fit because big name groups, groups whose senior staff have probably not set foot outside of Washington DC proper in years, are raising more money than ever and still [...]

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