Twitter Takedown
Posted 171 days ago by Jake Laperruque
High school student Emma Sullivan’s tweet criticizing Governor Brownback is more akin to protected speech cases than those that allow schools to suppress student speech.
Posts by Jake Laperruque
Dec 2
Nov 18
10 Minutes To Midnight For Health Care Reform?
Posted 185 days ago by Jake Laperruque
The Supreme Court will be considering the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. Whether the Court overturns the Act or not, it could have positive benefits for the Obama Administration.
Nov 11
iVote
Posted 192 days ago by Jake Laperruque
This Tuesday, Oregon employed iPads for use in a special election to replace Representative David Wu. The state, which allows voting by mail-in ballot, offered this new method to disabled voters, who were aided by a touch screen ballot and the ability to connect the iPad to personal devices via Bluetooth. After using the iPad to more easily read and mark the ballot, it is printed out and mailed in to be counted alongside other ballots. While this effort was only a test run used by 89 voters, the program was viewed as successful, and is likely to be used again in the state in the future.
Too Soon, GOP Primary, Too Soon
Posted 206 days ago by Jake Laperruque
I wish the 2012 Republican Primary would never end. It’s just so much fun! This race has been full of touching personal interactions and some of the best ads ever made. But because of some scheduling shenanigans, this election could be over before the start of February.
Failure To Communicate
Posted 213 days ago by Jake Laperruque
Without the ability to coordinate and share information, campaigns and powerful independent groups must pay twice over to acquire the same information through online services. While this disincentive will not stop secretly funded groups from continuing to play a role in elections, it does at least reward campaigns that base their strategy around direct funding and disclosure rather than reliance on outside organizations that lack transparency and accountability.
Unrest Over Occupy Wall Street
Posted 222 days ago by Jake Laperruque
The protesters gathered with no set message, ideology, or demands for policy changes. However, Freedom of Speech is not limited to groups that especially aesthetic. Regardless of how uncoordinated it is, the Occupy Wall Street movement is not “anti-American,” but rather a central feature of what makes America great.
Facebook and Phones and Phishing
Posted 231 days ago by Jake Laperruque
Unless Facebook mobile users opt out, the social networking site will upload your number and share it with every Friend you have on Facebook. While your initial reaction might be to view this as creepy but ultimately unimportant, the true implications are actually quite dangerous. With your cell phone number, any one of your thousands of Facebook Friends (or anyone who hacks into the account of any one of those thousands of Facebook Friends) can easily hack your phone.
It’s a simple trick of faking caller ID.
Working-(For Free)-Class Americans
Posted 238 days ago by Jake Laperruque
In truth, Millennials are diligent and devoted; the problem with our generation is not that we are lazy and entitled, but rather than we are too hardworking. Without desirable jobs available, we continue to seek more education, and work in more and more unpaid positions to build our resumes in the hope of attaining a permanent career position. Some are even going so far as paying money just for the chance to work without a salary. Employers are exploiting this, developing an entire economy based on the free labor of an overqualified and desperate Millennial generation.
The Danger of DOMA In Limbo
Posted 245 days ago by Jake Laperruque
The Supreme Court is unlikely to assess the constitutionality of the Defense of Marriage Act before 2013. Legislation currently pending in the Senate – the Respect for Marriage Act – could more quickly end the federal government’s definition of marriage as a union between a man and woman, and allocate federal marriage benefits to all couples defined as married under their state’s laws.
Sep 9
Takeaways From the GOP Debate
Posted 255 days ago by Jake Laperruque
Former Godfather Pizza CEO Herman Cain seems to rip-off Dominos, Bachmann gets Rick Roll’d, and Romney’s characterization of a judicial institution as “Republican” goes unchallenged.
