May 5th 2009

OnStar: Riding With Big Brother

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ale at Okie on the Lam, besides doing the nifty accompanying artwork, has turned over a rock (with help from The Truth About Cars) that I’m mighty glad is now turned, so we can see all the creepy crawlies underneath:

In the upcoming “deal” that will keep General Motors afloat, at least for awhile longer, the federal government will “own” 50% of GM’s stock. I’m betting that it will be at least 51%, gotta have that undeniable control don’t ya know? Along with Cadillac, GMC, Buick and Chevrolet, the feds will be getting control of OnStar — that little ditty of a “communications” package that has been installed in most GM vehicles in the past decade. So what? Well, consider this:

“The Truth About Cars” wrote that “OnStar’s computer knows where you were, when you were there, and how fast you went. It knows if and when you applied the brakes, if and when the air bags deployed, and what speed you were going at the time. It knows if and when your car was serviced. OnStar operators can determine if you have a passenger in the front seat (airbag detection). … under certain conditions, OnStar can switch on your GM car’s microphone remotely and record any and all sounds within the vehicle (i.e. conversations).” …

Voice-monitoring capability is marketed as OnStar Hands-Free Calling. The use of this type of capability by law enforcement is subject to legal debate and some technical impediments. OnStar maintains that it is unable to “listen to, view, or record the content of calls”. However, a 2003 lawsuit revealed that systems such as OnStar can be used for eavesdropping on passenger conversations.

Also, it’s possible for them to deactivate your vehicle — What? You thought that they could only unlock the doors?

NSA wiretaps? We don’t need no stinkin’ NSA wiretaps.

Still, the same liberals who support the ACLU think it’s all merry and bright to have government up to its armpits in private business. Go figger.

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September 17th 2008

“Privacy Hawk” Leftists Raid Palin Emails

Let me see if I remember this right …

The dummies sitting on the lap of the big Left ventriloquists like Kos and Huff and MoveOn can’t stop whining about how the Patriot Act tramples on rights and threatens the Constitution … even though they’re free to whine, and even though they know no one who has had any rights trampled upon.  Is that about right?

Then imagine my shock (SHOCK!) upon reading this, from Libertarian Republican:

Leftwing on-line activists from 4Chan have hacked into Sarah Palin’s private email account, and are now making the contents available all over the internet. According to Peter Rost Blog:

At around midnight last night the group gained access to governor Palin’s email account “sarah.gov@yahoo.com” and handed over the contents to the government sunshine site Wikileaks.org.

Tech Voice is reporting that one of the hackers got Palin’s password:

somebody was able to compromise “gov.palin@yahoo.com,” by apparently discovering the password to the account. The password was posted to a public forum – and a field day ensued. …

The Ultra-Liberal Blog Huffington Post has just run a story, and have even posted Screenshots of Sarah Palin’s private emails. [I just checked the site and found nothing]…

Michelle Malkin is reporting on her blog that:

They have used Bristol Palin’s illegally obtained private cell phone number from her mom’s private account, recorded her voicemail message, and posted it on their website.

They have reprinted her husband Todd’s private e-mail address and son Track’s private e-mail address.

Here’s the AP story on it.  And here’s Time, which starts, “I am advised this is not a hoax.”  Not a hoax, but certainly an abomination that underscores the hypocricy and hatred of the American Left … and which will drive even more voters to McCain/Palin.

hat-tip: Jim

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August 30th 2008

Right Of Privacy? Not From The Left!

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he bloviating hypocrites at Daily Kos is ruminating today that Sarah Palin was never pregnant with a fifth child, but rather was covering up for an unwed daughter’s pregnancy by pulling the old switch-a-roo after the little ‘un was born. Kos offers up this as evidence:

  • Palin never looked pregnant. Really? Then who’s that chubby gal with the hair piled up in a Palinesque bun?
  • Palin’s daughter “got mono” and wasn’t in school for a while.
  • Palin doesn’t support abortion.

Whoa! What a stunningly definitive case. It takes a sick mind to even conceive of this meme, let alone carry on about it willy-nilly about as if it were newsworthy – especially when one considers that nearly a third of births in Alaska are out of wedlock.  Why would Palin take the considerable risk of being caught in such a sordid, dishonest deal when the consequences of having an unmarried daughter with child would be of so little consequence socially or politically?

Worse, the Left has no problem with invading the privacy of Palin and her daughter, and sees no hypocrisy in their cries for a probe into the recent use of their baby-making apparati. Yes, we’re taking about the same Left that howls in genuine outrage if a computer scans data from known terrorists; the same Left that says millions of dead babies is a small price to pay for a woman’s right to privacy.

Kos proves just how hypocritical its fellow travelers are by running a poll asking whether Kos should continue running with the story. 8,778 have responded as of 3:40 p.m. PST:

  • 27 percent are sane and stand by liberal principles, saying “No, it’s’ a private matter and you should delete this diary.”
  • 56 percent bloodthirsty partisan hypocrites, saying “Yes, the future of the world is at stake [really?!], nothing’s off the table.” [Then can we look into the Obama/Ayres relationship, or should we continue to try to drown out any radio station that gives Stanley Kurtz air time?]
  • And 15 percent are postponing their immersion into insanity, saying “Not sure yet, need more evidence.” These numbskulls are not sentient enough to realize that a “yes” answer to the question means more evidence would be gathered since Kos would continue with the story, so “yes” or “no”‘ are the only viable answers.

{Pregnant pause.}

Sometimes, even after all these years, the Left just flat-out stuns me.

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With Obama winning the presidency by seven percent, we can't blame the media. Their laudatory coverage and refusal to extensively probe into Obama's background and [lack of] experience was at best responsible for five percent of his vote, the pundits tell us. Here is a compilation of over 100 significant instances of pro-Obama/anti-McCain bias during the 2008 campaign.

For all 'Media Bias 2008' – Click Here