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> For example, if the US government enacts a new piece of legislation and it has the name "patriot" or "freedom" in it, you can bet your last dollar it's going
by throwaway613834 9y ago
> For example, if the US government enacts a new piece of legislation and it has the name "patriot" or "freedom" in it, you can bet your last dollar it's going to take away your rights.
First thing that comes to my mind for "freedom" is the Freedom of Information Act, which fails that test?
- toomuchtodo 9y agoPatriot Act. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patriot_Act https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patriot_Act
- throwaway613834 9y agoYes I'm aware of that one. Just saying the name doesn't imply what is claimed from what I can tell; it can go either way.
- icelancer 9y agoI agree with your acute victory, but if you listed all the Patriot/Freedom acts I don't think it'd be close at all.
- throwaway613834 9y agoI don't know of that many so I really have no idea if this is true. FOIA and Patriot Act were the only ones that jumped to my mind, and the Internet Freedom Act which was just mentioned by someone else is another one I'm aware of right now. Would be awesome if you or someone else could list 5-10 more.
- code_duck 9y agoThere was an 'Internet Freedom Act' in 2015 which was largely written by telecom companies. Regardless, i believe the intent was to convey a principle, not specify the words they use.
- yourapostasy 9y agoThe FOIA doesn’t encode a “shall release upon production” edict, it instead is a limited “shall respond upon request for permission to release”. The former creates an atmosphere where information is automatically released when created. That is freedom. The latter creates bureaucratic and legalistic discretion, an impediment to freedom. The latter is still needed for gray areas, but there is no bright line test that unequivocally states if you don’t cross the bright line, then automatically publish with no registration for access, much less petitioning.