You can pry it from my cold, dead hands

Insert Big Brother reference here.

It's almost getting old, talking about the numerous privacy violations that we've had to endure at the hands of our government, but each abuse of our liberty makes exposing them all the more important. For those of you who haven't read the story, the NSA has decided that it has the right to take possession of your laptop at the border without any suspicion of wrongdoing.

This violation of individual privacy is absolutely disgusting. I often wonder how the policy makers that created this live with themselves. I'm certain that they have some sort of rationalization of how these sort of things are for the greater good, but I can hope that they wake up one day and realize what horrible, horrible people they are and how much they've undermined the very liberties that supposedly make American so great.

It's the ones we love that hurt us the most

Obama wants to give a $1000 rebate to American families by taxing oil companies. Let me summarize the problem:

We have a problem because oil production has peaked, while demand has not. Increasing world demand and a plateaued supply have led to drastically increasing oil prices over the last couple of years. All indicticators suggest that oil prices will continue to rise indefinitely, as there are no viable replacement technologies in the pipeline, thanks to the ineptitude and lack of foresight of the whole world over the past 50 years or so.

So, Obama wants to:
1. Tax oil companies. Shockingly, increasing taxes to oil companies will force them to increase oil prices.
2. Give it to people to spend on oil products. Shockingly, giving money to people to spend on oil will increase demand for oil, which will increase oil prices.

Obama, I love you buddy, but this is not just shooting ourself in the foot, but then cutting off our leg with a rusty hacksaw to attempt to heal it. Please stick with financial incentives to actually help us with peak oil issues, not making matters worse AND wasting tons money in the process. You are now just as guilty of supporting a hurtful manipulation of the oil market as Hillary and McCain were with their gas tax holiday earlier this year. I am hurt and shocked. You are better than this.