Digital reading devices such as the Amazon Kindle, the iPad, and other tablets aren’t just convenient for average people. They’re also very convenient for Big Brother and anybody else that wants to see what you’re reading. Professors at Texas A&M University can now monitor their students’ reading of digital textbooks with software from a company called CourseSmart, The New York Times reported. Using CourseSmart, the professors can tell what textbooks the students are reading and how many pages they’ve looked at. That’s bad news for a lot of lazy college students and very bothersome for
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Mass shootings and explosions are happening with more and more frequency across the country, and the way that our government responds to them has always been less than ideal. Whether it involves fraudulent attempts to infringe upon second amendment rights, racial profiling, or other divisive tactics, it’s important to remain constantly vigilant about the steps that the government takes in the name of protecting our safety. Those who sacrifice liberty to ensure safety deserve neither, and it’s crucial that we are vocal about our resistance to the inflation of government power. There are some legitimate
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NASHVILLE, TN – Southern Baptist chaplains are reporting that SBC.net, the official web site of the Southern Baptist Convention has been blocked at military installations across the nation. The Southern Baptist Convention is the nation’s largest Protestant denomination and is known for its support of the pro-life movement and its strong belief in traditional marriage. The censorship became public after an Army officer attempted to log onto the denomination’s website but instead received a warning message. “The site you have requested has been blocked by Team CONUS (C-TNOSC/RCERT-CONUS) due to hostile content,” the message read.
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The Arab spring hit Egypt with full force, and we watched a country band together to rid itself of a ruler with whom it could no longer live. We all heard the media coverage of a “Twitter revolution,” and despite government attempts to black out the Internet, citizens found new and innovative back doors that allowed them to use social networking to organize protests, secret meetings, and shape the revolution. To many of us, it seems unlikely that this could happen in the United States, but we may be closer than we think. Companies are
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Editor’s Note: Way Off the Grid is a satire feature of Off the Grid News. While the articles in this section may deal with current events, they are meant to portray these topics in a satirical and humorous light. WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Supreme Court’s 7-2 decision Monday to strike down a Montana law that
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Ever since the Bill of Rights was ratified in 1791, there have been people trying their hardest to come up with reasons why these important amendments to the U.S. Constitution really don’t mean what they seem to mean. The First Amendment, with its insistence that the rights of free speech never be abridged, has been
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New York, NY – U.S. District Judge Katherine Forrest in Manhattan has temporarily blocked enforcement of a provision in the National Defense Authorization Act concerning the detention of terrorism suspects that passed through Congress last year. The Obama appointee ruled that Section 1021 of the law likely violates free press and due process rights guaranteed by the First and Fifth Amendment. This comes as good news for a wide ranging coalition of journalists, activists, conservatives, and libertarians who have been seeking to have the bill overturned. The multi-billion dollar defense funding bill sparked the debate
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Steven Aftergood of the Federation of American Scientists recently discovered an Air Force intelligence brief that states it can use “incidental” surveillance data gathered on American citizens. The briefing entitled “The Instruction” is dated April 23 of this year. While it states that the Air Force cannot legally conduct “non-consensual surveillance” on Americans, it can retain and analyze accidentally captured surveillance footage from drones for up to 90 days. This means the Air Force has been given legal permission to study data gathered in military intelligence missions over U.S. soil to determine if the subjects
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San Diego, CA – Marine Sgt. Gary Stein is facing discharge for his action in posting negative comments about President Obama on his “Armed Forces Tea Party” Facebook page. The case has renewed debate about the rights of military personnel when it comes to free speech. A military review board recommended this past Thursday that Stein be discharged for using his site to call Obama “the domestic enemy”. The Marine’s page also displayed a “Jackass” movie poster with Obama’s face and comments he posted in which he said he would not follow some orders from
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WASHINGTON, DC – The Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee (DSCC) is taking advantage of the current controversy over the Obama administration’s contraceptive mandate to raise campaign funds. In an email to potential Democratic donors, signed by DSCC Chair Sen. Patty Murray (D-Washington), the administration’s decision to require insurance providers to provide contraceptive and sterilization services free of charge is hailed as a great victory for women’s health rights. Catholic bishops in New York say their dioceses won’t abide by the new federal regulation requiring Catholic hospitals, charities and schools to provide birth control coverage in their
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