Articles by Kevin


Well, Somebody Doesn’t Know What “Homophones” Are

It's either Clarke Woodger, who reportedly fired an employee for blogging about them, or people for whom English is a second language. It is plausible to think many in the latter group might not know what "homophones" are, but to…


CIA Admits It Spied on Senate Investigation of CIA

Dianne Feinstein, Chair of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence (SSCI), Mar. 11, 2014: [I have] grave concerns that the CIA's search [of Senate computers] … may have undermined the constitutional framework essential to effective congressional oversight of intelligence activities…


Judge Skeptical of Joe Francis’s Explanation

My guess would be that the headline above would apply to pretty much any explanation Joe Francis has ever given a judge, and probably to any explanation he's ever given, period. In this case it applies to the explanation he…


Brain Scientist Waves Gun Around at Airport

Look, I think airport-security concerns are way overblown, I generally support the right to bear arms, and I'm also a big fan of brain scientists. But that does not mean I think it's okay for a brain scientist to wave…




Hey, I’m Appearing on FOX

I will appear for a few minutes tonight (Thursday) on the John Stossel show to talk about some ridiculous laws. The show was taped last week and is on tonight at 9 pm Eastern (and various other times depending on…


U.S. Patent App. No. 20140159444: Airline Passenger Torture Device

The application calls it "Seating Device Comprising a Forward-Foldable Backrest," but I like my name better. The inventor describes the alleged motivation thusly (my annotations below): [T]o increase the number of cabin seats [and thus profit], the space allotted to…