Hereditary Kings.

"There are no hereditary kings in America and no powers not created by the constitution."

This was the sentiment expressed by District Court Judge Anna Diggs Taylor as she ordered a stop to warantless wiretapping in the United States. The lawsuit, brought by the ACLU, was thus decided in favor of halting the program. This ruling will undoubtedly move to the US Court of Appeals, and probably on to the Supreme Court. In addition to calling off the program, Judge Taylor formed a strong rebuke of the administration's policies, which continue to consistently overstep the authority of the Executive branch of the United States government.

In addition to this news, some in the business world are predicting a slew of civil rights lawsuits against the telecommunications companies who aided the administration in carrying out these wiretapping efforts.

Flashpacking.

A recent AP article fires the imaginations of a several tech news sites. We've just witnessed the birth a new trend: Flashpacking. Flashpacking is described as "backpacking, with an awful lot of tech gear going along for the ride", according to Lee Gimpel. On his blog Passing Through India, he describes his travels, and lists a number of interesting and useful devices for the wanna be Gargoyle.

Screwing the System.

Money is, by its intrinsic nature, a descriptor of value. As such, we have become accustomed to placing a value on everything we see. My good friend Mr. A recently pointed out that former majority leader Bill Frist is using his weight in the Senate to dodge taxes. Here's how:

1. The House passes a bill to raise minimum wage.
2. Bill Frist adds a rider to cut estate inheritance taxes for the rich.
3. Anyone voting against the bill seems to be against raising minimum wage.

Here are two articles detailing the subject, and the SEC's filing listing Frist's holdings contained in family trusts are located here.

Thanks, for the brilliant research, Mr. A.