Green Energy
My friends, the government has no right to know where you are at all times.
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- "a Few Concerns Remain”
Eileen Norcross in US News and World Reports, on placement of a govt GPS black box IN YOUR CAR so that gas tax can be eliminated and you can be charged directly for your mileage.She mentions this might be a cause for concern since the govt...
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We have no reasonable expectation of privacy? WTF? From CNet: Even though police are tapping into the locations of mobile phones thousands of times a year, the legal ground rules remain unclear, and federal privacy laws written a generation ago are ambiguous...
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Green Energy
Fascism In America
My friends, the government has no right to know where you are at all times.
The state government of Oregon is proposing a new law which would allow them to charge a mileage tax by tracking your driving habits via satellite.
This law would be a violation of the Fourth Amendment:
The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.
From the Mid Valley News in Oregon:
A year ago, the Oregon Department of Transportation announced it had demonstrated that a new way to pay for roads — via a mileage tax and satellite technology — could work.
Now Gov. Ted Kulongoski says he’d like the legislature to take the next step.
As part of a transportation-related bill he has filed for the 2009 legislative session, the governor says he plans to recommend “a path to transition away from the gas tax as the central funding source for transportation.”
What that means is explained on the governor’s website:
“As Oregonians drive less and demand more fuel-efficient vehicles, it is increasingly important that the state find a new way, other than the gas tax, to finance our transportation system.”
According to the policies he has outlined online, Kulongoski proposes to continue the work of the special task force that came up with and tested the idea of a mileage tax to replace the gas tax.
The governor wants the task force “to partner with auto manufacturers to refine technology that would enable Oregonians to pay for the transportation system based on how many miles they drive.”
The state of Oregon claims the information would not be kept by the government for purposes other than taxation. But, if that's the case, then why not simply charge some other form of tax:
When the task force’s study and test were in the news in 2006 and 2007, critics worried that the technology could be used to track where vehicles go, not just how far they travel, and that this information would somehow be stored by the government.
In more than one interview with the Democrat-Herald and others, James Whitty, the ODOT official in charge of the project, tried to assure the public that tracking people’s travels was not in the plans.
The task force’s final report came out in November 2007. It was based largely on a field test in which about 300 motorists in the Portland area and two service stations took part over
10 months, ending in March 2007.
A GPS-based system kept track of the in-state mileage driven by the volunteers. When they bought fuel, a device in their vehicles was read, and they paid 1.2 cents a mile and got a refund of the state gas tax of 24 cents a gallon.
The final report detailed the technical aspects of the program. It also stressed the issue of privacy.
“The concept requires no transmission of vehicle travel locations, either in real time or of travel history,” the report said. “Accordingly, no travel location points are stored within the vehicle or transmitted elsewhere. Thus there can be no ‘tracking’ of vehicle movements.”
Also, the report said, under the Oregon concept of the program, “ODOT would have no involvement in developing the on-vehicle devices, installing them in vehicles, maintaining them or having any other access to them except, perhaps, in situations involving tampering or similar fee evasion activities.”
Equipment for the Oregon test was developed at Oregon State University.
Whitty said last year it might take about $20 million to establish that the mileage tax is commercially viable. Eventually, GPS devices would have to start being built into cars, and fueling stations would have to be similarly equipped.
The gas tax would stay in force — Kulongoski has proposed that it be raised 2 cents — for vehicles not equipped to pay the mileage tax.
- Electric Rickshaws Will Hit The Roads Of Pakistan Soon.
Electric Rickshaws Will Hit The Roads of Pakistan Soon.It seems like a great time for electric vehicles in Pakistan. We are seeing more and more hybrid cards on the street, initiatives aiming to replace motorcycles with E-bikes are gaining steam and...
- "a Few Concerns Remain”
Eileen Norcross in US News and World Reports, on placement of a govt GPS black box IN YOUR CAR so that gas tax can be eliminated and you can be charged directly for your mileage.She mentions this might be a cause for concern since the govt...
-
Obama Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood: Yes, We Are Looking Into Technology to Disable Cell Phones in VehiclesFrom Weasel Zippers: It's time for us to stop accepting the government's line, "driving is a privilege, not a right."If you think...
- Obama Wants To Track Cellphones - Says, Americans Enjoy No "reasonable Expectation Of Privacy" In Their--or At Least Their Cell Phones'--whereabouts
We have no reasonable expectation of privacy? WTF? From CNet: Even though police are tapping into the locations of mobile phones thousands of times a year, the legal ground rules remain unclear, and federal privacy laws written a generation ago are ambiguous...
- This Administration Giveth, And This Administration Taketh Away
(hat tip to Yid With Lid) According to the LA Times, Cash for Clunkers, apparently a stimulus that really worked, may be suspended: White House reviewing 'cash for clunkers' program WASHINGTON — The White House said Thursday it was reviewing...