Tag: United States

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What the Declaration of Independence Said and Meant by Randy Barnett (Reason.com)

First come rights, and then comes government.

I admit that I have no read the Constitution of the United States of America. It's something I wish to correct.

I am not a natural born US citizen. Decades ago, right around the time, I was college age, my grand-father obtained resident alien status for his children and his grandchildren.

I was able to immigrate to the USA for college to study physics and electrical engineering. Upon graduation, and before I went off to graduate school, I applied for US citizenship. I became a naturalised US citizen in 1993. I was so happy and so excited to proudly and loudly say, "I am an American!".

When I sing or hear the US national anthem or recite the pledge of allegiance, I can't help but be moved by promise embedded in the words.

I had looked upon the United States of American as the land where I could be free; an inviting place, where anyone could work hard and achieve their dreams. I hope it still is.

More about this image at the link.

The Divide Between Silicon Valley and Washington Is a National-Security Threat (The Atlantic)

In the past year, Google executives, citing ethical concerns, have canceled an artificial-intelligence project with the Pentagon and refused to even bid on the Defense Department’s Project JEDI, a desperately needed $10 billion IT-improvement program. While stiff-arming Washington, Google has been embracing Beijing, helping the Chinese government develop a more effective censored search engine despite outcries from human-rights groups, American politicians, and, more recently, its own employees.

Via Ben Brooks