Chris, you've been suckered again.

By visiting the cars.gov site you do not give the government the right to own all of the information on your computer. Here's a link to the DOT PRIVACY POLICY that you cite (but don't identify). That's for the Department of Transportation (so you had better not visit any other DoT sites either!!!) It's comparable to the privacy policy posted for the White House web site. You can compare that with the privacy policy of the Bush White House. Looking at the White House privacy policy is a bit off track. However, at the top of the DoT privacy policy page it says, "Content updated on August 8, 2006". If you don't quickly grasp the significance of that, let me spell it out clearly for you. The policy you're worried about was crafted by the Bush Administration and predates the CARS program by two years! (edit: Three years!)

From what I understand, the fuss over the information pertains to computers that car dealers use to log into the system to take advantage of the CARS program. It might seem invasive to you, but it makes sense to me to have participating dealers waive their right against having their computers seized as a check against fraud.

And by the way, the Cash for Clunkers program has been a smashing success. It sold out in a week. It lifted Ford's sales for the first time in two years. And improved mileage for participants by 9 mpg (from 16 to 25 mpg). Now, oil industry cronies might not like that, but higher mileage means less dependence on foreign oil, and it means money in the pocket of participating car buyers. The notion that CARS is a failure is a big lie promoted by FoxNews, the GOP and the other groups opposed to economic recovery.

Edit: And if you don't want to take my word on the privacy issue, take snopes on it: Cash for Clunkers

[Edited by - LessBread on August 4, 2009 5:18:43 PM]

Quote: Original post by LessBread
The notion that CARS is a failure is a big lie promoted by FoxNews, the GOP and the other groups opposed to economic recovery.

Yeah... pretty amazing how that right-wing echo machine works.


If a stimulus program takes months to spend money, it's called a failure before it even gets rolling. If a stimulus program significantly boosts sales and manages to get a billion dollars into the public's hands within a week .... it's called a failure.

LOL @ FoxNews. They sure know what they're talking about! The look on the lady's face near the end of the video: Priceless.

Quote: Original post by Chris Reynolds
So a threat such as cyber-terrorism, certainly a known security threat, allows the website to view and disclose information about the websites I visit?

Um, the website doesn't know anything about other websites you visit. It only knows what pages you visit on itself.

Seriously, Chris...

Quote: Original post by Oluseyi
Um, the website doesn't know anything about other websites you visit. It only knows what pages you visit on itself.

Yeah, but this is the government so they've probably got hooks into your browser so that it sends them everything you've ever done. It can even hook into your webcam and look at the stuff you've got in your house.

To prevent that, I always keep my webcam wrapped in tinfoil.

Quote: Original post by Chris Reynolds
Can anyone explain this?

Yes Chris. You listen to Fox News. This explains everything.

Well I approached this topic with naivety, just saw this on TV and wanted to see what it was really about.

Yea I watch Fox News, I watch all TV news. It's all bullshit but I try to filter out the facts and the shows are actually entertaining from time to time.

And the only reason I watch Glenn Beck is because I share some libertarian views with him (personal rights, constitution stuff)

Ohh, I see. And his batshit insanity serves as a substitute for [insert drama show here]. Makes sense.

Quote: Original post by Promit
Ohh, I see. And his batshit insanity serves as a substitute for [insert drama show here]. Makes sense.

absolutely. Watching political nutcases implode on themselves is much more entertaining to me than any reality show could ever be

Quote: Original post by Promit
Ohh, I see. And his batshit insanity serves as a substitute for [insert drama show here]. Makes sense.

absolutely. Watching political nutcases implode in themselves is much more entertaining to me than any reality show could ever be