Free Republic

A standoff between public interest groups and Verizon Wireless could determine whether many consumers can use their smartphone as a modem for a laptop or tablet — or whether they’ll have to pony up for an aircard or separate wireless plan instead. Consumer advocates say Verizon has violated its license agreement to operate over a valuable chunk of public airwaves known as the C-Block. According to (soros funded)Free Press and (soros funded)Public Knowledge, Verizon has asked Google to block third-party applications on Android phones that allow “tethering,” or using a smartphone to connect to the Internet on another device such...

Dog advocate Tamira Ci Thayne said she's tried for six years to get a law passed that bans chaining dogs "the nicey-nice way" and it hasn't worked. So she's taken her message to the state Capitol steps and tethered herself to a dog house to make her point. Thayne is the head of Operation Fido's Freedom, a campaign by the advocacy organization Dogs Deserve Better, and is supporting a bill before a state Senate committee that would ban chaining dogs from 10 p.m. to 6 a.m.