For the past three years, Marilyn Bess has operated MS Philly Organic, a small, low-traffic blog that features occasional posts about green living, out of her Manayunk home. Between her blog and infrequent contributions to ehow.com, over the last few years she says she's made about $50. To Bess, her website is a hobby. To the city of Philadelphia, it's a potential moneymaker, and the city wants its cut.

In Philly, it's illegal to not put out recyclables. Residents who fail to put out a container for recycling are subject to having their garbage searched for recyclable materials; if they find "a considerable amount of recyclables mixed in with the trash... a citation is issued."

The laptops issued to high-school students in the well-heeled Philly suburb have webcams that can be covertly activated by the schools' administrators, who have used this facility to spy on students and even their families.