Showing posts with label asset forfeiture. Show all posts
Showing posts with label asset forfeiture. Show all posts

August 3, 2018


Federal Judge Breaks Up Albuquerque’s Car Theft Ring

fromSpiked: A new ruling says the city’s civil forfeiture program violates the right to due process. Car theft becomes more difficult for the police department.
Police State America

The ACLU is turning its back on free speech

fromCreators: Once a civil liberties champion, the ACLU has exposed itself as just a leftwing front group, explicitly endorsing the view that free speech can harm ‘marginalized’ groups by undermining their civil rights.  
Indoctrination and Censorship

Keeping cops hands out of your pocket

fromAmericanConservative: The Supreme Court recently agreed to rule on a case that could have a major impact on whether civil asset forfeiture can continue to serve as low hanging fruit for bureaucratic interests run amok.  
Police State America     The Government is Not Us

VIDEO: How Trump Transformed the Democratic Party Into the World's Dumbest Religion

fromLibertyPen/YouTube: A once principled political party has devolved into a kooky religion where all things Trump are satanic. Tammy Bruce breaks down the situation with Tucker Carlson.   
Politics and Other Official Acts of Corruption     Political Correctness and Other Nitwittery

John Stossel: Working for tips

fromCreators: As usual, those who want the government to decide that workers must be paid more insist that "women and minorities" are hurt by the market. But waitress Alcieli Felipe says the politicians should butt out.  
Regulation Nation

Facebook blocks searches for pages that reference marijuana—even those of government agencies

fromReason: The platform is struggling to handle contradictory laws about legal and illegal use of pot.  
Indoctrination and Censorship      The War on Unapproved Voluntary Exchange

July 9, 2016

Government calls it forfeiture, but it’s theft

fromBloomberg: If America is a Christian nation, why is stealing okay?
Politics and Other Official Acts of Corruption

Smart technology sees through walls to track and identify people

fromNBCNews: A group of researchers and students at MIT have developed an intelligent radar-like technology that makes it possible to see through walls to track people as they move around.
Government is Watching Every Move You Make

Defying Congress, Jeff Sessions keeps blocking medical marijuana research

fromReason: Two years after accepting applications, the DEA has yet to grant licenses to growers.
The War on Unapproved Voluntary Exchange

If civility is out of style, where do we end up next?

fromReason: Yearning for the days when interrupting your debate opponent was considered the height of incivility.
Political Correctness and Other Nitwittery

Caribbean nations agree to consider marijuana legalization

fromMarijuanaMoment: Caribbean nations agreed to consider marijuana reclassification, noting “human and religious rights” issues as well as “the economic benefits to be derived” from legalization.
The War on Unapproved Voluntary Exchange

The next Supreme Court Justice must uphold the principles of individual liberty

fromDailyTorch: There is always an adversary looking to limit freedom, and our surest line of defense is the Constitution.
Individual Liberty: America's First Principle      The Pursuit of Happiness

June 29, 2016

VIDEO: Thomas Sowell - Disparity is Not Discrimination

fromLibertyPen/YouTube: Professor Sowell looks at why economic and other outcomes often differ greatly among individuals, groups and institutions.
Political Correctness and Other Nitwittery

Trump's trade war requires handing more power to unelected bureaucrats

fromReason: One government intervention into the economy begets another, and American businesses are caught in the chaos.
Economic Policy: Statism Versus The Free Market

Supreme Court will decide if civil forfeiture is unconstitutional, violates the Eighth Amendment

fromForbes: The U.S. Supreme Court will review the constitutionality of civil forfeiture laws, which allow the government to legally steal a citizen's property if law enforcement suspects them of crime.
Police State America        Justice is a Result, Not Just a Process

Why "Permit Patty" called the cops on an 8-year-old entrepreneur

fromFEE: This is a symptom of our society's "entrepreneurial decay." 
Regulation Nation

Three glaring examples proving Snopes and the AP have no business being official ‘fact checkers’

fromTheFreeThoughtProject: Snopes and the Associated Press have been given power over social media to define truth but they are often wrong and the consequences are grave.
Indoctrination and Censorship

30 years of global warming forecasts all failed

fromLewRockwell: What actually happened, they got $1 billion for research by scaring the HELL out of everyone.
Political Correctness and Other Nitwittery

June 13, 2016

Anti-drug police unit admitted it conducts illegal no-knock raids

fromToledoBlade: The DEU never bothered with its own investigation of these South Carolina cops, or even an after-action examination to determine what went wrong. They must believe the ends justify their means.
The Government is Not Us       Police State America

Why President Trump may well flip-flop on marijuana legalization

fromFortune: President Donald Trump said he would “probably” support a new bipartisan bill that would return decision-making on marijuana laws to individual states. 
The War on Unapproved Voluntary Exchange

Tommy Robinson’s right to free speech morally trumps all laws that violate it

fromTheObjectiveStandard: The real reason Robinson was arrested and jailed is that he has spoken out vociferously against jihad, Sharia law, Islam-inspired child rape, and mass Islamic immigration into England.
Political Correctness and Other Nitwittery

Civil asset forfeiture is a form of legal theft

fromToledoBlade: A 64-year-old Cleveland man is suing U.S. Customs and Border Protection for strip-searching him and seizing more than $58,000 in cash from him without charging him with a crime.
The Government is Not Us       Police State America

Jeff Sessions struggles to get planned marijuana crackdown going

fromWallStreetJournal: Attorney general vowed to toughen federal enforcement of the drug, but he doesn’t have support from Trump or Congress. 
The War on Unapproved Voluntary Exchange

Country Time stands up to “arcane laws” against kids lemonade stands

fromActivistPost: Popular lemonade brand is “taking a stand for lemonade stands” and pledging to help kids cover the costs of city permits when young kids end up getting their lemonade stands shut down and fined.
Regulation Nation

June 5, 2016

Badge of impunity

fromARSTecnica: Government courts do not hold other government agents accountable.
Police State America

The government’s cure for the opioid epidemic may be worse than the disease

fromReason: When the government's cure for the "epidemic" proves worse than the disease, it's time to try something new.  
The War on Unapproved Voluntary Exchange

White privilege has become a religion, complete with church ladies

fromTheFederalist: How enlightened these faithful must be to voluntarily enjoy having their sins denounced!  
Political Correctness and Other Nitwittery

SWAT team burns baby with flash distraction device while on drug hunt

fromARSTecnica: Cops send 2-year-old to hospital during quest to incarcerate nonviolent drug offenders.  
The War on Unapproved Voluntary Exchange

Police use of Amazon’s face-recognition service draws privacy warnings

fromARSTecnica: “From a law enforcement or intelligence perspective, smart appliances are very valuable tools that can let us monitor or listen to individuals,” says a former FBI executive assistant director.  
Police State America     Government is Watching Every Move You Make

Civil asset forfeiture: highway robbery marketed as a drug enforcement tool

fromARSTecnica: The morality of theft doesn't change because it has been legalized. And, what citizens had this authority in order to delegate it to government?  
Police State America     The Government is Not Us

April 18, 2016

Feds taxed and borrowed $4.47 trillion since last tax day

fromCNSNews: That means the federal government taxed and borrowed approximately $13,736.85 for every man, woman and child in the country.
Economic Policy: Statism Versus The Free Market

California progressives launch (another) attack on free speech

fromNationalReview: The California State Assembly is set to vote on a bill that would actually — among other things — ban the sale of books expressing orthodox Christian beliefs about sexual morality.
Regulation Nation      Indoctrination and Censorship

US police forces buying hack-vulnerable 'GrayKey' box to crack into encrypted phones

fromTheDailyMail: The $15,000 device that can unlock ANY iPhone
Police State America

Crimes of a monster: your tax dollars at work

fromTheRutherfordInstitute: We are living in an age of war profiteers. We are living in an age of scoundrels, liars, brutes and thugs. Many of them work for the U.S. government. We are living in an age of monsters.
Defense Versus the War Machine

Tucker Carlson warns against intervention in Syria (Video)

fromTheDailySheeple: Fox News’ Tucker Carlson’s opening monologue Monday night warned the U.S. against intervention in Syria.
Defense Versus The War Machine

Congress killed efforts to undo Sessions's civil forfeiture expansion, despite unanimous house votes

fromForbes: More than half the country has enacted civil forfeiture reform since 2014. Eight of those states have either completely banned or sharply restricted their agencies from participating in adoptive forfeitures.
Police State America

April 11, 2016

The slippery slope to a Constitution-free America

fromCreators: The ease with which Americans accept routine invasions of their privacy and the dismantling of every constitutional right intended to serve as a bulwark against government abuses is beyond unnerving. 
The Government is Not Us     Police State America   

Congress should stop ‘policing for profit’

fromOCRegister: For decades, federal, state and local law enforcement agencies have been free to seize the property of Americans without so much as bringing criminal charges. It's legalized theft. 
Police State America

DHS wants to create profiles of journalists and “media influencers” who mention its name

fromActivistPost: The Department of Homeland Security wants to compile an extensive database on journalists, editors, foreign correspondents, and bloggers to identify top “media influencers” who mention its name. 
Government is Watching Every Move You Make

Has the war party hooked Trump?

fromCreators: The sole beneficiaries of the gas attacks in Salisbury and Syria appear to be the War Party. 
Defense Versus The War Machine

‘Another false flag’: Fmr Congressman Ron Paul on Syrian gas attack

fromTheFreeThoughtProject: Former congressman Ron Paul weighed in on the alleged gas attack which took place in Syria and noted how the deep state will use this likely false flag to push the US into another senseless war. 
Defense Versus The War Machine

If Laura Ingraham goes down for 'bullying,' you're next!

fromCreators: If Ingraham is a "bully," what do you call MSNBC's caustic, Trump-hating lineup of hosts?  
Political Correctness and Other Nitwittery     Media Bias on Parade


April 5, 2016

The Supreme Court's continuing immunity crusade

fromReason: For cops, that is.
Police State America

Assange works for the people – now we need to save him

fromReason: Julian Assange has been silenced again. With the Cambridge Analytica story dominating the news, it seems some powerful people have reasons to keep the brave WikiLeaks boss quiet right now.
Indoctrination and Censorship      Politics and Other Official Acts of Corruption

Congress should stop ‘policing for profit’

fromOCRegister: For decades, federal, state and local law enforcement agencies have been free to seize the property of Americans without so much as bringing criminal charges.
Police State America     The Government is Not Us

“The most successful deception since the Department of War became the Department of Defense”

fromTheLibertyConservative: NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden is calling out Mark Zuckerberg and his social media company Facebook for their surveillance activities throughout the world.
Indoctrination and Censorship 

The ‘nice girl’ who saved the Second Amendment

fromNationalReview: “For me, trust in the common man is such a basic principle. Few governments actually allow it. They want to keep their people vulnerable and disarmed.”
2nd Amendment Assaults

The Cafe Con Leche Index: Venezuelan price inflation hits 6567%

fromReason: Cafe Con Leche Index tracks just one item: a cup of coffee at a bakery in eastern Caracas. Its price has jumped to 120,000 bolivars from 1,800 bolivars over the past 12 months.
Economic Policy: Statism Versus The Free Market

March 6, 2018


The awful Supreme Court precedent that helped create today's asset forfeiture nightmare

fromLibertyPen/YouTube: Tucker explains how politicians in California and Chicago have devised tactics to register illegal aliens as a central feature of their electoral strategy.
The Government is Not Us       Police State America     Justice is a Result, Not Just a Process

VIDEO: Tucker Carlson - The Illegal Alien Voter Drive

fromLibertyPen/YouTube: Tucker explains how politicians in California and Chicago have devised tactics to register illegal aliens as a central feature of their electoral strategy.
The Government is Not Us       Politics and Other Official Acts of Corruption

EU looks to familiar playbook to hit back at Trump plan

fromTheWallStreeJournal: The European Commission will review an approach that led then-President George W. Bush to remove tariffs in previous dispute.
Economic Policy: Statism Versus The Free Market

State legislatures have a duty to protect free speech at public universities

fromForbes: If state action is deemed “unnecessary” to protect free speech--one of our most cherished civil liberties, if not the most cherished civil liberty—then one is hard-pressed to explain when it is ever necessary.
Indoctrination and Censorship    Political Correctness and Other Nitwittery

84yo Holocaust Survivor abused by TSA draws ominous parallel with her time in Auschwitz

fromTheFreeThoughtProject: An 84-year-old grandmother and holocaust survivor says her treatment by the TSA was so bad that even though she survived Auschwitz, she barely survived the TSA.
The Government is Not Us       Police State America      Regulation Nation

Trump's impulsive trade war is lousy economics and worrisome politics

fromReason: President's hasty new "trade war" will damage the American economy while continuing his process 
of removing tariff-reduction from two-party politics.
Economic Policy: Statism Versus The Free Market

February 9, 2018


Evidence suggests Obama admin spied on candidate Trump and campaign LONG BEFORE FISA request

fromGatewayPundit: More and more evidence is being uncovered that suggests the Obama Administration
Politics and Other Official Acts of Corruption

Andrew Napolitano: It Can Happen Here

fromCreators: The loss of liberty rarely comes about overnight or in one stroke. In a democracy, that loss is normally a slow process, often pushed along by well-intentioned folks who do not even realize until it is too late.
Politics and Other Official Acts of Corruption

New York legislators unveil legislation banning Tide pods

fromReason: The next stage of the safety hysteria cycle.
Regulation Nation     Political Correctness and Other Nitwittery

The need to regulate civil asset forfeiture

fromAl.com: We shouldn't put our law enforcement officers in a position of being incentivized to raise money for their budgets at the expense of public safety and their relationships with the community.
Police State America    Justice is a Result, Not Just a Process

‘Deep State’ veterans find new homes in mainstream media

fromConsortiumNews: NBC News’ hiring of former CIA Director John Brennan is the latest in a wave of intelligence community stalwarts being given jobs in the media, raising concerns over conflicts of interests.
Indoctrination and Censorship

Rand Paul's plan to eliminate government shutdowns: automatic 1 percent budget cuts

fromReason: Because nothing in Washington is more terrifying than the prospect of a minuscule spending reduction.
Economic Policy: Statism Versus The Free Market

December 9, 2017


This anti-flash scarf makes you invisible in photos

from Circa: One way to protect your privacy in the surveillance era is to become invisible.
Government is Watching Every Move You Make

John Stossel: I hate the New York Times

from Creators: Much of it is mean-spirited and absurdly biased.
Media Bias on Parade

New York prosecutors gave themselves $3.2 million in bonuses with asset forfeiture funds

from Reason: One Suffolk County prosecutor, facing criminal charges for covering up the beating of a suspect, received $70,000 in bonuses.
Police State America   The Government is Not Us

Court to cops: Forcing a teenager to masturbate in front of you is not reasonable

from Reason: A detective who was later charged with molesting children performed the humiliating search while investigating consensual sexting.
Police State America

Get government out of the welfare business

from MisesInstitute: Fighting poverty is a favorite pastime of government because politicians get to portray themselves as champions of the poor.
The Welfare State: Promoting Dependency

VIDEO: 52 year old woman torn to shreds by k9 as cops admit she’s innocent

from FreeThoughtProject: A St. Paul woman was horrifically attacked by a police K9 for absolutely no reason other than being in the wrong place at the wrong time.
Police State America   The Government is Not Us

December 8, 2017


Police in two states use hospitals to take motorists’ blood without a warrant 

from Activist Post: Some police chose to not enforce the law, but to get around the law. "Trooper Dunlap did not need to get a warrant, because he knew that the hospital would take motorists’ blood without a warrant and give it to them."
Police State America   The Government is Not Us

Legislators dust off medieval methods to address the opioid crisis

from Reason: Mandatory minimums are a favorite scheme of knee-jerk authoritarians dealing with victimless crimes.
The War on Unapproved Voluntary Exchange

VIDEO: Harry Browne: How to Make Decisions 

from LibertyPen/YouTube: From Harry Browne's brilliant work, "Rule Your World, an empowering message of morality and individualism. http://www.LibertyPen.com

Wall Street Journal calls for deep state dirty cop Mueller to step down

from DownTrend: The jackleg scoundrel appointed to be the Trump slayer is having a few public relations problems this week after the triumphant news that he had flipped General Michael Flynn against President Trump had the left jumping for joy.
Politics and Other Official Acts of Corruption

Another ugly civil asset forfeiture tactic -- highway stop 'waivers'

from Forbes: The national revulsion against abusive civil asset forfeiture has not kept police from trying to pocket as much as they can from people who are innocent of any wrongdoing.
Police State America   The Government is Not Us

Wealth creation is not a zero sum game

from CapitalismMagazine: Freedom, and not income equality, should be our goal—if we want human flourishing and prosperity.
Economic Policy: Statism Versus The Free Market

December 4, 2017


Cops steal $91,800 from a musician, claiming he gave it to them

from Reason: Wyoming's roadside waivers are a thin disguise for highway robbery.
Police State America

Activists arrested in Atlanta for feeding homeless without a permit before Thanksgiving

from ActivistPost: Feeding the hungry without paying politicians for the privilege.
The Government is Not Us   Regulation Nation

Supreme Court could legalize sports betting nationwide

from DailyCaller: As a result of a challenge from New Jersey — home of gambling Mecca Atlantic City — the court could overturn the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act and allow sports betting in most states.
The War on Unapproved Voluntary Exchange

Four camera surveillance PODS coming to a city near you

from MassPrivatei: Welcome to Police State America, where one camera surveillance system is never enough.
Police State America   Government is Watching Every Move You Make

CNN calls for banning the term ‘fake news’

from DownTrend: In a related story, medicine show operators are calling to ban the term "snake oil salesman".
Media Bias on Parade

VIDEO: William F Buckley Jr - Newt Gingrich: A Debate on the Legalization of Drugs

from LibertyPen/YouTube: (1990) Excerpts from: A Firing Line Debate: Resolved: That Drugs Should Be Legalized. Also in the debate: Richard Dennis, Ira Glasser, Robert W. Sweet, Pat Schroeder, Charles B. Rangel, and, William von Raab.
The War on Unapproved Voluntary Exchange

December 1, 2017


‘Surrender your firearms’ – gov’t now confiscating guns from medical cannabis users

from TheFreeThoughtProject: Gun owners in Hawaii who legally use medical cannabis have been told they have 30 days to “voluntarily surrender” their firearms to the police.
2nd Amendment Assaults   The Government is Not Us   The War on Unapproved Voluntary Exchange

Supreme Court justices voice support for digital privacy

from USA Today: A majority of Supreme Court justices voiced concerns Wednesday that the government's ability to monitor people through their cellphones violates their privacy.
Government is Watching Every Move You Make

Records show these prosecutors gave themselves huge bonuses using asset forfeiture funds

from Rare: The district attorney’s office in Suffolk County on Long Island, N.Y., has been caught funneling enormous sums of criminal asset forfeiture funds straight into employees’ pockets with huge bonuses as high as $108,886.
The Government is Not Us   Police State America  Politics and Other Official Acts of Corruption

A bipartisan tradition of enabling spendaholics

from Creators: Our national debt is $20.5 trillion and heading to $30 trillion by 2030. But rather than a wake-up call for Republicans, they want to get rid of the spending caps meant to constrain lawmakers' uncontrollable appetite to spend.
Economic Policy: Statism Versus The Free Market

Macy’s parade security used to promote surveillance and police state

from TheDailyBell: The authorities make sure to push the idea that agents see you without you seeing them. They want everyone to know that embedded amongst the crowds are government spies. This is just getting people used to the idea of being watched.
Government is Watching Every Move You Make

John Stossel: The Evil Rich

from Creators: As Republicans struggle to agree on a tax plan, Democrats and much of the media label each attempt at reform a "gift" to rich people. They are right in that any tax cut disproportionately favors rich people since the rich pay much more tax.
Economic Policy: Statism Versus The Free Market

November 29, 2017


Supreme court cellphone case puts free speech – not just privacy – at risk 

from Guardian: Carpenter v United States has rightly prompted concerns over surveillance. But it could also have drastic implications for personal freedom in the digital age.
Government is Watching Every Move You Make

This awful SCOTUS decision helped create today's civil asset forfeiture racket

from Reason: Bennis v. Michigan should be overruled.
Police State America   Justice is a Result, Not Just a Process

Teachers attend 'LGGBDTTTIQQAAP' sensitivity training (WTF?)

from PJMedia: The alphabet soup of PC gender nitwittery in Canada.
Political Correctness and Other Nitwittery

Nervous about traffic stops? I am. You should be too 

from Rutherford Institute: We’ve all been there before. You’re driving along and you see a pair of flashing blue lights in your rearview mirror. Whether or not you’ve done anything wrong, you get a sinking feeling in your stomach.
Police State America 

The real reason the media pushes “sexual liberation”

from The Daily Bell: When you pursue personal liberation, individual freedom, your life will only improve, right up until your last moments on this Earth. When you pursue so-called sexual liberation, your prospects of happiness decay day by day.
The Pursuit of Happiness

State courts say early-morning pot raids were gratuitous and illegal

from Reason: These cases show how blithely drug warriors resort to terrifying and potentially deadly tactics in response to "crimes" that violate no one's rights, even when safer alternatives are readily available.
Police State America   The War on Unapproved Voluntary Exchange

November 21, 2017


Don’t just give thanks, pay it forward one act of kindness at a time

from Rutherford Institute: It’s been a hard, heart-wrenching, stomach-churning kind of year filled with violence and ill will. It’s been a year of too much hate and too little kindness.
Individual Liberty: America's First Principle

Top NSA whistleblower claims "Russiagate" a fake to increase war-spending

from Zero Hedge: Basically, he is saying that the keepers of the keys are blocking the public from the truth, because they know that the truth will expose the fact that they’ve been lying to the public, all along.
Defense Versus The War Machine

Asset forfeiture: inherently abusive, and awful in Alabama

from YellowHammer: Outright thievery unmasked. One town uses a “speed trap” not just to generate outlandish fines but also to seize property.
Police State America    The Government is Not Us

VIDEO: Milton Friedman - The Expanding Nature of Government

from LibertyPen/YouTube: Friedman explains why the philosophy of government has become that of the cancer cell: growth for the sake of growth.
Economic Policy: Statism Versus The Free Market

Sex, jobs and smoking: What's legal for teens in your state?

from Reason: In California, you can work and get an abortion without parental consent at 12, but you must be 21 to buy a vaping device.
Regulation Nation

Venezuela's default disaster

from Mises: Socialism always promises heaven and gives hell.
Economic Policy: Statism Versus The Free Market

November 17, 2017


Asset forfeiture gone wild: after pot raids, cops legally steal 7 houses

from High Times: Michigan cops seize the homes of seven medical marijuana patients. In practice, asset forfeiture (legalized theft) has become an irreplaceable (even though immoral) revenue stream for American law enforcement officers.
Police State America

Supreme Court abortion case could promote free speech by both sides

from USA Today: California idiocy goes to trial. Red states might have to stop requiring advice some consider propaganda. And pro or con, both sides could end up having to trust women more.
Indoctrination and Censorship   The Government is Not Us

The state of street-level surveillance

from EFF: EFF’s “Street-Level Surveillance” project shines light on the advanced surveillance technologies that law enforcement agencies routinely deploy in our communities.
Police State America   Government is Watching Every Move You Make

Tighter gun laws will leave libertarians better-armed than everybody else

from Reason: In a politically polarized America, gun control is destined to be obeyed primarily by its advocates.
2nd Amendment Assaults

California mandates send electricity prices skyrocketing, but Texas free market policies keeps prices low

from Fox News: In 2017, Californians paid almost double – 86 percent more – to keep the lights on and run manufacturing than did Texans.
Economic Policy: Statism Versus The Free Market

Jury acquits ‘nice guy’ who admitted selling cannabis to a cop

from Leafly: The Declaration of Independence states that America exists to produce a government that will protect life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. The pursuit of happiness implies self-determination so long as it does not intrude on the rights of others. Gambling, drugs and prostitution are all pursuits of happiness and should be nullified by a jury.
The War on Unapproved Voluntary Exchange   Justice is a Result, Not Just a Process

November 10, 2017


TSA fails most tests in latest undercover operation at US airports

from ABC News: Procedures that are highly effective in eroding individual rights are not so effective at detecting contraband.
Government is Watching Every Move You Make

Marijuana Legalization 2017: States and cities where weed won this November

from Inverse: Pot remains illegal at a federal level and is still seen as a “life-wrecking” substance by the country’s Attorney General. But cannabis advocates made enormous strides in elections across the country this week.
The War on Unapproved Voluntary Exchange

Could giving property rights to the world's poor unlock trillions?

from BBC: Some of the most important parts of our modern economy can't be seen - but they can be heard. That's what one Peruvian economist concluded while walking through the idyllic rice fields of Bali, Indonesia, in the 1990s.
Economic Policy: Statism Versus The Free Market

Congress is blowing its shot at real NSA reform

from The Verge: This year’s 702 reauthorization is the best chance in years to rein in the NSA.
Government is Watching Every Move You Make

Senate pushes to eliminate Jeff Sessions' civil asset forfeiture program

from Civilized: A bipartisan group of senators released a letter yesterday in which they called on the legislative body to pass a law to restrict the ability of the Department of Justice to enact civil asset forfeiture programs.
Police State America

Founder of web browser Opera says worried about online privacy

from Reuters: People should worry about online data collection by technology companies because it gives them unparalleled insight into users lives, the creator of one of the biggest web browsers, Opera, said on Thursday.
Government is Watching Every Move You Make

November 6, 2017


Should you put tape over your webcam?

from CircuitBreaker: Thinking about privacy.
Government is Watching Every Move You Make

Woman told her 90 acres now public after anonymous claim of grave

from WorldNewsDaily: Local government invents new means to steal land. Legal team questions where 'warrantless searches,' 'unbridled trespassing' are in Constitution.
The Government is Not Us

6 companies that are the most reliant on government contracts

from MotleyFool: In a $3.7 trillion federal government budget, there are going to be a lot of companies reaping a windfall.
Economic Policy: Statism Versus The Free Market

🎬   Edgar, the exploiter

from Bitbutter/YouTube: Understanding the economic dynamics put into place by minimum wage.
Economic Policy: Statism Versus The Free Market

Republicans' tax plan crashes Jerry Brown's electric car fantasies

from Reason: Citizens in Kansas will no longer have to subsidize California's nitwittery.
Economic Policy: Statism Versus The Free Market

Over a few bullets, man loses truck to civil asset forfeiture

from National Review: A Kentucky man recently reclaimed his Ford F-250 pickup truck after it had been seized and kept for two years by the Customs and Border Patrol. The justification? Agents had found a few stray bullets in the center console.
Police State America

November 2, 2017


Civil forfeiture: The ransacking of the American people 

from The  Villanovan: Civil forfeiture may be one of the most sordid rackets of the last couple of decades, a scheme so devious, so heinous, that it would make swine like Bernie Madoff and Charles Ponzi blush.
Police State America   The Government is Not Us

Is federal government flooding of Houston homes a taking?

from Washington Post: A "controlled flooding" inflicted extensive damage on thousands of homes and businesses that might otherwise have been spared the effects of the storm. Government argues that is not a taking.
The Government is Not Us

AG Jeff Sessions suggests prosecutions for marijuana growers, sellers and users in legalized states 

from ActivistPost: Sounds like bluster. Any serious move in this direction would be the end of Trump. Two thirds of Americans support marijuana legalization.
The War on Unapproved Voluntary Exchange

John Stossel: Communism Turns 100

from Creators: This year marks the hundredth anniversary of one of the worst mistakes ever made: the Communist revolution in Russia.
Economic Policy: Statism Versus The Free Market

Halloween is over — but surveillance state boosters still want to scare us

from Salon: Senate Intelligence Committee hopes to pass off major expansion of NSA’s spy powers as “reform.” No thanks.
Government is Watching Every Move You Make

🎬  New from Remy: Trigger (Thriller parody)

from Reason: A very scary Halloween video for fragile snowflakes, since we now know triggers cause meltdowns.
Political Correctness and Other Nitwittery