March 13, 2020

Senators push sneaky anti-privacy bill

fromReason: The EARN IT is an attack on encryption masquerading as a blow against underage porn. 

Government is Watching Every Move You Make

To avoid charges of price gouging, eBay bans sale of coronavirus supplies

fromReason: Attempts to impose low prices on emergency supplies often do far more harm than good. High prices bring essential items to where they are needed most.

Economic Policy: Statism Versus The Free Market

Walter E Williams: Rights versus wishes

fromCreators: Sen. Bernie Sanders said: "I believe that health care is a right of all people." He's not alone in that contention. That claim comes from Democrats and Republicans and liberals and conservatives. 

Individual Liberty: America's First Principle

Bernie Sanders is all but done

fromPolitico: It wasn’t just the results on Tuesday. It was the realization that, for the first time, he had no excuse and nothing better to look forward to. 

Politics and Other Official Acts of Corruption

Why you can't solve a public health problem with economic stimulus

fromReason: Is a new stimulus package the right response to a pandemic?   

Economic Policy: Statism Versus The Free Market

Coronavirus vs. the mass surveillance state: which poses the greater threat?

fromRutherfordInstitute: Emboldened by the citizenry’s inattention and willingness to tolerate its abuses, the government has weaponized one national crisis after another in order to expands its powers. 

Government is Watching Every Move You Make

February 28, 2020

Trump’s betrayal of Julian Assange

fromRonPaulInstitute: It is ironic that a President Trump who has been victim of so much deep state meddling has done the deep state’s bidding when it comes to Assange and Wikileaks.

Justice is a Result, Not Just a Process

DNA databases are boon to police but menace to privacy, critics say

fromPewTrust: A Maryland lawmaker introduced a bill to regulate genetic genealogy searches — after a proposal last year to ban them failed.

Government is Watching Every Move You Make

Assange’s persecution has exposed media depravity the world over

fromMedium: Julian Assange started a leak outlet on the premise that corrupt and unaccountable power is a problem in our world, and that problem can be fought with the light of truth.

Media Bias on Parade             The Government is Not Us

Encryption foes in Washington won't give up

fromReason: Government officials keep trying to make us expose our data to them—and the criminals who ride on their coattails.

Government is Watching Every Move You Make

Airport chaos looms with 181 MILLION Americans needing new IDs to travel

fromDailyMail: Most American travelers will need to apply for a new ID because two thirds of 276 million state driver's licenses do not comply with a security law.

Regulation Nation

The Feds' bulk collection of our data records has been expensive and useless

fromReason: But, it won't stop because it is a necessary precursor to a police state.
Police State America               Government is Watching Every Move You Make

February 25, 2020

No backdoor on human rights: why encryption cannot be compromised

fromBitcoin.com: In 2015, the UN issued a report on encryption and anonymity in the context of human rights. The report found encryption to be key to the right of privacy.

Individual Liberty: America's First Principle

VIDEO: Tucker Carlson - A Law Rewarding Criminal Illegal Aliens

fromDailyMail: Among the stakes of the 2020 election is the New Way Forward Act, a bill supported by scores of Democrats that would open U.S. borders to criminal predators.

The Government is Not Us

Trump has flipped the 9th Circuit

fromLATimes: A return to sanity could be in store for the Golden State.

Justice is a Result, Not Just a Process

Mainstream media fails to report on Omar’s alleged marriage to her brother

fromAIM: This week, an alleged associate of Omar’s told the Daily Mail that he knew that the congresswoman married her brother for immigration reasons.

Media Bias on Parade

Feds still persecuting hemp growers with new THC testing standards

fromPersonalLiberty: New federal regs would make it harder for hemp growers to prove their plants are not marijuana, in a major setback to a promising industry legalized just two years ago.

Regulation Nation                       The War on Unapproved Voluntary Exchange

We’re all in this together: a case for not giving up on the American dream

fromRutherfordInstitute: "We must, indeed, all hang together, or assuredly we shall all hang separately."  -- Benjamin Franklin

Individual Liberty: America's First Principle          The Pursuit of Happiness   

February 5, 2020

The state owns you: The problem with "national service"

fromMises: Rather than attempt to persuade people that they ought to join the military or sign up for community service, the first instinct of draft supporters is to use coercion.
The Government is Not Us

America's self-inflicted wound: The war on drugs has been a 100 year war on our neighbors

fromMilwaukeeIndependent: For more than a century, the U.S. has worked to build a harsh global drug prohibition regime – grounded in draconian laws, enforced by pervasive policing, and punished with mass incarceration.
The War on Unapproved Voluntary Exchange

New Jersey is now the 16th state to require convictions for civil forfeiture

fromForbes: But sadly, policing for profit continues to trample rights in the other 34 states.
Police State America

Lindsey Graham wants to use mistrust of big Tech to destroy your right to online privacy

fromFreedomBunker: Online platforms would have to "earn" speech protections by compromising encryption—
all in the name of fighting child porn.
The Government is Not Us

A new backlash to gun control begins in Virginia

fromNewYorker: Activists at a gun-rights rally in Richmond last week called Virginia, a state with a pro-gun tradition now on the brink of passing restrictions, “the canary in the coal mine.”
2nd Amendment Assaults

Mark Levin interviews Walter E Williams

fromFoxNews: From Life, Liberty and Levin, Mark probes the mind of Dr. Williams regarding capitalism and the future of liberty.
Individual Liberty: America's First Principle          Economic Policy: Statism Vs The Free Market

January 31, 2020

Targeting of Greenwald and Assange shows governments ‘ready to stop the presses—if they can’

fromRawStory: A warning from Edward Snowden.
Indoctrination and Censorship         The Government is Not Us

Dead president walking

fromGuardian: "I don’t mean to sound alarmist, but the Resistance is running out of non-lethal options for removing Donald Trump from office."
Politics and Other Official Acts of Corruption

Another Obama solar company burns out – solar owners plead guilty to huge ponzi scheme

fromGatewayPundit: The schemers stole millions from individuals, companies and the US government. This solar project turned into the largest Ponzi scheme in Eastern California history.
Economic Policy: Statism Versus the Free Market    Political Correctness and Other Nitwittery

Virginians respond to gun control proposals by purchasing almost 74,000 firearms in December

fromActivistPost: The number of guns sold totaled out to 73,849. The outlet reported the increase in sales was likely “due to growing fears of increased firearms restrictions backed by the Democrat-controlled state government.
2nd Amendment Assaults

NYPD uses $10 million lab with supercomputer generating millions of passwords to defeat encryption

fromGatewayPundit: No expense is too great when it comes to violating the citizen's privacy.
Police State America               Government is Watching Every Move You Make

The establishment doesn’t fear Trump, And it doesn’t fear Bernie. It fears you.

fromCaitlinJohnstone: Obviously the establishment would rather have someone in the White House who doesn’t constantly put an ugly face on the empire by accidentally exposing its mechanics all the time as Trump does.
The Government is Not Us                   Politics and Other Official Acts of Corruption

January 20, 2020

Why laws against hate speech are dangerous

fromGatestoneInstitute: Pending legislation seeks to bar all kinds of large cash payments to "fight crime and money laundering." Banning cash will allow the government to monitor all citizen transactions for approval.

Indoctrination and Censorship            Individual Liberty: America's First Principle

Top priority for California voters heading into 2020 primary? Homelessness

fromSacBee: Candidates visiting California will likely need to focus more of their energy on explaining how they’d tackle homelessness and work to make housing cheaper.

Politics and Other Official Acts of Corruption

Michelle Obama’s school lunch program faces new cuts on former first lady’s birthday

fromImpact2020: The proposed rule announced Friday would increase “flexibility” for vegetable requirements and allow schools to change fruit servings during breakfast in favor of meats or meat alternatives.

Regulation Nation 

Trump and Comey are united against encrypted communications

fromReason: Don’t worry—America’s ruling factions still disagree over who should be in charge of the snooping.

Government is Watching Every Move You Make

Australia aims to ban cash spending

fromAsiaTimes: Pending legislation seeks to bar all kinds of large cash payments to "fight crime and money laundering." Banning cash will allow the government to monitor all citizen transactions for approval.

Regulation Nation               The War on Unapproved Voluntary Exchange

Proposed bill to make cellphone use under 21 a crime punishable by 1 year in prison

fromAsiaTimes: Pending legislation seeks to bar all kinds of large cash payments to "fight crime and money laundering." Banning cash will allow the government to monitor all citizen transactions for approval.

Regulation Nation                   Individual Liberty: America's First Principle

July 3, 2019

Hong Kong protests show dangers of a cashless society

fromReason: Many digital payments can be tracked, potentially assisting an authoritarian crackdown.

Economic Policy: Statism Versus The Free Market

VIDEO: Tech Tyranny - Censoring the Town Square

fromLibertyPen/YouTube: Record-low American patriotism is the latest casualty of the sharply polarized political climate in the U.S. today. Fewer than half of U.S. adults say they are extremely proud to be Americans.

Politics and Other Official Acts of Corruption            The Government is Not Us

How Amazon and the cops set up an elaborate sting operation that accomplished nothing

fromVice: It was a scare marketing scheme by Amazon that failed when cops were unable to make any arrests.

Government is Watching Every Move You Make

The sinister, unconstitutional effort to ban secure encryption is back

fromReason: Government is demanding everyone be more vulnerable to hackers to protect their snooping.

Government is Watching Every Move You Make            The Government is Not Us

U.S. Supreme Court rules police can forcibly carry out blood draws on unconscious drivers

fromRutherfordInstitute: Screw the Fourth Amendment.

Police State America

American pride hits new low; few proud of political system

fromGallup: Record-low American patriotism is the latest casualty of the sharply polarized political climate in the U.S. today. Fewer than half of U.S. adults say they are extremely proud to be Americans.

Politics and Other Official Acts of Corruption            The Government is Not Us

Feb 28, 2019

Marijuana legalization bills are advancing in several states

fromForbes:  Marijuana legalization advocates came into 2019 expecting it to be a huge year for cannabis, and lawmakers around the country are not disappointing them so far.

The War on Unapproved Voluntary Exchange

No drugs, no crime and just pennies for school: how police use civil asset forfeiture

fromPulitzerCenter:  In the past two decades, the federal government took in $36.5 billion in assets police seized from the America people, many of whom never were charged with a crime or shown to have drugs.

Police State America

Political bias is destroying people’s faith in journalism

fromNYPost:  A war on liberty and the pursuit of happiness is not enough. Democrats go for the trifecta, as 44 vote for infanticide.

Media Bias on Parade

Apple's intensifying privacy & encryption stance worsening FBI struggles with lawbreakers 'going dark'

fromAppleInsider:  Because of Apple's and other companies' stances on end-to-end encryption, the U.S. government's trouble in intercepting online communications is only accelerating.

Government is Watching Every Move You Make

Additional Little Rock residents share stories of "unjustified" no-knock warrants

fromKATV:  Civil rights attorney Benjamin Crump: "So as long as officers know that police involved shooting reviews that are meaningless rubber-stamps, they have no incentive to change their behavior."

Police State America

How Is abortion after birth not news?

fromLATimes:  A war on liberty and the pursuit of happiness is not enough. Democrats go for the trifecta, as 44 vote for infanticide.

The Government is Not Us

Nov 11, 2018

Debt ceiling will be set to record high of $22 trillion

fromWashingtonExaminer: The federal government is set to reinstate its borrowing limit to a record $22 trillion but it won’t provide enough money to fund the government past summer.
Economic Policy: Statism Versus The Free Market

Privacy vs. security: Why the widespread use of encryption is essential to national security

fromCNSNews: Government may not like it but privacy and security go hand in hand. The widespread use of strong encryption both guarantees individuals’ right to privacy while hardening society against waves of data breaches.
Government is Watching Every Move You Make

FLORIDA: Rick Scott files suit accusing Dem officials of 'trying to steal the election' after his narrow Senate victory, while a mystery ballot box is found two DAYS after the vote... then Trump wades in

fromTheDailyMail: Florida Governor and Senator elect Rick Scott announced he was suing Broward County and Palm Beach County elections officials alleging 'rampant fraud'.
Politics and Other Official Acts of Corruption

8 ways in which Jeff Sessions sucked

fromReason: The former attorney general's worst hits -- and they were bad.
Police State America

A badge of shame: the government’s war on America’s military veterans

fromRutherfordInstitute: In recent years, military veterans have been increasingly targeted for surveillance, censorship, involuntary commitment, labeled as extremists and stripped of their 2nd Amendment rights.
Defense Versus The War Machine      The Government is Not Us

It's time for Congress to acknowledge the collapse of pot prohibition

fromReason: Two-thirds of the states have now legalized marijuana for medical or recreational use.
The War on Unapproved Voluntary Exchange

September 5, 2018

‘Five Eyes’ governments call on tech giants to build encryption backdoors — or else

fromTechCrunch: This kind of backdoor access would allow each government access to encrypted call and message data on their citizens. 
Government is Watching Every Move You Make

Why civility in politics won't be getting better

fromTownhall: Politicians at Senator McCain’s funeral were bemoaning the loss of civility in politics, and Judge Brett Kavanaugh’s confirmation hearing this week for the Supreme Court surely promises to prove that. 
Politics and Other Official Acts of Corruption

California bill passes PG&E fire liability on to customers

fromABC30: "What we voted on last night was to allow PG&E, if they are negligent and can't afford to pay that liability, we will pass that cost onto ratepayers, make them pay for it," Hill said, referring to PG&E customers.
Economic Policy: Statism Versus The Free Market

Tariffs on steel, aluminum, and lumber blamed for spiking home construction prices

fromReason: Around the nation, construction costs for new homes are up by about 60 percent this year.
Economic Policy: Statism Versus The Free Market

Criminalizing childhood: school safety measures aren’t making the schools any safer

fromRutherfordInstitute: In communities across the country, children and adolescents spend the majority of their waking hours in schools that have increasingly come to resemble places of detention more than places of learning.
Regulation Nation    Police State America

The ideological blindness at the heart of media bias

fromNationalReview: Over the Labor Day weekend, NBC’s Chuck Todd published a much-discussed call to arms for American journalists. Decrying an “artificially stoked” hatred of the press, he calls for a “more aggressive” media.
Media Bias on Parade

Ed Snowden Thinks A Global iPhone Attack Will Happen This Year As A Result Of The FBI's Battle With Apple

by Jason Lederman. A grim prediction in the wake the FBI's battle with Apple. In the wake of the FBI's legal battle with Apple, NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden has made a bold prediction. Snowden wrote in a pair of tweets today that he believes iPhones around the world will be globally compromised by August, due to the FBI's "refusal ... MORE

The Crypto Wars Are About Power, Not Terrorism

by Andrea Castillo.        The FBI may have been able to unlock San Bernardino shooter Syed Rizwan Farook’s work-related iPhone without conscripting Apple as an unwilling hacker, but that has not slowed down the government’s broader war on encrypted technologies one bit. It didn’t take long for another tragic terrorist attack, this one in Belgium, ... MORE

Senate’s Encryption Bill Would Destroy Cybersecurity

by Scott Shackford.   Privacy under assault. The Senate Intelligence Committee's draft legislation to require tech companies assist federal authorities in bypassing the security of their products and software could have well been titled the "Shut Up and Do What You're Damn Well Told, Nerdlinger, Act of 2016." Actually, it very nearly is. The short     ... MORE

Apple Engineers Say They’d Rather Quit Than Help FBI

by Maya Kosoff.   Individual liberty still valued in some quarters. The public battle between Apple and the federal government has taken a defiant new turn, as some Apple engineers say they would refuse to help the federal government break into their company’s devices. Engineers at the company have already talked about who would have to help   ... MORE