September 17, 2020

It’s perfectly Constitutional to talk about jury nullification

fromACLU: “Juror nullification is your right to refuse to enforce bad laws and bad prosecutions. Once you know your rights and powers, you can veto bad laws and hang the jury.”
Justice is a Result, Not Just a Process

Abolish qualified immunity

fromReason: This court-invented doctrine shields bad cops from civil liability.
Police State America

White House will cancel racial sensitivity training for all federal employees

fromDailyMail: Trump blasts classes on 'critical race theory' and 'white privilege' as a 'sickness in our country'.
Indoctrination and Censorship             Political Correctness and Other Nitwittery

House will vote on federal marijuana legalization for the first time, bill's future in Senate uncertain

fromUSAToday: The House's vote comes as views of marijuana have changed in Washington and increased numbers of Americans support the legalization of the drug, whether for recreational or medicinal purposes.
Individual Liberty: America's First Principle

VIDEO: Tucker Carlson - Facebook, COVID and the End of Free Speech

fromSpiked: The social media giants are morphing into a state media that will ban all media that contradicts statist doctrine and, in effect, abolish the First Amendment.  Tucker explains in brilliant detail. 
Individual Liberty: America's First Principle

People must have the right to mock Muhammad

fromSpiked: In America, freedom trumps archaic religious demands.
Individual Liberty: America's First Principle

June 27, 2020

Venezuelans take extraordinary steps to beat water shortage

fromAP: Critics of the socialist government blame chronic infrastructure failures on years of corruption and mismanagement that have also left the electrical grid fragile and destroyed Venezuela’s once-thriving oil industry.
Economic Policy: Statism Versus The Free Market

Will government mandate COVID-19 vaccinations?

fromTheHill: Government mandated vaccinations for adults would be a major and controversial step. But then government has taken a number of major and controversial steps recently, such as shutting down the economy.
Individual Liberty: America's First Principle

California agency blocks release of police use of force and surveillance training, claiming copyright

fromActivistPost:Our elected officials can pass laws regulating the police, and watchdog bodies can review law enforcement policies, but if training materials are kept secret, it provides a back door for manufacturers of surveillance technology and private organizations to influence police practices without oversight or accountability.
Government is Watching Every Move You Make        Police State America         Regulation Nation

Walter E Williams: Insults to black history

fromCreators: Both blacks and whites can benefit from a better appreciation of black history.
Indoctrination and Censorship

The pandemic's economic carnage looks worse than expected

fromReason: If you thought the economic toll wrought by the COVID-19 pandemic was only going to be horrendous, you may have been overly optimistic.
Economic Policy: Statism Versus The Free Market

VIDEO: Black Wisdom Matters - Good Intentions of the Welfare State

fromLibertyPen/YouTube: Thomas Sowell, Walter E Williams, Star Parker, Jason Riley, Bob Woodson and Larry Elder share their insights on how a half century of the welfare state has changed America and the American family.
The Welfare State: Promoting Dependency

June 6, 2020

From 9/11 to COVID-19, it’s been a perpetual state of emergency

fromTheRutherfordInstitute: "Freedom from servitude comes not from violent action, but from the refusal to serve. Tyrants fall when the people withdraw their support.” —Étienne De La Boétie, The Politics Of Obedience
Police State America

Joe Biden basically admits libertarians were right all along: cops shouldn't have military gear

fromReason: Biden voted for the 1997 bill that created the Pentagon's 1033 program, which allows surplus military gear to be passed along to local cops. It took 23 years, but he finally changed his opinion.
Police State America           Politics and Other Official Acts of Corruption

Policing for profit: How civil asset forfeiture has perverted American law enforcement

fromAmmo: Asset forfeiture is having devastating consequences: In 2014 alone, law enforcement took more stuff from American citizens than burglars did.
Police State America

The state’s priority is protecting itself, not you

fromLibertarianInstitute: The state is far more punitive against those that threaten the comfort and authority of government institutions and workers than they are against crimes against citizens.
Police State America

The lockdowns are now a scandal

fromNationalReview: Last week, the media, politicians, and many experts decided that every argument they made for destroying the lives of millions of people in America could be deferred to advance a preferred political cause.
The Government is Not Us

Lockdown supporters embraced wildly wrong COVID-19 projections that fit their preconceptions

fromReason: The episode illustrates the perils of confirmation bias on both sides of the debate about disease control measures.
Police State America           Politics and Other Official Acts of Corruption

June 4, 2020

How to curb police abuses—and how not to

fromTheVolokhConspiracy: Much can and must be done to curb police brutality. The task is difficult, but far from hopeless. But riots and looting are both wrong in themselves, and likely to have counterproductive results. 
Police State America

Models can’t predict next week’s weather, so why should we trust them to predict climate change?

fromWattsUpWithThat: No one “knew” the weather would cancel the SpaceX flight, but rather scientists used data to make the best educated guess which is part of the scientific method we learned about in third grade.  
Indoctrination and Censorship

Where did policing go wrong?

fromMattTaibee: "We have two systems of enforcement in America, a minimalist one for people with political clout, and an intrusive one for everyone else." 
Police State America

It’s past time to examine how police unions protect bad cops

fromNationalReview: The issue of rogue police officers who routinely violate constitutional rights and their superiors and unions who protect them is no longer a right-versus-left issue. 
Police State America

Gun stocks soar as riots, looting erupt across America

fromFoxNews: Nothing has demonstrated the citizen's need for self-protection guaranteed by the 2nd Amendment after watching days of looters having free  reign, holding private property owners at their mercy. 
2nd Amendment Assaults

Walter E Williams: Some facts worth knowing

fromCreators: After accounting for income, charity and noncash welfare benefits, "the poorest 20% of Americans consume more goods and services than the national averages for all people in the world's most affluent countries." 
Economic Policy: Statism Versus The Free Market

June 1, 2020

The Supreme Court has a chance to end qualified immunity and prevent cases like George Floyd's

fromReason: The Supreme Court could announce as early as Monday that it's revisiting qualified immunity, a doctrine that shields rotten cops from civil rights lawsuits. 
Police State America

The officers who killed George Floyd have done this before — many times

fromRefinery29: The Minneapolis police officer who killed George Floyd had a history of misconduct. In 2006, he had been placed on leave after using lethal force, but prosecutor Amy Klobuchar refused to press charges.
Police State America

Why did it take so long to arrest Derek Chauvin?

fromNationalReview: The claim that the prosecutor had to wait to authorize an arrest until the investigators nailed down all the evidence is nonsense.
Police State America

Cops kill because we gave them the legal framework to do it

fromAmericanConservative: Rather than burning and looting, protesters should turn their ire on lawmakers and judges who facilitate police immunity.
Police State America

For whom the COVID-19 bell tolls

fromReason: What big-government, fascist, left-wing indoctrinationists never thought would happen: homeschooling, the end of doctoring, reliance on self-care and vitamin pills in place of vaccines.
Individual Liberty: America's First Principle

Police act like laws don't apply to them because of 'qualified immunity.' They're right.

fromUSAToday: There's a legal obstacle that's nearly impossible to overcome when police officers and government officials violate our constitutional and civil rights. 
Police State America

May 29, 2020

Why Joe Biden can do no wrong

fromJonathanTurley: One columnist declared that former Vice President Joe Biden could boil babies and she would still vote for him. Feminist leaders have said they believe Biden raped a Senate staffer but they still endorse him. 
Media Bias on Parade

Three ways lockdowns are costing human lives

fromMises: It is easier to see the deaths caused by COVID-19 than to see the deaths caused by lockdowns.
Regulation Nation

Washington health officials: Gunshot victims counted as COVID-19 deaths

fromFreedomFoundation: Today, officials at the Washington State Department of Health (DOH) confirmed that the state is counting in its COVID-19 death total, persons who tested positive for the virus but died from other causes.
Indoctrination and Censorship

The general election scenario that Democrats are dreading

fromPolitico: "We are about to see the best economic data we’ve seen in the history of this country," says a top former economic adviser to Obama.
Politics and Other Official Acts of Corruption

Why conservatives and liberals are responding to COVID-19 in vastly different ways

fromFreeThoughtProject: The disagreement is over whether efforts to protect individuals from COVID-19 should be balanced against other considerations—including constitutional and economic ones—at all.
Regulation Nation

Minneapolis police killed George Floyd, then failed to protect property owners from riots

fromReason: Police departments exist to protect people's persons and property. The Minneapolis Police Department has failed to do either.
Police State America

April 7, 2020

In what sense do you think we are free?

fromAmericanThinker: "But arguments about the suspension of such civil liberties aside, does a citizen’s life or death even matter, in the context of our Constitution?"
Individual Liberty: America's First Principle

Court hears final arguments in censorship suit against Google, Facebook, Twitter

fromReclaimTheNet: Laura Loomer and Freedom Watch argued that social media companies should be held liable for First Amendment violations.
Indoctrination and Censorship           Media Bias on Parade

For a glimpse into your dystopian police state future, just visit your local Walmart

fromEndOfTheAmericanDream: Hopefully once this pandemic is behind us we will see these ridiculous restrictions at Walmart locations go away.
The Government is Not Us             Police State America

Why the government Is no good at fighting Coronavirus

fromReason: The problems with the federal response to COVID-19 go far beyond Donald Trump and deep into bureaucratic inertia.
Regulation Nation

Ted Cruz: ‘We don't live in a police state’

fromAMC: "Resist authoritarianism and don’t abuse power."
The Government is Not Us              Police State America     

Deputies issue citations to 22 people watching sunset at beach in Encinitas

fromTimesofSanDiego: Government never misses an opportunity to shear the sheep, even in times of crisis. "The violations carry fines of up to $1,000 or six months in jail or both, the department said."
The Government is Not Us

April 5, 2020

People's skepticism about Covid-19 is the fault of the lying mass media

fromThe Medium: If outlets like WaPo had done a better job oof consolidating their reputation as a reliable news source, people would believe them.
Media Bias on Parade

Court finds bump stock ban may constitute a taking, because the federal government lacks a police power

fromTheVolokhConspiracy: The Court will allow the federal government to try and explain which enumerated power justifies a taking without compensation.
Individual Liberty: America's First Principle               2nd Amendment Assaults

Dump the FDA for a healthier America

fromReason: The agency has hampered widespread Covid-19 testing and the production of both protective gear and hand sanitizer.
Regulation Nation

How 'price gouging' helps consumers during the Coronavirus pandemic

fromReason: Q&A with Duke's Michael C. Munger, who also believes that big cities will see rationing and that higher education will never be the same.
Economic Policy: Statism Versus the Free Market

Five reasons COVID-19 is the best thing to happen to public education

fromTheVolokhConspiracy: While it is disruptive to the economy, as well as public school children and parents, a whole lot of good will come out of school closings.
Indoctrination and Censorship

As gov’t continues seizing power, Covid-19 response goes from hand washing to house arrest

fromTheFreeThoughtProcess: Just because we’re fighting an unseen enemy in the form of a virus doesn’t mean we have to relinquish every shred of our humanity, our common sense, or our freedoms.
Regulation Nation          The Government is Not Us

April 2, 2020

Why are so many journalists clamoring for a police state?

fromSpiked: The media pressure for a total lockdown has become overwhelming.
Police State America

Tear up your census form for a better America

fromReason: The government is perfectly capable of counting heads in a less-intrusive and more-hygienic way.
Regulation Nation

The virus is not invincible, but it’s exposing who’s irreplaceable

fromAmericanGreatness: When your refrigerator goes out under quarantine, do you really need another rant from Maxine Waters—or rather Home Depot to wheel up and connect a new one?
The Pursuit of Happiness

Walter E Williams: Managing a disaster

fromCreators: If consumers pay a higher price, it is because they see themselves as being better off acquiring the good than keeping their money in their pocket.
Regulation Nation

Checkpoints, arrests: These states are enforcing stay-at-home orders

fromKomoNews: While many states have statutes to enforce quarantines, the potential response to COVID-19 has raised concerns among civil libertarians.
Police State America

VIDEO: The nitwittery of Common Core for all to see

fromAllen.Tesla/YouTube: Common core is ridiculous and holds students back and confuses them by making math unnecessarily complex. A politically driven approach by the Obama administration.
Political Correctness and Other Nitwittery

March 24, 2020

Justice Department reportedly asks Congress for indefinite detention powers to fight coronavirus

fromReason: Congress should loudly and unanimously reject this insanity.

Justice is a Result, Not Just a Process

Why we need free markets to fight pandemics

fromMises: The free market price system allows for the rapid and intensive reallocation of resources that is necessary in a crisis scenario like a pandemic. 

Economic Policy: Statism Versus The Free Market

Walter E Williams: Progressive cities and black education

fromCreators: A recent report by Chris Stewart has shed new light on some of the educational problems faced by black youth.

Indoctrination and Censorship

Californians calling cops on their neighbors if they hear them coughing

fromSummit: Some Californians are calling 911 if they hear their neighbors loudly coughing or sneezing, with paramedics being dispatched to homes in some cases. Yes, really.

Government is Watching Every Move You Make                Police State America

Israeli doctor in Italy: we no longer help those over 60

fromTownhall: No ventilators for anyone over 60. This is socialized medicine Italian-style. Be careful what you wish for.

Economic Policy: Statism Versus the Free Market

The media is even more garbage than usual

fromTownhall: This was the media’s time to shine, a moment when we needed clear, objective information delivered by intelligent people who asked the important questions.

Media Bias on Parade

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 10, 2020

Background checks and bump stock bans: 2020 Democrats on gun control

fromNYTimes: Democratic presidential candidates have a variety of measures aimed at making self-protection more difficult for American citizens. Related article: Police have no duty to protect you, federal court affirms
2nd Amendment Assaults

A brief history of the traffic stop (or how the car created the police state)

fromObserver.: The story of the traffic stop shows the way the automobile fundamentally changed the relationship between the police and the citizenry.
Police State America

New York court says daily fantasy sports betting law Is unconstitutional

fromReason: Lawmakers legalized DFS betting. The state’s top justices say that’s not allowed. Such liberty is unconstitutional in New York state.
The War on Unapproved Voluntary Exchange

A war over sex work is raging inside the nation’s biggest feminist group

fromTheDailyBeast: There’s a growing divide within the feminist movement on whether the sale and purchase of consensual, adult sex should be decriminalized.
The War on Unapproved Voluntary Exchange

Slapstick suicide

fromKunstler: With Adam Schiff and Jerrold Nadler cast as Laurel and Hardy, the Democratic Party entered the slapstick phase of its self-destruction.
Politics and Other Official Acts of Corruption

Identity politics is really for rich (dumb) white people

fromSpiked: These women are paying up to $2,500 to attend dinner parties aimed at confronting their ‘racism’.
Political Correctness and Other Nitwittery           Politics and Other Official Acts of Corruption

October 23, 2019

The American deep state would sooner sacrifice the republic than lose again to Donald Trump

fromStrategicCulture:  Democrats have become terrified of a longstanding political technology known as ‘free and fair elections.’

Politics and Other Official Acts of Corruption

Target employees won the 'fight for $15' but weren't ready for the trade-offs

fromStrategicCulture: Hours cut, benefits lost. More proof that fools rush in where wise men never go.

Economic Policy: Statism Versus The Free Market

Civil unrest is erupting all over the world, but just wait until the United States joins the party…

fromStrategicCulture:  Democrats have become terrified of a longstanding political technology known as ‘free and fair elections.’

Politics and Other Official Acts of Corruption

The police state’s deadly toll on America’s children

fromRutherfordInstitute:  Children are forced to learn the police state’s lessons in compliance and terror, which are being meted out with every SWAT team raid, roadside strip search, and school drill.

Police State America

Google Maps will tell you where police are hiding

fromNewsChannel6:  Google Maps is competing with traffic and GPS app ‘Waze’ with some new features. Users around the world will soon be able to report where police officers are hiding.

Police State America

Rand Paul praises Trump on Syria truce: 'extraordinary breakthrough'

fromNewsmax:  Sen. Rand Paul Wednesday praised President Donald Trump for the "extraordinary breakthrough" reached in Syria and said the actions taken could lead to peace in the region for the first time in years.

Defense Versus the War Machine

September 27, 2019

A license for outrageous police conduct

fromReason: Qualified immunity protects cops from liability for actions that would land ordinary people in jail. Another double standard favoring government agents.

Police State America

IRS testing behavioral analytics to verify online users

fromNextGov: The agency is piloting a proof-of-concept that will track how individual taxpayers interact with its online systems by tracking behavior and movements through phones.

Government is Watching Every Move You Make

Food is freedom: How Washington’s food subsidies have helped make Americans fat and sick

fromTheDailyBell: All told, the U.S. government spends $20 billion annually on farm subsidies, with approximately 39 percent of all farms receiving some sort of subsidy.

Economic Policy: Statism Vs The Free Market

VIDEO: Thomas Sowell - Dismantling America

fromLibertyPen/YouTube: Upon completion of his book Dismantling America, in 2010, Dr. Sowell is interviewed by Peter Robinson of Uncommon Knowledge.

The Government is Not Us

The world’s most-surveilled cities

fromComparitech: Six are in America (San Francisco is one of them).

Government is Watching Every Move You Make

Why Is the CDC still fostering potentially deadly confusion about vaping and lung disease?

fromReason: Contrary to the evidence, public health officials and journalists continue to link the recent outbreak of respiratory illnesses with legal e-cigarettes.

Regulation Nation