June 25, 2020

What the data do and don't say about policing and race

fromVolokhConspiracy: Harvard's Roland Fryer argues both Left and Right misunderstand or misrepresent the empirical evidence.
Police State America

The triumph of the country mouse

fromNationalReview: A column by the very excellent Victor Davis Hanson. Cities lose their charms when they’re engulfed in chaos, crime, and mobs — and run by virtue-signaling appeasers.
Politics and Other Official Acts of Corruption

Andrew Napolitano: The afterlife of America's original sin

fromCreators: You can escape reality. But you cannot escape the consequences of escaping reality. Those consequences will be the inevitable repetition of a past we should never forget.
Indoctrination and Censorship

VIDEO: Black Wisdom Matters - The Promise of Black Politicians

fromLibertyPen/YouTube: Thomas Sowell, Jason Riley, Bob Woodson, Walter E Williams and Shelby Steele look at the promises and delivery of politicians representing the ethnic grievance industry.
Politics and Other Official Acts of Corruption

Was the search warrant for the drug raid that killed Breonna Taylor illegal?

fromReason: The information in the no-knock warrant application was based purely on guilt by association.
Police State America

College to remove word “freedom” from ID cards after petition says it’s offensive to some minorities

fromLibertyPen/YouTube: The students passing around the petition believe “freedom” is offensive to black students who may have had relatives who were slaves 160 years ago. When freedom is vilified, only the state wins.
Indoctrination and Censorship

Jan 31, 2019

Free speech liberalism is dying in its birthplace

fromTheAmericanConservative: Britain, the home of Swift and Mill, is increasingly clamping down on expression.

Indoctrination and Censorship

TAKEN: How police departments make millions by seizing property

fromGreenvilleOnline: In South Carolina, civil forfeiture targets black people’s money most of all. 

Police State America

The Trump administration’s crackdown on marijuana legalization might end under Bill Barr

fromTheSpokesmanReview: Trump’s nominee to replace Sessions as attorney general confirmed that he won’t be continuing that push to crack down on legal pot if he is confirmed by the Senate. 

The War on Unapproved Voluntary Exchange

The 100-mile rule runs contrary to reasonable searches

fromTheSpokesmanReview: Federal agents board buses and perform “show-us-your-papers checks” that are exactly the kind of fishing expedition the Fourth Amendment seems designed to prevent. 

Police State America

Chronic pain patients gather to protest opioid regulations

fromGreeleyTribune: When law enforcement policy, not medical evaluation, decides who gets painkillers, the citizens suffer. 

Police State America      Regulation Nation

Make individualism great again

from71Republic: Across the country, we are witnessing a decline of the influence of individualism in our society with the effects of this being purely negative. 

Individual Liberty: America's First Principle

March 15, 2018

New Jersey prepares to raise taxes on "almost everything" as it nears financial disaster

fromZeroHedge: Taxpayers to bear more and more burden in order to satisfy the spending (vote-buying) desires of state politicians. 
Politics and Other Official Acts of Corruption

TSA accused of searching domestic travelers’ devices with no warrant

fromARSTechnica: TSA has failed to fully respond to FOIA requests from the ACLU. 
Regulation Nation      Police State America

VIDEO: Tucker Carlson - Sanctuary from Homicide

fromLibertyPen/YouTube: From Tucker Carlson Tonight, a look at how sanctuary cities provide illegal immigrants with protection — even from charges of homicide.
Politics and Other Official Acts of Corruption    The Government is Not Us

VIDEO: Thomas Sowell - The Political Value of Crisis

fromLibertyPen/YouTube: Professor Sowell explains the common political tactic of presenting a “crisis” as a means of forwarding their agenda. 
Politics and Other Official Acts of Corruption

There ought not be a law

fromReason: The world is an imperfect place, but laws tend to make things worse, not better. 
Regulation Nation

US drops four spots to 18th place in the happiness rankings

fromTheHill: "Perceptions of corruption in government and business have risen over time; and confidence in public institutions has waned." 
The Pursuit of Happiness

February 23, 2018

Do you trust federal bureaucrats to decide if you’re sane enough to keep your Second Amendment rights?

fromBreitbart: "The use of minors by Democrats and their news media allies as political human shields in pursuit of agitation against the Second Amendment is exploitative," said Loudon.
2nd Amendment Assaults

Don’t talk to police! Legal behavior justified a search

fromMarketWatch: It doesn't matter that you respect the rights of others, what you say can be held against you.
Justice is a Result, Not Just a Process     Police State America

What happens when leftist politicians have total control of a city?

fromNBCBayArea: The NBC Bay Area Investigative Unit surveyed 153 blocks of downtown San Francisco: 
found 41 blocks dotted with needles and 96 blocks sullied with piles of feces.
Political Correctness and Other Nitwittery     The Government is Not Us

State bans popular AR-15 accessory, police shocked after only 4 people comply

fromTheFreeThoughtProject: Some evidence now exists that America is NOT a nation of sheep.
2nd Amendment Assaults

Campus political correctness threatens our democracy and prosperity

fromMarketWatch: Colleges teach political correctness, not the critical thinking our economy demands.
Political Correctness and Other Nitwittery      Economic Policy: Statism Versus The Free Market

250 teachers sign up for 50 seats at concealed carry training session

fromBreitbart: How to make the entire school a safe space. Butler County, Ohio, Sheriff Richard K. Jones offered free concealed carry training for 50 teachers and 250 teachers responded within 24 hours.
Second Amendment Assaults

January 9, 2018

Jeff Sessions goes to pot on marijuana policy

fromAmericanSpectator: An attorney general at odds with his own president, Republican public opinion, and federalism.

The Government is Not Us     The War on Unapproved Voluntary Exchange

Thousands of Americans’ electronics illegally searched at border

fromDailyBell: Imagine the helplessness of having your phone taken by an Agent, and searched without your consent. No suspicion of any crime. No probable cause. Just some thug using brute force to violate your privacy.

Government is Watching Every Move You Make

In another blow to Obama’s legacy, food stamp recipients plunge under Trump

fromDownTrend: Adding to the growing list of accomplishments that can be credited to the POTUS, food stamp use has taken a big drop since Barack Obama left the White House.

Economic Policy: Statism Versus The Free Market   The Welfare State: Promoting Dependency

Seattle soda tax prompts price increases, small business pain

fromReason: Similar taxes in other cities have led to lost jobs and without bringing in the expected revenue.

Economic Policy: Statism Versus The Free Market

CNN reporter: Talk of Oprah Winfrey for president shows Democrats have ‘thin bench’ for 2020

fromTheFreeBeacon: Bernie, Pocahantas and Biden are the best they have.

Politics and Other Official Acts of Corruption

A tale of two Americas: Where the rich get richer and the poor go to jail

fromRutherfordInstitute: Jeff Sessions has made a concerted effort to expand the police state’s power to search, strip, seize, raid, steal from, arrest and jail Americans for any infraction, no matter how insignificant.

The Government is Not Us     The War on Unapproved Voluntary Exchange

December 7, 2017

House Republicans prepare contempt action against FBI, DOJ

from Bloomberg: The Deep State is being challenged at last. What will happen when push comes to shove?
Politics and Other Official Acts of Corruption

Supreme Court asked to stop warrantless searches of vehicles parked on private residential property

from Rutherford Institute: The Rutherford Institute has asked the Supreme Court to prohibit police from entering private residential property uninvited and without a warrant, in order to search a vehicle parked a few feet from the house.
Police State America

Wisconsin court affirms mom's conviction for swearing at son, without deciding First Amendment issue 

from Journal Sentinel: The last count was for profanely berating and insulting her 14-year-old son after he burned some popcorn. The boy had been talking to a friend at the time, who heard the tirade over the phone.
Political Correctness and Other Nitwittery

Anti-white bigotry on the rise in college newspapers 

from TheNewAmerican: Bigotry against blacks would never be given an outlet in a college newspaper. Neither should bigotry against whites — or anyone else.
Indoctrination and Censorship   Political Correctness and Other Nitwittery

Swat-style raid over tea leaves headed to court 

from USNews: Whether police lied about testing discarded tea leaves found in a Kansas couple's trash to get permission for a SWAT-style raid is the focus of a federal trial.
Police State America

Ex-coach cited malnutrition for poor performance by Venezuela’s national women’s soccer team

from Dangerous: The Venezuelan Soccer Federation claims that the under-20s national women’s soccer team was “largely insulated” from the country's food crisis, where citizens have been forced to raise pet rabbits for food, and even hunt flamingos.
Economic Policy: Statism Versus The Free Market

When Can The Police Search Your Cellphone?

by Julie Johnson.    Can an officer search your cellphone call log or text records to discover how you were using your phone? Absolutely. With a search warrant. Or when a phone’s owner gives an officer permission. Otherwise, an officer generally cannot search through a phone’s data, not even during an arrest, because of a 2014 decision by the U.S.  ... MORE

Tim Cook Is An American Hero: Apple Will Fight Against Court Order To Unlock iPhone To Government Searches

Side fighting for individual liberty is not the government. Tuesday night, a California court ordered Apple to assist the FBI in hacking an iPhone. It’s an unprecedented request, one with potentially huge repercussions for the privacy and security of every Apple customer. This morning, Apple CEO Tim Cook posted an impassioned defense  ... MORE

What Are My Rights If The Police Want To Search My Car?

Just say no.   Police are only allowed to search your vehicle under very limited circumstances.   However, too many consent to incriminating searches because they do not know they can refuse or they feel intimidated. This information about police and vehicle searches can help you if you face one of these encounters.  It cannot be          ... MORE

VIDEO: Why NSA Spying Is Unconstitutional

Jacob Sullum: Want My Blood? Get a Warrant.

Balking at warrantless alcohol testing.  Danny Birchfield drove his car into a ditch. Steve Beylund "nearly hit a stop sign while making a right hand turn into a driveway." William Bernard got his truck stuck in the river while trying to extract his boat. In his underwear. These embarrassing incidents—the first two of which happened in North Dakota,    ... MORE

The Government Wants Access To Your Smartphone

by Christie Smythe.   What you should know. “We’re not at war – we care about the same things,” FBI Director James Comey says of the struggle between the U.S. and the tech sector over how private your smartphone should be. The government wants to work with companies such as Apple Inc. and Google to stop criminals and terrorists     ... MORE

Anthony L. Fisher: France Cracks Down On Civil Liberties

Warrantless raids, house arrests and more. Last Friday, France's parliament overwhelmingly passed a three-month extension of the national state of emergency, granting broad powers to law enforcement and significantly curtailing civil liberties. The Guardian summarizes some of the new security measures: Expanded powers to immediately     ... MORE

Tim Cushing: Getting Behind The Wheel Is Pretty Much Kissing Your 4th Amendment Protections Goodbye

Cars are for criminals.       There's been more good news than bad concerning the Fourth Amendment recently. In addition to the Supreme Court's ruling that searches of cellphones incident to arrest now require a warrant, various circuit court decisions on cell site location info and the surreptitious use of GPS tracking devices may see the nation's    ... MORE

Did The TSA Agent Steal Jersey Honoring Yankee Legend From The Luggage Of His Window? She Thinks They Did.

from CBS New York.   The widow of a baseball icon was heartbroken Friday night over a missing jersey that she believes was stolen. Last month, the Yankees gave Soot Zimmer a jersey in honor of her late husband, Don Zimmer, who served as bench coach for the team for several years. But the jersey never made it back to Florida with Soot   ... MORE

Intrusive And Inept: TSA Failed To Detect 95% Of Weapons

by Jessica Marmor Shaw.  No one enjoys going through screening at the airport, but at least it’s making us all safer, right? And there was that one time you made it through with a Swiss Army knife in your backpack, but surely any real weapons or explosives would be spotted, right? ABC News is reporting that, in an internal investigation conducted  ... MORE

Andrew Napolitano: Restore The Fourth

Stop the pernicious assault on privacy.       If you plan to visit a college campus this month, don't be surprised if you see signs and placards encouraging you to "Restore the Fourth." Restore the Fourth is not about an athletic event or a holiday; it is about human freedom. The reference to "the Fourth" is to the Fourth Amendment, and it is badly in  ... MORE

How DNA Is Turning Us Into A Nation Of Suspects

by John W. Whitehead.    Every dystopian sci-fi film we’ve ever seen is suddenly converging into this present moment in a dangerous trifecta between science, technology and a government that wants to be all-seeing, all-knowing and all-powerful. By tapping into your phone lines and cell phone communications, the government knows what you    ... MORE

Private Police: Mercenaries For The American Police State

by John W. Whitehead.      It’s one thing to know and exercise your rights when a police officer pulls you over, but what rights do you have when a private cop—entrusted with all of the powers of a government cop but not held to the same legal standards—pulls you over and subjects you to a stop-and-frisk or, worse, causes you to “disappear” into a   ... MORE

Ron Paul: Dept of Homeland Security, What is it Good For?

Get rid of TSA and FEMA.        Late Friday night, Congress passed legislation funding the Department of Homeland Security for one week. This vote followed weeks of debate over efforts to attach a prohibition on funding President Obama’s executive order granting amnesty to certain illegal immigrants to the Homeland Security funding bill.      ... MORE