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 9, 2017

Venezuela teeters on brink of default

from Yahoo: End stage socialism is to about to economically crush Venezuela.
Economic Policy: Statism Versus The Free Market

Mozilla's Privacy Not Included guide reveals if holiday gifts will spy on you

from CSO Online: Black Friday ads are leaking left and right, but do you know if that holiday gift can spy on you or be hacked?

Government is Watching Every Move You Make

WATCH: Liberals gather to scream at the sky

from PJ Media: Anguished snowflakes emerged from their safe spaces last night and gathered in approximately 25 cities to "scream helplessly at the sky" in protest of President Trump's election.
Political Correctness and Other Nitwittery

What if government steals liberty and fails to deliver safety?

from Creators: Judge Andrew Napolitano challenges you to ask yourself some vital questions.

The Government is Not Us

Victim blame: media suggests Rand Paul deserved to be attacked

from The Daily Bell: For the second time this year, Rand Paul has been literally attacked by a Democrat.
Media Bias on Parade

Simpler tax simplification

from Creators: John Stossel contends the Trump tax cut is better than nothing.

Economic Policy: Statism Versus The Free Market

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

November 1, 2017

Reconsidering surveillance law raises anew issues of privacy

from FoxNews: What Americans need to know about domestic surveillance policy, as Congress considers the privacy implications of Section 702 of the FISA Act.
Government is Watching Every Move You Make

One year later, is Trump a blessing or a curse to the deep state?

from Rutherford Institute: The American police state is still alive and well and flourishing. Rather than draining the corrupt swamps as he repeatedly promised, Trump and his brand of reality TV politics have merely redirected our attention.
The Government is Not Us

The fragile generation

from Reason: Bad policy and paranoid parenting are making kids too safe to succeed.
Political Correctness and Other Nitwittery

Walter E Williams: Let's help our media friends

from Creators: Williams offers a bit of sympathy to the mainstream media and other Trump Derangement Syndrome sufferers one year after their trauma.
Media Bias on Parade

Professor calls reason itself a “white, male construct”

from DownTrend: A kooky college professor argues that nonwhites are all naturally irrational.
Political Correctness and Other Nitwittery

Presidents are reckless with soldiers' lives

from Creators: The problem is not that Trump is tactless about soldiers' deaths but that he and his predecessors have been reckless with their lives.
Defense Versus The War Machine

October 27, 2017

When it comes to surveillance, watch the watchmen

from NY Times: The relationship between security and liberty is often described as a balancing act. This act can’t take place if we’re not informed about the technology used to safeguard our security.
Government is Watching Every Move You Make

Hashd al-Sha’abi commander calls for US forces withdrawal from Iraq

from PressTV: "To the US secretary of state, your military forces must prepare now to get out of our homeland Iraq immediately and without delay once the ISIS elimination excuse is over."
Defense Versus The War Machine

Health care is not a right

from Capitalism Magazine: If your mere desire for something, anything, imposes a duty on other people to satisfy you, then they have no choice in their lives, no say in what they do, they have no liberty, they cannot pursue their happiness.
The Pursuit of Happiness

Major study shows legal weed reversed a decade of rising opioid deaths in Colorado

from FreeThoughtProject: The end of cannabis prohibition is paying many dividends for society.
The War on Unapproved Voluntary Exchange

Identitarianism and the Splintering of Democracy

from Quillette: This very good piece looks at how identity politics plays out in a representative democracy.
Politics and Other Official Acts of Corruption

Sessions continues to push 'gateway drug' myth about marijuana

from Reason: "Much of the addiction starts with marijuana." Jeff Sessions attempts to peddle 20th century propaganda long after the train has left the station.
The War on Unapproved Voluntary Exchange

October 26, 2017

At long last, Hillary Clinton is the focus of 2 investigations

from USA Today: No pay for play? Funny how once she lost the election, donations to the Clinton Foundation completely dried up. Finally, a serious look into corruption surrounding the Clinton Foundation.
Politics and Other Official Acts of Corruption

Can the Feds prosecute foreigners if their actions are legal where they are?

from Creators: From Judge Napolitano: "This is all about power and the fiction of universal jurisdiction — a fiction the Framers thought they had buried. It needs to be buried again."
Justice is a Result, Not Just a Process

John Stossel: A Private Military

from Creators: We've fought in Afghanistan for 16 years now. Are we making progress? After 9/11, we invaded, overthrew the Taliban, killed Osama Bin Laden and — stayed. Afghanistan is now America's longest war, ever. President Trump's solution is to send several thousand more soldiers. Erik Prince says he has a better idea.
Defense Versus The War Machine

🎬  Cop caught on video breaking into elderly man's home, stealing cash & prescription drugs

from TheFreeThoughtProject: In America, police can legally break into your home and steal your property even if you are innocent, a practice is known as civil asset forfeiture. However, in the video below, a cop was arrested because he did not receive approval from his superiors before stealing from an innocent person.
Police State America

Big data meets Big Brother as China moves to rate its citizens

from Wired: The Chinese government plans to launch its Social Credit System in 2020. The aim? To judge the trustworthiness – or otherwise – of its 1.3 billion residents. Could this be coming to country near you?
Government is Watching Every Move You Make

🎬  Trey Gowdy - Comey's Testimony Does Not Add Up

from LibertyPen: The FBI confirms that James Comey drafted his public statement about the results of the Hillary Clinton investigation months before it was completed. Dozens of witnesses had not yet been questioned, including Hillary herself.
Politics and Other Official Acts of Corruption

October 25, 2017

Britain says no the term "pregnant woman" as it excludes transgender people

from FoxNews: For those suffering from gender dysphoria, it is apparently considered unkind to suggest a womb is necessary
in order to be pregnant.
Political Correctness and Other Nitwittery

California's six-figure pension club has 62,000 members

from Reason: And seven retirees in Los Angeles pulled down more than $1 million each in retirement benefits last year. "Public service" has its privileges.
Economic Policy: Statism vs. The Free Market

Lies and manipulation: The sorry state of global climate alarmism

from WattsUpWithThat?: While practitioners of environmental religion fret about one-tenth of one degree, India has real concerns: food and water.
Politics and Other Official Acts of Corruption

Europe: journalists against free speech

from GatestoneInstitute: Gone is all pretense that journalism is about reporting the facts.
Media Bias on Parade

Sens. Rand Paul and Ron Wyden unveil privacy-protecting surveillance reform bill

from Reason: Two senators fight back against the surveillance society and the police state to protect individual from their government.
Government is Watching Every Move You Make

Don’t call the cops if you’re autistic, deaf, mentally ill, disabled or old

from Rutherford Institute: Sometimes it’s dangerous enough calling the cops when you’re not contending with a disability. Unfortunately, the risks just skyrocket when a disability is involved.
Police State America

October 23, 2017

America has built the most comfortable civilization in the world

from PJMedia: Human civilization can be described as a long crawl away from a life that was nasty, brutal and short.
America is winning that race.
The Pursuit of Happiness

3 stories that show Big Brother is alive and well

from The Daily Bell: 1. Getting Clever with Fear to Restrict the Internet. 2. Prosecutors pick a target, THEN find a crime.
3. Fitbit and pacemaker info used to catch criminals.
Government is Watching Every Move You Make

Why you may need a passport next year to fly from city to city within the United States 

from Reason: A passport to fly within the country, but no ID to vote. Government serves the politician not the people.
Regulation Nation

U.S. ran $666 billion deficit in fiscal 2017, sixth highest on record

from Wall Street Journal: "U.S. revenue and spending both hit record highs in fiscal 2017.
Economic Policy: Statism vs. The Free Market

Alabama police use asset forfeiture to ruin an innocent small business owner

from Reason: How government has set things up so police departments can take anything they want with impunity.
Police State America    The Government is Not Us

Former NFL players say league should allow players to use marijuana to treat pain, injuries

from Reason: Former player: If there's any sport or league that should be leading the way in experiments with cannibis,
of course it's the NFL.
The War on Unapproved Voluntary Exchange

October 21, 2017

Federal court ponders Constitutionality of prostitution ban

from Reason: "Why should it be illegal to sell something that you can give away for free?"
The War on Unapproved Voluntary Exchange

USA Liberty Act won’t fix what’s most broken with NSA internet surveillance

from EFF: The bill doesn’t end the practice of “backdoor searching,” when government agents — including domestic law enforcement — search through the NSA-gathered communications of Americans without any form of warrant from a judge.
Government is Watching Every Move You Make

Republicans officially give up trying to cut spending

from Reason: After all that fuss from 2009 onward, Rand Paul is the last Republican left objecting to the continued growth of government.
Economic Policy: Statism vs. The Free Market

DHS pays police millions to ticket and prosecute motorists

from MassPrivatei: Police pull over more than 50,000 drivers on a typical day, more than 20 million motorists every year. So why do they need more money still?
Police State America

50 state study shows that more requirements lead to less jobs

from Will-Law: States with more burdensome licensure requirements (fees, training hours, exams, and age requirements) had significantly lower employment in the ten professional occupations.
Regulation Nation

The media blackout of Clinton-uranium scandal senate probe

from CNS News: Media bias is currently “on full display,” Media Research Center President Brent Bozell warned Thursday as network news continued to ignore the Senate probe into the Clinton-Uranium scandal.
Media Bias on Parade

October 19, 2017

This is how tyranny rises and freedom falls: The experiment in freedom is failing

from Rutherford Institute: We are being ruled by a government of scoundrels, spies, thugs, thieves, gangsters, extortionists, bounty hunters, battle-ready warriors and cold-blooded killers who communicate using a language of force and oppression.
The Government is Not Us

Government may ‘seize’ citizens’ fingerprints to unlock Apple devices, federal court rules

from ShadowProof: How a robe-draped tyrant made cops warm and fuzzy for Apple's iTouch technology.
Police State America

Chicago politician pushes ban on businesses banning cash

from ZeroHedge: Politicians fights back against VISA push for merchants to stop taking cash. A cashless society is a slave society. What do you do in cashless society when the power goes out?
Individual Liberty: America's First Principle

Cities are getting paid to turn street lights into spying SmartNodes

from MassPrivatei: The future of privacy in big cities is bleak, cities are now getting paid to convert street lights into spying SmartNodes (cameras, microphones, speakers etc., all-in-one light pole).
Government is Watching Every Move You Make

John Stossel: A CNN Smear

from Creators: Stossel finds Anderson Cooper's claims that Donald Trump's EPA director had conspired with the CEO of a mining company to "withdraw environmental restrictions so the company could dig "the largest open pit mine in the world in an extremely sensitive watershed in wild Alaska" has a big problem.
Media Bias on Parade

Cannabis credit union sues the creature from Jekyll Island 

from Gov'tSlaves: A credit union serving the marijuana industry has sued the Federal Reserve, asking a federal judge to enforce the 10th Circuit’s order to grant the credit union a master account despite its ties to pot.
The War on Unapproved Voluntary Exchange

October 14, 2017

A nigger and an Uncle Tom

from SlowtoWrite: Samuel Sey: The term Uncle Tom is a racial slur for Black men perceived as submissive to White people—Black men like me. I am perceived as submissive to White people because I do not submit to Black people.
Political Correctness and Other Nitwittery

How we learned not to care about America's wars

from Common Dreams: Sixteen years of autopilot wars, but who’s counting?
Defense vs. The War Machine

⭐️ John Stossel: Let Them Leave

from Creators: America was founded on an act of secession from England. So why do so many people now see secession as a terrible thing?
Individual Liberty: America's First Principle

How the minimum wage entrenches inequality and economic privilege

from the Federalist: Early minimum wage proponents knew what they were doing, by pricing “undesirable” workers out of the labor force to perpetuate minority poverty. Let’s not finish their work for them.
Regulation Nation

New TSA screening means airport security hell is about to get worse 

from The Manual: “Well, at least it can’t get any worse.” These days, that seems to be the mantra for most air travelers just before the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) enacts some new program that does just that.
Government is Watching Every Move You Make

The federal government never lets a serious crisis go to waste

from Reason: "The expansion of federal power has not been steady and inexorable; it has grown through sudden, quantum leaps in times of emergency, most especially war. The crises eventually subside, but many of the powers remain—to be built upon later when the next crisis unfolds."
The Government is Not Us