LibertyPen

March 23, 2016

Tolerance cuts both ways: freedom for the speech we hate

fromTheRutherfordInstitute: Reminder: The First Amendment affirms the right of the people to speak freely, worship freely, peaceably assemble, petition the government for a redress of grievances, and have a free press.
Indoctrination and Censorship Individual Liberty: America's First Principle

Philadelphia DA Larry Krasner promised a criminal justice revolution. He’s exceeding expectations.

fromTheIntercept: What a justice warrior looks like. In his first week on the job, he fired 31 prosecutors from the DA’s office because they weren’t committed to the changes he intended to make.
Justice is a Result, Not Just a Process

House passes bill that would give patients access to experimental drugs

fromNYTimes: It's your life, isn't it? About time government stops trying to impede your survival.
Regulation Nation The War on Unapproved Voluntary Exchange

Vivaldi browser taps privacy-first DuckDuckGo search

fromCNet: Block out government peeping toms. As your personal information leaks out through Facebook, one web browser offers a new option to keep a lid on it -- for private browsing tabs, at least.
Government is Watching Every Move You Make

Barry Farber: We can't go on like this

fromWND: Too many Americans hate President Donald Trump more than they love Americans.
Politics and Other Official Acts of Corruption

It didn’t take long for the U.S. to rack up another trillion dollars of debt

fromMarketWatch: Looking ahead, analysts see the nation much deeper in debt. The Committee for a Responsible Budget projects debt exceeding the size of the economy within a decade.
Economic Policy: Statism Versus The Free Market

March 22, 2016

Poll shows Americans waking up, majority now suspects unelected shadow government in charge

fromTheFreeThoughtProject: A recent poll shows that both parties are waking up to the unelected shadow government that forms policy in secret and spies on its own citizens.
The Government is Not Us

Voters In Illinois' Cook County approve marijuana legalization ballot measure

fromForbes: Even though the president is convinced the people have too much freedom, the once sovereign citizens seem to disagree.
The War on Unapproved Voluntary Exchange

Government's option destroyers target menthol cigarettes and flavored e-cigs

fromCreators: The FDA banned certain flavors in cigarettes in 2009, but menthol was excluded from those new rules, as were other tobacco products.
The War on Unapproved Voluntary Exchange Regulation Nation

John Stossel: China's freedom-crushing 'social credit score'

fromReason: Americans should be wary of something similar.
Government is Watching Every Move You Make

Trump's 'tough' drug policies are not smart

fromCreators: Trump's plan is heavy on tactics that have already failed. For instance, he favors "spending a lot of money" on "very, very bad commercials" that will "scare" kids away from drugs."
The War on Unapproved Voluntary Exchange Regulation Nation

Obama and Trump insiders reveal Facebook ALLOWED them BOTH to spy on you

fromGovtSlaves: Facebook specifically granted the Obama administration access because, according to Davidsen, Facebook was “on our side.”
Government is Watching Every Move You Make

March 21, 2016

Cops want Google to provide user data for all people near crime scenes

fromFastCompany: Raleigh, North Carolina police push for unreasonable searches on people who just happened to be in the area at the time the crimes were committed.
Police State America

Snowden: Facebook is a surveillance company lying to the world about being “social media”

fromTheFreeThoughtProject: Snowden had this to say about Facebook. "Their rebranding as 'social media' is the most successful deception since the Department of War became the Department of Defense."
Government is Watching Every Move You Make

Walter E Williams: Not always like this

fromCreators: Gun ownership is not our problem. Our problem is a widespread decline in moral values that has nothing to do with guns.
2nd Amendment Assaults

VIDEO: Mark Levin - Adam Schiff is a Shill for the Russian Government

fromLibertyPen/YouTube: Mark Levin chronicles that which investigator Adam Schiff has no curiosity about and, in the process, exposes his true agenda.
Politics and Other Official Acts of Corruption

It’s your right to say not guilty, it’s your duty to tell someone else

fromWeedNews: No matter the evidence presented, if you do not believe a crime was committed, it is your right to say “not guilty”, and this has never been more important than now.
Justice is a Result, Not Just a Process The War on Unapproved Voluntary Exchange

VIDEO: Milton Friedman - The Four Legitimate Functions of Government

fromFastCompany: Professor Friedman offers a dose of reality while explaining government’s four legitimate functions.
Individual Liberty: America's First Principle

March 20, 2018

Why our world needs digital currency

fromMedium: A very easily understood explanation of cryptocurrency and why it should matter to you.
Individual Liberty: America's First Principle

Trump to unveil opioid plan seeking death penalty for drug dealers

fromReuters: Authoritarian president advocates murder for those involved in approved voluntary exchange.
The War on Unapproved Voluntary Exchange

Amazon deletes reviews of conservative authors with no explanation

fromPJMedia: Every authoritarian worth his salt knows that good ideas can be rebutted, but great ones must be censored.
Indoctrination and Censorship Media Bias on Parade

San Francisco is suffering from the excesses of its own liberalism

fromTheFederalist: The astounding level of mismanagement and general deterioration of public decency will continue to plague the city until reasonable measures are taken to combat vagrancy.
Politics and Other Official Acts of Corruption Political Correctness and Other Nitwittery

ACLU asks in lawsuit: Why is the TSA searching digital devices on domestic flights?

fromLATimes: Government's contempt of the Constitution, in general, and the Fourth Amendment, in particular, is beyond depressing.
Government is Watching Every Move You Make

In gambling battle, both sides are wrong

fromReason: Neither supporters nor opponents want to consider personal liberty.
The War on Unapproved Voluntary Exchange

March 19, 2018

National debt hits $21 trillion

fromWashingtonExaminer: This barely includes the effects of the recent fiscally irresponsible tax and spending legislation, which added more debt on top of an already unsustainable trajectory.
Economic Policy: Statism Versus The Free Market

VIDEO: A black man goes undercover in the alt-right

fromTED: Theo E.J. Wilson tells the story of becoming Lucius25, white supremacist lurker, and the unexpected compassion and surprising perspective he found from engaging with people he disagrees with.
Indoctrination and Censorship Political Correctness and Other Nitwittery

VIDEO: Google's Thumb is on the Scale

fromLibertyPen/YouTube: Google is not a champion of free thought but neither is the government.
Indoctrination and Censorship Media Bias on Parade Regulation Nation

Cops attack innocent family as they grieve the death of 2-month-old son

fromTownhall: Those who are driven primarily by emotion tend to see all imperfection as an outrage that must be corrected. To these people, trade-offs are heartless and vile. But -- there is a limit to endless outrage.
Police State America

7 techniques liberals use to silence conservatives

In California's rural, conservative north, there are big dreams for cleaving the state

fromLATimes: Hundreds of people cracked open wallets to help fund their dream of carving — out of California’s northernmost reaches — a brand new state.
Individual Liberty: America's First Principle Politics and Other Official Acts of Corruption

March 17, 2018

The implosion explosion of the Democrat Party

fromGlobalLibertyMedia: Those who are driven primarily by emotion tend to see all imperfection as an outrage that must be corrected. To these people, trade-offs are heartless and vile. But -- there is a limit to endless outrage.
Politics and Other Official Acts of Corruption

Unlawful FISA spying widespread under Obama Administration

fromTheEpochTimes: The scope of the FBI’s accessing of Americans’ data is unclear, as the government is not required to provide the FISC with numbers on violations.
Government is Watching Every Move You Make Politics and Other Official Acts of Corruption

Judge makes Richard Simmons pay the National Enquirer $130,000 even though they verifiably lied

fromGlobalLibertyMedia: The judge says the false allegations that he was transitioning into transgenderism was not derogatory and was therefore frivolous. Insanity prevails again.
Political Correctness and Other Nitwittery

Larry Kudlow is a big upgrade for Trump's White House

fromReason: Let's hope he mitigates the president's worst protectionist instincts.
Economic Policy: Statism Versus The Free Market

Turning schools into prisons with more cops is NOT a solution to shootings, it’s a deathblow to liberty

fromFreeThoughtProject: How do you convince a child who has been routinely handcuffed, shackled, tied down and locked up by school police—that he has any rights at all—let alone a right to stand up to oppression?
Police State America

Katy Perry is obviously a hopeless pervert who should be executed

fromGlobalLibertyMedia: The high profile singer turned predator assaulted an American Idol hopeful with an unwanted kiss. But will the good-ole-girl club give her a pass?
Political Correctness and Other Nitwittery

March 16, 2018

Facebook's war on 'conservative' sites

fromWND: The king of social media has been making algorithm changes seemingly intended to marginalize the traffic of right-of-center online news operations, and they have been effective.
Media Bias on Parade

President Trump and the freedom of speech

fromCreators: The limits of power. Freedom of speech trumps Trump -- as it should.
Indoctrination and Censorship

VIDEO: Walter E Williams - No Skin in the Game

fromLibertyPen/YouTube: Professor Williams contends that spending constraints will never occur so long as half of the citizens have no skin in the game.
Economic Policy: Statism Versus The Free Market

ACLU is suing the government for info about TSA device searches

fromMotherboard: The TSA won't release information about its warrantless searches of electronic devices carried by US citizens on domestic flights.
Government is Watching Every Move You Make Police State America

John Stossel: Lies about Trade

fromCreators: All a trade deficit shows is that a country sells us more than we sell them. We get the better of that deal. They get excess dollar bills, but we get stuff.
Economic Policy: Statism Versus The Free Market

Say no to “hardening” the schools with zero tolerance policies and gun-toting cops

fromRutherfordInstitute: Just what we don’t need: more gun-toting, taser-wielding cops in government-run schools that bear an uncomfortable resemblance to prisons.
Police State America

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

March 14, 2018

More imprisonment does not reduce state drug problems

fromPewTrusts: Nearly 300,000 people are held in state and federal prisons in the United States for drug-law violations, up from less than 25,000 in 1980.
The War on Unapproved Voluntary Exchange

Why not private provision of many government services?

fromFFF: There are a wide variety of tasks that the private sector could better provide that many think must be supplied by the government.
Economic Policy: Statism Versus The Free Market

Majority of college students say their campus climate hurts free speech

fromTownhall.com: An increased majority of U.S. college students, 61 percent, now agree that the climate on their college campus “prevents some people from saying things they believe because others might find them offensive.”
Indoctrination and Censorship

Trump is more like recent presidents than anyone wants to admit

fromReason: On trade, foreign policy, and so much more, he's Clinton, Bush, and Obama without the charm and respect. That can be a good thing.
Politics and Other Official Acts of Corruption

VIDEO: Why it’s so hard for government to fix social problems

fromLearnLiberty/YouTube: What if the government can’t solve our problems because the government doesn’t really exist? Prof. Mike Munger explains his “unicorn” theory of the state.
Politics and Other Official Acts of Corruption

The utter stupidity of California in one project

fromAmericanThinker: This is California, the canary that died to reveal to the rest of the country the final destination of arrogant liberalism and open borders.
Political Correctness and Other Nitwittery

March 13, 2018

Deep State operative Clapper will face no consequence for lying under oath to the American people

fromWashingtonExaminer: Former intelligence chief James Clapper is poised to avoid charges for allegedly lying to Congress after five years of apparent inaction by the Justice Department.
The Government is Not Us Politics and Other Official Acts of Corruption

'Trade wars' don't put Americans first

fromReason: You cannot advocate trade restrictions without also advocating state-bestowed privilege.
Economic Policy: Statism Versus The Free Market

Death penalty for drug dealers? Count Trump in

fromReason: America's president equates unapproved voluntary exchange with murder. A Duterte fanboy?
The War on Unapproved Voluntary Exchange

Walter E Williams: Trump's Steel and Aluminum Tariffs

fromCreators: Professor Williams identifies the winners and losers of Trump's trade policy. Guess which side
you're on?
Economic Policy: Statism Versus The Free Market

Social services worker fired, escorted out by cops for having a gun permit—NOT a gun

fromReason: A social services worker claims she was fired from her job and removed by police after her employer learned that she had a concealed handgun permit—even though she had never brought a gun to work.
2nd Amendment Assaults Police State America

State to force homeschoolers to submit to warrantless home inspections, trampling rights

fromActivistPost: Under the guise of preventing child abuse, lawmakers in Maryland have introduced a bill that will allow the state to intrude in the lives of innocent families and destroy their right to privacy.
Police State America

March 12, 2018

Emotional learning will be the downfall of society

fromTownhall: Feelings are more dangerous than ideas, because they aren’t susceptible to rational evaluation.
Political Correctness and Other Nitwittery

VIDEO: Thomas Sowell - The Political Value of Crisis

fromLibertyPen/YouTube: A brilliant analysis by Professor Sowell regarding the primary tactic used by politicians to push their agendas.
Politics and Other Official Acts of Corruption

Government wants our trust, but where's the accountability?

fromReason: The foul ups by the Broward County Sheriff's Office don't inspire confidence.
The Government is Not Us

Jurors can be heroes, too; follow consciences rather than law

fromDuluthNewsTribune: They have the extraordinary power to reach a decision they believe is right.
Justice is a Result, Not Just a Process

If police don’t have to protect the public, what good are they?

fromTheRutherfordInstitute: According to the U.S. Supreme Court, police have no duty, moral or otherwise, to help those in trouble, protect individuals from danger, or risk their own lives to save “we the people.”
Police State America

Justice Alito's fantastic line of questioning in 'political' apparel case exposes liberal bias

fromDailyWire: A brilliant exposure of leftwing nitwittery.
Political Correctness and Other Nitwittery