LibertyPen

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

September 3, 2018

Justice department discloses NO FISA Court hearings held on Carter Page warrants

fromJudicialWatch: This is no small story. The FISA court has been exposed as simply a government rubber stamp for warrantless searches. NO review.
Justice is a Result, Not Just a Process Politics and Other Official Acts of Corruption

New lawsuit shows your phone is unsafe at American borders

fromEngadget: It appears that now everyone's phones, despite country of origin or cause, are subject to nonconsensual seizure and search -- even if we refuse to give up our passwords.
Government is Watching Every Move You Make

The incredible, rage-inducing inside story of America’s student debt machine

fromMotherJones: Why is the nation’s flagship loan forgiveness program failing the people it’s supposed to help?
Economic Policy: Statism Versus The Free Market

John Stossel: Social media censorship

fromCreators: Now that Google can search everything you've said, YouTube may flag it as misinformation. Facebook can track what all your friends have said, too. Activists stand ready to get angry about all of it.
Media Bias on Parade

A young mom was justified in a shooting, but a past marijuana charge means prison time

fromReason: Authorities say Krissy Noble was justified in shooting and killing a home intruder while she was pregnant. Jury nullification was created for cases like this. Learn it.
The War on Unapproved Voluntary Exchange Justice is a Result, Not Just a Process

Coffee does not merit cancer warning label ordered in California, FDA says

fromNPR: Not that facts matter in California, but just so YOU know.
Regulation Nation Political Correctness and Other Nitwittery

August 30, 2018

CA becomes first state to eliminate bail for suspects awaiting trial

fromABC30: When they got rid of attorney-client privilege, no one cared because it was just Michael Cohen. Will anyone now care that the presumption of innocence is headed toward the shit can.
Justice is a Result, Not Just a Process The Government is Not Us