Local law enforcement agencies around the country are acquiring drones at a dizzying pace, often with financing from the federal government, asset forfeiture, and in some cases, private grants. According to a report released last spring by the Center for the Study of the Drone at Bard College, 347 local agencies in 43 states acquired…
MADISON, Wisc. (Dec. 27, 2017) – A bill filed in the Madison Senate would help facilitate healthcare freedom outside of government insurance regulatory schemes. A bipartisan coalition of 32 senators and representatives introduced Senate Bill 670 (SB670) on Dec. 21. The legislation specifies that direct primary care agreements (sometimes called medical retainer agreements) do not constitute insurance, thereby…
Bundy arguments brought focus to three concerns: federal land within a sovereign state, the Constitution, and what is known as Jury Nullification.
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (Dec. 26, 2017) – A bill pre-filed in the Missouri House would legalize medical marijuana for qualifying patients in the state, setting the foundation to nullify unconstitutional federal cannabis prohibition in practice. Pre-filed for introduction by Rep. James Neely (R-Cameron) for the 2018 session of the Missouri legislature, House Bill 1554 (HB1554)…
ANNAPOLIS, Md. (Dec. 26, 2017) – A bill prefiled in the Maryland House would require police to get a warrant before obtaining any information collected by “smart meter” technology. Passage of the bill would help protect privacy and ensure personal information doesn’t end up stored in federal databases. Del. Alfred Carr (D-18) prefiled House Bill…
It was Christmas Eve in 1798, and the Virginia House had already passed resolutions drafted by Madison three days earlier. Introduced by Thomas Jefferson's great friend John Taylor of Caroline, Madison's important draft also included the handiwork of Wilson Cary Nicholas.
COLUMBIA, S.C. (Dec. 21, 2017) – A bill prefiled in the South Carolina House would reform the state’s asset forfeiture laws to minimize the policing for profit motive and would partially close a loophole that allows state and local police to circumvent more strict state forfeiture laws by passing cases off to the feds. Rep.…
Until at least the 1960s or so, the "progressive school" of history suggested that we totally ignore the views and works of old revolutionaries like Samuel Adams and James Otis.
Testimony offered before the N.C. Commission of Inquiry on Torture (NCCIT) earlier this month revealed the culpability of state and local officials in a program of extraordinary rendition and torture. Knowing how states helped facilitate torture opens the door to take steps to keep it from happening again. On Nov. 30 and Dec. 1, the 11-member panel…
PHOENIX, Ariz. (Dec. 20, 2017) – A bill pre-filed in the Arizona House would decriminalize marijuana possession. Passage into law during the 2018 legislative session would take another step toward further nullifying federal cannabis prohibition in effect in the state. Rep. Mark Cardenas (D-Phoenix) prefiled House Bill 2014 (HB2014) for the 2018 legislative session. The…