Monthly Archives: February 2013

Yes, You Are A Criminal… You Just Don’t Know It Yet

"How many felonies have you committed today? If you’re like most Americans, you probably violate federal or state law several times each day, without even knowing it. Anyone can inadvertently run afoul of America’s metastasizing network of criminal laws. Spilling a drink in a nightclub is hardly what anyone would consider a criminal offense. Neither is purchasing medication over-the-counter. Once you have a criminal record, especially a felony conviction, you’ll find it much more difficult to live outside the United States, or to acquire a second citizenship and passport." Continue reading →

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10 Reasons The U.S. Is No Longer The Land Of The Free

"Even as we pass judgment on countries we consider unfree, Americans remain confident that any definition of a free nation must include their own — the land of free. Yet, the laws and practices of the land should shake that confidence. In the decade since Sept. 11, 2001, this country has comprehensively reduced civil liberties in the name of an expanded security state. While each new national security power Washington has embraced was controversial when enacted, they are often discussed in isolation. But they don’t operate in isolation. They form a mosaic of powers under which our country could be considered, at least in part, authoritarian." Continue reading →

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New police advice to schools: Confront shooter (unarmed)

"Law enforcement authorities are increasingly advising school officials - and even young students - to physically confront suspects in future campus attacks as a final line of defense. The advisories, now included in training videos and documents prepared by police, represent a major shift in tactics for law enforcement officials who have traditionally counseled potential victims to flee and hide while waiting for authorities to answer calls for help." Continue reading →

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Colorado manufacturer threatens to leave state if gun bill passes

"A package of gun control measures that won initial approval in Colorado's Democratic-controlled House Friday night could result in several hundred jobs lost at the state's largest manufacturer of high-capacity ammunition magazines. Erie-based Magpul Industries, which employs some 200 people directly and supports about 400 jobs through subcontractors, has threatened to leave the state if lawmakers are successful in passing the sweeping gun-control package, which limits the number of rounds a magazine can hold, according to The Denver Post." Continue reading →

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Why Is Mexico Asking The U.S. Government For A Registry Of U.S. Gun Owners?

"Mexican lawmakers will ask the U.S. Senate to create a registry of all commercialized firearms in border states, which includes California, Arizona, New Mexico, and Texas. Mexico says it will make it easier to trace guns used in violent attacks. The measure was reportedly approved on January 9 by Mexico’s Permanent Commission, a government entity that meets when Mexico’s Senate and the Chamber of Deputies is in recess. Gun owners in Arizona are calling the proposal 'foolish' and an 'invasion of privacy.' A number of the gun owners interviewed also referenced the Obama administration’s disastrous gun-running operation known as 'Fast and Furious.'" Continue reading →

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WA Dems Sponsor Bill Allowing Police To Search Gunowners’ Homes Once Per Year

"A Washington state bill sponsored by liberal Democrats contained a little-noticed provision that would have called for the police to have the right to search private citizens’ home once per year if they own certain types of guns. In other words, kiss the Fourth Amendment goodbye. Liberal lawmakers behind the bill claim they have no knowledge of the provision – which, of course, begs the question as to how the provision got into the bill in the first place." Continue reading →

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City spends $585,000 on study of how to save money

"Why did Baltimore need to pay outside consultants half a million dollars for a report that says the city's financial future is grim? Public Financial Management Inc. of Philadelphia won the contract in 2011 with a proposal to charge the city $460,000, beating two other finalists whose work would have cost taxpayers $500,000 and $507,000, respectively. But the scope of the needed work grew over the past year, and city officials added another $125,000 to the deal — meaning the consultants were paid $585,000 in all." Continue reading →

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Drones not just for foreign attacks, will fill up the U.S. skies

"Suddenly drones are everywhere -- not in the skies over the United States, as they will be by the thousands in a few years, and not just hovering over foreign battlefields to strike terror in the heart of al-Qaida -- but as the focus of debate in the U.S. Congress and elsewhere. Inevitably, the U.S. Supreme Court will be asked to determine whether the use of extrajudicial lethal force against those marked as terrorists posing an imminent threat, including U.S. citizens, is constitutional. The court also will be asked to determine how intrusive drones can be when flown over domestic air space by government, law enforcement and private companies." Continue reading →

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Pepe Escobar: The illusory state of the Empire

"Obama's legacy may be in the process of being forged. We might call it Shadow War Forever - coupled with the noxious permanence of Guantanamo. The Pentagon for its part will never abandon its 'full spectrum' dream of military hegemony, ideally controlling the future of the world in all those shades of grey zones between Russia and China, the lands of Islam and India, and Africa and Asia. Were lessons learned? Of course not. Obama can afford to be self-confident because the Drone Empire is safe. Most Americans seem to absent-mindedly endorse it - as long as 'the terrorists' are alien, not US citizens." Continue reading →

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Russian official demonizes U.S. for ‘inhumane torture’ of adopted children

"A woman in the US state of Texas has killed her adopted Russian son, the Kremlin’s envoy for children said Monday, outlining the latest alleged abuse of an adopted Russian child by American parents. 'A three-year-old Russian child has been murdered by his adoptive mother in the state of Texas,' ombudsman Pavel Astakhov said on his office’s Twitter feed @RFdeti. 'Three-year-old Maxim was beaten (according to the investigators) by his adoptive mother, who fed him psychoactive drugs over a long period of time,' he said, expressing dismay that the US State Department kept silent about the case." Continue reading →

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