Monthly Archives: September 2013

Oklahoma inmates access Facebook with smuggled cellphones

"Dozens of Oklahoma inmates — some of them convicted murderers — have been active on Facebook from behind bars, even though it is against prison rules, an investigation by The Oklahoman found. Reporters spent hundreds of hours on Facebook to find inmate users, primarily by their Facebook photos. Many inmates put 'selfies' online, photos of themselves taken by holding a cellphone camera away from their bodies. One of the most prolific photo-takers is a convicted murderer, Clifford Putman, 26. He has more than 200 photos on Facebook dating to June 2012." Continue reading →

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Robber ran major drug ring from prison

"In state prison since 2004 for robbery, inmate Marsial 'Oso' Garcia still found a way to operate a major drug ring, federal authorities say. He used smuggled cellphones, authorities say. Garcia, 31, pleaded guilty last week in Oklahoma City federal court to cocaine distribution and a money-laundering conspiracy involving more than $200,000. He will be sentenced later. Beginning in November 2011, from prison, Garcia arranged with suppliers in California and elsewhere to send 'multi-pound quantities of marijuana, cocaine, methamphetamine and other illegal narcotics' to Oklahoma for distribution, according to a federal indictment against 11 other defendants." Continue reading →

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800 U.S. police round up 129 gang suspects in Mexican Mafia raid

"About 800 local, state and federal law enforcement officers arrested 129 suspects indicted on a variety of murder, extortion, racketeering, drug and weapons charges in Orange County as part of 'Operation Smokin’ Aces.' Police said they seized 22 pounds of methamphetamine, 1.5 pounds of heroin and 3 pounds of cocaine, and the FBI said undercover officers purchased 38 handguns and 29 rifles in connection with the sweep. Investigators said members of the prison gang ordered assaults on 12 inmates, including one man whose head was stapled 20 times, in the Orange County Jail for failure to pay drug taxes." Continue reading →

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Justice Department: ATF misplaced 420 million cigarettes in stings

"Government agents acting without authorization conducted dozens of undercover investigations of illegal tobacco sales, misused some of $162 million in profits from the stings and lost track of at least 420 million cigarettes, the Justice Department's inspector general said Wednesday. In one case, ATF agents sold $15 million in cigarettes and later turned over $4.9 million in profits from the sales to a confidential informant — even though the agency did not properly account for the transaction. The audit came as a new blow to a beleaguered agency still reeling from congressional inquiries into the ATF's flawed handling of the Operation Fast and Furious weapons tracking probes in Mexico." Continue reading →

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‘Monsanto Protection Act’ attached to Obamacare defunding bill

"The House Republican government funding bill, which passed in the House last week, contains a three-month extension of the Monsanto Protection Act, which shields companies like Monsanto and Dow Chemical from legal action resulting from Genetically Modified Organism (GMO) crops. The Act also places the authority of whether or not GMO crops can be grown and sold domestically into the hands of Federal Department of Agriculture rather than with the courts or public referendum. The Democratically-controlled Senate is making no plans to work to keep the rider active beyond its current expiration date." Continue reading →

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The American Economy is Not a Free-Market Economy

"Those inclined to dismiss Lewis’s claim as exaggerated must confront the solid body of evidence he amasses. Everyone knows that governmentally-sponsored mortgages helped to fuel the housing bubble that burst in 2008 with disastrous consequences. As Lewis points out, though, the situation is much worse than most people imagined. 'By the end of 2007 government-sponsored mortgages accounted for 81% of all the mortgage loans made in the US and by 2010 this had risen to 100%.' Government dominance is of course bad for the economy, but it works to the benefit of a small group of the powerful. A great strength of the book is that Lewis names names: he tells us who the predators are." Continue reading →

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IRS official caught in tea party scandal retires with $50,000/year pension

"Lois Lerner, the IRS official who presided over a partisan program that targeted conservative organizations because of their political beliefs, will retire on Monday with a full pension package, a source at the Department of Treasury told MailOnline. Lerner, 62, has been a federal government employee since at least 1981, making her eligible for the most robust retirement package the federal government offers career employees. In May Lerner herself launched the scandal that would eventually claim her job, by answering a planted question about how the IRS handled politically oriented groups that applied for tax-exempt status." Continue reading →

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The IRS Rewrites Obamacare

"Obama and his IRS are bypassing Congress and rewriting Obamacare on their own. The IRS is imposing health insurance mandates on employers and individuals even in states where by law they're exempt (http://shar.es/iI2HW). Obama also broke the law by extending the deadline for the employer mandate by a year. He bypassed Congress in making these arbitrary changes. He's picking and choosing which provisions to enforce, and when. Neither Obamacare nor the Constitution give him that discretion. His actions are illegal. And he's setting a precedent that will allow future presidents to ignore or rewrite legislation. But his lawlessness exposes a truth..." Continue reading →

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The Larger the Deficit, the Greater the Default

"There will be a day of reckoning, of course. There always is. But a majority of voters at that time will be sure to see to it that previous lenders will suffer the losses. There will be a Great Default. The lenders will cry: 'But you promised.' And the borrowers will cry: 'That’s life in the land of Keynes. In the long run, we’re all dead. You go first.' The big losers will be the suckers who lent Uncle Sam the money. The biggest lenders are those who trust the federal government to pay their retirement bills, including medical bills. Those who believe in the welfare state will be the biggest losers. They have believed in something for nothing. They will get left with a pile of IOUs and a note: 'Sorry, Charlie.'" Continue reading →

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Mark Thornton on “Government Shutdown”

"Mark Thornton presents a Misesian commentary on why politics is to blame for the impending U.S. government 'shutdown,' and how a gold standard could provide real fiscal discipline. Thornton is a Senior Fellow at the Mises Institute. For more information, visit the Mises Institute online at mises.org." Continue reading →

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