"The efficient transformation of defendants into prisoners cannot be the standard by which we assess our criminal justice system. If the possibility of sending someone like Chris Williams to prison for the rest of his life is so obviously unfair, why does the law allow it, let alone mandate it?" Continue reading →
"In 2012, 63 people died in the course of US domestic drug law enforcement operations, or one about every six days. Eight of the dead were law enforcement officers; 55 were civilians." Continue reading →
"It's no secret that Europe's automobile industry isn't exactly booming. Several carmakers on the Continent are struggling as demand has fallen off during the euro crisis, particularly in southern European countries, where austerity programs have taken a bite out of prosperity. In China, however, more and more cars are flying off the lots. And in 2012, for the first time ever, Chinese consumers purchased more automobiles than did buyers in Europe, according to the dailySüddeutsche Zeitung, citing an unpublished report by Germany's VDA automobile industry association." Continue reading →
"At a bustling food market in downtown Caracas, armed officers belonging to President Hugo Chavez’s National Bolivarian Guard marched by boxes of lettuce and tomatoes, checking prices and storage rooms. The inspection is part of a nationwide campaign to crack down on over-pricing and hoarding the government blames for shortages of basic goods, from toilet paper to sugar. The government said today that consumer prices in December jumped the most in 2 1/2 years, highlighting the growing economic problems that are amassing as Chavez’s battle with cancer unleashes a power struggle." Continue reading →
"This is just a peek at what lies ahead. In a Detroit suburb, rioting ensued when a government organization attempted to hand out welfare freebies in the form of Section 8 Housing Vouchers. The county was giving out 1,000 vouchers and at least 4x that many people showed up to get the freebie. The Michigan State Police had to come in and suppress the out-of-control redistribution celebration gone wild." Continue reading →
"[P]rosecutors generally have an easier time than defense attorneys getting private information out of Facebook and other social networks, as highlighted in an ongoing Portland murder case. In that case, the defense attorney has evidence of a Facebook conversation in which a key witness reportedly tells a friend he was pressured by police into falsely incriminating the defendant. Facebook rebuffed the defense attorney’s subpoena seeking access to the conversation, citing the federal Stored Communications Act, which protects the privacy of electronic communications like e-mail – but which carves out an exemption for law enforcement." Continue reading →
"Two years before the MIT incident, the FBI launched an investigation after Swartz released a trove of US federal court documents online that are usually only accessible at a fee through the government’s Public Access to Court Electronic Records, or PACER. In 2008, that fee was eight cents per page. In less than three weeks, he managed to download more than 18 million pages with an estimated value of $1.5 million to his home in the Chicago suburb of Highland Park. Swartz had pleaded not guilty to charges of computer fraud, wire fraud and other crimes carrying a maximum sentence of 35 years in prison and a $1 million fine." Continue reading →
"Last September, Deputy IRS Commissioner Steven Miller promised a Republican-controlled congressional subcommittee that the agency would not enforce the Obamacare mandate. He lied, of course. Despite the fact that the agency is not a legislative body, last December it created 159 pages of Obamacare-related regulations. Since the rules are invasive and deliberately confusing, it’s not surprising that many business owners are looking for ways to minimize their exposure to the IRS’s scrutiny. This has prompted the agency to warn that it will soon issue 'anti-abuse rules' intended to punish business owners who use existing regulatory loopholes found in the law." Continue reading →
"From one country to the next, across barriers of language and culture, government officials in even the most benign, stable democracies that have attempted to disarm their subjects, or to limit the weapons available for legal ownership, or even to do no more than track gun owners and register guns, have run into overwhelming resistance. Mass defiance has crippled registration programs, hobbled confiscations schemes and made a mockery of licensing programs. Given a choice between complying with restrictions on firearms ownership and defying the law, a clear majority of people in most jurisdictions have chosen rebellion." Continue reading →
"A man who owned several medical marijuana dispensaries in California that ostensibly operated legally under state law was sentenced on Monday to 10 years in prison on charges that he violated federal law restricting production and sales of the drug. Aaron Sandusky did not try to fight the charges, admitting to producing and selling medical marijuana in a manner approved by state law. 'I want to apologize to those with me and their families who have been victimized by the federal government who has not recognized the voters of this state,' Sandusky said in court. 'I want to apologize to the families who are suffering and who have to go through this.'" Continue reading →