Network Archives

Drawing Down: How To Roll Back Police Militarization In America

"The damage inflicted by the country’s 40-year drug fight goes well beyond prisons. It’s also been the driving force behind America’s mass police militarization since at least the early 1980s, and the best way to rein in the trend would be to simply end prohibition altogether. Complete legalization is, of course, never going to happen. But even something short of legalization, like decriminalization, would take away many of the incentives to fight the drug war as if it were an actual war. The federal government could also leave it to the states to determine drug policy, and with what priority and level of force it should be enforced." Continue reading →

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The Surveillance Speech: A Low Point in Barack Obama’s Presidency

"Why, he used to think just like us when he was younger, and promises to consider our arguments. But some decisions just have to be made by the grownups. Do we know how much he loves us? Can we even imagine how awful he would feel if anything bad ever happened while it was still his job to ensure our safety? By observing Obama's condescension, I don't mean to suggest tone was the most objectionable part of the speech. The disinformation should bother the American people most. The weasel words. The impossible-to-believe protestations. The factually inaccurate assertions. They're all there." Continue reading →

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Utah Uses Eminent Domain to Seize Land of … Uncle Sam

"In March, Gov. Gary Herbert (R) signed a controversial law authorizing the use of eminent domain to capture some of the millions of acres that the federal government owns here. The law was tailor-made to provoke a lawsuit, possibly reaching the US Supreme Court, and to inspire other Western states to enact similar legislation. Other states have tried similar tactics and failed. For example, the US government controls about 80 percent of the land in Nevada. In a case in the 1990s, the state argued that this violated the equal footing doctrine, which holds that states should be treated equally when admitted to the Union. A federal judge rejected the case." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingUtah Uses Eminent Domain to Seize Land of … Uncle Sam

Is the Constitution Bailing Out the Banks?

"Scarcely touched by the nation’s housing recovery, Richmond is about to become the first city in the nation to try eminent domain as a way to stop foreclosures. The city plans to use eminent domain to buy both current and delinquent loans, with the city writing down the debt to allow homeowners to refinance at a new, lower amount through a government program. Naturally, the original lenders have warned that such a move will bring a host of lawsuits and halt mortgage lending in any city that adopts such an unconstitutional scheme. What promises to follow is a mess of epic proportions." Continue reading →

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Wis. Restaurant Gives 1965 Prices to Customers Who Pay With Pre-1965 Coins

"How about a hamburger for 12 cents, or 10 of them for $1. Like fries? 10 cents. Chicken? 100 pieces for $4.55. And you can nab a Perch sandwich for 20 cents. The sign went up about three months ago. So far, Tikalsky says they’ve made a 'couple dozen' sales with the special. 'You know, it’s the older clientele that come in here,' he explained. 'They think that’s pretty neat, you know, older coins.' He added later, 'We get a lot of older clientele here in the morning who drink coffee for a couple hours at a time and that gave them something to talk about for a week or two.'" Continue reading →

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Half of All Homes Are Being Purchased With Cash

"More than half of all homes sold last year and so far in 2013 have been financed without a mortgage, according to a Goldman Sachs analysis. The analysis estimates that around 20% of all homes sold before the housing crash were 'all-cash' sales (or around 30% of sales by dollar volume). But over the past seven years, the all-cash share of sales has more than doubled. There’s no exact way to know who is responsible for all of these cash purchases, though they are likely to include some combination of investors, foreign buyers, and wealthy homeowners that don’t want to go through the hassle of getting a mortgage before closing on a sale." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingHalf of All Homes Are Being Purchased With Cash

More Car Loans Than Mortgages in U.S.

"There are now more auto loans than mortgages in the U.S., but most of them are going to older Americans, according to New York Fed data. Borrowing for vehicles reached $814 billion in the second quarter, an increase of $20 billion from the previous quarter. The 2.5% jump was bigger than any other loan category in the quarter. The recovery has come faster for older Americans. The only group originating more loans than before the recession are people over 50, likely a result of aging Baby Boomers. But 18 to 29 year olds haven’t seen much of a recovery. Meanwhile, student loan borrowing is up 82% from prerecession levels." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingMore Car Loans Than Mortgages in U.S.

Bailout Buffett: The Sage of Solar

"Buffett sees the light (no pun intended). He's decided to risk his own capital to help save us from the climate. Except, in this case, 'risk' is for suckers. California utilities are under legislative mandate to get 33% of their electricity from renewable sources by 2020. Twenty-nine other states also have similar mandates. What can be better than circumventing the market, and having the law say that people must use your good or service? It's like having your own printing press! It gets even better for Buffett. Utilities are already signing contracts for the renewable energy. And guess what? The cost is way higher than current market prices." Continue reading →

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Fox News Follows California Beach Bum Living Off Food Stamps For Years

"Meet Jason Greenslate. You don’t know him but you help buy him his food. With no job and no plans to get one, Jason picks up a cool $200 a month on his EBT card courtesy of ‘we the people’. How many more Jasons are there out there?" Continue reading →

Continue ReadingFox News Follows California Beach Bum Living Off Food Stamps For Years

Assistant U.S. attorney’s Facebook posts probed

"The U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Texas Malcolm Bales released a statement Wednesday morning regarding derogatory comments about minorities and President Obama posted on Facebook by a Beaumont-based assistant U.S. attorney. Asked about his comments Monday, John Craft said they 'were not related to the U.S. Attorney's office' and had no other comment. John Malcolm Bales, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Texas, said his office does not have a social media policy but said he did not agree with Craft's comments and found any discriminatory sentiments 'reprehensible.'" Continue reading →

Continue ReadingAssistant U.S. attorney’s Facebook posts probed