CLibertyC

If Congress says no, can Obama strike Syria?

"Initiating airstrikes in Syria would undermine rather than uphold the credibility of the UN Charter, which generally permits the use of non-defensive force only with Security Council authorization. That has not been granted. The charter’s purpose is in fact to prevent individual states from engaging in the sort of international policing the US is proposing to undertake in Syria. Ultimately, it isn’t clear where the administration could turn for legal justification in the event of a no vote in Congress. Even without a strong legal foundation, if the administration decides to proceed with airstrikes, there isn’t much Congress could do to stop it." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingIf Congress says no, can Obama strike Syria?

MSNBC’s Alex Wagner vs. Ron Paul On Syria, Liberty, Anti-Semitism

"Former Rep. Ron Paul (R-TX) joins Alex Wagner to give his take on the situation in Syria, how Obama has handled the situation, and why he thinks the 'grand deception' of the Syria debate is that this is a question of national security." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingMSNBC’s Alex Wagner vs. Ron Paul On Syria, Liberty, Anti-Semitism

IRS Finalizes Penalty for ObamaCare Mandate

"Last week, federal tax collectors finalized a rule to penalize individuals who do not obtain health insurance under ObamaCare. The regulation from the IRS formally codifies the fine charged to people without insurance under the health care law's individual mandate, says The Hill. Under the law, most Americans must either be covered by health insurance or pay a penalty. For the first year, the charge for not obtaining health insurance is $95 or 1 percent of household income. The penalty will increase, though, to $695 per person or 2.5 percent of household income in 2016 and then according to a cost-of-living formula for following years." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingIRS Finalizes Penalty for ObamaCare Mandate

ObamaCare Was Sold To American Voters On Deceptive Terms

"In 2008, Barack Obama made it sound as though his health reform was only designed to help people who couldn’t afford health insurance afford it. Everyone else was going to be left alone. ('If you like the health plan you have you can keep it.') Then, on the eve of passage of the legislation, the focus changed to those few people (very few, it turns out) who are denied coverage because of a pre-existing condition. But it very recently, New York Times columnist Paul Krugman and others have been in print explaining that ObamaCare won’t work unless the government controls the premiums paid by everybody in the entire country! As far as the general public is concerned, this is a brand new idea." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingObamaCare Was Sold To American Voters On Deceptive Terms

Ecuador seeks to extend libel penalties to cover social media

"The Ecuadoran government has proposed legal changes to punish libel disseminated over social networks like Twitter or Facebook, a top official said Wednesday. Alexis Mera, President Rafael Correa’s secretary for legal affairs, said the move aimed not to control content on social networks, but to extend to them the same rules that apply to other media. Under Ecuador’s penal code, slanderous libel, which involves a false accusation of a crime, carries a punishment of between six months and two years in prison. Correa has used the courts to sue for libel newspapers and journalists who have written critically about him." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingEcuador seeks to extend libel penalties to cover social media

Michael Hastings: A Non-Conspiracy Theory

"Michael had been living in LA [alone] for at least 6-months renting two apartments in the same building; one for living, one for writing. Michael and Elise Jordan had been married less than two-years at the time of his death. In less than a year of marriage, Michael and Elise were technically physically separated for large amounts of time by this move and careers. Worth a glance, if you look at this video of the two of them from last summer [2012], you will notice they do not behave as a loving couple, let alone newlyweds in comparison to the reporter John Avalon and his wife. In fact, the bubbly-ness and warmth Elise usually exudes [in other media appearances] is completely lacking." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingMichael Hastings: A Non-Conspiracy Theory

Russian legislators introduce bill to take children away from LGBT parents

"A Russian lawmaker has introduced a bill that would allow the state to remove children from homes headed by LGBT parents. The draft bill was published on the Russian parliament’s website Thursday morning and proposed to make the 'fact of nontraditional sexual orientation' grounds for removing or denying parental custody rights. The bill, if passed, would add sexual orientation to a list of disqualifying factors that includes alcoholism, drug addiction and a history of child abuse. Bill author Alexei Zhuravlev said that the law would be a natural extension of a law passed earlier this year that bans so-called 'homosexual propaganda.'" Continue reading →

Continue ReadingRussian legislators introduce bill to take children away from LGBT parents

Homeschool raid on family viewed as terror

"The German government is being accused of terrorism on its own citizens for a police squad raid in which officers armed with a battering ram forcibly took four children from their parents because they were being homeschooled. The accusations are being posted on a Facebook page for the German embassy in Washington. The reaction developed after, as WND reported, four homeschooled children, ages 7 to 14, were forcibly taken from their Darmstadt, Germany, home by police armed with a battering ram. The parents, Dirk and Petra Wunderlich, were told they won’t see the children again soon, according to the Home School Legal Defense Association." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingHomeschool raid on family viewed as terror

Carlsbad radar device part of smuggling crackdown

"A large radar device recently installed at Carlsbad’s Ponto Beach is part of a federal crackdown on drug and immigrant smuggling along the California coast. The device, which can track any vessel within 20 miles, could help law enforcement agencies spot and apprehend smuggling boats or terrorists before they get to shore. It is the first of its kind in the country. Federal officials have begun to focus more on securing the coastline after sharply reducing smuggling by air during the past 25 years, said Keith Jones of the Air and Marine Operations Center in Riverside, which is run by U.S. Customs and Border Protection." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingCarlsbad radar device part of smuggling crackdown

Decentralize to Neutralize Turmoil in Middle East

"The international community—which includes many multi-tribal, ethnic, racial, or sectarian states—frowns on solutions that formally or implicitly break up states. Many have their own minorities that might be encouraged to break away. Thus, arguments are used that it’s a form of apartheid or that boundaries cannot be drawn exactly and will always leave some unfortunate souls on the other side of the line. In South Africa, apartheid was forced separation using armed might of a minority against a majority. In Iraq and Libya, such decentralized governance would have to be voluntary and would reflect existing ethno-sectarian or tribal areas, respectively." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingDecentralize to Neutralize Turmoil in Middle East