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Ben Swann on the Liberty Rising Truth in Media Project and the State of US Journalism

"There is a generational change in how Americans view journalists. For people under the age of 35, the majority say they get their news from... wait for it... the Daily Show! That tells me two things. 1. Americans under the age of 35 consider 'comedians' journalists. 2. Americans under the age of 35 consider 'journalists' a joke. I have heard from literally tens of thousands of people who say that I am helping to restore journalism. that the work I have been doing puts networks to shame. Simply put, this is a chance to take that journalism to the next and best level – one where we are not dependent upon an established news network." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingBen Swann on the Liberty Rising Truth in Media Project and the State of US Journalism

Star-Spangled Confederates: How Southern Sympathizers Decided Our National Anthem

"Debate raged in the press and the streets. For supporters of the 'Banner,' the song was the perfect symbol of national feeling, and anyone who disagreed might not be patriotic. The Veterans of Foreign Wars organized an Americanization committee that promoted the song as a litmus test of loyalty. Critics of the 'Banner' found their patriotism questioned. Stetson was investigated, subpoenaed, and forced to testify in March 1924 about the source of her funds. No, she had not been funded by foreigners, she said. She had spent $16,000 of her own money on newspaper, and she would spend more. She took out anti-“Banner” ads in March 1924 and August 1925." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingStar-Spangled Confederates: How Southern Sympathizers Decided Our National Anthem

Will bourbon help Kentucky swallow Obamacare?

"I took a longer look Wednesday at the extreme measures states are taking to get young people signed up for Obamacare programs. They tend to be taking on a regional flare: Oregon might do branded coffee cups, for example, whereas Seattle is looking at doing outreach at music festivals. It only makes sense, then, that Kentucky would be doing outreach at multiple bourbon festivals across the state. When I asked Kentucky spokeswoman for health reform Jill Midkiff where they might find young people, here’s what she e-mailed me back. That’s no fewer than three bourbon festivals on the Kentucky marketplace’s agenda. Drink up!" Continue reading →

Continue ReadingWill bourbon help Kentucky swallow Obamacare?

Radley Balko: “Once a town gets a SWAT team you want to use it”

"For decades, the war on drugs has empowered police to act aggressively. More recently, 9/11 and school shootings enforced the notion that there’s no such thing as too much security. Since 9/11, Homeland Security has distributed billions in grants, enabling even some small town police departments to buy armored personnel carriers and field their own SWAT teams. Once you have a SWAT team the only thing to do is kick some ass. There are more than 100 SWAT team raids every day in this country. They’re not chasing murderers or terrorists. For the most part they go after nonviolent offenders like drug dealers and even small time gamblers." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingRadley Balko: “Once a town gets a SWAT team you want to use it”

U.S. eyes high-tech security boost at Canadian border

"A U.S. senator said a low-cost, high-tech sensor system could be installed along the U.S.-Canada border to increase security without harming business. Blue Rose, based on fiber-optic technology, is an in-ground perimeter defense and security system developed by the Naval Undersea Warfare, CBC News said. The system detects sound and vibration of intruders moving near the sensor. Surveillance technology could monitor who's approaching the border, helping to prevent drug smuggling and terrorism, Tester said, and could be particularly effective in areas such as Montana." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingU.S. eyes high-tech security boost at Canadian border

The FBI: An American Cheka

"Nearly twenty years ago, then-FBI Director Louis Freeh – still basking in his agency’s residual glory from the Mt. Carmel Massacre of April 1993 – visited Moscow to sign a joint cooperation accord with the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB). After touring the Lubyanka Square headquarters of the Russian secret police, Freeh observed that 'Our nations have more in common than ever before.' At the time I thought it was shocking that Freeh would traduce his country by offering that comparison to the renamed KGB. Roughly two decades later I’ve come to understand that if the comparison is offensive, the Russians have the stronger claim to be the insulted party." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingThe FBI: An American Cheka

Mirror, Mirror on the Wall, Which Country Has the Most Expensive Bureaucrats of All?

"Germany is significantly better than the United States, whether measured by the cost of the bureaucracy or the size of the bureaucracy. Japan also does much better than America, notwithstanding that nation’s other problems. In the I’m-not-surprised category, France does poorly and Switzerland does well. To see where the trends are most worrisome, look at the changes over time. The total cost of bureaucracy, for instance, jumped considerably between 2000 and 2009 in Ireland, Greece, the United Kingdom, Denmark, Spain, and the United States. So much for 'austerity.'" Continue reading →

Continue ReadingMirror, Mirror on the Wall, Which Country Has the Most Expensive Bureaucrats of All?

Obama Wants to Triple Airport Travel Tax

"The Obama administration is calling in its fiscal 2014 budget for the so-called Sept. 11 security fee to rise up to threefold, raking in $25.9 billion over a decade – and adding several dollars to the price of many tickets, reports Jennifer Waters. The security-fee proposal seeks to raise the maximum Aviation Passenger Security Fee to $7.50 by 2019, through 50-cent annual increases. The budget also proposes a new $100-per-flight departure tax, which would be paid by the airlines, as well as raising the passenger facility charge to $8 from $4.50 per flight and hiking other fees related to customs and immigration." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingObama Wants to Triple Airport Travel Tax

Missouri gov. signs gun-safety course for first-graders

"Missouri schools will be encouraged to teach first-graders a gun safety course sponsored by the National Rifle Association as a result of legislation signed Friday by Gov. Jay Nixon. The legislation also requires school personnel to participate in an 'active shooter and intruder' drill led by law enforcement officers. The legislation also transfers the responsibility for issuing identification cards for concealed gun permits from driver’s license clerks to local sheriffs. That change was prompted by concerns that the state licensing agency’s procedures had infringed on people’s privacy rights." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingMissouri gov. signs gun-safety course for first-graders

Pixar inspires graphic comment on NSA surveillance

"Living in the emotional Switzerland of my blissful neutrality, as I do, it's warming when people are inspired to create art to express dissent. So here is a very simple piece of animation, designed to emote a certain frustration with goings-on in the secret areas of government. It was delivered to me in an anonymous e-mail -- address snowdenhatesrussianfood@gmail.com -- that seemed to have been encrypted by goats. However, I understand it was first posted to Reddit and has now taken on a life of its very public own, with almost 1 million views on YouTube. It depicts the alleged regress of morning in America to night." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingPixar inspires graphic comment on NSA surveillance