CLibertyC

How Our Right To Travel Became a Bureaucratic Ordeal

"Last week, my vacationing family was stopped at not one, but two, internal checkpoints along Interstate 8 in Arizona and California and questioned about our citizenship. As recently as eight years ago, I drove to and from a house rental in Puerto Peñasco, Mexico, with no identification beyond my driver's license. Since 2009, though, a passport or similar document has been required to cross back into the United States from anywhere. Nominally an internationally recognized right, travel of all sorts has become creepingly bureaucratized in recent decades to an extent that has completely transformed the act of going from one place to another." Continue reading →

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Collection of phone records stirs debate: Valuable tool or ‘beyond Orwellian’?

"Sen. Dianne Feinstein, chairwoman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, said the program helped to disrupt 'terrorist plots' on U.S. soil. 'It is lawful,' the California Democrat insisted. 'It has been briefed by Congress.' Reps. Mike Rogers and Dutch Ruppersberger, the two top Republicans on the House Intelligence Committee, both stressed that 'this important collection tool does not allow the government to eavesdrop' and that it is routinely reviewed by Congress. White House spokesman Josh Earnest further stressed the importance of ensuring 'we have the tools we need to confront the threat posted by terrorists (and to) protect the homeland.'" Continue reading →

Continue ReadingCollection of phone records stirs debate: Valuable tool or ‘beyond Orwellian’?

Margin Debt Hits Record High

"Investors ramped up their borrowing against brokerage accounts in April, taking margin debt to its highest-ever level. Investors borrowed $384.4 billion against their investments in April, a 1.3% gain from the previous month, and a 29% rise from the same month last year, according to the New York Stock Exchange. The rising level of debt is seen as a measure of investor confidence, as investors are more willing to take out debt against investments when shares are rising and they have more value in their portfolios to borrow against. The latest rise has been fueled by low interest rates and a 15% year-to-date stock-market rally." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingMargin Debt Hits Record High

India Central Bank Prohibits Sales Of Gold Coins By Banks

"Two weeks ago, with its current account getting crushed by relentless gold imports, India's finance minister Chidambaram literally begged the people to stop buying gold. Judging by the popular response, the ongoing physical shortage, and last night's increase in Indian gold import duties from 6% to 8%, appealing to people's feeling when it comes to the choice of fiat vs physical, has failed miserably. Per Reuters: 'The Reserve Bank of India has advised banks against selling gold coins to retail customers, Finance Minister P. Chidambaram said on Thursday, a day after he raised gold import duty to try to ease pressure on India's bloated current account deficit.'" Continue reading →

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What Don’t We Understand at This Point About Economics and Unemployment?

"The employment-population ratio has barely changed in three years, showing that 58.6% of U.S. adults over age 16 had a job as of April. Forget the unemployment rate. The employment rate – the percentage of adult Americans who hold a job – has barely budged in the past three years. It's hovering near its lowest level in three decades, and it's unlikely to improve when the Labor Department releases its May jobs report on Friday." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingWhat Don’t We Understand at This Point About Economics and Unemployment?

Tests Show 0.00% BAC, Retired Firefighter Arrested For DUI & Car Impounded Anyway

"The police documents show the drug recognition officer wrote, 'I conducted an evaluation of Jessie, in my opinion Jessie was not under the influence of drugs or alcohol.' According the documents from the Surprise Police Department, the blood analysis showed no drugs were detected in Thornton's blood. Jessie's car had been impounded and the MVD notified of the DUI charge. 'I then get this message that my license is being suspended and I have to take some sort of drinking class or something,' said Thornton. According to the police documents, Thornton was later released to his wife. Thornton now claims this wasn't DUI. 'It was driving while black,' said Thornton." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingTests Show 0.00% BAC, Retired Firefighter Arrested For DUI & Car Impounded Anyway

Army Vet: Police Raided Wrong Apartment, Found No Drugs, Killed His Dog

"Adam Arroyo has lived in his Breckenridge apartment for three years but has never experienced a day like this past Monday; when police busted down his door in search of drugs, shooting and killing his dog in the process. When Arroyo returned home Monday evening he found his apartment torn apart, door busted down and several bullet holes in his kitchen wall. Arroyo is a combat veteran who served in Iraq and plans to join the National Guard. This incident, however has left him heart-broken and angry. Arroyo now has to pay to have Cindy cremated. He also had to repair his door at his own cost and has had to miss work." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingArmy Vet: Police Raided Wrong Apartment, Found No Drugs, Killed His Dog

U.S. States Push to Bring Back Gold Standard

"More than a dozen states have introduced laws to recognize gold as legal currency. If the bill gets the governor's signature, Arizona will be the second state to legally consider gold as legal tender. Supporters of going back to the gold standard say the system is preferable to the Federal Reserve and Ben Bernanke's monetary policies. On the 80th anniversary since the Gold Standard in the U.S. was abolished, RT Correspondent Liz Wahl reports on the rush get back to gold." Continue reading →

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Jury Nullification Advocate Out Of Jail, Files Federal Lawsuit Against Judge

"Mark Schmidter is a free man after spending 104 days in the Orange County Jail. He was convicted late last year of indirect criminal contempt by Chief Judge Belvin Perry for handing out flyers at the Orange County Courthouse in the months leading up to and during the Casey Anthony trial. He says his fight over free speech is not over. Those flyers explained the right of jurors to nullify convictions if they thought the law was wrong, even if a defendant had committed the crime. Schmidter says he will jump right back into the fray now that he has served his time." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingJury Nullification Advocate Out Of Jail, Files Federal Lawsuit Against Judge

Colorado Sheriffs Unite to Block ‘Unenforceable’ Gun Control Laws

"In the wake of the tragedy in Aurora, Colorado passed some of the strictest gun control measures in the country. But in recent months, an overwhelming 55 of the state’s 62 county sheriffs have joined a lawsuit aiming to block the measures. Sheriff Terry Maketa of El Paso County is one of the opposing sheriffs. Maketa says they believe the laws are unenforceable, but also violate the Second and Fourteenth Amendments. After explaining the tactics used to pass the bills that essentially 'eliminated all public input,' Maketa reiterated that it’s clearly an 'overreaching step' for politicians to claim law enforcement supports stricter gun control." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingColorado Sheriffs Unite to Block ‘Unenforceable’ Gun Control Laws