CLibertyC

The Problem of Leviathan

"The Internal Revenue Service, already under fire after officials disclosed that the agency targeted conservative groups, faces increased scrutiny because of an inspector general's report that it spent about $50 million to hold at least 220 conferences for employees between 2010 and 2012. The report by the Treasury Department's inspector general about conference spending is set to be released Tuesday. The department issued a statement Sunday saying the administration 'has already taken aggressive and dramatic action to reduce conference spending.'" Continue reading →

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No Statute Of Limitations For Failing To File U.S. Tax Returns

"The statute of limitations—that legal egg timer, normally set to three years—never starts to run on unreported activities. And there are cases now of the IRS going back decades, collecting big money—plus penalties and interest—on form-filing failures, accounting errors, and innocent mistakes by unwary people. Consider the recent case of Sumner Redstone, the Viacom chairman who failed to report a taxable gift to his children. This happened in 1972, and nobody looked twice at it for 40 years. Then, just a few months ago, the IRS decided he owed $1.1 million in penalties and interest. All for an old error that everyone except the IRS had forgotten about." Continue reading →

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DEA Rehires “Con Man Extraordinaire” and Admitted Multiple Perjurer as Paid Informant

"The Drug Enforcement Agency is so determined to bust folks that a snitch who admitted to multiple instances of perjury has been rehired. According to AZCentral, the man once labeled the 'highest paid snitch in history' -- Andrew Chambers, Jr. -- is back in business as a paid informant, never mind the fact that he was terminated in 2000 for incessant lying. Chambers gave false testimony under oath in at least 16 criminal cases nationwide before he was ousted in 2000. An informant since 1984, he worked with DEA and other federal agencies in at least 280 cases, with sting operations in 31 US cities." Continue reading →

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Florida Sheriff Arrested After Defending Second Amendment

"A Florida sheriff who believes in the Second Amendment was charged Tuesday for removing the arrest file of a suspect held on an unconstitutional gun charge but later released. Liberty County Sheriff Nicholas Finch, 50, was booked in his own jail Tuesday with one count of official misconduct by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement. The FDLE accuses Finch of covering up the arrest of Floyd Eugene Parrish after releasing him from the Liberty County Jail. Parrish had been arrested for carrying a concealed firearm without a license, a third-degree felony in Florida." Continue reading →

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Former Mexico president calls for marijuana legalization

"Ex-president Vicente Fox says Mexico should legalize marijuana to steal business back from violent drug cartels — and when it’s legal, he’s in (as a grower). 'Once it is legitimate and legal, of course, I do some farming. I can do it myself,' the conservative former leader said from his ranch in San Francisco del Rincon. Fox, a former Coca-Cola executive who was president from 2000-2006, surprised many when he was among early voices in Mexico calling for illegal drugs to be legalized, seeing it as the only way to break the cycle of violent crime. 'Mexico should become an authorized producer, and export marijuana to places where it is already legal,' argued Fox." Continue reading →

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New York ‘soccer mom’ accused of $3 million marijuana operation

"Andrea Sanderlin was described by friends and neighbours in the upmarket town of Scarsdale as a 'soccer mom' who drove a Mercedes SUV and competed in horse riding competitions. But the federal drug enforcement agency alleges that the 45-year-old was in charge of a 'sophisticated operation to grow and process marijuana', according to the criminal complaint. Investigators linked Sanderlin, who has two daughters aged 3 and 13, to a warehouse that was using 'an unusually high amount of electricity'. In a separate raid on her Scarsdale home authorities found books on how to grow marijuana and how to launder money, according to the DEA." Continue reading →

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What telephone metadata can tell the authorities about you

"The phone number of every caller and recipient; the unique serial number of the phones involved; the time and duration of each phone call; and potentially the location of each of the participants when the call happened. All of this information is being collected on millions of calls every day – every conversation taking place within the US, or between the US and a foreign country. The government has long argued that this information isn’t private or personal. It is, they say, the equivalent of looking at the envelope of a letter. Because it’s not personal information, but rather 'transactional' or 'business' data, there’s no need to show probable cause to collect it." Continue reading →

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NSA is collecting phone records of millions of Verizon customers under secret court order

"The U.S. National Security Agency is collecting telephone records of millions of Verizon Communications customers, according to a secret court order obtained and published by the Guardian newspaper’s website. The order marked 'Top Secret' and issued by the U.S. Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court directs Verizon’s Business Network Services Inc and Verizon Business Services units to hand over electronic data including all calling records on an 'ongoing, daily basis' until the order expires. Signed at the request of the FBI, the order covers each phone number dialed by all customers and location and routing data, along with the duration and frequency of the calls." Continue reading →

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Iowa City Council Votes To Ban Traffic Cameras And Drones

"Rather than allow residents of Iowa City, Iowa to decide whether to impose a permanent ban on red light cameras, speed cameras and drones, the city council unanimously decided Tuesday to directly adopt the proposed initiative with some modification. This marks the first time that a city council with a strong pro-camera majority has repealed an automated ticketing ordinance in response to a public petition. The ordinance states no drone, red light camera, speed camera or license plate recognition system can be used in the city without a police officer operating the device personally handing the traffic citation to, or arresting, the alleged offender." Continue reading →

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