for life and liberty

Virginia’s ‘21-day rule’ needs to go

"Jonathan Montgomery was convicted in 2008 of sexual assault on the strength of testimony from a teenage girl who has now recanted. The accuser, charged with perjury, is free while she awaits trial. Mr. Montgomery, sentenced to 7 1 / 2 years, is innocent but can’t get out of prison. This month, the judge who sentenced Mr. Montgomery to prison in 2008 was presented with new evidence that his accuser, Elizabeth Paige Coast, had admitted lying about her accusation. But the evidence came to light only in recent weeks, when Ms. Coast came clean about her deception. New evidence or not, the 21-day rule applies." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingVirginia’s ‘21-day rule’ needs to go

Legal logjam lets troubled cops keep their badges

"Police officers punished for serious misconduct by the state may continue to draw their pay and even carry a badge for years if they appeal the sanctions. Some appeals languish for more than a decade after arriving at the state attorney general’s office. Rank and file officers and even chiefs of police have continued to work — for their original agency or a different one — after being sanctioned for violations as serious as killing a recruit during training, waving a gun at random in a bar, falsifying official records and DUI. Some officers were accused of new offenses while they appealed their first cases." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingLegal logjam lets troubled cops keep their badges

Tax bills prompt Chinese to ditch US passports

"For many wealthy mainland Chinese who immigrated to the US, an American passport is a genie that cannot be put back in the bottle. More and more of them are thinking about renouncing their US citizenship, something that would have been almost unimaginable a decade ago, when getting a US passport was the ultimate status symbol in China. In March 2010, Washington stepped up its tax collection efforts by enacting FATCA. Americans and green card holders face onerous US reporting requirements, often have trouble opening bank accounts outside the US and frequently find it hard to form business ventures overseas." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingTax bills prompt Chinese to ditch US passports

Portuguese Residency For Non-EU Citizens

"On October 9 2012 the Portuguese government passed a new law that will enable investors from non-EU countries to gain residency if they either transfer one million or more euros in capital into Portugal, form a business that creates a minimum of 30 jobs, or purchase a property to the value of a minimum of €500,000. Dubbed the 'Golden Passport,' this new visa will allow non-EU citizens to receive a Portugal visa, permitting them to enter and stay in Portugal assuming at least one form of investment is undertaken for a minimum period of five years." Continue reading →

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Downgrade the Long-Term Debt of the United States Before It’s Too Late

"Dear S&P, Moody’s, and Fitch: You are the world’s three dominant rating agencies, largely controlling the ratings of bonds and debts issued by thousands of corporations, municipalities, and sovereign governments. I am the chairman of Weiss Ratings, an independent rating agency. And today, I challenge you to promptly take the bold action that you have so far avoided — to downgrade the long-term credit rating of the U.S. government in order to help protect investors and prod Washington to fix its finances. The necessary first step toward solving our nation’s financial problems is to recognize and confront them honestly." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingDowngrade the Long-Term Debt of the United States Before It’s Too Late

Moody’s downgrades France’s credit rating

"In what will be a severe blow to Socialist president François Hollande, the agency said it was reducing the country’s rating from AAA to AA1, claiming France’s ability for economic growth was being hampered by 'structural challenges' including its lack of competitiveness, high unemployment, public debt and market rigidity. It said it was not confident Hollande’s government could – or would – introduce the necessary structural reforms and spending cuts to improved its rating in the medium term and expressed concern over France’s exposure to risks from other ailing eurozone countries." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingMoody’s downgrades France’s credit rating

Spain considers automatic residency to foreign home buyers

"Spain may offer automatic residency to foreigners such as Chinese and Russians who buy homes in the country, aiming to help the ruined housing market, a government official said Monday. 'We have proposed to the other ministries that for residents who acquire a home in Spain for more than 160,000 euros ($205,000), that will automatically entail a residency permit,' said junior trade minister Jaime Garcia-Legaz. Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy later told a news conference that 'no decision' had yet been taken on formally launching the scheme, but said that Spain’s stock of unsold housing needed to be sold at 'reasonable prices'." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingSpain considers automatic residency to foreign home buyers

Coerced Foreign Tax Compliance Is Killing American Jobs

"No doubt thanks in part to FATCA, foreign direct investment in the US for the first half of 2012 declined by 39.2% over the prior year, and China surpassed the US as the world’s largest recipient of global foreign direct investment for the first time since 2003. At a time when Washington should be pursuing policies designed to attract foreign investment capital to American shores, politicians seem intent on driving it away." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingCoerced Foreign Tax Compliance Is Killing American Jobs

Will Judge Napolitano Run for President in 2016?

"Judge Napolitano talks to Wenzel about his new book, Theodore and Woodrow. Find out how these presidents were instrumental in Americans losing many of their freedoms. In addition, the Judge tells Wenzel if he will run for president in 2016. He also discusses why the potential for civil unrest and a totalitarian state are a very real possibilities." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingWill Judge Napolitano Run for President in 2016?