for life and liberty

17% Would Vote to Secede and Form New State

"Some residents in Maryland, California, Michigan and Colorado are looking to secede from their respective states, and nearly one-out-of-five Americans think that's a good idea. A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that 17% of American Adults say they would vote for their section of their state to secede and form a new state. Seventy percent (70%) would vote to keep things the way they are, but another 13% are undecided. Just 22% believe sections of individual states have the right to secede and form a new state. Fifty-five percent (55%) disagree, but a sizable 23% are not sure. Only 17% of voters believe the federal government today has the consent of the governed." Continue reading →

Continue Reading17% Would Vote to Secede and Form New State

Obama ‘Hope’ poster artist says drones have killed hope

"The artist who created the iconic 'Hope' posters during President Barack Obama’s first presidential campaign says he’d choose a different caption now. A camera crew from TMZ asked Shepard Fairey if he’d use the same word underneath his portrait of then-Sen. Obama, given his track record as president. The 43-year-old Fairey paused for a moment as he and a companion got into a waiting vehicle. 'I’d put a few different ones,' Shepard said, adding that some of them may not be fit for print. Then he turned back around to face the crew, thinking of an idea. 'How about drones?' Fairey said." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingObama ‘Hope’ poster artist says drones have killed hope

Declassified Documents: NSA Spied On MLK Jr., Senators, Journalists

"The six-year spying program, dubbed 'Minaret,' had been exposed in the 1970s but the targets of the surveillance had been kept secret until now. The documents were published after the government panel overseeing classification ruled in favor of researchers at George Washington University who had long sought the release of the secret papers. The intensity of anti-war dissent at home led President Lyndon Johnson to ask US intelligence agencies in 1967 to find out if some protests were fueled by foreign powers. The NSA worked with other spy agencies to draw up 'watch lists' of anti-war critics to tap their overseas phone calls." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingDeclassified Documents: NSA Spied On MLK Jr., Senators, Journalists

Anthony Gregory: The Cataclysm of World War II

"World War II was the great event of the 20th century. It greatly altered political boundaries, ushered in the Cold War, effected a total transformation in American governance, and consumed more lives than any other event of comparable duration. The Allied cause stands as the most celebrated of war efforts. U.S. mobilization for it is presented as the greatest government undertaking in American history. The evils of the Axis Powers, particularly Nazi Germany and Imperial Japan, were so grave, their crimes so unspeakably brutal and vast, that it is just assumed that the force that violently opposed their reign of terror must have had justice on its side." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingAnthony Gregory: The Cataclysm of World War II

How I Learned to Stop Feeling Safe in My Own Country

"Earlier this month, OTM producer Sarah Abdurrahman, her family, and her friends were detained for hours by US Customs and Border Protection on their way home from Canada. Everyone being held was a US citizen, and no one received an explanation. Sarah tells the story of their detainment, and her difficulty getting any answers from one of the least transparent agencies in the country." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingHow I Learned to Stop Feeling Safe in My Own Country

Libyan-American Rapper Khaled M Removed From Plane, Detained

"Rapper Khaled Ahmed has drawn attention to airport security and detention practices after he tweeted about his experience of being removed from a connecting flight by unidentified security officials on Monday. Khaled says he was detained, questioned, and had his belongings confiscated without explanation. Khaled is a Libyan-American hip-hop artist who performs under the moniker 'Khaled M.' He first rose to prominence in the hip-hop community with his songs about the Arab spring and events in his ancestral homeland of Libya. After the incident, Khaled M described the experience and expressed his frustration with his repeated run-ins with flight security." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingLibyan-American Rapper Khaled M Removed From Plane, Detained

Greenwald: NSA’s view of drone opponents as ‘threats’ and ‘adversaries’

"Under the title 'adversary propaganda themes', the document lists what it calls 'examples of potential propaganda themes that could be employed against UAV operations'. It states: 'Attacks against American and European persons who have become violent extremists are often criticized by propagandists, arguing that lethal action against these individuals deprives them of due process.' In the eyes of the US government, 'due process' – the idea that the US government should not deprive people of life away from a battlefield without presenting evidence of guilt – is no longer a basic staple of the American political system, but rather a malicious weapon of 'propagandists'." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingGreenwald: NSA’s view of drone opponents as ‘threats’ and ‘adversaries’

Dwolla CEO Ben Milne: Why charge 25 cents for an $11 million transaction

"Dwolla got its start from a simple idea: that credit card fees are too expensive for merchants and consumers. CEO and cofounder Ben Milne took his frustration really far, building an entirely new payment network to get around credit cards and PayPal. Rather than charge a percentage, Dwolla is free for transactions under $10 and just 25 cents for anything over that amount. Over a billion dollars has changed hands through Dwolla in 2013 alone, and the company has the backing of top investors including Union Square Ventures and Andreessen Horowitz. Plus, why it's keeping its headquarters in Des Moines, Iowa." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingDwolla CEO Ben Milne: Why charge 25 cents for an $11 million transaction

Jeffrey Tucker: Fun and Fascinating Bitcoin

"The emerging cryptographic monetary standard entirely bypasses the age of fiat money and the age of central banking. It takes money out of the realm of public policy and central planning and places it in the hands of the people actually using it. Of all the features of Bitcoin, this one is perhaps the most beautiful. It has emerged from within the social order and was not imposed from above. How long will it take before the full implications reveal themselves? It took email some 20 years to go from obscure to common. Digital phone technology needed about the same swath of time. Bitcoin, however, could be different. Information travels farther and faster than ever before." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingJeffrey Tucker: Fun and Fascinating Bitcoin

Once again the Winklevoss twins get beaten to launching their big idea

"Mark Zuckerberg beat the twins Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss to the punch in launching Facebook. Now someone else seems to be stealing a march on their plan to launch an investment scheme for bitcoin. The Winklevii’s scheme, unlike SecondMarket’s, is for a public ETF traded on a major exchange open to retail investors. But the SEC may not approve it any time soon because it has yet to work out oodles of legal questions about the cryptocurrency. At a conference last week, the brothers were vague, telling attendees that regulators could set parameters on bitcoin 'over the next 6 to 12 months.'" Continue reading →

Continue ReadingOnce again the Winklevoss twins get beaten to launching their big idea