for life and liberty

What Bothered Me Most About the Zimmerman Trial

"Toward the end of the state’s summation, it was said that if a person wanted to do what George Zimmerman did 'you’d better have one of these' (whereupon a photo of a policeman’s badge was projected onto the screen). What the state was implicitly acknowledging – whether such was its intent or not – was the real-world dual standard that operates on the streets of virtually every city in every state: a police officer will almost never be held to account, criminally, for wrongs committed against innocent victims. Take the identical facts in the Zimmerman case and change just one: have George Zimmerman be a city-appointed police officer." Continue reading →

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Burn your Obamacare card

"Without premium payments by millions of young adults under 40, Obamacare can’t work. Younger Americans make up the bulk of the uninsured today because health insurance simply costs too much relative to their needs. If they don’t obey the mandate, premiums will be higher than expected in the new government 'exchanges,' people will be driven away, and a vicious cycle will set in, ending in the scheme’s failure. This suggests an opportunity. If all of us, especially millennials, were to become health care draft resisters, we could hasten Obamacare’s inevitable collapse and pave the way for a patient-centered system." Continue reading →

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Virginia health centers get $2.5M to ‘promote Obamacare on taxpayer dime’

"Virginia health centers will receive 22 federal grants totaling more than $2.5 million to enroll clients in Obamacare, part of a $150 million national campaign. The largest recipient is the New Canton-based Central Virginia Health Services, which will get $266,020. On a per-capita basis, the 51 new hires in Virginia would be paid an average of $49,000. Skeptics say the overhead costs are emblematic of the Obamacare program. 'There are over 1,200 community health centers throughout the country who are getting a chunk of $150 million in outreach funding for the rollout of Obamacare,' said Ben Domenech at the conservative Heartland Institute." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingVirginia health centers get $2.5M to ‘promote Obamacare on taxpayer dime’

DHS’ Napolitano Leaves Legacy of Corruption, Lies, Lawsuits, and Waste

"One of the most outrageous incidents concerned the publishing of a threat assessment report entitled 'Rightwing Extremism: Current Economic and Political Climate Fueling Resurgence of Radicalization and Recruitment' in April, 2009. The report claimed that the election of a black president, the economic meltdown, home foreclosures, concerns about impending gun control legislation, illegal immigration, and other factors were likely to drive recruiting into right-wing extremist factions. When challenged about those 'findings,' Napolitano was forced to make numerous apologies and her department admitted to a 'breakdown in internal processes' in creating the report." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingDHS’ Napolitano Leaves Legacy of Corruption, Lies, Lawsuits, and Waste

Maryland County Eyes Drone Ban: ‘This Is Not The Soviet Union’

"Commissioner Robin Frazier intends to draft a resolution about drone usage in Carroll County following a drone discussion by the Board of County Commissioners in open session Thursday. Frazier said she was concerned about drone use as it relates to citizens’ 4th Amendment protections against unwarranted search and seizures. Specifically she referred to the use of drones to enforce environmental regulations on farmers. Sara Love, Public Policy Director for the Maryland ACLU, said the ACLU is concerned about the FAA being allowed to change airspace rules to make it easier for police agencies to use drones for surveillance." Continue reading →

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CIA Allowed To Sustain Cover-Up of Bay Of Pigs History; Reclassification Denied

"More than year after the National Security Archive sued the CIA to declassify the full 'Official History of the Bay of Pigs Operation,' a U.S. District Court judge today sided with the Agency's efforts to keep the last volume of the report secret in perpetuity. In her ruling, Judge Gladys Kessler accepted the CIA's legal arguments that, because Volume V was a 'draft' and never officially approved for inclusion in the Agency's official history, it was exempt from declassification under the 'deliberative process privilege' despite having been written over 30 years ago. The National Security Archive called the decision 'a regrettable blow to the right-to-know'." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingCIA Allowed To Sustain Cover-Up of Bay Of Pigs History; Reclassification Denied

Judge Napolitano: President Obama Puts Politics Above the Rule of Law

"What's going on? What we have is a runaway government, dismissive of the Constitution it has sworn to uphold, contemptuous of the law it is required to enforce and driven by its own values of maximum control and minimum personal freedom. And we have a Congress supine enough to let this happen, as well as a judiciary so tangled in its own arcane procedures that immeasurable human freedom will be destroyed and Obama out of office before any meaningful judicial review can be had. Is this the rule of law? What shall we do about it?" Continue reading →

Continue ReadingJudge Napolitano: President Obama Puts Politics Above the Rule of Law

South American states to recall ambassadors from Europe over Bolivian plane incident

"South American countries belonging to the Mercosur trade bloc have decided to withdraw their ambassadors for consultations from European countries involved in the grounding of the Bolivian president’s plane. 'We've taken a number of actions in order to compel public explanations and apologies from the European nations that assaulted our brother Evo Morales,' explained Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro, who revealed some of the agenda debated during the 45th summit of Mercosur countries in Uruguay's capital, Montevideo." Continue reading →

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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