Judge Napolitano: The NSA Scandal Violates the Lessons of Our History and Our Constitution

"After 9/11, Congress enacted the Patriot Act. This permitted federal agents to write their own search warrants, as if to mimic the British soldiers in the 1760s. It was amended to permit the feds to go to the FISA court and get a search warrant for the electronic records of any American who might communicate with a foreign person. In 30 years, from 1979 to 2009, the legal standard for searching and seizing private communications was lowered by Congress from probable cause of crime to probable cause of being an agent of a foreign power to probable cause of being a foreign person to probable cause of communicating with a foreign person." Continue reading

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CIA preparing to deliver Syrian rebels weapons through Turkey and Jordan

"The CIA is preparing to deliver arms to rebel groups in Syria through clandestine bases in Turkey and Jordan that were expanded over the past year in an effort to establish reliable supply routes into the country for nonlethal material, U.S. officials said. The bases are expected to begin conveying limited shipments of weapons and ammunition within weeks, officials said, serving as critical nodes for an escalation of U.S. involvement in a civil war. Syria experts cautioned that the opposition to Assad remains a chaotic mix of secular and Islamist elements, highlighting the risk that some American-provided munitions may be diverted from their intended recipients." Continue reading

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On This Day in 1933

"You were considered a hoarder and a slacker if you still resisted turning over your gold to the government. Roosevelt had only been in office for 101 days and while there was broad bipartisan support for inflationary policies in Congress, it’s safe to say that most of those who voted for FDR never expected him to confiscate private holdings of gold coins, bullion, and certificates. Roosevelt called the measure a temporary one (it wasn’t), and he followed it up by invalidating gold clauses in private contracts that obligated payment in gold dollars, which had the effect of devaluing the assets of bond and contract holders." Continue reading

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U.S. to provide ‘direct military support’ to Syrian rebels

"President Barack Obama has authorized sending U.S. weapons to Syrian rebels for the first time, a U.S. official said on Thursday after the White House said it has proof the Syrian government had used chemical weapons against opposition forces fighting to overthrow President Bashar al-Assad. The White House said Washington would provide 'direct military support' to the opposition but did not specify whether it would include lethal aid. But the U.S. official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the package would include weapons. Syrian rebel and political opposition leaders immediately called for anti-aircraft and other sophisticated weaponry." Continue reading

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With Scandals Raging At Home, Obama Discovers Chemical Weapons Use in Syria

"In a time of choking scandal, a light at the end of the tunnel has appeared for the Obama regime: his old friend war! The entirety of the US corporate media is breathlessly -- and, predictably, in lockstep -- amplifying the Obama administration's sudden amazingly convenient discovery that the Syrian government has used chemical weapons after all! Just a few weeks ago the US Intelligence Community did not believe claims that the Syrian government used chemicals. Now, with no formal investigation at all and no word on the chain of evidence or its source, we are told with absolute certainty that the Assad government has used the weapons." Continue reading

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I’ve Never Been More Outraged at Washington

"If you think there’s been a loss of privacy and liberty since George W. Bush took office 13 years ago, brace yourself ― it’s about to get a lot worse. It’s what happens when governments start to fight for their survival. It happened in Rome. In Byzantium. In the Weimar Republic in Germany. And in countless other countries where governments became desperate for revenue and started losing the confidence of their citizens. They start invading upon citizens’ privacy and liberties. They start regulating everything in sight. And they start taxing just about anything that moves. Why is it about to get a whole lot worse for us Americans? There are several reasons." Continue reading

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Ron Paul: Iraq Collapse Shows Bankruptcy of Interventionism

"May was Iraq's deadliest month in nearly five years, with more than 1,000 dead – both civilians and security personnel – in a rash of bombings, shootings and other violence. Millions live in constant fear, refugees do not return home, and the economy is destroyed. The Christian community, some 1.2 million persons before 2003, has been nearly wiped off the Iraqi map. Other minorities have likewise disappeared. US support for the Syrian rebels next door has drawn the Shi'ite-led Iraqi government into the spreading regional unrest and breathed new life into extremist elements. The invasion of Iraq opened the door to Al-Qaeda in Iraq, which did not exist beforehand..." Continue reading

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U.S. levies sanctions on Iranian petrochemical industry

"The United States on Friday imposed sanctions on Iran’s petrochemical industry, vowing to target more of the Islamic regime’s sources of revenue after curbing its vital oil exports. US officials said they were taking action against Iran’s petrochemical industry as it represented the Iranian government’s largest source of revenue after oil, which has been severely curtailed by a US-led sanctions campaign. The United States slapped sanctions that include a ban on US-based financial transactions on the Niksima Food & Beverage Co., a Dubai-based frozen yogurt and dessert company. Since last year, the United States has brandished sanctions against anyone who buys Iran’s oil." Continue reading

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