Land Of The Flea

Mayor Bloomberg blames Virginia for many of New York’s gun crimes

"New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg blames Virginia and several other southern state’s for the Big Apple’s gun crimes — so now he’s set his Mayors Against Illegal Guns’ sights on the Deep South for a Second Amendment crackdown. His chief of staff, John Feinblatt, said if states like Virginia only implemented common-sense provisions, then violent crime rates would fall. Other states faulted by Mr. Feinblatt: South Carolina, for contributing 251 'crime guns' in 2011, he said. And Georgia, Alabama and Texas – all states that allow for online gun sales absent background checks." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingMayor Bloomberg blames Virginia for many of New York’s gun crimes

We Are Becoming a Nation of Burger Flippers

"The American workforce is slowly converting to a force of burger flippers and shelf stockers, mostly older people in semi-retirement. The implications for the economy are serious, and the ballooning cost of health care for businesses under Obamacare bears much of the responsibility: The law’s (expensive) mandate that employees who work over 30 hours per week receive mandatory health benefits is suppressing the hiring of full-time workers, particularly by small businesses. Even Sen. Max Baucus, one of the law’s architects, said 'I just see a huge train wreck coming down,' at an April 17 hearing." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingWe Are Becoming a Nation of Burger Flippers

Jeffrey Tucker: Thank You, Russia?

"I’m as glad as the next guy that 'we' won the Cold War. But sometimes you just have to wonder: What was the point of those 45 years of nuclear stalemate? All that time, we were told that this was a mighty struggle between individualism and collectivism, between freedom and tyranny, between capitalism and communism. But at the end of the day, once everything has shaken itself out, it is Russia that is providing sanctuary to our best citizens. Is this some sort of strange dystopian novel? Well, yes, and it has a name: Nineteen Eighty-Four, by George Orwell." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingJeffrey Tucker: Thank You, Russia?

Escape From the Grasp of Congress

"With 11.5 million illegal aliens in the country, it’s hard to understand how a relatively small number of departing U.S. emigrants is threatening to U.S. lawmakers. Maybe it’s because those numbers are rising and the federal government fears an increasing number of U.S. citizens moving beyond its control. The only other national regimes to have adopted similar punitive tax laws were Nazi Germany, the Soviet Union under Stalin and apartheid South Africa. I admit expatriation is certainly a drastic plan. However, as we see in the statistics, more and more U.S. citizens are choosing that option as the America we knew and loved fades farther from memory." Continue reading →

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Zimmerman prosecution staffer files whistleblower suit over testimony on unreleased evidence

"A former employee of Florida State Attorney Angela Corey’s office is suing the prosecutor, claiming he was illegally fired after he testified on behalf of George Zimmerman, who was acquitted in the death of black teenager Trayvon Martin. Kruidbos was fired after testifying at a pre-trial hearing on June 6 that he believed prosecutors had failed to turn over to the defense, as required by evidence-sharing laws, potentially embarrassing evidence extracted from Martin’s cell phone." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingZimmerman prosecution staffer files whistleblower suit over testimony on unreleased evidence

Texas jailer must face trial after video caught him raping 15-year-old

"A federal judge ruled this week that a trial against a Texas jailer can go forward after video caught him allegedly raping a 15-year-old female inmate. In a suit filed late last year, Michelle and Danny Hall accused former Harris County correctional officer Robert Robinson of raping their daughter, M.S.H., during her two month stay at Houston’s Harris County Juvenile Justice Center. The suit accuses Robinson of 'grooming' the girl with food and candy, before the encounters 'quickly escalated with quid pro quo requests that exchanged gifts for genital fondling and touching.'" Continue reading →

Continue ReadingTexas jailer must face trial after video caught him raping 15-year-old

60 U.S. military members fired in Pentagon sexual assault review

"Sixty people have been removed from jobs as military recruiters, drill instructors and victims counselors as a result of screenings ordered following a jump in the number of sexual assault in the U.S. armed forces, officials said on Friday. The Army said 55 people had been suspended from their positions since screenings ordered by Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel began last month. The Navy said it had screened more than 10,000 recruiters, drill instructors and personnel responsible for assisting sexual assault victims and had removed five people from their positions." Continue reading →

Continue Reading60 U.S. military members fired in Pentagon sexual assault review

In USSA, Journalism is a Crime

"Author and activist Barrett Brown has been behind bars for nearly 300 days without a trial. Federal prosecutors have filed a 17-count indictment on charges arising from the act of republishing material obtained by hackers from HB Gary Federal and Stratfor, two private companies that are deeply involved in national security affairs. Brown’s supposed offense was to commit journalism by republishing information about politically privileged corporation that he didn’t personally acquire, and then to condemn a federal official who was harassing and persecuting his family. That’s the kind of thing that leads to prosecution in the American Reich." Continue reading →

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Inventing Pretexts to Ignore the Fourth Amendment

"Describing these factors as a threat to 'officer safety,' the agents demanded access to the home to conduct a 'protective sweep,' during which ammunition and drugs were found. A district court denied Mongold’s motion to suppress the evidence. The US. Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals overturned the district court and suppressed the evidence, noting that the ATF agents 'could most easily have protected the officers’ safety by leaving [the] home, not by entering it.' The Tenth Circuit quite sensibly slapped down this cynical argument for a warrantless search, but it was careful to specify that its sensible ruling is not to be used as a precedent." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingInventing Pretexts to Ignore the Fourth Amendment