Land Of The Flea

TechCrunch Founder: The Department Of Homeland Security Stole My Boat Today

"I live near Seattle and there’s a big boating culture up here. I found a small company that builds boats specifically for this area called Coastal Craft. I ordered it in 2011 and planned on writing about the experience after it was delivered. I named her Buddy. It has state of the art electronics and a fairly new highly efficient propulsion system that the TechCrunch audience would be interested in. Buying this boat was one of the worst decisions I’ve ever made, and the nightmare is only just starting. Today I’m going to write about how the Department of Homeland Security seized that boat." Continue reading →

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Drones, Assassinations, and the Drug War

"The Chinese military recently planned to assassinate by drone a suspected drug lord hiding out in Myanmar who was accused of having murdered 13 Chinese soldiers. While Chinese authorities ultimately decided not to carry out the assassination and ended up capturing the guy and having a court sentence him to death, the episode clearly points in the direction that both the Chinese communist regime and the U.S. government are taking their respective countries. After all, China could justify the assassination of the suspected drug lord in the same way that the U.S. government justifies the assassination of suspected terrorists." Continue reading →

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Doors swing open for advocates of marijuana legalization on Capitol Hill

"Advocates for the legalization of marijuana plan to step up their political giving and lobbying efforts now that members of Congress are taking an interest in changing federal drug laws. The lobbyists say lawmakers who wouldn’t give them the time of day are suddenly interested in meeting with them and introducing legislation following the approval of ballot initiatives in Colorado and Washington that legalized recreational use of the drug. Lobbyists say the battle that is brewing over drug laws will be far-reaching and not confined to recreational use of marijuana." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingDoors swing open for advocates of marijuana legalization on Capitol Hill

Bipartisan Hemp, Medical Marijuana Bills Introduced in Congress

"It's a marijuana policy trifecta on Capitol Hill now: recreational marijuana, medical marijuana, and hemp. Earlier this month, reformist House members filed bills to end federal pot prohibition and tax the trade and last week to legalize hemp. Now, some of those same legislators -- joined by more -- have filed bills that would protect medical marijuana patients and providers and some senators have filed their companion bill to legalize industrial hemp." Continue reading →

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West Virginia Bill Would Drug Test Teens for Driver Licenses

"A bill introduced Tuesday in the West Virginia House of Delegates would require prospective teen drivers to pass three separate drug tests before receiving a full drivers' license. It's only the latest drug testing proposal to emerge at the statehouse in Charleston this year. Introduced by Del. Joe Ellington (R-Mercer), House Bill 2528 would require teens to 'pass a drug test designed to detect illegal consumption of controlled substances' before getting a learner's permit, before getting an intermediate license, and before getting a full license." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingWest Virginia Bill Would Drug Test Teens for Driver Licenses

AZ Court Says You Don’t Have to Be High to Get a DUI

"An Arizona appeals court has ruled that marijuana users don't need to be actually impaired to be successfully prosecuted for driving under the influence. The ruling came Tuesday in the case of a man who tested positive for an inactive marijuana metabolite that remains in the body for weeks after the high from smoking marijuana has worn off. The ruling in Arizona v. Shilgevorkyan overturned a decision by a superior court judge who said that it didn't make sense to prosecute people for driving under the influence if they're not actually under the influence." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingAZ Court Says You Don’t Have to Be High to Get a DUI

How Fascism Grows? Prison Company Buys Boca Stadium Naming Rights

"The GEO Group (GEO) is a for-profit prison company based in Boca Raton, Fla., that calls itself 'the world's leading provider of correctional and detention management and community reentry services to federal, state and local government agencies.' It can also call itself the world's leading provider of Florida Atlantic University Owls football, having paid $6 million to put its name on the school's stadium." Continue reading →

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Surprise, Surprise, Obamacare Includes a Massive Sales Tax on Your Healthcare Insurance

"As Carlyle Group founder and war profiteer David Rubinstein once told me about some legislation, 'The devil is in the details.' Maybe this is what Nancy Pelosi meant, when she said that Obamacare needs to be passed so that we can find out what is in it." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingSurprise, Surprise, Obamacare Includes a Massive Sales Tax on Your Healthcare Insurance

The New York Times Calls (again) for Higher Taxes on Middle-Class Americans

"The New York Times seems really fixated on screwing Joe Lunchbucket. What’s particularly interesting about this editorial is that the New York Times is very explicit about political strategy. They support more class-warfare taxes in order to set the stage for higher taxes on the middle class. We can’t say we haven’t been warned." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingThe New York Times Calls (again) for Higher Taxes on Middle-Class Americans

Bernanke’s Plan…If He Identifies Bubbles

"So what's Bernanke's plan, should one of these bubbles occur? Throw some bureaucrats at it first! Surely he means some new goofy laws, but can Bernanke also mean price controls? He has said that: 'The achievement of price stability must not and will not be jeopardized…I am also confident that, when the time comes, the Fed will act to ensure that inflation remains firmly under control.' The next step that governments usually take to give the illusion that 'inflation remains firmly under control' is to enact price controls. Will TSA agents be sent into out of the airports and into the streets to make sure that the price of tomatoes aren't 'too high'?" Continue reading →

Continue ReadingBernanke’s Plan…If He Identifies Bubbles