Land Of The Flea

Stewart: 2 years and $3 billion later, U.S. in ‘same place we were’ before election

"Jon Stewart pointed out that for all of the fuss and expense of the 2012 election, the U.S. has ended up in virtually the exact same political situation as it was two years ago. After announcing Democratic victories in Massachusetts and Missouri, as well as the results of the presidential race, Stewart said, 'Once again, just let me very quickly announce this: House of Representatives, Republican. In the Senate, Democrats, the presidency, Barack Obama, let’s see. Two years, $3 billion and we are clearly in the same place we were when it started.'" Continue reading →

Continue ReadingStewart: 2 years and $3 billion later, U.S. in ‘same place we were’ before election

Piedmont Boy, 3, Gets $2,500 Ticket For Urinating In His Front Yard

"A three year old gets his mom in trouble with the law when he gets a ticket from police. Now the little boy's mother will have to pay thousands of dollars for what the toddler did in their own front yard. The toddler is being potty trained, and he wasn't near the facilities, so he unzipped. We are told before he could pee, a Piedmont police officer stopped him. It's a bathroom break that cost mom $2,500." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingPiedmont Boy, 3, Gets $2,500 Ticket For Urinating In His Front Yard

Business fined $4,000 over missing trashcan lid

"Jones is one of the owners of Buckingham Slate, a Virginia business a little over an hour's drive west of Richmond. The company is distinguished by the quality of the highly valued Arvonia slate it produces. And by the fact that its roots trace back almost to the Civil War. And by the fact that federal regulators smacked it with a $4,000 fine. Over a trash can." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingBusiness fined $4,000 over missing trashcan lid

Oregon election worker fired for altering ballots to Republican straight ticket

"An election worker in Oregon is facing a criminal investigation for allegedly altering multiple ballots to benefit Republican candidates. Clackamas County spokesperson Tim Heider said that 55-year-old Deanna Swenson had been 'relieved of duty immediately after the alleged ballot tampering was discovered.' Swenson, who was registered as a Republican, was accused of filling in a Republican straight ticket on ballots where voters did not specify a choice. Contacted by Willamette Week, Swenson tearfully insisted that it was 'only the two' ballots that had been altered." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingOregon election worker fired for altering ballots to Republican straight ticket

Internet pirates get 2 years in U.S. prison over bootleg new releases

"Two members of an Internet piracy group were sentenced to prison Friday on charges stemming from unauthorized online distribution of first-run films, officials said. The Justice Department said a Virginia court sentenced Willie Lambert, 57, of Pennsylvania, to 30 months in prison and Sean Lovelady, 28, of California to 23 months. Lambert was ordered to pay $449,514 in restitution and Lovelady $7,500. Lambert and Lovelady were indicted along with two other defendants in April for their roles in the IMAGiNE Group, a ring that sought to copy and release to the Internet copies of movies only showing in theaters." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingInternet pirates get 2 years in U.S. prison over bootleg new releases

U.S. Constitution Created an Empire

"The continent lay before the framers and Americans. Land lay before the framers and Americans. Untold riches and wealth in land beckoned. Land speculation was an American constant. Empire as a form of government was the chosen vehicle for expansion into these lands. Dreams of liberty also prevailed, and the framers thought that empire and liberty could co-exist. This illusion has never been shattered, not even by the bloodiest of all American wars. Today, we inherit the problem that empire and liberty, in the final analysis, cannot be reconciled. One or the other must prevail." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingU.S. Constitution Created an Empire

Low morale continues to plague Homeland Security

"Employees at the Homeland Security Department are less satisfied with their jobs on average than other federal workers, and DHS must do a better job figuring out why, according to a new report. Morale varies among DHS employees, depending on where they work, with job satisfaction and employee engagement particularly low at the Transportation Security Administration and the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency compared to other federal workers, the Government Accountability Office pointed out in a new report based on data from the 2011 Federal Employee Viewpoint Survey." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingLow morale continues to plague Homeland Security

Obama granted clemency to just 22, less than any modern president

"Obama has parceled out forgiveness far more rarely than his recent predecessors, pardoning just 22 individuals while denying 1,019. He has given pardons to roughly 1 of every 50 individuals whose applications were processed by the Justice Department. At this point in his presidency, Ronald Reagan had pardoned 1 of every 3 such applicants. George H.W. Bush had pardoned 1 in 16. Bill Clinton had pardoned 1 in 8. George W. Bush had pardoned 1 in 33. Obama also has been stingy with commutations, applications for early release by those still serving federal prison sentences." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingObama granted clemency to just 22, less than any modern president

POLICING FOR PROFIT: Feds try to take innocent elderly couple’s Mom-and-Pop motel

"Because their property was worth one million dollars and carried no mortgage, and because a handful of drug crimes had taken place on the property over 20 years (which represent less than .05 percent of the 125,000 rooms the Caswells rented over that period of time), the federal government is trying to take the Caswell's property through civil forfeiture, sell the land and keep the money. Under a process known as 'equitable sharing,' the federal government would keep 20 percent of what they net and the local police department would pocket 80 percent." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingPOLICING FOR PROFIT: Feds try to take innocent elderly couple’s Mom-and-Pop motel

Anthony Wile: Sit Silently … as Bombs Burst in Air

"This is one of the reasons that my family has decided to relocate back to the hills of Switzerland. I have truly had enough of this behavior. What makes Switzerland so bloody special? It is comprised of a populous that respects the privacy and rights of others to determine their own destiny. It is a society that is comprised of people who believe in the right of an individual to act in one's own self-interest but not to the detriment of others. It is a society that boasts the lowest corporate rate and among the lowest personal tax rates in the world – yet has arguably the highest standard of living on the planet." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingAnthony Wile: Sit Silently … as Bombs Burst in Air