Orwellian

Jim Bovard: Farmers fight for the right to grow raisins

"Marvin Horne, a 67-year-old raisin farmer in Fresno, Calif., was fined almost $700,000 for refusing to surrender control of much of his harvest to the federal committee in 2002. Horne, who has been growing raisins for more than 40 years, has battled the raisin committee for more than a decade and describes its regime as 'involuntary servitude.' His challenge -- which is supported by many California raisin growers -- landed in front of the Supreme Court last month. According to the Obama Administration and USDA, the Raisin Administrative Committee needs vast power to protect farmers from selling too many raisins." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingJim Bovard: Farmers fight for the right to grow raisins

“Anti-Government” Couple on Run With Children; Lost Custody After Pot Charge

"Joshua Michael Hakken and his wife Sharyn Hakken are on the run in Florida after kidnapping their own two children from Sharyn's mother this morning. Patricia Hauser has had legal custody of her grandchildren, four-year-old Cole and two-year-old Chase, since 2012, when Joshua and Sharyn lost custody for displaying pot in front of their sons at an 'anti-government rally' in Louisiana. There aren't a lot of details out there right now, so it's possible that the Hakkens really were a danger to their kids. But it will be just so goddamn awful if all of this is the result of them using some marijuana at a rally in front of their kids." Continue reading →

Continue Reading“Anti-Government” Couple on Run With Children; Lost Custody After Pot Charge

IRS collecting tax payer information from Facebook and Twitter

"You have until April 15th to file a return - and the IRS will be collecting a lot more than just taxes this year. According to several reports, the agency will also be collecting personal information from sites like Facebook and Twitter. It says the effort is to catch people trying to beat the system, but some say it goes too far. Attorney Kristen Mathews warns to be careful with what you say on social media platforms. She has concerns the government is pushing the limits of what has historically been considered private. The government has said it would only check a Facebook page or twitter account if there is already red flag in a tax form." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingIRS collecting tax payer information from Facebook and Twitter

State Confiscates $10,000 From Airline Passenger Over Exchange Rate Disagreement

"Docherty was boarding a flight to Costa Rica in November 2010 when a dog trained to sniff out money (they have those?) found Docherty's stash of cash. There was $9,880 in U.S. currency and another $335 Canadian. Docherty explained he'd calculated the Canada-U.S. exchange rate so the total amount to come in under the $10,000 limit. The trouble was that by the time he took his flight two days later, the U.S. dollar had strengthened, making his package worth more than $10,000 Canadian. Agents seized the money under the legislation and unlike criminal charges, the onus falls on people like Docherty to prove the money was legitimately acquired." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingState Confiscates $10,000 From Airline Passenger Over Exchange Rate Disagreement

Feds Identify 300,000 Americans as Terrorists

"Do you hate paying taxes? Are you fighting foreclosure? Do you feel like no one should be allowed to commit violence against you and don't always blindly follow the commands of the authorities? Do you film encounters with police or believe gold makes better currency than Federal Reserve Notes? Well you might be part of a domestic terrorism movement and not even know it. On Friday, the Los Angeles Times posted an article attempting to define a domestic terrorist movement consisting of as many as 300,000 Americans. Some are even labeled as non-violent 'paper terrorists'." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingFeds Identify 300,000 Americans as Terrorists

Anti-drone protests kick off in San Diego

"From coast-to-coast, human rights activists have launched a month-long protest against the use drones by the US government. Throughout the month of April, the 'Days of Action' demonstrations will take it to the companies behind the construction of these robots in the sky. RT's Ramon Galindo brings us more from San Diego, California." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingAnti-drone protests kick off in San Diego

Cops with Drones: Alameda Co., CA Weighs Technology vs. Privacy

"For a long time, drones - unmanned aircraft - were used only by the military. Now local law enforcement wants them for police work such as surveillance and search-and-rescue missions. That in turn has sparked a fierce debate over the balance between cutting-edge law enforcement technology and the privacy rights of citizens." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingCops with Drones: Alameda Co., CA Weighs Technology vs. Privacy

Glenn Greenwald: Three Democratic myths used to demean the Paul filibuster

"For the first time since the 9/11 attack, even lowly cable news shows were forced to extensively discuss the government's extremist theories of power and to debate the need for checks and limits. All of this put Democrats - who spent eight years flamboyantly pretending to be champions of due process - in a very uncomfortable position. The politician who took such a unique stand in defense of these principles was not merely a Republican but a leading member of its dreaded Tea Party wing, while the actor most responsible for the extremist theories of power being protested was their own beloved leader and his political party." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingGlenn Greenwald: Three Democratic myths used to demean the Paul filibuster

“State Control”: What the UN Firearms Treaty is All About

"For more than fifty years, the United Nations, with the enthusiastic support of the U.S. government, has pursued a vision of 'general and complete disarmament' in which the world body, or its successor, would claim a monopoly on the 'legitimate' use of force. Within that global monopoly, each national government would have an exclusive territorial franchise. It was in pursuit of that formula that UN 'peacekeepers' were deployed in Rwanda in 1993. Despite that country’s history of bloody ethnic conflict, Rwandans were assured that they had nothing to fear from a UN-approved government that claimed a monopoly on weaponry." Continue reading →

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The ATF Wants ‘Massive’ Online Database to Find Out Who Your Friends Are

"The ATF doesn’t just want a huge database to reveal everything about you with a few keywords. It wants one that can find out who you know. And it won’t even try to friend you on Facebook first. According to a recent solicitation from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the bureau is looking to buy a 'massive online data repository system' for its Office of Strategic Intelligence and Information (OSII). The system is intended to operate for at least five years, and be able to process automated searches of individuals, and 'find connection points between two or more individuals' by linking together 'structured and unstructured data.'" Continue reading →

Continue ReadingThe ATF Wants ‘Massive’ Online Database to Find Out Who Your Friends Are