statism

Colorado Democrat: Legislature, not guns, will keep you safe

"Colorado House Majority Leader Dickey Lee Hullinghorst said in an interview on YouTube last week that firearms ownership is redundant because the state Legislature keeps citizens safe from harm. 'As a woman, I have the right not to carry a gun and to feel safe on the streets, and that’s what we provide for in the state Legislature is for all of us in the state of Colorado — to feel safe on the streets without having to carry a gun,' said Mrs. Hullinghorst. She also took a swipe at gun owners. 'The thought that the only way we can protect ourselves is to wield our own weapon is completely absurd and an argument that I absolutely discount as frivolous,' Mrs. Hullinghorst said." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingColorado Democrat: Legislature, not guns, will keep you safe

Cardboard officer cuts crime by 67% at Mass. subway stop

"The burly officer watching over the bike racks at a Boston-area transportation hub is a real stiff. As part of an effort to cut crime at the Alewife MBTA subway and bus station in Cambridge, transit police placed a cardboard cutout of a police officer in the bicycle cage. Hundreds of people use the racks daily. Deputy Chief Robert Lenehan says the fake cop, along with video cameras and a new lock, has cut bike thefts by 67 percent. It’s also a money saver. Lenehan estimates it would cost $200,000 a year to have an officer watch over the cage full-time. The cutout is actually a picture of real MBTA Officer David Silen. Silen says the split second thieves take to glance at the cutout is enough to discourage them." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingCardboard officer cuts crime by 67% at Mass. subway stop

CDC calls rising E-cigarette among teens ‘deeply troubling’

"Some 1.78 million US middle and high school students — around 11 to 18 years old — smoked so-called e-cigarettes in 2012, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said in a new study. CDC smoking and health office director Tim McAfee noted that 'about 90 percent of all smokers begin smoking as teenagers.' 'We must keep our youth from experimenting or using any tobacco product.' The US government is due to announce in October its plans for regulating electronic cigarettes. For the moment, the laws are different according to each state, though a number of them have already forbidden their sale to minors." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingCDC calls rising E-cigarette among teens ‘deeply troubling’

Washington State issues how-to regs on growing, selling marijuana

"The details announced this week include the number of shops that will be able to sell pot around the state (334, with locations based on population), the number of shops or growing facilities that a single business can operate (three per individual or corporation), the size of marijuana 'grows' (30,000 square feet, or about three-quarters of an acre), the kinds of security systems that must be in place (alarms and video surveillance), and how far such shops must be from schools, parks, and other places where children may gather (1,000 yards). In all, according to the Washington State Liquor Control Board, the overall harvest for next year will be capped at 40 metric tons." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingWashington State issues how-to regs on growing, selling marijuana

76-Year-Old Man Loses $197,000 Home Over $134 Tax Lien

"On the day Bennie Coleman lost his house, the day armed U.S. marshals came to his door and ordered him off the property, he slumped in a folding chair across the street and watched the vestiges of his 76 years hauled to the curb. Movers carted out his easy chair, his clothes, his television. Next came the things that were closest to his heart: his Marine Corps medals and photographs of his dead wife, Martha. The duplex in Northeast Washington that Coleman bought with cash two decades earlier was emptied and shuttered. By sundown, he had nowhere to go. All because he didn’t pay a $134 property tax bill." Continue reading →

Continue Reading76-Year-Old Man Loses $197,000 Home Over $134 Tax Lien

Government Tattoo Statists of America

"Always on the lookout for opportunities to violate individual constitutional rights, statists want to interfere with that longstanding classic right of personal self expression – tattoos -- a practice which has been unregulated since the dawn of mankind. The Department of Health for the city of Washington D.C., is proposing a new regulation requiring a 24-hour waiting period and other onerous requirements for the provision of tattoo services. Sixty-five pages of rules and regulations designed to stifle tattoo parlors would require that a tattoo artist cannot apply a tattoo or body piercing until at least 24 hours after a customer requests it." Continue reading →

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Police fire officer accused of waving gun around during argument

"A Little Rock police officer has been fired after he allegedly displayed a gun at a bar in Fayetteville. Police spokeswoman Sgt. Cassandra Davis released Jeffrey Harris' termination letter on Thursday. The letter dated Wednesday says Harris drew his weapon and waved it at people at a bar in April. The letter says Harris also used profane language and made a 'racially derogatory statement during the incident.' Davis says Harris has 10 days to appeal his termination." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingPolice fire officer accused of waving gun around during argument

Video gambling ring arrests include councilman, police chief, ex-cops

"Mr. Melocchi's machines could be found in Allegheny, Fayette, Washington and Westmoreland counties, the presentment said. Operating out of a location in an alley behind a Glassport coffee shop, Mr. Melocchi placed the devices in various businesses and allegedly struck deals with the owners to split gambling proceeds. Video gambling machines are illegal if patrons pay to play, use more chance than skill to win, and are paid off. Business owners told the grand jury that they earned between $75 and $1,000 a week from the devices." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingVideo gambling ring arrests include councilman, police chief, ex-cops

North Carolina Court To Decide Whether Firemen Can Perform Traffic Stops

"Gordon Shatley, a Chapel Hill Fire Department lieutenant, was responding to a fire alarm when he stopped his fire engine at the intersection of Estes Drive and Fordham Boulevard at 10:30pm on May 27, 2011. To his left he saw a light-colored Mercedes stopped with a window partially rolled down in pouring rain with only parking lights and the interior dome light on. He found it odd. Shatley called the police and followed the vehicle which began weaving toward oncoming traffic. Shatley had the red flashing lights of the fire truck activated and the siren blasted twice. The Mercedes pulled over." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingNorth Carolina Court To Decide Whether Firemen Can Perform Traffic Stops

6 Ways the U.S. Drug War Intrudes On Your Life, Whether Or Not You Use

"Many Americans who do not use illegal 'drugs' assume exemption from drug war policies. But regardless of how much marijuana you do or don't smoke, the U.S. war on drugs affects nearly everyone. While some prohibition tactics are more obvious than others, the drug war has slyly pushed its way into many corners of American life. Be it at the post office, in the workspace, or behind the counter at Walgreens, the war on drugs has established a nagging presence in the everyday lives of Americans, even those who do not get high illegally. Whether or not you are aware that the drug war is behind these creeping invasions, our drug policy has unequivocally curtailed basic civil rights." Continue reading →

Continue Reading6 Ways the U.S. Drug War Intrudes On Your Life, Whether Or Not You Use