statism

Americans troubled more by governmental abuse than terrorism

"In the dozen years since 9/11, frequent polling conducted by Fox has suggests that the majority of Americans have all the while said they’d give up their freedoms for the sake of security. Only with the latest inquiry though are those answers reversed: the last time a majority of Americans opposed giving up privacy for security was May 2001. Not only are Americans more opposed now to giving up personal freedoms for the sake of security than they were after 9/11, but other statistics show that distrust against the federal government continues to climb." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingAmericans troubled more by governmental abuse than terrorism

Going Postal

"Now we hear that the same USPS that cannot operate without massive financial losses -- even with a monopoly on first class mail delivery -- somehow has the resources to photograph the front and back of each piece of mail processed! They cannot deliver our mail properly, cannot operate at a profit, cannot provide anything resembling customer service beyond the 1950s East Europe model, yet somehow they have unlimited resources to play big brother with all our postal communications." Continue reading →

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Pot Is Legal, but Some Towns Won’t Partake

"More than two dozen cities and towns have already prohibited marijuana retail stores, according to the Colorado Municipal League, a lobbying group for the state's cities. Others, like Aurora outside of Denver, decided to postpone a decision on whether to allow sales. In Denver, leaders want to allow pot sales, but have said they want to push back the starting date for new businesses other than medical-pot outlets. The opt-out clause included in the Colorado pot law doesn't exist in Washington, which also legalized recreational pot last November. But local officials are using licensing and zoning to keep pot shops at bay." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingPot Is Legal, but Some Towns Won’t Partake

Dutch court finds six coffee shop owners guilty of selling cannabis to non-residents

"A Dutch court on Wednesday fined six coffee shop owners and workers for selling cannabis to non-residents, in a victory for Dutch authorities’ fight against drug tourism. Prosecutors had sought up to one-month suspended jail terms for the owners and staff of cannabis cafes in Maastricht for selling pot to foreign non-residents in defiance of a controversial law. The court was relatively lenient as the coffee shops had deliberately flouted the law because they hoped the case would set a legal precedent in their favour, arguing that the residence criterion was unconstitutional." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingDutch court finds six coffee shop owners guilty of selling cannabis to non-residents

The Surveillance State: Its Ramifications and Opponents

"Passports and visas have made traveling from one country to another an exercise that demands the approval for the most part of one's home country. It wasn't always this way. The entire passport and visa program, worldwide, has only been generated in the past half-century or so. It corresponds as well to the rise of the global state with instrumentalities such as the United Nations, International Monetary Fund, World Bank, International Criminal Court, etc. It is fairly surprising that people still insist that the globalist structure does not exist or has not expanded, for it does so on a regular basis and without formal consultations with the people it's affecting." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingThe Surveillance State: Its Ramifications and Opponents

The NSA Has All Non-Gun Show Sales in Its Files.

"On June 27, 26 United States Senators sent a letter to James Clapper, the Director of National Intelligence. The letter called attention to the fact that domestic spying by the United States government on American citizens includes the collection of information on firearms sales. The letter said the following: 'And the bulk collection authority could potentially supersede bans on maintaining gun owner databases. . . .' How comprehensive has this collection process been? It appears to have been comprehensive to the extreme." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingThe NSA Has All Non-Gun Show Sales in Its Files.

Regulation Means The Bitcoin Gold Rush Will Not Happen In The US, Say Experts

"Europe is better positioned as a better place to create Bitcoin-based startups than the US. That was the message coming out of Bitcoin London today, the first major conference in London to cover startups, investors and business models. Covering the broad sweep of Bitcoin businesses, technologists and institutions, the conference heard that the US may have made a fatal strategic mistake in classifying Bitcoin as if it were money. Bitcoin is being treated in many different ways: as money, as an asset class, as the first highly secure P2P global information exchange, as a technology platform and even as a if it were a startup entity in its own right." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingRegulation Means The Bitcoin Gold Rush Will Not Happen In The US, Say Experts

Egypt: What a Shame

"When was the last time you saw a Jiffy Lube tear gas everyone who refused to stop in? Have you ever seen a Chiropractor driving down the street shooting water cannons at people who refused his services? Every single person could make a decision that 'I'll never go to Jiffy Lube as long as I live,' and Jiffy Lube could do nothing about it. Should that decision be made by everyone, it would have no choice but to close its doors. No pickets....No chants....No fairy tales like 'making your voice heard' or 'the will of the people'. No injuries, arrests or tanks trampling over bodies. Just a simple decision not to interact...not to exchange...not to associate." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingEgypt: What a Shame

Humorless Ohio AG mugs ‘prescription’ coffee cup

"Has Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine helped get a potentially dangerous product off the shelves or does he just have no sense of humor? Maybe he should be heeding Alcoholics Anonymous’ famous Rule No. 62: 'don’t take yourself too damn seriously.' Here’s the issue: does a coffee mug that mimics a prescription bottle and says 'Prescription Coffee, RX#: VRY-CAF-N8D, Drink one mug by mouth, repeat until awake and alert' make fun of prescription drug abuse? DeWine thinks so. May was when DeWine and 22 other state attorneys general asked the company to pull the Prescription Line of glasses, coasters, mugs and drink holders." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingHumorless Ohio AG mugs ‘prescription’ coffee cup

Georgia required woman to get vaginal exam to correct birth certificate error

"A 37-year-old Georgia woman says that she was humiliated when the state told her she would need to have her vagina probed to prove she was a woman before she could renew her driver’s license. Nakia Grimes told WAGA that she never had a reason to notice that her birth certificate had incorrectly listed her gender as male. But because of new rules at the Georgia Department of Driver Services, Grimes was required to go to Vital Records Services to obtain a copy of her birth certificate before she could renew her driver’s license. That’s when the mother noticed that the document listed her as a male." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingGeorgia required woman to get vaginal exam to correct birth certificate error