statism

Obama’s Drug War: After Medical Marijuana Mess, Feds Face Big Decision On Pot

"The Department of Justice has cracked down hard on medical marijuana, raiding hundreds of dispensaries, while the IRS and other federal law enforcement officials have gone after banks and landlords who do business with them. Fours years after promising not to make medical marijuana a priority, the government continues to target it aggressively. U.S. attorneys in the states helped beat back local efforts to regulate the medical marijuana industry, going so far as to threaten elected officials with jail. The willingness of top prosecutors to use their power in brazenly political ways is, in many ways, the untold story of Obama's first-term approach to drug policy." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingObama’s Drug War: After Medical Marijuana Mess, Feds Face Big Decision On Pot

Are You a Sociopath? If So, You’d Be A Successful Prosecutor

"For several years, the federal government sought to confiscate the family-owned Motel Caswell in Tewksbury,Massachusetts. The owner, Russ Caswell, had cooperated with police investigations of suspected narcotics activity. He was never charged with a crime. Yet a DEA official filed paperwork to steal the property through asset forfeiture because of drug offenses that took place without the owner’s knowledge. Carmen Ortiz, the U.S. Attorney for Massachusetts, is reportedly considering an appeal of the ruling that dismissed the forfeiture suit against Caswell. Ms. Ortiz was the same prosecutor who drove 26-year-old internet wiz Aaron Swartz to suicide." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingAre You a Sociopath? If So, You’d Be A Successful Prosecutor

Prison for Smokers, Permits for Strippers! (Nanny of the Month, Jan ’13)

"Our nation's nannies, scolds, and buttinskies started 2013 with a renewed hunger to mind other people's business. For reminding us of how far we've come since restaurant smoking bans, the January 2013 Nanny of the Month goes to Oregon Rep. Mitch Greenlick (D-Portland)!" Continue reading →

Continue ReadingPrison for Smokers, Permits for Strippers! (Nanny of the Month, Jan ’13)

Chicago Murders Top Afghanistan War Death Toll

"The death toll by murder in Chicago over the past decade is greater than the number of American soldiers who have died in Afghanistan since the beginning of Operation Enduring Freedom. In a city with some of the toughest gun control laws in America, where a handgun cannot be purchased, Chicago Police Supt. Garry McCarthy 'acknowledged aiming at assault weapons misses the mark when dealing with Chicago’s gang violence.' 'The weapon used is generally a handgun, and rarely is it purchased through legal channels,' he said." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingChicago Murders Top Afghanistan War Death Toll

Head Start finally gets tested — and flunks

"The federal government spent more than $7.9 billion on the program in 2012 alone to provide preschool services for nearly 1 million low-income Americans. There's just one problem: It doesn't work. As the 2010 Head Start Impact Study report notes, 'the benefits of access to Head Start at age four are largely absent by 1st grade for the program population as a whole.' Specifically, the language, literacy, math and school performance skills of the Head Start children all failed to improve. Since 1965, the federal government has spent $180 billion on Head Start." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingHead Start finally gets tested — and flunks

Republican lawmaker’s bill mandates NRA gun training for Missouri first graders

"State Sen. Dan Brown on Tuesday told the Senate General Laws Committee that his bill bringing the NRA’s Eddie Eagle Gunsafe Program to every elementary school was an effort to teach children how to react if they encounter an unsecured firearm. Brown had first introduced the bill one day before 20 students were gunned down at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut. Some Missouri schools already use the NRA program, but Brown aims to make it a universal requirement." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingRepublican lawmaker’s bill mandates NRA gun training for Missouri first graders

Cops lock down Bronx elementary school after gun rumor sparked by talk about toy

"A Bronx school went into lockdown this morning after a campus aide overheard a student talking about his gun -- a toy gun it turned out, officials said. The lockdown was called off after an hour and no weapon was found at PS 4, on Fulton Avenue and East 174th Street, officials said. School officials didn’t want to take any chances so they closed down campus, as heavily armed police swarmed PS 4 to search for that student. 'It's nerve racking. There are police officers here with assault rifles and there are helicopters flying around. It's really scary out here.'" Continue reading →

Continue ReadingCops lock down Bronx elementary school after gun rumor sparked by talk about toy

Beating Obamacare: Hospitals Across Borders

"You are stuck with Obamacare if you need health insurance. If you can pay for treatment, you can get treatment far cheaper with no waiting period. Here’s how. No rationing. No standing in line. I like the hospital ship idea. Get on board, sail 200 miles outside the USA, and you get cheap, efficient care. The envy-driven politicians will scream bloody murder. 'The rich are getting good care! They can afford it. It’s just not fair!' This raises some crucial questions. How are they getting good care? 'By not having to deal with America-licensed doctors.'" Continue reading →

Continue ReadingBeating Obamacare: Hospitals Across Borders

Treasury Gets a Citibanker

"There was a time when you had to be successful on Wall Street to become secretary of the Treasury. Now along comes presidential nominee Jack Lew, whose only business credential is a stint at the most troubled too-big-to-fail bank. During the darkest days of the financial crisis Mr. Lew served as the chief operating officer of Citigroup's Alternative Investments unit (CAI). CAI no longer exists. At the end of Mr. Lew's first quarter on the job, the unit reported a $358 million loss. Things got much worse after that but Citi stopped breaking out CAI results in its earnings releases. The unit was eventually shuttered and many of its assets were sold." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingTreasury Gets a Citibanker

Why Your Town Is Going Broke

"Cook County’s Treasurer has created a website where citizens can find out how far in the hole their governments are. They are all so far in debt that future taxpayers will lose their homes, she says: 'In May, 2012, the collective debt reported by the local primary taxing agencies in Cook County was more than $140 billion! To put that in context, the total debt-per-household in the City of Chicago was $87,720, and $35,774 in the suburbs. Homeowners might be able to give their homes to their children, but that future generation won’t be able to afford to keep them because of the property taxes, which have doubled over a 10-year period.'" Continue reading →

Continue ReadingWhy Your Town Is Going Broke