statism

Medical marijuana proprietor gets 10-year prison sentence

"A man who owned several medical marijuana dispensaries in California that ostensibly operated legally under state law was sentenced on Monday to 10 years in prison on charges that he violated federal law restricting production and sales of the drug. Aaron Sandusky did not try to fight the charges, admitting to producing and selling medical marijuana in a manner approved by state law. 'I want to apologize to those with me and their families who have been victimized by the federal government who has not recognized the voters of this state,' Sandusky said in court. 'I want to apologize to the families who are suffering and who have to go through this.'" Continue reading →

Continue ReadingMedical marijuana proprietor gets 10-year prison sentence

Medical marijuana proprietor gets 10-year prison sentence

"A man who owned several medical marijuana dispensaries in California that ostensibly operated legally under state law was sentenced on Monday to 10 years in prison on charges that he violated federal law restricting production and sales of the drug. Aaron Sandusky did not try to fight the charges, admitting to producing and selling medical marijuana in a manner approved by state law. 'I want to apologize to those with me and their families who have been victimized by the federal government who has not recognized the voters of this state,' Sandusky said in court. 'I want to apologize to the families who are suffering and who have to go through this.'" Continue reading →

Continue ReadingMedical marijuana proprietor gets 10-year prison sentence

Leukemia sufferer Bob Crouse sues city over destroyed marijuana

"Finally able to return to normalcy after winning his protracted trial with the help of the public defender's office, and then winning the return of his marijuana, seized as evidence, with the pro-bono help of attorney Clifton Black, Crouse is confronting a final hurdle: repayment. The Independent has learned that on Dec. 27, Black and attorney Charles Houghton filed suit against the city of Colorado Springs for its failure, via the police department, to maintain the marijuana as required in Amendent 20. It has come out previously that the roughly 60 pounds of seized crop — some 55 plants and 6.5 pounds of matter — were worth around $307,000." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingLeukemia sufferer Bob Crouse sues city over destroyed marijuana

Leukemia sufferer Bob Crouse sues city over destroyed marijuana

"Finally able to return to normalcy after winning his protracted trial with the help of the public defender's office, and then winning the return of his marijuana, seized as evidence, with the pro-bono help of attorney Clifton Black, Crouse is confronting a final hurdle: repayment. The Independent has learned that on Dec. 27, Black and attorney Charles Houghton filed suit against the city of Colorado Springs for its failure, via the police department, to maintain the marijuana as required in Amendent 20. It has come out previously that the roughly 60 pounds of seized crop — some 55 plants and 6.5 pounds of matter — were worth around $307,000." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingLeukemia sufferer Bob Crouse sues city over destroyed marijuana

Michigan: Municipalities Ignoring Voters’ Will Regarding Marijuana Liberalization Measures

"On Election Day, voters in four cities - totaling over a million people - decided in favor of municipal initiatives to legalize or depenalize the adult use of cannabis. Sixty-five percent of Detroit voters approved Proposal M, removing local criminal penalties pertaining to the possession on private property of up to one ounce of marijuana by adults over age 21. Nonetheless, in the two months following these votes, city lawmakers have largely failed to implement any changes in law." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingMichigan: Municipalities Ignoring Voters’ Will Regarding Marijuana Liberalization Measures

Michigan: Municipalities Ignoring Voters’ Will Regarding Marijuana Liberalization Measures

"On Election Day, voters in four cities - totaling over a million people - decided in favor of municipal initiatives to legalize or depenalize the adult use of cannabis. Sixty-five percent of Detroit voters approved Proposal M, removing local criminal penalties pertaining to the possession on private property of up to one ounce of marijuana by adults over age 21. Nonetheless, in the two months following these votes, city lawmakers have largely failed to implement any changes in law." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingMichigan: Municipalities Ignoring Voters’ Will Regarding Marijuana Liberalization Measures

Obama gives himself and Michelle protection by armed Secret Service agents for rest of their lives

"President Barack Obama gave himself and his wife Michelle the benefit of armed protection for the rest of their lives by signing a bill granting a Secret Service detail to former presidents and their spouses in perpetuity. The new law, which will cost U.S. millions of dollars, is a re-instatement of a 1965 law which will see presidents protected for life as well as their children up to age 16. The bill passed the House and Senate in December. Obama, whose Secret Service codename is Renegade, joked in 2011 that he liked the fact that 'men with guns' protected his daughters, Malia, now 14, and Sasha, now 11." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingObama gives himself and Michelle protection by armed Secret Service agents for rest of their lives

A Modest Step in the Direction of Gun Control

"There is one group, I propose, that should be an exception to this rule: federal government employees. The greatest atrocities in the history of mankind have been committed by government employees during periods after guns were confiscated from 'the people.' Thus, there is clear justification for disarming them. If someone is threatening them, they should just do what they want all the rest of us to do, call the local police. And further, since they are all just 'serving' the people, in their minds, who would be shooting at them anyway? But, sometimes, government employees have an odd definition of serving the people and that's what we need to protection against them." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingA Modest Step in the Direction of Gun Control

Themes for 2013: Eight trends to follow in 2013 and beyond.

"Rather than attempt to predict the unpredictable – that is, specific events and price levels – let’s look instead for key dynamics that will play out over the next two to three years. Though the specific timelines of crises are inherently unpredictable, it is still useful to understand the eventual consequences of influential trends. In other words: policies that appear to have been successful for the past four years may continue to appear successful for a year or two longer. But that very success comes at a steep, and as yet unpaid, price in suppressed systemic risk, cost, and consequence." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingThemes for 2013: Eight trends to follow in 2013 and beyond.

Finally, the SEC Goes After a Failed Bank’s Auditors

"The Securities and Exchange Commission is finally doing something that desperately needed to be done: Suing the auditors of a failed bank that got caught cooking its books. Today the SEC’s enforcement division accused two accountants at KPMG LLP of engaging in unprofessional conduct during their 2008 audit of TierOne Corp., a Lincoln, Nebraska- based lender that had about $3 billion in assets when it collapsed in 2010. The SEC’s administrative order accuses the pair of 'failing to subject TierOne’s loan loss estimates -- one of the highest risk areas of the audit -- to appropriate scrutiny.'" Continue reading →

Continue ReadingFinally, the SEC Goes After a Failed Bank’s Auditors