statism

2012 in Review: Biometric ID Systems Grew Internationally… And So Did Concerns About Privacy

"Around the world, systems of identification that employ automatic recognition of individuals’ faces, fingerprints, or irises are gaining ground. Biometric ID systems are increasingly being deployed at international border checkpoints, by governments seeking to implement national ID schemes, and by private-sector actors. Yet as biometric data is collected from more and more individuals, privacy concerns about the use of this technology are also attracting attention. Below are several examples of the year’s most prominent debates around biometrics." Continue reading →

Continue Reading2012 in Review: Biometric ID Systems Grew Internationally… And So Did Concerns About Privacy

High School Student Arrested for Doodling?

"A 16-year-old high schooler in Egg Harbor City, NJ, was arrested after doodling in his notebook what may have been either weapons or a magic hand with flames coming off it, or perhaps something else. Concerned by the boy’s notebook, a Cedar Creek High School staff member called the local police, who searched the school and the teen’s home with sniffer dogs. The boy was charged with possession of a weapon, an explosive device, and was placed in Harborfields Detention Center. The boy’s mother explained that her son, who had no history of violence or threat-making, regularly assembled and dissambled electronics as a hobby." Continue reading →

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Liberty Dollars banned at U.S. Numismatic Convention

"So-called Liberty Dollars, the creation of Bernard Von NotHaus and the National Organization for the Repeal of the Federal Reserve Act and the Internal Revenue Code, more commonly known by the acronym NORFED, will not be part of the April 24-27, 2013 74th Anniversary Convention of the Central States Numismatic Society in Schaumburg, Ill., according to a statement issued by convention General Chairman Kevin Foley. Although the underlying criminal conviction of Von NotHaus has been the subject of controversy and criticism, Foley said, the fact remains that the Secret Service has determined that the Liberty Dollars are counterfeit." Continue reading →

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Free Staters Not Welcome in New Hampshire

"Democratic State Rep. Cynthia Chase calls them 'the single biggest threat the state is facing today.' 'There is, legally, nothing we can do to prevent them from moving here to take over the state, which is their openly stated goal. What we can do is to make the environment here so unwelcoming that some will choose not to come, and some may actually leave. One way is to pass measures that will restrict the 'freedoms' that they think they will find here.... Cheshire County is a welcoming community but not to those whose stated goal is to move in enough ideologues to steal our state, and our way of life.'" Continue reading →

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The Continuing Exodus of Jobs – and Taxable Income – from California

"I wish I could be a fly on the wall when this moment of truth happens to California politicians. They convinced voters in the state to enact Prop 30, a huge tax increase targeting those evil, awful, bad rich people. Governor Brown and his fellow kleptocrats in Sacramento doubtlessly are salivating at the thought of more money to waste. But notwithstanding a satirical suggestion from Walter Williams, there aren’t guard towers and barbed-wire fences surrounding the state. Productive people can leave, and that’s happening every day. And they take their taxable income with them." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingThe Continuing Exodus of Jobs – and Taxable Income – from California

Washington DC’s first medical marijuana grow sites win approval

"Some 15 years after voters said yes to medical marijuana, regulators in Washington, D.C. have finally approved the first two grow sites in the district’s history. It’s taken so long mainly because Congress placed repeated delays on the program and denied it any funding, but city officials got the ball rolling again in 2010 when they unanimously votes to move forward with implementation. D.C. will eventually allow up to 10 dispensaries, and patients will be able to obtain up to two ounces of the plant per month from specially licensed doctors. Grow sites like the two approved by regulators will be limited to just 95 plants apiece." Continue reading →

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California’s New Democratic Supermajority is the Path to a Smaller America

"California, where I once lived for several years, simply makes no sense in its current configuration. Northern California has little in common with Southern California, and the rural, ag-heavy Central Valley has nothing in common with the glitzy, pricey coast. Lawmakers – who make a mockery of leadership in California – have proven time and again through the years that they’re incapable of effectively or prudently managing the diverse needs of such a diverse state. In short, California makes far more sense as three separate states … and the supermajority is quite likely the accidental path to that future." Continue reading →

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‘Ag-Gag’ Bills, Property Rights, and Common Sense

"Opposition to Ag-Gag legislation is steadfast across demographic, geographic and partisan lines. A majority of Republicans, Democrats and Independents agree that banning undercover investigations is wrong. Likewise, a majority of respondents in all regions (Northeast, Midwest, South and West) oppose the criminalization of undercover investigations at farms. Over the years I have witnessed that fact that the more people are exposed to the realities of the cruel and deplorable slop served up by the industrial CAFO system, the more they will demand quality food where animals are raised humanely and within their natural environment." Continue reading →

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One nation under drugs, with slavery and sickness for all

"More than 15,000 Americans now die annually after overdosing on prescription painkillers called opioids, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention—more than from heroin, cocaine and all other illegal drugs combined. Rising opioid abuse means that drug overdoses are now the single largest cause of accidental death in America. They surpassed traffic accidents in 2009, the most recent CDC data available. And all of this is occurring under the 'watchful' eye of the FDA." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingOne nation under drugs, with slavery and sickness for all

U.S. Courts Penetrate Domestic Asset Protection Trusts

"Building on the burgeoning popularity of offshore asset protection trusts (OAPTs), 14 U.S. states have now enacted their own 'domestic' asset protection trust (DAPT) legislation. These laws date back to the 1990s, but only in the last year have I learned of challenges to them in U.S. courts. The record is not encouraging." Continue reading →

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