"Increasingly, people are being asked to turn over and unlock their phones at the border, and doing that can expose a huge amount of data. Add in an app like 1Password — a central repository for a ton of private data — and it’s easy to see why someone would be worried about having to hand over their phone." Continue reading →
"Republicans in the House and Senate recently introduced a bill they’re calling the Back the Blue Act of 2017. The bill would create new federal crimes, impose federal police over the will of local officials and voters and shield police officers from virtually any civil liability, even in cases of egregious misconduct." Continue reading →
"The FBI’s decision to create a fake media company raises critical questions about the federal government’s practice of impersonating the press." Continue reading →
"The Republicans' concerns echo those of Coinbase and its customers, who argue the IRS does not need every single Coinbase account to carry out its audit, and that the investigation sweeps in people who have clearly done nothing wrong. The IRS investigation also comes at a time when the price of bitcoin has been on an incredible tear, climbing from $13 in 2013 to a new high of over $2,000 last week. Some Coinbase customers, however, have not sold any bitcoin at all while many others hold only a minimal amount, raising questions of why the IRS demanded information about every account." Continue reading →
"The FBI has a long record of both deceit and incompetence. Five years ago, Americans learned that the FBI was teaching its agents that the bureau 'has the ability to bend or suspend the law to impinge on the freedom of others.' This has practically been the FBI's motif since its creation." Continue reading →
"The directive instructs federal prosecutors to pursue the most serious, readily provable offense. It thus resurrects the emphasis on mandatory minimum sentencing requirements, which have required judges to impose draconian sentences for drug crimes, even when they don't believe these sentences are warranted. Sessions' memo rescinds and reverses the reforms implemented by former Attorney General Eric Holder, which urged prosecutors to charge people with low-level drug cases to avoid triggering mandatory minimum sentences. Nearly half (or 92,000) of the people in federal prison are serving sentences for drug convictions." Continue reading →
"Details are still emerging, but the plan is for this to set out a series of growing deals over the next decade that will involve more than $300 billion going to arms dealers, not just to arm the Saudis, but in extra aid to Israel to ensure their 'qualitative military edge' over the Saudis." Continue reading →
"The Israel travel ban, passed in the Knesset last month, has drawn widespread condemnation, including from mainstream Jewish organizations such as the American Jewish Committee, the Anti-Defamation League and the Reform movement. Since its establishment in 1999, Birthright has brought more than 500,000 young Jewish adults to Israel. Most of the participants in the program are college-age students. The program’s largest benefactor is billionaire casino magnate and Republican mega-donor Sheldon Adelson." Continue reading →
"The worst part of Venezuela’s tragedy is that it was so obviously predictable. Economists familiar with the work of Ludwig von Mises understood the necessary results of socialist policies. A sound money and freely floating prices provide a society with functioning markets that deliver the goods to the people. The market economy is true populism." Continue reading →
"There's just something about uniforms that garner an almost naïve trust. People trust uniforms. Most of us obey the word of those clad in uniforms to an almost Stanford Prison Experiment-esque degree." Continue reading →