Aug 28
Starving Venezuelans are circulating petitions to recall their president and other officials who impose the horrors of socialism upon them. The Venezuela Constitution provides for such recall petitions. “Nearly two million Venezuelans have signed the recall petition.” President “Maduro’s underlings are unjustly harassing and even arresting citizens circulating the recall petition — just as previous …
Jul 22
Remember those tourists to Yellowstone Park who were prosecuted and punished for picking up a freezing abandoned bison calf and trying to save it in their vehicle? The story made national news, with government officials shaming and lecturing YNP visitors to NEVER, EVER, try to save wildlife in national parks. Apparently, a whistleblower came forward …
Jul 16
“National security” is something of an oxymoron. The fabric of history shows that liberal societies in which common people have more freedom to innovate, invent, and create without oversight of the state tend to be the most secure societies. Paradoxically, societies that are ruled by a cult of government omnipotence tend to reel from crisis …
Jul 03
Federal workers are practically gods walking among us. They are so overpaid and overrewarded with benefits that they represent modern feudal overlords overseeing peasants. A new study by the GAO has found that it is not unheard of for federal employees in the Department of Homeland Security to take entire months off of work–and in …
Jul 02
“Secret government documents leaked to The Intercept by a whistleblower show that, according to official figures, 90 percent of people killed in U.S. drone strikes in a five-month period in provinces on Afghanistan’s eastern border with Pakistan were not the intended targets.” See here (Salon). And here (The Intercept).
Jun 24
It finally happened. The legislature and governor of a state (Hawaii) have approved a gun registry for all residents who possess firearms. Hawaii signed a bill Thursday to become the first state to enter gun owners into an FBI database that will automatically notify police if an island resident is arrested anywhere else in the …
Jun 23
The U.S. government has been bolstering the powers, privileges and immunities of federal employees for years. Career federal employees now get 8 weeks of PAID vacation annually. They are paid around twice what a private sector worker in the same field would make (and this does not include the paid vacation!). Federal workers are increasingly …
Jun 01
Astounding blow to privacy from the U.S. 4th Circuit Court of Appeals in Richmond, Virginia. See here. For years the government has been arguing that any information you give up to a “3rd party” is not “private.” Thus, the government may intercept it without so much as a warrant. Although warrants are necessary for government …
May 14
Two decades ago, Venezuela was a vibrant but struggling, up-and-coming democracy. The voters overwhelmingly approved of Hugo Chavez and took the country in a big-government, socialist direction. Venezuela drove out private businesses, censored the press, and imprisoned dissidents. You know, . . . to help the poor. Now the poor are poorer than ever. Mobs …
May 10
The inquisitors of the Spanish Inquisition generally began their interrogations with a single question: “Do you know why we’ve summoned you here today?” The goal behind such questions was to get the hapless subject to admit to heresy or blasphemy. Nothing has changed since the 1300s Today it has become customary for troopers who pull …
