Apr 09

More than 90 % of IRS “structuring” enforcements are aimed at innocent Americans

Some (but not all) Americans are aware that all banks are required to report to the IRS whenever a customer deposits or withdraws cash in the amount of $10,000 or more.

The stated aim of this federal law is to catch criminal activity such as money laundering and drug trafficking.

Often, the IRS swoops in and simply steals the money from bank accounts where someone has deposited $10,000 or more in cash.

A new report by Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA) has found that MORE THAN 90 PERCENT of the accounts and transactions which the IRS steals from are those of innocent restaurant owners, car dealers, merchants or other lawful business people. See here.

Apr 05

Snowpack in western U.S. is far above normal; while government-funded scientists say Spring is coming earlier

For years, government-funded “scientists” have been spreading hysterical apocalyptic claims about manmade global warming.

Only government can save us, these government-funded professors claim. Only by adopting socialism and empowering government can the earth be saved.

Yet glaciers and snowpack in the western U.S. is way above average as spring begins.

See here.

Apr 03

D.C. Daycare Operators Now Required to Have College Degrees

The District of Columbia has decreed that the directors of any licensed “Child Development Centers” — or day care — must have a “Bachelor of Arts (BA) in early childhood education or a BA with at least 15 semester credit hours in early childhood by Dec. 2022.”

The regs also mandate that “teachers” possess at least an “Associate of Arts (AA) in early childhood education or an AA with at least 24 semester credit hours in early childhood by Dec. 2020.” What the non-state’s Office of the State Superintendent of Education calls “assistant teachers” must have a “Child Development Associate (CDA) by Dec. 2018.”

The regs will further increase costs for the working poor and incentivize the creation of more useless, unnecessary and fake government-supported college “education” programs.

Mar 31

Justice Department has been unlawfully recording visits between prisoners and their defense lawyers

One of the most fundamental rights of a prisoner is the right to have candid attorney/client visits protected by the attorney/client privilege.

Jails and prisons assure defense lawyers that their visits with inmates will be unrecorded. Lawyers and prisoners commonly wonder (only half-jokingly) if prison facilities are secretly recording their visits. (As the courts have virtually collapsed as protectors of defendants from the government.)

Now it has been revealed that federal prison facilities at Leavenworth, Kansas–along with the U.S. Justice Department–have been recording and monitoring the visits of federal inmates with their defense lawyers.

Federal prosecutors have thus been able to know defense strategy, sabotage defenses, and otherwise wrongly convict dozens or hundreds of inmates. (The DOJ denies using the recordings for that purpose.)

See this story from a Topeka newspaper (which is quite favorable to the government).

See also this more balanced report by the Daily Beast.

The Daily Beast story reveals that CoreCivic and Securus—the two companies providing inmate phone service at the prison (at exorbitant prices)–have been accused of violating inmates’ constitutional rights at other institutions. Someone hacked Securus in 2015 and released 70,000 recordings to The Intercept, which found some 14,000 attorney-client conversations in the database.

Mar 29

Health care costs have risen 467 % over 3 decades

Crusading newsman John Stossel writes that “[b]ecause there’s no real health care market, costs rose 467 percent over the last three decades.” In fact, 7 in 8 health care dollars are now paid by Medicare, Medicaid or” insurance (which is mostly required and incentivized by government policies). See here.

Government subsidies–designed to bring health care to ‘the poor’–have drastically driven up costs.

“By contrast, prices fell in the few medical areas not covered by insurance, like plastic surgery and LASIK eye care. Patients shop around, forcing health providers to compete.”

The National Center for Policy Analysis found that from 1999 to 2011 the price of traditional LASIK eye surgery dropped from over $2,100 to about $1,700.

Mar 28

Ken Medenbach confirmed as speaker for Las Vegas symposium

Ken Medenbach, the world’s foremost authority on judicial oaths and their impacts on constitutional authority, will give a lecture at Lysander Spooner University’s upcoming April 15 symposium in Las Vegas.

Professor Medenbach has spent years studying constitutional history and will inspire and amaze the crowd with his knowledge and insights.

Medenbach was one of the “Malheur 7,” wrongly arrested and prosecuted for his role in events near Burns, Oregon in January 2016.

Mar 28

Amazing new speaker added for April 15 symposium: Kelli Stewart

Kelli Stewart, Oregon’s most provocative self-help freedom activist, mother of 4, and goat milk proponent, has been confirmed for April 15 at the West Las Vegas Public Library.

Kelli will provide an inspiring lecture on contemporary threats to American families and freedom. She will address the startling growth of power among “child protective service” agencies nationwide, and the threats imposed by the encroachment of government into our private lives.

Kelli will also speak of her own struggles as a freedom activist in the Portland area during recent criminal trials of constitutionalists. Her talk will both shock and inspire!

$6 at the door.

Mar 28

It is the longest winter on record in Maine

Maine is experiencing the longest winter in its history. Never before have parts of Maine been under 12 inches of snow continuously for so long. See here.

Mar 27

Roots, Lamb, and others to speak at Upcoming Lysander Spooner Symposium

The West Las Vegas Public Library will be the setting for an educational symposium on April 15, 2017.

The forum has the working title, “Government versus Freedom: Scholars Confront Tyranny.”

Dr. Roger Roots, J.D., Ph.D. will speak on “The Evils of Social Security.” LSU Professor of Journalism John Lamb will address the crowd with another spellbinding lecture.

Other speakers and details to be announced.

$6 at the door. Refreshments, book signings, lots of information! Be there!

Mar 27

FDA requires that all restaurant menus include calorie information, and then defines “menu” to include everything from coupons to sales ads

The diabolical reach of the federal government knows almost no bounds.

Recently, the Food and Drug Administration imposed a rule that all restaurant “menus” must include calorie data regarding every product. That rule alone imposed millions of dollars of unnecessary costs on the restaurant industry. (Many restaurants and food chains–such as McDonalds–have long been volunteering such information for their customers.)

But the government’s definition of “menu” includes most advertising and marketing materials.

FDA defines a menu as any material that lists, or has an image of, at least one standard menu item, includes the price of the item, and can be used by a customer to make an order (e.g., by including a phone number or web address).

This broad interpretation means that a majority of print advertising, including coupons, door hangers, fliers, direct mail, and circulars, will have to be calorie-labeled. See here.