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Scandals at NSA and IRS Are Equally Alarming | Cato Institute: "Project SHAMROCK, the NSA program that collected the content of virtually all cable traffic entering or leaving the United States from 1945 to 1975, and which “at its height would collect 150,000 messages a month, illegally.”
Using SHAMROCK, the NSA “acted as an information broker to the FBI and CIA” — which the agency referred to as its “customers.” Watchlists of potential subversives “eventually became blanket requests,” expanding to track Americans suspected of drug trafficking, as well as Vietnam War opponents, including such dangerous characters as folksinger Joan Baez and peace-activist pediatrician Dr. Benjamin Spock."
Tuesday, July 02, 2013
Pa. mom whose baby was taken away for days over poppy seed drug test settles lawsuit | Fox News
Pa. mom whose baby was taken away for days over poppy seed drug test settles lawsuit | Fox News: "Lawrence County's child welfare agency and Jameson Hospital have paid $143,500 to settle"
"Mort says a poppy seed bagel spurred a positive test for opiates in 2010. Her baby was returned five days later, after officials determined there was no evidence of drugs. Hospital policy called for giving drug tests to all obstetrics patients.
ACLU officials said Tuesday the hospital and county have implemented policy changes so newborns aren't taken from parents based only on maternal drug tests, which can be inaccurate."
"Mort says a poppy seed bagel spurred a positive test for opiates in 2010. Her baby was returned five days later, after officials determined there was no evidence of drugs. Hospital policy called for giving drug tests to all obstetrics patients.
ACLU officials said Tuesday the hospital and county have implemented policy changes so newborns aren't taken from parents based only on maternal drug tests, which can be inaccurate."
Monday, July 01, 2013
Virginia college student arrested after buying bottled water | Fox News
Virginia college student arrested after buying bottled water | Fox News: "Daly had bought a carton of water, cookie dough and ice cream at a Charlottesville store on April 11. ABC spokeswoman Kathleen Shaw says a plainclothes agent conducting a sting suspected Daly had a case of beer and identified herself to Daly."
I wonder if the identification was very good. Anyone can say that they are police. :-(
I wonder if the identification was very good. Anyone can say that they are police. :-(
If You Like The Surveillance State, You’ll Love E-Verify - Campaign for Liberty
If You Like The Surveillance State, You’ll Love E-Verify - Campaign for Liberty: "The mandatory E-Verify system requires Americans to carry a “tamper-proof” social security card. Before they can legally begin a job, American citizens will have to show the card to their prospective employer, who will then have to verify their identity and eligibility to hold a job in the US by running the information through the newly-created federal E-Verify database. The database will contain photographs taken from passport files and state driver’s licenses. The law gives federal bureaucrats broad discretion in adding other “biometric” identifiers to the database. It also gives the bureaucracy broad authority to determine what features the “tamper proof” card should contain.
Regardless of one’s views on immigration, the idea that we should have to ask permission from the federal government before taking a job ought to be offensive to all Americans. Under this system, many Americans will be denied the opportunity for work. The E-Verify database will falsely identify thousands as “ineligible,” forcing many to lose job opportunities while challenging government computer inaccuracies."
"Just as the PATRIOT Act was only supposed to be used against terrorists but is now used to bypass constitutional protections in matters having noting to do with terrorism or national security, the national ID/mandatory E-Verify database will not only be used to prevent illegal immigrants from gaining employment."
Regardless of one’s views on immigration, the idea that we should have to ask permission from the federal government before taking a job ought to be offensive to all Americans. Under this system, many Americans will be denied the opportunity for work. The E-Verify database will falsely identify thousands as “ineligible,” forcing many to lose job opportunities while challenging government computer inaccuracies."
"Just as the PATRIOT Act was only supposed to be used against terrorists but is now used to bypass constitutional protections in matters having noting to do with terrorism or national security, the national ID/mandatory E-Verify database will not only be used to prevent illegal immigrants from gaining employment."
Friday, June 28, 2013
WORLD | Lessons from the past | Marvin Olasky | Jan. 17, 2009
WORLD | Lessons from the past | Marvin Olasky | Jan. 17, 2009: "abortion on the eve of the Civil War was more frequent, in proportion to the U.S. population, than it is now"
"Roughly 160,000 abortions occurred in 1860 in a population of 30 million. Probably about 1.2 million abortions (13 percent of them through RU-486) occurred last year in a population estimated at around 307 million. The horrific current number is obviously no cause for self-congratulation, but reputable forecasters at the time of Roe v. Wade were predicting a butcher's bill of more than 4 million abortions annually by now."
"But pro-life leaders rejected the premise that an "unwelcome existence" was the only alternative to abortion. They looked at three groups of women at risk for abortions and offered programs of education, refuge, and adoption that would help women to avoid unwanted pregnancy or to recover from it, without killing a child."
"Other organizations established shelters for the pregnant and unmarried: By 1895 Chicago had a dozen, including the Life and Hope Mission, the Rescue Mission, Beulah House, the Jewish Home for Girls, and Boynton Refuge Home. One refuge, the Home for the Friendless, cared for 1,291 women in 1893."
"Evangelists such as Dwight Moody made sure they had the names and addresses of families willing to provide a spare room in their homes to young prostitutes who found themselves pregnant and chose to leave the trade."
"Realizing that this is a fallen world, they appreciated the educational impact of anti-abortion laws but did not expect much in the way of enforcement: Instead, they concentrated on ways to provide women with compassionate alternatives to abortion. They were not laid low by a sense of failure when, despite their efforts, many unborn children died. They rejoiced that so many were saved."
"Laws against abortion assisted the pro-life movement but were not its primary focus of attention. Beginning with Connecticut in 1821, state after state passed laws against abortion, with exceptions to save the life of the mother; by the 1870s, every state had such laws, but they were largely ignored"
"Many states gave immunity to women from all criminal liability, partly because women pregnant after seduction were considered desperate victims rather than perpetrators, and partly to attain any kind of edge in prosecution. Other states, such as New Jersey and New York, gave women immunity from prosecution in exchange for testimony."
"Today, it's still worthwhile to pass laws restricting abortion, but time and money spent on providing and promoting compassionate alternatives saves more lives."
"Roughly 160,000 abortions occurred in 1860 in a population of 30 million. Probably about 1.2 million abortions (13 percent of them through RU-486) occurred last year in a population estimated at around 307 million. The horrific current number is obviously no cause for self-congratulation, but reputable forecasters at the time of Roe v. Wade were predicting a butcher's bill of more than 4 million abortions annually by now."
"But pro-life leaders rejected the premise that an "unwelcome existence" was the only alternative to abortion. They looked at three groups of women at risk for abortions and offered programs of education, refuge, and adoption that would help women to avoid unwanted pregnancy or to recover from it, without killing a child."
"Other organizations established shelters for the pregnant and unmarried: By 1895 Chicago had a dozen, including the Life and Hope Mission, the Rescue Mission, Beulah House, the Jewish Home for Girls, and Boynton Refuge Home. One refuge, the Home for the Friendless, cared for 1,291 women in 1893."
"Evangelists such as Dwight Moody made sure they had the names and addresses of families willing to provide a spare room in their homes to young prostitutes who found themselves pregnant and chose to leave the trade."
"Realizing that this is a fallen world, they appreciated the educational impact of anti-abortion laws but did not expect much in the way of enforcement: Instead, they concentrated on ways to provide women with compassionate alternatives to abortion. They were not laid low by a sense of failure when, despite their efforts, many unborn children died. They rejoiced that so many were saved."
"Laws against abortion assisted the pro-life movement but were not its primary focus of attention. Beginning with Connecticut in 1821, state after state passed laws against abortion, with exceptions to save the life of the mother; by the 1870s, every state had such laws, but they were largely ignored"
"Many states gave immunity to women from all criminal liability, partly because women pregnant after seduction were considered desperate victims rather than perpetrators, and partly to attain any kind of edge in prosecution. Other states, such as New Jersey and New York, gave women immunity from prosecution in exchange for testimony."
"Today, it's still worthwhile to pass laws restricting abortion, but time and money spent on providing and promoting compassionate alternatives saves more lives."
Gitmo & National Security Courts: Poor Law, Poor PR | Cato Institute
Gitmo & National Security Courts: Poor Law, Poor PR | Cato Institute: "Federal courts are fully able to handle such cases. They have successfully prosecuted over a hundred terrorism cases since 9/11, attaining over a 90 percent conviction rate. Using the Classified Information Procedures Act (CIPA), federal courts can exclude classified information or offer it in a redacted or unclassified version to protect government interests. Federal courts have proven flexible and successful with CIPA, special detention rules, jury security measures, and exceptions to domestic law that mean we won’t have to read Miranda rights to future detainees."
A Future of Private Roads and Highways - Walter Block - Mises Daily
A Future of Private Roads and Highways - Walter Block - Mises Daily: "If the highways were now commercial ventures, as once in our history they were, and upward of 40,000 people were killed on them annually, you can bet your bottom dollar that Ted Kennedy and his ilk would be holding Senate hearings on the matter. Blamed would be "capitalism," "markets," "greed," i.e., the usual suspects."
The Dangers Of The Drinking Age | Cato Institute
The Dangers Of The Drinking Age | Cato Institute: " A policy imposed from on high, especially one that is readily evaded and opposed by a large fraction of the citizenry, is virtually guaranteed to fail."
Teen Strip-Search Case Heads to U.S. Supreme Court | Fox News
Teen Strip-Search Case Heads to U.S. Supreme Court | Fox News: "Savana Redding was 13 years old when she was told to remove her clothes for a strip search by school officials looking for two ibuprofen pills."
"Strip searches of children produce trauma similar in kind and degree to sexual abuse,"
How can anything think it is ok to strip search someone for something so insignificant as 2 ibuprofen pills?!?!
"Strip searches of children produce trauma similar in kind and degree to sexual abuse,"
How can anything think it is ok to strip search someone for something so insignificant as 2 ibuprofen pills?!?!
Main Street Should Embrace Globalization | Cato Institute
Main Street Should Embrace Globalization | Cato Institute: "Free trade means we can buy fresh-cut flowers from Colombia in the middle of winter, along with fresh fruit from Chile and fresh vegetables from Mexico."
"A 2008 study found that trade with China has helped to offset nearly a third of the official rise in income inequality from 1994 to 2005. Lower prices on goods imported from China have more than compensated for any downward pressure on low-skilled wages because of U.S.-China trade."
"A 2008 study found that trade with China has helped to offset nearly a third of the official rise in income inequality from 1994 to 2005. Lower prices on goods imported from China have more than compensated for any downward pressure on low-skilled wages because of U.S.-China trade."
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