. . . and would have been justifiably hanged for treason (and for war crimes) had the Republican Party lost its war on the South.  I have argued elsewhere that this is probably why they “had” to wage total war on the civilian population of their own country, killing some 50,000 Southern civilians in the process:  They knew they were war criminals, and could not risk even a stalemate. 

For the record, here’s Article III, Section 3 of the U.S. Constitution on the subject of treason:

“Treason against the United States, shall consist only in levying war against them, or in adhering to their enemies, giving them aid and comfort.”  (emphasis added).

As with all the founding documents, “United States” is in the plural, signifying that the free and independent states are united in forming a compact with each other.  Treason means levying war against the free and independent states, as the Lincoln regime did, not against the governent in Washington, D.C.  The Republican Party was born of treason.

LANDMARK HEALTH BILL PASSES HOUSE ON CLOSE VOTE
(All emphasis mine)

The Democratic-controlled House has narrowly passed landmark health care reform legislation, handing President Barack Obama a hard won victory on his signature domestic priority. A triumphant Speaker Nancy Pelosi compared the legislation to the passage of Social Security in 1935 and Medicare 30 years later. [And we all know how "solvent" those two government programs are.]

The legislation would require most Americans to carry insurance and provide federal subsidies to those who otherwise could not afford it. Large companies would have to offer coverage to their employees.* [Just what a company needs in bad economic times: another major expense. That should help it keeps its business afloat.] Both consumers and companies would be slapped with penalties if they defied the government’s mandates.

Insurance industry practices such as denying coverage because of pre-existing medical conditions would be banned, and insurers would no longer be able to charge higher premiums on the basis of gender or medical history. [Great! The gunvernment just forcibly removed probably the most important tool for an insurance company to be able to properly allocate risk in its insurance rates. That should really make private health insurance more "efficient."] The industry would also lose its exemption from federal antitrust restrictions on price fixing and market allocation. [We wouldn't want to let the market allocate resources properly; that's what we have a multi-trillion dollar indebted Federal Government for.]

It won’t be long now, folks.
____________________________
*That should be a great incentive for large companies to start replacing all of its permanent employees with temps—who would not qualify for company benefits.

The three best-read articles were Marc Faber on the real crisis ahead; Lucas Graves on conspiracy theories; and Mike Rozeff on India’s 200 ton gold buy.

“Ludwig von Mises was snubbed by economists world-wide as he warned of a credit crisis in the 1920s. We ignore the great Austrian at our peril today.” Read the whole wonderful article by Mark Spitznagel in the Wall Street Journal.

From the floor of the House of Representatives:

[Thanks to Mark Fee]

I hate to disagree with Walter on the finer applications of libertarian theory — actually, this is not true; few things are as fun as questioning one of the greats on such matters — but I believe that even if I had a kick me sign on the front of my shirt, even if I put it there, it is not a blank check for anyone to kick me. In our culture, kick me signs are never to be taken literally as permission. Similarly, if I were to say to Walter, “So shoot me, then,” or even, “So sue me [for a victimless tort],” this should not be taken literally.

More than a sign with such social baggage would have to be present to give full permission. However, if someone from an alien culture came upon the sign and kicked someone wearing it, this could mitigate the tort or at least lead us, juries, and the victim to be more understanding.

If someone truly wants to be kicked, in our cultural context, he should probably be more explicit. Similarly, a “Kiss me, I’m Irish” shirt should be read with a grain of salt, and if you do kiss someone, thinking they are Irish, and it turns out they’re not, you do not have an actionable case for breach of implicit contract, I believe.

From: Jeremiah Dyke [mailto:jeremiah_dyke@yahoo.com]
Sent: Tuesday, November 03, 2009 3:29 PM
To: Walter Block
Subject: My Guru Mentor: A thought/theory question

Lets assume I have a “kick me” sign on my back and you proceed to kick me. Is this not advertisement? In the situation where a third party is responsible for the sign who is liable for the kick? I’m sure this question comes in many varieties.

Any direction you can send me?

Dear Jeremiah:

I don’t know any publication on that. My thought is that if you have a kick me sign on your FRONT, then, I may kick you (because you’d know it was there). But, if on your back, the presumption is that someone else stuck it there; then, I’d have to get your permission before I kicked you.

Best regards,

Walter

Walter E. Block, Ph.D.
Harold E. Wirth Eminent Scholar Endowed Chair and Professor of Economics
Joseph A. Butt, S.J. College of Business
Loyola University New Orleans
6363 St. Charles Avenue, Box 5, Miller Hall 318
New Orleans, LA 70118
tel: (504) 864-7934
fax: (504) 864-7970
wblock@loyno.edu

…but didn’t know to ask. This is a store in Los Angeles called Galco’s that only sells small brand sodas. (No Coke or Pepsi here.) As the video progresses, the owner makes a number of very interesting anti-government comments in relation to the soda business and, in particular, bottle recycling.

[Thanks to Tom Woods]

UPDATE: I have been informed by an LRC reader (and customer of Galco’s) that the store does carry Coke and Pepsi—but the Coke and Pepsi that is sweetened with sugar, NOT high fructose corn syrup.

ISRAEL PROPOSES WORK CAMPS FOR ILLEGAL MIGRANTS

The government is considering establishing work camps in the south of the country, where illegal migrant workers will receive shelter, food and medical care, Army Radio reported Wednesday. In exchange, illegal migrants would perform manual labor outside the camps, but would not earn a salary. [emphasis mine]

They would stay at the camp until their asylum claims are decided, which could take months or years. [emphasis mine] The proposal, part of the effort to address the problems posed by illegal migrants, would place asylum seekers at jobs in communities in the Negev and Arava. Their salaries would go to the state, in order to fund the camps.

At the very least, I wonder if these camps will be more or less “humane” than the Japanese American internment camps that the United States built during World War II?

I noticed something very interesting at the end of this video. When you see the heads of state marching in the parade, there are no security people close to them. (If there are, they certainly aren’t nearly as close to the state officials as you normally see Secret Service agents surround a U.S. President in a crowd). Could this be because no one would dare to assassinate them and, therefore, no security is necessary? Or maybe because in Capitalist China, unlike the United States of Socialist America, the citizens are starting to realize that their government is slowly becoming irrelevant?

UPDATE: As a few LRC readers have pointed out, at the very end of the clip you can see what look like agents in the background. Even so, they are much farther away from the politicos than you would see Secret Service agents in proximity to a U.S. president in a crowd scene.

Writes Elizabeth Cameron:

Whatever else his motivations might have been, Dr. Hasan, being a psychiatrist, had instant access to his own drugs of choice; psych drugs, as you probably know, have been connected with a significant percentage of domestic mass shootings.  This point will no doubt be ignored by the media, and instead, there will be cries for more mental treatment and testing of military personnel (and more restriction of weapons), which is exactly the opposite of what they need. It is not a small problem: I have learned that overseas, where the soldiers are being medicated for stress at a dramatically increased rate, they are now losing more men to suicide than to battle.

In addition to this, any reasonable person would assume that if they went into a military installation, they would encounter people with guns.  That these people were unarmed  may indeed demonstrate the paranoia of the state, but it is just beyond stupid. Really, it just defies comprehension — a base full of soldiers, and they are all sitting ducks.

When I get to be king, every soldier on base will be required to carry a sidearm, loaded, for defense of himself and fellow personnel, and the psychs and their prescription pads will be given their walking papers.

Dr. Hasan is a total creature of the state: VA Tech, the federal “uniformed services” medical school, Walter Reed mega-hospital, single-payer psychiatrist.

Karen and Laurence, this latest example of a “lone shooter” reminds me of an oddly-similar situation from some 2 years ago, that of the supposed suicide of Colonel Ted Westhusing. It strikes me as rather coincidental as well that Major Hasan was, like Colonel Westhusing, well-educated and high-ranking. Neither of these men could accurately be categorized as an uninformed-grunt-acting-out, as was the initial party line for the torturers at Abu Ghraib. The only difference is that Westhusing killed only himself, while Hasan apparently figured he would take a few others with him. (Yes, I realize Hasan is not dead, but I’d figure that anyone who starts shooting on an army base isn’t really planning for a long vacation afterward!)
Read the rest of this entry »

Throughout my career, no soldier, regardless of rank or position, was allowed to have in his/her private possession any firearm. When I was on the rifle/pistol team I had to go to the armory to pick up my weapons for any practice or competition and return them immediately upon completion. That always struck me as unusual. While I had 24/7 access to firearms and explosives while in the combat zone, I was not allowed to possess any such item even on a military installation unless it was for training or competition. Slaves should never be allowed the means to resist.

If only he had been allowed to change his job, as in any normal human endeavor, the supposed shooter at Ft. Hood might have left in peace. Only the military claims the right to kill you or jail you for wanting to change your job, so the man was held against his will. This does not, needless to say, justify shooting others, here or overseas. He should simply have left the army. As should all soldiers destined for immoral and illegal wars.

At first it seems odd that the Army does not allow soldiers to carry weapons on base, which I discovered as a result of the Ft. Hood soldier killing. But actually not: like the old USSR, the US government distrusts its own troops. I did find it ironic to hear the job of an army phychiatrist described as “healing” and “counselling.” In fact, it is his job to use drugs and lies to convince kids who don’t want to kill more strangers who have never done anything to them, that it is a great thing to do.

UPDATE from Mark:

It’s well known by most military people that officers or soldiers who are unpopular with the other troops often get “accidentally” killed in combat situations. Ask anyone who was in Viet Nam. Military people are constantly terrified by the thought of troop revolts.

And yes, it’s not surprising that a military “mental health professional” turns into a murderer as his job was to make people feel okay about killing…I’m sure he felt great as he was pulling the trigger.

UPDATE from Mark Anderson:

I was on active duty in the Marine Corps infantry from 1995 to 1999. That you just posted about gun control in the military is rather amazing, because I was recollecting my own military experience and I knew right away how this killing spree was able to happen.

Contrary to what many people may perceive, we are not all walking around with firearms 24/7. Our weapons (i.e., firearms) were kept in a locked and guarded armory, totally inaccessible. The only time we could check out our rifle from the armory was not upon our own discretion, but if we had to go to the rifle range that week, or we were doing field training, and so forth. Unless we were doing a live-fire exercise, we were using blanks with the rifles for the training.

If somebody owned a personal firearm and they lived on base – rather than off base – they were NOT allowed to keep it in the barracks. That, too, had to be checked into the armory. Lew, Army gun control is a good way to describe. Every single one of those victims was most likely unarmed.

UPDATE from Terry Nall:

I remember how disappointed I was the first time I went to the firing range at my first duty station in the army. They have a sergeant next to you positioned so that he can grab your weapon before you can swing it around and kill your supervisor. Soldiers are inmates.

The three best-read are: 4 reasons we do not (yet) see hyperinflation, by Keith Fitz-Gerald; Walter Williams on dumb and dumber students, thanks to public ed.; and Alex Jones says Ron Paul’s gotta run in 2012, by Andrew Moran.

They cry in their mother tongue, a new study shows. (Thanks to Ralph Raico.)

What a shame that Americans are outraged about a soldier who goes on a killing spree in this country but cheer on soldiers who kill in Afghanistan because they are “defending our freedoms” and “keeping us safe from terrorists.” The truth, of course, is that the global war on terror is destroying our freedoms and creating terrorists.

Two readers have correctly pointed out two errors I had in my listing of “pen names” of various writers. Tom Wolfe’s and Oscar Wilde’s birth names were the same names under which they wrote. The “birth names” I had listed were their middle names. I found these names in a directory in which it appeared to me that the middle names were their birth names. I apologize for my errors, although I do take comfort in knowing that there is a healthy skepticism among LRC readers regarding what they read!

The Army Major who went on a killing spree at Fort Hood killed at least twelve people and injured more than thirty at present count. And his business was tending to (and “repairing”) the mindsets of the guys who were sent overseas to kill for the state. He was a psychiatrist.

The alleged shooter, Maj. Hasan, was a psychiatrist who had been recently promoted to major and transferred to Fort Hood from the Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington. Maj. Hasan’s professional specialties included post-traumatic stress disorder, combat stress and other emotional issues common to the troops implicated in earlier incidents of military fratricide. He was slated to deploy to Iraq in coming weeks, according to military officials.

If this had been a non-military incident, with some regular Joe plotting and pulling off a slaughter of dozens of people, the media coverage would be loaded with anti-gun hysterics calling for immediate gun control laws. Yet all Obama could muster was, “It’s difficult enough when we lose these brave Americans in battles overseas.” Why does no one seem interested in the mindset of an Army psychiatrist who was about to be sent to Afghanistan to fight an unwinnable war?

Do you think some intelligent young people have caught on to the lies and tricks of Obamanism? Note the books shown at 1:07 of this video from the Year of Youth. Thanks to Michael Gaddy for the link.

See John Bolton’s article in the new Hillsdale College’s Imprimis. Obama is a “neoisolationist” because he is not enough of an imperialist and a warmonger.

I am glad that Santorum wasn’t listed as a choice on the Ron Paul VP poll. See my article “Santorumism.” The only real libertarians listed on the poll are Schiff, Rockwell, the Judge, Badnarik, and Ron Paul’s son. Baldwin is a conservative protectionist and drug warrior. Palin is a warmonger. Here is a great choice who wasn’t listed:

Who should it be? You can vote. And thanks to those who voted for me. It reminds me of the people nice enough to offer me the VP slot in 2008 on the Lousiana Republican primary ballot. I turned it down in favor of Barry Goldwater, Jr.

Here are the answers:

Charles Dodgson [ Lewis Carroll]
Alexsei Peshkov [Maxim Gorki]
Publius Ovidius Nas [Ovid]
Thomas Kennerly, Jr. [Tom Wolfe]
Francois Marie Arouet [Voltaire]
Marian Cross [George Eliot]
Theodore Geisel [Dr. Seuss]
Isabella Van Wagener [Sojourner Truth]
Karen Blixen [Isak Dinesen]
Titus Livius [Livy]
Mary Woolstonecraft [Mary Shelley]
Amadine Dupin [George Sand]
George Noel Gordon [Lord Byron]
Henri Beyle [Stendahl]
Jean Baptiste Poquelin [Moliere]
Charles de Secondat [Montesquieu]
Lev Bronstein [Leon Trotsky]
Vladimir Ulyanov [Vladimir Lenin]
Jacques Thibault [Anatole France]
Quintus Horatius Flaccus [Horace]
Fingel Wills [Oscar Wilde]
Samuel Clemens [Mark Twain]
Publius Vergilius Maro [Virgil]
Leonard Schneider [Lenny Bruce]
William Porter [O. Henry]
Eric Blair [George Orwell]
Chloe Wofford [Toni Morrison]

William Thomson [Lord Kelvin]
Alisa Rosenbaum [Ayn Rand]
Butler Shaffer [Anonymous; the
noted Greek
writer]

Don’t laugh. My inbox is cluttered with versions of that suggestion, and the GOP, aimless as ever, is up for grabs.

Those considering Santorum’s prospects these days might be interested in, if not dismayed by, the latest evidence of his apparently incurable bellicosity.

Listed below are the given names of various persons with whom we are more familiar by their pen-names. What are their pen-names? I will forward the answers shortly [this is a closed-book exam, with added points given for good penmanship]:

Charles Dodgson
Alexsei Peshkov
Publius Ovidius Naso
Thomas Kennerly, Jr.
Francois Marie Arouet
Marian Cross
Theodore Geisel
Isabella Van Wagener
Karen Blixen
Titus Livius
Mary Woolstonecraft
Amadine Dupin
George Noel Gordon
Henri Beyle
Jean Baptiste Poquelin
Charles de Secondat
Lev Bronstein
Vladimir Ulyanov
Jacques Thibault
Quintus Horatius Flaccus
Fingel Wills
Samuel Clemens
Publius Vergilius Maro
Leonard Schneider
William Porter
Eric Blair
Chloe Wofford
William Thomson
Alisa Rosenbaum
Butler Shaffer

Writes Jeff Justis:

‘Unlicensed construction‘ now brings the threat of public humiliation, violence, and potential death (notice the cop with his firearm drawn and pointed at the “criminal’s” head).

Delinda Epstein, a 51-year-old Las Vegas resident, had comfortable life prior to the real estate collapse that cost her a good job with a construction company. Unemployed for more than a year, she lost her truck and home, and now lives in a tiny apartment.

Desperate to pay the rent, Epstein decided to post an ad on Craigslist offering to do small chores, run errands, and perform other odd jobs in exchange for a negotiated fee. Providing transportation was one of several services she mentioned.

Shortly thereafter, she received a call from a man identifying himself as “Richie,” who wanted to be picked up at the airport and shuttled over to Rhodes Ranch (an upscale “golf course community”). Epstein drove to the airport, picked up the man, and negotiated a $30 fee.

Immediately thereafter, a badge-wielding goon rapped on her windshield and announced that he and “Richie” were undercover officers with the Transportation Authority (TA). Epstein was slapped with a $3,800 fine for offering “unlicensed transportation services.”

Read the rest of this entry »

(Thanks to Rob Privette)

(Thanks to Minnesota Chris)

The three best-read were: Terence Gillespie on Boston T. Party’s wonderful Gun Bible; Joseph Mercola on the government-media flu coverup; and David Calderwood on your Depression job.

What would Constable Benton Fraser, the genteel,  scrupulously honest,  and self-effacing Canadian Mountie from Due South, say about this:

“A Selkirk, Man., RCMP officer denies any wrongdoing in the case of a teenage girl who says she was injured with a Taser while in police custody two years ago….

The teenager was taken into custody after she and some friends were found drunk in her parents’ van, which her mother had reported stolen.

In her statement of claim, the girl says she was put in a cell by several officers, and after punching or shoving one of them, was allegedly shoved onto the floor, knelt on by four officers, and hit with a stun gun in her thighs three times.

In the documents, Gavel admits that a stun gun was used, but only after `it became necessary to physically restrain [the girl, and] fit her with a spit mask.’

Contrary to the girl’s claims of being shocked numerous times, the documents said the Taser was `successfully applied’ only once to the inside of the girl’s thigh.” Read the rest of this entry »

U.S. NEEDS HIT SQUADS, ‘MANHUNTING AGENCY’: SPEC OPS REPORT

CIA director Leon Panetta got into hot water with Congress, after he revealed an agency program to hunt down and kill terrorists. A recent report from the U.S. military’s Joint Special Operations University argues that the CIA didn’t go far enough. Instead, it suggests the American government should set up something like a “National Manhunting Agency” to go after jihadists, drug dealers, pirates and other* enemies of the state [emphasis added].**

Lt. Col. George Crawford instead would like to see a permanent group with clear authority, training, doctrine and technology to go after these dangerous individuals. These “manhunting teams would be standing formations, trained to pursue their designated quarry relentlessly for as long as required to accomplish the mission,” he writes. Sometimes, that will mean operating “in uncooperative countries.” In those cases, the teams must be prepared “to act unilaterally, with no support or coordination with local authorities, in a manner similar to that employed by Israel’s Avner team in response to the Munich Olympics massacre.”

[Thanks to Mark Fee]
__________________________________
*I didn’t realize that “other” included drug dealers. Drug dealers are an enemy? Drug agents, perhaps.
**Will “other enemies of the state” eventually include LRC blog writers?

Headline:

U.S. TRAILS FAR BEHIND EUROPE IN INFANT MORTALITY

Opening line:

The bad news about the U.S. health system just keeps coming.

Sounds pretty terrible. But it’s actually a lie (as far as this story is concerned)—as the rest of the news story and the radio broadcast attest to. What skewers the U.S. numbers is the higher rate of deaths among preterm Black babies born in the U.S. Now before you call Al Sharpton or Jesse Jackson, it has nothing to do with “racism”—though it does have to do with race. After taking all factors into consideration, including level of education and financial status, Black women in this country (for some as yet unknown reason) have a much higher rate of giving birth to preterm babies that succumb to death. The good news is:

The U.S. actually compares favorably with Europe in survival of preemies, according to the CDC research. The problem is, there are so many more infants being born too early in the U.S. One in every eight babies born in America is born too early.

Listen here for the full story. It goes into much greater depth than the article I linked to on NPR’s website.

According to the Pentagon, most U.S. youths are unfit to serve in the military because they are too fat, too dumb, have committed too many crimes, or taken too many drugs. The silver lining? Thank God there is something to keep young people from joining the military.

Writes Todd McAdams:

I don’t know if too many readers caught it last night, but ABC’s remake of “V,” a 1983-miniseries about reptilian aliens disguised as humans that visit earth, premiered last night at 7:00 PM Central.

The Visitors look like a race of abnormally attractive humans, but beneath the cloned flesh they are ravenous and conniving reptiles that are biding their time for a hostile takeover of earth.  Their message is one of peace and mutual benefits, and most of the human population embrace their superficial lies and come to the point of almost worshipping them.

Read the rest of this entry »

I watched the first episode of ABC-TV’s new series, “V.” Judging by the first program, I think the series has potential and may reflect the network’s awareness of the depth of disaffection millions of people seem to have with the existing institutional structure. The series logo, “V,” has a similarity to the V for Vendetta film.

The “bad” guys — in the forms of beautiful people — come to earth as visitors [hence, "V"] ostensibly to benefit mankind, but insist upon obedience to their dictates. They come to solve all of mankind’s problems — to which Homo Boobus lets out a collective cheer — including providing for “universal health care.” There is a small group of dissidents who see through the scheme, pointing out to others that these people have been on earth for many years, controlling humanity through “wars and economic meltdowns.” One of the better parts of the program involved a television newscaster who had been selected by the autocrat in charge to be the exclusive voice to the world through which the “leader” would speak. When the leader informed him that his job was to put the new ruling order in the most favorable light, and to say nothing of a negative nature about them, he winced — but just for a split second — and said a few obligatory words about journalistic integrity. But when he was reminded that his failure to hew the party line would cost him the opportunity to be the only voice  through which the “visitors” will communicate to the world, he immediately becomes indistinguishable from today’s members of the mainstream media.

As this program airs on one of the leading network channels — one which has been a faithful outlet for the views of the political establishment — I shall continue to watch the series with the skepticism that should attend anyone’s expressions. At the very least, the existence of the series suggests that some segments of the mainstream media may feel themselves getting painted into a corner of their own doing and, for the sake of their survival, must at least cater to the millions of disenchanted viewers.

Lew, back in 2005, Al Gore gave a wonderful speech, virtually every line of which we libertarians would find agreeable. He condemned the war, the surveillance state, and the Bushian policy of torture and indefinite detention. I lamented on LRC that the stirring speech had

resonated poorly among liberal circles. It should be the left’s treatise, its battle cry, against Bush’s reign. Unfortunately, most liberals still seem to prefer the Al Gore of 2000, who promised ever more government spending and had just played second fiddle to Clinton is his war on the Bill of Rights, which, however cooler and quieter than Bush’s turned out to be, was damaging and terrifying and tolerated by most liberals in the 1990s.

But there was one paragraph in that speech that betrayed his totalitarianism, power hunger, and arrogance:

[S]cientific warnings about the catastrophic consequences of unchecked global warming were censored by a political appointee in the White House who had no scientific training, whatsoever. Today, one of the leading scientific experts in the world on global warming in NASA, has been ordered not to talk to members of the press, ordered to keep a careful log of everyone he meets with so that the Executive branch can monitor and control what he shares of his knowledge of global warming. This is a planetary crisis — we owe ourselves a truthful and reasoned discussion.

And this is of course Gore’s real issue: Not civil liberties, not torture, not mass murder (remember he cheered on Bush I in his killing spree of Iraqis). The one issue of global warming fascism overshadows all, especially since Gore could probably not become a billionaire through advancing peace and due process. Another reminder that we can never trust a statist politician to even be relatively decent, no matter how good he might sound compared to whoever is in power at the time.

William: Mikey’s dad was apparently well-conditioned by the government schools. He — and everyone else — ought to read Milton Mayer’s wonderful report on his experiences with ordinary German people right after World War II. Inquiring as to what it was like living under Nazi tyranny, those with whom he conversed were unanimous in their assessment, and gave Mayer the title for his book: They Thought They Were Free.

The price of gold is now pushing $1,100 an ounce, while the political establishment is in free-fall. I wish that Burt and Murray – and a handful of others – were around to see it!

After a fire erupted in his family’s home in Kent, Ohio, 19-year-old Michael “Mikey” Bartlett, Jr. suffered two sets of injuries, both of them avoidable.

His ear, head, back, and arm were burned as a result of his efforts to get his friends and family to safety.

Once outside, Mikey suffered electro-shock torture at the hands of armed tax-feeders who were otherwise content to stand in subsidized stupefaction and watch the fire without bestirring themselves to help the victims.

Shannon, Mikey’s sister, had left the house before the fire erupted. Seeing the house on flames, and a knot of police simply standing around collecting overtime, Shannon approached Sgt. Ed Wheeler and asked, “Can you guys help?”

“Yes, ma’am!” replied Sgt. Wheeler, dutifully springing into action at risk to life and limb.

Well — perhaps that version took place in some alternate reality.

Back in this dimension, Wheeler’s behavior was just what we’d expect from a tax-fattened bully: He  “laughed in my face,” recounted Shannon, calling her an obscene name and then grousing, “What the [expletive] you think we’re gonna do?” Read the rest of this entry »

There is no legal or civil recourse for innocent people framed for murder by corrupt, ambitious prosecutors. This is the position taken by respondents — including the Obama administration, 28 state governments, and “every major prosecutors organization in the country” — in a lawsuit scheduled to be heard by the Supreme Court, reports NPR.

Plaintiffs Terry Harrington and Curtis McGhee served 25 years in prison for the murder of a retired police officer in Council Bluffs, Iowa, before critical, long-buried police records were pried loose through Harrington’s persistent campaign for exoneration.

The suppressed records documented a conspiracy by police and prosecutors to suborn perjury against Harrington and McGhee while suppressing evidence that pointed at another suspect — Charles Gates.

Omaha residents Harrington and McGhee were two young black men from across the state line; Gates was a white hometown resident whose brother-in-law was a captain in the Council Bluffs Fire Department. Witnesses had seen Gates in the vicinity of the murder with a shotgun. He failed a polygraph test when questioned by the police. Yet the police let him go and focused their attention on Harrington. Read the rest of this entry »

The three best-read were: Ron Paul on being prepared for the worst; Jim Rogers on the coming currency crisis, by Lindsay Whipp; and tumeric can kill cancer cells.

Al may become the first man to rip-off a cool billion through government carbon tyranny. When a man becomes rich in the market, it is because he has been highly successful in serving consumers. When a hereditary member of the power elite like Gore becomes even richer through the state, it means he has been very successful in pushing the faces of consumers into the mud. He promotes climate lies and then poverty-producing state intervention because of the lies, and then makes big bucks from special deals with companies he helped enrich through the state. What a monster.

The Council on Foreign Relations (or as I like to call it—the Council on Fear Relations) thinks you’re crazy if you don’t want to take the swine flu shot. Below is a short video with excerpts from the full meeting that took place at the CFR. Notice (1) the lies they want to promote to sucker people into taking the vaccine and (2) the laughing of the Puppet Masters’ puppets at those of us who don’t buy into their lies.

The skiing town of Breckenridge voted Tuesday night by a margin of nearly 3 to 1 to decriminalize the adult possession of marijuana.

Breckenridge voters passed Measure 2F, which removes criminal penalties from the town code for the private possession of up to one ounce of marijuana by adults 21 and older. The ordinance also removes criminal penalties for the possession of bongs, pipes, and other drug paraphernalia.

It passed 73 percent to 27 percent.

Breckenridge has a population of 2408.

Ron’s ophthalmologist-son Rand has surged past his career-politician primary opponent, Trey Grayson, for US senate. “The Republican party in Kentucky has never seen anything like it,” says tv station WHAS.

___________________

Meanwhile, in Texas, Rick Perry is leading Kay Bailout Hutchinson by 12 points, and the Ron Paul candidate, Debra Medina, gets 7%–pretty good, given her lack of money.  (Thanks to Brad Funkhauser)