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“Hundreds of opponents of Democratic economic and health-care policies are assembling in America’s country music capital for the National Tea Party Convention. The gathering at the Gaylord Opryland Hotel in Nashville, Tennessee, is billed as the first formal national meeting of a grassroots movement formed last year amid protests over policies pushed by President Barack Obama and Democrats in Congress.” (02/04/10) Link: http://tinyurl.com/ylg9zrd | |
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“The National Secular Society (NSS) has said it would mount a protest campaign against the Pope’s visit to Britain following the Pontiff’s attack on equality laws. The campaign would be made up of gay groups, victims of clerical abuse, feminists, family planning organisations and pro-abortion groups among others. NSS president Terry Sanderson said: ‘The taxpayer in this country is going to be faced with a bill of some £20 million for the visit of the Pope. A visit in which, he has already indicated, he will attack equal rights and promote discrimination.’” (02/02/10) Link: http://tinyurl.com/yhhol9o | |
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“Moscow police detained some 100 people, including several prominent opposition leaders, after an unsanctioned rally in downtown of the Russian capital, a police official said. … The protesters said they gathered to show that the authorities are violating the Russian Constitution, which grants the right to assemble peacefully.” (01/31/10) Link: http://en.rian.ru/russia/20100131/157731752.html | |
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“Iran on Thursday hanged two men convicted of trying to topple the country’s clergy-led regime, the first known executions of opposition activists since unrest broke out following June’s disputed presidential elections, the Web site of state television reported. The report identified the two men as Mohammad Reza Ali Zamani and Arash Rahmanipour, and said they were convicted of trying to topple ‘the Islamic establishment’ and of membership in armed opposition groups.” (01/28/10) Link: http://tinyurl.com/yjj7om5 | |
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“A high school student found to have marijuana in the classroom would seem to be a prime candidate for a little ‘talk’ with the vice principal — and maybe a trip to the police station. But around the country today, hundreds — perhaps thousands — of high schoolers are bringing pot to school, and they’re doing it legally. Not to get stoned, but as part of prescribed medical treatment. And they don’t have to tell school authorities about it. This is putting teachers and principals in a new and challenging position. In many counties and school districts, there are no clear guidelines — for school officials, students or parents.” [since in some schools having nasal spray is “zero tolerance” grounds for suspension, this only clouds the horizon a bit more - SAT] (01/23/10) Link: http://tinyurl.com/yc26y8w | |
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“All portions of a criminal trial must be open to the public, including selection of the jury, the US Supreme Court ruled on Tuesday. In an unusual summary order, the high court ruled 7 to 2 in favor of a convicted cocaine trafficker who claimed that his right to a public trial was violated when a judge in Georgia barred members of the public from the courtroom during jury selection. At the time, there was only one observer in the courtroom — defendant Eric Presley’s uncle. Mr. Presley’s lawyer objected to excluding members of the public. But the judge said there wasn’t enough room in the courtroom for the 42 prospective jurors as well as public observers.” (01/19/10) Link: http://tinyurl.com/ydzhg4p | |
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Text of a press release concerning the complaint filed with the International Criminal Court by Professor Francis A. Boyle of the University of Illinois College of Law versus George W. Bush, Richard Cheney, Donald Rumsfeld, George Tenet, Condoleezza Rice, and Alberto Gonzales. The complaint specifies alleged crimes against humanity and claims that the although the US is not party to the treaty empowering the ICC, the ICC has jurisdiction since the alleged crimes involved member states. (01/19/10) Link: http://www.afterdowningstreet.org/node/49394/ | |
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“Thousands of demonstrators gathered in southeast Houston today to protest the opening of a new Planned Parenthood clinic. The building is located on the Gulf Freeway near the University of Houston. Protestors are calling it an ‘abortion super center.’” (01/18/10) Link: http://abclocal.go.com/ktrk/story?section=news/in_focus&id=7225643 | |
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SCOTUS’s next frontier: You signed a petition; should your name be public?
Source: Christian Science Monitor “The US Supreme Court will take up a First Amendment challenge to a court order to release the names of people who signed a petition to repeal Washington State’s same-sex domestic partnership law. Boxes filled with signatures for Referendum 71 line the walls in a basement at the Secretary of State’s Office in Olympia, Wash. Whether petition signers’ names should be available to the public has become an issue for the US Supreme Court to decide. On Friday, the justices agreed to enter the divisive dispute and decide whether the names of petition signers must be released under a state public records law or instead must be kept private to protect the signers’ right to engage in political speech and political association.” (01/17/10) Link: http://tinyurl.com/yalcowz | |
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I have been unable to post since January 10. There are a few stories on the website posted by our other editors. One of my dogs, my Irish setter Ginger, suddenly became very ill Jan.9 and was diagnosed with lymphoma, she has been in a canine oncology hospital since Wed and I have barely been able to keep my household (animal and human) and day job going, so Rational Review gave me ‘time off’. I hope to be able to return to posting this week. Link: http://rationalreview.com/land | |
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“After a recent attempted terrorist attack set off a debate about full-body X-rays at airports, a new McClatchy-Ipsos poll finds that Americans lean more toward giving up some of their liberty in exchange for more safety. The survey found 51 percent of Americans agreeing that ‘it is necessary to give up some civil liberties in order to make the country safe from terrorism.’ At the same time, 36 percent agreed that ’some of the government’s proposals will go too far in restricting the public’s civil liberties.’ The rest were undecided or said their opinions would depend on circumstances.” (01/13/10) Link: http://www.mcclatchydc.com/nation/story/82156.html | |
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“The parents of a 4-year-old boy disciplined for having long hair have rejected a compromise from a Texas school board that agreed to adjust its grooming policy. The impasse means pre-kindergartner Taylor Pugh will remain suspended in school, sitting alone with a teacher’s aide in a library. He has been sequestered from classmates at Floyd Elementary School in Mesquite, a Dallas suburb, since late November. After a closed-door meeting Monday, the Mesquite school board decided the boy could wear his hair in tight braids but keep it no longer than his ears. But his parents say the adjustment isn’t enough for Taylor, who wears his hair long, covering his earlobes and shirt collar. His mother, Elizabeth Taylor, said she’ll pull back Taylor’s hair in a ponytail, acknowledging the style will keep him suspended.” [editor’s note: Perhaps the dumbest news story of the week, but somehow worthy of note - SAT] (01/13/10) Link: http://tinyurl.com/ybp9kaa | |
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“The Senate on Tuesday passed a bill to delay a law requiring a paper trail on voting machines until the 2012 election cycle. The 22-10 vote was the chamber’s second run at the measure after it failed to gain a majority by one vote on the last day of last year’s legislative session. As much as $37 million in federal funding is available under the Help America Vote Act — passed in the aftermath of Florida’s 2000 general election debacle — to buy the machines in Tennessee. But several county election officials, including dozens who watched from the Senate gallery, have raised concerns that costs may exceed the federal funding.” (01/12/10) Link: http://tinyurl.com/yc949t6 | |
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“A tax evader convicted of amassing an arsenal of weapons was sentenced yesterday to 37 years in federal prison in a hearing punctuated by him laughing and chiding the judge and prosecutors. An attorney for Ed Brown had argued that his client suffers from a delusional disorder and asked for the minimum mandatory sentence of 30 years, saying it was enough and amounted to a life sentence for the 67-year-old Brown. Prosecutors sought a sentence of almost 50 years. US District Judge George Singal found Brown competent and said he decided on the sentence because Brown seemed unrepentant.” [editor’s note: “Unrepentant?” Is this Singal a priest? “Delusional disorder?” Because he still wants them to show him where in the true law of the land (umm, the Constitution) not making a “voluntary donation” (IRS’s own terms) is somehow “illegal?” - SAT] (01/12/10) Link: http://tinyurl.com/y88v5c5 | |
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“Congressional negotiators and White House officials are moving forward with plans to add the repeal of Don’t Ask Don’t Tell to the upcoming defense authorization bill, Democratic sources tell the Huffington Post. In Congress, members are being whipped to ensure that the votes will be there for passage, should the legislation be placed in the bill. At this juncture, aides say, the prospects look good. Meanwhile, a source close to the White House says the president has instructed the Defense Department that he believes the repeal of DADT should be placed in the authorization bill. However, disagreements could emerge when it comes to crafting the actual legislative language.” (01/12/10) Link: http://tinyurl.com/ydq8769 | |
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“Simon Glik, a lawyer, was walking down Tremont Street in Boston when he saw three police officers struggling to extract a plastic bag from a teenager’s mouth. Thinking their force seemed excessive for a drug arrest, Glik pulled out his cellphone and began recording. Within minutes, Glik said, he was in handcuffs. ‘One of the officers asked me whether my phone had audio recording capabilities,’ Glik, 33, said recently of the incident, which took place in October 2007. Glik acknowledged that it did, and then, he said, ‘my phone was seized, and I was arrested.’ The charge? Illegal electronic surveillance.” [editor’s note: Cops watching you, and using every means to put you away? Upholding the law. You doing the same to them, when they violate rights? Breaking same - SAT] (01/12/10) Link: http://tinyurl.com/yaslz7h | |
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“Freedom House, a U.S.-based organization that monitors democracy and political rights world wide, says global freedom declined last year for the fourth consecutive year. Although the group says there were some improvements, last year’s slump represents the longest continuous decline in the nearly 40-year history of the report. Freedom House says that whether it was the brutal repression of demonstrators in Iran, the sweeping detention of activists in China or the murder of journalists and human rights advocates in Russia, 2009 was a year that was marked by intensified repression of human rights defenders and civic activists.” (01/12/10) Link: http://tinyurl.com/yhardcm | |
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“Five activists filed a ballot initiative Monday that would legalize all adult marijuana possession, manufacturing and sales under Washington state law — one of the most sweeping efforts at changing marijuana laws around the country this year. Its sponsors include two Seattle lawyers and the director of Seattle’s annual Hempfest. They call themselves Sensible Washington, and say that in a time of dire budget woes, the state government should stop spending money on police, court and jail costs for people who use or produce marijuana.” (01/11/10) Link: http://tinyurl.com/y8nq273 | |
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“With its idyllic views and wide expanses of pristine sand, Goose Rocks Beach has lured strollers, swimmers, and softball players for more than a century. Now, in a bare-knuckled lawsuit that has pitted neighbor against neighbor, beachfront residents are invoking Colonial law to affirm their private property rights on a 2-mile crescent that the public has used freely for decades. … Waterfront residents trumpet the suit as a principled stand for property rights, which have extended to the low-water mark since the reign of King Charles I. … But to many townspeople without a front-row view of the Atlantic, the court action is a selfish and cynical effort to hoard a precious piece of natural beauty.” [editor’s note: Hard to get much clearer cut on an issue; does property ownership mean anything, or not? - SAT] (01/10/10) Link: http://tinyurl.com/ybtsrfn | |
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“Paul Watson and his antiwhaling Sea Shepherd Conservation Society are keeping up the pressure after the collision earlier this week between their high-tech speedboat the Ady Gil and a larger vessel pulling security for a Japanese whaling fleet in the Southern Ocean. On Friday, Sea Shepherd filed a legal complaint against the Japanese whaling fleet in the Netherlands, where Mr. Watson’s flagship, the Steve Irwin, is registered. ‘We filed a complaint for criminal prosecution with our prosecutor, requesting the start of an investigation into what we consider to be a crime — piracy, actually — committing violence on the high seas,’ Liesbeth Zegveld, a legal adviser for the group, told Reuters.” (01/08/10) Link: http://tinyurl.com/yf9u4ud | |
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“Defiant anti-whaling activists on Friday vowed to fight on after their high-tech superboat sank in Antarctic seas following a collision with a Japanese ship. Peter Hammarstedt, first officer of the Sea Shepherd group’s ‘Bob Barker’ ship, said the celebrated ‘Ady Gil’ was abandoned in the Southern Ocean after a tow line snapped. … Footage of the incident showed the ‘Shonan Maru 2′ ploughing across the New Zealand-registered Ady Gil’s bow and firing water cannon while its crew dived for safety.” (01/07/10) Link: http://tinyurl.com/yc52jc7 | |
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“At least nine Detroit area high school juniors are in trouble for wearing sweat shirts bearing a design that evokes the terrorist attacks that destroyed the World Trade Center’s Twin Towers. Dearborn Public Schools spokesman David Mustonen has told The Detroit News and Detroit Free Press that the shirts the boys wore to Edsel Ford High School on Monday are ‘offensive’ and in ‘poor taste.’ The boys are Arab-American, as are about half the school’s 1,700 students.” (01/06/10) Link: http://tinyurl.com/yasseqf | |
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“Politicians, police chiefs and Muslim groups yesterday added their voices to the controversy surrounding the threat by a group of Islamic extremists to march through Wootton Bassett, the market town which has become the grieving focal point for Britain’s war dead. Plans by Islam4UK to parade through the town carrying empty coffins to symbolise those ‘mercilessly murdered’ in Iraq and Afghanistan have outraged the Home Secretary so much that he said he would have no hesitation in backing any request by Wiltshire police and the local authority to ban the march.” (01/06/10) Link: http://tinyurl.com/ylbxnek | |
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“A judge in Dickson County, Tenn., had officers pull a spectator out of his courtroom ‘on a hunch,’ held him in custody and made him submit to a urinalysis for drugs, the man claims in Federal Court. Benjamin Marchant claims that General Sessions Judge Durwood Moore admitted that he ‘routinely drug-screens ’spectators’ in his courtroom if he ‘thinks’ they may be under the influence of drugs or alcohol.’ Moore allegedly called it the ‘routine policy of the court.’ Marchant says he was in Moore’s courtroom supporting a friend, when Moore ordered officers to take him into custody. They grabbed Marchant, allegedly without any evidence of illegal behavior, and took him to a different place in the courthouse where he was made to submit to a drug screen urinalysis. He was released from custody when the results came back negative.” (01/04/10) Link: http://www.courthousenews.com/2010/01/04/23297.htm | |
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“The world reacted with a mixture of confusion and hostility yesterday to new US rules saying that people who come from any of the 14 nations on a ‘black list’ of countries alleged to be hotbeds of terrorism must now undergo intense security screening at airports across the world. The measures, announced late Sunday night and which took effect yesterday, mean citizens of the designated countries will be pulled aside for pat-downs and extra hand-baggage searches, no matter where they are travelling from. Their luggage and clothing will be checked for traces of explosive and they will be required to pass through controversial full-body screeners at airports equipped with the machines.” (01/04/10) Link: http://tinyurl.com/ycelq79 | |
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“MI5 faces accusations that its officers have blackmailed and harassed vulnerable immigrants living in Britain as part of a campaign to recruit spies to report on Muslim communities. In one case, a man who escaped persecution in Africa where members of his family were murdered claims that for the past nine months he has been harassed by MI5 agents who have tried to force him to work for the Security Service.” (01/04/10) Link: http://tinyurl.com/ycd7nr7 | |
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“Fifty-two unmarried couples could face charges of sexual misconduct and jail terms after being caught in hotel rooms by Malaysia’s Islamic morality police. Scores of officers conducted raids on budget hotels on New Year’s Day in the western state of Selangor. Those detained in the early hours of New Year’s Day were mainly students and young factory workers. The Muslim couples are expected to be charged with the offence of close proximity, or Khalwat.” (01/04/10) Link: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/8439899.stm | |
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“As laws go, Ohio’s limit on wine purchases appears to be simple: ‘No family household shall purchase more than 24 cases of 12 bottles of 750 milliliters of wine in one year.’ That’s 288 bottles per year — plenty for most people. But it raises questions if you’re a collector, entertain a lot or just prickle at the thought of another government regulation. How do they know how much wine I buy? Why do they care? How many cases have I purchased this year?” (01/03/10) Link: http://tinyurl.com/yh7wsar | |
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“Every time word spreads that Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio is conducting one of his controversial crime sweeps, Lydia Guzman drives to the scene to see for herself. The rumors often turn out to be false. But when they are true, Guzman, an advocate for immigrant and civil rights, springs into action, sending a wave of text messages to a wide network of contacts, who in turn forward the texts to their own contacts. Guzman is the trunk of a sophisticated texting tree designed to, within minutes, alert thousands of people throughout the Valley to the details of Arpaio’s crime sweeps, which critics contend are an excuse to round up illegal immigrants.” (01/03/10) Link: http://tinyurl.com/ycm6d3y | |
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Happy New Year, y’all!Commentaries on The criminalization of protest, The people’s priest,One day we’ll all be terrorists, Decriminalize political speech,A decade of unfreedom and The cure …. In the news, Massachusetts Mum calls police on gamer son, Activists decry wild horse roundups, UK Government demands action to close the nursery school gender gap, Colorado resort legalises cannabis, and Arizona Activist sentenced to community service for “littering” til next week for freedom Mary Lou Link: http://rationalreview.com/land | |
Commentary
jump to News Section | jump to Action Items Section
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Bottom up resistance to the GOP’s attempted top down takeover of the tea party movement
Source: Poli-Tea Author: d.eris “Is it possible that the GOP’s public hijacking of the tea party movement could turn out to be a grave strategic error? Is it possible that the attempted coup will solidify resistance to the co-optation of the movement by the representatives of the establishment parties and their political apparatus? One thing is certain: if tea party activists do not fight to maintain their political independence, they will soon find themselves deprived of it.” (02/08/10) Link: http://tinyurl.com/yj8evvy | |
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“I appreciate that ending Prohibition is not everyone’s cuppa, and some local activists may be hesitant to support this issue. To them, I say, Big Mike’s act of civil disobedience — smoking a joint in public — is not what he was arrested for, he was arrested for touching a tax-feeder. He is a political prisoner. He is a poster child for abuse of power. Your support would be against the system itself, against their incessant bullying. They arrest and terrorize peaceful people for victimless crimes because they can. Because we let them.” (02/03/10) Link: http://www.fr33agents.com/2158/are-you-willing-to-get-arrested/ | |
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“After years of being ruled by governments even more destructive than usual, Haiti was far less prepared for the recent earthquake than it could have been. Not inclined to let a serious crisis go to waste, the United States government and the business interests it works with will combine essential lifesaving work with efforts to gain control of Haiti’s future. The alternative to the deprivation of social control and the disasters it will cause is mutual aid.” [editor’s note: Please support Mutual Aid Disaster Relief for Haiti at http://herbs4orphans.org! - TLK] (01/18/10) Link: http://c4ss.org/content/1727 | |
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“If you have been thinking about leaving the mainstream economy, this might be an excellent time. Instead of getting a job and reporting your income, consider starting a business or a non-profit that never makes any earnings. If that business also doesn’t employ anyone, there are essentially no forms to fill out, no taxes to file with the feral gummint. In some states, there is no sales tax. In many, services are not subject to sales tax.” (01/17/10) Link: http://www.ncc-1776.org/tle2010/tle553-20100117-02.html | |
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“Why is it? People who would never click on a suspicious email link or fall for other phishing ploys think nothing of turning over intimate details about themselves and their family members to strangers who hand them official-looking forms, like bank clerks or doctors or almost anyone from the government. When you click on an email link that collects personal data, you take the risk that the info will be used without your knowledge for purposes of which you may not approve or which may harm you. When you hand the same info to banks or hospitals or a government agency (e.g. the post office), it is a given that they will share it automatically or at the request of virtually any other government agency: child protective services, the IRS, the police … If you do not wish any of the those agencies to know certain personal data — e.g. your income level, do you own a gun, your religion, etc. — then do not tell any agency.” (01/12/10) Link: http://www.wendymcelroy.com/news.php?extend.3001 | |
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“The anti-choice lobby’s claim that abortions always impact on women’s mental health is moralism masquerading as science.” (01/06/10) Link: http://www.spiked-online.com/index.php/site/article/7906/ | |
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“2,600 years ago the Chinese philosopher Lao Tzu wrote, ‘Victory in war is a funeral procession.’ As a young boy in Vietnam, I won my victory and I shuffled in the procession. Beginning in the spring of 1968 I spent three months in various military hospitals and during that time I saw a ghoul’s gallery of the hideously wounded. I saw the psychological impacts of physical mutilation and how phony the distinction is between the two. If you wish to experience not just ‘trauma’ but real pain and suffering, whack your thumb with a roofer’s hammer. Smash you[r] thumb and see how that affects your psychological well-being. Now imagine taking three machine gun rounds through the belly and surviving. Imagine getting your jaw and nose blown off and surviving. When you’re young and looking forward to a lifetime of pain, disability and poverty, wearing your battlefield Badges of Honor doesn’t feel like such a privilege. Almost inevitably, PTSD is the result.” (01/07/10) Link: http://counterpunch.org/patterson01072010.html | |
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Freedom to Build: Frontier Centre looks at Canada’s homeless problem
Source: The Shotgun Blogs Author: Matthew Johnston “The Frontier Centre for Public Policy today released a backgrounder on Canada’s homeless population. It examines the role of regulation in reducing the supply of low-cost housing. ‘Freedom to Build,’ written by researcher Fergus Hodgson. … The study notes that the policy responses to affordable housing, while numerous, have not addressed the primary cause: the restrained supply of private housing, which for the last two decades has been a significant reason the homeless proportion of the population has grown so rapidly.” (01/06/10) Link: http://tinyurl.com/yckg2x7 | |
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“Remember Eric Williamson? He was the Fairfax, Virginia man arrested for making coffee while naked and alone in his own kitchen last October. Apparently, he was ‘viewed’ by a woman and her 7-year-old who were taking a shortcut near or through his property, which allowed them a clear view of Williamson’s nudity through his own window. Rather than apologize, rather than knock on his door to complain or just shrug it off, the woman called the police to report a pervert and Williamson now faces a year in jail. Of course, the woman was the wife of a police officer so appealing to a gun-toting authority is probably what she does when a lightbulb needs changing.” (01/07/10) Link: http://www.wendymcelroy.com/news.php?extend.2983 | |
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Holidays with the Heimatsicherheitsministerium
Source: The Libertarian Enterprise Author: Francis A Ney, Jr. “This is the face of Homeland Security (which sounds better in the Original German). Osama Bin Laden is pissing his pants laughing. Where else can you send a few thousand dollars and a patsy and cause an entire government department to collectively spin their heads like a bad horror movie?” (01/04/10) Link: http://www.ncc-1776.org/tle2010/tle551-20100103-04.html | |
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“How do we stop this constant cycle of violence that is perpetrated, fomented and encouraged by the U.S. Empire? We have to realize that the people of Yemen have the same existential imperative as do the 300 travlers aboard the flight from Amsterdam to Detroit!. … I have dubbed 2010 the YEAR OF RESISTANCE and we must sacrifice some of our creature comforts for peace — not just peace here at home, but most of all, peace abroad!” (01/05/10) Link: http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article24330.htm | |
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“‘We need to make it clear,’ fulminated Patrick Lynch of the New York City Policeman’s Benevolent Association, ‘that if someone lifts even a finger against a police officer, their life could be on the line.’ Taken literally, this would make a capital offense out of a familiar disrespectful gesture, a salute that is entirely appropriate when directed at officious tax-grazers of Lynch’s ilk. It is scarcely an exaggeration to say that Lynch perceives criticism of the police as a species of crime. A little more than a decade ago, Lynch (whose surname appears to be one of God’s little in-jokes) attempted to manufacture public outrage over Bruce Springsteen’s song ‘American Skin (41 Shots).’ That ballad described the death of unarmed African immigrant Amadou Diallo, who was perforated by 19 bullets fired by NYPD officers in a perfectly avoidable eruption of gunfire.” (01/03/10) Link: http://tinyurl.com/y8s9ng5 | |
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“Something odd, almost bizarre, is going on in Egypt these days. About 1400 activists from all over the world gathered there on their way to the Gaza Strip. On the anniversary of the ‘Cast Lead’ War, they intended to participate in a non-violent demonstration against the ongoing blockade, which makes the life of 1.5 million inhabitants of the Strip intolerable. At the same time, protest demonstrations were to take place in many countries. In Tel-Aviv, too, a big protest was planned. The ‘monitoring committee’ of the Arab citizens of Israel was to organize an event on the Gaza border. When the international activists arrived in Egypt, a surprise awaited them. The Egyptian government forbade their trip to Gaza. Their buses were held up at the outskirts of Cairo and turned back.” (01/04/10) Link: http://counterpunch.org/avnery01042010.html | |
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“For years there have been rumors on the Internet (sometimes accompanied by photographs) about ‘relocation camps’ being prepared here in America, ostensibly to help deal with large-scale emergencies like Hurricane Katrina, but actually for the purpose of dealing with dissenters. … Is any of it true? I have no idea, which is what this article is all about.” (01/04/10) Link: http://www.ncc-1776.org/tle2010/tle551-20100103-02.html | |
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“Yes it’s true! I’ve put together an E Book on how to survive the end of the world as we know it! And it’s available for sale today! Don’t miss this chance to grab your copy at the special price of zero dollars! That’s right! My E Book is absolutely FREE!” (12/31/09) Link: http://tinyurl.com/y8wnzog | |
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After the collectivist winter will come the spring
Source: Las Vegas Review-Journal Author: Vin Suprynowicz “The vacant storefronts, the unbelievable new initiatives to make air travel even more onerous and unattractive to foreign tourists (who already have to be fingerprinted, prodded, strip-searched, and otherwise humiliated before being allowed to bring their money here) — all make the search for truly hopeful signs a task for those who can step back and take a long view. … But for those who can hang on till 2020 — I hope you salted away some gold, some silver, and some guns — spring will come.” (01/03/10) Link: http://tinyurl.com/yapap4f | |
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“But the English and Scots ’settlements’ failed in Ireland. Protestant hopes of eternal support from London eventually proved false. And so, what of Israeli hopes of eternal support from Washington? I still don’t believe in a one-state solution — which the Protestant minority will one day have to accept in Ireland, if they have not, subconsciously, already done so — but colonisation leads only to the graveyard. Walls don’t work. Nor ’superior’ religions. Nor ethnic cleansing. History, which should be studied as eternally as false hopes, is a great punisher.” (01/02/10) Link: http://tinyurl.com/ylmxk7j | |
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“Some of us reached Gaza and particpated in the Gaza Freedom March as planned. All of us significantly raised the profile of dissent — particularly, American dissent — against the blockade of the people of Gaza imposed by Israel and Egypt, with the backing of the United States and the acquiescence of Europe. The groundwork is being laid for future campaigning in the U.S. for ‘citizen sanctions’ against the Israeli government that could help change the balance of forces influencing U.S. policy, so that U.S. policy becomes a force for peace, rather than continuing to perpetuate the Israel/Palestine conflict as the U.S. is doing today.” (01/02/10) Link: http://www.commondreams.org/view/2010/01/02-1 | |
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“Telling the truth in Cairo, as I later discovered, can be a rather precarious occupation and certainly does not endear you to people in places of power or authority. I have been told that I will never be allowed in Egypt again although, as usual, the implied threats are never put down officially. … I am in Egypt now following the Free Gaza Movement of 1400 peace activists who gathered in Cairo from more than 40 different countries. Their week-long efforts to get to Gaza to give humanitarian aid and messages of goodwill and solidarity to the Palestinians have been thwarted with the utmost vigour and enthusiasm by the Egyptian Government.” (01/03/10) Link: http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article24314.htm | |
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“I’ve lived in the Washington, D.C., area for the better part of the last 10 years. So I’ve seen my share of demonstrations, although more often than not I just try to avoid the traffic nightmares they cause. Among the various classes of protests — pro-life, anti-war, environmental, and now tea parties — the most destructive are the anti-globalization marches. So when cops clashed with anti-globalization demonstrators at the Pittsburgh G-20 summit in September, it was easy to assume that most of the altercations represented justified police responses to overzealous protesters. But a number of disturbing photographs, videos, and witness accounts told a different story. Along with similar evidence from other recent high-stakes political events, they reveal an increasing, disquieting willingness to smother even peaceful dissent.” (for publication 01/10) Link: http://reason.com/archives/2009/12/30/the-criminalization-of-protest | |
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“[I]n 1951, he signed up to become a parish priest in one of New York’s poorest neighborhoods — Washington Heights, on the northern tip of Manhattan, then a barrio of fresh-off-the-airplane Puerto Rican immigrants. The classically educated bookworm turned out to be an effective and popular priest. The experience of tending to immigrant parishioners as they got flash-fried in urban modernity left a lasting impression of the grotesque inadequacy of large-scale, rationally administrated institutions in dealing with basic human needs.” (for publication 02/01/10) Link: http://amconmag.com/article/2010/feb/01/00024/ | |
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“This corruption of our legal system, if history is any guide, will not be reserved by the state for suspected terrorists, or even Muslim Americans. In the coming turmoil and economic collapse, it will be used to silence all who are branded as disruptive or subversive. Hashmi endures what many others, who are not Muslim, will endure later. Radical activists in the environmental, globalization, anti-nuclear, sustainable agriculture and anarchist movements — who are already being placed by the state in special detention facilities with Muslims charged with terrorism — have discovered that his fate is their fate.” (12/28/09) Link: http://tinyurl.com/yavutdo | |
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“In February, the Supreme Court will hear on appeal what many consider to be among the most important cases that speaks to the constitutionality of political speech in recent times, Holder v. Humanitarian Law Project. And, in light of the failed attempt to blow up a Northwest jetliner heading from Amsterdam to Detroit on Christmas day, it will be a test of the strength of the Bill of Rights, and even more important that the First Amendment prevail.” (12/28/09) Link: http://counterpunch.org/stahl12282009.html | |
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“A DNA database of five million people; thousands of Anti-Social Behaviour Orders dished out in place of justice; the extension of pre-trial custody from a draconian seven days in 1997 to necessity-defying 28 days; a de facto suspension of habeas corpus not seen since the French Revolution got up the noses of William Pitt the Younger’s aristocrat-only administration in the 1790s. The list of attacks on our liberty goes on. It’s a narrative of anti-freedom that characterises the decade.” (12/22/09) Link: http://www.spiked-online.com/index.php/site/article/7869/ | |
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“Had enough, yet? As you are no doubt aware, the United States Senate has joined the House of Representatives in forcing medical Marxism down the throats of tens of millions of Americans — a clear and unmistakable majority, if democracy still means anything to you — whether they want it or not.” (12/27/09) Link: http://www.ncc-1776.org/tle2009/tle550-20091227-02.html | |
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“So Obama’s unspoken premise is critically important, when one contemplates the awesome subject of organized mass murder. If it continues — while governments exist — wars will, indeed, always take place; because the ‘evil in the world’ to which he alluded consists precisely of those governments, of that premise. Once it has been abandoned, however, they will cease. The world will then consist of human beings, each striving to improve his life by pleasing his customers; and killing customers is really bad for business.” (12/16/09) Link: http://www.strike-the-root.com/92/davies/davies9.html | |
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“There is no promise to end the war in any particular year, much less a specific date. If history tells us anything, the only way to stop a war is to make it difficult for the government waging it to continue to do so. This scenario will not occur within the walls of Congress. Nor will it take place inside the White House or the Pentagon. It can only occur in the streets of the United States. As long as the US government is convinced it has at least tacit support for its adventures overseas, it will continue them. As the recent escalation proves, it will not only continue them but will expand them.” (12/17/09) Link: http://counterpunch.org/jacobs12172009.html | |
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“It’s a testament to the persistence of the tea partiers — the group of mad-as-hell, not-gonna-take-it-anymore protesters who want nothing more than for government to get out of their lives and for Glenn Beck to fill the hole — that the sight of them toting signs and chanting in front of the Capitol building has become so familiar. When a couple thousand of them showed up at Upper Senate Park in Washington, D.C., Tuesday afternoon, they practically blended into the landscape. The protest, dubbed ‘Code Red’ due to the urgency of stopping health-reform legislation, may not have been their biggest. But if you looked closely, there were signs that the group — or, in this case, a motley collection of groups called High Noon For Healthcare — is gaining steam. For one thing, Republicans are increasingly trying to associate themselves with the movement. For another, more Democrats seem willing to hear them out.” (12/15/09) Link: http://www.slate.com/id/2238731/ | |
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“Yesterday, Tea Party activists converged on Capitol Hill to stage a ‘die-in’ to protest health care reform. Originally, they’d planned to camp out in their senators’ offices and simulate what it would be like to wait in line for government-run medicine. ‘As the day goes on some of us will pretend to die from our untreated illnesses and collapse on the floor,’ Tea Party Patriots national coordinator Mark Meckler explained on the group’s website. ‘Many of us plan to stay there until they force us to leave.’ But instead of leaving a trail of prostrate patriots, the event ended up more like a run-of-the-mill lobbying day for AARP.” (12/16/09) Link: http://motherjones.com/politics/2009/12/give-me-liberty-or-give-memeh | |
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“In 1941, to commemorate the 150th anniversary of the ratification of the Bill of Rights which were added to the U.S. Constitution on December 15, 1791, President Franklin D. Roosevelt declared December 15 to be Bill of Rights Day. It isn’t really surprising that a national holiday celebrating the first ten amendments to the Constitution would be ignored by many people, most of whom aren’t even aware the holiday exists. A couple hundred years have weathered much of the patriotic spirit to little more than flag waving in early July. Even some of our Founding Fathers would probably be ok with not commemorating the day since they were opposed to a Bill of Rights being added to the Constitution in the first place.” (12/15/09) Link: http://tinyurl.com/yawmet6 | |
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“There is a long and sordid tradition of trying to socialise children by scaring them. The aim of such socialisation-through-fear is twofold: firstly, to get children to conform to the scaremongers’ values; secondly, to use children to influence, or at least to contain, their parents’ behaviour. When I was a schoolchild in Stalinist Hungary, we were frequently warned about the numerous threats facing our glorious regime. I also recall that we were encouraged to lecture our errant parents about the new wonderful values being promoted by our brave, wise leaders. The Big Brothers of the 1940s saw children as tools of moral blackmail and social control. Today, in the twenty-first century, scaremongers see children in much the same way, exploiting their natural concern with the wonders of life to promote a message of shrill climate alarmism.” (12/15/09) Link: http://www.spiked-online.com/index.php/site/article/7830/ | |
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“Something rather extraordinary happened to me in the last month; I became a published author and I did it without the New York publishing industry!! The extraordinary thing about this feat was that I had been trying to get published for about twenty years or ever since I got infected with the writing bug. Like most authors I tried to go through the ’system’ by mailing manuscripts and book proposals to the literary agents and publishers listed in the big books in the reference section at the library. Nothing actually happened except that I made the good folks at Kinko’s and the Post Office a lot of money.” (12/13/09) Link: http://www.ncc-1776.org/tle2009/tle548-20091213-04.html | |
Action Items
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Petition: any member of Congress who votes for ObamaCare should be forced to participate themselves
Source: Congressman Fleming Website Congressman John Fleming [LA] is proposing an amendment to the ObamaCare bill : sign petition here if you believe any member of Congress who votes for a government run health care plan should be forced to participate in the plan themselves. [editor’s note: Spread this little gem far and wide-MLS] (08/09) Link: http://fleming.house.gov/index.html | |
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NH: 2009 National 4th Annual Live Free Or Die Rally
Source: Live Free or Die Rally Event Date(s): 08/21/09 - 08/23/09 “The All Free, Only TRUE First Amendment Rally in the U.S. AUGUST 21, 22, 23, 2009 …. The National Annual N.H. State Live Free Or Die Rally is a non partisan, non aligned, non profit, all free true First Amendment event advocating freedom of speech, rights to redress with gathering and providing opportunity for the public, appropriate advocacy groups, legislators, politicians of all parties to come together on Common ground under one tent with tolerance once a year to discuss, share or review controversial topics.” Link: http://livefreeordierally.com/node/1 | |
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“Monolithic agribusiness & biotech corporations like Monsanto are gaining more and more power over our food supply, thanks in part to Congress creating policies that give them competitive advantage while harming small farmers & competitors, but also because we consume their products every day, without knowing….Accept the Challenge:I will not buy Roundup weed killer, and will instead use an alternative method of weed control. (Please fill out the form below to accept the challenge and see your impact added to our calculator).” (06/22/09) Link: http://bytestyle.tv/node/55 | |
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“The Motorhome Diaries is the story of three friends who took to the road in April 2009 to search for freedom in America. Along the way the friends — Jason, Pete and Tom — interact with individuals and groups from diverse backgrounds and viewpoints at college campuses, homes, businesses and organizations that are united by one thing: increasing individual freedom and responsibility and decreasing the scope of government.” [editor’s note: Every day a new adventure-MLS](04/09) Link: http://motorhomediaries.com/ | |
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“Scarecrow is an attempt to unify libertarians behind one presidential candidate in the 2012 election cycle. The fact that Scarecrow isn’t running, or even real, is a bonus. … If you want liberty and smaller government, electoral politics is a loser’s game. Still, it’s the game we play in America, and it’s so entrenched in our culture that any attempt to break free of it must first involve a widespread acknowledgment of its failings. … Scarecrow For President is a movement through which libertarians can announce to the world that we’re here, we’re correct, we’re huge in number, and we’re done with Washington’s game. … The intent of this site is to kick off a movement. It is the webmaster’s hope that the movement will grow much larger than this site. I am just an anonymous blogger with an idea. You are Scarecrow For President. You should make your own Scarecrow For President site, market it, and update it constantly. You should steal all my readers and become the center of the movement.” (02/09) Link: http://scarecrowforpresident.blogspot.com/2009/02/faq.html | |
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“The mission of the Second Amendment March is to galvanize the courage and resolve of American gun owners; to petition our elected officials against establishing anti-gun legislation; and to remind America that the Second Amendment is necessary to maintain our right to self defense. It is the one right that protects all others. We will accomplish our mission by a centralized, peaceful march on the United States Capitol, supported by satellite marches to State Capitols and smaller cities all across America.” (02/09) Link: http://secondamendmentmarch.com/ | |
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End The Fed: National Day of support
Source: Abolish the Federal Reserve Event Date(s): Saturday, November 22, 2008 @ 12pm “On November 22, 1910 a malevolent Creature was conceived at Jekyll Island. Ninety-eight years after its illegitimate conception, we will gather at the gates of its lair to signal the end of its reign! Patriots from across the country will join together to protest the Federal Reserve system. Activists will demand an END to private banker control over the nation’s money supply and the return to a hard, commodity backed monetary system. WHERE: All 38 Fed Bank/Branch locations: Atlanta, Baltimore, Birmingham, Boston, Buffalo, Cincinnati, Charlotte, Chicago, Cleveland, Dallas, Denver, Detroit, El Paso, Helena, Houston, Jacksonville, Kansas City, Little Rock, Los Angeles, Louisville, Memphis, Miami, Minneapolis, Philadelphia, Portland, Nashville, New Orleans, New York City, Oklahoma City, Omaha, Pittsburgh, Richmond, Salt Lake City, San Antonio, San Francisco, Seattle, St. Louis, and Washington, D.C.” (10/21/08) Link: http://www.abolishthefederalreserve.com/?p=55 | |
