Category Archives: self

Last week President Obama said, “The borders of Israel and Palestine should be based on the 1967 lines with mutually agreed swaps, so that secure and recognized borders are established for both states. The Palestinian people must have the right to govern themselves, and reach their potential, in a sovereign and contiguous state.” Wayne Allyn Root claims, “For the first time in history an American President has chosen to abandon our great friend and ally, Israel, in favor of radical Muslims led by the terrorist group Hamas.” It seems Root missed the part of the speech where Obama said, “Palestinian leaders will not achieve peace or prosperity if Hamas insists on a path of terror and rejection. And Palestinians will never realize their independence by denying the right of Israel to exist.”

However, since President Obama wants to redraw borders to achieve peace; I’m curious if the President will also call upon a return to the United Kingdom’s pre-1920 borders – that should help achieve peace in Northern Ireland by unifying Ireland. Maybe China should return to pre-1950 borders to allow for an independent Tibet. Maybe all of Europe should again be under Rome’s control. Or, maybe the United States should not be involved in policy making that does not directly affect the United States. President Obama hinted at this – though it is doubtful he will not continue to involve the United States. “Ultimately, it is up to Israelis and Palestinians to take action. No peace can be imposed upon them, nor can endless delay make the problem go away. But what America and the international community can do is state frankly what everyone knows: a lasting peace will involve two states for two peoples. Israel as a Jewish state and the homeland for the Jewish people, and the state of Palestine as the homeland for the Palestinian people; each state enjoying self-determination, mutual recognition, and peace.”

The President further stated, “There must be no doubt that the United States of America welcomes change that advances self-determination and opportunity… We support a set of universal rights. Those rights include free speech; the freedom of peaceful assembly; freedom of religion; equality for men and women under the rule of law; and the right to choose your own leaders.”

If the President really supported self-determination, as he claims, he would urge Congress to allow American territories a vote on independence. Or does he only support self-determination for people that aren’t “his subjects”?

If the President truly supported free speech and free assembly, he would not have allowed the use of military as “crowd control” during the 2009 G-20 summit in Pittsburgh. Or does he only support free speech and free assembly when it is others that are being criticized?

American foreign policy should be: no foreign aid to any nation, no military base in any nation, and as Thomas Jefferson suggested “peace, commerce and honest friendship with all nations; entangling alliances with none.”

Obama also states,”the United States of America was founded on the belief that people should govern themselves.” What about those that do not wish to be governed? Can we “exempt” ourselves and/or form voluntaryist communities? Or does he believe that only non-Americans should govern themselves?

Man, the sheer inconsequential nature of the average Fox News poll (which is most generously reported by this fellow) is enough to drive me to wonder how many nitwits out there just need to get a better hobby than politics:

A Fox News poll conducted May 15-17 about the killing of Bin Laden asked the usual stuff about whether voters thought it was the best outcome and whether President Obama was taking the right amount or too much credit.

Then it slipped in this question:

Do you believe Osama Bin Laden was greeted by 72 virgins in Heaven or did he meet a more negative end?

(We suppose the “negative end” was having to make do with the raisins after a career of death and destruction).

Eighty percent said he had met a negative end and only 3 percent believed he was greeted by the virgins. Seventeen percent admitted they didn’t know.

Democrats, Republicans and independents, for once, were all in agreement: no virgins.

Who the fuck cares? Is the question of Osama’s post-corporeal status really what’s driving the news polls these days? I for one will gladly put myself in the seventeen percent who say “I DON’T KNOW”, with an added “MAYBE HE’S LAUGHING BACK AT CIA HQ.” But seriously, I don’t know, and I 100% do not care.

Most people care more about the alleged porn stash that they found during the raid in Abbottabingbangboom than whether it has any real consequence. I tend to agree, because while that may seem inconsequential to most, it really means that somewhere in the WH record system there is a secret memo with some very salacious porn titles (after all, it’s some State Department bureaucrat’s job to source these things properly, which is probably not a half bad job). That was probably a fun oval office briefing for the guys.

This tense handshake/conversation between an Iowa voter and Newt shows that he is not only out of step with actually informed voters, but that he has been off the grid for so long that he’s forgotten that cameras are everywhere and these little off-the-cuff interviews will spread wide and far:

TRANSCRIPT:

IOWAN: What you just did to Paul Ryan is unforgivable.

GINGRICH: I didn’t do anything to Paul Ryan.

IOWAN: Yes, you did. You undercut him…. you’re an embarrassment to our party.

GINGRICH: I’m sorry you feel that way.

IOWAN: Why don’t you get out before you make a bigger fool of yourself?

The republican media and talk radio has essentially turned their back on Gingrich over the Paul Ryan flap. That can’t be good for his prospects.

They’re dropping like flies, these also-ran GOP candidates for the 2012 presidential election. First Mike Huckabee announced he will re-up his contract with Fox News on Sunday, now Donald Trump has released this statement to the press:

After considerable deliberation and reflection, I have decided not to pursue the office of the Presidency. This decision does not come easily or without regret; especially when my potential candidacy continues to be validated by ranking at the top of the Republican contenders in polls across the country. I maintain the strong conviction that if I were to run, I would be able to win the primary and ultimately, the general election. I have spent the past several months unofficially campaigning and recognize that running for public office cannot be done half heartedly. Ultimately, however, business is my greatest passion and I am not ready to leave the private sector.

I want to personally thank the millions of Americans who have joined the various Trump grassroots movements and written me letters and e-mails encouraging me to run. My gratitude for your faith and trust in me could never be expressed properly in words. So, I make you this promise: that I will continue to voice my opinions loudly and help to shape our politician’s thoughts. My ability to bring important economic and foreign policy issues to the forefront of the national dialogue is perhaps my greatest asset and one of the most valuable services I can provide to this country. I will continue to push our President and the country’s policy makers to address the dire challenges arising from our unsustainable debt structure and increasing lack of global competitiveness. Issues, including getting tough on China and other countries that are methodically and systematically taking advantage of the United States, were seldom mentioned before I brought them to the forefront of the country’s conversation. They are now being debated vigorously. I will also continue to push for job creation, an initiative that should be this country’s top priority and something that I know a lot about. I will not shy away from expressing the opinions that so many of you share yet don’t have a medium through which to articulate.

I look forward to supporting the candidate who is the most qualified to help us tackle our country’s most important issues and am hopeful that, when this person emerges, he or she will have the courage to take on the challenges of the Office and be the agent of change that this country so desperately needs

Thank you and God Bless America!

Donald J. Trump

Word has it this had everything to do with NBC’s pending decision to replace Donald Trump on The Apprentice. Negotiations which went into the 11th hour over the weekend with network executives to broker a deal that will put $60 million in the Don’s pockets over the next three years if he renews. Expect a followup press announcement from NBC to be forthcoming, in the affirmative.

On Friday May 13, two people announced their intentions to run for President. Jason Gatties announced that he will seek the nomination of the Boston Tea Party, “I want to ensure the BTP members have a true liberty minded candidate to consider for the nomination when we all come together and vote in December.”^[BTP] Though Ron Paul’s announcement that he will seek the Republican Presidential nomination garnered much more media atention. Paul said “Time has come around to the point where the people are agreeing with much of what I’ve been saying for 30 years the time is right.” When asked why he would not run as an independent candidate Paul said, “Running as an Independent here is just about impossible unless you’re a billionaire like Ross Perot. You don’t get on debates. If I was an independent George, you would not have me on this program (Good Morning America) this morning.” He continued by saying that he is a Republican and has been “all these years” except for 1 year and that he will “nudge Republicans to stick to their guns on fiscal conservatism.”

Ron Paul is partially correct, he likely wouldn’t get into debates if he were an independent or “minor party” candidate. Though to say it’s “impossible” to run as an independent is not true. It is difficult, though not impossible to obtain ballot access in enough States to theoretically win a majority of the Electoral College votes. In fact, in each of the last 5 Presidential elections,at least 3 candidates that were not members of the Republicratic Duopoly were on enough ballots to theoretically win the Presidential election. In 2008, Ron Paul even held a press conference inviting the four “minor party”/independent Presidential candidates that could have theoretically won the election. Only three of the candidates attended – Constitution Party Chuck Baldwin, a Baptist minister; Green Party nominee Cynthia McKinney, a former Congresswoman from Georgia; and Independent Ralph Nader – united in agreement and support of a four-point platform on foreign policy, privacy, the national debt, and the Federal Reserve. Bob Barr opted not to attend claiming it would be a “waste of time” to attend since Paul was not going to endorse anyone for president. During the press conference Ron Paul called upon voters to reject Democrat Barak Obama and Republican John McCain and cast their ballots in November for one of the four third-party candidates instead.

“This (election) system is driven by the conviction that only a major party candidate can win,” said Paul. “Voters become convinced that any other vote is a wasted vote. It’s time for that conclusion to be challenged and to recognize that the only way not to waste one’s vote is to reject the two establishment candidates and join the majority (of Americans), once called silent, and allow the voices of the people to be heard.”

I’m curious if Ron Paul will once again call upon voters to reject the Republican & Democratic parties if he doesn’t win the GOP nomination. If Ron Paul does win the GOP nomination, will he agree to debate his “minor party” opponents? I for one, would like to see a debate between Ron Paul, Ralph Nader and the nominees of several minor parties. However, that debate can only happen if the GOP allows Ron Paul to become their nominee AND Ron Paul is allowed by the GOP to debate a candidate not named Barrack Obama.

I will not discourage anyone from campaigning for Ron Paul or any other candidate seeking any party’s nomination. That being said, instead I will focus my energy on building the Boston Tea Party, ensuring the party nominates the best candidate possible and obtaining ballot access in as many states as possible.

With his tongue firmly planted in his cheek of course. The Daily Show heaped some well deserved criticism on Fox News, the debate expectation game, Santorum (Google him, heh), Godfather Pizza guy, and of course Ron Paul stealing the show:

Can we get Stewart and Stephen Colbert to jointly moderate one of these presidential debates? I can only fathom the results of such a public dialog moderated by arguably the two most trusted media commentators in a generation.

It’s been almost two weeks since the news first broke, and now we figure everyone is up to speed at this point and formed their opinions (or conspiracies) on the matter. Well what better/worse way to gauge truth than a poll? It’s not like we can hook the president up to a lie detector (though that’s not such a terrible idea, maybe in the 2020 debates).

Answer truthfully, and tell us what we should believe in the comments.

see more…

“V” Sounds like a typical libertarian here, haha:

V: Looks like the IRC got ganked hardcore while I was out. This piece indicates this was an abuse of op privileges and domain name ownership. Meanwhile, some news outlets are billing this as a “civil war” within Anon, without recognizing that backbiting is standard operating procedure.

I think every organization is prone to some navel-gazing from time to time. The problem is reliance on a centralized server or set of servers, which is proving to be an interesting sideshow in the drama of Anonymous’s daily mass gatherings that have multiple campaigns/operations underway at any given time.

Eyes on the prize, mentlegen.

In her new book Money Grows on the Tree of Knowledge Tracy R. Twyman explains how money – all money – has origins in religion, mythology & alchemy. She describes the book as “the esoteric history of money. Learn how the modern-day alchemists who control our economy create fool’s gold out of nothing. These masters of illusion have tricked us all into sacrificing our own youth, and that of our own children, by convincing us that ‘time is money.’”

Twyman begins by writing “The symbol for the dollar is familiar throughout the world… There are several different theories about the origin of this symbol, although I don’t believe that they are mutually exclusive.” Most people have probably heard that the dollar symbol came from the Spanish Milled Dollar which showed banners wrapped around two pillars – the Pillars of Hercules. The image on the Spanish coin has a much older history Twyman writes, “shekel coins made on the ancient Phoenician island of Tyre, which feature both the Pillars of Hercules, and a serpent coiled around a tree, ala the Tree of Knowledge in the Garden of Eden.”The symbol of the snake on the tree also hints at the caduceus (magical wand) of Hermes (known to the Romans as Mercury) and even the crucified serpent from the Biblical book of Genesis. A variant of this symbol was used in astrology (as a symbol of the planet mercury) and in alchemy to denote the substance of mercury also called quicksilver. This is only the beginning of the connection between money and religion, mythology & alchemy.

The first coins were created, not as a means of trade or exchange in the marketplace, but as a way to make an offering at the temple of your preferred deity. Historians consider the origin of coin money to be from around 3000 B.C, in the Temples of Ishtar (the Mesopotamian fertility goddess) for use in a religious rite known as “sacred prostitution.” It was thought that if the men simulated intercourse with the goddess (with priestesses serving as a substitute) see more…

As many as it takes until they have the right winner:

Meanwhile, Ron Paul just had an absolute blowout in a legit offline poll at a Tea Party meeting in Greenville, South Carolina following the debates getting 80% out of a little over 200 ballots cast. That’s a straw poll you can’t run over and over.

Hat tip to Dan McCall, Michael Maresco and several others who kept finding these polls as they popped up!

From the New York Times… uh, actually the comment section:

The most frustrating part about the administration’s ever-shifting account of the raid: If the first story they released was the true one, the SEALs (and the United States) would have been the definition “righteous” and “not-to-be-trifled-with” (dare I say, badass?).

If the first account the President conveyed were (something along the lines of), “The SEALs were shot at upon arriving at the compound. From then on, they took no chances. Knowing that Osama bin Laden utilized suicide bombers, they neutralized all threats, while ensuring the safety of the eight children living in the house,” he would have conveyed the message that no number of graphic photos could deliver.

Instead, the story the administration hastily delivered was straight out of a video game: there were men on the roof shooting at the arriving helicopter, there was armed resistance in every room, and there were human shields in front of every AK-47-wielding terrorist. Thankfully, the SEALs fought their way upstairs to the boss of the game, Osama bin Laden, who was obviously armed, because the boss of the game is always armed. Perhaps we’ve just seen so many movies that our gut reaction is to assume that’s how a raid against such a dangerous man must have gone. Whatever the source of that account, it was grossly incorrect.

So instead of sending a message of power and righteousness, by revising the story to sound continually more one-sided, the administration made the U.S. look at best untrustworthy, and at worst like we slaughtered a house full of unarmed people. No wonder so many in the Arab world refused to believe bin Laden was dead until AQ said it themselves.

It’s not that the administration lied to us – it’s that they were in such a rush to tell us what we wanted to hear, they forgot that we, and the rest of the world, only want to hear one story. Preferably, the truth.

There’s now a very visible effort underway to sell Obama as a reinvigorated and powerful, security-driven president in the midst of this bumbling escapade of half-truths and retractions is making the internet start to scream: PICS OR IT DIDN’T HAPPEN!

What’s priceless is President Obama met on Friday with Navy SEALs, telling them “I came here for a simple reason: to say thank you on behalf of America.” And then he gave a really long speech on top of that, because that’s his thing, speechifying and stuff.

Commending the SEALS on killing bin Laden is akin to a re-election awards show (there was a Presidential Unit Citation, which seems cheap considering they are probably manufactured in mass quantities these days, along with those freedom medals). There is still no cash prize being mentioned, though we all know there was the small matter of a bounty of several million dollars once upon a time.

But the awards and congratulations are just sideshow to the real question of proof and truth, which is clearly in high demand and not being sated by government raid story v3.0 (now with built-in lie-fi).

Obama seems to be tone-deaf to the people’s demands (non-partisan, mind you, it’s only been less than a week), demands for some tangible proof, and demands for something more than a moving target story that has a growing stench of bullshit wafting from it.

Like I said, it’s evident he’s tone deaf to this: He’s still on his victory circuit, after all.

UPDATE: This guy has done an exhaustive breakdown of how we’ve Bin Had. All I can add is: yep.

Dear Liberty Activist,

As I finished speaking to the Greenville Tea Party last night after the 1st debate, I realized that we might be experiencing something truly special.

Hundreds of energized people from all walks of life stuck around to visit with me after the FOX News debate, and after running on full cylinders all day, I was finally able to reflect on everything that had happened.

Yesterday, we saw something bigger than just you and me. We saw the culmination of years of work by so many untold thousands of individuals, who are ready to reclaim our Liberty from decades of growing government.

We saw a day that generated tremendous buzz and could help launch a victorious Presidential campaign.

First, we saw two polls that show tremendous movement. A Suffolk University poll shows me tied for second place in New Hampshire.

And, a new national poll conducted by CNN shows me polling at 10 percent, in fourth place, just six points out of first place. We are within striking distance of the leader in what is largely considered a weak frontrunners.

But, perhaps most exciting was the news that sat atop the popular Drudge Report website all evening. In that same poll, I was the strongest among all potential Republican challengers in a head to head match-up against President Obama.

You and I understand that our message of Liberty and Limited Government can unite this country and pull us back from the financial abyss that Washington has pushed us toward. And, proving that it will take our ideas, not recycling of the last twenty, to beat Obama will bring us ever-growing support in the Republican primary.

But perhaps most importantly, my friends from all over the country came together once again to back a tremendous fundraising effort.

Yesterday’s grassroots Money Bomb raised over $1 Million dollars in twenty-four hours for our Exploratory Committee. I am deeply grateful, and so proud of the attention it has gotten us. This USA Today article is just one example of the attention you helped generate .

To capitalize on yesterday’s tremendous accomplishments, we are going to keep the Money Bomb ticker up for one more day.

If you were not able to participate yesterday, please consider chipping in today. Some people are giving as much as $2,500 (the maximum allowed), and others have already pledged to give $1,000, $500, or $250.

Many others are giving $10, $25, or $50.

Whatever you can do will help us send a clear message to the political establishment that our movement is here to stay, and our issues will not go away.

Thank you for all that you do in the name of Liberty.

For Liberty,

Ron Paul

P.S. Next week, I will be heading to Iowa Tuesday and New Hampshire on Thursday and Friday. Look for some big media and some important announcements as we unfold our plans for 2012.

The lone star state is on higher alert today after the news of Osama bin Laden’s death, upgrading visible police forces with assault rifles. Heather Fazio explains, “Texas State Troopers posted up at every entrance of the Capitol with M15s!! It’s a sad day for Liberty in Texas :(”

This lopsided show of force is nothing new in the Texas capitol, as lawmakers have been nervous dicks about their rights (over yours) even before the death announcement. From mid-April comes this affront to equality:

They might not be ready to allow average Texans to pack their concealed pistols in college campus buildings. But Texas senators seem to be preparing to change state law so they can carry their own handguns anywhere, even where the general public cannot.

On Tuesday, the Senate Criminal Justice Committee took the first step to advance a bill by state Sen. Dan Patrick, R-Houston , that would allow legislators, statewide elected officials, some former legislators and some state employees to carry their concealed weapons in bars, churches and hospitals and at sporting events and other places they are currently prohibited — including businesses that post signs outside saying concealed handguns are prohibited.

Robert Butler, Director of the Liberty Learning Institute adds another layer of intrigue with related security-state legislation “Texas Republicans are ramming through crazy big government legislation this year. REAL ID and now southbound checkpoints just passed the Senate.”

“FYI – southbound checkpoints are inside Texas stopping cars traveling south a few miles from Mexico. They will be searching all southbound traffic for guns, drugs, and cash. Guns and cash are of course, legal to possess, but that won’t stop the confiscations.” Soon enough everyone’s a criminal, they just haven’t been caught yet. The security-state is still laden with fear.

Where’s the Texas Tea Party in all of this government twisting of security and liberty? Still out celebrating bin Laden’s death with a Koch-funded BBQ picnic anti-Obama rally in a park somewhere? Haha, send me email, idiots.

Doesn’t matter, because Texans of all stripes need to get fired up and mobilize against this affront unless they really like being bitches to their police state overlords.

photo source: Heather Fazio

Only thing missing is a beer hat.

H/T to Matt Welch

In my inbox this morning:

This month we have a new winner in the Townhall/HotAir GOP Presidential Straw Poll! Congratulations to Texas Rep. Ron Paul! Paul took the victory in the April Straw Poll, gaining 3.29 percentage points from the previous month when he finished second behind former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin. Palin dropped 4.72 percentage points to finish this month in second. Former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney actually lost support but moved from fourth place to third. Former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich fell from third to fifth behind former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee.

This big issue now in the presidential is certainly going to be the reactions and reverberations across the media and internet with the astounding news of Osama bin Laden’s death at the hands of the U.S. military (Obama, Commander in Chief). These guys fall all over each other at any opportunity to get their reactions in the press, and there’s no real shockers as we’re pretty sure they have been throroughly sanitized by press aides (Trump is thus-far untypically tight-lipped on this one):

Mitt Romney: “This is a great victory for lovers of freedom and justice everywhere. Congratulations to our intelligence community, our military and the president. My thoughts are with the families of Osama bin Laden’s many thousands of victims, and the brave servicemen and women who have laid down their lives in pursuit of this murderous terrorist.”

Mike Huckabee: “It is unusual to celebrate a death, but today Americans and decent people the world over cheer the news that madman, murderer and terrorist Osama Bin Laden is dead… It has taken a long time for this monster to be brought to justice. Welcome to hell, bin Laden. Let us all hope that his demise will serve notice to Islamic radicals the world over that the United States will be relentless is tracking down and terminating those who would inflict terror, mayhem and death on any of our citizens.”

Tim Pawlenty: “This is terrific news for freedom and justice. In the hours after the 9/11 attacks, President Bush promised that America would bring Osama bin Laden to justice — and we did. I want to congratulate America’s armed forces and President Obama for a job well done. Let history show that the perseverance of the US military and the American people never wavered. America will never shrink from the fight and ultimately those who seek to harm us face only defeat. Today, justice is done, but the fight against radical Islamic terrorism is not yet over.”

Sarah Palin: “Thank you, American men and women in uniform. You are America’s finest and we are all so proud. Thank you for fighting against terrorism.”

And of course Ron Paul is taking his time to give his response to the OBL death news, but we’re sure it’s going to be good, considering this widely overlooked/panned bill he introduced way back in the day:

Paul has offered legislation (H.R. 3216) to authorize Bush to issue letters of marquee and reprisal to those private citizens or entities that want to seize outside the geographic boundaries of the United States and its territories the person and property of Osama bin Laden, of any al Qaeda co-conspirator, and of any conspirator with Osama bin Laden and al Qaeda who are responsible for the air piratical aggressions and depredations perpetrated upon the United States of America on September 11, 2001, or future attacks.

Paul offered this proposal back in October 2001, arguing that it would allow Congress to authorize the President to specifically target Bin Laden and his associates using non-government armed forces. Since it is nearly impossible for U.S. intelligence teams to get close to Bin Laden, the marque and reprisal approach creates an incentive for people in Afghanistan or elsewhere to turn him over to the [United States].

The upcoming May 5th GOP debates in Charleston will be interesting, to say the least, with so many uh “personalities” jockeying on the national stage at once. It’s definitely on our to-watch list just to see how excitable Sarah Palin will be about the new Obama birth certificate and whether Donald Trump’s permanently constipated look will falter if Ron Paul jabs him in the right spot. My money is on Huckabee trying to steal the show, because nobody ever talks about Huckabee before the debates.

Rueters is reporting city officials in Seattle, Washington “agreed to pay $1.5 million to the family of a Native American woodcarver (John Williams) fatally shot by a white cop (Ian Burk) in a confrontation that stoked racial tensions and helped spark a federal probe of Seattle’s police force… The settlement document states that $1.25 million will be paid to Williams’ estate and $250,000 paid to his mother.”

Rueters further reports, “A police firearms review board deemed the August 2010 shooting of John Williams, 50, unjustified, ruling that although he was intoxicated at the time he posed no threat ‘of serious harm’ to the officer.” However prosecutors chose not to bring criminal charges against Ian Burk due to “insufficient evidence of criminal intent or malice.“

Sadly, this is not the only case – or even one of handful of cases – of someone literally getting away with murder because they wear a uniform with a badge. David Klinger, author of “Into the Kill Zone: A Cop’s Eye View on Deadly Force” has discovered that on-duty police who shoot citizens are prosecuted less than 2 percent of the time – though sometimes it is “necessary” for a police officer to use deadly force. However, when reading articles stating police fired 33 rounds to kill a puppy, a single officer fired seven rounds on an unarmed man or that police fired 50 rounds on a car of unarmed men leaving a bachelor party; even the most ardent support of those “sworn to serve and protect” are forced to admit that the “boys in blue” sometimes step over the line! And that line has been crossed many times. Seven year old Aiyana Jones was killed as she slept on a couch at 3am by a SWAT team that burst into the wrong apartment; no charges were filed. Indianapolis Police Officer David Bisard was on duty, driving an Metro Police cruiser when he plowed into a group of four riders on three motorcycles stopped at a red light – one rider was killed & two others critically injured. Bisard was found to be intoxicated, though no charges were filed because “the blood test had been mishandled and no other evidence supported the DUI charge.” It is reported that in the United Kingdom “no police officer has been convicted by the Crown Prosecution Service [CPS] in 17 years, despite over 700 deaths in custody or following police contact.”

The BadgerHerald reports, “skewing the law in favor of police officers is the fact that they are often personally acquainted with district attorneys that try their cases. They have worked with the DA’s on investigations in the past and have forged relationships with them. When trying a case where the victim isn’t alive to give their side of the story, it’s easy for a district attorney to side with a police officer they know personally whose argument is self-defense.” Someone or some group needs to hold the police accountable, especially when they get away with murder.

So yeah, we at Hammer of Truth didn’t get our invitation to the balding prince and his trophy girlfriend getting nuptial-ed, so we’re not going to watch at all. We’re petty, we know.

Image ganked from reddit (I mean imgur-hur-hur), where you can get drunk while watching the wedding on your teevee, but that honestly sounds like a terrible waste of good alcohol.

UPDATE: Instead of pomp and circumstance, I will spend time fixing up our little shack of a website. Don’t thank the royals, thank the stupid media for ignoring actual news so they can interview a long procession of people with bad teeth and funny accents saying how wonderful it is that these rich people nobody elected have exquisite taste and let’s care. Heurpity derpt.

H/t to William Ferry of Bay Village for spotting this gem of mathematical fail by Cleveland’s lackluster executive:

Cleveland Mayor Frank Jackson says the city must cut its work force by 350 to 400 employees by the end of May as a result of planned cutbacks in state aid.

The mayor announced the cuts in an email sent this afternoon to news media outlets. He said in the email that under the two-year state budget proposed by Gov. John Kasich, the city will lose $35.7 million in state aid by the end of 2012.

“$35M divided by 400 workers equals $87,500.”

Jackson stated those city-paid workers will include full-time, part-time and seasonal employees.

Maybe he’s firing a bunch of really useless high-ups in the city administration, he hasn’t elaborated, but we think the math is just wonky here. See this graph: see more…

Yesterday, Ron Paul officially announced his exploratory committee in Des Moines, Iowa and sparked a media firestorm that has actually been refreshing. Four decades since the first rumbles of the Texas Congressman’s liberty rhetoric began to inspire his many faithful followers, credit for his hard work is beginning to pay off like a motherfucker for the libertarian movement. Paying off to the tune of $1.2m raised through LibertyPAC this quarter alone and a bustling cottage news industry dedicated to Ron Paul.

Paul is clearly not shy to the publicity, using the media’s increasing attention on his organizational successes to continually hammer the executive branch on important issues: the economy being choked like a bitch by both democrats and republicans; the growing foreign war machine stoked by the bodies of the poorest (again, by both democrats and republicans); the overbearing, yet comically incompetent police state (sped up to warp speed after 9/11); and about a thousand new bad ideas that are being cast into the regulatory books daily in the name of government progress.

The most clear reason that the media is finally beginning to take notice is his ever-growing base of supporters that trends young, first-time voters with a lot of energy, enthusiasm and free time to give to the campaign and liberty-causes. Paul has even threatened to knock Barack Obama’s tired golfer ass out of the spot of coolest, most hip president, saying “I think that Obama will not be able to hang on to that enthusiasm of the young people because of what’s happened in the last couple years.” For more on that, see: whatthehellhasobamadonesofar.com.

This enthusiasm was on display in the 2010 elections when his son Rand Paul was elected to the Senate, and a shit ton of Tea Party candidates raised hell and got elected (Yes, the original modern Tea Party, inspired by Ron Paul’s 2008 Revolution/EVOL campaign, but was warped by establishment republicans into a cartoon xenophobic hatred for all things “socialist muslim”).

I’m optimistic that the message is getting across because frankly: we libertards/paultards are too big of a group to ignore, and the media has recognized it and chosen to embrace it (traffic = eyeballs on ads). It will take a lot hard work and organizing of that libertarian youth and activism to keep the establishment from co-opting that movement again for a perverted corporate Tea Party v2.

Governor Scott,

The Florida House of Representatives recently passed a bill stating qualified parties may not place a presidential nominee on the ballot unless they (1) are recognized by the Federal Election Commission as a “national committee”; or (2) submit a petition signed by a number of voters equal to 4% of the last presidential election vote cast.^[BAN] The petition of 4% is equal to roughly 335,000 signatures. Not only is this a “bad” bill, it is blatantly unconstitutional!

Article VI, sec. 1. of the Florida Constitution says, “The requirements for a candidate with no party affiliation or for a candidate of a minor party for placement of the candidate’s name on the ballot shall be no greater than the requirements for a candidate of the party having the largest number of registered voters.” The existing law requires an independent presidential candidate in Florida to submit a petition signed by over 100,000 signatures, due July 15. This bill imposes a requirement on new parties that is over 3 times harsher than the requirement for independent Presidential candidates. However, that requirement for independent presidential candidates is unconstitutional under the Florida Constitution, because that Constitution says “The requirements for a candidate with no party affiliation… shall be no greater than the requirements for a candidate of the party having the largest number of registered voters.” Democrats have the most registered voters in Florida, and Democratic presidential nominees don’t need any petition to get on the November ballot, so how can the state require over 100,000 for an independent presidential candidate?^{[Richard Winger]} Therefore, this bill, should it pass the Senate, should be vetoed by you on grounds that it is unconstitutional per the State Constitution.

Richard Winger of Ballot Access News writes, “The bill, if enacted, would violate the 11th circuit decision Bergland v Harris, 767 F.2d 1551 (1985), which suggested that Georgia’s former petition requirement of 2.5% (of the number of registered voters) for presidential candidates was probably unconstitutional. That decision is based on Anderson v Celebrezze, which said that states must have easier ballot access for president than for other office.” Therefore, this bill, should it pass the Senate, should be vetoed by you on grounds that it is unconstitutional per federal court rulings.

Additionally this bill would “not permit political parties to nominate anyone for any partisan office (other than president or presidential elector), if that person had been a registered member of another political party at any time during the year before filing to run for office.

The bill makes no exception for new parties. Therefore, a new party, formed in an election year, would not be permitted to have any nominees who had been members of another party for 18 months before the election. This part of the bill, if signed into law, would almost certainly be held unconstitutional. Similar laws in Oklahoma and Nevada were invalidated, as applied to new parties. The Oklahoma case was Crussel v Oklahoma State Election Board, 497 F Supp 646 (1980); the Nevada case was Long v Swackhamer, 538 P 2d 587 (1975). If a law like this had been in effect in 1854, the Republican Party would have been severely handicapped, because a great deal of Republicans elected that year had been Whigs or Democrats or Free Soilers immediately before the Republican Party was formed.

Courts in New Mexico and Colorado have ruled that it is unconstitutional for a state to tell a party that it can’t nominate a non-member. The Colorado case was Colorado Democratic Party v Meyer (1988); the New Mexico case was Woodruff v Herrera (2011).”^[BAN]

Mr. Governor, this bill is unconstitutional. You, as Chief Executive of Florida, have sworn an oath to uphold the constitution, therefore it is your duty to veto this bill should it pass the Senate. If you fail to veto this bill or the Legislature overrides your veto, rest assured that this bill will be challenged in court and struck down as unconstitutional!

In Peace, Freedom, Love & Liberty,
Darryl W. Perry
Chair Boston Tea Party National Committee
http://BostonTea.us
Owner/Managing Editor Free Patriot Press
http://FreePatriot-Press.com
2016 candidate for President of the United States of America
http://dwp2016.org

stolen from here, libertarian llama from ages ago here

WASHINGTON – Following the Obama administration Justice Department’s April 15 shutdown of three online poker sites and indictment of their executives, Libertarian Party Chair Mark Hinkle said, “The Obama administration has just trampled on the rights of millions of Americans.”

Hinkle continued, “This is also a scary reminder of President Obama’s vision of a government with the power to shut down websites it doesn’t like, before a trial has even started.

“Even worse, shutting down this peaceful, honest commerce further weakens our economy.

“We Libertarians believe that adults have the right to gamble with their own money. Government has no business interfering. The Obama administration should drop these charges and restore the websites. Congress should repeal the laws that prohibit gambling, whatever the format.”

The Los Angeles Times recently reported on the crackdown.

The following are planks from the Libertarian Party platform:

1.0 Personal Liberty
Individuals should be free to make choices for themselves and to accept responsibility for the consequences of the choices they make. No individual, group, or government may initiate force against any other individual, group, or government. Our support of an individual’s right to make choices in life does not mean that we necessarily approve or disapprove of those choices.

2.0 Economic Liberty
Libertarians want all members of society to have abundant opportunities to achieve economic success. A free and competitive market allocates resources in the most efficient manner. Each person has the right to offer goods and services to others on the free market. The only proper role of government in the economic realm is to protect property rights, adjudicate disputes, and provide a legal framework in which voluntary trade is protected. All efforts by government to redistribute wealth, or to control or manage trade, are improper in a free society.

For more information, or to arrange an interview, call LP Executive Director Wes Benedict at 202-333-0008 ext. 222.

The LP is America’s third-largest political party, founded in 1971. The Libertarian Party stands for free markets, civil liberties, and peace. You can find more information on the Libertarian Party at our website.

syndicated from lp.org: Libertarians speak against Obama’s War on Poker