“Media Hype Questionable Gun Control Study”
“Dozens of news outlets reported that America has the most mass shooters in the world. Many say that shows America needs more gun control.”
Read More...Monday super-sized roundup
“Hillary Clinton's $84 Million Money-Laundering Scheme”
Friday supersized roundup
Last resort
??I'm telling you to stop expecting the law to save you. And I'm telling you that law should be a last resort.??
?7 Things You Should Know About Free Speech in Schools: Free Speech Rules (Episode 1)?
“Watch the first episode of Free Speech Rules, a new video series on free speech and the law. The first episode looks at the seven things you should know about how the First Amendment is applied in schools, from black armbands to 'Bong Hits 4 Jesus.'”
Read More...Australia screws your privacy
Australian government passes controversial world-first anti-encryption law amid broad criticism
Read More...Sunday bonus roundup
Thursday oversized roundup
Wednesday roundup
Bonus Sunday roundup
Wednesday mini-roundup
Tuesday mini-roundup
Monday mini-roundup
Wednesday roundup
Supersized Monday roundup
Thursday - November 15, 2018
Unconstitutional
Maryland files federal court challenge asking judge to block Whitaker, install Rosenstein
Read More...Freedom of the press
Oversized Wednesday roundup
? The Fallacy of Single-Payer Health Care ?
“Chris Pope joins John Stossel to talk about the debate over single-payer health care—a system in which the federal government would assume all health-care costs currently borne by private insurers, employers, and individuals.
Momentum for single-payer is growing among Democratic politicians. Senator Bernie Sanders’s “Medicare for All” proposal would impose $32 trillion in new costs over ten years and a likely annual tax increase of $26,000 per American household. It’s hard to imagine that Congress would adopt massive federal tax increases and rationing of health-care services, but incremental proposals, such as Medicaid buy-in and strict price controls, could be on the horizon if Democrats capture the White House in 2020 and do well in the congressional elections.
Advocates for single-payer health care point to European countries with generous social-welfare systems as evidence of its success. They don’t acknowledge the fact that Germany and France, like the United States, have private and employer-funded health insurance, in addition to government programs for the poor. In the meantime, U.S. lawmakers continue to ignore reforms—like eliminating barriers to hospital competition—that would probably be more effective in improving America’s health-care system.”
Read More...NeoNote — Making the free market work
A company has to compete for employees, just as employees have to compete for jobs.
Read More...NeoNote — Using the law to compel belief
Anytime you see "thou shalt not dissent," it should be a flashing red strobe and a triple siren.
Read More...If you can't trust your worst enemy…
The more control they have…
““For any serious student of history, one of the great realisations that occurs at some point is that governments are inherently controlling by nature. The more control they have, the more they desire and the more they pursue. After all, governments actually produce nothing. They exist solely upon what they can extract from the people they rule over. Therefore, their personal success is not measured by how well they serve their people, it’s measured by how much they can extract from the people.””— Jeff Thomas, It’s Not the End of the World
Tuesday roundup - election day
NeoNote — Campaign finance reform redux
If money was really speech, there would be no legal limit to campaign donations.
Read More...You misunderstand what law is supposed to be
Thursday roundup
“Who Owns The Statue of Liberty? (New Jersey vs New York)”
NeoNotes — Abortion
Oversized Monday roundup
Approval voting
Fargo Considers Whether to Turn Local Elections into a Voting System of Likes (and Dislikes)
“Measure 1 would introduce "approval voting" to the city, meaning voters wouldn't have to abandon independent and third-party choices.”““It's called "approval voting," and residents of Fargo (population: 120,000) are being asked in a ballot initiative if they'd like to be the first municipality in the United States to try it.
Rather than simply voting for one candidate, voters in this system are asked to approve or oppose each person on the ballot. The votes are all tallied, and the candidate with the most approval votes is declared the winner. Much like Maine's ranked-choice instant runoff voting system, this approach doesn't lock voters into supporting a single candidate. It thus allows voters to support third-party and independent candidates if they like them, without having to "throw their vote away" or spoil the chances of a major-party candidate they also support.
Approval voting is a pet project of The Center for Election Science, and the group has been involved in the education campaign in Fargo running up to the election. Polls show that support for this change is high, twice that of those who oppose the change. But more than a third of those polled say that they are undecided, so the center has some work ahead.””
— Scott Shackford
NeoNote — What happens when progressives are in charge?
“Stossel: Sweden is Not a Socialist Success”
“Many people think Sweden is socialist, but its success comes from free markets.”
Read More...Bonus Saturday roundup
Stop discrimination
"People just can't know that." McCaskill Hides Agenda from Voters, "semi-automatic rifle ban"
“Project Veritas Action Fund has released a third undercover video from campaigns during this 2018 election season. This report exposes how incumbent Senator McCaskill and individuals working on her campaign conceal their liberal views on issues in order to court moderate voters.”
Read More...“Deep State Unmasked: Leaks at HHS; DOJ Official Resists "From Inside" and "Can't Get Fired"”
“Project Veritas has released the second installment in an undercover video series unmasking the deep state. This video features a Department of Justice paralegal Allison Hrabar reportedly using government owned software and computers to push a socialist agenda. Also featured is Jessica Schubel, the former Chief of Staff for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services during the last Obama administration.”
Read More...“Deep State Unmasked: U.S. GAO Auditor Admits “I Break Rules Every Day””
“Project Veritas has released the next in a series of undercover reports which unmask the Deep State. This report features a Government Accountability Office (GAO) employee and self-proclaimed Communist actively engaged in potentially illegal political activity. Natarajan Subramanian is a government auditor for the GAO and a member of the Metro DC Democratic Socialists of America (Metro DC DSA).”
Read More...Thursday roundup
“#DeepStateUnmasked: IRS Officials "You Should Give Increased Scrutiny" to Conservatives”
Geniune Tree Hugging Pagan
Regulations
??Regulations exist so politicos can evade responsibility for unpopular choices.??
— NeoWayland, technocrat
Bonus Saturday roundup
Thursday roundup
Socialist governments
Wednesday roundup
“Big Brother Wants to Stop Your Private Online Conversations”
Thursday roundup
Wednesday roundup
NeoNote — Allegation is not proof
People tend to repeat behavior that has been successful or will bring them an emotional high.
Read More...NeoNote — My favorite party trick
NeoNote — Taxes, spying, deductions, and economies
Did I ever mention how the income tax isn't designed to produce revenue, but to spy as needed on American citizens?
Read More...“This Border Patrol Agent Resigned After Changing His Mind About Immigration”
“They just want a better life. I think most people in their shoes would do the same. And I stopped being able to reconcile that.”
Read More...NeoNote — "Race," IQ, and savagery
Those "heritable characteristics" vanish when you start adjusting for quality of education, early childhood environment, and family support.
Read More...“The Problem With Libertarians”
Nine percent
Years ago I came up with a crazy tax scheme that was so nutty it might work. Here's the revised version.
Read More...John McCain passes
As an Arizona resident who worked against his re-election the last four times, I wish he had retired years ago.
Read More...NeoNote — No sane reason
People can do most things on their own without government help, direction, or control.
Read More...“Should We Ban Plastic Straws?”
“Will Witt went to Santa Barbara to ask people what they thought of the new law banning plastic straws. Check it out!”
Read More...“Free-Market Social Security”
“Today is the 83rd anniversary of Social Security, and this year it went into the red. In the long run, it has a $32 trillion-dollar shortfall.”
cá độ bóng đá qua mạng hop phap Read More...“How This Town Got Rid of Crime”
“This Mexican town kicked out the government and returned to its indigenous roots. Now they're practically crime-free – and determined to keep it that way by banning all political parties and elections.”
Read More...Republican racism
NeoNote — Online monopolies
Facebook, Twitter, Google, Apple, all got big by offering something the competition did not have. No one was forced.
Read More...NeoNote — Socialism, fairness & choice
There was a late night bull session I attended. One very drunk person announced, very authoritatively, "Socialism is jealousy."
Read More...What's the point?
NeoNote — Pandering
As for "pandering" to homosexuals, well, we also "pander" to Jews, women, Rotarians, Red Sox fans, and classic car owners. Not to mention people with piercings, people with tattoos, people with nine toes, and almost anyone else you can name.
Read More...“Jinx the Anarchist Sex Worker Goes to Washington”
“Representatives of the oldest profession were on Capitol Hill fighting FOSTA and SESTA, with our online freedoms hanging in the balance.”
Read More...Equality
Entitlements
NeoNote — The farce continues
??I don't like and don't trust Trump.NeoNotes are the selected comments that I made on other boards, in email, or in response to articles where I could not respond directly.
I just wanted to establish that the problems of an overreaching government and abandoning the rule of law are not just a Republican issue. For all the talk about the fundamentalists and the religious right, progressives let their own foxes into the henhouse. Those problems were just as big a threat.
The incredibly silly part is that the solution from both major parties is increasing the size, power, and scope of government only with their guys calling the shots. There are those here who call that a false equivalence because Their Cause Is Just. But when the end result expands government power, increases taxes, increases spending, adds more law and regulation, well, there's no effective difference. You're sacrificing your freedom at someone else's altar for promises that will be broken.
Politicos benefit from unsolved problems. Politicos want problems they can stage manage. Actual solutions mean politicos can't milk the misery.
As long as we expect government to rescue us, the farce continues.??

Demonic realms
Do something
““Those who cry out that the government should 'do something' never even ask for data on what has actually happened when the government did something, compared to what actually happened when the government did nothing.””Read More...
— Thomas Sowell
Bright ideas
““It would be hard to think of a more ridiculous way to make decisions than to transfer those decisions to third parties who pay no price for being wrong. Yet that is what at least half of the bright ideas of the political left amount to.””Read More...
— Thomas Sowell
“The TRUTH About Abortion & Sex”
“Whether it's Roe vs. Wade, Tomi Lahren, or Michelle Wolf, abortion is in the news, and it seems like both sides of the pro-life and pro-choice debate need to keep a few things in mind...”
Read More...“Stossel: Plastic Straw Myths”
“The claim that Americans use 500 million plastic straws daily is based on a nine-year-old's school project.”
Read More...Religion enshrined in law
??I'm not demanding that you give up your faith.
I'm asking why religion should be enshrined in law.
Faith is between you and the Divine, no other person can change that. It's up to you and your choices.
I'm asking for no sacrifice unless you believe that your religion should govern the faith and religion of others.
And if that's the case, I'm asking why.??
— NeoWayland
Wholly remarkable
??The U.S. Constitution doesn't mention the Christian God except in the date.
It's wholly remarkable in that it may well be the first document in history that didn't claim government power derived from the Divine.
Men of faith and men of reason deliberately chose not to make a public declaration of religion even as they acknowledged it's role in individual action.
They knew that faith must be chosen, not compelled.??
— NeoWayland
Law is not moral
“Good men must not obey the laws too well.”
NeoNote — Rights, privileges, and powers
??The difference between rights and privileges. It's not a right unless the other has it too. Otherwise it's a privilege, usually taken at someone else's expense.NeoNotes are the selected comments that I made on other boards, in email, or in response to articles where I could not respond directly.
Thanks. That's one I like to pass along. Too much confusion.
It doesn't help when the Official Authorities™ start invoking things like "police rights" and "government has the right to do this." They're talking about powers, which supposedly only exist to protect rights.
It's not a right unless the other has it too.??

NeoNote — Religion & government
It may be a religion, but if it relies on force, any and all opposition is justified.
Read More...Crazy tax scheme
??I do have a crazy scheme for taxes. Give the Federal government a national sales tax but keep the total of any taxes to no more than ten percent. Give states ten percent of ALL Federal taxes collected within the states and the Federal government ten percent of ALL OTHER taxes collected. That makes them both mutually dependent and eager to audit the other guy's books. And it keeps the individualtaxpayercitizen out of the mess.??
— NeoWayland
NeoNote — So change the law
I don't have an easy answer.
??I don't have an easy answer. I do think a nation is obligated to protect it's borders and I do think it should be able to expel immigrants or visitors who break the law. I do think that part of the problem are government benefits, I think that anyone who comes here should be able to pay their own way. Beyond that… *shrugs*??
— NeoWayland
Government should be a referee
““Government has three primary functions. It should provide for military defense of the nation. It should enforce contracts between individuals. It should protect citizens from crimes against themselves or their property. When government-- in pursuit of good intentions tries to rearrange the economy, legislate morality, or help special interests, the cost come in inefficiency, lack of motivation, and loss of freedom. Government should be a referee, not an active player.””
— Milton Friedman
Gradual
Discriminate
The Right to Discriminate
““The left has created a macabre myth that runs counter to the whole experience of mankind. The left has persuaded the gullible masses of America, including, sadly, most conservatives, that "discrimination" by individuals and businesses is wrong and that it violates the Constitution.
Precisely the opposite is true. All serious cognition and all honest moral judgments involve discrimination. When individuals and businesses are not free to discriminate, then the power to determine what is true and false and good and bad becomes the sole property of the state – or that even more odious creature, that lobotomized Frankenstein monster, "society."
Instead of diverse opinions and actions freely manifest, which are what happens when the state and society are denied the power to force a certain viewpoint down the throats of private citizens and enterprises, what happens is that all debate, all differences, and all individuality are crushed based upon what those who run the state or manipulate society deem sacrosanct.””
— Bruce Walker
“Stossel: Jordan Peterson vs. “Social Justice Warriors””
“Many leftists hate Jordan Peterson, a Canadian psychologist and professor at the University of Toronto.”
Read More...NeoNote — Compulsion by law
Under what circumstances does the state or the people have the moral authority to compel someone to act against their beliefs?
Read More...NeoNote — Legacy of privilege
At the same time, the privilege of being a protected class is regularly exploited to excuse behavior and escape responsibility.
Read More...Exposing a crime
“When exposing a crime is treated as committing a crime, you are ruled by criminals.”
Read More...NeoNote — Control
So some religions should get protection and others should not? Maybe I'm wrong, but it seems that if we start making those distinctions we've just sacrificed religious freedom.
Read More...NeoNote — effectiveness of public schools
We're so conditioned to accept public schools as a Good Thing™ that we resist looking at options.
Read More...“Protect the institutions'”
““More DOJ norms being eroded. Trump-a SUBJECT of the investigation-wants access to material related to the inquiry. His Congressional supporters want evidence connected to an ongoing investigation. Time for DOJ/FBI to simply say no-protect the institutions and time tested norms."””
— Eric Holder tweet reported at Holder urges DOJ/FBI to unconstitutionally defy President: 'Protect the institutions'

NeoNote — Religion in public schools
Mandatory school attendance is backed by the force of law. Much of it has degenerated into who gets to control the conditioning.
Read More...NeoNote — What has Trump done that is so bad?
We've reached the point where we're told that Trump is E-V-I-L, but they can't say why. And meanwhile with overwhelming bad news coverage, he still has an approval rating of more than 50%.
Read More...Kafkatrap
??Kafkatraps are THE keystone of victimhood politics and most identity politics. Without someone recognizing or assuming blame, kafkatraps cease to work.Kafkatrapping centers on guilt. Don't accept it. Don't reject it. Act as if the accusation is so silly and undeserved it's not even worth discussing. They will repeat, and you still shouldn't pay any attention to the claims. Go on as if the accuser had said nothing of importance. Indeed, go on as if you are trying to keep them from embarrassing themselves further. You're doing them a favor if only they were rational/sober enough to know it.Kafkatrapping came by way of certain Christian denominations and mala prohibita laws. "Ignorance of the law is no excuse."??
— NeoWayland, kafkatrap
NeoNote — California secession and the U.S. Constitution
25 years after Waco
“The Militarization of Police: When Tyranny Comes Home”
“Since the end of the Cold War, SWAT teams have proliferated across the United States and the number of no-knock raids on private citizens has risen dramatically. Abby Hall and Chris Coyne explain that this is the result of the boomerang effect– the process by which, in the absence of strong formal constraints, tactics used in foreign interventions abroad are later used to limit the liberties of people back home.”
Read More...NeoNote — Economics and Trump
It's not about how much money government has, it's about how much money government takes from people.
Read More...Income taxes
““Income taxes are the fine one pays for the crime of being useful and productive.””Read More...
This just in
““The same government that has repeatedly violated privacy laws and illegally collects data from all it's citizens, is lecturing the CEO of a company about violating privacy laws and collecting data from all their users.””Read More...
“Stossel: The Great American Tax Ripoff”
“Tax Day gets a lot of attention, but John Stossel says that attention is misleading, because the April 17th deadline is only for income tax. That's just a fraction of the taxes Americans pay.”
Read More...Wednesday roundup
NeoNote — Government is not your friend
Pardon, but you're making the same mistake they did. You think that if the right person was in charge, everything would be okay.
Read More...Monday supersized roundup
Thursday supersized roundup
I promise you this
??I promise you this, the second after America starts exiling, imprisoning, or permanently disenfranchising people for political opinions, conservatives will be kicked out the same as progressives. That "solution" depends on who controls the politics. What makes you think it will be people you trust who trust you???
— NeoWayland
Government action displaces private action
??Government action displaces private action. If government does something, it's not because they do it more efficiently or more humanely or whatever the justification is. It's because government uses the law and the implied use of force to keep anyone else from doing it.
We know that choice and the free market work because even a partial free market over time delivers things faster, cheaper, and with a wider distribution. The same can't be said for government??
— NeoWayland
Bonus Sunday supersized roundup
NeoNote — Somebody had to pull the trigger
Abortion & contraception
??I have mixed feelings on abortion. The one thing I am sure about is that it should not be paid for by government. There are many reasons, but the main one is that it's always easier to spend someone else's money.
Contraception is less complicated. Sex is (or should be) a voluntary act. You choose to have sex. Your neighbors should no more pay for your contraception than they should pay for your designer shoes. This is an example of what I was talking about. If government gives you benefits at the expense of others, it's privilege.??
— NeoWayland
NeoNote — non-citizens voting
Thursday roundup
Legal and orderly
““In approaching immigration reform, I believe we must enact tough, practical reforms that ensure and promote the legal and orderly entry of immigrants into our country.””
— Senator Barack Obama, Senate floor, 2007
Source : Take The 'Racist Xenophobe' Quiz: Who Said This About Illegal Immigration?
Wednesday roundup
Better secure
““We all agree on the need to better secure the border, and to punish employers who choose to hire illegal immigrants.””
— Senator Barack Obama, 2005
Source : Take The 'Racist Xenophobe' Quiz: Who Said This About Illegal Immigration?
Rightly disturbed
““All Americans, not only in the states most heavily affected but in every place in this country, are rightly disturbed by the large numbers of illegal aliens entering our country. The jobs they hold might otherwise be held by citizens or legal immigrants. The public services they use impose burdens on our taxpayers.””
— President Bill Clinton, State of the Union address, 1995
Source : Take The 'Racist Xenophobe' Quiz: Who Said This About Illegal Immigration?
Five gun control facts
Deportation
““We will try to do more to speed the deportation of illegal aliens who are arrested for crimes, to better identify illegal aliens in the workplace””
— President Bill Clinton, State of the Union address, 1995
Source : Take The 'Racist Xenophobe' Quiz: Who Said This About Illegal Immigration?
Thursday roundup
Employers must use
““I continue to believe that we need stronger enforcement on the border and at the workplace. And that means a workable mandatory system that employers must use to verify the legality of their workers.””
— Senator Barack Obama, Senate floor, 2007
Source : Take The 'Racist Xenophobe' Quiz: Who Said This About Illegal Immigration?
Second Amendment
““The Second Amendment is about a single mom living in a tough neighborhood with a crack house down the street being able to defend herself and defend her kids.””
— Ted Cruz, Hypocrite Celebs Want Gun Control For Everyone, But Their Bodyguards
Supersized Wednesday roundup
Break our laws
““If you break our laws by entering this country without permission and give birth to a child, we reward that child with U.S. citizenship and guarantee full access to all public and social services this society provides — and that's a lot of services. Is it any wonder that two-thirds of babies born at taxpayer expense (in) county-run hospitals in Los Angeles are born to illegal alien mothers?””
— Senator Harry Reid, Senate floor, 1993
Source : Take The 'Racist Xenophobe' Quiz: Who Said This About Illegal Immigration?
Need to start
““We need to start by giving agencies charged with border security new technology, new facilities and more people to stop, process and deport illegal immigrants.””
— Senator Barack Obama, 2005
Source : Take The 'Racist Xenophobe' Quiz: Who Said This About Illegal Immigration?
Millions of illegal immigrants
““Right now we've got millions of illegal immigrants who live and work here without knowing their identity or background.””
— Senator Barack Obama, 2005
Source : Take The 'Racist Xenophobe' Quiz: Who Said This About Illegal Immigration?
NeoNotes — Let people make their own choices
Just pointing out again that if you don't like government power, maybe the real answer is taking the power away from government.
Read More...“Penn & Teller on Gun Control”
“Penn and teller explain the 2nd amendment in very simple, easy to understand terms. Just the way it was written.”
Read More...A pet peeve
Nation of immigrants
““We are a nation of immigrants. But we are also a nation of laws. It is wrong and ultimately self-defeating for a nation of immigrants to permit the kind of abuse of our immigration laws we have seen in recent years, and we must do more to stop it.””
— President Bill Clinton, State of the Union address, 1995
Source : Take The 'Racist Xenophobe' Quiz: Who Said This About Illegal Immigration?
Strong border security
““Let me repeat: We need strong border security at the borders.””
— Senator Barack Obama, 2005
Source : Take The 'Racist Xenophobe' Quiz: Who Said This About Illegal Immigration?
Thursday roundup
Wednesday roundup
Easy
““If only everyone (in the Middle East) could be like Scandinavians, (achieving peace) would all be easy.””
— President Barack Obama, 2016
Source : Take The 'Racist Xenophobe' Quiz: Who Said This About Illegal Immigration?
Award to be an illegal immigrant
““If making it easy to be an illegal alien isn't enough, how about offering an award to be an illegal immigrant. No sane country would do that, right? Guess again.””
— Sen. Harry Reid, Senate floor, 1993
Source : Take The 'Racist Xenophobe' Quiz: Who Said This About Illegal Immigration?
Aggressively
““Our administration has moved aggressively to secure our borders more by hiring a record number of new border guards, by deporting twice as many criminal aliens as ever before, by cracking down on illegal hiring, by barring welfare benefits to illegal aliens.””
— President Clinton, State of the Union address, 1995
Source : Take The 'Racist Xenophobe' Quiz: Who Said This About Illegal Immigration?
Bonus Saturday roundup
The Nation goes after the intel community
Obama's foreign policy & YOUR TAX DOLLARS at work
Disrespect the rule of law
““Those who enter the country illegally and those who employ them disrespect the rule of law, and they are showing disregard for those who are following the law. We simply cannot allow people to pour into the United States undetected, undocumented (and) unchecked, and circumventing the line of people who are waiting patiently, diligently and lawfully to become immigrants in this country.””
— Senator Barack Obama, 2005
Source : Take The 'Racist Xenophobe' Quiz: Who Said This About Illegal Immigration?
Thursday roundup
Thursday roundup
What did President Obama know, and when did he know it?
Bargin with the state
NeoNotes — compel an individual
Thursday roundup
Wednesday roundup
NeoNotes — Conservatives and big government
Wednesday roundup
Thursday roundup
Force
““Government is force. Every government program, law, or regulation is a demand that someone do what he doesn't want to do, refrain from doing what he does want to do, or pay for something he doesn't want to pay for. And those demands are backed up by police with guns.””
— Harry Browne, Principles of Government
Wednesday roundup
More expensive and more expansive
““Every government program will be more expensive and more expansive than anything you had in mind when you proposed it. It will be applied in all sorts of ways you never dreamed of.””
— Harry Browne, Principles of Government
Limits
““Government must be subject to absolute limits. Because politicians have every incentive to expand government, and with it their power, there must be absolute limits on government.””
— Harry Browne, Principles of Government
Wednesday roundup
Cutting taxes only makes the problem worse
Keeping the public safe
Thursday roundup
Principles of Government
Harry Browne was the last Presidential candidate that I trusted. This 2003 piece makes common sense.
Read More...Wednesday roundup
244th anniversary of the Boston Tea Party
Bill of Rights Day
NeoNote — Achievement
The FedGovs have deliberately kept "the Rez" Amerindians out of the American Dream.
Read More...“Freedom to Discriminate? | Wedding Cakes vs. Liberty”
“This video looks at the baker Jack Phillips Masterpiece Cakeshop case going to the Supreme Court, and how legislation to prevent discrimination infringes on individual liberties.”
Read More...?Are Human Rights Real? | Natural vs. Legal & Positive vs. Negative?
“What are human rights? Are they universal? This video compares the definition of natural vs. legal rights, and positive vs. negative rights. Locke's Second Treatise of Government was a big inspiration to me in this video, so if you haven't read it yet, you definitely should :)”
Read More...?Senator Jon Tester Disparaging Tax Bill?
“Senator Jon Tester Showing How He Received the Republican "Tax Reform" Bill Just Hours before the Late Night Vote was Scheduled and how it was marked up in a way that made it impossible to read/understand. Is this even legal?”
Read More...NeoNotes — Bad purposes
More from the stack
Clearing out the stack
Wednesday roundup - current headlines
Plunder
NeoNotes — net neutrality
As it exists right now, local, state, and Federal governments allow and protect area specific telecommunications monopolies.
Read More...Begging government
Pay attention to laws
Hate crime
Nature of government
Regulating
Headstone
Find things we share
??We need to find things we share rather than using faith to define the morality of our society. We can agree to outlaw theft and vandalism, we can't agree on marriage. We can agree that people shouldn't drive under the influence, we can't agree to ban all intoxicants. We can agree that people should be free to make their own choices, we can't agree which choices should be eliminated.??
— NeoWayland, United We Stand - Dragging religion into politics
Measurable damage vs. forbidden
??Mala in se means "bad in and of itself." Something is mala in se if and only if it threatens or results in measurable damage to life, liberty, and property. Mala prohibita means "bad because it is prohibited." Something is mala prohibita if and only if the state has forbidden it. I would add regulation as well.
To prove mala in se, you have to show measurable damage. Mala prohibita means that the government will impose morality and ethics by force.??
— NeoWayland, United We Stand - Dragging religion into politics
Forbid
??If someone wants to forbid gay marriage, what would they do if the law only allowed gay marriage? If someone wanted Bible study in schools, what would they do if the law only allowed the Koran in schools? If someone wanted a Christian president, what would they do if the law prohibited a Christian president???
— NeoWayland, United We Stand - Dragging religion into politics
Surefire
??It's the old parity test again. And it is the surefire method to tell if a law is mala in se or mala prohibita. ??
— NeoWayland, United We Stand - Dragging religion into politics
Distrust government
Societies work best
Legislation and morality
??Legislation is not morality, and morality certainly isn't legislation. The distinction must be made. Otherwise politicos wrap themselves in the flag AND hide behind the most convenient faith/moral code they can find. Arguing over morality keeps us honest. We're better when we verbally defend our ideas to people who don't necessarily share our beliefs.??
— NeoWayland
Illegal
Collapse
??At this point, I don't think anyone can stop the collapse. Nor do I think that's bad. There are how many laws on the books? How many regulations in the Federal Register? We've been conditioned to depend on government to help us. Cut spending, but not national defense. Cut spending, but not aid to Israel or Saudi Arabia. Cut spending, but not Social Security. And some banks and unions are Too Big To Fail.??
— NeoWayland
Govern
Meddle
??People love to meddle. They want to control other people “for their own good.” Public education, foreign policy, sub-prime mortgages, all happened because someone thought they knew better and used force to inflict it on everyone else.??
— NeoWayland cá độ bóng đá qua mạng hop phap
NeoNotes — Roy Moore and the Decalogue monument - updated
You don't demand that others submit to your religion. If I can object when the Islamists do it, if I can object when the climate change crowd does it, I can damn well object when a theocratic Republican passes it off as religious freedom and tells tales of his "oppression" because of his faith.
Read More...NeoNotes — Infrastructure
??Let's talk about infrastructure. Specifically, let's talk about Puerto Rico's infrastructure that was mismanaged and mostly ignored for decades before Trump took office. We could also mention Chicago, Baltimore, Washington D.C., and a number of other cities. What makes these places unique is that they have massive overspending, crumbling infrastructure, and Democrat leadership for decades.??NeoNotes are the selected comments that I made on other boards, in email, or in response to articles where I could not respond directly.

NeoNotes — Lower the cost of medical care
Government has shielded the medical industry and the medical insurance markets from the very things that would make medicine better.
Read More...NeoNotes — Tax the rich
Less government
Rights do not emanate
NeoNotes — Witch hunts without due process
from crux № 7 — age of consent
Free speech
The A.C.L.U. Needs to Rethink Free Speech
Codswallop.??That's what worries me most about this. Once people decide that some labels deserve free speech and others don't, where does it stop???
— NeoWayland
NeoNotes — Religion in public schools
I don't think religion belongs in the public schools. Public schools are compulsory, students can't walk away if they do not agree.
Read More...“John Stossel vs. Noam Chomsky on Venezuela”
“Stossel has an exchange with famed M.I.T. linguist Noam Chomsky, who once praised former President Hugo Chávez socialist policies.”
Read More...from crux № 22 — law did not create civil rights
The message was clear
??The message was clear. There are problems but your Government Is Taking Care Of It. You don't have to worry. It's Somebody Else's Problem. You don't have to be responsible. Just put the right people in charge. Give more money. Give more authority. Sacrifice more rights. Repeat until we get it right. And don't ask too many questions.??
— NeoWayland
NeoNotes — the Johnson amendment
As I said, the tax exempt status is a "devil's trade" intended in large part to silence churches.
Read More...NeoNotes — Civil Rights acts - updated
If the Civil Rights Act of 1866 had worked, there would have been a need for another in 1871, in 1875, in 1957, in 1964, a Voting Rights Act of 1965, the Fair Housing Act of 1968, the Civil Rights Restoration Act of 1987, and the Civil Rights Act of 1991.
Read More...Only religious activities
☆ Other people's property
“Stossel: Stop! You Need a License To Do that Job!”
“"Bottleneckers" use occupational licensing to screw competitors and innovation in the name of keeping us safe.”
Read More...“The War On Cars”
“There is a war against cars in America. Regulators want Americans out of cars and onto trains, buses, and bicycles. Why? Because of what cars represent -- freedom. Automotive expert Lauren Fix ("The Car Coach") explains.”
Read More...NeoNotes — public accommodation law is wrong - updated
You can't grant equal rights to all citizens and have "protected groups." Beware the exceptions.
Read More...NeoNotes — Marriage revisted
NeoNotes — Religion enshrined in law
Why should any religion be enshrined in law? Raised above all others as THE Moral Standard?
Read More...?The Sinister Reason Weed is Illegal? by Adam Ruins Everything
Itemized deductions
??Itemized deductions are extortion. Government takes your money. You beg for it back. Government might give it to you.
If you are especially nice and if you do as you are told.??
— NeoWayland
Another exception
??Are there any type of calls that are exempt from the robocall rules issued by the FCC or the FTC?
There are several exemptions. Calls made for debt collection, charitable solicitation, political causes or campaigns and surveys are all exempt from these rules. ??
— Marguerite Reardon, Why am I getting so many robocalls?
Read More...
Standard deduction
Thursday roundup 20Jul2017
“Solving” net neutrality
“Net Neutrality Supporters Should Actually Hate the Regulations They're Endorsing”
Read More...Fix health care
“The Truth About Net Neutrality” by Stefan Molyneux
I'm not fond of Stefan Molyneux. I think he rambles and talks way too much on any given topic.
However I can't deny that this video is the single best explanation about net nuetrality.
Read More...I can't stress this enough
??I can't stress this enough.
The state is not a moral entity. Government is not your friend, at best it is a bad servant.
Religion can not be allowed the coercive power of the state and the state can not be allowed the moral justification of faith.
You can't trust law to do the right thing. You have to watch it. You have to argue with it. And sometimes you have to fight it.??
— NeoWayland
Highway robbery
“Authorities in Utah Seized Nearly $3 Million in Cash and Assets From Citizens Last Year”
Read More...NeoNotes — government requires
??If you didn't choose your morality and if you do not commit to your morality, is it really yours?Read More...
Or did it just get sacrificed for the greater good???
— NeoWayland
Thursday roundup
Language of force
“Tear Gas, Guns and Riot Squads: The Police State’s Answer to Free Speech Is Brute Force”
Read More...Tragedy from incentives
Details, details…
““Any article that so badly mischaracterizes the state of knowledge on an issue as contentious as climate science should have been rejected for publication. New York magazine should be posting corrections, not tallying clicks.””Read More...
— Oren Cass
☆ The special asterisk is a multiplier
Difference
How many?
NeoNotes — Costs of the drug war
We could do more for addiction and to stop violence and corruption by stopping the war on drugs.
Read More...☆ Our permission society
““Everything not forbidden is compulsory.””Read More...
— T. H. White, The Once and Future King
NeoNotes — Health care funding
Thank the CIA for your drugs
Getting away from the bankers and Feds
“How I missed the point of bitcoin”
“Congress considers bill greatly expanding feds’ power to seize your money, Bitcoin, and property”
Read More...Authority
Bilingual futility
NeoNotes — Deserved to be heroes
For length reasons, this entry appears on it's own page.
“We let generations be victims when they deserved to be heroes.”
Read More...from crux № 1 — hate crimes
?Shut up. You have no rights.?
“Detroit Cops Raid an Innocent Family's Home at Gunpoint on Bogus Sex-Trafficking Tip”
Read More...Innocent but imprisioned
Greatest crimes of our times
““Most people are still unwilling to face the most alarming lesson of modern history: that the greatest crimes of our time have been committed by governments that had the enthusiastic support of millions of people who were guided by moral impulses.””
— F.A. Hayek, The Mirage of Social Justice
Read More...
from crux № 10 — the system
We've been taught that government is supposed to govern and control the other guy.
That's the guy who is the problem.
Not us. Never us. It's not our fault.
Read More...Official Solution®
“American Indians Are Still Getting a Raw Deal”
NeoNotes — Best intentions - updated
Somebody KNEW
Secret demands
“Court Rules Facebook Can’t Challenge Demands for User Data (and Can’t Tell Users)”
Read More...“On Women's Right to Vote”
Still think libertarians are paranoid?
Illegal spying on legal phone calls
“Former US Attorney: Susan Rice Ordeblurb Spy Agencies To Produce ‘Detailed Spreadsheets’ Involving Trump”
Read More...NeoNotes — Prostitution
Minority rights
Real & impossible rights
American women enjoy rights that are impossible for other women in much of the World.
Read More...Legal theft
Maine is poised to make it a lot harder for police to steal your stuff
??Civil asset forfeiture is a national problem, and a big one. In 2014, for the first time in recorded history, police in the United States seized more money and property through civil asset forfeiture than all burglars and thieves combined. Making matters worse, civil asset forfeiture has been known to disproportionately impact African Americans and Latinos, creating significant barriers to opportunity in their communities. According to a study in Oklahoma, nearly two thirds of seizures come from racial minorities, representing a significant disparity.??
— Payton Alexander
Emphasis added. H/T reddit
Black & Blue & hate crimes
Louisiana and Kentucky have both passed laws that add police and emergency responders to the hate crime laws.
Read More...Repeal Obamacare with just one sentence
Rep. Mo Brooks files bill to repeal Obamacare
??Effective as of Dec. 31, 2017, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act is repealed, and the provisions of law amended or repealed by such Act are restored or revived as if such Act had not been enacted.??
— U.S. Congressman Mo Brooks
NeoNotes — Which god?
I will give you the same argument that led me to question the “faith of my fathers" and started my own search.
Read More...Right to boycott
“Fashion Designers Are Boycotting Melania Trump. Shouldn't Bakers and Florists Have the Same Right?”
Read More...“The Nature of Liberty”
H.L. Mencken is always worth your time.
This version is from Prejudices: Third Series (1922)
For length reasons, this entry has it's own page.
Read More...Tiny houses banned
“Tiny Homes Banned in U.S. at Increasing Rate as Govt Criminalizes Sustainable Living”
Read More...Unlimited immigration redux
“Sweden on the brink? Police force pushed to breaking point by violence amid migrant influx”
Read More...“I’ve done nothing wrong.”
“We operated the business legally and in compliance with all California and local laws.”
Read More...“Parliament is sovereign.”
“Britain's Constitution is famously “unwritten” but can be summarised in three words…”
Read More...Government & religion
??Religion cannot be allowed the coercive power of government. Government cannot be allowed the moral justification of religion.??
— NeoWayland, United We Stand
Unlimted immigration is not a good idea
Same as 2004
…this same thing was happening against Republicans leading up to the 2004 election UPDATED
Read More...Four amendments
Ideas
““The kind of man who demands that government enforce his ideas is always the kind whose ideas are idiotic.””
 — H.L. Mencken, A Mencken Chrestomathy
NeoNotes — Sexuality & society
I suspect that sexual orientation is not as hard wiblurb as some believe, but that is still individual choice.
Read More...NeoNotes — Homosexuality wasn't illegal
Political discussion
Scam - not the IRS
About that Brexit thing
Brexit
““ Because I think it’s vital that you are able to vote out a government. ””Read More...
— Natalie Solent, Quick arguments for voting Leave