Libertarian Vegan

As everyone knows, April 15th is income tax day.  There have always been protests before, but never like this.  Over 2,000 cities all across the United States have “Tea Party” protests scheduled to take place tomorrow. To understand what that looks like, check out this map of the protests .

The movement gained momentum with the “Rant heard ’round the world” by Rick Santelli.  The basic idea is that, with an $11 trillion debt that grows every second and a federal government who seems to think there is an unlimited amount of money to spend, the people are already taxed enough and the ridiculous spending needs to end.

There is no way to spend yourself out of debt, just as there is no way for the federal government to spend itself out of debt.  Countries holding our debt are worried we will never be able to pay it back and will stop giving us credit, meanwhile the Federal Reserve continues to print money, making each dollar worth less and less.  Something has to give, and it seems that it is up to the people to stop the nonsense.

Check out the Official Tax Day TEA Party website for information and to find a protest close to you.

Sunshine Review also has a good deal of information related to the protests.

Are there really Americans out there that think they aren’t taxed enough?

In a move that even one ups the Department of Justice under Bush, Obama’s DOJ is arguing that under the PATRIOT Act, the federal government immune from suit for any illegal surveillance of Americans.

The case concerns Jewel v. NSA, litigation from the Electronic Frontier Foundation against the National Security Administration for warrantless wiretapping of countless Americans.  In the EFF’s blog, they say Obama’s DOJ makes two disturbing arguments in their attempt to dismiss the case.

First, the DOJ the favored argument of Bush - the state secrets privilege requires the court to dismiss the case with no further action.  Allowing the case to go on, they say, “would cause exceptionally grave harm to national security.”  Yet as a candidate, Obama argued passionately against this same abuse under Bush.

Secondly, Obama’s DOJ argued the U.S. government is completely immune from suit for any illegal spying, that they can never be sued for breaking federal privacy laws.

Bush’s DOJ argued the U.S. had “sovereign immunity” from suit for violation the FISA Act, but Obama’s DOJ has gone on to say they are also immune from the Wiretap Act and the Stored Communications Act as well.  For those keeping track, that would make the United States government immune from suit for any violations under all three key federal surveillance laws.

Is this the change all of you Obama fans voted for?  Personally, I happen to prefer a government that adheres to its own laws.  Silly, I know.

Source: Electronic Frontier Foundation - In Warrantless Wiretapping Case, Obama DOJ’s New Arguments Are Worse Than Bush’s April 7, 2009

In some fascinating videos that have been unearthed by YouTube user loumen, Ron Paul dissects the entire economic crisis of today as caused by the Federal Reserve and fiat monetary system way back in 1988.  And it’s dead on.

If we would have been smart enough to listen to him then (don’t blame me, I was only 6 years old), we would never have had the crisis we are currently in.   Just about the only sign that this was not recorded today is that Paul’s hair isn’t white yet - otherwise there’s no way to tell.  How refreshing that there actually is a politician who is guided by intelligent principles that don’t change over time because they are based on facts instead of shameless flip-flopping just to get votes.

Paul currently is trying to push House Bill 1207, which would allow a full audit of the Fed.  Why shouldn’t we be able to see the books of the private bank that controls our monetary supply?

If you don’t want to take the time to write your Representative personally, at least take a minute and sign the petition at Paul’s website, Campaign for Liberty .

The city of Whiteville, Tennessee planned to run a seatbelt checkpoint on April 4 which was to be “in conjunction with a Homeland Security training exercise by the 251st Military Police in Bolivar who recently returned from Iraq.”

After receving a number of calls, Tennessee Gov. Phil Bredesen canceled the operation.  Local radio station NewsTalk 101.5 FM interviewed Rep. Johnny Shaw, who represents the area where the check was to take place.  Shaw said the Governor “didn’t need another headache” and that “bad idea in the first place.”

In the first place, seat belt laws for adults are nonsense and just create another justification for treating citizens like children.  I always wear my seatbelt as I feel it has been pretty well established that they do save lives, not because of any law.  If you want people to act like adults, you need to treat them that way, but that is not what they want.

Regardless, what would you think if you pulled up to a checkpoint in your town and saw uniformed military police and DHS?   Under the Posse Comitatus Act, it is illegal for the military to be involved in domestic police operations.  End of story.

Bulletin Times - (See Pg. 2)

Source: Prison Planet - Infowars Story on Illegal Tennessee Checkpoint Prompts Action by Governor April 3, 2009

In February, Representative Ron Paul introduced H.R. 1207, which would effectively allow for a full audit of the Federal Reserve.  As of today, the bill has reached 58 cosponsors  and a companion bill, S604, has been introduced in the Senate.

So why is this important?

Essentially, we have absolutely no idea what goes on in the Fed and legally we are kept from finding out.  Hence, HR 1207 would open their books for inspection.  The Fed controls our money supply, but not even Congress is allowed to know its workings.   What rational arguements are there for keeping this secret?

USDA officials have closed down the Halal International Meat Processing plant in York, South Carolina, and requested that some 3,000 pounds of meat be recalled -  it happened to be labeled incorrectly.  (But…how would one know?)

Officials said some products labeled as poultry were actually different types of meat. (credence to the old “it tastes like chicken” comment…)   The plant was also cited for operating during hours that prevented some inspections.

The recall is for all frozen meat and poultry items produced from April 3, 2008 to March 7.    Doesn’t the fact that it has taken almost a year to discover that one type of flesh was actually another type of flesh appear to be troublesome?

It certainly begs the “Soylent Green” question - can you really tell what type of animal your meat came from?  Surely some are easier than others, but I’m fairly certain human flesh could look exactly like cow flesh.   Shouldn’t that give us pause?

Meanwhile, the amazing metal band Cattle Decapitation has released a new video addressing this exact topic in their song “Regret and the Grave”- check it out:

Source: Business Week - USDA recalls 3,000 pounds of meat from SC Plant March 31, 2009

A high level Spanish court has begun the process of opening a criminal investigation against 6 former Bush administration officials.  The focus is on whether the officials named violated international law by creating a legal framework to justify torture at Guantanamo Bay.

The 6 officials include:

* Alberto Gonzales, former attorney general

* John Yoo, former Justice Dept. lawyer, wrote secret opinions giving Bush authority to skirt the Geneva Conventions

* Douglas Feith, former undersecretary of Defense

* William Hayes II, former general counsel at Dept. of Defense

* Jay Bybee, Yoo’s former boss at the Justice Dept’s Office of Legal Counsel

* David Addington, chief of staff and legal advisor to VP Cheney

The case was sent to the prosecutor’s office for review by Baltasar Garzon, the investigative judge who ordered the arrest of Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet.   Spain is able to claim jurisdiction as five of its citizens/residents were prisoners at Guantanamo Bay and said they were tortured there.

The 98 page complaint was filed by Spanish human rights group the Association of the Dignity of Prisoners.    The complaint is based on the Geneva Conventions and the 1984 Convention against Torture, which is binding on 145 countries.

Officials say it is “highly probable” that the case will go forward.

Way to go Spain.  Perhaps this will do something to ignite the so-called “Truth Commission” that Senator Leahy has pushed for.  It is absolutely incredible that Bush and his associates are free, instead of locked up for doing their best to destory the Constitution.

Where are all the Democrats who were supposedly so outraged by Bush’s actions?

Source: Boston Globe - Spain weights torture inquiry against 6 former Bush officials March 29, 2009