America Is Being Systematically Transformed Into A Totalitarian Society

[Mark]

Brutal Gestapo Tactics Are Being Used Against Homeowners All Over America

Property rights are being absolutely shredded all over America.  Buying a piece of land and enjoying it with your family has always been a big part of the American Dream.  Unfortunately, in the United States today you don't actually own your own home.  If you don't pay your rent (property taxes) your home will be taken away from you, and you are only allowed to use your property in very narrowly defined ways.  The control freaks that run things tell us what we can build on our own property, what we can grow on our own property, what types of gatherings we can have on our own property, how many visitors we can have on our own property and they have imposed very strict rules about how our property must be maintained.  If we get "out of line", they will use "zoning ordinances" and "code violations" to make our lives a living hell.  All over America today, brutal Gestapo tactics are being used against homeowners that just want to be left alone.  Anyone that has ever dealt with a "compliance officer" or a "nuisance abatement team" knows what I am talking about.  But if we have so very little "freedom" on our own properties, then how in the world can we continue to call this country "the land of the free"?

Thug Wakes Woman Up And Yells At Her In Bed For Letting Her Grass Grow Too Long

Down in Georgia recently, a huge male "compliance officer" let himself into a woman's home, marched into her bedroom and started yelling at her for letting her grass grow too long while she was still in bed....

A woman got the shock of her life when she woke up to find a stranger in her bedroom, yelling at her to wake up because her grass was too long.

Erica Masters was asleep when Columbia County Code Compliance Officer Jimmy Vowell entered her Martinez, Georgia, home without permission to serve a violation notice for her overgrown lawn.

After knocking on the woman's door a few times, Vowell let himself and made his way into her bedroom, which was captured on surveillance video.
How would you respond if a strange man barged into your bedroom and started berating you about the length of your grass?

Elderly Americans Being Evicted For Not Paying Property Taxes

All over America, homeowners are being evicted from their family homes because of unpaid property taxes.  In some cases, the amount that is owed is only a few hundred dollars.

Big banks such as Bank of America and JPMorgan Chase have been buying up tax liens all over the country because they are extremely profitable....

Tax liens can yield an incredible rate of return, as high as up to 50%. Many state laws permit tax lien purchasers to charge homeowners extremely high interest rates and fees to redeem their property in order avoid foreclosure. (For example, redemption penalties in Georgia, Iowa, Mississippi, New Jersey, and Texas all exceed 20%.) For these reasons, tax lien sales are often marketed as "get-rich quick" schemes on websites. Investors take advantage of the fact that the tax sale process is arcane and rarely understood by homeowners. And states do little to inform homeowners about steps they can take to avoid foreclosure. Very few states have enacted procedures to protect owners' equity interests or to avoid windfalls to purchasers, and almost no states have updated tax lien laws to reflect current economic conditions or to ensure that proper safeguards exist to avoid unnecessary loss of homeownership.
In many cases, elderly Americans that don't even understand what is happening are being forced from their homes just so that the "investors" can make some quick money.  Just check out what one recent report said happened to an 81 year old woman living in Rhode Island....

The report cited a case of an 81-year-old Rhode Island woman who fell behind on a $474 sewer bill. A corporation bought the home in a tax sale for $836.39. The woman was evicted from the home she had lived in for more than 40 years and the corporation resold the place for $85,000, the report said.

Most investors, however, buy tax liens for the interest. That's because many states allow investors to charge rates of 18% or more on the outstanding debts. And, in some cases, as much as 20% to 50%, the report said.
Here is another example of an elderly woman being evicted from her home over unpaid taxes....

One elderly Montana woman, who lived alone and had no close family to help her, fell more than $5,000 behind on taxes, the report said. After she failed to respond to letters from the company that bought her home in a tax sale, she was evicted from her Missoula home. As a result, she lost about $150,000 in equity in the property, according to the report.
Could you do that to an elderly woman?

Shame on those that are pulling these scams, and shame on the states for not changing their laws to prevent this from happening.

40 Years Of Home Improvements Gone

All over the country, control freak bureaucrats are using "code violations" to force homeowners to tear down beautiful home improvements.

This is especially true for homeowners that have gone "off the grid".

For example, a 67 year old man in California has spent 40 years transforming his property into an amazing "off the grid" self-sustaining habitat....

Four decades ago, Hoffman started some home improvements on his house in the wooded hills of the Marin County town of Lagunitas. He harbored ideas and theories of how people could live more sustainably. He started building.

He dug a massive valley near the slope of his home and installed a pond. In the middle of it he built a concrete boat to house a 15-foot well. The groundwater would refill the pond, through a sun-powered pump.

As the owner of a tea distribution business, Hoffman also built a tea-house with ornate metal carvings of dragons and a sloped tile roof.

He carved elaborate caves to dry his rare tea leaves. He constructed a tower bearing a solar shower that hovers over a moat carrying recycled water from the house.

“Most people come here, they see the visual, they see the structures,” said Hoffman. “For me what’s important is the systems behind it.”
But now authorities are making him tear everything down because of "code violations".  Hoffman has been charged fines that total over $200,000, and he is being forced to tear down "all 30 of his illegal structures" by the beginning of August.

Survival Garden Ripped Out By Government Thugs

I have used the following story before, but it is another perfect example of the kind of Gestapo tactics that are being used against homeowners all over the United States.

Just recently, one unemployed woman down in Tulsa, Oklahoma had her survival garden brutally ripped out and carted away by government thugs...

A Tulsa woman is suing the city's code enforcement officers after she said they cut down her garden with no cause.

Denise Morrison said she has more than 100 plant varieties in her front and back yards and all of them are edible and have a purpose.

She knows which ones will treat arthritis, which will make your food spicy, which ones keep mosquitoes away and treat bug bites, but she said none of that matter to city inspectors.

Last August, Morrison's front and back yards were filled with flowers in bloom, lemon, stevia, garlic chives, grapes, strawberries, apple mint, spearmint, peppermint, an apple tree, walnut tree, pecan trees and much more.
And for this woman, it really was a "survival garden".  She relied on those plants and trees for her food and for her medicine.

But the government thugs left her with nothing.

Now she will have to do the best that she can to survive on government handouts.

Other Examples

Sadly, there are so many other examples that could be discussed of brutal Gestapo tactics being used against homeowners all over America.

The other day, I wrote about how one man down in Arizona has been sentenced to 60 days in prison and has been fined $12,180 for hosting a Bible study in his own home.

Most of the time the gatherings were only of about 15 or 20 people.  They were not unruly and did not make an unreasonable amount of noise.

If we can't invite a few friends over to our own homes, then how much "freedom" do we really have left?

In the state of California, armed "nuisance abatement teams" roam around looking for someone to hit with a "code violation".  Preppers and those that prefer an "off the grid" lifestyle appear to be some of their favorite targets.

You can view a video about these "nuisance abatement teams" in California right here.  But please be warned that the video is likely to make you quite angry.

Is This Still America?

We don't get to do what we want with our own properties, but the government feels that it can do just about anything it wants to us in the name of "national security".

In a previous article I detailed 14 cutting edge technologies that the government will be using to watch, monitor and control us.

The following are a few more ways that the "Big Brother control grid" is expanding....

-A new laser scanner that the Department of Homeland Security will soon be using at U.S. airports can search you from 160 feet away....

Within the next year or two, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security will instantly know everything about your body, clothes, and luggage with a new laser-based molecular scanner fired from 164 feet (50 meters) away. From traces of drugs or gun powder on your clothes to what you had for breakfast to the adrenaline level in your body—agents will be able to get any information they want without even touching you.
-Barack Obama has just signed a new executive order which many believe essentially gives him an "on/off switch" to the Internet.

-One TSA insider is actually claiming that the TSA is hiring criminals that have just been released from prison to do security checks on travelers at U.S. airports.  Perhaps this explains why one TSA agent recently sifted her finger through the ashes of someone's dead grandfather and then laughed about it after she spilled some of the ashes on the floor of the airport.  Another TSA agent recently referred to a deaf man as "deafie" and stole his candy.

But how many of these stories do you hear about on the evening news?

Perhaps this is why a recent Gallup poll found that faith in television news is at an all-time low in the United States.

Instead of reporting on the destruction of our liberties and freedoms, the mainstream news is obsessed with Justin Bieber, Tom Cruise and the Kardashians.

It is truly disgusting.

The ability to own a piece of land and establish a home on it is absolutely foundational to the functioning of a free society.  Even the most ancient societies understood this.

Sadly, our most basic freedoms are being steadily eroded with each passing day.

Once our freedoms are gone, they will be incredibly difficult to get back.

http://endoftheamericandream.com/archives/brutal-gestapo-tactics-are-being-used-against-homeowners-all-over-america

[Kilika]

Shame on those that are pulling these scams, and shame on the states for not changing their laws to prevent this from happening.

Scams? Buying homes that the owners didn't pay their tax bills? Hows that a scam? It's not a scam to hold homeowners accountable for their taxes. What's tragic is that some take advantage of the situation for profit, as the ones mentioned, rather than give the previous owner the chance to get back the home. They should be require to at least address that with the homeowner that lost it before they move on and sell it on the open market. I suspect they had no idea what kind of equity they had in the properties. Grab a home for under $900, and make over $80,000? And the leave the homeowner evicted? THAT borders on criminal.

[Mark]

19 Examples Of How Control Freaks Are Killing America With Their Completely Ridiculous Regulations

The control freaks are winning, and they are absolutely killing America.  Our founding fathers intended to establish a nation where Americans would be free to pursue "life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness" in an environment where freedom was maximized and government interference was minimized.  Unfortunately, our nation has turned away from those principles and is now running 180 degrees in the other direction.  For some reason, our political system tends to attract psychotic control freaks that want to micromanage our lives and make most of our decisions for us.  These control freaks are actually convinced that freedom and liberty are "dangerous" and that there should be a rule or a regulation for just about everything.  This is not just happening on the federal level either.  The truth is that the control freaks are often the worst on the local level.  When you add up the red tape on all levels of government, we literally have millions of laws, rules and regulations in America today.  All of this red tape is suffocating our businesses, destroying our liberties and our freedoms, and slowly sucking the life out of all of us.  If we ever want to have any hope of restoring America to what it once was, then we have to start doing something about this horrific mountain of red tape.

In America today, there is very little that you can actually do without getting some sort of a "license" or a "permit" first.

Do you want to leave your home?

You better get a license to drive first or find someone that does.

Do you want to get married?

You won't be able to do that without a license from the government.

Do you want to build a house?

Get ready for miles of red tape.

Do you want to start a business?

You better get ready for a very long relationship with licenses and permits.

At the rate we are going, pretty soon we will need permission from the government just to use the bathroom.

Our liberties and our freedoms have been turned into "limited privileges" that the government can revoke at any time.  With each passing day the grid of rules and regulations that we all live our lives inside is getting tighter and tighter.

How much tighter can this prison of red tape become before we all start going insane?

The following are 10 examples of how control freaks are killing America with their completely ridiculous regulations....

#1 An industrious 13 year old boy up in Michigan has had his hot dog stand shut down because of a zoning violation.  The funny thing is that Nathan Duszynski and his parents actually thought that they had jumped through all of the proper licensing and permitting hoops....

    On Tuesday, as the young entrepreneur was downtown setting up a hot dog cart he helped buy with $1,200 saved from mowing lawns and shoveling snow, he got an unpleasant surprise courtesy of Holland City Hall.

    Duszynski was told by city officials that his cart was in violation of a Holland zoning law that protects existing food businesses downtown against competition from mobile food vendors, and he would have to cease operation immediately.

    It was a shocker for Duszynski, who, along with his parents, thought he had jumped properly through all the licensing and permitting hoops with the city and county.

#2 Could you imagine being sent to prison for collecting the rain that falls from the sky on your own property?

Well, that is exactly what happened to one man in Oregon recently.  The following comes from CNS News....

    A rural Oregon man was sentenced Wednesday to 30 days in jail and over $1,500 in fines because he had three reservoirs on his property to collect and use rainwater.

What are they going to arrest us for next?  Breathing the air?

#3 Santa Monica, California has decided to make it illegal to smoke inside your own home.

The following is from a recent report by NBC Los Angeles....

    Smoking is already banned at beaches, parks, restaurants and near buildings in Santa Monica, but Tuesday night the city council sought to expand that prohibition and voted 4-2 to ban smoking for all new tenants of apartments and condos inside their residences – with one exception.

    “It also requires existing residents to designate their units as smoking or non smoking and from then on it will be prohibited to smoke in a non smoking unit,” said Adam Radinksy, head of the Consumer Protection Unit in Santa Monica.

#4 Apparently you are now considered to be "a terrorist" if you even dare to film what is going on at a TSA checkpoint.  But the TSA has no problem strip-searching elderly women and fiddling with their feeding tubes.

#5 In New Jersey, if you are driving around with an "unrestrained" cat or dog in your vehicle you can be fined up to $1000 for each offense.

#6 Do you believe in being generous with your neighbors?

If so, you might want to be very careful what you share with them.

For example, it is illegal to milk your cow and sell the milk to your neighbors in America today.

If you share raw milk with your neighbors, there is a very good chance that federal agents will be raiding your home at the crack of dawn with their guns drawn.

#7 Down in Miami Beach, Florida it will soon be absolutely mandatory to properly recycle your trash....

    City commissioners passed a recycling ordinance on Wednesday.

    Once the ordinance goes in effect in July 2013, people who don't recycle would be fined $350 for their first violation, $500 for their second violation and $1,000 for the third violation.

If you live in Miami Beach and you don't like to recycle hopefully you have a really, really big bank account.

#8 In Hazelwood, Missouri it is actually illegal for little girls to sell girl scout cookies in the front yards of their own homes.

#9 In one Denver neighborhood, children have been banned from drawing on the sidewalk with colored chalk.

#10 All over the United States, lemonade stands run by small children are being shut down by police because they do not have the "proper permits".

#11 In the United States it is absolutely illegal to sell natural cures for cancer - even if they have been proven to work.

#12 Recently I wrote about a man that was arrested for hosting a Bible study in his own home.  Well, it turns out that he is still in prison serving his 60 day prison sentence.

#13 Are you growing a garden?

If so, you might want to be very careful that it is not violating any regulations.

In a previous article, I discussed how one unemployed woman in Tulsa, Oklahoma had her survival garden brutally ripped out and carted away by government thugs...

    A Tulsa woman is suing the city's code enforcement officers after she said they cut down her garden with no cause.

    Denise Morrison said she has more than 100 plant varieties in her front and back yards and all of them are edible and have a purpose.

    She knows which ones will treat arthritis, which will make your food spicy, which ones keep mosquitoes away and treat bug bites, but she said none of that matter to city inspectors.

    Last August, Morrison's front and back yards were filled with flowers in bloom, lemon, stevia, garlic chives, grapes, strawberries, apple mint, spearmint, peppermint, an apple tree, walnut tree, pecan trees and much more.

That unemployed woman was relying on that garden to provide the things that she needed.

But the government control freaks savagely ripped it all out and left her with nothing.

Now she will have to be dependent on the government because she has no other way to take care of herself.

#14 Does your child ever throw temper tantrums?

If so, your child may get arrested and sent to a mental institution if he or she throws a tantrum in front of the police.

For example, a 6-year-old girl down in Florida was "throwing objects, hitting administration personnel and screaming uncontrollably" so police handcuffed the 40 pound little girl and shipped her off to a mental institution for evaluation.

#15 Did you ever take plastic utensils with you to school when you were a kid?

Well, these days if you live in Florida you better not do that.

An 11-year-old kid down in Florida was actually arrested by police, thrown in jail and charged with a third-degree felony simply for bringing a plastic butter knife to school.

#16 In the state of Massachusetts, all children in daycare centers are mandated by state law to brush their teeth after lunch.  In fact, the state even provides the fluoride toothpaste for the children.

Isn't that just so nice of them?

#17 In the city of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania it is illegal to make even a single dollar from a blog unless you buy a $300 business license. The city government even went after one poor woman who had earned only $11 from her blog over the past two years.

#18 If you saw someone that was thirsty, would you give that person a cup of cold water to drink?

Be careful before you answer that question - you might be breaking the law by giving someone water.

For example, down in Louisiana one church was recently ordered to stop giving out water because it did not have the "proper permit" to do so.

#19 This last example might be the saddest one of all.  If you can believe it, all over the United States cities are actually banning feeding the homeless.  The following comes from a recent USA Today article....

    Philadelphia recently banned outdoor feeding of people in city parks. Denver has begun enforcing a ban on eating and sleeping on property without permission. And this month, lawmakers in Ashland, Ore., will consider strengthening the town's ban on camping and making noise in public.

    And the list goes on: Atlanta, Phoenix, San Diego, Los Angeles, Miami, Oklahoma City and more than 50 other cities have previously adopted some kind of anti-camping or anti-food-sharing laws, according to the National Law Center on Homelessness & Poverty.

Are you angry yet?

You should be.

All of these completely ridiculous regulations are absolutely sucking the life out of us.

That is probably why a recent speech by U.S. Representative Mike Kelly received thunderous applause on the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives.  If you have not seen his speech about how regulations are killing America yet, please take a few minutes out to watch it.  You will be glad that you did....



Please share this video and this article with as many people as you can.

These control freaks are absolutely killing America.

I don't want to see this country suffocated to death by red tape.

Instead, I want to see this country move back in the direction of maximizing liberty and freedom.

What about you?

What do you want for the future of this country?

http://endoftheamericandream.com/archives/19-examples-of-how-control-freaks-are-killing-america-with-their-completely-ridiculous-regulations

[Mark]

Teenager not allowed to sell hot dogs now homeless

Nathan Duszynski, a 13-year-old whose hot dog cart was shut down by city officials in Holland, Mich., is now homeless, along with his disabled parents.

The Mackinac Center for Public Policy first reported the story.

Nathan had saved up money for a hot dog cart to help his parents pay their bills. His mother suffers from epilepsy and his father suffers from multiple sclerosis, limiting their ability to work. 

The family survives on $1,300 a month in disability assistance, food stamps and medicaid, but has struggled to stay afloat.

“Nate and I are now in a shelter,” Nathan’s mother Lynette Johnson said.

“[Nathan’s father] can’t stay with us because he takes prescription narcotics to deal with his pain and the shelter does not allow him with those kinds of drugs,” she said.

The 13-year-old had worked out an arrangement to sell hot dogs in the parking lot of a local sporting goods store. His mom felt the location was great since it was on private property, so his age wouldn’t be an impediment.

rest: http://news.yahoo.com/teenager-not-allowed-sell-hot-dogs-now-homeless-180604654.html

[Mark]

DOJ Targeted Public Library for Lending E-Books 'Inaccessible' to the Blind

The U.S. Justice Department says it has reached a settlement with the Sacramento (California) Public Library over a trial program the library was conducting that let patrons borrow Barnes and Noble NOOK e-book readers.

DOJ and the National Federation of the Blind objected to the program on grounds that blind people could not use the NOOK e-readers for technological reasons.

The Justice Department said the settlement is aimed at stopping discrimination: “Emerging technologies like e-readers are changing the way we interact with the world around us and we need to ensure that people with disabilities are not excluded from the programs where these devices are used,” said Assistant Attorney General Thomas E. Perez in a news release.

A DOJ official told CNSNews.com it interviewed a woman who could not participate in the library's e-reader program due to her disability and concluded that the program had violated the ADA.

REST: http://cnsnews.com/news/article/doj-targeted-public-library-lending-e-books-inaccessible-blind

 

[Mark]

Business fined $4,000 over missing trashcan lid...

According to conventional progressive wisdom, regulation is the means by which a compassionate government protects the weak and innocent from the strong and malevolent.

Try telling that to Brad Jones.

Jones is one of the owners of Buckingham Slate, a Virginia business a little over an hour's drive west of Richmond. The company is distinguished by the quality of the highly valued Arvonia slate it produces. And by the fact that its roots trace back almost to the Civil War. And by the fact that federal regulators smacked it with a $4,000 fine.

Over a trash can.

The offending can — or "waste receptacle," in the words of the Mine Safety and Health Administration's official citation — was "not covered." What's more, "the receptacle was full." It "could be smelled." There were — brace yourself — "flies fl[y]ing in and around the receptacle." And to crown all, "management engaged in aggravated conduct constituting more than ordinary negligence" by allowing this "condition to exist." The horror.

Buckingham Slate has racked up other fines, too — such as a $70,000 fine imposed because one of its trucks had an inoperable horn. Perhaps regulators were following the approach advocated by Al Armendariz, the former EPA official who said enforcers should "crucify" offenders to "make an example" of them, which would then make others "easy to manage."

According to President Obama's campaign rhetoric, Republicans have nothing to offer but "the same prescription they've had for the last 30 years. . . : 'Feel a cold coming on? Take two tax cuts, roll back some regulations, and call us in the morning!' "

Funny stuff. But Martha Boneta isn't laughing.

Boneta, a Fauquier County farmer, hosted a birthday party for eight 10-year-old girls — an occasion for which she lacked the proper "events permit." For this, the county slammed her with a $5,000 fine. She also got in hot water for selling items, such as yarn and birdhouses, that she had not made herself.

Outraged over how the county was treating her, local farmers showed up at a zoning-board meeting a couple of months ago with pitchforks in hand. But the demonstration was only so useful. She ended up closing her shop anyway.

Americans should place more trust in "the guiding hand of government," according to the president and his supporters.

But try telling that to Nathan Hammock and his family. The Hammocks own a dairy farm in Museville. Because of drought, they wanted to put an irrigation pond on their property. They eventually managed to — after three years trying to get permission from the Environmental Protection Agency and the Army Corps of Engineers. "I think we've spent close to $30,000" in the process, Hammock says.

Hammock made the comment in a video you can find on the website of Rep. Robert Hurt (go to http://hurt.house.gov/ and click on "Videos"). Hurt, who represents Virginia's Fifth District, has introduced legislation to let farmers farm without having to navigate a "tremendous bureaucratic maze." It is moving through Congress — slowly.

The plural of anecdote, of course, is not data. So here are some data: In its first three years the Obama administration imposed more than 100 economically significant regulations — those costing $100 million or more. That's roughly four times as many as the Bush administration did during a similar period, according to the conservative Heritage Foundation.

Liberal outfits insist Heritage is wrong. But even by their Obama-friendly accounting, the current president has been issuing major rules at a rate 24 percent faster than Bush. Despite the lip service he often pays to the free market, the president has overseen massive regulatory expansions. See, e.g., the banking industry; vehicle mileage standards; Obamacare's seemingly endless new rules; carbon emission limits on coal-fired power plants; energy-efficiency standards for home appliances; and dozens more.

According to a report by the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, "The published regulatory burden for 2012 [alone] could exceed $105 billion. . . . Since January 1, the federal government has imposed $56.6 billion in compliance costs and more than 114 million annual paperwork burden hours."

Ask Jones about paperwork. Buckingham Slate is overseen by an alphabet soup of federal and state agencies, and "each one of them wants something from us all the time that is costing us money" — spill-prevention plans that require hiring an engineer; pre-shift inspections; dust monitoring; and more. Jones estimates that five of his 45 employees spend 20 percent of their time simply filling out paperwork.

Of course we need regulation. It helps keep our food safe to eat and our air safe to breathe. Companies shouldn't be able to shift the costs of production onto the public by dumping pollutants into the environment. Everybody agrees with that. The real question is: At what point does regulation go too far?

"If you're a small operator, they're just putting you out of business," says Jones. "It doesn't matter that we can compete globally. . . . Sooner or later, that kind of regulation is going to shut you down."

http://www2.timesdispatch.com/news/rtd-opinion/2012/nov/04/tdopin02-we-need-regulation-but-not-this-much-ar-2333362/

[Mark]

America Is Being Systematically Transformed Into A Totalitarian Society

If someone were to ask you for an example of a “totalitarian society”, how would you respond?  Most Americans would probably think of horribly repressive regimes such as the Soviet Union, Nazi Germany, Communist China, East Germany or North Korea, but the truth is that there is one society that has far more rules and regulations than any of those societies ever dreamed of having.  In the United States today, our lives are governed by literally millions of laws, rules and regulations that govern even the smallest details of our lives, and more laws, rules and regulations are constantly being added.  On January 1st, thousands of restrictive new laws went into effect all over America, but most Americans have become so accustomed to the matrix of control that has been constructed all around them that it does not even bother them when even more rules and regulations are put into place.  In fact, a growing number of Americans have become totally convinced that “freedom” and “liberty” must be tightly restricted for the good of society and that “the free market” is inherently dangerous.  On the national, state and local levels, Americans continue to elect elitist control freaks that are very eager to tell all the rest of us how to run virtually every aspect of our lives. According to Merriam-Webster, the following is one of the ways that the word “totalitarian” is defined: “of or relating to a political regime based on subordination of the individual to the state and strict control of all aspects of the life and productive capacity of the nation especially by coercive measures”.  And that is exactly what we are witnessing in America today – nearly all aspects of our lives and of the economy are very tightly controlled by a bunch of control freaks that just keep tightening that control with each passing year.  We still like to call ourselves “the land of the free”, but the truth is that we are being transformed into a totalitarian society unlike anything the world has ever seen before.  Where will we end up eventually if we keep going down this road?

If you still believe that America is “free”, just consider some of the things that are illegal in America today…

-Starting on January 1st, it is now illegal to make or import 75 watt incandescent light bulbs anywhere in the United States.

-In Oregon, it is illegal to collect rainwater that falls on your own property.

-In New Jersey, it is illegal to have an “unrestrained” cat or dog in your vehicle while you are driving.

-If you milk your cow and sell some of the milk to your neighbor, you could end up having your home raided by federal agents.

-In Miami Beach, Florida you must recycle your trash properly or face huge fines.

-All over the United States, cops are shutting down lemonade stands run by children because they don’t have the proper “permits”.

-Down in Tulsa, Oklahoma one unemployed woman had her survival garden brutally ripped out and carted away by government thugs because it did not conform to regulations.

-Over in Massachusetts, all children in daycare centers are mandated by state law to brush their teeth after lunch.  In fact, the state even provides the fluoride toothpaste for the children.

-At one public school down in Texas, a 12-year-old girl named Sarah Bustamantes was arrested for spraying herself with perfume.

-A 13-year-old student at a school in Albuquerque, New Mexico was arrested by police for burping in class.

-All over the United States cities have passed laws that actually make it illegal to feed the homeless.

With each passing year, the number of decisions that we are allowed to make for ourselves gets smaller and smaller.

This includes some really fundamental things such as basic health decisions.

For example, the CDC will soon be recommending that nearly every single American be vaccinated for the flu every single year.  The following is from a recent Natural News article…

    An advisory panel to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has recommended that every person be vaccinated for the seasonal flu yearly, except in a few cases where the vaccine is known to be unsafe.

    “Now no one should say ‘Should I or shouldn’t I?’” said CDC flu specialist Anthony Fiore.

    The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices voted 11-0 with one abstention to recommend yearly flu vaccination for everyone except for children under the age of six months, whose immune systems have not yet developed enough for vaccination to be safe, and people with egg allergies or other health conditions that are known to make flu vaccines hazardous.

These “recommendations” are often made into mandatory requirements by school districts and employers all over the country.  Will employers all over the nation soon require all of their employees to take these vaccines each year based on these CDC “recommendations”?  This is already happening in the healthcare field.  Hundreds of healthcare professionals all over the nation are being fired for refusing to take certain vaccines.  It doesn’t matter that there is a tremendous amount of evidence that many of these vaccines are dangerous.  Many health professionals today are being faced with the choice of either submitting to the “recommendations” of the “experts” or losing their jobs.

We see this kind of “creeping totalitarianism” in the business world as well.  As I have written about previously, small businesses all over the country are being absolutely suffocated by mountains of laws, rules and regulations.

One of the biggest changes that small businesses will be dealing with in the next couple of years is Obamacare.  Many small businesses have been cutting back hours in an attempt to get around the new requirements contained in Obamacare.  The following is one example from a news story that was published earlier this week…

    Around 100 local Wendy’s workers have learned their hours are being cut. A spokesperson says a new health care law is to blame.

    “Thirty-six to 37 hours a week.” That’s how many hours T.J. Growbeck works at the 84th and Giles Wendy’s restaurant. The money he earns helps him pay for the basics, but that’s not the case for all his co-workers. “There are some people doing it trying to get by.”

    The company has announced that all non-management positions will have their hours reduced to 28 a week. Gary Burdette, Vice President of Operations for the local franchise, says the cuts are coming because the new Affordable Health Care Act requires employers to offer health insurance to employees working 32-38 hours a week. Under the current law they are not considered full time and that as a small business owner, he can’t afford to stay in operation and pay for everyone’s health insurance.

But the IRS has announced that it is going to make it very hard for employers to avoid these new Obamacare regulations.  According to new IRS rules, all firms that “have at least 50 full-time employees or an equivalent combination of full-time and part-time employees” will be required to provide healthcare for their employees and their dependents.  The following is from a recent New York Times article…

    Under the rules, employers must offer coverage to employees in 2014 and must offer coverage to dependents as well, starting in 2015.

    The new rules apply to employers that have at least 50 full-time employees or an equivalent combination of full-time and part-time employees. A full-time employee is a person employed on average at least 30 hours a week. And 100 half-time employees are considered equivalent to 50 full-time employees.

    Thus, the government said, an employer will be subject to the new requirement if it has 40 full-time employees working 30 hours a week and 20 half-time employees working 15 hours a week.

So conceivably an employer could have only part-time employees and still be required to provide healthcare coverage under Obamacare.

Of course many small businesses will not be able to afford to do this, so expect to see a significant number of them shut down or to try to survive with skeleton crews in 2014 and 2015.

As the number of laws, rules and regulations that govern our lives continues to multiply, the control freaks that run things will continue to try to use technology to watch us all and make sure that we are obeying their rules.

One way that they are doing this is with automated traffic cameras.  Of course much of the time the performance of these cameras is terribly flawed.  Just consider the following example which recently appeared in the Baltimore Sun…

    The Baltimore City speed camera ticket alleged that the four-door Mazda wagon was going 38 miles per hour in a 25-mph zone — and that owner Daniel Doty owed $40 for the infraction.

    But the Mazda wasn’t speeding.

    It wasn’t even moving.

    The two photos printed on the citation as evidence of speeding show the car was idling at a red light with its brake lights illuminated. A three-second video clip also offered as evidence shows the car motionless, as traffic flows by on a cross street.

But even though technology sometimes fails, the control freaks that run things seem absolutely obsessed with using it to monitor us.  After all, there are so many of us and watching all of us is a very big job.

For example, did you know that listening devices are being installed on public buses all over the United States?  The following is from a recent Wired article…

    Transit authorities in cities across the country are quietly installing microphone-enabled surveillance systems on public buses that would give them the ability to record and store private conversations, according to documents obtained by a news outlet.

    The systems are being installed in San Francisco, Baltimore, and other cities with funding from the Department of Homeland Security in some cases, according to the Daily, which obtained copies of contracts, procurement requests, specs and other documents.

According to the article, some of these systems are incredibly advanced and pair the audio that is being recorded with video that is being taken at the same time…

    In Eugene, Oregon, the Daily found, transit officials requested microphones that would be capable of “distilling clear conversations from the background noise of other voices, wind, traffic, windshields wipers and engines” and also wanted at least five audio channels spread across each bus that would be “paired with one or more camera images and recorded synchronously with the video for simultaneous playback.”

But that is just one example of how the surveillance of the American people is rapidly growing.  For many more examples, please see my previous article entitled “29 Signs That The Elite Are Transforming Society Into A Total Domination Control Grid“.

If America continues down the path that it is on right now, the United States will eventually be transformed into a “Big Brother society” that is far more restrictive than anything George Orwell ever dreamed of.

We need a fundamental cultural revolution in this nation.  We need a revival of the principals of liberty and freedom that were so important during the founding days of this country.  We need to teach people that even though liberty and freedom may be unpredictable at times, such an environment is greatly preferable to a society where all of our decisions are made for us by a tiny elite.

Please share this article with as many people as you can.  Time is running out, and we need to wake up as many as we can while there is still time.

http://endoftheamericandream.com/archives/america-is-being-systematically-transformed-into-a-totalitarian-society

[Kilika]

For example, did you know that listening devices are being installed on public buses all over the United States?  The following is from a recent Wired article…

    Transit authorities in cities across the country are quietly installing microphone-enabled surveillance systems on public buses that would give them the ability to record and store private conversations, according to documents obtained by a news outlet.

Yet in many states it's illegal to record the conversation of another without their consent. I guess "authorities" don't have to abide by that law.

[Mark]

**** victim to be expelled for blasting college?
http://www.wnd.com/2013/03/****-victim-to-be-expelled-for-blasting-college/?cat_orig=education

Student punished for publicizing vandal names
http://www.wnd.com/2013/03/student-punished-for-publicizing-vandal-names/?cat_orig=education

Teacher on leave for guns-on-chalkboard threat
http://www.wnd.com/2013/03/teacher-on-leave-for-guns-on-chalkboard-threat/?cat_orig=education

Student suspended for shaping Pop-Tart into gun...
http://www.ktnv.com/news/watercooler/194673111.html

[Mark]

THE GROWING MILITARIZATION OF U.S. POLICE

As politicians exploit the Newtown tragedy to promote new laws to restrict firearms and implement universal background checks that could lead to gun registration and confiscation, another parallel trend– namely, the increasing militarization of law enforcement, most visibly demonstrated by the growing use of massive, SWAT-type raids on businesses and individuals, sometimes with federal involvement or authorization – is heightening concerns that America is moving toward a police state.

really big article
Read more at http://www.wnd.com/2013/04/the-growing-militarization-of-u-s-police/#l16uPbFOS236UezX.99

[Kilika]

Well, after the Senate defeated their gun bill, Obama has announced he will take "executive action" to force his gun grabbing into law.

I would expect no less from a Socialist.

http://news.yahoo.com/obama-taking-action-gun-background-check-system-100127550--politics.html

Obama taking action on gun background check system

By NEDRA PICKLER | Associated Press – 11 hrs ago

WASHINGTON (AP) — Blocked by Congress from expanding gun sale background checks, President Barack Obama is turning to actions within his own power to keep people from buying a gun who are prohibited for mental health reasons.

Federal law bans certain mentally ill people from purchasing firearms, but not all states are providing data to stop the prohibited sales to the FBI's background check system. A federal review last year found 17 states contributed fewer than 10 mental health records to the database, meaning many deemed by a judge to be a danger still could have access to guns.

The Obama administration was starting a process Friday aimed at removing barriers in health privacy laws that prevent some states from reporting information to the background check system. The action comes two days after the Senate rejected a measure that would have required buyers of firearms online and at gun shows to pass a background check. That's already required for shoppers at licensed gun dealers.

Stung by the defeat, Obama vowed to keep up the fight for the background check expansion but also to do what he could through executive action.

"Even without Congress, my administration will keep doing everything it can to protect more of our communities," Obama said from the Rose Garden shortly after the Senate voted. "We're going to address the barriers that prevent states from participating in the existing background check system."

Obama also mentioned giving law enforcement more information about lost and stolen guns and establishing emergency plans for schools. Those measures were among the 23 executive actions the president signed in January when he announced his broader push for tighter gun laws in response to a mass shooting of first-graders and staff at Newtown, Conn.'s Sandy Hook Elementary School.

The Health and Human Services Department on Friday was beginning to ask for public comment on how the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, passed by Congress in 1996 and known as HIPAA, is preventing some states from reporting to the background check system and how to address the problem. Under HIPAA, health care providers such as hospitals may release limited information to police, but only in certain circumstances such as when a court is involved. (cont.)

[Psalm 51:17]

^^ For the most part, the growing number of the population in the country(and the world for that matter too) have softened their stances against Roe V Wade and gay marriage as time has gone on, especially in recent years. But when it has come to the 2nd amendment issue, the same masses of people have stood firm - and this despite the fact that there's been many years of indoctrination in our institutions and entertainment media, this despite the fact even the NRA is opposition controlled(and there's RINOs in Congress), the list goes on.

Ultimately, this has stood the test of time. With that being said, IMHO, I don't think gun control will be made the law of the land until the AC/FP make their appearances to kick of Daniel's 70th week(at the signing of the covenant). The world will buy into the "strong delusion", that they'll give up anything to worship the AC.

[Psalm 51:17]

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-04-19/christie-seeks-expanded-gun-checks-video-game-crackdown.html?cmpid=yhoo
4/19/13
Christie Seeks Expanded Gun Checks, Video Game Crackdown

New Jersey Governor Chris Christie is seeking expanded background checks for gun purchases and parental consent for minors to buy violent video games as part of his response to the school shooting in Newtown, Connecticut.

Christie, a first-term Republican seeking re-election, also wants to ban purchases of the .50-caliber Barrett rifle, and to make it easier for doctors and courts to commit “potentially dangerous” people to mental-health treatment against their will. His proposals come a week after a task force he created in January released 50 recommendations to reduce violence.

The governor, a former U.S. prosecutor, has said since the Dec. 14 slaying of 20 children and six educators in Newtown that he’d be willing to discuss stricter controls as part of a more comprehensive package that also deals with mental health, substance abuse and violent video games.

“Ensuring there are common-sense safety measures when purchasing guns is not enough,” Christie said today at a press conference in Trenton. “We must address the many different contributing factors.”

New York, Connecticut, Colorado and Maryland have tightened gun laws following the Newtown killings. This week, the U.S. Senate fell six votes short of enacting a stripped-down version of gun controls that President Barack Obama had proposed in response to the shootings.

Second-Toughest
Several post-Newtown gun-control measures have already been proposed in New Jersey by Democrats who control the legislature. Christie has said he wanted to wait for his task force to finish studying the issue before taking action.

Christie said New Jersey’s gun-control laws are already considered the second-toughest in the nation by the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence. He cited the state’s assault- weapons ban, a seven-day waiting period prior to any firearm purchase, the third-strictest capacity laws on magazine capacity in the country and a one-gun-a-month law.

He is seeking to toughen laws by mandating that mental- health records are included in the instant background-check process at the time of a firearm purchase. He also is proposing bills to impose or strengthen criminal penalties for selling firearms to convicted felons, possessing a gun with the intent to unlawfully transfer, unlawfully possessing ammunition and engaging in firearms trafficking.

The governor said the bombings at the Boston Marathon this week are “another painful reminder” that “violent things will happen” no matter how many laws are passed.

“Some things, no matter how hard we try, are out of human control,” he said. “Bad people are going to do bad things.”

Christie said the violence has shown the need to make mental health a part of the proposals.

“You’ve had people who were deeply disturbed and for whatever reason were not getting treatment,” he said.

[Kilika]

The governor said the bombings at the Boston Marathon this week are “another painful reminder” that “violent things will happen” no matter how many laws are passed.

So then why is he proposing yet more laws? 

[Psalm 51:17]

So then why is he proposing yet more laws? 

Yeah, I found that an odd statement when he wants to ferociously push more gun control laws there.

[Psalm 51:17]

Well, after the Senate defeated their gun bill, Obama has announced he will take "executive action" to force his gun grabbing into law.

I would expect no less from a Socialist.

http://www.weeklystandard.com/blogs/biden-president-already-lining-some-additional-executive-actions-guns_718027.html
Biden: 'The President Is Already Lining Up Some Additional Executive Actions' for Guns
2:44 PM, Apr 18, 2013

Joe Biden says the president of the United States is preparing to take "executive actions" to deal with guns.

BuzzFeed reports:

Vice President Biden told White House allies in the gun control fight Thursday that President Obama will be announcing new executive actions on gun violence in the days after the Senate voted down a gun violence bill.

On a conference call with "stakeholders," Biden told gun control advocates that the fight is not over and that eventual action on gun control will come. Press were not invited to the conference call; a participant provided BuzzFeed with access.

"Look I know you're going to say that I'm just being an optimist and I'm trying to put a good face on this. But you know I've been around here a long time and we've already done, because of you, some really good things," Biden said. "Number one, the president is already lining up some additional executive actions he's going to be taking later this week."

After the Newtown shootings, Obama took a number of executive actions to expand research into gun violence and other areas favored by the gun control community. He took the actions without Congressional approval, leading to outrage by some conservatives.

[Mark]

Mourn For America: Whenever A Tragedy Happens They Take Even More Freedom From Us

What in the world is happening to America?  Over the past couple of decades, the federal government has used just about every major national tragedy as an excuse to take even more liberty and freedom away from us.  And without a doubt, the Boston Marathon bombing was a great national tragedy.  I don't think that any of us will forget the images that we have seen over the past week.  All of those responsible for this attack should be exposed, hunted down, tried and punished.  Unfortunately, what always seems to happen is that it is the American people that seem to get punished the most for these tragedies.  Over the past couple of decades we have been told again and again that if we will just give up a little bit more freedom that the authorities will be able to keep us safe.  But you know what?  It is IMPOSSIBLE for them to keep us safe.  There is no way in the world that the federal government can protect us from all of the bad guys in the world.  We are a country that is absolutely teeming with "soft targets" - malls, churches, schools, concerts, sporting events, etc.  No matter how much money we spend, there is no way that the federal government will ever be able to provide enough security for all of those soft targets.  Even if our society morphed into something that resembled George Orwell's "1984", the government would still never be able to guarantee our safety.  Unfortunately, in the aftermath of this attack there will inevitably be calls for "increased security" and "more anti-terror legislation".  The answer always seems to be to expand the emerging police state.  But it is getting to the point where all of this "security" is becoming absolutely suffocating, and yet it doesn't seem to be keeping us any safer.  So where does all of this end?  Are we going to completely throw out the entire U.S. Constitution in a desperate attempt to feel a little bit safer?  Or are we going to choose to live our lives without fear no matter what others may try to do to us?
 
Benjamin Franklin once made the following statement...
 

"Those who would give up Essential Liberty to purchase a little Temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety."
 
Sadly, the way that the American people have responded to national tragedies over the past couple of decades would have made our founding fathers greatly ashamed.  The American people have been way too willing to give up liberty in exchange for the promise of safety.
 
We have been told that the terrorists hate us because of our liberties and freedoms.  But we have also been told that in order to be "safe" from those terrorists we have got to give up those liberties and freedoms.
 
So who is really winning?
 
We seem to have forgotten some of the most basic lessons in life.
 
If you cower in fear when a bully comes after you, what is the bully going to do?
 
The bully is just going to keep coming after you because his actions are being rewarded.
 
Those that are trying to create fear love it when you become fearful.  It is exactly what they want.
 
The appropriate response to a great national tragedy is to reject fear and to continue to boldly live our lives as if nobody could ever shake us.
 
But instead, the atmosphere of fear in America continues to grow.
 
And yes, there are common sense things that our government should be doing to keep bad guys away from us.
 
For example, the number one thing that the federal government should be doing is to secure the border.  Every single day, thousands upon thousands of people that we don't know anything about pour into this country.  And yet the federal government has absolutely refused to secure our borders for decades.
 
Until the federal government secures our borders, they should not ask any of us to sacrifice a single ounce of liberty or freedom in the name of "national security".
 
But even as the Obama administration treats our border security like a joke and continues to import huge numbers of people from radical areas of the Middle East, they continue to tell us that "domestic terror" is the next great threat that we are facing.
 
Many of our other politicians are buying into this philosophy as well.  Senator Lindsey Graham says that the attack in Boston is a perfect example of "why the homeland is the battlefield".
 
So if "the homeland is the battlefield", then who is the enemy?
 
Well, a U.S. Army Reserve training presentation recently identified evangelical Christians as "religious extremists", and since Barack Obama entered the White House there have been numerous government reports that have identified Christians, "constitutionalists", patriots, anti-abortion activists, conspiracy theorists and gun owners as "potential terrorists".
 
So where does all of this end?
 
Are the American people rapidly becoming the enemy?
 
Will we be constantly scared to death of one another?
 
Will the entire nation exist in a never ending environment of fear?
 
Will we eventually have the TSA and the Department of Homeland Security patrolling every mall, every church, every school, every concert and every sporting event?
 
Unfortunately, the bad guys will always be able to find a soft target, and there will be more terror attacks in the future no matter how much security we pour on.  Once upon a time this nation was greatly blessed with peace and security, but now that hedge of protection is gone.  The federal government could give the Department of Homeland Security trillions of dollars a year and it would not make much of a difference.  We live in a world that is becoming increasingly unstable, and bad guys are going to do bad things.
 
Yes, there are some common sense things that we can do to make our nation more secure.  At this point, the federal government is not doing most of those things.
 
But no matter how hard we try, bad things are going to happen.  When those bad things happen, what we can control is how we respond to them.
 
That is why what just happened in Boston is so alarming.  The entire city was put into a complete lockdown for nearly two days.  It was a preview of what could happen nationwide if martial law was declared.  It was an over the top display of force that clearly demonstrated to the rest of the world how incredibly frightened we are.
 
Some of the things we saw in Boston were absolutely disgraceful.  For example, you can see video of an innocent Watertown family being ripped out of their home at gunpoint right here.
 
Do you know what this tells the rest of the world?
 
It tells them that terrorism works.
 
It tells them that one small incident is enough to send the entire nation into a full-blown panic attack.
 
You can see some more photos of martial law in Boston right here.  Instead of making things better, this is just going to make the atmosphere of fear in this nation even worse.
 
And you know what?  None of those heavily armed men even found the second suspect.  He was actually found by a neighbor that had gone out to take a smoke.
 
Like most Americans, I absolutely hate terrorism in all the forms that it takes.
 
But we are not going to prevent future terrorism by treating the U.S. Constitution like a piece of trash.  We have now shown the world that we are willing to throw out our most important constitutional rights the moment that a "threat" arises, and this is just going to encourage even more terrorism.
 
You see, those that engage in terrorism want attention and they want to create fear.  When we give them attention and we allow them to create fear we give them exactly what they want.
 
Is there anyone out there that can defend what we just saw in Boston?  I can't imagine any American that still loves the Constitution being proud of what just happened.  I think that Karl Denninger put it quite eloquently the other day...
 

By effectively occupying a part of the Boston metro area they made an utter mockery of the 4th Amendment. There was no “hot pursuit” and thus no argument available to them allowing searches of private property without consent or a warrant. Not only did they search without a warrant there were multiple reports through the day of seizure of firearms, among other things.
 
Sadly, most Americans seem to be more than willing to disregard the U.S. Constitution these days.  Most of them are incredibly scared and they just want someone in a position of authority to assure them that they will be safe.
 
So I am sure that in the months ahead we will see "security" get even tighter in this country.  With each subsequent tragedy, it will just get tighter and tighter until we can barely even breathe.
 
This is not the answer to any of our problems.  In fact, it is just going to make many of the problems that we are facing as a nation far worse.

http://theeconomiccollapseblog.com/archives/mourn-for-america-whenever-a-tragedy-happens-they-take-even-more-freedom-from-us

[Psalm 51:17]

By effectively occupying a part of the Boston metro area they made an utter mockery of the 4th Amendment. There was no “hot pursuit” and thus no argument available to them allowing searches of private property without consent or a warrant. Not only did they search without a warrant there were multiple reports through the day of seizure of firearms, among other things.

Happened in New Orleans shortly right after Katrina - going door to door seizing firearms.

Also, apparently, Capitol Hill is using this engineered crisis to push immigration reform.

[Kilika]

Yep, finally somebody wrote about the opportunity the feds took by conducting a city-wide search without a warrant, while under something other than Martial Law. The government is handling this as a federal issue under terrorism, which they have turned into an act of war, rather than a civil act of crime.

The government chose of it's own free will to make this a "terror" issue, and not a crime, for a reason. There is no way they want this in civilian courts where the government has to actually abide by the law. They can't hide stuff, and need a warrant, etc if this were a criminal civil case.

They would also have to respect the suspects rights as a US citizen, but they already laid the groundwork for that recently by getting the courts to rule the US CAN use drones to kill US citizens without trial, which I think applies to overseas, but not domestically? Have to look that up, not sure about domestically.

But here's the thing, they had allegedly already looked in that yard with the boat. So when they found him in an area already searched (the boat), that threw out the window every single search they had done because it obviously didn't work because they didn't find him the first time. It just proves how ineffective a house-to-house search really is in a city of any size at all. A small village, sure, it works well.

Tactically speaking, it was useless because the suspects had WAY too much lead time, and secondly, they couldn't shut down the "perimeter" fast enough to guarantee they hadn't escaped outside the city.

It just doesn't make sense. Did those two, if they are guilty, actually think they could go back to what they were doing and get away with it? Some witnesses claim the younger was on campus afterwards acting normal. They blow up a place, and right back to normal? Then later walk up and kill a cop while he's sitting in his car, then get in a chase and shootout? Who wrote this movie script anyway, Michael Bay?

Talking about script, this mornings local news, CBS5 Phoenix, of course was talking about it, and their report, which is handed down from the network, said the neck wound was "self-inflicted".

I have not read or heard that anywhere. No mention of any self-inflicted anywhere by anybody. They said it twice that I heard, as they repeat about every 45 minutes to the hour their main stories.

Who shoots themselves in the neck, intentionally? Physiologically, You have to be accurate because there is only two (2) places on the neck area where a bullet would kill you; right side for the carotid, and the left for the juggler veins. You take a hit anywhere else, even the spine, it's highly likely you live, as there is no serious vital organs, or anything other than soft tissue and some muscles, and cartilage in the trachea area. Sure, you'd damage the ability to talk possibly, and do some bleeding, but odds are good you live. So why self-inflicted to the neck, by somebody who has shown has smarts. If he wanted to kill himself, I have no doubt at all he's choose the head, not the neck.

WAY too many questions.

[Psalm 51:17]

Note: Prison Planet/Inforwars says gun confiscation, while this local news article doesn't mention anything about guns. But either way, we're seeing the ultimately Police State starting to get into full swing...



FBI, local police conducting massive sweep in Oakland
4/24/13
http://www.ktvu.com/news/news/crime-law/fbi-local-police-conducting-massive-sweep-oakland/nXXKw/

A massive law enforcement sweep was underway in Oakland Wednesday, with nine people having reportedly been detained an hour after it was first reported. FBI agents, local police SWAT and the California Highway Patrol were targeting multiple locations. Several streets were closed down in West Oakland during the sweeps. Portions of Seventh and Eighth streets were shut down in the area for at least 90 minutes and while helicopters circled overhead. The police barricades were reportedly lifted just before 10:20 p.m. It appeared to be an extensive operation with many officers involved. There were agents carrying out actions in numerous parts of the city Wednesday night. As of 9 p.m., KTVU learned that nine people had been detained. An hour later, a separate sweep involving San Leandro Police reportedly resulted in a standoff near the intersection of E. 22 Street and 14th Avenue. Oakland Police and other agencies involved told KTVU that the participating departments were not at liberty to discuss what the action concerned. However, those agencies would be able to release details when the sweep was over.

Follow this story for more updates.

[Mark]

Am I Free To Go?

An increasing number of Americans are not buying into the “you must give up your liberties so we can protect you” message from the authorities.

The nation looked on with horror as the authorities locked down an entire region in search of one gunman following the Boston Marathon.

If only King George III had commanded SWAT teams, the Boston Tea Party would have been suppressed, and our kids would be singing “God Save the Queen” in our government schools!

The New American Democracy
 
This is American Democracy at work plain and simple in which the government  places an entire city under house arrest to catch one 19 year old kid who was probably acting on the advice of an FBI provocateur. As we have come to learn, the Modus Operandi of the FBI has been to set gullible people up for terrorism charges and then claim there is a terrorist danger, rack up a patsy and subsequently keep the hysteria of the war on terror going.

In Watertown, MA., we see the SS tactics carried out against an average American neighborhood. And before you tell me this was a martial law situation. How many police incidents involving a gun take place in every major city, every day in America and entire metropolitan areas are not locked down. Look on with horror at the new America as this martial law beta test takes place.

big article lots of stuff: http://www.thecommonsenseshow.com/2013/04/27/am-i-free-to-go/

[Mark]

American Gestapo: Boston Bombing Reveals Washington’s True Colors

The Gestapo-like tactics that were implemented in Boston last week by the military-style police forces are just a small sign of things to come in America… including a large spike in military-style drones flying over — and spying on — American cities as well as a new influx of high definition security cameras in major U.S. cities.

As we expected, the power hungry elites in Washington are using the Boston bombings to force a false choice on the American “sheeple”.

And they are using the corporate-controlled media to spread their delusional attempts at a massive power grab.
 
The talking heads on TV will put forth reasoning that will sound something like this…
 
Which would you prefer if a “terrorist” is loose in your town?

1) Armed policemen enacting martial law in your city, imposing curfews, and conducting door-to-door searches while holding your family at gunpoint?
 
or

2) Heat-seeking military drones flying over your city peering into your homes in a search for the “terrorist” in order to “keep you safe?”
 
Apparently these are the only two options that Washington is prepared to consider.

This choice is entirely fabricated. Americans can say “no” to both choices. Unfortunately, with the recent passage of the unpatriotic Patriot Act and the outrageous National Defense Authorization Act of 2012, American citizens can now be detained indefinitely strictly based on suspicion. No evidence is needed and the decision cannot be questioned by the American public.

Below is an intense video of police performing house-to-house raids in Watertown, MA, a suburb of Boston. Watch how they rough up the innocent families and kick them out of their own homes.

big article lots of stuff: http://ftmdaily.com/global-issues/big-brother-government-global-issues/american-gestapo-boston-bombing-reveals-true-colors/

[Mark]

Poll: 29% of Registered Voters Believe Armed Revolution Might Be Necessary in Next Few Years

Twenty-nine percent of registered voters think that an armed revolution might be necessary in the next few years in order to protect liberties, according to a Public Mind poll by Fairleigh Dickinson University.
 
The poll, which surveyed 863 registered voters and had a margin of error of +/-3.4, focused on both gun control and the possibility of a need for an armed revolution in the United States to protect liberty.
 
The survey asked whether respondents agreed, disagreed, neither agreed nor disagreed or did not know or refused to respond to the statement: "In the next few years, an armed revolution might be necessary in order to protect our liberties"
 
Twenty-nine percent said they agreed, 47 percent said they disagreed, 18 percent said they neither agreed nor disagreed, 5 percent said they were unsure, and 1 percent refused to respond.
 
Results of the poll show that those who believe a revolution might be necessary differ greatly along party lines:
 • 18 percent of Democrats
 • 27 percent of Independents
 • 44 percent of Republicans
 
The poll found that 38 percent of Americans who believe a revolution might be necessary support additional gun control legislation compared to 62 percent of those who don't think an armed revolt will be needed.
 
Dan Cassino, a professor of political science at Fairleigh Dickinson and analyst for the poll, says:
 
"The differences in views of gun legislation are really a function of differences in what people believe guns are for.  If you truly believe an armed revolution is possible in the near future, you need weapons and you're going to be wary about government efforts to take them away."
 
The poll was conducted nationally between April 22 and April 28, 2013

http://cnsnews.com/blog/gregory-gwyn-williams-jr/poll-29-registered-voters-believe-armed-revolution-might-be-necessary

[Christian40]

"Florida House and Senate budget leaders have awarded Palm Beach County Sheriff Ric Bradshaw $1 million for a new violence prevention unit aimed at preventing tragedies like those in Newtown, Conn., and Aurora, Colo., from occurring on his turf.

Bradshaw plans to use the extra $1 million to launch “prevention intervention” units featuring specially trained deputies, mental health professionals and caseworkers. The teams will respond to citizen phone calls to a 24-hour hotline with a knock on the door and a referral to services, if needed.

The goal will be avoiding crime — and making sure law enforcement knows about potential powder kegs before tragedies occur, Bradshaw said. But the earmark, which is a one-time-only funding provision, provoked a debate Monday among mental health advocates and providers about the balance between civil liberties, privacy and protecting the public.

Bradshaw said his proposal is a first-of-its-kind in the nation, and he hopes it will become a model for the rest of the state like his gang prevention and pill-mill units.

“Every single incident, whether it’s Newtown, that movie theater, or the guy who spouts off at work and then goes home and kills his wife and two kids — in every single case, there were people who said they knew ahead of time that there was a problem,” Bradshaw said. “If the neighbor of the mom in Newtown had called somebody, this might have saved 25 kids’ lives.”

Bradshaw is readying a hotline and is planning public service announcements to encourage local citizens to report their neighbors, friends or family members if they fear they could harm themselves or others.

The goal won’t be to arrest troubled people but to get them help before there’s violence, Bradshaw said. As a side benefit, law enforcement will have needed information to keep a close eye on things.

“We want people to call us if the guy down the street says he hates the government, hates the mayor and he’s gonna shoot him,” Bradshaw said. “What does it hurt to have somebody knock on a door and ask, ‘Hey, is everything OK?’ ”

That’s enough for Senate budget chief Joe Negron, R-Stuart, who helped push through the funding last weekend.

He said he met with Bradshaw about the program and “got assurances from the sheriff that this is going to be done in a way that respects people’s autonomy and privacy, and that he makes sure to protect against people making false claims.”

Mental health advocates, however, worry about a potential new source of stigma, and the potential for erosion of the civil rights of people with mental illnesses.

“How are they possibly going to watch everybody who makes a comment like that? It’s subjective,” said Liz Downey, executive director of the Palm Beach County branch of the National Alliance on Mental Illness. “We don’t want to take away people’s civil liberties just because people aren’t behaving the way we think they should be.”

Bradshaw acknowledged the risk that anyone in a messy divorce or in a dispute with a neighbor could abuse the hotline. But, he said, he’s confident that his trained professionals will know how to sort out fact from fiction.

“We know how to sift through frivolous complaints,” he said.

The proposal still needs the blessing of Gov. Rick Scott, who has line-item veto authority.

But if it goes forward, Palm Beach County’s already stretched mental health and substance abuse providers could find themselves even busier. There is no ready source of funds once the $1 million runs its course, as there hasn’t been an increase to community mental health funding in many years.

“Our community agencies throughout the state don’t have the funds to meet the needs they have currently,” said Bob Sharpe, CEO of the Florida Council for Community Mental Health. “It sounds like it could work, but with no new funding we’d have to find it within existing resources.”

If Bradshaw’s teams can keep people out of crisis units and promote early intervention, that has the potential to save money, said Ann Berner, CEO of the Southeast Florida Behavioral Health Network, which manages mental health care payments for the state.

To be successful, however, there will have to be close coordination with the mental health providers, she said. For example, the county already pays for mobile crisis response teams at two nonprofit mental health providers, a service that includes a 24-hour crisis call center. They, too, are trained to de-escalate conflicts and refer troubled people to care. Which ones will respond when there’s a call from a school or a home? That will have to be clarified.

Also, after troubled people are identified by Bradshaw’s teams, then what? Who will pay for their care? The state? Medicaid? The county? The Palm Beach County Public Defender has a good program to ensure qualified people apply for the Social Security and Medicaid benefits they may need, she said. Some high-level conversations have started, but more are needed, Berner added.

“I think that would be an area we really need to collaborate on, and soon,” she said.

The $1 million Bradshaw won represents a third of what he had sought from the Legislature, but it’s a 10-fold bump from what was originally earmarked before House and Senate budget leaders finalized the state’s $74 billion budget over the weekend."

http://www.nowtheendbegins.com/blog/?p=13884

[Mark]

D.C. police: Armed protesters face arrest

The District of Columbia’s police chief said Tuesday officers would arrest marchers who plan to openly carry rifles into the city in violation of District law.
 
“Passing into the District of Columbia with loaded firearms is a violation of the law and we’ll have to treat it as such,” Metropolitan Police Department Chief Cathy Lanier said on NewsChannel 8.

Libertarian activist and radio host Adam Kokesh is organizing a July 4 march into D.C., which he hopes to feature 1,000 gun-toting Americans marching from Arlington National Cemetery into the city and passing the White House, the Capitol and the Supreme Court.
 
“We will march with rifles loaded & slung across our backs to put the government on notice that we will not be intimidated & cower in submission to tyranny,” Kokesh wrote on the Facebook page for the event. “We are marching to mark the high water mark of government & to turn the tide. This will be a non-violent event, unless the government chooses to make it violent.”
 
D.C. has some of the strictest gun laws in the country. While an old law banning handgun ownership was struck down by the Supreme Court in 2008’s District of Columbia vs. Heller, the D.C. Council quickly passed a new law allowing residents to purchase handguns, but requiring them to keep the guns in their homes. Carrying a loaded weapon of any type is against D.C. law.
 
“It’s pretty exciting to see how it’s developing,” Kokesh told WAMU, D.C.’s NPR affiliate. “It’s certainly taking off and going viral, and we’re really excited to be able to provide something meaningful for people to do on Independence Day, when everyone else is going to be the least patriotic thing possible, which is sitting on their butts and not doing anything to improve the country.”
 
Over 2,000 people have said the plan to attend the event on Facebook, but Kokesh wrote he is aiming for 10,000 planned attendees to ensure there are actually 1,000 marchers on Independence Day.
 
Lanier said Kokesh hasn’t contacted police, although Kokesh wrote on Facebook he planned to do so.


Read more: http://www.politico.com/story/2013/05/armed-protesters-face-arrest-91022.html#ixzz2SdeZW22h

[Psalm 51:17]

The FBI's reported new plan to read your emails
5/8/13
http://news.yahoo.com/fbis-reported-plan-read-emails-174800308.html

A proposed change to surveillance laws would empower the government to wiretap electronic communications

The White House is "on the verge" of approving a drastic overhaul of the nation's wiretapping laws that would give the government more power to obtain personal Internet communications, according to the New York Times' Charlie Savage.

Citing officials close to the discussions, Savage reports the plan, a brainchild of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, would allow courts to impose stiff fines on Internet communications providers who refuse to comply with federal search orders. The FBI, which has sought similar changes for at least the past three years, says it must update the nation's surveillance laws to keep pace with the rapidly evolving world of digital communications.

Back in 2010, the FBI considered a plan that would have forced companies with Internet messaging capabilities, like Skype and Facebook, to revamp their services so they could easily turn over users' communications histories — including encrypted messages — to the government. While telecommunications companies, like AT&T, are already required by law to have such systems in place, the proposed change was intended to bring that decades-old law into the digital age.

But now, the FBI is pursuing a different strategy.

From the Times:

While the F.B.I.'s original proposal would have required Internet communications services to each build in a wiretapping capacity, the revised one, which must now be reviewed by the White House, focuses on fining companies that do not comply with wiretap orders. The difference, officials say, means that start-ups with a small number of users would have fewer worries about wiretapping issues unless the companies became popular enough to come to the Justice Department's attention. [New York Times]

The proposal would allow judges to impose escalating fines, starting at $25,000 per day, should companies refuse to comply with court-ordered wiretaps. Companies that receive wiretap orders will have 30 days to discuss any technical limitations with the government that would prevent them from being able to comply, according to the Times.

Critics worry that the change could endanger confidential communications. They say it could pressure Internet communications providers to install backdoor wiretapping capabilities before the government comes calling. Such backdoors, critics fear, could easily be exploited by hackers.

"The government should be doing everything in its power to increase the security of our communications networks, not riddling them with interception backdoors that will likely be exploited by criminals and foreign governments," Chris Soghoian the American Civil Liberties Union said in a statement. "History has shown time and time again that interception backdoors are fundamentally at odds with good cybersecurity."

The FBI insists that the proposed changes would not amount to an end run around the Constitution.

"This always requires a court order," Andrew Weissmann, the FBI's legal counsel, said in a statement to the Times. "None of the 'going dark' solutions would do anything except update the law given means of modern communications."

Yet as CNET's Declan McCullagh reported Wednesday, citing government documents obtained by the ACLU, the Justice Department and FBI have hinted that they may not seek search warrants to review such online correspondence.

"f we combine that kind of cavalier attitude toward our constitutionally mandated protections with vastly expanded technical surveillance capabilities, then we’ve got a real problem," says Salon's Andrew Leonard. "Civil libertarians have a right to be nervous. Expanded power implies expanded opportunities to abuse that power."

[Psalm 51:17]

Obama Signs Open Data Executive Order: U.S. Government Data To Be Made Freely Available
http://www.forbes.com/sites/reuvencohen/2013/05/09/obama-signs-open-data-executive-order-all-u-s-government-data-to-be-made-freely-available/?partner=yahoofeed
5/9/13

Interesting news out of The White House this this morning announcing an Open Data Executive Order signed by President Obama. Along with the  order is an accompanying Open Data Policy released by the Office of Management and Budget and Office of Science and  Technology Policy. The order states that “going forward, newly generated  government data shall be made freely available in open, machine-readable formats, while  appropriately safeguarding privacy, confidentiality, and security. This requirement will help the  Federal government achieve the goal of making troves of previously inaccessible or unmanageable data easily available to entrepreneurs, innovators, researchers, and others who can use those data to generate new products and services, build businesses, and create jobs.”

“Today’s actions are the latest manifestation of the Obama Administration’s longstanding commitment to releasing and leveraging data in support of enhanced transparency and accountability, improved government services, and a stronger economy. They build on actions such as the Open Government Directive, the Digital Government Strategy, and, most recently, the Open Data Initiatives project, which is bringing the benefits of open data to a wide range of domains including health, energy, education, public safety, finance, and global development. Examples of data that are already being released in machine-readable form across government.”

Along with the Executive Order and Open Data Policy, the Administration announced a series of complementary actions:

• A new Data.Gov.  In the months ahead, Data.gov, the powerful central hub for open government data, will launch new services that include improved visualization, mapping tools, better context to help locate and understand these data, and robust Application Programming Interface TILE -0.52% (API) access for developers.

• New open source tools to make data more open and accessible.  The US Chief Information Officer and the US Chief Technology Officer are releasing free, open source tools on Github, a site that allows communities of developers to collaboratively develop solutions.  This effort, known as Project Open Data, can accelerate the adoption of open data practices by providing plug-and-play tools and best practices to help agencies improve the management and release of open data.  For example, one tool released today automatically converts simple spreadsheets and databases into APIs for easier consumption by developers.  Anyone, from government agencies to private citizens to local governments and for-profit companies, can freely use and adapt these tools starting immediately.

• Building a 21st century digital government.  As part of the Administration’s Digital Government Strategy andOpen Data Initiatives in health, energy, education, public safety, finance, and global development, agencies have been working to unlock data from the vaults of government, while continuing to protect privacy and national security.  Newly available or improved data sets from these initiatives will be released today and over the coming weeks as part of the one year anniversary of the Digital Government Strategy.

• Continued engagement with entrepreneurs and innovators to leverage government data.  The Administration has convened and will continue to bring together companies, organizations, and civil society for a variety of summits to highlight how these innovators use open data to positively impact the public and address important national challenges.  In June, Federal agencies will participate in the fourth annual Health Datapalooza, hosted by the nonprofit Health Data Consortium, which will bring together more than 1,800 entrepreneurs, innovators, clinicians, patient advocates, and policymakers for information sessions, presentations, and “code-a-thons” focused on how the power of data can be harnessed to help save lives and improve healthcare for all Americans.

[Mark]

Gun March Organizer Now Calling for Citywide Civil Disobedience

The July 4 armed march on Washington just got a little more interesting. A day after telling City Desk that he would still try to enter Washington with a loaded gun, rally organizer Adam Kokesh changed tactics. Now, he wants citywide civil disobedience over whatever law participants consider unconstitutional.
 
"This is now a call for mass civil disobedience on July 4th anywhere in Washington, DC," Kokesh writes on his march's Facebook event page. "Break whatever unconstitutional law you choose."
 
Kokesh declined to comment on the move, promising a full announcement next year. But the shift to a citywide strategy seems to be a response to D.C. police chief Cathy Lanier making it clear that marchers would be stopped at the bridge. Instead, Kokesh promises, "we will shut them down by overwhelming them."
 
Meanwhile, another group of libertarians has promised to march downtown the day before Kokesh's rally with toy guns.
 
Readers: What unconstitutional law will you choose to break for Washington's version of Devil's Night?

http://www.washingtoncitypaper.com/blogs/citydesk/2013/05/08/gun-march-organizer-now-calling-for-citywide-civil-disobedience/

[Mark]

America Is Already An Occupied Nation


Some readers have expressed displeasure with the notion of a military coup to purge the government of the bankers and their minions, who have violated their constitutional oaths, from either elected or appointed office.

Some readers have pointed out that history is filled with examples where military dictatorships have wreaked havoc upon their innocent civilians. On that point, the critics are correct.

Some readers have pointed out that history demonstrates that when a military coup takes place, the civilian controls over government, in many cases, are never restored. On that point, the critics are also correct.
 
To the people who have written to me with the aforementioned observations, I completely agree with your criticisms and expressed concerns. However, after you read the following paragraphs, please tell me what other options we Americans have other than walking off quietly into the night and passively submitting to a tyranny which wants most of us dead.
 
You Have Been Labeled As An Enemy of the State
 
Most Americans are already prisoners of the states by virtue of the fact that we are also enemies of the state.  In fact, some of the activists living on borrowed time as we are already sitting on death row. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has declared that the war against terror is still alive and well. However, we are no longer waging war on international terrorism, DHS has changed their targets. If you have been declared a terrorist, then you are an enemy of the state by default. 
 
According to DHS, you are a domestic terrorist if you possess any of the following attributes:
 

Christians in the Cross-hairs
 ■
If you are Christian who believes the Bible is the word of God, then you are a terrorist.

 ■If you are a returning veteran, the you are a terrorist.
 ■If you are a Libertarian, then you are a terrorist.
 ■If you are a supporter of the Constitution, then you are a terrorist.
 ■If you are a supporter of Ron Paul ideals of limited government, then you are a terrorist.
 ■If you store more than three days of food and water, then you are a  terrorist.
 ■If you grow your own food, then you are a terrorist.
 ■If you are a gun owner or support the Second Amendment, then you are a terrorist.
 ■If you question government authority and notice the conspiracies that they ferment, then you are a terrorist.
 ■If you protest against the government, then you are a terrorist.
 ■If you take photographs in public, then you are a terrorist.
 ■If you videotape the cops committing police brutality, then you are a terrorist.
 ■If you make a phone call, send a fax or text message, visit a pro-constitution website, email anyone, post or visit on Facebook, use Google, travel by plane, then you are a terrorist because every one of these actions are monitored under the guise of detecting terrorism.
 
Every man, woman and child in this country, unless they work for NWO interests, are  government declared terrorists.
 
You Have Been Targeted for Unwarranted Detention and Extermination
 
The Nazis, the KGB and the East German Stasi have nothing on DHS. What would have been unthinkable only a generation ago in the form tyrannical abuse of power by the government, has arrived inside our country and it has arrived with a vengeance. Below, is just a small cross-section of the tyranny which has been visited upon America.

 ■The NDAA allows for unwarranted, illegal and indefinite detention of American citizens without the due process of law. Every person reading these words fits into one of the above categories in which DHS declares you to be a terrorist. This violates the entire Bill of Rights. No lawyer, no bail, no arraignment, no show cause hearing, no restrictions on length of incarceration, no right to cross examine witnesses against you and no right to ever be heard from again. Attorney General Holder has declared that Obama can use this act to murder Americans, through the use of domestically deployed drones, and it is presently being done. This act alone negates any civil liberty protections from this criminal enterprise government.

 ■The Patriot Act gives the government the right to spy on your every communication in violation of the Fourth Amendment

 ■New gun legislation sweeping the country negates your right to self-protection against intruders or an unconstitutionally intrusive government.
 
The above is only small cross-section of what has been and what will be done to us on a legislative front.
 
Remedies to the Tyranny Being Perpetrated by the NWO Through the Power of Government
 
To those who wrote to me in protest of encouraging a military purge of certain criminal government leaders, both elected and appointed.

 ■We the people can assassinate key leaders of the enslavement movement. This is destined to fail and runs in the face of everything I believe, therefore, I reject this option wholeheartedly.

 ■We the people can submit to the authority of the NWO and accept unwarranted detention, unwarranted executions and being the victim of a planned depopulation Eugenics program.

 ■We the people can use the next election cycle to unelect all politicians who do not support the Constitution. This is beyond naive, it is just plain ignorant. The NWO controls both major political parties. Who do you think is behind the outlawing of the Constitutionalists and Libertarians by DHS in the MIAC Report? The banksters own and control the electronic voting machines. In short, our “right” to vote has been reduced to a ceremonial gesture by the Bilderbergers and the Trilateral Commission who determine the winners of major elected office.

 ■We the people can launch “The People’s Revolution.” Really? Do you seriously see yourself picking an RPG or a gun and taking on DHS and UN troops who are presently in our country? Only the delusional would believe such a solution is viable. Voting has been reduced to a form of symbolic protest.

 ■We the people can support the continuation of the Lexington and Concord movement started by General Hamm, the deposed commander of AFRICOM, as he tried in vain to rescue Ambassador Stevens from the first degree murder plot perpetrated by this government.  Obama is purging the military with a vengeance because he knows that he and his merry band of communists are most vulnerable to a military coup. A military coup is the only real threat to the administration.
 
I find a military coup to be as distasteful as do many of you. However, what choice do we have left? Below on the comment board and would like to hear some viable solutions to a military coup. Do you really see yourself doing this?
 
 
http://www.thecommonsenseshow.com/2013/05/11/america-is-already-an-occupied-nation/

[Kilika]

Do you seriously see yourself picking an RPG or a gun and taking on DHS and UN troops who are presently in our country?

Proof? Not just visiting military for training, but proof troops are on US soil.