SWAT Goons Raid and Destroy An Innocent Person's Home

A group of SWAT thugs showed up at, raided, and destroyed an innocent person's apartment. They slaughtered the family's pet (a guinea pig), shattered windows, destroy ed personal belongings, and ransacked the entire place. They even polluted the entire home by setting off CS gas (which is a poison) everywhere and leaving it there.

One of the neighbors (a soldier who recognizes the tactics used by the police thugs, considering he clears land mines for a living) had witnessed the entire event, calling it "overpowering" and saying that they "seemed to enjoy doing it." The incensed homeowner, who had asked the police as to how they would rectify the matter, was told, "Sorry for the inconvenience."

But then, that was until the cameras started rolling.

(Hat tip to KD for posting this on the LRC blog tonight.)

An Interview with Judge Andrew 'The Man' Napolitano At Reason

Reason's Brian Doherty interviews Fox News' very own Judge Andrew Napolitano on his incredible, best-selling new book A Nation of Sheep.

Fans of Judge Napolitano should check out his other books The Constitution in Exile: How the Federal Government Has Seized Power by Rewriting the Supreme Law of the Land (which is available in hardcover) and Constitutional Chaos: What Happens When the Government Breaks Its Own Laws while they're at it.

Happy Birthday, Todd Andrew Barnett

Happy Birthday to me, Todd Andrew Barnett! I'm now officially 34 years old.

(Ok, now how about those birthday cards and presents, people? What, no birthday cake! lol j/k)

A Rigged Poll Deconstructed

Libertarian activist Rolf Lindgren on the rigging of political polls and how to deconstruct them at the Last Free Voice.

(Thanks should be given to Stephen Gordon of Gordon Unleashed, who was asked by Lindgren to post his article.)

Rudy Ghouliani - The Real Mr. 9/11

This is the real Ghouliani a.k.a. Mr. 9/11 that Rudy himself doesn't want you to see it.

(A thankful nod goes to LRC blogger James Ostrawski for this video.)

My Big Bra Poses A Threat to Homeland Insecurity

Robust 34 FF cup-sized Canadian columnist Paula Simons on her recent dealings with the Department of Homeland Insecurity during her U.S. vacation.

Next thing you know, a man's, um, equipment will be considered a threat to American national security.

(Muchas gracias to Karen DeCoster at the LRC blog regarding this story.)

NH Primary Set for January 8

The New Hampshire Presidential Primary has been set for January 8, according to MSNBC.com's Mike Memoli.

(Hat tip to Nick Ryder of Free Minds TV for spilling the beans at the Free Keene site.)

Conservatism's Legacy

Prominent libertarian luminary Tibor R. Machan blogs on the legacy of conservatism.

(Hat tip to RRND for its link to the blog.)

Talk About 'Equality Before the Law'

What an embarrassing joke! Because the state has the power to tase and tax you, you must accept the tasering and taxing!

So much for a civil society. And the sad truth is that such a society once existed. Today it exists no more.

Welcome to Police State 2007, ladies and gentleman! It's where the political society is now in full force.

It's also known as American Empire 2007. The bad news is that we're expected to enjoy it while it lasts.

(Thanks to LR for his blog post on it.)

The Problem with Noam Chomsky

Alleged pro-peace/anti-war activist (not to mention socialist/leftist) Noam Chomsky has come out, ardently expressing his opposition to Ron Paul over private property rights. He even goes so far as to oppose supporting Ron Paul over Neo-Con, pro-war Hillary Clinton! Wow, some "peace advocate" he is!

I'm not surprised that Chomsky would publicly declare his dislike of Paul over his support of private property rights. Chomsky has always been an enemy of private property (except his own property, including his millions). His soft stance on the Khmer Rouge, for example, is indicative of that mindset.

(Hat tip to Lew for posting this story on his blog.)

Ron Paul in Third Place Behind Ghouliani and the Huckster

AOL News' Election '08 showcases two online election polls on its page - one on the Democratic presidential contenders and the other on the GOP candidates. It also shows the polls' results for each candidate from both camps, including the vote totals for each poll.

Here's the GOP poll:

Who would you like to see win the Republican presidential nomination?
Rudy Giuliani 23%
Mike Huckabee 19%
Ron Paul 16%
Fred Thompson 15%
John McCain 10%
Mitt Romney 9%
Other 6%
Tom Tancredo 1%
Duncan Hunter 1%
Total Votes: 84,818
Note on Poll Results

Here's the Democratic poll:

Who would you like to see win the Democratic presidential nomination?
Hillary Clinton 23%
Barack Obama 20%
John Edwards 15%
Other 13%
Joe Biden 11%
Bill Richardson 8%
Dennis Kucinich 6%
Chris Dodd 2%
Mike Gravel 2%
Total Votes: 81,171
Note on Poll Results

The GOP poll shows that Ron is in third place behind Ghouliani and the Huckster. Considering the Republican straw polls normally show Ron at 2 percent nationally (aside from the fact that those polls are rigged, simply because the respondents to those polls are Neo-Con supporting Republicans), it's going to be interesting to see how the political hacks will try to spin the results of this latest poll.

While I'm not a Kucinich fan (considering he's a socialist on so many of the domestic policies), he takes a cue from Paul on the war and the War on Terrorism issues. His Ron Paul-esque rhetoric does earn him a few gold stars from me (despite the fact his positions on the domestic issues are quite terrible as far as I'm concerned). The fact that he has garnered 6 percent of the vote in the Democratic camp shows that the Neo-Cons in the Democratic Party are just equally as dangerous as the Neo-Cons in the GOP.

(Hat tip goes to Lew for mentioning this poll in the first place.)

Ron Paul....

....is the man!

(Much thanks goes to the Ron Paul for President Campaign for providing Ron's official campaign photo.)

Who's Afraid of Ron Paul?

The Atlantic.com's Ross Douthat penned an interesting yet mixed brief article on what he's coined "The anti-Ron Paul hatefest." The fact of the matter is that he's right on the button regarding the modern conservative movement's treatment of Ron Paul, especially with regards to his position on the war in Iraq.

Here's a snipped excerpt of a paragraph of the article in question:

[T]he reason Paul has been treated differently than Huckabee by the right-wing media is very, very simple, and it has nothing to do with size-of-government issues: Paul opposes the Iraq War (and war with Iran, waterboarding, and all the rest of what's increasingly defined as the right-wing foreign policy package) and Huckabee doesn't. Full stop, end of story.

Why End The Income Tax in Massachusetts?

Libertarian Party personalities Michael Cloud and Carla Howell are once again pushing for a state referendum in Massachusetts that would, if passed by the electorate, repeal the the regressive state income tax. The pair successfully managed to push for a similar petition to be placed on the ballot back in 2002, but the initiative only secured 45.3 percent of the electorate's vote.

Although the votes were not enough for the referendum to win by a whopping majority, it was still an impressive campaign, considering that 45.3 percent of the voters at the time sent a message to the state, saying that the tax burden in Taxachusetts was too high and needed to be repealed.

SouthCoastToday.com reported on the campaign with the following:

The income-tax abolitionists have already gone before the voters once before (2004) and nearly won. They garnered an astounding 45.3 percent of the vote with little publicity that year.

And with a Web site that informs you that the state budget has doubled between 1990 and 2007, and that eliminating the income tax could reduce state government spending by 39 percent, this group is no joke.

Its moving force is Carla Howell, a Libertarian type who once ran for governor.

As Third Party Watch recently pointed out in its blog:

'I’m told they have 98,000 raw signatures in hand with a requirement of 66,000 valid signatures,' reported one person close to the campaign. 'They are making a push in the final week for more of a buffer because they are certain they will be challenged by public employees. When this was on the ballot six years ago it came pretty close with 45 percent of the vote. All the newspapers beforehand said it would be lucky to get 25 to 30 percent. It’s likely the referendum will be covered much more seriously this go around which will further boast its chance of success.'

(Hat tip to TPW for its coverage on the anti-tax campaign.)