Monthly Archives: March 2013

How Americans were swindled by the hidden cost of the Iraq war

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“When the US invaded Iraq in March 2003, the Bush administration estimated that it would cost $50-60bn to overthrow Saddam Hussein and establish a functioning government. This estimate was catastrophically wrong: the war in Iraq has cost $823.2bn between 2003 and 2011. Some estimates suggesting that it may eventually cost as much as $3.7tn when factoring in the long-term costs of caring for the wounded and the families of those killed.  The most striking fact about the cost of the war in Iraq has been the extent to which it has been kept ‘off the books’ of the government’s ledgers and hidden from the American people. This was done by design.”

http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2013/03/12/how-americans-were-swindled-by-the-hidden-cost-of-the-iraq-war/

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Why Rand Paul Is in Position to Become DC’s Most Powerful Pol

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“While Paul received some criticism from both sides of the aisle, the Democratic criticism was muted by the obviousness of Paul’s position and the inadequate response from the Obama administration.  Now, House Democrats have done what modern US politics dictates they must do: They have sent a letter to Obama asking him to clarify his position on drone strikes.  Paul easily seized leadership on this issue because it is one that appeals to both right and left.  There are libertarian sensibilities on both sides of the aisle, and it was this coalition that Ronald Reagan capitalized on when he built his successful political run for the presidency.”

http://www.thedailybell.com/28814/Why-Rand-Paul-Is-in-Position-to-Become-DCs-Most-Powerful-Pol

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Pentagon to review controversial drone warfare medal

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“The US military said Tuesday it halted production of a new medal for drone and cyber warfare, ordering a review after critics called the award an insult to combat veterans.
Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel, who received two Purple Hearts and other decorations as a soldier in the Vietnam War, made the decision to put a hold on the new Distinguished Warfare Medal after hearing complaints from veterans, his spokesman George Little told a news conference.  Hagel asked the military’s top officer, General Martin Dempsey, to lead the review of the medal and to look at the ranking of the award compared to other military medals, he said.”

http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2013/03/12/pentagon-to-review-controversial-drone-warfare-medal/

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Is It Seditious to Oppose Drone-Killing? If So, Count me as a Seditionist

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“While Senator Rand Paul’s drone filibuster will not restrain the Obama administration’s use of drones to carry out targeted killings of alleged terrorists and militants, it has laid bare an interesting alignment on the political landscape.  Some nominally liberal commentators, such as Newsweek’s Eleanor Clift, accused Senator Paul and other opponents of the drone program of inciting sedition.  America was founded on principled hostility to power, not unqualified submission to it. The Founders most likely wouldn’t recognize as Americans people who would entrust the president with the power of discretionary killing.”

http://prolibertate.us/index.php/is-it-seditious-to-oppose?blog=7

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Unanimous juries for criminal convictions? Supreme Court declines case.

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“Two states, Louisiana and Oregon, permit convictions on less-than-unanimous jury verdicts. In both states a defendant can be convicted by an 11-to-1 or 10-to-2 vote.  All other states and the federal government require that jurors reach a verdict unanimously.  The petitioning lawyers also charged that the system undercuts the reliability of jury verdicts. They note that Louisiana’s Jefferson Parish, where their case was tried, has the fourth highest rate of wrongful convictions in the country. Neighboring Orleans Parish has the highest rate.”

http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Justice/2013/0219/Unanimous-juries-for-criminal-convictions-Supreme-Court-declines-case

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Guilty Until Proven Innocent: Washington, D.C.’s Civil Forfeiture Racket

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“Civil forfeiture is a national problem. Law enforcement agencies seize millions of dollars worth of property each year with little or no due process for owners. In all but six states property owners are considered guilty until proven innocent. State law typically allows law enforcement to keep most or all of the proceeds from forfeiture—an enormous incentive to police for profit.  Most seizures are of cash—generally less than $100 and as little as $7—taken from thousands of people each year.”

http://reason.com/archives/2013/01/19/dcs-civil-forfeiture-nightmare

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GOP Mogul Behind Drug Rehab ‘Torture’ Centers Bankrolling Opposition to Pot Legalization

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“Save Our Society from Drugs, a Florida-based nonprofit founded by Mel and Betty Sembler, has given Smart Colorado contributions totaling $151,497 through September, according to The Nation’s review of state finance disclosures. That’s 95 percent of the money raised by the group so far.  Before they led Save Our Society from Drugs, and its sister nonprofit, the Drug Free America Foundation, the Semblers were at the helm of STRAIGHT, Inc., which operated drug abuse treatment centers, mostly for teenagers, from 1976 through 1993.  Former clients of the rehab center recount episodes of brutal beatings, rape and systematic psychological abuse.”

http://www.thenation.com/blog/170007/gop-mogul-behind-drug-rehab-torture-centers-bankrolling-opposition-pot-legalization-colo

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Fine, probation, community service sought for former county executive

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“Saying John R. Leopold committed ‘an arrogant abuse of power’ by ordering police and other government workers to perform personal and political chores for him, prosecutors are asking a judge to fine him $100,000 and sentence him to probation and community service.  Leopold resigned after being found guilty in January on two of the five charges against him, relating to ordering police officers on his security detail and his scheduling assistant to drain his catheter bag repeatedly, and directing officers to do tasks for his 2010 re-election campaign, including picking up campaign contributions and creating files on political opponents.”

http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/anne-arundel/bs-md-ar-leopold-sentence-memos-20130311,0,7622649.story

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Glenn Greenwald at Yale Law School: “With Liberty and Justice for Some”

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Glenn Greenwald at Yale Law School: “With Liberty and Justice for Some”

“The Green Haven Prison Project at Yale presents Guardian journalist Glenn Greenwald speaking about the rule of law.”

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MRiQ0SGJ_98

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Cruelty and Criminality Combine in the Vernal, Utah Police Department

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“Vernal, Utah resident Ben Mahaffey had barely said goodbye to his wife of 58 years before the local police barged into the couple’s bedroom without invitation or permission.  Just minutes after Mahaffey’s wife Barbara died of cancer, the police strode into the house claiming that they had a right to examine the couple’s medicine cabinet.  But on at least thirty occasions in 2011, Vernal Police Detective Ben Marland Murray visited the home of Russell Wayne Smithey and Candy Jean Holmes to conduct ‘pill checks’. The couple suspected that the officer was secretly stealing their medications, and eventually caught him doing so by way of a hidden camera.”

http://prolibertate.us/index.php/cruelty-and-criminality-combine-in?blog=7

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