Tag Archives: Crony Capitalism

Medical marijuana an issue of importance for Johnson

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“Sen. Don Barrington (R-Lawton), the chairman of the Committee on Public Safety, has refused to allow a hearing on the legalization of marijuana. His reasons are due to special interests like district attorneys, and he has also stated that his church did not favor it.  Interestingly, Barrington also has a private prison in his district, and received over $9,000 in campaign contributions from the private prison industry.  When Red Dirt Report asked Johnson if she felt it would be possible for the legislature to pass a measure legalizing medicinal marijuana in the next 10 years, she asserted that the only way legalization is going to occur is through a ballot initiative.”

http://www.reddirtreport.com/red-dirt-politics/medical-marijuana-issue-importance-johnson

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How federal agents became the movie industry’s copyright enforcers

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“What brought them to an Ohio shopping mall to jump an unsuspecting local nerd?  In 2008, Congress passed the Prioritizing Resources and Organization for Intellectual Property, or PRO-IP Act. Suddenly, protecting the trademarks and copyrights of American companies became a huge priority for a number of law enforcement agencies, including ICE.  Soon, ICE was enforcing American intellectual property rights all over the globe. In 2009, the agency arrested 266 people in IP investigations, busting people who sell counterfeit movies, stream pirated content on websites, and sell licensed NFL gear. ICE more than doubled that number of arrests over the next two years.”

http://www.dailydot.com/politics/federal-agents-google-glass-mpaa-theater-enforcers/

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The Emerging Bitcoin Civil War

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“A civil war is emerging between Bitcoin’s earliest and most libertarian adopters, and a more commercial wing seeking to embrace regulation as a means of legitimizing Bitcoin businesses.  On the first day of hearings about the future of Bitcoin regulation convened this week by the New York Department of Financial Services, a panel of VCs were quick to disavow Shrem as an example of a more immature wing of Bitcoin. The Winklevoss twins said they were gratified the Department was discussing ways to help legitimize Bitcoin commerce.  Their Bitcoin ETF is awaiting regulatory approval from the SEC.”

http://www.businessinsider.com/bitcoins-new-civil-war-2014-1

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The State Protects Their Sports Gambling Interests

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“Opensecrets.org records the incredible amount of money that is funneled from the casinos to the political arena. In 2012 alone over $71 million was contributed from casinos to the political sector. This includes both hard money and soft money contributions.  Illegal gambling, especially sports gambling, is a huge industry in the United States. The number of dollars wagered legally on the Super Bowl is only a small slice of the total sports betting pie. The State does not appreciate when bookies, which have not been sanctioned by the State, take a piece of the pie without giving a bite to the tax man.”

http://lionsofliberty.com/2014/01/30/felony-friday-the-state-protects-their-sports-gambling-interests/

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Air Force Spends $1 Billion On Software Now Declared Utter Failure

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“The Expeditionary Combat Support System was heralded as a ‘revolutionary’ supply-chain management system that was sold to the people over at the Pentagon who did what they often do.  In the end, the Pentagon contractors and officials informed Congress that it would require $1.1 billion and eight years beyond the planned rollout date to fix the system. So we scrapped it. Another one billion evaporates and Pentagon officials just move on to the next program. No one is fired. No one is prosecuted. By the way, this is just one of nine massive software systems ordered by the Pentagon, and six are running as late as 12 years beyond their planned rollout date. Twelve years.”

http://jonathanturley.org/2014/01/21/united-states-air-force-spends-1-billion-on-software-system-now-declared-utter-failure/

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Did anyone read the latest spending bill?

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“The bill gives at least $62 million, and possibly as much as $119 million, to the United States Enrichment Corp., a government spinoff that last month announced plans to file for bankruptcy.  The bill blocks the Navy from retiring seven cruisers and two amphibious ships. It gave the Pentagon $950 million more than it wanted for one class of attack submarines. But the measure denied the Pentagon $8 million it sought to study more base closures.  The bill awards the Pentagon $666 million to study illnesses and afflictions ranging from Lou Gehrig’s disease to breast cancer — activities not closely related to war-fighting.  The bill gives the oil and nuclear industries a bonanza.”

http://herald-review.com/news/opinion/editorial/columnists/article_21c6a955-3d39-5a77-bf46-39af53902fb2.html

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Cage Complex: Why is America’s prison population soaring?

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“The United States leads the world, by a large margin, in the production of at least one thing: prisoners. We have 25 percent of the world’s inmates, but just 5 percent of the world’s population.  Where do they come from? Well, since the Anti-Drug Abuse Act of 1986, the number of American inmates has risen from approximately 300,000 to a currently estimated 2.3 million. This statistic points to the role of drug-related victimless ‘crime’ in creating prisoners.  There are other sources. The ‘private prison complex’ is a creation of crony capitalism through which privileged corporations are paid well for the ‘care’ of inmates and for leasing out prison labor to other businesses.”

http://www.fee.org/the_freeman/detail/cage-complex

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Removal of inmates ordered after fights staged by halfway house staff

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“Amid allegations that officers staged fights among offenders, in a letter Tuesday to Avalon Corrections Services Inc., the department said it is freezing the number of Oklahoma offenders it sends to the company’s facilities and allowing 10 days to transfer all 212 individuals in the Avalon Correctional Center, a 390-bed halfway house in Tulsa. Those offenders will be transferred to various other facilities in the state, possibly including another Avalon center, said Jerry Massie, Corrections Department spokesman.  The move comes in response to three investigations the department is conducting at the center.”

http://newsok.com/safety-concerns-prompt-oklahoma-corrections-officials-to-order-removal-of-inmates-from-private-center/article/3924046

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Analysis Of National Data Finds No Benefit To Red Light Cameras

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“After outlining the statistical flaws in the model used by IIHS, the USF researchers applied more rigorous statistical techniques to the original IIHS data. The revised analysis considered 31 cities without cameras that had fatal red light running crash rates equal to 13 camera cities in the before period (Phoenix was excluded as an outlier). With these changes, the purported benefits of cameras disappeared.  The USF researchers note that their findings are consistent with a number of methodologically sound and independent analyses of red light camera results.”

http://www.thenewspaper.com/news/43/4304.asp

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Legalization of Pot Means Trouble for Private Prisons

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“At one time, private prison investments were great. They were making tons of money because it was this grand idea on how it was going to be so much better than the state led prisons. However, it now looks like one of the worst investments you can make.  With the potential abolition of mandatory sentencing for drug crimes, and many prisons cutting ties with CCA, MTC, and GEO Group (NYSE: GEO) because of their poor management abilities, it’s just going to get worse. If these company prisons end up having to bring in riskier offenders to already understaffed facilities, more problems are sure to arise. When the problems increase, they become a less attractive option.”

http://www.wealthdaily.com/articles/legalization-of-pot-means-trouble-for-private-prisons/4948

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