White Boy Rick shows underside of Drug War

Casualties of the Drug War | Liberty Unbound - Jo Ann Skousen:

September 28, 2018 - "White Boy Rick is a rough and complex biopic based on the story of Richard Wershe, Jr., the youngest (at 14) undercover drug informant ever to be recruited by the feds to help them go after the kingpins in the drug trade. At times touching, ... at times enraging, the film shows the dark underside of the war on drugs in all its ugly glory: corrupt cops, heartless investigators, violent turf wars, strung-out druggies, and the poverty and despair that often lead people into the trade.

"The story is set in mid-’80s Detroit, against a backdrop of empty factories, rat-infested playgrounds, and worn-out homes in worn-out neighborhoods. Richard Wershe Senior (Matthew McConaughey) is a hustler with a gun dealer’s license.... He loves his family, but he can’t provide a good life for them. He has a license to sell registered guns at a meager profit, but the real money is in the 'upsell' — the illegal homemade silencers he offers along with them. 'The gun is the burger — but these are the fries,' he tells Rick, explaining how fast food servers are trained to make you think you want something you don’t really need. 'Now go out and sell you some fries.'

"Ironically, FBI agents Snyder (Jennifer Jason Leigh) and Byrd (Rory Cochrane) and Detective Jackson (Brian Tyree Henry) ply Rick with a burger and fries as they enlist his services as an undercover narc, threatening to arrest his father for illegal firearms sales if the boy doesn’t comply. This scene was particularly poignant to me, because several of my students at Sing Sing have told me that McDonald’s is the drug of choice for recruiting young drug runners in the streets.... Oh, so subtly, with a burger and fries, the film equates the Feds, the dealers, and Rick’s father....

"The scenes that follow show Rick immersing himself in the drug culture, with its fast money, easy women, and useless luxuries.... Hopelessness in impoverished neighborhoods often leads people to seek instant gratification and engage in risky behaviors. It makes no sense to save for the future when there isn’t a future in sight.... It’s all a pipe dream, mostly found at the bottom of a crack pipe. So grab a few laughs and some ass while you can. There isn’t going to be any more where you’re going.

"The feds are no better than the drug lords, and probably worse, because they claim to be the good guys. Driven by moral relativism, they see no problem with getting kids high, sending them into dangerous situations in order to catch drug dealers, and then leaving them to deal with their addictions — and their incarcerations — when they’re no longer useful....

"Rick Wershe may have been the youngest teen to be recruited as an undercover informant to avoid arrest, but he certainly isn’t the only one. According to an article by Tony Newman of Drug Policy Alliance, it has become all too common to bust people for minor possession and then threaten them with decades in prison unless they provide evidence on someone else -– and for those frightened, untrained informants to end up dead. Rick didn’t end up dead, but he might as well have, when his handlers stood idly by as he was sentenced to life in prison with no chance of parole — for selling cocaine. It was the longest sentence for a nonviolent crime ever imposed, until Ross Ulbricht was sentenced to two consecutive life sentences for running the Silk Road website.

"I watched the tears quietly trickle down 17-year-old Rick’s cheeks in the closing scenes of the film as he spoke through prison glass to his equally distraught father, and the tears quietly streamed down my cheeks too. I know too many of these young men — now middle-aged — who have been incarcerated since they were teens because they were enticed into a drug trade that is only lucrative and deadly because it is illegal. There are no good guys in the war on drugs. There is only bad law. And bad schools. And bad neighborhoods without hope."

Read more: http://www.libertyunbound.com/node/1899

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Free Richard Wershe Jr. on facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FreeRickWersheJr 

Rival foundations funding the UnKoch movement

Deep-Pocketed Donors Behind Campus Anti-Koch Movement - Washington Free Beacon - Lachlan Markay:

November 2, 2015 - "Liberal foundations financing a nonprofit news venture that is reporting on donations made by the Koch Brothers to colleges are also financing on-campus groups protesting the Kochs’ donations. The same foundations have also spent billions backing educational initiatives of their own that frequently promote left-wing policy agendas....

"The Center for Public Integrity [CPI] ... [has] detailed the Kochs’ grants to colleges and universities, that, reporter Dave Levinthal wrote, are 'now a critical part of their broader campaign to infuse politics and government with free-market principles.' According to Levinthal, Koch-backed foundations provided $19.3 million in funding for colleges and universities in 2013, a $6.6 million increase over 2012. 'Funding — as well as pushback against it — is increasing," he wrote.

"One group committed to such 'pushback' is UnKoch My Campus, which immediately picked up on and promoted CPI’s story. Its publication came just days before UnKoch’s planned 'day of action' ... to protest what it says is the Kochs’ undue influence on the curricula and staffing of those programs.... UnKoch, as its name suggests, is focused exclusively on the influence of conservative and libertarian university donors....

"UnKoch’s views reflect those of the groups backing the campaign: environmental giant Greenpeace; Forecast the Facts, a climate-focused project of the left-wing Citizen Engagement Lab; the Center for Media and Democracy, another nonprofit news venture; and the American Federation of Teachers.

"Those groups receive significant funding from the same foundations that finance CPI’s reporting. The Park Foundation, the Ford Foundation, the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, the Rockefeller Brothers Fund, the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, and the Foundation for an Open Society have all granted money to CPI and at least one of the groups behind the UnKoch effort.

"These groups are also heavily involved in education philanthropy: Together, those six foundations have doled out more than $4.2 billion in related grants, including nearly $270 million in 2013, according to the nonprofit research service Foundation Search....

"Levinthal followed up his reporting with a story detailing the work of six foundations with ties to the Kochs. Together, the foundations reported net assets of $463 million in 2013. In comparison, the six aforementioned foundations backing CPI and the groups behind UnKoch reported combined net assets in 2013 of more than $31 billion....

"Levinthal writes that the Kochs’ giving will 'build a "talent pipeline" of libertarian-minded students.' Little attention is paid to the fact that this is exactly what the foundations backing CPI and the groups behind UnKoch are also trying to do....

"UnKoch referred questions about its activities to Greenpeace spokesman Connor Gibson, who rejected any parity between university donations from the Kochs and similarly ideological donors on the left.... Gibson for the most part declined to directly address questions about the UnKoch effort, and demanded to know whether the Washington Free Beacon is 'contracted to write defenses of [the Kochs] every time another scandal breaks.'"

Read more: https://freebeacon.com/issues/deep-pocketed-donors-behind-campus-anti-koch-movement/

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Amend constitution because of Gary Johnson, NM Democrat writes

Johnson’s super PAC: The case for campaign finance reform | My View | santafenewmexican.com - Dede Feldman, Santa Fe New Mexican:

September 14, 2018 - "On Aug. 21, former New Mexico Gov. Gary Johnson officially announced his U.S. Senate candidacy at an event hosted by the super PAC that supports him, Elect Liberty.

"Elect Liberty paid for the venue, invited guests, fundraised in support of him, and Johnson promoted their/his event on his social media channels. How can a PAC that is not supposed to coordinate with a candidate throw an announcement party for him? The answer is a United States Supreme Court case, when it ruled in favor of the conservative group Citizens United against the Federal Election Commission.

"How could Elect Liberty hold Gary Johnson’s kickoff event? The Federal Election Commission decided that candidates could appear at PAC events as long as they are labeled 'special guests.' In fact, not only can candidates attend a PAC event, but they can fundraise as long they don’t ask for more than $5,000. Then, as soon as the candidate leaves the room, a super PAC official can ask attendees for a $1 million check....

"Elect Liberty ... PAC was created and is run by Johnson’s former campaign manager and decades-long associate, Ron Nielson. Are we really expected to believe that one of Johnson’s longest-serving advisers, the man he chose to run his 2016 presidential race and is in charge of a PAC that supports him, operates independently of the official campaign?

"Optics aside, everything Johnson is currently doing is legal. But that’s one of the fundamental problems.... While it should come as no surprise that Johnson — who supports the Citizens United ruling and unlimited campaign contributions — would use these loopholes, it’s a system that encourages candidates to skate around the edges of the law.

"Gary Johnson and the Elect Liberty PAC are a textbook case for why we need a constitutional amendment to overturn Citizens United. Both of New Mexico’s U.S. senators support the effort, including Martin Heinrich, D-N.M., who is running against Johnson. New Mexicans should be mindful of this when deciding which candidate shares their beliefs on the role of money in politics."

Read more: http://www.santafenewmexican.com/opinion/my_view/johnson-s-super-pac-the-case-for-campaign-finance-reform/article_dc564bad-ec05-5bf1-8a4a-b7a89cf7038c.html
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ISP lobbies sue to stop CA net neutrality law

Entire broadband industry sues California to stop net neutrality law | Ars Technica - Jon Brodkin:

October 3, 2018 - "Four lobby groups representing the broadband industry today sued California to stop the state's new net neutrality law.

"The lawsuit was filed in US District Court for the Eastern District of California by mobile industry lobby CTIA, cable industry lobby NCTA, telco lobby USTelecom, and the American Cable Association, which represents small and mid-size cable companies. Together, these four lobby groups represent all the biggest mobile and home Internet providers in the US and hundreds of smaller ISPs. Comcast, Charter, AT&T, Verizon, T-Mobile US, Sprint, Cox, Frontier, and CenturyLink are among the groups' members.

"'This case presents a classic example of unconstitutional state regulation,' the complaint said. The California net neutrality law 'was purposefully intended to countermand and undermine federal law by imposing on [broadband] the very same regulations that the Federal Communications Commission [FCC] expressly repealed in its 2018 Restoring Internet Freedom Order.'

"ISPs say the California law impermissibly regulates interstate commerce. '[I]t is impossible or impracticable for an Internet service provider offering [broadband] to distinguish traffic that moves only within California from traffic that crosses state borders,' the lobby groups' complaint said.... The groups asked the court to declare that the state law 'is preempted and unconstitutional, and should permanently enjoin [California] from enforcing or giving effect to it.'

"California now faces two major lawsuits challenging the net neutrality law signed by Governor Jerry Brown on Sunday. The Trump administration's Department of Justice also sued California and is seeking a preliminary injunction that would stop the law from being implemented. California's net neutrality rules are scheduled to take effect on January 1, 2019.

"Ultimately, the question of whether the FCC's preemption of state laws is valid will be decided in a different lawsuit pending at the US Court of Appeals for District of Columbia Circuit. In that suit, state attorneys general and other litigants sued the FCC in order to reverse the repeal of federal net neutrality rules and the preemption of state laws.

"But the US District Court in California ... will decide whether California can enforce its law while the US Court of Appeals case is pending."

Read more: https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2018/10/entire-broadband-industry-sues-california-to-stop-net-neutrality-law/
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PAC backing Gary Johnson polls him at 28%

"Johnson Gaining Ground" - Media Advisory, Elect Liberty PAC:

September 26, 2018 - "Former Gov. Gary Johnson is closing the gap in the [New Mexico 2018 U.S.] Senate race, according to a recent poll. A survey conducted September 20-24 by NSON Opinion Strategy, places Johnson ahead of the Republican by 18 percentage points – and 7 points behind the incumbent. The NSON poll of 932 likely voters has Heinrich at 35%, Johnson at 28%, and Rich at 10%, with 20% undecided....

"NSON's R.T. Nielson said, 'These results, more than six weeks before the election, show the New Mexico senate race to be very much in play.... Gary Johnson now has a realistic possibility of winning this election.

"'The favorable / unfavorable results for Johnson and Heinrich are almost identical. The Republican candidate's name [recognition] is dismal, with 80% of voters having never heard of him or having no opinion.

"'Across the country, primary elections have shown voters to be very engaged and motivated, a factor some polls have failed to capture. Millenials and independent voters tend to be "under-counted," and those are both groups with whom Governor Johnson appears to be doing very well.'

"Data collection was conducted by Lux Research of registered voters.... Data was balanced according to age, gender, ethnicity, congressional district, and party."

Read more: https://electliberty.com/frequencies-sept-26/
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Brett Kavanaugh and due process

The Constitutional Reasons to Oppose Kavanaugh for the Supreme Court - Foundation for Economic Education - Brittany Hunter:

October 1, 2018 - "After two days of political theater, the Senate Judiciary Committee agreed to delay the vote to confirm Judge Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court for a week. In that time, the FBI will conduct an investigation surrounding the allegations made against him.... And the real losers, unfortunately, are the American people, who are being diligently distracted from Kavanaugh’s actual policy record.

"To be sure, claims of sexual misconduct should certainly be brought to the public’s attention, especially when they involve a nominee for a position as powerful as a Supreme Court Justice. And in the #metoo era, failing to take these allegations seriously would be most unwise. But losing ourselves in this political circus and the subsequent media frenzy surrounding Kavanaugh’s sexual past glosses over another aspect of his professional career that should concern every single individual: his promotion of the national security state....

"The years of 2001-2003 were ... the years that Brett Kavanaugh served as associate White House Counsel for then-President George W. Bush.... One of the most egregious acts perpetrated against the American people at this time was the PATRIOT Act. And one of its greatest supporters was Brett Kavanaugh [who] referred to the PATRIOT Act as a 'measured, careful, responsible, and constitutional approach' in an email sent to a colleague....

"The PATRIOT Act obliterated the Fourth and Fifth Amendment rights to privacy and due process by giving the federal government sweeping new powers to conduct surveillance on the American people.... But [Kavanaugh's] support of the legislation that signaled the downfall of American rule of law does not simply end with his favorable comments. Kavanaugh was also one of the individuals tasked with its drafting....

"The 2013 Edward Snowden leaks were arguably one of the most significant events to occur over the last decade.... In many ways, the Snowden situation drew a line in the political sand. Those who stood for freedom believed in the people’s inherent right to privacy and in upholding the Fourth and Fifth Amendments.... However, in a ruling in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, Kavanaugh ruled that 'the Government’s metadata collection program is entirely consistent with the Fourth Amendment.' He also later stated that 'that critical national security need outweighs the impact on privacy occasioned by this program'....

"Due process is a staple of our American legal system. And ... there is more to due process than allowing Judge Kavanaugh to have his day in court. If the government would like to gain access to the private communications of American citizens, it must do so by going to a judge and obtaining a warrant. This warrant must specifically state what property is being searched and what is being searched for, as is specified by the Fourth Amendment.

"Requiring law enforcement to go through the proper channels to secure a warrant before violating the privacy of American citizens is part of due process..... [D]ue process is not meant for one class of people; it is meant for every American citizen whether they are nominated for the Supreme Court like Kavanaugh, or happen to have a radicalized parent like sixteen-year-old Abdulrahman al-Awlaki, who was targeted and killed by the U.S. Military without any semblance of due process."

Read more: https://fee.org/articles/the-constitutional-reasons-to-oppose-kavanaugh-for-the-supreme-court/
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See also : Libertarian makes SCOTUS case for Kavanagh

Debate exclusion jeopardizes Iowa LP's status

Without media attention, Libertarians might lose status as official political party – The Daily Iowan:

September 25, 2018 - "As three debates between Iowa’s gubernatorial candidates fell into place this month, members of the Libertarian Party fear their candidate’s absence could derail a quest to renew their recently acquired status as an official political party in Iowa.

""The first of three gubernatorial debates will occur on Oct. 10.... Libertarian candidate Jake Porter will not be included in this debate nor in the following two.... The second debate will be broadcast ... Oct. 17, and the third debate will take place on Oct. 21....

"Porter said his biggest concern was earning enough votes in November to remain a state political party, a status that he believes could become precarious if voters are not exposed to Libertarian candidates and their platforms.

"'That is a big media opportunity to be in the debates; it gives a lot of credibility,' Porter said. 'Obviously, if we’re shut out of that, we’re probably not going to get a lot of coverage from that debate, and [we’re] not going to be able to share our views with a lot of Iowans.'

"This is the first election cycle since the Libertarian Party gained ballot-eligible status in 2016, following Gary Johnson’s presidential campaign. Iowa law states that to be considered a political party, an organization must have had a gubernatorial or presidential candidate who received at least 2 percent of votes cast in the preceding general election. The last time a third party became viable as a major party was in 2000, when Green Party candidate Ralph Nader garnered 2.2 percent of the vote....

"The first debate will be cosponsored by KCCI, a Des Moines television station, and the Des Moines Register.... Porter said he was expecting treatment of this kind from his opponents rather than members of the press....

"Joseph Howe, the state chair of the Libertarian Party of Iowa, said Porter’s absence from the debates could make the Libertarians’ position as a ballot-eligible party more precarious by limiting total audience exposure to candidates. If turnout for Porter fails to meet the required 2 percent threshold, then Libertarians will be relegated back to minor- or non-party status, as the Iowa Green Party was after a lackluster performance in 2002....

"There is a peaceful protest being organized for debate night at KCCI by Porter and others to draw attention to what they perceive to be unfair and damaging practices on the part of the sponsors. Simultaneously, a volunteer viewing list is being circulated among supporters to collect advertising data on KCCI. Libertarians are also taking to various social-media platforms to express their distaste for the exclusion."

Read more: http://dailyiowan.com/2018/09/25/libertarians-feeling-left-out-in-media-cold/#photo
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