Indiana's civil forfeiture law ruled unconstitutional

Federal Judge Rules Indiana Seizing Cars With Civil Forfeiture Is Unconstitutional - Nick Sibilla, Institute for Justice - Forbes:

August 31, 2017 - "In a major win for private property rights, a federal judge ruled that Indiana can no longer seize vehicles under its controversial civil forfeiture laws, which allow police to confiscate property without filing criminal charges. Judge Jane Magnus-Stinson ruled that Indiana's laws were unconstitutional because they failed to provide a timely hearing for the property owner to contest the seizure.

"The decision comes just days after Hoosier lawmakers held a summer study committee to discuss forfeiture reform, and less than a month after U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced a new policy to expand police seizures nationwide.

"The case began last September when an officer with the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department pulled over Leroy Washington and found a small amount of cannabis. Police charged Washington with dealing marijuana and seized his car.... Washington ... filed a federal class-action lawsuit last November on behalf of other owners whose cars were held by law enforcement in Indianapolis. Between November 2016 and February 2017, those agencies seized at least 169 vehicles, or 11 cars per week on average.

"The lawsuit claimed that Indiana’s forfeiture laws violated the car owners’ right to due process, as guaranteed by the Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments. In Indiana, once property is seized, law enforcement can take up to 180 days to file a forfeiture complaint [and] the property owner cannot challenge the seizure during that months-long hold period. That is because, under state law, seized property is 'not subject to replevin,' a process that would allow the owners to regain wrongfully taken property while awaiting trial....

"As Judge Magnus-Stinson noted, losing one’s car for months on end 'could cause significant hardship'.... In order to prevent 'erroneous deprivation' and to safeguard due process, property owners must be 'provided with some sort of mechanism through which to challenge whether continued deprivation is justifiable.' But Indiana’s forfeiture laws ban replevin and do not allow any other 'opportunity for interim relief'....

"'Allowing for the seizure and retention of vehicles,' she wrote, 'without providing an opportunity for an individual to challenge the pre-forfeiture deprivation [is] unconstitutional.'"

Read more: https://www.forbes.com/sites/instituteforjustice/2017/08/31/federal-judges-rules-indiana-seizing-cars-with-civil-forfeiture-is-unconstitutional/#4b4cfc723da5
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Herpes vaccine trials go offshore to avoid FDA

Offshore Human Testing Of Herpes Vaccine Stokes Debate Over U.S. Safety Rules - Marisa Taylor, Kaiser Health News:

August 28, 2017 - "Defying U.S. safety protections for human trials, an American university and a group of wealthy libertarians ... are backing the offshore testing of an experimental herpes vaccine.

"The American businessmen, including Trump adviser Peter Thiel, invested $7 million in the ongoing vaccine research, according to the U.S. company behind it. Southern Illinois University also trumpeted the research and the study’s lead researcher, even though he did not rely on traditional U.S. safety oversight in the first trial, held on the Caribbean island of St. Kitts.

"Neither the Food and Drug Administration nor a safety panel known as an institutional review board, or an 'IRB,' monitored the testing of a vaccine its creators say prevents herpes outbreaks. Most of the 20 participants were Americans with herpes who were flown to the island several times to be vaccinated, according to Rational Vaccines, the company that oversaw the trial....

"'This is a test case,' said Bartley Madden, a retired Credit Suisse banker and policy adviser to the conservative Heartland Institute, who is another investor in the vaccine. 'The FDA is standing in the way, and Americans are going to hear about this and demand action'....

"Agustín Fernández III co-founded­ Rational Vaccines with tenured SIU professor William Halford. He said Halford, the lead investigator, took the necessary precautions during the trial conducted from April to August in 2016. Halford died of cancer in June....

"Fernández, a former Hollywood filmmaker, said he and his investors plan to submit the trial data to the FDA in hopes of getting the vaccine approved for treatment. If the FDA does not respond favorably, he said, the company will continue its trials in Mexico and Australia. Fernández said he hopes to set up an IRB for these next trials. No matter what, he plans to manufacture the vaccine offshore....

"Fernández said he hoped the trials would put political pressure on the FDA to give the vaccine a closer look. He said his vaccine would be initially aimed at helping patients who experience the 'worst of the worst' symptoms. He believed the vaccine eventually would be shown to be effective in preventing the spread of the disease. According to the CDC, about 1 in 6 people ages 14 to 49 have genital herpes....

"Before the trial, Halford tested the vaccine on himself and Fernández. After he failed to secure federal funding and an IRB, Halford moved ahead with the trial offshore....

"The results have not been published in a peer-reviewed journal and Halford’s previous attempt to publish was rejected.... Yet some herpes patients, who are part of a tight-knit online community, have followed the project with hope and enthusiasm. One American participant ... Richard Mancuso said ... the vaccine has stopped his severe outbreaks. 'This has saved my life,' he said."

Read more: http://khn.org/news/offshore-rush-for-herpes-vaccine-roils-debate-over-u-s-safety-rules/

How "anti-fascist" violence enables fascism

Using Violence Against Fascists Plays Right into Their Hands | Foundation for Economic Education | Laurie Maurhofer:

August 28, 2017 - "After the murder of Heather Heyer in Charlottesville, many people are asking themselves what they should do if Nazis rally in their city. Should they put their bodies on the line in counter demonstrations? Some say yes. History says no. Take it from me: I study the original Nazis....

"Charlottesville was right out of the Nazi playbook. In the 1920s, the Nazi Party was just one political party among many.... It was in 1927, while still on the political fringes, that the Nazi Party scheduled a rally in a decidedly hostile location – the Berlin district of Wedding. Wedding was so left-of-center that the neighborhood had the nickname “Red Wedding,” red being the color of the Communist Party....

"The people of Wedding were determined to fight back against fascism in their neighborhood. On the day of the rally, hundreds of Nazis descended on Wedding. Hundreds of their opponents showed up too, organized by the local Communist Party. The anti-fascists tried to disrupt the rally, heckling the speakers. Nazi thugs retaliated. There was a massive brawl. Almost 100 people were injured.

"I imagine the people of Wedding felt they ... had courageously sent a message: Fascism was not welcome. But historians believe events like the rally in Wedding helped the Nazis build a dictatorship. Yes, the brawl got them media attention. But what was far, far more important was how it fed an escalating spiral of street violence. That violence helped the fascists enormously....

"We know now that many Germans supported the fascists because they were terrified of leftist violence in the streets. Germans opened their morning newspapers and saw reports of clashes like the one in Wedding. It looked like a bloody tide of civil war was rising in their cities. Voters and opposition politicians alike came to believe the government needed special police powers to stop violent leftists. Dictatorship grew attractive. The fact that the Nazis themselves were fomenting the violence didn’t seem to matter.

"One of Hitler’s biggest steps to dictatorial power was to gain emergency police powers, which he claimed he needed to suppress leftist violence....

"Today, right extremists are going around the country staging rallies just like the one in 1927 in Wedding. According to the civil rights advocacy organization the Southern Poverty Law Center, they pick places where they know antifascists are present, like university campuses. They come spoiling for a physical confrontation. Then they and their allies spin it to their advantage....

"There’s an additional wrinkle: the Antifa. When Nazis and white supremacists rally, the Antifa are likely to show up, too. 'Antifa' is short for anti-fascists, though the name by no means includes everyone who opposes fascism. The Antifa is a relatively small movement of the far left, with ties to anarchism. It arose in Europe’s punk scene in the 1980s to fight neo-Nazism. The Antifa says that because Nazism and white supremacy are violent, we must use any means necessary to stop them. This includes physical means.... The Antifa's tactics often backfire, just like those of Germany’s communist opposition to Nazism did in the 1920s....

"The cause Heather Heyer died for is best defended by avoiding the physical confrontation that the people who are responsible for her death want."

Read more: https://fee.org/articles/using-violence-against-fascists-plays-right-into-their-hands/
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Anti-cannabis group uses RICO against industry

How Anti-Mafia Laws Could Bring Down Legal Pot - Rolling Stone - Amanda Chicago Lewis:

August 28, 2017 - "Earlier this summer, the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Colorado decided that the 'noxious odors' from a pot farm could be lowering nearby property values and creating a nuisance. The decision came out of a civil suit by the farm's neighbors under federal racketeering law, and could set a landmark precedent. Marijuana remains illegal under federal law, and this decision makes clear that private citizens can now circumvent state law and do what Attorney General Jeff Sessions wants but has yet to do: challenge the legitimacy of states and businesses participating in legalization....

"The whole thing is being paid for by a D.C.-based nonprofit called the Safe Streets Alliance – an obscure anti-drug organization that the opposing side's lawyer has called 'a fake organization' and 'a sham.' No one knows who exactly belongs to the Safe Streets Alliance, or where their money comes from. The attorney representing Safe Streets Alliance, Brian Barnes, says he can't provide any details about the group's funding and membership, citing attorney-client confidentiality, but ... [t]hose affiliated with the group have legitimate public health and cultural concerns about legalization ... and don't think that states should be allowed to so flagrantly violate federal law....

"[T]he Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, commonly referred to as RICO... has helped the Department of Justice go after top people in the mafia, say, or in the bribe-infested soccer organization FIFA, for crimes committed by their affiliates. RICO also allows private citizens to bring civil suits against anyone who assists in the committing of a crime that harms their property or business.

"RICO's whole notion of 'racketeering' creates a useful but alarming tautology, depending on the case and your point of view. To accuse someone of racketeering, or to seek damages under racketeering, is to go after them for the crime of committing a crime. Because marijuana remains federally illegal, literally everyone involved in state-legal pot markets is vulnerable under RICO....

"A handful of major RICO lawsuits could be enough to scare many legal cannabis operators out of existence – not to mention the potential financial consequences: RICO plaintiffs are entitled to receive triple damages, as well as attorneys' fees.

"'Things like this sort of take on a life of their own, and somebody who is obviously anti-cannabis has decided to push it. They think that this is the Achilles' heel," says influential California attorney Henry Wykowski, who has argued on behalf of cannabis operators in federal court several times. "It is scary stuff. I just hope that the defendants get really good lawyers, because this could have an effect on the entire industry."

Read more: http://www.rollingstone.com/culture/features/how-anti-mafia-laws-could-bring-down-legal-pot-w499585
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TIME on post-millennials: "they're libertarians"

Millennials and the iGen Are Not as Progressive as You Think | Time.com - Jean M. Twenge:

August 22, 2017 - "Twenge is a Professor of Psychology at San Diego State University and the author of iGen: Why Today’s Super-Connected Kids are Growing up Less Rebellious, More Tolerant, Less Happy — and Completely Unprepared for Adulthood.

"Today’s young Americans, who include both Millennials (born 1980–‘94) and iGen (1995–2012), represent the future of the political landscape: 18- to 29-year-olds are now an equal or a larger percentage of voters than those over 65. Given that, it’s crucial to understand why nearly two out of five iGen’ers and young Millennials voted for not just a Republican candidate but a candidate affiliated with a white nationalism many thought had died out long before iGen was born.

"First, young voters — especially iGen — are more conservative than is often assumed. In my analyses of the nationally representative yearly survey Monitoring the Future, the percentage of high school seniors who identified as conservative rose from 23% in 2000 to 29% in 2015, creating a group more conservative than the Reagan-era GenX teens of the 1980s.... Nor is iGen the post-racial, post-prejudice group some have assumed. Although iGen and the Millennials stand apart from older generations in their support for LGBT issues, at the moment they are not much more supportive of gender or racial equality than Boomers and GenX’ers are....

"iGen’s other social and political beliefs also defy expectations. Compared to previous generations when they were young in these national surveys, iGen is more likely to support abortion rights, same-sex marriage and legalizing marijuana and less likely to support the death penalty — usually considered liberal beliefs. But they are also less likely to support gun control, national health care and government environmental regulation....

"How can iGen hold these seemingly contradictory beliefs? In short, because they’re libertarians (or at least more libertarian than their elders). iGen was raised in a highly individualistic culture favoring the self over the group; phrases such as 'do what’s right for you' and 'believe in yourself and anything is possible' echoed through their childhood. Libertarianism is as close to cultural individualism as can be found in the political arena, favoring individual rights and fighting against government regulation. Liberals tend to be individualistic about equal rights issues (say, same-sex marriage) but collectivistic about social programs (government-sponsored health care). Conservatives are individualistic about social programs (thinking people should help themselves) but collectivistic about equal rights issues (thinking traditional roles are more productive). But libertarians are individualistic about both....

"Individualism has also led iGen and Millennials to favor one thing above all else in politicians: Authenticity. Individualism promotes 'come as you are' and 'just be yourself,' and iGen’ers want their candidates to be — or at least seem — unwavering in their personal beliefs.... Donald Trump fit this as well: For all his prevaricating, many said they voted for him because he says exactly what he thinks.

"Individualism has brought both equality and reactions against it, both support for individual rights and a dislike of group solutions. With 54% of young voters identifying as political independents, conventional politicians face an uphill battle trying to attract them. Yet the candidate who does — likely authentic, casual and libertarian in her positions — will hold the key to the next political era."

Read more: http://time.com/4909722/trump-millennials-igen-republicans-voters/

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Ron Paul: Oppose right and left authoritarianism

Ron Paul: We Must Oppose Fascism Of the Right and Left | News and views from a different angle - Market Slant:

August 22, 2017 - "Following the recent clashes between the alt-right and the group antifa, some libertarians have debated which group they should support. The answer is simple: neither. The alt-right and its leftist opponents are two sides of the same authoritarian coin.

"The alt-right elevates racial identity over individual identity. The obsession with race leads them to support massive government interference in the economy in order to benefit members of the favored race. They also favor massive welfare and entitlement spending, as long as it functions as a racial spoils system.... No one who sincerely supports individual liberty, property rights, or the right to life can have any sympathy for this type of racial collectivism.

"Antifa, like all Marxists, elevates class identity over individual identity. Antifa supporters believe government must run the economy because otherwise workers will be exploited by greedy capitalists. This faith in central planning ignores economic reality, as well as the reality that in a free market employers and workers voluntarily work together for their mutual benefit. It is only when government intervenes in the economy that crony capitalists have the opportunity to exploit workers, consumers, and taxpayers....

"Ironically, the failure of the Keynesian model of economic authoritarianism, promoted by establishment economists like Paul Krugman, is responsible for the rise of the alt-right and antifa.... [M]any Americans continue to struggle with unemployment and a Federal Reserve-caused eroding standard of living. History shows that economic hardship causes many to follow demagogues offering easy solutions and convenient scapegoats....

"As the Keynesian-Krugman empire of big government and fiat currency collapses, more people will be attracted to authoritarianism, leading to an increase in violence. The only way to ensure the current system is not replaced with something even worse is for those of us who know the truth to work harder to spread the ideas of liberty.

"While we should be willing to form coalitions with individuals of good will across the political spectrum, we must never align with anyone promoting violence as a solution to social and economic problems. We must also oppose any attempts to use the violence committed by extremists as a justification for expanding the police state or infringing on free speech....

"Libertarians have several advantages in the ideological battle... First, we do not need to resort to scapegoating and demagoguing, as we have the truth about the welfare-warfare state and the Federal Reserve on our side. We also offer a realistic way to restore prosperity. But our greatest advantage is that, while authoritarianism divides people by race, class, religion, or other differences, the cause of liberty unites all who seek peace and prosperity."

Read more: https://www.marketslant.com/article/ron-paul-we-must-oppose-fascism-right-and-left
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Copyright © 2017 by Ron Paul Institute. Permission to reprint in whole or in part is gladly granted, provided full credit and a live link are given.

Venezuelans turn to bitcoin as currency collapses

Why Venezuelans Are Turning to Bitcoin Mining - The Atlantic - Rene Chun:

September 2017 issue - "In Venezuela, home to some of the worst hyperinflation since the Weimar Republic, a Big Mac costs about half a month’s wages. Or rather, it did, until a bread shortage forced the burger off the menu. The annual inflation rate is expected to hit 1,600 percent. Life resembles an old newsreel: long lines, empty shelves, cashiers weighing stacks of bills.

"To survive, thousands of Venezuelans have taken to minería bitcoin — mining bitcoin, the cryptocurrency. Lend computer processing power to the blockchain (the bitcoin network’s immense, decentralized ledger) and you will be rewarded with bitcoin. To contribute more data-crunching power, and earn more bitcoin, people operate racks of specialized computers known as 'miners.' Whether a mining operation is profitable hinges on two main factors: bitcoin’s market value — which has hit record highs this year — and the price of electricity, needed to run the powerful hardware.

"Electricity, it so happens, is one thing most Venezuelans can afford: Under the socialist regime of President Nicolás Maduro, power is so heavily subsidized that it is practically free. A person running several bitcoin miners can clear $500 a month. That’s a small fortune in Venezuela today, enough to feed a family of four and purchase vital goods — baby diapers, say, or insulin — online....

"But recently, Maduro has begun cracking down on mining operations, apparently finding in them a convenient political scapegoat — much as he calls those who seek to profit off inflation “capitalist parasites.” Yet trading bitcoin is still condoned. It’s as if Maduro realizes that cryptocurrency is one of the few things holding the country together.

"Because Venezuela has no cryptocurrency laws, police have arrested mine operators on spurious charges. Their first target, Joel Padrón, who owns a courier service and started mining to supplement his income, was charged with energy theft and possession of contraband and detained for 14 weeks. Since then, other bitcoin rigs have been seized — and, in many cases, rebooted by corrupt police for personal profit....

"Venezuela’s most resourceful miners ... are moving on to a new inflation-buster: the cryptocurrency ether (ETH). The profit margins are higher and, more important, the risk factor is much lower. 'Mining ETH or bitcoin is pretty much the same principle: using free electricity to generate cash,' one Venezuelan miner told me. 'But ETH mining is more affordable — all you need is free software and a PC with a video card. Any police officer is easily fooled into thinking your ETH miner is just a regular computer.'"

Read more: https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2017/09/big-in-venezuela/534177/
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