Category Archives: Opinion

(NM) Hal Stratton: Civil asset forfeiture bill is needed reform for state

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[NEW MEXICO] —

I still am against crime and a strong advocate for law enforcement. But there is no bigger miscarriage of justice than when those who are charged to protect us abuse that duty and cause harm to innocent and sometimes helpless citizens.

By Hal Stratton

Guest column
Posted: 04/02/2015 10:30:07 AM MDT

For those New Mexicans who believe in bipartisan government, reaching across the aisle and the political spectrum — there is good news. The New Mexico Legislature has just unanimously passed HB 560, without a single dissenting vote in either house. HB 560 revises the procedure involved in the forfeiting of citizens’ assets by government agencies, a practice referred to as “asset forfeiture.” Every year, federal and state law enforcement agents seize billions of dollars during traffic stops, simply by alleging the money is connected to some illegal activity. Under federal and New Mexico’s laws, these agencies are entitled to keep most (and sometimes all) of the money and property, even if the property owner is never convicted and, in some cases, never charged with a crime.

Why would law enforcement agencies, whose mission is to protect citizens and their property, engage in forfeiture? That question was candidly answered last November by the city attorney from Las Cruces who said that forfeiture could be a “gold mine” for city law enforcement agencies. “We could be czars. We could own the city. We could be in the real estate business” he stated further noting that the Las Cruces law enforcement agency collected about $1 million from residents through forfeiture since 2006. And these funds that are forfeited go directly into the law enforcement agencies coffers outside of the appropriations process and legislative oversight.

Read more at Ruidoso News

Bill introduced to prevent President Obama from renaming McKinley by executive order

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Denali_Mt_McKinley

Photo by a NPS employee from Wikipedia.

WASHINGTON — was submitted by the congressional delegation of Ohio fearful that President Obama will rename McKinley to Mount Obama by executive order.

Representative Bob Gibbs of Ohio submitted H.R. 437, the text which reads:

Notwithstanding any other authority of law, the mountain located 63 degrees 04 minutes 12 seconds north, by 151 degrees 00 minutes 18 seconds west shall continue to be named and referred to for all purposes as Mount McKinley.

Okay, that is the April Fools part of the article.

Verily, the name given to the highest mountain in North America has been in dispute for some time. The Alaska Board of Geographic Names lists the mountain as Denali—meaning “the great one” in the Athabaskan language. The United States Board on Geographic Names lists it as Mount McKinley.

William_McKinley1896Efforts by Alaskan authorities have always been thwarted by the congressional delegation from Ohio—such as with this bill H.R. 437. Since being introduced in January, it moved from the House Committee on Natural Resources to the Subcommittee on Federal Lands March 2. The bill has no cosponsors.

Mount McKinley was named after William McKinley—the 25th President of the United States, serving from March 4, 1897, until his assassination in September 1901, six months into his second term. He was born in Ohio and this bill was submitted on January 21—eight days before the date of his birth in 1843.

It is rather interesting that this debate has not been given the same coverage by the media as the name of a football team.

Is Jade Helm operation a casual exercise or prelude to martial law?

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OPINION
Updated: 4/2/2015, 9:10 a.m.

300-jade-helm

But in republics there is more vitality, greater hatred, and more desire for vengeance, which will never permit them to allow the memory of their former liberty to rest; so that the safest way is to destroy them or to reside there.—The Prince, Nicolo Machiavelli CHAPTER V

Since the Daily Mail news story on Operation Jade Helm (PDF), the blogosphere has exploded with every possibility of conspiracy.

Concerns in the southwest are not totally unfounded; particularly in light of the Bundy Ranch episode last year on March 27. One communist web site, relying heavily on reports from the Southern Enriched-By-Taxpayer-Dollars Law Center, was stressed that the militia was actually doing what it is supposed to do. Stopping national government encroachment. The government-approved Federalist papers as, well as those Federalist Papers not so well-known, make that clear.

One can certainly question the premise of “Master the Human Domain.”

According to the Mail, the operation scheduled from July 15 to September 15 will feature:

  • Operation Jade Helm will see 1,200 service members including Green Berets and SEALs and special forces from the Air Force and Marines in July
  • Soldiers armed with blank rounds will operate in and around towns in Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, California, Nevada, Utah and Colorado for 8 weeks
  • The so-called Realistic Military Training has some residents fearful the drill is a preparation for martial law

The premise of this operation is that Texas has been invaded by a “hostile force” and has to be retaken.

Lieutenant Colonel Mark Lastoria denounced this as a prelude to martial law in Stars and Stripes.

Army Lt. Col. Mark Lastoria, a USASOC spokesman, confirmed that there is an upcoming exercise called Jade Helm 15 which is scheduled to take place this summer at locations in Texas, Arizona, New Mexico, Utah, Colorado, California and Nevada. But he denied the event is preparation for some sort of military takeover.

A judge in Texas apparently agrees.
Continue reading →

HB 2320 and HB 2431 Stalled in House

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axcdl_logoContact House Leadership!
Commentary by Arizona Citizens Defense League

PHOENIX — The House Leadership has sidelined two AzCDL-requested bills, HB 2320 and HB 2431. If they cannot meet the March 20 deadline to be heard in Senate committees, they are effectively dead for the session.

HB 2320, which would exempt CCW permit holders from being disarmed when entering state and local government property unless every person entering is screened for weapons, only needs a Third Read floor vote to proceed to the Senate.

HB 2431, which would establish an interstate compact that restricts member states from enacting firearms transfer requirements greater than existing federal law, needs both a House Committee of the Whole (COW) hearing, currently scheduled for March 9, and a Third Read vote to proceed.

It’s time to urge the House Leadership to schedule HB 2320 and HB 2431 for Third Read votes before it’s too late.

Apparently, not everyone remembers the dream

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Today is Martin Luther King day. Today is meant to celebrate the civil rights leader of the sixties who made the following speech on August 28th, 1963.

Almost 52-years later, Mark Dice, a political activist in San Diego, asked people about King. The trick is that he asks in the same way that he does many historic topics. His claim to the people is that Martin Luther King just passed away and he wanted to know if they people were going to attend the memorial services.

Bear in mind that he edits the videos showing the goofiest answers he received. He did show one person who knew who the civil rights leader actually was and there were probably other examples.

What is sad is that even when he went off the deep end, as he often does in his videos, some people followed simply because they had a camera in their face.

Why There Shouldn’t Be a Minimum Wage

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Ethan-GloverGuest Editorial By Ethan Glover
Writer at Anarchant and creator/admin for Liberty Resource Directory.

theytookourjobsIn 2015, this week, 21 states will be raising the minimum wage. New wages will range from $8 to $9.15 as compared to the federal minimum of $7.25. This made me wonder where the movement for $15/hr went, I haven’t heard from them in a while.

Turns out, Seattle implemented a $15 minimum wage early this year. What were the effects?

Managers started to take on more responsibility as opposed to hiring.
Large companies laid off employees and canceled plans to hire.
Small businesses are moving or closing.
Many products added “living-wage surcharges,” including parking.
Companies cut employee benefits and overtime.

On the positive side, despite no one hiring, there has been a huge increase in job applications.

The Real Cost of Minimum Wage

The argument against minimum wage is simple. It might not be profitable for a company to hire someone at a higher wage, so they don’t hire. If someone can’t produce $7.25/hr, you’re condemning him or her to a wage of $0.

One argument says that the minimum wage raises the standard of living for all. Lowering it would hurt everyone.

This is ridiculous considering that most jobs pay above the minimum due to competition and profits. Lowering the minimum does nothing but lower the barrier to entry.

Minimum wage isn’t for adults looking for a particular “standard of living.” Jobs like food preparation and retail floor sales isn’t the kind of thing you should be doing as a middle-aged parent.

Those jobs are for young people who need to earn experience and learn skills. Minimum wage jobs need little to no skill and operate in a low risk environment. (Missing a day of work at McDonald’s isn’t going to hurt anyone.)

Read more at Anarchant