Tag Archives: National

Mexican Drug Cartels’ Stake in the U.S.: One Trillion Dollars

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New America Media—Editor’s Note: Recent media reports of money laundering activities involving U.S. banks and Mexico’s drug cartels point to a disturbing trend. NAM contributor Louis Nevaer says that everything taken into account, the amounts involved rival investments made by some of the U.S.’s largest trade partners.

The six-year War on Drugs that Mexican president Felipe Calderon has waged since 2007 has resulted in one consequence no one anticipated: Mexican drug cartels have sent upwards of $1 trillion to the U.S.

This staggering sum of money has been funneled through U.S. financial institutions, almost always in violation of U.S. laws, and at times even with the cooperation of American federal agencies.

In fact, if the Mexican drug cartels were a sovereign nation, they would qualify to be part of the G-20, ahead of Indonesia (GNP: $845 billion) and behind South Korea (GNP: $1.1 trillion). Yet, this is the cumulative sum of money that Mexican drug cartels have funneled through the U.S. economy.

A New York Times story published last month reporting that federal authorities busted a cartel boss accused of laundering $1 million a month pales in comparison to the hundreds of billions of dollars that drug organizations have moved through U.S. banks.

New Hampshire Adopts Jury Nullification

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By US~Observer Staff

Jurors Can Question Law


Jury nullification, in which jurors refuse to convict defendants under laws they find objectionable or inappropriately applied, is a favored tactic of many libertarians who, rightly or wrongly perceive individual liberty as, at best, a minority taste among their neighbors. They like the idea of a tool that can be wielded on the spot to shield people from powerful control freaks without first having to win a popularity contest. But nullification is useful only if people know about it. And last week, New Hampshire’s governor signed a law requiring the state’s judges to permit defense attorneys to inform jurors of their right to nullify the law. –J.D. Tuccille, Reason.com

New Hampshire Governor John Lynch signed HB 146 on June 18, 2012 – which reads:

“A right of accused. In all criminal proceedings the court shall permit the defense to inform the jury of its right to judge the facts and the application of the law in relation to the facts in controversy.”

Short, simple and to the point. Nullification advocate Tim Lynch of the Cato Institute thinks it may not be a game changer, but it’s a step in the right direction. Lynch says:

“This is definitely a step forward for advocates of jury trial. Allowing counsel to speak directly to the jury about this subject is something that is not allowed in all the courthouses outside of New Hampshire–so, again, this is good. I am concerned, however, that this language does not go far enough. We don’t know how much pressure trial judges will exert on defense counsel. As noted above, if the attorney’s argument is ‘too strenuous,’ the judge may reprimand the attorney in some way or deliver his own strenuous instruction about how the jurors must ultimately accept the law as described by the court, not the defense. I’m also afraid what the jurors hear will too often depend on the particular judge and, then, what that judge wants to do in a particular case.”

Read more at the US~Observer

Rep. Gosar Votes to Send Contempt Charges to House Floor

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Washington, D.C.—Today, U.S. Congressman Paul Gosar, D.D.S (R-AZ)—who is moving fast and furious out of CD-1—released the following statement regarding the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee’s vote to hold U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder in contempt of Congress. These proceedings come after continuous delay by Holder and the Department of Justice to release subpoenaed documents from the reckless Operation Fast and Furious.

Gosar said today, “Mr. Holder continues in his latest actions to show his contempt for our constitutional rights, our border, Arizonans and all Americans by evading oversight. After months of stonewalling, excuses and half truths Mr. Holder has run out of time and second chances. I was pleased to cast my vote in committee to send to the floor of the motion to hold Mr. Holder in contempt for his actions and inaction with regard to Fast and Furious. 114 members of Congress have signed onto my Resolution of No Confidence (H.Res.490) in Mr. Holder. Now those same members and others will get to vote to hold him in contempt of Congress.”

As the only member from Arizona on the committee for Oversight and Government Reform, Congressman Gosar has been a leading advocate for the victims of this horrible operation by demanding answers and justice. Gosar is the lead sponsor of H. Res. 490, a Resolution of No Confidence in the Attorney General which currently has 114 cosponsors.

The oversight committee has videos concerning the failed Fast and Furious operation on their web site.

Fast and Furious is the failed Justice Department operation which they blamed on Arizona gun dealers. The fury reached new heights with the Obama administration revealing that it will evoke executive privilege on documents concerning the failure.

SPLC — Memorial Day, Civil Rights and “Criminal Acts”

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On this Memorial Day we are supposed to pause to remember the sacrifices of the men and women who have served this country, many of them giving their very lives in that service, in order to protect our most basic freedoms.

Chief among those freedoms are those laid out by the Founding Fathers in the Bill of Rights as the first ten amendments to the Constitution of the United States. The first of those amendments reads thus:

Amendment I

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.

Enter the Southern Poverty Law Center, a self-proclaimed “civil rights organization,” according to their never-ending stream of press releases and fundraising requests. For a group of alleged civil rights lawyers, the SPLC seems to have a serious problem with the most fundamental civil rights identified in the First Amendment.

Read More at Watching the Watchdogs.

Science Fiction legend passes at 92

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Wikipedia image

LOS ANGELES—Science fiction legend Ray Bradbury passed away last night peacefully after a lingering illness. Bradbury—heavily influenced by the ability of Edgar Allen Poe to draw people into his stories—is noted for a variety of story lines from warning to the hopeful. His Fahrenheit 451 and Martian Chronicles elevated him to the caste of such greats as Issac Asimov, Robert Heinlein and Arthur C. Clarke. His most recent work is Now and Forever.

“In a career spanning more than seventy years, Ray Bradbury has inspired generations of readers to dream, think, and create,” his publisher HarperCollins wrote in a statement to the press. “A prolific author of hundreds of short stories and close to fifty books, as well as numerous poems, essays, operas, plays, teleplays, and screenplays, Bradbury was one of the most celebrated writers of our time.”

Rarely one to rest, Mr. Bradbury converted 65 of his short stories into highly popular television series The Ray Bradbury Theater. The author of a Playboy interview with him wrote:

Even at the age of 75, there’s something childlike about Ray Bradbury. He bounces with enthusiasm, he nearly always wears shorts and his homes are stocked with toys – from the statue of Bullwinkle that presides over the basement of his Los Angeles home to the nine-foot dinosaur that occupies its own bed at his desert hideaway.

Sign the Declaration of Independence

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The National Archives has devised an interesting way to be a part of history. Or to collect names for the next edition of the Department of Homeland Security Domestic Terrorist magazine. You can now sign the Declaration of Independence. Ironically, they even warn you.

Wonder what happens if you decide not to sign?

The Declaration of Independence was ratified by adopting the Lee Resolution for Independence with only New York not voting. After some minor changes by Franklin and Adams, according to the web site, it was declared officially adopted on July 4th 235 years ago in 1776.

Their Charters of Freedom web site has photographic images and text transcripts of the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution and the Bill of Rights. At the bottom of that page is a button which takes you to a page with another link to sign and other links to information about the signers and a timeline for the events surrounding the Declaration.

You can elect to sign the document in three different fonts; Colonist, American and Patriot. You can print on a color or black-and-white printer. Make sure you used the print link at the bottom of the page and do not try to print from your browser print function. Flash is required to use the program.

And you thought that investment in parchment paper was foolish.

Direct link to start signing.

Lowe’s defends pulling ads from Muslim TV show

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By Edith Honan
NEW YORK | Mon Dec 12, 2011 8:05pm EST

(Reuters) – U.S. home improvement chain Lowe’s Monday defended its decision to pull advertising from reality TV show “All-American Muslim” amid charges the company had given in to bigotry.

“All-American Muslim,” which airs on TLC, follows several Muslim families in and around the Detroit suburb of Dearborn, Michigan, which is home to one of the largest Muslim populations in the United States and its largest mosque.

It has been accused by one Florida group to be propaganda. But the decision by Lowe’s sparked an outcry by defenders of the show.

Lowe’s employed its Facebook page to defend itself and called “All-American Muslim,” a “lightning rod” for “strong political and societal views.”

Read more at Reuters