Tucker: Big Tech censors dissent over coronavirus lockdowns ~ Fox News Video

Big technology companies are using the COVID-19 tragedy to increase their power over the American population.

Tucker Carlson of Fox News starts out with an amazing commentary on the disappearance of our First Amendment rights on the internet, such as in the big tech platforms like youtube.com, Facebook, and Twitter. Joining Tucker after his commentary was Dave Rubin, author of "Don't Burn This Book."

After you see the following video, I'm pretty sure you'll understand why I'm not adding any of my own commentary to this post! The only take-away that I can assure you of, and that I wish I could tell you about, may be way more than I'm now allowed to say out loud (if you know what I mean). That is pretty darn sad. I'm praying that posting this video here, and then tweeting it, won't get me in trouble with my accounts!

Please take a few moments to watch the following video, if you dare... And if you don't see me around here any more, you'll know why.  If this goes any further, with what they are doing to silence any kind of dissent, we'll pray it doesn't get like other places in the world where I'd be "disappeared." And I'm keeping Tucker Carlson and Dave Rubin in my prayers, too.

VIDEO: Big Brother is watching you and tracking your license plate

Post by Johnny2k's America.

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As an additional feature here on Blogging In Our Time 2 Escape, this blog will be including videos that have been posted on the johnny2k's America Facebook page! Videos can sometimes say more than what can be expressed in text.  Be sure to visit the archive with hundreds of videos to peruse.

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Don't be afraid!

WE the PEOPLE

are the MOB
ONE NATION UNDER GOD

YOU ARE NOT ALONE!
johnny2k's Tea Party Gear

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America too far gone to save? ~ By Anthony Martin

"Yes, I will continue to fight, " he continued, "But frankly I don't see a lot of improvement. Not only do I have to fight politicians who are throwing our freedoms into the garbage can, trampling on the Constitution in the process, but I must constantly fight to attempt to educate my fellow citizens in what it means to live in a free society with a Constitution that is supposed to protect our freedoms with the full force of the law. The number of people in America today who understand that the Constitution exists to protect our freedoms from government encroachments is very small."

I do not know who the patriot is that Anthony is writing about. Hopefully, Anthony was able to offer the person some encouragement. I can certainly relate to Anthony's person of interest, however, it would be sad if they are right. Is America too far gone to save?

Many of us still hope and pray that good people that believe in our freedom will come along and get voted into office. But are there enough of those people to start getting into office and helping us get our freedom back? And maybe the bigger question is, can we eventually educate enough people so they will understand the need to vote those people into office? Well, then, we can't just give up working and fighting to get the right people on the ballots, and we can never give up trying to get enough voters for them to get into office. We must. There is only one alternative, as Anthony wrote:

Many if not most citizens have no intention of allowing themselves to become slaves to a government that has become drunk on its own power. Thus, the only alternative is war.

So, for those of us that are trying and doing our best despite our weariness and disillusionment, we have to keep on keeping on. We must remember what Winston Churchill said on October 29, 1941:

"[N]ever give in, never give in, never, never, never - in nothing, great or small, large or petty - never give in except to convictions of honour and good sense. Never yield to force; never yield to the apparently overwhelming might of the enemy."

Winston Churchill is the one person that always had the right to say, "Just sayin'..."


America too far gone to save?

Anthony Martin

By Anthony Martin

August 27, 2014

From Examiner.com

"The country is too far gone to save," he stated with melancholic certainty. "Too many citizens are just like those in Europe who believe that the welfare state that provides cradle to the grave social giveaway programs is to be preserved and expanded at all costs, even if it pushes the nation over the financial cliff into bankruptcy."

The one who provided this sobering analysis is a long time patriot, a defender of the Constitution and the Bill of Rights, and a fierce opponent of the ever expanding scope and power of an authoritative, centralized government complex. But he shared something that he will tell no one else, something that eats away at his very soul day in and day out. "In spite of the fact that I will continue to fight," he said, "I have grown weary, tired beyond imagination, and disillusioned with not only the politicians who get sent back to Washington over and over but with my fellow citizens who don't have a clue about the nature of the battle we're in."

~~~ READ MORE on Examiner.com ~~~

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As an additional feature here on Blogging In Our Time 2 Escape, this blog will be including videos that have been posted on the johnny2k's America Facebook page! Videos can sometimes say more than what can be expressed in text.  Be sure to visit the archive with hundreds of videos to peruse!

*     *     *     *

Don't be afraid!

WE the PEOPLE

are the MOB
ONE NATION UNDER GOD

YOU ARE NOT ALONE!
johnny2k's Tea Party Gear

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Time 2 Escape WIFLI for Thursday, Jan 19, 2012

It was driving me crazy in the last few days, knowing that there was so much I wanted to get posted on this blog. I thought it was going to be a Tuesday (Jan 17) "WIFLI" issue when I was finally was able to start on this late Monday night. By Tuesday morning, I still had more work to do on this post, but snow was on my driveway that needed to be removed, and I had some paperwork that I needed to get done. I ran out of time. Well, no problem... "I'll get 'er done Wednesday," I was thinking. I found some more compelling stories to add to this post after doing a lot of reading and listening to talk radio, and again, I ran out of time.

So, you see, it wasn't really a case of "when I feel like it" (WIFLI) this week, but more like OPTDW (Other Priorities To Deal With... aren't acronyms awesome?), along with getting the right information that I could find for you to dive into this week.

Here it is, finally; another great WIFLI issue for you to consume. At first, you may not see a relationship between any of the articles/blogs that I've included in this issue. However, there is something that ties it all together. The clue is in the John Stossel column ("Who should stay home Election Day"). I have no doubt that even some of my most loyal readers, many whom are Conservatives and/or Republicans, have not heard anything about a couple of the stories that I included today.

At one time, the fact that there was a great lack of awareness among the American public upset me greatly. I felt it was because people didn't care, and that doesn't ever end well. Apathy and freedom usually don't go hand in hand. Just ask those colonists that felt we needed to declare our independence from the British so that we could be free...

But now, I think I'm beginning to understand. And in my prayers every day, I've asked God to give me the resolve to not only keep learning, but also to give me the ability to bring about more awareness of the dangers this country is facing, and the strength to keep trying to inform people, even when it seemed nobody was listening.

After about five years of writing and working on my blogs, listening to several hours of talk radio every day, I finally prayed that I could forgive those that aren't in tune with all that is facing this country, and the world, for that matter. I had to get used to the fact that the "rest of us have lives. We are busy with things other than politics."

Per John Stossel, as you will read below, very few people take the time to access all of the information that is available. Not that many people even bother to vote. Stossel doesn't feel that is such a bad thing, if the electorate has very little idea about the issues, let alone all of the angles involved in each issue. Some people can't even identify pictures of Newt or Mitt.  (I'm just happy that John Walsh has people that watch AMW and CAN identify people that are on the most wanted lists!)

The part of doing this blog as a top priority in my life was due to wanting to help preserve our freedom. However, my friend Ralph Marston woke me up with his Daily Motivator you will see below, where he writes: "As soon as you let go of the want, you begin to see, to feel and to make positive use of the very real connections between you and whatever you envision." I think that explains everything I'm doing. I'm just sayin'...

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The News Stories:

Keystone XL pipeline to be rejected by Obama administration
From POLITICOPro.com ~ By DARREN GOODE | 1/18/12 11:51 AM EST ~ Via WND
TransCanada's planned route potent symbol in battle over U.S. energy policy

The State Department on Wednesday will reject the Keystone XL pipeline, multiple sources following the project told POLITICO.

The formal announcement is expected at 3 p.m. from Deputy Secretary of State William Burns. Although the permit would be rejected, TransCanada would still be allowed to continue to work on and pitch an alternative route through Nebraska.

Republicans in Congress and on the campaign trail have endlessly attacked President Barack Obama for putting environmental interests and the green lobby ahead of a project that they say would create thousands of jobs. Republicans scored a rare win this Congress by including a 60-day deadline for Obama to make a decision on the pipeline as part of the year-end deal on extending the payroll tax holiday.

But administration officials have been clear from the beginning that forcing a decision within 60 days would not yield enough time to make a final decision and that Republicans were doing so merely to create a new set of political talking points.

READ MORE

Romney put on defense at South Carolina debate, as GOP rivals fight for edge in state primary
From FoxNews.com ~ via WND ~ Published January 16, 2012

MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. – Mitt Romney was put on defense out of the box at Monday night's Republican presidential primary debate -- answering questions about his record at private venture firm, Bain Capital; distancing himself from super PAC ads against fellow candidates; defending his record as Massachusetts governor, and dodging demands that he release his tax records.

But Romney fired back against the onslaught, saying he is proud of his record in business and as governor.

"We were fortunate to have an unemployment rate by the time I left office of 4.7 percent. Sounds pretty good today," Romney said. "And I was also proud of the fact that we balanced the budget every year I was in office. We reduced taxes 19 times, put in place a rainy day fund of over $2 billion by the time I left."

Still, with his rivals running out of time to make the case they are a viable and "conservative" alternative to the front-runner, the attacks were fast and furious.

READ MORE

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Columnists and Their Commentaries:

Prizefight to watch: ‘Obama v. Arpaio’
Exclusive: Jerome Corsi explains Alinsky tactics being used against popular lawman
From WND Commentary ~ By Jerome R. Corsi ~ January 16, 2012

The front lines of the continuing Obama eligibility battle are being fought not in Washington, D.C., or before the U.S. Supreme Court, but in Maricopa County, Ariz.

Jerome R. Corsi

What is shaping up is an epic political battle in which the Obama White House has decided to launch a full-scale assault against local Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio.

In other words, the national battle on both illegal immigration and on the Obama birth certificate is rapidly coming down to a local duel that can be properly billed much like a heavyweight prizefight, as “Obama v. Arpaio.”

Moreover, it appears the White House has set February as the month Arpaio has either to comply with the Department of Justice demands, or face Eric Holder in federal court.

This is not coincidental.

February is also the month in which Arpaio’s Cold Case Posse will release it’s law enforcement report on Obama’s birth certificate and his eligibility to be president under Article II, Section 1, of the Constitution.

READ MORE

Who should stay home Election Day
John Stossel hopes 'ignorant people' don't bother to cast ballots
From WND Commentary ~ By John Stossel ~ Published Tuesday, Jan 17, 2012

This is one reason I say those “get out the vote” drives are dumb. I take heat for saying that, but Bryan Caplan agrees. He’s a professor of economics at George Mason University and author of “The Myth of the Rational Voter: Why Democracies Choose Bad Policies.”

“A lot of bad policies … pass by popular demand,” Caplan told me. “In order to do the right thing, you have to know something.”

The “informed citizen” is the ideal of democratic societies, but Caplan points out that average citizens have no incentive to become informed, while special interests do. The rest of us have lives. We are busy with things other than politics. That’s why our democratic government inflates the price of sugar through trade restrictions, even though American sugar consumers far outnumber American sugar producers.

READ MORE

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From the Blogs:

Stop SOPA and PIPA
From The Right Perspective ~ By NewsGuy ~ Wednesday, Jan 18, 2012

The NewsGuy Show

Pending legislation, Senate 968 (Protect IP -or- PIPA) and HR3261 (SOPA), demand the ability to take down any web site (including craigslist, Wikipedia, or Google) – without prior judicial oversight or due process – in the name of combating “online piracy.”

PIPA and SOPA authors and supporters insist they’re only after foreign piracy sites, but Internet Engineers understand this is an attempt to impose “Big Brother” control over our Internet, complete with DNS hijacking and censoring search results. Sadly, many Congress Members favor this idea.

This double-barrel legislation affects all of our free speech, regardless of political affiliation.

READ MORE

At one time, I used to write on my own blog often. And I will continue to, eventually, but it has been a very long time since I wrote a post for johnny2k Is Home. The following was the last time I posted one of my personal writings, but it is so profoundly accurate, I could not allow you to not know about it.  

By the way, you will soon see a sequel!

This Is How They Do It
From johnny2k Is Home ~ By John Kubicek ~ Monday, September 19, 2011

There will be one thing that will be apparent to you in a very short amount of time: President Obama will find a way to make the bad economy be for his advantage in November of 2012. Obama is in the process of making sure that Republicans and rich people get the blame for how bad things are going, even with all of the stupid ideas the Democrats and progressives have come up with that have failed.

It's Class Warfare 101. It's a trap, and Republicans can hardly avoid falling into it! It really isn't that difficult, is it? Obama's proposals to stimulate the economy with further spending and higher taxes will be a none-starter in the House, controlled by the Republicans. There are doubts that even the Senate will give Obama's plan a chance. When the economy totally fails, as it will pretty soon, Obama's propaganda arm in the media will reiterate the White House claims that it was because the Republicans refused to act on Obama's plan.

There will be anger out there amongst the potential voters in 2012 due to the fact that things are going so bad. The Democrats, especially those occupying the White House, are fully depending on the anger being directed towards wealthier Americans, which then will be extended to mean the Republican Party. It really wouldn't be that difficult for "the masses" to be influenced to direct their disgust toward those that we know as the Capitalists.

READ MORE

Live the richness
From The Daily Motivator ~ By Ralph Marston ~ Tuesday, Jan 17, 2012

Stop focusing your thoughts on wanting things, because whatever you want, by definition, you do not have. Instead, put your thoughts, your energy and your efforts into more fully manifesting and enjoying what you already do have, which is everything.

When your thoughts are focused on want, those thoughts build a wall of separation between you and life’s immense abundance. As soon as you let go of the want, you begin to see, to feel and to make positive use of the very real connections between you and whatever you envision.

Quit telling yourself you don’t have it, and begin realizing that you can already start to experience it. Look at your most treasured dream not as something you hope to achieve someday, but as something that is already unfolding right now as a result of your actions.

READ MORE

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Don't be afraid!

WE the PEOPLE

are the MOB
ONE NATION UNDER GOD

YOU ARE NOT ALONE!
johnny2k's Tea Party Gear

Bachmann puts incandescent-bulb ban in crosshairs

The course reversal being considered now in Congress already has been endorsed by talk radio icon Rush Limbaugh.

RUSH LIMBAUGH

"One of the first things the Democrat Congress did when they were sworn in and took the oath in 2007 was this light bulb ban," Limbaugh said in a recent program. "So I think symbolically one of the first things we ought to do is repeal it. ...

"The government ought to have not a damn thing to say about the light bulb I buy. It's none of their business, especially when this is based on a total, freaking hoax [climate change].

"It insults my intelligence that so many people can be made to believe that light bulbs could destroy or irreparably harm something as complex and out of our control as the climate!" he shouted. "I don't care if there are billions of light bulbs on at the same time. I don't care. It's not a factor."

Limbaugh then went on a tirade about Big Brother-style intrusion and incompetence...

If Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-MN) can pull this off and get her bill passed, it would be wonderful. I was listening to a radio show ("Coast to Coast A.M.") just the other day, where they were discussing the CFLs replacing the incandescent bulbs. The way the law was written, all incandescents will be phased out by 2014 by starting with the 100 watt bulbs first, then working their way down through the scale (75, 60, 40, 25...). Callers asked what would happen to bulbs for ovens, microwaves, or even for chandeliers? Somebody quipped something like, "Those CFLs would look pretty tacky in a chandelier!"

There is another aspect of the ban on incandescents that isn't mentioned like it should be. CFL bulbs aren't necessarily the only product that can be used to replace Edison's great invention. There are LED lights. They are much safer than the CFL, but their cost is still pretty high.

My thinking about the government-mandated CFL bulbs would be right along with what Rush Limbaugh said. It is really about the government trying to run our lives. As Rush Limbaugh opined:

They have no business whether I buy a Big Mac, nobody's business how many calories are in it, nobody's business whether there's food justice or what the hell, what kind of toys are in a Big Mac Happy Meal. These people are an order of fries short of a Happy Meal, as far as I'm concerned, and they got no business telling me what kind of light bulb I can and can't have and when I can turn the damn thing on and off, but they sure want that power.

Bachmann puts incandescent-bulb ban in crosshairs

Demands assurances that mercury in replacement CFLs offer 'no health risks'

By Bob Unruh

March 04, 2011 ~ 1:00 am Eastern

© 2011 WorldNetDaily

Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-MN)

U.S. Rep. Michele Bachmann, R-Minn., has proposed a bill that would reverse a ban on incandescent light bulbs scheduled to take effect next year unless it can be shown that the replacement products – compact fluorescents – don't offer a risk to consumers.

WND reported only two months ago that a team of some 15 members of the U.S. House, including Bachmann, introduced H.R. 91 that would repeal parts of the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007, which has been described as a "de facto ban" on the incandescent light bulb.

Congress claimed that incandescents were bigger consumers of energy than compact fluorescent bulbs. Since passage of the bill there has been a tidal wave of opposition over the government's micromanagement of light bulb choices and the dangers of CFLs.

A compact fluorescent bulb (CFL)

Now, Bachmann has proposed H.R. 849, which would set several conditions for the ban on incandescents, including assurances that "there are no public health risks from the mercury in replacement bulbs at home or in any public building."

The bill also requires the government to document the "net savings in the combination of monthly electric bills and expenses for new light fixtures to accommodate the new required bulbs."

And it would demand assurances that the phase-out "will reduce CO2 emissions by 20 percent by 2025."

READ FULL STORY at WorldNetDaily.com

Be sure to check out
johnny2k's Tea Party Gear!

WikiLeaks spurs Big Brother to strike ~ By Diana West

It is getting to feel a lot like Christmas, with Julian Assange being the Santa Claus bringing us the gift that won't stop giving. Diana writes:

WikiLeaks is exposing the way our government conducts "business." It is not a pretty process.

It seems that the released documents on WikiLeaks is telling us more about our government than Uncle Sam really wants us to know about. While WikiLeaks is damaging to our national security, and putting our troops deployed in the "overseas contingency" battlegrounds in danger, is an effort to shut down Julian Assange and his website, WikiLeaks, possibly more harmful to our freedom? Is it really that "dangerous" for U.S. citizens to know what our government has been doing in the name of "diplomacy"?


WikiLeaks spurs Big Brother to strike

DIANA WEST

By Diana West

December 09, 2010 ~ 3:07 pm Eastern

© 2010

Then came WikiLeaks, Internet publisher of leaked information, prompting the question: What is more important – the information theft that potentially harms government power, or the knowledge contained therein that might salvage our national destiny?

Whether such information was originally "classified," the body politic should be electrified by the fact, as revealed by the leaked cables, that nations from Pakistan to Afghanistan to Saudi Arabia are regularly discussed as black holes of infinite corruption into which American money gushes, either through foreign aid or oil revenue, and unstaunched and unstaunchable sources of terror or terror-financing. If this were to get out – and guess what, it did – the foreign policy of at least the past two administrations, Democrat and Republican alike, would be unmasked as a colossal failure.

And maybe that's what behind the acute distress over WikiLeaks. Last week, I put it down to political embarrassment; this week, a new, more disturbing factor has emerged. The state power structure, the establishment more or less, believes itself to be threatened. Its fearful response has been quite startling. First, there were calls for WikiLeaks editor Julian Assange's execution; these have simmered down to calls for trial. Amazon and PayPal cut off service to the WikiLeaks website. Then, in a twist or kink perhaps beyond even Orwell's ken, Assange was arrested without bond this week on an Interpol warrant over very fishy-sounding charges about "unprotected" sex in Sweden – a country, we may now ironically note, of draconian laws governing sexual intercourse and no laws whatsoever governing violent Islamic no-go zones.

Things went completely "1984"-ish when the federal government weighed in, actually warning federal employees not to read the WikiLeaks materials – still "classified," after all. Creepier still, the Library of Congress followed suit, voluntarily blocking the WikiLeaks site from library computers. Now, universities are warning students not to post public comments about WikiLeaks on Facebook or Twitter – lest Big Brother takes note and holds a federal employment grudge.

Suddenly, it's not about secret information anymore, or diplomatic relations. It's about control. The atmosphere chills.

READ FULL STORY at WorldNetDaily.com

Be sure to check out
johnny2k's Tea Party Gear!

Keeping cops honest ~ By Phil Elmore

In Maryland, a man faces a staggering 16 years in prison after he posted a YouTube video of his interaction with a state trooper. The trooper, driving an unmarked car (in other words, not driving an obvious law-enforcement vehicle) and not wearing a uniform, cut in front of Anthony Graber (who is a Maryland Air National Guard sergeant), brandished a gun and yelled at Graber – all before identifying himself as a police officer.

Motorcycle traffic violation - Cop pulls out gun

Video provided by nikotyc

Phil Elmore brings up the rising number of state and local governments that are making the video taping of authorities - mainly police officers in the process of making an arrest - illegal. This opens up a number of questions. Will elected officials like Rep. Pete Stark (D-CA) finally decide that they no longer want to be seen by the world on youtube? I am sure that Rep. Pete Stark thinks that could be done, being that he thinks the federal government can do anything it wants to:

Rep. Pete Stark at Town Hall Meeting in California

Video provided by MrOutarsingh

The Chicago Tribune asks, "Police record citizens. Why not the other way around?"

But then, sometimes when the police do get a good dash cam video, it is shared with the world and goes viral:

Full Length - Hawkeye OL Josh Koeppel Crash

Video provided by HawkeyeHitter

The point is, Big Brother has surveillance of We the People in place to keep an eye on us. Should we be restricted from being able to keep an eye on the police or any other public official? As long as people with video cams are not interfering with official police actions, there should be absolutely NO restrictions. I consider it a First Amendment right. It is the freedom of the press that has kept the government (supposedly) in line.

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.

We must have the ability to continue to monitor those in authority. Trying to use "wiretapping laws" as an excuse to prohibit the video camera from recording an incident is a big stretch, and it is doubtful that it would be considered Constitutional if tested in court. Just sayin'...

To preserve what remains of our free society, videotaping those in power when they operate in public (or in our homes) must be legal. It is the most effective way to help prevent abuses of power that would otherwise go unseen and unpunished. The danger presented to law-enforcement officers' safety, or to their efficacy as agents of our government, is negligible, in my opinion. The loss to every one of us should we give up the right to record police does far greater damage to society and to the individuals it comprises.

While I would never adopt the leftist, authoritarian attitude that, "If you've got nothing to hide you should welcome Big Brother looking over your shoulder for your own good," this isn't about public surveillance of free citizens. It's about providing a check on the otherwise unbridled power of law enforcement officers to abuse their considerable discretion when nobody is looking. It's about keeping honest the men and women who are empowered to exercise authority – and force in the name of authority – over their fellow free citizens. It's about watching the watchmen through the unblinking and unbiased eye of a camera lens.

Keeping cops honest

By Phil Elmore

Posted: September 02, 2010 ~ 1:00 am Eastern

© 2010

Recently, I watched an online "viral" video in which a protester holding an "Impeach Obama" sign was roughed up by security personnel at a state fair. While the protester certainly was manhandled, the force used might or might not have been justified. I pictured a jury at the man's trial watching the video as evidence. Did the man's actions warrant the force he received? Did he give the security officers provocation? What about the context for the incident? And what do the security people have to say about it all – the people who, when they saw they were being videotaped, asked the cameraman to shut off his machine?

To his credit, that cameraman's answer was an immediate and emphatic "No." He was not going to be bullied into letting those in authority do whatever they liked behind metaphorical closed doors. What that cameraman may not have thought to ask himself, however, is this: Could he be charged with a crime for recording the protester's arrest? Just what are the consequences for filming someone in public – specifically, for filming a police officer in public?

As the technology to record video becomes ever more accessible and less expensive, the prevalence of handheld video cameras (often in the form of wireless phones) has increased dramatically. Public surveillance by our government has increased, too, and we as Americans must contend with the shadow of Big Brother looming larger over us with each passing day. The good thing about video, however, is that it makes no judgments, provided it is not edited in bad faith or filmed from a compromising angle. A video of an incident tells the truth about what happened more accurately than any eyewitness can relate. So why are more and more law enforcement and government officials trying to make criminals of citizens who record encounters with police?

The Chicago Tribune asks, "Police record citizens. Why not the other way around?" The Tribune story points out that Chicago has one of the largest networks of surveillance cameras in the country. In Illinois, however, it's illegal to record the police – even if you're trying to gather evidence of police wrongdoing. If you try it, you could be arrested and charged with a felony. This is because in Illinois both parties must consent to the recording of a conversation ... unless one of those parties is a police officer.

READ FULL STORY

Be sure to check out
johnny2k's Tea Party Gear!

Fluoride fear-mongers ~ By Phil Elmore

Phil wrote more about the fluoride-in-the-drinking-water fear-mongers in this column. There are several things to learn from this column. The conspiracy theory communities will always claim that evidence that disproves their theories is suspect, and the lack of evidence proving their theories is being suppressed. Secondly, as in this case, the peddling of fear is an industry, and is the one and only industry that prospers from the sale of their conspiracy theory.

For the rest of us, it is as basic as learning to look both ways before crossing the railroad tracks. It is important to know that while governments sometimes do things covertly that are not always in our best interest, always be aware that there will be people that will make claims that they know will play on your imagination and concerns, with or without any honest evidence. Look both ways, but don't be afraid to cross the railroad tracks if you don't see the train coming. Just sayin'...

Proponents of the deadly fluoride myth claim that a vast conspiracy both promotes false safety results while suppressing genuine evidence of the harm supposedly caused by fluoridated drinking water. This is very convenient for true believers in this myth – because, by definition, such shadowy conspiracy theories and cabals of globalist operatives can neither be proved nor disproved. Any evidence that refutes such theories is automatically suspect, while any evidence the conspiracy theorists cannot produce is presumed to have been "suppressed" by the very cabal that is supposedly working so hard to poison you.

Despite their puerile reasoning and wide-eyed hysteria, my critics are correct about one thing: The only winners in this debate about fluoride are indeed part of an industry. In this case, that industry is fear. The product is conspiracy theory, and the snake oil salesmen are those peddling baseless accusations to demonize a technology that, while it may indeed be a government overreach, is still not the diabolical plot they wish you to buy.

By Phil Elmore

Posted: August 05, 2010 ~ 1:00 am Eastern

© 2010

Two weeks ago in Technocracy, I set out to debunk some of the most glaring conspiracy theories surrounding fluoride – the levels of which are regulated to roughly one part per million in the drinking water of 170 million Americans. From the outset, my column, "Is fluoride part of globalist plot?" made no attempt to determine whether your government should regulate drinking water fluoride levels. Part of the mission of Technocracy, however, is to identify ways in which technology affects your life and especially your liberty. Very frequently, we identify a given technology and warn you about it. We explain to you why you should be concerned about the use and abuse of this technology by your government and by your fellow citizens.

If this is true, it stands to reason that when a technology is not necessarily dangerous or worrisome to you, we should inform you of this. It was my conclusion, in the July 22, 2010, installment of Technocracy, that the fears commonly cited regarding fluoride are baseless. They are unfounded conspiracy theories whose propagation serves no one. I did not say this for any other reason than because it is true. To assess the purpose and place of technology in your life requires reasoned, rational thought. It requires judgment. It requires a dedication to what is true, regardless of wishful thinking and regardless of political affiliation.

I am blessed to write for a site whose editors permit dissent. When previously I spoke out against the myth of vaccine-caused autism, WND ran a guest column by Cynthia Cournoyer. Her intent was to refute my piece. I later, on one of my own sites, posted a lengthy rebuttal to her attempt. Other than permitting me to participate in this free exchange of ideas, WND's management made no attempt to dissuade me, censure me, discourage me, or pressure me to change my opinion. I believe this is the mark of a news and opinion source whose staff believe in truth and reason above agenda and advocacy. I believe this even when I disagree with the prevailing editorial sentiment of this site – although I agree with that cumulative opinion far more often than I don't.

With none of this dedication to truth over argument, a certain conspiracy-theory website ran a column last week blithely accusing me of saying that "fluoride is good for you." The article's authors claim they are motivated to "correct" my "misconceptions." The piece is a childish, sensational, hysterical appeal to emotion that is typical of conspiracy theorists' inability – or unwillingness – to reason.

While the nature of and the most accurate means to determine toxicity is still debated, my critics completely ignore one of the most basic concepts in science. They obsessively and hysterically share excerpts from MSDS sheets for hydrofluosilicic acid and sodium silicofluoride to impress on the reader just how ... sciencey ... is their argument that these are deadly POISONS. Why, how could anyone want to put them in water? In so doing they ignore the very obvious concept that the dose of any substance determines its toxicity. Concentrated chemicals that are deadly to human beings, once properly diluted, can have many benign and even beneficial applications. My critics are so busy pointing at dangerous-looking labels that they deliberately overlook this point.

Cornell University's Nancy Trautmann points out that the caffeine in a normal person's diet does not make one sick – but only 50 times that amount could kill a human being. Nicotine, taken by countless smokers, is not itself immediately fatal – but concentrated it is a deadly assassin's poison. Spinach contains oxalic acid; if you ate 10 or 20 pounds of it in one sitting, it would damage your kidneys and probably kill you. Vitamin D, which is added to milk, will in high doses cause high blood pressure, kidney stones and even deafness and death.

That's right – even Vitamin D, in the concentrations my critics believe they can know to be harmful simply by eyeballing them in a water treatment facility, is highly toxic. How, oh how, can we justify adding this lethal chemical to our children's milk? I'll pause now to wring my hands dramatically.

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Unpaid interns are exploited? ~ By John Stossel

This keeps getting crazier and crazier. Some people think that government has to control everything. John Stossel now tells us that companies may have to start paying interns, because somebody in the Labor Dept. thinks the workers are being exploited.

What's happened to the rights of contract and free association? If student and employer come to an agreement, both expect to benefit or it wouldn't happen. The student is no indentured servant. If the employer "exploits" the student, the student can quit. The contract ought to be nobody's business but theirs.

Butt out, federal bullies. Grown-ups can take care of ourselves.

By John Stossel

Posted: May 05, 2010 ~ 1:00 am Eastern

© 2010

Do you employ unpaid student interns – college students who work in exchange for on-the-job training?

If so, President Obama's Labor Department says that you're an exploiter. The government says an internship is OK only if it meets six criteria, among them that the employer must get "no immediate advantage" from the intern's activities. In fact, the employer's work "may be impeded."

Impeded? No immediate advantage?

I'm in trouble, then. I have an intern at Fox Business News, and I'm getting immediate advantages from her work all the time. I've had interns my whole career and gotten lots of immediate advantage from them. Occasionally, I've been impeded – but the better interns did the research that made my work possible. I'd asked my TV bosses to pay for research help, but they said, "You think we're made of money?"

So I asked colleges if students wanted internships. Many did, and from then on I got much of my best help from unpaid college students.

Did I exploit them? Obama's Labor Department says it's hired 250 new investigators to catch exploiters like me. I tried to get the department to answer my questions on tomorrow's FBN show, but it declined.

So I invited Village Voice writer Anya Kamenetz, who wrote a column titled "Take This Internship and Shove It" in The New York Times.

"We have minimum-wage laws in this country for a very good reason," she replied. "We had them to avoid exploitation like child labor."

But what's wrong with a free internship if a student learns something about the career he wants to pursue?

I was a little stunned by Kamenetz's answer: "Employers could say we cannot afford to pay anybody, so why should we be forced to pay the guy who cleans the floors?"

Because they wouldn't get people to clean floors if they didn't pay. But I guess I shouldn't expect a New York writer to understand markets.

"Interns are people that come in and work for below minimum wage," she said. "They pull the bottom out of the labor market, and it's less fair for everybody."

So it should be banned?

"There are a lot of ways to fill in the need for interns and the need for college students to get experience. One way is for colleges to pay stipends."

But they won't.

"They will if the law is enforced. Another way is for companies to hire students that are eligible for federal work-study."

Oh, I see. The taxpayers should pay for my interns.

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The end of freedom ~ By Joseph Farah

Commentary from WorldNetDaily

By Joseph Farah Posted: December 11, 2009 ~ 1:00 am Eastern © 2009 The end of freedom as we have known it is near. Soon, if the enemies of freedom and the proponents of government command-and-control economies have their way, this is what you can expect:

• A shortage of well-paying, productive jobs actually making things: This is because of a combination of environmental rules and regulations, government red tape and corporate taxes that make it easier to ship jobs overseas. If you think it's bad now, you ain't seen nothing yet. Americans also have to compete now with illegal aliens for employment because the government refuses to do something it actually has a responsibility to do – control the borders.

• You will be told what you can drive and what you can't: This is part of the government's power grab under the rubric of "climate change." Carbon dioxide, a naturally occurring gas vital to all living things, has been determined to be the biggest hazard on the planet – responsible for "global warming" apparently impossible to detect with thermometers, but only through computer modeling. A side effect of this plan is even fewer productive jobs.

• You will be told what medical procedures you can have and which you can't have: The government will soon be a middleman between you and your doctor. Even your hard-earned money, if you have any, will be useless in persuading doctors in this country to treat you.

• Your vote will be meaningless: Of course, systems like these cannot be mandated in a country in which politicians are accountable to the people, so the power of your vote will need to be watered down by giving amnesty to millions of illegal aliens who, in turn, will vote for their benefactors, returning them to office. In addition, criminal organizations like ACORN will be funded by the government and probably placed in charge of elections – if elections are permitted to take place at all.

• Your guns will be taken away: Tyrannical regimes can only survive in countries in which the government maintains a monopoly on force.

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Health-Care "Reform": It's All About Power ~ By Sheldon Richman

Commentary from Campaign For Liberty

By Sheldon Richman Published 11/20/09 © 2009 Future of Freedom Foundation If the politicians who are bent on redesigning the medical and medical-insurance industries really wanted only to curb rising prices and help the uninsured get coverage, they would have zeroed in on the previous government interventions that created those problems. Instead, they are pushing grand schemes to turn our medical decision-making over to bureaucrats. That indicates that the so-called reform campaign is about power. Medical care is too expensive. Prices for services rise faster than other prices, and there's reason to believe much of the money is wasted. Expensive medical care equates to expensive insurance, which prices some people out of the market. This has been called a failure of the free market, but that can't be: There is no free market. I defy the advocates of government control to name one aspect of medicine or insurance that government doesn't dominate. The anti-market system politicians have put in place -- as pleasing as it is for the insurance and pharmaceutical industries and organized medicine -- harms the public. Yet it would be easy for them remove the harmful interventions. [CLICK HERE TO READ MORE]

The problem with Obama is ... ~ By Henry Lamb

By Henry Lamb Posted: August 03, 2009 1:00 am Eastern © 2009 It is accurate, but not enough, to say that Obama is transforming the United States of America into a socialist nation. The term "socialist" no longer carries the fear-and-trembling reaction it evoked during the Cold War years. Since the "boomer" generation, the term has lost its meaning – and when the eloquent Obama pitches his socialist snake oil, the alleged cure sounds reasonable. It sounds reasonable, for example, to take the profit out of the college loan program. The government subsidizes and guarantees student loans already. Why not just make government loans directly to the students, cut out the middle-man – and the profits they make – and save all that money now going to the greedy shareholders. Think about it. In order to get the money needed to lend, private lenders ask ordinary citizens to invest in their company with a promise to the investor to pay a profitable return on his investment. On the other hand, government gets its money to lend by taking money from everyone in the form of taxes. A student may inquire among hundreds of lenders to find the best possible rate and repayment terms. If there is only one source for student loans, the lender may set the rate and the terms with no concern that a competing lender might provide a better deal. Private lenders couldn't care less what subjects a student might pursue; timely repayment is the only concern. Not so when the government is the only lender. At any time, the government could decide that there are enough nuclear engineers in the world and provide no loans to nuclear engineering applicants. The government could decide there are not enough teachers and choose to fund loans for teachers only. When the government controls the source of a commodity, the commodity users become little more than slaves. Moreover, when government controls the source of a commodity, there is absolutely no incentive to make efficient use of the commodity, but there is a strong incentive for bureaucratic corruption. When bureaucrats, who have no skin in the game, can dispense goodies – such as loans – with no risk to their own well-being – fraud, waste and abuse flourish. A private banker, whose paycheck literally depends upon making and collecting good loans, is sure to be much more vigilant in his decision making. Private lenders who make good loan decisions and earn a profit for their shareholders provide employment and incentive for more investment from their investors. Government lenders require tax dollars to pay employees, to fund loans, and to fund the inevitable fraud, waste and abuse that accompanies every government program. [CONTINUE READING]

Are we blind, nuts or just stupid? ~ By Pat Boone

There is an Orwellian aspect to the state of the American union today. In Orwell's chilling, foreboding account of a future society, in which a Big Brother government controls literally everything, ordinary individuals and families live in a regimented, classless, colorless world, afraid or unable to question, much less dissent. Do you get it yet? read more | digg story

Revealing the Second Amendment. ~ By John Longenecker

From the article:

Revealing the Second Amendment, on the other hand, is essential to the independence of the individual and of the home in 2009. The idea is that all Americans need to be much, much more independent of our public servants, not at their mercy. Whether you're single or married, young or old, gay or straight, you're affected by how we are governed no longer by our consent. Liberals who think big government is some arm of their own sense of social justice will find out as Europe has found out that things don't quite work out that way – they work out the way the officials want it to work out. The earliest warning signs are how the liberals in America are puzzled by the political change of direction. Even they are surprised. [Continue reading]

digg story ~ Submitted by JohnPierce

'Bail Me Out, Baby' - by Craig R. Smith

America was a land forged by rugged individualism, hard work and personal responsibility. We had the ability to take care of ourselves and limit government to the very basics of protecting the nation. That changed radically in 2008. It is now all about Big Brother, taking care of us from cradle to grave. People not only embrace it, they demand it!

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