However, as President, Obama has merely expanded those policies which he strongly opposed during his time in the Senate and on the campaign trail. Indeed, Obama authorized the assassinations of Anwar Al-awlaki and Abdulrahman Al-awlaki, both U.S. citizens, without presenting any evidence before or after their lives were taken by U.S. drone strikes in 2011.

Obama’s new precedent of assassinating U.S. citizens without trial, submission of evidence, or any court procedure whatsoever is a far cry from what Obama himself espoused in 2007:

“The detention of American citizens, without access to counsel, fair procedure, or pursuant to judicial authorization, as enemy combatants is unconstitutional.” — Barack Obama; December 2007

Learn more: The Hypocrisy of Barack Obama

Footage of Anwar Al-awlaki in October 2001 discussing the deaths of innocent civilians in the U.S. and Middle East.

Awlaki, a U.S. citizen born in New Mexico, was assassinated by a U.S. drone strike in Yemen on September 30, 2011. Al-awlaki was on the CIA’s hit list, signed off by the Obama Administration, for 17 months prior to his assassination. No evidence was ever presented against him in court, his citizenship was never revoked, and he was given no opportunity to exercise his constitutionally-guaranteed rights to due process and a fair trial.

If no evidence is presented against Al-awlaki in court, even nearly a year after his assassination, does this suggest the government indeed has no solid evidence against him justifying his assassination?

Read more about Anwar Al-awlaki’s case here.

“Our position needs to be reiterated, and needs to be very clear. The fact that the U.S. has administered the death and homicide of over 1 million civilians in Iraq; the fact that the U.S. is supporting the deaths and killing of thousands of Palestinians, does not justify the killing of 1 U.S. civilian in New York City or Washington D.C. And the deaths of 6,000 civilians in New York and Washington D.C. does not justify the death of 1 civilian in Afghanistan.” ~ Anwar Al-awlaki; October 2001

Adam Kokesh beautifully discerns and dismantles the numerous flaws surrounding intellectual property, as interpreted and enforced by the government, and the very negative role intellectual property has in limiting market competition and societal advancement. As Adam explains, intellectual property indeed does not help the “little guy,” it actually puts precisely the “little guy” at a severe disadvantage to corporate giants and those with the lawyers and resources to use arbitrary government intellectual property and patent laws (backed by government force, as with all laws) as a dangerous tool to reduce and/or prevent competition (and innovation).

In this interview Stephan Kinsella, an intellectual property lawyer, expands on Adam’s arguments and explains intellectual property’s unknown and harmful history going back several centuries:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P1NYpfOz6PU[/youtube]

From the International Association of Chiefs of Police and DEA’s 2010 report:

And from the 2011 paper I wrote on prohibition:

As we have explored, marijuana is proven to be a less dangerous substance than tobacco and alcohol. Not only is it less dangerous in terms of its addictive properties and physical harm to people, it has critical cannabinoid chemicals that may relieve pain and aid the recovery of certain illnesses. Given these scientific findings, it is clear that public policy is not weighing the individual and societal costs and benefits of marijuana, alcohol, and tobacco. Alcohol and tobacco have a host of health dangers that are generally well accounted for in today’s society, but marijuana is stilled shunned by the government and many in society despite scientific evidence proving contrary to the conventional opinions held of marijuana.

Of course, prohibition of alcohol was official constitutional policy, as demanded by the Eighteenth Amendment, in the United States between 1919 and 1933. The Eighteenth Amendment to the Constitution declared it illegal to produce, transport, or distribute any intoxicating liquors in the United States. The Amendment was the result of many years of pushing from the nation-wide temperance movement for alcohol prohibition, not entirely unlike the anti-marijuana campaign that would seriously gain traction with Anslinger’s work in the early 1930s. However, the passage of national prohibition did not necessarily go as planned or hoped by those in the temperance movement. Yes, liquor prices shot up (the price of beer increased approximately 700% during the Prohibition era), but high prices due to Prohibition gave rise to stronger alcohol products offered to the public through the unregulated black market. The black market cartels (which came about exclusively because of the criminalization of alcohol) produced less diluted and more intoxicating liquor products, simply because it was more efficient for them to concentrate alcohol into stronger products (Thorton).

Per-capita consumption of alcohol had already been declining in the U.S. since 1910. After alcohol consumption in the U.S. hit an all-time low during the depression of 1921, it actually began to increase starting in 1922. This is curious, considering that after the Prohibition policy was enacted alcohol consumption reversed its downward slope and began to increase.  Especially alarming is economist Mark Thorton’s research finding that the “homicide rate increased from 6 per 100,000 population in the pre-Prohibition period to nearly 10 per 100,000 in 1933” (Thorton). Once Prohibition was repealed in 1933 with the Twenty-first Amendment, “the rate continued to decline throughout the 1930s and early 1940s” (Thorton). Homicides spiked in 1920 after Prohibition became official national policy, and homicide rates continued to increase until Prohibition was repealed in 1933.

First story from Say Anything Blog.

The police state is upon us. Drones now fly over our skies, U.S. citizens can be indefinitely detained without a trial, and police forces are increasingly militarized for duty. Wake up, education yourself and your friends and neighbors, because without an informed populace things will only get uglier. Times are rapidly changing, be ready. Stay informed, anticipate new directions, and prepare for the unexpected.

“The American Republic is in remnant status. The stage is set for our country eventually devolving into a military dictatorship, and few seem to care. These precedent-setting changes in the law are extremely dangerous and will change American jurisprudence forever if not revised.” ~ Ron Paul

“There never was a good war or a bad peace.” ~ Benjamin Franklin

[youtube] http://youtu.be/6Ma6Uv5jbKk[/youtube]

“There are some corporations that would rather see the whole world burn to the ground, than have a free market.” ~ Thomas E. Woods Jr.

Tom Woods, one of the leading independent voices in the libertarian and Austrian Economics movement today, is both entertaining and uncanny in his ability to convey knowledge. Watch this fantastic talk Woods gave in 2009 that explains why you’ve never heard of the Great Depression of 1921, and how central bank and governmental intervention in the economy inevitably leads to bubbles and busts:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=czcUmnsprQI[/youtube]

“If the Tenth Amendment were still taken seriously, most of the federal government’s present activities would not exist. That’s why no one in Washington ever mentions it.” ~ Thomas E. Woods Jr.

“No supporter of the free market can look at military procurement and the military-industrial complex in any detail… without recoiling in utter disgust.” ~ Thomas E. Woods Jr.

“My first wish is to see this plague of mankind, war, banished from the earth.” ~ George Washington

Many of the Founders carried strong antiwar sentiments, particularly after enduring the long and brutal Revolutionary War. This is not to say that Washington, Adams, or Jefferson had perfect presidencies that avoided war; far from it. However, principle is something that goes beyond humanity. Every human is fallible, but principle is something to uphold and respect. Those who founded the United States, like it or not, were largely antiwar and structured the Constitution in a way that they felt would limit war (particularly from the Executive Branch) and avoid conquest. It often was a different story once those individuals gained power (such is the nature of government), but the principles behind the Constitution were indeed extraordinary and revolutionary.

“If you want to be patriotic, stand up for the Bill of Rights. Because once they strip the rights from you, you will pay hell to get them back.” ~ Jesse Ventura

“The duty of a patriot is to protect his country from its government.” ~ Thomas Paine

Jesse Ventura recently endorsed Gary Johnson (Libertarian Party candidate) for President:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3NlJ0jrvLMk[/youtube]

"I am absolutely opposed to a national ID card. This is a total contradiction of what a free society is all about." ~ Ron Paul

"America was born of protest, revolution, and mistrust of government." ~ Ron Paul

Ron Paul understands that America was founded on the pretense of individual liberty, not an all-powerful national government authority. The purpose of the Constitution is to protect the privacy and secrecy of citizens, not the privacy and secrecy of government.

"May future generations look back on our work and say that these were men and women who, in moment of great crisis, stood up to their politicians, the opinion-makers, and the establishment, and saved their country." ~ Ron Paul