Supreme Court Rules Second Amendment Applies to States

Finally something positive to post. Today the US Supreme Court ruled 5/4 that the Second Amendment grants and INDIVIDUAL right to keep and bear arms and that it was a protection against State and local laws. Before we get all giddy though this does not overturn any existing laws, but it does lend support to any lower court cases challenging such laws. Also this may not necessarily negate any and all gun control laws, possibly leaving it open to allowing state and local governments to have "common sense" laws that "protect the public" without being over restrictive. Unfortunately many of these "common sense" gun control laws come with prohibitively high fees that effectively limit the ability of those with low income from obtaining or possessing a firearm. Unfortunately citizens of lower income are often more likely to live in areas of high crime and insufficient police protection. One more thing, before you decide to strap on that iron before you leave the house, this ruling does not necessarily mean that you can roam the streets armed, though in my thinking the right to bear arms should apply away from home as much as on your own property. What good is a handgun locked up in the safe at home do for you when you're getting mugged outside the local Quickee Mart? I haven't read the McDonald v. Chicago decision yet but I heard some bits of it on the radio and it sounds worth the effort to read. Check out the links below for more info. The fight is just beginning but it's nice to see freedom making some headway for a change.

McDonald v. Chicago decision text (PDF)
John Stossel - Some good graphs and statistics relating to gun control
BBC News - US Supreme Court extends gun rights
Los Angeles Times - Supreme Court strikes down ban on handguns
Washington Post - Gun rights case: Supreme Court rules on second amendment

Chips Embeded in Official IDs Are a Huge Privacy Risk

For anyone who doesn't know, which is most of us, an RFID Chip is a tiny chip that can be embedded in virtually anything, from products in the grocery store to your bus pass and even people. You've probably seen the credit card commercial with the marathon runner that zips into a convenience store and pays for his purchase by merely holding his credit card close to the machine instead of sliding it through the machine the old fashioned way. Really convenient right? Well it's convenient for identity thieves too.

When this technology first came and out it wasn't wide spread an identity thief needed to get pretty close to the target to scan the chip and retrieve the information on it. This is no longer the case. As the technology has grown more prolific so have the profits in creating the gadgets that scan for it. As an example consider the experiment published in an article on the Fox News Website "Chips in Official IDs Raise Privacy Fears" in which a gentleman named Chris Paget cruised around Fisherman's Wharf in San Francisco, California scanning for the private information held on RFID tags of the crowds using a Matrics antenna and a Motorola reader that he bought on eBay for less than $250. In an hour he had 'skimmed' the private data from the new electronic U.S. passport cards of several individuals from as far away as 20 feet. Mr. Paget filmed his experiment and posted it to the Internet.



While the implementation of embedded RFID tags in government documents is not widespread yet there is a push from government officials to see it done quickly. Officials are touting safety and convenience of having you information easily accessible. Either they haven't bothered to think of the consequences or they just don't care because being able to track everything that you do fits there agenda. Thanks to the Real ID Act: h.r.00418 which was passed in 2005 without ANY debate, states must start issuing State IDs with and embedded RFID tag by 2017. The Real ID Act was pushed through by adding an amendment to a completely UNRELATED must pass bill to authorize funds for the Iraq war. This seems to be a common tactic in getting a controversial bill to pass that otherwise would not. In my humble opinion this practice is completely immoral and should be illegal, but I suppose that is the subject of another rant.

The Pass ID Act: S.1261 has recently been introduced before lawmakers which supposedly would repeal part of the Real ID Act as well as amend title II of the Homeland Security Act of 2002. However this bill does not protect citizens from identity theft or government abuses, in fact it may be a sneak attack to reinforce the Real ID Act. The Real ID Act needs to be repealed completely or by 2017 we will all be walking around with a tracking beacon in our pockets broadcasting our entire lives to anyone with the inclination to snoop, which includes alot of people and organizations. Just think of how much of your online activity is tracked by the government, retail websites, search engines, and marketing firms. Imagine how valuable a record of your real world travels, purchases, interests, and even health problems would be. To top off all this paranoia, it appears that two of the major backers of The Pass ID Act and previously the Real ID Act, the American Association of Motor Vehicle Administrators and the International Civil Aviation Organization, are INTERNATIONAL as in not USA organizations!

...and now for another paranoia inducing video

There may be other 'related' videos in the player above that may seem extremely paranoid. These videos are included by YouTube and do not necessarily reflect the views of this writer.

Eventually we will have one card (or pendant, wristband, or implant) that will contain all of our information and may even be used as currency. There are already pilot programs that allow users of already existing Real ID Cards to use them in lieu of their credit card. Now at the risk of sounding like a paranoid, end of the world, religious nut...

• Revelation 13:16 And he causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads:
• Revelation 13:17 And that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name.

We all need to act RIGHT NOW to repeal the Real ID Act and put the brakes on The Pass Act before it is too late. Contact the Committee on Homeland Security members and tell them respectfully how you feel about your rights being crushed. Warn your friends and family about the risks to their freedom. Share this blog and others on this topic on the all the social networking and bookmarking sites. We must get the word out or everyone will just go happily about their day never knowing what they are lost while they were watching Lost or Dancing With the Stars. There will be a time when it is too late to turn back.

Aside from the above legislation we will never be completely free of RFID tags. RFID tags have many legitimate uses from inventory control to identifying lost pets. As mentioned above 'smart' passports and Real IDs are already in use. You will still need to take action to protect yourself from the common thief regardless of how you feel about the Real ID Act. There are several relatively inexpensive products on the market now that will shield your card/passport from being scanned such as the RFID Blocking Leather Passport Case and the Travelon RFID Blocking Billfold. Shoplifters have been blocking RFID for some time by using shopping bags lined with aluminum foil (don't get any ideas!). Here is an interesting artilcle on How to kill your RFID chip, of course when it comes to your passport you may not want to permanently destroy the chip rendering your passport void. Remember; tampering with a US passport is a federal offense. Of course any of the tags you find in items that you purchase are yours to do with as you wish.

For a partial list of companies that place RFID tags in their products check out Liz Michaels' website.

Government Puts and End to Backyard and Organic Gardening

There is a disturbing new bill before the House and the Senate in Washington D.C. that could put an end to small farms and even backyard gardening, even if you're the only one that eats the food produced. Before you decide that this bill doesn't affect you and choose not to act, please read further. One important thing to remember: Even though there has been a lot of emphasis on farming, all food production could be affected by this bill if it becomes law. No more bake sales, homemade jerky, processing wild game, and many more aspects of everyday food production that I can't seem to think of. I guess one good thing might come of it. It might make giving homemade fruit cakes for Christmas illegal.

While the bill does not specifically name backyard gardening as prohibited, the bill itself is so vague and overreaching that any food production operation that doesn't meet it's unattainable standards will be considered in violation. This bill would introduce very strict and costly regulations that small producers will never be able to comply with. A huge farm company like Monsanto (also a pesticide company) will have no problem complying with a $200,000.00 addition to there production facility, while a small family farm would be forced to stop production. would you be willing to pony up big bucks to keep that tomato plant on your front porch? This could well happen. There are NO provisions in this bill to exempt or protect the small farmer.

The Bill will create a panel of 'experts' from the major factory farm corporations (like Monsanto, Tyson, and Sodexo) and allow them to decide what restrictions to impose. By the way Monsanto is one of the main backers of this bill, I wonder why... Sounds like a good opportunity for the big guys to price the 'little guys' right out of business. Can you imagine if they put Walmart in charge of making laws for retail establishments? How long would it would take before every 'Mom and Pop' store gets shut out because they can no longer afford to do business? Still the worst is that the vagueness of the bills could make personal food production a crime subjecting private citizens to fines and seizure of property. For further reading see Campaign for Liberty and Educate Yourself. Or if you don't feel like reading watch this video.




Of course I don't expect you to take my word for it. You can take a look at the bills yourself and decide. If the links below stop working you can go to the Thomas section of Library of Congress and search using the bill names.
Food Safety Modernization Act of 2009 (Introduced in House)H.R.875.IH
Food Safety Modernization Act of 2009 (Senate Version) S 425

You can track the progress of the bill below,
Track H.R. 875
Track S 425

So what can YOU do?
There are several Online Petitions that you can 'sign' though I don't know if they are viewed as legitimate by the politicians. Still couldn' t hurt.
Contact your representatives and politely remind them that they work for the PEOPLE. Ask them to READ the bills before voting (most never read the bills they just go by what they hear so here's you chance to be heard) and encourage them to vote NO on a vaguely written law that will seriously inhibit the freedoms of theire constituants. Click this link for Complete Contact Information for US Congress and Governors.

What Rights Have Americans Already Lost?

Every time the government passes a new law to 'protect the public' we lose more rights. Have you ever wondered what we have already lost? While the video below is by no means exhaustive it is interesting. Go ahead and take a few minutes to watch. And you don't have to be a right wing conspiracy nut to know that our freedom is at risk.