In my inbox today:

Dear ACLU Supporter,
Negotiations on the final health care bill pick up speed this week. As you may know, anti-choice forces in Congress have used this legislation as a vehicle for advancing their agenda.

We must make sure that the final bill will protect reproductive freedom, not put it in peril.

Tell Sen. Frank R. Lautenberg and Sen. Robert ‘Bob’ Menendez and Rep. Steven ‘Steve’ R. Rothman to protect women’s access to abortion in health care reform.

Health care reform should improve people’s lives. That’s why we have to make the most of our last opportunity to insist that health care reform should improve women’s health and lives — not interfere in their ability to get the health care they need.

Representative Bart Stupak and other architects of the severe restrictions on women’s health in both the House and Senate bills are campaigning hard, threatening to derail health care legislation altogether if anyone tampers with the severe restrictions they forced into both bills. Even our allies in Congress are feeling pressure. That’s why it’s so urgent that you take action today.

Both bills stigmatize abortion coverage and ignore the reality that abortion services are basic health care for women.

Tell your members of Congress that Stupak-style restrictions must not be part of any final legislation that goes to President Obama’s desk.

Anti-choice forces are working round-the-clock to keep severe abortion restrictions in the health care bill. We have to work just as hard to get those restrictions out.

Negotiations on a final bill are happening now.

Please act immediately to insist on health reforms that will protect reproductive freedom, not put it in peril.

Thank you for standing with us.

Sincerely,

Vania Leveille
ACLU Legislative Counsel

1. Women’s “reproductive freedom” is not in peril as a result of the upcoming bill.
2. I seriously doubt the bill will “interfere in their [the women] ability to get health care they need.” It will likely require them to pay for it explicitly.
3. Health care reform should improve people’s lives. I find it sad the ACLU is incapiple of recognizing that this or any similiar bill will do nothing of the sort. The health care problem stems from government intervention. Continuing the fascistic takeover of health care by corporations and the government is not the right solution. Reversing those interventions which create the problems are.
4. Abortion services are in no way a “basic health care” for women. According to a quick Google search there are 4.0945 abortions per 1,000 people in the United states. Of those 1,000, 508 are women (50.8% of population). Therefore, assuming no woman has more then one abortion, 4.0945/508 = .00806 or .8% of women “require” abortion services.

I appreciate some of the actions taken by the ACLU, including the NYCLU helping me with my arrest and upcoming court date, but things like this are completely contrary to any form of liberty I’m a subscriber of. The government has no role, morally or constitutionally,  in health care or insurance.

http://ftc.gov/opa/2009/12/intel.shtm

The Federal Trade Commission today sued Intel Corp., the world’s leading computer chip maker, charging that the company has illegally used its dominant market position for a decade to stifle competition and strengthen its monopoly.

In its complaint, the FTC alleges that Intel has waged a systematic campaign to shut out rivals’ competing microchips by cutting off their access to the marketplace. In the process, Intel deprived consumers of choice and innovation in the microchips that comprise the computers’ central processing unit, or CPU. These chips are critical components that often are referred to as the “brains” of a computer.

According to the FTC complaint, Intel’s anticompetitive tactics were designed to put the brakes on superior competitive products that threatened its monopoly in the CPU microchip market. Over the last decade, this strategy has succeeded in maintaining the Intel monopoly at the expense of consumers, who have been denied access to potentially superior, non-Intel CPU chips and lower prices, the complaint states.

“Intel has engaged in a deliberate campaign to hamstring competitive threats to its monopoly,” said Richard A. Feinstein, Director of the FTC’s Bureau of Competition. “It’s been running roughshod over the principles of fair play and the laws protecting competition on the merits. The Commission’s action today seeks to remedy the damage that Intel has done to competition, innovation, and, ultimately, the American consumer.”

this is a total load of horseshit. monopoly, mono, one. intel is far from being the ‘one’ microprocessor developer or manufacturer. what about amd, via, mips, arm, power, m68k, 6502, dragonball, powerpc, itanium, microblaze, pic, atmel, etc.? there are more arm cpus in the world than x86. one in just about every single cell phone, nintendo gba and two in ever ds. where’s the outrage?

the only monopoly here is that which the government artificially created… the intellectual property monopoly on the x86 architecture and related parts. amd and via and anyone else should be able to make an x86 compatible chip without intervention. what intel is being accused of is entirely legitimate, though sneaky. paying their customers or selling their product cheaper to them is by its nature competitive as is writing *their* own compiler to perform better on their chips (or the competitions worse) . and if they make exclusive or restrictive deals so what? that’s the customers decision. if they don’t like the conditions don’t sign the contract. use via or amd or arm.

the government has absolutely no business morally or authority constitutionally to interfere with voluntary business. if they got out of the business of creating cartels and monopolies there would be no need for them to break up supposed monopolies… which by the very definition of the word these conditions do not fit. allow real competition and empower the consumer.

Hi Freedom Fighters

I will NOT be at the District Courthouse on Monday, since I am leaving town for three weeks on December 2. You will not be receiving any e-mails from me for the next month.

I have completed the first draft of the civil complaint and sent it to our judicial advocate for comments and corrections. From it he will prepare the criminal complaint.

Both complaints will be submitted on or about February 1, 2010.

I am suing the Department of Homeland Security, the New York City Fire Department, Saint Vincent Hospital, Bellevue Medical Center, the New York Downtown Hospital, and many of their employees for kidnapping, larceny, extortion, assault, perjury, coercion, unlawful imprisonment in the first degree, robbery in the third degree, official misconduct, and violation of my civil rights under U. S. Constitution Amendments I, IV, V, and XIV.

Your job is publicity, publicity, publicity. Also, I am hopeful that each of you can recruit 1, 2, or more freedom fighters for my Freedom Fighters list. We need to build our numbers so that we can swing into

larger actions. Currently there are 6 Freedom Fighters on the open list and 94 on the closed list. This brings us to 101 (including me) members, which in my mind makes us officially a movement. We are now ready to move into some stepped up activities, which I have planned after the civil and criminal complaints are filed.

However to move into major action, we need an army of 1000 freedom fighters. I am counting on you to provide that army.

Seasons greeting to:

Christians: Merry Christmas
Jews: Happy Chanukah
African Americans: Fulfilling Kwanzaa
Atheists: Thank you for doing God’s work

THE PRICE OF LIBERTY IS ETERNAL VIGILANCE

THE PRICE OF JUSTICE IS ETERNAL PUBLICITY

Yours in freedom—Julian

I’m of the opinion that this guy is in need of a history book. The 10th Amendment was explicitly added (amended) to the original constitution in order to clarify Article 1. Besides this guys logic is flawed at a fundamental level. How can the amendment be override by the original, unamended text? Does this mean that the president and vice should be the individuals with the most and second most electoral votes again?

http://www.dailyfinance.com/…

When Albert Talton decided to print some of his own money, he had no experience in counterfeiting, printing, or graphic design. A career criminal with a curious and meticulous nature, at the time Talton didn’t even own a computer.

His first batches of fake bills were created using a standard HP desktop printer. And they weren’t very good. Yet, according to a story by Men.style.com, Talton soon became one of the most accomplished and prolific counterfeiters in the history of the U.S.

Over the course of three years, Talton managed to evade capture and print $7 million worth of $100 bills. His team used garden variety laser printers, computers and imaging software to circumvent sophisticated anti-forgery technologies built into every bill. The case illustrates how technology has made it much easier to commit high crimes with tools available at a typical consumer electronics store. Every week or so, Talton picked up new printer cartridges from his local Staples store, dropped off his empty cartridges at the store’s recycling bin, and even used a rewards card to collect points to use for future purchases. On May 15, he was finally caught with five accomplices, according to Coin News.

How good was Talton? Most counterfeiters do not make more than $10,000 worth of bills before they are caught,according to Men.Style.com. Talton’s illicit talents certainly funded a nifty lifestyle. During his counterfeit spree, Talton spent lavishly on expensive home audio equipment and exotic cars, including a $140,000 Mercedes Benz. He also became one of the most wanted men by the U.S. Secret Service, the government agency that polices counterfeiting, one of only two crimes mentioned in the U.S. Constitution.

http://www.courthousenews.com/…

Small businesses that received $682 million in IOUs from the state say California expects them to pay taxes on the worthless scraps of paper, but refuses to accept its own IOUs to pay debts or taxes. The vendors’ federal class action claims the state is trying to balance its budget on their backs.

Lead plaintiff Nancy Baird filled her contract with California to provide embroidered polo shirts to a youth camp run by the National Guard, but never was paid the $27,000 she was owed. She says California “paid” her with an IOU that two banks refused to accept – yet she had to pay California sales tax on the so-called “sale” of the uniforms.

The class consists mostly of small business owners, many of whom rely on income from government contracts to keep afloat. They say California has used them as “suckers” as it looks for a way to bankroll its operations while avoiding its own financial obligations.

“Instead of seeking funds through proper channels, the State has created a nightmare,” the class says. “Many of these businesses will not survive if they are required to wait until October 2009 to have these forced IOUs redeemed by the State.”

The class claims the state is violating the Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments. It demands that California be ordered to honor its own IOUs, plus interest. They are represented by William Audet.

I’m reading about this very same type of situation from back in the 1700’s. Check out Part 2 of Volume 2 of Conceived in Liberty.

Massachusetts government printed money (one of the first in history) to pay debts and then later effectively refused to redeem them for specie. Wonder why the US Constitution says that the states could only coin gold and silver as money? Read this to get an idea.