Freedom Minute: Episode 46

It takes a lot of courage to admit when you were wrong. It takes even more courage if you were very outspoken when you were wrong. On August 8, Dr. Sanjay Gupta, CNN's chief medical correspondent, wrote an article for CNN.com which states, “Over the last year, I have been working on a new documentary called 'Weed.' The title... may sound cavalier, but the content is not. I traveled around the world to interview medical leaders, experts, growers and patients. I spoke candidly to them, asking tough questions. What I found was stunning.” Gupta added, “Well, I am here to apologize." In other news: Ballot Access News reports, “Almost all city elections in Utah are non-partisan. However, the Utah Republican Party’s web page recently put up data revealing the party registration of all Utah city elected officials. At first the web page listed every official. Later the page was revised to list only the elected city officials who are registered Republicans. Democrats have criticized the Republican Party for posting this information. However, the party affiliation of any individual voter in Utah is a public record.”

There has been a war-of-words between Gov. Chris Christie and Sen. Rand Paul regarding spying, defense and pork-barrel spending. Many people are taking sides, I say they're both wrong! In other news: On July 30, Pfc Bradley Manning was found not guilty of aiding the enemy in connection with leaking documents exposing potential war crimes. Manning was also found not guilty of espionage for releasing the collateral murder video; he was however found guilty of the other 19 charges. The sentencing hearing began July 31 and is expected to last several weeks. And finally, Ballot Access News reports, on July 30, Harry F. Byrd, Jr., died at the age of 98. He was elected to the U.S. Senate from Virginia in 1970 and again in 1976 as an independent. Until Angus King’s victory in Maine in 2012, he had been the only independent candidate ever elected to the U.S. Senate with a majority of the vote, even though both major parties had a nominee against him.

I was recently asked “How can a government operate without taxation?” I'm glad you asked, I have an answer. In other news: Ballot access news reports on the importance of opinion polls including all ballot listed candidates.

On Friday July 12, Edward Snowden made a statement to human rights groups from inside Moscow’s Sheremetyevo Airport. Wikileaks reports, “The meeting lasted 45 minutes. The human rights organizations included Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch and were given the opportunity afterwards to ask Mr Snowden questions. The Human Rights Watch representative used this opportunity to tell Mr Snowden that on her way to the airport she had received a call from the US Ambassador to Russia, who asked her to relay to Mr Snowden that the US Government does not categorise Mr Snowden as a whistleblower and that he has broken United States law.” Snowden began his statement by saying, “Hello. My name is Ed Snowden. A little over one month ago, I had family, a home in paradise, and I lived in great comfort. I also had the capability without any warrant to search for, seize, and read your communications. Anyone’s communications at any time. That is the power to change people’s fates. It is also a serious violation of the law. The 4th and 5th Amendments to the Constitution of my country, Article 12 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and numerous statutes and treaties forbid such systems of massive, pervasive surveillance.” In other news: Ballot Access News reports, On July 10, the Ninth Circuit ruled that the individuals and groups who challenged Nevada’s “None of these candidates” ballot option lack standing. Therefore, the case of Townley v Miller is dismissed.

In late June, large scale protests erupted in Egypt, as protesters demanded Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi restructure his cabinet and call early elections. On July 1, CNN reported one supporter said, "the president is staying. We believe in democracy. If people don't like him, they can vote him out in three years." That sentiment was echoed by Abdul Mawgoud Dardery, a representative for the Muslim Brotherhood, saying the opposition “failed in the previous five elections we had in Egypt since the revolution, and they don't want to fail a sixth time. That's why they're going to street politics. Street politics is not an end in itself. It is a means to achieve democracy.” In other news: The government of Venezuela has extended an offer of asylum to Edward Snowden. Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro said Snowden's only crime was telling the truth adding, "We have decided to offer humanitarian asylum to the American Edward Snowden to protect him from the persecution being unleashed by the world's most powerful empire." The governments of Nicaragua & Bolivia have also reportedly extended asylum offers. USAToday reports, "President Barack Obama has publicly displayed a relaxed attitude toward Snowden's movements, saying last month that he wouldn't be 'scrambling jets to get a 29-year-old hacker.'"

SCOTUS ruled on DOMA, but did not go far enough! In other news: The Keenevention has extended the early bid discount and Ballot Access News reports on Shelby County v. Holder.

Many people never experience a true free-market. This lack of freedom, leads many people to believe that a free-market can't exist! In other news: Edward Snowden has left Hong Kong, and Virginia has legislative elections in November 2013, so far there are very few minor party candidates.

Bradley Manning is in the midst of a twelve week show trial for exposing war-crimes that involved indiscriminate killing. Just days after his trial began, NBC revealed that the CIA did not always know who it was targeting and killing in drone strikes! In other news: FPP is now 4 years old! FPP began on June 9, 2009 with the original domain name being registered two days later. I was inspired to begin my own media outlet after reading a quote from H.L. Mencken that says, “Freedom of the press is guaranteed only to those who own one.” The goal of FPP has always been to ensure a FREE PRESS for the FREEDOM MOVEMENT, that goal has been expanded to also promote the ideas of peace, freedom, love & liberty!

On May 31, 1790, George Washington signed the first copyright law, Copyright Act of 1790, which extended copyright protection to “the author and authors of any map, chart, book or books ” who were citizens or residents of the United States “for the term of fourteen years from the recording the title thereof in the clerk’s office .” The copyright could be extended for an additional fourteen years, if the author was still living and recorded the work in a similar manner. The entire Copyright Act of 1790 was less than 2 pages long, compared to the current 300 pages of federal statutes and regulations related to copyright law.

On May 21, Antiwar.com announced that Founder and Managing Editor Eric Garris, along with Editorial Director Justin Raimondo, filed a lawsuit against the FBI in federal court demanding the release of FBI records related to the organization. The news of this lawsuit came barely one week after it was revealed that the Department of Justice has secretly obtained phone records from the Associated Press. In a May 23 interview, Director of Operations Angela Keaton said that the investigation likely began after Antiwar.com posted a link to a terrorist-watch list in April 2004. She also stated that “people in the antiwar movement have been under investigation since World War 1, this is nothing new.” However, what happened with Antiwar.com is different in that it has been an ongoing investigation over at least a 9 year period.