Contitutionalism – The Optimistic Conservative

Corrupt mistreatment of federal whistleblowers, including threat to gun rights

Throw them all out.

While there’s no connection alleged between this DHS whistleblower’s case and the Clinton corruption machine, it should be no surprise that the topic of concern for whistleblower Taylor Johnson – the EB-5 visa program – is one in which there’s a Clinton angle.

The whole situation reeks of the corruption that inevitably ensues when government gets too big. It isn’t possible for government to have as much power as it has in America today, without corruption becoming entrenched, and starting to have very particular effects for individuals, along with the general effects for taxpayers and the people’s relationship with government.

One individual who felt such very particular effects is Taylor Johnson, a senior special agent in the Investigations division of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Her troubles began when she investigated the EB-5 visa program, a special immigration program that effectively allows the purchase of a green card for a $500,000 investment in commercial activities in the U.S. … Continue reading “Corrupt mistreatment of federal whistleblowers, including threat to gun rights”

Federal regs II: State Dept’s new regs would transform the Internet beyond recognition

Keep the Internet free.

Rusty Weiss called to our attention Monday morning an update to “arms trafficking” regulations posted to the Federal Register last week by the State Department. The National Rifle Association has sounded the alarm, having recognized quickly how these new regs would effectively shut down the exchange of information among gun enthusiasts on the web.

But the chokehold effect would be felt in other quarters as well. This move by the State Department is an absolutely terrible idea across the board. Even if it dealt with international trade in pork bellies or chicken parts, rather than arms, it should still be opposed strenuously on principle.

Its effect will be to make a tremendous chunk of what people talk about on the web every day subject to prior restraint, by, of all agencies, the State Department – or, potentially, other federal agencies, depending on topic. Continue reading “Federal regs II: State Dept’s new regs would transform the Internet beyond recognition”

Low-flying federal surveillance planes popping up over more cities

Big Brother.

Cessna 182 N859JA over McLean, VA in July 2014. (Image: liveandietpie via imgur!, Reddit)

Just a few weeks after similar activity was reported during the Baltimore riots, the Minneapolis-St. Paul Star Tribune has a story about unmarked small planes flying low-altitude surveillance patterns, in the middle of the night, over downtown Minneapolis and the Mall of America.

Aviation buff John Zimmerman was at a weekly gathering of neighbors Friday night when he noticed something peculiar: a small plane circling a route overhead that didn’t make sense to him.

It was dark, so a sightseeing flight didn’t make sense, and when Zimmerman pulled up more information on an aviation phone app he routinely checks, he had immediate concerns.

The plane’s flight path, recorded by the website flightradar24.com, would eventually show that it circled downtown Minneapolis, the Mall of America and Southdale Center at low altitude for hours starting at 10:30 p.m., slipping off radar just after 3 a.m.

“I thought, ‘Holy crap,’ ” said Zimmerman.

Bearing the call sign N361DB, the plane is one of three Cessna 182T Skylanes registered to LCB Leasing of Bristow, Va., according to FAA records. The Virginia secretary of state has no record of an LCB Leasing. Virtually no other information could be learned about the company.

Continue reading “Low-flying federal surveillance planes popping up over more cities”