Bob Barr at the Daily Caller:
Ask the average citizen if he thinks his emails and Facebook messages to friends and family members are protected from government snooping, and he’d likely answer, “Sure, the government would have to obtain a warrant before it could go snooping into my personal communications, the same as it must have a good reason to open my physical mail, right?”
Wrong.… Read more ...
Bob Barr at The Barr Code:
George Washington, our first and in the view of many, our best president, once said, “Government is not reason; it is not eloquent; it is force. Like fire, it is a dangerous servant and a fearful master.” His prescient observation, delivered more than two centuries ago, aptly describes our present-day Transportation Security Administration (TSA).… Read more ...
UPDATE: In the comments, Gene Berkman pointed out that the Daily Paul story was actually from 2008. I relied on my intermediate source, and while I did go back to the original source and read it, I did not notice the date. My apologies. If anyone has any 2012 information about Ron Paul giving a definite yes or no to a third party or independent run, please post that information and your source in the comments.… Read more ...
Bob Barr in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution:
For the past year, the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) and its parent, the Department of Homeland Security, along with Members of Congress from both parties and the Obama Administration, have been demanding Americans give up our basic civil liberties and our fundamental right to privacy, by submitting to a full-body scan — amounting to a virtual strip search – simply because we need to fly on a commercial airliner.… Read more ...
Jesse Walker at Reason Hit and Run:
Russ Feingold wasn’t just endorsed by Bob Barr. He was the Bob Barr of the left, and I mean that mostly as a compliment. When Barr was in Congress he could be bad on “social” freedoms, especially the drug war, but he nonetheless took stances on privacy and due process that made him far above average on civil liberties as a whole.… Read more ...
WASHINGTON – Libertarian Party Chair Mark Hinkle commented today on the Transportation Security Administration’s use of strip-search machines at airports.
Hinkle said, “The TSA should end the strip-search machine program immediately.
“We’ve reached a point where our government has no qualms about humiliating us.
“Everyone who cares about civil liberties should be outraged that the Obama administration has shown no respect for travelers’ privacy or their right to be free from unreasonable searches.… Read more ...
Emailed to contact.ipr@gmail.com by Darryl W. Perry, Chair of the Boston Tea Party National Committee:
Preliminary results show that over 1 million votes were casts for BTP endorsed candidates (1,129,631). While no BTP endorsed candidate won election Tuesday night, there were several good showings. Eighteen candidates received at least 20% (8) or 20,000 votes (13); 3 of whom – Michele Sallach-Grace (NE Auditor of Public Accounts) Christopher W.… Read more ...
From the Oklahoma Pirate Party via TPID:
We are living in a nation of constantly increasing surveillance. Every year that passes results in a government that has more means to monitor the activity of every person within our borders. They monitor electronic communications, telephone records, and online browsing histories of citizens without warrants.… Read more ...
On August 24, 2010 the Boston Tea Party National Committee passed a resolution opposing a national ID “or any other bill that would establish a National ID card that includes biometric scanning or tracking devices” 5-0 (with 2 not voting).
… Read more ...Whereas governments that truly want to protect liberty have no need to track the every move of their citizens; and
Whereas privacy from government is a chief cornerstone of our liberties, enshrined in the Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution; and
Whereas in the past, many Members of Congress, instead of taking steps to actually end our illegal immigration problem, have chosen instead to use the issue to dramatically expand government intrusion into our lives; and
Whereas the so-called “Comprehensive Immigration Reform” proposal being touted by Senators Chuck Schumer and Lindsey Graham includes a de facto National ID card that would be required for all U.S.
Brent Budowsky at The Hill:
… Read more ...The great coming issue is privacy. The great sucking sound you hear is government and business wanting to know what you write in e-mails, what condoms you purchase at the pharmacy, what books you read in the library and what credit cards you use at the store.
Emailed to contact.ipr@gmail.com:
Do petition signers have a constitutional right to keep their names undisclosed? Or should their support of various initiatives be made public? Without a doubt, keep the names private.
Currently before the U.S. Supreme Court is a case named Doe v. Reed. At issue is whether or not the names of people who signed an initiative petition to repeal Washington State’s same-sex domestic partner law should become public record.… Read more ...
The Boston Tea Party is having its convention, as IPR previously reported. In the interest of disclosure, two of the at-large candidates (Tom Knapp and Neil Stephenson) also write for IPR.
Here is a press release from party founder Tom Knapp sent to contact.ipr@gmail.com on behalf of the party:
… Read more ...Midway into its second biennial convention — held entirely online — America’s new libertarian political party has chosen a new slate of national officers, adopted the program of “the Ron Paul R3VOLution,” and partially completed work on amendments to its bylaws.