Judge Napolitano: Unconstitutional for Obama to Create a New Gun Transfer Crime

Judge Andrew Napolitano, interviewed by Gretchen Carlson on Fox News regarding President Barack Obama’s Tuesday gun control executive order announcement, explained that Obama is exceeding his presidential authority in creating a new crime related to gun transfers.

Expanding the definition of who is a gun dealer and who, therefore, can be prosecuted for the crime of transferring a gun without possessing a gun dealer license amounts to an unconstitutional unilateral creation of a crime by the executive branch, concludes Napolitano. Not only has Congress not approved the creation of this crime, Napolitano, who is a member of the Ron Paul Institute Advisory Board, advises that Congress has rejected creating the crime three times.

Continue reading at the Ron Paul Institute for Peace and Prosperity.

Killer Cops: Dialing 911 May Be Hazardous to Your Health

If you call the cops on someone whose behavior is worrying you, just know that your call may lead to the cops killing or seriously injuring that person.

Sitharath Sam learned this lesson Sunday after she called the police on her boyfriend of ten years. Sam is reported at KNXV-TV to have called the cops when her boyfriend Sean Mould, who had been heavily drinking, refused to leave her home. Sam also says Mould neither physically abused her nor threatened her. Tempe, Arizona police arrived at her home and shot Mould, who they say walked toward a cop while holding a pocket knife. Summing up the lesson from the tragic turn of events, Sam states, “I made that one mistake of calling for help; and now he’s dead, and I have to live with it.”

Continue reading at the Ron Paul Institute for Peace and Prosperity.

Ron Paul Rewind: Real ID is National ID

Pursuant to the 2005 Real ID Act, the United States government is on schedule to prohibit many Americans from domestic flights unless they present US passports or other approved US government IDs in 2016. Expect the sweep of the prohibition to be vast given the US Department of Homeland Security represents that 28 states and all US territories produce IDs noncompliant with Real ID. In a US House of Representatives floor debate on the Real ID Act, then-Rep. Ron Paul (R-TX) warned that voting for the bill is voting for a national ID card. “If a state opts out, nobody is going to accept their driver’s license,” said Paul.

Continue reading at the Ron Paul Institute for Peace and Prosperity.

Is There a War on Police or a War on Us?

There has been much talk about a “war on police” in 2015. The story goes that police in America are in great danger from a rise in violent attacks against them. It is suggested that the attacks are stirred up by criticisms and protests of police misconduct.

As the end of the year approaches, however, we find that the war on police is a myth, with deaths of police at near the record low. Instead, the war in America seems to be a war by — rather than on — police, with police killing about three people a day this year.

Continue reading at the Ron Paul Institute for Peace and Prosperity.

The FBI’s 1,800-Page Obsession With Peace Activist Pete Seeger

It may not be surprising that the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) snooped on renowned singer-songwriter Pete Seeger for decades and even that the bureau’s file on Seeger runs to nearly 1,800 pages. After all, Seeger was a high-profile opponent of the Vietnam War, and war is the health of the state. But, Seeger was targeted by the FBI before his singing and songwriting gained widespread attention. About twenty-five years before Seeger sang “Waist Deep in the Big Muddy” on the Smothers Brothers national television show in 1968, Seeger drew the attention of the FBI by writing a letter to the California chapter of the American Legion.

Continue reading at the Ron Paul Institute for Peace and Prosperity.

Will Marijuana Be Rescheduled in 2016?

In January, President Barack Obama stated that rescheduling marijuana from the Controlled Substances Act’s Schedule 1 is “a job for Congress.” At the time, prominent advocates of liberalization of United States marijuana laws countered that the executive branch has the authority to unilaterally move marijuana to a lower schedule. A letter sent Monday by Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), along with seven cosigning senators, to the heads of the United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP), and Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) suggests that the Obama administration may have since decided to move forward with unilateral executive branch rescheduling of the plant during Obama’s final year in office.

Continue reading at the Ron Paul Institute for Peace and Prosperity.

Obama Wants to Take Away Santa’s Guns

Lauren Davis of WVLT-TV reported on Thursday about the predicament of Patrick Hackett, a Knoxville, Tennessee veterinarian who found out in 2004 that he is on the United States government’s No Fly List. Hackett has a long white beard and dresses up as Santa Claus for photos with people and their pets. He also enjoys dressing up in western clothing while carrying guns, a hobby President Barack Obama is threatening to end with a proposal to bar gun ownership by people on the No Fly List.

Continue reading at the Ron Paul Institute for Peace and Prosperity.

‘Leaders’ McConnell and Ryan Support Unlimited War Power for Obama and Next President

US Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) and House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-WI) like to portray themselves as strong leaders who act to protect congressional authority against Obama Administration power grabs. But, in regard to the ISIS War, both congressional leaders are happy to cede — year after year — power without limit to President Barack Obama and whoever the next president may be.

McConnell told Roll Call on Friday that he opposes the Senate voting on an authorization of the ISIS War until, if ever, sometime after the January of 2017 inauguration of a new president. Just let Obama conduct the ISIS War however he pleases for the remainder of his term, and do not dare impose any limits on the next president either: That is McConnell’s position.

Meanwhile, Ryan is expressing willingness to hold a House debate and vote on an Authorization for Use of Military Force (AUMF) for the ISIS War, but only so long as it is assured the AUMF in no way restricts what Obama or a future president may do.

Continue reading at the Ron Paul Institute for Peace and Prosperity.

Ron Paul: Save Trillions of Dollars and Millions of Lives by Replacing Militarism with Defense

In a new interview with host Deirdre Bolton at Fox Business, Ron Paul explains that most United States Department of Defense spending is on militarism rather than defense. This spending on militarism, Paul continues, is “a negative,” wasting trillions of dollars on counterproductive foreign interventions that produce millions of deaths overseas while reducing Americans’ safety.

Continue reading at the Ron Paul Institute for Peace and Prosperity.