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The real class warfare in this country isn't rich vs. poor, it's government employees vs. we, the taxpayers, who pay their salaries.

Every single day, atrocities take place just south of our border in Mexico that are nearly unimaginable in the United States.

A free market will create big differences in wealth. That wealth disparity is simply a byproduct of freedom -- vastly diverse individuals competing to serve consumers will arrive at vastly diverse outcomes.

Let's think about whether all acts of Congress deserve our respect and obedience...

The district court’s finding of consent was, it said, a close call, but defendant was advised of his right to refuse and consented. [Thus, advice of right to refuse consent was apparently determinative when consent was a close call.] United States v. Mendoza, 2012 U.S. App. LEXIS 9673 (8th Cir. May 14, 2012)*:

. . . The validity of consent is a question of fact, which we review for clear error. See id.

The district court recognized the factual record made this case a close call. On the one hand, Mendoza did not explicitly state the officers were permitted to search the Louis Place residence or sign the consent-to-search form, and the significant police presence at the roadside stop and the residence raise the possibility Mendoza merely acquiesced to police authority. See id. at 773. On the other hand, Mendoza's gestures and body language indicated his consent. Officer Fink and Detective Batcheller specifically informed Mendoza of his right to refuse consent, and Mendoza clearly understood this right, because he initially refused consent and bargained with the officers regarding the terms of his consent.

There was no clear error in the district court’s determination that defendant’s girlfriend he shared a bedroom with consented to a search of the bedroom to look for guns. She admitted it on the stand, too. She was not advised of a right to refuse, but that is only a factor. United States v. Graham, 2012 U.S. App. LEXIS 9605 (9th Cir. May 11, 2012).*

Defendant was stopped because his car was illegally parked and that was justification for the officer approaching the defendant and observing him allegedly under the influence. Miller v. Chenoweth, 2012 W. Va. LEXIS 276 (May 10, 2012).*

F. Scott Fitzgerald once wrote a story about a family that discovered a diamond as big as the Ritz-Carlton Hotel sitting beneath a mountain in a remote corner of Montana.

Pennsylvania over the past three years has greatly reduced the number of environmental incidents related to natural gas drilling, and state officials appear fully able to oversee the industry without intrusion from the federal government, according to a study released Tuesday.

Researchers at the University at Buffalo's newly formed Shale ...

DENVER — Even with President Obama "evolving" his way to support of gay marriage, the politics of the issue are playing out in complex and contradictory ways in the states, with potentially large consequences for the vote in November.

The 2012 state legislative session began with gay-rights advocates opposing an ...

BISMARCK, N.D. — North Dakota has passed Alaska to become the second-leading oil-producing state in the nation, trailing only Texas, state officials said Tuesday.

North Dakota oil drillers pumped 17.8 million barrels in March, with a daily average of 575,490 barrels, Assistant State Mineral Resources Director Bruce Hicks said. That ...

NEW YORK — Cheaper gas won't be enough to get many more Americans on the road this summer. They're still too worried about their jobs and the economy.

Economists and tourism experts are expecting only a small uptick in summer travelers. Gas prices are lower, but still high enough to ...

SMITHTOWN — An athletics committee on Long Island has ruled that a 13-year-old boy can keep playing field hockey on the girls' team at Southampton High School.

The ruling is a reversal of fortune for the student, Keeling Pilaro.

Keeling had played on the girls' team at Southampton High this ...

Update 11:15PM est: Deb Fischer is starting to pull away in the senate primary race in Nebraska, and has been declared the winner of the GOP Primary. AG Bruning, the establishment pick, was expected to walk away with this race as little as two weeks ago. It's Fischer 40.2% to 36% for Bruning. Tonight's math formula is Palin > the establishment > Jim DeMint + Freedom Works + Club for Growth.

Update 10:37PM est: Deb Fischer takes the lead in Nebraska. 38.6%-37.2%. Ted Cruz smiling, Dan Llijenquist glad to be last int he primary cycle. Tons of momentum could be headed his way

Update 10:25PM est: Returns show the gap now just 1.2% with 38.1% for Bruning, and 36.9% Fischer.

Update 10:15PM est: With 32% of the vote in, Palin-backed Senate candidate Deb Fisher is within 3% of establishment pick Bruning. The lead has narrowed to 39-36%. Stenberg, who was endorsed by most other tea party groups, is in distant 3rd at 21%. Palin power? Note: The only two general election polls done featuring Fischer vs Democrat Bob Kerrey had Fischer winning by 10 and 12 points, despite low name recognition.

Original Post: In the May 15th Nebraska Republican primary for Senate, John Bruning was the establishment favorite. Jim DeMint and a number of tea party organizations backed a second candidate, former Attorney General Don Stenberg. But days after a poll found a third candidate, Deb Fischer, trailing by 16 points, Sarah Palin gave a surprise endorsement of the underfunded underdog.

Many naysayers have dismissed Palin's influence, instead suggesting that her endorsements had little effect as the candidates were rising in the polls anyway. But the coincidences are far too many and the number of out-of-nowhere candidates to win (or come darn close to winning) are simply too plentiful to ignore. In 2010, it was Governor Nikki Haley in South Carolina, Joe Miller in Alaska, and Karen Handel in Georgia (among many others) who were given big boosts in their eventual underdog primary bids.

Most notably, Sarah Palin did not endorse a candidate for President in 2012, though both Newt Gingrich and Rick Santorum claimed at one point or another they had her support. (Palin stated she voted for Newt in Alaska, but her "keep the race going" strategy was hardly a ringing endorsement.)

In addition to Fischer in Nebraska, Texas Republican Ted Cruz is touting his Palin endorsement as he attempts to pull a Rubio in Texas and defeat the establishment candidate in the Senate Primary. Two weeks ago, Richard Mourdock ousted longtime US Senator/professional RINO Richard Lugar in the senate primary in Indiana. While many expected to win late, his Palin endorsement was most buzzworthy and his 20+ point margin was much greater than anyone anticipated.

Palin's Golden Endorsement Touch originally appeared on About.com Conservative Politics: U.S. on Tuesday, May 15th, 2012 at 22:13:50.

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The chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee wants Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. to investigate whether the office of Arizona Sheriff Joe Arpaio used federal grant money to illegally detain Hispanics, whom the government alleges were the victims of racial profiling.

If so, Sen. Patrick J. Leahy of Vermont, ...

GPS surveillance in the Ninth Circuit was under binding precedent before Jones, so Davis applies. United States v. Fata, 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 66759 (D. Nev. March 15, 2012):

Consequently, even assuming non-compliance with ATF regulations, the Court finds that use of the GPS device in this case was lawful under Pineda-Moreno at the time it was installed and monitored.

Further, consistent with the Supreme Court's decision in Davis v. United States, 131 S. Ct. 2419 (2011), the Court finds that the purpose of the exclusionary rule would not be served in this instance by suppression based solely on placement of the GPS device because placement of the GPS device and the subsequent monitoring was done in reasonable reliance on then binding appellate precedent as announced in Pineda-Moreno.

As a result of the Court's finding and the decision in Davis, even though the installation and use of the GPS device to assist agents in initiating their surveillance on May 14, 2011 through May 15, 2011 did violate Defendants' Fourth Amendment rights, none of the information obtained as a result thereof is subject to suppression. In particular, the surveillance evidence obtained by agents on May 15, 2011, when they observed and overheard conversations during the purchases of firearms at the Gun Store and the gun show will not be suppressed.

Officers responded to a one vehicle accident and found an Escalade on its side in the road. The vehicle had to be towed, so the inventory was lawful. Besides that, the officer saw a gun in the car and one of the occupants dropped a baggy of drugs when the police showed up. United States v. Brown, 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 66880 (S.D. Ohio May 14, 2012).*

The affidavit for the search warrant here was “bare-boned” and “slim” but barely sufficient to show probable cause and have the benefit of the good faith exception. United States v. McIrby, 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 66946 (S.D. Ala. May 14, 2012)*:

Analyzing the affidavit under the totality of the circumstances, the court finds that the information contained in the warrant, although slim, is sufficient to establish probable cause. The affidavit does not offer evidence of the informant's history of reliability. However, while such information is relevant to a probable cause determination, it is not required to be set forth in the affidavit if there is other evidence under the totality of the circumstances to support a probable cause finding.

A UPS package from Mexico to Florida was inspected at the UPS de facto border checkpoint at its Louisville hub, and it was found to have cocaine. A controlled delivery was arranged for the Florida address with an anticipatory search warrant. The package was equipped with a beeper to alert to when it was opened and a GPS. First, the defendant’s name was nowhere on the package as shipper or recipient, so he lacked “standing.” Second, the package was lawfully opened under the border exception. Third, the monitoring of the packages with the beeper and GPS occurred while the vehicle was in a public place. Finally, the officers had probable cause to stop and search the car. United States v. Arrendondo, 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 66919 (M.D. Fla. May 14, 2012):

The facts of this case are more closely aligned with Karo and United States v. Knotts, 460 U.S. 276 (1983) than with Jones. In Karo, the government came into physical contact with the container before it belonged to the defendant. "The transfer of the container with the unmonitored beeper inside did not convey any information and thus did not invade Karo's privacy." Jones, 132 S. Ct. at 952 (citing Karo, 468 U.S. at 712). Jones found that the conclusion was "perfectly consistent with the one we reach here. Karo accepted the container as it came to him, beeper and all, and was therefore not entitled to object to the beeper's presence, even though it was used to monitor the container's location." Jones, 132 S. Ct. at 952. Unlike Jones, no law enforcement officer trespassed on defendant's vehicle to install a tracking device. Indeed, law enforcement officers did nothing to place the package in the vehicle. The package was simply delivered to the mobile home according to the instructions given by defendant or a conspirator to UPS, and the conduct of the conspirators was allowed to take its natural course.

Karo did hold, however, that some monitoring of the tracking device required a warrant under the Fourth Amendment. The Court held that the monitoring of a beeper in a location not open to visual surveillance (there a residence) violated the Fourth Amendment rights of those who had a justifiable interest of privacy in the location. Karo, 468 U.S. at 714-18. Here, the beepers were monitored only while the Toyota was moving in public places subject to lawful visual surveillance. Therefore, the monitoring did not violate the Fourth Amendment.

Officers responded to a domestic dispute where the defendant felon was alleged to have used a gun in an assault on the other in the house. He came to the door to talk to the officers, but the gun was in the couch. That was exigency enough to enter where the officers feared he might break for the gun. United States v. Ward, 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 66824 (W.D. Mo. April 16, 2012).*

Probable cause and exigent circumstances supported the entry into the defendant’s apartment. While the police were outside, the heard voices of the people they knew were in there. Defendant was wanted but not yet found. United States v. Ashbourne, 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 66985 (E.D. Mich. May 14, 2012).*

The USMJ found the traffic stop and detention was justified by reasonable suspicion. On review, the USDJ finds that the officers did not create exigent circumstances–their investigation was appropriate. United States v. Dunn, 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 66427 (W.D. Tenn. May 13, 2012), adopting 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 66977 (W.D. Tenn. March 27, 2012).*

Tony Cartalucci | US State Department leash overtly leads to yet more sedition in Russia.

VATICAN CITY (AP) — The Legion of Christ religious order has been hit by a second scandal in a week with the admission that its most well-known priest had fathered a child.

The Rev. Thomas Williams, an American television commentator, author and moral theologian at the legion's Rome university, ...