I hate the TSA, and if you've been on a plane in the past twelve years, you probably hate them too. From egregious Fourth Amendment usurpations, to nudey scanners, that one time they reached into my purse while I was at the gate waiting to board a plane, rampant theft and molestation of children and grannies...

And vilification of the Tea Party continues. Following the latest Obamacare defund battle, there's been a recent resurgence of Tea Party hatred from Democrats. Democratic Congressman Alan Grayson, known for inflammatory rhetoric, decided to capitalize on the fresh wave of anti-Tea Party sentiment.Congressman Grayson took to MSNBC to discuss his disdain for Tea Partiers, then sent out the following email:

Signed up for ObamaCare? It may not help you get in to see a doctor. 

Yesterday, it was noted that the AMBER Alert site run by the Department of Justice appeared to be the latest victim of the government shutdown. The AMBER Alert system instantly alerts local communities of child abductions. Attempting to check out the AMBER Alert site, results in this notification:

My sister and I were hanging out one weekend watching the Food Network, eating cookie dough and trying to stay cool; Texas summers are brutal. We ended up watching a food truck special that highlighted some of the best food trucks from cities all over the country. Oh My!

Nothing is safe from the scrutiny of the surveillance state, not even your Facebook likes. Especially if you're under investigation by any national government.

A few weeks ago, I saw an adorable video of what appeared to be Duck Dynasty's long lost cast member, dancing with a raccoon.  The bearded old man, Mark "Coonrippy" Brown, and his pet raccoon, Gunshow, were bustin' a move to Aretha Franklin's, "Chain of Fools." As you might imagine, the video went viral (that's how I came to see it, after all).   

With Congress attempting to define journalism again, it seems like a good time to revisit the whole "free press" thing. Understanding why the founders thought a free press was essential ultimately helps us determine whether federal overreach into protected liberties is appropriate.In 1799, James Madison explained:

Earlier this summer, Senator Durbin made news when he introduced the Free Flow of Information Act or 'Shield Law'.  The bill's intention is to protect journalists from disclosing their confidential sources. A lesser known fact is that Senator Graham was a co-sponsor of this bill. Although it's a sad indicator that legislation like this is even being discusssed, the original bill appeared on the surface to be a legitimate attempt to provide protection for a journalist's sources.

Yesterday, U.S. District Judge Shira Scheindlin ruled the New York Police Department's "stop and frisk" procedure unconstitutional, indicating it amounted to "racial profiling." Sounds like a solid win for the Fourth Amendment, right? Maybe not.As Mayor Bloomberg explained:As recently as 1990, New York City averaged more than six murders a day. Today, we’ve driven that down to less than one murder a day. If murder rates over the last 11 years had been the same as the previous 11 years, more than 7,300 people who today are alive would be dead.