Help me find/generate a list of the Liberties and freedoms we've been losing

[Matthew Zak]

Which programs encroach upon our freedoms, and how?

[RPinSEAZ]

Oh geesh, you could dedicate a whole subforum to this topic.

[RPinSEAZ]

Since when? Lincoln? FDR? Bush?

[drexhex]

Already done, read the Patriot Act =P

[Matthew Zak]

Since when? Lincoln? FDR? Bush?

Since the Central Bank was established in our country in 1913.

[Matthew Zak]

I think it's important that we know exactly how to convince people that this is a dire situation. If people don't know their freedoms are in jeopardy, why would they worry about voting for the wrong person?

I am currently making a video. I need this info, and I'm having a difficult time finding it!

[Brutus]

1. Your work product is not your own -- the government has a prior claim to every cent you earn. What you keep is at their leave, not because it is yours by right.
2. What you save is not your own -- what the government doesn't take from you immediately it confiscates that via inflation, reducing the value of your savings every day by creating money to spend on its projects, which by necessity must be paid for via taxes, direct or indirect.
3. Your body is not your own -- you are not allowed to medicate for fatal conditions in manners which are not approved of by people who have no consequences for deciding poorly.
4. Your life is not your own -- it may be taken from you for the service of the Great American Hegemony via a draft.
5. Your time is not your own -- if you have the temerity to try to be a productive member of society you must fill out forms showing that you have first let the government take its royal claim on your earnings.
6. Your labor is not your own -- if you are an unproductive worker, but wish to learn to be productive you are not allowed to negotiate a wage rate which benefits you and/or your employer if it is less than what the government thinks it should be.
7. Your future is not your own -- the government takes from you your current earnings with the promise to save for your future, but instead it spends the money in the present on its vote buying projects and builds up debts, for which it uses your future productivity as collateral.
8. Your home is not your own -- the government may sneak into it on self-written search warrants.
9. Your actions are not your own -- the government claims authority to monitor any transactions involving more than a small amount of cash.
10. Your property is not your own -- if the property can in any way be tied to an illegal activity in certain categories, even if it was prior to your taking possession of it, the government will find it "guilty" and take it from you without recompense to you, and with only very limited recourse available to you.
11. Your government is not your own -- your ability to speak near elections in organized fashion is subject to bizarre restrictions. You are not allowed to contribute as much as you want to candidates who you support.
12. Your thoughts are not your own -- if you harm someone in a protected class and it is deemed that you harbored impure thoughts in your heart when you did it then you are punished more severely than if the person is not in a protected class.
13. Your choices are not your own -- you are not allowed to choose a toilet which uses more water than the government decrees.

You are owned, lock stock and barrel. But at least you know you are free.

[Matthew Zak]

1. Your work product is not your own -- the government has a prior claim to every cent you earn. What you keep is at their leave, not because it is yours by right.
2. What you save is not your own -- what the government doesn't take from you immediately it confiscates that via inflation, reducing the value of your savings every day by creating money to spend on its projects, which by necessity must be paid for via taxes, direct or indirect.
3. Your body is not your own -- you are not allowed to medicate for fatal conditions in manners which are not approved of by people who have no consequences for deciding poorly.
4. Your life is not your own -- it may be taken from you for the service of the Great American Hegemony via a draft.
5. Your time is not your own -- if you have the temerity to try to be a productive member of society you must fill out forms showing that you have first let the government take its royal claim on your earnings.
6. Your labor is not your own -- if you are an unproductive worker, but wish to learn to be productive you are not allowed to negotiate a wage rate which benefits you and/or your employer if it is less than what the government thinks it should be.
7. Your future is not your own -- the government takes from you your current earnings with the promise to save for your future, but instead it spends the money in the present on its vote buying projects and builds up debts, for which it uses your future productivity as collateral.
8. Your home is not your own -- the government may sneak into it on self-written search warrants.
9. Your actions are not your own -- the government claims authority to monitor any transactions involving more than a small amount of cash.
10. Your property is not your own -- if the property can in any way be tied to an illegal activity in certain categories, even if it was prior to your taking possession of it, the government will find it "guilty" and take it from you without recompense to you, and with only very limited recourse available to you.
11. Your government is not your own -- your ability to speak near elections in organized fashion is subject to bizarre restrictions. You are not allowed to contribute as much as you want to candidates who you support.
12. Your thoughts are not your own -- if you harm someone in a protected class and it is deemed that you harbored impure thoughts in your heart when you did it then you are punished more severely than if the person is not in a protected class.
13. Your choices are not your own -- you are not allowed to choose a toilet which uses more water than the government decrees.

You are owned, lock stock and barrel. But at least you know you are free.

Grim...

[keemt]

I would recommend reading some Andrew Napolitano, who is a libertarian judge that writes pundit books about anti-constitutional things. I just found a great interview he had on Reason magazine, and here are some things from it:

John Warner Defense Authorization Act of 2007
National Security and Homeland Security Presidential Directive 20/51
--Both make the executive branch able to control everything under a state of emergency (presidential directives are laws that are just written by the president!)

And of course he mentions the Patriot Act, wich allows self-written search warrants ("national security letters" I believe is the name, and you can't mention them to anyone, not even a judge in court, or you'll go to jail for 5 years).

A big one is the Kilo case, which was a supreme court ruling that recognized the ability of government to sieze private property and give it to businesses for better economic growth.

Also I would look up some of the shady intelligence programs which have been uncovered
http://www.epic.org/privacy/carnivore/

The drug war supposedly allowed new invasions of privacy, along with new technology supporting it.

Ruby Ridge showed that if you don't pay taxes, the government will hire snipers to kill your family and seige your house.

Waco showed that if you say "crazy" things your house will get gassed burned and plowed by tanks (I could be wrong about this one).

[ThePieSwindler]

Since when? Lincoln? FDR? Bush?

Lincoln was mediocre, Bush sucks but he is a teletubby compared to FDR. FDR is easily the worst president in history, by a long margin too. He basically got the ball rolling on statism and was esssentially a communist when it came to domestic policy.

[ThePieSwindler]

Already done, read the Patriot Act =P

Patriot act really only directly affects a few civil liberties, mainly the 4th amendment and some auxiliary concerns. Its bad, but hardly the holy grail of statism.