While the United states Armed Forces (private mercenaries) are in Afghanistan, Djibouti, Iraq, the Philippines and west Africa defending “all freedom-loving people everywhere in the world”—the ostensibly pro-State sovereignty—Republican (fascist/socialist) President George W. Bush signs the Science, State, Justice, Commerce, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act for 2006, making it more difficult for the states to access Federal data on sidearms and rifles that are used in crimes.

       NOTE: The 2004 Republican Party Platform contained the following passages:

       Our leaders must make sure that the growth of the federal government remains in check.

       We must maintain our commitment to free and fair trade, lower taxes, limited regulation, and a limited, efficient government that keeps up with the new realities of a changing world.

       We endorse creating a commission to evaluate discretionary spending on federal agencies and programs to ensure that taxpayer Funds are being used for the best, most efficient purposes. Such a commission would determine whether certain programs are duplicative, wasteful or inefficient, outdated or irrelevant, or failed. It would recommend to Congress programs that could be terminated, moved, or restructured to make the government more efficient.

       [added 1/28/2024] Thanks to Bill Holmes, Jim Lorenz and Chuck McGlawn for this entry.

       Alberto R. Gonzales, attorney general of the U.s., announces the indictment of Jose Padilla (a.k.a. Abdullah al-Muhajir) for conspiring “to murder, kidnap, and maim” to kill Americans outside the U.s.

       NOTE: This indictment had nothing to do with the pretext under which Padilla was originally arrested.

       [added 1/28/2024]