Are you ready for this week’s absurdity? Here’s our Friday roll-up of the most ridiculous stories from around the world that are threats to your liberty, your finances, and your prosperity.
Feds steal $80,000 life savings from a confused elderly man
79 year old Terry Rolin kept his entire life savings in cash at his home in Pittsburgh. Inside a tupperware food container, he had saved $82,373 over his life working as a railroad engineer.
When he started to become confused at times, he realized his mental health was in decline. So he gave the cash to his daughter Rebecca and asked her to open a joint bank account with him, to keep his money safe.
Rebecca had an early morning flight to catch with no time to visit a bank, so she took the cash with her after checking online and confirming that it is perfectly legal to carry large amounts of cash on an airplane.
But the TSA became suspicious after seeing the cash at a security checkpoint. They alerted the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA).
The DEA agent intimidated Rebecca into calling her father to confirm the story. Awakened from sleep, he sounded confused–the whole reason for the joint account in the first place.
So the DEA agent told Rebecca their stories didn’t match, and he seized every penny of the old man’s life savings.
Terry and Rebecca were never charged with a crime– they were victims of Civil Asset Forfeiture.
And unfortunately, horror stories like these are not isolated incidents. Now Terry and Rebecca are part of a class action lawsuit for innocent airline passengers who have never been convicted or even charged with a crime to have their stolen cash returned.
Click here to read the full story.
Woman arrested in India for concealing 1.2kg of gold in her rectum
People don’t trust their government in India, a country legendary for graft and corruption. This is especially true when it comes to money.
A few years ago, for example, India’s government announced that certain cash notes would be cancelled and no longer considered valid currency with IMMEDIATE effect.
This was debilitating for tens of millions of people across India’s poverty-stricken villages who have no access to bank accounts and rely on cash transactions.
It’s one of the many reasons why GOLD is so popular in India. But the government has plenty of restrictions for precious metals as well… prompting a surge in illegal gold smuggling into the country (according to India’s Director of Revenue Intelligence).
Just last week a woman was arrested in New Delhi’s Indira Gandhi Airport for smuggling an unbelievable 1.2 kilograms (2.65 pounds) of gold in her rectum, worth about USD $60,000.
It’s a pretty sad state of affairs when people are forced to do something so drastic just to make sure they have an honest currency that can’t be manipulated by bureaucrats.
India’s government is finally starting to wake up to this reality and is reportedly ‘considering’ loosening some of the restrictions.
Click here to read the full story.
City officials shut down restaurant because it got shot at
Rita Johnson owns a restaurant in Saginaw, Michigan.
One night when the eatery was rented out to a private party, it became the victim of a random shooting. Suspects shot at the building and ran away.
Luckily, no one was hurt.
The owner and the guests had no idea why they were targeted, nor by whom. But rather than find the criminals, the city revoked Rita’s permit and shut down the restaurant.
Wait a minute– wasn’t Rita the victim?
Yes. But the city’s excuse was that the restaurant was the site of criminal activity. The town also cited “Failure to maintain adequate security. . .”
This is pretty ironic coming from a city government that charges taxpayers a bunch of money for basic services, like, oh I don’t know, police??? Seems like it would have been the Saginaw Police Department’s job to maintain adequate security for taxpaying business owners.
Click here to read the full story.
US Supreme Court declines to hear “Free the Nipple Case”
A New Hampshire woman was arrested after performing yoga topless on the shores of Lake Winnipesaukee.
This occurred in the city of Laconia in May of 2016 (presumably on one of the handful of days each year that it’s warm enough to go topless in New Hampshire).
Two other women were subsequently arrested for a bare-chested “Free the Nipple” protest after the first arrest.
The town’s ordinance bans women from going topless, but allows men the freedom. Yet the New Hampshire Supreme Court ruled that the ordinance was not a violation of the 14th amendment’s requirement that laws be applied evenly.
Now the US Supreme Court has refused to hear the case, leaving the ban in place.
