If Republicans are so worried about government surveillance and its potential for abuse, why did they reauthorize FISA? This is a question few people seem to be asking. Last week, the House Intelligence Committee released a memo that revealed abuses of the FISA process. Sadly, the real news was lost in partisan bickering about Russia…
“Heath Hall left his position with the Federal Railroad Administration after reports surfaced that he also was working as a public-relations consultant for the Madison County, Miss., sheriff’s office.”
“The House Intelligence Committee’s dueling partisan memos about FBI surveillance of a Trump campaign adviser will result in federal agents keeping secrets to themselves because they no longer trust Congress, experts warn.”
“FISA is a monster. It began as a means of surveilling foreign agents in the U.S., and today it is used for surveilling any American at any time.”
“Many people don’t understand that school officials aren’t necessarily doing what’s best for a kid, and that they are likely to bring in law enforcement if they suspect a crime has been committed. And sharing sexually charged images of minors—even consensually, even if the people doing the sharing are themselves minors—is a felony.”
“Treatments with no side effects, but which might not help, are considered worse than methadone and buprenorphine. 3,400 people died from methadone overdoses in 2014. The CDC does not track deaths from Buprenorphine. The American government financed clinical trials of Buprenorphine. It cost $28 million to win FDA approval. This is another story of the revolving door of doctors who go in and out of the FDA and private practices pushing and prescribing drugs. The FDA gave the company a seven-year monopoly on Buprenorphine. Over 10% of doctors authorized to prescribe it were sanctioned for misbehavior, including insurance fraud and excessive opioid prescribing.”
“In 2006 the FDA put limits on how much pseudoephedrine, a nasal decongestant, you could buy and also required a photo ID to do so. Despite adding a lot of hassle into the treatment of stuffy noses, meth only became more pure. What on earth makes anyone think that going down this same road with loperamide will have any kind of positive benefit?”
“If you want a justice system that prevents and solves violent crime, stop voting for the enforcement of victimless crime laws. Detective Baeza’s example models a path towards such a system of true justice.”