The Mindset of a Hero

"A local cop has cruised the parking lot of her place of employment, noted the 'Antique Vehicle' tags – and actually went in to the place to issue a 'friendly warning' (that is, a not-so-thinly-veiled threat) to the supervisor of my wife’s friend that it is a 'ticketable offense' to drive a vehicle with 'Antique' tags to work. Which is true – there is a 'law' to that effect. But it takes a real Inspector Javert type to worry about it. Much less to take action. I’m actually surprised this cop didn’t simply park his taxpayer-extorted free (for him) squad car, engine idling using gas he didn’t pay for, and wait as long as it took for the 'law breaker' to emerge, in order to confiscate some more of other-people’s money." Continue reading

Continue ReadingThe Mindset of a Hero

Investigators say police charity hired felons to take credit card numbers

"Police Protective Fund raises millions of dollars each year in the name of fallen officers. On Tuesday, four men in charge of the charity’s telemarketing operations were arrested on charges of hiring felons to raise that money. All four are managers who oversee the charity’s phone rooms in the Tampa Bay area and in South Florida. Charity regulators with Florida’s Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services descended on the boiler-room operations Tuesday afternoon and began running criminal background checks on each employee. Florida law bans charities and professional solicitors from knowingly employing telemarketers who have been convicted of fraud and other financial felonies." Continue reading

Continue ReadingInvestigators say police charity hired felons to take credit card numbers

Don’t Pull in Front of a Fatherland “Security” Bureaucrat on a Highway…

"...or he may follow you to a parking lot and fire a 40 caliber pistol into the side of your car, like this moron did in Boca Raton, Florida a few weeks ago. Fortunately, the round did not hit the two-year-old boy who was in his car seat at the time with his dad at the Boca Raton mall. If the victim of this shooting by the madman Department of Fatherland Security bureaucrat had defended himself and his child by shooting back, he would have been arrested for murder. And, forty years ago, he would have responded either by beating the living daylights out of the Department of Fatherland Security bureaucrat who fired a 40 caliber round at his family, or organizing enough friends to get the job done." Continue reading

Continue ReadingDon’t Pull in Front of a Fatherland “Security” Bureaucrat on a Highway…

FBI Releases Information on Michael Hastings

"The FBI has posted a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) release regarding Michael Hastings, the reporter who died in a fiery car crash in June. The bureau released what it says is the only material found in FBI records that mention Hastings. The release is 21 pages in total and contains copies of articles written by Hastings, along with heavily redacted FBI notes. The FBI states these are the only records the have on Hastings and that it had no investigative interest in Hastings." Continue reading

Continue ReadingFBI Releases Information on Michael Hastings

Idaho Falls Police Crash a Backyard Birthday Party

"Alissa’s husband Victor, a naturalized citizen from the Dominican Republic, expressed frustration about getting a citation for 'disturbing the peace.' Officer Clark Lund snottily replied: 'If you don’t like it, you know how to leave.' Seconds later, for no identifiable reason, Lund barged into the house, then tasered Victor and his brother, Delosanto after shoving a pregnant woman to the floor and threatening a young mother who was holding a baby. Another officer shoved a 79-year-old grandmother. Two officers responding to Lund’s call for aid invaded a neighbor’s home with guns drawn. At least 11 police cars arrived, closing down the entire block." Continue reading

Continue ReadingIdaho Falls Police Crash a Backyard Birthday Party

Mob Violence and Mistaken Identity

"The mob that beat Professor Singh called him 'Osama' and accused him of being a terrorist. This kind of thing is hardly uncommon: Since 9/11, scores of Sikhs have been beaten or abused – or murdered -- by people mistakenly believing them to be Arab terrorists. Commercial trucker Jageet Singh was the victim of an even worse variety of mob violence in Mississippi. When he suffered a flat tire last January, police officers who arrived on the scene accused him of being a terrorist, made derogatory remarks about his religion, forced him to circle his truck with his hands on his head while the vehicle was searched, and then arrested him for supposedly refusing to obey an officer." Continue reading

Continue ReadingMob Violence and Mistaken Identity

Neighbor Gets Tased While Cops Investigate Suicide Attempt

"The Blondins got within about 37 feet of the scene, heard Jack moaning and saw him pinned on the ground. Donald Blondin said, 'What are you doing to Jack?' and faced a barrage of orders to get back. When he didn’t move, or didn’t move enough, Sgt. Jeff Shelton rushed him with Taser drawn. A witness said that Blondin seemed to be 'frozen with fear.' Shelton warned Blondin that he was about to be Tased, but fired before he finished saying it, according to the ruling. The lower court threw out the Blondins’ lawsuit, saying the officer was 'immune' from suit in these circumstances." Continue reading

Continue ReadingNeighbor Gets Tased While Cops Investigate Suicide Attempt

Red Light Camera Case Goes To Illinois Supreme Court

"In the class action filing, the plaintiffs claimed all Chicago claimed all red light camera tickets between 2003 and 2006 were invalid because they were issued before state law authorized camera enforcement in Cook, DuPage, Kane, Lake, Madison, Will, McHenry and St. Clair counties. The lawsuit also challenges every red light camera ticket issued after 2006 because Chicago never drafted a new ordinance after the state enacted its red light camera law in 2006. Chicago's 384 cameras posted at 191 separate intersections generated close to $70 million a year in revenue in 2012." Continue reading

Continue ReadingRed Light Camera Case Goes To Illinois Supreme Court

Aide To Mentally Handicapped Man Murdered By Police Speaks Out

"It happened after three deputies removed him from a Frederick movie theater for not having a $12 ticket. Ethan's aide who was with him that night shared her story only with WUSA9's, Debra Alfarone. She says when she heard that Ethan had died, 'I just started crying.' She says she's done so many more times since that fateful January night. She asked that we not identify her, nor show her face on camera. She is 18, and was Ethan Saylor's aide for the last 3 months of his life. Now, hers will never be the same. Today, she joined the Saylor family as they delivered 340,000 signatures to Governor Martin O'Malley, asking for an independent investigation into his death," Continue reading

Continue ReadingAide To Mentally Handicapped Man Murdered By Police Speaks Out

“For Their Own Protection”: Children in Long-Term Solitary Confinement

"Solitary confinement was once a punishment reserved for the most-hardened, incorrigible criminals. Today, it is standard practice for tens of thousands of juveniles in prisons and jails across America. Far from being limited to the most violent offenders, solitary confinement is now used against perpetrators of minor crimes and children who are forced to await their trials in total isolation. Often, these stays are prolonged, lasting months or even years at a time. How can a practice be both widespread and hidden? State and federal governments have two effective ways to prevent the public from knowing how deep the problem goes." Continue reading

Continue Reading“For Their Own Protection”: Children in Long-Term Solitary Confinement