Alternative News

Is It Seditious to Oppose Drone-Killing? If So, Count me as a Seditionist

"While Senator Rand Paul’s drone filibuster will not restrain the Obama administration’s use of drones to carry out targeted killings of alleged terrorists and militants, it has laid bare an interesting alignment on the political landscape. Some nominally liberal commentators, such as Newsweek’s Eleanor Clift, accused Senator Paul and other opponents of the drone program of inciting sedition. America was founded on principled hostility to power, not unqualified submission to it. The Founders most likely wouldn’t recognize as Americans people who would entrust the president with the power of discretionary killing." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingIs It Seditious to Oppose Drone-Killing? If So, Count me as a Seditionist

Guilty Until Proven Innocent: Washington, D.C.’s Civil Forfeiture Racket

"Civil forfeiture is a national problem. Law enforcement agencies seize millions of dollars worth of property each year with little or no due process for owners. In all but six states property owners are considered guilty until proven innocent. State law typically allows law enforcement to keep most or all of the proceeds from forfeiture—an enormous incentive to police for profit. Most seizures are of cash—generally less than $100 and as little as $7—taken from thousands of people each year." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingGuilty Until Proven Innocent: Washington, D.C.’s Civil Forfeiture Racket

Cruelty and Criminality Combine in the Vernal, Utah Police Department

"Vernal, Utah resident Ben Mahaffey had barely said goodbye to his wife of 58 years before the local police barged into the couple’s bedroom without invitation or permission. Just minutes after Mahaffey’s wife Barbara died of cancer, the police strode into the house claiming that they had a right to examine the couple’s medicine cabinet. But on at least thirty occasions in 2011, Vernal Police Detective Ben Marland Murray visited the home of Russell Wayne Smithey and Candy Jean Holmes to conduct 'pill checks'. The couple suspected that the officer was secretly stealing their medications, and eventually caught him doing so by way of a hidden camera." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingCruelty and Criminality Combine in the Vernal, Utah Police Department

Woman injured in LAPD manhunt says cops won’t pay taxes on replacement truck

"The attorney for a woman who was mistakenly targeted by Los Angeles police during the manhunt for Christopher Dorner in February has accused the department of breaking its promise of a new truck for her. 'You tried to murder the woman, you put 102 bullet holes in her truck,' Glen Jonas told KNBC-TV on Monday. His client, 47-year-old Maggie Carranza, refused a police offer of a new Ford F-150 truck if she agreed to pay taxes on it, in part because it meant Carranza would have to pay an additional $10,000 in personal income taxes she cannot afford. He said the department’s offer also barred Carranza from selling the vehicle for a year." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingWoman injured in LAPD manhunt says cops won’t pay taxes on replacement truck

New York ‘cannibal cop’ convicted of kidnapping plot

"New York City police officer Gilbert Valle was convicted on Tuesday of conspiring to kidnap and eat young women. The New York Times reported that Valle could be sentenced to life in prison for kidnapping conspiracy, and also faces a five-year jail sentence for using a law enforcement database to research potential victims. During the trial, prosecutors highlighted internet records showing Valle, who became known as the 'cannibal cop,' visiting several websites devoted to fetishes involving the kidnapping and cooking of young women." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingNew York ‘cannibal cop’ convicted of kidnapping plot

New Jersey woman busted for showing breasts, middle fingers to surveillance camera

"Police in Barnegat, New Jersey say that woman is being held in jail after she exposed her breasts and middle fingers to a surveillance camera. The Asbury Park Press reported that Patrolman Michael Diblasi arrested 56-year-old Wendy Tucker for lewdness after police dispatchers said that they saw her 'get out of a car in the middle of Lexington Boulevard, pull up her shirt and bra, exposing her breasts while facing several security cameras' at around 2 a.m. last Wednesday. Lt. Keith Germain said that the woman was also seen 'looking up at the cameras while extending her middle fingers to the cameras.'" Continue reading →

Continue ReadingNew Jersey woman busted for showing breasts, middle fingers to surveillance camera

Supreme Court Approves Search Warrants Issued by Dogs

"Today the U.S. Supreme Court unanimously ruled that 'a court can presume' an alert by a drug-sniffing dog provides probable cause for a search 'if a bona fide organization has certified a dog after testing his reliability in a controlled setting' or 'if the dog has recently and successfully completed a training program that evaluated his proficiency in locating drugs.' The justices overturned a 2011 decision in which the Florida Supreme Court said police must do more than assert that a dog has been properly trained." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingSupreme Court Approves Search Warrants Issued by Dogs

U.S. Drug Czar: Federal Prosecutors Will Go After Washington And Colorado Marijuana Distributors

"Federal prosecutors will crack down on recreational marijuana dispensaries and growers even in states where they are legal, U.S. drug czar Gil Kerlikowske told a Canadian news magazine this week. The statement appears to be the first from a federal official to state explicitly that the federal government will prosecute dispensaries and producers once they are licensed in Washington and Colorado. Washington and Colorado’s laws explicitly make both production and distribution of marijuana legal under state law if the entities are licensed and follow regulations." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingU.S. Drug Czar: Federal Prosecutors Will Go After Washington And Colorado Marijuana Distributors

Illinois: High-Ranking Cop Caught Lying About DUI Arrests

"According to US Attorney Gary S. Shapiro, Timothy J. Veit was caught creating 122 bogus drunk driving arrests in an effort to boost the police department's revenue with federal overtime payments. Between 2009 and 2012, the effort generated $132,893 in bogus payments. The source of the funds was the US Transportation Department, which funnels federal gas tax dollars through the Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT) to bankroll traffic ticket-writing blitzes that typically take place on holiday weekends. City officials discovered the discrepancy in March 2012 and allowed Veit, who is 55, to retire in April." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingIllinois: High-Ranking Cop Caught Lying About DUI Arrests

Florida City Caught Issuing 1645 Camera Tickets On Shortened Yellow

"In St. Petersburg, Florida, the yellow time at intersections was shortened by fractions of a second for thousands of drivers, enabling the red light camera program to generate an extra $259,910 in revenue in 13 months. The data show at seven city intersections, the yellow time dropped between 0.1 and 1.1 seconds for some tickets from the date the cameras started ticketing. St. Petersburg depends heavily on split-second timing misjudgment. The city generated 45 percent of its revenue -- $2,128,576 -- from tickets generated in a half-second or less after the light turns red. In the first three-tenths of a second, 31 percent of the city's tickets were issued." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingFlorida City Caught Issuing 1645 Camera Tickets On Shortened Yellow