Animal Farm

Family of slain Walmart shoplifting suspect want answers

"Shelly Frey's family and community activists want to know why a Harris County sheriff's deputy shot the 27-year-old to death in a Walmart parking lot. Her relatives said no proof exists to show that Frey was stealing from the store on Friday, according to a news report from KPRC-Channel 2. Before the shooting, a Walmart employee told Campbell that the women were stuffing store merchandise into their bags. Suspect Tiasa Andrews began to drive away while the deputy was standing between the open door and the driver's seat. Shelly Frey later died from a gunshot wound at an apartment complex in the 1300 block of Greens Parkway." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingFamily of slain Walmart shoplifting suspect want answers

New Hampshire police Taser Chinese woman who tried to buy too many iPhones

"Police in Nashua, New Hampshire say they were forced to use a Taser on a 44-year-old Chinese woman who does not speak English after she was told to leave an Apple Store because she was trying to buy too many iPhones. Through a translator, Xiaojie Li told WMUR that she had bought two iPhones from the Pheasant Lane Mall Apple Store on Friday and returned on Tuesday to buy more to send to her family in China. Shoppers captured cell phone video of police — who were providing security at the store’s request — using a stun gun on Li as she laid on the mall floor screaming." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingNew Hampshire police Taser Chinese woman who tried to buy too many iPhones

The $822,000-per-Year Bureaucrat and the Death of California

"Hopefully we’re all disgusted when insiders rig the system to rip off taxpayers. And I suspect you’re not surprised to see that the worst example on that list comes from California, which is in a race with Illinois to see which state can become the Greece of America. Well, the Golden State has a new über-bureaucrat. A state psychiatrist was paid $822,000, a highway patrol officer collected $484,000 in pay and pension benefits and 17 employees got checks of more than $200,000 for unused vacation and leave. Not bad for government work. So what is Governor Jerry Brown doing to fix the mess? As you might expect, he’s part of the problem." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingThe $822,000-per-Year Bureaucrat and the Death of California

Congressmen are Twice as Rich Now as They Were in 1984

"The rest of us are actually poorer. NYT reports that the median net worth of a member of Congress climbed 15 percent from 2004 to 2010, to $913,000; meanwhile, the median net worth for all Americans dropped 8 percent over that same period, to roughly $100,000. The lawmakers’ gains are even more noteworthy because over that same period the net worth of the richest 10 percent of Americans remained essentially flat, based on inflation-adjusted figures, says Slate. More regulations and more Wahington D.C.-based power centers result in many more wanting to influence congressmen, legally or illegally." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingCongressmen are Twice as Rich Now as They Were in 1984

“Officer of the Month” Admits to Planting Drug Evidence

"In April, Reichert, a K-9 officer who specializes in drug interdiction and seizures, was recognized as 'Officer of the Month' for what was described as his 'proactive and innovative philosophy of law enforcement.' His novel approach involves manufacturing evidence and lying under oath – a fact recognized in multiple federal court rulings and Reichert’s brief termination in 2009 after he was put on a roster of police officers considered unsuitable to testify in court. In a subsequent video deposition, Reichert has admitted to planting narcotics evidence on vehicles in motel parking lots near the interstate, supposedly as a training exercise." Continue reading →

Continue Reading“Officer of the Month” Admits to Planting Drug Evidence

Obama gives 83% of export loan guarantees to Boeing

"The Export-Import Bank (Ex-Im)’s primary way of subsidizing exports is through loan guarantees: a private bank lends money to a foreign buyer (such as a foreign company or government) who is buying an American good. Ex-Im guarantees the loan, meaning that if the foreign buyer defaults, U.S. taxpayers foot the bill. In fiscal year 2012, Ex-Im issued $14.7 billion in loan guarantees. $12.2 billion of that money subsidized Boeing sales. That’s right: 82.7% of all of Ex-Im’s taxpayer-backed loan guarantees benefitted one corporation." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingObama gives 83% of export loan guarantees to Boeing

Crony America: Goldman Sachs Settles with CFTC Run by Former Goldman Partner

"Goldman Sachs has agreed to pay $1.5 million to settle charges that it failed to supervise the activities of a former trader who in 2007 was able to amass an $8.3 billion trading position without detection. The head of the CFTC, Gary Gensler, is a former Goldman partner, who was recruited by Goldman right out of Wharton. CFTC Commissioner Bart Chilton said the settlement did not go far enough. Chilton dissented in part from the agreement and said the starting point for penalties should have been $7.8 million." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingCrony America: Goldman Sachs Settles with CFTC Run by Former Goldman Partner

Glenn Greenwald: Laptop seizures by US government highlight 9/11-era climate of fear

"A nation in which liberties are systematically abused - in which limitations on state power are ignored without consequence - is one which gives rise to a climate of fear. This climate of fear, in turn, leads citizens to refrain from exercising their political rights, because they know the government can act against them without real constraints. This morning, the New York Times reports on the US government's practice of targeting US dissidents - or those whom it believes to be engaging in dissent - with extremely invasive border searches, including seizing (and sometimes keeping for months) their laptops and other electronic data, all without any warrants." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingGlenn Greenwald: Laptop seizures by US government highlight 9/11-era climate of fear

Caught On Camera: Woman Goes Into Cardiac Arrest During Traffic Stop

"On June 4, CHP officers stopped to check on the welfare of 50-year-old Angela Jones after finding her sitting in a parked vehicle. Officers questioned Jones for 15 minutes, suspecting she might be under the influence, and then asked to look through her purse. She held her purse tightly to her chest and ran back to her vehicle. The CHP officer hit the trigger on his TASER® X-26 TM three times, sending three separate jolts into Jones’ chest. 'Do not move! Do not move! Stop moving!' the officer can be heard yelling. The officers then pulled the driver out of the car, placed her on the sidewalk and realized she wasn’t breathing." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingCaught On Camera: Woman Goes Into Cardiac Arrest During Traffic Stop

Doug Casey on the America That Was – Now the United (Police) State of America

"This is just the beginning. As I've said before, I don't call the shots – just try to tell the truth as I see it. The point is that you couldn't assemble a list like this even 15 years ago. But now it's part of the firmament. Worse, it's going to grow. As the economy turns down over the next few years, the people – acting like scared chimpanzees – will ask the government to 'do something.' And it will. The trend is going hyperbolic." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingDoug Casey on the America That Was – Now the United (Police) State of America