Animal Farm

Rulership’s Last Stand: Is the Government Out to Eat You?

"It used to be that the ruler claimed a special relationship with God or that he was a superior type of being. In modern times, a larger number of people were brought into rulership, making the broad population feel that they were also part of it. Through it all, however, humans could easily be broken down into those who are skimmed from, and those who are skimmed to. So, if you live on the skim, your goal is for people to go along with your orders willingly. At the same time, if you are the prey, the entire system is set to make you believe 'It is right for other people to order me around.'" Continue reading →

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Criminal defense lawyers demand access to secret DEA evidence

"Criminal defense lawyers are challenging a U.S. government practice of hiding the tips that led to some drug investigations, information that the lawyers say is essential to fair trials in U.S. courts. The practice of creating an alternate investigative trail to hide how a case began – what federal agents call 'parallel construction' – has never been thoroughly tested in court. Defense lawyers said that by hiding the existence of the information, the government is violating a defendant’s constitutional right to view potentially exculpatory evidence that suggests witness bias, entrapment or innocence." Continue reading →

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Disability Rights are Human Rights

"Imagine if you had to fight in a court of law in order to be permitted to move in with friends, go to work, and make basic decisions about your daily life. Jenny Hatch doesn’t have to imagine, because she just fought and won that battle for her basic liberties. Hatch has volunteered for political campaigns, held down a job at a thrift shop, and shown a capacity to live independently. But because she has Down’s syndrome and an IQ of 52, her parents argued that she should be forced to continue living in a group home. Under the law, she could not leave. It was a form of imprisonment enacted not as punishment but under the paternalistic auspices of 'care.'" Continue reading →

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17-year-old tased to death by Miami cops after spray-painting abandoned McDonald’s

"Miami Beach Police Chief Ray Martinez told The Miami Herald that Israel Hernandez-Llach — who was known as 'Reefa' in the local graffiti and skateboarding scene — began running when officers confronted him about 'tagging' an abandoned McDonald’s. 'The officers were forced to use the Taser to avoid a physical incident,' Martinez explained. Hernandez-Llach collapsed after being hit once in the chest. He was taken to Mount Sinai Hospital and later died. One witness told WFOR that police were 'congratulating' each other and 'making fun' of Hernandez-Llach after he was shocked by the Taser." Continue reading →

Continue Reading17-year-old tased to death by Miami cops after spray-painting abandoned McDonald’s

Marine who urinated on dead Taliban fighters in 2011 receives reduced rank as punishment

"Sergeant Robert Richards was the last of eight Marines to be punished in connection with the incident, which took place on July 27, 2011, during a counterinsurgency operation in Helmand Province in Afghanistan. The videotape showed four Marines wearing camouflage combat uniforms urinating on three corpses as one of the Marines joked, 'Have a nice day buddy.' The video became public in early 2012 and was one of a series of offensive incidents at the time that roused Afghan ire and led to heightened tensions between Washington and Kabul." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingMarine who urinated on dead Taliban fighters in 2011 receives reduced rank as punishment

Serial Offender: Miami Fed. Prosecutor Called on Misconduct in Drug Cases

"Dr. Ali Shaygan has nothing to do with Colombian drug trafficking conspiracies, but his case is yet another example of Hoffman's prosecutorial overreach. Shaygan was charged with overprescribing narcotics as part of the federal government's campaign against prescription drug abuse, but later acquitted. After his acquittal, Shaygan won a $600,000 judgment, with the judge in the case finding the prosecutors' conduct in attempting to influence witnesses and deny potentially exculpatory evidence to the defense so 'profoundly disturbing that it raises troubling issues about the integrity of those who wield enormous power over the people they prosecute.'" Continue reading →

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There Were Four Arrests For Every 100 Americans In 2011

"Arrests can be damaging, even if they never result in criminal charges. They generally go on your criminal record, which can be checked each time you apply for a job, housing, or credit. An arrest can also be a barrier to your ability to adopt, obtain some types of professional licenses, and obtain a visa or passport. And of course an arrest also comes with some social stigma. Suing for damages from a false arrest is extremely difficult. It's tough to even get in front of a jury, much less actually win a favorable verdict. Even then, litigation can take years, assuming you can find an attorney to take your case." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingThere Were Four Arrests For Every 100 Americans In 2011

Louisiana prison official: Raped 14-year-old inmate was no ‘Little Miss Muffin’

"Louisiana prison officials and attorneys are trying to evade culpability in the rape of a 14-year-old juvenile inmate by claiming that the girl had a consensual relationship with the guard who molested her. Lawyers for the parish filed papers in court that said, 'Vickers could not have engaged in sexual relations within the walls of the detention center with [the victim] without cooperation from her. Vickers did not use force, violence or intimidation when engaging in sexual relations.' Vickers, 49, was arrested in 2011 and charged with four counts of juvenile molestation and sexual malfeasance in office based on his conduct with Mary Doe and other girls." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingLouisiana prison official: Raped 14-year-old inmate was no ‘Little Miss Muffin’

Texas man sues GOP lawmaker and husband over months of workplace Tasings

"A 45-year-old Texas man is suing a Republican state lawmaker and her husband over what he calls months of attacks with a Taser while working for them that left him paranoid in his private life. 'I was constantly looking behind my shoulder, distracted, couldn’t sleep,' Bradley Jones told KHOU-TV. 'I would even look behind my shower curtain at home.' KHOU reported on Tuesday that Jones has filed a civil suit against state Rep. Patricia Harless (R) and her husband, Sam Harless. The couple owns Fred Fincher Motors, where Jones has worked since 2009." Continue reading →

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I Only Regret That I Have But One Life to Give for My Country: Yours

"Today, for America’s spies, Nathan Hale’s job comes with health and retirement benefits. Top officials in that world have access to a revolving door into guaranteed lucrative employment at the highest levels of the corporate-surveillance complex and, of course, for the spy in need of escape, a golden parachute. So when I think about Nathan Hale’s famed line, among those hundreds of thousands of American spies and corporate spylings just two Americans come to mind, both charged and one convicted under the draconian World War I Espionage Act. Only one tiny subset of Americans might still be able to cite Hale’s words and have them mean anything." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingI Only Regret That I Have But One Life to Give for My Country: Yours