Animal Farm

State Confiscates $10,000 From Airline Passenger Over Exchange Rate Disagreement

"Docherty was boarding a flight to Costa Rica in November 2010 when a dog trained to sniff out money (they have those?) found Docherty's stash of cash. There was $9,880 in U.S. currency and another $335 Canadian. Docherty explained he'd calculated the Canada-U.S. exchange rate so the total amount to come in under the $10,000 limit. The trouble was that by the time he took his flight two days later, the U.S. dollar had strengthened, making his package worth more than $10,000 Canadian. Agents seized the money under the legislation and unlike criminal charges, the onus falls on people like Docherty to prove the money was legitimately acquired." Continue reading →

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The Myth of Journalistic Objectivity

"For generations we have been taught that the ideal journalist is fair, balanced and objective. But the idea of the objective journalist is a myth. Join us today on The Corbett Report as we explore the ideologies and assumptions behind all news media and what alternative models we have for journalism in the online era." Continue reading →

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‘Don’t Shoot My Dog’ Laws Proposed

"The natural enemy of the family dog is the local cop. Some of the stories we hear about cops shooting dogs, man, it’s like they don’t even try to deal with the animal reasonably. They shoot first and put the leash on later. I get that some people are just irrationally afraid of dogs, but cops are armed and in stressful situations. And since 'dog murder' isn’t really a thing, there’s no incentive for cops to hold their fire. We’ve reported in the past about how jury awards are going up when cops are found to recklessly kill family pets. But money cannot replace the companionship of a best friend. Now, one state is trying to take more decisive action." Continue reading →

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Texas Supreme Court bars sentimental value suits from dog owners

"The Texas Supreme Court ruled on Friday that bereaved dog owners cannot file lawsuits calling for their pets’ sentimental value. The Dallas Morning News reported on Friday that, per the ruling, dog owners can only be legally compensated for the market cost of their pets. 'Under Texas common law, the human-animal bond, while undeniable, is uncompensable,' Justice Don R. Willett wrote in the court’s unanimous decision, which reversed a ruling by the state 2nd Court of Appeals in Fort Worth." Continue reading →

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Cops with Drones: Alameda Co., CA Weighs Technology vs. Privacy

"For a long time, drones - unmanned aircraft - were used only by the military. Now local law enforcement wants them for police work such as surveillance and search-and-rescue missions. That in turn has sparked a fierce debate over the balance between cutting-edge law enforcement technology and the privacy rights of citizens." Continue reading →

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Americans Can Be Executed Without Charges — But Criminal Banks Can’t Be Prosecuted

"On the same day that Kentucky Senator Rand Paul was filibustering the nomination of John Brennan to head the CIA over the nominee’s involvement in lethal drone strikes, Attorney General Eric Holder defended arbitrary power before the Senate Judiciary Committee. As we noted earlier, Holder told the Committee that any Congressional action to restrict the targeted killing program would represent an unconstitutional limitation of presidential powers. In the same hearing, Holder said that some corrupt banks are simply too big to prosecute." Continue reading →

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“State Control”: What the UN Firearms Treaty is All About

"For more than fifty years, the United Nations, with the enthusiastic support of the U.S. government, has pursued a vision of 'general and complete disarmament' in which the world body, or its successor, would claim a monopoly on the 'legitimate' use of force. Within that global monopoly, each national government would have an exclusive territorial franchise. It was in pursuit of that formula that UN 'peacekeepers' were deployed in Rwanda in 1993. Despite that country’s history of bloody ethnic conflict, Rwandans were assured that they had nothing to fear from a UN-approved government that claimed a monopoly on weaponry." Continue reading →

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Yes, Gun Control is Racist

"In testimony offered as part of a class-action federal lawsuit, state senator Eric Adams, a former NYPD officer, testified that during a July 2010 meeting, Commissioner Kelly 'Stated that he targeted and focused on that group because he wanted to instill fear in them that every time that they left their homes they could be stopped by police.' When Adams pointed out that this is against the law, Kelly reportedly replied 'How else are we going to get rid of guns?' Over the past ten years, more than 5 million people have been subjected to warrantless street detention and searches, roughly 90 percent of them young Black or Latino men." Continue reading →

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New Wisconsin Gun Ban Doesn’t Apply To Lawmakers

"Lawmakers in Racine, Wisconsin voted yesterday to ban concealed weapons in city-owned buildings — except for themselves. The ordinance passed by a vote of 9 to 5 yesterday (April 3, 2013), but drew criticism from council members and area residents. 'When you deprive us of a constitutional right but then turn around and give it to yourselves – that is incomprehensible,' Racine resident Gary Dulek said. Several other people spoke out against that philosophy at the Common Council meeting Wednesday night. 'This is about elected officials who believe they’re above the law,' another attendee said." Continue reading →

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