Homeland Stupidity

Is The Safety Of The State Really Worth More Than The Truth?

"The federal government was created by the Founding Fathers, begrudgingly, to serve one primary purpose: The defense of individual liberty. But what happens when the federal government no longer pursues this function? What happens when the government becomes the very enemy it was designed to defend us against? Has it not then violated the charter that made it legal in the first place? And if so, should it not then be exposed and disbanded as a broken tool, a useless piece of hardware that no longer does any good for the people overall?" Continue reading →

Continue ReadingIs The Safety Of The State Really Worth More Than The Truth?

Justin Raimondo: Is America a Free Country?

"Jimmy Carter is making waves: 'America does not have a functioning democracy at this point in time,' he told a meeting of the American Bridge, held in Atlanta, when asked about Edward Snowden’s exposure of Washington’s secret global surveillance system. Carter’s previous statements about the Snowden affair were mildly supportive. Yet this new statement goes way beyond that: it is a sweeping condemnation of the current regime. That a former US President would say such a thing has got to be the scariest public pronouncement I’ve heard since the Watergate era. What’s even scarier: Carter is right." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingJustin Raimondo: Is America a Free Country?

Obama’s Police State: A List of Obama’s 55 Worst Assaults on Civil Liberties

"55 examples of Obama’s war on our liberties, freedoms and American way of life. I’m sure you’ve heard of a number of these – but some of the stuff on here will surprise (and frighten) you. Everything on this list is federally related, has been verified and is cited." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingObama’s Police State: A List of Obama’s 55 Worst Assaults on Civil Liberties

ACLU Report Exposes Extent Of License Plate Surveillance

"The ACLU documents show the devices also give police the ability to look back in the past and perform a 'convoy' search to find vehicles that frequently travel together. A 'cross search' allows officers to create a list of vehicles that drove past a set of particular locations and times. This would, for example, isolate individuals that may be regular attendees at a political rallies or meetings. The ACLU report warned that this powerful tracking ability opens the door to abuse. The report found that US law enforcement agencies rarely place any limits on the use of ALPR. A New York police department says the use 'is only limited by the officer's imagination.'" Continue reading →

Continue ReadingACLU Report Exposes Extent Of License Plate Surveillance

Mission Creep: When Everything Is Terrorism

"One of the assurances I keep hearing about the U.S. government's spying on American citizens is that it's only used in cases of terrorism. Terrorism is, of course, an extraordinary crime, and its horrific nature is supposed to justify permitting all sorts of excesses to prevent it. But there's a problem with this line of reasoning: mission creep. The definitions of 'terrorism' and 'weapon of mass destruction' are broadening, and these extraordinary powers are being used, and will continue to be used, for crimes other than terrorism. Even as the definition of terrorism broadens, we have to ask how far we will extend that arbitrary line." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingMission Creep: When Everything Is Terrorism

Congressional Picks for DHS Head Include Backers of Mass Surveillance

"Lawmakers on the House Homeland Security Committee are suggesting individuals who have supported programs similar to National Security Agency digital surveillance initiatives. Among the people ranking Democrat Rep. Bennie Thompson, D-Tenn., would prefer, according to minority committee aides, is Rep. Loretta Sanchez, D-Calif., a committee member who supported the divisive Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act, known as CISPA. The measure, which the House approved by a 288-127 vote in April, would allow the intelligence community to monitor the metadata of private emails for threat signatures or indicators of malicious software." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingCongressional Picks for DHS Head Include Backers of Mass Surveillance

Second Drone Crash In One Week On Highway In Florida, Carrying Self-Destruct Charge

"The latest crash came Wednesday morning around 8:25 when the drone crashed alongside US 98 in the Silver Flag area on the east side of the base. Eye witnesses say the QF 4 drone crashed while taking off, exploded and sent up a large black cloud. Base and local police and safety officials have closed Highway 98 and are anticipating that it will remain closed for up to 24 hours. According to WJHG, the closure is being done because of a small self-destruct charge carried on board the drone. The status of this device is unknown. It is powered by a short-life battery which will be fully depleted in 24 hours." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingSecond Drone Crash In One Week On Highway In Florida, Carrying Self-Destruct Charge

Stop Ray Kelly from leading Homeland Security Department

"If you thought Big Brother couldn’t possibly get bigger, and if you thought this Dr. Strangelove era couldn’t possibly get any Strangelovier, welcome to the debate over the next head of Homeland Security. Lost in the noise is the fact that in the midst of disclosures about the Obama administration’s sprawling — and potentially illegal — national security state, a Kelly nomination would put a national surveillance apparatus fit for a sci-fi satire in the hands of a comic-book-worthy thug. Five parts of the police commissioner’s record paint a picture of Kelly that seems almost too cartoonish to be accurate. But, alas, it is Kelly’s undisputed record." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingStop Ray Kelly from leading Homeland Security Department

NDAA: It Still Makes a Mockery Of American Values

"While most of the country has been consumed with the George Zimmerman trial and other political distractions pushed on us by the mainstream media, the U.S. government’s consistent and aggressive violations of civil liberties continue with minimal protest. The PRISM surveillance program, the phony 'due process' of the FISA courts, and the militarization of law enforcement are the most pervasive examples, but the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) is perhaps the most authoritarian of them all and makes a mockery of American values." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingNDAA: It Still Makes a Mockery Of American Values

Eric Margolis: Spying Run Amok

"Europe’s politicians are loudly denouncing the US. But Britain, Germany, Italy, Holland, Spain and Belgium signed secret pacts with the US decades ago allowing NSA and CIA to spy on their citizens, and to share intelligence with Washington. The Soviet-run Warsaw Pact had a similar structure: the East bloc’s security agencies became 'little brothers' of KGB. No other nation mounts such an intensive worldwide electronic spying operation. Spying on EU trade negotiators discussing banana quotas has nothing to do with so-called terrorism. The real 'national security' issue involved here is the security of hypocritical politicians and career bureaucrats." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingEric Margolis: Spying Run Amok