Land Of The Flea

City Of Concord Confuses Concerned Residents With Domestic Terrorists

"A city that has had two homicides in the past decade needs an armored vehicle to protect itself against weapons of mass destruction, as well as chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear and explosive attacks, according to City Manager Thomas Aspell. In an application for Homeland Security federal funding of a $258,024 BEARCAT tank, Aspell named three groups as presenting 'active and daily challenges': Occupy New Hampshire, Free Staters, and Sovereign Citizens. This information was only uncovered after a public records request from the ACLU, focusing on the trend of the militarization of police forces in peaceful, small-town communities." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingCity Of Concord Confuses Concerned Residents With Domestic Terrorists

Jacob Hornberger: More Judicial Deference on National-Security State Murder

"Continuing the long tradition of deference to the national-security state by the U.S. federal judiciary, a federal judge recently dismissed a lawsuit by the sons of a man named Frank Olson seeking damages for the CIA’s murder of their father. The excuses that the judge used to dismiss the case were the statute of limitations and a previous settlement that had been entered into regarding the case. The CIA confessed to its LSD experiment on Olson, but the confession, along with all the remorse and regret, were nothing more than a highly sophisticated way to cover up the fact that the CIA had actually murdered Olson by pushing him out of that high-rise New York City hotel room." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingJacob Hornberger: More Judicial Deference on National-Security State Murder

Justice Department to review DEA’s mass surveillance program

"The Justice Department is reviewing a U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration unit that passes tips culled from intelligence intercepts, wiretaps, informants and a large telephone database to field agents, White House Press Secretary Jay Carney said Monday. 'It’s my understanding… that the Department of Justice is looking at some of the issues raised in the story,' Carney said during his daily briefing at the White House on Monday. Carney referred reporters to a Justice Department spokesman, who confirmed that a review was under way, but declined further comment." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingJustice Department to review DEA’s mass surveillance program

DEA agents use NSA intercepts to investigate Americans

"The Drug Enforcement Agency has a secret unit that has been funneling information from intelligence intercepts, wiretaps, and a massive database of phone records. The unit has been passing this data to law enforcement agencies across the nation and assists in launching criminal investigations against American citizens. Matthew Feeney, assistant editor for Reason 24/7, joins us with more on the findings and how this affects people's Fourth Amendment rights." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingDEA agents use NSA intercepts to investigate Americans

Are Police in America Now a Military, Occupying Force?

"Today, the SWAT team is largely sold to the American public by way of the media, through reality TV shows such as Cops, Armed and Famous, and Police Women of Broward County, and by politicians well-versed in promising greater security in exchange for the government being given greater freedom to operate as it sees fit outside the framework of the Constitution. Having watered down the Fourth Amendment’s strong prohibitions intended to keep police in check and functioning as peacekeepers, we now find ourselves in the unenviable position of having militarized standing armies enforcing the law." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingAre Police in America Now a Military, Occupying Force?

The US student loan problem – facts, charts, thoughts

"The unlimited availability of student loans has allowed colleges to sharply raise tuition and fees over the past few years - often simply because they could (as they kept on hiring). The rising cost of higher education in turn forced students to take out larger loans and in greater numbers, increasing the overall loan balances. This feedback loop is clearly unsustainable, particularly as household income growth remains weak. Higher delinquencies are inevitable and as long as the government funds this program, there really is only one way to arrest rising levels of student debt." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingThe US student loan problem – facts, charts, thoughts

86 Congressional signers demand an end to the FDA’s ban on gay blood donors

"Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) and a group of 86 other signatories from Congress sent a letter on Thursday to call for an end to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA)’s ban on blood donors who are 'men who have had sex with other men (MSM), at any time since 1977,' a policy the FDA has had in place since the height of the HIV/AIDS crisis in 1992. The American Medical Association, widely regarded as the most mainstream medical organization in the country, recently joined the chorus of those who oppose the FDA’s ban on gay and bisexual blood donors." Continue reading →

Continue Reading86 Congressional signers demand an end to the FDA’s ban on gay blood donors

State Department ends ban on visas for same sex spouses of American citizens

"U.S. officials paved the way on Friday for same-sex spouses to visit or live in the United States, announcing the State Department will give equal treatment to visa applications of gays and lesbians who want to travel with their partner. Secretary of State John Kerry said the shift will allow the department to start processing requests from married gay couples the same way it handles those from heterosexual spouses. The move would help U.S. citizens live and travel with their same-sex spouse in the United State as well as allow married couples from other countries to visit the United States." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingState Department ends ban on visas for same sex spouses of American citizens

Did cops need to kill a 95-year-old veteran with a Taser, riot shield and shotgun?

"When John Wrana was a young man, fit and strong and fighting in World War II with the U.S. Army Air Corps, did he ever think he'd end this way? Just a few weeks shy of his 96th birthday, in need of a walker to move about, cops coming through the door of his retirement home with a Taser and a shotgun. The old man, described by a family member as 'wobbly' on his feet, had refused medical attention. The paramedics were called. They brought in the Park Forest police.First they tased him, but that didn't work. So they fired a shotgun, hitting him in the stomach with a bean-bag round. Wrana was struck with such force that he bled to death internally." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingDid cops need to kill a 95-year-old veteran with a Taser, riot shield and shotgun?

Norway Gets U.S. Help Chasing Citizens Dodging Income Taxes

"Federal courts in six states have allowed the Internal Revenue Service to issue summonses to U.S. banks at the request of the Norwegian government, and the banks may now have to give up information on people who used some kinds of credit and debit cards. The development signals increasing cooperation between governments to stop offshore tax evasion. The U.S. Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act may lead to dozens of agreements between countries to exchange information on bank accounts. The development is significant because the U.S. government went to federal court in eight states at Norway (NOUE)’s request." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingNorway Gets U.S. Help Chasing Citizens Dodging Income Taxes