Land Of The Flea

An Obamacare Chart to Make You Cry…Balanced by Obamacare Cartoons to Make You Laugh

"I’ve shared a nightmarish flowchart to show the Byzantine complexity of America’s healthcare system under Obamacare. Sort of makes you wonder whether the healthcare system will now be more complicated than the internal revenue code. But some people may be skeptical because this flowchart was prepared by Republicans from the Joint Economic Committee. Well, here’s a flowchart from the pro-Obamacare Washington Post, and it shows how just one small piece of the law will require complicated gymnastics." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingAn Obamacare Chart to Make You Cry…Balanced by Obamacare Cartoons to Make You Laugh

Alfred Anaya Put Secret Compartments in Cars. So the DEA Put Him in Prison

"The technically savvy are on notice that they must be very careful about whom they deal with, since calculated ignorance of illegal activity is not an acceptable excuse. But at what point does a failure to be nosy edge into criminal conduct? The challenge for anyone who creates technology is to guess when, exactly, they should turn their back on paying customers. Take, for example, a manufacturer of robot kits for hobbyists. If someone uses those robots to patrol a smuggling route or help protect a meth lab so that traffickers can better evade law enforcement, how will prosecutors determine whether the company acted criminally?" Continue reading →

Continue ReadingAlfred Anaya Put Secret Compartments in Cars. So the DEA Put Him in Prison

Missouri man facing charges for using fake penis to pass drug test

"A 34-year-old St. Louis man is facing criminal charges after he allegedly attempted to use a prosthetic penis to pass a drug test. According to FoxNews.com, Sydney Levin was arrested and charged with 'possession of a forging instrument.' He was caught attempting to use the Whizzinator Touch, a device designed to fool drug tests by creating body-temperature synthetic urine that will test negative for drugs. Police arrested Levin and released him when he posted $25,000 bond. In 2010, Gerald Willis of Los Angeles was sentenced to six months in federal prison for running the company that sold the Whizzinator. Willis’ company no longer exists." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingMissouri man facing charges for using fake penis to pass drug test

Sikh man cites religion in lawsuit against gun controls

"Gursant Singh Khalsa, a practicing Sikh for 35 years, charges in the lawsuit filed this month that California’s laws banning military-style, semiautomatic weapons and high-capacity magazines violate mainstream Sikh doctinre requiring Sikhs 'be at all time fully prepared to defend themselves and others against injustice.' 'We’re required to wear what’s called a kirpan' or dagger, he said Thursday. 'I feel, as far as my religion goes, it dictates that we should have all weapons of all kinds to defend ourselves. By not being able to carry an assault rifle or weapon that has a high-capacity magazine, I don’t feel that I can defend myself or my family.'" Continue reading →

Continue ReadingSikh man cites religion in lawsuit against gun controls

Home-schooling family who fled to U.S. from Germany face deportation by Obama administration

"When they took their three oldest children out of school in 2006, police showed up at their house within 24 hours, only leaving after a group of supporters showed up and organized a quick protest. But their legal troubles were just beginning. Germany began fining the family, ultimately racking up a bill of more than 7,000 Euros ($9,000). After they fled to the United States in 2010, the Romeike family initially were granted political asylum and found a home in Tennessee. They had a sixth child. But then U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) appealed the asylum decision in 2012. The federal Board of Immigration Appeals sided with the government." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingHome-schooling family who fled to U.S. from Germany face deportation by Obama administration

Kansas couple: Indoor gardening prompted pot raid

"Two former CIA employees whose Kansas home was fruitlessly searched for marijuana during a two-state drug sweep claim they were illegally targeted, possibly because they had bought indoor growing supplies to raise vegetables. April 20 long has been used by marijuana enthusiasts to celebrate the illegal drug and more recently by law enforcement for raids and crackdowns. But the Hartes' attorney, Cheryl Pilate, said she suspects the couple's 1,825-square-foot split level was targeted because they had bought hydroponic equipment to grow a small number of tomatoes and squash plants in their basement." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingKansas couple: Indoor gardening prompted pot raid

Brennan Promotes CIA Agent Who Helped Run Torture Programs

"John Brennan, the man Obama appointed to head the CIA, promoted an undercover agent to be director of the CIA’s clandestine service, despite the fact that she helped run the CIA’s illegal torture and detention program after 9/11 and 'signed off on the 2005 decision to destroy videotapes of prisoners being subjected to treatment critics have called torture.' 'The woman, who remains undercover and cannot be named, was put in the top position on an acting basis when the previous chief retired last month,' reports The Washington Post." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingBrennan Promotes CIA Agent Who Helped Run Torture Programs

NSA Whistleblower Thomas Drake speaks at National Press Club – March 15, 2013

"Thomas Drake, a former Senior Executive at NSA who was charged under the espionage act after he blew the whistle on waste and fraud and illegal activity at the intelligence agency, spoke at a March 15, 2013 National Press Club luncheon. Drake's event was part of the club's celebration of Sunshine Week, a national initiative to underscore the importance of open government and freedom of information." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingNSA Whistleblower Thomas Drake speaks at National Press Club – March 15, 2013

Glenn Greenwald: Domestic drones and their unique dangers

"What possible reason could someone identify as to why these small, portable weaponized UAS products will not imminently be used by federal, state and local law enforcement agencies in the US? They're designed to protect their users in dangerous situations and to enable a target to be more easily killed. Police agencies and the increasingly powerful drone industry will tout their utility in capturing and killing dangerous criminals and their ability to keep officers safe, and media reports will do the same. One has to be incredibly naïve to think that these 'assassin bugs' and other lethal drone products will not be widely used on US soil." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingGlenn Greenwald: Domestic drones and their unique dangers

Texas Women Subjected to Roadside Cavity Search Speak Out After Troopers Indicted

"Angel and Ashley Dobbs say they’re relieved and pleased two state troopers now face criminal charges after this controversial traffic stop caught on dashcam video last July. It shows trooper Kelly Helleson conducting a body cavity search of both women on an off-ramp of the Bush Turnpike in Irving last July. A Dallas County Grand Jury charged Helleson with two counts of sexual assault and two counts of official oppression. If convicted, she would have to register as a sex offender. The other trooper, David Farrell, who initiated the traffic stop, is charged with theft. Angel Dobbs says her bottle of prescription pills was stolen during the traffic stop." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingTexas Women Subjected to Roadside Cavity Search Speak Out After Troopers Indicted