"Just before President Obama jetted off to Hawaii and the U.S. Congress broke up for its short Christmas recess on Thursday, Dec. 28, the U.S. Senate debated renewal of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA). It’s not for nothing the Chinese calendar calls 2013 the Year of the Snake." Continue reading →
"The simulated chase this month was among the first test flights in a U.S. Department of Homeland Security program designed to evaluate the possible civilian use of 'Small Unmanned Aircraft Systems.' In coming months, dozens of companies will come to Oklahoma to put their state-of-the-art aerial vehicles through a series of scenarios designed to test their capabilities in situations that police and firefighters might encounter. Many of the drones being tested come with very advanced surveillance technology, including radar, video cameras, infrared thermal imagers and wireless network detectors that can collect sensitive information." Continue reading →
"Yesterday evening, the U.S. Senate voted on amendments to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act Amendments Act Reauthorization Act of 2012, H.R.5949, including one introduced by Sens. Rand Paul and Mike Lee. The amendment, known as the Fourth Amendment Protection Act extends Fourth Amendment guarantees to electronic communications and requires specific warrants granted through FISA courts in order to obtain this information. The amendment failed, 79-12." Continue reading →
"The law was set to expire at midnight on Friday, but the Senate’s vote means it will almost certainly be extended through December 2017. The extension continues warrantless wiretapping powers that apply even in the event that one person participating in the communication is an American citizen, despite the Fourth Amendment’s requirement for court oversight. It was originally passed in 2008 as a means of granting top Bush administration officials and the telecommunications companies legal immunity against suits over wiretaps that even the former president once claimed to be illegal." Continue reading →
"A South Korean woman visiting this country and, of course, having no idea that she was required to undergo physical assault as a condition of getting on a plane, was arrested at Orlando International Airport. 39-year-old Hyunjoo Kim was being groped by a TSA agent when she allegedly 'slapped' said agent." Continue reading →
"So-called Liberty Dollars, the creation of Bernard Von NotHaus and the National Organization for the Repeal of the Federal Reserve Act and the Internal Revenue Code, more commonly known by the acronym NORFED, will not be part of the April 24-27, 2013 74th Anniversary Convention of the Central States Numismatic Society in Schaumburg, Ill., according to a statement issued by convention General Chairman Kevin Foley. Although the underlying criminal conviction of Von NotHaus has been the subject of controversy and criticism, Foley said, the fact remains that the Secret Service has determined that the Liberty Dollars are counterfeit." Continue reading →
"Democratic State Rep. Cynthia Chase calls them 'the single biggest threat the state is facing today.' 'There is, legally, nothing we can do to prevent them from moving here to take over the state, which is their openly stated goal. What we can do is to make the environment here so unwelcoming that some will choose not to come, and some may actually leave. One way is to pass measures that will restrict the 'freedoms' that they think they will find here.... Cheshire County is a welcoming community but not to those whose stated goal is to move in enough ideologues to steal our state, and our way of life.'" Continue reading →
"Opposition to Ag-Gag legislation is steadfast across demographic, geographic and partisan lines. A majority of Republicans, Democrats and Independents agree that banning undercover investigations is wrong. Likewise, a majority of respondents in all regions (Northeast, Midwest, South and West) oppose the criminalization of undercover investigations at farms. Over the years I have witnessed that fact that the more people are exposed to the realities of the cruel and deplorable slop served up by the industrial CAFO system, the more they will demand quality food where animals are raised humanely and within their natural environment." Continue reading →
"Federal workers have had enough. Now if only they can convince elected officials not to hit them again. As the White House and Congress look for ways to avoid a Jan. 1 'fiscal cliff' of budget cuts and tax increases, federal employee groups are increasingly mobilized against more hits on their pocketbooks. The Federal Workers Alliance (FWA), a coalition of 20 unions representing more than 300,000 employees, scheduled a 'federal employee day of action' on Tuesday to pressure officials not to take any more away from the workforce in the name of deficit reduction." Continue reading →
"Problem in a Nutshell: Average salaries are up 44%. US spending is up 112%." Continue reading →