"After New Jersey state troopers arrested Rebecca Musarra for remaining silent, they informed her, 'You have the right to remain silent.' That should have been a clue that something was amiss with their legal justification for hauling her off to jail." Continue reading →
"California has voted to eliminate a Cold War-era law that allows state workers to be fired if they are found to be communists." Continue reading →
"The San Diego District Attorney (DA) seized all of the family’s money from their bank accounts on February 2, 2016, following a raid on James Slatic’s legal medical marijuana business. Although no one has been charged with any crime, the DA used civil forfeiture laws to seize more than $55,000 from James’ personal bank account, more than $34,000 from his wife, Annette, and more than $5,600 each from their teenage daughters Lily and Penny, who had saved the money for college. Judge Ipema’s order requires the DA to return all $100,693.85 to the Slatics." Continue reading →
"The commission released its findings on Monday and noted that the judge's defense is that he was trying to be funny." Continue reading →
"All of Europe is dangerous enough to elicit a warning from the State Department? But no warnings against visiting places inside the U.S. like Chicago." Continue reading →
"Because the NSA collects data on numbers that are 'two hops' away from a targeted phone, records would be collected from any number that called or was called by the target number, and then every number each of those numbers interacted with. As a result, collection expands exponentially as additional targets are added." Continue reading →
"FBI Director James Comey has put to rest any hope of achieving privacy in the United States. Speaking at a cybersecurity conference at Boston College on Wednesday, Comey said that 'there is no such thing as absolute privacy in America.' He added that everything Americans engage in, including conversations with members of the clergy and their attorneys, live within 'judicial reach.' 'In appropriate circumstances, a judge can compel any one of us to testify in court about those very private communications,' Comey said, according to CNN, which obtained a video of his remarks." Continue reading →
"Even if the IRS survives a nuclear war, I have a feeling that their employees who are sent out to collect taxes wouldn’t live for very long." Continue reading →
"The Treasury disclosed that it is studying the possibility of ultra-long bonds, with maturities greater than 30 years, currently the bond with the longest maturity. It also said it is preparing for the time when the Fed begins to reduce its giant $4.5 trillion balance sheet — by buying fewer Treasurys and mortgage securities, and perhaps ultimately even unloading the ones it holds." Continue reading →
"Prosecutors in Pueblo, Colorado are dropping felony drug and weapon-possession charges after an officer involved in the case said he faked body cam footage so he could walk 'the courts through' the vehicle search that led to the arrest. The actual footage of the search that he produced in court was a reenactment of the search, the officer told prosecutors." Continue reading →