Police State

Google Says the FBI Is Secretly Spying on Some of Its Customers

"It is unlawful for any record-keeper to disclose it has received a so-called National Security Letter. But under a deal brokered with the President Barack Obama administration, Google on Tuesday published a 'range' of times it received National Security Letters demanding it divulge account information to the authorities without warrants. It was the first time a company has ever released data chronicling the volume of National Security Letter requests. National Security Letters allow the government to get detailed information on Americans’ finances and communications without oversight from a judge. The FBI has issued hundreds of thousands of NSLs." Continue reading →

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Who Could Possibly Be Safe when Police Are Around?

"According to the Arkansas Court of Appeals, police were entitled to arrest, taze, and beat a teenager for the supposed crime of walking with his mother on a street in front of their own home. A police officer accosted the young man when he saw him approaching a woman who was walking a dog. It was quickly established that the woman was his mother. The trial court in the case also acknowledged that the victim was 'a fine young man, an excellent student, and active in sports, clubs and church activities.' The trial court ordered the victim of the unwarranted police attack to serve one day in detention." Continue reading →

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Eric Holder: Drone strikes against Americans on U.S. soil are legal

"Attorney General Eric Holder can imagine a scenario in which it would be constitutional to carry out a drone strike against an American on American soil, he wrote in a letter to Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky. 'It is possible, I suppose, to imagine an extraordinary circumstance in which it would be necessary and appropriate under the Constitution and applicable laws of the United States for the President to authorize the military to use lethal force within the territory of the United States,' Holder replied to Paul’s question about whether Obama 'has the power to authorize lethal force, such as a drone strike, against a U.S. citizen on U.S. soil, and without trial.'" Continue reading →

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Some Troops Asked If They Would Kill U.S. Citizens If Ordered

"It's a hell of a question, and it goes to show how badly our constitutional rights have been eroded in the name of the War on Terror. On to the question itself: I have a good friend in-the-know with the military who told me that some troops are indeed being asked this question. If the troops reply that they would not kill U.S. citizens if ordered, says my friend, they are immediately honorably discharged on other grounds. This supports Internet rumors about the existence of such of question. I trust my friend, and now I, too, believe that the question is being posed within our military." Continue reading →

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The Criminology of Firearms

"In 2004, the National Academy of Sciences reviewed 253 journal articles, 99 books, 43 government publications and some empirical research of its own about guns. The Academy could not identify any gun restriction that had reduced violent crime, suicide or gun accidents. Why don’t gun bans work? Because they rely on voluntary compliance by gun-using criminals. Actual research results—as opposed to unsupported opinions—pose a question embarrassed gun prohibitionists invariably try to evade: why ban guns to ordinary owners, i.e., people who never commit gun crimes?" Continue reading →

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Americans – Like Nazi Germans – Don’t Notice that All of Our Rights Are Slipping Away

"More and more commonly, the government prosecutes cases based upon 'secret evidence' that they don’t show to the defendant … or sometimes even the judge hearing the case. The government uses 'secret evidence' to spy on Americans, prosecute leaking or terrorism charges (even against U.S. soldiers) and even assassinate people. And see this and this. Secret witnesses are being used in some cases. And sometimes lawyers are not even allowed to read their own briefs. Indeed, even the laws themselves are now starting to be kept secret. And it’s about to get a lot worse." Continue reading →

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More Redflex Executives Fall Over Red Light Camera Bribery Scandal

"According to the inquiry conducted by the law firm Sidley Austin, a consultant was paid $2 million between 2003 and 2012 for his work in landing the nation's most lucrative photo ticketing contract. Redflex sent a city contracting official on 17 different trips between 2003 and 2010, paying for everything including hotels, flights, car rentals, golfing, meals and a computer worth a total of $20,000. So far, the company has also spent $1.2 million in legal fees related to the Chicago scandal. When Chicago's red light camera contract expires, Redflex will lose another 13.6 percent of its income. The company also warns of the possibility of bribery revelations in other cities." Continue reading →

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“The TSA Blues”

"It seems Eric Clapton is as disgusted with the sexual assault and irradiation at the airports as the rest of us. He announced plans to boycott aviation in an interview with Rolling Stone and specifically blamed the TSA's 'security' sham: '...for me, the struggle is the travel. And the only way you can beat that is by throwing so much money at it that you make a loss. So ... [w]hen I'm 70, I'll stop. I won't stop playing or doing one-offs, but I'll stop touring, I think. ... And security. I never get it right. I forget to take off my belt, or I have change in my pocket. Next thing I know, 'Can you come over here please?' I just don't want to do that anymore.'" Continue reading →

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Wendy McElroy: Only Places Have Rights?

"The queue of 'rights that depend on geography' is growing. Texting while walking has become the new social sin. Portland, Oregon just made it illegal for a man to whistle on public streets unless he keeps walking and, so, distributes the noise pollution. Bloomberg's ban on donations of food to homeless shelters because the city could not guarantee the salt, fat and fiber content. Bureaucrats want to yank rights out from under individuals and make them a matter of place, not people. All you need to do is be in the wrong place, and you have no rights. Speak out, drink a large soda, hand out literature, walk your dog, or whistle too long in one place…crime is everywhere." Continue reading →

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Homeland Security Purchases 2,700 Light-Armored Tanks to Go With Their 1.6 Billion Bullet Stockpile

"According to one estimate, since last year the Department of Homeland Security has stockpiled more than 1.6 billion bullets, mainly .40 caliber and 9mm. DHS also purchased 2,700 Mine Resistant Armor Protected Vehicles (MRAP)." Continue reading →

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