Author: Joe from MassPrivateI

The Intercept – by Jon Schwarz

America’s wars take place far away — Kabul is 6,700 miles from New York or, traveling in the other direction, 7,400 miles from San Francisco. They also involve fewer and fewer Americans — the Army now has about 475,000 active duty soldiers, the lowest number since World War II.

This leaves the Pentagon free to promote itself to a country that largely has no idea what war actually entails. In addition to standard TV advertising and flyovers at the Super Bowl, the U.S. military spends tens of millions of dollars each year on live events that function half as recruitment pitches and half as visceral plugs for its spectacular high-tech weaponry.   Continue reading “How the U.S. Military Promotes Its Weapons Arsenal to the Public”

Tenth Amendment Center – by TJ Martinell

Since the mass shooting in Orlando, Florida there has been a lot of discussion about prohibiting people on the federal government’s terrorist watch list or the so-called no-fly list from obtaining firearms.

For gun grabbers, it’s a clever way to get both sides of the aisle on the same page.   Continue reading ““National Security” Is No Excuse to Restrict Our Right to Defend Ourselves”

The Stack – by Nicky Cappella

A 2014 version of the World-Check database containing more than 2.2 million records of people with suspected terrorist, organized crime, and corruption links has been leaked online. World-Check, which is run by Thomson-Reuters, is used by 4,500 institutions, 49 of the world’s 50 largest banks and by over 300 government and intelligence agencies.   Continue reading “2 million-person terror database leaked online”

Slow Facts

It took the Orlando Police three hours to stop a mass murderer in a gay nightclub.   Armed citizens like you responded in seconds.  This happens not once, but time after time, and month after month.  Again, you stopped mass murder in May of 2016.  Similar reports from earlier months are listed here.   Continue reading “You Stopped Mass Murder in May”

The Intercept – by Jon Schwarz

THREE OUT OF FOUR Americans think government corruption is widespread. Donald Trump became the Republican nominee for president in part by claiming he couldn’t be bought. Bernie Sanders almost grabbed the Democratic nomination away from one of the most famous and powerful people on earth by decrying the influence of big money.

Yet by overturning the bribery conviction of Bob McDonnell, the former governor of Virginia, the Supreme Court this week just extended its incredible run of decisions driven by the concern that America has too many restrictions on money in politics.   Continue reading “Supreme Court Eliminates Political Corruption! (By Defining It Out of Existence)”

Philly.com – by Emma Platoff

On June 16, police were called to an unlikely scene: an end-of-the-year class party at the William P. Tatem Elementary School in Collingswood.

A third grader had made a comment about the brownies being served to the class. After another student exclaimed that the remark was “racist,” the school called the Collingswood Police Department, according to the mother of the boy who made the comment.   Continue reading “Why police were called to a South Jersey third-grade class party”

Breitbart – by AWR Hawkins

FBI figures for National Instant Criminal Background Check System checks performed during Obama’s presidency average out to nearly 52,000 checks a day.

The total reported number of background checks under Obama’s presidency to date is 141,392,490. Divide that figure by the number of days contained in seven and a half years – 2,737.5 – and you see 51,650 background checks performed daily, on average.   Continue reading “FBI: Nearly 52,000 Background Checks A Day Under Obama”

Intellihub

The science and technology branch is the most funded sector of the FBI, garnering a yearly budget of between $600M and $800M that is directly spent to target Americans both domestically and abroad.

For FY2017, the FBI has put in requests to increase its technology division’s budget by another $100M, bringing it closer to $1B annually. And now the madmen at the bureau are trying to gain technological access, back door keys, to most encrypted platforms and devices, such as the Android, iPhone and others in an effort to ‘make America safe,” which is total B.S. as the FBI is known to have hatched more terror plots than any other agency.   Continue reading “FBI spending over $600M yearly to target Americans”

Pogo Was Right

Mark Rumold writes:

In a dangerously flawed decision unsealed today, a federal district court in Virginia ruled that a criminal defendant has no “reasonable expectation of privacy” in his personal computer, located inside his home. According to the court, the federal government does not need a warrant to hack into an individual’s computer.   Continue reading “Federal Court: The Fourth Amendment Does Not Protect Your Home Computer”

The Intercept – by Murtaza Hussain

LAST MONTH, A GROUP OF STUDENTS at University of California at Irvine gathered to protest a screening of the film “Beneath the Helmet,” a documentary about the lives of recruits in the Israeli Defense Forces. Upset about the screening of a film they viewed as propaganda for a foreign military, the students were also protesting the presence of several IDF representatives who here holding a panel discussion at the screening.   Continue reading “Students In California Might Face Criminal Investigation For Protesting Film On Israeli Army”

The Intercept – by Alice Speri

LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCIES, including the FBI, have been knocking on the doors of activists and community organizers in Cleveland, Ohio, asking about their plans for the Republican National Convention in July.

As the city gears up to welcome an estimated 50,000 visitors, and an unknown number of protesters, some of the preparations and restrictions put in place by officials have angered civil rights activists. But the latest string of unannounced home visits by local and federal police mark a significant escalation in officials’ efforts to stifle protest, they say.   Continue reading “FBI And Police Are Knocking On Activists’ Doors Ahead Of Republican National Convention”

Star Advertiser

Gov. David Ige is signing a bill that makes the state the first to enter gun owners into an FBI database that will automatically notify police if an island resident is arrested anywhere else in the country.

Ige said in a statement today the legislation is about community safety and responsible gun ownership. He says it will help law enforcement agencies protect Hawaii residents and visitors.   Continue reading “Hawaii becomes first state to put gun owners in FBI database”

Huffington Post – by Cristian Farias

WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court on Thursday clarified limits the Constitution places on police officers who seek to measure blood-alcohol level following a drunk-driving arrest.

In a fractured ruling that commanded a five-justice majority, the court said police officers need a warrant if they want to test the blood of a motorist who gets pulled over for driving under the influence, but not if they want to conduct a breath test under similar circumstances. The court issued the decision Thursday alongside major rulings on immigration and affirmation action.   Continue reading “Supreme Court Rules Cops Need A Warrant For Blood Test After Drunk-Driving Arrest”