LA Times – by Faith E. Pinho

A decision to affix an American flag graphic to the side of freshly painted Laguna Beach police cars is dividing residents, who are alternately praising the image as patriotic or panning it as too aggressive.

After hearing the criticism and acknowledging that the image they approved didn’t quite match the final results, officials agreed to reconsider their February decision to paint the Laguna Beach Police Department’s fleet of 11 squad cars. The City Council will take up the issue again at its Tuesday meeting.  Continue reading “Putting American flags on police cars sparks backlash in Laguna Beach”

AZ Central – by Uriel J. Garcia

A federal civil trial against a Phoenix police officer was scheduled to begin Tuesday in which a jury will determine if the officer’s use of force against a 56-year-old woman, who suffered four fractures to her skull, was excessive and violated her civil rights.

The woman, Martha Winkler, now 61, claimed in a lawsuit against the city of Phoenix that she suffered a fractured skull and injuries to her face and arm because of Officer Jason Gillespie’s actions.  Continue reading “She went to buy lottery tickets and ended up with a fractured skull. Now, civil trial begins for Phoenix officer”

MassPrivateI

If ever there was a red flag story about Amazon’s Alexa then this is it.

If you watch the “Alexa for Medical Care Advice” video posted [below], you will hear Alexa asking Peggy, to “tell me about the symptoms or problems that are troubling you the most.”  Continue reading “Alexa Wants To Spy On Your Families Health”

AJC

ANSON COUNTY, N.C. —  North Carolina sheriff’s deputy is accused of planting drugs in someone’s vehicle as part of a revenge plot.

Anson County Sheriff Landric Reid said he’s grateful his detectives were able to uncover the alleged scheme before anyone’s life was ruined.  Continue reading “Deputy accused of planting drugs in revenge plot against ex-girlfriend’s new boyfriend”

New York Post

JACKSON, Miss. — Somebody slowed the police’s roll: Thieves keep stealing the wheels off of the patrol cars in Mississippi’s capital city.

Jackson police spokesman Sgt. Roderick Holmes tells local news outlets that three police cars were towed Saturday after police discovered their wheels had been stolen. The cars had been parked behind a police museum in downtown Jackson. Holmes says police aren’t sure when the wheels were taken.  Continue reading “Thieves keep stealing wheels from capital city’s police cars”

MassPrivateI

How often do police officers use the excuse that they smelled marijuana to justify searching people and cars?

If you get into a car accident in Texas would you expect the police to order a “forced blood draw” because they claimed to smell marijuana?  Continue reading “Chief Deputy Claims Airbag Deployment Smelled Like Marijuana”

Reason – by C.J. Ciaramella

When two Nashville police officers responded to a home burglary report in 2014, they found Alexander Baxter hiding in a basement. Baxter put his hands in the air. Nevertheless, the police unleashed a K-9 unit, which bit Baxter under his armpit.

Baxter sued the officers for excessive force, but in 2018 the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that, whether or not Baxter’s rights were violated, the officers were immune from his lawsuit. It wasn’t clearly established, the court said, that using a police dog to apprehend him while his hands were raised was unconstitutional.  Continue reading “Police Sicced a Dog on a Surrendering Man. Will the Supreme Court Review the Doctrine That Gave Them Immunity?”

LA Times – by George Skelton

To plagiarize T.S. Eliot, April is the cruelest month. But not for the reasons the poet wrote. Rather, for all the taxes.

And there are bills in the Legislature to make taxes sting even worse.

By April 10, Californians must pay their local property taxes. Five days later is the deadline for filing state and federal income tax returns. Also, the state and the feds want any initial pre-tax payment that’s required on current earnings.  Continue reading “Sacramento wants to tax soda, tires, guns, water, pain pills, lawyers, car batteries…”

Yahoo News

One school in Illinois has shocked students, and parents alike, after they made the decision to remove the doors from bathroom stalls after a student allegedly wrote a note in the bathroom threatening a school shooting.

Despite both students and their parents being outraged by the decision, the Beardstown School District is standing by their decision, ABC 20 reports.  Continue reading “School district removes doors from bathroom stalls”

WRDW 12 News

RICHMOND COUNTY, GA (WRDW/WAGT) — Potty training can be a stressful time for any parent, but what happened to a Beech Island woman with her 3-year-old son is next level stress.

So, let’s talk about little Cohen Johns. Cohen is about to be a big brother. His sister is due next month, and his mother, Brooke Johns, has been told to take it easy.  Continue reading “A 3-year-old had to go potty, so he went in a gas station parking lot. That’s when a deputy cited his mom for disorderly conduct.”

Who What Why – by Travis Dunn

Universal background checks for gun purchases are one of the more popular gun control measures, with 97 percent of the public in favor of them. Acting on this popularity, the Democratic-controlled House passed a bill that would establish them nationally.

That bill, HR 8, the Bipartisan Background Checks Act of 2019, passed 240–190, with many Republicans supporting it.  Continue reading “Would Universal Background Checks Create National Gun Registry?”

Papers Please – by Edward Hasbrouck

According to a press release  issued today by the Transportation Security Administration, the TSA plans to start posting signs as shown above in airports throughout the USA, claiming that “ID Requirements Are Changing” and that  “Beginning Beginning October 1, 2020, you will need a REAL ID compliant license or another acceptable form of ID, such
as a valid passport or U.S. military ID, to fly within the U.S.”  Continue reading “TSA plans to put new lying signs in airports”

Natural Health 365 – by Lori Alton

5G wireless technology is coming –ready or not – as corporate giant Amazon partners with Lennar (the nation’s largest home builder) to offer homes with WiFi, according to the Wi-Fi CERTIFIED Home Design specifications.

The cloud-based Home Design system – which allows voice control of lighting, security, temperature and other options – is already being featured in model Lennar homes in select locations throughout the country. But many natural health experts and advocates, citing a lack of study into health effects, would like to put the brakes on the whole thing. Continue reading “World’s first WiFi homes supported by Amazon”

USA Today – by Rob O’Dell, Nick Penzenstadler

Each year, state lawmakers across the U.S. introduce thousands of bills dreamed up and written by corporations, industry groups and think tanks.

Disguised as the work of lawmakers, these so-called “model” bills get copied in one state Capitol after another, quietly advancing the agenda of the people who write them.  Continue reading “You elected them to write new laws. They’re letting corporations do it instead.”

The Oregonian – by Maxine Bernstein

While the Portland Police Bureau struggles to recruit officers to fill dozens of vacancies, its effort to hire new civilian public safety specialists to respond to low-level calls also has hit a big snag.

Of more than 100 applicants, the bureau did background checks on 61 prospective candidates — and only three passed, Assistant Chief Chris Davis reported to the City Council this week.  Continue reading “Only 3 of 61 applicants pass background checks for new Portland public safety specialist jobs”

WITN 7 News

WILMINGTON, NC (WITN) – A New Hanover County man faces animal cruelty charges after he allegedly abandoned a pet fish after he was evicted from his home last month.

Michael Ray Hinson, 53, was charged Wednesday with three counts of misdemeanor cruelty to animals and one count of abandonment of an animal. He was released on a $4,000 unsecured bond.  Continue reading “Man faces animal cruelty charges after he allegedly abandoned a pet fish”

MassPrivateI

Is there no end to Big Brother’s desire to turn America into a mirror image of China?

An article in Go Erie, revealed how the Feds are classifying parts of cities as “Opportunity Zones” or as I call them “Opportunity Surveillance Zones” (OPS ).

The U.S. Treasury Department and the Internal Revenue Service are using Opportunity Zones to help law enforcement turn sections of cities into Federally-funded surveillance zones.  Continue reading “The Feds 9,000 Opportunity Surveillance Zones Will Allow Law Enforcement To Spy On 35 Million People”

Common Dreams – by Julia Conley

Lawyers for an American journalist who believes he was placed on the government’s infamous “kill list” warned Tuesday that the rights of all U.S. citizens are at stake if the country’s drone assassination program is allowed to continue.

The organization’s comments came as part of a response to the U.S. government’s attempt to dismiss a lawsuit regarding its use of the list. Reprieve is representing Bilal Abdul Kareem, a journalist and U.S. citizen who claims he was repeatedly targeted —and nearly killed on five separate occasions—by drone and missile attacks in 2016 when he was reporting on the ongoing conflict in Syria. Continue reading “US Government’s Refusal to Confirm or Deny It Put American Journalist on Drone Kill List Called ‘Chilling’”