Author: Joe from MassPrivateI

Sunlight Foundation – by Emily Shaw

The dependence of thousands of American cities and town on judicial fines and forfeiture to fund public services is unhealthy for democracy. Public awareness of the depth of the problem has been growing since the Department of Justice’s 2014 investigation into the Ferguson, Mo., police, following the shooting of Michael Brown.

According to a Sunlight examination of 2013 Census data, Louisiana, Arkansas, Georgia, Illinois and Mississippi topped the list of states where city governments relied heavily on fines and forfeits for funding. We concluded this by examining the ratio of local fines and forfeits to local tax in order to see where local governments rely particularly heavily on fines and forfeits to pay for basic services. Continue reading “Where local governments are paying the bills with police fines”

The Daily Beast – by Crofton Black & Abigail Fielding-Smith

Continue reading “Pentagon Paid for Fake ‘Al Qaeda’ Videos”

Breitbart – by Joel Pollak

California Gov. Jerry Brown signed a bill Friday that will allow the state’s emergency responders to take out civilian drones without fear of civil liability for the damage that results.

Senate Bill 807, introduced by State Sen. Ted Gaines (R-El Dorado), provides: “An emergency responder shall not be liable for any damage to an unmanned aircraft or unmanned aircraft system, if that damage was caused while the emergency responder was providing, and the unmanned aircraft or unmanned aircraft system was interfering with, the operation, support, or enabling of the emergency services…”. The bill defines “emergency services” as:   Continue reading “Jerry Brown Lets Emergency Responders Take out Drones”

Courthouse News – by Jonny Bonner

SALT LAKE CITY (CN) — In a lawsuit against two sheriffs, a diagnosed schizophrenic man claims officers shot him five times in an “ill-conceived” plan to commit him, then Tasered him three times as he lay critically wounded.

George Finlinson sued the Millard and Utah County Sheriff’s Offices, the state office of Adult Probation and Parole, both sheriffs and five officers, on Wednesday in Federal Court.   Continue reading “Bullets Instead of Help, Mentally Ill Man Says”

RT

The US claim that Russian troops will go home in body bags if Moscow doesn’t end its Aleppo offensive is absurd, former CIA contractor Steven Kelley told RT. He said Russia is the only answer to defeating ISIS. Other experts also weigh in on the subject.

When asked about State Department spokesperson John Kirby’s warning that Russia “will continue to send troops home in body bags” if it doesn’t put an end to the offensive, Kelley said Washington is pretending to be fighting Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS/ISIL) when it isn’t doing so at all.   Continue reading “‘US has always been main sponsor of Islamic State’ – former CIA contractor to RT”

Tech Dirt – by Tim Cushing

For dozens of years, criminal prosecutions have relied on junk science. Forensic science, properly applied, can actually provide matches that identify suspects. But it’s not properly applied. In the hands of the DOJ, forensic evidence examination is a closed loop. Outside scientists have been granted access to the DOJ’s DNA work, but everything else — from fingerprints to hair samples — has been locked away in the government’s database.   Continue reading “FBI, DOJ And Their Forensic Scientists State They’ll Continue Using Discredited Junk Science To Put People Behind Bars”

WREG 3 News

CHICAGO — Illinois regulators have suspended the license of a suburban Chicago doctor who allegedly gives patients modified vaccinations containing cat saliva and vodka.

The Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation on Wednesday ordered the emergency action in the interest of public safety.   Continue reading “Doctor suspended for allegedly making vaccines with cat saliva, vodka”

KGOU

A court decision earlier this week might keep the state from revoking thousands of driver’s licenses.

Monday’s ruling means the outcome of a breathalyzer test that leads to criminal charges can’t be used to take away someone’s driving privileges, The Journal Record’s Dale Denwalt reports:   Continue reading “State Supreme Court Upholds DUI Ruling That Could Let Some Oklahoma Drivers Keep Their Licenses”

Breitbart – by John Hayward

President Barack Obama’s drive to hand off control of Internet domains to a foreign multi-national operation will give some very unpleasant regimes equal say over the future of online speech and commerce.

In fact, they are likely to have much more influence than America, because they will collectively push hard for a more tightly controlled Internet, and they are known for aggressively using political and economic pressure to get what they want.   Continue reading “Meet the New Authoritarian Masters of the Internet”

Mimeis Law

September 26, 2016 (Fault Lines) — In the vein of “this can’t be true, can it?” the Saginaw County Sheriff apparently has a habit of shopping the neighborhood, and even surrounding counties, for items his department can use or at least convert to cash. Describing himself as a modern day Robin Hood, he takes from the rich drug dealers and gives to the poor himself and his department. He likes having nice things: a decked out Ford Mustang GT, a targeted Cadillac Escalade, and even a classic 1965 Chevy Nova SS. And don’t forget all the other things that can be sold for cold hard cash.   Continue reading “Got Nice Stuff? Beware Of The Saginaw County Sheriff”

My Statesman – by Tony Plohetski

The issue focuses on whether Charles Kleinert, who retired from the Austin Police Department after the July 2013 shooting, should continue receiving federal immunity in the death of Larry Jackson Jr. under a rarely cited constitutional provision — a potentially precedent-setting decision critics contend weakens the ability of local authorities to hold police accountable.   Continue reading “Ruling in former Austin officer’s case could have national impact”

Liberty Blitzkrieg – by Michael Krieger

Today’s highlighted article was published last month, but I didn’t read it at the time and I’m guessing you didn’t either.

What’s so uniquely tragic about the the intrusion of the police state into America’s schools, is it appears the parents themselves are the ones demanding it. This is in contrast to an overbearing surveillance state implemented by government in secret, as well as by private corporations via lengthy terms of service agreements nobody actually reads.   Continue reading “Introducing the Military-Industrial-Elementary School Complex”