America Is Being Systematically Transformed Into A Totalitarian Society

[Psalm 51:17]

Good point!

[Mark]

Obama’s Military Purge Removes 197 Officers (AND COUNTING) AS DHS TAKES OVER STREETS (VIDEO)

http://beforeitsnews.com/christian-news/2013/10/obamas-military-purge-removes-197-officers-and-counting-as-dhs-takes-over-streets-video-2485130.html

■Gunboats Seen Patrolling in Eden Isles, Louisiana

http://www.fromthetrenchesworldreport.com/gunboats-seen-patrolling-in-eden-isles-louisiana/62694#comments

[Mark]

Justice Department Argues Before Supremes: International Treaties Trump Constitution

Here’s one you’re not seeing covered by the establishment teleprompter readers.
 
The Justice Department is going before the Supreme Court and arguing that the Obama administration has the authority to trump the Constitution with international treaties.
 
Texas Senator Ted Cruz is stepping up to the plate to fight this globalist broadside.
 
“The Constitution created a limited federal government with only specific enumerated powers,” Cruz told the Washington Examiner. “The Supreme Court should not interpret the treaty power in a manner that undermines this bedrock protection of individual liberty.”
 
In a speech delivered to the Heritage Foundation, Cruz said the Justice Department’s arguments before the highest court represent “an absurd proposition” that “could be used as a backdoor way to undermine” Second Amendment and other constitutional rights the global elite are working overtime to eradicate.
 
The case at issue is Bond v. United States. It concerns a woman charged with violating an international ban on chemical weapons. She stands accused of harassing a onetime friend involved in an affair with her husband. The federal government is arguing that it may use the international law to prosecute the woman, thus violating basic structural guarantees that exceed Congress’ enumerated powers, according to Bond’s lawyers.
 
“If the administration is right, the treaty power could become a backdoor way for the federal government to do everything from abolishing the death penalty nationwide, to outlawing homeschooling, to dramatically curtailing the states’ rights to regulate abortion,” Carrie Severino of the Judicial Crisis Network told the Washington Examiner.

http://www.infowars.com/obamas-justice-department-argues-before-supremes-international-treaties-trump-constitution/

[Kilika]

It concerns a woman charged with violating an international ban on chemical weapons. She stands accused of harassing a onetime friend involved in an affair with her husband. The federal government is arguing that it may use the international law to prosecute the woman,

The government can charge a citizen with some kind of violation of the terms of at least some treaties. That's the point of a treaty between parties, usually countries, so they each signing party is required to uphold those treaty terms on their respective citizens (it'st he primary reason the US hasn't change the drug laws because of a UN international treaty they signed back in the 1960's). But the Constitution makes it clear that a treaty cannot violate the Constitution, which is why it takes the Senate to approve a treaty, and not just an Executive Branch official or the President signing it.

http://www.senate.gov/artandhistory/history/common/briefing/Treaties.htm

The Constitution provides that the president "shall have Power, by and with the Advice and Consent of the Senate, to make Treaties, provided two-thirds of the Senators present concur" (Article II, section 2). The Constitution's framers gave the Senate a share of the treaty power in order to give the president the benefit of the Senate's advice and counsel, check presidential power, and safeguard the sovereignty of the states by giving each state an equal vote in the treatymaking process. As Alexander Hamilton explained in Federalist no. 75, “the operation of treaties as laws, plead strongly for the participation of the whole or a portion of the legislative body in the office of making them.” The constitutional requirement that the Senate approve a treaty with a two-thirds vote means that successful treaties must gain support that overcomes partisan division. The two-thirds requirement adds to the burdens of the Senate leadership, and may also encourage opponents of a treaty to engage in a variety of dilatory tactics in hopes of obtaining sufficient votes to ensure its defeat.

The Senate does not ratify treaties—the Senate approves or rejects a resolution of ratification. If the resolution passes, then ratification takes place when the instruments of ratification are formally exchanged between the United States and the foreign power(s). (cont.)

[Mark]

Obama’s Military Purge Removes 197 Officers (AND COUNTING) AS DHS TAKES OVER STREETS (VIDEO)

http://beforeitsnews.com/christian-news/2013/10/obamas-military-purge-removes-197-officers-and-counting-as-dhs-takes-over-streets-video-2485130.html

■Gunboats Seen Patrolling in Eden Isles, Louisiana

http://www.fromthetrenchesworldreport.com/gunboats-seen-patrolling-in-eden-isles-louisiana/62694#comments

Obama Continues Purge Of US Military Officers Who Oppose His Agenda

Retired U.S. Army Maj. Gen. Paul Vallely, an outspoken critic of the Obama administration, explained right away it looks like a part of Obama’s strategy to reduce U.S. standing worldwide. “Obama is intentionally weakening and gutting our military, Pentagon and reducing us as a superpower, and anyone in the ranks who disagrees or speaks out is being purged,” he charged. Duty personnel seem to back up this concern, suggesting that the firings are meant to send a message to “young officers down through the ranks” not to criticize the president or White House politics. “They are purging everyone, and if you want to keep your job, just keep your mouth shut,” one source said.
http://www.wnd.com/2013/10/obama-aims-wrecking-operation-at-military/

[Psalm 51:17]

Looks like the One World Military is shaping up before our very eyes...

[Kilika]

he charged. Duty personnel seem to back up this concern, suggesting that the firings are meant to send a message to “young officers down through the ranks” not to criticize the president or White House politics. “They are purging everyone, and if you want to keep your job, just keep your mouth shut,” one source said.

And there are lots of young officers that have blind aspirations of a shiny bird or star on their uniform collar and will do as they are told for the sake of advancement. Remember, generals are approved for the rank by the president!

[Mark]

'Purge surge': Obama fires another commander
 
Naval commanding officer alarmed by 'relentless' attack on Armed Forces

After multiple top generals described to WND what they regard as a full-scale “purge” of the U.S. military by the Obama administration, the commander of U.S. Army Garrison Japan was summarily relieved of duty and his civilian deputy reassigned, pending a “misconduct” investigation.
 
Nine generals and flag officers have been relieved of duty under Obama just this year – widely viewed as an extraordinary number – and several sources put the total number of senior officers purged during the five years of the Obama administration as close to 200.

Read more at http://www.wnd.com/2013/11/purge-surge-obama-fires-another-commander/#Gueq62qtzQ9PLjyh.99

[Psalm 51:17]

And this is being done pretty quietly - if Bill Clinton tried to pull this off, he would really, really get exposed, big time!

[Psalm 51:17]

Supreme Court Rejects Plea to Look at NSA Program
WASHINGTON November 18, 2013 (AP)
http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/wireStory/supreme-court-rejects-plea-nsa-program-20923530

The Supreme Court is refusing to intervene in the controversy surrounding the National Security Agency, rejecting a call from a privacy group to stop NSA from collecting the telephone records of millions of Verizon customers in the United States.

While the justices on Monday declined to get involved in this issue, other lawsuits on the topic are making their way through the lower courts around the country.

But in the case at hand, the Electronic Privacy Information Center bypassed lower courts and said that only the Supreme Court can overrule a decision by the secretive Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court, whose order allowing NSA to get the records cannot be reviewed by other federal courts.

The case is In Re Electronic Privacy Information Center, 13-58.

[Mark]

TSA Rolls Out ‘Detention Pods’ at Airport Terminal Exits

The TSA is funding the rollout of exit pods at major airport terminals across the country that temporarily detain passengers before they are allowed to leave, another example critics say of how the federal agency’s policies treat travelers as prisoners.



Travelers are forced to be bottlenecked through the pods as they leave the airport terminal. A robotic voice gives instructions to wait inside the pod until a green light is shown and the door opens.
 
The pods have already been installed at Syracuse International Airport as part of a $60 million dollar renovation and are likely to make their way into other major airports soon. Once travelers exit the pods, they are unable to re-enter the terminal.

Some of the passengers exiting through the pods at Syracuse thought the machines were performing x-ray body scans, according to CNY Central.
 
“It was odd, I was like – where did they come up with this?” asked Patricia Goodrich.
 
“We need to be vigilant and maintain high security protocol at all times. These portals were designed and approved by TSA which is important,” said Syracuse Airport Commissioner Christina Callahan.
 
The justification for installing the pods is that they replace police or security guards who would normally stand at the exit, therefore saving money, something which the TSA isn’t normally concerned about given how it is now selling abandoned naked body scanners to prisons for 10 per cent of their value.
 
According to Karen De Coster, the pods are a way “to remind you that you are a captive” and are “meant to make you feel like a prisoner who cannot leave.”
 
The prison inmate feel of the devices compliments numerous other TSA policies which critics have charged serve little other purpose than making travelers feel like they are under constant suspicion.
 
Last week, a Government Accountability Office investigation revealed that the TSA’s $1 billion dollar “chat down” program has been a complete failure in that it is “no better than chance” at identifying genuine security threats.
 
While threatening to arrest passengers who make jokes about airport security, the federal agency has also instituted a ludicrous “freeze” policy whereby travelers are ordered to stand in place like statues while TSA agents resolve some unexplained security threat.
 
Another policy that has provoked questions is the TSA’s random testing of passengers’ drinks for explosives after they have already passed through security and purchased beverages inside the secure area of the airport.

http://www.infowars.com/tsa-rolls-out-detention-pods-at-airport-terminal-exits/

[Mark]

Florida city uproots couple’s 17-year-old garden, over new ordinance

Few things in life are as benign as a home vegetable garden.




But for the residents of Miami Shores, Fla., growing veggies can land you a fine — the type you eventually can’t afford.

That’s what happened to Hermine Ricketts and her husband, Tom Carroll. For the past 17 years they’ve grown a garden in the front yard of their modest South Florida home. The backyard, they say, doesn’t get enough sunlight.

But in May, the city put the couple’s garden, and any others like it, in their legal crosshairs.

A new zoning ordinance designed to “protect the distinctive character of the Miami Shores Village,” was enacted and specifically prohibited vegetables – not fruit, trees or even plastic flamingos – from appearing in front yards.

Shortly after, the couple received a visit from their local code enforcement officer. They were given two choices: Uproot the garden or pay a $50 per day fine to keep it.

After twice appearing before the Miami Shores Code Enforcement Board and being denied an exemption, the couple decided to dig up the garden rather than fork over $1,500 a month to the city.

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2013/11/19/florida-city-uproots-couples-17-year-old-garden-over-new-ordinance/

[Mark]

Pilot program: Speed sensors trigger red light on Philly road

The speed limit on Kelly Drive near Fountain Green Drive is 35 m.p.h., but the average speed of motorists is nearly 55.
 
In an attempt to slow everybody down, the city has installed sensors in the roadway that determine the speed of vehicles approaching Fountain Green, about a half-mile north of the Girard Avenue Bridge.
 
If a vehicle passes the sensor going above the speed limit, the light at Fountain Green turns red.
 
Previously, the light turned red only if a car was waiting to turn onto Kelly Drive or a pedestrian pushed the crosswalk button

On Friday, two electronic signs went up on Kelly Drive warning motorists that the light will turn red if they speed.
 
The $11,050 pilot project was activated at the beginning of October, and that's how the city found out that the average speed of the 25,000 vehicles passing over the sensors daily was 54.8 m.p.h.
 
"Speeding motorists on Kelly Drive have made that roadway unsafe," acting Streets Commissioner David J. Perri said Monday.
 
Daily commuters on Kelly Drive know well the frequent traffic jams caused by accidents and the occasional car veering into the Schuylkill.
 
Richard Montanez, chief traffic and lighting engineer for the Streets Department, said he learned about a similar system in Portugal from a friend who returned from a visit several years ago.
 
On Kelly Drive, three sensors spaced six feet apart have been embedded in each lane heading north and south near Fountain Green Drive, Montanez said.
 
Each sensor detects when a vehicle passes over and its speed, Montanez said. An average is determined from the three sensors to make the reading more accurate.
 
Montanez would not disclose their exact location, but said they are positioned to give drivers time to brake for the red light.
 
He said it was too early to tell if motorists were slowing down.
 
If they do, the pilot could be expanded to Lincoln Drive and possibly Roosevelt Boulevard, Perri said.
 
In another safety measure, the city will add a nonslip surface on Kelly Drive next year to help reduce accidents on rainy days, Perri said.

Read more at http://www.philly.com/philly/news/20131119_New_sensors_will_trigger_red_light_if_you_speed_on_Kelly_Drive.html#XYTC5JIASwYH5m62.99

[Mark]

Preparing America’s Children for Slavery

Most would agree that the extreme policies of the TSA are preparing the traveling public for slavery. It is not normal for a public official to sexually assault a citizen who is not suspected of any wrong doing. Yet, this is exactly what happens every time someone attempts to board an airplane when a pot bellied, blue uniformed pervert can grope the genitals of the flying public with impunity. But what about when these invasive types of policies extend to our schools and our children are being trained to accept their lowly position of servitude (i.e. slavery)?

Slave Training, K-12 Style
 
In an increasing amount of schools, our children are being conditioned to be slaves by mindlessly submitting to authority. No reasonable person believes that children should be allowed to bring guns or drugs to school. No reasonable person believes that children should be able to threaten or bully other children. However, the state, through the public school system, is bullying our children and threatening our parents and complete compliance is the goal, regardless of the issue.

Bow Down To Your Master
 
Whether it be a colleague, a boss, a teacher or a police officer, bowing down to authority should never be deemed to be normal, appropriate or required inside of the territorial boundaries of the United States. However, this is precisely what school children in San Bernadino, CA. are being forced to do when a teacher blows their whistle, the children are to immediately kneel.
 
When challenged by the media, the spokespersons from the school district stated that the policy was “to  maintain order and to keep the children safe”.
 
This is just another policy being justified under the guise of protecting the children. School officials refer to this practice as “positive behavioral intervention“, I call it slave training.
 
School Teaches All Whites Are Racists If They Disagree with Obama

In Dupo, Illinois, fourth grade school children are required to read an Obama biography that tells the students that white citizens are racists. The stated objective of the reading and the subsequent teaching lessons is that if a white person disagrees with President Obama’s policies, said white people are racists and should be singled out for corrective action. Students will be required to pass a test on the material.
 
I am sure that Oprah Winfrey, in light of her  recent “racist comments”, in which she said that all people who disagree with Obama are racists. Winfrey went on to say that all racists must die. As an aside, who appointed Winfrey to speak on anything?
 
The school officials are calling this fourth grade program “sensitivity training”, I call this program slave training similar to the Hitler Youth Movement.

School Turns In 17 Year-Old for Fishing, Could Go To Prison
 
Cody Chitwood’s parents bear the financial responsibility for paying an attorney to fight the ridiculous charges that their son now faces for bringing his fishing equipment to school and keeping the tackle box in the trunk. If convicted, Cody Chitwood, age 17, could face anywhere from 2 to 10 years in prison as well as a $10,000 fine.
 

“WE Will Tell You What You Must Feed Your Child”
 
Children can face disciplinary action for packing unapproved food items in a child’s lunch.
 
In Richmond, VA., school officials have notified parents that they must turn in a doctor’s note if they want the right to send a brown bag lunch to school with their child.

Subsequently, if a parent does not want their child to eat the GMO’s that are all too frequently in the served lunches at school, they must pay to get the support of their doctor.
 
This insanity is even going on north of the border where a mother in Manitoba, Kristin Bartkiw, has been fined by her child’s school for failing to pack a Ritz cracker in her child’s lunch.

The failure to do so put Bartkiw in violation of the national food policy which states that grain must be in every child’s lunch.

Bartkiw has been ordered to pay a $10 fine and is subject to more fines if she does not completely comply with the program which controls the diet of school children.

Zero Tolerance Equals Zero Common Sense
 
Daniel McClaine Jr., whose goal is to enlist in the military upon graduation, was suspended for displaying a picture of a gun on his school laptop. McClaine, a freshman at Poston Butte High School located in suburban Phoenix, said he saved the picture as his desktop background on his school-issued computer. An alert teacher noticed the picture of a gun, turned McClaine in and bravely saved the school from further harm. The picture shows an AK-47 on top of a flag. McClaine said the school initially suspended him for three days Friday. After the media became involved, his suspension was reduced to “time served.”
 
Conclusion
 
Literally, I could have chosen any of thousands of negative examples of zero tolerance policies to criticize. Except for the instance of bringing a real weapon to school, or possessing illegal drugs on school property, zero tolerance policies and food control policies are ridiculous and unwarranted. And when we see a school district, as we did in San Bernadino, CA., actually force their students to bow down to the sound of a teacher’s whistle, this is the height soviet style slave training.
 
We have a choice and we do not have to submit to this tyranny. Not all schools are guilty of these types of offenses, but enough are that there are significant reasons for concern. And when these policies surface in your school, they need to be vigorously opposed and culminate in the removal of the school officials who are enforcing these insane policies upon our kids. Do not accept the “I am just following orders” excuse. Hold these school officials accountable for their actions. It may be time to educate the educators on appropriate civil disobedience true to the spirit of Thomas Paine.

http://thecommonsenseshow.com/2013/11/23/preparing-americas-children-for-slavery/

[Psalm 51:17]

Preparing America’s Children for Slavery

Most would agree that the extreme policies of the TSA are preparing the traveling public for slavery. It is not normal for a public official to sexually assault a citizen who is not suspected of any wrong doing. Yet, this is exactly what happens every time someone attempts to board an airplane when a pot bellied, blue uniformed pervert can grope the genitals of the flying public with impunity. But what about when these invasive types of policies extend to our schools and our children are being trained to accept their lowly position of servitude (i.e. slavery)?

Slave Training, K-12 Style
 
In an increasing amount of schools, our children are being conditioned to be slaves by mindlessly submitting to authority. No reasonable person believes that children should be allowed to bring guns or drugs to school. No reasonable person believes that children should be able to threaten or bully other children. However, the state, through the public school system, is bullying our children and threatening our parents and complete compliance is the goal, regardless of the issue.

Bow Down To Your Master
 
Whether it be a colleague, a boss, a teacher or a police officer, bowing down to authority should never be deemed to be normal, appropriate or required inside of the territorial boundaries of the United States. However, this is precisely what school children in San Bernadino, CA. are being forced to do when a teacher blows their whistle, the children are to immediately kneel.
 
When challenged by the media, the spokespersons from the school district stated that the policy was “to  maintain order and to keep the children safe”.
 
This is just another policy being justified under the guise of protecting the children. School officials refer to this practice as “positive behavioral intervention“, I call it slave training.

And we're seeing this in our nation's seminaries as well - whether students are commanded to give complete authority to their seminary professors.

I remember years ago some seminary professor was the interim pastor at some church we went to in the evening - he came off as just at, a bully. Pretty much he acted like he had all the answers(even though he was in error preaching Christians should obey each of the 10 commandments, including not saying "gee" or "golly", both of which he said is blaspheming the Lord). And pretty much all seminary employees come off as bullies.

[Mark]

EPA preparing to unleash a deluge of new regulations

Happy holidays from the Obama administration. Federal agencies are currently working on rolling out hundreds of environmental regulations, including major regulations that would limit emissions from power plants and expand the agency’s authority to bodies of water on private property.
 
On Tuesday, the White Housereleased its regulatory agenda for the fall of 2013. It lists hundreds of pending energy and environmental regulations being crafting by executive branch agencies, including 134 regulations from the Environmental Protection Agency alone.
 
The EPA is currently crafting 134 major and minor regulations, according to the White House’s regulatory agenda. Seventy-six of the EPA’s pending regulations originate from the agency’s air and radiation office, including carbon-dioxide-emission limits on power plants.

Carbon-dioxide limits are a key part of President Barack Obama’s climate agenda. The EPA is set to set emissions limits that would effectively ban the construction of new coal-fired power plants unless they use carbon capture and sequestration technology. Next year, the agency will move to limit emissions from existing power plants — which could put more older coal plants out of commission.
 
“The proposed standards, if finalized, will establish achievable limits of carbon pollution per megawatt hour for all future units, moving the nation towards a cleaner and more efficient energy future,” the agency said in its agenda. “In 2014, EPA intends to propose standards of performance for greenhouse gas emissions from existing and modified power plant sources.”
 
Hundreds of coal plants that have been closed or slated for early retirement due to Environmental Protection Agency regulations, according to coal industry estimates.
 
“Already, EPA regulations have contributed to the closure of more than 300 coal units in 33 states,” said Laura Sheehan, spokeswoman for the American Coalition for Clean Coal Electricity.
 
However, the agency isn’t just working on limiting emissions from coal plants. The EPA is also working on a rule that would expand the definition of “waters of the U.S.” under the Clean Water Act to include water on private property.

Republicans have hammered the EPA’s draft water rule as the largest expansion of agency power in history.
 
“The EPA’s draft water rule is a massive power grab of private property across the U.S. This could be the largest expansion of EPA regulatory authority ever,” Texas Republican Rep. Lamar Smith. “If the draft rule is approved, it would allow the EPA to regulate virtually every body of water in the United States, including private and public lakes, ponds and streams.”
 
The EPA’s rule is heavily supported by environmentalists who argue that it’s necessary to protecting water quality. Smaller water sources, they argue, eventually affect larger water sources that people use for recreation or their livelihood.
 
“It’s taking the way the Clean Water Act works back, so that it works the way water works in the real world,” Bob Wendelgass, president and CEO of Clean Water Action, told Fox News.
 
The EPA says the rule is needed to clear up uncertainty left in the wake of U.S. Supreme Court decisions on the agency’s regulatory authority over bodies of water.
 
“The [Clean Water Act] does not distinguish among programs as to what constitutes ‘waters of the United States,’” the agency said. “As a result, these decisions affect the geographic scope of all [Clean Water Act] programs.”


Read more: http://dailycaller.com/2013/11/27/epa-preparing-to-unleash-a-deluge-of-new-regulations/#ixzz2lslsAY2B

[tennis shoe]

EPA.... Now there's an agency that's definitely overfunded. We should have just kept them in the "government shutdown" indefinitely. I see no justification for them to have a SWAT team in order to harass.....miners in Alaska for instance.

[Mark]

The thing shouldn't exist. And it definitely shouldnt be allowed to make LAW as it sees fit.

[Mark]

Felony Shrub-Trimming: San Diego Man Criminally Charged for Pruning Plants

The San Diego County District Attorney’s Office filed felony vandalism charges against 46-year-old Ocean Beach, California, resident Juvencio Adame for “defacement, damage and destruction” of public property in excess of $400. Felony charges can result in significant prison time.
 
His “crime”? Trimming shrubbery next to his home.
 
What would possess Adame to do such a thing? Adame told neighbors that the overgrown shrubbery, which is technically on public land, became a haven for homeless people who slept under it and littered the area. Thus, he engaged in self-help—clearly not a malicious act.
 
To be sure, citizens pay to maintain public property, so it’s appropriate to fine those who damage it. But charging someone with a felony under these circumstances?
 
The criminal law contains the harshest penalties that the state can impose upon citizens. Criminal sanctions should be reserved for those who do things that are morally blameworthy and that a reasonable person would recognize as a criminal act.
 
Adame’s conduct is not morally blameworthy, nor would a reasonable person in Adame’s position have realized that such a harmless act of beautification would subject him to criminal sanctions.
 
Sadly, it’s not unusual to see public-spirited citizens being threatened with criminal penalties. We wrote several months ago about Washington, D.C.’s “Phantom Planter,” who dared to make one of the city’s Metro stops more aesthetically pleasing. He, too, was threatened with fines and jail. Metro officials settled for destroying the flowers he had planted.
 
One of Adame’s neighbors, Glenn Goss, points out that Adame was, in effect, doing the city’s job: “Here’s somebody who’s going out of his way (to trim the trees). It’s not his job, it’s the city’s job. Then they do this ridiculous thing. It’s mind-boggling.”
 
Mind-boggling is right. Thankfully, officials eventually came to their senses, and the charges were dropped. But it’s important to emphasize that prosecuting people like Adame is not only a waste of taxpayers’ money—it’s an egregious misuse of the criminal law.
 
The felony charges never should have been brought in the first place. Let’s hope that other jurisdictions act with less haste and use more common sense.

http://blog.heritage.org/2013/12/03/felony-shrub-trimming-san-diego-man-criminally-charged-pruning-plants/?utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=social

[Kilika]

The San Diego County District Attorney’s Office filed felony vandalism charges

Yeah, that's the process, but somebody had to press charges against the citizen, THEN the DA examines the case to see of the charges are warranted. So that means the police had to be called first in order for there to be a criminal case started.

Somebody complained and pressed charges, but who? The DA didn't just walk by the shrubs and decided to file charges. Of course they don't mention who started the firestorm.

[Mark]

Young Man in a Neighborhood Called Dinkytown Was Fined $115 for Walking Down the Street and Doing Something Most of Us Do Every Day

Pizza and hangout time with his pals were primary on Myles Thomas’ mind as the group trudged down a street earlier this week in Dinkytown, a Minneapolis neighborhood near the University of Minnesota.
 

Miles Thomas was fined $115 for spitting. (Image source: KARE-TV)
 
Thomas, 21, said he was getting over an illness and did something that more than a few people in his situation do (and, yes, even when they’re not sick):
 
He spit.
 
Police caught Thomas red-handed (and probably red-faced), cited him for the misdemeanor — and gave him the really bad news. According to a city ordinance, spitting on sidewalks, buses, or public areas carries a $115 fine, KARE-TV in Minneapolis reported.
 
The other twin city, St. Paul, has a similar law on the books, KARE noted, adding that another ordinance warns that spitting on the floor or furnishing of a boat, canoe, building or walkway also costs offenders $115.
 
“I actually was shocked,” Thomas told KARE. “I was just like ‘wow.’”
 
“It’s a little wacky,” he added. “I mean, what can you do though? It is a law. You’re supposed to obey the laws of the land.”
 
Thomas noted that he’ll pay the fine and next time will remember to “bring a bag or something and spit in a bag.”
 
Here’s a report from KARE:

http://www.theblaze.com/stories/2013/12/05/a-pizza-craving-a-fateful-walk-and-an-eye-opening-misdemeanor-and-it-all-happened-in-a-place-called-dinkytown/

[Mark]

Pennsylvanians Coerced Into Giving Cheek Swab at “Voluntary” Checkpoint

Private firm backed by police to intimidate motorists into submission

A supposedly “voluntary” survey checkpoint run by a private firm in Reading, Pennsylvania on behalf of the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy caused outrage when residents said they were forced off the road into a car park and coerced into giving cheek swabs as a result of an intimidating police presence.
 
The Pacific Institute for Research and Evaluation was hired by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to run the checkpoint, during which motorists were quizzed about their driving habits.
 
Reading resident Ricardo Nieves said that he had to repeatedly refuse to take part in the survey over a 5 minute period before the was allowed to leave. Nieves noted that the presence of city police and a police car with flashing lights was designed to “intimidate motorists” into submission and “gave the checkpoint an air of authority it would not otherwise have had,” according to the Reading Eagle.
 
Nieves told the City Council Monday that the company’s hiring of police officers to help run the checkpoint was “a gross abuse of power on many levels” and that the firm running it refused to divulge why they were demanding to take swabs of people’s cheeks, with Nieves asserting, “Clearly it was for DNA.”
 
City Police Chief William M. Heim later remarked that the cheek swabs were to test for the presence of prescription drugs, dismissing Nieves’ assertion that the police presence was coercive by claiming, “People are not pressured by police presence to do something they don’t want to.”
 
“Our rights are being violated more and more every day, it’s another way of government intrusion into our lives,” said Councilman Dennis M. Sterner, complaining that local police were unable to pick up local drug dealers after years of investigations, yet were perfectly happy to pull over motorists on a whim.
 
“A car driver or passenger cannot be required or pressured into providing a DNA sample and, in fact, can’t be stopped at all except on suspicion of a crime or for a properly conducted sobriety checkpoint,” Mary Catherine Roper, senior staff attorney for the ACLU of Pennsylvania, told the newspaper.
 
However, this hasn’t stopped police across the country running the supposedly “voluntary” checkpoints at the behest of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, which in some cases involve the collection of not just saliva but blood too.
 
Motorists in Fort Worth who were subjected to the same program also complained that the checkpoint did not seem voluntary at all and that police forced them to pull over. It also emerged that even without consent, police were taking “passive alcohol sensor readings” from drivers.
 
“The NHTSA defended these non-stops by stating everything was “voluntary” and that law enforcement officers were only on hand for “safety” reasons. But the passive alcohol test wasn’t voluntary. And the officers never bothered to point out stopping was voluntary until after the test subjects had actually stopped,” reports TechDirt.
 
As we reported back in 2010, motorists who refuse to submit to a breath test at DUI checkpoints now face the prospect of police forcibly jabbing a needle in their arm and extracting blood.
 
Shocking video footage taken at the Gwinnett County jail in Georgia shows police strapping down citizens accused of drunk driving before using a needle forcibly draw blood as victims scream, “what country is this?”

http://www.infowars.com/pennsylvanians-coerced-into-giving-cheek-swab-at-voluntary-checkpoint/

[Kilika]

the firm running it refused to divulge why they were demanding to take swabs of people’s cheeks, with Nieves asserting, “Clearly it was for DNA.”

Uh, unless the NHTSA tells the private contractor not to divulge certain things, they have to say what they are doing because they are doing work for the US public at the request of a government agency. Basic reason tells you that you cannot take something from somebody and not tell them why you are taking it!

the presence of city police and a police car with flashing lights was designed to “intimidate motorists” into submission and “gave the checkpoint an air of authority it would not otherwise have had,” according to the Reading Eagle.

EXACTLY! They know what they were doing. And to make it all seem above board, it's true that with any traffic situations, traffic cops likely should be involved, technically, so it's easy to hire off duty cops for "security" details for private companies if it involves a public roadway. Some law enforcement agencies don't allow cops to "moonlight" in uniform using their vehicles. I personally don't think police should be allowed to moonlight in uniform as a law enforcement officer simply because they are working for somebody other than the state, so wear the private company's uniform, but take off the police outfit when not on the public's dime.

[Mark]

‘Search Warrants May Now Be Based on Predictions of the Commission of Future Crimes’

Texas police can now obtain search warrants based on a “prediction of future crime,” a judge noted in his dissent to an opinion last week.
 
Texas Court of Criminal Appeals Judge Lawrence Meyers made the claim after the judicial body ruled that evidence authorities had first found during a search they had executed without a warrant was admissible in the court of law, according to the Dallas Observer.

In 2010, police officers in Parker County reportedly took Michael Fred Wehrenberg and a few others into custody after a month-long investigation.
 
Authorities say a confidential informant said Wehrenberg and some associates were “fixing to” cook meth, so they searched his home while detaining the group outside in handcuffs, the Observer reported.
 
Investigators reportedly found the materials necessary for producing meth — boxes of pseudoephedrine and stripped lithium batteries, among other things — and then asked a judge to grant them a warrant to search the house.
 
But the officers never noted in the warrant that they had already entered the home and instead based their request for a warrant on a tip from their confidential informant.
 
When police then reentered the home, they reportedly seized all the items they had already found.
 
Wehrenberg’s lawyers argued that the evidence had been taken illegally and should not be permitted in court as evidence. The motion was denied and the evidence was allowed to be introduced.
 
The Second Court of Appeals in Fort Worth reportedly disagreed and overturned the ruling, setting the stage for the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals to make the final ruling.

According to the Dallas Observer, in a majority opinion Judge Elsa Alcala ruled that federal precedent allowed the evidence to be introduced if first confirmed by an independent source.
 
Meyers wrote a scathing dissenting opinion in response.
 
“Had the officers entered the home and found the occupants only baking cupcakes, the officers would not have bothered to then obtain the warrant at all,” he wrote. “It was only after unlawfully entering and finding suspicious activity that they felt the need to then secure the warrant in order to cover their tracks and collect the evidence without the taint of their entry.”
 
The judge added that authorities were only told that Wehrenberg was “fixing to” cook meth — an action that had yet to occur and something he views as only a prediction.
 
“Search warrants may now be based on predictions of the commission of future crimes,” Meyers wrote.

http://www.theblaze.com/stories/2013/12/18/search-warrants-may-now-be-based-on-predictions-of-the-commission-of-future-crimes/

[Kilika]

The question needs to be asked why is it that the police didn't try to obtain a warrant once the informant told them a crime was about to happen? I suspect that a judge wouldn't issue a warrant because an informant says a crime MIGHT be committed, but apparently, they didn't even try, and THAT is the problem. What they found in their search without a warrant I don't see how it can be considered legal evidence, even if a state level judge says there is "federal precedent".

It's true there is federal precedent. It's called the Constitution and the protections against unlawful search and seizure.

But that said, what is a state judge doing citing federal precedent in a state level case. The police officers were not acting in a federal capacity. The are state officials.

But the officers never noted in the warrant that they had already entered the home and instead based their request for a warrant on a tip from their confidential informant.

But the real legal kicker for me is that the police later applied for a warrant under the guise they had not entered the property yet. THAT is fraud and deception. It's lying to the court by obtaining the warrant under false pretense, which is a crime itself. All evidence should be tossed, and the police officers tried for lying to the court, and violating the homeowners constitutional rights.

[Psalm 51:17]

U.S. judge upholds NSA phone surveillance program
12/27/13
http://news.yahoo.com/u-judge-says-nsa-phone-data-program-lawful-163733246.html

By Jonathan Stempel

NEW YORK (Reuters) - A federal judge ruled that a National Security Agency program that collects records of millions of Americans' phone calls is lawful, calling it a "counter-punch" to terrorism that does not violate Americans' privacy rights.

Friday's decision by U.S. District Judge William Pauley in Manhattan dismissed a lawsuit by the American Civil Liberties Union challenging the program, whose existence was first disclosed by former NSA contractor Edward Snowden.

It also diverges from a December 16 ruling by U.S. District Judge Richard Leon in Washington, D.C., who said the "almost Orwellian" program was likely unconstitutional. He ordered the government to stop collecting call data on the two plaintiffs in that case.

The program also faces a legal challenge from the Electronic Frontier Foundation, a data privacy group. Any split among federal judges about the program's constitutionally could ultimately be resolved by the U.S. Supreme Court.

In a 54-page decision, Pauley said the program "vacuums up information about virtually every telephone call to, from, or within the United States."

But he said the program's constitutionality "is ultimately a question of reasonableness," and that there was no evidence that the government had used "bulk telephony metadata" for any reason other than to investigate and disrupt terrorist attacks.

"This blunt tool only works because it collects everything," Pauley wrote. "Technology allowed al Qaeda to operate decentralized and plot international terrorist attacks remotely. The bulk telephony metadata collection program represents the government's counter-punch."

Pauley denied the ACLU's motion for a preliminary injunction. He said the public interest tilts "firmly" in the direction of the government, whose interest in combating terrorism "is an urgent objective of the highest order."

President Barack Obama has defended the surveillance program but has indicated a willingness to consider constraints, including whether to give control of metadata to phone companies or other third parties. Intelligence officials have said this could prove costly and slow investigations.

The ACLU had no immediate comment on the decision. White House Spokesman Josh Earnest declined to comment. A U.S. Department of Justice spokesman said the department is pleased with the decision.

RUBBER STAMP, OR VITAL WEAPON?

Leaks by Snowden have detailed the breadth of U.S. electronic surveillance and sparked a debate over how much leeway to give the government in protecting Americans from terrorism.

Snowden is now in Russia under temporary asylum.

Larry Klayman, a conservative legal activist who brought the case before Judge Leon, called Pauley's ruling "an outrageous decision that ignores the legitimate fears of the American people and in effect rubber stamps a police state."

Pauley was appointed to the bench by President Bill Clinton. Leon was appointed by President George W. Bush.

Rep. Peter King, a New York Republican and chairman of the House Homeland Security Subcommittee on Counterintelligence & Terrorism, in a statement said Pauley's decision "preserves a vital weapon for the United States in our war against international terrorism."

The case is American Civil Liberties Union et al v. Clapper et al, U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York, No. 13-03994.

(Reporting by Jonathan Stempel in New York; Additional reporting by Mark Hosenball, Ros Krasny and Nate Raymond; Editing by Leslie Gevirtz and Dan Grebler)

[Kilika]

A federal judge ruled that a National Security Agency program that collects records of millions of Americans' phone calls is lawful

  Why of course they did!

They are telling you America, right in your face in the news, and in the courts to back it up. It's right there and they just can't see it.

[Christian40]

Conn gun owners rush to register weapons and ammo

HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) — Connecticut gun owners are rushing to register certain firearms and ammunition that will be considered illegal contraband in the new year.

Under a wide-ranging gun control law passed after the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting in Newtown, they have until Tuesday to submit the paperwork with the Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection.

State police say they've had people lining up early in the morning to turn in applications to keep high-capacity magazines that hold more than 10 rounds and guns considered assault weapons under the new law.

While the Connecticut Citizens Defense League believes the law is unconstitutional, it has been reminding gun owners of the deadline to make sure they don't become felons on Jan. 1.

http://www.wtnh.com/news/connecticut/conn-gun-owners-rush-to-register-weapons-ammo_82666522

[Mark]

Voluntary government checkpoints spark backlash

Checkpoints, which the government insists are voluntary, are creating a backlash because of the presence of uniformed police officers. Some police departments won't participate anymore.

A tactic used by the federal government to gather information for anti-drunken and drugged driving programs is coming under criticism in cities around the country, and some local police agencies say they will no longer take part.

The tactic involves a subcontractor for the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration that uses off-duty but uniformed police at voluntary roadside checkpoints where motorists are asked on their behavior behind the wheel. In some cases, workers at the checkpoints collect blood and saliva samples, in addition to breath samples. NHTSA has said previously that the surveys do not collect any DNA. Drivers are not charged at the checkpoints.

In an era of rampant distrust of the federal government and in the wake of the Obama administration's National Security Agency surveillance scandal in which the agency has collected telephone calling records from millions of unsuspecting Americans, the checkpoints have come under intense criticism in several cities this year.

"Five years ago it would have been a different story," says St. Charles County, Mo., Sheriff Tom Neer, who recently authorized deputies to participate in a checkpoint in his St. Louis suburb and saw a public backlash. "There're just such strong anti-government feelings among people. Under the circumstances, I would not allow them to do it again. It's just because of the perception."

The NHTSA has conducted the surveys for more than 40 years, in cities across the USA and usually at roughly 10-year intervals. In many cases, off-duty, uniformed police officers randomly wave motorists over; they are then asked by workers for subcontractor Pacific Institute for Research and Evaluation if they will participate in the voluntary survey. Drivers who decline are allowed to leave.

However, the mere presence of uniformed officers gives the checkpoints an aura of authority, says Mary Catherine Roper, a senior staff attorney with the American Civil Liberties Union of Pennsylvania. She is studying the issue there after motorists complained about a survey checkpoint last month in Reading.

"We have a whole bunch of rules about when police can pull you over," she says. "It looks like an exercise of official authority when a cop pulls you over. People assume it's mandatory, and of course you're going to stop. That's a constitutional problem right there.

"Normally, police cannot pull you over unless they have a good reason for thinking you've done something wrong," Roper says. "There's no exemption to the Constitution for conducting a survey. They're pulling people off the road."

She suggests "there are lots of other places you can talk to drivers. You could hand out notes at a toll booth asking them to participate. You could do them at highway rest stops. There are a lot of ways to do this that do not involve … the government forcing you off the road."

This year's round of surveys is only the second time that data have been obtained on drug use by drivers.

In an e-mailed statement, NHTSA defended the surveys: "Each year, close to 10,000 people die in drunk driving crashes: 27 people a day, or one person every 53 minutes, according to data (from NHTSA)," the statement says.

"To better understand the issue, the agency has regularly conducted its National Roadside Survey of Alcohol and Drugged Driving in communities across the country for over 40 years," according to the statement. "The survey provides useful data about alcohol and drug use by drivers, and participation is completely voluntary and anonymous. More than 60 communities across the country will participate this year, many of which participated in the previous survey in 2007. NHTSA always works closely with state and local safety officials and local law enforcement to conduct these surveys as we work to better inform our efforts to reduce drunk and drugged driving."

Drivers have reportedly been offered $10 for cheek swabs and $50 for blood.

The checkpoints spurred complaints in November from drivers in the Fort Worth area. Fort Worth Police Chief Jeffrey Halstead apologized for his officers' participation on the department's Facebook page. He added: "Any future Federal survey of this nature, which jeopardizes the public's trust, will not be approved for the use of Fort Worth police."

And in June, Alabama Gov. Robert Bentley, a Republican, said the stops were "bad timing" after drivers complained about checkpoints in St. Clair County and Bibb County, both near Birmingham. State officials investigated and found that motorists didn't report "undue pressure" to participate, but suggested to Bentley that state police refrain from helping with future studies.

Neer said six of his off-duty, uniformed officers were "duped" into moonlighting at the checkpoints. "Our department coordinator got information from the subcontractor, and came to me," Neer says. "I approve all overtime compliance with private entities. They wanted to know if we'd provide a couple of deputies just for security."

At the Dec. 6 and 7 checkpoints, uniformed deputies in marked cruisers flagged down motorists and showed them to a marked area alongside the road where a NHTSA subcontractor asked if they wanted to participate in the survey. Those who declined were allowed to leave, Neer says.

He says he had not expected the deputies to actively participate, but only to provide security.

Pacific Research could not be reached for comment.

http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2014/01/06/government-checkpoints-driving/4265633/

[Psalm 51:17]

1 minute video: http://news.msn.com/videos/?ap=True&videoid=6ba00f63-4066-3a10-6a80-ca0b1ea9f6a7&from=en-us_msnhp
Massive Security for Super Bowl 48

Police officials say security for the Super Bowl will include about 4,000 government and private officers assigned to MetLife Stadium in New Jersey on game day next month.