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Latest Articles: U.S. Constitution
ACLU Slams Chicago’s Pervasive Surveillance System
Post Date: 2011-02-08 19:06:11 by Brian S
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CHICAGO — A vast network of high-tech surveillance cameras that allows Chicago police to zoom in on a crime in progress and track suspects across the city is raising privacy concerns. Chicago's path to becoming the most-watched US city began in 2003 when police began installing cameras with flashing blue lights at high-crime intersections. The city has now linked more than 10,000 public and privately owned surveillance cameras in a system dubbed Operation Virtual Shield, according to a report published Tuesday by the American Civil Liberties Union. At least 1,250 of them are powerful enough to zoom in and read the text of a book. The sophisticated system is also capable of ...
Kucinich Challenges Tea Party To Stand Up For Civil Liberties
Post Date: 2011-02-08 11:24:49 by Brian S
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WASHINGTON – The House is set to take up a measure this week renewing key provisions of the PATRIOT Act that expire Feb. 28. Liberal Rep. Dennis Kucinich (D-OH) issued a challenge to tea party supporters and lawmakers in the new Congress: time to show you're serious about liberty. "The 112th Congress began with a historic reading of the U.S. Constitution," Kucinich said in a statement. "Will anyone subscribe to the First and Fourth Amendments tomorrow when the PATRIOT Act is up for a vote? I am hopeful that members of the Tea Party who came to Congress to defend the Constitution will join me in challenging the reauthorization." Republicans won back control of ...
Patriot Act Extension Runs Into Conservative (Tea Party) Opposition
Post Date: 2011-02-08 00:13:18 by Brian S
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'Tea party' adherents in the House, like civil libertarians, chafe at parts of the anti-terrorism law that reach into people's privacy. By Lisa Mascaro, Washington Bureau Reporting from Washington — A House GOP push to permanently extend expiring provisions of the Patriot Act is running into opposition from conservative and "tea party"-inspired lawmakers wary of the law's reach into private affairs. Enacted after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, the law makes it easier for federal authorities to conduct surveillance on terrorism suspects. Civil libertarians have long fought the measure, often drawing support from Democratic allies in Congress. But as ...
THE STORY OF THE BUCK ACT
Post Date: 2011-02-07 20:08:00 by A K A Stone
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In order for you to understand the full import of what is happening, I must explain certain laws to you. When passing new statutes, the Federal government always does everything according to the principles of law. In order for the Federal Government to tax a Citizen of one of the several states, they had to create some sort of contractual nexus. This contractual nexus is the "Social Security Number". In 1935, the federal government instituted Social Security. The Social Security Board then created 10 Social Security "Districts". The combination of these "Districts" resulted in a "Federal area" which covered all the several states like a clear ...
Renewing the Patriot Act While America Sleeps
Post Date: 2011-02-07 16:10:28 by Hondo68
1 Comments
“Of course, there is no doubt that if we lived in a police state, it would be easier to catch terrorists. If we lived in a country that allowed the police to search your home at any time for any reason; if we lived in a country that allowed the government to open your mail, eavesdrop on your phone conversations, or intercept your email communications; if we lived in a country that allowed the government to hold people in jail indefinitely based on what they write or think, or based on mere suspicion that they are up to no good, then the government would no doubt discover and arrest more terrorists. But that probably would not be a country in which we would want to live. And that would ...
Treason in Government! Admiralty on Land!! Where's the Water?
Post Date: 2011-02-07 10:55:03 by A K A Stone
2 Comments
Below is a letter that sums up what is wrong with the our union of Sovereign states (but like always, do some research to find out if this is true, then you have the knowledge and the understanding). (((( Please review the data concerning the subversion of our nation at web sites "THE BRITISH LEGAL SYSTEM OF MIXED COMMON AND ROMAN LAW HAS BEEN USED TO ENSLAVE US(A)" - http://www.detaxcanada.org/cmlaw1.htm and "Admiralty Courts in Colorado?" - http://www.frii.com/~gosplow/admir.html Inform all of the members of the veterans organizations in your town and concerned citizens everywhere to the exact extent that we have been misinformed.)))) This Treason and Tyranny by the ...
Republicans Move to Make PATRIOT Act Permanent (Democrat support likely)
Post Date: 2011-02-04 11:52:09 by Hondo68
7 Comments
Freshly emboldened by their mid-term congressional wins, establishment Republicans are set to extend the unconstitutional police state Patriot Act. It is set to expire in three weeks and Republicans are eager to make sections of the legislation permanent. Rep. Ron Paul is one of a small number of members of Congress who do not support the unconstitutional PATRIOT Act. On Thursday, the Senate Judiciary Committee postponed a vote to continue and extend the law. "Having this debate year after year offers little certainty to agents utilizing these provisions to keep the nation safe," said ranking member Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa. "Short-term reauthorizations lead to operational ...
Senators defend Internet shut-down bill, critics remain alarmed
Post Date: 2011-02-04 00:17:27 by Brian S
4 Comments
Sponsors of legislation that would give the president the authority to shut down the Internet during a national emergency are coming out to defend their bill in the face of criticism that the bill is a threat to free speech. “We will ensure that any legislation that moves in this Congress contains explicit language prohibiting the President from doing what President Mubarak did,” Independent Senator Joe Lieberman of Connecticut, Democratic Senator Tom Carper of Delaware, and Republican Senator Susan Collins of Maine said in a statement released Tuesday. However, the “protections” listed in the statement merely clarified that the president would be forced to notify ...
Arizona lawmaker, AG revolt against federal greenhouse gas regulation (right to breathe CO2)
Post Date: 2011-02-02 00:07:15 by Hondo68
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Saying she's promoting "freedom to breathe,'' a Northern Arizona legislator is working to assert the state's control -- or lack of it -- over greenhouse gases. Sen. Sylvia Allen, R-Snowflake, said there is absolutely no evidence that carbon dioxide, whether from power plants, vehicle emissions or elsewhere, harms anyone. And she dismisses claims of global climate change because "that data was tampered with and flawed'' to produce a desired result. Allen's push comes as Attorney General Tom Horne announced Tuesday his office would no longer back efforts by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to get clear authority to regulate greenhouse gases. ...
Back @ ya', LOL: Judge rules against ObamaCare, cites Supreme Leader’s very own words
Post Date: 2011-02-01 07:03:57 by Happy Quanzaa
5 Comments
In ruling against President Obama‘s health care law, federal Judge Roger Vinson used Mr. Obama‘s own position from the 2008 campaign against him, when the then-Illinois senator argued there were other ways to achieve reform short of requiring every American to purchase insurance. “I note that in 2008, then-Senator Obama supported a health care reform proposal that did not include an individual mandate because he was at that time strongly opposed to the idea, stating that, ‘If a mandate was the solution, we can try that to solve homelessness by mandating everybody to buy a house,’” Judge Vinson wrote in a footnote toward the end of his 78-page ruling Monday. ...
TSA shuts door on private airport screening program
Post Date: 2011-01-30 01:42:57 by Wood_Chopper
2 Comments
Washington (CNN) -- A program that allows airports to replace government screeners with private screeners is being brought to a standstill, just a month after the Transportation Security Administration said it was "neutral" on the program. TSA chief John Pistole said Friday he has decided not to expand the program beyond the current 16 airports, saying he does not see any advantage to it. Though little known, the Screening Partnership Program allowed airports to replace government screeners with private contractors who wear TSA-like uniforms, meet TSA standards and work under TSA oversight. Among the airports that have "opted out" of government screening are San ...
Dem’s PATRIOT Act Extension Would Add Judicial Oversight
Post Date: 2011-01-27 12:24:59 by Brian S
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Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-VT) introduced legislation to the Senate Wednesday that would extend expiring provisions of the controversial PATRIOT Act. "Congress now faces a deadline to take action on the expiring provisions of the USA PATRIOT Act," Sen. Leahy said in a statement. "The USA PATRIOT Act Sunset Extension Act of 2011 will preserve law enforcement and intelligence techniques that are set to expire on February 28, 2011, and extend them to December 2013." The legislation, titled "The USA PATRIOT Act Sunset Extension Act of 2011," would extend the roving wiretap provisions, the "lone wolf" measure and the "library ...
Medicare official doubts health care law savings
Post Date: 2011-01-26 17:27:15 by jwpegler
3 Comments
Two of the central promises of President Barack Obama's health care overhaul law are unlikely to be fulfilled, Medicare's independent economic expert told Congress on Wednesday. The landmark legislation probably won't hold costs down, and it won't let everybody keep their current health insurance if they like it, Chief Actuary Richard Foster told the House Budget Committee. His office is responsible for independent long-range cost estimates. Foster's assessment came a day after Obama in his State of the Union message told lawmakers that he's open to improvements in the law, but unwilling to rehash the health care debate of the past two years. Republicans want to ...
Abercrombie Admits Failure To Discover Obama Birth Certificate ["Birfers" VINDICATED! LOL!]
Post Date: 2011-01-26 12:58:59 by Capitalist Eric
2 Comments
Veteran reporter Mike Evans has described in a radio interview how Hawaii Governor and close friend Neil Abercrombie was shocked at his failure to discover Obama’s birth certificate after using his power to search hospital records, an outcome that could seriously impact President Obama’s re-election campaign. Evans’ revelations contradict official claims that Abercrombie abandoned his search for birth records relating to Obama because of privacy laws that bar him from disclosing an individual’s birth documentation without the person’s consent. The birth certificate issue has rocketed back into the public limelight in recent weeks as a result of World Net Daily and ...
Chicago Artist's Protest Backfires As He Faces 15 Years In Jail... Because He Recorded His Own Arrest
Post Date: 2011-01-26 11:58:15 by Brian S
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An artist who used a video camera to record being arrested by police is facing up to 15 years in prison. Chris Drew has been charged with Class 1 felony under the Eavesdropping Act in Chicago, Illinois. The bemused activist said he did not know anything about the law when he was protesting about restrictions on where artists can sell their work. He has resorted to civil disobedience in his fight against rules he regards as draconian – and got a friend to record his arrest on an Olympus camera. Mr Drew expected police to take him into custody before releasing him over the misdemeanour – but now he’s facing up to 15 years in jail. He will go on trial on April 4 charged ...
GOP Pushing For ISPs To Record User Data
Post Date: 2011-01-25 13:18:47 by Brian S
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The House Republicans' first major technology initiative is about to be unveiled: a push to force Internet companies to keep track of what their users are doing. A House panel chaired by Rep. F. James Sensenbrenner of Wisconsin is scheduled to hold a hearing tomorrow morning to discuss forcing Internet providers, and perhaps Web companies as well, to store records of their users' activities for later review by police. One focus will be on reviving a dormant proposal for data retention that would require companies to store Internet Protocol (IP) addresses for two years, CNET has learned. Tomorrow's data retention hearing is juxtaposed against the recent trend to protect ...
U.S. Justice Clarence Thomas Didn't Disclose Wife's Pay For Years
Post Date: 2011-01-23 17:51:29 by Brian S
2 Comments
WASHINGTON - Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas failed for at least five years to report on his financial disclosures his wife's income from a conservative policy group, according to the watchdog group Common Cause. Between 2003 and 2007, Virginia Thomas, a longtime conservative activist, was paid $686,589 by the Heritage Foundation, according to a Common Cause review of Internal Revenue Service records. Thomas failed to note the income for those years, choosing instead to check a box titled "none" where "spousal non-investment income" should have been disclosed. A Supreme Court spokesperson could not be reached for comment. Mrs. Thomas' employment by the ...
Domestic Use Of Aerial Drones By Law Enforcement Likely To Prompt Privacy Debate
Post Date: 2011-01-23 16:16:31 by Brian S
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AUSTIN - The suspect's house, just west of this city, sat on a hilltop at the end of a steep, exposed driveway. Agents with the Texas Department of Public Safety believed the man inside had a large stash of drugs and a cache of weapons, including high-caliber rifles. This Story * Domestic use of aerial drones by law enforcement likely to prompt privacy debate * Drones on the home front * With Air Force's Gorgon Drone 'we can see everything' As dawn broke, a SWAT team waiting to execute a search warrant wanted a last-minute aerial sweep of the property, in part to check for unseen dangers. But there was a problem: The department's aircraft section feared that if it put ...
Supreme Court Rejects Appeal Over DC Gay Marriage Law
Post Date: 2011-01-18 12:01:36 by Brian S
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WASHINGTON (AP) -- The Supreme Court has rejected an appeal from opponents of same-sex marriage who want to overturn the District of Columbia's gay marriage law. The court did not comment Tuesday in turning away a challenge from a Maryland pastor and others who are trying to get a measure on the ballot to allow Washingtonians to vote on a measure that defines marriage as between a man and a woman. Bishop Harry Jackson led a lawsuit against the district's Board of Elections and Ethics after it refused to put that initiative on the ballot. The board ruled that the ballot question would in effect authorize discrimination. Last year, Washington began issuing marriage licenses for ...
Wis. settles 'open carry' church gun suit
Post Date: 2011-01-17 00:15:57 by Ibluafartsky
3 Comments
Wis. settles 'open carry' church gun suit Published: Jan. 4, 2011 at 4:12 PM MILWAUKEE, Jan. 4 (UPI) -- A woman arrested after wearing her gun to church will get $7,500 to settle her lawsuit against the city of Brookfield, Wis., and the officers who arrested her. Krysta Sutterfield sued the city and the officers after she was arrested in July for attending services at the Unitarian Universalist Church while wearing her holstered handgun, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported Tuesday. After the services someone called police and they responded, stopped Sutterfield as she was driving away and arrested her, the newspaper said. Prosecutors later decided not to file charges. ...
State agency agrees free speech includes 'the finger'
Post Date: 2011-01-15 18:58:35 by Mad Dog
17 Comments
Pennsylvania residents and visitors now are free to express themselves with "profane or offensive words or gestures" to others and law-enforcement officers without getting a ticket, according to a legal settlement. The result was announced by the Pennsylvania office of the American Civil Liberties Union, which sued over a ticket issued to an upset woman who yelled "a--hole" at a motorcyclist who swerved at her. "This will affect millions of Pennsylvanians for whom the state police provide the only law enforcement," said ACLU attorney Mary Roper. "Besides being a waste of police resources, these types of citations are often used by police to ...
Congress Quietly Prepares To Renew Patriot Act
Post Date: 2011-01-14 12:04:33 by Brian S
1 Comments
Rep. Mike Rogers (R-MI) has introduced a little-noticed bill that intends to once again renew controversial provisions of the Bush administration's USA Patriot Act that are due to expire this year. When the act was first signed into law, Congress put in some "sunset" provisions to quiet the concerns of civil libertarians, but they were ignored by successive extensions. Unfortunately, those concerns proved to be well founded, and a 2008 Justice Department report confirmed that the FBI regularly abused their ability to obtain personal records of Americans without a warrant. The only real sign of strong opposition to the act was in 2005, when a Democratic threat to filibuster its ...
Tennessee county sued over Ten Commandments plaque
Post Date: 2011-01-13 21:18:54 by Brian S
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NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) -- A northeast Tennessee man is suing his county for illegally promoting Christianity, claiming officials rejected his request to post a display on church-state separation in the same courthouse where a Ten Commandments plaque has been displayed for years. The suit claims Johnson County commissioners in June rejected Ralph Stewart's bid to hang two posters at the Mountain City courthouse's "public forum" area, one titled "The Ten Commandments Are Not the Foundation of American Law." A Ten Commandments plaque already hangs there as part of a display on American law history. The suit was filed Thursday for Stewart by Americans United for ...
Supreme Court Refuses To Hear Appeal Challenging Bulletproof Vest Ban For Criminals
Post Date: 2011-01-10 11:51:43 by Brian S
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WASHINGTON (AP) -- The Supreme Court on Monday refused to hear a challenge against a federal law making it illegal for criminals to own bulletproof vests. The appeal had questioned Congress' lawmaking ability under the Commerce Clause. The high court refused to hear arguments from Cedrick B. Alderman, who was convicted under a federal law making it illegal for convicted criminals to own body armor that has been sold across state lines. Congress passed that law in 2002, citing its authority under the Commerce Clause to regulate interstate commerce. Alderman was convicted of armed robbery in 1999. Police caught him with a bulletproof vest in 2005, and he was sentenced to prison for 18 ...
Judges Rule War Memorial Cross At Calif. Park Unconstitutional
Post Date: 2011-01-04 18:34:51 by Brian S
1 Comments
(01-04) 14:51 PST SAN DIEGO (AP) -- A war memorial cross in a San Diego public park is unconstitutional because it conveys a message of government endorsement of religion, a federal appeals court ruled Tuesday in a two decade old case. A three-judge panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals issued the unanimous decision in the dispute over the 29-foot cross, which was dedicated in 1954 in honor of Korean War veterans. The court said modifications could be made to make it constitutional, but it didn't specify what those changes would be. "In no way is this decision meant to undermine the importance of honoring our veterans," the three judges said in their ruling. ...
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