Favorite Quotes

"Once you walk into a courtroom, you've already lost. The best way to win is to avoid it at all costs, because the justice system is anything but" Sydney Carton, Attorney. "There is no one in the criminal justice system who believes that system works well. Or if they are, they are for courts that are an embarrassment to the ideals of justice. The law of real people doesn't work" Lawrence Lessig, Harvard Law Professor.



Friday, May 29, 2015

DUI checkpoint cops claim citizens don't have a right to question police


“You don’t have the right to question me about what we’re doing out here…Freedom of speech does not include questioning me, it doesn’t work like that.”

Thursday, May 28, 2015

Former police chief says police should stop hiring bullies


Professor John DeCarlo spent 34 years as a police officer and chief in Connecticut.

Robert Siegel host:

Siegel: And do you feel those people can be identified before they become police officers or early on in their police careers? How do you do that?

Decarlo said police training now is "very militaristic." He adds, "We are looking, very often, for big people. Women are underrepresented wildly, and we know that women are much better at talking their way out of bad situations than big guys. Right now we give cops a test called the MMPI-2, the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory. So we pretty much determine that they're not psychopaths. I think that's a low bar.

DeCarlo: We have not only talked about the fear that one feels at that point and the reaction that an officer might have, but we also talked about how certain people will be predisposed to different reactions, and it is incumbent upon police leaders to really increase the efficacy of police selection processes so that we do not put people on the job who would be bullies.

Leo Kisnerman: Kind of added fire to it because if you ask people what they want their police officers to be, they always want them to be, you know, scary, take care of crime. But that's, in reality, what we don't need. We need police officers to be friendly, get with the community, do their job. So be guardians, not warriors.

Here's a short list of the things police are tested for:

Psychopathic Behavior;
Deviate Paranoia;
Schizophrenia;
Hysteria;
Social Introversion
 
The MMPI-2 test has a "Validity Scale" or grading system, much like when you were in school but this one allows police candidates to be evasive or lie.

Below is a short list of ways potential cops are graded for lying

MMPI-2 Psychological Tests:

The "Cannot Say" Scale is simply the number of omitted items (including items answered both true and false).

The L scale originally was constructed to detect a deliberate and rather unsophisticated attempt on the part of the respondent to present him/herself in a favorable light.

The F Scale is an index of test-taking attitude and is useful in detecting deviant response sets (i.e. faking good or faking bad).

Correct me if I'm wrong but doesn't getting an 'F' in school mean you've flunked the exam? Why doesn't the jury and the accused get to view an officers MMPI-2 records? If you don't know the answer to that you haven't been paying attention. Police unions have become the most powerful unions in the country. Click here & here to read more.

The K Scale was developed as a more subtle and more effective index of attempts by examiners to deny psychopathology and to present themselves in a favorable light or, conversely, to exaggerate psychopathology and to try to appear in a very unfavorable light. Some people refer to this scale as the "defensiveness" indicator.

The TRIN scale was developed to identify persons who respond inconsistently to items by giving true responses to items indiscriminately or by giving false responses to items indiscriminately.

If you're confused after reading the language, join the club. Keep this in mind the next time you have a police encounter he or she could have any number of psychiatric issues.

Remember Chief DeCarlo warned everyone these MMPI-2 tests are questionable at best in detecting bully or militaristic cops and the public NEVER gets to see the results! Unfortunately for you, all of your psychiatric records can and will be read by the police and the jury, did you expect a level playing field with our justice system?

Last year former police chief DeCarlo warned about police working for private companies:

“If I were a company, and I was funding a police department, I would ultimately want things to go the way I wanted them to go,” he reasons. “I don’t see that there’s accountability to the public built into private companies…We don’t even know what their political agenda is.” In short, it’s important to make sure they won’t be beholden to whoever’s furnishing them with money. That said, DeCarlo pointed out that the practice, which the Journal called “unusual,” isn’t all that foreign. Police officers are frequently hired by nongovernmental organizations like water companies and shopping malls, yet they’re granted many of the same powers as when they're working for municipal departments.

“With municipal pensions being the issue that they are, and governmental funding and taxes going the way they are, we are going to see a trend in the United States toward more privatization in policing than less,” he says.

The most lucrative privatized policing jobs are also the ones that are the most ingrained in police departments. They’re what DeCarlo calls “private duty jobs.” These jobs, which are often arranged through police departments, send uniformed officers to work for private contractors, like when a cop stands over an uncovered manhole or when a cop stands guard at a movie theater. These jobs can pay as much as $50 an hour, which means that the average entry-level cop—who, DeCarlo estimates, might make a little more than $40,000 a year—can almost double his or her income by regularly working private duty jobs.

Ten rules for dealing with police




People react to 10 rules for dealing with police:
 
 
 

 

Wednesday, May 27, 2015

Police agencies and politicians fight body camera recommendations


“Some of them are a little unreasonable, I believe, and don’t quite fall in line with things I think are in the best interest of the police department,” said Capt. Jim Steffen.

Not surprisingly DHS run 'Community Oriented Policing Services' (COPS) and the 'Police Executive Research Forum' (PERF) have come out in opposition of police camera regulations. Click here to read their report. PERF is an organization composed of police chiefs of the nation's law enforcement departments. Click here & here to find out about PERF's close relationship with DHS.

Even the National Institute of Justice (NIJ) has published similar reports in opposition of police camera regulations. Click here and here to read more. The DHS funds [runs] the NIJ as well, click here & here to read more

The ACLU proposed that any video that captured a felony arrest, events leading up to a felony arrest, use of force or an incident that led to a citizen complaint be stored for three years. All other recordings would be erased after several months.

Additionally, the ACLU recommended, the cameras would be activated when an officer is responding to a call for service or at the onset of any interaction with the public — except in a school or private residence entered without a warrant. Officers would be required to announce that the camera was on.

The ACLU also recommended that officers not be allowed to review their body camera video before compiling reports so as to not influence recollections.


Iowa City’s Steffen said some of the suggested rules are unworkable.

For instance, he said, a few months is too early to be deleting videos that don’t immediately lead to an arrest or citizen complaint. In Iowa, citizens have 300 days to complain to the state’s civil rights commission.

“If they are dictating we delete that video after six months, we could be getting rid of potential evidence to support or disclaim that civil rights violation,” Steffen said.

Florida has exempted police body camera footage obtained inside a private residence, a health care, mental health care or social services facility or is taken in a place that a reasonable person would expect to be private from public records law.

Many states are considering similar legislation and EPIC's State Policy Project is monitoring bills nationwide.

The 'fix' is in police agencies and politicians don't want police accountability and will fight it tooth and nail!

Many police departments have been federalizied by DHS

(approx. 3:00 minutes into interview)

The government's war on the American people:

Police have been transformed into extensions of the military, towns and cities have become battlefields, and the American people have been turned into enemy combatants, to be spied on, tracked, scanned, frisked, searched, subjected to all manner of intrusions, intimidated, invaded, raided, manhandled, censored, silenced, shot at, locked up, and denied due process.

One such incident occurred when militarized, armed agents of the Bureau of Land Management were sent to collect a fee from long-time Nevada rancher Clive Bundy, or when heavily-armed SWAT police swept Boston residents from their homes in the aftermath of the 2013 Boston Marathon bombing.

Whitehead notes that these changes did not suddenly occur. In fact, he says, the shift to totalitarianism cannot be traced to a single event or a single person. Instead, the evolution has been so gradual and subtle that most citizens don't even know that it has taken place.

In small increments, police powers have been expanded, new weapons were added to the arsenals of police departments including automatic rifles and armored vehicles, and "one exception after another" has been made to historic standards of police training and restrained authority, says the book description.

Throw into that mix a small number of new internet mega-corporations working with federal spy agencies and you have a massive, 24/7/365 surveillance state and the potential for an "electronic concentration camp" that views the citizenry as mere "databits" as it slowly but surely takes control of our lives. Don't even think about stepping out of line, because if you do, you're likely to find one of those newly up-armed SWAT teams at your front door or in your hallway in the middle of the night.

"The outlook for civil liberties grows bleaker by the day, from the government's embrace of indefinite detention for US citizens and armed surveillance drones flying overhead to warrantless surveillance of phone, email and Internet communications, and prosecutions of government whistle-blowers," writes Whitehead. "The homeland is ruled by a police-industrial complex, an extension of the American military empire. Everything that our founding fathers warned against is now the new norm. The government has trained its sights on the American people. We have become the enemy" John Whitehead said.

Tuesday, May 26, 2015

DHS/Police are going into bars with Breathalyzers!



Sacramento, California cops rolled out a new program on Memorial day to allegedly combat drunk drivers.

If you were at a bar this weekend, cops were approaching patrons and asking them to blow into breathalyzers.

DUI roadblocks are apparently not invasive enough, now police are going to bars 'asking' patrons to blow into breathalyzers! When you've had a few drinks at a bar and a number of cops 'ask' you to blow into a breathalyzer would you feel pressured?

Don't forget DHS is paying police to set up DUI checkpoints.

How long before police nationwide will go into bars and force people to blow into breathalyzers and check for possible public inebriation or use 'Drug Breathalyzers' on innocent people?

California's ‘Drug Breathalyzer’ bill is set to do just that:

A California lawmaker introduced a bill that would allow law enforcement to use new 'Drug Breathalyzers' on people suspected of driving under the influence of marijuana and other drugs.

Like breathalyzers used to test drivers for alcohol consumption, Assembly Bill 1356 would allow police to use oral fluid devices to check drivers for drug impairment.

In October of 2013 I reported that 'Drug Breathalyzers were coming to police departments near you and how our civil rights would be threatened by the fake war on drunk/drugged driving. Click here to read more.

Devices like the Alere DDS2 allegedly can detect marijuana within two to three hours of use, while also registering drugs like cocaine and methamphetamine. It CAN'T detect the amount or WHEN it was used! Click here to read more.

'TruNarc" is another 'Drug Breathalyzer' company that claims to give police accurate drug tests in 60 seconds, don't believe it!

These 'Drug Breathalyzers' can't detect if you've ingested a poppy seed bagel but will alert police that you tested POSITIVE for drugs!

In April of 2015, I reported on how INACCURATE police drug testing kits are a closely guarded secret.




Cannabis dispensary owner Lanette Davies is concerned about people who use marijuana medicinally getting lumped in with impaired drivers.

“An impaired driver I would completely support not driving.  However, this is just another way of having zero tolerance for people with THC in their system,” Davies said.

Obviously the site of several armed officers walking into a bar with breathalyzers in hand is a buzz kill, to say the least.

One of the bar patrons who’s been exposed to the program explains, “Admittedly we were a bit put off when we were gonna walk in and saw a bunch of cops with breathalyzers.”

A “bit put off” is an understatement!

While these officers are promising not to “test and arrest,” the very idea of police entering bars & restuarants and 'asking' people to submit to breathalyzer tests is appalling!

This program leaves the door wide open for entrapment and further rights violating searches by police.

The American police state is out of control!

Police States of America


Friday, May 22, 2015

The Police Chiefs Assoc. wants a national drone policy


CONFIRMED, there is a national police drone surveillance program:

Over a week ago, I reported on how DHS is using police departments to set up a national drone surveillance program. Then like 'magic' the International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP) announces a national drone policy! Was it a coincidence? For those who didn't already know it, they're part of Homeland Security, that's right every police chief is working with DHS. They proudly boast how their Board Of Directors works with DHS.

"The IACP Committee on Homeland Security entered its current, final incarnation in 2003, although the committee arose out of the IACP’s response to 9/11 and the creation of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS).'

Click here, here and here to read more.

The DHS run Justice Department has released an extensive "Policy Guidance" for the use of drones.

What's not well known is the IACP's and DHS's close ties with private security across the country!

Everyone should assume that every security guard is working for DHS! Mall security guards are using facial recognition software to spy on everyone! Click here and here to read how security guards have become America's secret surveillance force .

DHS is training security guards nationwide.

Did you know that a bill, HR 658, the FAA Air Transportation Modernization and Safety Improvement Act, authorized the use of 30,000 spy drones in 2012?  Think about the enormity of this for just a second... 30-THOUSAND spy drones flying overhead spying on everyone. If you divide that by 50 states, that's 600 drones per state!

Yesterday the mass media reported on how surveillance drones are needed to IMPROVE public safety:

"Police agencies across the nation are increasingly using drones to improve public safety, but need clear operations policies and limits to win public trust, experts said at a law enforcement conference in San Diego."

This is utter B.S.! The public doesn't need limits put on their usage we don't want them and they should be BANNED!

The FAA is using an interim policy that grants a Certificate of Waiver or Authorization (COA) for “flights at or below 200 feet to any UAS operator with a Section 333 exemption for aircraft that weigh less than 55 pounds, operate during daytime. 

This “blanket” policy allows flights anywhere in the country, dramatically expanding where UAS can be used and tested.

A university professor who's also a deputy is working with DHS to promote a national drone surveillance program:

"Alan Frazier, a Grand Forks County part-time sheriff’s deputy and also an associate professor for the University of North Dakota’s Department of Aviation."

"Frazier said his sheriff’s agency has used its drones 18 times across the state in the past two years. He said they have helped search flood zones, photograph homicide scenes and track felony suspects."

Dozens of universities are working on profitable drone surveillance programs to be used to spy on Americans! Click here & here to read more.

In 2011 the ACLU warned drones would have high-powered zoom lenses, night vision, see-through walls imaging, video analytics to identify "suspicious" movement patterns, and distributed video drones that can look at an entire city and stay up in the air for two weeks at a time.

Drones can collect huge amounts of data that can "track people and vehicles from altitudes above 20,000 feet." Take a look at some "crowd captures" and zoom in for serious detail.  Other drones are equipped with "live-feed video cameras, infrared cameras, heat sensors, and radar."

The EFF warned drones can monitor our activities constantly, both in public and-through the use of heat sensors or other technology-inside our homes!

The use of drones creates a police state! It's an invasion of our personal privacy.

Here's the IACP's suggested policy on the use of surveillance drones – or UAV's:

  • Drone deployment must be authorized by an executive officer or supervisor.
  • Deployments would be to assess the scope of an incident, assist search and rescue, give aerial views for crowd control or temporary perimeter control, to document a crime or accident scene or assist tactical squads.
  • Drones would be used only by trained operators within line-of-sight of the device and other FAA rules.
  • Flights times, locations, missions and operators should be fully documented.
  • Drones should not be equipped with weapons.
  • Data should be downloaded securely and not erased or duplicated without written approval.
  • Agencies should consider notifying the public when the drone is being used.

  • The IACP also issued a drone policy in 2012.

    A couple of weeks ago the Illinois State Police announced that the FAA has authorized what it calls its 'Unmanned Aircraft System Program'.

    It's a F***ING surveillance drone program, for god's sake! DHS/Police are trying to mask what it really is, by calling it an 'Unmanned Aircraft System Program'.

    The State Police are avoiding the word 'drone' because 'it carries the perception of pre-programmed or automatic flight patterns, and random, indiscriminate collection of images and information.'

    The announcement says the program 'is not being implemented for surveillance purposes.'

    Does anyone really believe they'll be used sparingly? Wake up America, the American Police State is out of control!

    Former CIA Deputy Director Michael Morell: Drones Do Radicalize But “No Other Alternative”


    Thursday, May 21, 2015

    Homeland Security is paying police to set up DUI checkpoints


    Drunk driving has decreased by one-third since 2007 and three-quarters since 1973, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's (NHTSA) 2013-2014 Roadside Survey of Alcohol and Drug Use by Drivers.

    The NHTSA used FORCIBLY collected oral fluid or blood samples from 11,100 drivers at 60 locations across the country to make the determination that drunk driving is decreasing.

    Click here to read more.

    If drunk driving is down, why is there an increase in illegal no-refusal blood draw checkpoints across the country?

    Why would DHS pay police departments to set up DUI checkpoints? It's all about conditioning the public to accept illegal 4th. Amendment intrusions by DHS. The NHTSA/DHS are giving out MILLIONS in grant money, which is essentially paying police departments to set up checkpoints.

    Warning: If you drive within 100 miles of either border you WILL be interrogated at an illegal checkpoint.

    DHS has partnered with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration(NHTSA). Click here & here to read more.

    The NHTSA & DHS are providing police across the country with 'No Refusal DUI' toolkits! Click here & here to find out more.

    The Department of Transportation is also part of DHS. Click herehere and here to read more.

    Connecticut Police will hold a DUI checkpoint this Friday night at the intersection of Corbin Avenue South and West Main Street.

    The checkpoint is part of a grant the department received from the Connecticut Department of Transportation that provides 75% overtime reimbursement to support increased DUI detection and enforcement efforts, police said.

    Police said the grant will be used to "staff additional DUI patrols as well as roadside sobriety checkpoints."

    Police in Miami. Florida are setting up barricades and traffic loops, turning Miami Beach into a mini police state!

    image credit: nbcmiami.com


    "Miami Beach will once again turn itself into a mini police state during Memorial Day weekend. The traffic loops, barricades, and checkpoints will all return this year."

    Police in Philadelphia post the exact locations of their DUI checkpoints.

    Police in California proudly boast to “Avoid the 13 DUI Task Force” where they target innocent drivers:

  • DUI and driver’s license checkpoints;
  • Roving DUI saturation patrols;
  • Warrant and probation sweeps;
  • Sting operations targeting offenders who drive away from court.

  • The Calif. Office of Traffic Safety even posts an annual calendar of DUI checkpoints, giving everyone the dates but not the exact locations.

    The South Carolina Dept. Of Safety provides numerous links to 'Highway Safety Grants' provided by DHS.

    Even the Department of Defense is giving out grants to police departments! Click here to read more.

    DHS/Police want to put breathalyzers in EVERY bar!

    Last year Utah introduced a bill to have breathalyzers put in every bar and bill customers $2.00!

    The devices can cost as much as $1,000. To date, nightspots that have such meters generally affix them to walls and charge about $2 for a reading, and patrons often wander over for a laugh.

    "Utah DUI arrests have dipped in recent years, but lawmakers say the state should do more to prevent those numbers from climbing again."

    Does doing more include treating every bar patron like a criminal?

    Below is a list of recent examples of the war on drunk driving:

    MADD/DHS want to put breathalyzers in every vehicle.
    (MADD has a close relationship with DHS, click here & here to read more.)

    DHS wants automakers to equip every car with DUI interlock devices.

    DHS wants to have everyone wear portable alcohol biosensors.

    Where is all this heading? Why to a complete American Police State of course!

    Checkpoint refusal documentary


    DHS border patrol agents currently have the authority to stop and conduct searches on vessels, trains, aircraft, or other vehicles anywhere within “a reasonable distance from any external boundary of the United States.” This “reasonable distance” is defined as 100 miles from any border North or South.

    In this 100-mile zone, the Border Patrol has claimed certain extra-constitutional powers, such as, claiming the authority to operate inland immigration checkpoints.

    In practice, Border Patrol agents routinely ignore or misunderstand the limits of their legal authority, violating the constitutional rights of innocent people. Although the 100-mile border zone is not literally "Constitution-free," it is frequently treated as such by the Border Patrol.

    As a result, two-thirds of the U.S. population, or approximately 200 million people, are potentially subject to detention and warrantless searches by Border Patrol agents.

    This film documents the story of Pastor Steven Anderson being being beaten, Tasered, and jailed for refusing a warrant-less search of his vehicle. The film also covers his trial and subsequent border patrol encounters.

    Wednesday, May 20, 2015

    Obama/DHS want to 'officially' create a national police force


    Ironically DHS already controls our police departments and is using taxpayer dollars to create a national drone surveillance program. Last year a police expert revealed police departments have become Homeland Security Police.

    Here's a sample of what America has become under DHS:

    Three former NSA officials say America is a police state!

    DHS run police departments are using community outreach programs to spy on Americans.

    DHS run DEA has been spying on BILLIONS of our phone calls for decades. DHS is turning America into a giant surveillance state.

    The American Police state is out of control, the DEA is harassing Amtrak passengers looking for NERVOUS or CALM passengers that stare STRAIGHT AHEAD, etc.! In March of this year I wrote how DHS, I mean the DEA is letting police spy on passenger records without warrants.

    DHS is influencing our TV shows and movies.

    The 'Interim Report of The President’s Task Force on 21st Century Policing' reveals how DHS wants to 'officially' create a national police force.

    Remember this is the very same DHS Chief that claimed the 4th. Amendment is BEYOND HIS COMPETENCE!

    America's police have an 'occupational force mentality'.

    The President's Task Force report is approximately 109 pages long–including appendices and notes–and outlines ways in which law enforcement can be federalized!

    Below are some of the suggestions for creating an 'official' national police force:
    1.2.1 ACTION ITEM: The U.S. Department of Justice should develop and disseminate case studies that provide examples where past injustices were publicly acknowledged by law enforcement agencies in a manner to help build community trust.
    1.8.1 ACTION ITEM: The Federal Government should create a Law Enforcement Diversity Initiative designed to help communities diversify law enforcement departments to reflect the demographics of the community
    1.8.4 ACTION ITEM: Discretionary federal funding for law enforcement programs could be influenced by that department’s efforts to improve their diversity and cultural and linguistic responsiveness.
    2.2.4 ACTION ITEM: Policies on use of force should also require agencies to collect, maintain, and report data to the Federal Government on all officer-involved shootings, whether fatal or nonfatal, as well as any in-custody death.
    2.7.2 ACTION ITEM: The Federal Government should create a mechanism for investigating complaints and issuing sanctions regarding the inappropriate use of equipment and tactics during mass demonstrations
    2.8 RECOMMENDATION: Some form of civilian oversight of law enforcement is important in order to strengthen trust with the community. Every community should define the appropriate form and structure of civilian oversight to meet the needs of that community.
    2.8.1 ACTION ITEM: The U.S. Department of Justice, through its research arm, the National Institute of Justice (NIJ), should expand its research agenda to include civilian oversight.
    3.1.1 ACTION ITEM: The Federal Government should support the development and delivery of training to help law enforcement agencies learn, acquire, and implement technology tools and tactics that are consistent with the best practices of 21st century policing.
    3.3.1 ACTION ITEM: As part of the process for developing best practices, the U.S. Department of Justice should consult with civil rights and civil liberties organizations, as well as law enforcement research groups and other experts, concerning the constitutional issues that can arise as a result of the use of new technologies.
    3.6 RECOMMENDATION: The Federal Government should support the development of new “less than lethal” technology to help control combative suspects.
    5.1 RECOMMENDATION: The Federal Government should support the development of partnerships with training facilities across the country to promote consistent standards for high quality training and establish training innovation hubs.
    5.3.1 ACTION ITEM: Recognizing that strong, capable leadership is required to create cultural transformation, the U.S. Department of Justice should invest in developing learning goals and model curricula/training for each level of leadership
    5.13 RECOMMENDATION: The U.S. Department of Justice should support the development and implementation of improved Field Training Officer programs.
    These are just a few of the many suggestions, but they provide a WARNING to everyone on how a national police force would look:


    Monday, May 18, 2015

    Court: DHS can use it's cellphone kill switch anytime, anywhere


    A D.C. appeals court ruled DHS can shutdown cellphone service anywhere for any reason and there's NOTHING we can do about it!

    In Feb. 2015 the appeals court agreed with the government's contention that the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) allows DHS to withhold documents if their exposure could "endanger" public safety.

    This is freaking unbelievable! An appeals court claims the public could be 'ENDANGERED' if we knew the details of DHS's cellphone kill switch!

    After the decision, the Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC) asked the court to revisit the issue in what is known as an en banc review. The appeals court declined the order.

    EFF demanded the document in 2011 after DHS shutdown cellphone service in a train station in advance of a peaceful protest! DHS refused to divulge the documents associated with Standard Operating Procedure 303, which the appeals court described as a "unified voluntary process for the orderly shut-down and restoration of wireless services during critical emergencies such as the threat of radio-activated improvised explosive devices."

    What is it going to take for the public to wake up? DHS controls our courts, police, justice system and much more. Now they control our cell phone service! Where does it end?

    EPIC sued and won the case in the lower courts. But power hungry DHS appealed and won!

    In its petition for a rehearing, EPIC argued that the appellate court's decision "created a catch-all provision that would allow federal agencies to routinely withhold records subject to disclosure where the agency merely asserts a speculative security risk."

    SOP 303 allows for the shutting down of wireless networks "within a localized area, such as a tunnel or bridge, and within an entire metropolitan area."

    This gives law enforcement carte blanche to shut down cell phone service anywhere in the country!

    Friday, May 15, 2015

    Warning: You WILL be interrogated for driving within 100 miles of the Canadian border

    Image credit: U-T San Diego News

    Random checkpoints are being set up by U.S. Customs [DHS] agents in the northeast within 100 miles of the Canadian border.

    The Border Patrol operates a national network of internal checkpoints, illegally stopping motorists up to 100 miles inside our border! These illegal checkpoints allow DHS to stop and search law-abiding American citizens without justification.

    It's about to get much WORSE, the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee approved Bill S.750 which gives Border Patrol/DHS agents “immediate access to federal land within 100 miles” of both national borders and prohibit the “Secretaries of Interior and Agriculture” from impeding any CBP activities.

    “Border Patrol already has unfettered access to protected federal public lands along the border,” Dan Millis, borderlands program coordinator for the Grand Canyon Chapter of the Sierra Club. “In fact, Border Patrol currently has more access to the border and surrounding lands than the public.”

    Imagine this: You and your family drive to Maine to visit Acadia National Park which receives over 2 MILLION tourists. Acadia is within 100 miles of the border and our govt sets up checkpoints to interrogate EVERY visitor! That's the future of Police State America if we allow this B.S. to continue.

    Christian Ramírez, director of the Southern Border Communities Coalition, criticized the legislation not only for what it sets out to do, but for what it doesn’t do. “What any border bill should include are reforms to Customs and Border Protection to ensure greater oversight and accountability, none of which are included in S.750.”

    “Imagine this: Border Patrol decides to construct a surveillance tower dozens of feet tall, armed with cameras and motion sensors, in Saguaro National Park — Tucson’s backyard gem — with no public consultation,” added Millis. “It demonstrates the overreach and overkill of waiving laws 100 miles inland. That’s what McCain’s bill does.”

    The ACLU has called for rejection of the 100-mile designation and wants CBP’s authority to be limited to “no more than 25 miles from the border and…incursions onto private property to no more than 10 miles.” “The ‘100-Mile Rule’ has never been subjected to meaningful debate or scrutiny in Congress. There is nothing in the record to indicate whether the Justice Department’s designation of 100 miles as a ‘reasonable distance’ was anything other than an arbitrary selection.”

    On May 11th., 2015 Pennsylvania State Police attempt to punish man at checkpoint by towing his truck:


    Scott Marshall who was holding a sign warning people of an upcoming checkpoint. That’s when he realized that Officer Shair, of the PA State police, was attempting to tow his car that was parked on the side of the road and recorded the following video.

    On May 12th., 2015 DHS visited a mans house after he was Tasered & tackled by Border Patrol Agents for refusing to answer questions at a roadside checkpoint.

    The Watertown Daily Times describes how the Border Patrol is interrogating motorists in the Northeast:

    Last week, Jessica A. Cooke, 21, Ogdensburg, was pulled over at a border checkpoint in Waddington by border patrol agents who wanted to search her car’s trunk. During an altercation that followed, Ms. Cooke was Tasered for recording them!

    While Cooke is rolling around on the ground, screaming in pain, the agent repeatedly orders her to "get on your stomach." Her response: "What the fuck is wrong with you?" Also this: "Are you fucking retarded?" And this: "You fucking Tased me, you asshole!" These rejoinders do not have quite the same emotional impact as "I can't breathe," especially since Cooke survived the incident. Still, she asks good questions.

    No charges have been filed and Ms. Cooke said she never was read her Miranda rights, adding she was told by agents they were trying to decide whether to file state or federal charges of assaulting an officer.

    “They are trying to say that I put my hands on him first,” Ms. Cooke said. “That’s stupid; I had both hands on my phone, recording.”

    Ms. Cooke, a SUNY Canton criminal justice major who graduated Saturday, claims she was wrongfully assaulted and has threatened to file a lawsuit.


    Several people said they believed both parties deserve some blame for the altercation: Ms. Cooke for provoking agents with an uncooperative attitude and the agents for using excessive force to restrain her.

    Local citizens and visitors: speak out:

    In Watertown, Antonio F. Gigliotti said he does not consider road checkpoints set up by the Border Patrol to be cause for concern. “They don’t bother me,” he said. Mr. Gigliotti said he has traveled through checkpoints before without an issue. He said since he does not have anything to hide, he never feels worried when he passes through one.

    William R. Wagstaff Jr., Massena, said he believes border patrol agents at times abuse their power by asking to inspect vehicles without having reasonable suspicion that a crime has been committed.
    “This woman had every right to refuse to open her trunk,” Mr. Wagstaff said in an email. “I have refused several times to let them search me and put their K-9 in my vehicle.”

    Mr. Wagstaff said he filed a complaint with the Department of Homeland Security in Washington, D.C., and received a letter of apology. He also filed a complaint with border patrol officials in Swanton, Vt. “Now I don’t get harassed anymore,” he said.

    A 26-year-old SUNY Canton student who asked that his name be withheld said he has personally experienced aggressive questioning by border patrol agents in Buffalo where he resides. He believes he was targeted because he is a black man who was traveling to Grand Island, a predominately white community. “Protection is definitely needed, but it’s wrong when that authority gets abused,” he said. “They (border patrol agents) have a role to play, but it must be contained in that role.”

    Referring to Ms. Cooke’s situation, he said, “Her tone was a little abrasive, but they shouldn’t have put their hands on her. She wasn’t a threat to them or anyone around her.”

    Edward B. Foote, 21, Canton, said he felt border patrol checkpoints were necessary to catch people with illegal drugs. “They (border patrol) probably push the limits sometimes, but I’ve never had that experience,” Mr. Foote said.

    John Woodard Jr., Massena, said he believed the patrol officer in question in Ms. Cooke’s case went overboard with his behavior. “I think it was a little too excessive, actually,” Mr. Woodard said. “I think they’ve got a lot of stipulations for you to get across the border. People that have just minor felonies can’t even go across the border.”

    Tim Drew, an Arizona resident who was interviewed in Massena, said while he has had limited experience dealing with border patrol on the U.S.-Canada line, he said he is familiar with border issues on the border with Mexico.

    “I mean it’s regrettable, but when you enforce procedures in light of the recent security situations, innocent people do sometimes get hurt and it’s unfortunate, but I don’t find it to be wrong.”

    Therein lies the problem, the public finds Border Patrol/DHS abuse "regrettable but don't find it to be WRONG"!

    There are too many SHEEPLE who don't care if our rights are destroyed by DHS run law enforcement.
    http://www.watertowndailytimes.com/news05/north-country-residents-have-mixed-views-on-us-border-patrol-checkpoints-20150515

    Thursday, May 14, 2015

    Judge: Police are conducting 3 MILLION "investigations' of motorists every week!




    A Calif. Appeals Court issued a modified opinion rejecting the ACLU lawsuit against law enforcement agencies in the Los Angeles area. The civil rights group had joined the Electronic Freedom Foundation in seeking to force disclosure of a week's worth of actual ALPR records to demonstrate how the systems are used to monitor the public.

    A three-judge panel decided to shield the program that scans about three million license plates every week from any further scrutiny. The Los Angeles Police Department retains the records for FIVE years, and the sheriff's department retains them for TWO years.

    DHS/Police and our judicial system are complicit in spying on our every movement!

    License plate readers are given to police departments by DHS. Click here to read more.

    They [police] contend, ALPR systems “do not conduct investigations; they collect data.” This is B.S. license plate readers collect much more than data. DHS/Police Fusion Centers are collecting and storing our driving habits. Click here, here & here to read more.

    License plate readers are even being used to collect taxes!  The ACLU published a revealing report on what license plate readers collect, I posted some of what they discovered near the end of the article.

    The following opinion is one of the most disturbing I have read except for the Patriot Act:

    Under state law, records of an investigation are not subject to public records requests. The judges reasoned that the departments are conducting "investigations" into three million motorists every week, which makes the surveillance records exempt from disclosure.

    "Plate Scan Data Generated by the ALPR System Are Records of Investigations Exempt from Disclosure Under Government Code Section 6254, Subdivision (f) "


     
    "Nor does the fact that the ALPR system scans every license plate within view, regardless of whether the car or its driver is linked to criminal activity, mean the system is not performing an investigation," Justice Patti S. Kitching wrote for the court. "The ALPR system necessarily scans every car in view, just as human officers would in attempting to identify a stolen vehicle. The fact that non-hot list vehicles are necessarily checked does not mean there was no investigation."

    Isn't that convenient DHS/Police had a law written specifically to exempt them and give them carte-blanche to use license plate readers to spy on EVERYONE!

    The Virginia General Assembly tried to rein in police agencies that retain the location information of innocent motorists for several years. The
    proposed law would have required a warrant to be issued before police could license plate camera records beyond seven days. On April 30, Governor Terry McAuliffe (D) vetoed the bill on the grounds that it would have threatened toll road revenue.

    "This bill also sets a strict, seven day retention period for all data collected by LPRs," McAuliffe wrote in his veto message. "Many localities in Virginia retain this data for 60 days to two years. Seven days is a substantial reduction... The bill could potentially cripple the use of innovative, electronically-managed tolling lanes that improve the quality of life for Virginians by reducing commute times and expediting the tolling process... Accordingly, I veto this bill."


    There it is in black and white, its all about profits, whether they're being used to collect tolls, taxes or fines, it's all about money.

    In 2009, the International Association of Chiefs of Police issued a report on license-plate-recognition technology and said, “Recording driving habits could implicate First Amendment concerns. [...] Mobile LPR units could read and collect the license plate numbers of vehicles parked at addiction counseling meetings, doctors’ offices, health clinics, or even staging areas for political protests.”

    Try not to laugh, but even the FBI expressed a little concern about American's privacy regarding license plate readers:

    An FBI email from June 2012 reveals internal uncertainty about how the technology should be used, with the author saying that the FBI's Office of General Counsel was "still wrestling with" license-plate reader privacy issues and that an assistant director had stopped the purchase based on advice from the lawyers. The identities of the email sender and recipients were redacted, and it is not clear from that email alone exactly what the concerns were.

    "Once these issues have been resolved ... hopefully this summer ... we expect to be back. The program is still growing and we enjoy tremendous field support," the emails states.

    Another email exchange from the following month showed that FBI officials, mindful of the privacy concerns, were working to develop a policy for the technology. But whatever policy was drawn up as part of those discussions was withheld from the documents provided to the ACLU, and it was unclear how the policy is being applied.

    Allen, of the FBI, said the system was operated "now with guidance provided that addresses privacy concerns."

    The ACLU's 2013 report showed that license plate readers are designed to scan plates and pull up personal driver info:
    • Are present in all 50 states of the USA;
    • Add information to identify where cars are located and when they were located there;
    • Are gathered without a warrant;
    • Generate records that are regularly deleted only by a few states and municipalities, and otherwise turn into a tracking database with millions of data points in other American communities;
    • Are often used as a data source for “fusion centers“: regional offices that siphon up local data and add it to a growing national tracking database on Americans;
    • Are also used as a data source for corporations like the National Vehicle Location Service that use the data in contracts to gain a profit;
    • Overwhelmingly identify the whereabouts of innocent people.
    •  License plate scanners just don’t work:
    • Are not effective, according to the U.S. Government’s own website for “evidence-based crime prevention.” CrimeSolutions.gov rates License Plate Reader Technology in red as NOT EFFECTIVE based on the only two experimental studies regarding the tech to date. Both of these studies found that the use of license plate scanners failed to cut the incidence of crime rate where they were used.
    • Are also found to be largely ineffective in a new experimental study of license plate scanning by police in in Mesa, Arizona with results published in The Journal of Experimental Criminology a month ago. Use of automatic license plate scanning, manual searches of license plate numbers, or neither technique was randomly assigned to an area. Neither form of license plate scanning was associated with a statistically significant decline in police calls in auto theft, or personal crimes, or property crimes, or disorder crimes, when compared to control areas of no treatment. Only for one of five crime types (drug crimes) was there any statistically significant difference — with automatic license plate scanning associated with a decline in police calls but manual license plate scanning associated with an increase in police calls.
    If there is no clear evidence that license plate scanning lowers crime why does license plate scanning continue? Do you feel safer knowing your EVERY movement, phone call, email and transaction is being spied on?

    To find out more: "Automated License Plate Recognition Systems: Policy And Operational Guidance For Law Enforcement"

    Wednesday, May 13, 2015

    DHS is using state police to set up a national domestic drone spying program


    The Illinois State Police announced that the FAA has authorized what it calls its 'Unmanned Aircraft System Program'.

    It's a F***ING surveillance drone program, for god's sake! DHS/Police are trying to mask what it really is, by calling it an 'Unmanned Aircraft System Program'.

    The State Police are avoiding the word 'drone' because 'it carries the perception of pre-programmed or automatic flight patterns, and random, indiscriminate collection of images and information.'

    The announcement says the program 'is not being implemented for surveillance purposes.'

    Does anyone really believe it?

    There's even a UAS news website where you can follow all the latest surveillance drone news.

    Need more proof DHS is running America's police?  The Illinois State Police are using DHS/Customs Border Patrol lingo from 2009:


    A recent DHS audit found DHS/CBP's UAS system to be ineffective and too costly!

    Custom and Border Protection’s (CBP) drone program is ineffective and surveys less than 200 miles of the southwest border, according to an audit by the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) Office of Inspector General.

    The program operates 10 Predator B drones at a cost of more than $12,000 for every hour a drone spends in the air, funding which could be put to better use elsewhere, according to the OIG.

    The program costs $10,000 more per flight hour than what DHS claims, according to the OIG.

    “We estimate that, in fiscal year 2013, it cost at least $62.5 million to operate the program, or about $12,255 per [flight] hour,” the audit said. “The Office of Air and Marine’s calculation of $2,468 per flight hour does not include operating costs, such as the costs of pilots, equipment, and overhead.”

    “Although CBP’s Unmanned Aircraft System program contributes to border security, after 8 years, CBP cannot prove that the program is effective because it has not developed performance measures,” the audit, released on Christmas Eve, said. “The program has also not achieved the expected results.”

    The government has already spent $360 million on the program since 2005, and DHS hopes to add 14 more drones at a cost of $443 million. However, the OIG said the agency has not proved the program deserves to be expanded.

    “Given the cost of the Unmanned Aircraft System program and its unproven effectiveness, CBP should reconsider its plan to expand the program,” the audit said. “The $443 million that CBP plans to spend on program expansion could be put to better use by investing in alternatives, such as manned aircraft and ground surveillance assets.”

    DHS is told the program is ineffective and should be halted, so what do they do? They've taken the first step in Illinois by setting up a NATIONAL UAS domestic spying program.

    Police continue to lie about using Stingray surveillance equipment that is spying on everyone's cell phones, so why would ANYONE believe this B.S.?

    The ruling allows law enforcement agencies to use a UAS only in certain circumstances, such as natural disasters, searches for missing persons, documenting traffic crashes and crime scenes, or if DHS identifies a specific risk of terrorism.

    Except in emergency situations, a search warrant must be obtained before the UAS can be used on private property.

    There's the lie EXPOSED for anyone willing to look past the B.S. In most cases police don't even have to go before a judge to get a warrant.

    If DHS/police or their Fusion Centers think you're a threat for any reason, they can put a GPS tracking device on your car and as an added bonus they'll use surveillance drones, traffic cams or license plate readers and your E-Z pass to track your every movement.

    Police don't even need a warrant to spy on your cell phone records, so whats to stop them from using a drone to spy on everyone?

    Wisconsin Police arrest robbery suspect after tracking him with a drone, fire chief Aaron Harris said the drone was bought using a private donation.

    The Massachusetts State Police are looking to purchase the most sophisticated drone on the market.

    The Los Angeles Police Dept., and the Miami Police Dept. just purchased drones. The list of drones being used by police departments is truly SCARY. Click here to view the FAA's map of police drones. Click here to see EFF's 2013 drone authorization list.

    Two years ago, the Illinois General Assembly passed the “Freedom from Drone Surveillance Act,” which says that the use of drones is prohibited in the state with a number of exceptions.

    As the Freedom from Drone Surveillance Act stands, law enforcement is allowed to use drones if police have a warrant, if they have reasonable suspicion that harm to human life is imminent, or if they are attempting to locate a missing person.

    “One of the concerns was always that a drone is an incredibly powerful tool to see into areas that police couldn't otherwise see in,” Ed Yohnka, of the American Civil Liberties UnionYohnka said.

    “It’s used to follow to follow someone at a relatively low cost and extended period of time. And that's exactly why the legislature passed it and the governor signed the bill. I think this [FAA authorization] shows the wisdom of that decision” Yohnka said.

    You've been warned it ALWAYS begins with a public safety message or a terror threat warning and then 'poof' like magic, DHS/Police are spying on everything.

    US drone program 'should've never started' - Ron Paul:

     
    Speaking on RT’s ‘Watching the Hawks’ program, Paul was asked if it’s time to close down the drone program considering that two hostages were recently killed in an airstrike.
     
    “It should’ve been shut down a long time ago – it should have never been started, as far as I’m concerned,” Paul said. “It gives us nothing but grief. They’ve been used for [the] assassination of American citizens.”
     
    “It should be closed down as quickly as possible. If it’s ever to be used in wartime it should be very strictly controlled.”
     
    Paul said the sole purpose of the government and military is to protect our liberties, yet the federal government is doing the opposite. He added that interfering in other countries overseas draws the US further into conflicts to the point that it feels the need to undermine Americans’ rights.
     
    “We lose our liberties here at home, at the same time it’s costing us a bundle, driving us into bankruptcy, and our freedoms are being undermined,” he said. “We’re told that we’re [overseas] to protect our liberties and enforce the Constitution by fighting unconstitutional wars overseas and unconstitutionally undermining our Fourth Amendment here at home.”
     
    “It makes no sense. I just wish the American people would wake up,” he said.

    Corporate spying on Americans, is worse than you can imagine


    Today virtually everything we do is monitored in some way. Nearly every device we use is connected to the Internet.

    Thousands of companies are analyzing our everyday behavior. Businesses are using this data to make predictions, to manage risk and to motivate behavioral change. To what extent do companies really track our daily lives in 2015?

    How is predictive analytics based on personal data already being used in the fields of insurance, banking, human resources and law enforcement?

    Tuesday, May 12, 2015

    School Districts are spying on everything your child does: "Anything that can be counted or measured will be"



    No one in the Wisconsin Menomonee Falls School District escapes Big Brother's all seeing-eye:

     
     
    Custodians monitor dirt under bathroom sinks, while the high school cafeteria supervisor tracks parent and student surveys of lunchroom food preferences. Administrators record monthly tallies of student disciplinary actions, and teachers post scatter plot diagrams of quiz scores on classroom walls. Even kindergartners use brightly colored dots on charts to show how many letters or short words they can recognize. Don't be surprised if your kids bathroom breaks are being recorded (the total number of times your child went to the bathroom and the date/time).
     
    Your kids food preferences are being spied on!
     
    So a private company not a DHS front, wink, wink has infiltrated our pre-school educational system and is using brightly colored dots on charts to grade them!
     
    School districts are taking a cue from the NSA/DHS and are fully embracing metrics, recording and analyzing every scrap of information related to school operations. Their goal is to allegedly improve everything from school bus routes and classroom cleanliness to reading comprehension and knowledge of algebraic equations.

    Every 45 days, teachers and administrators submit data-rich spying reports — filled with items like bar charts and quiz score records — to the school board, not DQC or DHS wink, wink. Once a week, teachers are forced to assemble after school to review the spy data together.

    "Anything that can be counted or measured will be."
     
    In Jenks, Okla., for example, the school district tracks how often teachers use photocopiers.
     
    This is not 'Common Core' Bill Gates/DHS national spying on kids program. 'Common Core' has been called America's most dangerous spying program due to it's sheer invasive and comprehensive nature.
     
    This is a second and equally disturbing surveillance program.

    Is it a coincidence that another spying program is taking 'Common Core's' place? Doubtful, its just business as usual when it comes to DHS and their corporate shareholders.
     
    “We’ve been making most decisions up until now by anecdote or by hunch or who had the greatest sales pitch or what worked when I was in school,” said Aimee Rogstad Guidera, the president of the Data Quality Campaign (DQC), a nonprofit advocacy group. For many teachers, using data, she said, is “a cultural shift.”

    Hey DHS sorry, I meant DQC. It's not a "CULTURAL SHIFT" for teachers and parents to accept spying on our kids!

    Below is an excerpt from DQC's Who We Are:

    "DQC now leads a partnership of nearly 100 organizations committed to realizing the vision of an education system in which all stakeholders—from parents to policymakers—are empowered with high-quality data from the early childhood, K–12, postsecondary, and workforce systems to make decisions that ensure every student graduates high school prepared for success in college and the workplace."

    Here's a better explanation of  'DQC's Who We Are' 

    DQC now works directly with nearly 100 DHS fronts to make a "high-quality' comprehensive biography of EVERY student from early childhood and on into the workforce. DHS/DQC will know EVERYTHING about your child, even more than their own parents.

    DQC's What We Do:

    Lead: "Facilitate important policy conversations with stakeholders at all levels and collect and highlight promising policies and practices that support the effective use of data."

    There's the common denominator; profit for their nearly 100 'DHS fronts', I mean stakeholders.

    DQC's How We Work:

    "Collaborates with DQC partners to ensure that policy discussions are informed by high-quality data."

    "Promotes the development of state longitudinal data systems that not only collect data but also transform them into actionable information that answers critical questions at all levels."

    While there are no direct links to DHS working with the DQC, their 'partners' list reads like a DHS frat party. So many of DQC's 'partners' have direct ties to DHS it should turn EVERY parents stomach.

    Here's a list of a few of the nearly 100 DQC/DHS growing 'partners'


    American Association of School Administrators, click herehere to learn about their working relationship with DHS.  

    American Association of Community Colleges, click here & here to learn about their working relationship with DHS.   .

    American Association of State Colleges and Universities, click here & here to learn about their working relationship with DHS.  

    American Institutes for Research, click here & here to learn about their working relationship with DHS.  

    The American school system has become a GIANT government run agency that spies on kids in kindergarten and on into the adult workforce.