“Roughly two-thirds of Americans live within 100 miles of the oceans or the borders. And while the law in question specifically exempts dwellings from warrantless searches, that is the only exception.”
“43 states and the District of Columbia suspend driver’s licenses because of unpaid debt. Only four states require a determination of the person’s ability to pay. Some, such as Virginia, make the suspensions mandatory, while others, including the District and Maryland, allow for discretion, albeit automated systems make its use rare. Virtually all states that suspend licenses for unpaid debt do so indefinitely, with rules that prevent reinstatement until full payment is made.”
“The Dantzlers refused to allow the police to enter and search their home and indicated that they should get a warrant if they wanted to do so. One officer then seized Huntly Dantzler, handcuffed him, pulled him away from the door and threw him to the ground. Alarmed by the treatment of her husband and the inherent coercion, Susan Dantzler allowed one of the officers to enter the house and look around. After searching the house and finding nothing, the officers left. Huntly Dantzler was compelled to seek medical care for deep gashes on wrists left by the handcuffs.”
“More than 95 percent of criminal cases are settled with plea bargains and prosecutors would be happy if that number went over 99 percent, so defendants who demand a trial are usually hit by threats of various repercussions if they don’t cooperate.”
“The FBI and other US intelligence agencies are suddenly and ever so deeply concerned with preserving your smart phone privacy. Testifying before the US Senate Intelligence Committee, officials from the FBI, CIA, NSA, et al. warned Americans against using phones made by Chinese companies Huawei and ZTE. Why? Because, Christopher Wray (Comey’s successor at the FBI) explains, the Chinese government might equip, or find and exploit weaknesses in, such phones to ‘maliciously modify or steal information’ and ‘conduct undetected espionage.'”
Read more: http://thegarrisoncenter.org/archives/12874
“Lyn Ulbricht is Ross Ulbricht’s mother. Ross was the creator of the Silk Road website, which had a very important role in the history of bitcoin. Currently, Ross is serving a double life sentence without parole for all non-violent charges. Lyn has worked to bring awareness to the case and raise funds for Ross’s defense through www.FreeRoss.org. She has had many media interviews and public appearances and has helped bring awareness to the public of the case and Ross’s appeals. Her efforts have shined light into the darkness of the justice system, proving it to be a darker place than anywhere found on the dark web.”
“FISA is a monster. It began as a means of surveilling foreign agents in the U.S., and today it is used for surveilling any American at any time.”
Read more: https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2018/feb/7/a-lawful-means-for-foreign-surveillance-on-us-soil/
“Many people don’t understand that school officials aren’t necessarily doing what’s best for a kid, and that they are likely to bring in law enforcement if they suspect a crime has been committed. And sharing sexually charged images of minors—even consensually, even if the people doing the sharing are themselves minors—is a felony.”
Read more: https://reason.com/blog/2018/02/07/teen-sexting-school-cop-arrested-porn
“You are supposed to think either that Rep. Nunes is a hero or that the Republicans are trying to destroy everything that is holy and good about the FBI and intelligence community. But what about those of us on ‘Team Liberty’? We look at the FISA memo and see another in a long line of abuses of our liberties by the National Security State. Author and journalist Jim Bovard joins today’s Liberty Report to give us the real historical context for recent revelations.”
“So, why is Vice-president Mike Pence attending the Winter Olympics in South Korea? Is it because he’s a sports fan who just wants to enjoy the quadrennial spectacle of the Olympic games? Unfortunately, no. Pence is going to the games for political purposes. He intends to use them as an opportunity to level a propaganda attack against North Korea, the communist regime that the U.S. government has long been committed to regime-changing.”
Read more: https://www.fff.org/2018/02/08/political-gamesmanship-olympics/