Goodbye To The First Amendment
Published on Jun 5, 2015
” Its days are numbered.
41% of Americans want to criminalise “hate speech”
https://today.yougov.com/news/2015/05… “
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Tag Archive: 1st Amendment
The Government’s War On Freedom Of The Press
Ed. Note: The US is so far down the list that we had to shrink the screen down to 25% to get this screen shot and even then we were unable to capture the top seven nations . They are Finland , Norway , Denmark , Netherlands , Sweden , New Zealand and Austria . Click the image for all of the details.
” The U.S. plummeted to a dismal 49th place on the Reporters Without Borders annual Press Freedom Index, marking the country’s second lowest ranking since the list was created in 2002 and its lowest since 2006. Other countries ranked in the 40s and 50s include Haiti, Mongolia, and Chile.
The index cited “judicial harassment” of New York Times reporter James Risen, the arbitrary arrest of at least 15 journalists during the Ferguson, Missouri clashes, and the fact that U.S. journalists are still not legally entitled to protect sources who reveal confidential information about their work.
The U.S.’s slip in press freedom rankings mirrors its seven-place drop in Freedom House’s Global Press Freedom Index from 2013-2014, though the country still ranks among the 14 percent of countries whose press is classified as “free” in the latter scale.
Reality may be even worse than the rankings suggest. Legal protections for the press have only eroded since the 2006 trough year when the Bush Administration threatened to prosecute Risen for publishing stories chronicling warrantless wiretapping of citizens’ phone calls.
Since the Obama Administration took power, it has used the Espionage Act to prosecute data leakers a record seven times—more than every other president combined in the law’s nearly 100-year history—a Fox News journalist has been spied on by the Justice Department under the justification that he’s a criminal conspirator, Wikileaks creator Julian Assange has been declared “a hi-tech terrorist,” and the Supreme Court refused to overturn a lower court ruling against Risen stating that the First Amendment doesn’t protect him from refusing to testify about a whistleblower that allegedly leaked classified information about the CIA’s efforts to disrupt Iran’s nuclear program.
Reports from Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Glenn Greenwald even suggest that media outlets routinely vet their articles with government officials before publishing them.”
By way of comparison , in 2009 when Obama took office the US was ranked in a tie with the UK for 21st place by Reporters Without Borders (again , click the image for the details) :
Reason has more on this “Change” we can believe in …
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Federal Court Says It’s 100% Legal To Give Cops The Finger
” The 14-page opinion issued by the the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit ruled that the “ancient gesture of insult is not the basis for a reasonable suspicion of a traffic violation or impending criminal activity.”
The ruling comes in response to a case where John Swartz and his wife Judy Mayton-Swartz were forced to bring suit against two police officers who arrested Swartz back in May of 2006. The arrest was made simply as a result of John Swartz flipping off the officer who was using a radar device at an intersection in St. Johnsville, New York.
Swartz was charged with “disorderly conduct,” the common way that officers charge people when they have not committed any crime. “
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Orlando Pays $15,000 To Man Who Was Jailed For Video-Recording Cops
Click pic to go to video
” The city of Orlando has agreed to pay $15,000 to a man who was jailed and had a cell phone pulled from his hand by a police officer because he video-recorded officers arresting another man who was calling for help.
Alberto Troche, 26, of Orlando, sued the city and Officer Peter Delio in March in Orlando federal court, accusing them of violating his civil rights.
Troche and the city agreed to a $15,000 settlement several weeks ago, according to federal court records.
Now, his lawyers have asked a U.S. magistrate to make the city pay another $44,000 for the hours they worked on the case.
The Orlando Police Department has also changed its policies on how to handle people who video-record them in action, said Troche’s attorney, J Marc Jones.
Officers may not order members of the public to stop video-recording them or arrest or try to stop them, so long as they are in a public place, have not crossed a police line and are not interfering, according to a policy directive signed by Police Chief John Mina two months after Troche filed suit.
Officers also may not demand that a person recording them identify themselves, may not demand to know why they are making the recording and may not intentionally block or obstruct their camera, according to the directive.
” A bystander has the right under the First Amendment to observe and record … (police officers) in public discharge their duties,” the directive says.”
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Congress Has Just Overruled Your 1st, 4th And 5th Amendment Rights
” As of today, Bill HR4681 has passed the house and senate, and is currently undergoing arbitration before being sent to the President for his signature in to law. The law says that the intelligence community can collect, retain, and disseminate all electronic communications including voice calls [without any constitutional restrictions] on all US citizens and everyone else in the world. And they have 5 years before they are supposed to destroy the records. However, they can keep them indefinitely if they fall into several categories of interest.
It is all out in the open now. Your 1st, 4th, and 5th Amendment protections are gone. This act gives new meaning to ‘land of the free, home of the brave.’ The intelligence community isn’t doing anything in secret any more. Americans are now living in an environment much like the days of the old Stalinist Soviet Union, where the presumption was that all conversations were monitored and one takes measures to have a ‘private’ conversations.
So turn up your radio or turn the water on in the sink and watch what you say on the phone or Facebook, even casual remarks on twitter may come back to haunt you in the future. Don’t believe me, I have pasted the relevant parts of the bill below this story. Still don’t believe it? Just go to www.congress.gov/bill/113th-congress/house-bill/4681/text and read it from the horse’s mouth.
What are you willing to do about it?
[Congressional Bills 113th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Printing Office]
[H.R. 4681 Enrolled Bill (ENR)]
H.R.4681
One Hundred Thirteenth Congress
of the
United States of America
TITLE III–GENERAL PROVISIONS
Subtitle A–General Matters
Sec. 309. Procedures for the retention of incidentally acquired
communications.
SEC. 309. PROCEDURES FOR THE RETENTION OF INCIDENTALLY ACQUIRED
COMMUNICATIONS.
(a) Definitions.–In this section:
(1) Covered communication.–The term “covered communication”
means any nonpublic telephone or electronic communication acquired
without the consent of a person who is a party to the
communication, including communications in electronic storage.
(2) Head of an element of the intelligence community.–The term
“head of an element of the intelligence community” means, as
appropriate–
(A) the head of an element of the intelligence community;
or
(B) the head of the department or agency containing such
element.
(3) United states person.–The term “United States person”
has the meaning given that term in section 101 of the Foreign
Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978 (50 U.S.C. 1801).
(b) Procedures for Covered Communications.–
(1) Requirement to adopt.–Not later than 2 years after the
date of the enactment of this Act each head of an element of the
intelligence community shall adopt procedures approved by the
Attorney General for such element that ensure compliance with the
requirements of paragraph (3).
(2) Coordination and approval.–The procedures required by
paragraph (1) shall be–
(A) prepared in coordination with the Director of National
Intelligence; and
(B) approved by the Attorney General prior to issuance.
(3) Procedures.–
(A) Application.–The procedures required by paragraph (1)
shall apply to any intelligence collection activity not
otherwise authorized by court order (including an order or
certification issued by a court established under subsection
(a) or (b) of section 103 of the Foreign Intelligence
Surveillance Act of 1978 (50 U.S.C. 1803)), subpoena, or
similar legal process that is reasonably anticipated to result
in the acquisition of a covered communication to or from a
United States person and shall permit the acquisition,
retention, and dissemination of covered communications subject
to the limitation in subparagraph (B).
(B) Limitation on retention.–A covered communication shall
not be retained in excess of 5 years, unless–
(i) the communication has been affirmatively
determined, in whole or in part, to constitute foreign
intelligence or counterintelligence or is necessary to
understand or assess foreign intelligence or
counterintelligence;
(ii) the communication is reasonably believed to
constitute evidence of a crime and is retained by a law
enforcement agency;
(iii) the communication is enciphered or reasonably
believed to have a secret meaning;
(iv) all parties to the communication are reasonably
believed to be non-United States persons;
(v) retention is necessary to protect against an
imminent threat to human life, in which case both the
nature of the threat and the information to be retained
shall be reported to the congressional intelligence
committees not later than 30 days after the date such
retention is extended under this clause;
(vi) retention is necessary for technical assurance or
compliance purposes, including a court order or discovery
obligation, in which case access to information retained
for technical assurance or compliance purposes shall be
reported to the congressional intelligence committees on an
annual basis; or
(vii) retention for a period in excess of 5 years is
approved by the head of the element of the intelligence
community responsible for such retention, based on a
determination that retention is necessary to protect the
national security of the United States, in which case the
head of such element shall provide to the congressional
intelligence committees a written certification
describing–
(I) the reasons extended retention is necessary to
protect the national security of the United States;
(II) the duration for which the head of the element
is authorizing retention;
(III) the particular information to be retained;
and
(IV) the measures the element of the intelligence
community is taking to protect the privacy interests of
United States persons or persons located inside the
United States. “
Many thanks to Universal Free Press for providing this story . Below the reader can see who voted to rob you of your rights and who voted against Statism …
VOTE PARTY REPRESENTATIVE DISTRICT Alabama YEA R Byrne, Bradley AL 1st YEA R Roby, Martha AL 2nd YEA R Rogers, Mike AL 3rd YEA R Aderholt, Robert AL 4th NAY R Brooks, Mo AL 5th YEA R Bachus, Spencer AL 6th YEA D Sewell, Terri AL 7th Alaska YEA R Young, Don AK Arizona YEA D Kirkpatrick, Ann AZ 1st YEA D Barber, Ron AZ 2nd NAY D Grijalva, Raúl AZ 3rd NAY R Gosar, Paul AZ 4th NAY R Salmon, Matt AZ 5th YEA R Schweikert, David AZ 6th YEA D Pastor, Ed AZ 7th YEA R Franks, Trent AZ 8th YEA D Sinema, Kyrsten AZ 9th Arkansas YEA R Crawford, Eric AR 1st YEA R Griffin, Tim AR 2nd YEA R Womack, Steve AR 3rd YEA R Cotton, Tom AR 4th California YEA R LaMalfa, Doug CA 1st NAY D Huffman, Jared CA 2nd NAY D Garamendi, John CA 3rd NAY R McClintock, Tom CA 4th YEA D Thompson, Mike CA 5th NAY D Matsui, Doris CA 6th YEA D Bera, Ami CA 7th YEA R Cook, Paul CA 8th YEA D McNerney, Jerry CA 9th YEA R Denham, Jeff CA 10th YEA D Miller, George CA 11th YEA D Pelosi, Nancy CA 12th NAY D Lee, Barbara CA 13th NAY D Speier, Jackie CA 14th NAY D Swalwell, Eric CA 15th YEA D Costa, Jim CA 16th NAY D Honda, Mike CA 17th NAY D Eshoo, Anna CA 18th NAY D Lofgren, Zoe CA 19th NAY D Farr, Sam CA 20th YEA R Valadao, David CA 21st YEA R Nunes, Devin CA 22nd YEA R McCarthy, Kevin CA 23rd YEA D Capps, Lois CA 24th YEA R McKeon, Buck CA 25th YEA D Brownley, Julia CA 26th NAY D Chu, Judy CA 27th YEA D Schiff, Adam CA 28th YEA D Cárdenas, Tony CA 29th YEA D Sherman, Brad CA 30th NO VOTE R Miller, Gary CA 31st YEA D Napolitano, Grace CA 32nd YEA D Waxman, Henry CA 33rd YEA D Becerra, Xavier CA 34th NO VOTE D Negrete McLeod, Gloria CA 35th YEA D Ruiz, Raul CA 36th NAY D Bass, Karen CA 37th YEA D Sánchez, Linda CA 38th YEA R Royce, Ed CA 39th YEA D Roybal-Allard, Lucille CA 40th NAY D Takano, Mark CA 41st YEA R Calvert, Ken CA 42nd NAY D Waters, Maxine CA 43rd NAY D Hahn, Janice CA 44th NO VOTE R Campbell, John CA 45th YEA D Sanchez, Loretta CA 46th NAY D Lowenthal, Alan CA 47th NAY R Rohrabacher, Dana CA 48th YEA R Issa, Darrell CA 49th YEA R Hunter, Duncan CA 50th YEA D Vargas, Juan CA 51st YEA D Peters, Scott CA 52nd YEA D Davis, Susan CA 53rd Colorado YEA D DeGette, Diana CO 1st NAY D Polis, Jared CO 2nd NAY R Tipton, Scott CO 3rd YEA R Gardner, Cory CO 4th YEA R Lamborn, Doug CO 5th YEA R Coffman, Mike CO 6th YEA D Perlmutter, Ed CO 7th Connecticut YEA D Larson, John CT 1st YEA D Courtney, Joe CT 2nd YEA D DeLauro, Rosa CT 3rd YEA D Himes, James CT 4th YEA D Esty, Elizabeth CT 5th Delaware YEA D Carney, John DE Florida NO VOTE R Miller, Jeff FL 1st YEA R Southerland, Steve FL 2nd NAY R Yoho, Ted FL 3rd YEA R Crenshaw, Ander FL 4th YEA D Brown, Corrine FL 5th YEA R DeSantis, Ron FL 6th NAY R Mica, John FL 7th NAY R Posey, Bill FL 8th NAY D Grayson, Alan FL 9th YEA R Webster, Daniel FL 10th NAY R Nugent, Richard FL 11th YEA R Bilirakis, Gus FL 12th YEA R Jolly, David FL 13th YEA D Castor, Kathy FL 14th YEA R Ross, Dennis FL 15th YEA R Buchanan, Vern FL 16th YEA R Rooney, Thomas FL 17th YEA D Murphy, Patrick FL 18th NAY R Clawson, Curt FL 19th NAY D Hastings, Alcee FL 20th YEA D Deutch, Theodore FL 21st YEA D Frankel, Lois FL 22nd YEA D Wasserman Schultz, Debbie FL 23rd YEA D Wilson, Frederica FL 24th YEA R Diaz-Balart, Mario FL 25th NAY D Garcia, Joe FL 26th YEA R Ros-Lehtinen, Ileana FL 27th Georgia NAY R Kingston, Jack GA 1st YEA D Bishop, Sanford GA 2nd YEA R Westmoreland, Lynn GA 3rd YEA D Johnson, Hank GA 4th NAY D Lewis, John GA 5th YEA R Price, Tom GA 6th NAY R Woodall, Rob GA 7th NAY R Scott, Austin GA 8th YEA R Collins, Doug GA 9th NAY R Broun, Paul GA 10th YEA R Gingrey, Phil GA 11th YEA D Barrow, John GA 12th YEA D Scott, David GA 13th NAY R Graves, Tom GA 14th Hawaii NAY D Hanabusa, Colleen HI 1st YEA D Gabbard, Tulsi HI 2nd Idaho NAY R Labrador, Raúl ID 1st YEA R Simpson, Mike ID 2nd Illinois YEA D Rush, Bobby IL 1st YEA D Kelly, Robin IL 2nd YEA D Lipinski, Daniel IL 3rd NAY D Gutiérrez, Luis IL 4th YEA D Quigley, Mike IL 5th YEA R Roskam, Peter IL 6th YEA D Davis, Danny IL 7th NO VOTE D Duckworth, Tammy IL 8th NAY D Schakowsky, Jan IL 9th YEA D Schneider, Bradley IL 10th YEA D Foster, Bill IL 11th YEA D Enyart, William IL 12th YEA R Davis, Rodney IL 13th YEA R Hultgren, Randy IL 14th YEA R Shimkus, John IL 15th YEA R Kinzinger, Adam IL 16th YEA D Bustos, Cheri IL 17th
VOTE PARTY REPRESENTATIVE DISTRICT YEA R Schock, Aaron IL 18th Indiana YEA D Visclosky, Peter IN 1st YEA R Walorski, Jackie IN 2nd YEA R Stutzman, Marlin IN 3rd YEA R Rokita, Todd IN 4th YEA R Brooks, Susan IN 5th YEA R Messer, Luke IN 6th YEA D Carson, André IN 7th YEA R Bucshon, Larry IN 8th YEA R Young, Todd IN 9th Iowa YEA D Braley, Bruce IA 1st YEA D Loebsack, David IA 2nd YEA R Latham, Tom IA 3rd YEA R King, Steve IA 4th Kansas NAY R Huelskamp, Tim KS 1st YEA R Jenkins, Lynn KS 2nd YEA R Yoder, Kevin KS 3rd YEA R Pompeo, Mike KS 4th Kentucky YEA R Whitfield, Ed KY 1st YEA R Guthrie, Brett KY 2nd NAY D Yarmuth, John KY 3rd NAY R Massie, Thomas KY 4th YEA R Rogers, Hal KY 5th YEA R Barr, Andy KY 6th Louisiana YEA R Scalise, Steve LA 1st YEA D Richmond, Cedric LA 2nd YEA R Boustany, Charles LA 3rd YEA R Fleming, John LA 4th YEA R McAllister, Vance LA 5th YEA R Cassidy, Bill LA 6th Maine YEA D Pingree, Chellie ME 1st YEA D Michaud, Michael ME 2nd Maryland YEA R Harris, Andy MD 1st YEA D Ruppersberger, A. Dutch MD 2nd YEA D Sarbanes, John MD 3rd YEA D Edwards, Donna MD 4th YEA D Hoyer, Steny MD 5th YEA D Delaney, John MD 6th NAY D Cummings, Elijah MD 7th YEA D Van Hollen, Chris MD 8th Massachusetts YEA D Neal, Richard MA 1st NAY D McGovern, Jim MA 2nd YEA D Tsongas, Niki MA 3rd YEA D Kennedy, Joseph MA 4th NAY D Clark, Katherine MA 5th NAY D Tierney, John MA 6th NO VOTE D Capuano, Michael MA 7th YEA D Lynch, Stephen MA 8th YEA D Keating, William MA 9th Michigan YEA R Benishek, Dan MI 1st YEA R Huizenga, Bill MI 2nd NAY R Amash, Justin MI 3rd YEA R Camp, Dave MI 4th NAY D Kildee, Daniel MI 5th YEA R Upton, Fred MI 6th YEA R Walberg, Tim MI 7th YEA R Rogers, Mike MI 8th YEA D Levin, Sander MI 9th YEA R Miller, Candice MI 10th NAY R Bentivolio, Kerry MI 11th YEA D Dingell, John MI 12th NAY D Conyers, John MI 13th YEA D Peters, Gary MI 14th Minnesota YEA D Walz, Timothy MN 1st YEA R Kline, John MN 2nd YEA R Paulsen, Erik MN 3rd NAY D McCollum, Betty MN 4th YEA D Ellison, Keith MN 5th YEA R Bachmann, Michele MN 6th YEA D Peterson, Collin MN 7th YEA D Nolan, Richard MN 8th Mississippi YEA R Nunnelee, Alan MS 1st YEA D Thompson, Bennie MS 2nd YEA R Harper, Gregg MS 3rd YEA R Palazzo, Steven MS 4th Missouri YEA D Clay, Lacy MO 1st YEA R Wagner, Ann MO 2nd YEA R Luetkemeyer, Blaine MO 3rd YEA R Hartzler, Vicky MO 4th YEA D Cleaver, Emanuel MO 5th YEA R Graves, Sam MO 6th YEA R Long, Billy MO 7th YEA R Smith, Jason MO 8th Montana YEA R Daines, Steve MT Nebraska YEA R Fortenberry, Jeff NE 1st YEA R Terry, Lee NE 2nd YEA R Smith, Adrian NE 3rd Nevada YEA D Titus, Dina NV 1st YEA R Amodei, Mark NV 2nd YEA R Heck, Joseph NV 3rd YEA D Horsford, Steven NV 4th New Hampshire YEA D Shea-Porter, Carol NH 1st YEA D Kuster, Ann NH 2nd New Jersey YEA D Norcross, Donald NJ 1st YEA R LoBiondo, Frank NJ 2nd YEA R Runyan, Jon NJ 3rd YEA R Smith, Chris NJ 4th NAY R Garrett, Scott NJ 5th NAY D Pallone, Frank NJ 6th YEA R Lance, Leonard NJ 7th YEA D Sires, Albio NJ 8th YEA D Pascrell, Bill NJ 9th YEA D Payne, Donald NJ 10th YEA R Frelinghuysen, Rodney NJ 11th NAY D Holt, Rush NJ 12th New Mexico YEA D Lujan Grisham, Michelle NM 1st YEA R Pearce, Steve NM 2nd YEA D Luján, Ben NM 3rd New York YEA D Bishop, Timothy NY 1st YEA R King, Pete NY 2nd YEA D Israel, Steve NY 3rd YEA D McCarthy, Carolyn NY 4th YEA D Meeks, Gregory NY 5th YEA D Meng, Grace NY 6th NAY D Velázquez, Nydia NY 7th YEA D Jeffries, Hakeem NY 8th NAY D Clarke, Yvette NY 9th NAY D Nadler, Jerrold NY 10th YEA R Grimm, Michael NY 11th YEA D Maloney, Carolyn NY 12th NAY D Rangel, Charles NY 13th YEA D Crowley, Joseph NY 14th NAY D Serrano, José NY 15th YEA D Engel, Eliot NY 16th YEA D Lowey, Nita NY 17th YEA D Maloney, Sean NY 18th NAY R Gibson, Christopher NY 19th YEA D Tonko, Paul NY 20th YEA D Owens, William NY 21st YEA R Hanna, Richard NY 22nd YEA R Reed, Tom NY 23rd YEA D Maffei, Daniel NY 24th YEA D Slaughter, Louise NY 25th YEA D Higgins, Brian NY 26th YEA R Collins, Chris NY 27th North Carolina YEA D Butterfield, G.K. NC 1st YEA R Ellmers, Renee NC 2nd NAY R Jones, Walter NC 3rd YEA D Price, David NC 4th YEA R Foxx, Virginia NC 5th YEA R Coble, Howard NC 6th YEA D McIntyre, Mike NC 7th
VOTE PARTY REPRESENTATIVE DISTRICT YEA R Hudson, Richard NC 8th YEA R Pittenger, Robert NC 9th YEA R McHenry, Patrick NC 10th NAY R Meadows, Mark NC 11th YEA D Adams, Alma NC 12th YEA R Holding, George NC 13th North Dakota YEA R Cramer, Kevin ND Ohio YEA R Chabot, Steve OH 1st YEA R Wenstrup, Brad OH 2nd YEA D Beatty, Joyce OH 3rd NAY R Jordan, Jim OH 4th YEA R Latta, Robert OH 5th YEA R Johnson, Bill OH 6th YEA R Gibbs, Bob OH 7th NAY D Kaptur, Marcy OH 9th YEA R Turner, Michael OH 10th YEA D Fudge, Marcia OH 11th YEA R Tiberi, Pat OH 12th YEA D Ryan, Tim OH 13th YEA R Joyce, David OH 14th YEA R Stivers, Steve OH 15th YEA R Renacci, James OH 16th Oklahoma NAY R Bridenstine, Jim OK 1st YEA R Mullin, Markwayne OK 2nd YEA R Lucas, Frank OK 3rd YEA R Cole, Tom OK 4th YEA R Lankford, James OK 5th Oregon NAY D Bonamici, Suzanne OR 1st YEA R Walden, Greg OR 2nd NAY D Blumenauer, Earl OR 3rd NAY D DeFazio, Peter OR 4th NO VOTE D Schrader, Kurt OR 5th Pennsylvania YEA D Brady, Robert PA 1st YEA D Fattah, Chaka PA 2nd YEA R Kelly, Mike PA 3rd NAY R Perry, Scott PA 4th YEA R Thompson, Glenn PA 5th YEA R Gerlach, Jim PA 6th YEA R Meehan, Patrick PA 7th YEA R Fitzpatrick, Michael PA 8th YEA R Shuster, Bill PA 9th YEA R Marino, Tom PA 10th YEA R Barletta, Lou PA 11th YEA R Rothfus, Keith PA 12th YEA D Schwartz, Allyson PA 13th NAY D Doyle, Mike PA 14th YEA R Dent, Charles PA 15th YEA R Pitts, Joseph PA 16th YEA D Cartwright, Matthew PA 17th YEA R Murphy, Tim PA 18th Rhode Island YEA D Cicilline, David RI 1st YEA D Langevin, Jim RI 2nd South Carolina NAY R Sanford, Mark SC 1st YEA R Wilson, Joe SC 2nd NAY R Duncan, Jeff SC 3rd NAY R Gowdy, Trey SC 4th NAY R Mulvaney, Mick SC 5th YEA D Clyburn, Jim SC 6th YEA R Rice, Tom SC 7th South Dakota YEA R Noem, Kristi SD Tennessee NAY R Roe, Phil TN 1st NAY R Duncan, John TN 2nd YEA R Fleischmann, Chuck TN 3rd NAY R DesJarlais, Scott TN 4th YEA D Cooper, Jim TN 5th YEA R Black, Diane TN 6th YEA R Blackburn, Marsha TN 7th YEA R Fincher, Stephen TN 8th NAY D Cohen, Steve TN 9th Texas NAY R Gohmert, Louie TX 1st NAY R Poe, Ted TX 2nd YEA R Johnson, Sam TX 3rd NO VOTE R Hall, Ralph TX 4th YEA R Hensarling, Jeb TX 5th YEA R Barton, Joe TX 6th YEA R Culberson, John TX 7th YEA R Brady, Kevin TX 8th YEA D Green, Al TX 9th YEA R McCaul, Michael TX 10th YEA R Conaway, Michael TX 11th YEA R Granger, Kay TX 12th YEA R Thornberry, Mac TX 13th NAY R Weber, Randy TX 14th YEA D Hinojosa, Rubén TX 15th NAY D O’Rourke, Beto TX 16th YEA R Flores, Bill TX 17th NAY D Jackson Lee, Sheila TX 18th YEA R Neugebauer, Randy TX 19th YEA D Castro, Joaquin TX 20th YEA R Smith, Lamar TX 21st YEA R Olson, Pete TX 22nd YEA D Gallego, Pete TX 23rd YEA R Marchant, Kenny TX 24th YEA R Williams, Roger TX 25th NAY R Burgess, Michael TX 26th YEA R Farenthold, Blake TX 27th YEA D Cuellar, Henry TX 28th YEA D Green, Gene TX 29th YEA D Johnson, Eddie TX 30th YEA R Carter, John TX 31st YEA R Sessions, Pete TX 32nd YEA D Veasey, Marc TX 33rd YEA D Vela, Filemon TX 34th NAY D Doggett, Lloyd TX 35th NAY R Stockman, Steve TX 36th Utah YEA R Bishop, Rob UT 1st YEA R Stewart, Chris UT 2nd YEA R Chaffetz, Jason UT 3rd YEA D Matheson, Jim UT 4th Vermont NAY D Welch, Peter VT Virginia YEA R Wittman, Robert VA 1st YEA R Rigell, Scott VA 2nd YEA D Scott, Bobby VA 3rd YEA R Forbes, Randy VA 4th YEA R Hurt, Robert VA 5th YEA R Goodlatte, Bob VA 6th NAY R Brat, Dave VA 7th YEA D Moran, Jim VA 8th NAY R Griffith, Morgan VA 9th YEA R Wolf, Frank VA 10th YEA D Connolly, Gerald VA 11th Washington NAY D DelBene, Suzan WA 1st YEA D Larsen, Rick WA 2nd YEA R Herrera Beutler, Jaime WA 3rd YEA R Hastings, Doc WA 4th YEA R McMorris Rodgers, Cathy WA 5th YEA D Kilmer, Derek WA 6th NAY D McDermott, Jim WA 7th YEA R Reichert, David WA 8th NO VOTE D Smith, Adam WA 9th NAY D Heck, Denny WA 10th West Virginia YEA R McKinley, David WV 1st YEA R Capito, Shelley WV 2nd YEA D Rahall, Nick WV 3rd Wisconsin YEA R Ryan, Paul WI 1st NAY D Pocan, Mark WI 2nd YEA D Kind, Ron WI 3rd NAY D Moore, Gwen WI 4th NAY R Sensenbrenner, James WI 5th YEA R Petri, Tom WI 6th YEA R Duffy, Sean WI 7th NAY R Ribble, Reid WI 8th Wyoming NAY R Lummis, Cynthia
This is a despicable vote and all the Republicans that voted in favor of this bill should hang their heads in shame .
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Employee Fired After Posting Pictures Of DHS Vehicles Parked In Hotel Parking Lot
” What happens in public isn’t afforded an expectation of privacy — unless you’re the Department of Homeland Security. The DHS is all about shutting down people taking photos in, around or of public structures. According to the many piles of useless paperwork compiled by the many useless Fusion Centers, the most effective terrorist weapon is any device that captures still images or video.
The nation is loaded with phone-wielding terrorists. But thanks to the swift corrective action applied by a former Secret Service agent and the multi-billion dollar agency, guests at the Drury Park Plaza Hotel in Chesterfield, Missouri, are safe from the terrorist activity of 28-year-old US Navy veteran (and now, former hotel Houseman) Mark Paffrath.
Mark says that on Thursday after work he snapped 2 photographs and a short video of several dozen Homeland Security vehicles in the parking garage. He then uploaded them to his Facebook page. In his post he writes “why are all the cop cars here…I wonder if it has anything to do with Ferguson”, he also included the hashtags #Ferguson #NoJusticeNoPeace.
Hooray for the First Amendment! … oh, wait.
On Friday, shortly after arriving to work at the Drury Plaza Hotel, Mark stated that he was called to the office of Jeff Baker, the General Manager. Upon arriving Mr. Baker advised Mark that he needed to remove the photos and video from Facebook. Mark immediately complied and removed the post. Mark then continued and finished his shift.
A private company decides to insert itself into a situation where no one — not even the DHS — needed to step in. Having achieved its goal of suppression, one would think the story ends here. But it doesn’t.”
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Businesses Fire Back Against Ban On The Word ‘Gun’
” Weapons retailers in California are suing the state over a ban on the display of images of handguns – even the word “handgun” – in what the business owners say is a violation of the First Amendment.
The complaint brought by Calguns Foundation and others is on behalf of Tracy Rifle and Pistol LLC, Michael Baryla, Ten Percent Firearms, Wesley Morris, Sacramento Black Rifle Inc., Robert Adams, Prk Arms Inc. and Jeffrey Mullen.
Named as defendants are Attorney General Kamala Harris and Stephen Lindley of the state Department of Justice Bureau of Firearms.
The case isn’t over the right to own guns, which is protected by the Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.
It’s over the images. The word.
The state bans gun stores from putting up signs telling customers they sell handguns. Images of and descriptions of rifles and shotguns are fine with the state.
“ I am one of the most heavily regulated and inspected businesses in existence, but it’s still illegal for me to show customers that I sell handguns until after they walk in the door,” said Baryla, who owns Tracy Rifle and Pistol.”
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If A Tree Falls In The Forest, Make Sure You Don’t Take A Picture With It
” Last month, the Forest Service proposed a regulation that would require permits costing as much as $1500 to take photographs or film on Forest Service land. The public response has been overwhelmingly negative [I tried but couldn’t make the sentence long enough for all the criticism…]. To put this simply enough that a Forest Service bureaucrat can understand it, the First Amendment doesn’t allow the government to forbid speech in public places, to regulate the content of that speech, to subject speech to an arbitrary preclearance process, or to condition a government benefit on waiving the right to free speech. Somehow the Forest Service managed to do all of this in a single proposal.
The proposal would require a permit for any “commercial” filming, which is broadly defined as any sound or video recording that could generate income and uses models, sets, or props. Say, for example, a nonprofit filmed a video in the forest that might generate donations [*cough* hint *cough*]:
This video would require Forest Service approval, even though the filming took place in a public place and had no adverse impact on the environment.
The regulation also prohibits unpermitted still photography if it uses models, sets, or props or causes any administrative inconvenience for the Forest Service (although it’s not clear why the permit regime isn’t itself an administrative inconvenience).”
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The Most Depressing Chart You’ll See All Day
” The American people are low-information voters.
But their lack of information doesn’t just apply to the candidates they vote for or the issues that are important to them; it also applies to some of the most basic founding principles of this country — up to and including the First Amendment.
The First Amendment Center has conducted yearly studies asking people their opinions of certain freedoms and how far they extend. But before they get to that point, they ask people to simply name the freedoms enumerated in the First Amendment.
The results, as the below (see above) chart shows, are somewhere between depressing and less-than-inspiring.”
It comes as no surprise that the more the State spends on “education” the less informed our youth become . For two generations the education system has been moving away from basic history and civics and into all of the touchy-feely , propaganda that serves to minimize the accomplishments of our forebearers and the individual and consolidate the belief in the all-powerful State , all with the help of our compliant “watchdogs” in the media …
The State and their media lackies are proceeding with a systematic curriculum of misinformation designed with the specific intention of making the “common folk” forget about their basic rights under the Constitution and allow power to be usurped and aggregated in the hands of the politicians and the bureaucrats , all in the name of the “public good” .
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Salutatorian At Brawley Challenges High School Administration With His Christian Faith
” Brooks Hamby, a senior at BUHS, had his speech denied three times by the high school administration for expressing his Christian faith.”
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Principal: L.I. High School Students Suspended Indefinitely For Displaying Confederate Flag
” Two Long Island high school students have been suspended for allegedly bringing a Confederate flag to school.
Brother Gary Cregan, principal of St. Anthony’s High School in South Huntington, said the two seniors walked in with a Confederate flag draped around their shoulders during an after-hours sporting event at the school.
The students were initially suspended for 10 days, but Cregan decided Tuesday they won’t be allowed back, Brown reported.
Cregan wrote a letter to parents saying the use of any symbols “designed to revive past injustices or to inflame discrimination or racial intolerance, is completely unacceptable and profoundly offensive,” Newsday reported.
The students haven’t explained why they did it. St. Anthony’s is a private Catholic school and isn’t bound by the First Amendment right to free speech.
Still, the New York Civil Liberties Union said all people should be able to express their views freely, even the offensive ones.
“ Our motto is more speech, not censorship or punishment,” NYCLU director Donna Lieberman told Brown. “Helping children understand the impact of this patently offensive expressive activity.” “
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High School Student Banned From Prom Over A Tweet
” A local high school student filed a federal law suit after she’s banned from prom, her senior class trip and graduation ceremonies — all because of a tweet!
Attorney Jerry Tannenbaum says his client is paying big time for exercising her right of free speech. Tannenbaum says the 17 year old student at Sterling High School in Somerdale, New Jersey, used twitter to communicate with friends about her foul feelings towards the high school principal. She’s accused of calling him a colorful name later seen by school officials.
But this was done at night, at her home, off of school property to three or four of her friends.
Further, the school wrote that the teen “will not be allowed to participate in any school sponsored events this year, including prom, senior trip, and graduation ceremonies“.
He filed a lawsuit against the Sterling High School District in federal court on Friday accusing the district of violating the student’s first amendment rights.
” You can’t dictate to your students what they can say on their own personal web pages,” declares Tannenbaum .”
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Filming Cops In The Course Of Their Duties Is Your Right
Published on Mar 15, 2014
” The Constitution provides protections for those who want to document the government through photography; in fact, it is one tool citizens have to hold the government accountable. So if you want to photograph law-enforcement officials, what can you do? What can’t you do? RT’s Perianne Boring takes a look at people’s rights when it comes to photographing or recording police in public places.”
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New York High School Student Suspended For NRA Pro-2nd Amendment T-Shirt
” A high school student in upstate New York was suspended for wearing an NRA T-shirt that touted the second amendment after he refused to turn it inside out or cover the words with duct tape.
Shane Kinney, a 16-year-old sophomore from Grand Island, located between Niagara Falls and Buffalo, said he served a one-day, in-school suspension Monday after he refused last Friday to turn his T-shirt inside out at the request of the vice principal at Grand Island High School. The shirt was emblazoned with the NRA logo and the words, “2nd Amendment Shall not be Infringed” across the back.
“ Mr. Lauria [the vice principal] told me I had to either turn the shirt inside out or put duct tape over the words,” Shane Kinney told FoxNews.com. “I told them that I wasn’t going to do it. I had to sit in the suspension room and eat lunch alone until my father brought me a new shirt to school.” “
Fox News has the whole story which is eerily reminiscent of Jared Marcum’s plight except that Jared was also arrested .
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In Light Of The Ongoing Constitutional Crisis In Connecticut We Thought This Article Deserved Reviewing
” As we look back on the horrors of the dictatorships and autocracies of the past, one particular question consistently arises; how was it possible for the common men of these eras to NOT notice what was happening around them? How could they have stood as statues unaware or uncaring as their cultures were overrun by fascism, communism, collectivism, and elitism? Of course, we have the advantage of hindsight, and are able to research and examine the misdeeds of the past at our leisure. Unfortunately, such hindsight does not necessarily shield us from the long cast shadow of tyranny in our own day. For that, the increasingly uncommon gift of foresight is required…
At bottom, the success of despotic governments and Big Brother societies hinges upon a certain number of political, financial, and cultural developments. The first of which is an unwillingness in the general populace to secure and defend their own freedoms, making them completely reliant on corrupt establishment leadership. For totalitarianism to take hold, the masses must not only neglect the plight of their country, and the plight of others, but also be completely uninformed of the inherent indirect threats to their personal safety. They must abandon all responsibility for their destinies, and lose all respect for their own humanity. They must, indeed, become domesticated and mindless herd animals without regard for anything except their fleeting momentary desires for entertainment and short term survival. For a lumbering bloodthirsty behemoth to actually sneak up on you, you have to be pretty damnably oblivious.
The prevalence of apathy and ignorance sets the stage for the slow and highly deliberate process of centralization. Once dishonest governments accomplish an atmosphere of inaction and condition a sense of frailty within the citizenry, the sky is truly the limit. However, a murderous power-monger’s day is never quite done. In my recent article ‘The Essential Rules of Liberty’ we explored the fundamentally unassailable actions and mental preparations required to ensure the continuance of a free society. In this article, let’s examine the frequently wielded tools of tyrants in their invariably insane quests for total control… “
Rule #1: Keep Them Afraid
Rule #2: Keep Them Isolated
Rule #3: Keep Them Desperate
Rule #4: Send Out The Jackboots
Rule #5: Blame Everything On The Truth Seekers
Rule #6: Encourage Citizen Spies
Rule #7: Make Them Accept The Unacceptable
We’ve added the links above to provide examples of what we believe demonstrates that all of the writer’s 7 rules are coming to be but they should be read as an adjunct to the article and not in place of it .
Read the whole article here and decide for yourself how far along with this process we are .
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Why Is The Obama Administration Putting Government Monitors In Newsrooms?
” The Obama Administration’s Federal Communication Commission (FCC) is poised to place government monitors in newsrooms across the country in an absurdly draconian attempt to intimidate and control the media.
Before you dismiss this assertion as utterly preposterous (we all know how that turned out when the Tea Party complained that it was being targeted by the IRS), this bombshell of an accusation comes from an actual FCC Commissioner.
Commissioner Ajit Pai reveals a brand new Obama Administration program that he fears could be used in “pressuring media organizations into covering certain stories.”
As Commissioner Pai explains in the Wall Street Journal:
Last May the FCC proposed an initiative to thrust the federal government into newsrooms across the country. With its “Multi-Market Study of Critical Information Needs,” or CIN, the agency plans to send researchers to grill reporters, editors and station owners about how they decide which stories to run. A field test in Columbia, S.C., is scheduled to begin this spring.
The purpose of the CIN, according to the FCC, is to ferret out information from television and radio broadcasters about “the process by which stories are selected” and how often stations cover “critical information needs,” along with “perceived station bias” and “perceived responsiveness to underserved populations.”
In fact, the FCC is now expanding the bounds of regulatory powers to include newspapers, which it has absolutely no authority over, in its new government monitoring program.”
Read more on this unbelievable display of chutzpah by our “Constitutional law” professor president at ACLJ. If the story wasn’t so chilling in it’s blatant disregard for constitutionally protected press freedoms one could almost laugh at the irony and sense of schadenfreude towards a press that has voluntarily been the government’s water-carrier for years now being subject to direct Statist intervention .
The ACLJ has started a petition to demand an end to this unconstitutional assault on freedom of the press which you can sign here .
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Woman Thrown In Jail For Legally Recording Traffic Stop
” The woman, Brandy Berning, was pulled over by Broward Sheriff Deputy William O’Brien after driving in the carpool lane on Interstate 95.
Berning immediately pulled out her cellphone and began audio recording the encounter, informing O’Brien several moments after he arrived to her driver side door.
“ Oh, I forgot to tell you I was recording our conversation,” Berning says.
Although Florida currently has a two-party consent law, which dictates that both parties must consent to being recorded, the supreme court has upheld that police officers do not have an expectation of privacy while working in public, therefore can be recorded without prior approval.
“ Ok, well I have to tell you that you’ve just committed a felony,” O’Brien says.
Confused at the false claim, Berning barely has time to react as the deputy begins demanding the phone, now heading towards the passenger side door.
“ You are committing a felony. Hand me the phone,” O’Brien says.
Berning can be heard demanding O’Brien leave her vehicle as the deputy climbs in and begins physically attempting to take the device.
“ I know the law better than you, believe me,” O’Brien says as Berning refuses to comply.”
Apparently Deputy O’Brien does not know the law better than Ms Berning and after assaulting her over the “felony” recording “crime” he didn’t even charge her for it …
Brandy Nicole Berning
Brandy Nicole Berning
” Charge(s)RESIST OFFICER-OBSTRUCT WITHOUT VIOLENCEIMPROPER CHANGE OF LANES
Arrest/Booking DateArrested: 03/21/2013 – 47 weeks 6 days agoBooking ID501301882
More Information
Name: Brandy Nicole Berning
Date of Birth: –/–/—
Race: WhiteGender: FemaleHeight (ft): 5′ 5″Height (cm): 165 cmWeight: 115 lbs.Hair Color: BrownEye Color: Green
Booking ID: 501301882Date of Arrest: 03/21/2013Age when Arrested: 32Arresting Agency: Broward Sheriff’s Office
Charge Desc: 1Charge Description: RESIST OFFICER-OBSTRUCT WITHOUT VIOLENCECharge Bond: 100.00Charge Bond USD: $100.00 USD Convert CurrencyCharge Desc: 2Charge Description: IMPROPER CHANGE OF LANESCharge Bond: 0.00Charge Desc: 3Charge Description: IMPROPER USE HOV LANECharge Bond: 0.00Charge Desc: 4Charge Description: PERS/INJ/PROT/INS REQUIRECharge Bond: 0.00Charge Desc: 5Charge Description: FAIL TO DISPLAY VEH REGCharge Bond: 0.00
IMPORTANT NOTICE:
All persons listed on this site are innocent till proven guilty. This information does NOT constitute a criminal record/history, and may not be interpreted as such. Information provided herein may not be relied upon for any type of legal action. This information is provided as a convenience to the general public and therefore no warranty is expressed or implied as to the accuracy, reliability, completeness, or timeliness of any information obtained through the use of this service.This information was or is current at or around the time of publishing. Any new information, i.e. new charges, dropped charges, etc.., please contact the appropriate State or County records dept.”
After enduring a night in jail the Sheriff’s office had second thoughts .
” After being forced to spend the night in jail, all of Berning’s charges were quietly dropped, giving more credibility to the idea that O’Brien’s only goal was illegal intimidation. Berning has now filed suit against the Broward Sheriff’s Department.”
The lawsuit is in the works. Read more at StoryLeak
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Meet CO-TRAVELER: The NSA’s Cell Phone Location Tracking Program
” An article yesterday in the Washington Post disclosed the NSA’s massive cell phone location program. The program, codenamed CO-TRAVELER, is designed to track who meets with whom and covers everyone who carries a cell phone, all around the world.
With neither public debate nor court authorization, CO-TRAVELER collects billions of records daily of cell phone user location information. It maps the relationships of cell phone users across global mobile network cables, gathering data about who you are physically with and how often your movements intersect with other cell phone users. The program even tracks when your phone is turned on or off.”
” The trillions of collected records, which add up to twice the amount of data in the Library of Congress’ print collection, are saved and stored in the NSA’s mammoth database called FASCIA. While allegedly aimed at foreigners and mobile phones overseas, the NSA admits that it has “incidentally” collected location information on U.S. persons.
CO-TRAVELER ignores fundamental values in the Constitution the NSA has sworn to uphold, including the right against unreasonable search and seizure as well as freedom of association. Thinking globally, the program disregards international human rights law, which is currently in the process of being reaffirmed in a draft resolution by the UN General Assembly.”
For the German speakers among us here is the only video we could find on the NSA’s Co-Traveler program . Big Brother has truly arrived .
2 + 2 = 5
Welcome to the twenty first century . Orwell wasn’t wrong , just off by a few years .
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Guns & Ammo Editor Fired For Second Amendment Piece
” Guns & Ammo magazine has apologized for running a column opining that regulating the Second Amendment is not an infringement on gun owners’ rights.
“I thought it would generate a healthy exchange of ideas on gun rights,” wrote contrite Jim Bequette, the magazine’s editor. “I miscalculated, pure and simple. I was wrong, and I ask your forgiveness.”
The publication has also fired the column’s writer, Dick Metcalf, a long-time editor at the firearm enthusiast magazine, which enjoys a circulation of 416,224, according to Alliance for Audited Media.
After the piece ran, Guns & Ammo came under fire from angry readers, besieging the magazine’s Facebook page.
Metcalf took the position that regulation does not equate to an infringement to bear arms, arguing that all constitutional rights are rightly regulated.”
We have to admit that we are having some reservations about the firing of Dick Metcalf . Their are no more stalwart supporters of the 2nd Amendment than the staff here at YouViewed and we must admit that when we initially came across his column our first thought was , to put it bluntly : “Gee , We hope they fire his **s” .
Unfortunately now that the deed is done , we can’t help but feel that in the process of firing a long-time associate for expressing a dissenting opinion we are becoming no different than our opponent . This is what the progressives do to the dissenters in their ranks , even as they proclaim from on high their undying devotion to “tolerance” .
We prefer to believe that we are made of different stock , yet just how “tolerant” are we ? Make no mistake , we agree with nothing about the regulation that Metcalf was advocating , but at the same we’re not so sure that we agree with the regulation of Mr Metcalf’s opinion either . They say the “2nd Amendment protects the 1st “… but is not the reverse equally true when properly employed ?
Perhaps the man needed to go and under no circumstances would we presume to tell any businessman how to run his affairs , yet this whole incident has forced us to consider anew the plight of the right … Do we have to become the enemy to defeat him ?
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Owe Back Taxes Or Talk Bad About Government? No Travel For You Anymore
” Planning on flying anywhere for the holidays? If you owe back taxes, are a frequent flyer, or own a blog that is critical of the government, you might want to rethink your plans. Under the radar in October, the TSA tightened their screening guide lines to include these in their “screenings”. In fact they want a full background check.
The procedure has been in place but was not activated until recently. The TSA released the screening regulations in order to comply with government requirements. The new regulations put some of the data collection of the National Security Administration (NSA) scrutiny to shame. As usual the details of the new provisions were never announced to the public.
So what are the things they are looking in to? Here is a quick list from TSA and the New York Times.
- private employment information to include who you work for
- vehicle registrations
- travel history
- property ownership records and what property you claim
- physical characteristics
- tax identification numbers and tax history
- past travel itineraries
- law enforcement information
- “intelligence” information (the key word list used by the NSA)
- passport numbers
- frequent flier information
- other “identifiers” linked to DHS databases (including web history and information, critical speaking of the government)
It has gotten so far out of hand that people came to the New York Times to get the information out.
I think the best way to look at it is as a pre-crime assessment every time you fly,” said Edward Hasbrouck, a consultant to the Identity Project, one of the groups that oppose the prescreening initiatives. “The default will be the highest, most intrusive level of search, and anything less will be conditioned on providing some additional information in some fashion.” “
This is wrong on so many levels that we don’t even know where to start .
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The Ministry of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Truth
Agent Jaime Zapata
Agent Brian Terry
” The frenzy over “Operation Fast and Furious” has been hard to avoid. It’s been the subject of a massive DOJ report, Congressional hearings, contempt votes, subpoena fights in federal court, and relentless media scrutiny. But if there’s one telling the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) would love to rectify, it’s the “thoughtcrime” account of Agent John Dodson, one of the ATF insiders who helped bring the operation to public light.
The ACLU sent a letter today to the ATF, which has refused to allow Agent Dodson to publish a manuscript about Fast and Furious. Our letter explains why the denial violates his First Amendment rights, and undermines the importance that whistleblowers and public employee speech play in revealing wrongdoing and contributing to public debate.
If “Fast and Furious” makes you think of Vin Diesel, and “gunwalking” of vigorous calisthenics, let’s back up a bit. The Phoenix field division of the ATF launched a gun smuggling investigation in late 2009, in which they deliberately let straw buyers get their hands on assault rifles, which agents hoped to follow south to their ultimate consumers – drug traffickers in Mexico. But the ATF lost track of some 2,000 weapons, later implicated in hundreds of murders in Mexico.
Foregoing redactions, they nixed his entire manuscript. Claiming a right to refuse publication requests “for any reason” (the ATF’s emphasis), the ATF explained to Agent Dodson that his book would have “a negative impact on morale in the Phoenix [Field Division] and would have a detrimental [sic] effect on our relationships with DEA and FBI.” Agent Dodson doesn’t deny that his book could add to the ATF scrutiny, or even its three-year streak of bad press as a result of the affair. But these reasons just don’t cut it when it comes to a whistleblower’s right to speak – and the public’s right to hear what he has to say.
We decided to send the ATF a friendly reminder that we don’t lose our rights to speak, write, and teach when we accept government employment. “
Some of the guns
Some of the victims
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VERMONT TRAFFIC STOP LEADS TO FEDERAL CIVIL RIGHTS DISPUTE (VIDEO)
” Rod MacIver received a faulty ticket in December which lead him to suing the small Vermont town of Shelburne. He arrived at court to fight the complaint but the judge in small claims court had to postpone the hearing. The police officers who were defending themselves were advised by their attorney to skip the court date and go to a local coffee shop instead. Now the ACLU has gotten involved and slapped the town with twin federal civil rights cases.
The ACLU believes that the officers violated MacIver’s Fourth Amendment rights in pulling him over for no reason and his First Amendment rights when the officer told him to “shut up or get ticketed”. Police initially argued that their video showed a violation, but then conceded later he was wrong and the man apparently committed no crime. Now the police are left to fight off MacIver and the ACLU.”
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