Missouri: Police Threaten, Detain Motorist for Parking After Hours

Missouri: Police Threaten, Detain Motorist for Parking After Hours: "A motorist who refused to discuss his personal business with a St. George, Missouri police officer was threatened with arrest last Friday. Brett Darrow, 20, no stranger to unconventional encounters with police, caught a St. George Police Sergeant James Kuehnlein stating that he had the power to invent charges that would put Darrow behind bars. Update: Sergeant Kuehnlein was placed on unpaid leave Monday pending an investigation.

'Try and talk back... to me again,' yelled Sergeant Kuehnlein. 'I bet I could say you resisted arrest or something. You want to come up with something? I come up with nine things.'"

Police threating to invent reasons to arrest a person? No, that never happens in these United States, where we have the Bill of Rights. Oops, I forgot that "piece of paper" was gutted in our war against the "terrorists."

Watch the video here...

I think the next time I have a car, I will do what Mr. Darrow has done, load it with cameras and recording equipment. This kind of thing happens often. I have been in a few similar situations, walking, and many people I know have been as well. It is simple, we no longer have rights in the Fascist States of America...

The Raw Story | White House responds to request for info on Gonzales testimony

The Raw Story | White House responds to request for info on Gonzales testimony: "CNN Correspondent Suzanne Malveaux said the administration's letter declared that NSA programs other than the wiretapping program acknowledged by Bush are classified and cannot be discussed.

'So what they’re saying is everything else is secret but what he was talking about specifically was the Terrorist Surveillance Program,' she said Tuesday.

A spokeswoman for Sen. Patrick Leahy, the committee chairman who also is expected to receive the administration's response, told RAW STORY early Tuesday afternoon that he had not seen the letter."

What other programs are they running behind our backs? I cannot even imagine with the technology that is available to the NSA. Spy satellites, house bugs, electronic records...

ABC News: POLL: Surveillance Cameras Win Broad Support

ABC News: POLL: Surveillance Cameras Win Broad Support: "Given the chief arguments, pro and con — a way to help solve crimes vs. too much of a government intrusion on privacy — it isn't close: 71 percent of Americans favor the increased use of surveillance cameras, while 25 percent oppose it.".

Somehow, this does not surprise me... I think it is always quite amazing how willing people are to invite supreme government control into their lives. In my city, the residents are pushing to have cameras installed throughout the streets. The fact is, however, that cameras do not necessarily reduce crime.

From this ABC news article, page 2:

"Effective at Documenting Crime, Less Effective at Reducing It

But have they been effective at cutting crime?

According to a British Home Office review of dozens of studies analyzing the cameras' value at reducing crime, half showed a negative or negligible effect and the other half showed a negligible decrease of 4 percent at most. Researchers found that crime in Glasgow, Scotland, actually increased by 9 percent after cameras were installed there."

Cameras are only the latest invitation of governmental control that the local citizens have asked for. In my neighborhood, they are trying to make the area a historical district. The fact is, that there are no architecturally significant buildings in the area. In fact, it was a cookie-cutter development when the houses were built. How do I know? Because my great-grandfather owned the land and started the development himself. By making it a historical district, the local code enforcement gestapo can then tell you what colors your house can be painted, can disallow you to use vinyl siding, and they can force you to revert back to the original blueprints and specifications anytime you renovate your house, among many, many other things. This drives up the cost of materials and labor, not to mention that you can no longer make your house your own.

Just a few weeks ago, driven by neighbor's complaints, the city council has disallowed paving of your yard. The people who complained stated that by replacing grass with concrete, it was hurting their "quality of life." What whine-asses. These were the kids in the back of the grade school classroom that were constantly saying "Tommy's touching me" and "Fred just picked his nose." Are they going to have patio bricks outlawed next? What happened to private property?

Anytime one of these kind of laws passes, we are giving up a bit of freedom, and these people seem to want it that way...

[Oh, yes, I forgot to mention that, from what I understand, if code enforcement comes to my door randomly and decides to inspect my home, I have to let them in. It does not matter if they even suspect I have been doing work. If they find anything wrong, I am subject to fines, and worse. What happened to due process and the protection from illegal searches?]

Think Progress » Gonzales Contradicts Prior Statements, Confirms Existence Of Other Spying Programs

Think Progress » Gonzales Contradicts Prior Statements, Confirms Existence Of Other Spying Programs: "Today, Gonzales said Comey was referring to “other intelligence activities,” appearing to confirm that the Bush administration is operating more than one warrantless domestic spying program."

The administration might be lying to us about the scope of its surveillance activities on U.S. citizens? That never happened before...

Oh, yeah, this was said while the secret, warrantless wiretap program was running:

"'Any time you hear the United States government talking about wiretap, it requires -- a wiretap requires a court order,' he [BUSH] said on April 20, 2004 in Buffalo, New York."

More secrets, more lies, and more lies to cover up those secrets and lies. This is what the United States' presidential office has fallen to...

The Gestappo Paid Me A Visit... Schenectady, NY

Thursday night, my friend and I were hanging out having a few beers. As the night progressed, we became a bit too loud with our music and goofing off, but the night was now winding down, because I had a trip to make in the morning. As I was drifting off to sleep, just after 1:30AM or so on Friday morning, my friend woke me up to tell me that the police were outside the house. Ok, no problem, I figured. They were probably going to give me a ticket for being too loud. They had never been called here for noise before.

So, half asleep and tipsy, I wandered down the stairs to accept my minor punishment. Unfortunately, I did not know what I was in for.

As soon as I opened the door, I was grabbed by the police and thrown on the floor of my porch. They then attempted to cuff me. I asked them what this was about, why I was being cuffed, and why I was being arrested. They gave me no answer, so, naturally I began to resist, asking why I was being arrested again. Before I knew it, one of the police was on me, punching the crap out of my ribs, over and over. My major focus was on that officer, but there were others joining in. When the attack began, I yelled for my friend. [While I was being attacked, a couple of officers were laughing at my "COME BACK WITH A WARRANT" door mat, like it was a joke...]

He came down the stairs just in time to witness the one cop repeatedly punching me. After a few more punches, the cop realized he was being watched, and ceased. I continued to resist, as my question had not been answered. They continued to attack me. My friend pleaded with the cops to stop, and then my friend pleaded with me to stop resisting, though the arrest was unlawful. At some point during the beating, they got the cuffs on me. Soon after that, I went limp, and continued to demand an explanation. At no point had I hit an officer, as their charges would show the next morning. I simply twisted and writhed to avoid being cuffed for no stated reason. After the cuffs were on, as their charges would also show, I used passive resistance.

After they dragged me off the porch, I asked again why I was being arrested, and they finally said that my music was too loud. I asked the officer where the decibel meter was, and got no response. Let's not forget, that a noise ordinance violation is just that: a violation. It is like getting a ticket for littering or not picking up a dog's feces. It is by no means a reason to cuff me.

Next they dragged me over to the back of the cruiser, and bounced my head off the trunk a few times, until my nose was bleeding and left a nice streak of blood on the vehicle. Soon, I was loaded into the transfer van and headed off to jail. I did not answer any questions during the booking process, including those of the social worker. I do not remember them asking anything about a phone call, though I could be wrong there, everything was so chaotic. (They claim I refused it. I did, however, ask for one many times later)

They placed me on suicide watch, because I refused to answer the social worker's questions, and I was left in the cell naked for a while. Finally, they left me with a cheap paper smock, that shredded when I tried to put it on. So I made do the best I could to cover myself and stay warm with the shreds of paper. I also let every person in the area know what was going on, by shouting over and over. At that point, that was all I could do.

In the morning they gave me my clothes back, and let me talk to a public defender. Apparently, because I own a house, I do not qualify for a public defender, though the defender gave me some good advice, anyway. [The only decent thing of the night] Then I went to my arraignment. (What happened to the right to counsel? I am just as poor as the people who were next to me but happened to rent.)

I have never been arrested before(I am 27), own a house, lived in Schenectady most of my life, and only was charged with a misdemeanor of resisting arrest and a violation of the noise ordinance, so the Judge saw fit to release me on my own recognizance.

My sister was in court to make sure they did not railroad me, so I went to her nearby house afterwards. From there I called my friend, to find out more about what happened. It turns out that they supposedly received a report of "shots fired" and "people fighting" at the house, which was later confirmed through some connections he has with law enforcement. They asked him if they could search the house, and since he has a family and did not want to end up in jail with me, he consented. It is too bad that it was an illegal search, because he does not live there. They found absolutely nothing in the house. Thank god my friend was there to secure my dogs, because the Schenectady police are known to shoot dogs on sight, even if they do not attack. Of course, they would not let my friend back into the house to let the dogs loose.

So my father, who lives with me, and downstairs neighbors did not wake up during our excessive noise, nor the arrest, though that took place outside, where it was not as easily heard.

Ok, so now the questions.

How can I be charged with resisting arrest when I should not have been arrested for the noise violation?

If there was, in fact, a report of shots fired, why did they not check to see if my downstairs neighbors were alright when they found no guns in my house?

Did they use force on the account of the fact that I know my rights? Perhaps they thought that I would be trouble with my WARRANT mat.

Did they fake the music citation because they realized they had screwed up?

If it was simply a noise complaint, why did the show up with 4 or 5 cruisers and six or seven officers?

I did not hit an officer, according to them, so why did they beat the crap out of me?

Why did they immediately take me down, without a single question?

I ended up with scrapes and bruises all over my body and, as confirmed at the hospital, a fractured rib. I have also been in intense pain since the incident, and the pain is only now starting to wane. I look forward to seeing the police report. I was drinking, but I am almost 100% sure that I am not forgetting anything that happened that night, and my friend was witness to the incident. Let me also be clear, that when they started violating my rights, I started acting like a real jerk, with a lot of foul language. I was mad, and I was getting beaten. I was not being nice at that point.

I am just now able to sit at the computer long enough to write this, now that the pain from my ribs has dulled enough that it can be taken care of with pain medication.

My sister's account of the entire situation is here, she is almost as pissed as I am.

SAN FRANCISCO / Judges OK warrantless monitoring of Web use / Privacy rules don't apply to Internet messages, court says

SAN FRANCISCO / Judges OK warrantless monitoring of Web use / Privacy rules don't apply to Internet messages, court says: "Federal agents do not need a search warrant to monitor a suspect's computer use and determine the e-mail addresses and Web pages the suspect is contacting, a federal appeals court ruled Friday.

In a drug case from San Diego County, the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco likened computer surveillance to the 'pen register' devices that officers use to pinpoint the phone numbers a suspect dials, without listening to the phone calls themselves."

Damn, here we go again.

Court nixes suit against spying program - Yahoo! News

Court nixes suit against spying program - Yahoo! News: "CINCINNATI - A federal appeals court on Friday ordered the dismissal of a lawsuit challenging President Bush's domestic spying program, saying the plaintiffs had no standing to sue.

The 2-1 ruling by the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals panel was not on the legality of the surveillance program. But it vacated an order by a lower court in Detroit last Augist that the post-911 warrantless surveillance aimed at uncovering terrorist activity was unconstitutional, violating rights to privacy and free speech and the separation of powers."

Typical.

The Raw Story | Judge gives go-ahead to lawsuit against Bush's bank transfer spying program

The Raw Story | Judge gives go-ahead to lawsuit against Bush's bank transfer spying program: "A federal judge in Chicago last week rejected a motion to dismiss a lawsuit filed against a Belgium-based bank transfer clearinghouse that collaborated with an anti-terrorism spying program led by the US Department of Treasury. The judge's decision will allow two plaintiffs to press their case that the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication (SWIFT) violated the Fourth Amendment and financial privacy rights of bank customers throughout the United States when it collaborated with president George W. Bush's so-called 'Terrorist Finance Tracking Program.'"

Hooray for that judge. That is what they are supposed to do, determine whether a law is in line with the constitution and to act as a check to the executive branch... Unfortunately, if it reaches Bush's cronies in the Supreme Court, the program will stand.

Homeland Security opposes passport rule delay - USATODAY.com

Homeland Security opposes passport rule delay - USATODAY.com: "WASHINGTON — The Homeland Security Department is vigorously fighting a move by Congress to delay a requirement that U.S. citizens show a passport to re-enter the country by land or sea from Mexico, Canada, Bermuda or the Caribbean, saying it puts the nation's borders at risk."

Yes, because the Americans are the true "terrorists." We must be, that is why they are wiretapping our phones, reading our emails, watching our internet activities, searching our bodies and our homes, with or without a rubber-stamped warrant. This is why habeas corpus is gone, detention centers are being built, freedom of speech is being curtailed, and the Posse Commitus act has been nullified. And finally, this is why King George has given himself the powers of a dictator during the next national emergency, to prevent we the terrorists from destroying his government. When will the rest of the sheep pull the wool from their eyes, and stop believing that the administration is protecting our "freedom."

FBI Data Mining Program Raises Eyebrows in Congress : TruthEra.com - Uncover the Truth

FBI Data Mining Program Raises Eyebrows in Congress : TruthEra.com - Uncover the Truth: "Of further concern to the two congressmen are the FBI’s stated hopes to “pro-actively” mine the data to find terrorists using “predictive” analysis, according to its budget request, an unproven method according to experts and even the U.S. intelligence chief’s office.

In theory, predictive analysis involves mapping a known pattern of terrorist behavior — for instance, the sequence and timing of such mundane activities as bank transactions and travel purchases — against a massive collection of such records like the NSAC databases. If an individual’s actions match the pattern, they can be considered a suspect, even if they have no known ties to any suspected terrorists or known terrorist groups."

This is crazy, sounds a little like Minority Report. By grouping all 1.5 billion records together, and monitoring them, they will essentially be watching for "pre-crime." We will be suspects before we have even done anything.

Bush: Russians have derailed reforms - Yahoo! News

Bush: Russians have derailed reforms - Yahoo! News: "'In Russia, reforms that once promised to empower citizens have been derailed, with troubling implications for democratic development,' Bush said, speaking at a conference of current and former dissidents."

Ok, Mr Bush, how arrogant of you to say this, when you are doing the same for your own country. Examples: warrantless wiretapping, limiting free speech (free speech zones, journalist arrests, surveillance of peaceful activists), virtual elimination of habeas corpus, revision of "enemy combatants" to possibly include Americans, elimination of the Posse Commitus act, warrantless searches, torture of "enemy combatants," dictator-like powers in the case of a national emergency, and the list goes on.

Bush derails attempts to end illegal wiretapping | Press Esc

Bush derails attempts to end illegal wiretapping | Press Esc: "President Bush derailed a bill by the US Congress aimed at ending the Administration's illegal wiretapping by not providing documents related to the President’s warrantless wiretapping program to the Senate Intelligence Committee that is currently reviewing the proposed legislation"

Why should King George have to account to anyone anyway? This is not a democracy, but his "democracy," and his alone.

Which ISPs Are Spying on You?

"Wired News, with help from some readers, attempted to get real answers from the largest United States-based ISPs about what information they gather on their customers' use of the internet, and how long they retain records like IP addresses, e-mail and real-time browsing activity."

"Internet surveillance recently got easier, as the deadline passed last week for ISPs to equip their networks to federal specifications for real-time surveillance of a target's e-mails, VOIP calls and internet usage -- as well as data like IP address assignment and web URLs. While law enforcement currently prefers to ask for stored internet records rather than get real-time surveillance, that balance may shift once the nation's networks are wired to government surveillance standards."

read more | digg story


Of course, the corporations are keeping their mouths shut. They are probably stockpiling terabytes upon terabytes of information for the government. It is of course, for our own safety. Must stop those terrorists, by reading the email about dinner tonight.

Papers, Please...

I really hate the powers that the police now have. Over the last year, I have been stopped, for absolutely no reason, twice. Both times, I was walking.

I will start with the second time. That day, I was helping my sister move, using a car borrowed form my other sister. After a few hours of running back and forth, the car started having mechanical problems, so we called it a night. I started walking home at about 11 PM. On my way home, I walked through one of the few neighborhoods that still have decent property values in Schenectady. About 300 ft. past the border of that good neighborhood, a car coming the opposite way pulled over towards me. When I saw the tell-tale spot light, I knew what I was in for.

The window rolls down, and the cop says, "Where are you going?"

I replied "Home."

He asks, "Where is that?"

Starting to get annoyed, I answer "Bradley St." Unfortunately, I was very tired, and did not want to challenge his questions. All I wanted was to hit the bed, but I did not feel like the jail would be comfortable to rest in that night.

He then asks me where I was coming from, what I was doing there, and demands that I show him ID. I was stone-cold sober, not acting suspicious in any way, and I was not carrying anything suspicious with me. For that, I get 20 questions, and he runs my license to ensure that I do not have any warrants. God forbid that I walk through a good neighborhood after dark.


The first time, however, I had had a few beers. My brother was home from the military on leave, and had gone to get beer. I went after him a few minutes later, because he had had a few more than I, and I wanted to make sure he got back OK. There are three stores in a small area that he could have gone to, and somehow, we missed each other. After going to each store, I assumed that he was already heading back to my house. I started walking home, and suddenly, a police car rolled up on me.

Two officers got out, and asked me where I was going. I told them I was going home, and that it was right across the hospital parking lot. Though I had a few beers, I was walking and acting normally, and I take the shortcut through the parking lot almost every day. I had a decent buzz, but was far from drunk. I asked them why they had stopped me, and they replied by telling me that I had to come with them. I kept asking why I was stopped, and about the third time, one of the officers pulled out his handcuffs. They slammed me on the back of the car and cuffed me, extremely tight. Meanwhile, they kept screaming, "Stop resisting!" Ok, I was not physically resisting, I was verbally asking why they had stopped me. Then they shoved me into the back of the car.

Much to my surprise, they brought me home, un-cuffed me and let me go. I guess they did not want any paperwork.

Unfortunately, before they threw me into the car, they took one of my favorite pocket knives. I have never carried a knife as a weapon, but as a tool, like I was told by my father when he gave me my first knife at 5 years old. I bet it ended up in one of their pocket's.


As far as I am concerned, both cases amount to illegal search and seizure, but today, the constitution is practically ignored. The next time I will tell the police that I left my walking license at home. [ By the way, after talking with my brother, he assured me that he had done nothing wrong, so they had not confused me with him... ]