What bothers me most is not the fact that law enforcement is corrupt (by design apparently), it is the fact that the courts are just as corrupt. All the way up to the supreme court.
Every time LEOs need an out, the courts provide one. Cops don't need to know the laws they enforce. Cops don't need to know that they aren't supposed to violate the constitution. At both the federal and state level they have an easy out, created by the courts just for them. They just have to claim that their illegal and/or unconstitutional behaviour was made in good faith. (We all know, and the record supports, that they'll lie their asses off to accomplish this.) Between good faith and qualified immunity, they can do almost anything. And with the collusion of prosecutors (at all levels) they can literally get away with murder. Hell, they can get away with almost anything.
At this point, there probably isn't much anyone can do about it. Hell, we have two sex offenders on the Supreme Court as it is. Republicans will put in anyone who hates abortion and goes along with the fictional crap the corporations are people. Democrats will put in anyone who supports abortion rights. The only thing that really separates them at this point is that at least the Dems don't support sexual predators in the judiciary.
So if our illustrious politicians from Ohio use social media to spread alternative facts I can look forward to their arrests and convictions on counts of "inducing panic"?
The one thing in common in all of these stories is the behaviour of the cops.
They all exhibit the classic signs of being addicts. Instead of drugs or alcohol, they are addicted to seizures and forfeitures. They have become addicted to stealing from the public, plain and simple and no one can seem to rein them in.
Maybe it is time for some enterprising lawyers to start filing lawsuits. Not aimed at the cops themselves, but at their enablers. Don't sue the cops, sue the cities and counties they work for. There are so many constitutionally suspect practices involved, they should be able to bankrupt many local governments and force wholesale changes in policies and practices.
Of course, this assumes their buddies in the courts don't invent new ways to let them off the hook.
This is one of the saddest stories I have ever seen on TD. Not on TDs part, on the governments part. In this day and age, FOIA requests should be able to be fulfilled quickly and easily compared to when it first passed. That it takes so long, and more importantly, typically requires a federal lawsuit is just.... pathetic. I'd say that the government agencies should be ashamed of themselves. However, as they have amply demonstrated over the years, the government employees are incapable of that feeling.
One word describes voting in GA, and has for the last several decades. Diebold. And amazingly, all of the fuckups with Diebold equipment benefited one party. The same one doing everything they can to screw over everyone now. Again.
The Patriot Act's expansion of government power already lowered the bar for law enforcement, allowing it to obtain records without subpoenas or judicial review.
Even without lowering the bar, the judiciaries role is anemic almost to the point of being an afterthought. Y'all need to talk about meaningful oversight by the the courts. Currently, while their is oversight and approval by the courts, it's nothing more than a rubber stamp that is abused by LEOs on a daily basis. The state ethics boards refuse to investigate corrupt or mendacious judges, the legislatures refuse any oversight responsibilities that might conceivably affect re-election chances and the absolute immunity judges and prosecutors enjoy means there is absolute power, with zero responsibility or accountability.
While there may have been very good historical reasons for the way the courts are structured and ran, the judiciary has shown that they no longer merit any such consideration.
I still do not understand why anyone uses their "real" name online. I've been online since the mid '80s, on the 'Net since the early '90s, never used my legal name. Never have, never will.
quote: "Thus, there is a “realistic possibility” that forfeiture officials’ judgment “will be distorted by the prospect of institutional gain” -- the more revenues they raise, the more revenues they can spend."
Should read: Thus, there is a “realistic probability” that forfeiture officials’ judgment “will be distorted by the prospect of institutional and personal gain” -- the more revenues they raise, the more revenues they can keep.
On the post: Authors Guild Attacks Libraries For Lending Digital Books
It's as if the Author Guild lives in Bizarro world. If the NRA operated in the same way would be advocating for repeal of the second amendment.
On the post: New Japanese Law Lets Government Hack IOT Devices, Warn Owners They're Vulnerable
Agree with Doctorow and Boing Boing
It should really be called IoS, not IoT.
Internet of Shit not Internet of Things.
On the post: Facebook's Privacy Problems Are Piling Up Too Quickly To Chronicle
On the post: Federal Judge Says Boycotts Aren't Protected Speech
On the post: The Splinters Of Our Discontent: A Review Of Network Propaganda
Re: translation please
On the post: Sixth Circuit Appeals Court Latest To Say It's Cool If The FBI Broke The Law During Its Playpen Investigation
On the post: CBP Will Search You And Your Property If You're Paying Too Much Attention To An Agent. Or Too Little.
Every time LEOs need an out, the courts provide one. Cops don't need to know the laws they enforce. Cops don't need to know that they aren't supposed to violate the constitution. At both the federal and state level they have an easy out, created by the courts just for them. They just have to claim that their illegal and/or unconstitutional behaviour was made in good faith. (We all know, and the record supports, that they'll lie their asses off to accomplish this.) Between good faith and qualified immunity, they can do almost anything. And with the collusion of prosecutors (at all levels) they can literally get away with murder. Hell, they can get away with almost anything.
At this point, there probably isn't much anyone can do about it. Hell, we have two sex offenders on the Supreme Court as it is. Republicans will put in anyone who hates abortion and goes along with the fictional crap the corporations are people. Democrats will put in anyone who supports abortion rights. The only thing that really separates them at this point is that at least the Dems don't support sexual predators in the judiciary.
On the post: 'Fake News' Results In Real Jail Time For Ohio Woman
On the post: UK Cops Have Decided Impolite Online Speech Is Worth A Visit From An Officer
Re:
Bullying is no longer sustainable.
You ain't actually used the Internet, have you?
On the post: Denuvo-Protected Just Cause 4 Cracked In A Day, Suffering From Shitty Reviews
Re:
On the post: Philly Cops Skirting Forfeiture Restrictions By Seizing Cars As 'Evidence'
Addicted to seizures
The one thing in common in all of these stories is the behaviour of the cops.
They all exhibit the classic signs of being addicts. Instead of drugs or alcohol, they are addicted to seizures and forfeitures. They have become addicted to stealing from the public, plain and simple and no one can seem to rein them in.
Maybe it is time for some enterprising lawyers to start filing lawsuits. Not aimed at the cops themselves, but at their enablers. Don't sue the cops, sue the cities and counties they work for. There are so many constitutionally suspect practices involved, they should be able to bankrupt many local governments and force wholesale changes in policies and practices.
Of course, this assumes their buddies in the courts don't invent new ways to let them off the hook.
On the post: If You Want The Government To Hand Over Documents, You Might Want To Retain A Lawyer
On the post: Georgia's Brian Kemp Decides To Dox Absentee Voters, Revealing Why They All Voted Absentee
On the post: Georgia Scrambles To Patch Massive Vulnerabilities In Its Voter Registration System After Insisting It Was Totally Secure
On the post: NY Legislators Introduce Bill That Would Seriously Curb Law Enforcement's Surveillance Collections
On the post: Legislators Pushing A Patriot Act, But For Human Trafficking In The Wake Of FOSTA
The Patriot Act's expansion of government power already lowered the bar for law enforcement, allowing it to obtain records without subpoenas or judicial review.
Even without lowering the bar, the judiciaries role is anemic almost to the point of being an afterthought. Y'all need to talk about meaningful oversight by the the courts. Currently, while their is oversight and approval by the courts, it's nothing more than a rubber stamp that is abused by LEOs on a daily basis. The state ethics boards refuse to investigate corrupt or mendacious judges, the legislatures refuse any oversight responsibilities that might conceivably affect re-election chances and the absolute immunity judges and prosecutors enjoy means there is absolute power, with zero responsibility or accountability.
While there may have been very good historical reasons for the way the courts are structured and ran, the judiciary has shown that they no longer merit any such consideration.
On the post: The Scunthorpe Problem, And Why AI Is Not A Silver Bullet For Moderating Platform Content At Scale
Re: Re:
On the post: The Scunthorpe Problem, And Why AI Is Not A Silver Bullet For Moderating Platform Content At Scale
On the post: Brief To FISA Court Says The Presumption Of Openness Should Apply There, Too
Re: Re: Re: Spank the Feds ?
There you go chump.
On the post: Federal Judge Calls City's Asset Forfeiture Program Unconstitutional
quote: "Thus, there is a “realistic possibility” that forfeiture officials’ judgment “will be distorted by the prospect of institutional gain” -- the more revenues they raise, the more revenues they can spend."
Should read: Thus, there is a “realistic probability” that forfeiture officials’ judgment “will be distorted by the prospect of institutional and personal gain” -- the more revenues they raise, the more revenues they can keep.
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