News to Me: Big Sis: Obama Admin Can Pick Which Laws To Enforce
Wednesday, April 24, 2013
During her testimony on the “Gang of Eight” immigration bill before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Tuesday, Department of Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano declared that she, President Barack Obama and other political officials at the top of this administration have the authority to decide which laws to enforce, and which ones to ignore.
Napolitano made the declaration in an exchange with Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-AL) when he was questioning her on how Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents have alleged that political officials in the Obama administration, including her, have blocked them from enforcing the law.
Sessions noted that ICE agents’ union president Chris Crane had testified on Monday “that agents are prohibited from enforcing the law and, indeed, the ICE officers have filed a lawsuit [to that effect].”
“I started out as a federal prosecutor in the Department of Justice in 1975,” Sessions said. “I have never heard of a situation in which a group of law officers sued their supervisor and you for blocking them from following the law. They weren’t complaining about pay, benefits, working conditions. They were saying their very oath they took, to enforce the law, is being blocked by rules and regulations and policies established from on high and that this is undermining their ability to do what they’re sworn to do.”
News to Me: Morris Dees – Jewish Pervert Advises DHS On Patriots
by Robert Lindsay — (“Morris Dees, Pathological Narcissist & Ultracreep,”June 23, 2009) edited by henrymakow.com
News to Me: WHY IS DHS THE BIGGEST PREPPER IN AMERICA?
By J.B. Williams
March 25, 2013
Since Barack Hussein Obama seized command and control of the most powerful government and military on earth in 2008, literally hundreds of “prepper” groups have sprung up all over the country stockpiling weapons, ammo, food, water, building safe zone shelters and plotting bug out routes.
Is it because Obama is part Black African, making all preppers some new breed of racists? Or is it because despite Obama’s moderate campaign rhetoric, people are witnessing the fastest demise of an economic and military superpower in world history?
If preppers are just backwoods nutty racists, what does that say about DHS and our federal government?
The FED has become the biggest prepper in America, stockpiling billions of rounds of ammo, assault weapons, military armored assault vehicles marked and designed for domestic use, while stockpiling food, water and shelter for federal authorities and marking every American who owns a Christian Bible or a pocket Constitution as a “potential domestic terrorist?”
Despite calls from congress to explain all of these prepper purchases, Obama’s DHS is refusing to answer those questions.
“I’ve got a list of various questions of agencies about multiple things. Far from being the most transparent administration in the world, they are the most closed and opaque,” Congressman Huelscamp said. - Huelscamp added that it wasn’t just he who has been raising the issue. - “They refuse to let us know what is going on, so I don’t really have an answer for that. Multiple members of Congress are asking those questions.”It doesn’t take a PH.D in economics to grasp the reality that no individual, business or nation can continue to spend resources it does not have, once there is no one left to borrow it from. In fact, PH.Ds and so-called “scholars” seem to be the only people in America having trouble grasping this reality.
The Obama administration has driven our national debt up nearly 70% in little more than one term. That makes this administration by far the largest deficit spending government in world history and we are fast running out of folks to borrow from.
Seven trillion in new debt has not stimulated a single dollar in new commerce or economic growth, with the exception of record gun and ammo sales. A video produced by Western Journalism accurately depicts a looming financial apocalypse and Obama’s intention to keep the political elite afloat by robbing the savings of millions of American citizens.
Farfetched? What did the EU just do in Cyprus? “Cypriots rushed to pull their money out of banks and ATMs before the tiny Mediterranean nation’s government could finalize a plan to seize depositors’ funds to satisfy euro zone leaders, sparking a run that prompted banks to be closed until at least Thursday.” According to FOX News
Not only has the Obama administration set the world record for increasing national debt in a single term, they are continuing to drive the nation further and further in debt at a record pace, with the stated intent of continuing deficit spending for at least another twenty-years. There is no nation on earth capable of loaning the United States that money and most nations have already cut-off money supply to what is now rightfully referred to around the globe as the world’s greatest parasite nation.
The only place left for Obama to grab cash is the American people themselves, money sitting in 401(k)s.
According to investors.com, Americans have approximately $3 trillion invested in 401(k) retirement accounts, now only 17.6% of our current national debt. “In plain English,” said Gingrich and Ferrara, “the idea is for the government to take your retirement savings in return for a promise to pay you some monthly benefit in your retirement years.”
If these reports are true, and there is almost no chance that they are false, then the Obama administration and their friends in congress are going to need all of those guns and ammo to defend themselves from American citizens once they rob them of their life savings.
In addition, the Obama administration is continuing to import Jihadists (aka Muslim refugees) from around the globe and resettle them in American cities. They are arming known terrorists all over the globe while attempting to strip all law abiding Americans of their inalienable Second Amendment Rights.
While Obama has his DHS tracking Christians, Veterans and Constitutionalists across the country, more than seventy known Jihad training camps remain on U.S. soil undisturbed by federal, state or local law enforcement.
Even worse is the reality that Obama has placed known traitors like John Kerry or known Muslims at the helm of every major federal agency.
As if rushing America into a European version of Marxist economic collapse isn’t bad enough, Obama is dismantling the American military with homosexual experiments and defunding national security while continuing to arm terrorists.
American Schools and Air Traffic Control towers are closing by the hundreds all over the country due to disastrous Obama economic policies. But billions in American tax dollars are still flowing to Obama’s Muslim Brothers all over the world.
Even for the most diehard American Democrat, the Obama strategy for destroying America should be quite clear by now.
1. Destroy the American economy
2. Import Jihadists
3. Place known traitors at the helm of U.S. policy
4. Dismantle the American military
5. Destroy national security
6. Turn law enforcement against average Americans
7. Protect and fund Jihadists everywhere
8. Rob Americans of their resources and rights
9. Arm the FED for Civil Disobedience
10. Disarm all law-abiding Citizens before they figure out what’s happening here
Obama has already accomplished nine steps in his fast-track ten step plan for destroying America. Seizing American weapons and savings is all that’s left to accomplish.But the most alarming part of all is the fact that the American people still sit in silence, appearing to be none the wiser. At some point the American people will wake up and the longer it takes for that moment to arrive, the more violent their backlash.
This is why DHS is the biggest prepper in America today. It’s only a matter of time before the wheels fall off of this wagon. When people like Obama aim to create chaos, at some point, they lose control of that chaos.
The FED is clearly prepping for that eventuality, even as most Americans remain dead asleep and completely unaware. They never saw it coming because it could never happen here…
© 2013 JB Williams - All Rights Reserved
News to Me: DHS-FBI Suspicious Activity Reporting Bulletin: Recruiting
February 12, 2013 in Department of Homeland Security, Federal Bureau of Investigation
ROLL CALL RELEASE
- 1 page
- For Official Use Only
(U//FOUO) Terrorists are attempting to recruit new members in the United States and overseas to support their operations, obtain funding, and conduct terrorist attacks. For example, in May 2012, Maryland-based Mohammad Hassan Khalid pled guilty to attempting to use the Internet to recruit individuals who had the ability to travel to and around Europe to conduct terrorist acts, in addition to providing logistical and financial support to terrorists. In prior cases of recruitment, individuals who were willing to participate in terrorist acts became involved with known and suspected terrorists, participated in paramilitary training abroad, or tried to acquire small arms and build explosives.
(U//FOUO) The following SAR incident from the NSI shared space is an example of an individual being recruited to commit violence. The example is provided for situational awareness and training:
— (U//FOUO) An individual contacted the police to report being approached by two subjects about supplying firearms and participating in an attack on a military installation. The subjects were arrested and charged with conspiracy to murder officers and employees of the US Government after being observed conducting surveillance of targets, testing security, and acquiring weapons for the attack. One of the subjects pled guilty to the charges and is awaiting sentencing.
(U) Past Activities Observed in Individuals Recruited to Participate in Terrorism
(U//FOUO) Studies of terrorist actors have identified particular behaviors that have been observed in individuals vulnerable to recruitment or who have been recruited, and were ready to commit acts of violence. Any one of these activities may be insignificant on its own, but when observed in combination with other prior observed behaviors—particularly advocacy of violence—may constitute a basis for reporting.
— (U//FOUO) Acceptance of violence as a legitimate form of political activity, expressed willingness to commit acts of violence, or close association with individuals or groups suspected of violent extremism.
— (U//FOUO) Communication with violent extremists, either through direct contact or virtually, or active participation in violent extremist blogs, chat rooms, and password-protected websites.
— (U//FOUO) Interest in paramilitary and explosives training or reconnaissance and surveillance activities in a manner reasonably indicative of pre-operational planning.
— (U//FOUO) Possession of literature written by and for violent extremist groups on terrorist techniques, including use of explosives, poisons, firearms and heavy weapons (when combined with other prior observed behaviors).
— (U//FOUO) Involvement by individuals—who otherwise never committed a crime—in theft, fraud, and illegal activities to fund terrorist causes.
(U//FOUO) In addition, individuals or groups attempting to enlist others to participate in acts of violence or terrorism should be reported to authorities.
(U//FOUO) These identified activities have been observed in cases of mobilization to violence, but are not a concrete formula for predicting illegal activity. First Ammendment-protected activities should not be reported in a SAR or ISE-SAR absent articulable facts and circumstances that support the source agency’s suspicion that the behavior observed is not innocent, but rather reasonably indicative of criminal activity associated with terrorism, including evidence of pre-operational planning related to terrorism. Race, ethnicity, national origin, or religious affiliation should not be considered as factors that create suspicion (although these factors may be used in specific subject descriptions). DHS and FBI are not advocating interference with the rights of law-abiding individuals. There may be a legitimate reason why some of the observed behaviors are present; it is up to you to determine when that is not the case.
DHS Says Gun Owners Are Terrorists
Kurt Nimmo
Infowars.com
January 17, 2013Following Obama’s choreographed attack on the Second Amendment earlier this week, the Department of Homeland Security announced it will join the administration, the Justice Department and the FBI in a renewed attack on firearms.
Under the guise of preventing what is largely unpreventable short of disarming the entire country – eliminating “active shooter” situations – DHS boss Janet Napolitano announced on Wednesday she will work to “identify measures that could be taken to reduce the risk of mass casualty shootings,” in other words, disarming law-abiding gun owners.
The Department of Homeland Security is basically an interior ministry ostensibly created in response to the attacks of September 11, 2001. Although its stated goal is to prepare for, prevent, and respond to domestic emergencies, particularly terrorism, it has, since its creation in October of 2001, pursued its real and unstated objective – acting as an internal political police force tasked with undermining and attacking enemies of the ruling elite.
DHS: Global Elite’s Secret Political Police
The DHS is not dedicated to preventing “future mass casualty shootings,” as Napolitano recently stated, but is assigned the critical task of attacking political enemies considered a threat to the globalist status quo. From lurid fictional claims about “rightwing extremists” to shepherding a national effort to undermine and destroy an idealistic Occupy movement, the DHS has repeatedly demonstrated that it is a political secret police.
The “Rightwing Extremism: Current Economic and Political Climate Fueling Resurgence in Radicalization and Recruitment” document leaked to the alternative media in 2009 set the stage for demonizing gun owners and Second Amendment advocates in addition to a panoply of other political groups derisively tagged as “rightwing extremist” by the government.
The Missouri Information Analysis Center (MIAC) also produced a document in 2009 warning about the danger of a purported “Modern Militia Movement,” including the likes of Ron Paul, Bob Barr and Chuck Baldwin. MIAC and fusion centers around the country coordinated with the DHS to “collect, evaluate, analyze, and disseminate information and intelligence” on the supposed threat of libertarians and constitutionalists, including Second Amendment advocates. Between 2004 and 2007, the DHS provided $254 million to fusion centers engaged in surveilling Americans considered a terrorist threats by the government.
Earlier this year, the DHS released a report, “Hot Spots of Terrorism and Other Crimes in the United States, 1970 to 2008,” that employed the phrase “extreme right-wing, ethno-nationalist/separatist” to describe individuals and groups it claims pose a domestic terrorist threat.
Conflating liberty issues with racism is a deliberate attempt to further demonize Americans opposed to the policies of the federal government. Designating opposition as racist is a well-tread path taken by the corporate media and Democrats, particularly since the election of Obama.
According to the latest DHS report, “the new ‘terrorists’ in this country are the Americans who love liberty, hate unconstitutional government edicts and fear the bureaucrats running Washington, D.C.,” writes Pat Shannan. “Second Amendment advocates are at the top of this ‘terrorist’ list, but a mere ‘pro-life’ bumper sticker might be enough to make one suspect in the eyes of a dumbed-down cop who forgot his oath.”
Pentagon Joins Effort to Target Pro-Second Amendment Movement
More recently, the government enlisted a West Point think tank to produce propaganda detailing the so-called “far right” and warn about white supremacists teaming up with the “anti-federalist movement” to attack political enemies, the government and most notably the police.
The West Point report specifically targets the patriot movement and constitutionalists opposed to a federal government controlled by an international financial oligarchy. These violence-prone terrorists, the report states,
espouse strong convictions regarding the federal government, believing it to be corrupt and tyrannical, with a natural tendency to intrude on individuals’ civil and constitutional rights. Finally, they support civil activism, individual freedoms, and self government. Extremists in the anti-federalist movement direct most their violence against the federal government and its proxies in law enforcement. (Emphasis added.)
The last sentence in the above underscores the purpose of the report generated by the United States Military academy – demonizing libertarians, constitutionalists, and specifically advocates of the Second Amendment as violent terrorists who pose a direct threat to law enforcement. The effort is designed to radicalize the elite’s front line – police and first responders – and set them against the “far right.”
Establishment Media’s Orchestrated Propaganda Campaign
The establishment media’s concerted campaign against the Second Amendment has delivered a relentless barrage of polarizing and divisive propaganda in the wake of the Sandy Hook massacre in December.
CBS Chief Washington Correspondent and anchor of Face the Nation, Bob Schieffer, demonstrated the absurd lengths the establishment will go to trash the Constitution and sow fear and dissension of firearm ownership.
Following Obama’s speech earlier this week, Schieffer said dismantling the Second Amendment may present a formidable task, but one less daunting than passing civil rights legislation or defeating Nazi Germany in World War II.
Producing a relentless wave of skewed surveys and op-eds in favor of “gun control” and “gun safety” (the latest misleading euphemism) reveals the urgency of the effort to disarm America and render it helpless.
Conclusion: Law-abiding Gun Owners Are the Target, Not al-Qaeda Terrorists
It is now obvious what is going on in the wake of Sandy Hook – the establishment is finally pulling out the last remaining stops in its long envisioned disarmament of the American people in accord with its ultimate plan to usher in a one-world government and financial system. A well-armed and educated populace prevents the global elite from realizing this objective.
In order to realize this required disarmament, supporters and defenders of not only the Second Amendment but the Constitution at large must be branded as renegade terrorists who threaten police. The cynical propaganda effort to pose law enforcement against a growing liberty movement is key to the elite’s effort to impose an authoritarian police state on America, a plan that will not be successful if the American people are allowed to possess firearms more potent than 22 caliber bolt-action rifles.
List of words government monitors online revealed (or what words I will start using in every blog post)
- Department of Homeland Security forced to release list following freedom of information request
- Agency insists it only looks for evidence of genuine threats to the U.S. and not for signs of general dissent
The Department of Homeland Security has been forced to release a list of keywords and phrases it uses to monitor social networking sites and online media for signs of terrorist or other threats against the U.S.
The intriguing the list includes obvious choices such as ‘attack’, ‘Al Qaeda’, ‘terrorism’ and ‘dirty bomb’ alongside dozens of seemingly innocent words like ‘pork’, ‘cloud’, ‘team’ and ‘Mexico’.
Released under a freedom of information request, the information sheds new light on how government analysts are instructed to patrol the internet searching for domestic and external threats.
The words are included in the department’s 2011 ‘Analyst’s Desktop Binder’ used by workers at their National Operations Center which instructs workers to identify ‘media reports that reflect adversely on DHS and response activities’.
Department chiefs were forced to release the manual following a House hearing over documents obtained through a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit which revealed how analysts monitor social networks and media organisations for comments that ‘reflect adversely’ on the government.
However they insisted the practice was aimed not at policing the internet for disparaging remarks about the government and signs of general dissent, but to provide awareness of any potential threats.
As well as terrorism, analysts are instructed to search for evidence of unfolding natural disasters, public health threats and serious crimes such as mall/school shootings, major drug busts, illegal immigrant busts.
The list has been posted online by the Electronic Privacy Information Center - a privacy watchdog group who filed a request under the Freedom of Information Act before suing to obtain the release of the documents.
In a letter to the House Homeland Security Subcommittee on Counter-terrorism and Intelligence, the centre described the choice of words as ‘broad, vague and ambiguous’.
They point out that it includes ‘vast amounts of First Amendment protected speech that is entirely unrelated to the Department of Homeland Security mission to protect the public against terrorism and disasters.’
A senior Homeland Security official told the Huffington Post that the manual ‘is a starting point, not the endgame’ in maintaining situational awareness of natural and man-made threats and denied that the government was monitoring signs of dissent.
However the agency admitted that the language used was vague and in need of updating.
Spokesman Matthew Chandler told website: ‘To ensure clarity, as part of … routine compliance review, DHS will review the language contained in all materials to clearly and accurately convey the parameters and intention of the program.’
Here is the list of words:
(via beatyourselfup)
Announcing The Creation Of FEMA Corps
March 14, 2012 by POPEYE
(FEMA) Along with our partners at the Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS), we announced the creation of FEMA Corps, which sets the foundation for a new generation of emergency managers. FEMA Corps leverages a newly-created unit of 1,600 service corps members from AmeriCorps’ National Civilian Community Corps who are solely devoted to FEMA disaster response and recovery.
The full-time residential service program is for individuals ages 18-24, and members will serve a one-year term including a minimum of 1,700 hours, providing support working directly with disaster survivors. The first members will begin serving in this August and the program will reach its full capacity within 18 months.
The program will enhance the federal government’s disaster capabilities, increase the reliability and diversity of the disaster workforce, promote an ethos of service, and expand education and economic opportunity for young people.
At today’s event, Cecilia Muñoz, Director of the White House Domestic Policy Council, remarked:
…[FEMA Corps], helps communities recover, it trains young people, helps them pay for college, and it doesn’t cost taxpayers an additional dime. Whether you’re a young person looking for work, a member of the community that’s been hit by a flood or a tornado or just a citizen who wants your tax dollars to be spent as wisely as possible, this is a program you can be proud of. This is really government at its best.
And it’s part of the president’s larger vision for an America built to last. Today, so many of our young people have shown that they’re willing to do their part to work hard, act responsibly and contribute to their communities. But in tough economic times, it’s up to all of us to make sure that their hard work and responsibility still pays off.
We have to preserve what President Obama has called the basic promise of America, that no matter who you are, where you come from, you can make it if you try, if you fulfill your responsibilities and you make a contribution.
During the event, Secretary Napolitano described the program:
First and most important, it will help communities prepare for, respond to and recover from disasters by supporting disaster recovery centers, assisting in logistics, community relations and outreach, and performing other critical functions.
We know from experience that quick deployment of trained personnel is critical during a crisis. The FEMA Corps will provide a pool of trained personnel, and it will also pay long-term dividends by adding depth to our reserves — individuals trained in every aspect of disaster response who augment our full-time FEMA staff.
Second, the Corps will help us make the best use of taxpayer funds as we bring in FEMA Corps members at a significantly lower cost.
Third, FEMA Corps will provide participants with critical job skills and training. Emergency management is a growing field, much larger than FEMA alone. The recent high school and college graduates entering this program will emerge with the training and the on-the-ground experience that provides a clear pathway into this critical profession.
And finally, this Corps — it encourages and supports the ethic of public service tapping the energy and dedication to helping their communities that we see among so many young adults today. Many here today, myself included, know that a career in public service presents opportunities and rewards far beyond paychecks.
The new initiative will promote an ethos of national service and civic engagement by mobilizing corps members and community volunteers to provide critical disaster services. Once trained by FEMA and CNCS, members will provide support in areas ranging from working directly with disaster survivors, to supporting disaster recovering centers, and sharing valuable disaster information with the public.
Robert Velasco, Acting CEO of the Corporation for National and Community Service, spoke about this new chapter in national service:
By opening up new pathways in emergency management, this partnership will give thousands of young people the opportunity to serve their country and gain the skills and training they need to fill the jobs of today and tomorrow. This is a historic new chapter in the history of national service that will enhance our nation’s disaster capabilities and promote an ethic of national service while achieving significant cost savings for the taxpayer.
Deputy Administrator Serino discussed the importance of FEMA Corps:
People have asked, why is this important? Looking into the eyes of survivors, looking at communities that are devastated, having young people that can step up and help out in the time of a disaster who are trained will make a difference in people’s lives. That’s why we’re doing this.
As we continue to move forward and we look for opportunities to be more efficient, to look for opportunities to get young people involved in government, to get young people involved in service to their country, [we] will make a difference. We’ve had the opportunity to work with CNCS in AmeriCorps in the past, and this is broadening that — expanding it, so we have the opportunity to bring this talented, young, will-be-trained workforce to help our staff.
They are augmenting our reservists, augmenting our full-time employees. This will be an opportunity for us to strengthen our nation’s disaster response capabilities, create pathways for young people and really help the ethos of national service.
Mayor Walter Maddox, Tuscaloosa, Ala. also attended today’s announcement, and from the perspective a mayor of a town still recovering from a major disaster last year, the mayor expressed his excitement about the new agreement:
This new partnership between FEMA and the Corporation for National and Community Service will be crucial in supporting cities, counties and states in their time of need. I commend FEMA and CNCS for understanding that to effectively respond during a crisis, we have to extend beyond political, geographical and even bureaucratic boundaries to ensure all resources are made available to the citizens we serve.
To recap, the purpose of the program is:
- Strengthening the Nation’s Disaster Response Capacity: The partnership will provide a trained and reliable resource dedicated to support disaster operations, while enhancing the entire emergency management workforce.
- Creating Pathways to Work for Young People: By providing training, experience, and educational opportunity, the partnership will prepare thousands of young people for careers in emergency management and related fields.
- Promoting an Ethos of National Service: The partnership will strengthen our nation’s culture of service and civic engagement by mobilizing corps members and community volunteers to provide critical disaster services.
- Modernizing Government Operations to Improve Performance: By working together, CNCS and FEMA will advance the President’s management goals of working across government, managing across sectors, and promoting efficiency.
To learn more about the new program, visit the AmeriCorps website or our FEMA Corps page.
Are You Ready For The Universal Internet ID That Barack Obama Wants To Impose On All Of Us?
The American Dream
Jan 20, 2011The Obama administration is developing a “universal Internet ID” program that would watch, track, monitor and potentially control your activity on the Internet. These“trusted identities” are being touted as a way to increase safety and security on the Internet and as a way to eliminate the need for dozens of different usernames and passwords. But is a universal Internet ID that is issued and controlled by the U.S. government really a good idea? Right now, Obama administration officials are trying to make it seem as non-threatening as possible. They are insisting that it will not be mandatory. They are insisting that it would be impossible for hackers to steal the universal Internet identities. They are insisting that none of our personal information will be gathered or used by federal agencies. But in light of how regularly the government has abused our liberties and freedoms in recent years in the name of “security”, should we really believe what they are saying about this new universal Internet ID?
Perhaps to assuage concerns about “Big Brother”, the Obama administration is proposing that the U.S. Commerce Department be the one to oversee these new universal Internet identities.
But how long do you think it would take for the Department of Homeland Security (along with several dozen other government agencies) to get involved in “administering” these “trusted identities”?
The potential for government abuse of such a system is absolutely staggering. As we have seen so many times over the past few years, when you give government bureaucrats an inch, often they end up taking several miles.
Via - http://www.prisonplanet.com/
The Pentagon’s 1033 program: giving free military equipment to police departments around the U.S. - #NWO
The police in the United States have been steadily militarized over the past decade to the point of absurdity, as recently exemplified by police rolling out an armored personnel carrier (APC) to the Occupy Tampa protests. Benjamin Carlson of The Daily covered one of the more unsettling recent developments in this militarization of police, the Department of Defense’s obscure “1033 program” which has given away almost $500 million in leftover military equipment to law enforcement in the fiscal year of 2011. This year’s total is more than double the amount of equipment handed out in 2010, which was $212 million worth of military gear, setting a new record for the program. Included in this distribution of military equipment are: armored vehicles, like the one seen at Occupy Tampa and in towns and cities across the nation, along with M-16 assault rifles, grenade launchers, helicopters and even military robots. Yet the 1033 program looks like it is getting even worse, with orders for the fiscal year 2012 being up 400% over the same period in 2011 according to data provided by the Pentagon’s Defense Logistics Agency to The Daily. If it keeps at this pace, that would mean $2 billion in equipment for American police departments in the fiscal year 2012. The 1033 program was passed by Congress in 1997, which I found quite interesting as most of these programs have been pushed in the wake of September 11th, 2001, under the pretext of fighting the so-called “war on terror.” However, even then, their justification was that it would be used to fight drugs and terrorism and since it began, over 17,000 law enforcement agencies have accepted $2.6 billion in military equipment, only having to pay for the cost of delivering the gear. While the gear is practically free, the costs of maintaining the equipment and insuring it fall on the respective law enforcement agencies, meaning it falls directly on the taxpayer. These costs can be considerable, given that in 2010 city officials in Tupelo, Mississippi considered returning the police helicopter after spending almost $274,000 in maintenance costs in only five years. Considering that the helicopter was used only 10 missions per year on average, the cost of nearly 54,800 per year, or almost $5,480 per mission (not including personnel, fuel, etc.) hardly seems justified. The Daily cites unnamed “experts” who say that the recent surge in acquisitions is just the continuation of a decades-long trend of increasing usage of military tactics and gear by domestic police departments. We have seen these tactics and equipment most recently in the many crackdowns on the legal and peaceful Occupy Wall Street demonstrations across the nation, which were a coordinated effort as revealed by Oakland Mayor Jean Quan. The director of the Cato Institute’s project on criminal justice, Tim Lynch, addressed my surprised reaction to seeing that this program was enacted long before September 11th, 2001, in a statement to The Daily. “The trend toward militarization was well under way before 9/11, but it’s the federal policy of making surplus military equipment available almost for free that has poured fuel on this fire,” Lynch said. The Daily cites some examples of this insane militarization effort in mentioning that in Cobb County, Georgia, incidentally one of the most educated and wealthy counties in all of the United States, now have an amphibious tank. Similarly, the sheriff of South Carolina’s Richland County is now in possession of what he fondly calls “The Peacemaker,” an armored personnel carrier (APC) outfitted with a machine gun. The most absurd aspect of the 1033 program is that it is in addition to the Department of Homeland Security grants which allow police departments to purchase vehicles like the “BearCats” I covered briefly many months ago. Various models of the BearCat weigh in around 16,000 pounds, are bulletproof and outfitted with gun ports, battering rams, tear gas dispensers and radiation detectors, among many other bells and whistles which police never use and never actually needed in the first place. The Orlando Sentinel reported that more than 500 of these vehicles – which inarguably bear a remarkable resemblance to military tanks – have been sold by their Massachusetts-based manufacturer, Lenco. This is even more ridiculous when one considers the justification utilized by police departments for acquiring such unnecessary equipment: safety of police and violent crime. Why is this an incredibly ludicrous justification? Well, as the New York Times and others reported in May of this year, violent crime is at a 40-year low nationwide. In populations under 10,000, the number of homicides dropped by over 25% last year alone, which totally nullifies the justification given by small town police departments who gladly accept this equipment. Yet Bill Hutton, sheriff of Washington County, Minnesota, which has a population of 238,136 according to the 2010 census, purchased a $237,000 BearCat a month ago with a federal grant. He has also obtained grants to purchase a 3-foot-tall $70,000 robot and a $75,000 riverboat and claims that the BearCat has already been used in a kidnapping situation. He claims that the BearCat allowed the SWAT team to recover the victim safely while “Previously, we would have pulled up in a van, which would not have protected anybody or anything.” Another official, Bill Partridge, Chief of Police of the 50-person police department in Oxford, Alabama, cited cost savings as justification for his pursuit of the 1033 program. Partridge says that his department has acquired equipment worth $2-3 million over the past several years, regardless of the fact that his jurisdiction includes only 14,592 people according to the 2000 census. He says that they have received M-16 assault rifles, infrared goggles mounted to helmets, four inspection robots operated by remote-control, not to mention a $270,000 mobile command unit and a “Puma” armored tactical vehicle. Partridge says that his department is on the website trying to get the gear on a “weekly or daily” basis, regardless of the fact that it is outright laughable for such a small police department to have an arsenal more suited to a military unit than a small town police department. This is just a microcosmic example of the larger trend towards turning our domestic police force, which is supposed to protect and serve, into a domestic military force to be used against the American people. As I have previously pointed out, this is a move toward de facto martial law, which means that martial law would never have to be formally declared since the police could act as military forces instead of actually having to roll out the military. Of course, S.1867 would erase that need as it would indeed spell the end of the Posse Comitatus Act by allowing the military to capture and indefinitely detain American citizens without charge or trial. Furthermore, under 1301 it would allow any American citizen to be transferred to any foreign country or foreign entity, allowing for torture or extrajudicial execution. Lynch of the Cato Institute, seems to agree with my assessment in telling The Daily, “[Acquiring military hardware has] kind of had a corrupting influence on the culture of policing in America. The dynamic is that you have some officer go to the chief and say, people in [the] next county have [military equipment], if we don’t take it some other city will. Then they acquire the equipment, they create a paramilitary unit, and everything seems fine.” “But then one or two years pass. They say, look we’ve got this equipment, this training and we haven’t been using it. That’s where it starts to creep into routine policing,” Lynch added. Lynch and others point to the many incidents of SWAT teams, which have become outright paramilitary forces, have injured or even slaughtered totally innocent people. Take, for instance, earlier this year when a grandfather of 12, who was not even suspected of any wrongdoing, was “accidentally” murdered by a SWAT team member in Framingham, Massachusetts. He was described by neighbors as the “nicest guy in the world,” and the search warrant was not even the targeted at the man, named Eurie Stamps, Sr. Another example that comes to mind is Jose Guerena, father and ex-U.S. Marine, who was literally liquefied by a SWAT team that was carrying out a wholly unconstitutional search warrant on his home that was not directed at any particular person, made no mention of his home, and instead was targeted at anyone who happened to be inside the residence. The Cato Institute has compiled a fantastic interactive map showing the disturbing amount of botched paramilitary police and SWAT team raids across the United States which you can find here. From the few thousand raids per year in the 1980s, the number of raids conducted by SWAT teams has made a staggering rise to 50,000 per year in the 2000s, and with each raid there is the real possibility of innocent people being slaughtered for no reason at all. Yet there are some – in reality far too little – in the law enforcement community speaking out against this trend. Joseph McNamara, the former Chief of Police in Kansas City, Missouri and San Jose, California, said, “It’s totally contrary to what we think is good policing, which is community policing. The profile of these military police units invading a neighborhood like the occupation army is contrary to what you want to do as a police department. You want the public to feel comfortable calling you to report crime and supporting you in working against crime and coming forward as witnesses.” “The idea that some police have that by being really super tough and military and carrying military weapons is a way to prevent crime — this is false,” McNamara added. “We have a lot of evidence on how to prevent crime and the major component is to win support for police, that we’re not this aloof occupation army.” I find his choice of words to be disturbingly accurate. What we are seeing is indeed an “aloof occupation army” that is treating us like enemy combatants in a war zone and if S.1867 is put into action it will become an explicit reality. Arthur Rizer, a lawyer in Virginia who has served as both a military and civilian police officer, also made a fantastic point in asking the following question, “If we’re training cops as soldiers, giving them equipment like soldiers, dressing them up as soldiers, when are they going to pick up the mentality of soldiers?” “If you look at the police department, their creed is to protect and to serve. A soldier’s mission is to engage his enemy in close combat and kill him. Do we want police officers to have that mentality? Of course not,” he added. Of course this is exactly what we are seeing, police thinking that they are somehow above the law or a military force that is there to intimidate, control and oppress, instead of protect and serve. The greater trend towards militarizing domestic police forces shows that our illegitimate government is increasingly treating all Americans as the enemy, effectively turning the bloody military “counterterrorism” apparatus around and redirecting the resources to the United States. Seeing how the so-called “war on terror” has affected foreign nations, I don’t think that any sane American who actually keeps up on the news would be comfortable with having that machine turned back towards us. More at EndtheLie.com - http://EndtheLie.com/2011/12/05/the-pentagon%e2%80%99s-1033-program-giving-free-military-equipment-to-police-departments-around-the-u-s/#ixzz1k911zA6l
Homeland Security Given Green Light to Monitor American Journalists
Homeland Security Given Green Light to Monitor American Journalists
Under the National Operations Center (NOC)’s Media Monitoring Initiative that emerged from the Department of Homeland Security in November, Washington has written permission to collect and retain personal information from journalists, news anchors, reporters or anyone who uses “traditional and/or social media in real time to keep their audience situationally aware and informed.”
According to DHS, the definition of personal identifiable information can consist of any intellect “that permits the identity of an individual to be directly or indirectly inferred, including any information which is linked or linkable to that individual.”
(via rigatonideology)
3 Reasons Conservatives Should Cut Defense Spending Now!
The Congressional Budget Office projects that if we keep spending the way we have been, federal debt held by the public will grow from around 60 percent of GDP to a whopping 82 percent of GDP over the next decade, with no end in sight. That’s the sort of borrowing that can ruin a country’s economy.
Conservative Republicans are happy to talk about cutting spending on the poor, education, and cowboy poetry readings, but they insist that spending on defense and homeland security be increased.
Given that spending on defense and homeland security accounts for a whopping 20 percent of the government’s budget, that’s a non-starter. As with every other legitimate function of government, we need to squeeze spending down to the lowest level possible that still gets the job done.
Here are three reasons conservatives — and all other red-blooded Americans — should cut defense spending now.
1. War is Over! Didn’t we just win — or at least end — the war in Iraq? And aren’t we winding down in Afghanistan? After World War II, Vietnam, and the end of the Cold War, military spending got cut, as it should have been.
More to the point, spending on the military and homeland security grew by 90 percent in inflation-adjusted dollars since 2000. If al Qaeda and most international terrorists groups have been largely vanquished, we should not just be bringing the troops home, but dollars too.
Unless, that is, conservatives want to seriously argue that nearly doubling outlays for the past decade haven’t yielded results that would allow us to dial down defense spending.
2. What price safety? The United States already accounts for about 45 percent of the planet’s military outlays — more than the next 14 countries combined. Most of those countries are our allies as well, so we should be able to stay safe while reducing our military spending.
It’s a conservative truism that government programs, even ones that are sanctioned by the constitution, tend to be bloated, inefficient, and incompetent. Surely that same logic applies to the Pentagon and the Department of Homeland Security. In fact, Republican Reps. John Mica and Paul Broun marked the 10th anniversary of the Transportation Security Administration with a report that concluded that after spending $56 billion in security measures, flying is no safer now than it was before the 9/11 attacks.
If conservatives can’t find wasteful spending and useless programs in defense and homeland security to cut, they’ve got bigger problems than terrorists to deal with.
3. Attacking the Military-Industrial Complex is a Republican Virtue — And Good Politics. It was a Republican president — the war hero Dwight Eisenhower — who sounded the alarm about the military-industrial complex’s insidious ability to grow and grow like a cancer on the American body politic. And right now, it’s Democrats such as Defense Secretary Leon Panentta leading the cry for a blank check despite admitting that there are tons of duplicative programs in his department.
In his proposed 2011 budget, President Barack Obama actually calls for bigger spending on defense and homeland security than the Republicans do. Obama’s recent announcement that he may trim some planned increases over the next decade doesn’t change that.
Americans are rightly tired not just of dubious, inconclusive wars that have led to the death of thousands of Americans and hundreds of thousands of others. A growing number of us are tired of out-of-control spending by a Washington elite that is totally out of touch with everyday Americans.
If conservatives want to push forward on reducing spending on Medicaid and other domestic programs, they should show that they take their own limited government philosophy seriously by pushing for defense cuts between now and the 2012 elections.
About 3 minutes long.
For links to all data cited above, go to http://reason.com/blog/2012/01/10/3-reasons-conservatives-should-cut-defen
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Nick Gillespie is editor in chief of Reason.com and Reason.tv, and the co-author of The Declaration of Independents: How Libertarian Politics Can Fix What’s Wrong with America. Follow him on Twitter: @nickgillespie.
Meredith Bragg is a producer at Reason.tv, a 2010 finalist for digital National Magazine Award for his video work, and an active musician and performer.
Via - ReasonTV
DHS Secret Meet on Domestic Threats
SUMMARY: The Homeland Security Advisory Council (HSAC) will meet on January 9, 2012, in Arlington, Virginia. The meeting will be closed to the public. A notice of the meeting of the Homeland Security Advisory Council is being published in the Federal Register on December 27, 2011, 14 days prior to the meeting due to holiday scheduling conflicts.
Although the meeting notice will be published in the Federal Register late, we've extended public comment until one day prior to the meeting.
DHS Social Network Analysis, Behavioral Threat Detection, Biometrics Presentation
DHS Human Factors/Behavioral Sciences Division
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