The family and neighbors of Arthur Dixon, 43, has raised questions over his death after two St. Petersburg police officers shot him to death after he brandished scissors in a confrontation. Police were called to the home to deal with Dixon who was threatening suicide and had doused himself with gasoline. Firefighters refused to enter the home and family and friends were cleaning up the gasoline and talking to Dixon when police arrived and ordered them to leave. An hour later, Dixon was dead.
Category: Society
At first, this article sounded like a reform in the making out of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia: the government is considering a moratorium on beheadings. However, the reason is not some sudden modernization and rejection of medieval Sharia laws. Saudi is facing a labor crisis of sorts: there are too few swordsmen to dispatch the guilty.
Continue reading “Saudi Arabia Considers Halt On Beheadings . . . Due To Shortage of Swordsmen”
There is a rather disturbing poll out this week where 54% of Austrians think neo-Nazi groups could be successful in Austrian elections if a ban is lifted and 42 percent of Austrians think “not everything was bad under Hitler.” Of course, one has to focus on trains arriving on time and traffic control while forgetting about the genocide and war that left Austria and Germany in utter ruins.
Continue reading “Poll: Hitler Bad on Genocide But Good On Services?”
The hope for reforms in Saudi Arabia remain a roller coaster ride for civil libertarians. On Saturday, a Saudi Arabian court sentenced two prominent political and human rights activists to at least 10 years in prison for protesting the policies of the Kingdom and speaking with the media. Mohammed Fahd al-Qahtani (shown right) and Abdullah Hamad are founding members of the banned Saudi Civil and Political Rights Association, known as Acpra, which documents human rights abuses. The group also has called for a constitutional monarchy and elections. The exercise of basic rights of free speech and association that led to the banning of the group and now the sentencing of its leaders.
Continue reading “Saudi Arabia Sentences Two Leading Civil Libertarians To Long Prison Stints”
The environmental problems in China continue to grow worse as the regime spurs industry to keep up production numbers in an economic downturn. We have recently seen environmentalists attacked for criticizing Communist officials for the dismal condition of rivers in China. Now, one city that uses a polluted river for drinking water woke up to find more than 900 dead pigs floating down their river. Chinese officials insist that it is not a case of dumping but curiously say that they have no idea how it happened or where the animals came from.
Continue reading “Almost 1000 Dead Pigs Pulled From Polluted Chinese River”
It appears that the thin blue line defense still works. A video recently showed Louisville police officer David Graham striking handcuffed John R. Sanders, 19. However, the jury that convicted Graham proceeded to fine him just $2 — $1 for each of the two charges.
The City University community college system released a shocking statistic last week that roughly 80 percent of New York City high school graduates fall below proficient levels of reading, writing, and math and must take remedial courses before starting any classes.
by Gene Howington, Guest Blogger
Recently we discussed the DHS’s self-approval of their draconian and arguably unconstitutional and unquestionably outrageous policy on searching computers within 100 miles of the border (Your Rights Under Attack: What A Difference 100 Miles Makes). This week, a ruling from the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals not only showed the DHS was legally wrong in their self-approval of a policy that runs afoul of the 4th Amendment, but also illustrated the true value of the checks and balances created by the Separation of Powers Doctrine that so many in the Executive seem eager to trample these days. The case at bar was U.S. v. Cotterman. In a breath of good news for civil libertarians, the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals en banc ruling held that the 4th Amendment does apply at the border despite DHS contention to the contrary.
Let’s look at this case and ruling. Bear with the long restatement of facts as they are relevant to the holding.
Continue reading “UPDATE – Your Rights Under Attack: What A Difference Judical Review Makes”
By Mark Esposito, Guest Blogger
In Maryland, a seven-year-old boy is suspended from his school under its “zero tolerance” policy because he nibbles a pastry into the shape of a handgun and says “Bang!” “Bang!” (Here). In California, a high school principal refuses to let an ambulance come onto a football filed to tend to a seriously injured player citing school board rules. (Here). A nurse at a home for the aged ignores the furtive pleas of a 911 dispatcher and refuses to perform CPR on a woman dying of cardiac arrest because she says its policy not to do it. (Here). She won’t even get someone else to do it.
Submitted by: Mike Spindell, guest blogger
This blog, like many others has an internal search function that will lead you to past stories. It is located beneath the smiling countenance of our proprietor on the upper right. If you enter SWAT into search, you see that the first archive page shows 19 stories involving SWAT raids that were unnecessary and/or unwarranted. In those raids 4 people and 9 dogs were shot in error by the SWAT Team. Just a catalog of the shootings belies the terror that these raids can instill in people who are merely residing within their homes. Many of the articles detail doors suddenly smashed open, flash grenades and gas grenades tossed into the home, people thrown to the floor handcuffed and left for hours in that position, by invading SWAT teams that either had the wrong house, faulty leads and or in some cases enforcing what were clearly civil warrants. In one instance in California a SWAT raid was carried out due to the suspicion of a defaulted student loan. http://jonathanturley.org/2011/06/08/california-family-hit-with-swat-raid-ordered-by-the-department-of-education/
I believe that the rise of these SWAT teams is leading this country towards martial law and what we all commonly understand is a “police state” as repressive as any we’ve seen in the past century. We have seen constant encroachment on our citizens Constitutional protections and a continued erosion of “the Bill of Rights”. Free Speech, the right to peacefully assemble, Habeas Corpus and safety from unwarranted intrusion in our own homes, among others, have been steadily eroded under various guises, be it the drug war, or national security. In my opinion the SWAT team concept, which militarizes our police forces, is leading this nation to what I see as a state of Martial Law. Despite ones place on the currently inflamed political spectrum, this is a problem that I think concerns us all as citizens, not as partisans. I will present to you sufficient proof of my belief, the majority of which will come from what can be fairly described as a “Libertarian Think Tank” and which was founded by Charles Koch, among others. When I find myself on the same side on an issue as the Cato Institute, then I know with certainty that my fears are well grounded and unrelated to any personal partisanship of my own. Continue reading “SWAT: Is America Coming Under Martial Law?”
We previously discussed how Attorney General Eric Holder wrote a letter confirming that the President would have authority to kill citizens on U.S. soil without a charge or conviction. His answer triggered a principled filibuster by Sen. Rand Paul and another embarrassment to Democratic Senators who, again, chose personality over principle in staying silent. Now, Holder has issued a new statement. No, President Obama still claims the right to kill U.S. citizens on his sole authority. However, Holder now says that, if the citizen is “not engaged in combat on American soil,” the President cannot vaporize him. The answer leaves the constitutional claim of Obama even more confused and conflicted. Does this mean we have a third category now under the policy: citizen, citizen terrorist, and citizen non-combatant terrorist? The difference appears to determine whether you can be vaporized or speak to counsel but Holder is not explaining to the citizenry.
Congress is again showing its traditional contempt for the rule of law this week with members crying foul that Sulaiman Abu Ghaith, an Al Qaeda spokesman and son-in-law of Usama bin Laden, would be actually given a fair trial. Senators like Lindsey Graham (who just yesterday condemned a fellow Senator for standing against Obama kill list policy) has denounced the decision not to give Abu Ghaith a military tribunal trial where basic constitutional protections are denied to detainees.
Continue reading “Members Denounce Decision To Give Al Qaeda Spokesman Real Trial”
There is an interesting case out of Alabama where Circuit Judge Charles Price has issued an extremely rare order blocking a governor from signing a controversial education bill. Price wants to have a mid-March hearing on the legal issues surrounding the education bill and does not want Governor Robert Bentley to sign it until then. The teachers’ group, Alabama Education Association, has argued that the Republicans bypassed state rules in the inclusion of a tax credit measure. Even if they are right, however, Price’s order seems wildly out of line as a constitutional matter.
Continue reading “Alabama Judge Orders Governor Not To Sign Controversial Education Bill”
In the last few weeks, the Administration has been pushing hard to show how sequestration has produced dire consequences even though it involved only $85 billion (including the implausible claim that thousands of illegal aliens had to be released due to the cuts). For some of us who have complained about the Administration giving billions to Israel and other countries, it was a hard sell even if you do not agree with sequestration. Now a report has come out showing, as has been discussed for years on this blog and other sites, most of the $60 billion given to Iraq in the last ten years was wasted or lost to open corruption. The long documented waste of billions did not cause either the Bush or Obama Administration (or Congress) to take meaningful steps to stop the funding or, better yet, pull out of the country.
Continue reading “Report: Most of the $60 Billion In Iraqi Aid Wasted”
Dona Ana County in New Mexico has agreed to pay Stephen Slevin, 59, $15.5 million after it kept Slevin in solitary confinement for 22 months without a trial for a DUI arrest. The horrific case was made worse by years of litigation by the county, which refused to pay a court verdict that was originally $22 million. One of the most disturbing facts of this case however is that not a single county employee was fired over his grotesque treatment, which included the denial of necessary medical attention.
Continue reading “New Mexico Man Held 22 Months Without Trial Is Awarded $15.5 Million”