Tag: Shut Up Slave

Warrantless Cell Phone Tracking Ruled Legal

Last week the state ruled it could perform warrantless wiretaps, today it has ruled that it can track your location through your cellular phone without a warrant:

On Tuesday, the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that law enforcement officials don’t need a warrant to track suspects via cellphones. Attorneys argued to overturn Skinner’s many convictions, citing that the GPS location information that led to the defendant’s arrest was obtained in violation of the Fourth Amendment, which guards against unreasonable searches and seizures. This didn’t wash with the majority of judges over the case, who voted in a 2-1 ruling.

“When criminals use modern technological devices to carry out criminal acts and to reduce the possibility of detection, they can hardly complain when the police take advantage of the inherent characteristics of those very devices to catch them,” wrote Judge John Rogers in the majority opinion that will affect future cases in a huge chunk of the country.

So much for the Fourth Amendment. Unfortunately if one tries to argue this case on constitutional grounds they’re faced also accepting another constitutional idea, that the courts maintain a monopoly on interpreting the Constitution. Therefore when one says warrantless tracking of cell phones is unconstitutional they much also accept that they don’t actually have a say in whether or not such acts are unconstitutional as the Constitution grants such authority to the state’s courts. I think Lysander Spooner was correct when he said the following:

But whether the Constitution really be one thing, or another, this much is certain — that it has either authorized such a government as we have had, or has been powerless to prevent it. In either case, it is unfit to exist.

Ademo Freeman Found Guilty

Ademo Freeman, the man brought up on felony wiretapping charges for recording incidents of police brutality, has been found guilty:

Twelve individuals today decided that Ademo Freeman was guilty of three counts of felony wiretapping for recording his conversations with public officials per his attempt to bring accountability to a situation where it was noticeably absent – the assault of 17-year-old Frank Harrington, a student at Manchester’s West High School at the hands of Darren Murphy, the school resource officer and employee of the Manchester Police Department.

Ademo is ordered to spend 12-months in the so-called “House of Corrections” with 9-months suspended. He’ll then be under “good behavior” for the next three-years, which, if violated, means strangers with guns will force him into a cage at state prison in Concord for one-to-three-years. With “good time” he should be out in mid-October.

There isn’t much to say, the situation really speaks for itself. If individuals can be found guilty of felony charges for holding police officers accountable then justice truly is dead in this country. In essence Ademo will spend time in a cage because he witnessed police officers brutalizing other human beings and told anybody willing to listen about it.

Disappearing We the People Petitions

After Obama’s election the executive branch spent a lot of money to create the We the People site. We the People is supposed to be a site where anybody can submit a petition and, if it gets enough votes within a span of time, have it addressed by the White House. In reality these petitions are ignored although writing up bullshit reasons for ignoring them must have been too much work because the White House is now deleting petitions they don’t want to deal with:

At approximately 11:30 am EDT, the White House removed a petition about the TSA airport screening procedures from the White House “We the People” website. About 22,500 of the 25,000 signatures necessary for a response from the Administration were obtained when the White House unexpectedly cut short the time period for the petition. The site also went down for “maintenance” following an article in Wired that sought support for the campaign.

It would be pretty difficult to argue against a petition that demanded the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) obey the law so the only way to deal with it was to toss it down the memory hole.

What the State Does

What happened to the 13 year-old entrepreneur who, in an attempt to make ends meet for his family, purchased a food cart and was shutdown by the state? He and his family are now homeless:

Several weeks after a city zoning officer shut down his hot dog business, 13-year-old Nathan Duszynski and his parents are homeless.

The family was hoping Nathan’s hot dog cart could help them through a difficult time. Nathan’s mother, Lynette Johnson, suffers from epilepsy and his stepfather, Doug Johnson, has multiple sclerosis. Their illnesses have restricted them from finding permanent, full-time work.

The family receives about $1,300 a month in disability payments, Medicaid and food assistance. The three are having a hard time staying together. MLive confirms what the Mackinac Center learned Thursday — Nathan and his mother are staying at the Holland Rescue Mission.

“Nate and I are now in a shelter,” Lynette Johnson said. “Doug can’t stay with us because he takes prescription narcotics to deal with his pain and the shelter does not allow him with those kinds of drugs.”

This shouldn’t surprise anybody, making families of 13 year-old entrepreneurs homeless in order to protect the politically well-connected from competitors is what the state does. In factm in a rare demonstration of honesty, the state simply admitted to protectionism instead of trying to wrap a layer of regulatory bullshit around their misdeed:

Last week, Nathan and his family made an appeal to the Holland City Council. Mayor Kurt Dykstra defended the city’s ordinance, saying it was to protect downtown restaurant owners, who asked that the “success of the downtown district not be infringed upon by those who don’t share in the costs of maintaining the attractiveness of that space.”

It’s a good thing we have a big powerful violent state in place to protect the “success of the downtown district” from dangerous 13 year-old entrepreneurs.

National Night Out in Anaheim Cancelled

Many communities participate in what is called a National Night Out. For those who haven’t heard of National Night Out it’s basically an excuse for community members to get together, party, and… somehow this raises awareness of crime and tells criminals in the community that the people are fighting back (strangely enough these are not promoted as open carry events). Yeah, I don’t get how it’s supposed to work either. What I do understand is why the National Night Out in Anaheim, California was cancelled:

n cities nationwide, people will gather at block parties, cookouts and exhibits Tuesday night for a National Night Out, a way to meet with first responders and learn about local crime-prevention efforts.

But in Anaheim, a city rocked by protests and violence, the event designed to bridge law enforcement and the public had to be canceled.

It seems the community is unable to effective fight the criminals who now possess body armor, machine guns, grenade launchers, and armored vehicles. The community has been devastated by this heavily armed local gang calling themselves the “Police.”

The Ensuring Witch Hunts

Since the shooting in Aurora, Colorado it appears as though permit holders in theaters have become the new witches. Three individuals were valid carry permits were asked to leave a theater by police officers in Cookeville, Tennessee and now a permit holder was removed at gunpoint by police in a theater in Milford, Connecticut:

The theater house lights were illuminated as Officers entered. Patrons were told to raise their hands and file from the theater. As they exited they were patted down and escorted outside.

Officers identified the suspect and with weapons drawn, ordered the suspect to put his hands up. He allegedly remained in his seat while using his cell phone.

He allegedly did not comply with the Officers’ commands, and was taken into custody by force. Officers allegedly removed a loaded handgun from the suspect’s waistband at the small of his back.

The armed man, Sung H. Hwang, age 46 of New Haven, was handcuffed and removed from the theater. Hwang possesses a valid State of CT permit to carry a pistol.

If I’m ever in a theater (or anywhere else) and police officers come in demanding I raise my hands and submit to a pat down I’m going to do what Mr. Hwang did, simply ignore them. Nobody should readily comply with police officers acting outside of the law. Unless officers have a warrant or are arresting you there is no reason you should be expected to submit to a pat down.

Furthermore there was no reason for the police to draw their weapons on a man who wasn’t being hostile. If you or I pulled our weapon on somebody playing on their cell phone we would likely find ourselves in jail, the same should apply to the police.

When all was said and done Mr. Hwang was arrested, the charges being Breach of Peace and Interfering with Police. I don’t know how either charge applies as sitting in a theater isn’t breaching peace and simply ignoring the police doesn’t qualify as interfering with them. It’s too bad the same state that employes the police also controls the courts because Mr. Hwang, as far as I’m concerned, was kidnaped by the police officers and is due compensation for the wrong that was committed against him.

I’m already sick of this witch hunt against permit holders in theaters.

Ensuring Romney’s Presidential Candidacy

More evidence is leaking out that the Republican Party is entirely rigging their presidential nominee. Let’s run down the current list of shenanigans the Republican Party has pulled to prevent Ron Paul’s nomination. First the Republican National Committee said they may not allowed Nevada to seat any delegates of the state sent “too many” Ron Paul delegates. Then Paul delegates in Louisiana were forcefully removed from a convention by the police acting on orders from the Old Guard. If that wasn’t enough the state party in Massachusetts invalidated 17 Ron Paul delegates because they refused to sign an oath of loyalty.

What else could the Old Guard do to further guarantee Romney’s nomination? How about threaten to invalidate the 20 Ron Paul delegates from Maine if they refuse to sign an oath to Romney:

In the state of Maine, it is well documented that 21 of the 24 delegates are strong supporters of Congressman Ron Paul.

Those 21 delegates plan to go to Tampa later this month and cast a vote for Dr. Paul to receive the nomination.

A little over a week ago, 20 of those 21 delegates were told that their credentials were being challenged by Mr. Peter Cianchette (who headed the Romney campaign in Maine).

[…]

This weekend, the RNC, via Maine Republican Party Chairman Charlie Webster offered a “compromise”… take a look:

1. A majority of the delegates sign a statement agreeing that, if Ron Paul is not on the ballot, they will vote at the Convention for Mitt Romney.

2. Instead of Brent Tweed, Charlie Webster or Paul LePage would serve as the spokesperson for the delegation and announce the votes cast for president. That spokesperson would also handle all media on behalf of the Maine delegation.

3. There will be nothing negative said about Mitt Romney or positive said about Obama (especially to media).

4. The Delegation will be admitted to the Convention, and to all committee assignments, without barrier.

5. The Contest brought by Jan Staples and Peter Cianchette will be withdrawn.

I emphasized point one because it is the most incriminating point. Notice the wording, if Ron Paul isn’t on the ballot the delegates will vote for Mitt Romney, not any other potential presidential nominee. On top of that the delegates must agree to be good little slaves and let their masters do all the talking during the convention.

I’m sure the people who concocted the idea of hijacking the Republican Party had the best of intentions. They weren’t stupid, just naive. They made a common mistake, they believed that the Republican Party was a political organization run by the members. Instead they found out that the party is run by a handful of elites who will pull every trick in the book to ensure their desires are fulfilled. If it appears as though things won’t go their way they merely rig it. As soon as it appeared like Paul would stand an actual chance against Romney the elites made their move, ensuring there wouldn’t be enough Paul delegates to threaten Romney’s ascension.

This is why I want the Paul delegates who make it to the convention to turn it into a circus. Why should Paul’s delegates act professional when the Republican Party hasn’t? Why should anybody be expected to treat the Republican National Convention (RNC) as anything other than a parody? It’s a sham, the entire thing is rigged.

If you want to continue down the political road abandon the Republican Party and move to the Libertarian Party. It’s unfortunate that the presidential election is just as rigged against third parties as the RNC is rigged against Ron Paul otherwise the Libertarian Party may stand some kind of chance. Even though they stand no chance your time would be better served working for them than working for a party that flat out rigs their nominations.

Making the Rules and Determining if They’re Legal

Being the state has it benefits. Not only does it get to pass legislation but it also has a monopoly on determining whether or not that legislation is even legal. Case in point, the state passed legislation granting itself the power to wiretap Americans without a warrant. When Americans challenge the law the state said, “Naw man, it’s all good.” and ruled such powers were not only legal but also that the serfs couldn’t sue the federal government for exercising them:

The federal government may spy on Americans’ communications without warrants and without fear of being sued, a federal appeals court ruled Tuesday in a decision reversing the first and only case that successfully challenged President George W. Bush’s once-secret Terrorist Surveillance Program.

“This case effectively brings to an end the plaintiffs’ ongoing attempts to hold the executive branch responsible for intercepting telephone conversations without judicial authorization,” a three-judge panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals wrote. (.pdf)

One cannot achieve liberty when the entity that infringes on liberties is allowed to hold all of the cards. When an individual attempts to challenge a state’s decree they must beg the state itself. How much sense would it make to enter into a contract that stated the other party has the right to make any change to the contract at any point and then gets to determine if those changes are valid? That’s what social contract theory states and the ruling on warrantless wiretapping demonstrates why it’s a dumb idea.

Dissent Won’t be Allowed at the Republican National Convention

What does the Republican National Convention (RNC) want? Romney. Not only that but they want it to appear as though Romney has the support of the entire Republican Party, which is probably why they aren’t giving Ron Paul a speaking position:

In a political move that defies logic, CNN is reporting that presidential challenger Ron Paul has not been asked to speak at the Republican National Convention in Tampa. Instead, the Romney team has invited Former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, New Mexico Governor Susana Martinez and South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley. Former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee, Ohio Governor John Kasich, Arizona Senator John McCain and Florida Governor Rick Scott will also have prime time speaking roles.

I’m guessing the RNC made this move in the hopes that Ron Paul’s delegates won’t shot up without Paul present. The RNC wants to make it appear as though there is unified support for Romney throughout the Republican Party. After all, if you can’t get your own party to show support for your presidential candidate how are you going to get the general public to support him? Paul’s supporters are very expressive of their support for the good doctor and would make a lot of noise during Paul’s speech, likely far more noise than Romney would receive during his speech.

I’m hoping that Paul’s supporters will make a circus out of the RNC. Nothing would amuse me more than seeing Paul’s supporters booing Romney and the other neocons, giving speeches on television denouncing the RNC, and tossing glitter everywhere inside the RNC (glitter is such a pain in the ass to get off of clothes that people would be walking around with glitter covered suits for the entire convention, lulz would be had by all). Some people are probably shaking their heads at that last statement and want the Paul supporters to act professional. In response to such a statement I would be forced to ask why anybody should take a rigged election seriously.

Another Shut Up Slave Moment Brought to You by the State

What happens when you catch the police brutalizing the public? You become a target of the state:

Keene, New Hampshire – August 4, 2012 – The controversial felony wiretapping charges journalist and CopBlock.org founder Adam ‘Ademo’ Mueller is facing will go to trial, a situation that has stirred up a hornet’s nest of free speech advocates in New Hampshire. The “Free Ademo” supporters are planning to show their support en masse at Hillsboro County Superior Court when jury selection for the trial begins at 9 a.m. Monday, August 6. This will be the first time an activist has taken a case this serious to trial since the state passed HB 146, a jury nullification law that ensures the defense’s right to inform the jury of their right to issue “not guilty” verdicts when they disagree with the application of the law in question.

According to court documents, the three wiretapping charges stem from a vlog Mueller posted on CopBlock.org, which featured recordings of on-duty public officials being interviewed about alleged police brutality at a local school. Mueller was reporting about a video recorded by a Manchester West High School student’s cell phone, depicting Officer Darren Murphy slamming a handcuffed student’s face into a cafeteria table. The video later went viral.

This is going to be an interesting case due to the jury nullification law recently passed in New Hampshire. Traditionally juries are told that they must rule based on the letter of the law but this isn’t true, a jury may rule in whatever manner it wants without facing repercussions. If members of a jury believe a law is wrong they may give a ruling of innocent. Juries in New Hampshire, thanks to the passage of HB 146, will now be informed of their jury nullification powers and this seems like the case to use such powers on as Ademo is really being charged with catching the police brutalizing people they’re supposed to protect.