Constitution

“The U.S. Supreme Court Decision … Means the Nation Has Entered a Post-Constitutional Era”

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– “The U.S. Supreme Court Decision … Means the Nation Has Entered a Post-Constitutional Era” (Washington’s Blog, May 6, 2014):

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Painting by Anthony Freda: www.AnthonyFreda.com

“We Are No Longer a Nation Ruled By Laws”

Pulitzer prize winning reporter Chris Hedges – along with journalist Naomi Wolf, Pentagon Papers whistleblower Daniel Ellsberg, activist Tangerine Bolen and others – sued the government to join the NDAA’s allowance of the indefinite detention of Americans.

The trial judge in the case asked the government attorneys 5 times whether journalists like Hedges could be indefinitely detained simply for interviewing and then writing about bad guys.

The government refused to promise that journalists like Hedges won’t be thrown in a dungeon for the rest of their lives without any right to talk to a judge.

The trial judge ruled that the indefinite detention bill was unconstitutional, holding:

Read more“The U.S. Supreme Court Decision … Means the Nation Has Entered a Post-Constitutional Era”

Supreme Court Refuses To Stop Indefinite Detention Of Americans Under NDAA

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– Supreme Court refuses to stop indefinite detention of Americans under NDAA (RT, May 1, 2014):

The United States Supreme Court this week effectively ended all efforts to overturn a controversial 2012 law that grants the government the power to indefinitely detain American citizens without due process.

On Monday, the high court said it won’t weigh in on challenge filed by Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Chris Hedges and a bevy of co-plaintiffs against US President Barack Obama, ending for now a two-and-a-half-year debate concerning part of an annual Pentagon spending bill that since 2012 has granted the White House the ability to indefinitely detain people “who are part of or substantially support Al-Qaeda, the Taliban or associated forces engaged in hostilities against the United States.”

The Obama administration has long maintained that the provision — Section 1021(b)(2) of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2012 — merely reaffirmed verbiage contained within the Authorization for Use of Military Force, or AUMF, signed by then-President George W. Bush in the immediate aftermath of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.

Read moreSupreme Court Refuses To Stop Indefinite Detention Of Americans Under NDAA

Supreme Court Rejects Challenge To NDAA Detention Power

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– Supreme Court Rejects Challenge to NDAA Detention Power

Refuses to Hear Hedges v. Obama Case

The US Supreme Court has further enhanced the administration’s ability to detain anyone, at any time, on any pretext today, when it refused to hear the Hedges v. Obama case, meaning an Appeals Court ruling on the matter will stand.

The case stems from a 2012 lawsuit brought by Chris Hedges, Daniel Ellsberg, Noam Chomsky and others, and sought to block the enforcement of a 2012 National Defense Authorization Act statute that allows the president to unilaterally impose indefinite detention on anyone, without access to courts, if he personally believes something they did “aided” the Taliban or al-Qaeda.

Read moreSupreme Court Rejects Challenge To NDAA Detention Power

Feds Beg Supreme Court To Let Them Search Phones Without A Warrant

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– Feds Beg Supreme Court to Let Them Search Phones Without a Warrant (Wired, April 23, 2014):

American law enforcement has long advocated for universal “kill switches” in cellphones to cut down on mobile device thefts. Now the Department of Justice argues that the same remote locking and data-wiping technology represents a threat to police investigations–one that means they should be free to search phones without a warrant.

In a brief filed to the U.S. Supreme Court yesterday in the case of alleged Boston drug dealer Brima Wurie, the Justice Department argues that police should be free to warrantlessly search cellphones taken from suspects immediately at the time of arrest, rather than risk letting the suspect or his associates lock or remotely wipe the phone before it can be searched.

Read moreFeds Beg Supreme Court To Let Them Search Phones Without A Warrant

U.S. Supreme Court Declines To Hear Challenge To NSA’s Bulk Collection Of Metadata

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Added: Apr 8, 2014

Description:

The Supreme Court declined to take a case challenging the National Security Agency’s bulk collection of metadata. Plaintiff Larry Klayman won his case challenging the NSA in a lower court, but wanted the Supreme Court to hear the government’s appeal of the decision. This would have avoided the normal but more lengthy appeals process in lower courts. The decision by the high court does not mean that they won’t hear the case in the future. RT’s Ameera David examines this decision and other challenges to the NSA working their way through the courts.

Obama Administration Admits Use Of ‘Warrantless Searches’ Of US Citizens

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– Obama Administration Admits Use Of “Warrantless Searches” Of US Citizens (ZeroHedge, April 2, 2014):

Just over a month ago, we reported on the Supreme Court’s ruling that police may search a home without obtaining a warrant thus denigrating the Fourth Amendment to the funeral pyre under the Obama Administration’s totalitarian might. Today that decision (and the end of the 4th) were confirmed when the country’s top intelligence official confirmed in a letter to Congress that the Obama administration has conducted warrantless searches of Americans’ communications as part of the National Security Agency’s surveillance operations. While efforts were made to suggest agencies do not deliberately track Americans’ emails, phone calls, and online activity without a warrant, as Sen. Wyden notes, “the facts show that was misleading.”

Via AP,

The Obama administration has conducted warrantless searches of Americans’ communications as part of the National Security Agency’s surveillance operations that target foreigners located outside of the U.S., the administration’s top intelligence official confirmed in a letter to Congress disclosed Tuesday.

Read moreObama Administration Admits Use Of ‘Warrantless Searches’ Of US Citizens

Did Michigan Just Trigger ‘Constitutional Convention’?

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– Did Michigan just trigger ‘constitutional convention’? Bid gains steam (FOX News, April 2, 2014):

WASHINGTON –  Momentum is building behind what would be an unprecedented effort to amend the U.S. Constitution, through a little-known provision that gives states rather than Congress the power to initiate changes.

At issue is what’s known as a “constitutional convention,” a scenario tucked into Article V of the U.S. Constitution. At its core, Article V provides two ways for amendments to be proposed. The first – which has been used for all 27 amendment to date – requires two-thirds of both the House and Senate to approve a resolution, before sending it to the states for ratification. The Founding Fathers, though, devised an alternative way which says if two-thirds of state legislatures demand a meeting, Congress “shall call a convention for proposing amendments.”

Read moreDid Michigan Just Trigger ‘Constitutional Convention’?

State Senator’s Response To Second Amendment Concerns: ‘GO FUCK YOURSELF’

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– State Senator’s Response to Second Amendment Concerns: “Go F**k Yourself” (Infowars, March 25, 2014):

UPDATE: Senator Miller Issues Apology for Swearing Following Gun News Conference

Pro-gun control State Senator Josh Miller (D) has a message for second amendment advocates who are concerned the legislation he is backing would turn them into criminals; “Go fuck yourself”.

Infowars correspondent Dan Bidondi approached Miller and other lawmakers at the Rhode Island State House where a slew of anti-second amendment legislation was set to be heard later that evening.

“The second amendment shall not be infringed, you people need to understand that,” Bidondi told Miller.

“Go fuck yourself,” Miller responded as he smiled, before one of his staffers repeated the insult.

Read moreState Senator’s Response To Second Amendment Concerns: ‘GO FUCK YOURSELF’

Greek Supreme Court Rules ‘Bank Deposit Confiscation’ Against The Constitution

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– Greek Supreme Court Rules “Bank Deposit Confiscation” Against The Constitution (ZeroHedge, March 27, 2014):

While we are sure the governments and their IMF handlers will find a way around such annoyances as the rule of law, the Greek Supreme Court just ruled that the seizure of bank deposits due to debts to the state without previous notice was against the Constitution. We humbly suggest the Ukrainian courts be rapidly brought to a decision on the same ruling, before IMF hands start dipping into pockets.

As Keep Talking Greece explains,

Greece’s Supreme Court ruled that the seizure of bank deposits due to debts to the state without previous notice was against the Constitution. The judges had taken up a debtor’s complaint filed in 2006. The debtor had seen his pension being grabbed from his bank account due to debts to the tax office.

Read moreGreek Supreme Court Rules ‘Bank Deposit Confiscation’ Against The Constitution

Idaho Governor Butch Otter Signs Emergency Legislation Nullifying ALL Future Federal Gun Laws

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Idaho Governor Butch Otter
Idaho Governor Butch Otter

– BREAKING: Idaho governor signs emergency legislation nullifying all future federal gun laws (Ben Swann, March 22, 2014):

BOISE, March 21, 2014 – On Thursday, Idaho Governor Butch Otter (R) signed a bill, which would effectively nullify future federal gun laws, by prohibiting state enforcement of any future federal act relating to personal firearms, a firearm accessories or ammunition.

S1332 passed the house by a vote of 68-0 and the senate by a vote of 34-0. Alaska and Kansas have also passed similar laws.

Erich Pratt, Director of Communications for Gun Owners of America, cheered the governor’s action. “By signing this nullification bill into law, Idaho has joined an elite class of states that are telling the feds to ‘get lost’ — especially when it comes to unconstitutional gun control infringements”

Introduced by the State Affairs Committee, the Idaho Federal Firearm, Magazine and Register Ban Enforcement Act, will:

“protect Idaho law enforcement officers from being directed, through federal executive orders, agency orders, statutes, laws, rules, or regulations enacted or promulgated on or after the effective date of this act, to violate their oath of office and Idaho citizens’ rights under Section 11, Article I, of the Constitution of the State of Idaho.”

The legislation continued:

Read moreIdaho Governor Butch Otter Signs Emergency Legislation Nullifying ALL Future Federal Gun Laws

Russia Today’s News Channel Suspended On YouTube

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RT - Russia Today

https://www.youtube.com/user/RussiaToday:

Russia Today YouTube channel suspended

Spam? Gaming? Unlikely.

Other Terms of Service violations? Maybe.

It is easy for Google to dig something up if Google really wanted to shut down RT.

Or is it because of ‘misleading content’?

How about RT’s coverage of the Ukraine situation, which is definitely not being in line with western media propaganda?

RT America (another Russia Today channel) is still up.

Here’s What the Richest Man In The World Thinks About Snowden And NSA Surveillance

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This is, by the way, the same bill Gates that ‘admits vaccines are for depopulation’ …

– Establishment Hero Bill Gates Sold You Out To The NSA, But That’s Not All …

– Bill Gates And GMO Cronies Plan $30 Million Seed Vault While Poisoning The Planet

– Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Is Funding … ‘An Anti-Vaccine Surveillance And Alert System’ … ‘On-Demand Vaccine Delivery Via Low-Cost Unmanned Aerial Vehicles’

– Bill And Melinda Gates Foundation Spends Over $1.1 Million On ‘Galvanic’ Bracelets To Measure Student Engagement

– Untested Polio Vaccines Causing New Wave Of Polio-Like Paralysis Across India

– Bill Gates Backs Climate Scientists Lobbying For Large-Scale Geoengineering (Guardian)

– Microsoft Buys Eugenics Technology From Merck, Becomes Drug Development Partner With Top Global Vaccine Manufacturer

– Bill Gates Funds Technology To Cause Instant Male Infertility

– Bill Gates In Global Push To Vaccinate Every Child On The Planet

– Bill Gates Admits Vaccines Are For Depopulation

– Gates Foundation: Funding for a proposal to turn mosquitos into ‘flying syringes’ delivering vaccines

– Bill Gates Spends $1 Million On Laser Defence System – To Repel Mosquitoes

 – More Seeds For Doomsday Seed Vault– Investors Behind Doomsday Seed Vault May Provide Clues to Its Purpose (Part 2):

The group of investors includes The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, The Rockefeller Foundation, Monsanto Corporation, Syngenta Foundation, and the Government of Norway.

…. and wants you to believe in climate change & global warming to make the people pay even more taxes that will land solely in the pockets of the elitists.

I have no doubt that climate changes are happening all around the planet for many different reasons that are not (or only very rarely) mentioned by the corporate media, but making you pay even more money to the elitists will not have any positive impact on the climate, only a negative impact on your wallet.

And if this criminal of the worst kind is pushing the global warming & climate change agenda, which will mainly be benefitting the banksters, then all of your alarm bells should ring.

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– Here’s What the Richest Man in the World Thinks About Snowden and NSA Surveillance (Liberty Blitzkrieg, March 14, 2014):

So Bill Gates recently gave an interview to Rolling Stone magazine. The vast majority of the interview focused on his philanthropic efforts, with a particular focus on poverty and climate change. However, several questions were brought up on illegal NSA surveillance in general, and Edward Snowden in particular.

His answers reveal one of the biggest problems facing America today, which is the fact that the billionaire class as a whole does not question or rock the boat whatsoever. They criticize only when it is convenient or easy to do so, never putting themselves at risk for the sake of civil liberties and the Constitution.

Read moreHere’s What the Richest Man In The World Thinks About Snowden And NSA Surveillance

NSA Chief Pushes Legislation To Stifle The First Amendment

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– NSA Chief is Pushing for Legislation to Stifle the First Amendment (Liberty Blitzkrieg, March 5, 2014):

“Recently, what came out with the justices in the United Kingdom … they looked at what happened on Miranda and other things, and they said it’s interesting: journalists have no standing when it comes to national security issues. They don’t know how to weigh the fact of what they’re giving out and saying, is it in the nation’s interest to divulge this.”
– General Keith Alexander, Director of the NSA

Although General Alexander states the above with regard to the UK justice system, he clearly agrees with the assessment. Read the passage above again and think about how scary that statement is. It becomes clear that one of the reasons abuses at the NSA are so egregious is because of the attitude of the person in charge. Alexander genuinely thinks that intelligence officials know best, and should not be subject to any sort of accountability. You don’t need to be a card-carrying member of the ACLU to see how dangerous this perspective is. To endorse this notion that “journalists have no standing when it comes to national security issues,” is to effectively make illegal one of the most important free speech rights in any democracy. This sort of attitude represents the antithesis of American values.

Not only does General Alexander see things this way, apparently he is lobbying for Congressional legislation that would solidify this authoritarian view within the law itself.

For example, the Guardian reported yesterday that:

General Keith Alexander, who has furiously denounced the Snowden revelations, said at a Tuesday cybersecurity panel that unspecified “headway” on what he termed “media leaks” was forthcoming in the next several weeks, possibly to include “media leaks legislation.”

Read moreNSA Chief Pushes Legislation To Stifle The First Amendment

Connecticut Patriot Group Fights Back Against Confiscation Order: ‘We Are Armed… And Are Familiar With the Finer Points of Marksmanship’

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– Connecticut Patriot Group Fights Back Against Confiscation Order: ‘We Are Armed… And Are Familiar With the Finer Points of Marksmanship’ (SHTFplan, Feb 28, 2014):

The war on liberty is coming to a head in Connecticut, where tens of thousands of gun owners have refused to comply with their state government’s gun registration laws. Officials have literally ordered those who failed to meet the registration deadline to surrender their firearms or face arrest.

The State of Connecticut is now demanding that gun owners across the state turn in all newly-banned, unregistered firearms and magazines or face felony arrest.

Read moreConnecticut Patriot Group Fights Back Against Confiscation Order: ‘We Are Armed… And Are Familiar With the Finer Points of Marksmanship’

U.S. Supreme Court Rules Police May Search A Home WITHOUT OBTAINING A WARRANT

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– Supreme Court Rules Police May Search A Home Without Obtaining A Warrant (ZeroHedge, Feb 27, 2014):

If the most disturbing, if underreported, news from yesterday, was Obama’s “modification” of NSA capabilities, which contrary to his earlier promises, was just granted even greater powers as phone recording will now be stored for even longer than previously, then this latest development from the Supreme Court – one which some could argue just voided the Fourth amendment – is even more shocking. RT reports that the US Supreme Court has ruled that police may search a home without obtaining a warrant despite the objection of one occupant if that occupant has been removed from the premises. With its 6 to 3 decision in Fernandez v. California on Tuesday, the Court sided with law enforcement’s ability to conduct warrantless searches after restricting police powers with its 2006 decision on a similar case.

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From RT:

In 2009, the Los Angeles Police Department sought suspect Walter Fernandez, believed to have stabbed someone in a violent gang robbery. When police first arrived at the suspect’s home, they heard yelling and screaming before Fernandez’s live-in girlfriend Roxanne Rojas answered the door, appearing “freshly bruised and bloody,” and with an infant in hand, according to argument recap by SCOTUSblog.

Read moreU.S. Supreme Court Rules Police May Search A Home WITHOUT OBTAINING A WARRANT

Former Supreme Court Justice Wants To Change The Second Amendment For Our ‘Safety And Wellbeing’

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– Former Supreme Court Justice Wants to Change the Second Amendment for Our “safety and wellbeing” (The Daily Sheeple, Feb 23, 2014):

In his new book, Six Amendments: How and Why We Should Change the Constitution, former (thankfully) Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens outlines the six Constitutional Amendments that he would like to see changed.

According to the book’s description on his website, Stevens outlines “six specific ways in which the Constitution should be amended in order to protect our democracy and the safety and wellbeing of American citizens.”

Read moreFormer Supreme Court Justice Wants To Change The Second Amendment For Our ‘Safety And Wellbeing’

AND NOW: Obama Administration Plans To Embed ‘Government Researchers’ To Monitor Media Organizations

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– The Obama Administration Plans to Embed “Government Researchers” to Monitor Media Organizations (Liberty Blitzkrieg, Feb 20, 2014):

Last week, I highlighted the fact that the latest Press Freedom Index showcased a 13 point plunge in America’s press freedom to an embarrassing #46 position in the global ranking. If the authoritarians in the Obama Administration have their way, this country is set to fall much further in next year’s index.

Incredibly, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is set to roll out something called the Critical Information Needs study, which will embed government “researchers” into media organizations around the nation to make sure they are doing their job properly.

No this isn’t “conspiracy theory.” It is so real, and represents such a threat to the First Amendment, that a current FCC commissioner, Ajit Pai, recently wrote an Op-Ed in the Wall Street Journal, warning Americans of this scheme. He writes:

Read moreAND NOW: Obama Administration Plans To Embed ‘Government Researchers’ To Monitor Media Organizations

President Obama Can Murder Anyone

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David Swanson is an American activist, blogger and author. He served for a year as media coordinator for the International Labor Communications Association. In May 2005, Swanson helped make the Downing Street memo known in the United States and discussed in Congress. He co-founded After Downing Street and led an ongoing campaign to impeach President George W. Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney. Swanson continues to work closely with the peace movement and often leads campaigns to end the Iraq War and punish those involved in launching that war. His Swanson’s books include War Is A Lie. He blogs at http://davidswanson.org and http://warisacrime.org and works as Campaign Coordinator for the online activist organization http://rootsaction.org. He hosts Talk Nation Radio.

– Activist: US president can murder anyone (PressTV, Feb 11, 2014):

By David Swanson

From the Associated Press:

“An American citizen who is a member of al-Qaida is actively planning attacks against Americans overseas, U.S. officials say, and the Obama administration is wrestling with whether to kill him with a drone strike and how to do so legally under its new stricter targeting policy issued last year.”

Notice those words: “legally” and “policy.”  No longer does U.S. media make a distinction between the two. Under George W. Bush, detention without trial, torture, murder, warrantless spying, and secret missile strikes were illegal.  Under Obama they are policy. And policy makes them “legal” under the modified Nixonian understanding that if the President does it as a policy, then it is legal.

Under the U.S. Constitution, the laws of the nations in which drone murders take place, treaties to which the U.S. is party, international law, and U.S. statutory law, murdering people remains illegal, despite being policy, just as it was illegal under the less strict policy of some months back. The policy was made stricter in order to bring it into closer compliance with the law, of course — though it comes nowhere close — and yet the previous policy remains somehow “legal,” too, despite having not been strict enough.

Read morePresident Obama Can Murder Anyone

Senator Rand Paul Sues President Obama Over NSA’s Surveillance Tactics

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– Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul sues President Obama over NSA’s surveillance tactics (Daily News, Feb 12, 2014):

The outspoken Tea Partier filed a lawsuit on behalf of at least 350,000 plaintiffs alleging that the NSA’s bulk collection program violates the Fourth Amendment of the Constitution.

Kentucky Republican Sen. Rand Paul and a large group of Tea Party conservatives have filed a lawsuit against President Obama over the National Security Agency’s controversial surveillance tactics.

Paul’s suit, filed in conjunction with conservative group FreedomWorks, alleges that the NSA’s bulk collection program, under which the agency has collected the telephone metadata of many Americans, violates the Fourth Amendment of the Constitution, which protects against unreasonable searches.

Read moreSenator Rand Paul Sues President Obama Over NSA’s Surveillance Tactics

Ron Paul: ‘Will No One Challenge Obama’s Executive Orders?’

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– Will No One Challenge Obama’s Executive Orders? (Ron Paul, Feb 10, 2014):

President Obama’s state of the union pledge to “act with or without Congress” marks a milestone in presidential usurpation of Congressional authority.  Most modern presidents have used executive orders to change and even create laws without Congressional approval. However President Obama is unusually brazen, in that most Presidents do not brag about their plans to rule by executive order in state of the union speeches.

Sadly, his pledge to use his pen to implement laws and polices without the consent of Congress not only received thunderous applause from representatives of the president’s party, some representatives have even pledged to help Obama get around Congress by providing him with ideas for executive orders. The Constitution’s authors would be horrified to see legislators actively aiding and abetting a president taking power away from the legislature.

Read moreRon Paul: ‘Will No One Challenge Obama’s Executive Orders?’

Watchdog Report Says NSA Program Is Illegal And Should End

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First reactions:

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– Watchdog Report Says N.S.A. Program Is Illegal and Should End (New York Times, Jan 23, 2014):

WASHINGTON — An independent federal privacy watchdog has concluded that the National Security Agency’s program to collect bulk phone call records has provided only “minimal” benefits in counterterrorism efforts, is illegal and should be shut down.

The findings are laid out in a 238-page report, scheduled for release by Thursday and obtained by The New York Times, that represent the first major public statement by the Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board, which Congress made an independent agency in 2007 and only recently became fully operational.

Read moreWatchdog Report Says NSA Program Is Illegal And Should End

U.S. Supreme Court To Decide If Warrant Needed To Search Cellphone

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U.S. Constitution

Fourth Amendment

The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.

– Supreme Court To Decide If Warrant Needed To Search Cellphone (NPR, Jan 17, 2014):

The U.S. Supreme Court is delving into the technology-versus-privacy debate, agreeing to hear two cases that test whether police making an arrest may search cellphones without a warrant.

The court’s announcement Friday that it would take the cases came just hours after President Obama outlined his proposals to address government retention of citizen phone data as outlining reforms at the National Security Agency.

The court said it would hear arguments, likely in April, in two cases with conflicting decisions from the lower courts.

Read moreU.S. Supreme Court To Decide If Warrant Needed To Search Cellphone