Search and Seizure

Barron Barnett's picture

The Tripwire Question.

A Girl and Her Gun stumbled across a post that is designed to provoke thought about your tripwire.  I hopped over to her linked post and read through the comments.  Between A Girl and Her Gun and the comments there it’s it’s obviously about that time again.

Starting off I have previously talked about tripwires here.  More specifically the ignored lessons of the 20th century.

First up, if you’re caching weapons, the time to use them is now.  You’re assuming that you will still be able to freely travel back to your cache as well as assemble with your friends for an armed resistance.  You have no such guarantee and anyone who is attempting to disarm you is trying to pacify you.  Any claims of good intentions are false and here’s why.

  1. In the words of John Ross, “The time to fight is before you’re handcuffed in the back of the van.”  Having us volunteer our arms is like asking us to climb in the back of a van while hitch hiking and handcuff our self to the floor.  At that point, what can the driver do to you?  Anything that he wants.
  2. Any politician wanting your arms doesn’t want them for “the public good” he wants them so you have not way to fight back.  We have seen time and again the falsehood that is gun control.  So knowing that their claims are lies, why would you surrender your arms?
  3. Everyone has the right to self defense as well as the right to the best tools to do so and it is a divine right and thus not within the bounds of mankind to remove that right.
  4. As a law abiding citizen, what does your disarmament do for the government?  It serves to ensure that you have no means to fight back if you decide you disagree with a law.  It stacks the deck entirely in their favor.

So with that out of the way, lets get to the core of A Girl and Her Gun’s post:

How many stories have we read about activists that save the world while their own kids suffer.  Is the greater good more important than the individual?  Absolutely not and yes, of course it is. There has to be people who are willing to sacrifice it all for what they believe in, if not, where would this country be, where would I be?

Yes, kids will suffer two fold because of this assault on our rights.  They will suffer the first because there will be those of us who will kiss them on the forehead and never see them again.  There will be others who will have them stripped away by the government because they dare to speak out against the state.  The state is a terrorist by all definitions.  These terrorists understand the leverage provided by using someone’s family against them.  This fact is an inevitability of the situation.  We do not wish for it, but it is the beast coming to our door and he can not be ignored. Forgot to post the second: The kids rights are in jeopardy just the same as your own.  Their choices are being made for them and the worst part is they will never be aware of that fact.

There is nothing more important than my children and each of them deserve to grow up knowing they are loved and valued and they need a mommy for that, at least partially, but then again, if they are growing up in a North Korea kind of country, who the hell cares or maybe it matters even more.

There is no question in that.  See this post which ended in a letter to my future kids.  Growing up though I learned that love has many forms.  My dad never expressed it in the ways most people would expect.  He just couldn’t, it wasn’t in his nature.  In fact there were only two times he ever actually said it, one of which was just before he passed away.

My dad would have left home without thinking twice to ensure the safety of my mother, my sister, and myself.  If it was necessary to guarantee my future beyond his horizon he would fight.  He would fight not just because it was the right thing, but because he loved us and wanted the best for us. 

There is no question my dad would act against any threat against his family, he proved it.  I know not everyone who reads this blog looks upon religion the same.  I also avoid it because I don’t like forcing my beliefs on others.  However this line has a significant weight despite the religion.

Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.
-John 15:13

While at the time children may not understand and this applies to sacrificing time with those you love as well.  With age comes wisdom.  They will understand that the choices were the opposite of selfishness.  You fought not just for your right to have a choice, but for their own as well.  It is not only your children who will understand the sacrifices.

All that is necessary for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing – Edmund Burke

While one would want to just be with your kids to physically protect them, it provides the excuse for good men to do nothing.  There are many reasons not to fight when you consider your children.  However I can think of nothing that would put a bigger fire in my belly than the fear of evil men making decisions for myself and my children without a way to say, “NO!”

*I pulled those lessons from Joe, his post can be found here.

Barron Barnett's picture

SSCC #270–Pinellas

A Pinellas sheriff's detective says that in an effort to seek out homegrown marijuana, he donned a Progress Energy uniform as a "ruse" and then entered a homeowner's property without a search warrant.

Yeah, there is a reason when I someone from the utility company is at my house I consider it suspect.  If they want in my house, I’m calling the company and there is going to be a long talk as to why he’s at my house.  When said company says he’s not with them, I will assume criminal and things are going to be come quite dangerous for the idiot.  He has closed distance and is lying about who he is and is trying to gain entrance to your house.

So you would think that since the Sherriff supposedly frowns upon it there would be some sort of punishment, however this is the departments response:

Although Gualtieri criticized the tactic, he was less quick to criticize his detective. "He's a young detective who I think thought he was just being creative," Gualtieri said. "I put more responsibility with the supervision." He said he wanted to think about whether to discipline anyone.

Yeah, and the guy from the utility isn’t a sworn law enforcement officer either. If you present yourself as X, you’re assumed to be X, and you are tricking people.  They will kick in your door in the middle of the night and shoot your dog.  They will fool you into allowing them access without a warrant.  Would you give an officer any access to your property without a warrant knowing them to be such?

Yeah, this was sneaky, back handed, and totally wrong.  We see how the cops love it, they may bitch publicly about it but honestly they don’t care.

Barron Barnett's picture

Pardon the Laughter

Mr. Weissmann, speaking at a University of San Francisco conference called “Big Brother in the 21st Century” on Friday, said that the court ruling prompted the FBI to turn off about 3,000 GPS tracking devices that were in use.

Currently they’re trying to figure out how they’re going to get the devices back without a warrant.  Why are they having problems?

For instance, he said, agency is now “wrestling” with the legality of whether agents can lift up the lid of a trash can without committing trespass. The majority opinion in U.S. v. Jones held that the agents had trespassed when placing the GPS device on a car without warrant.

They’re going to try the ask nicely route.  Because what judge is going to sign a warrant because you placed things illegally on someone’s car to begin with?

I’m sure any such conversation is going to go something like this:

Me: Can I help you?

FBI: Yes sir, see we were illegally monitoring your vehicle and we need to get our GPS back now.

Me: Which vehicle was it on?

FBI: Well sir we can just grab it if you’ll let us.

Me: You were illegally monitoring my vehicle and now you think I’m going to let you near it again? Which vehicle?

FBI: Your truck, on the rear bumper.

Me: Pulls it off and says, “I’ll Idaho Stress test it and send you the pieces and results.” *slams door*

Then I would proceed to dissect and reverse engineer it, document it, and then blow up the parts.  Then being a man of my word I’d mail them the pieces with a piece of paper that says, “You crap failed.”

Barron Barnett's picture

SSCC #242–Unknown

Anyone who has a name or department for this incident please contact me immediately.  I will personally call the department to find out what actions are being taken.  This guy ranks up there with Officer Roid rage, though not quite as bad.

Update: Evidently this is a prank funded by the taxpayer.  The city council investigated and found no wrong doing despite the misuse of public property.  How nice.  Maybe I should be come a cop to play pranks on the public dime.

State Sponsored Criminal Count 242: John Doe

Because when someone exercises their constitutional rights they must be a “cock sucker”

*I know it sounds like this was around the Charleston area.  More info would be greatly appreciated.

via Spike in GBC

Barron Barnett's picture

Once is Happenstance

Once is happenstance, twice is coincidence, three or more times is enemy action.  Well I don't believe in coincidence and at this point it no longer matters.

Yesterday another elderly woman came forward saying she received the same type of treatment as the 85 year old grandmother.

Ruth Sherman, 88, of Sunrise, Fla., told WCBS television ( http://cbsloc.al/sD3xsS ) that agents were suspicious about her colostomy bag and asked her to pull down the waist of her pants so they could see it on Nov. 28.

So that's twice.  Today a third woman has come forward describing the same type of treatment, this time over a glucose monitor.

Kallish's troubles began because of the glucose monitor and insulin pump she wears because of her diabetes. After she set off the metal detector she was sent to a private room and, she says, told to take her pants off. She says the officer didn't touch her. "So I took my pants off and showed [the glucose monitor] to her," Kallish said. "She just looked at it and said, 'Have a nice trip.'"

That's three.  The TSA claimed on Friday that strip searches as the above are not procedure.  However in all three instances there was an underlying medical condition that the officers exploited to abuse their power.

At what point do people finally say enough is enough.  How much abuse do the public have to take before someone finally wises up that while the TSA may claim that something is not policy or procedure doesn't mean that it doesn't happen.  TSA agents don't follow normal policy or procedures regarding the use of equipment that make use of radio active equipment, why does anyone think they would magically follow their own rule book?

This is like playing Monopoly with a kid who is making up his own rules and constantly changing them.  Except this kid can throw you in jail when you point out he's breaking the rules.  How do you deal with a spoiled brat who harasses and intimidates anyone who dares challenge their Authoritah.  Not to mention when you tell their parents about their kids misbehaving they just pat them on the back and say stop that.  Even when one of the parents is hassled.

My father-in-law was told not only to remove his prosthetic leg, but they wanted him to disassemble it.  There's no cosmesis, and the leg requires special tools to assemble and disassemble.  If you've ever seen a bare prosthetic there is no room to put anything in it.  The TSA claims that type of behavior would never happen yet it does. 

This is what happens when you create a job program for the lowest common denominator who cant even graduate high school and give them more power than they know what to do with.  Then the parent who gave them that power says that there's no accountability.

Barron Barnett's picture

SSCC #103/104 - Miami-Dade Police

This young man had done nothing wrong.  These officer were out looking for a good time, nothing more.  Not to mention the fact that he quite obviously through his appearance and speech has down syndrome.  He was the perfect victim for these bored officers to abuse.

A bulge could be any of a number of things that do not include a weapon.  I can think of many which are health related.  I have a friend who has a bulge due to an insulin pump.  My dad had a bulge from his pain meds just before he passed away.  This doesn’t even include the idea that maybe clothes got bunched up, or they are concealing something they would just rather not have seen.

The idea that concealing something automatically provides a reason for law-enforcement to stop, detain, and search you is disconcerting on so many levels it’s not even funny.  Especially since a search is not legal unless you are being placed under arrest.

Looking at this from another point of view, what if that had been a legal concealed carrier?  That person could have been easily ventilated on the sidewalk by what appears to be Officer Roid-Rages yet another of cousins.

State Sponsored Criminal Count: 103, 140  Officer John Doe 1*, and Officer John Doe 2*

Because a bulge is the first sign you’re about to have a good time, well at least that’s what she said.

*If you find the names of the officers, please contact me

Barron Barnett's picture

Opt out of screening, here’s the result

What happened next was unnecessary and out of line; instead of just running his fingers along the waistband, he pulled out, at which point my button ripped out of the shorts, and the zipper came all the way down, exposing my underwear down to the crotch. Horror. I quickly zipped my shorts up. What the hell? I can understand there might have be a possibility that the thread or fabric near the button had been weakened over time, but even then, my zipper should not have unzipped down to the bottom if he was only feeling the waistband. Obviously my frustration showed, but did the TSA agent offer a solution for my broken button? or say anything besides “oops. I’m Sorry”? No. He just continued over to the machine to wipe his gloves down looking for residue, and then put wipe into machine.

I’m reasonably sure the only reason they escorted him to the back room is to ensure there would be no witnesses to the attack.  Yes this was an attack because it resulted in damage to property.  Not only that but the agents actions were nothing more than an attempt at sexual humiliation.

I don’t wish ill or harm on anyone, but frankly my opinion is starting to change regarding TSA agents.  Even if agent A isn’t responsible, he still covers for agent B.  They're nothing but predators who cover for each other.

The TSA has so many issues it shall remain in this post by itself

Barron Barnett's picture

Random Thought Of The Day

There is actually a huge market now for chastity belts other than those who have strange kinks.  They can be applied and used while going through airport screenings to help prevent sexual assaults like this.  It's kind of hard for someone to grab your junk through metal, plastic, or any other stiff material.  Besides, you just need to wear it while going through the security check point.

Tonight's posts are going to lean heavily towards the TSA.  My inbox has exploded with different articles regarding different incidents with the cancer that is the TSA.

*My brain was wondering because of all the articles I've seen today.  This is what happens when I'm listening to VC at the same time.

Barron Barnett's picture

SSCC #49–Lakewood Police

When they found Rice wasn’t home, they asked an obliging employee of the complex to open up the apartment without her consent. Once inside, they raided the gun rack, making off with 13 firearms worth around $15,000. The only problem: They had no apparent reason to.

This woman had broken no laws.  The weapons were legally owned.  The police confiscated them without warrant.  Then when she requested they be returned, they demanded there be a court order.  May Mrs. Rice’s attorney  send the city of Lakewood into receivership.

This isn’t the first time that police have gone shopping for new firearms using someone’s personal property as the store.

State Sponsored Criminal Count: 49

Because really being a cop just allows you to shop through other peoples property.  The law is just for everyone else to follow.

H/t Dave Hardy

Barron Barnett's picture

The Problem with Stop and Identify - SSCC #21

There has been a lot of back and forth by me regarding this one and actually including it as a criminal count.  I finally decided that it is due to the following facts:

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