SSCC #427 – DEA, BATFEieio

The nation’s top drug and gun enforcement agencies do not track how often they give their informants permission to break the law on the government’s behalf.

U.S. Justice Department rules put strict limits on when and how agents at the FBI, Drug Enforcement Administration and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives can authorize their informants — often drawn from the ranks of the criminals they are investigating — to commit a crime. But both the ATFand DEA acknowledged, in response to open-records requests and in written statements, that they do not track how often such permission is given.

(Emphasis mine.) When you see it written like that, it reads as the definition of a State Sponsored Criminal now doesn’t it?

State Sponsored Criminal #427: The Feds

Because if you want to get a crime, just ask the government for permission first.  If you have to sweeten the deal by squealing on your compatriots.  No honor among thieves you know.

 

Can We Start Ridiculing TSA Agents Publicly Yet?

About a year ago I called for people to start verbally harassing and otherwise making people who work for the TSA ashamed of what they do.  There were a few people who seemed to think that it was a pointless idea and that those people were just doing a hard job.

Here’s my problem with that.  TSA agents blatantly violate and ignore their own rules and regulations, and then you have some agents while violating said rules, they act in a way as to desecrate a deceased loved one.  Then they laugh about what they just did.

“I was told later on that she had no right to even open it, that they could have used other devices, like an X-ray machine. So she opened it up. She used her finger and was sifting through it. And then she accidentally spilled it.”

The agent’s response?

“She didn’t apologize. She started laughing. I was on my hands and knees picking up bone fragments. I couldn’t pick up all, everything that was lost. I mean, there was a long line behind me.”

The TSA website has the following statement regarding their policy on human remains:

 Out of respect to the deceased and their family and friends, under no circumstances will an officer open the container even if the passenger requests this be done. Documentation from the funeral home is not sufficient to carry a crematory container through security and onto a plane without screening.

So I’m sure this particular agent will receive some extra training but that doesn’t excuse her attitude and behavior toward this passenger.  Behavior such as this from TSA agents is not the exception but the norm. There was a recent congressional report for Congressman Marsha Blackburn that detailed only 50 of the numerous crimes since 2005.  Most disturbing of the 50 detailed was the following statistic:

Theft is followed closely by sex crimes and child pornography charges, with 14 such incidents listed in Blackburn’s report. Six TSA employees were charged with possession of child pornography; one of them got caught because he “uploaded explicit pictures of young girls to an Internet site on which he also posted a photograph of himself in his TSA uniform,” the report notes. Eight others were charged variously with child molestation, rape (including child rape), and even running a prostitution ring. It’s not hard to figure out why persons possessing such proclivities would seek jobs where they would be able to ogle and grope other people’s private parts with impunity.

So I again ask, why do people put up with this behavior and not start causing discomfort?  At a minimum you might make them police their own instead of everyone just looking the other way.  Heck, even the legal system is looking the other way and the real reason these individuals are in trouble is they got caught.  That’s why they are given probation for knowingly and willfully committing a crime.  Not just probation, but their record will remain clean without a conviction.   Whereas if you’re unlucky enough to get in an auto wreck from bad weather, you end up with a conviction, even though you intended no malice or harm.  They willfully violate other agency rules and cause damage to medical equipment.  Then after they’ve done the damage they play dumb about it.

Our congressional representatives instead of actually attempting to solve the problem have instead just exempted themselves from the indignities and crimes done by the TSA.  There have been a few instances where the TSA has abused a congress critter but the furor quickly dies out.  Our legal system as shown above is refusing to hold agents accountable for their actions.  For all intents and purposes though government has been shown to be incapable and inept and reining in the monster they created.  So other than hanging agents from trees, running them out on rails, and buckets of tar and feathers what is there left?  What is left to cause agents to either police themselves or leave the corrupt service they have created?

Agents themselves have absolutely no issue disgracing, abusing, and otherwise violating the public which they supposedly serve.  Their job itself is a farce and nothing more that a wasteful joke intended to make those who are sheep feel better.  The batting average of the public at large for stopping terrorist attacks since September 11th is 1000.  The batting average for the TSA since that date is 0.  Sure they’ve lucked out and found items people forgot about, but they have yet to actually find someone who set out with an intent to deceive the system.  They actually fail red team tests on a regular basis.

So given this information, why do the people who actually succeed at stopping terrorist attacks put up with this garbage from a bunch of high school dropouts who are incapable of reading at a 1st grade level?  I think any kid could read that statement from the TSA above and know thou shall not open the urn.

At this point, I want to see a group of passengers start chanting, “Two by two hands of blue”* while others continue to educate the agents on why they’re a bunch of tyrannical tories who deserve no love from their countrymen.

The TSA has created this us vs them environment and the sooner we all realize it already exists the better.  The only argument I have heard against calling these jack booted thugs out as they are was that we could increase the rift.  Well the rift is already pretty damn big, what the hell else do you want?  A hole through the middle of the earth, would that finally be big enough for you to say the time is now?

Personally I think verbal abuse isn’t enough any more, a rail, tar, and feathers I think still might be too nice for most of these folks.  Start off verbally and if they double down on stupid, break out the rail.

*If you don’t get the reference, go watch Firefly… now.  Seriously why are you still here? It’s on Netflix and Hulu and you can watch the whole series and Serenity in a day.

h/t To Uncle on this one.

SSCC #354 – DEA

The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled last week that the DEA’s use of force against the 11-year-old and 14-year-old daughters of Thomas and Rosalie Avina–which included putting a gun to the youngest girl’s head–was “excessive,” “unreasonable,” and constituted “intentional infliction of emotional distress.”

Given the court ruled that it was excessive, why would I list this as a Sponsored Criminal?   Quite simple really.

Attorneys for the Obama administration defended the raid, and Reason has obtained the brief the DOJ filed to the Ninth Circuit. In it, the Obama administration argues that “the DEA agents’ conduct was plainly reasonable under the circumstances.”

To put the icing on the cake, this also was a wrong door raid.  They attacked law-abiding citizens, violating their rights and committed assault with a deadly weapon.  This is non-negotiable.  I don’t care if the officers claim they thought they were acting in good faith, every officer is responsible for his own actions.

The courts however have stated that you can be shot, threatened, and your rights trampled by officers of the state as long as it wasn’t with malice a forethought.

I find that the odds of me being killed by a law enforcement officer considerably higher than by “illegal” drugs or someone on drugs.  This is a prime example of the cure being worse than the “disease”.  Yet here our government is saying it isn’t worse and that we should all live in terror to continue treating the “disease”.

Doesn’t that just make you feel all warm and fuzzy inside.

State Sponsored Criminal #354: The DEA

Because a girl sleeping in her own bed means you need to totally fear for your life, including putting a loaded weapon to her head and hand cuffing her.  It’s a totally reasonable action that requires the threat and use of lethal force.*  Eric Holder’s office says so!

*If you point a gun at something that means you’re willing to shoot it.  Period.

SSCC #353 – ATF

Rochester police and federal agents made a mistake in Charlotte this week that has one woman baffled and frightened. She wants to know how they could mistake her house for one they were supposed to raid in a drug bust.

Simple really, they don’t hire the best and brightest.  Tyrannical bureaucrats don’t want enforcers who can think, much less read and tell the difference between the address on the warrant and the house they just arrived at.

How close was this almost a fatal screw up for the ATF as well as the home owner?

“My son had heard me arguing with this man and it was not a voice he’d recognize. My son is a hunter, he put a bullet in the chamber of his gun. They heard that, they yelled down long gun, at that point there he told another ATF agent that was with me, handcuff her and take her out,” Dominicos said.

However the real take away is the following:

“I’m still terrified. It’s almost like a P.T.S.D. experience, you keep hearing things. You think oh my God I hear a door slam, I hear someone pulling into my driveway. I see a light it’s like oh my God are they back?”

That’s the point.  Law enforcement and the government want us to live in fear.  Their actions exercise the very definition of the word terrorism.    The best part of the story though is the discrepancy between the home owners story, which is considerably more believable, and the statement released by police.

“Upon encountering an elderly resident, the team realized that they were at the wrong location at that time and left the premises.”

No you did not, you put her in cuffs and took her outside until someone bothered to read the house number and street name and noticed it didn’t match the warrant.

Considering this can happen to anyone, anytime, and quite easily can have dire consequences, why is this considered acceptable?  Especially since unsurprisingly the bad guys pretend to be cops.  At this point it’s better to just let the bullets file and sort it out afterwards.  Maybe if cops would knock first and be civil about it this wouldn’t be a problem.  If you think the screw ups are rare:


View Original Map and Database

Don’t give me the line about how serving a warrant is dangerous because the majority of warrants served are for non-violent offenses.  When the criminal is actually dangerous, they negotiate him to come out to reduce collateral damage.  There is the argument about the destruction of evidence, well if we weren’t serving warrants over victimless crimes involving nouns that wouldn’t be a problem now would it?

Even better though, with the consistently increasing use of SWAT teams in unnecessary circumstances, the number of people caught in the middle who are innocent continues to increase.  You can not use the service more and expect it to also become more accurate about it’s use, if anything it will become less accurate.

No knocks, like the TSA, need to be done away with.  They have both grown since September 11th and it’s eroding and destroying the last semblances of freedom and liberty.  The police state is here and we need to put an end to it.

State Sponsored Criminals 353: The ATF

Because it’s not the job of the swat team to read the warrant or make sure they’re at the right house.  If there’s collateral damage, the law-abiding citizen should have just behaved, he had no reason to defend himself.

via Uncle.

Quote of the Day–Joe Huffman (06/19/2012)

What is extraordinary here is that Issa didn’t have Federal Marshalls rip his jacket and shirt off, tie him face down on the table, stuff a copy of the subpoena in his mouth, give him 30 lashes with a bull whip, then tell him there would a whipping every day at 9:00 AM until he fully complied or his flesh had been stripped off and his bones were polished clean.

Joe HuffmanExtraordinary Offer

June 19th, 2012


[Personally I think Joe’s response would have been way too kind.  Give me a bucket, a rat, and a blow torch.  Some assembly required.  If you don’t know how it works, don’t worry about it, it prevents you from knowing how mean, evil, and sadistic my mind can be towards those who willingly endanger my friends and family in the name of destroying my rights.*

Don’t worry Joe, it’s not cruel or unusual.  At the time the Bill of Rights was written lashing was still a standard punishment on the high seas.  In fact so was keelhauling which I think would also be a fantastic venture for Mr. Holder. –B]

*In my defense, I would feel bad for the rat.

SSCC #340 – BATFEieio

A mother claims Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives
agents terrorized her and her 8-year-old child. She claims the person
they were seeking no longer lived there.

No warrant was issued for the raid either, but even more entertaining was this:

Griego said twice in the year before the raid she had informed police
officers that the Angela they were seeking was a previous tenant and no
longer living in the home.

I guess it’s a plus since they didn’t shoot a dog or stomp a kitten to death.

State Sponsored Criminal 340: The bATFeieio

Because police work is for all those other suckers.  When we have fancy raid equipment, we need to use it.  It justifies our budget you know!  Besides what better time to use it than when we know we’ll be safe.  Our concern is for us, not for you!

TSA, Lost Fliers and EPIC Lawsuits

Via Oleg: TSA behavior is causing more and more people to quit flying.  Not only that but it is causing people who are nude models to be uncomfortable.  The whole concept that one group of strangers is allowed to record intimate pictures of individuals without their consent while others can just don’t make sense.  Not to mention the fact that the TSA has been known to hire sexual deviants. Back in 2004 I swore I would never fly again until The Security Theater is abolished.  I know many others who will only fly commercially for business and tourism in the US has decreased due to the TSA.


Via Alan: The Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC) has filed lawsuit against the TSA for their security scanners.  The TSA has filed a brief in response, but what really got my attention about their brief:

DHS explains why the Court should not stop TSA from using the naked body scanners until the legality of it all is decided.

Translation: “So we’re breaking the law and we would like to be allowed to continue to do such until such time as you actually issue your ruling saying we’re breaking the law.”    The TSA Steals, Molests, and Abuses our American citizenry under color of law.  They should be destroyed.  If only there was a way.

Blue Thunder

Blue Thunder is no longer a cautionary tale of the future.  The Miami-Dade police department is in the process of purchasing it’s own UAV

Terrorism expert Douglas Haas, however, believes that the drones will help in many ways, including fighting crime. “This has unlimited capabilities,” said Haas. “Not only is it good tactically for a SWAT call out or any tactical situation, there’s numerous search and rescue applications for it after a hurricane. They could send one of these up fast and assess damage.”

Terrorism is being used as the necessity for the tool to further the police state.  As for using one after a hurricane, that’s assuming your operating facility, and hanger survived.  During a state of emergency such as that however, assistance could be requested from the national guard.  Further begging the question, why does Miami-Dade need it’s own UAV?