Urgent: Stop surveillance of Black Lives Matter activists

Stop surveillance of Black Lives Matter activists

(click here to sign petition)
Sunday, August 9th marked one year since Michael Brown’s unjust death and the ensuing protests in Ferguson.

On top of the numerous unnecessary fatalities that have occurred at the hands of police this past year, it turns out that the Department of Homeland Security has been conducting surveillance on #BlackLivesMatter activists¹.

By trolling Facebook, Twitter, and Vine, the federal government has mapped and collected info on #BlackLivesMatter protests and activists around the country.

We know that DHS shares what it gathers with local and federal law enforcement for targeting police stops and investigations. This can result in private information about specific individuals being funneled into the Nationwide Suspicious Activity Reporting system, which provides reports to the FBI.

This must stop. Tell DHS Secretary Jeh Johnson and Attorney General Loretta Lynch that activists have a right to speak, organize, and protest.

Today, at a time when the public is outraged and sickened that Black men and women are killed by police in too many incidents, the tracking of #BlackLivesMatter activists is just unacceptable.

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Source:
¹ Joseph, George, “Exclusive: Feds Regularly Monitored Black Lives Matter Since Ferguson,” The Intercept, 24 July

Civil Forfeiture Laws… Legally Stealing From Innocent People…

Civil forfeiture laws… This is something every single person needs to be aware of. If you’ve never heard of it, in short it refers to “laws” which allow federal and state law officials and agents to seize millions of dollars annually from civilians during anything from a simple traffic stop to the officer stating they believe said money from the individual is connected to a criminal or illegal activity, even without any sort of charge sought. What’s more, this should be illegal way to obtain money is legal for these officers and agents under most federal law, and under most the laws in most states the officers or agents are allowed to keep most or all of the money and/or property seized.  But that is barely just scratching the surface of it.

According to the ACLU:

New Supreme Court Rules on Mandatory Sentencing

Repost:

June 17, 2013 (The Sentencing Project)

U.S. Supreme Court Ruling on Mandatory Sentencing Will Bring Greater Fairness in Sentencing

In a 5 to 4 decision today, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that certain facts must be proved to a jury beyond a reasonable doubt in order to impose a mandatory minimum sentence.   The case of Alleyne v. United States focused on whether in federal cases the brandishing of a weapon must be charged in an indictment, and proved to a jury, in order to set or increase a mandatory minimum. The Court held that this rigorous burden of proof is required by the Sixth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.

“Today’s decision is a victory for the thousands of individuals and their families — disproportionately from communities of color — whose lives are put on hold each year by unjust mandatory minimum sentences,” said Marc Mauer, executive director of The Sentencing Project.

“Research shows that mandatory minimums

Help Stop the Government’s Attempt at Mandatory Drug Tests & Privacy Invasion on Welfare Applicants

Received this update in an e-mail from the ACLU chapter in Texas… Check it out and do what you can, call, write, retweet…. People shouldn’t be punished by prison for drugs, much less like this. However, it is really the kids I am thinking about. Not only the adults, but teens and children will suffer. How can this bill be deemed good or acceptable by anyone with a conscience? Things continue to get more, and more, disgusting. The soulless and cold hearted “Governor Perry” honestly seems to know nothing when it comes to society and human beings. It is insulting to say that people who are poor should automatically be a suspect of drug abuse. And, even if the person is a user, they shouldn’t be prison bound…and they sure as hell shouldn’t have to be tested when applying for benefits for themselves and their family. This is all just insane. No one wins, too many will suffer even more than already… But there are a few who will not suffer…and it is these greedy, moral-less “politicians” along with a handful of other REAL criminals that all go hand in hand, really.

Forget them. We need to become more community orientated, and not just within communities that look like us, but ALL communities who suffer from the same punishing enemy; we need to unite. See below. As for me, I am going to go re-read Machiavelli’s “The Prince”.

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A few months ago, we told you about Governor Perry’s mean-spirited call to drug test applicants for Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF), the program that provides short-term support for families with children while they get through tough times. Now a bill (SB 11) advancing that idea has been approved by the Texas Senate and is pending in the House.

Tell your legislator to stop stereotyping poor families — vote NO on SB 11.

The bill would divert TANF funds for a new purpose, paying for state-mandated invasions of privacy.

One of the most important limits on the power of government to intrude into our lives is the constitutional ban on unreasonable searches. The government cannot demand to search our persons, our belongings, or our homes whenever it wants.

Courts have routinely held that drug testing, when administered by the government, is an intrusive bodily search and therefore requires probable cause to believe a crime is being committed. Because the bill doesn’t require probable cause before testing it undermines this essential limit on the power of government.

We can’t solve the social issue of drug use and addiction by depriving the poorest families in our state of basic needs like food, clothing, and shelter. Tell Austin politicians that Texans still believe in limits on government power.

ACLU Filing Complaint Against Detroit Police Regarding Abuse of Homeless People

Apologies for the lack of posts lately… I am currently working on two big projects and a few side projects for this website and in the process of creating external resources….but more on that late…

Once more, a post regarding the homeless being treated less than they deserve… In sum, the homeless people of Detroit, MI, have suffered abuse at the hands of many; including cops. Detroit officers apparently have a sick habit of taking what money the homeless individual does have, or, a very tragic habit of forcing homeless people into vans, driving them away from the area which they were in, then dropping them off somewhere random. This too often tends to be in new, unfamiliar areas where they were abandon without assistance or help in the unfamiliar location.

So, after a long investigation which lasted a year,

Police Called on 5 year old CHILD for Wearing “Wrong Color Shoes” to School- Not an Isolated Incident

Yes site still under construction for a few more days then I will be back with a new & improved site 😀 but, I had to repost this…

I don’t understand how society continues to say this kind of behavior on behalf of “adults” is okay. Some say, ‘Well, they are trying to help cut down on bullying’ or ‘violence’ or, ‘this color is a gang color so they are only trying to end gang culture’ or something equally as absurd- such as the article below.

Suspending, calling the cops, and other forms of demeaning and outcasting kids does not lead them or any of us towards a better future the majority of the time. It does the exact opposite.

Regardless, no child, especially a small child, should ever be able to say they’ve been arrested! This is so infuriating and frustrating because this isn’t a one time thing! Why is society so silent???
*****original link below*****
In Mississippi, if kindergarteners violate the dress code or act out in class, they may end up in the back of a police car.

A story about one five-year-old particularly stands out.