The dangers of challenging the state. Those living through this present age of SWAT team raids, police shootings of unarmed citizens, roadside strip searches, and invasive surveillance might feel as if these events are unprecedented. Yet while America may be experiencing a steady slide into a police state, it is neither the first nor the last ... MORE
Defeating the Domain Awareness Center. "Whether it's going back to the free speech movement, the Black
Panthers, Occupy Oakland... we fight back," says Brian Hofer, an
attorney affiliated with the
Oakland Privacy Working Group, an association of Oakland
residents fighting against the city's proposed
Domain Awareness Center. ... MORE
by Gregory Ferenstein. Davi Baker wasn’t quite sure how to comply with the TSA’s demands to inspect his bags for Bitcoin.
Baker had found himself in a testy exchange with airport security
personnel during an enhanced screening, and they wanted an additional
search of his belongings. “We saw Bitcoin in your bag and need to check,” ... MORE
Acclimating Americans to an inevitable fate? Ever since the attack on September 11, 2001, the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) seems to be introducing Americans to what a police state feels like. After the terrorist attack on the twin towers, the TSA has been strengthening the security of the nation’s transportation ... MORE
by John Glaser. A domestic surveillance system established after the terrorist attacks of September 11 collects and shares intelligence on a mass scale about “the everyday activities of law-abiding Americans, even in the absence of reasonable suspicion,” according to a new report. The
report, released this month by the Brennan Center for Justice, ... MORE
by Scott Shackford. Norman Gurley, 30, is facing
drug-related charges in Lorain County, Ohio, despite the fact that
state troopers did not actually find any drugs in his
possession. Ohio passed
a law in 2012 making it a felony to alter a vehicle to add a
secret compartment with the “intent” of using it to conceal drugs
for trafficking. Gurley is the ... MORE
by Cheryl K. Chumley. When it comes to subpoenaing telephone records, U.S. drug agents may take the trophy from the National Security Agency. New information revealed by The New York Times on a counterdrug program called The Hemisphere Project shows the federal government has been paying the telecommunications company, ... MORE
Government gropers to become ubiquitous. Janet Napolitano’s TSA agents won’t keep their blue, latex-covered
paws to themselves. The TSA is now expanding its grope to rodeos, sports
stadiums, music festivals and train stations. The TSA’s signature move is like the signature move of a guy who
“accidently” brushes his hand against a woman’s ... MORE
by Jonathon Moseley. "Question Authority" was a dominant political theme in the '60s and 70s We're talking about the 1760s and the 1770s, of course -- the American Revolution. Well, sure, the 1960s and the 1970s, too. But our country was founded on the idea "Question Authority" while opposing the King of England in the 1760s and 1770s. ... MORE
Just like the NSA's PRISM spying. Federal officials have been tracking all mail sent through the United States Postal Service for well over a decade, but have been monitoring select pieces of mail for over a century. Using a pair of systems that snap images of envelopes and catalogue them into batches, the federal government tracks all ... MORE
An insightful interview with Penn Jillette. Question: Why is it important to mistrust the government? Penn Jillette: I believe that our country, uniquely for the time, was founded on mistrust for the government, which is such a heady and beautiful idea. The idea that we have all the rights in the world. We have complete and utter ... MORE
FBI sets a new standard of paranoia. The FBI published 25 pamphlets
and distributed them to people who work in the general public to give
them information on how to spot a terrorist based on a number of
“suspicious behavior” indicators. People at construction sites,
electronic stores, beauty salons, airports and other places were advised
on ... MORE