Our Democracy At Risk - Stop Watching Us

This phenomenal video with actors, whistle-blowers and veterans make the case that our democracy is at a crossroads. If people in this country want their freedoms, they have to stand up to protect them, or find themselves deprived of them. It's already happening, it may happen to you. The dangers to our cherished civil liberties have never been greater, and it's up to all of us to defend them.

The NSA is a wildly out of control agency intent on maintaining its power with as little oversight as possible. The Guardian newspaper, which broke the story, has set the standard in reporting on the NSA's abuses. Keep track of the latest developments with their feature The NSA Files.

The NSA cannot even follow the few constraints it has, constraints imposed upon it by Congress. Even when they are subject to rules, they disregard them. Read about that HERE.

How To Decode NSA Doublespeak

The NSA has been caught flat-out lying to the American people about it's surveillance programs. That's been established. 

But when the NSA isn't lying, it uses misdirection to give a certain impression, while meaning the complete opposite, as a way to dodge telling the complete truth. The government uses circular logic and twisty rationales to avoid being completely honest. The goal is to mislead the public about what exactly it does.

Slate magazine has a great article about how to decode the NSA's Orwellian doublespeak.

How to Decode the True Meaning of What NSA Officials Say

To keep up to date on the latest revelations about illegal government/corporate spying, check out The Guardian's ongoing coverage HERE.

The most recent update involves the NSA's thousands of privacy violations, in spite of it's reassurances that it respects the rights and privacy of Americans. Real about this revelation HERE.

Further Updates From Your Surveillance State

Our march toward an omnipresent surveillance society continues, with the government and intelligence community doing everything they can to make sure their power to spy and eavesdrop on Americans continues, despite what American citizens want.

TSA Mission Creep

If you're passing through train stations, sports stadiums or bus stations you may find yourself being questioned by a branch of the TSA called VIPR (Visible Intermodal Prevention and Response). Agents wearing bulletproof vests are wandering through the crowd, pulling some people aside for questioning, searching bags, purses and back packs, all without probable cause or due process. Have these efforts ever stopped or uncovered any terror plots? The TSA won't say, citing, conveniently, the need for secrecy.

What happens if you do not consent to a search, or answer the agents' questions? Can you be arrested? Detained? Under what charge? From The New York Times:

"T.S.A. officials respond that the random searches are “special needs” or “administrative searches” that are exempt from probable cause because they further the government’s need to prevent terrorist attacks."

This rationale gives the TSA a huge amount of power. Who's making sure citizens' rights are being respected? Read the article HERE.

NSA Withholds Information From Congress

The NSA's defenders have said over and over again that there is oversight of their surveillance programs: by Congress. Members of Congress are keeping tabs on the NSA to make sure they are operating within the law.

Except this is a blatant lie.

As The Guardian (and numerous other publications) reports, Congress has been denied information it has asked for by the NSA. Information requests have been rebuffed and ignored. Without access to information, Congress cannot do its job. This arrogance is exactly why the NSA needs to be reined in, why its unchecked power needs to be scaled back. Read the story about this HERE. 

"If You Don't Have Anything To Hide, You've Got Nothing To Fear"

One of the refrains Americans have been fed by the government (and the police, for that matter) is that hey - if you don't have anything to hide, then you don't have anything to fear. So relax, these programs only affect terrorists, not you. 

This is severely faulty logic that conveniently allows our rights to be marginalized in the relentless effort to combat "terrorism", in whatever form it takes. The ACLU has a good essay about why this reasoning is so flawed. An excerpt:

The "nothing to hide" argument also has things backwards when it suggests that we are all worthy of suspicion until proven otherwise. Our system of justice treats us all as innocent until proven guilty. That applies in everyday life – when the government wants to spy on our daily activities and private conversations – as much as it applies in court. The state bears the burden of showing there is a good reason for suspicion, not the other way around. The refrain "nothing to hide" should not be a license for sweeping government surveillance.

Read the full essay HERE. It's a good read, and serves to remind us again that in order to protect the rights we have, we have to know how to stand up for them. 

Finally, the Electronic Frontier Foundation has a list of steps that need to be taken to reform the NSA's outrageous abuse of its authority given to it by the Patriot Act. Another good read, check it out HERE. 

• Our Surveillance State: What You Need To Know
• NSA tool collects 'nearly everything a user does on the internet
• The American Civil Liberties Union
• The Electronic Frontier Foundation
• The 10 Most Disturbing Things You Should Know About The FBI Since 9/11

Further Updates on Your Surveillance Society

Now that the cat is out of the bag, the government has found it much more difficult to contain the news of, and justify to the public it's wildly out of control surveillance programs.

For more information about what these programs are, and why you should care, click HERE.

Showing a surprising level of backbone, congress recently held a vote on whether or not to force the NSA to roll back its sweeping dragnet, leading to furious lobbying by the Obama administration and the intelligence community to maintain these programs.

The advocates for reforming the NSA lost. But the vote was much narrower than the Obama administration had hoped or expected, and indicates that this issue isn't going away. Indeed, polls show that the majority of Americans are wary about giving the government so much power to spy on them without oversight.

The NSA Can't Search Its Own E-mails

This one actually made me laugh. 

A reporter for the non-partisan news service ProPublica filed a Freedom-of-Information request with the NSA to understand the NSA's public relations efforts, specifically e-mails between the NSA and National Geographic.

The NSA's response? We don't have the technology, sorry. 

Responded NSA Freedom of Information Act officer Cindy Blacker, "There's no central method to search an email at this time with the way our records are set up, unfortunately,"

This response is absurd, and is a reason why the NSA has found itself on the defensive. Read the story HERE. 

Money Talks

Surprise surprise: the lawmakers who voted for maintaining the NSA's unchecked powers were the ones who received the most defense industry money. Still think your representatives represent your interests? Wired magazine has this story HERE.

The tide is turning, however. Even supporters of the NSA concede that government has not made a great case about why these powers are necessary and how they are protecting innocent Americans' privacy. The Los Angeles Times has a story about this HERE. The New York Times writes that it may be impossible for the NSA to stop the opposition to its surveillance; read the story HERE.

So: what can you do to help make sure your rights are being protected, when your own representatives are not protecting your interests?

Support causes that fight for you, that's what. Consider making a donation to the two groups below. They have been fighting tirelessly to defend your rights against a government that has been bent on curtailing them.

• The ACLU is the best known group that fights tirelessly, all the time, for the rights of citizens. Support them. Help them fight for you, to protect your rights. They are your advocate, whether your views are popular or not. Visit them HERE and please consider making a donation.

• The Electronic Frontier Foundation fights for the rights of digital users, from defending people's free speech rights, to beating back anti-consumer legislation, to exposing the misdeeds of corporations, patent trolls and the government, the EFF fights for consumers. They depend on your help. Consider giving them a donation to help them keep fighting. Visit them HERE.

Who's Watching You?

Who's Watching

You?

A lot of people talking about the revelations of widespread spying on Americans (and allies of the U.S, something Europe is none too happy about, to put it mildly) have gotten a lot of people thinking about who exactly is spying on them, who is collecting their data, and what is being done with that data, which rightfully belongs to the people it comes from.

There are more people spying on you than you might realize. 

Retailers scoop up huge amounts of data on their customers, more than you might think. Sometimes this can lead to awkward situations, such as when Target knew that a teenager was pregnant before her father did, and sent the girl coupons for baby items. 

The New York Times ran a story about a statistician that helped Target compile huge amounts of information about its shoppers; Target told the statistician to shut up and stop talking about the program. Target refused to let the journalist into its office to interview anyone about the program. They would much rather no one know about it.

It's not just Target, either. An unregulated industry of data brokers are scooping up all sorts of information about you, to use as they see fit, without your input or control. Efforts are being made to start reining in this industry, but it remains to be seen how effective such efforts will be against intense industry lobbying (source: The NSA Is Watching. So Is Google and Facebook, Los Angeles Times, 6/30/13)

Oh, you might not know that some retailers are actually tracking your smartphones when you are in their stores, monitoring what department you're in, how long you linger, and even what kind of mood you're in. Yeah...that's comforting (sarcasm intended). (Source: Attention, Shoppers: Store Is Tracking Your Cell, New York Times, 7/14)

Also, while in the mall, don't act suspicious, or you may find yourself detained without due process or probable cause by overzealous security guards. NPR has a disturbing investigation about citizens being harassed and detained at The Mall of America for such offenses as "walking nervously", writing in a notebook, and, of course, taking pictures. (Source: Under Suspicion At The Mall of America, NPR)

Much of this is being driven by the Department of Homeland Security, a sprawling bureaucracy created after 9/11 that has proven stubbornly resistant to any kid of oversight, reform or discipline in how much money it spends. Charles Kenny of Business Week makes a compelling argument that it may be time to simply abolish the DHS altogether. The DHS has become a monster we can no longer control.

Safety vs. Security

A common response is that all this is designed to keep us safe, but this is not only ineffective, but a false choice.

Bruce Schneier, security expert and author of Beyond Fear: Thinking Sensibly About Security in an Insecure World sums it up best: "There's plenty of examples of security that doesn't infringe on privacy. They are all around. Door locks. Fences ... Firewalls. People are forgetting that quite a lot of security doesn't affect privacy. The real dichotomy is liberty vs. control." (source: Privacy vs. security: 'False choice' poisons debate on NSA leaks, Bob Sullivan, NBC News 7/6/2013)

Challenging Secret Surveillance

Have you ever signed a petition in opposition to a political cause? Have you ever been to a political rally or protest, to make your voice heard? Are you a member of a group that advocates a social or political point of view?

If so, the government probably has a file on you.

What might be in that file? Is it correct? Could it prevent you from getting a good job, a loan, or might it lead to the FBI showing up on your doorstep one day?

An IT specialist named Clayton Howard wanted to find out. He filed a Freedom Of

Information Act request with the NSA, who responded, in short, that he was not entitled to any information the NSA might have on him. The NSA rejects pretty much every such request it receives (source: Tikkun Daily)

Attempts to sue the government for compiling dossiers on innocent citizens has been met with a Catch-22. The government's top lawyer argued before the Supreme Court that groups challenging the surveillance law had no reason to think their communications were being collected, so therefore they had no standing to sue. However, he specifically argued before the High Court that subjects of the surveillance would have standing to challenge the law if the information was used against them.

In other words, unless you think you're being watched by the government, you can't challenge the law, but if you are being watched by the government, you can challenge.

Has this actually happened? Hardly.

The promised disclosures have not been made, and the government has fiercely resisted any attempt to challenge the 2008 surveillance law, invoking the State Secrets defense. Not surprisingly, government attorneys using the law have not been willing to discuss the contradiction, which deprives citizens of their due process rights. (source: A Secret Surveillance Program Proves Challengeable in Theory Only, New York Times 7/15/13).

Belatedly, Congress is starting to challenge the Obama administration about this, demanding that the surveillance be scaled back, reacting to the global outrage these programs have spawned. (source: Bipartisan Backlash Grows Against Domestic Surveillance, New York Times, 7/17/13), and Lawmakers of both parties voice doubts about NSA surveillance programs, Washington Post, 7/17) 

Thanks to Edward Snowden, who exposed the government's wildly out of control surveillance of almost every American citizen, challenges to such surveillance have a slightly better chance in the courts, although the government continues to fiercely resist any kind of oversight or due process. We now know for sure how much information is being collected, and groups such as the ACLU and the EFF are fighting back, trying to restore a measure of balance to people whose rights are being violated (source: Snowden’s surveillance leaks open way for challenges to programs’ constitutionality, The Washington Post 7/15/2013)

These are your rights at stake. Help support them, or you may find you no longer have them.

• Our Surveillance State: What You Need To Know
• The American Civil Liberties Union
• The Electronic Frontier Foundation
• The 10 Most Disturbing Things You Should Know About The FBI Since 9/11

Restore The Fourth - Protect The 4th Amendment

The facts are clear: the NSA has turned the Internet into a massive surveillance system. They're using the websites we love to track our every move. On July 4th, people are protesting in more than 100 cities across the U.S. The Internet Defense League and more than 30,000 websites will join the protest. Will you?

This July 4th, let's do something patriotic: stand up for our rights by defending the Fourth Amendment. Spread the word, make yourself heard! Click on the banner below to help the cause. Also, be part of the on-line social protest against the assault on our 4th Amendment rights.

Dan Gillmore, the journalist who helped Edward Snowden expose the NSA's surveillance programs, wonders how we've gotten so timid as a country that we've surrendered so many of our rights. How did we get to this point?? Read his opinion piece here: America's founders would be horrified at this United States of Surveillance

The NSA Comes Recruiting To College

The NSA, the ultra-secretive agency who we now know has been spying on just about everyone, and whose director was caught lying to Congress about it, came recruiting to a college campus recently. 

Yeah...that didn't go well. The NSA recruiters were given some pretty tough questions by the educated college students, who were most decidedly not swayed by the doublespeak. 

The recruiters ended up fielding tough questions about the conduct of their agency, rather than inspiring interest in it. I think they would have rather stayed at the office.

As The New York Times points out, the secret FISA court has established on its own a growing body of law that gives the NSA incredibly sweeping powers, with no oversight at all, and that lack of oversight has led to an expansion of the NSA's powers. Read the article HERE.

This is a good read.

The NSA Comes Recruiting

Secret Court Judges Speak Out

Secret Court Judges Speak Out

The Washington Post reports on the frustration of the judges that sit on the secret court where warrant-less eavesdropping by the government is approved. The judges are frustrated by their portrayal in the media as collaborators in the government's illegal and out of control surveillance programs. 

The judges insist they are not collaborators.

The judges are restricted from discussing much of what they do because of the government's steadfast refusal to allow them to, given the extreme secrecy of the court. With regular courts, the prosecution presents its case against the accused, and the defense presents its case. One of the judges wrote Senator Diane Feinstein to explain why publicizing court decisions is a bad idea; you can read his letter to her HERE.

In the secret surveillance court, a Justice Department official asks for permission to carry out surveillance inside the United States. There is no one to speak for the target of the surveillance, or for the company that is ordered to allow its networks to be tapped or to turn over its customers’ data.

And every request the government makes is granted by the court, all in secret, with no published rulings, and without the knowledge of those being spied out, innocent or not.

As The New York Times points out, this secret court has established on its own a growing body of law that gives the NSA incredibly sweeping powers, with no oversight at all, and that lack of oversight has led to an expansion of the NSA's powers. Read the article HERE.

The judges are starting to speak out to defend the work they do. You can read the article HERE.

Everyone Under Suspicion - Are You Next?

After 9/11, the government began encouraging local police, private security and everyday Americans to report so-called "suspicious activity" that may indicate a security threat. 

Taking photos of landmarks, walking "nervously" and writing in a notebook are all activities that have led to people being stopped and questioned. 

Could you be next?

Our Surveillance State: What You Need To Know

By now you've probably been reading all the news about recently disclosed surveillance programs that spy on Americans without any meaningful oversight, programs that have been brought to light by Edward Snowden, a contractor working at the NSA, the ultra-secretive National Security Agency.

You may be thinking, "Oh well, that doesn't affect me. I'm not a terrorist, I'm not doing anything illegal."

The disclosures by Snowden have revealed a grossly out of control surveillance system that spies on all Americans, even you, without probable cause, restraint or oversight. Not only that, but companies you might have assumed are watching out for you as customers, companies like Verizon, AT&T, Facebook, Google and others, have been actively cooperating with the NSA and the FBI in violating your privacy without due process. These companies, the NSA and the FBI have lied to Americans about what it is they are doing.

So...what are they doing? Well, thanks to Edward Snowden, we know the following:

• Snooping On Your Calls - The government has been collecting the phone records of Americans for years, without oversight, due process or explanation, from Verizon and AT&T customers. Every call you've made can be accessed by the government whenever it wants to. Who has access to this information, and how might it be used?

• Website Snooping - The NSA has access to the servers of Facebook, Google and Apple, meaning that anytime you've used these on-line services, the government knows what you're doing. Further, the government has forbidden these services from telling you this and have fought lawsuits at every turn by using the powerful State Secrets privilege.

• E-mail Snooping - Every e-mail you've read, every website you've visited, has been cataloged by the government

• No Oversight - There is no meaningful court oversight of any of this activity, meaning your rights, as an innocent citizen, are not even remotely being protected. Previous assertions to Congress about these programs have turned out to be lies. Members of Congress, who are supposed to be our representatives, have known about these programs and done nothing; indeed, some politicians proclaiming outrage about these programs never bothered to show up at classified briefings about them to ask questions.

Snowden collected top secret NSA documents on a thumb drive while working at the NSA and shared them with the British newspaper The Guardian, out of a desire to restore a sense of accountability to the government, which has been accountable to almost no one. The NSA and the FBI have been forced into admitting these programs exist, and trying to explain their previously false statements which are contradicted by these documents.

What Is Being Collected

• Telephone records, on an ongoing daily basis, of both Americans and residents of foreign countries, from companies such as Verizon, AT&T and Sprint. These records include the actual telephone numbers at each end of every call, the duration of each call, and call routing information, allowing the NSA to build a picture of who you contacted, at what time and for how long. (source: The Guardian) 

• Email messages and website traffic, in which companies are actively participating (despite their denials) in a program called PRISM, giving information about YOU to the government, without your knowledge, consent or due process. These companies include Microsoft, Yahoo, Google, Facebook, PalTalk, AOL, Skype, YouTube, and Apple. The revelations have forced these companies into an uncomfortable position, having to carefully deny their violations of your privacy. (source: The Washington Post)

But wait...there's oversight, right...?

These revelations have forced the government in general, and the NSA in particular, into an uncomfortable position. Obviously, they would have preferred to keep this information secret.  The government has fiercely fought any attempt to even acknowledge the existence of these programs in court. Now that it's no longer secret, they have responded by saying that a secret court provides an important balance to protect Americans, but the disclosures have challenged their rationale for secrecy. See this story for information about this.

Further, the government (and Microsoft, Yahoo, Google, Facebook, PalTalk, AOL, Skype, YouTube, and Apple) have been caught flat-out lying to Congress and to Americans about these programs.

Professor Law Laura K. Donohue from Georgetown University Law Center  has an analysis as to why these programs violate the 4th Amendment of the Constitution HERE.

Director of National Intelligence James Clapper has struggled to explain his previous statements to Congress which have been proven to be false. In March, Senator Ron Wyden (D-Oregon) had the following exchange with Clapper, before the memos were leaked:

Wyden: Does the NSA collect any type of data at all on millions or hundreds of millions of Americans?"

Clapper: "No, sir."

Wyden: "It does not."

Clapper: "Not wittingly. There are cases where they could inadvertently perhaps collect, but not wittingly."

After it became clear that Clapper had not been telling the truth, he issued the following response when confronted:  "So I responded in what I thought was the most truthful, or least untruthful, manner by saying 'no,'" [emphasis mine]  (Source)

This court, called the FISA court (Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court) has been trumpeted by President Barrack Obama and NSA Boss General Keith Alexander as a check on government overreach, a comforting system of protecting Americans. Obama has stated the process is "transparent", a claim PolitiFact rated as "pants-on-fire" false (read their analysis of Obama's claim HERE).

This court provides no balance at all. The FISA court has approved every request put before it. What's more, its decisions are secret and cannot be publicly discussed, and because of the FISA Amendment Act, the NSA can retain even accidental collections of communications. (Source: The Guardian)

The Washington Post has a detailed look at this ultra-secretive court, and it's discomfort with all the attention HERE. It's definitely worth a read.

The NSA Continues To Mislead the Public - Senators Ron Wyden (D-Oregon) and Mark Udall (D-Colorado) have accused the NSA of continuing to mislead the public about the privacy protections they have in place, to prevent innocent Americans from being swept up in their dragnet. They accused the NSA of overstating the protections, when in fact just the opposite was true; there are very few protections in place. Read about their concerns HERE.

Security vs. Freedom

Sacrifices have to be made, the argument goes, to protect us from threats of terrorism. And this is true...up to a point.

• We'd probably be safer if we were forced to let the police enter our homes whenever they wanted to, let them rifle through our belongings and computer files, without pesky court orders or probable cause. 

• We'd probably be safer if we all let the government implant a tracking chip under our skin so they could keep track of everything we did, and everywhere we went, all the time.

• We'd probably be safer if we had to stop at police checkpoints everywhere we went, and explain to the officers where we were going and who we were seeing

• We'd probably be safer if everyone flying on an airplane, getting on a train or subway, or renting a truck had to undergo a full body cavity search, completely disrobe and be examined by the authorities.

• We'd probably be safer if everyone were forced to dress the same, watch the same kinds of movies, read the same kinds of books, had the same religious belief, and spoke the same language

• We'd probably be safer if our computer monitors, televisions, smart phones and other devices watched us back, and reported any suspicious behavior to the NSA for further scrutiny

We don't allow the above to happen (not willingly, anyway) because it's invasive and offensive to our notions of freedom. The authorities would much rather not be bothered with all this pesky concern for the United States Constitution or our freedoms.

NSA defenders have jumped forward to insist that these secret programs protect us from terrorists and we must have them to keep this country safe. What terrorist plots have been foiled? They won't say. The few examples they give fall apart under scrutiny.

So...How Does This Affect Me?? I'm Innocent.

In case you still don't understand how outrageous and offensive this is, the Washington Post has a great article about privacy myths; you can read it HERE. 

Below are some examples of how out-of-control surveillance can negatively affect you and your rights as an American citizen:

• You decide to research breast or testicular cancer, or to call doctors to treat this condition. Now the government knows this as part of its profile about you. There's a chance your insurance company could find out, leading to dropped coverage or higher premiums.

• You succumb to temptation and decide to visit porn sites. You might pay for a porn website subscription (I know it's not you, but someone is feeding the porn industry millions of dollars a year).  Now the government has a record of your sexual preferences, probably the most intimate information you have about yourself. If your employer finds out, you could lose your job, or the possibility of a promotion or business client, for viewing material that is legally protected

• You become interested in other religious beliefs and want to research or join Muslim groups (the NYPD has been conducting illegal surveillance of Muslims for years), or even Wiccan or Satanist groups. You've made yourself a possible target of heightened scrutiny, even though you've broken no law.

• You want to become involved in environmental, political or social justice causes, and attend rallies, meetings and protests, as is your right as an American citizen. Maybe you're a photographer who's only taking pictures. The next thing you know, the FBI arrives on your doorstep asking questions about your activities. And while they can lie to you to obtain information, lying to them is a federal crime. Examples HERE, HERE and HERE.

I'm Just One Person, and I Have A Life. What Can I Do...???

Apathy is how the government acquires ever greater power, and how our rights slowly diminish, the way they are being taken from us now. People are busy. We all have lives we're trying to lead, jobs we're trying to keep (or find), bills we have to pay, responsibilities.

Plus, standing up to the authorities is scary.

If you get arrested, even if you're innocent, even if the charges are dropped, it can have a powerful effect on your life, your job security, and your social status. This is a powerful deterrent against standing up for your rights, and many police officers and government agents make maximum use of this fear. 

(image source: The Rio Norte Line)

So what can you do? Support groups who fight for you.

• The ACLU is the best known group that fights tirelessly, all the time, for the rights of citizens. Support them. Help them fight for you, to protect your rights. They are your advocate, whether your views are popular or not. Visit them HERE and please consider making a donation.

• The Electronic Frontier Foundation fights for the rights of digital users, from defending people's free speech rights, to beating back anti-consumer legislation, to exposing the misdeeds of corporations, patent trolls and the government, the EFF fights for consumers. They depend on your help. Consider giving them a donation to help them keep fighting. Visit them HERE.

• Fight For The Future is dedicated to helping internet users everywhere beat back attempts to limit our basic rights and freedoms, and empower people to demand technology (and policy) that serves their interests, not those of huge corporations, who rarely have our best interests at heart. Check them out HERE.

• Complete coverage by The Guardian of the NSA leaked memos

• How The NSA's Surveillance Proceedures Threaten Americans' Privacy

• NSA Leaks Are Forcing More Government Accountability

• Why Metadata Is Legal (or, how we got to this place)

• FBI Using Drones For Domestic Spying On Americans

• US, British Authorities Mine Data In Secret Program

• President Obama's Weak Defense on Spying 

Creeping Militarization of America

There are apparently more and more Border Patrol checkpoints being established miles away from the United States border, deep in U.S. territory, staffed by Border Patrol agents who stop cars and ask drivers and passengers questions. These stops, deep inside the country, have no legal justification, and most people do not know they have no legal obligation to answer these questions. Because Border Patrol agents have badges and uniforms, people are intimidated, and comply without question, which is one of the ways our rights as American citizens are diminished. 

This is called mission creep. A government agency is created to accomplish one mission (protecting the borders from drug smugglers and illegal immigration), which inevitably begins to expand beyond it's original scope (stopping innocent people and detaining them without due process or probable cause miles from the border). Remember, the Border Patrol cannot legally arrest or detain someone without probable cause or sufficient evidence. 

This video compiles examples of people standing up for their rights when stopped by the Border Patrol, refusing to answer their questions. Questioning authority is important. I've said it before, and I'll say it again: the rights you have, you have only because they were defended. If you do not stand up for those rights, you will find one day you do not have them any more.

In a related development  the ACLU is going to start examining the skyrocketing number of incidents that heavily armed SWAT teams burst into houses using flash-bang techniques, often causing injury or death, without sufficient justification or probable cause, and often the wrong house is targeted. Innocent people are being killed because of this trend. You can read about it HERE.

There's an interesting article about how police evolved from traditional law enforcement officers to more heavily armed, and armored soldiers HERE. Definitely worth a read.

FBI Visits Home of Protester

I'm on the fence about this video, but found it interesting enough to share with readers of this blog.

The woman who filmed this video attended a protest, a constitutionally-protected activity. The next day the FBI showed up at her door asking questions about knowledge of anyone who would cause destruction or harm to people. Naturally, the FBI agents cannot say who directed them to this individual.

The FBI has a well-documented history of violating the law with respect to following, infiltrating and harassing protesters, not to mention illegally compiling information about people without probable cause.

When the FBI shows up at the home of a protester, there is good cause to be concerned and a little paranoid. She was wise to videotape the encounter, and she makes several very good points (the FBI can lie to obtain information, but lying to the FBI is a serious crime, for example).  She maintains her composure, but is a little on the sarcastic side, for my taste. I also have to wonder if the demeanor of the FBI agents would have been different if she had not been videotaping.

It is very important to videotape your interactions with the authorities, for your own protection. If it comes down to your word against the word of law enforcement, you will almost always lose.

UPDATE: The video below this one explains very clearly why it is critical to record every encounter with the FBI, and why you should never speak to the FBI without a lawyer present. The short version: the FBI can lie and coerce you into doing what they want, even if you are innocent and have done nothing wrong. This is very good information.