The Economist's Cookbook

Well ... the 9th Circuit Court of appeals has done it
again. This is quite frightening. Courtesy of the DEA, of course.

So we can watch you from traffic or CCTV cams, we can track you through OnStar without your consent. They can now attach a GPS to your car and watch you where ever you go.

In fact, the government violated Pineda-Moreno's privacy rights in two different ways. For starters, the invasion of his driveway was wrong. The courts have long held that people have a reasonable expectation of privacy in their homes and in the "curtilage," a fancy legal term for the area around the home. The government's intrusion on property just a few feet away was clearly in this zone of privacy.

Really? So... trespassing no longer applies to others? Or is it only okay for agents of the state when they are watching you ... the little guy?

FlexYourRights.org has put up their "10 Rules For Dealing With Police Encounters" on youtube.

This is split up into 4 sections. I'm sure that most liberty activists know these rules and know your rights, but it never hurts to brush up, just in case you have to use them. I have refused to consent to a search. The officer didn't like it, but I was allowed to leave. So review them! With thousands of laws, legal codes etc. you never know what might be illegal these days. So know your rights, be respectful (difficult to do, but entirely necessary) and calmly assert your rights.
Part 1:

Part 2:

Part 3:

Part 4:

Remember the cops are NOT your friend. It doesn't matter how well intentioned they may be. They are not on your side.

Stay safe and stay smart.

Copwatching (n):
1.) The act of observing law officers.
2.) The intent to keep your law officers honest by observing how they treat the public.

Article: http://www.wwl.com/Suit-claims-police-harass-journalists-and-bystande/6578605
Except that all over the country if you photograph, observe, or film a police officer doing anything you are most likely going to get your camera etc. taken from you as "evidence" where it will mysteriously come back to you without the relevant pictures or data on it.

The plaintiffs cite 11 other incidents since 2005 in which people were arrested or allegedly threatened while videotaping, photographing or merely observing police officers. The list of potential plaintiffs' witnesses includes Times-Picayune city editor Gordon Russell and Associated Press Television News producer Rich Matthews.

"It is a widely accepted and established custom for police officers to arrest or threaten people for filming them," said Brittany Barrient, a student attorney from the Tulane Law Clinic who represents Griffith and Learned.

Ladies and Gentlemen ... it is NOT just a few bad apples spoiling the barrel. There is an institutional problem that encourages thuggery, the rampant violation of rights, the "Only One" mentality (as David over at WoG) refers to it. We have a problem in your country and that is that no one in the justice and law enforcement system is accountable for their actions unless they go to such extremes as running over kindergartners with a tank!

But the article is interesting because it hales from the legally embattled state of LA. You know the state that just had a huge snafu over their officers shooting unarmed and nonthreatening people in a post-Katrina bloodbath.

I've met some good cops and serious props go to the cops that are a part of Oath-Keepers, but goddamn boys, some of your fellow members need to get a reality check.

Wewt! The new replacement Dell arrived and is now up and running, still need to load a few more operational programs on it, but other than that ... IT'S ALIVE!

So your libertarian thought for the day. I wrote this a while back when discussing the upcoming 2008 presidential election on an automotive forum, when explaining my position on the "moral" use of coercion to "help" those less fortunate.

I want the government to have less power in every aspect, not more. Of course people see a 'crisis' coming and they turn into a bunch of bleating sheep who beg the government to save them or do something about it. The road to hell is paved with good intentions they say. I want my country back and I don't want some politician telling me that I should be a slave to someone else because it's "moral". Fuck you, I live for me, not for someone else.

I'm more profane than I am elegant in my arguments and for that I'm sorry, I'll never be a Walter Williams or a Don Doudreaux. But I can be a voice for freedom.