Controversies
Immigration Agency Accused of Holding 834 U.S. Citizens
According to the Complaint, local and federal records readily available to ICE agents clearly show that Gonzalez is a native-born U.S. citizen born in Pacoima, California. Noting that low-level agents can request holds with no supervision and no finding of probable cause, the Complaint alleges that this has caused 834 U.S. citizens and more than 20,000 legal, permanent residents with no criminal records to be detained—both violations of the Fourth Amendment to the Constitution. read more
San Jose Sues Major League Baseball for Blocking Oakland Team Move
The lawsuit is the culmination of a four-year effort to lure the Oakland franchise. MLB did not want the move and invoked a league rule that gave the San Francisco Giants territorial rights to the San Jose area in 1990. Each of the 30 franchises has veto power over a club moving into its operating territory. read more
When FBI Shoots Someone, It’s Always Justified…According to the FBI
FBI agents killed about 70 people, and wounded another 80 or so, between 1993 and 2011—and in every case, the bureau ruled the incidents justified, according to a review of bureau records by The New York Times.
In most of the shootings, the FBI was the only government body to review the incidents.
Out of 289 times that agents fired their weapon, only five were disciplined. But in those five cases, no one was hurt or killed, and the agent merely received a letter of censure.
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Rep. Issa Decries Release of Full IRS Transcripts that Undercut His Selective Leaking
John Shafer, a self-described conservative Republican, said he was the one who flagged the first application for tax-exempt status by a Tea Party affiliate in February 2010, back when court rulings were unleashing a flood of organizations seeking to take advantage of the shifting law. read more
Texas First State to Require Warrants for Email Surveillance
The new law applies only to state and local law enforcement. Federal law enforcement agencies are only required to get a warrant to access recent emails before they are opened by the recipient.
No such provision in federal law prevents the FBI from reading emails once they have been opened or have remained unopened for 180 days.
The Texas initiative requires Texas law enforcement officials to get a court warrant to gain access to emails, no matter how old they are. read more
NSA Phone Surveillance Records May Hold Treasure Trove of Evidence for Garden Variety Crimes
Terrance Brown, charged with the attempted robbery of armored cars that culminated in the murder of a Brink’s armored truck messenger in October 2010, has asked a federal judge to ask the government about telephone records that are pertinent to the case.
Brown’s legal defense tried to compel prosecutors to turn over the records. But they claimed the phone company, MetroPCS, no longer had them.
Judge Robin Rosenbaum ordered the U.S. Department of Justice to respond to Brown’s inquiry.
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Tech Companies Wrestle with U.S. Government over Disclosure of Data Requests
It is unclear how many of these government requests were terrorist-related and how many were unrelated to national security.
Whatever figures these companies are ultimately allowed to release, they are likely to be inexact or lower than the actual figures. The reason is that the government gives itself permission to add more names and search data under the umbrella of every FISA request it makes, for up to a year after the initial request. read more
Faces of 120 Million People in State Driver’s License Databases Accessed for Criminal Investigations
A total of 37 states now use facial-recognition technology as part of their driver’s-license registries—of which 26 permit local, state, or federal law enforcement agencies to search or request searches of photo databases to assist with criminal matters. In most cases, there was little public notice of this expanded, police use of driver’s license photos of U.S. citizens who are not under suspicion for any crime. read more
Majority of Americans Disapprove of NSA Surveillance Operations
Another Guardian survey question revealed that 56% believe Congress has not done enough to keep watch over the NSA.
The Guardian poll also showed that 58% are worried about private contractors handling secret intelligence for the government. Additionally, 59% of both Democrats and Republicans said that the government needs to be more transparent about its data collection activities.
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2 Fatal Chemical Plant Explosions in 2 Days in Louisiana
The first explosion occurred on June 13 at a chemical plant in Geismar owned by Williams Cos. Inc. that resulted in two deaths and dozens of injuries. It is not yet known what caused the accident. The plant produces ethylene and propylene.
The very next day an explosion at a chemical plant just a few miles away in Donaldsonville, killed one worker and injured eight others.
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Growth of Factory Farming Leading to Uncontrolled Problems of Animal Waste
Take Miami, Florida, for example. It has a human population of about 409,000. But a factory farm with 2,500 cows can equal Miami’s production of “fertilizer.”
Even more concerning is that the waste from really large factory farms, what the government calls “concentrated animal feeding operations” (CAFOs), is not treated. It simply gets dumped—either onto fields as fertilizer or stored in surface ponds that can grow into small lakes.
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Federal Government Accused of Adding an Average of One New Crime a Week
A study was convened by the Over-Criminalization Task Force, which discovered the criminal code had grown by 500 new statutes in about 10 years. It now includes about 4,500 crimes.
Some of the laws have wound up punishing Americans for actions not considered a serious offense, such as a child who was fined $535 under the migratory bird law for saving a woodpecker from her family’s cat. After a public outcry, the fine was cancelled. read more
Judge Rules Sailors Found Guilty of Sex Assault cannot be Dishonorably Discharged Due to Inappropriate Remarks by Obama
The ruling means that if either defendant is convicted, he cannot be punished with a bad conduct discharge or a dishonorable discharge, and could receive an honorable discharge allowing him to collect veteran benefits. The case also opens the door for other military defense attorneys to use the same argument in sexual assault cases throughout the military. read more
Are “Stand Your Ground” Laws Warped to Favor White People?
Defendants who used “stand your ground” as a defense were more than likely to get off if the victim was black, the newspaper found, following a review of criminal cases involving the notorious statue.
In fact, 73% of those who killed a black person faced no penalty at all, while 59% of those who killed a white person got off.
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Feds Want to Lift Protection for Gray Wolf
When a single gray wolf wandered into California two years ago from neighboring Oregon—after an absence of 86 years—it inspired conservationists who hoped that the legally endangered species could reassert a foothold in the state.
That optimism was dimmed last week when the Obama administration proposed that the federal government remove protection for the gray wolf in the 42 states, including California, that still have it. read more
Whistleblowers not Protected in Intelligence Contractor Industry
Federal workers employed in intelligence gathering can tell their complaints to the inspector general of the agency employing them or with members of Congress sitting on the intelligence committees.
However, intelligence employees working for private companies like Booz Allen Hamilton (such as Snowden) can be fired by their employers if they report potential abuses to inspectors general.
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