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POPSCrazy Sheriff Joe Arpaio facing FBI investigation for abusing his power by arresting his critics We described Arpaio's incredible thuggery late last year in his dealings with the public, especially those who dare criticize him. An anti-Arpaio group called Maricopa Citizens for Safety Accountability, which formed last year in response to investigative reports and studies demonstrating that Arpaio's insane obsession with illegal immigrants was destroying his office's ability to actually deal with real law enforcement work, began showing up at county board meetings and asking to speak. Arpaio actually sent out his deputies in force to patrol these meetings, and they arrested people for merely applauding Arpaio's critics. If that sounds fascist to you, that's about right -- after all, some of the local neo-Nazis are Arpaio's biggest fans -- and he's been known to return the love.
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POPSScientist spying for Israel busted by the FBI
An affidavit suggests why FBI agents posed as agents of the Israeli intelligence agency Mossad to conduct the sting operation. From 1998 to 2008, the complaint alleges, Nozette was a technical adviser for a consultant company that was wholly owned by the Israeli government. Nozette was paid about $225,000 over that period, the court papers say. Then, in January of this year, Nozette allegedly traveled to another foreign country with two computer thumb drives and apparently did not return with them. Prosecutors also quote an unnamed colleague of Nozette who said the scientist said that if the U.S. government ever tried to put him in jail for an unrelated criminal offense, he would go to Israel or another foreign country and "tell them everything" he knows. The complaint does not allege that the government of Israel or anyone acting on its behalf violated U.S. law. In Jerusalem, Israeli government officials had no immediate comment. The affidavit by FBI agent Leslie Martell s
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POPSPuerto Rico: Massive Layoffs and a Scramble to Resist Critics say the layoffs, together with unprecedented budget cuts, will have a devastating impact on workers and their families—in addition to crippling many government agencies, including those that provide basic services and serve vulnerable groups, such as battered women and the elderly.
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POPSA historian's account of Democrats and Bush-era war crimes What made those detainee photographs so important from the start is that they depict brutal abuse well outside of the Abu Ghraib facility and thus reveal to Americans -- and the world -- that America's torture was not, as they've been constantly told, limited to rogue sadists at Abu Ghraib and the waterboarding of three bad guys. Instead, our torture regime was systematic, pervasive, brutal, fatal, and -- becuase it was the by-product of conscious policies set at the highest levels of government -- common across America's "War on Terror" detention regime. These photographs would have documented those vital facts; combated the false denials from torture apologists; fueled the momentum for accountability; and revealed, in graphic and unavoidable terms, what was truly done by America's government. But a Democratic-led Congress, at the urging of a Democratic President, is now taking extraordinary steps -- including a new law which has no purpose other than to suppress evidence of Americ
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POPSOklahoma Abortion Law: Details To Be Publicly Posted Online This defense is questionable. Feminists For Choice argues, "In reviewing the actual text of the law, the first 8 questions that will be asked and reported could easily be used to identify any member of a smaller community." The Center For Reproductive Rights, former state Rep. Wanda Jo Stapleton (D-Okla.), and Okla. resident Lora Joyce David have filed a lawsuit to prevent this contentious abortion bill from going into effect, on the grounds that it violates the state's constitution.
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POPSNew Berkeley Law Study Finds Enforcement of Immigration Laws Led to Racial Profiling The new report, “The CAP Effect: Racial Profiling in the ICE Criminal Alien Program,” was released today by the Chief Justice Earl Warren Institute on Race, Ethnicity and Diversity (Warren Institute) at UC Berkeley School of Law (Berkeley Law). “It was clearly a fishing expedition. Police cast a wide net to arrest anyone who looked Hispanic for any minor violation,” said report co-author Aarti Kohli, immigration policy expert at Berkeley Law’s Warren Institute. “The Hispanic community suspected racial profiling as the root cause of the increase in arrests. Our report backs that up.”
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POPSConnie Rhodes "Birther" Challenge Thrown Out, Taitz Scolded Read more at: http://www.huffingtonpos The judge should have thrown a Rule 11 at her and be done with it: (2) the claims, defenses, and other legal contentions are warranted by existing law or by a nonfrivolous argument for extending, modifying, or reversing existing law or for establishing new law; (3) the factual contentions have evidentiary support or, if specifically so identified, will likely have evidentiary support after a reasonable opportunity for further investigation or discovery; and
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POPSThe difference between "legal" and "illegal" The surveillance controversy is not and never has been over whether the Government should be able to intercept the communications of Terrorist suspects. The law (FISA) has always allowed such interception since its inception and virtually nobody opposes that. Nor was there controversy about whether the NSA could intercept foreign-to-foreign communications, as they did here. The controversy was and is whether they should be able to engage in surveillance of American citizens in violation of the law -- i.e., without judicial oversight and/or beyond the parameters the law allows.
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POPSMajor ruling against Ashcroft highlights evils of preventive detention The principal legal issue strictly resolved by the court here is somewhat narrow and legalistic. A political official has absolute immunity from lawsuits based on decisions made in a prosecutorial capacity (e.g., whether to indict or prosecute someone), but not for law enforcement decisions (e.g., whether to arrest or detain someone). You can't ever sue a prosecutor for deciding to prosecute you, but you can sue someone who arrests you if they acted illegally and in clear violation of your legal rights. The Ninth Circuit ruled that where, as here, there is credible evidence that the real reason an official ordered someone detained as a material witness (normally a prosecutorial act) was to arrest them, that is a law enforcement act, not a prosecutorial one, and he is therefore not entitled to absolute immunity from lawsuits if he violated the law when doing so. Hence, this lawsuit against Ashcroft personally -- alleging that he ordered Muslims detained in clear violation of their l
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POPSReport: Bush mulled sending troops into Buffalo And who supported this daft idea? The usual suspects, of course! "According to the Times, Cheney and other Bush aides said an Oct. 23, 2001, Justice Department memo gave broad presidential authority that allowed Bush to use the domestic use of the military against al-Qaida if it was justified on the grounds of national security, rather than law enforcement. Among those arguing for the military use besides Cheney were his legal adviser David S. Addington and some senior Defense Department officials, the Times reported."
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POPSShawna Forde, Minutemen Leader, Arrested In Killings Of Dad, Girl In Arizona It's the second to last paragraph that I really find disturbing (beyond cold blooded murder which is horrific enough by itself). "The trio are alleged to have dressed as law enforcement officers and forced their way into a rural Arivaca home on May 30, wounding a woman and fatally shooting her husband and their 9-year-old daughter."
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POPS Gay Marriage: New Hampshire Makes Same-Sex Marriage Legal Massachusetts, Connecticut, Maine, Vermont and Iowa already allow gay marriage, though opponents hope to overturn Maine's law with a public vote. California briefly allowed gay marriage before a public vote banned it; a court ruling grandfathered in couples who were already married. Lynch said it is now time for the federal government to extend full equal rights to same-sex couples.
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POPSDid an Obama judicial nominee really express a preference for Allah over Jesus? No, but that didn't stop Gingrich from lying about it and wignuttia to go ape$#@! over it. Compare what Newt said versus the clipped section: "You have Obama nominating Judge Hamilton, who said in her ruling that saying the words Jesus Christ in a prayer is a sign of inappropriate behavior, but saying Allah would be OK. You'll find most Republican senators voting against a judge who is confused about whether you can say Jesus Christ in a prayer, particularly one who is pro-Muslim being able to say Allah."
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POPSDriving through Tenaha, Texas, doesn't pay for some But in 147 others, Guillory said the court records showed, the police seized cash, jewelry, cellphones and sometimes even automobiles from motorists but never found any contraband or charged them with any crime. Of those, Guillory said he managed to contact 40 of the motorists directly -- and discovered that all but one of them were black. The process apparently is so routine in Tenaha that Guillory discovered pre-signed and pre-notarized police affidavits with blank spaces left for an officer to fill in a description of the property being seized.
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POPSFox News’ Shep Smith: ‘This is America; you do not get to hold people for five years without’ charge Indeed, bringing charges against al-Marri in a civilian court represents “an abrupt change in policy from the Bush administration” which “had argued that he could be held indefinitely without being charged.” Attorney General Eric Holder said today that the indictment “shows our resolve to protect the American people and prosecute alleged terrorists to the full extent of the law” and that the Obama administration “will hold accountable anyone who attempts to do harm to Americans, and we will do so in a manner consistent with our values.”
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POPSIn-flight Incidents Can Lead to Terrorism Charges From the article: "In one case, a couple was arrested after an argument with a flight attendant, who claimed the couple was engaged in "overt sexual activity" -- an FBI affidavit said the two were "embracing, kissing and acting in a manner that made other passengers uncomfortable." Ok, I get that these people are behaving badly, but c'mon!
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POPSBush has successfully defended anti-terrorism policies Soon after Sept. 11, Bush said that as commander in chief he had the "inherent" power to act boldly in the nation's defense, regardless of whether Congress or the courts agreed. His claim has been much criticized. It also has not been accepted by Congress or endorsed by the Supreme Court. The justices have said the president must act according to the law, not in spite of it. Nonetheless, Bush's anti-terrorism policies have not been blocked by the courts or Congress. When the Supreme Court struck down Bush's use of special military trials at Guantanamo on grounds that he had no legal basis for creating them, Congress passed the Military Commissions Act to authorize the trials.
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POPSWhat's A Posse Comitatus? And before people jump the Obama gun, this is happening right now, Dec. 2 2008: President George W. Bush. Question is will Obama continue the program? The dangers of standing armies exist regardless of who is in the White House. Once they have the power they will not give it up.
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