Police State, Brutality, Bad Cops, False Arrests; Trial and Error, Law and Disorder; Death Penalty, Prison; Recording, Phone, Body Cams; Animal Cruelty, Kids; Road Rage, Traffic

Police State

• Federal Court: The Police Can Stop and Search You for Behaving Innocently—Even stiff driving posture is suspicious behavior.
• Supreme Court: Pennsylvania cops no longer need a warrant to search citizens' vehicles
• Can cops legally fire "GPS bullets" at fleeing cars to track suspects?—"ACLU says technique is OK, but the scope of search must be limited."
• Cops Must Swear Silence to Access Vehicle Tracking System
• Lawsuit filed over freeway cash seizures—"'I just smelled weed. I know I did. I know I smelled weed.' The Humboldt County deputy never finds weed in the car he's searching after a traffic stop on I-80, but he does find $50,000 in cash and $10,000 in cashiers checks."
• Flipside: Minnesota Now Requires A Criminal Conviction Before People Can Lose Their Property To Forfeiture—"In a big win for property rights and due process, Minnesota Gov. Mark Dayton signed a bill yesterday to curb an abusive—and little known—police practice called civil forfeiture."

Brutality

• Austin police chief is angry that people are angry about police misbehavior
• City of Huntsville denies wrongdoing after lawsuit alleges teen died from arrest injuries
• Border Patrol Threatens Mother, Slashes Her Tire, as Kids Watch
• Border Patrol agents rarely disciplined in abuse cases, records show
• How a Special Needs Kid Gets Handcuffed and Thrown in Jail "For Her Own Good"
• Man Nearly Blinded After Fayette County Deputy Shoots Taser In His Eye
• Dagsboro man settles Taser suit for $270,000

Bad Cops

• Outcry over latest fatal shooting by Albuquerque police—"Residents angered by deadly response of cops chanted for resignation of police chief at city council meeting."
• Police say off-duty NYPD cop shot man 6 times
• Three NYPD Officers Have Drunkenly Shot at People in the Last Week
• Officer suspended after pulling gun on group of children
• Lawsuit Claims That the NYPD Keeps Raiding an Apartment in Search of a Dead Man

False Arrests

• Police accused of false arrest, illegal search, excessive force
• Man Claims Police Planted Phone To Justify Shooting
• NYPD detective grilled about allegedly lying under oath

Trial and Error

• Attorney: Tech advances make courtroom cellphone ban unconstitutional
• Supreme Court Unanimously Slaps Conservative Appeals Court For Botching Police Shooting Case
• Man back in prison for 90 years after court error
• Flipside: Clerical error allows man sentenced to prison to walk free

Law and Disorder

• Denver Woman's 13-Minute-Long 911 Call Ends With Fatal Gunshot
• Philip Welsh's simple life hampers search for his killer—"Philip Welsh did not use a cellphone, or e-mail — making it hard to trace the days before he was slain." WaPo
• German student Diren Dede killed in 'castle doctrine' case—"On the night of the shooting, Mr Kaarma and his partner Janelle Pflager left their garage door open, and Ms Pflager left her purse in the garage in order to bait intruders, she told police."
• Texas 93-year-old woman shot dead by officer had fired twice, says nephew—""Pearlie Golden 'brandished handgun' after refusal to hand over car keys following denial of driver's licence renewal."
• Man trying to rob donut shop shot by police
• Canadian Teen Charged in "Swatting" Calls Throughout U.S.
• Mother claims funeral director essentially held baby's body for ransom
• Florida woman has neighbors' mobile home demolished, authorities say

Death Penalty

• Oklahoma Inmate Dies After Botched Execution, Second Execution Delayed
• Report urges one-drug lethal injection to avoid botched US executions
• Why are US states using untested drugs to execute prisoners? - video
• US states may go back to electric chair and firing squads—"Shortage of drugs for lethal injections leads states to consider alternative methods of executing prisoners."
• Oklahoma Lawmaker: I Don't Care If Death Row Inmates Are 'Fed To Lions'
• US President Obama calls for death penalty review

Prison

• Corporations Divest Nearly $60 Million From Private Prison Industry
• Interactive Map Shows How Much Prisons Cost in America
• More Than 4% of Death Row Inmates May Be Innocent

Recording

• One deputy fired, two on leave after UT party bust—Kudos the Knox County Sheriff's Office for their swift actions.
• But for video: Wisconsin deputy badly injures woman in crash, attempts to blame victim—It looked like he was going to get away with it. WaPo
• NJ Assembly releases bill requiring new police cars to have cameras installed
• Youtube Video of Police Shooting Man in Back Contradicts Initial Report
• Pembroke Pines officer charged after stealing watch from burglary scene

Phone

• Florida man uses iPhone to film arrest -- and gets arrested—"A Miami DJ says he followed police instructions to back away, but ends up in custody and facing charges. 'I was threatened,' the police officer says, 'by his presence.'"
• Cops Snatch Phone from Wheelchair-bound Man for Recording Them, Cite him with "Unauthorized Photography"
• NYPD Officers Expect Public To Be Stupider Than They Are; Justify Shutting Down Recording With 'iPhones Are Guns' Claim
• Man who recorded alleged police brutality says he was told to delete evidence

Body Cams

• Dallas police chief calls for body cameras after cops shoot unarmed teen, mentally ill man
• Seattle police will launch body camera pilot program
• Metropolitan Police officers start wearing body cameras—"Met Police officers are to start wearing tiny cameras on their uniforms as part of plans to boost transparency and accelerate convictions."

Animal Cruelty

• Dash camera video released from deputy shooting dog
• Video Shows Hammond Police Officer Allegedly Abusing Dog
• Fort Worth Vet Accused of Keeping Dog Alive for Transfusions

Kids

• Teen killed for cell phone, $10 and a sandwich; suspect speaks out
• Man smothered crying son over video game WaPo
• Aunt: My nephew beaten to death defending 12-year-old sister during assault

Road Rage

• Brain-injured teen receives $2 million in 'affluenza' case settlement
• Deputy to avoid jail, criminal record in road rage case, attorney says
• Speeding Alameda deputy won't be charged in fatal crash
• Palmdale Girl, 16, Dies After Suspected DUI Driver Slams Into Her Home
• Teenage girl accused of running down 10-year-old boy in road-rage incident
• Driver caught using cell phone jamming device

Traffic

• Colorado Weighs Ban On Traffic Enforcement Cameras
• Sign Installer Cited for Violating the Sign He Was Putting Up—"Overtime parking ticket issued in Santa Barbara while man was about to screw in sign."
• Firefighters Smash BMW's Windows to Stretch Hose Toward 8-Alarm Blaze—"Next time you think about parking in front of a fire hydrant, keep this BMW in mind."

Comply! Zero Tolerance; That's Un-Possible! Educamation, School Fees; Racism; Bullying; Teen Killers; Think of the Children; Teachers

Comply!

• Girl, 9, barred from school for shaving head to support friend with cancer
• Tennessee teacher out of a job after taking sick student to ER and paying the bill—"It's a liability issue. It's an issue of insubordination after doing something you were officially warned not to do and doing it again.
• Minnesota teen wins settlement after school takes Facebook password—"A Minnesota school district has agreed to pay $70,000 to settle a lawsuit that claimed school officials violated a student's constitutional rights by viewing her Facebook and email accounts without permission."
• Supreme Court declines 'I (heart) Boobies'
• Free speech vs. school order—"Public school administrators must have their heads spinning as they try to sort out recent court decisions regarding free-expression rights of students. Principals have the almost impossible task of balancing constitutionally protected student expression with keeping order in schools where education is the primary objective."

Zero Tolerance

• Student involved in razor incident will return to school Friday—"A Virginia Beach sixth grader who came to the aide of a classmate who was cutting his arm will now return to school Friday after initially facing expulsion for her actions."
• Teen's military plans on hold after spending 13 days in jail —He was "charged with a felony and spent 13 days in jail, after what he says what was a pocketknife was found in his car during a search at his school Ashtabula County Tech."
• There's no such thing as zero tolerance—"Yup, we have yet another 'Asinine School Administration Negligently Enforces Zero Tolerance Policy Because the Administration is Asinine' debacle."
• St. Louis County mother furious after being arrested for consoling son—"A mother trying to pick her special needs son up from school winds up in handcuffs and puts the school on lock down."
• Citing abuse, advocates to seek changes in zero-tolerance policies

That's Un-Possible!

• Here's the Awful 146-Word "Essay" That Earned an A- for a UNC Jock
• Teenager expelled from school after organising mass-walkout over LACK of homework—Say hello to a future politician.
• Chemistry Professor Accidentally Taught The Wrong Course For Months

Educamation

• A Conservative Meme On School Lunches: Work For It, Kids!
• Kansas illegally underfunds poorer school districts, court rules
• Hilariously, Bobby Jindal Attempts To Use "Science" To Defend His Failed School Voucher Program
• Ohio legislator says America's public education system is 'socialism,' should be privatized
• Diane Ravitch Tells Bill Moyers Why School Privatization Is Turning into a Disaster
• Gov. Mike Pence signs bill to ditch Common Core
• Kindergarten teacher: My job is now about tests and data — not children. I quit. WaPo

School Fees

• Pay it forward: Plan would allow Michigan students to attend college for 'free'—"In return for free tuition, students have to agree to pay a fixed percentage of their future income for a specified number of years to a special fund that would pay other students' college bills." Interesting.
• University of Baltimore to offer free final semester—"... if [the students] can finish their degrees in four years."
• New strategy would drop college textbook costs to zero—"USM holds pilot in which students use free 'open-source' textbooks put together by their professors."
• College affordability: Low-income students bearing brunt of price hikes at some West Michigan schools
• Superintendent's pay in South Bay district called 'excessive'—"The superintendent of the small Centinela Valley Union High School District, Jose Fernandez, made $674,559 last year, far more than the New York and Los Angeles school district heads."

Racism

• Olathe district apologizes after only black students invited on trip—Claims it was a "misunderstanding."
• Teaching tolerance: How white parents should talk to their kids about race
• U Of Alabama Sororites Win Right To Ban Blacks

Bullying

• School Bans Bullied Boy from Wearing his 'My Little Pony' Bag – This is Victim Blaming
• Petition asking for principal's termination—Accused of cyber-bullying a six-year-old.
• Details Emerge in Throat Stabbing of Elementary School Student; Photos Obtained
• Fed-Up Father Of Bullied Son Files Restraining Order Against Fairfield 9-Year-Old
• Teens get banned from an app after vicious attacks and threats—"Yik Yak is banned from Chicago after upsetting middle and high school students."
• Two Maryland teens admit to assaulting boy with autism
• Former elementary school lunch lady taken to jail for paying kids $1 to beat up classmate

Teen Killers

• Student Who Allegedly Produced Ricin Was Inspired By 'Breaking Bad'
• Ballard High student who killed for cell phone disappointed victim didn't have a nicer model—Psychopath.
• Two Wylie Teens Arrested For Murder Of Classmate
• Teen charged with killing parents in Calif. mansion
• Girl, 16, stabbed 65 times following Facebook argument
• Texas teens arrested for skinning dog and killing kittens in 'satanic-style ritual'
• Saturday's Louisville mob violence step-by-step

Think of the Children

• Doctor: ADHD Does Not Exist
• Alabama retailer turns away special needs kids
• When one New Zealand school tossed its playground rules and let students risk injury, the results were surprising
• When parents limit screen time, kids behave, sleep, and test better—"Since the average kid is in front of a screen more than 40 hours a week, researchers say even small limits on screen time can reap multiple health benefits."
• Blast from the Past: British children 'babied' by intrusive parents, says MP—"UK children are being 'babied' by overly-intrusive parents, leaving them unable to cope as they grow up, an adviser to David Cameron has said."

Teachers

• Los Alamitos High School Teacher Tweets—In the vein of celebrities reading hate tweets on Kimmel.
• Maths teacher threatens Game of Thrones spoilers instead of detention for naughty students
• Teacher keeps promise to mail thousands of former students letters written by their past selves

Trial and Error; Police State, Bad Cops, Guns; Private Prisons, Kids, Jail Tales, Solitary; Recording, Body Cams, Innocence; Deaths, Sins of Youth, Animal Cruelty, Law and Disorder

Trial and Error

• Lawyers ripped him off, now a house is his payback
• Court: Disgraced Ex-Journalist Stephen Glass Can't Practice Law
• The man who sues too much: After 50 cases in 10 years, Mohammed Tabibar Rahman has been banned from taking anyone else to court
• Supreme Court secretly recorded on camera

Police State

• Justices Rule on Home Searches and Defendants' Frozen Assets—"The Supreme Court ruled that the police may search homes over the objections of one of the residents and that defendants are not entitled to hearings to gain access to frozen assets to pay lawyers." NYT
• Man blows 0.00 on breathalyzer, gets arrested for DWI—"The Austin Police Department stands by the arrest, saying they believed Davis showed signs of impairment, that while standing on one leg, he 'swayed,' and 'needed his arms for balance.'"
• Army Gives Out $500,000 Armored Trucks for Free—"U.S. law enforcement agencies have received the lion’s share of this high-powered military surplus."

Bad Cops

• California officers arrested in car impound scheme
• 6 S.F. officers indicted over residential hotel searches
• Mayor Freezes SPD Misconduct Settlements, City Can't Find Paperwork to Back Up Claims of Mayor and Chief
• DA Invalidates More Convictions Tied To Corrupt Philly Cop
• NJ Police Complaint System Broken—"A New Jersey Public Radio investigation has found that the citizen complaint process at local police departments is riddled with problems, including retaliation and a lack of oversight from the state. "
• Video: Officer "Failed To Render Aid" For Dying Crash Victims
• Video: Jerk CHP Officer Handcuffs Firefighter Helping Car Crash Victims

Guns

• ATF agents lost track of dozens of their own guns, reports show
• SC officer shoots man reaching for cane—'A police officer in South Carolina shot a 70-year-old motorist who was reaching for a cane during a traffic stop because he thought the man was grabbing a rifle from the bed of his pickup truck, investigators said. The man was expected to survive." WaPo
• Saginaw officers who shot and killed Milton Hall won't face federal charges—"Six officers shot at Hall 47 times; 11 bullets struck him. Several civilians witnessed the incident and recorded portions of it on their cellular phones."

Private Prisons

• The Private Prison Racket—"Companies that manage prisons on our behalf have abysmal records. So why do we keep giving them business?"
• Despite Receiving Millions in Public Money, Private Prisons are Impenetrable "Bastions of Secrecy"—"A new study shows that federal law still allows private prisons to shroud much of their activity in mystery, despite receiving public money."
• The Prison-Industrial Complex: Politicians need to stand up to the prosecutocracy — and embrace reform
• Private prison firm to fight staffing audit result
• Higher Profits Explain Why There Are More People Of Color In Private Prisons—Study done across nine states.
• Nebraska Lawmaker Wants Her State To Stop Paying Private Prisons For Empty Cells

Kids

• Sentenced young: The story of life without parole for juvenile offenders
• Corrupt 'Kids for Cash' judge ruined more than 2,000 lives
• Name mix-up in sexual battery case sends wrong Clay County teen to jail for 35 days

Jail Tales

• Lawsuit: 'Sadistic Violence' at Cook County Jail—"Guards at one of the nation's largest jails systematically engage in "sadistic violence and brutality" against inmates, according to a federal class-action lawsuit filed on Thursday." NYT
• Colorado's Federal Supermax Prison Is Force-Feeding Inmates on Hunger Strike
• Prison Labor: Hundreds Of American Companies Pay Employees As Little As 23 Cents An Hour
• US prison to charge inmates for food and medical care
• Virginia makes $3 million+ a year on inmate phone calls
• With no 'defense,' HP Israel faces a PR nightmare—"The Knesset is demanding answers over an IT project gone awry, but there's no one to defend the firm, which employs 6,000 here."

Solitary

• CO Prison Chief Ready For Reform After A Night In Solitary Confinement
• Federal report condemns use of solitary confinement for mentally ill prisoners in Pa.
• Solitary Confinement and Its Costs—"Our correctional institutions have made ever-increasing use of solitary confinement, a policy that is damaging and potentially catastrophic."
• The Science of Solitary Confinement—"Research tells us that isolation is an ineffective rehabilitation strategy and leaves lasting psychological damage."

Recording

• Video Shows Officer Confronting Man Filming Arrests In Towson—"You have no rights," the officer said. The police chief disagrees.
• King Co. Sheriff fires deputy who threatened to arrest journalist
• Bloomfield mayor alleges police 'cover up,' vows to 'purge' police department of 'bad officers—Here's the raw video of arrest released after man dies in Moore police custody.
• Cops sexually assault mother, break 10-year-old son's leg, claims lawsuit—"A Brooklyn cop kicked a 10-year-old boy in the shin, breaking his leg, as the child was recording him with his cell phone, according to court papers."
• Unprovoked: Courtroom Video Shows Denver Sheriff's Deputy Attacking Shackled Inmate—"If a deputy sheriff thinks he can get away with viciously attacking a middle-aged Black man and calling him 'a boy' appearing in court, you can only imagine what happens to men and women in custody in the confines of the Denver city and county jails."
• Dashcam video clears NJ man
• Cops hit my car, then arrested me: suit
• Cellphone video in fatal Warren Theatre incident made public
• Oklahoma father dies in police encounter after mother slaps daughter
• Recording Traffic Stop Lands Davie Woman In Jail—"As O’Brien approached her vehicle, Berning hit the record button on her phone. She recorded about 15 seconds of the conversation before telling O’Brien that he was being recorded. That’s when the deputy told her she had just committed a felony and demanded that she hand over her phone."

Body Cams

• Lubbock police deploying 70 new body cameras
• Toronto police to test out lapel cameras—"Pilot project stems from recommendation in a 2013 report on police and community engagement."
• Body cameras on police protect everybody

Innocence

• Man Framed by New York Detective to Get $6.4 Million Without Filing Suit—"A man who was framed by a rogue detective and served 23 years in prison for a murder he did not commit will receive $6.4 million from the City of New York in a settlement that came before a civil rights lawsuit was even filed, lawyers involved in the case said on Thursday." NYT
• Evidence of Concealed Jailhouse Deal Raises Questions About a Texas Execution—"The battle to clear the name of Cameron Todd Willingham, who was convicted of murdering his three children by arson, has symbolic value because it may offer evidence that an innocent man was executed 10 years ago." NYT
• Record number of people exonerated of crimes in US in 2013—"Eighty-seven people cleared of conviction, including in many cases which investigation revealed no crime ever committed."
• In A Record Year For Exonerations, This Bar Owner Has One Of The Most Outrageous Stories Of All
• Man Speaks About Achieving Exoneration After 7 Years in Prison—"Minnesota is one of 21 states that does not..." have "compensation statutes for the wrongfully imprisoned."
• 21 years in jail for a crime he didn't commit

Deaths

• North Carolina detective indicted for killing mentally ill teenager
• Movie theater shooter: 'You don't get do-overs'
• Attorney: Teen was shot for having Wii controller in hand
• Florida teen in loud music murder trial was unarmed, witnesses say—Parents want to put stand-your-ground on trial.
• Arkansas girl, 15, pulls prank, shot to death by homeowner—"Parents would like to know why the curfew isn't enforced." I would like to know why parents aren't parenting. Update: Willie Noble said he only shot to scare.

Sins of Youth

• 27 years for teen in 'knockout game' slaying of father of 12
• Teen confessed to killing Davis couple—"Daniel William Marsh confessed to the brutal murders of an elderly Davis couple, saying he'd had the urge to kill since he was about 10 years old...."
• Charges upgraded to capital murder against 3 suspects in violent Chickasaw home invasion

Animal Cruelty

• Contact 13 uncovers new case of police killing pets
• Bull dog that visits dying patients shot in Pa. yard
• Kitten suffered 'horrendous' death after woman, 23, cooked it in microwave
• Teens arrested after Facebook dog abuse video goes viral

Law and Disorder

• Friend confesses to being Zodiac Killer
• Woman attempts to shoplift 330 Pizza Roll
• Chico mayor cited for driving over 100 MPH—"Gruendl did not tell the officer who pulled him over that he was the mayor and said he plans to accept responsibility for his actions."

Kung Hei Fat Choi: Year of the Horse; NFL and Drugs; Law and Disorder; Cops, Shots; Prison; Parking, Road Rage, Cycling, On the Road; Uplifting

Kung Hei Fat Choi: Year of the Horse

NFL and Drugs

• The NFL's Secret Drug Problem—"Pain pills are the only thing keeping many football players on the field week after week. What happens when their careers are over – but their addictions aren't?"
• Synthetic or not, Kellen Winslow's drug arrest could lead to suspension
• Carroll weighs in on medicinal pot

Law and Disorder

• Nightclub bashing victim dies—"Kim Pham, a 23-year-old university graduate who was beaten by five people outside a nightclub after she apparently 'photobombed' them, has died after being taken off life support."
• Details of Deadly Cabell Shootings Released in Court Documents—Man shoots and kills two brothers whom he thought were in his property.
• Man spends four decades in mental hospital for stealing $20 necklace

Cops

• Purdue Cops Throw Student Journalist To Ground, Seize His Camera And Detain Him For Three Hours
• One Of Six Omaha Cops Fired For Excessive Force, Illegal Search And Seizure Is Already Back In Uniform
• 25-year-old dies after pepper spray, struggle with security at Northland Mall

Shots

• Video contradicts Pinal sheriff's statements—The video shows the suspect raising his hands before getting shot and killed by police.
• Grand Jury Declines to Indict Fort Worth Cop Who Killed 72-Year-Old Grandfather
• 2nd grand jury indicts officer in shooting of ex-FAMU football player

Prison

• Prison Inc.—"Between 1990 and 2010, the number of privately operated prisons in the US increased 1600%... it seems crime does pay, but for whom is the question?"
• Half of U.S. prison sex crimes involve staff toward inmates: fed study
• Inmate made several calls to 911 before his death
• Sheriff Joe Arpaio: 38 Arizona inmates who defaced flag to eat only bread, water
• Prison in Brazil: Welcome to the Middle Ages—"Brazil's hellish penal system is overcrowded, violent and brutalising."

Parking

• In Los Angeles, walking illegally is more than twice as expensive as parking illegally
• Recently launched app, Fixed, will contest parking tickets with minimal effort from the offender.
• Falls Church police chief rips up parking tickets written on snowy Tuesday WaPo

Road Rage

• Driver responds to lawsuit over Menlo Park crash that injured 6-year-old twins
• Oregon teen who killed 2 in fatal leaf pile hit-run found guilty—Hitting them was accidental; covering it up wasn't.
• OfficeMax Sends Letter to "Daughter Killed in Car Crash"
• Motorist called 911 several times before he died in road-rage shooting
• Flipside: Traffic cop sets record for number of complaints

Cycling

• New York bikers attack SUV: Man intends to sue New York over attack
• Cyclist stuck in windshield: 'Hi, I'm the guy you hit'
• Iowa driver who struck, killed cyclist but thought she'd hit deer pleads guilty to traffic violation
• Japanese cyclist to pay 47m yen ($459,000) over fatal crash
• The bike ride that won't end

On the Road

• Frisco man faces trial for warning drivers of nearby speed trap
• Secret audit found city speed cameras had high error rates—"The city issued roughly 700,000 speed camera tickets at $40 each in fiscal year 2012. If 10 percent were wrong, 70,000 would have wrongly been charged $2.8 million."
• Red light cam company in bribery scandal
• What to Do If the Cops Pull You Over
• Blast from the Past: Academic turns city into a social experiment

Uplifting

• New York boy who died rescuing relatives gets firefighter funeral
• Brain Surgeon Walks 6 Miles Through Storm To Save Patient
• 'I finally got to thank the man who saved my life'—"After his "Find Mike" campaign, Jonny Benjamin is reunited with the man who talked him down off Waterloo Bridge six years ago."

NSA Spying, Surveillance and Privacy, Police State, Bad Cops, Recording; Jail Tails, Private Prisons; Law and Disorder; Guns, Trigger Crazy, Discharges; Goblins

NSA Spying

• Edward Snowden is no traitor—"The early denunciations now seem over the top and beside the point." WaPo
• Claim on "Attacks Thwarted" by NSA Spreads Despite Lack of Evidence
• NSA Spying in Congress: Stop the Intelligence Committee and What to Watch For in Upcoming Bills

Surveillance and Privacy

• Court Rules Probable-Cause Warrant Required for GPS Trackers
• Canadians sue their own government over domestic spying
• Security Check Now Starts Long Before You Fly—"The T.S.A. has at its fingertips a large range of personal records to prescreen passengers, including past travel, property records and vehicle registrations." How's that mission creep working for you? NYT

Police State

• U.S. surveillance leaks threaten police use of new technologies: official—"Public disclosures about U.S. government surveillance threaten the ability of police to use powerful new technologies such as drones and mobile license plate readers, a top law enforcement official said on Sunday."
• Who Will Protect You from the Police? The Rise of Government-Sanctioned Home Invasions
• Republican party warns Iowans about police—"State party officials at Republican Party of Iowa headquarters are warning Iowans not to be overly cooperative with police and to know their rights.'

Bad Cops

• Photo of the college football week: Penn State cops mace Michigan fan
• Bullies with a badge—"Some cops just don't deal with stress nicely."
• Officer Accused of Using Police Computer for Identity Theft
• Woman Says She Called 911 for an Ambulance for Her Fiancé, Cops Came and Shot Him Instead
• Widow to Sue Over Fatal Shooting of Husband, 80, by Sheriff's Deputies—"On the morning of June 27, detectives raided the couple's home in unincorporated Littlerock, serving a search warrant granted because the property allegedly smelled of the ingredients used to make methamphetamine...."
• Groups criticize NC officer arrest in man's death
• Denver won't pay victim in excessive force case, even though he won case
• Florida Cop Kills Man By Running Him Over With His Car, Will Not Be Charged—The family of Marlon Brown alleges a police cover-up in squad car death.

Recording

• Cop on video to pedestrian: Stay out of Philly
• Video shows woman being forcibly strip searched by male and female deputies after DUI arrest: lawsuit
• More women complain of videotaping at Puyallup jail
• Video captures beating of college student in Atlantic City; student now suing cops
• Video Captures Cop's Alleged Excessive Force
• Here's why cops should be required to wear a lapel camera while on duty WaPo
• Minneapolis Police to Wear Body Cameras in 2014

Jail Tales

• Herman Wallace dies after release from 41 years in solitary—"He was freed after a federal judge ruled his 1974 murder conviction violated his right to a fair trial." Related: U.S. prisoner's solitary confinement deemed "torture" by U.N. expert
• Prison Guards Accused of Holding "Retard Olympics," Making Inmates Fight For Food
• Supreme Court declines to hear California prison case—"The Supreme Court on Tuesday declined for the second time to take up a long-running dispute about overcrowding in California prisons."
• Fla. accidentally releases two convicted murderers
• Wayne County Jail Slowly Becoming A Pile Of Dust

Private Prisons

• Meet the Company Making $1.4 Billion a Year off Sick Prisoners
• The Prison Industrial Complex. Locked up in America
• Prison company leaving Idaho

Law and Disorder

• Use of Taser on 8-year-old girl justified, Pierre police say—"Child held knife, threatening to hurt herself, chief says."
• Living, breathing man will remain dead in the eyes of Ohio law
• Gym mat death: Scene pics point to foul play, expert says
• Drug gang hacks into Belgian seaport, cops seize TONNE of smack
• $1.1M verdict for victim's family upheld by state Supreme Court—"The [Washington] state Supreme Court upheld a jury verdict awarding $1.1 million to the family of a woman who was fatally stabbed by her boyfriend after a Federal Way officer served a court order to him while the victim was in the house."
• Wisconsin Supreme Court justices tend to favor attorney donors—"Abrahamson is top recipient; justices remain involved in 98 percent of cases involving attorney donors."
• Judge Resigns Amid Allegations Of Improper Conduct—"A state district judge in East Texas has resigned following accusations that she used text messages to coach a prosecutor, displayed a prejudice against some attorneys and met with jurors who were deliberating criminal trials."
• Plea and Charge Bargaining—One interesting finding: "Defendants tend to receive harsher sanctions if they exercise their right to a jury trial."
• Mother needing to breastfeed charged with contempt of court

Guns

• Hypocritical NRA nuts obliterate the First Amendment—"Gun freaks defend absolute free speech for a maniacal police chief — and then threaten those who oppose the NRA." Salon
• California governor vetoes tough gun control bills—Some of those seemed over-the-top.
• Man openly carrying gun cuts short high school soccer game as coach questions player, fan safety
• NFL rule bans off-duty cops from bringing guns into FirstEnergy Stadium—Private property.
• Poll: Americans Overwhelmingly Back Starbucks On Gun Policy
• Somers Man Fights Back After Pro-Gun Sign Removed From Lawn
• Man fired after pulling gun on would-be robber—"I violated company policy it was grounds for termination they did exactly what their handbook said they were going to do. I knew exactly what I was doing. I chose to sacrifice my job in order to keep my bodily health and life."

Trigger Crazy

• Police chief: 64 Cleveland officers broke rules in shooting—"More than 60 officers will be disciplined over a police chase last year that left two people dead in a hail of 137 bullets, Cleveland police said Tuesday."
• Gun Mishap Cuts Short Anti-'Libtard' Police Chief's Disciplinary Hearing
• D.C. police chief covers up giving Feinstein illegal 'assault weapons'
• AR-15 Reported Stolen From GOP Rep's Unlocked Garage
• NBC cans hunting show after lobbyist star compares critics to Hitler
• Gun Rights Advocates Hold Rally at JFK Assassination Site
• Police: Man was 'playing around' when he shot neighbor through her apartment ceiling

Discharges

• Woman Dies After Being Accidentally Shot While Hugging Boyfriend, Police Say
• Arizona Man Allegedly Kills Girlfriend In Attempt To Scare Her With A Gun
• Woman shot during dispute between boyfriend, his ex-girlfriend

Goblins

• Men may face felony charges after toppling Goblin Valley formation—"A group of Boy Scout leaders is potentially facing felony charges for destroying a rock formation nearly 200 million years old in Emery County." They've been getting death threats, but they're not helping matters by lying their way out of this.
• Man seen toppling boulder claims 'debilitating injuries' from car crash in recent lawsuit
• Boy Scouts remove 2 men who toppled ancient rock

Government Shutdown Day 6, GOP, Tea Party, Obamacare, Repercussions, Church and State, Racism, Corruption; Tor and the Silk Road, Spying and Surveillance

Government Shutdown Day 6

• Yes, the White House Is 'Winning'
• Why Obama Doesn't Care If He's Winning or Losing the PR Battle—"Now that he doesn't have to face voters again, it's about fixing the government."
• The Shutdown Prophet—"Washington couldn't have gone dark without a radicalized Republican Party. Or maybe it was destined to all along."
• Shutdown's roots lie in deeply embedded divisions in America's politics WaPo
• The Triumph Of The Ratfuckers—"Let us raise a morning glass to Donald Segretti, the ratfucker."
• If America is the world's greatest power, why the infantile politics?—"The US is on the brink of disaster, brought to it by a movement unique in its startling lack of realism and rigour."
• Dem Rep Blasts GOP Shutdown Stalemate: 'So We Sit Here Until They Figure Out They F*ck*n' Lost'

GOP

• Dennis Ross, GOP Rep: 'Pride' Is Why Republicans Won't Budge On Government Shutdown—Their idea of 'compromise' is anything but.
• House GOP flounders to explain shutdown
• Republicans, Over the Cliff
• The shutdown is a Republican civil war WaPo
• Mitch McConnell's vanishing act WaPo
• Boehner's Shutdown Fallback Plan Is Doomed
• Fool me with a budget commission once, shame on you. Fool me eight times …
• GOP floats six-week funding and debt ceiling extension
• Republicans in California greet government shutdown with worry—It's not all sunshine.
• SNL skewers John Boehner and Michelle Bachmann Hilarious Miley Cyrus Parody 'We Did Stop (The Government)'

Tea Party

• For Rep. Ted Yoho, government shutdown is 'the tremor before the tsunami'—"I’m not going to raise the debt ceiling. [...] I think, personally, it would bring stability to the world markets." Freaky scary stupidity.
• Reid: Boehner Has Been 'Waylaid' By Tea Party
• Obama: Unlike Cruz, I Didn't Seek Media Attention As Senator
• Riding the Tea Party tiger: Has it been worth it for GOP?
• Slaves to 'the base'—"Increasingly, American politics is controlled by the most militant factions within each party." And how base they are indeed.

Obamacare

• The Truth About Obamacare and How It Solves the Suffering of the Insured
• The myth about job-killing Obamacare—"It won't be the job killer the GOP makes it out to be."
• The Uninsured Are Spread Throughout Red States, Too—"The people who stand to gain the most from the health care law don't live in just Democratic House districts."
• Frankenstein Goes to Congress—"When it comes to Obamacare, Republicans are hanging on to the towel." NYT
• Obamacare begins – and the right is terrified that it will work
• Michigan battle over 'Obamacare' becomes fight for soul of GOP—"Analysis: State Republicans narrowly favor Medicaid expansion."
• Nina Dobrev poses semi-nude to show her support for Obamacare—#GetCovered

Repercussions

• Closure of War Memorials Continues to Cause Conflict
• Government shutdowns are even worse for Washington's museums than you think
• US government researchers barred from scientific conferences
• Lake Mead property owners forced out until shutdown ends
• Federal judge slaps down Darrell Issa over request for shutdown exception
• House Passes Bill Allowing Back Pay For Furloughed Workers
• Pentagon to recall most furloughed workers, Hagel says

Church and State

• The Theology of Government Shutdown: Christian Dominionism
• Christian TV Host Asks God for 'Military Takeover' of Obama's Presidency
• Virginia Republican: 'Jesus' saved me from Harvard Law School

Racism

• 'Serious Racism Here': Ed Schultz Insists GOP's Shutdown Showdown Motivated by 'Hate'
• The GOP's White Southern Republican Problem
• Conservatives' Biggest Fear: Being Called Racist
• Allen West reportedly fired for anti-Semitic remark
• Arizona Sheriff Joe Arpaio to be overseen by monitor, judge rules

Corruption

• Scott Walker tramples Wisconsin values with United Sportsmen scandal
• Still in Office, Mayor Already Collecting $99,735 Annual Public Pension
• Postal Service defaults on $5.6 billion payment—Setting an impossible goal so that it fail and then be privatized.

Tor and the Silk Road

• How the feds took down the Dread Pirate Roberts
• NSA and GCHQ target Tor network that protects anonymity of web users
• 'Tor Stinks' presentation—"Top-secret presentation says 'We will never be able to de-anonymize all Tor users all the time' but 'with manual ana+lysis we can de-anonymize a very small fraction of Tor users.'"
• Silk Road underground market closed – but others will replace it—"The high profile 'dark web' drugstore has been shut down, leaving room for a plethora of copycats and rivals."
• Security Flaw Shows Tor Anonymity Network Dominated by Botnet Command and Control Traffic

Spying and Surveillance

• Schneier: Why the NSA's attacks on the internet must be made public—"By reporting on the agency's actions, the vulnerabilities in our computer systems can be fixed. It's the only way to force change."
• What Happened to Obama's NSA Reforms?—"Two months ago, the President embraced limited reforms to domestic spying. So far, he's produced limited results."
• Sen. Feinstein Claims The NSA Does Collect Phone Call Location Information, Contradicting The NSA
• DOJ's non-ironic arguments rejecting Google, Facebook user data transparency requests
• GCHQ report on 'MULLENIZE' program to 'stain' anonymous electronic traffic

War on Drugs, 420, Legalization, Schools, Sports; Law and Disorder, Bad Cops, Blue Line, Private Prisons, Toll on Traffic, Recording, Innocence

War on Drugs

• The Origins of Our Police State—"The unleashing of police on poor people of color in the 'war on drugs' is the first step in the rise of totalitarianism."
• Medical Marijuana Users Fight to Keep Infant Daughter—" The state-sanctioned medical marijuana users' home was too dangerous for their six-month-old because of the plants inside."
• Van sold by US govt had cocaine; 2 teens arrested—"A Mexican family says that a van bought at a U.S. government auction came with an unwanted extra: an undiscovered package of cocaine beneath the dashboard. [...] And they have been in jail fighting drug trafficking charges ever since." So, there's a big chance it was the US government's fault and these two are paying the price.

420

• Colorado first state in country to finalize rules for recreational pot
• Police defend Marijuana giveaway in Denver—Hopefully a sign of progressive change in attitude.
• U.S. may help marijuana shops get banking services

Legalization

• Louisiana: Majority favor legalizing marijuana
• Alaska could be the next state to legalize marijuana
• Bill To Legalize, Tax Marijuana Introduced In D.C. Council
• Detroit: Pot supporter's arrest may void legalization vote
• John McCain On Marijuana: 'Maybe We Should Legalize'
• Puerto Rico holds public hearings on marijuana legalization bill
• Legalizing weed: the Uruguayan model

Schools

• ACLU: Victory for College Students! Court Strikes Down Mandatory Drug Testing for All Students
• Beyond 'Zero Tolerance': A Pragmatic Approach to Teen Drug Education and School Discipline
• School principal pleads not guilty to drug, gun charges

Sports

• Doping Report Researcher: 'They Blocked Our Work'—"In a SPIEGEL interview, historian Erik Eggers talks about the highly incriminating study on doping in West German sports he co-authored as part of a four-person team at Berlin's Humboldt University, and why their research was hampered by the very institute that commissioned it.
• Lance Armstrong tweets that he's returned Olympic bronze medal
• No place for performance-enhancing drugs in high school sports

Law and Disorder

• FBI: Chicago passes New York as murder capital of U.S.
• Capitol Police to review response—"Washington DC's Capitol Police have ordered a review into a BBC report that an armed police team was ordered not to respond to Monday's mass shooting."
• Charlotte police kill ex-FAMU player who may have been running to them for help—"Officers responded to a 'breaking and entering' 911 call at a home in Charlotte. The homeowner told dispatchers that a man had been knocking on her door repeatedly." Tragic confluence of events, but was shooting to kill necessary?
• Pittsburgh Zoo: Boy's mauling death is mom's fault—"[T]he boy had vision problems and wore glasses, and that's partly why his mother lifted him to see down into the dogs' sunken enclosure. [... H]e unexpectedly lunged out of his mother's grasp, over the wooden railing, and into a net meant to catch falling debris and trash. He bounced from the net into the dogs' enclosure about 10 feet below."
• Trayvon Martin's Medical Examiner: Prosecution Threw the Case—"Fired Zimmerman trial coroner says conviction was never going to happen." Meanwhile, George Zimmerman manages to stay in the spotlight.

Bad Cops

• Police Abuse of Power, Plain and Simple, in Etowah County, Alabama
• State police destroyed her home without reason during raid, East Shore woman claims in lawsuit
• Kim Nguyen, Business Student, Ejected From Moving Cop Car, Breaks Jaw, Sues L.A. Police
• Ex-Phoenix officer convicted of aggravated assault
• Cracked.com: 5 Apologies to the Cops Who Beat Me Up for No Reason

Blue Line

• Death of man with Down syndrome provokes public backlash against police—"The coroner's office ultimately ruled Mr. Saylor's death a homicide by asphyxiation, but a grand jury put together in response elected not to indict any of the men for their role in his passing."
• No jail time for ICE officer accused of beating tow truck drivers—"[A]ll of Pablo Morales' felony charges were dropped because he pleaded guilty to a lesser charge of exhibition of a firearm." What a sweet deal cooked up by the DA.
• Police whistleblower denied immunity from prosecution—"Former undercover officer Peter Francis had said he would speak to police inquiry if threat of investigation was withdrawn."

Private Prisons

• This Is How Private Prison Companies Make Millions Even When Crime Rates Fall—"So-called occupancy requirements make sure private prisons stay filled, often at the expense of taxpayers."
• The Winners in Immigration Control: Private Prisons—"The prison industry's profits have doubled from the government's increased spending on detaining undocumented immigrants. And that may be one reason the prisons, in turn, spend so much on lobbying."
• Judge: CCA in contempt for prison understaffing

Toll on Traffic

• Town creates own speeding law, drivers face $500 fines or jail time—"Turbevillle, SC is known as one of the worst speed traps in the state."
• Speeders were plentiful in camera test run—"As Mayor Rahm Emanuel rolls out his long-delayed speed camera plan, new numbers his office released suggest that drivers who speed in Chicago could rack up way more in fines than a cash-starved City Hall initially projected."
• FL man arrested for protesting red light cameras—"Red light cameras are all about money - not safety. Governments choose tax money over safety of motorists."

Recording

• Sullivan: Watching The Watchmen
• Lubbock police introduce body cameras
• Georgia Cop Caught on Camera Demanding Bribe Resigns, but Still Not Arrested
• Police: "Shut up or get ticketed" - Vermont traffic stop leads to federal civil rights dispute—The ACLU is helping out.
• Caught on camera: Deputy brutalizes a family—First Texas.
• Traffic stop caught on camera causes controversy—Then Ohio.
• Traffic stop leads to window-shattering confrontation with UCF police
• MTS officers take down man at trolley stop—"An Otay Mesa resident says she is outraged and astonished after seeing what she describes as unnecessary force by Metropolitan Transit System officers."
• Attorney says TPD subjected woman to 'police brutality' during DUI arrest—Thing is, the video shows the woman was drunk off her ass.

Innocence

• How Two Newspaper Reporters Helped Free an Innocent Man—"Daniel Taylor didn't commit murder — and the author, a Pulitzer Prize–winning journalist, proved it in The Chicago Tribune. But it took the justice system more than a decade to catch up."
• Man exonerated in Fayette County double killing after 27 years sues prosecutors, investigator
• Annie Dookhan, Chemist Accused Of Faking Test Results, Could Have Affected 40,000 Defendants: State
• Teacher who lost job after being innocently caught in police sting sues for $15M
• Man files $20 million suit against Jackson County, Sheriff Byrd for false arrest—"The investigation abruptly ended, the suit says, after Thornton did a manual scan of Tuskan's home computer and found no evidence he had ever possessed child porn. Tuskan's computer had a wireless connection that was not protected by a password and could have been accessed by someone outside his home."

Comply! Zero Tolerance, Arming Teachers; Bullying; Educamation; Cheating, Public vs. Private Schools; College Costs; Syria; NSA Spying and Journalism

Comply!

• Librarian Chastises 9 Year-Old Kid For Reading Too Much—All because she "thinks someone else should have a chance to win" the annual public library reading contest.
• Indiana University freshman Rachael Fiege dies after falling down stairs at party—Asked why no one called the police for hours: "We're just young, we're scared. It's hard because if we get in trouble like that, it could change the rest of our college experience, you'll be under watch." Jeeze, didn't even warrant a 911 call.
• School district hires company to follow kids' Facebook, Twitter—"The Glendale Unified School District in Southern California outsources keeping tabs on troublemakers as well as identifying kids in trouble. At least these are its justifications."
• Child banned from school trip for eating chocolate
• Doctors support raising the smoking age to 21—Shouldn't military service be raised to 21 as well?

Zero Tolerance

• Elementary school student arrested in Kalihi—"An 8-year-old special education student was arrested on Tuesday on suspicion of first-degree terroristic threatening, according to police."
• Success Academy school chain comes under fire as parents fight 'zero tolerance' disciplinary policy
• Flipside: A Philadelphia School's Big Bet on Nonviolence—"In a desperately poor, dangerous part of town, Memphis Street Academy decided to ditch its metal detectors and focus on supporting students. Violence dropped by 90 percent."

Arming Teachers

• Arkansas Attorney General Won't Let School Arm Teachers
• Ark. schools defend plans to arm employees
• Oops: Senator Who Advocates Arming Teachers Accidentally Shoots Teacher With Rubber Bullet

Bullying

• Online bullying ends in Italian girl's suicide
• Death of Hannah Smith fuels call for action on social media bullying—Ask.fm claims that 'Hannah sent hate notes to herself.'
• Zero Tolerance: Towson University Suspends Cheerleading Team For Hazing
• One in five children bullied online, says NSPCC survey
• Victims Of Bullying Are More Likely To Be Arrested As Adults
• Kids Involved in Bullying Grow Up To Be Poorer, Sicker Adults
• Swedish boarding school shut down after bullying claims—"Inspectors announce immediate and indefinite closure of elite Lundsberg school, likened by one pupil to Lord of the Flies."
• Flipside: Lower Dauphin teens' video against bullying is finalist in global competition

Educamation

• Lifting the Veil on the Holistic Process at the University of California, Berkeley—"Who's a 2? Who's a 5? Ranking a pool of Berkeley hopefuls in a sea of ambiguities." NYT
• You're Not Stupid. You're Slow.—"Teachers use a variety of words to describe failure. Here's what they all mean."
• Liberia students all fail university admission exam

Cheating

• GOP Donor's School Grade Changed—"Emails obtained by The Associated Press show Bennett and his staff scrambled last fall to ensure influential donor Christel DeHaan's school received an 'A,' despite poor test scores in algebra that initially earned it a 'C.'" So much fail that rightfully results in a resignation.
• College Student Gets Year in Prison for Wire Fraud in Tampering With Student Election—Starting young.
• Stuyvesant Principal, Now Retired, Mishandled Cheating Case, Report Says—"The report said that after Stanley Teitel was tipped off by a student about the cheating, he set up a sting to catch the ringleader when he should have tried to pre-emptively thwart the cheating." NYT
• Texas audit finds school cheating goes undetected
• More primary school test results quashed due to 'cheating'—"Almost 600 primary school pupils had test results cancelled or downgraded last year because of cheating in the exams hall and mistakes by teachers, according to an official report."
• Bras begone: China clamps down on cheating in university entrance exams by banning brassieres
• India 'cheating' students expelled in Bihar—"More than 1,600 students have been expelled for cheating in school examinations in the northern Indian state of Bihar."

Public vs. Private Schools

• North Carolina Becomes the Front Line of a Brutal Corporate Assault on Education Raging in America
• Break given to Christel House could have spared two IPS schools from state takeover—"Two Indianapolis Public Schools might never have been taken over by the state if then-Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Bennett had offered the district the same flexibility he granted a year later to the Christel House Academy charter school."
• Oh, Brother: Emails from Jeb Bush's Education Privatization Group Prioritize Profit Over Pupils
• Public School Asks Parents to Pay $613 Per Student As Right-Wing Governor Destroys Public Education With Insane Defunding
• U.S. government sues to block vouchers in some Louisiana school systems

College Costs

• College Costs Surge 500% in U.S. Since 1985: Chart of the Day
• More students than ever rely on federal college aid
• The Student-Loan Bubble Is Creating a Generation of Indentured Servants
• The American dream should really be called the American debt—"With college loan debt hitting us where it hurts, the American dream has become the American farce for Generations Y and Z."
• Higher education is a lifetime sentence of debt—"If a college degree is the new high school diploma, then we need to overhaul our school financing model accordingly." Salon
• Student Loan Forgiveness Program Available To Millions Who Aren't Utilizing It, CFPB Says
• Obama proposes college-rating system that could increase affordability

Syria

• 9 questions about Syria you were too embarrassed to ask
• White House pushes Congress on Syria after Obama's recoil—Let's see how they'll vote.
• John Kerry: US 'has evidence of Syrian sarin use'
• France will not attack Syria alone, PM to meet parliament leaders
• Syria allies: Why Russia, Iran and China are standing by the regime

NSA Spying and Journalism

• #Miranda: Where is the UK Government getting its numbers from?
• UK Asked New York Times To Destroy Edward Snowden Documents; NY Times Ignored Request
• Murdoch's Papers Fight the Guardian (and Free Speech)—"Journalism's circular firing squad, UK edition."
• NSA Spied on Al Jazeera Communications: Snowden Document—"Arab news broadcaster Al Jazeera was spied on by the National Security Agency, according to documents seen by SPIEGEL. The US intelligence agency hacked into protected communication, a feat that was considered a particular success."
• To make journalism harder, slower, less secure—"That's what the surveillance state is trying to do. It has the means, the will and the latitude to go after journalism the way it went after terrorism. Only a more activist press, working together, stands a chance of resisting this."