Connecticut Man Arrested For Writing Obscenity On Traffic Ticket Payment Form | Techdirt

Connecticut Man Arrested For Writing Obscenity On Traffic Ticket Payment Form | Techdirt:

"That honor goes to Willian Barboza, who was issued a speeding ticket last year in the Catskills town of Liberty, and chose to send a bit of a message while mailing in his guilty-plea fine when he wrote 'F@#$ your sh#*$y town b&$#@es.'

The court decided that Barboza's admittedly witless prose was worth rejecting his payment altogether and charging him for aggravated harrassment, a strange state law that says it's a violation when someone: ‘Either (a) communicates with a person, anonymously or otherwise, by telephone, by telegraph, or by mail, or by transmitting or delivering any other form of written communication, in a manner likely to cause annoyance or alarm … "

Another example of an obscure law sitting on the books to be used for nefarious reason as needed.

Twitter Jitters: Can What You Tweet About Police Land You in Jail?

Law.com - Twitter Jitters: Can What You Tweet About Police Land You in Jail?:

"In a statement, Pittsburgh police explained that Madison 'used legal devices for illegal acts.' What exactly those illegal acts were, however, remains unclear. What is clear is that Madison's arrest for sharing information with other protesters online presents broader public policy concerns. Broader because it matters not what medium or Twitter-like technology you use to convey a controversial message. What matters -- and what Madison's arrest here potentially threatens -- is the underlying right to say it. "

Supreme Court hears arguments for corporate funding of candidates -- latimes.com

Supreme Court hears arguments for corporate funding of candidates -- latimes.com:

"Big companies, industries and possibly unions may be allowed to fund ads for and against candidates. A decision could reshape American politics starting with the 2010 congressional campaign."

Don't Exhale: EPA Expected to Declare Carbon Dioxide a Dangerous Pollutant - Political News - FOXNews.com

Don't Exhale: EPA Expected to Declare Carbon Dioxide a Dangerous Pollutant - Political News - FOXNews.com:

"The Environmental Protection Agency is expected in the next few weeks to declare that carbon dioxide and five other greenhouse gases are pollutants, a move that would require the federal government to regulate them -- even without legislation. "

YouTube - Quarantine or 30 day jail for refusing the toxic vaccine

YouTube - Quarantine or 30 day jail for refusing the toxic vaccine:

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The Associated Press: Mexico decriminalizes small-scale drug possession

The Associated Press: Mexico decriminalizes small-scale drug possession:

"MEXICO CITY — Mexico decriminalized small amounts of marijuana, cocaine and heroin on Friday — a move that prosecutors say makes sense even in the midst of the government's grueling battle against drug traffickers."

California Judge Declares Red Light Camera Program Illegal and Void

California Judge Declares Red Light Camera Program Illegal and Void | The Truth About Cars:

"Schwartz saw the error in the announcement timing as more than a technicality, citing the false assertion of Police Chief Paul Walters that motorists would be given 4.4 seconds of yellow time at enforced intersections. Records show that seventeen of the city’s eighteen camera intersections had yellow times of 4.0 seconds or less. The vast majority of red light tickets in the city were mailed to vehicle accused of entering an intersection less than half-a-second after the light had turned red."

Strip clubs, marijuana eyed during budget crunch - CNN.com

Strip clubs, marijuana eyed during budget crunch - CNN.com:

"'You see this blizzard of fees popping up all over the country and in very unusual places,' CanagaRetna said.

One of the more controversial ideas is to legalize the sale of marijuana, as proposed in a bill introduced in California's state legislature by Democratic State Assemblyman Tom Ammiano this year. The bill proposed taxing pot by $50 per ounce. If legalized, marijuana could become California's No. 1 cash crop, bringing in an estimated $1 billion a year in state taxes."

Lose your property for growing food?

Lose your property for growing food?:

"Some small farms and organic food growers could be placed under direct supervision of the federal government under new legislation making its way through Congress. "

Balkinization

Balkinization:

"Put differently, Cheney sought to go around the Constitution's protections for persons arrested in the United States. The whole point of the enemy combantant theory was to avoid having to abide by constitutional guarantees. It is worth dwelling on this point: This is not a debate about whether the army would have to read Miranda rights to suspects captured on the battlefield in Afghanistan. It was a plan to have the military arrest people in the United States in order to get around civil liberties guaranteed by the Constitution. "

Ireland Makes Blasphemy Illegal

Ireland Makes Blasphemy Illegal | Paliban Daily:

"# Atheists can be prosecuted for saying that God is imaginary. That causes outrage.

# Pagans can be prosecuted for saying they left Christianity because God is violent and bloodthirsty, promotes genocide, and permits slavery.

# Christians can be prosecuted for saying that Allah is a moon god, or for drawing a picture of Mohammed, or for saying that Islam is a violent religion which breeds terrorists.

# Jews can be prosecuted for saying Jesus isn’t the Messiah."

Clean Energy and Security Act brings auditors into your home

Clean Energy and Security Act brings auditors into your home:

"H.R. 2454 is a 1400-page promise to audit every aspect of your home and life under the guise of creating jobs, clean energy and a sustainable world. However, before we get into the bill lets examine the way it’s been handled.

The secrecy of the bill and the speed of which the legislation is being railroaded is quite alarming. The last two times I’ve seen this was with the Patriot Act and TARP legislation."

New Massachusetts Pot Law Has Cops in a Tizzy

New Massachusetts Pot Law Has Cops in a Tizzy | The Conscience of Abe’s Turn:

"Last November, in Massachusetts, the ballot asked voters whether to change the state’s marijuana laws. Under the new law, anyone caught with an ounce or less of pot, instead of being arrested and charged with a crime, would simply get a $100 ticket. According to the official election returns, 63% of the voters thought this was a good idea. (Only 33% disapproved, with 4% abstaining.) "

IRS: The Real Facts

IRS: The Real Facts:

"Many believe that they are required to pay an 'income tax' to a branch of the United States government called 'The Internal Revenue Service'. The origins and history of the IRS shows just how in error these beliefs are. Not only is there no law that requires most Americans to file an individual tax return, but the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) wasn't even created by an act of Congress!"

Step Away From the Vehicle: The Supreme Court imposes long-overdue limits on car searches. - Reason Magazine

Step Away From the Vehicle: The Supreme Court imposes long-overdue limits on car searches. - Reason Magazine:

"In August 1999 police saw Rodney Gant pull into the driveway of his Tucson home and arrested him for driving with a suspended license. After handcuffing Gant and locking him in a cruiser, Officer Todd Griffith searched his car, finding a bag of cocaine in the pocket of a jacket on the backseat. When he was asked at an evidentiary hearing why he searched the car, Griffith replied, 'Because the law says we can do it.'

Not anymore."

Somalis watch double amputations

BBC NEWS | Africa | Somalis watch double amputations:

"Hardline Islamists in Somalia have carried out double amputations on four men for stealing phones and guns.
They have each had a hand and foot cut off after being convicted by a Sharia court in the capital earlier this week."

Journalist Files Charges against WHO and UN for Bioterrorism and Intent to Commit Mass Murder

Journalist Files Charges against WHO and UN for Bioterrorism and Intent to Commit Mass Murder:

"The charges contend that these defendants conspired with each other and others to devise, fund and participate in the final phase of the implementation of a covert international bioweapons program involving the pharmaceutical companies Baxter and Novartis. They did this by bioengineering and then releasing lethal biological agents, specifically the 'bird flu' virus and the 'swine flu virus' in order to have a pretext to implement a forced mass vaccination program which would be the means of administering a toxic biological agent to cause death and injury to the people of the U.S. This action is in direct violation of the Biological Weapons Anti-terrorism Act."

Military Hush-Up: Incoming Space Rocks Now Classified

SPACE.com -- Military Hush-Up: Incoming Space Rocks Now Classified:

"For 15 years, scientists have benefited from data gleaned by U.S. classified satellites of natural fireball events in Earth's atmosphere – but no longer.

A recent U.S. military policy decision now explicitly states that observations by hush-hush government spacecraft of incoming bolides and fireballs are classified secret and are not to be released, SPACE.com has learned.

The satellites' main objectives include detecting nuclear bomb tests, and their characterizations of asteroids and lesser meteoroids as they crash through the atmosphere has been a byproduct data bonanza for scientists.

The upshot: Space rocks that explode in the atmosphere are now classified. "

Congress to consider allowing marijuana possession — MPP Blog

Congress to consider allowing marijuana possession — MPP Blog:

"Congressman Barney Frank (D-Mass.) introduced legislation today to remove criminal penalties for marijuana possession at the federal level. The Personal Use of Marijuana by Responsible Adults Act of 2009 would remove penalties for possession of up to 3.5 ounces of marijuana and the not-for-profit transfer of 1 ounce."

Appeals Court Backs Prison for E-Mail Obscenity | Threat Level | Wired.com

Appeals Court Backs Prison for E-Mail Obscenity | Threat Level | Wired.com:

"Sharing an obscene sexual fantasy over e-mail is a federal crime that enjoys no protection under the First Amendment, a federal appeals court said Monday, in a decision that drew sharp dissent from one judge and potentially set the stage for a Supreme Court appeal."