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The Biggest Crooks In America Are Now The Cops
Submitted by Bill Bonner via Bonner & Partners,
The TSA Is a Complete Waste of Time
Today, we continue our series “The Good, the Bad and the Ugly.” As you’ll recall, our premise is that in a world where everyone is a lawbreaker, it’s hard to spot the real criminals.
Below, we turn to the bad …
Last week came a report proving that the TSA has been wasting our time and shamelessly bullying us all for years. There was always a surreal and even cruel quality to airport security checks.
We recall how we stood in line, as the TSA agents forced a frail, old lady, well into her 90s, to get up from her wheelchair… painfully shuffle into the body scanner… stand with her hands over her head… and totter out the other side.
An image from the curiously aptly named “Rapiscan” full body scanner employed by the TSA. University researchers set out to prove that the scanners are completely worthless – and prove it they did. What you can obviously not see above is that the man undergoing the scan is actually concealing a gun. In fact, one can get “anything” through these scanners undetected.
Image credit: USENIX / Keaton Mowery, University of California
She could barely stand… but the scan proved inconclusive. We looked on in disbelief as the TSA agent forced her to repeat the exercise. Did anyone believe the frail woman posed a threat to airline safety? The TSA agents? The people lined up, waiting to go through the same routine? Of course not…
But no one objected – not even her son, your editor. We have all been trained to keep our mouths shut, even when we are subjected to senseless inconveniences and indignities. To what end?
A study done by the TSA found travelers were easily able to smuggle mock weapons and fake explosives past the screeners. In 67 out of 70 cases, TSA agents missed the banned items and let the passenger go by. If they had been real terrorists, Washington might be a smoking ruin by now. Two questions arise: Why bother? And why haven’t there been more terrorist attacks?
Scaring, Bullying, and Stealing
The first is easily answered: The security checks could be stopped immediately with no appreciable loss in real safety. The second question is easily answered, too: There aren’t any terrorists. Or there are so few, it is not worth worrying about them.
Yes, the Department of Homeland Security is just an excuse to scare people, boss them around, and take their money. Wait, you might say… If we send the TSA packing, terrorists may take it as a green light to go on the offense. But what difference would it make?
Nine out of ten of them would glide through the checkpoints anyway. Also in the news is the Export-Import Bank. It helps American companies sell their products overseas by financing and subsidizing the purchases for foreign buyers.
This costs U.S. taxpayers money – about $2 billion over the next 10 years. But it boosts the profits of the companies involved. It is nothing but legalized larceny. It takes money from some people against their will and gives it to others. Most favored is Boeing.
A small group in Congress has been trying to get rid of the Export-Import Bank for decades. But it is an uphill battle. Naturally, the cronies want to keep this zombie institution alive. And the U.S. Chamber of Commerce – a nest of cronyism – has launched a $1-million campaign to save it.
The Chamber of Commerce had an ad campaign a few years ago called “Save Free Enterprise.” But who wants to save free enterprise? Not the Chamber of Commerce – it wants to save free money, not free enterprise.
A giant crony capitalist corporate welfare scam: the Import-Export Bank. See this nauseating example presented by Dan Mitchell of how this corrupt cronyism institution works.
Image via missoulian.com
When the Crooks Are the Cops
Here’s another candidate for the “bad” category: DEA agents and local police deserve a good whack with a hard stick. Thanks to the Department of Justice’s “civil asset forfeiture” program, they’ve been helping themselves to other people’s money by pretending the money has done something wrong.
Normally, a civil – as opposed to a criminal – procedure involves a dispute between two private citizens. But in the case of civil asset forfeiture, the dispute is between the cops and a thing – cash … gold … a house … or a nice new yacht – they suspect has been involved in a crime.
No due process is needed. The owners of the disputed items are guilty until proven innocent. Often, of course, the supposedly “ill-gotten gains” are not ill-gotten at all – until the cops get their hands on them. All over the country – and in Canada, too – police are turning into crooks… taking money that doesn’t belong to them.
In one recent instance, a young man called Joseph Rivers was taking the train from Detroit to California, hoping to start a new music video company. He took with him his life savings – $16,000, in cash.
But the lucre was just too filthy for the DEA to resist. After boarding Rivers’ train at the Albuquerque Amtrak station, searching its passengers, and discovering the cash in his bag, they simply took it from him.
The Washington Post covered the story:
“The agents found nothing in Rivers’ belongings that indicated that he was involved with the drug trade: no drugs, no guns. They didn’t arrest him or charge him with a crime. But they took his cash anyway, every last cent, under the authority of the Justice Department’s civil asset forfeiture program.”
Joseph Rivers had his life saving confiscated on a train, as far as we could ascertain mainly for the crime of being black and because the opportunity presented itself. That the people doing the confiscating work for something called “the department of justice” is more proof that we have well and truly arrived in Orwell’s dystopia.
Photo credit: Mandel Ngan / AFP / Getty Images
Guilty Until Proven Innocent
Once the cops have seized your property, the burden of proof falls on you to get it back – even if the cops never charge you with a crime. “We don’t have to prove that the person is guilty,” an Albuquerque DEA agent told the Washington Post.
In another case, a couple had $118,000 seized from their bank account. Their crime? None. They were merely the targets of money-hungry agents from the U.S. Secret Service because their small business required them to make many cash transactions.
The agents took the money under the civil asset forfeiture rules, which empower government employees to take first and ask questions later. The couple spent years battling to get their money back. By the time the courts finally ordered the feds to hand back the cash, the couple had spent $25,000 on lawyers – money the feds refused to reimburse.
Want more bad guys? The woods are full of them. How about the bums at the Federal Reserve? How about the entire “security” industry? How about the zombies on the government dole? How about the drug industry? Or take Congress… Please.
Up next … the ugly. Stay tuned.
Tom and Marla Bednar of North Carolina, small shop owners who had their money seized although they committed no crime. There are many heart-breaking stories of small business owners getting shafted by assorted government minions abusing civil forfeiture laws. These laws were originally introduced to better combat drug dealers, but have in the meantime mutated into grotesque shake-downs of law-abiding citizens.
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Tyrants like Soros have moats around their castles. Wouldn't it be lovely though to have a video of him and others being eaten alive by wild boar , like in the Jodie Foster- Anthony Hopkins Hannibal Lecter Film?
I wonder how long time, for clean, brainwashed Americans takes to understand that sovereignty never belong to so called authorities. The democratic representative system is a scam in itself since it fools people to sign themselves off of democratic process by assigning sovereign rights to RULE to some low life, money hungry punk for 2 years or more at the time.
Every government agency is there for themselves alone, populated by armies of cronies or money interest, with six digit paying, government /civil servants positions passed to their descendants like at the court of King Arthur. For some jobs you have to have greatgreatgrandfather fighting in civil war and in some cases on the side of confederacy alone for Christ sake. State within state, within state... Deep shit state. Do they give a shit about us or serve themselves? Take wild guess.
The same is in local police and other security agencies. They admit themselves that they are like brothers. The fact is they are genetically brothers which should automatically disqualify them from the job because of bias against population. Every cop should look at other cop as a stranger, private citizen and not like brother if we're going to have some justice.
We would be better off if local cops are selected by lottery for, say 3 years, once in lifetime, from whole local population, not able body crap, but even sick or crippled since their authority would not stem from big gun but from his or her understanding of community and arbitrage skill to keep peace as peace officer should. In addition such a cop would not be so fast to kick somebody's ass since in short time he may be in line for ass kick from same guy as new cop. There are millions ways to improve situations but it seems that everybody is brain dead or already sold.
If it is not already abundantly clear, the fact is that unfortunately local militarized cops have been incorporated into government apparatus of repression, extortion and medieval like protection racket under guise of “war on terror”.
Local cops with guns, not low life thieving bankers coming to evict us from our, already five times overpaid homes, for crime of ill health or job loss. We would take care of bankers alone in no time ourselves.
All of this in service for power hungry elites of lasting continuously over 250 years in US and over 800 years in England unified feudal regime. No other existing regime in the world lasted that long. Forget American Revolution 1776-1789 R.I.P. We need new American Revolution and install new regime.
The very disturbing take on civil forfeiture as one of most egregious violation of basic human rights not to mention long abandoned US constitution I found at:
https://contrarianopinion.wordpress.com/2015/01/19/property-of-none/
Our fates were sealed back in 1794 when Washington turned U.S. troops against the citizens to put-down the Whisky Rebellion. The Whiskey Rebellion was a tax insurrection.
The Civil War was another clue.
Of course Amerikan pigs are bad,Mr Boner..Look around,at the fucking animals that inhabit this country.The only thing they understand is pain,which is why I hope one of them rams a baton up your ass,so you can feel firsthand the first rule of good police work;Fuck them in the ass,before they have a chance to shit in their pants..
Trying out for a law enforcement job?
Quality is scarce these days and punishable by scorn from all sides. So best thing to do is pretend to be a pos lazy fuck or everyone will think you Are trying to be better than they are. This is a attitude creeping full gallop out of the getto into organizations. Discriminate against a lazy fuck and they will punish you but discriminate against a halfway useful person and no one says anything. It is not worth the trouble to care. I hope the whole country goes down hard.
http://blog.motorists.org/the-business-of-civil-forfeiture/
http://freedominourtime.blogspot.mx/2015/06/road-pirates-assemble-desert...
Dear gun and badge thugs,
Article 3, Section 3, treason--"It's the law."
An American and his guillotine.
Liberty is a demand. Tyranny is submission.
LOL ...
Yea, they arrest/harass us for "It's the Law" while they break most every article and subsection of the u.s and State constitutions,,, and probably most Federal and State statutes.
Of course,,, they're exempted which is how they are compensated for doing the dirty work of the government mafia's.
"they're exempted"
There is not "exemption" clause in the Constitution.
My guillotine and I are compiling a List though.
Liberty is a demand. Tyranny is submission..
(CAAPTL) - Treason List
In addition to the Four Rs, the American people should be compiling a list, call it the Crimes Against the American People Treason List (CAAPTL). A list of known pol, crat, functionaries (funcs), and bankster criminals that they are aware of.
Oath violating and treasonous gun and badge thugs, corrupt pols and crats, thieving banksters, etc. should be placed on it. At a minimum, their names, victims, crimes, and positions, should be kept for future reference for accountability, trial, and punishment.
When the DC US finally collapses, these lists can then be used to root out the known criminals that will think that they can hide among their victims--no "Truth and Reconciliation," and no quarter.
Thin Blue Line - Cops are OK - real enemy is USG - shut it down
You work for the enemy, you ARE the enemy. Stop with your bullshit.
You nailed it. The thin blue line bullshit has worn pretty damn thin... Cops don't represent the people whatsoever. They represent the govt period..
American police are out of control but without them the niggers and illegals would have long since raped your family to death after butchering you in a horrible way.
South African whites have guns too tough guy. Didn't save them from genocide. You need organized violence for that, i.e. police able and willing to do their job to combat the savages.
You are Thick Willy. Fact of the matter is that I'm a lot more worried about some pigs butchering me and raping my family than I am about any blacks or illegals. But I see your reasoning. Veiled threats are what cops are good at. Fuck off now...
USG is an entity. It's the people that make the entity good or bad.
Your grandmotherly neighbor that smiles when you both go to your cars to leave for work may work for the IRS that is presently compiling evidence against you to seize your property. Now she may only mail out the letter demanding all your personal financial information but she is still part of it.
Thus most that work for government, be it cashiers, clerks, etc. feel they're innocent and are just doing their job. They are part of the whole machine and therefore just as guilty.
Well let's look at the components.
People kill people and anything can be a weapon.
US Government Components:
- Lawyers, Bankers, Politicians, Appointees, Careerists
- Lobbyist, PACs, Foundations, Consultants
- Central Bank & Wall Street Banks
- US DOD, MIC-Security-Prision Industry
- Systems, Procedures, Rules, Regulations
- Laws
- Constitutions & Overlaying Structural Documentation
- Enforcers (Careerists who get Funds, Staffing, Equipment, Offices, Facilities, Training)
- Implementers (Careerists who get Funds, Staffing, Equipment, Offices, Facilities, Training)
- Voters (Only actually participate in State or local levels)
I'm thinking SYSTEMS can be Evil.
And I'm thinking Money & Greed & Debt lead to a human condition of giving up Principals & Values for a Career, for a Raise, for a Promotion, for an Opportunity, to Join a Network, Association, Corporation, or a Group.
Perhaps it is partly Group Think. Herd Mentality.
What good is the USA or a belief that we are free and live in a great country if we have no Values???
Is life worth living if we have no Values??
How can Values be MERGED with Corporatism?? Not just living for more money and being willing to do anything for self promotion. Can corporations Stop the Next War?? No. There is no Leadership anywhere in Private Industry for Stopping War. But the problem is not just war. That is just the example that proves the problem exists.
The System seems to be Corporatism or Fascism.
Dumbest job choice over the next few years is being a cop. If you are, it'd be smart to have a plan of how to say, "no caption, I will not fire on those unarmed protestors." And have a way to protect your family when in the protest line.
Carry a wad of these when you travel.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/NEW-Paper-Play-Money-1000-100-Bills-Per-Package/...
We brought home a bunch of war veterans used to shooting up unarmed civilians and put a badge on them.
People don't seem to care when we slaughter innocents overseas, but when it comes home to Amerika, people freak out.
We are now an oligarchical, police state. Get use to it. There is nothing you can do about it.
The U.S. is the most corrupt country in the world.
We brought home a bunch of war veterans used to shooting up unarmed civilians and put a badge on them.
Really - could you please support that with some facts - Not antidotes
nah we needs mo' antidotes...like mo' d'peepses wut get dey $hit confaskatud ansah back wid d'shotgun round...d'rannum angalah valosity o' d'indahvidgal pajectiles whut be spinnin' make d'round go in ovah d'body ahmah when da blast be durectud at d'neck, d'groin, d'ahmpits...
Well what happened to the Bonus Army?
Turning cops into robbers.
Classic passage from Joseph Heller's Catch 22
’ Police! Help! Police!’ The doors were shut and bolted, and the ambulance raced away. There was a humorless irony in the ludicrous panic of the man screaming for help to the police while policemen were all around him. Yossarian smiled wryly at the futile and ridiculous cry for aid, then saw with a start that the words were ambiguous, realized with alarm t hat they were not , per haps, intended as a call for police but as a heroic warning from the grave by a doomed friend to everyone who was not a policeman with a club and a gun and a mob of other policemen with clubs and guns to back him up.
It fits well with reality today and with Catch 22. I don't remember it at all. Thanks.
Tyler, please clear something up for me.
When you attack "the police" without any qualifications in the title of your articles, are you attacking
1) the increasingly federalized and growing body of national government agencies that are getting involved in policing,
or
2) local police that are hired, funded and controlled by local communities?
The reason I ask, is that I think that the two groups are vastly different - because they are accountable to different people.
I am all for attacking the federal policing group when they get out of line, because I think they were formed to control us not to protect us. However, the last thing that we need to do is unjustly attack local police that serve and report to elected officials in local communities. These latter guys are the ones that will be on our team as we try to fight increasing national tyranny.
By lumping the two groups together (which you are inclined to do in some of your articles) you perpetuate a falsehood. You lump the officer that is simply trying to enforce the law together with someone who is hell bent on attacking our civil liberties. This encourages the type of behavior that we have seen lately by people who break the law in the name of "fighting the man", when in fact they are just using this as an excuse to do what they want to do anyway - break the law.
Robbing a liquor store is not "fighting the man".
Local law enforcement is not the enemy.
You know where I stand on this issue. Where do you stand?
They're going to be on your/our team? LMFAO. Thanks for best laugh of the day sofar!
The only team they're on is their own fucking team. Its the huge pension and free medical for life that interests them. Not your or my desires. They would kick you in the teeth in two seconds for looking at them funny.
You know, I never have had much time for people who spend all their time LMFAO-ing about what exists, without ever providing any constructive solutions.
How do you propose that local laws be enforced? I'm sure not going to trust you to do it.
Robbed any good liquor stores lately?
"How do you propose that local laws be enforced? "
Colt.
Government has destroyed the 'rule of law' and it's credibility by creating unlawful and blatantly outright lawless law. Then the police now under the American Gestapo use these 'laws' to enrich themselves. Confiscating private property without warrant or adjudication of any sort comes to mind.... Massive roadblocks to catch DUI drivers, assaulting and killing those they are laughingly hired to protect, and the worst of worst example,,, the TSA and their sexual assauts and robbery of men, women and horribly... children.
Back in the day when most law was lawful Peace Officers would go out of their way to settle disputes 'peacefully' Today they arrest 6 year old's for throwing a tantrum because "IT'S THE LAW".
In Vietnam I used to get this ill feeling sensing my life was in danger when their militia was nearby...
Today I get that same feeling when I see "L A W E N F O R C E M E N T"
I'm all for citizens right to bear arms, but what has that got to do with breaking the law?
If you are going to propose a "New World Order" without any agreed protocols as to how laws are to be enforced, and by whom, what makes you think your society will be any better than this one? You would fit right in at Ferguson - they don't like law and order either. There are a lot of "homies" down there who have Colts that think they are entitled to single handedly define right, wrong and just punishment without any due process too.
Sounds like you don't have any problem with tyranny, as long as YOU are the tyrant.
You think you are the first guy on the planet who thought he could shoot his way back to civilization without thinking?
If I am going to fight a war, which I am pleased to do for the right cause, its going to be with a plan to come out the other side with something better, not worse, than what we have now. And by the way, that will include the right to bear arms.
Grow up.
Hey fuckhead, I don't have any time for boot licking pricks like you. I am not a thief as you and yours sure are. You've been robbing the public till for way too fucking long. How does that glossy black shoe polish taste?
mebbe not be local law, but dey be enforcin' dat asset seezure law...and dat be da point...dat yo' missin bruthah...
You obviously have not read my other posts.
Sorry Charlie.... They,ve all been federalized to some degree. They are under the American Gestapo DHS. As far as being on 'our' side if the SHTF,,, more likely they'll wait to find out who seems to be winning.
Thanks for your comments.
I agree that any federalization of local law enforcement is bad. My problem is that as our society increasingly descends into chaos I would prefer not to throw the baby out with the wash water.
I know police that don't like this federalization any more than we do, but they still are trying to do their job as best they can.
We are going to need good local law enforcement that is accountable to the people to get through this thing, and I don't like to see good cops tarred with the same brush as the feds.
Even the wild west had good sheriffs, and I would be the first to admit that we don't have enough of them.
The swat team comprised of local MEGSI (metropolitan enforcement group of southern Illinois) ran up on me a while back. I was helping my son move some stuff out of the basement onto the porch/deck. Long story short was they believed those boxes contained weed, tore my house up and busted into my safe and left. Local police can suck my old wrinkled dick.
thin blue line, officer invlovled shooting = newspeak
ISIS (Islamic State Is Socialist) .... prefers "battle police" .... they don't even fuck around !
All socialist societies .... (which means every society today, ranging from 50% socialist US up to 100% socialist Norkia) .... are built around .... state sponsored theft .... they protect their turf .... from the common street criminals .... and socialists will even shoot down a civilian airliner .... to protect their turf !
Hang'in to the right, right?
You're right .... the US is more like 70% socialist, now .... thanks !
Fun loving US soldiers .... build naked pyramids at Abu Ghrab .... ISIS burns Iraqis in metal cages ?
Fuck Muslims.
Fuck PIGS. They'd look great in a roaster
You mean CIsAis - (CIA /ISIS)
The legal definition of rape is, "unwanted sexual contact." Therefore, it is impossible to fly in the U.S. without being raped (or irradiated with your naked pics saved forever). It's also impossible to take a train, a bus, attend a sports event, etc. without the treat of rape.
Flying in Europe is a dream compared to flying in the U.S. You guys probably can't imagine how low-key European police are compared to the roided out psychos in the U.S. swarming everywhere.
You can't even get into an outdoor concert in the U.S. without a pat down these days. I'm not even kidding. And that was 5 years ago.
Zombie Attack Van assaults Dallas Police Station, stops for groupon "black pepper burger" at Jack in the Box.
This is how the crackdown starts.
It's what happens when the criminal banksters are running the show. Crime and immoral activities pay.
The worst part is how cops are allegedly martyrs when they get themselves killed when they tangle with the wrong person.
Up here in Canada a Edmonton cop got shot dead by a homeowner trying to protect himself from the gang of eight Edmonton cops who tried to break into his house.
Norman Raddatz had been financially ruined by his divorce, he had fallen behind on his mortgage, and the Royal Bank of Canada wanted Raddatz out of the house so they could sell it before the Canadian housing market completely collapsed.
Some cock-and-bull story about his threatening a Jewish family (Edmonton has no Jews, but plenty of Muslims) was invented, sufficient excuse to arrest Raddatz and physically drag him out of his house, and use a battering ram on the door when he refused to open up.
Realizing all was lost, Raddatz set the house ablaze and holed up in the basement, where he used his last bullet on himself---but not before putting down one of the "officers."
Canada's finest wept for the officer (police station flags at half mast even in my city hundreds of miles away). Meanwhile, Raddatz's name was dragged through the mud by the media. Nobody who spoke well of Norman was asked for comment. None, though, could explain why he deserved to die. For not mowing his lawn?
Edminton has no jews? Thats fucking hilarious...
It starts at the top....when the prez, congress, senate, and ceo's of banks and other corporations set an example of not playing by the rules, the rest of the herd follows their lead....true trickle down morality.
Very well put rosie!
A cop without a body camera turned on should lose his/her job.
Cops and mercenaries munching on steroids like candy.
Not good.
Bull.
Mr. Bonner, if you ever need help, don't call the cops.
Call a crack dealer.
I hope you realise the bad cops are a minority.
For fairness we also need an article showing the Police perspective, and yes, they do have one.
What's it like answering a call in a neigborhood where kids are taught to hate police?
Whats it like to arrest a killer?
Yes, police abuse MUST stop if we are to survive as a society, but there are always two sides to every story.
nah, I don' relize nuttin' like dat bruthah...in a pen full o' d'pigs...dey all pigs...
Cops the biggest crooks? In a country with oligarchs, banksters, attorneys, meth dealers, Congressmen, and racist black leaders?
Most cops are agents of bad(nazi) governments.
Any story I hear about civil asset forfiture misses what we all need the most: the names and home addresses of the cops involved.
If we have to suffer by having our Liberty trampled by these thugs then I think they should have to live with knowing that their victims may be seeking payback someday.
Want to be a cop? Get in line and on the list. Want to serve your country? No waiting at the recruting station. Thinnk about it.