US a police state with state-controlled media?

[Rex B]

"I find more evidence every day of two things. First off we are living in a country with state controlled media. The evidence is overwhelming. Secondly, despite the warnings that this country is moving toward it, there is mounting evidence that we already live in a “Police State.”

Disturbing article

http://dcclothesline.com/2013/04/06/if- ... s-example/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[StewNTexas]

Could maybe turned around. Could a faulty media system control the government? Either way, they are way to close to each other, neither one doing what their original jobs were. Get out of bed with each other and get to work.

[gthaustex]

If the raid mentioned actually happened, who was making the raid? Was it a team of FBI or other fed LEOs and the SBA was there to observe and direct? Or was it by deputized SBA agents? What bothers me is the increasing number of federal agencies that have employees authorized to carry firearms and really have no reason to do so IMHO.

[Jumping Frog]

What bothers me is the increasing number of federal agencies that have employees authorized to carry firearms and really have no reason to do so IMHO.

As of 2008, these all have right to carry firearms plus arrest powers:

U.S. Customs and Border Protection (36,863 officers)
Federal Bureau of Prisons (16,835)
Federal Bureau of Investigation (12,760)
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (12,446)
U.S. Secret Service (5,213)
Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts (4,696)
Drug Enforcement Administration (4,308)
U.S. Marshals Service (3,313)
Veterans Health Administration (3,128)
Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation (2,636)
Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (2,541)
U.S. Postal Inspection Service (2,288)
U.S. Capitol Police (1,637)
National Park Service - Rangers (1,404)
Bureau of Diplomatic Security (1,049)
Pentagon Force Protection Agency (725)
U.S. Forest Service (644)
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (598)
National Park Service - U.S. Park Police (547)
National Nuclear Security Administration (363)
U.S. Mint Police (316)
Amtrak Police (305)
Bureau of Indian Affairs (277)
Bureau of Land Management (255)
Bureau of Engraving and Printing (207)
Environmental Protection Agency (202)
Food and Drug Administration (183)
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (149)
Tennessee Valley Authority (145)
Federal Reserve Board (141)
U.S. Supreme Court (139)
Bureau of Industry and Security (103)
National Institutes of Health (94)
Library of Congress (85)*
Federal Emergency Management Agency (84)
National Aeronautics and Space Administration (62)
Government Printing Office (41)
National Institute of Standards & Technology (28)
Smithsonian National Zoological Park (26)
Bureau of Reclamation (21)

Plus there are 33 of the 69 federal Offices of Inspectors General (OIG), including the Department of Education's OIG, who employed a total of 3,501 officers.

There are roughly 120,000 federal LEO's of various sorts which is 40 per 100,000 people. In contrast, there is one Congressman per 700,000 people. There are 275 federal officers for every Congressman. Yeah, I have no fondness for jack-booted thug behavior.

[Pawpaw]

And no one believes they want to take away our guns.

Just because you're paranoid does not mean they AREN'T out to get you.

[Rex B]

The most optimistic thing I've seen lately is the Koch brothers trying to buy the former Hearst newspapers - all of them liberal rags

[surprise_i'm_armed]

And no one believes they want to take away our guns.

Just because you're paranoid does not mean they AREN'T out to get you.

"Paranoia is simply heightened awareness."
Unknown.

SIA

[MeMelYup]

Depends on the subject when you talk about paranoid or optimistic.

[anygunanywhere]

Are all telephone calls recorded and accessible to the US government?

A former FBI counterterrorism agent claims on CNN that this is the case

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree ... fbi-boston

Anygunanywhere

[Jumping Frog]

Yes, all calls and emails are captured into government databases.

They may not listen into your calls right now, but if you ever become the subject of a terrorism investigation that can go back and retrieve everything you've written and said for years.

[VMI77]

If the raid mentioned actually happened, who was making the raid? Was it a team of FBI or other fed LEOs and the SBA was there to observe and direct? Or was it by deputized SBA agents? What bothers me is the increasing number of federal agencies that have employees authorized to carry firearms and really have no reason to do so IMHO.

It happened as have other similar raids. They've had SWAT raids on food coops that sell raw milk. Boston sealed the deal on whether or not this country has become a police state. But I digress: It has been some time since I watched the video, but if I remember correctly it was an IRS raid.

[VMI77]

Yes, all calls and emails are captured into government databases.

They may not listen into your calls right now, but if you ever become the subject of a terrorism investigation that can go back and retrieve everything you've written and said for years.

I'd say, ANY investigation, with the caveat that most state and local investigations at this point lack the necessary political capital to expend these Fed resources as part of the investigation. I'd also bet that every member of Congress is being monitored, and any politician of significant power or potential. Otherwise, I doubt they have the resources for real-time monitoring beyond a select list of targeted individuals.

[Daisy Cutter]

Looks to me like Mrs. Tamerlan has very good counsel. Her father and grandfather were both Exeter and Yale. Bureau is gambling by using her conversations with T, since counsel, if confronted with recordings, might just go to the media and make it a hot TV issue ("they are recording all you phone calls"). My guess Bureau is not going to take that chance.

Legal theory behind justifying recording everything w/o warrants is that nobody is listening or reading or scanning the material. However once the subject becomes a person of interest, they go to a judge and get the warrant and look over the stored data. Not an expensive method for total control, if storage and processing costs are reasonable. They have billions. DHS is now going on counterfeit luggage raids. Talk about mission creep.

Does anyone in Congress have the cojones to stop this? Probably not.

Sad that you have to read a British paper to find analysis of this stuff.

[VMI77]

Looks to me like Mrs. Tamerlan has very good counsel. Her father and grandfather were both Exeter and Yale. Bureau is gambling by using her conversations with T, since counsel, if confronted with recordings, might just go to the media and make it a hot TV issue ("they are recording all you phone calls"). My guess Bureau is not going to take that chance.

Legal theory behind justifying recording everything w/o warrants is that nobody is listening or reading or scanning the material. However once the subject becomes a person of interest, they go to a judge and get the warrant and look over the stored data. Not an expensive method for total control, if storage and processing costs are reasonable. They have billions. DHS is now going on counterfeit luggage raids. Talk about mission creep.

Does anyone in Congress have the cojones to stop this? Probably not.

Sad that you have to read a British paper to find analysis of this stuff.

And part of the reason may well be that all their phones calls are recorded --and I doubt the surveillance of Congress stops there.