Free Republic

~ snip ~ Despite the move, however, Kirby insisted the Defense Department was not "militarizing" police departments and that the program as a whole was "useful" and "served a purpose." "Let’s be careful not to throw the baby out with the bathwater here," Kirby said.

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security has issued a bulletin drawing attention to the hactivist group Anonymous’ plans for nationwide protests against the police shooting death of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Mo. The group has called for a “National Day of Rage” on Thursday to span 38 major U.S. cities. The Threat Management Division of the Federal Protective Service issued the bulletin. “Currently there is no indication that protests are expected to become violent. However, recent protests in Ferguson have resulted in violence, property damage and subsequent arrests,” the bulletin reads.

A Temple University student was assaulted at a student activities fair apparently during a heated exchange over the conflict between Israel and Palestine. University officials say the disagreement also reportedly included an exchange of anti-Semitic remarks. […] Temple Students for Justice in Palestine said the assault took place at their table after a student made disparaging remarks and refused to leave. In a statement, the group said the assaulted student approached the table and allegedly called the members terrorists and reportedly made other racist and anti-Semitic remarks. The man was apparently asked to walk away several times, but refused. A...

Perhaps it’s time to finally concede that Al Sharpton, Jesse Jackson, and their fellow civil-rights crusaders have apparently been correct all along: There is indeed a whole lot of racism in America that just won’t go away. It may be time to admit that Sharpton is justified in so passionately condemning the recent police “execution” of Michael Brown in Missouri—calling it a “defining moment” for our country, a moment where the nation itself, with all its weighty, racist baggage, “is on trial.” The numbers, after all, don’t lie. During the most recent five-year period for which single-offender, interracial crime statistics...

A U.S. District judge ruled on Wednesday that the Department of Justice must turn over a privilege log of documents withheld by the agency on Operation Fast and Furious. Judge Amy Berman Jackson ruled that the Justice Department must provide the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee with a list of documents — but not the documents themselves — withheld on the gunrunning operation.

THE KELLY FILE': GENERAL JACK KEANE SAYS THERE WAS NO REASON TO RELEASE INFORMATION ON THE FAILED FOLEY RESCUE MISSION: I think it’s a matter of principle Megan, we really shouldn’t talk about these operations and certainly an operation like this, there’s no reason to disclose it, at a deference to Mr. Foley’s family I probably would have told that family what we attempted to do at least and give them some comfort that somebody did try to rescue him. But even going back to the Bin Laden raid, which was obviously successful, the amount of information that was released...

In the days since two reporters were arrested at a Ferguson McDonald’s during fiery protests ignited after a police officer fatally shot an unarmed black 18-year-old, stunned Americans watching news coverage of officers with combat gear, rifles and tear gas have found themselves asking of police demands and restrictions: Can the cops really do that?

Attorney General Holder visits Ferguson as grand jury probes Michael Brown shooting; demonstrators detained in NYC WARNING GRAPHIC LANGUAGE IN VIDEO: U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder spoke with students near the strife-filled Missouri town, and also talked with police boss state Highway Patrol Capt. Ron Johnson — even as one law officer brought in from out of town was videotaped threatening protesters. In New York, demonstrators took to the streets early Thursday. BY Meg Wagner , Corky Siemaszko NEW YORK DAILY NEWS Updated: Thursday, August 21, 2014, 3:50 AM Declaring “change is coming,” the nation’s top law enforcement officer arrived...

"if you watch terrorism, you're also a terrorist'.

BROWNSVILLE, Texas – Last week, U.S. District Judge Andrew S. Hanen ordered a hearing at 1:30 p.m. on Aug. 27 to address all pending motions in a complaint brought by California Attorney Orly Taitz (r) against President Barack Obama, Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Jeh Johnson; Director of Health and Human Services Sylvia Burwell and the U.S. Border Patrol Rio Grande Valley Station. In July, Taitz filed an emergency application for a stay of the transportation of illegal aliens from the Southern District of Texas to California and other areas throughout the country due to a serious...

As a freshman at Columbia University in 1970, future Attorney General Eric Holder participated in a five-day occupation of an abandoned Naval Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC) headquarters with a group of black students later described by the university’s Black Students’ Organization as “armed,” The Daily Caller has learned. Department of Justice spokeswoman Tracy Schmaler has not responded to questions from The Daily Caller about whether Holder himself was armed — and if so, with what sort of weapon

An officer who was working at the Ferguson protests was caught on camera pointing a semi-automatic weapon at a peaceful demonstrator and saying "I will f****ng kill you." Yesterday, it was announced the police officer was suspended indefinitely. The incident just before midnight on Tuesday punctuated the 11th straight night of racially charged demonstrations in the St. Louis suburb of Ferguson, Missouri, since Brown, an unarmed 18-year-old, was slain by a white police officer. No one was hurt in the gun-pointing confrontation, but the incident underscored what many have criticized as heavy-handed and unprofessional police tactics that have helped stoke...

It has been confirmed that Officer Wilson suffered an orbital blow out fracture to his eye socket. In case you’re wondering just what that means, here’s a brief overview. (Bolding is mine.)Per Intelihealth: Indirect orbital floor fracture ("blowout fracture"). This occurs when the bony rim of the eye remains intact, but the paper thin floor of the eye socket cracks or ruptures. This can cause a small hole in the floor of the eye socket that can trap parts of the eye muscles and surrounding structures. The injured eye may not move normally in its socket, which can cause double...

He was once a terrified 11-year-old filled with guilt and shame at being molested by his St. Paul parish priest. As an adult serving six years aboard Navy submarines, he felt safer next to a nuclear warhead in the middle of the Pacific Ocean than he had at church. Now, he said, he's not terrified anymore. And he wants the world to know his name. "My name is Jon Jaker," said the 54-year-old resident of Orange, Calif., who won a settlement Wednesday morning in his lawsuit against the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis. Jaker claimed he was sexually abused...

Suddenly, it’s 1964 again. Racial tension is in the air. Cries of “injustice” and “police brutality” occupy the headlines. However, the epicenter has moved from Mississippi and Harlem to Ferguson, Missouri, a small municipality that occupies a slice of northeastern St. Louis County. Unfortunately for the peace-loving citizens in that community, those fanning the flames that have led to the violence are stuck in 1964. Jesse Jackson, Al Sharpton and members of the New Black Panther Party have never moved on. They are in a time warp. In fact, their relevance depends on being able to make disadvantaged blacks believe...

The Constitution lives. Even as the news is brutal — it instructs for those willing to pay attention. American journalist James Foley has been beheaded by ISIS. And an American teenager named Michael Brown was shot dead by a Ferguson, Missouri police officer named Darren Wilson. In the case of Michael Brown, Ferguson, Missouri remains in an uproar. The town is awash in protesters, both from Ferguson and outsiders. There has been a steady diet of rioting and looting. The President of the United States is involved. The Attorney General of the United States is involved, going to Ferguson personally...

Police in St. Louis have released a graphic video showing officers shooting a knife-wielding man Tuesday after he reportedly ignored orders to drop the weapon. The video, taken from a cell phone of a witness, shows officers firing several shots at 25-year-old Kajieme Powell, killing him instantly. Police fired a dozen shots overall, according to NYMag.com. Snip KMOX AM/1120 in St. Louis said police released more details about the shooting on Wednesday. According to KMOX, Police Chief Sam Dotson said officers were called on Tuesday after Powell walked into a convenience store, took two energy drinks, exited the store without...

Vote tallies on whether Minnesota home care workers will create a large union should come next week after a federal judge ruled Wednesday that an ongoing union election can continue. In July, nine home care workers brought a challenge in federal court against Gov. Mark Dayton and other state officials, claiming that unionization efforts in the state are violating constitutional guarantees of free expression and association. Service Employees International Union (SEIU), which is trying to organize some 27,000 home care workers, also was named as a defendant in the case. Plaintiffs sought a preliminary injunction to block a union election...

In a decision that civil rights groups said would protect property owners' rights, the Minnesota Supreme Court ruled Wednesday that evidence obtained during illegal searches cannot be used to take someone's property through the civil forfeiture process. The ruling comes in the case of a man whose vehicle and money were seized by Plymouth police after they found drugs during a 2012 traffic stop. During the civil forfeiture process in state court, a judge said the stop was illegal. The Supreme Court ruled Wednesday that the man has standing to challenge the civil forfeiture and sent the case back to...

If you study the history of Islam. Our ship captains were getting murdered. The French had to tip us off. I mean these were the days of Thomas Jefferson. They've been doing the same thing. This isn't a surprise. You can't solve it with a dialogue. You can't solve it with a summit. You solve it with a bullet to the head. Its the only thing these people understand. And all we've heard from this president is a case to heap praise on this religion, as if to appease them.