An underreported story today comes amid the resignation of Stacia Hylton, the head of the U.S. Marshals Service.  The timing of the resignation could not be more transparently tied to a growing investigation into domestic surveillance programs operated without oversight, and potentially unconstitutional.

For the past several years stories have been quietly surfacing about the USMS using stealth cell phone captures via drone and fixed unit operations known as “Stingray Devices”.

Stingray technology secretly captures cell phone communication, data, voice and text from users without their knowledge.

In addition the USMS has recently been outlined using Automatic License Plate Reading (ALPR) technology to track movements of people driving. Both programs track every American and are not related specifically to investigative foundations.  (more…)

“Danger, Will Robinson, danger!” is a catchphrase from the 1960s’ American television series Lost in Space.  The Robot,  acting as a surrogate guardian, says this to young Will Robinson when the boy is unaware of an impending threat… Consider the information below a similar warning of potential consequence.

The decision by South Carolina’s Ninth Judicial Circuit Solicitor, Scarlett Wilson,  yesterday to charge Officer Michael Slager with murder in the shooting death of Walter Scott is the impetus for the alert.

Wilson presented only one charge, only one option, to the South Carolina grand jury; a charge of murder:

Within the indictment you can see the broad framework of the three elements needed to convict a person of Murder.  They are:  ¹) The unlawful killing of another human being, ²) with malice aforethought (ie. depraved heart); and ³) specific intent to kill. (more…)

HatTip WeaselZippers who shares: President Obama was speaking with Italian PM Mario Renzi and Christine Lagarde, President of the International Monetary Fund. The Iraqi President Haider al-Abadi approached, clearly hoping to talk with Obama, sitting down right next to him. Obama continued his discussion with the others not acknowledging Abadi.
Obama and the others then stood up, and Abdadi stood as well, hoping to catch Obama’s attention, but Obama simply turned and walked away. Abdi and his translator then walk off, looking annoyed.

Disparate Impact is the social justice legalese term when an innocuous process or qualification standard disqualifies minority applicants at a higher rate than non-minorities.
‘Legal work status’ for employment eligibility is another insane example of applying “disparate impact” rules. Because, as the theory applies, Hispanics are disqualified from employment at a greater rate than non-Hispanics -when employment eligibility is reviewed- it is therefore unlawful to use a standard of a social security number check (for eligible employment authenticity) when considering job applicants. 
In essence, this is why progressives don’t like “card-check” systems; and, in a more broad sense this is why President Obama tried to institute employment eligibility in his Executive action last fall. 
Any qualification standard that adversely impacts minorities more than non-minorities is considered racist; the same applies to testing candidates. 
(Via Daily Caller) A federal judge in New York has struck down a test used by New York City to vet potential teachers, finding the test of knowledge illegally discriminated against racial minorities due to their lower scores.
At first glance, the city’s second Liberal Arts and Science Test (LAST-2) seems fairly innocuous. Unlike the unfair literacy tests of Jim Crow, LAST-2 was given to every teaching candidate in New York, and it was simply a test to make sure that teachers had a basic high school-level understanding of both the liberal arts and the sciences. (more…)

If Black Lives really Matter, one would think the protesting crowd is doing it wrong.  Does anyone think there might be a connection between Baltimore and Saint Louis…. Hmm

Saint Louis – If the current homicide rate continues, St. Louis will have most homicides in 30 years.   Since January, there have been 70 homicides in the St. Louis area. If the trend continues, there will be a total of 168 homicides by December, the most since 1985.  (Crime Stat pdf)
Baltimore – […]  The 42 homicides in May marked the deadliest month in the city since August 1990, which also had 42 killings. The city has seen a surge in violence since the death of Freddie Gray on April 19, and the charging of six officers involved in his arrest on May 1. (link)
(more…)

Most of us here can easily connect the dots, but you’d be surprised at how many around you cannot….  It is for them, the cattle cars seem to be an option.

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — With Californians tasked to cut back water during a four-year drought, the sound of water run-off has become a call to action.
California’s Placer County Water Agency has two new smart phone apps, launched last October.
One app is a shower timer, which converts time in shower to gallons of water used.  The second, sure to be more discussed, allows people to report water wasters.

“Customers can take pictures of water wasters, send it to us. It’ll include two GPS locations so we can follow up,” said Ross Branch of the Placer County Water Agency, whose district is the Sierra Nevada foothills that extends to Lake Tahoe.

(more…)

A cynically minded person might be inclined to think the White House is strategically trying to position the hearing a far distance from the release of the Gitmo 5 detainees so that juxtapositions cannot be drawn.  Nah, couldn’t be...
(Via Stars and Stripes) The Army says it has pushed back the date for a preliminary hearing for Bowe Bergdahl, the sergeant who left his post in Afghanistan and was held by the Taliban for five years.
Bergdahl is charged with desertion and misbehavior before the enemy.
His hearing had been scheduled for July 8.
But the Army says that at the request of Bergdahl’s lawyers, the hearing was put off until Sept. 17 at Joint Base San Antonio-Fort Sam Houston in Texas. (more…)

Over 4,000,000 (four million) federal employees identified in massive cyber hack, potentially by Chinese Government, affecting every agency within the entire Federal Government workforce.  All of them; Every one.

(Via NBC) The Associated Press has learned that the Obama administration is scrambling to assess the impact of a massive data breach involving the agency that handles security clearances and employee records.
Federal officials suspect that Chinese hackers are behind the data breach, Dow Jones reported, citing sources.
“The FBI is working with our interagency partners to investigate this matter. We take all potential threats to public and private sector systems seriously, and will continue to investigate and hold accountable those who pose a threat in cyberspace,” an FBI spokesman told CNBC. (more…)

An intellectually honest person cannot read the details behind this investigation and not see the potential for parallels to the Mississippi Jessica Lane Chambers murder, and Yemeni gas station owner/operator Ali Alsanai; aka Basem Alsanai, aka Ali Fadhel.
The First Stop gas station and convenience store, where Jessica Chambers was last seen alive on video, is owned/operated by a seemingly sketchy family originating from Yemen.
ALABAMA –  A couple of steaks shoplifted at a Gardendale Walmart three months ago led to the biggest food stamp fraud investigation in Jefferson County’s history, and launched 11 simultaneous raids this morning at convenience stores countywide.
Led by the Jefferson County District Attorney’s Office, teams of law enforcement officers met at 5 a.m. for a briefing and then fanned out across the county beginning at 6:50 a.m. The officers and agents were armed with 242 arrest warrants and plans to arrest 17 suspects.
All 17 suspects were in custody by mid-morning, and investigators already today have filed for forfeiture and condemnation of those 11 stores, which totals more than $1 million in assets. (more…)

Last month we brought you the story of Oakland California and the school district decision to eliminate suspensions because too many black students were being suspended for poor behaviors. Now another California school district reports alarming High School crisis in exhaustive detail.

BTA teachers say they are discouraged by the principal from suspending students. But they also note that her approach reflects a statewide trend to find other types of resolution for problematic behavior, including by managing it more often in the classroom.

BERKELEY – Teachers at Berkeley’s alternative high school have raised concerns about the state of affairs on campus, citing “extreme behavior” among students, chronically low attendance, a lack of academic rigor, and a generally unsafe campus environment due to deficient security resources and limited district support.
Berkeley Unified School District officials and the school principal have repeatedly declined to speak in depth about safety at Berkeley Technology Academy, the district’s lone continuation high school. The campus serves the district’s highest-need students, many of whom are minorities who come from challenging home environments. Data reviewed by Berkeleyside paints a stark picture of increasing suspensions and dangerous activity at the school site in recent years, including a spike last year in suspensions related to assault or battery on school staff.  (read more)