Google something totally innocent, house gets raided by the cops

[lwknives]

Well, there are a lot of other laws, like airbags, seatbelts, infant seats and their use, etc. the list of laws that do prevent harm to life and limb is vast and the stats do support them. Again, I concede that some laws are a bit over-reaching and their efficacy harder to determine.

Good point about smoking. I think we are inadvertently throwing "education and awareness" in the mix, which is another great tool the government uses to prevent loss of life and limb. That's not to discount the fact that certain individuals do become ill from second-hand smoke.

I was only commenting on speed limits, aggressive driving, smoking and calorie laws not every law ever!

I agree that there are some good laws.

 

[aborgman]

Which Speed limits don't really do much and do more to generate ticket revenue than they do to save people, or that people drive at speeds they're comfortable driving at?

Nationwide, when the speed limits were raised on interstate highways from 55, the rate of accident fatalities didn't go up by some astronomical amount, in fact they continued a downward trend, the same trend that continues today. Improved car safety, improved road upkeep, more national awareness about the dangers of drunk driving and things like that keep roads safer, speed limits that no one follows play a much smaller role in that than many people think.

On the other hand, there are entire towns that AAA warns people to avoid because they're notorious speed traps. A few of them are here in Florida, in Starke, Haines City, and Waldo. These towns, and a lot of other ones, have arbitrary reductions in speed on roads that are perfectly safe to travel at the previous speeds mentioned that are hard to notice, and result in a huge amount of money for their town in the form of fines. And we're not talking about a 5 mph reduction so they can nab people who were already speeding, I'm talking about 20+mph reductions, from 55 to 30, and 65 to 40, with police stationed at these points essentially 24/7 with a radar gun to catch people moving through.

I've seen it happen with my own eyes, and have had friends nailed by it. Speed traps are so bad, and so notorious that there are entire websites dedicated to informing people about it.

Here in Michigan law requires that speed limits be set one of two ways:

1) A formula based on number of access points
2) Traffic study setting rate to 85th percentile speeds


The town I live in has REPEATEDLY lost challenges to tickets, because the speed limits weren't legally set... but they do everything they can to settle them.

Why? Because if it actually got adjudicated there would be precedent,and they would be required to actually fix the speed traps. Instead - anyone who fights it they let go, and anyone who doesn't pays a bogus ticket.

In tossing the two speeding tickets on Friday, 15th District Chief Judge Julie Creal said she is not convinced state lawmakers understood what could happen if a 2006 state traffic code were enforced. But, she said, cities must comply with state law, and the way Ann Arbor set speed limits - at least on two city roads - does not.

That case was in 2008. The city still hasn't changed speed limits on the roads in question.

 

[96tbird]

As someone who lived in Michigan, near the Michigan militia compound of Mr. Nichols, during their peak popularity....

They were all whacks.

8)

 

[hbarcat]

I can't say I agree. There's invasion of privacy, and then there's acting on a report placed by a concerned citizen. I place the blame on the media for spreading the fear mongering nonsense that created this paranoid culture we live in, rather than the law for fulfilling their obligation to the people.

Both the news media and the government are giving the people what they want. They're providing validation for their fear and paranoia. I blame the population in general because a significant majority of people demand the feeling of immediate security over some vague notion of "civil liberty".

 

[Indiana Mike]

Protect your home WiFi network folks.

-Mike

you could not be more correct in your warning !

A family here had their wi-fi used by a guy sending death threats to the police dept .

A flash grenade, broken glass and terror ,the swat team found out it was someone using the innocent families wifi to send the threats !

http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/...gs-raids-wrong-home-due-to-open-wifi-network/

There's a video in the link above .


I couldn't believe this happened in the city where I reside. The police dept defended their actions as absolutely necessary.

 

[David Jayne]

I didn't see any laws that were broken on either side here. That's why the police didn't take anyone away.

Except the 'police' weren't there. According to the police.

 

[guy n. cognito]

Except the 'police' weren't there. According to the police.

Did you happen to read the articles we're discussing?

 

[David Jayne]

Did you happen to read the articles we're discussing?

I sure did. Did you? No law enforcement agency will claim responsibility. Read it again.

 

[Febs]

I sure did. Did you? No law enforcement agency will claim responsibility. Read it again.

I'm not sure what you're reading, but the link in the OP to the Atlantic Wire reports that the Suffolk County Police Department issued a statement on August 1 confirming that it was their department that conducted the interview:

The Suffolk County Police Department released a statement this evening that answers the great mystery of the day.

Suffolk County Criminal Intelligence Detectives received a tip from a Bay Shore based computer company regarding suspicious computer searches conducted by a recently released employee. The former employee’s computer searches took place on this employee’s workplace computer. On that computer, the employee searched the terms “pressure cooker bombs” and “backpacks.”

After interviewing the company representatives, Suffolk County Police Detectives visited the subject’s home to ask about the suspicious internet searches. The incident was investigated by Suffolk County Police Department’s Criminal Intelligence Detectives and was determined to be non-criminal in nature.

 

[ProgRocker]

Any reputable news agencies carrying this story?

That likely depends on your definition of a reputable news agency. Personally, I think all of them are into controlling information and pumping out various levels of misinformation.

The alphabet networks basically function as the propaganda outlet for the government. I cross check any story of interest with at least three other sources. But, that's just me.

 

[guy n. cognito]

I sure did. Did you? No law enforcement agency will claim responsibility. Read it again.

Read the Atlantic wire article again, friend. The local PD has clearly and definitively taken responsibility for the action. It couldn't be any clearer.

 

[David Jayne]

I did. It says Nassau and Suffolk police are under the umbrella of the JTTF. The JTTF says none of it's people/officers/agents visited the location. Detective Garcia of the Nassau County Police Department told the Atlantic wire that "his department was not involved in any way." What am I missing?

 

[guy n. cognito]

I did. It says Nassau and Suffolk police are under the umbrella of the JTTF. The JTTF says none of it's people/officers/agents visited the location. Detective Garcia of the Nassau County Police Department told the Atlantic wire that "his department was not involved in any way." What am I missing?

Are you kidding? Read the wire article. The first shaded box contains an update to the story. It was the Suffolk County Police Department.

 

[guy n. cognito]

 

[David Jayne]

I saw that, but when you continue into the non shaded area below, you see the contradiction I'm referring to. It's not clear to me that the shaded box is the end of it, that's all.
If I'm wrong, fine. No need to get huffy.

 

[Febs]

I saw that, but when you continue into the non shaded area below, you see the contradiction I'm referring to. It's not clear to me that the shaded box is the end of it, that's all.
If I'm wrong, fine. No need to get huffy.

You are wrong. The text below the shaded area was the original article, which was based on a blog article by Catalano, who in turn was relating a hearsay account of what she had been told by her husband. As it turns out, Calano's original account was wrong (which she acknowledged in a subsequent blog article) and the original article in the Atlantic Wire was wrong, which is why they posted the update. The shaded area is the update to the original article, and is based on a statement by the Suffolk County Police that confirms that they conducted the interview.

If you take a few minutes to Google this, you will see that the correction was widely reported.

 

[Schilling]

I have reported your freedom-endangering terrorist views to your government. Better pack your things.


Oh, and send your bass stuff to me