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[LordSlowpoke]

I was under the impression that recently, the middle east has been in a perpetual state of 'shit is going down'?

The shit never really was up in the first place.

[GlyphGryph]

For those who think small town police forces are better than big city ones...
http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2013/08/12/130812fa_fact_stillman?currentPage=all

"The county’s district attorney, a fifty-seven-year-old woman with feathered Charlie’s Angels hair named Lynda K. Russell, arrived an hour later. Russell, who moonlighted locally as a country singer, told Henderson and Boatright that they had two options. They could face felony charges for “money laundering” and “child endangerment,” in which case they would go to jail and their children would be handed over to foster care. Or they could sign over their cash to the city of Tenaha, and get back on the road. “No criminal charges shall be filed,” a waiver she drafted read, “and our children shall not be turned over to CPS,” or Child Protective Services."

"Later, she learned that cash-for-freedom deals had become a point of pride for Tenaha, and that versions of the tactic were used across the country. “Be safe and keep up the good work,” the city marshal wrote to Washington, following a raft of complaints from out-of-town drivers who claimed that they had been stopped in Tenaha and stripped of cash, valuables, and, in at least one case, an infant child, without clear evidence of contraband."

[Owlbread]

I was under the impression that recently, the middle east has been in a perpetual state of 'shit is going down'?

The shit never really was up in the first place.

It used to be, back in ancient times. You know, before colonial entities wrecked it the same way as Africa.

[SalmonGod]

I've been seeing stories like that a lot, actually...  I haven't actually read many of them, just because the headlines tend to give off a more alarmist conspiracy vibe.  Saw an article a little while ago about a pair of cops -- *actual on-duty police* -- who were basically pulling people over around Detroit and robbing them at gunpoint.  Didn't read too much into it.  But yeah... it's pretty grim stuff.

What are you supposed to do when your local law enforcement, as in the entire institution, behaves like a criminal enterprise?

[scriver]

I was under the impression that recently, the middle east has been in a perpetual state of 'shit is going down'?

The shit never really was up in the first place.

It used to be, back in ancient times. You know, before colonial entities wrecked it the same way as Africa.

Or, you know, the fifties.

[Owlbread]

I wouldn't consider the fifties to be in that, what with all the nonsense with Israel and such.

[Sheb]

Well, who though it was a good idea to let law enforcement grab anything they could link to drug anyway?

[GlyphGryph]

What are you supposed to do when your local law enforcement, as in the entire institution, behaves like a criminal enterprise?

You can do what California did in the 1990s and repeal the laws that allow it to happen (they had a major wave of abuse in the 80s, lots of public backlash). Although that has since been undone in large part and they are nearly back to where they were before. You have states like Mass with pretty strict laws - but then local police departments will argue their case on the federal level (not entirely sure how that works) because the federal laws are incredibly lax. California, for example, still has a limit of police departments only recovering at most 65% of the value from civil forfeiture. From 2002 to 2009, forfeitures in California under federal law outpaced those under state law by about two to one, because the feds let them keep 80%.

The simplest solution is just to not allow police offices to benefit from civil forfeiture. Cap their personal benefit at 0%, and boom : problem solved. But many police budgets are now based on the assumption that their will be a certain amount of it - essentially, they have become professional theft organizations operating under a quota of "we must steal a certain amount of goods by year end". It's pretty perverse.

[Nadaka]

I've been seeing stories like that a lot, actually...  I haven't actually read many of them, just because the headlines tend to give off a more alarmist conspiracy vibe.  Saw an article a little while ago about a pair of cops -- *actual on-duty police* -- who were basically pulling people over around Detroit and robbing them at gunpoint.  Didn't read too much into it.  But yeah... it's pretty grim stuff.

What are you supposed to do when your local law enforcement, as in the entire institution, behaves like a criminal enterprise?

What are you supposed to do? File a complaint with the FBI or federal district attorneys office... who wont believe you, and have sympathy for authoritarian exploitation. Then you get murdered by the local cops, and if you are lucky the FBI might pay enough attention to connect the two and give you a tiny fractional measure of post mortem justice.

[Mrhappyface]

Hmmm. Look like some interesting developments in Pennsylvania.
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2013/08/06/1229194/-The-Town-Of-Gilberton-PA-Has-Been-Taken-Over-By-Miltia

[LordSlowpoke]

Hmmm. Look like some interesting developments in Pennsylvania.
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2013/08/06/1229194/-The-Town-Of-Gilberton-PA-Has-Been-Taken-Over-By-Miltia

..can i please get a second source?

this sounds dangerously like red scare-era "this is what happens when we let the left right-wingers win" propaganda, especially with the media blackout surrounding it

the list of republishers does not help at all

[MetalSlimeHunt]

Hmmm. Look like some interesting developments in Pennsylvania.
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2013/08/06/1229194/-The-Town-Of-Gilberton-PA-Has-Been-Taken-Over-By-Miltia

..can i please get a second source?

this sounds dangerously like red scare-era "this is what happens when we let the left right-wingers win" propaganda, especially with the media blackout surrounding it

the list of republishers does not help at all

Well, you could always hear it from the man himself.

[palsch]

This is the longest 'neutral' article I can find on the subject. It doesn't actually cover the objectionable content in any real detail, but I think he still comes off pretty badly.

This one better covers the rally.

Raw story covered the original issue here and here.

First place I saw the story was on the always great Fred Clark's blog. That one should be read for context.

[Loud Whispers]

Hmmm. Look like some interesting developments in Pennsylvania.
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2013/08/06/1229194/-The-Town-Of-Gilberton-PA-Has-Been-Taken-Over-By-Miltia

I had to check if this was onion news. Both sides are calling each other terrorists. Really, I wonder why this hadn't happened sooner. What's going to happen now?

[Baffler]

I read all of those different articles, and if I didn't know better I'd say they were describing three different events. So he fired off automatic weapons and violently cursed and threatened politicians on YouTube while wearing his badge, and a crowd appeared to defend him when he was only suspended? And now a petition to have him fired is circulating and rapidly garnering signatures.

I was going to write a big long rant but... I have no words. What I'm really interested in is if the major networks will pick this up, and how they'll cover it if they do. Whatever happens, this is going to be a mess.