A quotation from Hannah Arendt

The [American] Founding Fathers never believed that tyranny could arise out of the executive office, because they did not see this office in any different light but as the execution of what the legislation has decreed in various forms. I leave it at that. We know today that the greatest danger of tyranny is, of course, the executive.

Hannah Arendt (1906–1975) German-American philosopher, political theorist
Interview (1973-10) with Roger Errera, Office de Radiodiffusion-Télévision Française (ORTF)

More about (and translations of) this quote: wist.info/arendt-hannah/76120/

#quote #quotes #quotation #qotd #hannaharendt #America #Constitution #executive #founders #legislature #president #tyranny #separationofpowers #checksandbalances

Treating the #FCC like his own personal enforcer, #Trump said on social media Sunday that #NBC’s #KristenWelker would be “reported to the FCC for rebuke or punishment” over a TV segment he didn’t like.

In a separate post, Trump complained in all caps about “fake polls” & said “something must be done about it,” adding, “FCC to the rescue!”

#law #democracy #US #Constitution #FirstAmendment #FreePress #FreeSpeech #authoritarianism #dictatorship #MafiaState
https://www.cnn.com/2026/08/30/politics/trump-kristen-welker-fcc-nbc

While it was only a matter of time, this is still a very bad development.

«An internet troll on the Pentagon’s payroll has made a database to track Americans based on their political affiliation. …

The release of the evidently government-funded DSA Explorer comes amid a broader effort to label left-wing activists and organizers as domestic terrorists.

In a lengthy disclaimer on the database website, Pounds warned that her data may not be 100 percent accurate. … “Do not rely on this material without independent verification.”»

Source: https://www.rsn.org/001/a-hegseth-employee-created-a-database-to-track-americans-based-on-their-political-affiliation.html

I'm just not sure a disclaimer and request to be careful is going to hold back people who are determined to make an inference that itself is bogus on its face and is likely in search of any flimsy justification.

#fascism #surveillance #SurveillanceSociety #USElections #USPolitics #DSA #DSAExplorer #privacy #democracy #Constitution #BillOfRights

Attorney General Mayes Announces Review of Automated License Plate Readers’ Impact on Privacy Rights, Voices Concerns on Misuse

"...PHOENIX — Attorney General Kris Mayes today announced she will conduct a review of the use of Flock cameras and other similar surveillance and automated license plate reader systems across Arizona....Attorney General Mayes’ announcement follows a wave of scrutiny in recent weeks: several law enforcement agencies have canceled their Flock contracts, others have reported misuse of the systems, and the public has raised growing concerns about the use of the technology and the impacts on privacy...."

https://www.azag.gov/press-release/attorney-general-mayes-announces-review-automated-license-plate-readers-impact

#flock #alpr #constitution #privacy #legal

Literally planning for #PoliceBrutality

#ICE is pitching a plan to help shield local #police officers who make #immigration arrests from possible financial consequences if they are accused of on-duty #misconduct.

#Trump #law #UseOfForce #ExcessiveForce #Sturmabteilung #StateSponsoredTerrorism #Constitution #DueProcess #CivilRights #HumanRights #RightToProtest #TheCrueltyIsThePoint #AbuseOfPower #fascism #tyranny #MafiaState #WhiteSupremacy
https://apnews.com/article/ice-liability-insurance-misconduct-civil-lawsuit-af330d49dcb9e40295c1fea4fc9ae6f6?utm_source=app&utm_medium=iOS_share&utm_campaign=more_org_joinmastodon_app_shareactionextension

The case would be one of the most significant dealing with #religion in #PublicSchools since an ideologically divided #SCOTUS ruled in 2022 that a former public high school football coach’s on-field prayers were protected under the #FirstAmendment’s right to #FreeSpeech.
In the current case, the [ultra-conservative] US Court of Appeals for the #5thCircuit in New Orleans upheld the #Texas #law on a 9-8 vote, overturning a lower-court ruling that found the measure #unconstitutional.

#Constitution

The justices are expected to decide in coming months whether to take up the case, which is being closely watched as conservatives…work to expand #religious “rights” [ #Christian #evangelism ] in public spaces & opponents battle them in court. In April, a conservative appeals court upheld the law in a narrowly divided opinion.

#SCOTUS #law #Constitution #EstablishmentClause #SeparationOfChurchAndState #TenCommandments #education #PublicSchools #schools #Texas

Be afraid. Be very afraid.

#SCOTUS asked to hear case on #Texas #law requiring #TenCommandments in #schools


The case could set up a landmark clash over the #SeparationOfChurchAndState.

With this #SupremeCourt, I truly fear the outcome.

#law #Constitution #EstablishmentClause #education #PublicSchools

#GiftArticle
https://wapo.st/4xaYNcK

#CivilLiberties groups Monday asked #SCOTUS to hear their challenge of a #Texas #law requiring that all #PublicSchools’ classrooms display the #TenCommandments, potentially setting up a landmark clash over the #SeparationOfChurchAndState.

#Constitution #EstablishmentClause #education #schools

#Trump’s attack on a #ThinkTank is an affront to the #FirstAmendment

#Republicans would be rightly irate if a Democratic president threatened to sue a conservative think tank & punish its corporate #donors over #research the White House didn’t like, but Trump’s attack this week on the Center for American Progress [ #CAP ] & its funders has been met with shrugs & silence.

#law #Constitution #ThoughtPolice #authoritarianism #autocracy #dictatorship #fascism #tyranny
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2026/08/14/trump-legal-threat-against-cap-risks-chilling-think-tank-research/?utm_medium=referral_home&utm_source=webview&no_nav=true&utm_campaign=pb_2607:variant;rct:0:0:2:20260701

A quotation from Thomas More

They have very few laws, because, with their social system, very few laws are required. Indeed, one of their great complaints against other countries is that, although they’ve already got books and books of laws and interpretations of laws, they never seem to have enough. For, according to the Utopians, it’s quite unjust for anyone to be bound by a legal code which is too long for an ordinary person to read right through, or too difficult for him to understand.
 
[Leges habent perquam paucas. sufficiunt enim sic institutis paucissimae. Quin hoc in primis apud alios improbant populos, quod legum interpretumque uolumina, non infinita sufficiunt. Ipsi uero censent iniquissimum; ullos homines his obligari legibus; quae aut numerosiores sint, quam ut perlegi queant; aut obscuriores quam ut a quouis possint intelligi.]

Thomas More (1478-1535) English lawyer, social philosopher, statesman, humanist, Christian martyr
Utopia, Book 2, ch. 7 “Of Their Slaves, and of Their Marriages” (1518 ed.) [tr. Turner (1965 ed.)]

More about (and translations of) this quote: wist.info/more-thomas/85391/

#quote #quotes #quotation #qotd #thomasmore #utopia #complexity #Constitution #judicialsystem #law #legalsystem #legalism #simplicity #understandability

In case there was any doubt, #Trump is fully condoning the #ExtraJudicialKillings by #ICE.

Federal Agents Were Told #FBI Will No Longer Investigate ICE “Confrontations”

Senior officials deny such a change is in the works, despite guidance shared with agents around the country in recent days.

#law #murder #Constitution #ExcessiveForce #UseOfForce #PoliceBrutality #CivilRights #HumanRights #AbuseOfPower #fascism #Tyranny #MafiaState #ICE #Sturmabteilung #WhiteSupremacy
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/07/19/us/politics/fbi-ice-agents-investigations-shootings.html?smid=nytcore-ios-share

We always knew this was coming.

https://mas.to/@fsinn/114096387983049657

#Trump #Elections #ElectionInterference #ElectionIntegrity #USA #Constitution #Fascism #Democracy

#Minnesota prosecutors announced Monday that they have obtained long withheld key evidence in their ongoing investigations into fatal #shootings of #ReneeGood & #AlexPretti during pitched protests against a federal #immigration enforcement crackdown in the state earlier this year & withheld evidence in the shooting of #JulioSosaCelis.

#Trump #law #Constitution #ICE #CBP #Sturmabteilung #murder #DueProcess #UseOfForce #CivilRights #AbuseOfPower #fascism #MafiaState
https://apnews.com/article/immigration-enforcement-minnesota-alex-pretti-renee-good-21835226891f2a8d91710519b457031d

#Rubio tries to enlist other nations in #Antifa fight, but some #allies recoil

The secretary of state plans to convene foreign ministers in Washington next week. The event has unsettled some US & European officials.

#law #Constitution #RightToProtest #FirstAmendment #NationalSecurity #scapegoating #FarRight #propaganda #trumpaganda #Trump
https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2026/07/09/rubio-tries-enlist-other-nations-antifa-fight-some-allies-recoil/

A quotation from Henry Commager

The Bill of Rights was not written into the Constitution in order to protect governments from “trouble,” but so that the people might have a legitimate method of causing trouble to governments they no longer trusted.

Henry Steele Commager (1902-1998) American historian, writer, activist
Letter (1971-06-17) to the Editor, New York Times

More about this quote: wist.info/commager-henry-steel…

#quote #quotes #quotation #qotd #henrycommager #commager #pentagonpapers #billofrights #civilliberties #civilrights #Constitution #dissent #firstamendment #freepress #freedomofthepress #government #petition #protest #thepeople

Today, in lieu of scheduled celebrations of a US that is held hostage by forces bent on dismantling democracy, I am re-posting an essay I wrote in September 2024, prior to the last election, about the considerable repair work that American democracy needs to protect itself from tyrants.

https://netsettlement.blogspot.com/2024/09/repairing-democracy.html

#politics #USPolitics #4th #july4th #FourthOfJuly #US250 #US250th #Democracy #Freedom #Constitution #SCOTUS #ElectoralCollege #Gerrymandering #voting #impeachment #CitizensUnited #Rights #Corporations #Marriage #Abortion #Pardons #DEI #Religion

A quotation from Truman

The Constitution and the Declaration of Independence can live only as long as they are enshrined in our hearts and minds. If they are not so enshrined, they would be no better than mummies in their glass cases, and they could in time become idols whose worship would be a grim mockery of the true faith. Only as these documents are reflected in the thoughts and acts of Americans can they remain symbols of a power that can move the world.

Harry S Truman (1884-1972) US President (1945-1953)
Speech (1952-12-15), National Archives

More about this quote: wist.info/truman-harry-s/63640…

#quote #quotes #quotation #qotd #truman #harrytruman #America #belief #Constitution #DeclarationofIndependence #idolatry #meaning #moralcode #patriotism #values

This is a privacy victory. It deserves to be celebrated. The Supreme Court ruled that geofence warrants violate the Fourth Amendment, 6–3.

https://www.scotusblog.com/2026/06/court-rules-that-law-enforcements-use-of-geofence-warrant-was-a-search

However, there’s a hidden detail that is worth flagging. And it’s not good.

This ruling arose from Chatrie v United States. Google gave generic cell phone records to the cops. No specificity means unconstitutional. Maybe.

The federal judge on the case agreed that it was unconstitutional. But she allowed evidence from the violation to be used anyway. Why? She cited that “even if there had been a violation of the Fourth Amendment, law enforcement officials had acted in good faith.”

In. Good. Faith.

This translates to “cops can violate the constitution if we believe their intentions are good.”

How many cops do you know who act in good faith?

#FourthAmendment #4thAmendment #Privacy #BigTech #SCOTUS #ChatrieVUnitedStates #Constitution #AbolishThePolice

#GiftArticle

The #Trump “Religious Liberty” [if you’re #Christian it’s liberty, if not… well you know] Commission takes aim at the #SeparationOfChurchAndState 

The report recommends the #DOJ issue guidance to promote “an originalist understanding” of how the #Constitution sees religion & government.

#law #US #Nazis #NewApostolicReformation
https://wapo.st/43YNcR4

#Texas #State Board of #Education votes to require millions of #students to study #Bible stories

The Texas State Board of Education has approved a proposal that will establish lists of required reading – including biblical stories & Bible verses — for its #K12 English & literature curriculum.

#law #US #Constitution #SeparationOfChurchAndState #indoctrination #NewApostolicReformation
https://www.cnn.com/2026/06/26/us/texas-schools-bible-curriculum-vote

#Trump admin plans to withhold homeland #security #funding to force #states into #election changes

The Trump admin is threatening to withhold tens of millions of dollars in federal homeland security funds from states unless they adopt a sweeping set of election changes, according to multiple sources & internal documents obtained by CNN.

#law #US #Constitution #VotingRights #TrumpCoup #midterms #BigLie #MafiaState #WhiteSupremacy
https://www.cnn.com/2026/06/22/politics/homeland-security-grants-election-changes?cid=ios_app

Maybe it means one must be high on spirits during the crime ...

... or the crimes were committed while high?

If Drumpf had a son he would look like Afroman ...

... because he got high.

Drumpf + Afroman = High Crimes and Misdemeanours.

IMPEACH AFROMAN

Mandatory Brawndo dosage is the contraceptive antidote.

#Drumpf #Afroman #Impeachment #Constitution #Brawndo #Humor #Jokes

Alt...

Tryptich of Afroman wearing an American flag striped suit.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=adCMNAVBGSQ

Age Verification is beyond Epstein 2.0.

"You are basically laying out your children on a silver platter in the name of protecting them."

"Once these OS-level age verification laws take hold, we're about 3 months from a real-time GPS-located database of verified children for creeps, politicians, and rich Ep-style people to use."

Arrested for Telling a Cop to Shut UP-James Freeman is Suing to Rename This Texas City

https://youtu.be/zyLnHzg4Xrg

#Corruption #Cops #Police #Thugs #Tyranny #Government #Law #Legal #Courts #Lawsuit #Constitution

The $94 Million Smart Meter Surveillance Scheme Exposed

https://youtu.be/onYWQJsWFpk

Sacramento residents discovered their utility company has been secretly feeding their private energy data to police without warrants, leading to a massive surveillance operation that generated $94 million in fines. This explosive investigation reveals how SMUD transformed smart meters into government spy devices, monitoring when you shower, sleep, or use appliances.

Innocent homeowners faced armed police raids for using electricity to power medical equipment or mine cryptocurrency. One resident was forced outside in his underwear at gunpoint, while another disabled veteran was threatened with arrest for refusing warrantless entry. The surveillance threshold dropped dramatically from 7,000 to just 2,800 kilowatt hours per month, making air conditioning use suspicious in Sacramento's brutal heat.

Internal documents expose how SMUD analysts actively mined customer data for police, checking over 10,000 homes in a single month. Despite California law explicitly prohibiting utilities from sharing precise meter data without warrants, SMUD violated these protections daily for a decade.

The Electronic Frontier Foundation's lawsuit could reshape smart meter privacy nationwide. With the October 2025 court decision approaching, every American with a smart meter needs to understand how their utility company might be spying on them right now.

#SMUD #SmartMeters #EFF #Privacy #Utilities #Electricity #surveillance #SurveillanceCapitalism #Spying #4thAmendment #WarrantlessSearch #Constitution #CivilRights #Courts #Lawsuit #SCOTUS #Cops #Police #Extortion #Fraud

@privacy@a.gup.pe @infosec@a.gup.pe @infostorm@a.gup.pe