In the meantime, while I'm focused away from the blog today, here are several unrelated items which deserve Grits readers attention.
- Rolling Stone has a feature story on a corrupt drug task force in South Texas that routinely stole drugs and money while on the job.
- State Rep. David Simpson from Longview offered strongly supportive comments about medical marijuana at a local constituent forum.
- Sen. John Cornyn tried and failed last fall to remove penalties for non-compliance with the federal Prison Rape Elimination Act (PREA), with which readers will recall Rick Perry said Texas won't comply. For the record, the original PREA passed unanimously and Cornyn voted for the penalties he now wants removed.
- The State Commission on Judicial Conduct has launched an investigation into Judge Michael Seiler in Montgomery County who hears all the sex-offender civil commitment cases statewide. He's now been recused eleven times by four different judges for public demagoguery about defendants who appear before his court. The Legislature must pull the plug on this arrangement in 2015.
- Mark Bennett explained why a proposed Texas bill (HB 101) outlawing revenge porn is unconstitutional.
- Shocking, I tell you: Surveillance drones on the border are tactically useless and cost five times as much to operate as originally suggested. MORE: From the Star-Telegram editorial board.
- The Obama Administration says the FBI does not need a warrant to use fake cell-phone towers (popularly known by the trade name "Stingrays") for surveillance in public places where, presumably, they think phone users have no reasonable expectation of privacy. As far as they're concerned, if the door to the phone booth is open they get to listen in.
- Graffiti: Beyond good and evil.
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5 comments:
Shocking! An editorial board of a newspaper wants the border open. I am shocked!
I once walked out of my front door and found Harris County officers working on a street light adjacent to my house. I found that strange but thanks to your article now I know they were installing a camera on the pole--shameless bastards!!
4:29, did you read their editorial? Criticizing worthless spending on drones that even the border-security demagogues admit have little practical benefit is hardly wanting "the border open."
@10:52, if that's sarcasm it's hard to tell about what; if not, I don't know what in this post you're referencing.
Grits Anon @ 10;52 is referring to one of your articles titled "The Obama Adm says FBI doesnt need warrant" which then brings up an article with the link "...tossing evidence gathered by the webcam".
Just when you think you know everything about Big Brother's surveillance, something new pops up. This is why I am eagerly awaiting revelations that come out of the Sharyl Atkinson lawsuit.
Ah, gotcha, yes that would be strange, forgot that detail 3:02, thanks. Less personal but to me just as creepy would be living someplace like London where virtually every every public space is covered by CCTV.
This whole idea that one has zero expectation of privacy outside the home is a dated, judge-made doctrine that has been (or should be) permanently mooted by 21st century tech. Especially when it comes to sigintel, but really across the board, SCOTUS needs to re-think their entire privacy doctrine from Katz, Smith v. Maryland, etc., and beyond.
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