Constitutional Concerns

Obama administration defends phone record collection

Published by Perfect Storm on June 6, 2013

(Photo: Wikipedia) – The Obama administration on Thursday acknowledged that it is collecting a massive amount of telephone records from at least one carrier, reopening the debate over privacy even as it defended the practice as necessary to protect Americans against attack. The admission comes after the Guardian newspaper published a secret court order related to the records of millions… Read more →

(Photo: Wikipedia) The Obama administration has been collecting the phone records of millions of U.S. customers of Verizon under a top secret court order, according to a British newspaper report which raised new and troubling privacy questions.

A senior law enforcement official pushed back on the report early Thursday morning, telling Fox News that the Justice Department has not yet received a referral from the intelligence community, meaning “the process has not started yet.”

But the administration has not denied the existence of the order. While the administration defended its authority to seize phone records — and stressed that it does not monitor calls — one civil liberties group called this the “broadest surveillance order to ever have been issued.”

“It requires no level of suspicion and applies to all Verizon subscribers anywhere in the U.S.,” the Center for Constitutional Rights said in a statement.

Fox News has the full article

Secretary of State John Kerry said Monday that the Obama administration would sign a controversial U.N. treaty on arms regulation, despite bipartisan resistance in Congress from members concerned it could lead to new gun control measures in the U.S.

Kerry, releasing a written statement as the U.N. treaty opened for signature Monday, said the U.S. “welcomes” the next phase for the treaty, which the U.N. General Assembly approved on April 2.

Fox News has the full article

IRS higher-ups requested info on conservative groups, letters show

Published by Perfect Storm on May 29, 2013

(Photo: Wikipedia) Additional scrutiny of conservative organizations’ activities by the IRS did not solely originate in the agency’s Cincinnati office, with requests for information coming from other offices and often bearing the signatures of higher-ups at the agency, according to attorneys representing some of the targeted groups. At least one letter requesting information about one of the groups bears the… Read more →

Some witnesses say armed agents from the Department of Homeland Security were present at nationwide Tea Party protests of the IRS.

Among items transfered to local law enforcement agencies have been assault rifles and grenade launchers, even Blackhawk helicopters and .50 caliber machine guns ; In fiscal year 2011 alone, the Pentagon transferred almost $500 million worth of materials to domestic law enforcement — near double the previous year’s total

Holder Approved Warrant for Fox News Reporter’s Emails

Published by Perfect Storm on May 24, 2013

A law enforcement official has told NBC News that Attorney General Eric Holder is the one who signed the search warrant for the private emails of Fox News reporter James Rosen. The warrant was signed under the guise that Rosen might be a “possible co-consiprator” in violation of the Espionage Act. The law enforcement official said Holder’s approval of the Rosen search,… Read more →

(Photo: Breitbart)

On Tuesday, an estimated 175 Tea Party activists protested outside the IRS office in the suburban Chicago community of Downers Grove. Here’s a reportfrom someone who attended the event:

What surprised many was a Homeland Security vehicle came past the protest twice. As you can see from the picture, the vehicle had tinted windows so we are unsure if there were any cameras inside. Were pictures taken of the attendees? Will any of the attendees now be further targeted by the IRS or Homeland Security?

Downers Grove, Illinois was not the only Tea Party protest at IRS offices that experienced scrutiny from federal authorities on Tuesday.

At the IRS offices in St. Louis, the Department of Homeland Security stationed a fleet of vehicles and several armed guards to keep a watchful eye over the St. Louis Tea Party protest.

In Los Angeles, one eyewitness (as reported by Gateway Pundit) described Department of Homeland Security efforts to intimidate Tea Party protesters, which apparently included observation by overhead helicopters:

Many of our 300 tea party folks were approached immediately by Homeland Security and told they could not be on federal property. My lawyer told me as long as I didn’t block passage we were OK. Many Homeland Security trucks and a helicopter above us scared many patriots so most of group went to public side walk to rally.

However, I stayed at IRS entrance telling Homeland Security it is my right to be there.

Then as I was leaving carrying my sign a woman jumped out of her car in IRS parking lot and started threatening me, “I am with ICE!”

To which I replied, “I am with Laguna Patriots!”

This is a copy of the full article provided by the Conservatives at Breitbart

British citizens were fooled into trusting a government that left them unprotected. The result: London under siege.