Abuse of executive privilege and authority has now become the Rule, rather than the exception. Drones are being acquired for domestic surveillance, voting rights are in doubt (you should look at the ACLU battle with Florida - HERE) and you can have your assets seized on the whim of a profiteering police officer.
Today, in the New Yorker, there's an article titled "TAKEN: Under civil forfeiture, Americans who haven’t been charged with wrongdoing can be stripped of their cash, cars, and even homes. Is that all we’re losing"? The "reporter at large" Sarah Stillman, documents for your reading pleasure, a plethora of civil seizure cases in several "policing for profit" schemes
The featured case on the 1st page is that of Jennifer Boatright, a waitress from Houston, Texas. Her and her husband, with child in tow, decided to travel, visit a family member and buy a used car. After stopping at a convenience store, they were followed by the local yokel who said they were in the left lane too long. Jennifer and her husband said they stayed in that lane to permit the police to pass.
Jennifer and her husband were told to give up your cash or go to jail, lose your kid.
What is more perverse than the B.S. that Jennifer and her husband "fit the profile of drug dealers" and the absurd logic that the kids were simply "decoys", is that after they realized they had to give up the money to buy the used car; the authorities no longer felt the need to protect the children from endangerment.
More below the fold.
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