And speaking of Phoenix, there’s this from Carlos Miller:
Jeff Pataky, who runs Bad Phoenix Cops, said the officers confiscated three computers, routers, modems, hard drives, memory cards and everything necessary to continue blogging.
The 41-year-old software engineer said they also confiscated numerous personal files and documents relating to a pending lawsuit he has against the department alleging harassment – which he says makes it obvious the raid was an act of retaliation.
…
The search warrant lists “petty theft†and “computer tampering with the intent to harass†as probable causes. He has yet to see an actual affidavit that lists in detail the probable cause and is skeptical that one even exists.
“They say everything has been sealed,†he said.
Read the rest of the story for details. It’s pretty amazing. Journalist/Blogger Pataky is our most recent new hero. And Journalist/Blogger Miller, who covers the story, is no slouch either given what he’s had to go through in a similar vein to Pataky.
Bloggers are the modern journalists. This is a freedom of the press issue. Bloggers are like Ben Franklin and his printing press in 1770. Please stay on this.
More like Thomas Paine.
When Franklin was a printer he was pretty main stream, It was not until he violated the terms of his Crown job and was denounced in the well of Parliment, that Franklin went radical.
Bloggers are part of the new, emerging PRESS.
Here is a link to a great article on the difference between real reports and “professional jounalists”.
Those from whom our rulers have no fear of tough, dogged, nasty questioning (ala Tim Russert) are the only ones guilty of Impersonating members of the press
American needs a free press. Governments though need main stream (status quo) medias.
Go Brad! Go Jeff! Go Luke!
I realized my reference to Franklin may have been too obscure. Franklin worked to quiet talk of rebellion until 1775. His efforts are described in the Declaration of Independence with the paragraph beginning with “Nor have We been wanting in attentions to our British brethren. We have warned them from time …”
But it was the affair of the Hutchinson Papers that push Franklin firmly out of the Loyalist camp and into the Patriot camp.
Thomas Paine, Sam Adams, and Crispus Attucks were Sons of Liberty from the get go. They needed no convincing that the Blessings of Liberty were worth pursuing right now.
I have a crush the size of Jupiter on Thomas Paine. I’m sure you can appreciate my predicament….
J.W. Thank for the history lesson.
bad cops – NO DONUTS!
When Franklin was younger he was full of piss, but when the farmers rebellion against the elite class happened in Mass. in 1787 he was ready to hang them all. Paine was long gone by then, the only people that saved the farmers (regulators) asses from the gallows were Jefferson and Hancock.
You know, I was thinking to myself this morning while watching the Sunday morning shows, I wonder if these talking heads would be pushing the same agendas if their stock portfolios were published?
This is pretty unbelievable – but not surprising. The blogging community has brought back accountability to the public discourse after the mainstream pressed relinquished their duties many moons ago. Those in authority who for so long got away with murder are now being outed – and they’re not used to it. So, as we see regularly, they react in the most obvious and embarrassing ways, bringing that much more attention to their own mendacity and cover-ups. Blogging has re-energized our society and we should be thankful to the many talented bloggers who are taking authority to task.
Oh yeah and Sam Adams was another elite prick that wanted to hang the Regulators
A guy could brush up on that history here if he wanted to
Wayne Madsen was arrested for public drunkeness in Va. He is haveing to do community service before he even goes to trial. waynemadsenreport
“He is haveing to do community service before he even goes to trial.”
Isn’t it a community service for him not to be able to write anything at all? Just asking.
Why is Wayne Madsen such a bad guy? This is how I know of him. I’m sure there are those that would love to see him publicly humiliated. These are things he exposes: Wayne Madsen – Former U.S. Navy Intelligence Officer, specialist in electronic surveillance and security. Formerly assigned to the National Security Agency and the State Department. Currently, investigative journalist, nationally distributed columnist, and author. Senior Fellow, Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC), a non-partisan privacy public advocacy group in Washington, DC. Frequent media commentator on terrorism and security matters. Author of Overthrow a Fascist Regime on $15 a Day (2008), Jaded Tasks: Big Oil, Black Ops & Brass Plates (2006), Genocide and Covert Operations in Africa 1993-1999 (1999), The Handbook of Personal Data Protection (1992). Co-author of America’s Nightmare: The Presidency of George Bush II (2006).
Speech 11/11/06 : “After five years of talking to many individuals in the intelligence community, in the military, foreign intelligence agencies, and a whole host of other people, people from the air traffic control community, the FAA, I came to the conclusion that after five years what we saw happen on that morning of September 11, 2001, was the result of a highly-compartmentalized covert operation to bring about a fascist coup in this country. …
These people need to be brought to justice, if not by our own Congress, then by an international tribunal in the Hague, in the Netherlands. Bush, Blair, Rumsfeld, Cheney should be sitting in the same dockets where Milosevic and the Croatia-Serbia war criminals sat.” http://video.google.com
Endorsement of The New Pearl Harbor: “David Griffin’s The New Pearl Harbor belongs on the book shelves of all those who, in any way, doubt the veracity of the accounts presented to the public by the Bush administration concerning the worst terrorist attack in America’s history. The facts presented in this book are disturbing — and they should be. Griffin’s book goes a long way in answering the age-old question inherent in American political scandals: What did the President know, and when did he know it?” http://www.interlinkbooks.com
Bio: http://www.waynemadsenreport.com
Unfortunately,
Censureship like the one that occurred in Mr, Pataky’s case is transpiring in cities like Phoenix. In fact, not only did the Phoenix Police Department remove our website (BlackRobeArizona) they attacked and breached our home with 2 SWAT teams and ten detectives. If you tell the truth in this society and potentially unveil political corruption and deceipt you may have to pay for it. In my case, I had all of my belongings taken as did my fiance, they interrogated a 5 year old child, stigmatizing a family for life. For all the good Police do they will intentionally step over that line if they believe it is for the good of their department. In this particular case they wanted a website shut down because their detectives were found to be working alongside a family law litigant who was providing services in return. They were caught, thus shutting down a website was imperative. When we rebuilt the site they turned to the use of excessive force and lied to a Grand Jury. Until the Federal government steps in and punishes this type of censorship, we are all doomed!