Discussion for article #228450
The police are just acting under the “invisible hand” of the market. The civilians are just considered a capital fund.
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John Oliver has done more journalism in a few months than the cable networks have in years. I had no idea that cops could legally do this! Why isn’t it more widely known? Oh I know why! Fox is busy practicing racism instead of journalism. CNN is trying to be baby FOX and MSNBC is just lost.
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Indeed. More than most “Progressive” websites as well. Note that Oliver doesn’t do pieces on the latest stupid thing that Sarah Palin said - he actually covers issues, not personalities and shallow partisan gossip.
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Civil forfeiture, privatized prisons. Disgraceful.
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This practice has been going on for decades, mostly under the radar for the public. It is a major conflict of interest for public officials to be able to confiscate property that later is given to them for their use. The new America, not police but militias that self fund of the backs of those unfortunate enough to fall into their hands.
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This has been going on for well over 30 years. 60 minutes did a piece on it has to be 20 years ago now. It’s because, like the military, the idea of criticizing law enforcement causes most Democrats to start shaking uncontrollably, and then curl up in the nearest corner in the fetal position.
Interestingly enough, Law Enforcement really eased up on the forfeiture of homes in the late 90’s, because guess what? Most people don’t actually own their home, they have a mortgage. So who ended up really getting screwed was the banks.
As one might well imagine, that had to stop pronto!
It’s the same thing with traffic tickets by the way. In California, where the Democrats in the State legislature (friends of working man doncha know), tripled and the quadrupled the cost of most moving violations. So now, most of the tickets will cost you at least $300 and up $1000. But don’t worry, they’ll give you a payment plan, as long as you don’t fight it.
There is not even a pretense of this being done for public safety, it was strictly to raise revenue.
I recently fought a ticket, and I can tell you, it didn’t look like many Republicans filling the court house. It was mostly hispanic and Asian and a few African American’s, mostly young. It seemed most were there because their lives were significantly impacted by these huge fines. They came looking for mercy or justice, but all they got was a lecture and a payment plan.
Which got me to thinking. why is there even a fine for a moving violation?
If it truly is a public safety issue, shouldn’t the punishment for being a lousy driver, is you eventually lose your license?
Your insurance rates will sky rocket anyway, and in Southern California, no license = your screwed.
I guess that isn’t enough.
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While I was furiously typing, you summed it up in a few lines nicely.
The conflict of interest could be easily avoided by earmarking the money for drug rehabilitation, or go to another program not remotely connected to the justice system.
But is seems that’s the point.
Also, this is why on line child porn, and pedophilia, are not a priority, there is no money in it.
The New Yorker had a long article about this 6 or 9 months ago. I think they maybe broke this story of disgrace to America. They had interviewed people who had lost 1000’s of dollars; say bringing cash to their niece to buy a car. Cop says “I smell pot” doesn’t find any / takes cash anyway. The article said it was worst in TX / LA / MO along the main interstate(9?) that is a main drug route. Most of the targets were black / latino and poor. Some departments even had slush funds that officers received bonuses from. Truly sickening.
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This is just the classic Money-making Hicktown Speed Trap going big, very big. Power corrupts and the local constabularies are cashing in on vulnerable people passing through their pits of shame. Shameful that these bastards aren’t all jailed. Time for the bozos writing these stupid laws change them. From such things revolutions flow.
A friend of mine had his house seized this way. Also, it’s common (I live in the Detroit area) for police to seize cars they catch in a prostitution sting area on the grounds that the driver was looking for a hooker. Then the owner has to scramble to get the money to get the vehicle out of hock, usually hundreds of dollars. I remember that time they raided that art gallery party too.
Also, another tidbit. 80%-90% of all currency will test positive for traces of cocaine.
Someone rolls up a one dollar bill, inhales a “line” of cocaine, and a trace amount is transferred to every single bill it comes in contact with for weeks afterwards. So one bill transfers to two bills, those two bills transfer to four bills, and so on and so on…until virtually every bill in circulation is contaminated with trace amounts of Cocaine or Meth.
An enterprising defense attorney in Orange County California had the drug sniffing dog that keyed on his clients money brought into court.
He asked the judge if he had any money on him. The Judge gave him a few bills out of his wallet.
The attorney showed them to the dog, and the dog immediately keyed on it.
That brought the quickest not guilty verdict in history.
It also shows what a scam it is.
Cops: Used to fight the mob. Now they are the mob!
Exactly. All fines and confiscations should go into a fund somehow disconnected from the people who levy the fines. As it stands, we’re only just slightly removed from allowing arresting officers to pocket fines and confiscated assets.
There are more than a few people who believe that drug-sniffing dogs exist for no other reason than to give some legal weight to an officer’s hunches.
Yea, I was at baggage claim at LAX one day after getting off a flight from Asia.
They had a drug sniffing dog, I think it was a beagle.
The dog first keyed on someone’ carry on bag. The guy pulled a bag of beef jerky out of his bag.
The dog then keyed on my bag. The guy asked me to open my bag. After going through it, and not finding anything, I told the customs officer with the drug sniffing dog, “there was an apple in that bag from Hong Kong to Taipei, feed your damn dog, he’s obviously hungry.”
This is the Brave New World of the 21st Century.
In the Reagan era, Rudy Giuliani used “search and seizure” of assets “believed to be proceeds of illegal activities” to neutralize suspected (fellow Italian-heritage) mobsters so they could not mount a vigorous legal defense. He got rich enough to extend his fiefdom to the entire City of New York. From time to time in published (tedious to read) newspaper notices, some government law enforcement agency or another will list their seizures, inviting persons who might lay claim to some or all to step forward, and become the next suspect. Our Bill of Rights is in the trash because of this and those most harmed have no resources; those who would fight to repair rampant injustice have no legal “standing.” Frat Boy solution that works! – to undermine Freedom.