Category: Uncategorized

The gunman who killed two police officers in New York before turning his gun on himself posted assassination threats on Instagram several hours before the killings. The man’s phone was traced by police just minutes before the tragedy.
RT.com
Ismaaiyl Brinsley, a 28-year-old Afro-American, who was identified as the shooter by police, posted a picture of an automatic pistol and threatening messages on Instagram. They bore hashtags with the names of Eric Garner and Michael Brown, who were killed by police officers who were themselves later acquitted, sparking mass protests against police brutality across the US.
“I’m Putting Wings on Pigs Today,” Brinsley …read more

Arizona Representative John Allen (R-Scottsdale) has introduced HB 2002, to make it a misdemeanor for anyone to remove or deface a campaign sign between the period 45 days before a primary, and ending a week after the general election. The bill, of course, permits a candidate or his or her representative to remove his or(More)… …read more

On December 19, the North Carolina Supreme Court upheld the 2011 redistricting plan for both U.S. House and state legislature. See this story. The voting rights advocates who brought the case say they will ask the U.S. Supreme Court to reverse the State Supreme Court. A similar case is before the U.S. Supreme Court now,(More)… …read more

“She recounted a story right out of the newspaper” that matched up with the account of Ferguson police officer Darren Wilson
Some witnesses obviously lied while testifying under oath to the Ferguson grand jury that ultimately declined to indict 18-year-old Michael Brown’s killer, said the St. Louis county prosecutor in charge of the case, Bob McCulloch.
RT.com
Speaking with KTRS radio, McCulloch said his goal was to have any individual who claimed to be a witness testify before the grand jury.
“Clearly some were not telling the truth,” he said.
Specifically, McCulloch noted that one woman in particular who said she witnessed the shooting but“clearly …read more

Indianapolis, Indiana – This week, the Indiana Supreme Court voted unanimously to uphold the state’s public intoxication statute, which makes it illegal to annoy someone while under the influence of alcohol. The law specifically calls for misdemeanor charges against people who “harass, annoy or alarm another person,” while drunk.
Earlier this year, the Indiana Court of Appeals attempted to change the wording of the statute, because many people complained about the “annoy” portion of the law, saying that it was extremely vague and could be easy for police to abuse. Unfortunately, that appeal was struck down this week in a 5-0 …read more

North Carolina Representative Jason R. Saine (R-Lincolnton) is expected to introduce a bill in 2015, lowering the number of signatures for newly-qualifying parties and independent candidates to get on the ballot. Currently, North Carolina requires more signatures to get a party, or a statewide independent candidate, on the ballot than any other state. The 2016(More)… …read more

Attorneys for the Libertarian, Peace & Freedom, and Green Parties have asked the California State Court of Appeals to take judicial notice of the Secretary of State’s Statement of Votes for the November 2014 election. That document says the turnout in November 2014 was substantially lower than in any other regularly-scheduled California general election in(More)… …read more

“A call for justice should not warrant an apology”
Cleveland, Ohio – As we reported last week, Cleveland Browns wide receiver Andrew Hawkins sparked outrage among police when he wore a shirt on-field during warm-ups that said “Justice for Tamir Rice and John Crawford.” Tamir Rice and John Crawford are both young men, and in Tamir’s case a 12-year-old boy, who were shot and killed by police for carrying toy guns.
Jeff Follmer, the president of the Police Patrolman Union in Cleveland is demanding an apology for Andrew Hawkins decision to practice free speech.
Follmer issued the following statement Sunday, after the game:
It’s …read more

Virginia will hold a special election soon to fill a vacancy in the House of Delegates. The vacancy was caused when Delegate Joseph D. Morrissey, a Democrat, resigned. He resigned because he plea-bargained to a misdemeanor; this article explains more about that. He recently announced that he will run in the special election to return(More)… …read more

On November 4, 2014, Green Party nominee Matt Funiciello polled 11.02% for U.S. House, New York district 21. The race had a close contest between a Democrat and a Republican. This is the highest percentage of the vote any Green Party nominee for U.S. House has ever received, in a race with both a Republican(More)… …read more