Category: Uncategorized

WARNING: This article contains spoilers to the Netflix Documentary Series “Making a Murderer”

Fearing for their personal safety, a juror from Steven Avery’s 2005 murder trial recently informed the filmmakers of Netflix’s “Making a Murderer” that the juror was under duress when voting to convict him and accused law enforcement of framing Avery. In a clear conflict of interest, at least two of the jurors were directly related to members of the sheriff’s office and the clerk’s office, which was accused of tampering with his blood.
Although Steven Avery had a few prior run-ins with the law, the Manitowoc County Sheriff’s Office …read more

On January 4, the Constitution, Green, and Libertarian Parties filed this brief in the Third Circuit, in Cortes v Constitution Party of Pennsylvania, 15-3046. The issue is the Pennsylvania system that puts petitioning groups at risk if they submit a petition that is held not to have enough valid signatures. The parties won on this issue in the U.S. District Court, and now the state is trying to get that decision reversed. …read more

On January 5, Michigan Governor Rick Snyder signed SB 13, which eliminates the straight-ticket device. Thanks to Bill Hall for this news. …read more

What if the armed protesters who seized control of empty administrative buildings on the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge were Paiute activists, rather than white militiamen?
Would left-leaning critics of this arguably ill-considered action denounce the protest as an act of “armed sedition against lawful authority” carried out by “domestic terrorists,” and call for immediate military action to slaughter the occupiers? Or would they consider the possibility that federal control over the land is illicit, the status quo untenable, and that the demonstrators are animated by legitimate grievances?
Harney County, Oregon, where the standoff is taking place, was named after General William S. …read more

I feel like a broken record at times, but it’s important that I say it: For secure devices at the Dark Android Project, I generally don’t recommend smartphones, I only recommend tablets (SIM cards are security nightmares). But with that said, the question I get asked most here is, “What smartphone should I buy?”, and a variation of my top pick (the ASUS ZenFone 2) now has a release date.
On the Dark Android Blog, I’ve talked about this variation before: The ZenFone Zoom. It has all of the same innards as my beloved ZenFone 2. Dual-SIM card slots for global …read more

Let’s start the New Year with some fresh ideas. How many active supporters do you think we would need to execute the following five tactics…
Stop Congress from passing bad bills?
Pass good bills… like Downsize DC’s “Read the Bills Act?”
Score constant policy victories using ballot initiatives?
Hang juries so frequently that bad laws would become unenforceable?
Win super-majorities in state legislatures and Congress?
Can these questions be answered?

Well, four of these five things have already been accomplished by other groups. So we spent the last months of 2015 modeling those four examples and reverse engineering the fifth one. The result is something that’s never …read more

Chicago, IL — Responsible for torturing more than 200 people to obtain false confessions, former Chicago Police Commander Jon Burge has cost the city and Cook County over $100 million in legal fees and settlements. On Monday, the city of Chicago paid out $5.5 million in reparations to 57 of Burge’s victims, while the corrupt former police commander continues to receive his $4,000 monthly pension from the city.
Between 1972 and 1991, Chicago Police Commander Jon Burge and his men tortured hundreds of people to extract forced confessions from them. Up to 200 torture victims have accused Burge of using cattle …read more

Bernie Sanders’ web page has this list of all the states, explaining which voters can vote for Sanders in each state. Thanks to Nancy Ross for the link. …read more

Rocky De La Fuente’s success in getting 10,000 valid signatures so as to qualify for the North Carolina Democratic presidential primary ballot earned him this story in the Charlotte Observer. …read more

Jill Stein, the only presidential candidate other than Martin O’Malley who is actively working to qualify for primary season matching funds, has now met the legal requirement in 13 states. Candidates must raise at least $5,000 from each of 20 states. For the purpose of qualifying for primary season matching funds, only the first $250 from any single donor counts.
The Stein campaign is working on these eight states to finish the job: Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Minnesota, North Carolina, Ohio, Virginia, and Wisconsin. …read more