Again, a welcome (belated, perhaps) to America today.  Call it what you will:  the Police State, the Evil Empire Reborn, the Fourth Reich, or just remember Sinclair Lewis’ “It can’t happen here.”  This morning, after a week’s hiatus, we have a few local items.

Home front – Local tyranny
Florida Police Jail Man For Protesting Red Light Cameras
(The Newspaper) Police in Apopka, Florida arrested a man on Saturday morning for distributing a petition that would put the issue of ending red light camera use to a public vote. Officer Campbell wrote. “He was holding a large stack of papers… I asked him if he had a permit to protest the red light cameras, and he said no.” … Schmidter was charged with obstructing an officer without violence, a misdemeanor. He was also given a $65 ticket for a “pedestrian violation” and held for nearly twelve hours before being released on a $500 bond. Schmidter plans to fight the charges in court before a jury of his peers, saying his First Amendment rights were being trampled.

Nathan: Schmidter has been in court before, regarding protests, and has won: a judge nearby even warned the idiot cop about him.  OF COURSE protesting about traffic cameras is obstructing cops: who gets the revenue from them?  Who can use them as an excuse to abuse drivers?  Interesting, huh?  How many people knew that Florida (or is it just the Police State City of Apopka?) required that you have a permit for protesting?  Do you need one for writing for newspapers or on-line magazines, too?  For owning a firearm?  For calling your legislator or county officials or municipal officials? ONLY if you are thereby obstructing a cop, maybe.

Mama’s Note: Interesting catch 22… how do you get a “permit” to call them to get the “permit?”  But this cop’s reaction should tell us that they are getting desperate. I think they are starting to see the handwriting on the wall and it scares them half to death. They are fast losing control.

Home front – Local tyranny
New York Cops shoot two bystanders on Broadway
(New York Post) Cops trying to subdue an emotionally disturbed man with a long rap sheet accidentally shot two female bystanders outside Port Authority Bus Terminal on Saturday night, source said. Theodora Ray, 54, was struck in her leg — breaking two bones in her calf — as she stood leaning on her four-wheeled walker across from the terminal; Sahara Khoshakhlagh, 35, was grazed in her buttocks. Two cops pulled off a total of three shots in the mistaken belief that the deranged Glen Broadnax, 35, was armed after he reached into his pocket as they approached him, officials said. … The two officers who opened fire are rookies, with 18 months and three years on the job.

Nathan: This being NYPD, these two “rookies” (THREE years on the job, come on!) obviously will have sterling careers in law enforcement.  Notches on their belts, for sure!  Surprised that the person who took a picture of Ray, bleeding on the sidewalk with a cop standing over her doing nothing) and Twittered it to the world didn’t get arrested for putting the NYPD in a bad light.  Is anyone else amazed that people are willing to live in NYC with this kind of constant danger from the thugs and gangs that claim to “serve and protect” them?  Of course, it isn’t just NYC – and not just NYPD, as the next story tells us.

Home front – Federal tyranny
Armed EPA raid in Alaska sheds light on 70 fed agencies with armed divisions
(FOX News) The recent uproar over armed EPA agents descending on a tiny Alaska mining town is shedding light on the fact that 40 federal agencies – including nearly a dozen typically not associated with law enforcement — have armed divisions. The agencies employ about 120,000 full-time officers authorized to carry guns and make arrests, according to a June 2012 Justice Department report.

Nathan: Actually, there are many more than that, and virtually NONE should be allowed to have ANY weapons: their troops are idiots and could and should call on local, constitutionally-elected peace officers when they need help.  And yes, that includes the Park Service and the Forest Service.  The EPA alone has such a hideous track record for making accusations, that turn out not just to be bogus but to be insanely ridiculous, should make it clear that we don’t want ANY of them to have anything more dangerous than a wrist-rocket shooting spitwads.

Mama’s Note: None of those “agencies” should even exist, let alone parade around like ninja soldiers.

Home front – Federal tyranny
Former NSA and CIA director says terrorists love using Gmail
(washingtonpost.com) Asked whether the United States’s promiscuous surveillance was setting a harmful example for other nations, Hayden suggested that the Internet’s origins in the United States partially justifies the NSA’s conduct.

Nathan: What do you bet that they also use USPS?  I bet they love fast food and drive automobiles, too.  This kind of pitiful excuse for a police state is the kind of mindless “justification” that passes for government policy at the highest levels today:  an insane and mind-blowing incompetence that proves once again that government is dangerous.

Home front – Local tyranny
Florida Police shoot, kill unarmed black man seeking assistance after ‘serious’ car accident
(Rawstory/CBS News)) Police arrived at the scene minutes later, at which point the deceased, former Florida A&M football player Jonathan Ferrell, “immediately charged towards the three officers, one in particular. That officer fired his weapon several times, striking individual multiple times.” Ferrell died at the scene.

Nathan: “Running while black?”  Have an accident, call for help from the cops, get gunned down in cold blood.  This seems to be happening more and more in the nation, as the police forces get more and more of a “siege” mentality and believe that everyone is against them.  Well, each time something like this happens, more and more people ARE against them.  Is this going to trigger the liberal-Tranzi-racebaiting reaction that Zimmerman defending himself against Martin did?  UN investigations?  Don’t hold your breath!

Home front – Local tyranny
Florida: We Were Detained by Hialeah Police for Making a Public Records Request at City Hall
(Photography Is Not a Crime) Florida has perhaps the most liberal public records laws in the United States, but you wouldn’t know that by making simple requests to the government officials in charge of those records….

Nathan: MORE from Florida, the rapidly emerging hugely-populated police state where citizens are guilty of heinous crimes like asking for records, asking for help, and telling people how to fight bad laws.

Home front – Federal tyranny
NSA disguised itself as Google to spy, say reports
(c/Net) …. A technique commonly used by hackers, a MITM attack involves using a fake security certificate to pose as a legitimate Web service, bypass browser security settings, and then intercept data that an unsuspecting person is sending to that service. Hackers could, for example, pose as a banking Web site and steal passwords….

Nathan:  Evil empire, indeed, as this other story from outside (well, theoretically outside) the Empire reports: The Guardian can see Star Trek:  I see Star Wars, with Alexander as Vader.