Last week, Edwin went to the Burlington Coat Factory store on West Colonial Drive with his mother. He saw a 3-year-old girl without a parent. If he had it to do all over again, if he could see the cops, the handcuffs, the TV cameras and the jail cell all awaiting him, I imagine the last thing he would have done was try to help her. But he did.....

This is a blog post over at, http://www.copblock.org , that talks about a Maryville police officer who harasses two men for open carrying. The audio is priceless and is a great example of the mindset of officers today, for the most part.

The problem? Take your pick: 1) He was black in a white neighborhood. 2) He was suffering from a medical issue that causes sudden unconsciousness. 3) The property being "trespassed" was his own home. and 4) Neighbors repeatedly told the cops their victim was the homeowner and to let him go and were threatened with arrest.

Before, your right to remain silent was automatic. Now you must invoke it by speaking. Just one more thing they've taken from you. How much more before Americans wake up?

legislation that would give authorities the ability to identify the owners of pre-paid cellphones, which they say is long overdue "because for years, terrorists, drug kingpins and gang members have stayed one step ahead of the law by using prepaid phones that are hard to trace." That new tracking ability would also consequently place some new requirements on cellphone carriers and people buying the phones -- specifically, anyone buying a pre-paid cellphone would be required to present identification before buying a phone