Free Talk Live

Montgomery County Sheriff's Office was recently bragging about the $300,000 drone that they bought with help from the Department of Homeland Security. They tried to do a fancy photo op featuring the drone and their Bearcat, and crashed one into the other. It's a paramilitary police state on parade.

Yesterday, V-Day, the Public Protection Committee of the Alameda County Board of Supervisors held a public hearing in Oakland, CA on a request from the Alameda County Sheriff’s Office to purchase a surveillance Drone, which would make my County the first in California to acquire it’s own local Drone. Of course Sheriff Ahern insisted that the Board of Supervisors refer to it as a “small Unmanned Aerial System” and not a “Drone.” He also objected to the term “surveillance” preferring ”observation.” As if there’s a difference.

Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano told a Senate hearing Tuesday that unmanned aerial drones will soon fly through Texas skies!

"Big Sis" declared that over the past 15 months, federal law enforcement initiatives have made the border more secure than in any other time in history, the SAN ANTONIO EXPRESS-NEWS reports in Wednesday editions.

The new "predator bees" have the capability to fly at altitudes used by commercial aircraft, and are designed to enhance intelligence capabilities of federal, state and local law enforcement.

Now let’s bring all the pieces together.

1) Drone strikes against US citizens branded “terrorists” are ok.
2) Collateral Damage of US citizens during Drone strikes is ok.
3) The definition of “combatant” has drifted to include inciteful speech.
4) The definition of “terrorist” has drifted to include crimes of dissent.
5) Drones are being programed to detect dissent.
6) Domestic police will soon be using unmanned aerial vehicles.
7) Military technology trickles down to local law enforcement.

Are you seeing the pattern yet?

Check out this military Patch featuring the Grim Reaper...Executive Office for Unmanned Aviation and Strike Weapons. Logos, of course, are an organization's officially branded way of communicating with external audiences. They're supposed to stand for something, and to tell observers what business you're in. The drone program is in the killing people business, apparently (as opposed to the surveillance or intelligence business).

Last week Rep. Rush Holt (D-NJ) and the House of Representatives drew an important line in the sand.

The law enforcement agency said followers of The Sovereign Citizens Movement have been known to carry out violent acts, including killing law enforcement officers and other public servants.

In the span of just three years, we have seen drone surveillance become openly operational on American soil.

In 2007, Texas reporters first filmed a predator drone test being conducted by the local police department in tandem with Homeland Security. And in 2009, it was revealed that an operation was underway to use predator drones inland over major cities, far from “border control” functions. This year it has been announced that not only will drone operations fly over the Mexican border, but the United States and Canada are partnering to cover 900 miles of the northern border as well.

A motion to dismiss charges based on the use of a Predator drone was denied Wednesday. A North Dakota court has preliminarily upheld the first-ever use of an unmanned drone to assist in the arrest of an American citizen.