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Tuesday, August 25, 2015

Supreme Court Strikes Down Unconstitutional ‘Three Strikes’ Law

OFF THE WIRE.
This is HUGE but it has been swept under the rug while smaller courts try to delay and scramble. Help get the word out. This is BIG NEWS!
The controversial “three strikes” law has come before the Supreme Court no less than five times in past seven years.
The court justices has now decided that the constitutionality of the law needs to be weighed in on.
Justice Antonin Scalia explained the court’s decision to declare the provision unconstitutional, .noting that there is nothing in place that would ensure this law would be .carried out fairly or in an undiscriminatory manner.
Scalia wrote, for the 8-1 majority, that “it has been said that the life of the law is experience. Nine years’ experience trying to derive meaning from the residual clause convinces us that we have embarked upon a failed enterprise.”
Samuel Alito, argued a dissenting opinion, saying that the man in the case before them – Samuel James Johnson – was a violent offender who should be punished severely.
Both Justices Kennedy and Thomas agreed with the assessment of this specific anecdotal case, but said that the law itself has unconstitutional elements that cannot be allowed to stand.

The Three Strikes Laws across the nation have now been gutted so that in the states where this approach has been implemented, it must be completely rewritten now if it is to exist at all. This is great news for people who agree that no one should server a life-sentence for bouncing checks!

USA - The Worst States For Taxes

OFF THE WIRE

After this you might want to consider moving.
Comparing states income tax rates is a bit tricky, since taxation approaches vary widely. Many states have a graduated system — the most complicated one is Hawaii with 12 different rates for income in different brackets. Eight states charge residents the same flat percentage of their incomes regardless of how large their salaries are, including Colorado (4.63% of federal taxable income), Indiana (3.75%), and Illinois (3.3%). And there are seven states that don’t levy an income tax: Alaska, Florida, Nevada, South Dakota, Texas, Washington and Wyoming.
To come up with the cleanest comparison possible, we calculated the effective tax rate for single taxpayers earning a taxable income of $50,000. Why this number? Well, it’s pretty average. From 2009 to 2013, the median American household income was $53,046, according to Census data, so it’s plausible that with some states’ standard deduction rates (which can range from $0 in Ohio to $10,250 for Wisconsin), a single-earner household making the median income might land at a taxable $50,000. We were able to perform the number-crunch thanks to 2015 tax data provided by the Washington, D.C.-based Tax Foundation, a nonpartisan think tank that tracks tax policy.

  

TEXAS - Waco Massacre 2015

OFF THE WIRE
Kit Maira

September
Waco Massacre 2015
By now the whole biker world is talking about the events surrounding the shooting incident that took place at a Texas Confederation of Clubs and Independents (TXCOC&I) meeting in Waco, Texas, on May 17th. The TXCOC&I is a political organization, which meets regularly to discuss pending legislation and safety issues affecting motorcyclists in the state.
         The Waco police, claiming reports of an impending melee between reportedly rival clubs expected to be present at the event, decided to assign at least 18 officers, including police snipers on the roofs of adjacent buildings in the area to prevent violence. Also present were four state troopers.
         What is known is on that day, despite the cops stated intention that they were there to prevent violence, nine individuals lost their lives, and 17 others were seriously wounded. Consequently, 177 people were arrested at the scene, charged with engaging in organized crime resulting in death. All of the suspects were originally assigned a staggering $1 million bail.
         As of this writing, 99 of the charged have managed to bond out and 78 remain in jail. It is not known how many of those released had their bail reduced. Of those arrested only 60 of the arrested appear to have criminal records of any kind, and of those most are for speeding and possession of marijuana. In an additional affront to justice, and the right to a speedy trial, a probable cause hearing will likely be delayed until August 6.
         The Waco Tribune Herald has quoted one of the judges who is responsible for setting the high bail, Justice of the Peace W.H. “Pete” Peterson, as saying, “I think it is important to send a message… (italics ours) We had nine people killed in our community. These people just came in, and most of them were from out of town. Very few of them were from in town.” Wow! The purpose of bail is to guarantee that the accused will show up in court, it is not supposed to punitive. Perhaps Pete can be excused for this gaff, as it was revealed that he in fact does not hold a law degree.
         There are many questions raised, and few answers weeks after the event. Waco Police Public Information Officer Sgt. W. Patrick Swanton has admitted that some of his officers were involved in the shooting, but it is not known is how many of the injured and killed were shot by the officers. What is known is that 14 officers have been put on administrative leave after the incident, a common practice when an officer discharges his weapon. 
         Police initially claimed that all of the arrested were members of two “criminal gangs,” the Bandidos and Cossacks, however it was soon discovered not to be true, many of the persons arrested were independent riders not affiliated with any club. The cops also initially said that they expected to recover 1,000 weapons, however, this was subsequently reduced to 318, 118 of which were firearms. It has not been reported how many of those firearms were legally carried, but under Texas law, holders of concealed carry permits would not be guilty of any offense for merely carrying their guns in the establishment.
         According to a report from the Associated Press, several witnesses, at least three of them veterans with weapons training, say that semi-automatic rifle gunfire dominated the May 17 shootout. There was only one semiautomatic rifle found at the scene, an AK-47, and it was locked in a trunk. But there were many police officers, including snipers on the rooftops that were carrying these weapons.
         Preliminary autopsies were performed on the nine killed within 24 hours, yet the Waco police have not released information on what calibers of weapons were used. Meanwhile Waco police sent the weapons seized to a ballistics lab in Washington, D.C., and say it could take months to get results.        
         There is also the question of the hundreds of motorcycles seized by the police, which will presumably be subject to asset forfeiture under Texas law.
         To this writer’s mind, the issue underlying the situation is one of the proportionality of the police response. Let us say that the first shots were, as the police claim, fired by bikers in the crowd. Witnesses say that they heard a couple of pistol shots, which was followed by a barrage of rifle fire. Did the police, as many witnesses attest, commence to open fire on the crowd?
         Finally, the second important point is something that this column has touched on repeatedly over the years, the continuing militarization of the police. Even the Obama administration is starting to recognize the threat that arming police with military grade weapons is beginning to pose to the citizenry. Recently the president ordered a review of the practice and is in the process of proposing legislation for changes to these policies.
         Easyriders will continue to monitor this situation and report on the facts as they are revealed. We will get to the bottom of this.
October 
Waco Massacre—The Cover Up Continues
Dallas attorney Clint Broden, who has done most of the heavy lifting so far in the Waco shootout case, defending his client Matthew Clendennen, has asked for a subpoena for the video from the Twin Peaks restaurant. The lawyer for the franchise, Patrick Keating has indicated that he is willing to provide the video, however the City of Waco is now moving to quash the subpoena, claiming that the defendant is trying to circumvent discovery rules by requesting materials from a “non-party” to the investigation, stating, “release of the information would interfere with the investigation.”
         Broden counters that the video is evidence necessary to his client’s defense, proving that he did not participate in any violence. Further he states, “It is ironic that the City of Waco complains about Mr. Clendennen seeking discovery from a “third party,” yet it believes it is perfectly fine for a non-party to file a motion to quash a subpoena in this case.”
         The quash from the city states in part that the only evidence that the defendant is legally entitled to has to come from the state itself, ironically the very people who are trying to convict him.
         Broden told the District Court Judge Matt Johnson that it ‘boggles my mind’ that police and prosecutors can describe what is on the video but his client could not get a copy to help prepare his defense. On May 6, the judge finally relented, allowing the defense to view the video, but barred it from public release. The judge issued a sweeping gag order on Broden and his team, barring them from further discussion of the case with the media.
         Broden has subsequently challenged the gag order, arguing that since no one, including his client, has actually been indicted, the district court does not have jurisdiction and cannot issue such an order.
         Then we come to the question of the grand jury. The court may have violated state law by extending the old grand jury rather than seating a new one, as mandated under a newly passed state law enacted to insure a more mixed panel. The old system allowed appointed commissioners to choose jurors, a process informally known as “pick-a-pal.” Under the new state law jurors are to be randomly selected from a pool of voters. The old system has been criticized for the potential for jury tampering.
         Meanwhile, bail bondsmen and ankle monitoring companies are cleaning up. As of this writing, 171 of the 177 bikers arrested have managed to bail out of jail. Of that number three have managed to post the $1 million bonds, and the remaining have negotiated reduced bonds of $10,000-$300,000 and bailed out. Normally the bail amounts to 10 percent of the bond.
         Most of those who have been released have been ordered to wear ankle monitors supplied by Recovery Healthcare as a condition of their release. They must pay for the privilege, $100 for the installation, and $255 per month for monitoring.
         The financial hardship on the accused continues to mount as the cogs of injustice turn. Many have lost their jobs due to missing work. Add legal fees to the mix and imagine the horrible toll on their families. The police have also filed notices of intent to seize and forfeit for 17 motorcycles, eight pickup trucks and two SUVs, claiming that the vehicles are contraband used in the commission of a crime. KaChing!
         The Waco PD has released a statement that only three of the officers involved fired their weapons, for a total of 12 shots. This conflicts with witness statements that claim that two to three handgun shots were heard, followed by a barrage of suppressed semi auto rifle fire. The Waco SWAT Officers carried .223 caliber rifles deployed with sound suppressors. Police in Waco still have yet to state how many of the bikers killed and wounded were shot by police.
         Autopsy results from the deceased have still not been released, which should identify what types and calibers were involved. Weapons seized in addition to 151 firearms, which were likely legally-carried due to Texas’s liberal concealed carry laws, are said to include knives, brass knuckles, bats, a machete, tomahawks and a chain. Editor: Tomahawks, really?
Easyriders continues to monitor this situation.

Monday, August 24, 2015

JUSTICE SYSTEM, BEND OVER ONCE......

As anyone with a rational thinking brain can see the justice system has become a tool to deny justice. The people no longer have any say in government. Government does what it wants.
Government is a fiction but the people in it are real flesh and blood. Unfortunately these flesh & blood people have no conscience. They are dead inside. They follow law; not conscience.
God made man to follow conscience. But Lucifer came in and told man to follow law. What a light! Law is lesser light to the laws of the universe and conscience. Follow law against your conscience and you become dead inside. You become a tool for Lucifer.
So now people in respectable positions; both religious and masonic, now follow Lucifer; the secondary light of the intellect.
How low man has fallen.
The masonic lodge is ruined. Religion is ruined. The common man has no where to go to raise his level of being. We are all gripped by the idea that man made law can solve our problems. It is self evident the secular law has become the problem in our society; not the solution.
The federal government is behind this particular situation in Waco. The federal government that controls the State government could care less about what happened at the Twin Peaks, nor the people who have been caught in this web of deception.
Remember the gag order? Knew it was not going to be lifted. That is why kept quiet about the lifting. Knew it was not going to happen.
Better get real about the government we are now living under and plan accordingly. Riders; don’t get caught in situations like this again. And question the organizations that claim to represent you. They are all controlled by the same people who did you in in Waco.
What are colors and what do they represent? Think about this hard! The colors flying over this land represent corporate federal government, corporate State governments that operate under the corporate federal, and corporate corporations represented by the corporate government. Your colors; while not flags per se, are flags that represent individualism in contrast to the corporate government & corporations. That puts you wearing them as outcasts. The corporate government and corporations want economic slaves addicted to their fictions, not independent thinkers (riders)
This is nothing new in the criminality of man. Al Capone must be rolling over in his grave when seeing how government has taken his scheme and implemented it on a national scale. Politicians in congress are nothing but criminals.
The public is so fat and lazy. They are like pigs eating, partying, consuming, while our leaders are making war with the rest of the world to keep the circus going. Ask those bikers who were arrested if they had any idea this could happen to them. They would say no because they were too asleep. Now they are awake. But only because they got caught in the shit that is happening all over the country. While we slept the criminals took control. And now they see and feel it first hand while the rest of the sleeping public still refuse to wake up and believe everything the corrupt media tells them.
There is no such thing as equality because we have men at all levels of the animal kingdom. Equality is a lie! In every race their are men of integrity and their are men of pure evil. In our pursuit of equality we have raised evil men up into leadership positions.
I am especially disappointed in the masonic lodges that no longer practice the teachings of Albert Pike. They are caught up in the practice of Administrative law; mans law, not the laws of the grand architect of the universe. We are falling from a once great culture into barbarism. A great flood of ignorance is overcoming America just like in the days on Noah. Religion is dying and so is masonry because the people no longer have the consciousness to see the esoteric truths contained in it’s teachings.

Ride well and watch your ass. We are in dangerous times for the individual.

Brief Review of Federal and State Definitions of the Terms
“Gang,” “Gang Crime,” and “Gang Member”
(as of December 2014)
Federal Law
Currently, federal law defines the term “criminal street gang” as “an ongoing group, club,
organization, or association of five or more persons—
(A) that has as one of its primary purposes the commission of one or more of the
criminal offenses described in subsection (c);
(B) the members of which engage, or have engaged within the past five years, in a
continuing series of offenses described in subsection (c); and
(C) the activities of which affect interstate or foreign commerce.” 18 USC § 521(a).
The offenses described in this section are:
(1) “A federal felony involving a controlled substance (as defined in Section 102 of the
Controlled Substances Act (21 USC § 802)) for which the maximum penalty is not
less than five years;
(2) A federal felony crime of violence that has as an element the use or attempted use
of physical force against the person of another; and
(3) A conspiracy to commit an offense described in paragraph (1) or (2).”
18 USC § 521(c).
The circumstances described in this section are that the offense described in subsection (c) was
committed by a person who:
(1) “Participates in a criminal street gang with knowledge that its members engage in or
have engaged in a continuing series of offenses described in subsection (c);
(2) Intends to promote or further the felonious activities of the criminal street gang or
maintain or increase his or her position in the gang; and
(3) Has been convicted within the past five years for:
(A) An offense described in subsection (c);
(B) A State offense—
(i) Involving a controlled substance (as defined in Section 102 of the
Controlled Substances Act (21 USC § 802)) for which the maximum
penalty is not less than five years’ imprisonment; or
(ii) That is a felony crime of violence that has as an element the use or
attempted use of physical force against the person of another;
(C) Any federal or State felony offense that by its nature involves a substantial
risk that physical force against the person of another may be used in the
course of committing the offense; or
(D) A conspiracy to commit an offense described in subparagraph (A), (B), or
(C).” 18 USC § 521(d).
Additionally:

• Forty-three states and Washington, DC, have legislation that defines “gang.”
• Thirty-four states define a gang as consisting of three or more persons.
• Twenty-seven states include a common name, identifying sign, or symbol as
identifiers of gangs in their definitions.
• Thirty-six states refer to a gang as an “organization, association, or group.”
• Twenty-five states and Washington, DC, use the term “criminal street gang” to
describe a gang.
• Every definition includes criminal/illegal activity or behavior.

TEXAS - Delaying Justice In Waco

OFF THE WIRE
agingrebel.com
The weekly newspaper Texas Lawyer reported today that all 177 persons arrested after the Twin Peaks Massacre in Waco, Texas last May 17 are likely to either be indicted or cleared by a grand jury that might not meet for another two months. All of the accused have been charged with engaging in organized criminal activity.
More than a dozen of the accused had hoped to have the blatantly spurious charges against them dismissed and their good names cleared by compelling state authorities to present evidence against them at so-called examining trials. The first of those trials was held Tuesday before a visiting judge named James Morgan. In what turned out to be a bogus proceeding, the judge ruled that there was probable cause to arrest a married couple named William and Morgan English because both wore a small tab on the front of their vests that read “I Support The Fat Mexican.” The phrase is a reference to the Bandidos Motorcycle Club which is the preeminent motorcycle club in Texas.

Examining Trials Cancelled

Other defendants began cancelling their examining trials almost immediately. Examining trials scheduled yesterday for defendants Daniel Pesina of San Antonio and John Robert Wilson of Waco were cancelled yesterday morning.
According to Texas Lawyer correspondent Miriam Rozen. “Two separate grand juries will conduct investigations into the shootings.” One jury will decide the fates of the 177 civilians who were taken into custody after the worst incident of biker violence in American History. The other grand jury, which seems to be already meeting, “will investigate police officer use of deadly force.”
McLennan County District Attorney Abelino “Abel” Reyna discussed his plan to use two grand juries in a letter to Sam Bassett who is the president of the Texas Criminal Defense Lawyers Association.

Reyna

Basset wrote Reyna after it was announced that Waco detective James Head had been named foreman of the presently convened grand jury.
“While we express no opinion as to detective James Head’s personal ethics or integrity,” Basset wrote, “we are greatly concerned that this grand jury should under no circumstances be the grand jury that considers indictments in the biker cases, especially since there are reports that he had some involvement in the investigatory process. TCDLA urges you to consider for this case a special grand jury that contains no members of law enforcement who are involved in the biker cases.”
Reyna replied that he had made “no representation either way” about the “composition or timing of grand juries investigating the shootings.” He did say, “Anytime you have a crime scene and there is an officer’s use of deadly force, you have two investigations.”
You can read the complete Texas Lawyer article here.