The Justice Department’s interference in the local civil case was surprising yet significant in that it put not only Baltimore but also every other city police department around the country on notice that interference in such recordings was unconstitutional. It was sent to Baltimore days after several media and civil rights organizations sent U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder a letter insisting that the Justice Department take action against agencies that arrest people who record officers.

Link to the letter.

via Wired

He was forced to defend himself against criminal charges of illegal wiretapping, aiding the escape of a prisoner, and disturbing the peace. After the charges were dismissed he filed a a civil rights suit against the arresting officers and the city of Boston.

The settlement follows a landmark ruling last August by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit, declaring that the First Amendment protects the right to record police carrying out their duties in a public place, Glik v. Cunniffe 655 F.3d 78 (2011). The First Circuit’s ruling is binding only in Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Maine, Rhode Island, and Puerto Rico, but its persuasive reasoning has been cited by courts and lawyers nationwide facing the recurrent issue of police arresting people for filming them.

Read the full story…

Read what John Robb has to say about H.R. 347.

Progress = advance or development toward a better, more complete, or more modern condition.

Think Progress is a News Blog that I read. Perhaps you may like it too. Here are some of the current headlines:

POLITICS
• BREAKING: House Republicans Again Delay Payroll Tax Cut Vote, May Resort To Procedural Gimmicks

JUSTICE

• Gingrich PAC Took $7.6 Million From One Donor, Used Money To Fly Across The Country For Public Events

ECONOMY

• Under Romney, Bain Capital Made Millions From South Carolina Business That Shut Down, Laid Off 150 Workers

POLITICS

• New Hampshire GOP Lawmakers Propose ‘Warning: You Are About To Enter Massachusetts’ Border Signs

ECONOMY

• 70 Percent Of The Cuts In GOP Sen. DeMint’s Deficit Reduction Plan Target Low-Income People

HEALTH

• In 2010, Romney Said He Wouldn’t Repeal The Individual Health Mandate In Obamacare

ECONOMY

• What Happens To The Economy If The Payroll Tax Cut Expires

ECONOMY

• Study: Wealth Inequality In America May Be Worse Than It Was In Ancient Rome

JUSTICE

• Video: 1994 Mitt Romney Explains How 2011 Mitt Romney’s Wall Street Donors Will Corrupt Mitt Romney

SECURITY

• Last Flight Out Of Iraq: ‘It’s Great Being A Part Of History. It’s An Even Better Feeling To Be Going Home’

NEWS FLASH

• PRO-ADULTERY WEBSITE ENDORSES GINGRICH

Deutch’s amendment, called the Outlawing Corporate Cash Undermining the Public Interest in our Elections and Democracy (OCCUPIED) Amendment, would overturn the Citizens United decision, re-establishing the right of Congress and the states to regulate campaign finance laws, and to effectively outlaw the ability of for-profit corporations to contribute to campaign spending.

“No matter how long protesters camp out across America, big banks will continue to pour money into shadow groups promoting candidates more likely to slash Medicaid for poor children than help families facing foreclosure,” said Deutch in a statement provided to ThinkProgress. “No matter how strongly Ohio families fight for basic fairness for workers, the Koch Brothers will continue to pour millions into campaigns aimed at protecting the wealthiest 1%. No matter how fed up seniors in South Florida are with an agenda that puts oil subsidies ahead of Social Security and Medicare, corporations will continue to fund massive publicity campaigns and malicious attack ads against the public interest. Americans of all stripes agree that for far too long, corporations have occupied Washington and drowned out the voices of the people. I introduced the OCCUPIED Amendment because the days of corporate control of our democracy. It is time to return the nation’s capital and our democracy to the people.”

via ThinkProgress

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Sorry for the commercial but this is important news.

According to the memo, if Democrats embrace OWS, “This would mean more than just short-term political discomfort for Wall Street. … It has the potential to have very long-lasting political, policy and financial impacts on the companies in the center of the bullseye.”

The memo also suggests that Democratic victories in 2012 should not be the ABA’s biggest concern. “… (T)he bigger concern,” the memo says, “should be that Republicans will no longer defend Wall Street companies.”

Here is a PDF of the actual memo.

In our hurry up, fast food, 24 hour news, what’s your point, modern world, it’s realistic to ask “What do they really want?” But, unfortunately, that’s the wrong question. The #occupy movement is not them or they or those, it is us. We are the 99%. Therefor it’s up to each of us to ask the question correctly, “What do I want?”

For example when I do that some of my questions are:

What do I want for the planet Earth?
What do I want for my county’s government?
What do I want for the economic markets?
What do I want for my food?
What do I want for my shelter?
What do I want of myself?

My answers show me that I have a significant agreement with the #occupy movement. I support them and will stand with them.

One of the better recent attempts to frame the #occupy movement is by Alexis Madrigal writing in the November 2011 issue of The Atlantic. The story is available online

It’s a little geeky with the API metaphor but when you get past that it’s good.

Here is a Google search that may also help you.

Remember to wash your hands.