Boogai.net

SAN FRANCISCO — The following excerpts are from the federal district court opinion issued in Perry v. Schwarzenegger on Wednesday, which declared the California constitutional amendment affirming marriage as the union of one man and one woman unconstitutional under the U.S. Constitution: read on

By Electronic Privacy Information Center

In an open government lawsuit against the United States Marshals Service, EPIC has obtained more than one hundred images of undressed individuals entering federal courthouses. read on

By Jim Kouri

“Accuse others of what you do.” – Karl Marx

Clad in military attire, New Black Panther bullies used weapons, racial insults and profanity to deter voters, and federal prosecutors in response filed a civil complaint in Philadelphia. However, the case was mysteriously and abruptly killed by a top Justice Department official just as a federal judge was preparing to punish the Black Panthers for ignoring the charges and refusing to appear in court. read on

By Lachlan Markay
Newsbusters.org

unalienable right of free speech ends at the shores of the gulf coast. read on

By Judicial Watch

The U.S. Secret Service recently denied Judicial Watch’s request under federal law for visitor logs for the Office of Vice President Joe Biden. In April, Judicial Watch filed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request for records of visits made to the Vice President’s Washington D.C. Office/Residence and of visits to his residence in Wilmington, Delaware. The Secret Service responded that the requested records are not accessible under FOIA. Earlier this year, Judicial Watch filed a FOIA lawsuit against the Secret Service, after it denied access to the White House visitor logs.

Judicial Watch specifically asked the Secret Service for access to:

1.) All official visitor logs and/or other records concerning visits made to the Vice President’s Residence and Office located on the grounds of the United States Naval Observatory from January 20, 2009 to the present.

2.) All official visitor logs and/or other records concerning visits made to Vice President Joe Biden’s residence in Wilmington, Delaware from January 20, 2009 to the present.

The Secret Service responded to Judicial Watch’s FOIA request with the statement that, “It is the government’s position that the categories of records that you requested are not agency records subject to the FOIA.”  The response went on to claim that certain portions of the records also would be exempt from disclosure as personnel or medical files, the disclosure of which would be an “unwarranted invasion of privacy.”

The Secret Service’s assertion that visitor logs of the Vice President’s Residence/Office are not agency records subject to FOIA has been rejected in federal court. The U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia explicitly held that such logs are records in 2007’s Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington v. U.S. Dep’t of Homeland Security, finding:

[T]he Court concludes that these visitor records at the White House Complex and Vice-President’s Residence are created (or obtained) and controlled by the Secret Service and are therefore ‘agency records’ under our circuit’s case law. Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington v. U.S. Dep’t of Homeland Security, 527 F. Supp.2d 76, 89 (D.D.C. 2007) (emphasis added)

The Obama Administration refuses to accept the federal court ruling and instead asserts that these prior court rulings were “incorrectly decided.”

The White House may tout its discretionary release of the Vice President’s visitor logs online (only logs after September 15, 2009), but this release does not supersede the legal obligation of the Secret Service to comply with the requirements of FOIA. By ordering a discretionary release, the administration asserts an ultimate authority when it comes to the public’s right to know who is visiting the White House and the Office of the Vice President – and thereby tries to evade the requirements of FOIA. The Obama Administration’s vigorous and ongoing defense of the Secret Service stonewalling reinforces the conclusion that President Obama’s promised “new era of transparency” remains hollow rhetoric.

Documents:

Secret Service response to Judicial Watch FOIA request

Judicial Watch, Inc., a conservative, non-partisan educational foundation, promotes transparency, accountability and integrity in government, politics and the law. Through its educational endeavors, Judicial Watch advocates high standards of ethics and morality in our nation’s public life and seeks to ensure that political and judicial officials do not abuse the powers entrusted to them by the American people. Judicial Watch fulfills its educational mission through litigation, investigations, and public outreach.

The motto of Judicial Watch is “Because no one is above the law“. To this end, Judicial Watch uses the open records or freedom of information laws and other tools to investigate and uncover misconduct by government officials and litigation to hold to account politicians and public officials who engage in corrupt activities.

SANTA ROSA COUNTY, FLORIDA

A $5,000 reward is being offered for the information leading to an arrest and conviction in the February 2007 death of 21 year-old Joshua Whittier. read on

By Chuck Baldwin

“Our own government has become our enemy.” So said Pinal County (Arizona) Sheriff Paul Babeu.

“Babeu told CNSNews.com that rather than help law enforcement in Arizona stop the hundreds of thousands of people who come into the United States illegally, the federal government is targeting the state and its law enforcement personnel. read on

‘She should not be a justice when she’s defrauded the Supreme Court’