News Story
Congress Blasts Homeland Security for Failing to Produce Better Method to Assess Border
Steve Neavling ticklethewire.com Democrats and Republicans expressed frustration this week that Homeland Security officials never made good on a promise two years ago to produce more reliable standards to assess border security, the New York Times reports. Not only did Homeland Security fail to devise an accurate method to evaluate the border, it isn’t even…
Secret Service Calls “Inaccurate” a Report in The Atlantic About an Agent Discharging His Gun and Iran’s Mahmoud Ahmadinejad
By Allan Lengel ticklethewire.com The Secret Service on Thursday issued a statement, calling “inaccurate” a story in The Atlantic entitled “How the Secret Service Almost Shot Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.” Ed Donovan, a Secret Service spokesman, stated: “In September of 2007, one of our personnel assigned to the Iranian presidential protective detail accidentally discharged one round from…
Pres. Obama’s Visit to Israel Stirs Up Old Sensitive Issue About Spy Jonathan Pollard
By Allan Lengel ticklethewire.com President Obama’s visit to Israel is stirring up a longstanding, sensitive issue involving Jonathan Pollard, who spied for Israel while working for U.S. Naval intelligence. Seymour D. Reich, a lawyer and former chairman of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations, writes this week in a letter to the…
Sandy Hook Elementary Shooting Prompts Gun-Buying Binge Nationwide
Steve Neavling ticklethewire.com The school shooting massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary appears to be driving an unprecedented number of gun sales, the Atlantic Wire reports. In fact, 9 of the 10 days with the most requests ever for FBI background checks occurred after the Dec. 14 shooting, according to the Atlantic Wire. And in Sandy…
Over Federal Objections, Maryland Senate Approves Decriminalizing Marijuana
Steve Neavling ticklethewire.com The Maryland Senate approved decriminalizing of possession of small amounts of marijuana over the objections of federal law enforcement Tuesday, the Washington Post reports. Maryland joins other states and cities across the country decriminalizing pot. Colorado and Washington, for instance, have legalized marijuana. Unlike like full legalization in those states, Maryland makes…
FBI Reviews Taser incident in Pittsburgh Following Complaints of Civil Rights Violations
Steve Neavling ticklethewire.com The FBI is investigating whether a Pittsburgh police detective was out of control when he pulled a Taser on a man in Pittsburgh over the weekend, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports. The incident captured a national audience after a cell phone video caught Detective Frank Rende walking up to a man and…
Opinion: Homeland Security Buys Up Expensive Assault Rifles, Armored Assault Vehicles
Don Gilleland Florida Today In 2008, presidential front-runner Barack Obama called for a “civilian national security force” as powerful as the U.S. military. Nobody seemed to pay much attention to that suggestion at the time. Much has happened since then that should concern us. Recent news reports indicate our Department of Homeland Security has bought…