While there may be a lot of minorities over represented in the Penal system -- you get on the wrong end of the law and you are suddenly one of the minorities. If you go the route of contesting your guilt, you face higher penalties fines and punishment than if you just cop a plea. Being innocent is painful and expensive. How many people just say; "You are right, I'm a bad boy" because it was bankrupting them? Only people with means can afford to be innocent. It's easy to believe the system is fair as long as you never get on the wrong end of it. The accusation becomes the reputation which rationalizes the punishment.

I can't imagine if the Feds wanted to make an example with me, and their credibility were on the line. "Tipping the scales" because they want to make an arrest easy and 'get the bad guy' -- I can imagine that happens more often than not. There's a lot of financial and career pressure on enforcement -- and I'm sure to get cyber criminals and whistleblowers, regardless of merit, is even greater.

As someone said; it's probably got little to do with investigation, and more coercing people to give up associates who MIGHT be guilty, and then leaning on them until they get somewhere. Like the drug war, that friendly recreational drug dealer that supplied your party gets squeezed and their life ruined to get SOMEONE. I suspect intimidation and thuggery is more useful than detective work.

So, suffice to say, if your parents aren't totally politically connected and rich -- you aren't the precious white boy if you are a nerd in the cross hairs of the Fed or NSA. You are at least going to be collateral damage because Uncle Sam isn't spending a few billion on this agency not to have results. Again, just like the inquisition finding a witch -- it doesn't matter if you've actually consorted with Satan.

I'd like to mod this comment up even though that might make me seem like a terrorist.

Some of the best people I know seem to be on that list these days. Sounds like the Founding Fathers would fit in the same category.

I'd say all we need to do to find the Metal stars is to look for those that have their fusion output turned up to 11.

Creating a business is a privilege society allows for the benefit of people having jobs and such items that that business might provide of utility. The notion that a business MUST exist as the playground and for profits goes against the founding principles.

You've already run into trouble if you don't include "Unnatural Children". North West and baby Snooki can never have a reality show with this precedent.

One question;
How does "free speech" translate into "depriving people of medical benefits"?

The first is conceptual and raising a concern, the second is a fucking benefit, and people having babies and getting abortions is offensive to the Godly, women unwed is offensive to the Godly, and being fucking poor is obviously offensive because God must hate them.

Sorry, I was just showing my free speech. If I had acted like these religious a-holes, I'd be saying that your medical policy will not cover Cancer, because I believe that is self inflicted.

And NO this is a situation where a Corporation is treated as a person -- or a "group of people". If you incorporate -- for that benefit, you leave your provincial ideas behind. If you want to force jesus on the medical policies, stay a single proprietorship.

I don't feel too bad for enthusiasts as this limitation won't stop them.
It's the same as some semiautomatics or limited cartridge guns -- you can modify them.

If the definition of DRONE is flies by video -- then they aren't sold with video and someone buys a radio camera and attaches that. Suddenly it's a remote viewer.

I suspect more fear of drones from the Government as the capabilities of CITIZENS doing what they do 24/7 becomes apparent. Is the worry about someone ELSE spying besides corporations and government, or that there will be remotely commit crimes?

The bigger fear to come is when the first crooked fat cat gets caught by a drone -- THEN they will be treated like WMDs.

Except that there in no proof that illegal immigrants compete for wages with the poor.

The Tea Party is an organization that thinks rich people shouldn't pay taxes.

The IRS collects taxes.

So looking for tax dodgers masquerading as charities -- no brainer.

I disagree that they are "independent" of the Republican party. It's an organization that pretends to be for a lot of things, in order to achieve Tea Party / and or Libertarian goals. The Tea Party is merely stripped bare of the pretense. The Koch brothers fund the Tea Party and it's closely aligned with ALEC.

The Republican party works for the Tea Party, and so do Blue Dog Democrats -- they all have the same benefactors. Follow the money. ALWAYS follow the money; http://www.theguardian.com/com...

It isn't so much as reducing the EXPENSE of government -- it's always, always about SHIFTING the costs so that it lands on everyone but the .1%.

You know, like INTELLIGENT people might assume that "Liberty" and "freedom" have been co-opted by crooks, so it might be a good place to start a search. They exactly caught a bunch of charlatans, and since those people are funded by powerful deep pockets, their sponsors complained, and then the media being owned by these same billionaires pretended any of this made sense.

The world is exactly as corrupt as we think it is, and what we saw was the natural result of a Kleptocracy in power. Then they penalized people doing the right thing -- as we can expect from a banana republic.

They are apologizing for CORRECTLY doing their jobs. There are a lot of politically active astro turf groups hiding out as 501C organizations.

How did dumb ass Tea Baggers take over the moderation system of Slash Dot? WTF is going on that their Kung Fu is better? What needs to be investigated is not only these fucking Tea Bag groups, but why asshole comments by douche bags thinking the IRS should not have shut down these Tea Bag astro turf playgrounds yesterday has any credibility.

Yes, I've been drinking. And I'm having a hard time restraining the truth and how pissed off I am, that these fuckers are even given the time of day. You are idiots, your whole concept of "let billionaires run everything -- whats the worst that can happen?" is fucking myopically ignorant on an epic scale. Railroads -- the Irish potato famine. The only thin that makes the USSR look like a Utopia is the unfettered capitalism of America.

I apologize for my outburst, and hope it doesn't affect my future employment. Somehow idiot Tea Baggers have all the great jobs and government kick backs.

This is insightful? Communism was originally planned to come from an advanced society; think Star Trek rather than bolshevik Russia.

Yes, there are corrupt people and that's a huge flaw in Communism. It's also a huge flaw in capitalism. The golden years everyone points to for the reason why Capitalism should reign supreme are between 1940 and 1980 -- the years when America was blessed by redistribution of wealth and a slightly Socialist form of government. Now we are getting well and truly screwed by Libertarianism.

Funny that while a lot of tea party groups actually do enjoy billionaire corporate benefactors, none of them have actually been harmed.

There's never been a louder group of whiney entitled people with more privileges in the history of the USA -- coupled with a really, really bad sense of history that they named themselves after a protest against tax subsidies.

If only this were a terminal case of being a tool, if only.

Can't wait for the letter; "sorry, you are going to go broke even though you researched this invention because we cannot define it very clearly. However, since ignorance of the law is no excuse (even our own), we are going to fine you $200,000 because we are a huge bag of dicks."

You are providing an extensive amount of wiggle room for things that SHOULD be defined. Billions of dollars and people going to jail rests on definitions by the supreme court.

In math, you can define a domain, or have an inkling of what would represent a correct answer. If The Supreme court were as vague as math -- then we'd be light years ahead of the bad homework that they turn in place of the legal opinions this country deserves.