Drones Slowly Becoming a Fact of Life

Grand Junction, Colorado - Denver's ABC-7 seems to be in preemptive spin mode with the idea of having drones keeping an eye on the residents of Mesa county.  It reports:

The Mesa County Sheriff's Department has purchased a small drone aircraft for $14,000 to use in investigations and in search and rescue operations...The sheriff's department is test-flying the aircraft and expects it will be ready for use within the next couple of months. Officials said the department has FAA permission to fly the drone anywhere in Mesa County in daylight hours.

Now I don't doubt what else is present in the article, that it will help find lost hikers and bikers, but just like what happened in Montana and other western states it will more than likely be used on civilians too.  The station then went on to praise the drone's looks and abilities, never stopping to question the real possibility it may be used on citizens.

Sheriff's officers demonstrated the 4-foot-long, 9-pound vehicle Friday. The plane can stay airborne for an hour, fly at an altitude of 400 feet and send video and infrared images to ground controllers...Officials said the plane could also be useful for observation during wildfires. The plane has manual pilot capabilities but is most useful and efficient on autopilot, allowing its operators to type into a computer where they want the plane to fly. "You tell it where to go, and it will continuously fly over those parameters you set for it," [sherriff's spokeswoman Heather] Benjamin said.

It will only be a matter of time before seeing drones in the skies for no reason will become commonplace.  Right now we are just being normalized to it.

Lawrence O'Donnell Knocks One Out of the Park

I haven't really watched mainstream news in a long time - sorry Rachel, Ed, and Lawrence I love you but I find what you guys don't cover to be pretty important too - but things like this make me want to do so.  I will let Lawrence himself say the words for me.  This needs to be taken to heart with ALL police stations not just now, when the heat is on them, but forever and globally.

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However these words must not just go for the press, but for ordinary citizens. By taping the actions of the police they are able to make sure the police do not violate anyone's rights yet not interfere with their job.  They also document the officers who do go beyond that line and start their own crimes.

Ever since the Rodney King beating was taped there have been laws put into place stating it is against the law to tape police officials. In the areas where this has not been the case, the police instead lie to civilians and tell them they are not allowed to do it despite the fact recording police is a sometimes the only way to make sure they don't go outside their boundaries.

If it wasn't  for taped events like the Rodney King beating, the police intimidation in Miami on Memorial Day earlier this year,  or the execution of Oscar Grant (and it WAS an execution), people would be less likely to believe these events happen.  One of the many things the Occupy Movement has brought to light, and they are many, is that police as a whole have no problem trying to stop people from recording what they're doing.  Now the ball is in the court of the police everywhere.  Stop preventing people from taping you whether they're press or civilian.