This is a much bigger deal than the story makes it out to be.
A Massachusetts Salon owner feels ‘violated’ after the United States Secret Service broke into her business during a nearby fundraiser for Vice President Kamala Harris.
Footage from a Ring security camera shows an agent approaching the front door of the business in Berkshire, Massachusetts last week before coming back to tape over the video camera.
Alicia Powers, the salon owner, said after the camera was covered, agents broke into the building by picking the lock and then allowing multiple people to use the bathroom inside over a two-hour period.
We have a right to our private property and that right is strongly protected in several places in the U.S. Constitution. Without a warrant or probable cause, these agents broke into a private business to use for their own purposes. The purpose is immaterial. The Secret Service had no more right to enter that building without permission than any thug on the street. If a rando had broken in, they would be prosecuted and put in jail. The same thing should happen to the agents. They don’t get to say, “ope, our bad” and move on. I wouldn’t be able to do that. They should be held to the same or higher standard.
The whole thing speaks to a culture at the Secret Service that disregards the rights of citizens and does not hold itself accountable. It speaks to a culture of an agency that considers itself above the law. They are behaving as a modern Praetorian Guard instead of as a law enforcement and protection agency in a Constitutional Republic.
It seems that all of our federal agencies have become rotten to the core.
The whole thing speaks to a culture of all governments that disregards the rights of citizens and does not hold itself accountable.
FIFY.
From 100-yr old prohibition to half-century aged state mandatory seat belt laws to federal required killer CCPvirus shots, individual rights have been in decline since the founders declared, “No Soldier shall, in time of peace be quartered in any house, without the consent of the Owner..”
Note that the SS (gosh, how appropriate) left the shop wide open after leaving.
I hope the owner sues their friggn’ pants off.
state mandatory seat belt laws
Can you smell the foul green breath of the insurance lobby here?
This is honestly awful. Someone should be sued and possibly lose a job over this. Unacceptable to break into someone’s business like that.
But… who is still bitching about seatbelts these days??? Lol
>This is honestly awful. Someone should be sued and possibly lose a job over this.
Heh, that only happens if a non-Dem is in office.
T. Don’t forget that the Secret Service director JUST resigned her position due to the Trump debacle. And in this case, the agent should probably be relieved of their position or his direct superior if it was authorized by them.
It is funny you act as if it matters who is in office for this stuff.
This is just all kinds of wrong. They didn’t even bother to lock up again when they left. Let’s hope the animals at least flushed.
>It is funny you act as if it matters who is in office for this stuff.
I did not see Joe Biden in court, nor will we, just like we didn’t for Hillary (and Hunter will be pardoned whether Joe technically keeps his promise or just gives the reins to KH at the end if she loses). Neither was Bill for that matter, he was cleared by Democrats because he was a Democrat. Unless no Democrat knows what ‘is’ means and that defense worked for you as well as them. Meanwhile they changed laws and courtroom etiquette just to convict Trump. So yeah, it does matter if you have some semblance of objectivity and basic comprehension skills. It is pathetic that you act as if it doesn’t matter. I wish it were just funny, but this farce of a Government will continue as long as Pubbies and Demmies are satisfied with their side of the aisle. I mean KH commercials are saying that “We KNOW that DT will sign a national abortion ban” even though we all SHOULD know that he absolutely will not, but you probably believe it anyway…because you are a Demmy.
JV kackles like Kommie: who is still bitching about seatbelts these days??? Lol
Me. And as usual, the point missed your shoulder blob by 10,000 feet.
T. I do think Trump WOULD sign an abortion ban of some sort if it came across his desk. But I don’t think it would ever get that far, cause it wouldn’t get thru Congress. So overall it is a moot point. It personally holds no space in my head. I also think that Kamala would sign a medicare for all bill… but it would never get thru Congress. So there is that as well. If you trust anything that a politician says during campaign season… I have a bridge to sell you REAL CHEAP.
MJM over here crying about seatbelts and probably airbags. MJM probably hates crumple zones and automatic braking. MJM hates automatic head lights too. MJM thinks 12 year olds should be able to drive too. DAMN YOU SAFETY FEATURES!!!!!!!! (shaking fist to sky). That darn gov’t forcing businesses to implement safety measures.
>T. I do think Trump WOULD sign an abortion ban of some sort if it came across his desk.
Why did Trump approve of the overturning of Roe v Wade (he had nothing to do with it, it just happened during his Presidency)? Abortion is not in the constitution, which means legally it is a state issue. Want it in the constitution, put forth an amendment. Trump specifically stated that he agreed with the overturning because making it a national issue was unconstitutional in the first place, regardless of your beliefs. Even if the Republicans gained a supermajority and the Presidency and then put forth the legislation, SCOTUS would knock it down immediately for the exact same reasons and be right to do so, but I believe Trump would veto it for that reason as well.
>If you trust anything that a politician says during campaign season… I have a bridge to sell you REAL CHEAP.
Yet you trust Dem campaign promises or why vote? Are their brand of lies any better? The answer is no if you believe that the rights of the individual come first and yes if you believe in the Socialist value that the collective comes first at the expense of the minority. We both know where the other stands there. And yep, Dems are once again against minorities. You are for any majority if you thinks it’s good for people in your opinion, you now hate Jews as you vote for unquestioningly for the Party that is more concerned with their minority pro-Hamas voters than bigotry. You keep blacks down in cities, choking growth while keeping up subsistence handouts in their areas to keep status quo. No commotion or uproar on your side and little to no finger pointing from the right on this, which is a mystery to me.
So you see, you hit the nail on the head saying you can’t trust a politician, yet you all still vote for the same incumbent liars over and over. And over and over and over. Incumbents do not get beaten in elections, they won 98% of the time in the last cycle. They retire from office like it is a career job and they expect that because the system is set up to support re-election. I noticed you said “during campaign season”, do you think they lie less while elected? We differ there. I follow the results of their actions. The current admin let illegals in by purposeful inaction, we do not have a secure border and there is clear evidence that KH supports an open border and legalizing all crossings. If not, she would not state her beliefs that coming across the border without going through the legal system is not a crime out loud. KH says inflation is down. In pseudo fact, the rate of increase is down .01%, and that rate is at its lowest since 2020. Not before 2020, it is still higher (at its lowest point) than anything under Trump. So when she says her ‘dream’ is that a family can live with one income, it is exactly that, a dream that she is selling. You don’t get single income families by raising the minimum wage, a 5th grader knows that (well knew it back when they taught that sort of thing). All you get is inflated prices in the markets that use personnel paid the minimum wage. Oh, and she states that is her plan, to raise the min wage more and eliminate tip taxes. If we stay Dem it will be more of the same, yet you still believe the Dem lies, er, promises. You don’t get prosperity by forcing people to buy more expensive and less effective cars that have no nationwide infrastructure, for instance.
Tuerqas
Your patience with the completely illogical nature of modern liberals is amazing.
MJM probably hates crumple zones and automatic braking. MJM hates automatic head lights too.
Let’s talk about “affordable” cars, Jonny. I note that you are no longer interested in “affordable” housing.
JV mis-ass-umes: “That darn gov’t forcing businesses to implement safety measures.”
Well, I humbly apologize for being wrong.
Must’v been 20,000 feet.
T. I don’t believe Kamala’s campaign promises anymore than I believe Trumps. Campaign promises are trash and just used as a motivation to get people to vote, when so much of that power resides in Congress. But as we have gone over time and time again, I am more in the camp of what democrats believe as an overarching philosophy right now. Give me a solid Libertarian and maybe I would vote them. Don’t know until I see one with a legitimate chance.
I would be for an 18 – 20-week abortion ban, not fewer.
I think there should be restrictions on the 2nd amendment and believe in red flag laws.
I believe in higher corporate taxes and cutting spending. (Which neither camp seems to get behind right now). I love what Lina Khan has been doing with the FTC and the monopoly suites she has been going after with Big Tech.
I don’t believe in my tax dollars going to privatized schools or churches.
Religious institutions should pay TAXES like any other business.
I believe in a free market, and that it should be a free market without thumbs on scales (both sides fail on this).
I believe we are doing great harm to the planet and affecting global climate. And I think we should be subsidizing more green energy initiatives.
I think we need to overhaul our immigration system to allow more legal aliens into the country… QUICKER. It shouldn’t take 17 years to become a citizen.
There are some things the Rs are better at, but to ME the D’s are better at the ideals I take most seriously.
And any politician that uses the term “Woke” as an insult is immediately disqualified, hahaha.
And cars are 10 times safer and more efficient than they were 30 years ago, and that does come with a cost.
That is a decent comment, thanks. My opinions with no (hopefully) condemnation of yours.
I would be okay with a 12 week abortion ban. You should be able to make a decision by the time the baby is fully formed.
What is the point of a red flag law in the end? The courts let illegal immigrant rapers of children on the streets for $500 bail instead of giving them over to ICE. To me it is way more important to keep the people who do cross the line to stay out of circulation. You won’t have 50% of American murders be by repeat offenders if they never got out of jail in the first place. Also why I am pro death penalty for all repeat murderers and rapists, to be carried out within 1 year of second conviction. I don’t support jail with no parole, so they have to be emptied somehow.
I would favor the European laws on fining for offenses. A fine based on income is much more fair than a flat fine that a rich person wouldn’t blink at.
If corporate taxes could be increased without corps just moving their bases and factories, I think I would agree, though I would prefer that laws concentrate on individuals being able to be prosecuted for corporate law breaking. Personally, I think cutting spending is purely against the Dem ideals you speak of, so that is a conflict of interest for you. Pubbies, however, talk about it all the time and only one in my lifetime actually did something about it. Not ever cutting spending is definitely their failure, but the reasons are as obvious as they are unscrupulous. They all gain power when more money flows through Government, not just Dems.
I don’t believe in my money going to public education as it has completely failed its mission, but that it where it is going, very little (comparatively) is going to private education unless you count all the money funneled into Colleges of all types. So your wish is still largely true at the compulsory school level which is where I think you are referring.
Religious taxes I could pretty much take or leave. In the secular world, people get tax breaks for donations and you want those institutions to pay taxes on already taxed money given freely. If Feeding America, etc. is also taxed, I would be indifferent. They both give comfort to people and I believe it is completely hypocritical to tax religious donations, but not any other non-profit organizations.
I believe in a free market with Government safety and fraud oversights. I don’t believe that Democrat pols believe in a free market, so you are in the minority there again, in my opinion.
I also believe we are doing great harm to the planet, and I agree it is largely petroleum oriented. However, the greatest harm is from plastics and other non-biodegradables. Emissions are a secondary concern to me on that stage and no one is talking about solutions to those problems. Batteries will compound the throw away society’s problems and the earth will be in more long term trouble with that as the primary ‘solution’ to the problem.
On immigration I would have no problem with friendlier immigration towards citizenship, but there still need to be hard limits. We can’t take in 2 million plus per year just because they want to come. I would keep background checks and the ability to speak English as primary prerequisites and no path through illegal border crossings. Mark ’em with forehead tattoos before returning them.
I don’t know what Reps are better at in Government (sitting on the sidelines?), but I think they are worse at actively breaking laws and the constitution.
I fully agree on the woke term as Dems are clearly the more racist and bigoted today than non-Dems, they don’t deserve the term as currently defined online.
Interesting facts: The average MPG in 1990 was 22.3 and in 2022 it was 26 mpg. Hardly 10 times (1000%) more efficient. It is more like 17%. You may be able to argue safer to a higher degree, but SUVs became popular starting in the late 90s and they are a significantly less safe vehicle than a car and are the primary reason that the mileage isn’t significantly better 30 years later.
Have a good day!
Merlin, talking with Republicans is really just as fruitless. If we agree, we agree, nothing to talk about. If we disagree, I have found Republicans to be just as shortsighted and bullheaded as most liberals:). I used to disagree with relatively little that Republican politicians SAY they want to do, they just either don’t do it or they do a very small part and allow add-ons that make the legislation worse than none. Now they no longer even talk about spending less or being fiscally conservative, or most other things that are still on their platform, but are no longer talked about much less addressed.
Speaking with liberals occasionally edifies me and at least I get to see some things through a different lens.
My 10x was in reference to safety, not efficiency although I did bunch them in the sentence. There is a lot of ways to slice vehicle safety. You could look at highway fatalities or pedestrian fatalities. Pedestrian deaths are way up, in a large part because of the size of vehicles. But highway deaths are down overall.
Your comment on who is more “racist” is absurd. Making it a “us vs them” is asinine. There are racists and bigots on both sides of the equation.
I am totally open to a yearly limit on immigration. Overall it needs to be reformed, or nothing is going to change. “Closing the border” isn’t a realistic or long-term solution. I don’t personally think we need a language pre-req, but we need to look at criminal backgrounds.
I agree with your assessment of the green energy mostly. I do think we are polluting at a crazy rate as well as plastic consumption, and need to attack both avenues. And batteries ARE a problem that we will have to address as well. There are already battery technologies that are working on this, but probably nothing for the next 10 years.
I think you are wrong that most dems don’t believe in a free market. We do, but some have differing perspectives on how to achieve that.
And companies are not going to up and leave the US. I think it is a fallacy. Where are they going to go? Mexico? EU? Asia? Have fun with those regulations. Our largest companies are not going to up and move their HQs. It isn’t in their best interests. People want to be in the US.
Everyone is afraid of cutting spending because they don’t want it to be held against them. This is a both sides problem. But we need to look at cutting programs that don’t work. We need to cut military spending. We need to force negotiations with health care and pharma to cut prices. I truly believe every dept in the gov’t could cut 10% if they tried. And THEN simplify the tax code for individuals.
And I would want a red-flag law with ample right to appeal. Owning a gun is a right, but even rights can have limits.
I could probably settle on a 16 week abortion law if pressed.
THESE are the conversations I appreciate with you T.
But highway deaths are down overall.
Wrong.
Since 1950 or so, highway deaths have remained above 40K/year except for the period between roughly 2008-2017 when they were down to 38-39K or so. See: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/3b/United_States_Motor_Vehicle_Deaths_per_Year.webp
>Your comment on who is more “racist” is absurd. Making it a “us vs them” is asinine. There are racists and bigots on both sides of the equation.
Oh, I agree and have been saying so for decades, but for the entirety of the 21st century it has been us vs Dems (asinine, right?). Every non-liberal adult has been called a racist and bigot dozens of times by liberals with no other arguments and the media will continue that. Welcome to the party, it IS no longer us vs them, you get to be mainstream racist too. Even so, the media will be silent on Jews, but KH will be hailed as a martyr by election time. The bulk of the media will sound byte every Pubbie word that could be twisted to sound racist or bigoted (ooh, and don’t forget misogynist) and pretty much ignore the issues and blatant Dem racism. This Dem election campaign will boil down to “Don’t vote for a misogynist racist!!!”
>I am totally open to a yearly limit on immigration.
I think most people are, but then be aware it comes down to picking winners and losers. Why choose a poor farmer from Venezuela fresh out of jail when you can accept a doctor from India? Personally, I am okay with that, it is liberals that care about that issue more (especially Dem politicians who want the poor to come vote for them, not doctors who want to keep the money they earn and might vote Republican).
>I think you are wrong that most dems don’t believe in a free market. We do, but some have differing perspectives on how to achieve that.
I believe that many liberal voters believe in a sort of free market, but our Dem overlords definitely do not. KH’s first publicized ‘fixes’ so far are more hiking of the min wage and now price controls to stop those evil corps from ‘more’ price gouging. There is nothing that closes down a free market faster than a forced wage (well above a school aged youngster’s needs, the largest age group of recipients of the min wage hikes) and a good price control.
>And companies are not going to up and leave the US. I think it is a fallacy.
So Dem pols talking about all the jobs that left during Trump’s years was a fallacy? I am glad you know that! Most lib voters sure don’t. It has been a Dem jab against Trump over the last cycle.
>Everyone is afraid of cutting spending because they don’t want it to be held against them. This is a both sides problem. But we need to look at cutting programs that don’t work.
I totally agree, it is just that Pubbies still have fiscal responsibility in their platform so one should expect it of them, Dems have been strictly ‘spend, baby, spend’ for decades so nobody expects it of them. Programs that don’t work…I would say public education doesn’t work, It fails every metric I can think of outside of the food programs. I am not saying abolish it and go private necessarily, but it needs a complete overhaul. Are you good with that?
>And I would want a red-flag law with ample right to appeal. Owning a gun is a right, but even rights can have limits.
While this has a decent logic, it still violates the intent of the constitution and I still believe that our founding fathers were brilliant and far-sighted. The rights guaranteed in the constitution are inalienable and should not be abrogated on maybes, as that leads to favoritism and persecution. We vs me, beliefs. I understand both sides and hate neither, but I side with the founding fathers, first because they were smarter on these issues than we are today, but also because while Socialism in its theory is admirable, to date it has only lead to autocracy in practice and since we all seem to agree not to trust a politician why would I want to give the untrustworthy more power over me and taking away rights supposedly guaranteed by the same Government? You lose a right by abusing it, not by someone else guessing you may abuse it. Now keeping it away after abuse or shown intent to abuse, that is what we have to get a LOT better at.
No, company HQ’s won’t leave. Factories and such will. Companies will go where ever it is cheapest to produce, and that will NEVER be the US. Nor should it be. It would be nice if we would bring more jobs to America, but that also means increased prices due to higher labor costs. We will NEVER be able to compete with Chinese and Indian labor.
I am good with a public education overhaul, but I would have to see the details first. So many school costs are exploding because of administration. But what is considered “administration”. My daughter has a team of at least 9 people due to her special needs. Vision, PT, OT, Reading, SPED, etc. Her IEP meetings last HOURS. A huge cost is teaching kids of all different needs and levels. Obviously this isn’t exclusively the reason, but it is a big reason. Show me the private schools that need to have all those resources and I can show you why they can run leaner.
I am fine with a hike on Min Wage. Few people are actually getting min wage and it hasn’t been raised in decades. I am assuming you are referring to KH talking about cutting grocery bills? Trump just told us he will cut energy costs by 50%. Both of these are trash. You can tell me what you want to do, but neither will tell me HOW they will do it. How do they plan on cutting those expenses? Trump keeps repeating “Drill baby Drill”. We are already at record highs for the oil we are producing. More campaign trash talk that won’t happen. And inflation currently dropping to reasonable levels isn’t going to help his platform.
And as far as who we let in for immigration. That depends on what type of workers we need. Do we need more doctors? Do we need more farmers? That would be ever-changing.
Then why do you think corporations with most of their production outside the US will stand for higher taxes? And as a note, the biggest corp HQs to leave the US in the last 25 years include Burger King, Budweiser, Purina, Seagate, Medtronics, McDermott…I can go on. I do agree with you that we cannot compete with those markets without protections and I don’t think we should go that route. However, the favorable trade statuses needed to expire and Trump did help with that vs China.
Personally, while I am okay with having special needs children who have a chance to grasp education being in regular schools, I would favor the children that will never be a part of adult America being in special schools and I am kind of surprised I am on the opposite side of libs on that. The needs of the many are suffering because of the greater needs of the few. if I were part of the overhaul, I do have quite a few ideas, having a degree in education, but Dems will not let go of their dummy factories so the point is moot.
The problems with minimum wage increases is that it is a direct cause of increased prices so there isn’t a point. No one is going to live on the min wage, much lees their family, so if the solution is a failure, stop calling it a solution. The big dollar, big margin jobs are at businesses not affected in the least by minimum wage increases. The fine margin low dollar jobs that haver little profit margin for the level of increase in labor costs are the ones affected. That is why fast food places, for example, have doubled in price over the last 15 plus years including the inflation kicker. They may not have to yet, but McDonald’s average wage is 12.42/hr in WI as of 8/6/24. All it has done is raise prices in my book.
Are you good if almost all we ever need are professional immigrants? Poorer people sitting on the border of Mexico may take decades for openings in immigration. If you let needs rule immigration, those poor farmers will never get here. We don’t have competitive small farms now and the land is just going up in price. Your stance puts you on the Republican side there, do you agree?
As a note, I generally use lib or liberal for voters and “Dems” to mean the Dem Party goals or I will say ‘Dem voters’. I think they are vastly different so I want you to take those terms appropriately.
Perhaps you’ve heard of Johnson Controls, Jonnyv?
https://craft.co/johnson-controls/locations
That site tells you that JCI is headquartered in Ireland and I can tell you that happened for tax purposes. Or you can look it up on your own.
Moving on: It would be nice if we would bring more jobs to America, but that also means increased prices due to higher labor costs.
First off, direct-labor costs in a typical manufacrturing operation are about 5% of the total cost of goods. So let’s dispose of that canard which–yes–is pushed hard by the “right” who are not Conservatives.
Now let’s move to the REAL costs in the USA: ERISA. FLSA. SocSec. OSHA. HR/Legal. EPA. Taxes. Zoning. Unemployment Comp. Yes, some of those are “indirect costs of labor.” So what?
Note well, JonnyV: those are all costs imposed by government(s), Fed, State, and Local. We may argue over “how much is enough” and arrive at an agreement, but you can NOT argue that these are costs imposed in Red China, Viet Nam, Mexico, or other manufacturing hot-spots.
One more thing: all those dividends that your 401(k) racks up every year come from “greedy corporations,” just as do the interest payments on your CD’s. You could dump all your stocks and CD’s and sit in cash for your 401(k )! THat would eliminate all that “greed,”
Almost ALL of those costs you list are directly related to labor. Lump them all together. It is the cost of living in a civilized society where we can’t just treat our labor as slaves and must actually protect them. It is also why we have a higher quality of life. Because as the past has shown us… corporations will do whatever it takes to cut costs and increase profits without regard to the health and safety of their employees. It doesn’t make them “greedy”, it makes them a corporation.
FYI. I never called corporations greedy. They have every right to make as much profit as they legally can.
And yes. Tyco moved their HQ multiple times in the last decade and are now in Ireland. Why haven’t MORE companies done that? I mean, shouldn’t they ALL be there by now?
we can’t just treat our labor as slaves and must actually protect them
So instead, let’s send our money to the slave-owners overseas!!!
No, JonnyV: the solution is what Trump initiated: impose tariffs which will ‘make up for’ the cost of doing business IN THE USA, after your boy Bill Clinton and the utterly stupid GWB gave away America’s manufacturing through their (some say treasonous) Globaloney Treaties.
Dad29, there are some things I think we should try and bring back for national security reasons. But frankly, Trump talked about a flat 10-20% tariff, which is really dumb. Some things we don’t need to bring back to the US. Do we really care if our t-shirts are made in the USA? How about our keyboards and mice? Just putting tariffs up without a plan to bring the jobs to the US is short sided and dumb. Talk about a good way to increase prices and inflation.
I think that all this will do is spark a trade-war and other countries will raise their tariffs on us as well and we will all just be paying more.
I want to be clear, you are saying that if we implement tariffs, that companies will start to build things in the US? We should force price increases to bring low paying overseas jobs here, when our unemployment is currently low?
Trump “talks” about a lot of stuff. What he DOES is often different.
The thousands of women and men who made t-shirts “care” about where they are made. But they’re not Bayside residents, so they don’t make a difference?? That’s the first cousin of ‘racist’: class-ist.
other countries will raise their tariffs on us as well and we will all just be paying more.
So Frenchmen pay more for ……….what? Fords? There are almost zero items that Frenchies can NOT buy either within Europe or from low-cost SE Asian countries. And it’s been proven (Trump did it) that when we raised tariffs, “other countries” dropped their prices, <b?because losing the single largest consumer marketplace on Earth is NOT in their best interest.
And certainly you know that Red China throws money at its manufacturers to make up for the lowered prices, right? It’s called mercantilism, and it’s been around for centuries.
to bring low paying overseas jobs here,
You are a hoot. A few posts above, you state that ‘US jobs are not low-paying and that’s why they went overseas.’ Now you state that they will be “low-paying” jobs if done here.
Let me ask you a question: who is your fellow countryman? That peasant in Cambodia, or the Racine dude who’s going to work for Microsoft?
I hope that’s an easy question for you to answer.