Last Week Tonight with John Oliver: Civil Forfeiture (HBO)

[Constitutional Paulicy]

Published on Oct 5, 2014

Did you know police can just take your stuff if they suspect it's involved in a crime? They can!
It’s a shady process called “civil asset forfeiture,” and it would make for a weird episode of Law and Order.
See?

Stop and seize
Aggressive police take hundreds of millions of dollars from motorists not charged with crimes

After the terror attacks on Sept. 11, 2001, the government called on police to become the eyes and ears of homeland security on America’s highways.

Local officers, county deputies and state troopers were encouraged to act more aggressively in searching for suspicious people, drugs and other contraband. The departments of Homeland Security and Justice spent millions on police training.

The effort succeeded, but it had an impact that has been largely hidden from public view: the spread of an aggressive brand of policing that has spurred the seizure of hundreds of millions of dollars in cash from motorists and others not charged with crimes, a Washington Post investigation found. Thousands of people have been forced to fight legal battles that can last more than a year to get their money back.

more here... http://www.washingtonpost.com/sf/inv...seize/?hpid=z3

[jonhowe]

Another AWESOME segment. I said once he was 75% on the button and 25% off, but it's moving closer to 90-10.

This is on HBO remember. Liberals are the target audience. These are the issues, and the ways to discuss them, to talk to your liberal friends about!

[phill4paul]

Wow. A full 16 minutes. He's hit or miss sometimes, this time however he is spot on.

[Warrior_of_Freedom]

their biggest mistake is being honest, like the mom with the gun driving in NJ. I'd be awfully suspicious if the police were interested in how much money I'm carrying.
this has been going on for a while and sets the precedent now that if you pay in cash you're a terrorist or a drug dealer. you must use a state approved credit company or bank when it comes to all of your transactions.

[Constitutional Paulicy]

Another AWESOME segment. I said once he was 75% on the button and 25% off, but it's moving closer to 90-10.

This is on HBO remember. Liberals are the target audience. These are the issues, and the ways to discuss them, to talk to your liberal friends about!

I think this is why I get excited about shows like this. It is MSM waking up to our concerns. The more success these programs have, the more likely it is we will see this in other nationally recognized outlets. I'm so jaded by the MSM that I hesitate to speculate on optimistic expectations, but when I see this sort of programing, I'm encouraged.

[limequat]

Oliver is not MSM.