Shredding the Fourth Amendment in Post-Constitutional America

By Peter Van Buren, TomDispatch Jun 27, 2014 The Bill of Rights was designed to protect the people from their government. If the First Amendment’s right to speak out publicly was the people's wall of security, then the Fourth Amendment’s right to privacy was its buttress. It was once thought that the government should neither be able to stop citizens from speaking nor peer into their lives. Dig deeper ( 13 Min. Read )

Is Homeland Security Preparing for the Next Wall Street Collapse?

By Ellen Brown, Web of Debt Oct 7, 2013 An Associated Press article in February confirmed a purchase order by the Department of Homeland Security for 1.6 billion rounds of ammunition. That’s enough to sustain an Iraq-sized war for over twenty years. Someone in government seems to expect some serious civil unrest. Why? Dig deeper ( 6 Min. Read )

How Dick Cheney’s Son-in-Law Helped Deregulate Chemical Plants

Tracy Bloom / Truthdig Apr 27, 2013 MSNBC host Chris Hayes explained on his program Thursday how the Bush administration--and specifically the former vice president's son-in-law--played a critical role in defeating regulations that would have strengthened federal oversight of chemical plants like the one that exploded and killed 15 people in West, Texas, last week. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

Texas Plant Had 270 Tons of Explosive Material, Was Not Being Monitored for Safety

Tracy Bloom / Truthdig Apr 21, 2013 The Department of Homeland Security monitors fertilizer plants with at least 400 pounds of potentially explosive ammonium nitrate. But apparently, it wasn't even aware that the West, Texas, plant that exploded Wednesday, killing at least 14 people and obliterating a small town in the process, even existed. Dig deeper ( 2 Min. Read )

Homeland Security Looks at Installing Tollbooths at Border Crossings

Alexander Reed Kelly / Truthdig Apr 20, 2013 The Department of Homeland Security wants to study the benefits of collecting a fee from anyone who enters or leaves the country at landed border crossings, as opposed to funding operations by collecting taxes from earners who can afford to pay. Dig deeper ( 2 Min. Read )

New Drone Radar Reveals Border Patrol ‘Gotaways’ in High Numbers

By Andrew Becker, Center for Investigative Reporting Apr 11, 2013 The U.S. Border Patrol has caught some border crossers in remote stretches of desert with a sophisticated sensor mounted on unmanned spy aircraft that can reveal every man, woman and child under its gaze from a height of about 25,000 feet. Dig deeper ( 8 Min. Read )

‘Homeland Security’: The Trillion Dollar Concept That No One Can Define

By Mattea Kramer and Chris Hellman, TomDispatch Feb 28, 2013 Since 2003, the Department of Homeland Security has grown into a miniature Pentagon. But unlike the Pentagon, it draws no attention whatsoever -- even though this country has spent an amount of money equivalent to more than one and a half New Deals on “homeland security” since 9/11. Dig deeper ( 8 Min. Read )

Living in a Constitution-Free Zone

By Todd Miller, TomDispatch Feb 7, 2013 Unlike on our southern border, there is still no wall to our north on what was once dubbed the “longest undefended border in the world.” But don’t let that fool you. The U.S.-Canadian border is increasingly a national security hotspot watched over by drones, surveillance towers and agents of the Department of Homeland Security. Dig deeper ( 13 Min. Read )

Homeland Security Spent $430 Million on Radios Its Employees Don’t Know How to Use

By Theodoric Meyer, ProPublica Nov 22, 2012 The recent inspector general’s report is the latest in a string of critical assessments DHS has received on its efforts to improve communication among federal, state and local agencies. Dig deeper ( 2 Min. Read )

Good News for Gay and Lesbian Immigrants

Alexander Reed Kelly / Truthdig Sep 29, 2012 The Department of Homeland Security has emerged as an unlikely advocate for gay rights. The agency will now consider long-term same-sex couples as being in a “family relationship” for immigration purposes. Dig deeper ( 2 Min. Read )

The Privacy War Just Got Biological

Alexander Reed Kelly / Truthdig Jul 11, 2012 In as little as one year, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security will have a mobile, long-range, laser-based molecular scanner that can identify any chemical substance in or on your body -- including gunpowder, flecks of cocaine on your sleeve and the half-digested Pop-Tart in your gut. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

Dubya’s Presidential Tab, Jon Stewart on Political Gaffes and More

Tracy Bloom / Truthdig Jun 12, 2012 A look at the day's political happenings, including Arizona's special election, the fiscal damage done by George W. Bush's presidency and the latest on the controversial Florida voter purge. Dig deeper ( 3 Min. Read )