Driver sues feds after they search cab, confiscate $23,000 in cash

Dang...didnt see this before...been a long time. Either way, this is going to be fun!

And yer point is what? You said you dont use banks, so does that make you a terrorist? Sorry, guilt by association.
In reality, terrorists use what they can. They use cash because they are able to profit off of many trades, one of which is illegal drugs...so basically they are using the money we pay them for illegal drugs. Thankfully, our guvment is doing a whole lot of nothing to stop their illegal drug trades. So to sum it up....our governmetn is not fighting the war on drugs or working with countries to stop it or fight it, hence our money continues to flow freely across borders to terrorists who in turn use our money to buy weapons and create schemes that cause great harm. Full Circle. Instead of saying terrorists use cash...just make it clear they are using OUR cash.

yea lets blast a system designed to see who is withdrawing a crap load of money and spending it somewhere in hopes of blowing something up. Then when we get that system shut down, lets blast the government for not having enough oversight to look for criminals who withdrew money that we couldnt monitor.

I think many Americans have secrets they wouldnt want people to know about.

No, lots of people go out of the boundaries. IE...myself. When I movedo this new town, I hacked onto someone elses wireless internet for about six months until they finally pass protected their net. What do you define as boundaries? Lots of boundaries exist...speed limits for example...and how many of us go over that? How many litter, even a gum wrapper? We all break the law. Police know that if they cant find a reason to pull you over, they arent doing their job right. Its not that they are that good, its that you will have something wrong with your car or make a mistake of some sort to create a reason for them to pull you over if they wish.

This is a vast list of generalizations and stereotypes that MOST people that have their head on right realize are jsut that...stereotypes. Some police make these assumptions, just as some pastors do as well. Is it right, not at all. But we have a culture to insult what we don't understand. Romney was a very interesting Rep candidate but all people focused on was his mormonism; and who actually researched the TRUTH (not what people hear from their neighbor) about it? Granted, I dont believe in the faith...but I ignore the assumptions others take for granted and that they believe to be true.

Tons of people love to insult Mexico, but they don't seem to care abotu the fact that our jobs went to Mexico because WE ourselves wanted cheaper products and our own demand forced those companies to go south. And to me, it says a heck of a lot for a person in Mexico to get up and leave their family in hopes of what they still believe to be the American Dream. Sure its illegal and Im against illegal aliens...but they sure have a bronze pair for risking their lives for a better future.

Im not so much of a ##### to point fingers at the police agencies out there, because I KNOW they do their job the best they can. ANd sure, there are some people who stereotype...just like there are in every single other friggen field and occupation out there. Heck, I've heard more racist talk on the CB from fellow drivers than I have heard anywhere else. Its amazing how people toss out the word #######, when they dont even know what it means...how few of us wear a visual symbol of our faith for ALL to see, no matter where we go? lol and no, a teeny cross doesnt count, nor does a tatoo that is covered up, or worn by a non believer.

 

Just another example of the Police state we live in...Land of the free?.....right.....

 

DEA Returns Trucker's Cash​

CONTACT: Whitney Potter (505) 266 5915 ext. 1003, Cell (505) 507 9898
ALBUQUERQUE'The federal Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) gave back almost $23,000 to truck driver Anastasio Prieto in response to a civil rights lawsuit filed by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of New Mexico.

The DEA seized the money in connection with a search of Prieto's truck that occurred at a weigh station north of El Paso on August 8. DEA agents had no evidence that Prieto was involved in illegal activity.
"Carrying around large amounts of cash is not a crime in America," said ACLU Executive Director Peter Simonson. "But our federal laws have so empowered law enforcement to investigate drug activity that some officers assume they can simply cut the corners and dispense with the need for actual evidence. That's what occurred in Mr. Prieto's case, and we were glad that our involvement could set the record straight'at least in this instance."

While claims have been dropped against the DEA, Prieto has an ongoing lawsuit against the New Mexico state police for their role in the money seizure. During the August 8 incident, state officers'who are yet to be identified--asked to search Prieto's truck and if it contained "needles or cash in excess of ten thousand dollars." Prieto consented to the search and replied that, while he did not have any needles, he did have nearly $24,000 in his possession.

Officers took the money and turned it over DEA officials, who informed Prieto that he would need to prove in an administrative hearing that the money truly is his, and that it did not derive from illegal drug sales. Agents told Prieto that the process would "probably take a year."
Simonson said, "It appears that the DEA pulled some strings to speed the process up and get Mr. Prieto's money back to him. Probably they feared bad publicity. Most Americans are deeply offended by the notion that the government can so arbitrarily deprive a law-abiding citizen of his or her hard-earned cash."

Both Albuquerque and Santa Fe newspapers published editorial comments decrying the DEA's actions. [link to Journal editorial and Sandy's column in New Mexican.] ACLU attorneys Cid Lopez, George Bach, and Maureen Sanders filed the suit on Prieto's behalf in federal court. The ACLU has filed a public records request with the Department of Public Safety to determine the identity of the officers who originally seized Prieto's money.

Download the complaint from this case:
http://aclu-nm.org/News_Events/news_8_23_07.html

 

Well, I've got two visual symbols tatooed forever on each shoulder. Very visable in summer when I can wear a tank top. Of course winter time when it's COLD is different. And they aren't Christian religion either. I am a pagan and proud of it. And I wear my tatoos with pride. I do believe in God, but not as in the Christian sense. I believe in God that created the earth, and everything on it. And whether you call that Creator God, Allah, Shiva, or Timbucktu it doesn't matter to me. It's still the same Creator, the Beginning, the All That Is. I don't believe in the hell of Christianity, or the devil of Christianity. But I sure think that "hell" loosely termed is here on earth sometimes.

 

Well Im not trying to get into a religious debate because you and I know it would get nowhere, lol.
A tatoo is a symbol and each person has their beliefs in getting them and so on. My comment about the turban was a point in that in our country, someone wearing a turban is probably often regarded secretly as a person who is a muslim or a terrorist. Their Sikh faith dictates wearing this head piece and they take their faith very seriously. A tatoo is something you choose to get. Paganism does not dictate or mandate getting one...its your personal choice. My comment was that I think the visual representation and symbolism of ones faith that they can not / are not allowed to hide is a very powerful statement. I can go out on the street and you wouldnt know me from adam and would not think anything. But if I came out in a Turban or my wife would wear a burka, or had a dot on her forehead, youd know (or stereotype) instantly that person.
Unfortunately, the vast majority of this country knows little of other faiths. People think of other faiths based on the gossip and rumors and stuff they hear on the news instead of looking into it themselves for the actual truth. It seems that we as a country would rather stereotype than find out the truth behind religious movements and other cultures.

 

Exactly. Being as I am pagan by choice, it's automatically assumed (I hate to say it, but usually by Christians around here) that I'm a devil worshipper who sacrifices goats and small children. Nothing could be further from the truth. That's the stereotype monster again. I don't automatically assume that just because someone wears a turban they are a terrorist, or black and they're a criminal, etc. And I grew up in a big Klan town which stereotypes with a vengeance. But I also spent five years, from the age of 8 till 13 in Arizona where there were a lot of Mexican descent people (and some illegals too). Literally 50% of my junior high student population was Mexican, 25% white, and 25% black and other skin color. So stereotyping was not a good idea there.

 

My wife gets that on occasion (she often wears a silver pendant in the shape of a pentagram), especially when we spent 2 years living next door to a family of real fundie nutjobs. She has a tattoo, a silver-dollar sized pentacle on her shoulder blade.

She also has that sig quote on a T-shirt.

(PS--You misspelled ketchup.)