You can point them to stories such as this
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:
Millions of dollars in White House money has helped pay for New York Police Department programs that put entire American Muslim neighborhoods under surveillance.
The money is part of a little-known grant intended to help law enforcement fight drug crimes. Since the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, the Bush and Obama administrations have provided $135 million to the New York and New Jersey region through the High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area program, known as HIDTA.
Now, this is no more the White House’s conscious decision than it is simple right-hand-oblivious-to-what-the-left-hand-is-doing-itis, but the effect is the same: administration officials furiously trying to walk back a meme they’d rather never have started.
And why? Well, all because it’s a non-accountable grants program with little to no oversight and a ton of conflicted decision makers. This is the state of federal grants like these. This is not new. It was inevitable.
Filed under: 2. Doc state of mind, 3. Access law, 4. Finding records | Tagged: High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area, New York City Police Department, September 11 attacks, White House |
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