EFF and the ACLU of Northern California Sue on Behalf of Local Nonprofits Contact: Josh Richman, EFF, jrichman@eff.org;  Carmen King, ACLU of Northern California, cking@aclunc.org SAN JOSE, Calif. – San Jose and its police department routinely violate the California Constitution by conducting warrantless searches of the stored records of millions of drivers’ private habits, movements, and associations, the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) and American Civil Liberties Union of Northern California (ACLU-NC) argue in a lawsuit filed Tuesday.  The lawsuit, filed in Santa Clara County Superior Court on behalf of the Services, Immigrant Rights and Education Network (SIREN) and the Council on American-Islamic Relations – California (CAIR-CA), challenges San Jose police officers’ practice of searching for location information collected by automated license plate readers (ALPRs) without first getting a warrant.   ALPRs are an invasive mass-surveillance technology: high-speed, computer-controlled cameras that automatically capture images of the license plates of every driver that passes by, without any suspicion that the driver has broken the law.  “A person who regularly drives through an area subject to ALPR surveillance can have their location information captured multiple times per day,” the lawsuit says. “This information can reveal travel patterns and provide an intimate window into a person’s life as they travel from home to work, drop off their children at school, or park at a house of worship, a doctor’s office, or a protest. It could also reveal whether a person crossed state lines to seek health care in California.” The San Jose Police Department has blanketed the city’s roadways with nearly 500 ALPRs – indiscriminately collecting millions of records per month about people’s movements – and keeps this data for an entire year. Then the department permits its officers and other law enforcement officials from across the state to search this ALPR database to instantly reconstruct people’s locations over time – without first getting a warrant. This is an unchecked police power to scrutinize the movements of San Jose’s residents and visitors as they lawfully travel to work, to the doctor, or to a protest.  San Jose’s ALPR surveillance program is especially pervasive: Few California law enforcement agencies retain ALPR data for an entire year, and few have deployed nearly 500 cameras.   The lawsuit, which names the city, its Police Chief Paul Joseph, and its Mayor Matt Mahan as defendants, asks the court to stop the city and its police from searching ALPR data without first obtaining a warrant. Location information reflecting people’s physical movements, even in public spaces, is protected under the Fourth Amendment according to U.S. Supreme Court case law. The California Constitution is even more protective of location privacy, at both Article I, Section 13 (the ban on unreasonable searches) and Article I, Section 1 (the guarantee of privacy). “The SJPD’s widespread collection and searches of ALPR information poses serious threats to communities’ privacy and freedom of movement." “This is not just about data or technology — it’s about power, accountability, and our right to move freely without being watched,” said CAIR-San Francisco Bay Area Executive Director Zahra Billoo. “For Muslim communities, and for anyone who has experienced profiling, the knowledge that police can track your every move without cause is chilling. San Jose’s mass surveillance program violates the California Constitution and undermines the privacy rights of every person who drives through the city. We’re going to court to make sure those protections still mean something."  "The right to privacy is one of the strongest protections that our immigrant communities have in the face of these acts of violence and terrorism from the federal government," said SIREN Executive Director Huy Tran. "This case does not raise the question of whether these cameras should be used. What we need to guard against is a surveillance state, particularly when we have seen other cities or counties violate laws that prohibit collaborating with ICE. We can protect the privacy rights of our residents with one simple rule: Access to the data should only happen once approved under a judicial warrant.”   For the complaint: https://www.eff.org/files/2025/11/18/siren_v._san_jose_-_filed_complaint.pdf For more about ALPRs: https://sls.eff.org/technologies/automated-license-plate-readers-alprs  Tags: SIREN and CAIR-CA v. San JoseAutomated License Plate Readers (ALPRs)Street Level Surveillance

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The chaos that has erupted in Mexico City is shocking the entire globe.  Vast hordes of angry protesters that are fed up with the corruption of the Mexican government surrounded the presidential palace on Saturday.  Law enforcement authorities knew that the protesters would be coming, and so they set up an enormous security wall around the presidential …

Can’t disrespect a legend like that. it’s always nice to see these awards shows honor the legends while they’re still around. But back in 1999, the CMA Awards disrespected one of the greatest country singers of all time – and got called out for it on their own stage. That year, country legend George Jones had released “Choices” as the lead single from his Cold Hard Truth record. The Billy Yates and Mike Curtis-penned song was a massive hit, winning a Grammy for Best Male Country Vocal Performance thought it failed to crack the top 25 on the country charts. The song was also nominated for Single of the Year at the CMA Awards later that year, and Jones was invited to perform it during the show – sort of. For some reason, organizers were only going to give Jones one minute to sing an abridged version of the song. One minute, during “country music’s biggest night,” for a legend like George Jones. And they wonder why nobody takes these awards shows seriously. Well Jones didn’t think it was worth it (and was probably more than a little insulted, rightfully so), so he refused to show up to the awards at all. But he wasn’t the only one who was upset by the snub. Alan Jackson, who was up for Male Vocalist of the Year, was scheduled to perform his then-current single “Pop a Top.” And he did perform his own song – before abruptly stopping after the first chorus and breaking into “Choices.” Jackson received a standing ovation for his middle finger to the very show he was performing on. And after his protest performance, he simply turned and walked offstage and out of the building, not even returning to his seat for the night. It was a gesture that Jones would later say meant a lot to him: “What he did meant more to me than I could ever say. I was watching the show, and when he began singing ‘Choices,’ it moved my wife Nancy and me both to tears. He made a huge statement on my behalf, and on behalf of traditional country music, and didn’t worry about what the consequences might be.” And Alan later explained his reasoning for making a statement: “I was glad to do it. I felt strongly about it, and I know I’ve been on awards shows for 10 years, and they’ve been real good to me. And I’ve had to fight to try to do my whole song. They ask most artists at one time or another to reduce your song, and it’s not unusual. And people say, ‘Well everybody has to do that.’ But George Jones isn’t everybody. That’s why I felt strongly about it, that he deserved a little more than everybody else… It deserved a little more respect.” Exactly. He’s George Jones. Put some damn respect on his name.The post CMA Awards 1999: Alan Jackson Performs George Jones’ “Choices” In Protest After The Show Cut George’s Performance Time first appeared on Whiskey Riff.

One of the most powerful moments in the history of the CMA Awards. This year’s ceremony is set to take place tomorrow night, November 19 at Bridgestone Arena here in Nashville. But during the 2001 CMA Awards, the country was still reeling from the 9/11 terrorist attacks just two months earlier. The awards show was held on November 7, 2001, less than two months after the horrific attacks on September 11, and the country was obviously still in shock, still grieving, and still angry at what had happened. But for the most part, everyone was just hurting – everyone, including Alan Jackson. On October 28, 2001, just a little over the week before Alan was scheduled to perform his current single “Where I Come From” on the CMA Awards, Alan had woken up in the middle of the night with an idea for a song. He got out of bed, and sang the chorus into a handheld recorder – while he was still in his underwear – so he wouldn’t forget it: “I’m just a singer of simple songs I’m not a real political man I watch CNN but I’m not sure I could tell you The difference in Iraq and Iran…” He stayed home the next day and finished the song, but he had no plans or desire to record it. Alan didn’t want it to seem like he was trying to take advantage of a tragedy like 9/11 – but his wife and his producer, Keith Stegall, convinced Alan to take the song to the studio. According to Joe Galante, then-chairman of Alan’s record group, they knew immediately that the song was something special: “We just kind of looked at one another. Nobody spoke for a full minute.” Ahead of the awards show, Alan’s manager played the new song for executives at the Country Music Association, and they knew once they heard the song that they had to change up their plans. So when the time came, Alan took the stage, seated in front of a full orchestra, and delivered the first-ever performance of “Where Were You (When The World Stopped Turning)” in front of a grieving country. The response was immediate – and overwhelming. Alan got a standing ovation from the crowd at the CMA Awards, and the next day radio stations had pulled the live performance from the television broadcast to play on the air. With the sudden overwhelming demand for the song, his label rush released the studio version of the song and sent it out on November 26, 2001. They even pushed up the release date for his upcoming album, Drive, from May of 2002 to January, to get the song out sooner. In recent years, Alan reflected back on his CMA Awards performance of the song, admitting that it was a tough performance for him. “I just remember — other than being relieved that I got through it — that I just felt very proud that it seemed to cause a reaction in people. I was proud that I got to do it, and that it seemed like it meant something.” And he also admits that he was a little uncomfortable with the spotlight that was put on him for that song: “I’m not really big on chasing that spotlight, and it just put a lot of tension on me for a while and made me feel like it was hard to follow. It’s like they put you up on a pedestal, and I kept saying, ‘Look, I’m just a songwriter. I’m just a singer. It’s just a simple song. I’m not trying to get up on my soapbox. I’m just an old country guy who writes and sings songs.’” The song would go on to win Song of the Year and Single of the Year at both the CMA Awards and the ACM Awards in 2002, and it would also land Alan a Grammy Award for Best Country Song. More than the awards, though, the song was able to offer some kind of healing at a time when the country was still in shock and trying to make sense of such a horrific tragedy. And it also provided us with one of the greatest performances in the history of the CMA Awards. The post CMA Awards 2001: Alan Jackson Brings The Crowd To Tears With Debut Of “Where Were You (When The World Stopped Turning)” first appeared on Whiskey Riff.

One of the saddest songs in country music history. If there’s one thing that cannot be denied about country music as a genre, it’s its storied history of delivering some of the most heartbreaking, devastating tracks ever recorded on tape. From iconic, genre-defining songs such as George Jones‘ “He Stopped Loving Her Today” and Brad Paisley and Alison Krauss’ “Whiskey Lullaby” to more underrated tracks such as Jason Isbell’s “The Elephant” and Chris Stapleton’s “Either Way,” you don’t have to look very far to find some absolute knife-twisters. One artist and subsequent song that quite frequently gets overlooked when it comes to being ranked among the most devastating of all time is none other than Cody Jinks and his 2015 single, “David.” In many ways, Cody Jinks is a lot of things. One part metalhead, one part Texas troubadour, the “Loud and Heavy” singer has both the depth and versatility few artists can ever dream of. Touching on themes of fatherhood, sobriety and his outlaw nature, Jinks has established himself as one of the premier artists in the country-rock scene. And of course, Jinks has proved his writing ability on a plethora of different standout tracks throughout his career, namely with popular ones such as “I’m Not the Devil,” “Somewhere Between I Love You and I’m Leavin'” and “Never Alone Always Lonely.” However, none of them quite hold the same weight to many the way “David” does. In case you’re somehow not familiar with “David,” the song was written independently by Jinks on his certified gold 2015 record, Adobe Sessions, and is one of the best narrative songs in country music history. Depicting a lost friendship between two childhood best friends who took radically different life paths, the narrator, who is revealed to be a former Marine turned police officer, recounts how the titular character, David, fell victim to a serious drug addiction. As fate would have it, tragically, their two paths would cross once again years down the road. In a devastating depiction of situational irony, the narrator sees David flying down the highway on patrol and bumps the police sirens to slow him down. Not knowing it was his former friend, David attempts to flee the scene before crashing the truck and dying in a floodplain. To make matters even worse, David’s mother was the responding E.R. nurse when he was rushed to the hospital, despite being dead on arrival. Ultimately, it’s one of those songs that takes every possible devastating turn imaginable, and for Jinks, this was 100% intentional. In a recent promo video for the 10th anniversary re-release of the aforementioned Adobe Sessions, the “Must Be the Whiskey” singer opened up about the some preconceived notions about the song and his mindset while writing. Setting the record straight, Jinks would reiterate that he never was a member of the military, noting that many have assumed that he depicts the narrator as being a former Marine. He’d then go on to say that it’s the song he gets asked about the most often due to the incredibly brutal nature of the track, also referencing that he was inspired by the legendary songwriter, Chris Knight. “I get specifically asked about the song, ‘David,’ more so than any song I have ever written. It’s cool to me because, as a songwriter, I did my job. I tell people, I joke around, I channeled my inner Chris Knight on that one, and I tried to make that song as sad as I could. And I know I succeeded at that. That song, it feels good, just cause I’ll never write another song like that.” Jinks would then go on to reveal that he took his time writing “David,” so much so, in fact, that it actually took him a year and a half to fully write and perfect. “It took me a year and a half to craft that. That’s one that I really, really worked hard, hard, hard on. It’s not your everyday, first-person kind of thing that I normally do.” As they say, “good things take time,” and with “David,” it’s certainly the case. Watch here: View this post on Instagram “David” Cody Jinks Tour Dates November 17 – Rutland, Vermont November 18 – Portland, Maine November 20 – Anchorage, Alaska December 6 – Thackerville, Oklahoma December 12-13 – Las Vegas, NevadaThe post Cody Jinks Took Over A Year & A Half To Write His Heartbreaking 2015 Track “David” – “I Tried To Make That Song As Sad As I Could” first appeared on Whiskey Riff.

Garth Brooks knows how to get the most (money) out of his fanbase. The country music legend just took to social media to announce that yet another box set is coming out, and this one is just in time for the Holiday season. Because the best way to spread Christmas cheer is buying a box set of Garth for only you to hear. You are likely familiar with the “Anthology” series that Brooks has been putting out over the years. It was earlier in 2025 when Garth and his team released The Anthology Part V: The Comeback – The First Five Years. Around this same time last year, Brooks shared the release of The Anthology Part IV: Going Home. Someone out there is gonna get a Garth Brooks box set for the second Christmas in a row, because it was just announced that The Anthology Part VI is coming to an Amazon cart or TalkShopLive order near you: “Announcing Garth Brooks The Anthology Part VI: The Comeback – The Next Five Years! If you’ve lived the music, now you can live the songs and the stories behind them. Anthology VI captures the most recent chapter of Garth’s incredible journey — Stadium highs, dive-bar roots, Vegas magic, and a historic return to Ireland!” View this post on Instagram The latest Anthology installment will cost you just $39.95, will ship out December 5th, and will include 6 CDs (do people still have CD players?), 60 songs, a live record from Garth’s Ireland show, and over 150 behind-the-scenes photos. Feel like that’s a pretty good deal if we were still living in 2007. Obviously, there are going to be Garth Brooks super fans who get The Anthology Part VI so they can see behind the curtain of Garth’s comeback, and how the “Friends in Low Places” singer navigated the COVID era with drive-in concerts and special Zoom sessions for fans. But there’s a wide crop of people who have moved into the digital age of consuming music and other media, and Garth is undoubtedly missing out on that crowd with these box sets. If you are reading this and find yourself on the fence about the box set, Garth Brooks is apparently set to give an inside look at the Anthology on December 1st at 7 pm E.T. The show describing the book and CD set will air on Amazon LIVE, Amazon Prime Video FAST, TalkShopLive and Garth Brooks’ website: GarthBrooks.com. If you are reading this and wish that Garth Brooks would release some of this stuff in a more modern fashion, that’s too bad. You better start working semi-annual box sets into your budget. Most artists out there have a desire to connect with younger, wider audiences. Brooks is content with keeping his collection of music exclusively on Amazon Music, and a TuneIn radio channel that plays his and only his music. Apple Music and Spotify users are out of luck when it comes to streaming Garth, but maybe the country music singer is happy with keeping his older fan base and occasionally convincing them to come up with $40 or $50 books for a book and 6-CD combo? At least this one isn’t exclusively available at Bass Pro Shops…The post OF COURSE Garth Brooks Has Another “Anthology” Box Set Coming Out Just In Time For The Holidays first appeared on Whiskey Riff.

President Trump wasn’t particularly happy with a question from an ABC News reporter, accusing her of trying to embarrass his guest, the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia. Here’s the video: The journalist . . .