February 2009
Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat Sun
« Jan   Mar »
 1
2345678
9101112131415
16171819202122
232425262728  

Month February 2009

Entries 10 Total

The Myth of Police Brutality

Feb 28, 09 6:22 PM

I wanted to post a vidblog on this subject this weekend but it’s gonna be a no-go. I didn’t want to wait too long to post, either, because it’s fresh in my mind after a few “discussions” on YouTube involving several videos of purported police brutality. Here’s one:

Actually, the woman who is the subject in the video is NOT restrained. It’s quite convenient that you don’t see what led up to the tasering. Of course, the timing and the actions are designed to make this look like an officer was abusing his authority. Try this one now:

This one annoys me even more. Why? A protester is being arrested and two friends come over and wrap themselves around him in a “civil” disobedience to stop officers from taking him away. The girl with the video camera is screaming at them, saying, “it doesn’t have to be this way!” She’s right, it doesn’t. They could all stop resisting and argue their case before a judge, but instead they fight back and openly scream that they “refuse to be arrested.” The title of the video by the user is “police violence against peaceful event organizers.” All I see is a group of police officers doing their jobs. Resisting arrest is a crime. The camera girl also says, “there’s no reason for this kind of law enforcement at all!” What are they supposed to do? Let everyone behave like neanderthals? If the police allowed every “civilly disobedient” citizen to walk away from an incident like this, their authority would be a joke.

There’s another video that’s been removed several times from YouTube in which a black man in New York City can be seen resisting arrest. Finally, one of the officers trying to arrest him–also black–pulls out his baton and starts beating him, yelling at him to stop resisting. The woman with the video camera in that incident can be heard screaming “police brutality” and, “take a picture of his legs! Do you see what they did to him?”

We ask police officers to do a nearly impossible job. We give them the responsibility of enforcing the law, we give them handcuffs, OC spray, tasers and firearms and we ask them to keep us safe, to stop the bad guys before the bad guys do something bad. Yet when an officer does do what we’ve asked him to do, we as a society turn around and tell that officer he was wrong. You shouldn’t have used your pepper spray on that protester, officer, he wasn’t trying to hit you. You should have kept your baton on your belt, officer, that man was only resisting because he didn’t want to go to jail. You can’t use your taser on a person just because they’re refusing to obey an order, officer, because you can’t tell if they’re really a threat and that’s torture. You shouldn’t have shot that teenager, officer–he had a BB gun, it wouldn’t have harmed you!

Yes, there have been documented instances of police officers acting beyond their capacity. There have been documented cases of police brutality, instances in which officers have tasered and beaten handcuffed suspects. How often does that happen, though? How often can brutality really be proven? I’ve listened to people argue that a taser should never be used unless an officer is in fear for his life or safety. Okay…what do you consider a life threat? If an officer tells someone to stop walking toward their vehicle and that person refuses to obey, what is the officer to do? Wait until they get to the vehicle and find out too late that they were going back for a stolen gun? Then we’ve got a shootout. You really want that going on on the side of the freeway during rush hour? If an officer or group of officers are trying to arrest a person and they won’t comply, what are they supposed to do? Let them keep fighting? Eventually reach a knife hidden in their pocket?

The arguments I’m hearing that try to say any use of force unequal to the threat are absurd. If someone points a weapon at me, I’m not going to wait for them to shoot–I’m gonna shoot first. If it turns out to be a BB gun, guess what? It was their fault for giving the impression that they intended to kill me. From twenty feet away, how is anyone supposed to know that this BB gun, designed to look like the real thing, ISN’T the real thing?:

waltherblowback1

Is a group of officers supposed to wait until one is dead before they return fire to make sure it’s not harmless?

To suggest that any use of force is brutality is absolute nonsense. If you expect police officers to be there to protect you when the bad guys show up, it’s best to realize now that sometimes they have to do things we may not like. It may make us uncomfortable to watch a person being wrestled to the ground and tased because they won’t stop resisting, but it’s necessary sometimes. I get tired of listening to people claim that any use of force against any person is wrong; it suggests that we should allow criminals to walk all over us. And those who argue such a ridiculous point are usually the first ones wailing when a wrong is committed against them, demanding that something be done.

If that’s going to be your point, then here’s mine: if you didn’t want your vehicle or home broken into, you shouldn’t have left your valuables out to tempt the thief who stole them. It’s the same principal. The myth of police brutality says that all officers are thugs. It simply isn’t true.

Comments (4)

Oh Really????

Feb 28, 09 1:23 PM

Despite the fact that Saturday Night Live tends to focus an overwhelming majority of their political potshots on Republicans, I still enjoy the show from time-to-time.  For those of you unfamiliar with SNL – The “Weekend Update” segment of the show occasionally features a series called “Oh Really?’ where the “anchors” choose a person(s) who has done something boneheaded without any thought of the ramifications of their actions.  The mocking of the bonehead in question is merciless and hilarious.

I couldn’t get this out of my head as I read this article posted on wcbstv.com

In a swift about face from her views as New York’s senator, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is now hammering Israel over its treatment of Palestinians in Gaza.

As First Lady, Clinton raised eyebrows when she kissed Suha Arafat.

Since she was then seeking a Senate seat the resulting brouhaha caused her to “re-think” her positions.

“I’m a very strong supporter of Israel,” Clinton said back in February 2000.

On Thursday, as Secretary of State she had yet another about face in the form of angry messages demanding Israel speed up aid to Gaza. Jewish leaders are furious.

And then comes this reaction to Hillary’s about-face -

“I am very surprised, frankly, at this statement from the United States government and from the secretary of state,” said Mortimer Zuckerman, publisher of the New York Daily News and member of the NYC Jewish Community Relations Council.

“I liked her a lot more as a senator from New York,” Assemblyman Dov Hikind, D-Brooklyn, said. “Now, I wonder as I used to wonder who the real Hillary Clinton is.”

OH REALLY?????

So you elect Democrats who are merely paying lip-service to American Jews with their “support” of Israel and then expect that these createns will hold true to their word?  You elect a guy who diminishes the Iranian threat and supports measures to stifle the war on terror, then expect he will stare down Hamas and support the state of Israel?

OH REALLY?????

I have frequently mentioned Mark Davis here before.  He is our local conservative talkshow host on WBAP 820 AM and is a sometimes-guest fill-in for Rush Limbaugh.  Mark has often wondered how American Jews have become such a reliable constituency for the Democrats.  He believes, as do I, that those Jewish voters have a “cavalier” attitude towards Israel.  In other words – these Jewish voters have decided that their domestic political interests outweigh any allegiance they may have towards the state of Israel and their heritage.  Davis believes that this is their right and their prerogative.  I agree with that.

But, when I hear of American Jews suddenly disenchanted with the anti-Israeli actions and rhetoric coming from the Democrats – I am dumbfounded to the point of hysterical laughter.  What planet must you be on to believe that the Democrats will ultimately stand behind Israel?  Their neophyte President aligned himself with anti-Semites and doesn’t have any record on anything of national significance – much less foreign policy.  Yet a big majority of Jewish voters took a gamble.  And now they will lose out -

Clinton’s decision to hammer Israel comes as the Clintons and President Barack Obama are planning to give the Palestinians $900 million toward the rebuilding of Gaza in the wake of the Israeli offensive that was sparked by Hamas rocket fire.

The majority of American Jews voted for him.  Now they’re stuck with him.  And let me add yet another apology to Steve regarding this election.  Steve was beside himself that Hillary would be the next Secretary of State.  I responded with hope that she would temper Obama’s foreign policy.  I was wrong.  Hillary Clinton is as morally bankrupt as the rest of her party.  She will toe the Obama line evidently. Democrats have historically shown a propensity to change positions as often as most people change their underwear.  And Hillary’s husband was the poster child for such maddening fickleness.

So yeah – “really.”  I doubt this will change any hearts amongst the Jewish Dems.  And I’m sure that the Democrats and Obama will temper rhetoric sufficiently to curb some of the criticism.  After all – they need the money and votes that come with the Jewish community in America.  Thank God Netanyahu’s rise to power coincided with this election.  The Israeli people will need his strength and courage to offset the damage that will be done by Obama’s policy towards Israel.  I truly believe providence is at work.

Comments (9)

Coulter-Stalking Liberal Screams “Help Me!” During Arrest

Feb 26, 09 1:43 AM

If you ever wanted an example as to why women who marry conservative men have better and more orgasms, this video is all you’ll ever need to see.

Reports from various sources reveal that Mike Tracey; student at The College of New Jersey AND vice-President of the College Democrats stormed the stage that Ann Coulter was standing on during a speech more than a couple of times and was repeatedly warned by campus security.

Of course, he had to test the waters a final time and was removed from the speech and arrested.  The video; only 38 seconds long, shows no police brutality whatsoever and also explains the liberal way of turning virtually ANYTHING into “torture.”

Reports also indicate that the parents of this ninny are pissed and are fighting to get the charges removed. 

Ladies and Gentlemen I present to you one of the future William Ayers of the world.

Comments (83)

Hallelujah, Praise the Free Market…

Feb 24, 09 3:34 PM

Today, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke promised investors and Americans that the recession would probably end this year because “regulators aren’t planning to nationalize banks..”

Upon getting this news, stocks immediately jumped:

The news alleviated some of investors’ worries about the economy and the banking system, and lifted the Dow Jones industrial average and Standard & Poor’s 500 index off their lowest levels since 1997.

Next thing you know, Bernanke will be back to tell us how important tax cuts are to the economy.

Judging by the stocks rally today, we all see America’s opinion on the nationalization of any industry. 

Hopefully President Obama will pay attention.

Comments (37)

Chicago’s Tea Party

Feb 22, 09 1:44 AM

This fella hit a great note this week on CNBC when he spoke on behalf of “the silent majority.”  His liberal counterparts are simply speechless.

Finally, the true majority is starting to scream back.  A Chicago Tea Party in July, I invite all out to join us!  ;-)

I have officially switched my position on the Fairness Doctrine….so long as Keith Olbermann and Chris Matthews will not be able to escape guys like Rick Santelli.

Leave a Comment

Coulter vs. Behar (What was Larry Thinking?)

Feb 21, 09 6:47 PM

Well, I have to go to a friend’s birthday party out on the town tonight and as fun as that will be, I could have enjoyed watching this glorious 16 minutes over and over again.

Ann Coulter was scheduled to appear on Larry King Live and Joy Behar filled in.  I have a feeling now that Joy will not make that mistake again – at least without the rest of her ”team” on The View.

This is precisely why I cannot stand Elisabeth Hasselbeck.  THIS is how a Republican should handle a liberal loud-mouth like Behar.

The 16-minute exchange even won this comment from Entertainment Weekly -

I always enjoy you on The View, Joy, but last night on Larry King, I’d have to say, you got served by Coulter.

The conversation begins with talk on the Stimulus, or as Ann refers to it as, “The Reward Failure Act.”  It then moves on to Ann giving Joy a thrashing over Behar’s comments that Rush was an “extreme right winger.”   Then they discuss the fact that conservative women have more orgasms than liberal women do.

One thing I thought Coulter was capable of  (and perhaps she was just being nice after all the other thrashing she delivered in her “play-it-cool” style) is something I noted toward the end of the interview when, in response to Coulter’s comments on single mothers being responsible for “80 percent of the inmates in our prisons.”

Joy shot back:

“but there are tons of people out there who were raised by single mothers who are doing quite well”

“why not look at it from that end?”

Huh!?  If we could decrease crime by 80%, do we stop that for the purposes of looking at it from the wrong end?

Speaking of wrong ends, how many times did Joy and Whoopi (and Rosie) prattle on about the number of military deaths in Iraq or the number of civilian casualties during the conflict?

Hundreds of thousands of troops were deployed, hundreds of millions won’t be gassed by their own dictator in the future of Iraq, hundreds of millions survived the conflict and they now have the Democratic right to vote!

Just when is it okay to look at any issue from the end where the cons exist?

Get some popcorn, sit back, and be prepared to laugh and laugh hard – especially when Ann advocates torturing Guantanamo inmates with old episodes from The View.

Comments (26)

Obama is Inviting the Terrorists HERE

Feb 20, 09 9:37 PM

President Obama this month quietly signed an executive order related to “unexpected urgent refugee and migration needs related to Gaza.”

I’m not kidding, folks. In it, Obama promised around $20.3 MILLION to aid “for the purpose of meeting unexpected and urgent refugee and migration needs, including by contributions to international, governmental, and nongovernmental organizations and payment of administrative expenses of Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration of the Department of State, related to humanitarian needs of Palestinian refugees and conflict victims in Gaza.”

Translation? Barack Hussein Obama has just authorized millions of dollars to make sure that Muslim extremists have the opportunity to live in the United States, a country they have sworn to try to take down just as they have sworn to take down Israel. He has seriously just given the green light to setting God knows how many Palestinians on the path to lives in America. Apparently he missed the memo about the threat of Hamas as a terrorist organization; the executive order he’s signed (during an economic crisis, no less) not only gives validity to a terrorist cause, but gives those terrorists the wherewithal to strike at us here, on our own soil, after issuing an intifada against the United States.

9/11 was just a primer. If you thought they couldn’t get us again, think twice–the Obamessiah just opened the door for ‘em.

Comments (10)

We’re All Cowards

Feb 19, 09 6:51 PM

According to Attorney General, Eric Holder, we are a nation of cowards.  Yup.  You, me, everyone.  When it comes to race – we are cowards.  Holder says…..

“Though this nation has proudly thought of itself as an ethnic melting pot, in things racial we have always been and continue to be, in too many ways, essentially a nation of cowards. Though race related issues continue to occupy a significant portion of our political discussion, and though there remain many unresolved racial issues in this nation, we, average Americans, simply do not talk enough with each other about race.”

I guess we can expect more of this type of garbage from the Obama administration.  But I don’t understand why.  Remember – the Messiah was supposed to heal all rifts, rescue the nation and lead us into the age of Aquarius.  Now it just seems that this bumbling administration has no idea where it is going or what to do.  Add to that the divisiveness being preached from the perches of the White House.  Obama might as well have appointed Rev. Jeremiah Wright to the AG position.

Michelle Obama thinks this is a “mean” nation – a nation which she was never proud of until her husband became the apparent Democrat nominee.  Mr. Michelle Obama, believes that we are a nation plagued by those bitter people clinging to guns and religion.  There is no hope or unification coming from this administration.  Just bitterness.  A bunch of people with chips on their shoulders.  But guess what folks?  These angry idiots are in charge now.

The thing that annoys me most about Holder’s comments is not just the subject matter.  Remember former Texas Senator, Phil Gramm?  He was torn apart by the MSM, thrown under the bus by Johnny Mac and eventually resigned as a McCain advisor.  His sin?  He said we were becoming a nation of whiners.  So, it’s worse to be a whiner than a coward?  I’ll never understand these things.

To be honest, one of the reasons that I don’t blog as much as I used to is because I am becoming more disenchated day-by-day.  There is so much hypocrisy in the mainstream media.  There is so much venom leveled against conservatives and Republicans in general.  I’ll admit to you - right now I feel a sense of political hopelessness that I have never felt before.  I know that things are not totally hopeless, but the events of the last few years sure can take the wind out of your sails as a conservative.

I often wonder what the point is of all of this.  Everyday we continue to move closer to European socialism and lose more and more of our liberties.  We’re spending ourselves into oblivion.  We have lost our regard for the value of life.  We have forgotten the lessons of 9/11 and want to negotiate with the Islamist thugs who want to kill us all.  It saddens me to see this all around me.

Presidents Reagan and Bush Sr. oversaw the demise of communism as a form of government and socialism as an economic system.  Yet, we have now seen a resurgence of socialism in the West.  And while the US held strong against the socialist tendencies that nearly bankrupted Western Europe, we seem to have bought into this crazy experiment hook, line and sinker.  Even President Clinton was forced into accepting major welfare reform by the GOP.  That reform undid a great deal of the damage dating back to the overrated administrations of FDR and LBJ.  In the late 90s things looked great.  But look at where we are now.

We have reverted back to the failed policies of yesterday. See if you can balance democracy and socialism.  See if democracy can survive absent capitalism.  It won’t happen.  But Obama and his minions will destroy this nation trying to prove that such a system can work.  And if it doesn’t, you can be sure that democracy will be compromised in order to accomodate socialism.

Sorry for the rant.  I don’t mean to sound cynical. I’m just tired.  Tired of it all.  I’m trying to fight, but it seems that all I can do these days is rant and call it as I see it. I take heart in the fact that there are so many conservative folks blogging and opining online.  Conservative talk radio is strong and popular (for the moment anyway).  I sense some grassroots, but I don’t see it translating into much these days.

The most disconcerting thing of all is that Republicans allowed this to happen.  That really hurts me and you in so many ways.  Most of us are conservatives first and Republicans second.  Yeah, yeah.  But the GOP is our vehicle in government.  The revolution of 1994 is a distant memory.  The corruption and loss of direction that we saw from the GOP after 1994 led us to where we are now.  I don’t know when or if the next Reagan or Gingrich will surface and lead us out of the wilderness. I used to believe that all things were cyclical in politics.  But I’m not sure anymore.  Maybe we have moved irreversibly in a direction that will lead us down the path of destruction.

And perhaps Mr. Holder was correct.  And Mr. Gramm too.  Maybe we are a nation of cowards and whiners.  Egged on by the fear that was instilled in the American people by liberals and Democrats, we have apparently sold our souls to the Devil.  And now we will see the true hell that awaits unless we wake up and change things – fast.

Comments (36)

Sarah Palin Leading By Example (Again)

Feb 19, 09 2:51 AM

After a few months of caterwauling by liberal opponents, Sarah Palin promised voters in Alaska that she would turn her per diem records over to determine whether or not her compensation received for travel to her home in Wasilla, Alaska was legal.

Of course it was legal.  But as this article is titled “Sarah Palin to pay back taxes,” you almost miss the part of the article that states there being no problem with per diem rates for travel to her home in Wasilla from Juneau.

The governor even insisted on having all of the figures reviewed for herself and the remaining members of the state legislature as state administration commissioner Annette Kreitzer states:

“At the Governor’s request, we reviewed the situation to determine whether we were in full compliance with the pertinent Internal Revenue Service regulations……..As a result of this review, we determined that per diem needs to be treated as income, requiring a revision of W-2 forms for any affected employees.” 

Sarah Palin will now file amended tax returns to pay income tax on per diem rates exceeding $60 per day. 

The best part is that all state officials are getting corrected W2′s as well for those tax years.

The silver lining in all of this is the opening of a whole new case for investigating members of every state’s legislature and officials.  Every government employee elected by the people and appointed by elected officials should have to answer for every penny they spend from taxpayer funds.

Just as Palin gave up the butlers and the jet and the other goodies reserved for her once she was elected Governor of Alaska, she again leads the nation by example with a high regard for taxpayer money.

Amazingly, liberals were too busy calling her a criminal for even taking the per diem in the first place. 

 But imagine the fun we’ll have now every time they attempt to construe this very responsible and decent thing that the Governor requested herself as some massive cover-up attempt for Palin to avoid paying income taxes.

Comments (25)

Change The World

Feb 18, 09 12:58 PM

On February 19, 2007, Glendale police officer David Goitia pulled over a small silver Kia that had a stolen license plate on it. They pulled over on a small neighborhood street near 59th Avenue between Bethany Home and Camelback Roads. Goitia walked up to the window, and asked all three occupants of the vehicle for their ID’s. When he returned to his cruiser to run the ID’s through his computer, he discovered that all three had warrants for their arrest – and at least one of the ID’s was fake, handed over by the man with long, curly black hair sitting in the front passenger seat. Goitia called for backup and officer Tony Holly arrived.

Goitia placed the driver under arrest and put him in the backseat of his cruiser. As he did this, Holly talked to the two remaining in the vehicle. When Goitia returned, they removed the long-haired man in the front passenger seat to arrest him. Unexpectedly, after waiting between twenty and thirty minutes for his turn to be arrested, the man produced a .357 magnum revolver from the waistband of his pants and fired. Officer Holly was struck in the head. Officer Goitia took cover behind a vehicle and returned fire, striking the shooter in the arm and the thigh. The shooter continued to fire as he crawled away, and Officer Goitia heroically left cover to drag his brother officer to safety so he could render aid.

Officers from every corner of Glendale descended on the area after the “Code 999″ call came over the radio, signalling an officer was down and in grave danger. About a block from the scene of the shooting, a man with long black hair, bleeding from the leg and the arm, laid a handgun on the window sill of a small blue house and knocked on the door, asking the woman inside for water. Officers took him down on the front stoop of that house and handcuffed him, then as required called for an ambulance to transport him to the hospital for treatment. Paramedics arrived and transported both the shooter and Officer Holly to separate hospitals.

My friend Tony Holly was pronounced dead at St. Luke’s Hospital that morning. The tall, lanky kid with the bright smile and the easy laugh, the one everyone knew they could count on, the one who loved Hawaiian shirts and Christian ska music, had only been on the force for two years when he was gunned down in cold blood. He’d served four years in the US Air Force (contrary to what the news reported, he was not an Iraq War veteran) and come home to his beloved Arizona to continue to serve his community.

The man with the long black hair and the prison tattoos turned out to be Bryan Wayne Hulsey. He had only been freed from prison for a few months on the day he was pulled over in that Kia. He had a long history of drug offenses, all involving methamphetamines; his adjudicating offense (the crime that landed him in prison) was an attempted robbery gone bad. In Mesa, about an hour’s drive from Glendale, a Circle K clerk had locked the doors because Hulsey and a companion were outside acting strangely. The clerk called police while Hulsey pounded on the doors to get in, and an officer pulled up while both men were still there. They ran, but Hulsey tripped at some point and a stolen pistol went skittering across the pavement. After a scuffle with the officer in this case, Hulsey was arrested and earned a five-year sentence. He was released after one and a half for “good behavior” in late 2006, immediately returning to his drug addiction and thieving. The gun he shot Tony with was also believed to have been stolen.

Today, two years later, Tony’s family is still waiting for justice to be done. Hulsey is on his second team of lawyers. Because of the way the law is written in Arizona, any death penalty case requires a not guilty plea and a trial – the defendant is not allowed to plead guilty. Despite the overwhelming evidence of Hulsey’s guilt (the many witnesses, the recovered murder weapon with Hulsey’s fingerprints all over it, the gun residue on Hulsey’s hands and clothing, the ballistics match that proved Hulsey was shot by Goitia), we are required to give him a full jury trial. And we have to wait for his defense team to get ready for it. Because we’re better people, we’ll make sure Hulsey’s rights are observed to every detail. Tony’s rights have long been forgotten, though, and his family still lives with the pain of never again being able to hug him, never hearing his voice, never again seeing him walk in the front door, kick his shoes off, and start laughing with everyone.

The day he was killed, I put Switchfoot’s song “The Blues” on and played it over and over again. The lyric that says, “does justice ever find you / do the wicked never lose / is there any honest song to sing besides these blues” gets me to this day. This world is a horribly unfair place, made so by the human element in it. What makes life livable is the knowledge that there are still others out there, just like Tony, who know that they’ll never change the world – but try to anyway.

Think about this story the next time you see one of those YouTube videos claiming police brutality. Think about this when you see people on the news swearing they didn’t commit any crime. Think before you condemn the officer, because there’s always more to it.

Comments (3)
Follow

Get every new post delivered to your Inbox.

Join 347 other followers