Growth of the Police State

Reading this week about the 13 year old in Chicago who has been charged with a felony for throwing a snowball at a police officer and the California university student arrested for not identifying herself, I have become extremely dismayed at the extent to which law enforcement is overstepping their authority. Not only are they acting with ever-increasing levels of brutality and militarism, they are acting as though they are entitled to special, protected status. Gone are the days of your friendly neighborhood police officer that kids knew they could run to in times of trouble. Gone is the “Protect and Serve” ethos. Is it because local politicians and police chiefs have been enamored by the military “toys” they have access to that had previously only been available to SWAT? Or is it the caliber of people now wanting to become police officers? Bullies who want to feel like big shots? Our police forces are now looking like gangs of toughs rather than law enforcement.

 

My children and I had our own disturbing experience with the Ohio state police while on a cross-country road trip last summer, and I can tell you that my 9 year old son is now terrified of the police.  He saw his 17 year old brother threatened and he, his mom, and his brother locked in the back of a police car for over an hour while drug-sniffing dogs and 6 state police officers searched their home on wheels (RV) without any evidence of wrongdoing. Just because “we won’t know what we’ll find until; we look”. After not finding anything, we were sent on our way with the “we’re just doing our jobs” argument.  This experience gave my son nightmares for months and an ongoing, deep distrust of the police and of course, my complaint didn’t even get a response from the department.

 

I’m not sure what we can do about this trend, and I expect it is a symptom of the larger problem, the slow chipping away of our civil liberties, but I hope as more of these stories are heard and as outrage grows, we will see a backlash against the bullies. I am afraid though that this may not happen until we hit some critical mass tipping point where the people have more to fear from police than from criminals.

 

Obama the Fool?

I am tempted to go with the story that Obama wasn't told anything about anything and that he's the most incompetent president we've ever had.  I mean please, the man never held a real job in his life and certainly has had no experience leading or managing anything before being thrust into the position of leading the most powerful country on the planet.  And lets not forger that our President sure knows how to occupy his time with activities other than governing, like celebrity parties and golf.

But given the kind of Imperial Presidency Obama has attempted to pursue during his first term, I am not so sure he would leave every decision and action to his underlings.  He may not be able to surround himself with actually competent advisors, but I suspect they are all quite willing to provide him the cover and "reasonable deniability" he is now falling back on. 

Time will tell whether he will be given a pass on all the outrageous tactics his administration has used since he took office, or whether his management house of cards will fall and people will recognize him for what he is: an unscrupulous hack who uses Chicago-style tactics to intimidate and hamstring his opponents.

Four Outstanding Benghazi Questions

No matter who is doing the reporting, no one seems to include the full list of issues with the attack on our consulate in Benghazi resulting in the deaths 4 Americans. I want to make sure we don't lose track of any of the questions the Obama administration refuses to answer. 

#1 - Who made the stand-down order? Why didn't they send in the FEST to assist the personnel there?

#2 - Why was the security so light given the recent attack on the facility and on British facilities nearby, especially on 9/11?

#3 - a State Department whistleblower has been retaliated against by senior management. Who directed the demotion of Mr Hicks?

#4 - The talking points were deliberately prepared to mislead the American people. Who decided to falsely blame the attack on the YouTube video?

Patriot bloggers and members of the twitterverse have kept this story alive over the past 8 months.  They will not rest or drop this story until Americans get the answers we deserve.  

One reason why we need to fight for unrestricted gun rights

We have been hearing a lot lately about how we "gun nuts" are under the impression that we're involved in some sort of Mad Max breakdown of society situation because we oppose gun control legislation. As a matter of fact, economist Paul Krugman said that just last weekend, arguing: But we're the United States!  That couldn't possibly happen here.

The truth is, despots are never expected.  My father in law, who just celebrated his 90th birthday, and my mother in-law are Holocaust survivors, and I can tell you that they certainly never expected anything like that to happen in Europe.  In the 1920's, Germany was one of the most educated, cosmopolitan countries in the world.  There was a thriving education system, from kindergarten to university, they led the world in scientific exploration, and yet by 1933 a tyrant was able to come to power, to start a world war, and to murder millions.  They thought they were living in an enlightened society, but were disarmed by their government and led off to concentration camps.  By the time they were liberated from Auschwitz, my mother in law was left with only her mother and sister still alive and my father in law had lost his entire extended family. 

Do you really think that government abuse of power couldn't happen here?  Tell that to my in-laws who certainly didn't think it could happen to them.  Tell that to Native American children taken from their families and forced into government run indoctrination boarding schools.  Tell that to the Japanese Americans imprisoned in government run internment camps during World War II, and tell that to all the African Americans who saw friends and family members lynched throughout the south because they did not have the same access to firearms with which to defend themselves as whites. 

Frankly, the move to a totalitarian government is not as large a step as you would hope.  For Germany, it was an economic depression and a huge social welfare obligation that led many to a sense of hopelessness and a desire to "blame someone".  What is it that totalitarian governments do to protect their positions? We need only look to history.  It starts with the passing of laws to restrict the ownership of firearms and the institution of universal registration all in the name of "safety", then comes disarming the citizenry, and finally extermination. That is why our founding fathers included an unrestricted right to bear arms so prominently in the Constitution, right after the right to freedom of speech, association, and religion.  The right to bear arms is a Constitutional right and should not require a license – just as you cannot require a license to practice religion or express freedom of speech.

No Immigration Amnesty

This is the content of the letter on immigration reform that I have sent to my representatives in Congress and submitted as a Letter to the Editor to my local newspapers.

The President has made immigration reform one of the hallmark pieces of his new term agenda, and we've seen multiple new proposals presented this week. As you are gathering feedback from the people you represent, it is important to note that this is a topic about which people have very strong feelings.

There are approximately 1 million people here in the United States who have come to through legal channels but about 11 million who are here illegally.  The 1 million here legally have waited their turn, prepared the appropriate documentation, and are following the rules we have prescribed for those wishing to live and work here.  The 11 million here illegally have sneaked into the country through various dangerous and potentially costly mean while not having completed any paperwork, or checks of any kind.  Now most of these people are here to work in jobs that Americans will not perform or for wages that Americans will not accept, however some portion of them are costing the states and local communities in which they reside millions of dollars and security by participating in violent criminal activity, driving without licenses or insurance, or by utilizing government programs and services they haven't paid into.  Others may well include potential terrorists who wish to do us harm.

President Obama has proposed an immigration plan that includes amnesty for those illegal immigrants already here, which essentially means automatic citizenship.  What does that say to all the people who came to this country and played by the rules? Certainly not a level playing field.  The United States should not be providing amnesty in any form, including a special "path to citizenship". Rather than containing the flood across our borders, amnesty would be like opening the dam to all those contemplating coming to the US illegally in the future - don't worry, just come and you'll be taken care of - and would penalize the people who came here through the proper channels.  

Is it feasible to deport 11 million people?  Of course not, and multiple industries would be harmed by the loss of workers.  There is no way that the American people would be willing to pay for the significantly more expensive agricultural products that would result from raising wages high enough to make those seasonal jobs worthwhile to citizens.  We need those workers.  Let's create a Guest Worker program for which every person here illegally that wants to work would need to apply and register.  Let's restrict access to all federal, state, and local welfare benefits so as not to incentivize people to come here to take advantage of these programs.  Let's deport those we know have engaged in criminal activity.  And lastly, if those guest workers would like the opportunity to become citizens down the line after proving they are productive members of society, let's offer the opportunity to get in line and follow the same process as everyone else.  

Congress is all about compromise

I think some folks out there are not too clear on how the founding fathers intended our government to work.  There are three branches and 2 houses within the legislative branch for a reason.  The founders knew that pure democracy and majority rule was a death sentence for the liberties of the minority, so to protect individual freedoms, they planned for multiple counterbalancing forces.  They knew that it would be unlikely for all branches to be controlled by the same party, so that extreme ideological action would be harder to pass and be put into effect.

Within the system today, Democrats have control of the Senate and the White House, and Republicans have control of the House.  In order for Congress to  accomplish anything at all, the two parties HAVE to negotiate and compromise.  Democrats will have to give in on things they want, and Republicans will have to give in on some things they want.  The fact is: the legislation that will come as a result of these rounds of compromise will not be all that Republicans would hope.  Nor will it match the Democratic wish list.  Minority Senate Republicans are particularly important right now in tempering Democratic proposals enough so that they can be supported by their counterparts in the House.  

Sure people want THEIR desires put into practice, but accusing principled legislators of abandoning their principles or selling-out ignores the fact that given the mix of opinions and political ideology we see in America, it would be virtually impossible for strict ideologues to ever get their way all the time.  We sent our representatives to congress to represent our interests and to work together to solve the problems of this country.  We want to see people sharing the same values and priorities we hold to be involved in those negotiations, so that those with the opposite views do not have the final say.  We cannot, however, expect them to achieve 100% of what we would like.  In negotiation, both sides must give up some of what they want so that both sides get most of what they want.  

Obama's Power Grab

Since his reelection, President Obama has been clearly showing the country what he intends his next term to look like.  All of his cabinet picks have been a slap in the face to most Americans and our ally Israeli, he has threatened unilateral action via Executive Orders to get around the lack of Congressional support for his proposals, and he has pointedly refused to negotiate with Congress on the budget.  Not worried about facing another election, he is ready to impose his rule as King Obama.  Are we really going to let this happen?

The election was a travesty.  How did Republicans manage to lose?  I still can't believe that the GOP was not even able to get as many people out to vote for Romney as for McCain!  Obama's first term was a complete mess and he country is in a worse state now than when he took office.  There are fewer people employed today than at the height of the recession and the national debt is well over $16 trillion.  What does it take to get people to sit up and take notice?

Republicans need to do two things: first, they need to take the gloves off and start fighting dirty.  There's no way to win this country back by playing nice when the Democrats have no trouble lying about their records and intentions; second, we all need to come together and press the Republicans in Congress to fight every move Obama makes.  It is much more important for this country that they do not give in.  We have to give up sparring within the party and present a unified front before we reach the point of no return.  The things that tend to divide us, like social issues and illegal immigration need to take a back seat to the far more pressing issues of wasteful spending, entitlement reform and protecting the Constitution.  Look at the Democrats. Obama is appointing a cabinet full of white men.  Do you see women's or minority groups saying a word about it?  Not a peep.  We need to show the same unity, but with a principled cause, and push our party leaders to work together to do the will of the people.