Living In a Police State

The Oakland Press online ^ | April 24, 2002 | JOHN WISELY and STEPHEN W. HUBER

[EODGUY]

"At the Las Vegas Gun Show the 2nd in command of the BATF told me that wrong addresses were a problem. He sloughed it off saying when he was with the DC police it happened all the time. We were discussing the bad reputation of the BATF. I don't recall the mans name, wish I did."

Wish I could have been with you for a few reasons: I enjoy gun shows, I enjoy Las Vegas and finally, I would have enjoyed speaking to the second in command of the BATF. The first question I would have asked is why he speaks so cavalierly about the infringement on innocent citizens' rights by executing a search warrant at the wrong address. Secondly, I would ask if he had any supervisory authority over the case and when he first demanded an immediate investigation of the policies of the DC police regarding their methods used to secure a warrant. Even if he was not a supervisor, he should have reported the incident immediately to his superior officer, demanding that the incident be investigated fully.

If he got no satisfaction from his supervisor, he should have taken his complaint to the US Attorney (or highest legal authority) for the District of Columbia for investigation.

In any event, I've seen my share of members of law enforcement agencies who believe treating such serious problems with a glib attitude somehow makes them appear macho.

If he knew of the abuse and pathetic police work taking place in DC, he was compelled to do something about it. Apparently he did not and, IMHO doesn't deserve to wear a badge because he certainly has violated his oath of office.

I suspect DC has thousands of sworn officers, my agency had over 400 (which makes absolutely no difference at all) and professionalism and adherence to the law and ensuring that the rights of all citizens were respected and protected was a mandated expectation that was enforced more through instilled professionalism and peer pressure than disciplinary action.

We had a name for those sworn personnel who refused to live up to the expectation noted above............we called them former members of our department.

End of rant.

EODGUY

[realpatriot71]

And guess why we have this law in the first place . . . *drumroll*

Gorcyca cited drug conspiracy cases as those where witnesses are frequently in danger unless their identity is kept private during the investigation.

[freeeee]

Yeah, I know. And look at the bait-and-switch ruse here:

"Two new laws, which took effect Monday as part of anti-terror efforts, also shield from public scrutiny the reasons for police searches."

Later when the details come out, we don't hear one word about terrorism:

"Gorcyca cited drug conspiracy cases as those where witnesses are frequently in danger unless their identity is kept private during the investigation."

So incredibly predictable. But hey, what better way to elevate a pre-existing agenda than to throw it on top of a pile of dead bodies?

[Moleman]

Ah! Thanks to our liberal friends, the Democratic Party, Bill Clinton and marxist friends, we can now share the experiences of the Jews in Germany and bask in the early days of the Russian revolution.
It's not their fault, the Republicans are the jack booted thugs who created this law! This law is an outrage

[realpatriot71]

Its sad to listen to the apologists spin this stuff - only the idiots cannot see the impending problems with allowing such reaches by law enforcement. But then "some" of those idiots don't mind "jack-booted thugs" and will never be reached.

[realpatriot71]

Ah! Thanks to our liberal friends, the Democratic Party, Bill Clinton and marxist friends, we can now share the experiences of the Jews in Germany and bask in the early days of the Russian revolution.

Hey smart guy read this:

The House portion of the bill passed unanimously and the Senate version passed 27-8. The chief sponsor of the bill in the state senate was Shirley Johnson (R-Royal Oak) while Bill Bullard (R-Highland Township) was a cosponsor. In the state House, Nancy Cassis (R-Novi) was among 20 sponsors.

Geee . . . I wonder what the R's stand for?

[Musket]

SIGN THIS PETITION NOW

THE "ARM OUR PILOTS NOW" PETITION!
PASS THE WORD ALONG TO ALL YOU KNOW

This sign up count isn't growing fast or large in my humble opinon. C'mon people, pass this link around. This needs to be HUGE!

[MarkL]

An acquaintance of mine is seriously thinking of leaving the US for the reason of "personal freedom." She's unhappy about the tax burdon, the misuse of tax $$, and the fact (as she says) that she wants control over her body: Her profession is a prostitute, and she wants to be able to legally use marijuana, due to severe back pain that would otherwise require much more powerful drugs, like percocet or vicodin. So she's going to visit Amsterdam and possibly look into moving there permanently. I told her that if she's upset about the taxes in the US, then wait until she gets to Europe. As far as the other things, well, there isn't much to say... She does what she does, at least while she's trying to finish school. She has called the US a police state, and until recently, I disagreed with her. I see that the US is moving in that direction...

Mark