What can I say - the jackbooted thugs here in NY interfered with Mr. Burnett's Constitutional rights by enforcing the fireworks laws of New York state. Or something. I don't know, but the municipal judges of Weedsport, NY are under the thumb of the British Crown. Something like that. Anyway, the pages have lots of references to oaths of office and such, and it's really impressive for 5 seconds or so, until you read a sentence or two.
Traffic stops, fireworks - these guys really know how to pick issues that resonate with the general population...
I once lived around five miles away from Weedsport. The name of the place tells it all.
Same deal with Weedpatch, California. Get pulled over by their JBTs, they press you into the Royal Navy.
To: dighton; one_particular_harbour; Orual; aculeus; Poohbah
"...Traffic stops, fireworks - these guys really know how to pick issues that resonate with the general population..."
# 22 by general_re
Little things matter, general_re.
Remember Mayor Guliani's enforcement of "un-important" laws like jaywalking and parking violations? Enforcing those little laws produced an across the board decrease in all crime in New York.
Don Matthews didn't have a lot of money. As you can see from the picture, his friends don't have money either. There is no way that they could influence national policies. Things are different at the local level, and even at the State level.
The problem is that at the local level all you have a chance to influence is "un-important" issues. If you believe that the most important problem in our nation is that our government is abandoning the Constitution, where do you start your activism?
You would start with "little" things like making sure that your city operates according to Constitutional guidelines. Making sure that your "protectors" have actually promised to protect you. Educating other citizens about what's happening in the nation, and what they can do locally to help bring back Constitutional government to the nation as a whole.
You would educate even local government officials as to what their responsibilities entail, and if that doesn't work, bring cases to court to force local authorities to operate according to the law, even if the judge dismisses most of your seriously thought out Constitutional complaints on the grounds that they are "frivolous."
Don Matthews was a hero up until this firefight.
I don't know what happened between Matthews and the police. I don't know if Matthews snapped or the police provoked him so badly that he felt that he had to defend himself. I do know that police can lie, I do know that every city has some corrupt officials, I know that police have been known to find excuses to kill "troublemakers," and I know that once police have killed, city officials and judges have been known to help cover up the abuses of their friends.
I will not accept the word of these police without question.
Hey if I want to blow through stop signs or speed or drive blind drunk it's my right....(/sarcasm)