Pride

Forty-seven years ago tomorrow, Martin Luther King Jr. would be gunned down outside room 306 at the Lorraine Motel in Memphis.  His death, which he predicted to his wife, Coretta Scott King, after the assassination of President John Kennedy is the subject of the same questions about motive as relate to the Kennedy assassination.

Some of King's words were as prophetic then as they are now regarding the loss of rights to a centralized government:

Somewhere I read of the freedom of assembly. Somewhere I read of the freedom of speech. Somewhere I read of the freedom of press. Somewhere I read that the greatness of America is the right to protest for rights. And so just as I said, we aren't going to let dogs or water hoses turn us around. We aren't going to let any injunction turn us around. We are going on.

King also had a near prophetic commentary on his own life and how short it might be.

Like anybody, I would like to live - a long life; longevity has its place. But I'm not concerned about that now. I just want to do God's will. And He's allowed me to go up to the mountain. And I've looked over. And I've seen the Promised Land. I may not get there with you. But I want you to know tonight, that we, as a people, will get to the Promised Land. So I'm happy, tonight. I'm not worried about anything. I'm not fearing any man.

It is important to remember that before King arrived in Memphis to assist in the sanitation worker boycott on behalf of black Americans, his plane had been threatened by a bomb threat.  On a regular basis his life was threatened by those who feared change, who worried what would happen when all men were treated equal.  I worry that those days are still with us, but as for tonight, I will remember his struggle and his fight with my favorite band.

Stories

Let me tell you about the time I went fishing recently.  The fish I caught was so big...

Okay, so in water cooler talk about Ned's latest fishing trip we expect exaggeration.  Without a Facebook picture or other documentation we expect a story that probably over-hypes reality.  It is what it is.  However, when we watch our news networks though, we expect them to still perform at least a minimal level of journalistic activity and verify stories.  Right?  Two examples this week demonstrate that the expectation of journalists doing there job is probably giving them more credit than they deserve.

First, CNN airs what is reported to be audio of the Ferguson, Missouri shooting.

As CNN notes it did not independently verify the recording...it just ran with it.  Again.  I say again because I assume you remember when CNN "broke" the story that the Affordable Care Act had been struck down by the Supreme Court.  CNN now is trying to walk back their exclusive coverage worried their audio may be a hoax.  Woops.

At the same time news reports tell us the University of Southern California Cornerback Josh Shaw admits to lying about saving his drowning nephew from a pool in his apartment complex.  It was only a few days ago they were informing of us that his dual injured ankles was the result of jumping from his second floor flat to help his nephew.

While USC and local authorities continue to investigate, my question is what is it you were trying to do, i.e. how did you really injure your ankles?  Was this some sort of crime or pseudo crime?  Was this just teenage foolishness?  What?  Now we all want to know and since we know your first story is BS I hope the next one is better.

There seems to be a mantra in network news these days that first is better than being accurate and while I do get the idea of breaking news, shouldn't it be close to accurate and/or news worthy?  Any more you get stories coming out: BREAKING NEWS...the former Governor of Virginia may enter a plea.  This isn't news, it's speculation.  BREAKING NEWS...the White House may allow more immigrants to stay in the country.  Here too I get that some of the information we get is via intentional leaks to trial balloon ideas before the public before an actual decision can be made.  You have to check with the oracle known as polling before you can play leader.  (And I blame both Democrats and Republicans and corporate America for this.)  However, there is zero requirement to actually go along with this by journalists.

When did the media give up on their fourth estate rights?  When did they decide they were just going to give everyone a pass?   These are the things that drive me nuts when it comes to network news, but it does allow for some decent parody. 

For those of you who wonder what I might mean, here is Katie Nolan of Fox's No Filter whose weekend story is at least interesting.  (As a disclaimer I will note that Fox too missed the SCOTUS opinion on the Affordable Care Act.)  Maybe the guy in Ferguson and Josh Shaw could take come and get lessons because she is at least interesting.

Enjoy your Thursday and be careful what news you consume.  Let's just say some news is undercooked and may be hazardous to your health.

Hot Situations

...as Ferguson, Missouri boiled over last week a common theme was the over reach by local police for their response after the shooting with military grade weapons and actions that violate civil rights.  Tampa, Florida seems to have the other problem though.

According to at least two media reports (local and Washington Post) a Tampa area mother watched as her child got "redder and redder" as he was locked in a vehicle that Tampa dispatchers would not respond to when she called 9-1-1.  It took an off duty police officer to come to her aid by calling a second dispatcher and sending resources her way.

Given the number of heat related deaths per year in the United States I am amazed by the callousness of the initial call taker who said that responders would likely just smash her windows.  That is true...they may.  We knuckle dragging fire types though may also find another way in, but either way, that is a decision for responders who should be on the road immediately rather than waiting for a AAA locksmith to show up.

For me, this ranks up there with the DC Fire EMS scandals of non-response except it may be worse in this regard.  All the call taker likely had to do was press a button and/or speak a few words.  How lazy can you get?  You aren't even doing the real work.

You just need to send people willing to handle the situation and perhaps try to help the mother find ways into the car in the meantime.  I know a number of dispatchers who like to wear their career on their sleeve and talk about "I tell YOU where to go."  Maybe so, but if you act like this call taker did, you deserve to go find a new career.

This is one public safety story that has me hot.

Pessimism On Post-Racial Presidency

Again and again, President Obama seems to get it wrong.  Worse though, America hasn't seemed to figure it out that the President who wants to see the racial tensions of past erased, only seems to exacerbate them.

In July 2009, President Obama rushed to the defense of Henry Gates Jr. who had a confrontation with police after police were informed it appeared he was trying to break into his home.  Police responded to the incident and charged Mr. Gates with disorderly conduct.  President Obama rushed to judgement citing that the police "acted stupidly."

In 2013, President Obama rushed to defend Trayvon Martin who he had said "could have been me."  In the Martin case, Mr. Obama missed the fact that evidence on scene pointed towards the probability that Mr. Martin attacked George Zimmerman.

Now comes 2014 and an incident we are still learning about where President Obama decries the death of Michael Brown before evidence is in, but Mr. Obama seems to be the one who once again is playing the race card in the death of a black teenager.

The death of Michael Brown is heartbreaking, and Michelle and I send our deepest condolences to his family and his community at this very difficult time.  As Attorney General Holder has indicated, the Department of Justice is investigating the situation along with local officials, and they will continue to direct resources to the case as needed.  I know the events of the past few days have prompted strong passions, but as details unfold, I urge everyone in Ferguson, Missouri, and across the country, to remember this young man through reflection and understanding.  We should comfort each other and talk with one another in a way that heals, not in a way that wounds.  Along with our prayers, that’s what Michael and his family, and our broader American community, deserve.

Mr. Obama is very prevalent in this case, discerning evidence before it is presented.  What happens if the officer shot Mr. Brown because he was being attacked?  What happens if another innocent was shot because of his actions and not the officers.

One thing is for sure.  Mr. Obama has been conspicuously hard to find when it comes to issues like gun running to Mexican drug cartels by his ATF.  I do not remember this much effort on behalf of the Brian Terry family after the Border agent was killed by guns that Obama's Justice Department allowed to walk across the border.

Unfortunately, Mr. Obama can not figure out if he wants to be a post racial President or not.  Again and again, it is clear he sees through a race based lens.  If the leader of the greatest country on Earth does it, why wouldn't lesser people?  Mr. Obama needs to remember his campaign promise and start looking at issues of fact and not fear or his will be a post-racial Presidency based on pessimism and not promise.

Our America?

Wow John Whitehead.  You might have hit the nail on the head with this post.

There's a lot to love about America and its people: their pioneering spirit, their entrepreneurship, their ability to think outside the box, their passion for the arts, etc.  Increasingly, however, as time goes by, I find the things I don't like about living in a nation that has long since ceased to be a sanctuary for freedom are beginning to outnumber the things I love.

Here's what I don't like about living in the American police state: I don't like being treated as if my only value to the government is as a source of labor and funds. I don't like being viewed as a consumer and bits of data. I don't like being spied on and treated as if I have no right to privacy, especially in my own home.

I don't like government officials who lobby for my vote only to ignore me once elected. I don't like having representatives incapable of and unwilling to represent me. I don't like taxation without representation.

I don't like being bullied by government bureaucrats, vigilantes masquerading as cops, or faceless technicians. I don't like being railroaded into financing government programs whose only purpose is to increase the power and wealth of the corporate elite. I don't like being forced to pay for wars abroad that serve no other purpose except to expand the reach of the military industrial complex.

I don't like being subjected to scans, searches, pat downs and other indignities by the TSA. I don't like VIPR raids on so-called "soft" targets like shopping malls and bus depots by black-clad, Darth Vader look-alikes. I don't like fusion centers, which represent the combined surveillance efforts of federal, state and local law enforcement.

I don't like being treated like an underling by government agents who are supposed to be working for me. I don't like being threatened, intimidated, bribed, beaten and robbed by individuals entrusted with safeguarding my rights. I don't like being silenced, censored and marginalized. I don't like my movements being tracked, my conversations being recorded, and my transactions being catalogued.

I don't like how the presidency has developed into a neo-monarchy replete with all the luxury and lasciviousness of the feudal lords of old.

I don't like politicians who spend most of their time running for office, fundraising and enjoying being feted by lobbyists and corporations alike. I don't like being kept at a distance from my elected representatives, including the president (a.k.a. the Emperor). I don't like free speech zones, roving bubble zones and trespass laws that restrict Americans' First Amendment rights.

I don't like laws that criminalize Americans for otherwise lawful activities such as holding religious studies at home, growing vegetables in their yard, and collecting rainwater. I don't like the NDAA, which allows the president and the military to arrest and detain American citizens indefinitely. I don't like the Patriot Act, which opened the door to all manner of government abuses and intrusions on our privacy.

I don't like the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), which has become America's standing army in direct opposition to the dire warnings of those who founded our country. I don't like military weapons such as armored vehicles, sound cannons and the like being used against the American citizens. I don't like government agencies such as the DHS, Post Office, Social Security Administration and Wildlife stocking up on hollow-point bullets. And I definitely don't like the implications of detention centers being built that could house American citizens.

I don't like the fact that since President Obama took office, police departments across the country "have received tens of thousands of machine guns; nearly 200,000 ammunition magazines; thousands of pieces of camouflage and night-vision equipment; and hundreds of silencers, armored cars and aircraft."

I don't like America's infatuation with locking people up for life for non-violent crimes. There are over 3,000 people in America serving life sentences for non-violent crimes, including theft of a jacket, siphoning gasoline from a truck, stealing tools, and attempting to cash a stolen check. I don't like paying roughly $29,000 a year per inmate just to keep these nonviolent offenders in prison.

I don't like having my hard-earned taxpayer dollars used against me.

I don't like the partisan nature of politics today, which has so polarized Americans that they are incapable of standing in unity against the government's abuses. I don't like the entertainment drivel that passes for news coverage today.

I don't like the fact that those within a 25-mile range of the border are getting a front row seat to the American police state, as Border Patrol agents are now allowed to search people's homes, intimately probe their bodies, and rifle through their belongings, all without a warrant.

I don't like public schools that treat students as if they were prison inmates. I don't like zero tolerance laws that criminalize childish behavior. I don't like a public educational system that emphasizes rote memorization and test-taking over learning, synthesizing and critical thinking.  

I don't like police precincts whose primary purpose—whether through the use of asset forfeiture laws, speed traps, or red light cameras—is making a profit at the expense of those they have sworn to protect. I don't like militarized police and their onerous SWAT team raids.

I don't like Department of Defense and DHS programs that transfer surplus military hardware to local and state police. I don't like government programs that reward cops for raiding homes and terrorizing homeowners. I don't like local police dressing and acting as if they were the military while viewing me as an enemy combatant.

I don't like being treated as if I have no rights.

I don't like cash-strapped states cutting deals with private corporations to run the prisons in exchange for maintaining 90% occupancy rates for at least 20 years. I don't like the fact that American prisons have become the source of cheap labor for Corporate America.

I don't like feeling as if we've come full circle back to a pre-Revolutionary era.  I don't like answering to an imperial president, who operates above the law. I don't like the injustice that passes for justice in the courts. I don't like prosecutors so hell bent on winning that they allow innocent people to suffer for crimes they didn't commit. 

I don't like the double standards that allow government officials to break laws with immunity, while average Americans get the book thrown at them. I don't like cops who shoot first and ask questions later. I don't like police dogs being treated with more respect and afforded more rights than American citizens. 

I don't like living in a suspect society. I don't like Americans being assumed guilty until they prove their innocence. I don't like the fact that 38 states require that a property owner prove his innocence when police have laid claim to it in a civil forfeiture proceeding, whether or not that individual has done anything wrong. 

I don't like technology being used as a double-edged sword against us. I don't like agencies like DARPA developing weapons for the battlefield that get used against Americans back at home. I don't like the fact that drones will be deployed domestically in 2015, yet the government has yet to establish any civil liberties protocols to prevent them from being used against the citizenry.

Most of all, I don't like feeling as if there's no hope for turning things around.  Now there are those who would suggest that if I don't like things about this country, I should leave and go elsewhere. And there are certainly those among my fellow citizens who are leaving for friendlier shores. However, I happen to come from a long line of people who believe in the virtue of hard work and perseverance and in the principle that nothing worthwhile comes without effort. 

So I'm not giving up, at least not anytime soon. But I'm also not waiting around for the government to clean up its act. I'm not making any deals with politicians who care nothing about me and mine. To quote Number Six, the character in the British television series The Prisoner: "I will not be pushed, filed, stamped, indexed, briefed, debriefed, or numbered! My life is my own!"

I plan to keep fighting, writing, speaking up, speaking out, shouting if necessary, filing lawsuits, challenging the status quo, writing letters to the editor, holding my representatives accountable, thinking nationally but acting locally, and generally raising a ruckus anytime the government attempts to undermine the Constitution and ride roughshod over the rights of the citizenry.

As I make clear in my book A Government of Wolves: The Emerging American Police State, we're at a crisis point in American history. If we don't get up off our duffs and get involved in the fight for freedom, then up ahead the graveyard beckons. As Martin Luther King Jr. warned, "The hottest places in hell are reserved for those who in a period of moral crisis maintain their neutrality."

I get that he seems mad, but if you haven't looked around, he is right throughout.  As ordinary Americans we have abdicated our responsibility to keep our government, ours.  The center of power needs to be restored to those governed.