Think I’m kidding? Well, even in Texas a Judge has had enough with the rogue cops. It’ s kind of amazing what’s going on with the police these days. Must be the effect of seeing all those Law & Order episodes where they say “talk to us or we’ll take you downtown (arrest you)” without a shred of evidence. Or where they bring charges against the family to pressure the so-called “bad guy”. Nuts.
Who wouldn’t sign papers if the cops threaten to take your kids away from you? Good for the judge.
On a totally different subject, to protect yourself, you might want to read Michelle Singletary’s column on how to protect your family if/when you die. Bottom line: make sure everyone knows where things are located and what has to be done next. It’s important.
Here’s a story to make my point: I was out last night with my 17 year-old daughter. We were visiting friends & watching the fights (she loves the fights & is a fighter herself). My friends had their sons with them. So it was me, 4 adult men, my daughter and about 9 teenage boys. Most of the boys were fine but 1 of them wouldn’t leave her alone. He kept putting hands on her. Finally she leaned over & told me she would clock him if he kept it up. I told her “go ahead”. So she did. An Elbow to the kidney. Hard. So he left her alone.
Now, the moral, ladies, girls, boys and gents is actually simple: you have the right to defend yourself and you don’t have to be shy about it. In fact, being shy about defending yourself is an invitation to being hassled. So, learn from this story. If you are being bothered, touched, aggressed against, Do Something About It. Stand up for yourselves. Only YOU are entitled to decide what’s too much.
You all thought I was wrong when I complained that some cops are absolutely out of control? Then check out this story about a poor guy who just got on the wrong side of an arrogant cop. You know how I know?
1) the charges were dropped (and they wouldn’t have dropped the charges if at all possible since the charges would functionally immunize the police dep’t from the inevitable lawsuit0 and
2) the cop’s own words ““I got within 10 feet, and he continued to not want to listen to my words,” Chancellor said during Ladou’s preliminary hearing. “He did not want to come talk to me. …” Funny thing about that–you don’t have to talk to a cop if you don’t want to. They can’t stop you except for a short frisk for safety (and sometimes to create a pretext) and they can’t seize you and make you do anything unless you are under arrest. And for that they need probably cause.
Dumb cop, they deserve what they get.
I’ve been reading a lot recently about gunshots suddenly breaking out. It could be a Club, on the street, at the Mall, or even, Bless us all, at an Apple Store in the suburbs. Violence is all around us. So you should be aware of just 1 or 2 key things to do when the bullets start flying. Get DOWN. Yep, that’s right, get down on the ground. Don’t worry about mussing up your nice clothers, don’t worry about looking like a fool. Just GET DOWN.
Once you are down on the ground, here’s another tip for you: roll or belly crawl up to a wall or shelter that conceals you. That way you are hidden. But just because you are hidden does not mean that you are protected. Modern handguns can punch through furniture, drywall, even car doors. Stay down!
Last, once you are down and hidden, call 911 for help. Don’t worry that someone else might do it. Just do it.
I swear it seems like we’re breeding for stupidity. Or at least culturally training people to be stupid. Worse, Darwin will punish us for our total and complete stupidity. What am I talking about? Simple really. In the past 3 weeks I’ve met several people (all women for some reason but this level of total and complete stupidity is not sex-related) who say “I hate war.” (Who doesn’t. Not the people who have to fight them. You will never find someone who hates war more than someone who has fought one.) or “There’s no reason for violence.” or “Violence never settled anything.”
God in Heaven. Do these people ever study history? Or even remember their history from High School? It’s too much to ask that they remember anything from college even though they were all college graduates and some even had graduate degrees. Does anyone ever remember the Carthaginians? Did they do anything? Nope. Why? Because Rome DESTROYED them. Who says violence never settled anything? Or how about WWII? Violence never settled that one? Don’t worry about whether it should have been fought (I say it should) but don’t tell me it never settled anything.
No reason for violence? Not even self-defense? Really? Not in any circumstances? Don’t tempt me to tell real-life stories and then ask if violence was unnecessary)
Or then I get the people who say we should all live like Ghandi and Dr. King. Now, I admire both men. And their accomplishments and bravery beggar *my* imagination. But both were opposed by people who had a conscience. There were some things the British Raj would not do or could not bring their troops to do or which the British public would not tolerate. So Ghandi won because the only way to defeat him would be to do things that the Raj would not do. Same with Dr. King. Bull Connor might have been ruthless but the American People would not permit it. To destroy Dr. King’s movement would have meant publicly destroying American values. That we were unwilling to do. Try a thought experiment: Would Ghandi or King have survived (let alone won) against the Russians? If you say “yes”, check out what the Russians have been doing in Chechnya for the past 10 years.
So get a grip people. Stop this. It’s a damn big, mean world out there and, while *you* may not want to fight for your right to be snotty and disdainful and comfortable, be grateful to the others of us who are. By fighting for our own rights, we inadvertently protect yours. Economists call you “free riders”. Well, you “free riders” have the right to be snotty and disdainful, but we have the right to hold you in contempt for acting that way.
CNN has an interesting video clip on its website. At a hearing arraigning an accused murderer, he apparently smiled in a way that some in the audience didn’t like. So a brawl erupted. Now the film is revealing for many things but let me mention a few:
1) There appeared to be no functioning gate or barrier separating the well of the court from the audience: a wide, open, space, not gated, in the Bar and the Bar itself very low. If the Bar had been higher and a gateway there the crowd couldn’t have joined in so effectively or quickly. The Bar only has to be raised about 6 inches so it’s not very costly
2) Where were the courtroom baliffs?
3) The defense lawyer hid under the table while the Judge shrieked. But the prosecutor waded in and pulled people off the accused. Watch how she did it too. She’s not in the middle of things–she’s pulling people out from behind and pushing them away so she won’t get hit.
Bottom line: learn from this lawyers. And maybe redesign the courtrooms for safety.
God knows I respect and value the good police. They do an invaluable job. But there are the occasional problems. And then the Blue Wall arrives. For example, in Maryland a cop arrested a man and charged him with attacking a police officer. But then, this video showed up. So the local attorneys dismissed the case and started a review of the cop’s actions. OK. No problem. That’s the way the system works. But read this article about the review. Instead of asking questions and cleaning their own house, the local union and police are making statements that are clearly wrong.
Bottom line: when a cop stops you and you assert your rights, they will punish you. Ask what you are charged with and they will punish you. Ask if you are under arrest and they will punish you. Not every cop, not even every department. But enough of them. And the good ones will not stop the others. Too bad.
I don’t normally post twice in one day, but in researching my previous post I found This list of scams that Fox News has compiled. You should check the list out but the list includes: threats of home invasion, mystery shoppers, the Hit Man scam I just wrote about, the Million Dollar Winner, your Favorite Grand(son)(daughter), buy a car from a soldier, fake jury summonses, the “inheritance” and the fake FBI agent. If you recognize any of these, you have been targeted. Beware.
I don’t like to call attention to these things but there’s a “new” scam out there that is causing people some grief. What happens is they get an email or a note or something telling them that a contract to kill them has been placed but the hitman has a conscience. So if they will just pay off the hitman, the contract will be canceled. This is nonsense and absurd and illogical. Think about it. So the hit man refuses to act. Is the person who put out the contract going to be dissuaded? No. Would the hitman take the chance that the person issuing the contract will want revenge on the hitman? No. Is there such a thing as a professional hitman who has such a tender conscience? No.
If someone pulls this stunt on you, call the police. It’s extortion. If you doubt me, the FBI knows about this and gives advice. Bottom line–don’t fall for it.
