When innocent American citizens are told they should have their papers on them, we live in a police state --- hogwash real Americans don't mind providing proof of identity
those who fear our government are something other than American On Aug 12, 6:03 am, MJ <[email protected]> wrote: > Judge Halts Search for Cartoonist Who Embarrassed CopsIn April, Renton Police > Chief Kevin Milosevich learned of eight videos on YouTube featuring > computer-voiced cartoon characters rambling about office politics and > internal cop investigations, according to an affidavit for one of the > warrants. There s also some chatter about an officer dating a suspect. > The videos mentioned no city, department or full names. But police built a > cyberstalking case against the videomaker . . . (Seattle > Post-Intelligencer)It s barely even necessary for the State to have a pretext > for harrassing you.The CallingYes, It Is a Police StateA line has been > crossed.Steven Horwitz > Posted June 16, 2011 > As regular readers know, I m not one for hyperbole, so perhaps some are > thinking that my title is ironic. Nope, I mean it. An accumulation of events > in recent months leads me to no other conclusion than that we are in fact > living in a police state in the good old US of A. > The list of reasons is fairly long, but we can certainly start with our > favorite gropers at the TSA. In my ideal world, airline safety would be the > responsibility of those with the most directly to lose financially from doing > it poorly: the airlines and the airports. But even in a world where > government has taken on that responsibility, we should be protected by the > Fourth Amendment against unreasonable searches. It s one thing to walk > through the standard metal detector, which seems reasonable, but when we are > expected to pose virtually nude in a submissive position for government > agents, and when refusing to do so earns you a feel-up that would count as > sexual battery in most states, that is something else entirely. > If I had told you 20 years ago that in 2011 this is what would happen every > day to thousands of travelers -- including toddlers and the handicapped -- at > U.S. airports, you would not have believed me. And on top of everything > else,it doesn t work! It s mere security theatre. When residents of the > United States have a legitimate fear of being sexually abused by agents of > the State when engaging in peaceful air travel, we live in a police > state.SWAT TeamsAdd to this 1) the militarization of the police, with > no-knock raids by full SWAT teams being the norm for everything from minor > possession of marijuana tosuspected student-loan fraud, and 2) the Supreme > Court s complicity in eviscerating the Fourth Amendment -- and two more > pieces of the police state are in place. These raids often feature what > writer Radley Balko calls puppycides. The cops shoot and kill any dogs in the > house routinely, regardless of their behavior. Of course the cops often raid > the wrong house, terrifying innocent people in the middle of the night and > killingtheirdogs too. When residents of the United States have serious reason > to fear the door being busted down in the middle of the night by armed agents > of the State despite having done nothing wrong, we live in a police state. > Then there s my experience this past week as I drove home from the airport in > Syracuse, New York. The Border Patrol and the State Police had set up a > roadblock on the county line about 30 miles from my house and at least 20 > miles as the crow flies from the border with Canada. This is not uncommon, > but this time two things were different. First, both groups of officers were > fully armed. Second, they were asking questions. Normally they just peer into > your car and let you go. This time, I was asked, Where are you coming from? ; > Were you out of the state? ; and Do you have luggage in your trunk? They did > not search the car, nor did they ask for ID (the latter probably because I m > white), but it does not matter. When American citizens are stopped while > traveling within their own state and asked to account for their whereabouts, > we live in a police state.Do You Have Your Papers?Finally, a professional > colleague of mine was recently on a train to Chicago with his teenage son. > They are of Mexican descent, but both are American citizens. Border Patrol > agents boarded the train and conducted a similar inquisition. My colleague > and his son were hassled quite a bit and told that they probably should keep > proof of citizenship with them when they travel within the United States. > When innocent American citizens are told they should have their papers on > them, we live in a police state. > My experience last weekend reflects the essence of the problem. Why were the > cops and the Border Patrol there? They were looking for illegal immigrants, > drugs, and potential terrorists. It s the perfect storm of statism that has > brought us to this point. The combination of xenophobia, irrational fear of > drugs, and the terror the State has whipped up about terrorists around every > corner is the fuel on which this police state feeds. But a police state > cannot emerge without many fellow citizens being willing to trade off their > actual liberties for the false promise of security. > Since 9/11 the biggest threat to the American people is not radical Muslim > terrorists, nor deranged domestic terrorists, but the terrorists with the > blue uniforms, badges, and body armor. Their weapons of mass destruction are > not bombs, but state-approved guns, latex-gloved hands, and a profound > disregard for our rights. Until we stand up and say, Enough!theseterrorists > will keep winning and our rights will continue to be > lost.http://www.thefreemanonline.org/headline/yes-this-is-a-police-state/ -- Thanks for being part of "PoliticalForum" at Google Groups. 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