Update from the
Heartland
No.695
6.4.15 – 12.4.15
Blog version: http://heartlandupdate.blogspot.com/
To all,
The follow-up news items:
-- A federal court jury convicted the surviving Tsarnaev
brother – Dzhokhar Tsarnaev – of all 30 charges against him, stemming from the 2013
Boston Marathon bombings (15.April.2013) [592],
including using weapons of mass destruction. Next, the jury will decide if he should get the death
penalty. I trust they shall do the
right thing and diligently perform their civic duty.
We suffered yet another white-on-black, officer-involved
shooting death, this time in North Charleston, South Carolina. This time, the tragic event was fortuitously captured on
video. The police officer involved
was quickly fired, arrested and charged with murder. The Washington Post
reported on an analysis by the newspaper and researchers at Bowling Green State
University of thousands of fatal shootings at the hands of police since 2005, and
found that only 54 officers had been criminally charged. I watched the entire, publicly available
video clip; there is little doubt in my little pea-brain the city took the
correct action and the officer will face justice.
In
this next paragraph, I must preface the next element of my opinion with a clear
statement. A police officer is
just another citizen, who happens to have chosen a particularly difficult and occasionally
dangerous profession. That said,
the uniform, badge and firearm on his hip do NOT and SHOULD NOT offer any
protection from criminal prosecution, especially when their actions cause injury
to another person or property.
They do not have license for criminal conduct. Yet, my irritation and mounting resistance from the string
of these widely publicized, white-on-black, officer-involved shootings is the extraordinary
disservice they do to all law enforcement officers. Why is that we allow the Press to focus on the sensational,
emotionally charged conclusion and rarely, if ever, the extraordinary poor
judgment and often antagonistic actions of the victims leading up to the
finale. I suspect virtually
everyone reading these words has been pulled over for a traffic violation at one
time or another in our lives. Has
anyone been confronted by a police officer drawing his weapon? I have never faced that circumstance. So, as we mourn the loss of another
citizen with dark skin pigmentation at the hands of a police officer, I will emphatically
proclaim, a citizen’s skin pigmentation and past centuries of brutal
discrimination do NOT give anyone the right to defy compliance instructions – stop
resisting arrest and being belligerent with law enforcement officers trying to
perform their duties. If anyone
believes they are being mistreated, do as you are instructed and file a
complaint. If you doubt the
integrity of your local government, seek federal assistance with such
discrimination. Stop resisting!
On Tuesday, including yours-truly, we
voted in Wichita, Kansas. For the
first time in my voting lifetime, I had to present an approved, image,
identification instrument – in my case, my state driver’s license sufficed. We elected a new mayor, city council
and school board members. We also
voted on the citizen petition initiative to significantly reduce the legal
penalty for the first time cannabis or paraphernalia possession offense by a
54% - 45% vote – hardly an overwhelm approval, but sufficient for a clear
statement. The state attorney
general has already taken steps to block the voter-approved change. The legal wrangling has only just
begun. As I previously wrote [691], this change is only a partial,
baby-step and a long way from the proper reform that should be enacted;
however, long journeys begin with small steps. So, we begin!
One day, we shall mature as a nation that embraces freedom and remove
government from our private lives and personal choices. Until that day, we must continue to
suffer the fools who desperately cling to the status quo ante.
Well, now, the suspense is finally
over. Hillary Diane Rodham Clinton
finally and officially threw her hat in the ring for the 2016 presidential
election campaign. Whether you
love her or hate her, there can be little question she will add color and
dimension to this rendition of the quadrennial, or some might say bi-annual,
silly season, which is sure to begin in earnest soon. Republican wannabes – Ted Cruz, Rand Paul and Marco Rubio
(so far) – have officially
declared their candidacies. We are
likely to have a bounty of Republican candidates. At least she recognized history in her announcement when she
noted that voters have rarely kept the same party in control of the White House
for 12 straight years. Clinton is
the first major Democrat to formally declare her candidacy. Let the fun begin!
President Barack Hussein Obama of the
United States of America met with President Raúl Modesto Castro Ruz of Cuba in
an adjunct session during the Seventh Summit of the Americas in Panama City,
Panama – the first substantive meeting between U.S. and Cuban leaders since
1956 and the Cuban Revolution of 1959.
History will judge this action.
Until then, I will hold the opinion that it was about time a president
stood up to the mark and began the process of normalization of relations with our
neighbor to the south. President
Nixon took the first steps to normalize relations with the People’s Republic of
China in 1971. President Obama’s
move with Cuba has been long overdue.
We shall see how this works out . . . we can only hope for the better
for both countries.
No comments or contributions
from Update no.694.
My very best wishes to all. Take care of yourselves and each other.
Cheers,
Cap :-)
2 comments:
In re police shootings: I see those shootings as racist but not limited to racism. Police work attracts a very specific personality, more so than any other field. Otherwise, why would a person choose to spend his days dealing with people at their worst? Other fields pay better for easier work with better emotional rewards. The police officers I have met, at work and otherwise, have a very strong sense of right and wrong that often devolves into an "us versus them" mentality. Actual and appropriate law enforcement too often changes over time into "catching the bad guys" by any means available. That includes, especially, police officers deciding who the "bad guys" are based on race, attire, or attitude. We may as well expect that people will die unless something basic to the attitudes of the officers can be changed. I will note an even deeper underlying issue. Despite heavily armed police and extreme penalties for violations (the death penalty, "three strikes" laws, rigid "broken window" enforcement), the United States continues to have higher crime and imprisonment rates than other similar nations.
I myself was trained from an early age to do whatever law enforcement officers demanded because they carry guns. This has nothing to do with respect. It's simply fear. That fear fits the facts. Minorities were not allowed in the place and time I grew up. Poor people and "outsider" families such as mine fell into that role. The first time I was falsely accused of a crime I was 11 years old, and my two younger brothers were included in that bit of insanity. I'm glad I was taught not to agitate law enforcement, but I have never come to respect police officers as a category. They are merely human beings with a strange taste in occupations. Their badges and weapons confer a sense of power on them, and power corrupts.
I will admit to a certain surprise that Wichita has decriminalized marijuana possession. Nobody accuses Kansans of liberalism. I think we may take this a a clear sign that progress on this issue is now national.
I will not be voting for Hillary Clinton. I made that mistake with her husband. I will vote for a progressive one way or the other. Secretary Clinton has had 25 years to build a progressive record and has failed to do so. I don't care what she puts into her campaign. I will vote for someone with a history of progressive actions.
Unfortunately, here in the US we have a habit of overlooking diplomatic accomplishments. I learned to appreciate President Nixon's accomplishments in that arena only long after he served. I imagine President Obama's opening to Cuba will suffer the same fate with most Americans.
Calvin,
Re: Law Enforcement (IE). I will not quibble with your observations. I believe the observations are valid at least in part. Yes, IE share common traits of weakness, as do we as a society. However, there is another major factor . . . communities get the police they deserve . . . too much “them vs. us,” “don’t snitch,” “I saw nothing,” et cetera. We need strong, effective IE, and WE must help them in proper policing. Leaving it to the IE to figure out does nothing but foster “us vs. them.”
Re: interesting perspective. I choose to follow instructions from IE not out of fear but from respect for the vital community work they do, and the risks they take for our protection.
Re: Wichita marijuana vote. I wish we had at least decriminalized marijuana possession and use. The vote simply reduced penalties for first time convictions . . . as I said, a very small, half step. While I do agree, it is a surprising step . . an important one, nonetheless. I do not think of Wichita as a bastion of liberalism; it certainly appears as such in contrast to the extreme social conservatism exhibited in the surrounding state.
It is way too early to be deciding on 2016 votes. I do not know who I will vote for. If Hillary is the best candidate presented to us on Election Day, then she will get my vote. Today, we are a very long way from such decisions.
Re: Obama & Cuba. I hope you are correct. Only time will tell.
“That’s just my opinion, but I could be wrong.”
Cheers,
Cap
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