Category Archives: crime
Military Policing
The American people don’t want the US military policing Ferguson, Missouri any more than they want it policing Mosul, Iraq. Besides it’s kind of illegal. But that doesn’t keep the Pentagon from shipping free military hardware to police forces all over the country. Your local cops are armed to the teeth with everything from assault vehicles to grenade launchers. The Washington Post says half a billion in free gear was handed out to cops last year. That doesn’t sit well with Rand Paul. Or Mark Steyn. Not to mention, cops in camo look ridiculous on main street.
Shouldn’t a ‘Ferguson’ camo pattern be, like, 7/11 & Kool-Aid logos?
Military Policing
The single bullet Barney Fife policing method may not be the way to go, but more dashboard cameras and fewer MRAPs might not be a bad idea. A convenience store camera showed that Michael Brown wasn’t the “gentle giant” he was made out to be, as he strong-armed his way to a box of Swisher Sweets. But as Steyn notes, we’ll never see the way he was killed because the cop who shot him lacked a dashcam.
Update:
Here’s Kevin Williamson in NRO on the purpose of policing. And Mark Steyn from last November on our “drift toward despotism“.
In other news, local cops aren’t the only ones we’ve armed to the teeth.
Nixon Impeachment Advice
Judge Napolitano says, “the government is out of control”.
President Obama has taken to taunting Congress about impeaching him. Speaker Boehner says impeachment is off the table.
Nixon
August 7 is the 40th anniversary of President Nixon’s resignation under the threat of impeachment. An 18 minute gap was discovered in a Watergate phone tape transcribed by Rosemary Woods. Lois Lerner has a two year gap in IRS emails.
Constitutional scholar Jonathan Turley says, “Obama is the president Nixon always wanted to be”. Tricky Dickey overachieved just by being himself according to Washington Post columnist Richard Cohen. He says Nixon’s “southern strategy” turned the Republicans into a party of racists and homophobes.
No comment from the grave of Senate constitutionalist Robert Byrd.
Update: Here’s George Will on Nixon’s lawless activities 40 years ago. He wanted to use IRS to go after his enemies but didn’t trust the top people there.
Update update: Charles Krauthammer calls Obama’s plan to grant amnesty to 5 million illegals impeachment bait (nice picture):
Such a calculation — amnesty-by-fiat to deliberately court impeachment — is breathtakingly cynical. But clever. After all, there is no danger of impeachment succeeding. There will never be 67 votes in the Senate to convict. But talking it up is a political bonanza for Democrats, stirring up an otherwise listless and dispirited base. Last Monday alone the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee raised more than $1 million from anti-impeachment direct mail.
High Tech Execution
There was another botched high tech execution last week in Arizona. It took two hours to kill Joseph Rudolph Wood III by lethal injection. Here’s Reason editor Nick Gillespie writing for Daily Beast.
The Bear is Loose
The president is a bear in his own mind. When he takes a scripted trip outside the White House to mingle with the people he likes to say “the bear is loose”.
Here’s Matthew Continetti in the Washington Free Beacon on Obama and the real bear – Russia.
Hamas and the Iron Dome
Hamas has fired over 1200 rockets claiming “every Israeli is a legitimate target”. So far only one “legitimate target” has been killed. That’s because of Israel’s Iron Dome missile defense.
Israel doesn’t consider individual Palestinians “legitimate targets”. Before striking back at Hamas it warned civilians with pamphlets and phone calls. Hamas responded by telling them to stay in place as human shields.
Charles Krauthammer writes in the Washington Post, “Rarely does international politics present a moment of such moral clarity”:
“Here’s the difference between us,” explains the Israeli prime minister. “We’re using missile defense to protect our civilians, and they’re using their civilians to protect their missiles.”
Hamas and the Iron Dome
William Saletan in Slate says there’s plenty to argue about in Gaza, “But one thing should be clear to everyone: Hamas is insane. It’s destroying Gaza.”
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, is perplexed:
“What are you trying to achieve by sending rockets?” he asked rhetorically in a TV interview. In another appearance, he pleaded: “We are the losing side, and every minute there are more and more unnecessary deaths. … I don’t like trading in Palestinian blood.”
The Guardian disagrees. Seumas Milne says, “The idea of Israel defending itself from unprovoked attacks is absurd.”
