Submitted by: Mike Spindell, guest blogger
This blog, like many others has an internal search function that will lead you to past stories. It is located beneath the smiling countenance of our proprietor on the upper right. If you enter SWAT into search, you see that the first archive page shows 19 stories involving SWAT raids that were unnecessary and/or unwarranted. In those raids 4 people and 9 dogs were shot in error by the SWAT Team. Just a catalog of the shootings belies the terror that these raids can instill in people who are merely residing within their homes. Many of the articles detail doors suddenly smashed open, flash grenades and gas grenades tossed into the home, people thrown to the floor handcuffed and left for hours in that position, by invading SWAT teams that either had the wrong house, faulty leads and or in some cases enforcing what were clearly civil warrants. In one instance in California a SWAT raid was carried out due to the suspicion of a defaulted student loan. http://jonathanturley.org/2011/06/08/california-family-hit-with-swat-raid-ordered-by-the-department-of-education/
I believe that the rise of these SWAT teams is leading this country towards martial law and what we all commonly understand is a “police state” as repressive as any we’ve seen in the past century. We have seen constant encroachment on our citizens Constitutional protections and a continued erosion of “the Bill of Rights”. Free Speech, the right to peacefully assemble, Habeas Corpus and safety from unwarranted intrusion in our own homes, among others, have been steadily eroded under various guises, be it the drug war, or national security. In my opinion the SWAT team concept, which militarizes our police forces, is leading this nation to what I see as a state of Martial Law. Despite ones place on the currently inflamed political spectrum, this is a problem that I think concerns us all as citizens, not as partisans. I will present to you sufficient proof of my belief, the majority of which will come from what can be fairly described as a “Libertarian Think Tank” and which was founded by Charles Koch, among others. When I find myself on the same side on an issue as the Cato Institute, then I know with certainty that my fears are well grounded and unrelated to any personal partisanship of my own.
“Martial Law (definition)
The exercise of government and control by military authorities over the civilian population of a designated territory.” http://legal-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/martial+law
That partial definition above really doesn’t state the understood essence of the term “Martial Law”. The full definition would of course describe situations like a “State of National Emergency”, where the National Guard is called out to restore order. Yet, while I’m admittedly stretching the definition to fit my own conception, I don’t believe my conception is far from the mark of what’s occurring in America today.
First let me briefly summarize the history of SWAT teams in America as I see it and then I will present evidence that I believe backs up my opinion with factual argumentation. The man credited with inventing the “SWAT” concept was Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) Police Chief Darryl Gates in 1966 as a response to the riots in the Watts section of Los Angeles. Gates was a rather controversial man, who took a draconian mindset into law enforcement. His pronouncement on racial issues regarding both Black and Latinos skirted quite closely to bigotry. Then too the history of the LAPD is a rather checkered one. It was an open fact that the police in L.A. were always seen to be the “protectors” of the “White” population from first the resident Latino’s and then from the Black people who had joined the emigration to California as a land of opportunity. The LAPD actively recruited police officers from the South who were experienced in enforcing “Jim Crow” laws. Gates’ innovation was the use of military tactics and equipment in a special force that was trained by ex-Marines. Besides “riots” the LAPD SWAT team soon became deployed in the “drug wars” and in “controlling” demonstrations.
Gates’ SWAT concept slowly gained popularity through the 70’s but it was limited to units being formed in only a few Cities around the U.S.. With the election of Ronald Reagan though and his institution of the “War on Drugs”, the SWAT concept began to spread across the Nation and local Police Department began receiving massive amounts of Federal funding to organize units, to train in military tactics and to buy military equipment. The public acceptance of these units stemmed from a media all too eager to engender fear ridden news items and to show the “heroism” (and need for) these tactics on their numerous “Cop Shows”. The over sensationalized “Crack Epidemic” of the 80’s and its’ overplay in the media helped impel this new tactic. Having been directly involved in working with “Crack” and Cocaine addiction I’m not trying to lighten their terrible effects. I was on the ground, so to speak, these were issues that required mental health professionals, rather than policing. Especially because invariably those caught and arrested were users, or low level dealers. Interestingly too, “Crack” was an addiction of the lower classes and thus caught most of the attention, whereas the more expensive Cocaine was commonly used among the wealthy with few criminal consequences, other than the health issues it raised.
“The Military Cooperation with Law Enforcement Act”: Passed in 1981 it was the first “official” blending of the military and the police.
“In 1988, Congress ordered the National Guard to assist state drug enforcement efforts. Because of this order, National Guard troops today patrol for marijuana plants and assist in large-scale anti-drug operations in every state in the country.
In 1989, President Bush created a series of regional task forces within the Department of Defense, charged with facilitating cooperation between the military and domestic police forces.
In 1994, the Department of Defense issued a memorandum authorizing the transfer of equipment and technology to state and local police. The same year, Congress created a “re-utilization program” to facilitate handing military gear”
After 1994, the use of SWAT Teams for local police forces grew exponentially with the impetus coming from the infusion of massive amounts of Federal Fund and surplus military equipment. What local police chief wouldn’t want a free armored vehicle? The spread of SWAT Teams around the US has become an epidemic to the point that even relatively small town police forces (towns with 25,000 to 50,000 people) have their own SWAT teams supplied via generous Federal funding and trained by military personnel, often at specialized military training bases.
The essence of this problem as I see it is that conceptually police and the military, while both carry weaponry, have two distinctly separate functions. The Military are to be used for making war and for invading foreign countries. Historically in America we didn’t allow the military to be used on our shores. The responsibility for maintaining order within our country is given to State and Local Police forces and not to the Federal Government. That idea has in fact been chipped away for many years, for many reasons. The FBI which was supposed to investigate Federal Criminal activity has found its duties expanded, either legally by legislation, or by fiat from such figures as J. Edgar Hoover, who conveniently conflated FBI work with his own personal power interests. Since the founding of the DEA, the line between Federal and State/Local has further been blurred, as indeed the line between the DEA and the Military has also been blurred. Finally, the establishment of the Department of Homeland Security and the Patriot Act has made the separation between Federal and local law enforcement almost nil.
Traditionally in this Country Police Officers were seen as members of the community and most felt that way. Thus policing, with exceptions of course, was more about maintaining public peace rather than frightening, disabling and punishing citizens. From a military perspective though, especially in occupying other countries, the idea is that all the populace are possible enemies not to be trusted and with whom harsh treatment is needed to instill fear and submission. When you begin to train police officers in those same tactics, then the citizens they deal with suddenly become “the other” in their minds, to be harshly repressed, frightened and dominated. It is this mindset that has become all too prevalent today and it has come into being via the SWAT concept.
A second problem with the SWAT teams and with the largesse of supplying localities with military equipment, structure and training is that “cool” stuff when available will be used and “overused”. To local police officers, indeed to many ordinary people, this equipment is “cool” stuff and its’ availability makes its usage much more likely. That is how a SWAT Team can be sent to deal with a delinquent Department of Education Student Loan. The human “need” to use the “team” and the equipment leads to rationalizing its use in instances that in the past were dealt with without the need for overwhelming firepower. While any situation where police must go to a house on official business can turn deadly for the police, this is generally not true in the overwhelming majority of cases. In fact in these days where 300 million firearms are owned by our citizens, sudden massive confrontation can exacerbate violence.
Beyond the lack of Constitutionality, the unneeded expense of manpower and the plethora of tragic happenstance is the bald fact that for us average citizens these SWAT actions are terrifying and have a “chilling” effect on even our legal activities. This to me is the essence of a Police State and a close harbinger of the imposition of Martial Law upon us. The word “martial” itself means military, or warlike.
Since this is the essence of the over proliferation of SWAT teams, to me at least, it seems that what is being rapidly imposed on Americans is Martial Law. Before you decide to agree, or disagree with me I would humbly request that you don’t take my word for what it happening. Below I’ve supplied 3 sources that detail copious proof of my allegations and a thorough discussion of what is happening to America due to the SWAT team craze.
The first is from one of the most popular (definitely centrist for financial reasons) and iconic magazines in the United States Popular Mechanics. It is written by Law Professor Glenn Reynolds of Instapundit.com
“SWAT Overkill: The Danger of a Paramilitary Police Force
“In a guest editorial, law professor and instapundit.com blogger Glenn Reynolds argues that over aggressive tactics and surplus military gear have turned some police units into a dangerous menace. SOLDIERS AND POLICE are supposed to be different. Soldiers are aimed at enemies from outside the country. They are trained to kill those enemies, and their supporters. In fact, “killing people and breaking things” are their main reasons for existence.
Police look inward. They’re supposed to protect their fellow citizens from criminals, and to maintain order with a minimum of force. It’s the difference between Audie Murphy and Andy Griffith. But nowadays, police are looking, and acting, more like soldiers than cops, with bad consequences. And those who suffer the consequences are usually innocent civilians.” Read more: http://www.popularmechanics.com/technology/military/4203345
The second source consists of a paper written for The Cato Institute by Radley Balko, who is a well-known libertarian journalist:
“CATO Paper: Overkill: The Rise of Paramilitary Police Raids in America: (published in 2006)
Executive Summary:
Americans have long maintained that a man’s home is his castle and that he has the right to defend it from unlawful intruders. Unfortunately, that right may be disappearing. Over the last 25 years, America has seen a disturbing militarization of its civilian law enforcement, along with a dramatic and unsettling rise in the use of paramilitary police units (most commonly called Special Weapons and Tactics, or SWAT) for routine police work. The most common use of SWAT teams today is to serve narcotics warrants, usually with forced, unannounced entry into the home.
These increasingly frequent raids, 40,000 per year by one estimate, are needlessly subjecting nonviolent drug offenders, bystanders, and wrongly targeted civilians to the terror of having their homes invaded while they’re sleeping, usually by teams of heavily armed paramilitary units dressed not as police officers but as soldiers. These raids bring unnecessary violence and provocation to nonviolent drug offenders, many of whom were guilty of only misdemeanors. The raids terrorize innocents when police mistakenly target the wrong residence. And they have resulted in dozens of needless deaths and injuries, not only of drug offenders, but also of police officers, children, bystanders, and innocent suspects. This paper presents a history and overview of the issue of paramilitary drug raids, provides an extensive catalogue of abuses and mistaken raids, and offers recommendations for reform.”http://www.cato.org/sites/cato.org/files/pubs/pdf/balko_whitepaper_2006.pdf
Included with the paper that you might profit from seeing is an interactive map of the U.S. showing the huge amount of botched SWAT teams’ raids across the country and their results. This map alone is worth looking at to get an idea of the extent of the problem, with the understanding that it was created in 2006 and so it omits the increasing SWAT usage of the last seven years. http://www.cato.org/raidmap
Finally, my evidence comes from the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) an organization I’ve supported since my teens. The ACLU to me has proved that it will fight for any civil liberties cause, without judging the politics of the people it fights for. The ACLU has just launched a nationwide program to investigate the abuses of SWAT Teams and the militarization of police enforcement in the U.S.
“American neighborhoods are increasingly being policed by cops armed with the weapons and tactics of war. Federal funding in the billions of dollars has allowed state and local police departments to gain access to weapons and tactics created for overseas combat theaters – and yet very little is known about exactly how many police departments have military weapons and training, how militarized the police have become, and how extensively federal money is incentivizing this trend.
It’s time to understand the true scope of the militarization of policing in America and the impact it is having in our neighborhoods. On March 6th, ACLU affiliates in 23 states filed over 255 public records requests with law enforcement agencies and National Guard offices to determine the extent to which federal funding and support has fueled the militarization of state and local police departments. Stay tuned as this project develops.
Consider these ten chilling stories. If the anecdotal evidence is any indication, use of military machinery such as tanks and grenades, as well as counter-terrorism tactics, encourage overly aggressive policing – too often with devastating consequences:
1. Confused after throwing a deafening and blinding “flashbang” into a home, police mistakenly shot and killed a sleeping nine-year-old.
Read more »
2. A county sheriff’s department in South Carolina has an armored personnel carrier dubbed “The Peacemaker,” which can shoot weapons that the U.S. military specifically refrains from using on people.
Read more »
3. New Hampshire police received federal funds for a counter-attack vehicle, asking “what red-blooded American cop isn’t going to be excited about getting a toy like this?”
Read more »
4. Two SWAT Teams shut down a neighborhood in Colorado for four hours to search for a man suspected of stealing a bicycle and merchandise from Wal-Mart. Read more »
5. A company in Arizona submitted a patent for shock cuffs, which can be used by cops to remotely administer a Taser-like shock to detainees.
Read more »
6. Police in North Dakota borrowed a $154 million Predator drone from Homeland Security to arrest a family who refused to return six cows that wandered onto their farm. Read more »
7. Police in Arkansas announced plans to patrol streets wearing full SWAT gear and carrying AR-15 assault rifles. Read more »
8. Drone manufacturers may offer police remote controlled drones with weapons like rubber bullets, Tasers, and tear gas. Read more »
9. An Arizona SWAT team defended shooting an Iraq War veteran 60 times during a drug raid, but had to retract its claim that the veteran shot first.
Read more »
10. The New York City Police Department disclosed that it deployed “counter-terror” measures against Occupy Movement protesters.
http://www.aclu.org/militarization
I think that these three articles and the information they supply has proven my case, with solid evidence, that our country is fast becoming a police state under martial law. Do you think I’m wrong, if so how?
Submitted by: Mike Spindell, guest blogger
Thanks for publicizing these developments.
travelinglimey
1, March 9, 2013 at 11:27 am
Don’t discount the NDAA, National Defence Authorization Act set in motion by Obama 01/01/2012, getting ready for Martial Law. ALL your rights go with this one!
—————-
What they say in the military. You have the right to one hour of sleep at night, you have the right to adequate food and shelter, you have the right to three meals a day. When available. Your commanding officer gets to decide what “when available” means.
GMason,
That is one scary keylogger case!
http://news.cnet.com/8301-10784_3-9741357-7.html
Ross,
I think the technical term for secret rules is “double secret probation”!
Mike,
that was an amazing article from bettykath!
It’s way more complicated but here is why CoinTelPro and like programs are so dangerous: The public rule-book for citizens to follow is the Constitution, Bill of Rights and federal/state statutes but CoinTelPro may punish or even destroy or kill citizens for violating “secret rules” – never advertised to the general public. For example: Freedom of Speech protects unpopular and even offensive speech and groups but a bureaucrat at the Department of Defense or FBI may view that legal constitutional exercise as unpatriotic and then proceed to punish or even kill that citizen who didn’t break any laws at all like Martin Luther King, Jr (a Baptist Minister preaching non-violence). Rumsfeld and Ashcroft publicly stated that they essentially viewed it as illegal to criticize Bush during wartime although the same rule doesn’t seem to apply to Obama.
Bettykath posted this in the corrections section, but I believe it is more relevant to this blog.
“bettykath 1, March 10, 2013 at 1:16 pm
from facebook
COINTELPRO Alive: Malcolm X Grandson, Malcolm el Shabazz, Issues Statement
by Cynthia McKinney on Sunday, March 10, 2013 at 6:03am ·
I sincerely appreciate the care & concern of the People over my well-being after Press TV’s report of the most recent events which have transpired regarding the F.B.I.’s harassment of me.
Given the storm of lies, and half-truths that come with being associated with being the descendant of El Hajj Malik el Shabazz, also known as Minister Malcolm X, any and everything that I do; great or small, good or not so good, real or imagined is subject to controversy. However, in this missive I will take this opportunity to properly & fully disclose what transpired.
In the beginning of 2012 I had been informed that I was under investigation by the F.B.I.’s Counter Terrorism Task Force Unit located in Goshen, N.Y.
The agents of this division-and in collaboration with others-have visited several residences of which I was known by them to frequent. However, they would never come when they knew me to actually be there. They would leave their cards with the residents asking them to tell me to call them, and then would tell surrounding residents to observe the house and to notify them if they saw me.
These are the homes of long-time friends, and very close supporters. Yet, when federal agents begin knocking on someone’s door on multiple occasions to snoop, and ask questions, whether one is guilty of an offense or not, it’s enough to coerce people into distancing themselves from you. This cheap tactic employed by the F.B.I. is a means of agitation & harassment. They seek to neutralize my networking abilities.
They have visited locations in California, Chicago, Miami and most aggressively in New York.
People were advising me that if I had nothing to hide, then I should just contact them as requested and cooperate. Though I must say that in these kind of matters I am of a particular ethic. For one, I have been engaged in no criminal activity of their concern, and they could have located me if they so chose. Secondly, I don’t recognize the authority in them beckoning me.
It wasn’t even until my mother informed me that they had been contacting her that I truly became agitated. She advised me to see what they had to say, and so I obliged the next time they came around looking for me. My encounter was with 2 federal agents of Goshen, N.Y.’s Counter Terrorism Task Foci Unit. The primary agent identified himself as Special Agent Tom Brozicky.
They expressed concern over-as they put it-my “international travels”; I have lived & studied in Damascus, Syria for over a year, and now the U.S. is instigating conflict within the very same region; I went on ex-congresswoman/former presidential candidate Cynthia Mckinney’s delegation along with Dr. Randy Short to Libya, and met with Leader Muammar Gadhafi one week prior to N.A.T.O. intervention and I was most recently getting ready to travel to Tehran, Iran to be a participant of the International Fajr Film Festival and give a lecture addressing the issues of Hollywood and violence:
– Modern Violence & Terrorism,
– Provoking clashes between religions & populations
I was picked up by authorities after I filed for a visa to Iran, and 2 days prior to my departure. A detective squad from the City of Middletown Police Department surrounded me in the street about 2 blocks from where I was residing. They asked me my name, and I gave them an alias, but they were already well aware of who I actually was. I didn’t tell them my real name because I didn’t know what was going on. When I was brought before a Judge of City of Middletown court I was surprised to be informed that I was being charged with Grand Larceny, and False Impersonation charge. Then I was sent to jail, and told to appear again 7 days later. Then following court date the bogus charge of Grand Larceny, which they only put to justify stopping me in first place, was dropped. And they left me to face the False Impersonation. I was offered 90 days for the offense of giving the authorities the wrong name which I declined before bailing out after 2 weeks.
When I was being held within the belly of the beast on trumped up charges, to my rescue came the journalist at Press TV based in Iran. My relationship with powerful & progressive news outfit began in April of 2012, and prior to that I had discussions with their journalist regarding current events internationally. I developed a positive rapport with some of them, and as a result was invited to travel to Iran to discuss the impact of Hollywood in stereotyping Muslims, Iranians and African people. From January 15th through 18th, 2013, I was a featured interviewee for the Press TV documentary “The Façade of the American Dream”. And prior to my date of departure to Iran, Lifetime television released a television bio-picture called “Betty & Coretta” which was a sensationalistic misrepresentation of my grandparents, my mother and me. This film aside from being poorly acted, and shallow in depth also threatened to inflame old controversies, and open unhealed wounds and to remind the public of sad outcomes without ever identifying B.O.S.S.I., the C.I.A., F.B.I. and other forces that set the climate for my grandfather’s assassination, and made my family a long-suffering casualty of COINTELPRO, and other anti-Black repression programs. Naturally, anything done to stir up old hatred of The Shabazz Family will impact me as the name-sake, and first male heir of Malcolm X, and whether I am high or low in fortunes does not exempt me from this reality.
The formula for a public assassination is: the character assassination before the physical assassination; so one has to be made killable before the eyes of the public in order for their eventual murder to then deemed justifiable. And when the time arrives for these hits to be carried out you’re not going to see a C.I.A. agent with a suit & tie, and a badge that says “C.I.A.” walk up to someone, and pull the trigger. What they will do is to out-source to local police departments in the region of their target, and to employ those that look like the target of interest to infiltrate the workings in order to set up the environment for the eventual assassination (character, physical/incarceration, exile) to take place.
For several months prior to my arrest in late January, 2013 I faced a pattern of harassment from law enforcement which is usually reserved for important figures. On Thursday, November 1, 2012 @ 11:53pm in the park circle area of Middletown, N.Y. I was stopped by officers of the Middletown Police Department, and given a ticket for “J-Walking” (crossing in the middle of the street), which then escalated into a “Disorderly Conduct” supposedly because of the exchange of words that I had with the officers. I told them that they couldn’t possibly be serious for writing me a “J-Walking ticket”, that I didn’t appreciate how they were treating me and that they
shouldn’t be looking at me as less of a man because they were in police uniform. For this I was arrested, the officers stole the little amount of money that I had on me, they then stripped me and threw me in a freezing precinct cell for the remainder of that early morning. I was finally taken before the “Judge Steven Brockett” around 1:30pm. He gave me an unreasonable bail, and then ordered that I be remanded to the Orange county Jail.
This penalty may seem a bit extreme or harsh to most of you, but here is where it gets worse: On Tuesday, October 30th, exactly 2 nights prior to this incident, the same officer “J Berman” who wrote me the ticket for “J-Walking” & “Disorderly Conduct” stopped me coming from out of a store in the same area, and questioned me as to what I was doing.
I told him that I was coming out of the store. He asked to see what I bought which was a pack of sun flower seeds. I had actually just so happened to be eating a few while he was talking to me, and I spit one of the shells on the ground. At this point officer “J Berman” threatened to write me a ticket for littering. Needless to say, I was
dumbfounded, but I went home that night.
Yet, it still doesn’t even begin there. I had an encounter with other officers of the Midletown Police Department one week prior to officer “J Berman’s” threats to write me a ticket for spitting a sun flower seed on the ground: I was coming out of a restaurant with my mother, and her friend. As the 3 of us entered the car to leave 2 police cars converged on our vehicle, and boxed us in. My mother was petrified. With guns drawn I was then ordered to step out of the back seat. I asked them why to which they replied that I had several warrants for my arrest. I told them that they were mistaken, but I still complied with their request. Humiliated in front of all on-lookers I was then thrown on the car while the officers ripped through my pockets. After they were done they said that it was my lucky day because I actually didn’t have any warrants at all, and so I was free to go! One of these officer’s name was “R. Ribeiro”…
You may wonder if it could possibly get any worse than this. Well, it does! Approximately 3 weeks prior to the public humiliation of my mother, and me by “R Ribeiro” and another officer of the Middletown Police Department I found myself subject to the discrimination & prejudice of Mayor Joseph M. Destefano of Middletown, N.Y. himself. A friend, and I went out to eat at a restaurant in Middletown, N.Y. which is owned by the Mayor, and to our
surprise he appeared from nowhere and asked us to leave. When we inquired as to why he stated that officials of the Middletown Police Department told him not to let us patronize his establishment. Mind you that this goes without incident.
As I stand for the people, God-Willing, I would pray that the same people wouldn’t hesitate to stand for me. If these unjust & heinous actions are tolerated & allowed to be done to me without recourse, then no one is safe. Just as Huewy P Newton of the Black Panther Party stated that police are in the white community to protect & serve, yet occupy ours like a foreign troop… I tell you that we shouldn’t fall victim to the conditioning of feeling inferior or fearful at the presence of law enforcement for no apparent reason.
With that being said, I was not arrested by federal agents. I was taken in by a squad from the City of Middletown, N.Y.’s Police Department. I was not being held in an “undisclosed location” so to speak. I was actually being held in the Orange County Jail in Goshen, N.Y. However, from the time that I was booked at the precinct, to standing before a Judge the next day who told me to come back in 7 more, to being processed at the Orange County Jail and up until 7 days later I was not permitted to make any calls to notify anyone of my status; as though I had just been kidnapped from of the street.
Unfortunately, until this day my family hasn’t been fully abreast of my situation as I haven’t had the opportunity to properly consult with any of them. Dr. Randy Short who notified Press TV of my situation is a close comrade of mine who was on our delegation in Libya. Media reports from Press TV about my situation were not intended to create controversy. In reality, I have a few associates that are affiliated with this reputable International media outlet, and they had expected to meet with me in Iran. So when I disappeared, and rumors spread, the inability to get concise information from a credible source prompted them to rouse public attention on my behalf, for which I am grateful. In April of 2012 I had the opportunity to be a guest analyst/contributor on Press TV. This network has a large following all over the world, and millions find it’s news, documentaries and programming to be both an educational, and insightful alternative to the conglomerated, and highly biased mainstream American & British news media. Regarding the Source magazine, nothing that they published was vetted by me, and was made by persons, at best, vaguely familiar with my situation. Further, I have never had an affiliation or relationship with The Source, nor have they ever directly consulted with me about anything.
Email: mecka1084@gmail.com
Facebook: Hajj Malcolm el Shabazz
Twitter: Malcolm71084
Instagram: mecka1084
I hope your excellent article is more warning than prediction.
Let ‘s get back to basics. Each and every SWAT member and police officer take a (supreme & superseding) oath of office to “preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States” – this is usually the only oath they take but if they did take other oaths it would be subordinate to their supreme oath. To protect and serve are supposed to operate within those parameters. They agreed to this as a condition of holding police powers and when police officers are removed from authority it is usually based on these types of violations.
Swat Team members to not protect their soul. Nether do the police. They think a piece of paper with ink on it is of more worth.
“What an absurd assumption to make: we’re heading into martial law because there’s suddenly this huge increase of SWAT team, and they have all this military equipment.
First, have you read anything recently about the increased numbers of semi-assault weapons in the hands of the populace? Maybe hear mention about the semi-assault rifle ban expiring? And the numbers of hostage takings and mass shootings? You don’t think maybe–just maybe–this might be a reason for SWAT teams?”
Shelley,
Of course I read nothing about any of that assault rifle stuff, what is that all about? You say there were some people killed?
Then again, via your characterization of what I wrote, it seems you read nothing about what I was pointing out either. I suppose you are so wise that skimming a few sentences gives you the entire gist of the matter.
“You point to a CATO institute report that states estimates are that there have been 40,000 SWAT team raids. No facts, nothing to back up such an outrageous assertion. And CATO Institute? Seriously, this is your reliable source of news?”
The CATO link was to not only a 100 page report documenting its findings, but also a second link to an interactive map showing these incidents countrywide.
But the in you “wisdom” I guess you don’t need no “stinkin” facts, since you know it all already. Also in your ability to “psychically” absorb information and opinion all you need is a catalyst. You don’t like Cato, so Cato is always “bad”. Close minded much?
“Secondly, where do you make the logical leap between more SWAT and martial law? There is nothing to support your assertion, other than supposedly more and better armed SWAT.
When have you ever heard of SWAT teams being used to enforce martial law?”
Again, your pre-judgment shows a cursory skimming of what I wrote. Why not go back and read it again, slowly this time and perhaps you might understand my well-laid out train of thought and then disagree with it on the merits, if that is your wont.
“I came here expecting reasoned argument and found a paranoid ramble, instead. Let me know when this station returns to regular programming.”
I would presume to say that you came here seeking information that coincided with your own rigid pre-judgments and so when the subject got away from your own rigid belief system, you tuned out and didn’t bother to follow what was being written so that you could honestly rebut it, rather than engaging in uninformed ridicule. To some though uninformed ridicule is so much more fun than actually thinking. Then again it may just be my “paranoid rambling”.
“I’m a big supporter of the ACLU, but most of the stories you link are taken out of context.”
If you are such a big supporter of the ACLU perhaps you might follow the links to their own website where they supply the rationale for their taking on this problem? Then again, when ones mind is made up, why bother studying any further? What was quoted there came from them, not from me.
“As for the times when innocent people have been killed, I hate to say it, but police have killed the wrong people before. They will again. All we can do is demand accountability.”
Dismissing a viewpoint by trivializing it without rebuttal is a poor substitute for reasoned discussion. I don’t mind you disagreeing with me and who knows you might even raise some valuable points that I haven’t thought about? This dismissive commentary from you, however, fails to meet the test of reasoned discourse since you are demolishing “straw men” without touching on the central issues that I raised. Then again, not knowing you, I would surmise that attack is enjoyable to you for its own sake and actually doing the homework would delay you from your self-gratification.
“Oh, and you forgot to mention that Sheriff Joe Arpaio and Steven Seagal are training civilians to protect Phoenix schools.”
Seriously, when it comes to rebuttal via ridicule, is that all you’ve got?
The SWAT teams are like violently minded chimpanzees.
Re: Otteray Scribe
Not always questioning their intentions but more of the “ends always seem to justify the means” which is the opposite of how constitutional rule of law works. If you subvert constitutional due process (illegal searches, guilty until proven innocent, abusive plea bargains,etc) it will result in more convictions of citizen-crime and many innocent people will be punished along with the guilty but it creates MORE “color of law” crimes perpetrated by law enforcement, etc. which we have no accurate statistics to compare to. Although rarely enforced there are federal “color of law” statutes that apply to law enforcement, mayors, fire marshals, intel agencies, etc. Judges also rarely enforce contempt of court or obstruction of justice against police which creates an incentive for future abuse. Just because they have good intentions doesn’t make it legal!
That dancing around an object is idol worship. God said there should be no other gods before me. The God they trust in gives death. That is why people glory in a weapon of any kind that gives death.
Mike Spindell:
“When I find myself on the same side on an issue as the Cato Institute, then I know with certainty that my fears are well grounded and unrelated to any personal partisanship of my own.”
it is even worse than you think. The Cato Institute is headed by a well- known Objectivist who was the former president of BB&T bank.
John Allison [the current Cato president] tried to reject government money, in fact his bank was in good shape but he was forced by the Bush Administration to take the TARP money. He was given a offer he couldnt refuse. I will go so far as to say many banks did not want the money but were forced by Paulson to take it so people did not know which banks were insolvent.
Not all bankers are gangsters.
Someday, hopefully, people on the left will understand that economic freedom is just as important as political freedom.
Ross,
No problem, just wanted to clarify. As the old adage says, a fish rots from the head down. I saw a news clip of Oakland Mayor Jean Quan at a press conference. She was completely unrepentant, and refused to answer questions about misconduct and civil rights violations by he own police department. After watching her in action, I concluded that if I looked up “authoritarian personality” I would probably find her picture to illustrate it.
Go to http://www.HuffingtonPost.com and in the search box enter: “CoinTelPro, Nothing but a northern lynching”. This is where the FBI fabricated evidence and apparently used unwitting police and prosecutors to conduct an FBI assassination. In 2001 Attorney General John Ashcroft essentially legalized this practice again in 2001 (after being outlawed by the Church Select Committee on Intelligence Activities in 1975). This would include today’s SWAT operations if CoinTelPro was used in the same manner.
Re: Ottery Scribe
Good point, didn’t mean to stereotype any agency but there are unconstitutional cultures that develop where entire police departments participate in essentially blacklisting citizens in their own communities which eventually result in defamation campaigns – where a citizen is never charged or even accused of anything but remains on the police radar for life. Keep in mind these cops are not separate from the non-police community, their kids attend school together, neighbors, etc. When they get it wrong there are few avenues for the innocent citizen to pursue – they can’t go to the police! Usually it results in a very legitimate Defamation lawsuit against the local government. The question is how do you change this culture?
Oh, and you forgot to mention that Sheriff Joe Arpaio and Steven Seagal are training civilians to protect Phoenix schools. That has to be a portent for something.
I know…no more Steven Seagal movies!
Rejoice.
What an absurd assumption to make: we’re heading into martial law because there’s suddenly this huge increase of SWAT team, and they have all this military equipment.
First, have you read anything recently about the increased numbers of semi-assault weapons in the hands of the populace? Maybe hear mention about the semi-assault rifle ban expiring? And the numbers of hostage takings and mass shootings? You don’t think maybe–just maybe–this might be a reason for SWAT teams?
You point to a CATO institute report that states estimates are that there have been 40,000 SWAT team raids. No facts, nothing to back up such an outrageous assertion. And CATO Institute? Seriously, this is your reliable source of news?
Secondly, where do you make the logical leap between more SWAT and martial law? There is nothing to support your assertion, other than supposedly more and better armed SWAT.
When have you ever heard of SWAT teams being used to enforce martial law?
And the ACLU links…
I’m a big supporter of the ACLU, but most of the stories you link are taken out of context.
The use of the drone and the six stolen cows? Well, the ACLU neglected to mention that the drone was used because the person was involved in a stand off with police, and the used the drone to determine the extent to which the people on the farm were armed. Oh, and that the incident ended peacefully.
A company applies for a patent. Well, companies apply for patents all the time. Sky hasn’t fallen yet.
A county sheriff in South Carolina gets hisself a an armored personnel carrier? Well by gol Martha Sue! We gots ourselves a BIG ve-hic-le! Let’s take over the gub’ment!
Oh yes, that one really convinced me to seriously consider your argument.
As for the times when innocent people have been killed, I hate to say it, but police have killed the wrong people before. They will again. All we can do is demand accountability.
Flapping our arms and yelling out “Its all a plot!” is not an effective solution.
I came here expecting reasoned argument and found a paranoid ramble, instead. Let me know when this station returns to regular programming.
Did John Brennan Create the Loopholes CIA Used to Help Spy on New Yorkers?
Posted on January 11, 2013 by emptywheel
http://www.emptywheel.net/2013/01/11/did-john-brennan-create-the-loopholes-cia-used-to-help-spy-on-new-yorkers/
Excerpt:
There’s one question I haven’t seen anyone ask but which seems utterly critical to John Brennan’s fitness to be CIA Director.
Back when the AP was first exposing how the CIA set up a spying program for the NYPD, they asked John Brennan about it. He professed to be “intimately familiar” with the program.
President Barack Obama’s homeland security adviser, John Brennan, who was the deputy executive director the CIA when the NYPD intelligence programs began, said he was intimately familiar with the CIA-NYPD partnership. He said that agency knew what the rules were and did not cross any lines.
As the program got more attention last year, Brennan even went to NYC to personally give the domestic spying program his seal of approval.
The White House added its stamp of approval a month later when President Obama’s top counterterrorism adviser John Brennan visited police headquarters.
“I have full confidence that the NYPD is doing things consistent with the law, and it’s something that again has been responsible for keeping this city safe over the past decade,” he said.
Remember, this program is offensive not just because it spies on so many Americans and in such incompetent fashion. It’s offensive because it involved the CIA in training NY Police Officers in CIA spy techniques.
continues…