- Of course he deserved it. After all, “he was at the house, by his own admission, to get high with his friends.” This is a new low even for the atrocious DEA. Can you imagine it being done to you?
- Woman bites dog. (H/T MLS)
- Finally, an R politician with some guts and a smidge of conviction. Who isn’t Ron Paul, that is.
- “In Search of Aryan Hogs.” (Tip o’ hat to Mutti) You should read this even if you think you don’t give a damn about pigs in Michigan.
- If you use the ShowIP addon for Firefox, beware. Your privacy is at risk.
- “The Real Tragedy of the Euro.” Don’t agree with his conclusions, but it’s an interesting point.
Finally, several people have sent me links to versions of this story. Deadlining, I took a long time getting around to looking at it. It’s a day brightener. The story of Tanner and Blair and how they healed each other.
“Chong also told agents he ate a packet of white powder he found in his cell, which turned out to be meth.”
Good lord. Those five days are going to be hard to forget.
I’m apt to say, in jest – I think, that for any encounter with police above a speeding ticket you’re better off simply shooting them sometime before hello. In many cases, the murder charge will be less severe than whatever they cook up anyway. And at least the following proceedings will be _honest_.
Claire I usually chime in to defend the Law Enforcement world, especially the individual officers that try to do the right thing. But I believe in calling a spade a spade.
This is a dramatic example of what is completely bankrupt about the wear on some drugs and the idea of drug prohibition in general. As an agency who’s existence is based on a failed and unjust policy it should completely go away.
LE can try to weed out bad apples, those suspicious of LE can rail against it all we want, but as long as bad policy like drug prohibition, the ubiquitous use of no knock warrants among many others are part of the legal structure there will be little change in Law Enforcement.
But as someone who normally tilts toward LE around here I wanted to register my official “This is Bullshit.”
It is very obvious that Mr. Chong chose to secret himself in solitary cofinement in the DEA offices for reasons only known to himself. It might of been related to his suicidal tendencies which he has freely admitted too. The DEA should consider charging him with illegal occupation of government space, theft, and meth use. That should get them some bargaining space for the inevitable lawsuit.
Good for Govt Scott of Florida. Also good to see both sides of the story and the reasoning behind each. Great contrast.
First they came for the pigs…
Mr. Chong was obviously not “forgotten.” If he could hear others, they could hear him. He was IGNORED, criminally and intentionally.
Yes indeed… the DEA (along with the rest of the alphabet soup gangs) must be eliminated altogether. Not going to happen as long as they can fool most people into thinking they somehow “need” this bogus protection.
And, Mr. Chem, unfortunately the “bad apples” spoiled the entire barrel a long, long time ago. If the “bad apples” were few and far between, the supposed good apples would have rooted them out and gotten rid of them immediately as they came along. The fact that there are more bad ones each day would indicate that’s not happening.
The DEA might well wind up on the losing end of a lawsuit here, but that’s not going to change a thing. The “war on drugs” will continue to get more and more vicious and immoral until people repudiate it and take back ownership of their own lives.
It’s interesting that the article “In Search of Aryan Hogs” takes the slant of describing the Natural News article as “not to have been completely accurate”.
I’ve read the Natural News article three times now, no where does it say the DNR – directly – killed the pigs. It’s pretty clear the DNR in-directly caused them to be killed though, and likely would have directly killed them if they found any. It’s how they roll.
I wonder why the slant in an otherwise good article?
I’m not surprised by the first comment “totally off topic” from Mary McGonigle which tries to further discredit small farmers. Do you suppose she’s a paid for hack, or just an extremely useful dupe for the state?
Suddenly I’m reminded of, The Fuzzy Logic Of Useful Idiots.
http://neithercorp.blogspot.com/2010/11/fuzzy-logic-of-useful-idiots.html
Some of the other commentators talking about raw milk were very good. Impressive even.
Mr. Chem’s comment that, “LE can try to weed out bad apples” reminded me of this article, which shows that when LE tries to weed out the bad apples, it’s called going “Rogue”.
Here’s two examples which show the whole barrel is bad:
http://www.freedominourtime.blogspot.com/2012/04/officer-regina-tasca-goes-rogue.html
Amy Roderick needs to find herself in a cell for a few days for trying to justify violations of the “SUSPECT’S” constitutional rights. And then she needs to be forced into finding a real job, and denial of her fat DEA pension and medical benefits. “It’s the only way to be sure”.
As for the Euro, despite it’s intended purpose as a counter to the dollar; from the very beginning it was used as a lever to maneuver governments into better bond rates. It was never meant to be a scam, but human nature and old habits can’t be overcome with new currencies. It’s like putting a child molesting teacher in a new school.
Look, my point is that bad laws make bad implementation. Good laws, laws that respect liberty will make better implementation. No, obviously LE cant clean up its act if it lives in an environment of bad policy. The closer an officer or agency lives to bad policy the worse they will tend to be. This makes the DEA, IRS and ATF among the worst.
There are LEOs who dont like the war on drugs, no knock warrants (and even more who think they are used too freely) and taking away people’s rights for misdemeanors. They are the type of people who might be the LE spokes voices against these policies…if they didnt feel categorized due to their profession. Officer Tina Griswold, who was killed in a shooting in a coffee shop in Lakewood WA in 2009 was active in the Tea Party in WA. Remember the Tea Party? The early days when it was about economics and the budget instead of immigration and abortion? They cant all be assholes.
“Americans against Law Enforcement” will get you no where except in a room full of like minded people who just sit around and agree with each other. “Americans against no knock warrants” might get you some where. Start the facebook group and I will join it.
Every time I’ve had to deal with the police, I’ve gotten the polite, courteous ones. The closest any of them have gotten to being impolite around me was at a neighborhood association meeting in my parent’s neighborhood, when one tried to explain to us “plebs” why open carry was considered an arrestable offense even though it was legal, and even he backed off when me and my big mouth started poking holes in his argument.
Even yesterday, when dealing with both the local PD and the county sherriff’s department, they were all polite and respectful. And it was a situation that could have gotten very dicey very fast, I was praying the whole time not to run into one of the cops that gets posted about here.
Maybe I just look too much like June Cleaver.
Chem, thank you for posting here and giving the other side of things. I’m glad you stick around.
That said, I’m not sure that many people here are actually as anti-cop as you perceive. Some really do “hate cops,” but I doubt they represent the majority. My own local cops seem like pretty decent types & I’ve always said I respect any officer who dedicates him or herself to protecting rights and deterring coercion.
However, I’ve also got to ask … If there are so many police officers who object to no-knock warrants, taking away rights because of misdemeanors, the entire drug war, the brutality of those “bad apples,” etc. … where are they and why aren’t they setting up Facebook pages for “Americans Against No-Knock Warrants”?
I don’t think our “categorizing” would prevent true peace officers from speaking out. On the contrary, I think it would motivate them to want to get rid of the brutes in their midst and fight ever-harder against bad policy. After all, it’s their lives and reputations on the line. But it doesn’t seem to happen. Every time some officer does try to protect the public against other cops, it’s the police unions and police bosses who get in the way. It’s not us. On the contrary, most of us are thrilled when an honest cop speaks up. We support groups like LEAP and Oath Keepers. It’s police officers, not us, who vigorously (and sometimes violently) prevent reform of policing.
IMHO, you’re putting the cart before the horse. You’re asking us to give cops a break before they’ve showed they’ve earned it or will be receptive to it.
When I see a nationwide movement of cops cleaning up police departments, refusing to enforce bad laws, or fighting to get bad laws repealed, then I’m very sure a lot of us here will respect and defend them.
Police are like teenage boys, mostly good kids one on one, but get them in a group and you can almost always expect trouble. Of course there are exceptions to both sides of that anology but all in all, I think it acccurate.
I personally haven’t had any bad experiences with the police; it’s judges and courtrooms and gov agencies that scare the crap out of me. They can (and do) take delight in making the nightmare last and last and last and last…….
I would not go to NYC, Chicago or an awful lot of places – for many reasons, but illegitimate “laws” and tyrannical “cops” head the list.
In comparison, yesterday I had occasion to visit our county sheriff in his office. I took him a large information package on Oathkeepers, and was glad to learn that he recently became a member. We’ve been friends for several years – starting when he was a deputy, and I was glad when he was elected sheriff last year. (I’ve been the NRA pistol instructor for the “permit” classes here for years – though we don’t have any requirement for a CC “permit” any more. People still take the training.)
I was openly and obviously armed at the time of my visit, as I always am – everywhere. Not a word was said about it, and nobody in the office even seemed to notice. That is the way things are here. We had a good talk.
I would do whatever I could to assist any member of the local sheriff’s office, as much as I would assist any other neighbor. I wish it could be that way everywhere, but it is sadly simply not possible, even in the next county over. Their sheriff and his deputies have a terrible reputation and I’m careful as I can be if I ever need to go there.
So, I don’t consider myself in any way a “cop basher.” I’m a realist, and read the growing body of evidence of police brutality and disdain for people and the real law of justice with great trepidation. Trust, but verify.
Claire, if I intimated that LE could clean itself up I apologize, I meant to indicate the opposite. I meant to say that LE will reform itself with proper policy reform and leadership. I dont mind people saying the system is broken but when I read statements that I perceive as indicating that most individual officers are bad people is where I get my back up. LEOs are mostly (there are some absolute sh*theads to be fair) good folks that want to help people, but they cannot reform themselves. They do a dangerous job and feel a level of alienation from their community that ranges from mild to extreme. The mild level is a natural product of the job and will exist even after significant reform. The other forms cause most LEOs to accept bad policy as tools to make their jobs easier and safer.
They follow the general lead of their own police leadership (who are often politically motivated), police unions (who prize special interest officer safety over civic good) and the civilian political leadership over the agency (who is usually just looking out for their own interests and not those of the police or the public).
Police often have an unnuanced view of the problem, they deal with drug issues, so they want to be more free in targeting drug users and dealers. No, they are not in general going to ask for legalization of narcotics (though some do).
If we can cause the political reform towards liberty and good policy in the political and public arena if will fix many LE problems in America. This will reduce the work load for LE, reduce the level of danger, improve relations between LEOs and the public. LEOs who cant get with the program will be fired, retire, resign or become dead ended in their careers.
I dont want to get into arguments I just think that with proper policy to guide them, most LEOs will be part of the solution. There is an old military saying that there are no bad units, just bad leaders.
I dont always agree with every point, but I enjoy reading your blog and enjoy the vigor of sentiment.
“I just think that with proper policy to guide them, most LEOs will be part of the solution.”
I can get on board with that, the problems we see as most troublesome are rarely singular independent acts by individual officers.
It’s a culture thing.
OTOH, those who may be most instrumental or influential are well hidden behind layers of ground troops who seem to mindlessly (at best) follow along or self assemble like little hate cults (at worst) to push the propaganda autonomously.
Chem wrote, “LEOs are mostly …good folks that want to help people”
How do you know this?
The evidence so far seems to indicate the opposite. Unless the word ‘help’ has a new meaning?
The Everyday Evil of America’s Torture State
http://www.freedominourtime.blogspot.com/2012/05/everyday-evil-of-americas-torture-state.html
I don’t think it’s solely a leadership problem, or a policy problem – it’s mostly a power issue – displayed at the individual level.
ILTim wrote, “the problems we see as most troublesome are rarely singular independent acts by individual officers.”
How’s that? “Rarely”? Do you read much?
So long as they have lord power over others, there will be conflict and no end to the tragic.
A goal of seeking to improve safety in this situation is … ridiculous.
And at any rate, it’s not that dangerous of a job, there are many jobs which are more dangerous.