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Keith and stuff
08-21-2013, 01:29 PM
Beware Warrior Cops
By John Stossel
August 21, 2013
http://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2013/08/21/beware_warrior_cops_119660.html

The first part of the article isn't posted below so click on the link ^ to read it.

http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-5QL1P_7ySkA/Uev87pya-JI/AAAAAAAAL9E/veNXDWv71GQ/s640/60743_561204657277426_116548430_n.jpg


...
The increase began under Nixon-era politicians who wanted to look "tough on crime," even if that meant exaggerating the threat posed by illegal drugs. As the futile war on drugs escalated, cops worried that drug users would destroy evidence if cops knocked and announced themselves. So they stopped doing that, changing a centuries-old rule that treated citizens' homes as their castles -- castles whose owners must be presented with a warrant before police can enter.

Soon, every police department wanted a SWAT team -- and many were more interested in getting cool military gear than in considering the potential downside -- like terrorizing innocent people, raiding the wrong house and causing violence.

"I found over 50 cases where a completely innocent person was killed in one of these raids," says Balko. Often this happens because the homeowner does not realize who is breaking down his door in the middle of the night.

Iraq War veteran Jose Guerena just knew that armed men were bursting in. So he picked up his semi-automatic rifle. Before he could take the safety off, police fired 71 bullets, hitting him 22 times.

Police raided his house because they suspected drugs were there. But after Guerena was killed, police found no drugs and no evidence of drug dealing. Today, the vast majority of SWAT raids are about drugs, not terrorism or hostage situations. Guerena's brother was arrested on drug charges. Balko says, "It appears Guerena's crime was being related to someone."

Now that the public is finally starting to have doubts about the drug war, another type of war has arrived: the War on Terror. The idea that domestic enemies need to be raided and rooted out -- that law enforcement should be given a free hand or we could all be killed -- got a new lease on life.

And a new source of funding.

Despite laws clearly saying that soldiers may not be used for domestic policing except in very special circumstances, the Pentagon and the Department of Homeland Security now offer armored vehicles -- tanks and troop transports, body armor and stun grenades -- to police departments, large or small.
Local police jumped at the chance to have new toys -- so they expanded the circumstances under which those toys get used.

A sheriff in quiet Concord, N.H., cites people not so different from me as an excuse for getting DHS money to buy an armored vehicle. In an application for what is essentially a tank, he wrote that groups like the Free State Project -- libertarians who moved to New Hampshire seeking increased individual freedom -- pose "daily challenges" to the police of Concord.

Free Staters better watch out next time they get into an argument over a traffic ticket.

Most libertarians argue that police, courts and military are legitimate functions of government. We focus our skepticism on completely illegitimate government actions, like corporate welfare.

But few freedoms are more basic than being able to sleep securely in your bed without armored men bursting through your door.

http://www.miataturbo.net/attachments/current-events-news-politics-77/82523-new-warrior-cop-out-control-537662_503941022976737_1520244555_n1-jpg?dateline=1373920633

amy31416
08-21-2013, 02:01 PM
Stossel is persona non grata in my book as he's a fan of the NSA, which is just another part of the police state. There are more trustworthy people to support in regards to reporting on the militarization of the police.

heavenlyboy34
08-21-2013, 02:12 PM
Most libertarians argue that police, courts and military are legitimate functions of government. We focus our skepticism on completely illegitimate government actions, like corporate welfare.
Oh, John, you continue to disappoint. :( The good thing about the article is that it cites Balko.

Keith and stuff
08-21-2013, 02:19 PM
Stossel is persona non grata in my book as he's a fan of the NSA, which is just another part of the police state. There are more trustworthy people to support in regards to reporting on the militarization of the police.
He is certainly bad on some issues but seems about as good as Rand Paul overall when you look at all of his views, such as the war on drugs. He doesn't a special episode of his show for Students for Liberty every year and spoke at the New Hampshire Liberty Forum. He's been 1 of the top libertarian columnists in the nation for years and has been the most pro-liberty guy with/on a TV show for many years. The only exception to that is the short time the Judge had a show. Stossel even gave up his job at ABC on 1 of the top shows in the county, partly because of his views. If we cannot like the only pro-liberty voice of any importance at all on TV, we give up the main source of power and influence in the country...

IMO, his book Give Me a Break is still 1 of the best intro to liberty books ever written. In fact, I think it is #1 book to give a typical American to explain liberty to them due to it's easy to read nature and story telling style. I buy used copies of it and give it out.

http://profile.ak.fbcdn.net/hprofile-ak-snc4/188047_129196330485760_1136937_n.jpg

http://thecommentary.ca/images/books/Stossel.jpg

http://www.schoolandstate.org/Pictures/John%20Stossel%20at%20Liberty%20Forum.jpg

fisharmor
08-21-2013, 02:31 PM
Oh, John, you continue to disappoint. :( The good thing about the article is that it cites Balko.



"You see this nut-kicking machine here? That's what it does, kicks you in the nuts! Come on, you people have to see that it's kicking you in the nuts, right?
....

....

...By the way, you should all just ignore the undeniable fact that that's all that machine has ever done and ever will do.
DON'T DOUBT THE NECESSITY OF THE MACHINE."

krugminator
08-21-2013, 02:42 PM
Oh, John, you continue to disappoint. :( The good thing about the article is that it cites Balko.



Ummmmmm..... So you are saying that isn't a true statement? My guess it is 80%+ agree with Stossel on that.

TaftFan
08-21-2013, 02:49 PM
Oh, John, you continue to disappoint. :( The good thing about the article is that it cites Balko.



He is right, most libertarians are not anarchists.

Christian Liberty
08-21-2013, 02:49 PM
Oh, John, you continue to disappoint. :( The good thing about the article is that it cites Balko.



Whatever your personal view, John Stossel is correct regarding the reality of the situation.

heavenlyboy34
08-21-2013, 03:18 PM
Ummmmmm..... So you are saying that isn't a true statement? My guess it is 80%+ agree with Stossel on that.
Note that I bolded "police" in the quote.

heavenlyboy34
08-21-2013, 03:19 PM
Ummmmmm..... So you are saying that isn't a true statement? My guess it is 80%+ agree with Stossel on that.
80%+ agree that police are legitimate? That be sad if it be true. :(

torchbearer
08-21-2013, 03:25 PM
"You see this nut-kicking machine here? That's what it does, kicks you in the nuts! Come on, you people have to see that it's kicking you in the nuts, right?
....

....

...By the way, you should all just ignore the undeniable fact that that's all that machine has ever done and ever will do.
DON'T DOUBT THE NECESSITY OF THE MACHINE."


a lady at work was talking about the gas attack on the syrian people.
i told her, that's what governments do.

helmuth_hubener
08-23-2013, 08:32 AM
We need police to catch murderers, thieves and con men,... Wrong.

brushfire
08-23-2013, 09:00 AM
John? ...as in "John, what's the big deal over the NSA?, Stossel? That guy?

Stossel is now to libertarians what Pete Rose was/is to baseball. Lots of good times, but as previously stated, a big disappointment. Its really hard to take him seriously anymore.

Keith and stuff
08-23-2013, 09:51 AM
John? ...as in "John, what's the big deal over the NSA?, Stossel? That guy?

Stossel is now to libertarians what Pete Rose was/is to baseball. Lots of good times, but as previously stated, a big disappointment. Its really hard to take him seriously anymore.

OK. I admit, you and Amy have a good point. But, he does live in NYC, so Give Him a Break :toady: But seriously, as the only liberty lover still on TV new (he is been the only liberty voice allowed to work in the TV news business for at least a decade with the exception of the Judge), maybe is only allowed to act so much pro-liberty? More than 1/2 of Americans love the NSA, from what I've seen, and liberty isn't an all of nothing. Take for example, the World's Smallest Political Quiz. John would score in the libertarian section.

Keith and stuff
08-23-2013, 12:11 PM
The name was changed but the column is featured in the NH statewide paper. The Union Leader also did an editorial against BEARCATS going to police departments in NH.

John Stossel: Beware militarizing the police
JOHN STOSSEL
Published Aug 22, 2013 at 9:28 pm (Updated Aug 22, 2013)
http://www.unionleader.com/article/20130822/OPINION02/130829700&template=mobileart