Posts

Black Lives Matter Demands have Virtually Nothing to do with the Police by Daniel Bier

/1 Comment/in , , , , /by

On August 1, the “Movement for Black Lives” (an umbrella organization for about 50 groups associated with the Black Lives Matter movement) released a list of demands going into the general election campaign. The New York Times reports,

The list of six platform demands is aimed at furthering their goals as the presidential campaign heads into the homestretch. … As part of the effort, the groups are demanding, among other things, reparations for what they say are past and continuing harms to African-Americans, an end to the death penalty, legislation to acknowledge the effects of slavery, as well as investments in education initiatives, mental health services and jobs programs.

If that sounds like a sprawling and unfocused wish list, that’s not the half of it.

The “six” demands actually contain 38 bullet points, most containing several different policies, including such pressing concerns as: forgiving student loans; restoring Glass-Steagall’s ban on affiliations between investment and commercial banks; ending the privatization of natural resources; ending charter schools; “reparations” for “food apartheid”; more universal-y universal health care; a “progressive restructuring of the tax code”; “radical and sustainable redistribution of wealth”; net neutrality; banning super PACs; public financing of elections; blocking the Trans Pacific Partnership; and, who could forget, “divestment from industrial multinational use of fossil fuels and investment in community-based sustainable energy solutions.”

Out of well over a hundred demands, only a handful are related to policing — including one demanding a ban (!) on police body cameras.

If you ever worry about your movement drifting off message, this is the apotheosis of that problem.

Demand Everything, Get Nothing

There are a number of demands about other aspects of criminal justice, but even where they are laudable, they are often unrealistic (abolishing all juvenile detention centers), counterproductive (abolishing money bail), marginal (ending the “privatization of police, prisons, jails, probation, parole, food, phone” and “all other criminal justice related services”), tangential (abolishing the death penalty), or just strange (a new constitutional amendment that guarantees “freedom from unwarranted search, seizure or arrest”).

Some demands were important, on message, and somewhat feasible. They call for decriminalizing drugs and prostitution, expunging drug and prostitution records, demilitarizing police, and establishing civilian oversight agencies for police.

But the trouble is that these urgent and critical reforms are buried under an avalanche of irrelevant policies, vague platitudes, and demands for free stuff — lots of free stuff: free daycare, free Internet, free health care, free elder care, free “high quality food,” a guaranteed minimum income, free college, ad infinitum.

For the most part, the demands read like recycled Bernie Sanders campaign literature — a hodgepodge of left-wing gripes about everything from climate change and Uber to banking and trade policy.

“Freedom Fighters and Political Prisoners”

The platform also calls for the release of “political prisoners” and the removal of “legitimate freedom fighters” from the FBI’s list of terrorist fugitives. Who are these persecuted heroes? The document refers to several former members of the Black Liberation Army, including:

  • Assata Shakur (aka Joanne Chesimard), convicted of murdering a New Jersey state trooper in 1973, who escaped prison in 1979 and fled to Cuba, where she still lives;
  • Kamau Sadiki (aka Freddie Hilton), captured in 2001 and sentenced to life in prison for the 1971 ambush murder of an Atlanta police officer;
  • Herman Bell and Jalil Muntaqim (aka Anthony Bottom), currently serving life sentences for killing two cops in New York in 1971, who also pled guilty to manslaughter charges in the killing of another cop in San Francisco;
  • Jamil Abdullah al-Amin (aka H. Rap Brown), former chairman of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee and one-time Minister of Justice for the Black Panther Party, currently serving life in prison for the 2000 murder of a Georgia sheriff’s deputy.

The platform doesn’t try to exonerate any of these figures, but simply declares them “freedom fighters,” and further insists that law enforcement “cease all current investigations and cold cases into former activists.”

These demands, perhaps more than anything else in the platform, do Black Lives Matter a grave disservice, especially in the wake of the Dallas sniper attack. Praising cop killers will not alleviate fears that Black Lives Matter supports killing cops.

When in an Emergency, Act Urgently 

Contrast the “Movement for Black Lives” demands with the agenda of “Campaign Zero,” another group founded by Black Lives Matter activists to reduce police killings. Last August, they presented a list of ten specific, sensible police reforms. As Radley Balko commented then:

Critics and police organizations have portrayed Black Lives Matter as radical, anti-police, and anti-white. But the policies Campaign Zero is pushing are none of those things. Instead, they’re practical, well-thought out, and in most cases, achievable. Most will also directly benefit everyone — not just black people.

In most cases, the policies Campaign Zero is suggesting are already in place in one or more police departments across the country… It makes it more difficult for police groups to portray those proposals as “anti-cop.” But it also makes it easier to pitch those ideas to policymakers and the public. They’ve already been field-tested. As a set, these policies are more a list of “best practices” than revolutionary reform.

A few of the proposals will be a tougher sell, but even those are far short of world-shaking. There are no calls to disarm the police. No calls to abolish law enforcement agencies. No demands that police unions be prohibited. This isn’t a fervid manifesto. It’s a serious effort to solve a problem.

So what does Campaign Zero want? Here’s their list:

  1. End Broken-Windows Policing
  2. Community Oversight
  3. Limit Use of Force
  4. Independent Investigations and Prosecutions
  5. Community Representation
  6. Body Cams/Film the Police
  7. End Policing for Profit
  8. Training
  9. Demilitarization
  10. Fair Police Union Contracts

(Read more about these here and here.)

Each of these policies has additional components, of course, and some will be harder to achieve than others. But all of them fit together as a coherent agenda, pointing towards a specific goal: reducing the number of violent police encounters.

By limiting unnecessary stops, ensuring transparency and accountability, and reining in use of force and military tactics, Campaign Zero hopes to improve community-police relations and stop violent encounters before they start. Their reforms are realistic and focused on the most crucial points: union contracts, use-of-force policies, public transparency, police training, independent oversight, and policies that treat citizens like cash registers and incentivize a lot of low-level harassment.

“Its practicality is undoubtedly born of urgency,” Balko writes. “There’s no time for wild-eyed ideology when people are dying.”

And that’s really the issue here: people are dying — over 1,300 last year alone — most “justifiable,” but surely not all necessary. If this is a crisis worth stopping traffic over, it deserves to be treated as an emergency, not as a façade for a refurbished Occupy Wall Street manifesto. It is incumbent on everyone to take it seriously and address it seriously. Campaign Zero does, and if you’re looking to understand what Black Lives Matter is all about, check out their proposals — and leave the Glass-Steagall debate for a different time.

Daniel Bier

Daniel Bier

Daniel Bier is the editor of FEE.org. He writes on issues relating to science, civil liberties, and economic freedom.

RELATED ARTICLE: Jewish groups shocked after Black Lives Matter releases manifesto accusing Israel of ‘genocide’

Death Toll Rises in Chattanooga Islamic Terror Attack

/0 Comments/in , , /by

Saturday brought more somber news of a fifth victim of the Islamic terror massacre perpetrated by 24 year old Muhammad Youssef Abdulazeez. He was killed by Chattanooga police in the rampage at a Naval/Marine Recruiting Center on Thursday, July 17, 2015.  The Wall Street Journal reported:

Navy Petty Officer 2nd Class Randall Smith was a reservist serving on active duty in Chattanooga. Officials said he died early Saturday morning. Mr. Smith, 26 years old, joined the Navy because he was inspired by the service of his late grandfather, said his step-grandmother, Darlene Proxmire. Mr. Smith was a married father of three girls and grew up in Paulding, Ohio, she said.

The other victims were four Marines:

Along with Mr. Smith, four Marines were killed in the attacks. U.S. official and family members on Friday confirmed the identities of the deceased Marines: Thomas Sullivan, of Springfield, Mass.; Skip Wells, from Marietta, Ga.; David Wyatt, of Hixson, Tenn.; and Carson Holmquist, of Grantsburg, Wis.

More emerges on the shooter-Abdulazeez and his family

The shooter, Abdulazeez, was a Kuwait-born naturalized U.S. citizen. He was a 2012 graduate the University of Tennessee –Chattanooga with a degree in electrical engineering who lived with his parents in nearby Hixson, Tennessee. He had just started a position with a local cable and wire firm.  The parents may have been among several hundred thousand Palestinians expelled from Kuwait following the First Gulf War in 1991, many of whom fled to Jordan. These Palestinians, unlike those who fled Israel during the 1948-1949 War, were not covered by the UNWAR refugee program. Rather they were eligible for refugee and asylum status under the UNHCR program.  The New York Times reported:

Born in Kuwait in 1990, Mr. Abdulazeez became an American citizen in 2003 through the naturalization of his mother, federal officials said; his father was also naturalized. Because he was a minor, he did not have to apply separately for citizenship. A divorce complaint filed by his mother in 2009 and then withdrawn, said the parents were from “the State of Palestine.”

Counterterrorism officials had not been investigating Mr. Abdulazeez before Thursday’s shootings. His father had been investigated about seven years ago for giving money to an organization that apparently had ties to Hamas. … The investigation did not result in charges. But the father was placed on a watch list for a while. A similar investigation was conducted in the 1990s and it, too, did not lead to charges.

Representative Michael McCaul, Republican of Texas, the chairman of the Homeland Security Committee, said the watch list had for a time prevented the elder Mr. Abdulazeez from flying. “I believe there was a preliminary investigation, but there was no derogatory information, and he was taken off the list,” he said.

The shooter appears to have been heavily armed in the rampage, equipped with an assault weapon and two other long guns. It is reported that he purchased on-line some of the weapons for the rampage including an AK-47, AR 15, Saiga 12. He had also purchased two 7mm and 22 caliber side arms. He had a history of interest in guns, trained in using them at a local range and firing BBs at targets in the backyard of family’s home in Hixson. He also had a history of alcohol and drug related problems.  Following his graduation from UT-Chattanooga he received an offer of employment at a nuclear plant operated by Cleveland-based First Energy. Abdulazeez had been an intern at a TVA nuclear facility during his undergraduate career. A mandatory First Energy employment drug test in 2013 resulted in the loss of his job.  Notwithstanding, Islamic prohibitions against alcohol and drugs, Abdulazeez sought counseling for the problem in 2012 and 2013. Nevertheless the problem persisted as attested by his being arrest   in April 2015 on a DUI charge by Chattanooga police. A New York Times article noted the circumstances:

The only run-in Mr. Abdulazeez had with the law in the Chattanooga area appears to have been an April 20 arrest on a charge of driving while intoxicated; he posted a $2,000 bond.

According to a police affidavit, officers spotted him weaving through downtown Chattanooga after 2 a.m., in a gray 2001 Toyota Camry, and when they pulled him over, they smelled alcohol and marijuana, and he failed a sobriety test. They said his eyes were bloodshot, his speech was slurred, he was “unsteady on his feet,” and he had “irritated nostrils” and white powder under his nose, which Mr. Abdulazeez said came from snorting, crushed caffeine pills. He was scheduled to appear in court on July 30.

Those trips to Jordan

Abdulazeez, who held a US passport, made several trips to Jordan beginning in 2003 to visit a maternal uncle and family. He also made a side trip to Kuwait during a 2008 trip to Jordan. His father accompanied him on a trip in 2010 to Jordan after his no fly status had been lifted.  He made a 2013 trip to Jordan that returned home via Canada.   In April 2014, he purchased a one way ticket to Jordan, finally returning home via Doha, Qatar. What he did and where he went on that trip has yet to be determined, by law enforcement, FBI and foreign intelligence sources.  At issue is whether he made contact with the Al Nusra front or Muslim Brotherhood affiliate, the Islamic Action Front, or possibly ISIS via social media and whether he made a possible trip to either Iraq or Syria.  A WSJ report commented on the final trip to Jordan by Abdulazeez:

Mr. Abdulazeez wasn’t a familiar figure among jihadists in Jordan, according to Mohammad Shaabi, known as Abu Sayyaf, who sympathizes with the al Qaeda affiliate Jabhat al-Nusra. He said it is still possible Mr. Abdulazeez could have contacted extremists through means such as social media.

A few ISIS sympathizers on Twitter referred to Mr. Abdulazeez after the shooting as “a soldier of the Islamic State” and “an individual lion.”

Evidence of Family Problems – Bankruptcy and a Divorce Filing

The Abdulazeez family went through a spate of difficulties.  The father Youssuf filed for bankruptcy in 2002 which was completed by 2005. More troubling was a divorce filing by his wife Rasmieh I. Abdulazeez in 2009.  The Times reported:

Mrs. Abdulazeez said that her husband, Youssef S. Abdulazeez, had “repeatedly beaten” her and had “on occasion” abused the children by “striking and berating them without provocation or justification.”

The complaint also accused Mr. Abdulazeez of sexual and verbal abuse, and of declaring his intentions “to take a second wife, as permitted under certain circumstances under [Sharia] Islamic law.”

Evidence of Anti-Israel, US Animus and Salafism in final text message

Abdulazeez had evidenced concerns about IDF actions during the 2014 summer rocket war by Hamas.  According to a Reuters report, friends noted that following the 2014 trip he became increasingly concerned about Middle East conflicts. It was after the final trip that he went on-line and purchased weapons and went to practice using them at a gun range.  Friends said:

Abdulazeez’s friends, who asked not to be identified for fear of a backlash, said he was upset about the 2014 Israeli bombing campaign in Gaza and the civil war in Syria.

“He felt Jordan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia were not doing enough to help, and that they were heavily influenced by the United States,” said the friend who received the text message.

Another friend said, “He had always talked about it, but I’d say his level of understanding and awareness really rose after he came back.”

A text message containing a Hadith sent the night before the attack may have indicated his adoption of fundamentalist Islam:

“Whosoever shows enmity to a friend of mine, and then I have declared war against him”.

An Islamic expert explained:

For jihadists and ultraconservative Salafist Sunni Muslims, the Hadith “is usually understood within the context of al-wala wa-l-bara (or) love for Islam and hatred for its enemies,” said David Cook, an associate professor who specializes in Islam in the department of religion at Rice University in Texas.

Pew Trust Islamic Extremism chart

Conclusion

The nationwide outpouring of mourning and grief at the wanton killing of five US service personnel in this Islamic inspired jihad at the Chattanooga Naval/Marine Recruiting Center was palpable.   The immediate national reaction to the tragic attack by troubled Abdullazeez was reflected in an offer by Governor Rick Scott in Florida to provide security by moving military recruitment centers in Florida to local National Guard armories.  There were also calls for lifting state laws barring US military uniformed personnel from carrying side arms.

There was still the conundrum of how federal and state law enforcement and homeland security agencies can prevent another Islamic inspired homeland jihad and acknowledge the threat.  Ultimately, it will require a new more responsive and clear eyed Administration. An Administration that appreciates what a recent Pew Trust poll has found: a surge to 53% of Americans concerned over domestic Islamic extremism.  Concern over ISIS is even higher at 73% of those polled by the Pew Trust.

The Chattanooga Recruitment Center massacre has another poignant side effect. It took six years for the Pentagon to award Purple Hearts to the service victims of both the  June 2009 Little Rock Army Recruitment Center attack and the November 2009 Fort Hood Massacre perpetrated by domestic Jihadis. We hope that Defense Secretary Ashton Carter and incoming Chairman of the Joint Chief of Staff, Marine General Joseph Dunford, Jr. will waste no time in making suitable posthumous awards to the grieving families and loved ones recognizing these valiant service personnel who died in combat against domestic Islamic terrorism in our midst.

EDITORS NOTE: This column originally appeared in the New English Review. The featured image is courtesy of the Miami-Herald.

President Obama’s Subtle Support for Anti-Police Street Demonstrations

/1 Comment/in , , , , , /by

“The hardest thing to explain is the glaring evidence which everybody has decided not to see” – Ayn Rand

Only the Arctic cold spell gripping the nation, the State of the Union Address (Obama didn’t want demonstrators to detract), and the facts presented in the Justice Department Report as a result of FBI Agents’ investigating of the Ferguson shooting, temporarily halted the nationally controlled anti-Police street demonstrations after over 6 months. The Justice Department report, submitted by FBI Agents tasked with the investigation, concluded that the white Police Officer’s shooting of Michael Brown was justified and in self-defense; the report failed to mention Eric Holder’s continued unjustified inflammatory racial bias. Although Holder’s Justice Department finally agreed with the Ferguson Grand Jury’s decision, the rioters in Ferguson this past Friday, stated they still did not have any knowledge of the Justice Department Report.

Fifteen minutes after the Ferguson Grand Jury decision acquitted a white Police Officer in Ferguson, MO for shooting a black criminal in self-defense, the nation witnessed Obama on a nationally televised address making inappropriate and subtle comments that fueled the violent street demonstration that erupted followed his comments on TV. Yet President Obama refuses to do a televised address to the nation to present the facts that the shooting was in self-defense, that would have calmed down the radical and Communist demonstrators to “cease and desist” and that the raised hands gesture never happened. The demonstrations continue, even this over this past week, resulting in two white Police Officers ambushed in an assassination attempt, because of the false narrative by President Obama, Attorney General Holder, Al Sharpton, Louis Farrakhan, NYC Mayor De Blasio, and the left of center liberal media establishment who continue to cover up the truth.

For them to correct the false narrative they previously publicized repeatedly on national news networks, and tamper down incendiary racial bias being promoted in street demonstrations against Police Officers——that the deaths of Michael Brown and Eric Gardener were in fact justified, and were not motivated by white Police Officers with a racial animus toward black youth, would reveal their true racial animus over the last 6 months.

Obama, who is in a unique position to defuse the racial lies promulgated nationally for the last 6 months, that there is an epidemic of white Police Officers killing black youth by saying they are untrue, is still being supported so Obama’s radical supporters, anarchists, progressives, Socialists, Marxists, and Communists being bused in by Soros to keep anti-Police street demonstrations alive. Since the white Police Officer has been cleared by the Ferguson Grand Jury and Holder’s Justice Department, Obama, in order to maintain some degree of credibility, Obama is now telling his supporters in speeches around the nation, that the white Police Officer who was accused of an unjustified shooting, then cleared by Holder’s Justice Department, is subtly indicating that the white Police Officer somehow got away with the shooting of an innocent black youth, because he had a skillful defense team, insinuating that the white Police Officer was really still guilty. Obama’s refusal to inform street demonstrators that there was no racial animus in the Ferguson shooting continues to intentionally racially divide the nation, with the intent of Socializing/federalizing local and state police departments.

Facts do count, and the facts are that in Ferguson, MO, Michael Brown, viciously beat an elderly black man, committed a strong armed robbery of a petite black female shopkeeper, beat & tried to disarm a much smaller white Police Officer who was sitting in his patrol car, and then charged that same Police Officer a second time, that in his being shot in self-defense by the white Police Office. Obama honored that habitual black felon by dispatching a large White House delegation to his funeral in Ferguson, but Obama refused to send a large White House delegation to the funeral of Prime Minister Margret Thatcher like all other NATO and Commonwealth Allies had done.

President Obama has still not informed his followers that there was no racial component that led to the death of the two blacks felons, Michael Brown in Ferguson, and Eric Gardener in Staten Island, NY, who both had long criminal records. That they were both resisting lawful arrests by Police Officers in the streets, and ultimately their resistance to a lawful arrest led to a deadly force confrontation with Police Officers doing their jobs. Unfortunately, the press will continue to report the resistance of felons to lawful arrests by Police Officers in the streets, with resultant deadly force being used against the resisting party.

President Obama, AG Holder, and minority leaders have not been instructing fatherless minority youth involved in criminal activities, not to resist a lawful arrest orders by Police Officers in the street.

The anti-Police demonstrations have been supported since August 2014 by Radical leftists, progressives, the Communist Party USA, the Occupy Wall Street Organization, many of George Soros funded Socialist front groups like Missourians Organizing For Reform, the New Black Panther Party (who have been involved in terrorist training in Castro’ Cuba), the Weatherman Underground, and the New York Communities For Change (an ACORN renamed group) have been stoking the racial bias. They will continue to look for other Police shootings to get the radicals to continue demonstrating. The shooting of two white Police Officers in Ferguson this past week by a black felon and street demonstrator, is the direct result of the lies that were told over the last 6 months about Brown’s shooting.

The above listed organizations and individuals have been whipping demonstrators into a frenzy, and encouraging the premeditated and nationally coordinated street demonstrators, against Police Officers and the U.S. Justice System. There is a long term ulterior motive by the Obama administration, and that is to federalize state and local police forces. The Obama administration is responsible for encouraging the employment of Communist style propaganda techniques to broad brush white Police Officers as racist who are intent on harassing and killing blacks. They have been demanding that all Police Officers be retrained, and when that has occurred, they employed the Justice Department to enforce rules, that eventually take control of the police department leadership, with the threat of penalties if the police force is not retrained and hobbled by federal regulations.

The anti-Police Officer rhetoric turned deadly in Ferguson when 4 black youth beat a white man to death with hammers, then a black crowd of demonstrators in Ferguson beat a white women on the following day, and the following day an elderly white man trying to enter his car with an oxygen tank required to help him breath with, was beaten with his oxygen tank, and was run over with his own car (the left of center liberal media establishment covered up those atrocities by black demonstrators in wolf packs against innocent white victims in Ferguson). The emotionally charged protests against Police Officers in New York City also turned violent when black demonstrators in the street repeatedly chanted “What do you want? “Dead cops” and the demonstrators severally beat two white NYPD Detectives.

In the most recent national polls, 53% of Americans believe that the nation is embroiled in the worst racial strife that has existed in the Republic 60 years. It is a fact that 14% of the nation is made up of blacks, yet blacks commit 47% of all crimes in the United States. According to FBI statistics, blacks are 6 times more likely, as non-blacks, to kill Police Officers. Until the flagrant criminal activities perpetrated by black criminals ceases, Police Officers will have to enter minority communities to protect innocent black victims seeking police protection, and the tension between Police Officers and black criminal elements in black communities, will continue, The relatives of black criminals, black radical leaders, and elected black politicians will continue to blame white Police Officers for conflicts, when they are usually only responding to cries for help from innocent black victims in black communities; the story that Police Officers are only trying to do their job to “protect and defend” is seldom included in press releases.

On January 6,2015, two white New York City Police Officers who had responded to a robbery attempt, were ambushed and assassinated by a black convict with a long criminal record, who was also a radical black nationalist follower of Islam. The black convict with a long criminal record, had become inflamed by the ongoing street demonstrations in Ferguson, traveled to New York City, with the intent of assassinating members of New York’s “Thin Blue Line”, subsequently, Officer Rafael Ramos, NYPD and Officer Wenjian Liu, NYPD were gunned down by him. Obama has yet to make one single comment on national television about the tragedy of the assassination like the comments he made 15 minutes after the Grand Jury decision in Ferguson, MO, and Obama did not send a large White House delegation to the funerals of the two assassinated New York City Police Officers, like he sent to the funeral of Michael Brown in Ferguson.

By appointing Al Sharpton as the Presidential Adviser on “Race Relations,” and meeting with Sharpton in the White House over 80 times; while Sharpton was repeatedly degraded and lying about Police Officers, Obama kept the anti-Police Officer street demonstrations and racial strife alive. Malik Zulu Shabazz, the former leader of the New Black Panther Party, said the radical group will “build up an army” in 2015 to combat Police Officers, and he predicted coming events “that are gonna seem tragic to white America, may even shock our own consciences” including the killing of Police Officers. The above orchestrated threats against Police Officers further adds to the monumental damage the Obama administration has created in the fabric of the Republic, damage that will require Patriotic Americans to unravel once Obama is no longer in office.

Pam Key from Breitbart.com reports:

On this week’s episode of the official broadcast of the New Black Panthers Party’s “Black Power Radio,” the former national chairman of the New Black Panther Party and current national president of Black Lawyers for Justice,  Malik Zulu Shabazz said 2015 is the time to “build up that army” and go “to the gun range.”

“And Mister Malcolm X, he consistently teaches us self defense,” Shabazz said. “The most honorable Elijah Muhammad continuously teaches us self defense. The honorable Marcus Mosiah Garvey teaches us self defense, and  we know, our leader and our teacher the honorable Khalid Abdul Muhammad teaches us self defense. What am I saying? Right now it’s time to build up that army. Right now it’s time for us to build up those corps, those troops. It’s time to get strong. It’s time for lifting weights and working out and  going to the gun range and all of that.”

There is no sinister national epidemic of white police officers harassing and killing black youth. There is a national epidemic of innocent blacks being murdered, once every 4 hours, by black criminals (2245 blacks killed by blacks annually).

Police Officers are the last line of defense between criminal elements bent on taking advantage of law abiding black and white citizens. In 2014, there were 15 ambush assassination attempts nationally against Police Officers, and nine successful assassinations of Police Officers in New York, Missouri, California, Pennsylvania, North Carolina, Florida, etc. In 2014, 114 Police Officer were killed in the line of duty.

We honor the dedicated members of the “Thin Blue Line” who have been assassinated by criminals whipped up into a frenzy by public comments of the aforementioned elected officials and minority leaders, that the fiery rhetoric of the left of center liberal media establishment continues to distort. We encourage all Americans to disregard the lies being promulgated by the Obama administration about white Police Officers and their attempt to trash the profession of law Enforcement, so they can try to federalize local and state police departments; “Support Your Local Law Enforcement Officers.”

VIDEOS: The Coalition to End Sexual Exploitation Summit

/in , , , , /by

Dawn Hawkins discusses the need and plan for strong, united efforts among the many involved in these issues through the Coalition to End Sexual Exploitation.

2014 CESE Summit Video: Dawn Hawkins, “The Coalition: Uniting to Advocate for Change” from Center On Sexual Exploitation on Vimeo.

Mrs. Hawkins is the Executive Director of the National Center on Sexual Exploitation (endsexualexploitation.org) where she has developed a national strategy uniting conservative, women’s rights, child advocacy and religious groups, including a bipartisan political leadership, to work together raising awareness of the pandemic of harm from pornography. Through her leadership, NCSE has grown a network reaching hundreds of thousands of people all over the world. Mrs. Hawkins has appeared on many local and national television programs, regularly authors articles and speaks around the country addressing the harms of pornography and what can be done to curb the growing pornification of our culture.

The Coalition to End Sexual Exploitation (CESE) is focused on bringing a diverse spectrum of people together to solve and end the complex social issue of sexual exploitation. Members of the coalition create a unified front when faced with these seemingly insurmountable issues. As of September 2014, there are 280 national, state and local organizations in the Coalition.

CESE combines child advocacy, Internet safety, pro-family, prevention, education, women’s rights and feminist activists, recovery groups, law enforcement, anti-trafficking groups, state policy, and technology groups together, as well as health and science experts and religious leaders.

To learn more and view all of the videos of the 2014 End Sexual Exploitation Summit click here.

The 2015 End Sexual Exploitation Summit will be held in Orlando, Florida from September 10th to September 12th, 2015 at the Renaissance Orlando at SeaWorld.

An open ‘Thank You’ to Police Officers

/in , , , /by

For much too long in America, police officers have been taken for granted, disrespected, misunderstood, abused, ignored, scorned and ridiculed. I am not saying that every single police officer throughout our nation is a perfect little angel. But I am willing to wager that the majority of the men and woman in blue are fantastic, well intentioned guardians of our communities. So I believe it is high time that “We the People” consider that the overwhelming majority of police officers are honorable sovereign Americans who willingly risk their lives to protect you and I.

It is a sad reflection on the current state of affairs, that a police officer who defended himself from a bullying brute has to give up his livelihood and probably get out of town. Yet the thugs who increased the Ferguson unemployment rate by destroying and robbing from businesses are roaming free. I for one have both witnessed and experienced the helpful kindness of police officers throughout the years. I will never forget the time I locked my car keys in my automobile. Upon returning from an appointment in Grosse Pointe Park. MI I saw my keys sitting right on the drivers seat. While standing there pondering my course of action, a police officer on patrol stopped and asked if I was okay.

After explaining my predicament, he kindly told me to “hang tight for a few minutes” and drove away. To my pleasant surprise, it was not long before the patrolman returned. Within a short span of time he easily unlocked my auto with a device he retrieved from the police station. I was most appreciative of the friendly member of the thin blue line who went out of his way to help this (at the time) forgetful driver. It is becoming more irritating to witness the seemingly ongoing efforts by the dragon media and street cretins who seem to work in tandem, to discredit and discourage local police officers. Could it be that some folks in power would love to establish a national police force as well?

The riots of Ferguson, Missouri along with the dishonorable actions over the years of the NAACP, Al Sharpton, Bill Ayers, the step baby daddy of Michael Brown and others fully exposes the deviant mission of that anti law and order ilk. As with progressives in general, the goal of those stalwarts of statism is to disrupt and destroy the normal and blessed flow of American life. If you don’t believe me, how do you explain why liberals and progressives in general only support policies that hinder families, erase economic prosperity, minimize the importance of morality and always advocate abortion, along with hatred of the local police? The number one cause of death for American born black males is murder, by other blacks, NOT POLICE OFFICERS!!

In fact, in far too many black American dwellings, most black boys are cursed by their so called mothers, long before they reach the age of accountability. They are told “”they are no good”, “they ain’t nothing” then folks wonder why they turn out that way. The power of life and death is in the tongue, it is high time that black mother start speaking better words over their children. That’s if they wish to see more positive results. According to a recent article in CNS NEWS, the enablers of insanity known as liberals, progressives or democrats indirectly and in some cases directly promote crime and hatred for positive authority, essentially saying “black kids, it is okay, you don’t have a daddy, go rob a store.” It is as plain as daylight, that liberals, progressives, socialist democrats or whatever, don’t have America’s best interest at heart. Their denigration of local cops is part of the mission of “Transforming America.” They fully understand that a house divided against itself shall not stand.

That is why those of us who appreciate our local police officers had better be willing to defend the thin blue line and other positive elements of our communities and nation as a whole. We must shun the persuasions of those secretly racist liberals who seek to use young black males, (and some black females) as useful idiots of destruction. Before it is too late we must promote and teach what is righteous and wholesome to our nation’s young sovereigns. Let us no longer fear to promote and encourage the traditional family, where Dad is the head of the household. To do that would help establish structure and a healthy view of authority. Just that alone will go a long way toward reestablishing respect for the local police, private property, and even self respect.

Are all police officers great? No! But in every vocation, there are a few bad apples. But that is no excuse or reason to impugn an entire group. After all, isn’t that the type of discrimination, that blacks, particularly black men have battled against (real or imagined) for decades? So by God’s grace, let us as Americans work together to heal, not harm our Republic. Last but not least, respect the local police officers in your city, town, or hamlet. The police officer you see one day, may be the one who might have to come to you aid in the future.

To local police officers throughout America, thanks for all you do.

Law Enforcement in America: Pretty Uniforms, Ugly Demeanor

/in , , , /by

Most of my adult life I lived and worked in the ever changing world of law enforcement. I feel I put in my time and have the right to provide my analysis on law enforcement in America, and their effectiveness in fighting Islamic based terrorism and their lack of support of the American Patriots who love our country and Constitution.

I will break the various categories of U.S. law enforcement down into four groups:

Group 1: Local and County law enforcement officers
Group 2: State law enforcement officers
Group 3: The dozens of 1811 federal law enforcement officers excluding the FBI.
Group 4: The FBI
Group 5: U.S. Military

Our country has always needed law enforcement officers at all levels of government to enforce the laws of our land in accordance with the U.S. Constitution. For the most part they have been effective … up until the sad day on 11 September 2001.

On 911 I was an active (1811) U.S. Federal Agent. I fell into Group 3. It is my honor to say I did not fall into Group 4. On 911 I saw our country change, and not for the better. This is the day I saw the early stages of a wide separation of the Group 1 officers and the FBI (Group 4).

Group 1: Group 1 officers have always been the backbone of our country. Over our young history they have always been the ones with their eyes on the ground and an inner loving and respect for America. They handled law enforcement matters for the most part with a firm, heavy hand when needed, but knew when to back off when required. Their training normally consisted of ‘on the job training’. They were the American citizens best friend, the true defenders of our U.S. Constitution, and a menace to lawbreakers.. They were not always right, but their intentions normally were. They are often the lowest paid and hardest worked. These officers have a Police Chief, Sheriff, but more often than not there were only a couple of officers assigned to a small town area. In other words their management oversight was low. They worked together as one unit protecting America.

Groups 2 and 3: These officers were normally trained to a higher level and their pay was higher. These two groups had more oversight than group 1 officers. Their organizations were often led by people who were career managers and not law enforcement officers. Politics and pleasing politicians were an every day occurrence. Before 911 these officers worked hard days and nights and did their best to stay out of the media and politicians line of view. These officers put the U.S. Constitution ahead of politics, but often their higher management became politician ‘pleasers’ instead of supporting their street level officers.

Group 4: The FBI. Since it’s founding in 1935 it has always been managed by non elected politicians. The first duty of FBI management has always been to fight for the attention from the media, and to do their best to please their masters (Senior U.S. Government politicians all the way up to the White House). FBI Agent were taught directly from the academy that they were America’s super investigators. They had the money allocated to them that was always in excess of what they truly needed. The egos of most FBI Agents is way higher than their true value to America. Many great street level Agents, but they are taught to be glory hounds. The FBI routinely take over local, county, and state investigations when there is even a hint of nationwide media attention. 1811 Federal Agents who fall into Group 3 attend the same academy and receive the same training, but with the help of the media and politicians (through continuous butt kissing) they are portrayed as a more clever investigator. In actuality they are not. They just have more government money to look pretty. The FBI often get involved in military cases and overseas investigations, although they have no authority to do so.

Group 5: The U.S. military. This group of several hundred thousand are not supposed to be involved in U.S. law enforcement activities. Posse Comitatus Act of 1878 Prior to 911 they seldom were. The Posse Comitatus Act of 1878 was intended to prevent U.S. military from enforcing U.S. civilian law. The role of the military was to defend our country from outside forces. For 200 plus years they have been very honorable.

AFTER 11 September 2001: Prior to 911, the dividing lines between each of the five groups has always been well laid out. Each of the groups knew their roles and duties in enforcing civilian law in America. I noticed a major change after 911. All of the groups have seen an increase in department funding, primarily due to counter-terrorism money granted by the federal government.

Their lines now overlap one another. Even small police departments have been provided money they never knew existed. They now have the money to buy military style uniforms, military style weapons, and many now have the egos of FBI Agents (both undeserved). Their goals are no longer to protect the citizens in their communities, they now have the media, politicians, and federal money dispatchers to please. Group 1 now want to look like highly trained combat military soldiers. Their departments have new patrol cars, expensive SWAT gear, RV’s for HQ operations, and they are now 10 times more likely to be seen giving news conferences on trivial matters.

Nice equipment, authoritative combat gear, tanks, drones, and other costly equipment does not make any of the groups any better in handling Islamic based terrorism events if they do not have the proper training. Current none of the groups (1 -5) are being properly trained to defend our country against Islamic based terrorist groups. Few are ever taught Arabic or can even use the term Islam in their investigations.

Our former leaders never intended for our local, county, state, and federal law enforcement officers to be U.S. military personnel. The lines were drawn over 200 years ago and for a reason. Our forefathers have always known that the closer law enforcement are to senior government officials their mindset changes. We do not need our local law enforcement who police a community of 500 to have the type of equipment our U.S. military have. Why? Because the higher you get to the top of the federal government, the more corrupt people become.

As the non commissioned officers are the backbone of our military (ask any commissioned officer), the backbone of defending America from within as the first-line defenders are the local and county law enforcement officers. The more political and ego driven they become, the less prepared they are to fight Islamic based terrorism.

Another lesson: We could help resolve our country’s high debt ceiling if we were to abolish the FBI. This agency costs billions a year to fund, and the vast majority of cases could be handled by Groups 1, 2, 3, and 5.

Florida Reps. Sandy Adams and Allen West demand Investigation of SWAT-ting hate crimes

/in , /by

By Dr. Rich Swier – Florida Representatives Sandy Adams, District 24, and Allen West, District 22, sent a letter to Attorney General Eric Holder regarding the growing threat of “SWAT-ting” and its costly ramifications.  Eighty-seven members of Congress signed the letter.

Rep. Adams and West note, “Lately, there have been a string of threats directed at conservative bloggers where individuals call emergency dispatchers under the guise of another person’s name with fraudulent claims of a violent crime taking place. These claims then cause local law enforcement to rapidly respond to the home of innocent Americans, and in some instances they have done so with guns drawn.”

“Even more egregious, SWAT-ting is quickly becoming a scare tactic used against political bloggers in an effort to stifle their First Amendment rights,” notes Rep. Adams and West.

The majority of SWAT-ting cases utilize voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) connections between the suspect’s computer and a distant telephone network, then dialing 911. This technology allows the caller to falsify their identifying information, making it almost impossible for emergency dispatchers to identify or track the origin of the call.

Rep. Adams is a former law enforcement officer, and finds “SWAT-ting is of great concern to me”.

“This practice is incredibly dangerous and it is only a matter of time before somebody gets seriously injured. It not only puts the victims in harm’s way, but it endangers the entire community,” note Reps. Adams and West. In the letter Rep. Adams and West urges Attorney General Eric Holder to “investigate these cases to determine whether any federal laws have been breached, and to prosecute those crimes accordingly. Nobody should have their lives put at risk for exercising their First Amendment rights.”

The letter notes, “Just last month, a popular blogger in the state of Georgia, Erick Erickson became the victim of the latest SWAT-ting. During the Erickson’s family dinner, sheriffs deputies were dispatched to Erickson’s home after receiving a 911 call…”

The letter warns, “While none of the SWAT-ting victims have incurred physical harm from these hate filled ploys, we are gravely concerned that future victims may not find themselves so lucky.”