I hate to be writing another negative post but saw this on the week-end and thought what the @#$%$#@! It seems the media is interested in reporting ad nauseum on the tiniest aspect of some things, like say the dog the future first couple should select, there are others that they ignore almost completely. Like this: Looting of America.
This story is about police and laws that have been passed allowing them to choose when to confiscate property-- whether the person is proven guilty of having done anything or not. All it takes is suspicion; and if you have cash on you, they can take it. Or more of your property. One instance was shoplifting a $25 sweater which led to confiscation, of a $12,000 specially equipped auto for a handicapped daughter, as the suggested get away car.
A lot of us care about things only when they happen to us but by the time they do, it's too late to care.
When I think about abuse of government power, Randy Weaver and Ruby Ridge come to mind. Back then, it seemed BATF was a group that had quite a few of these incidents. Sometimes it was the wrong house. Sometimes, as in the case of the Weavers, targeting someone to make them cooperate in other investigations. Whatever it was, the Weavers and their tragic story was one of the worst examples of government run amok.
We as a people have let ourselves lose a lot of rights, and it didn't start with George W. Bush although it was enhanced under his time in power. For a long time I heard about how some police departments abused minorities. There was a story of a Phoenix congresswoman who was black, got arrested because she was out of place-- a black in a nice neighborhood-- except it was her neighborhood. Where it used to be primarily minorities, it can be anyone. That doesn't mean I distrust the police; but power can corrupt and we should pay attention to what is done to everyone in our community as next time it might be us.
What do you think? Can any of this be changed or are we on a road where there is no turning back? To me, this confiscation of property when no crime has been proven is just wrong or even when it's a man who got caught with a prostitute and they want to take the family auto he was driving. Is any of that fair? If the departments profit from such confiscations, they have more reason to do it.
9 comments:
I think there has already been a turn around. And with the help of modern tools like the internet. there will be change. The best part of the bush administration was the fact that it was so completely doing exactly what we want to change. So now we will overcome inertia to change it. Change is not easy.
Isn't there an amenment or law about illegal search and seizure? Maybe law enforcement needs to reread the Constitution.
This is exactly why we need to remain vigilant and speak up loud and clear when an injustice occurs.
This is one of my pet peeves. There was a case in Southern Cal about 10 years ago (during Clinton Administration) where the police raided a so called drug dealers house. They passed out appraisal sheets of the multi-million dollar house before the raid to show how much they were going to make when they seized it. Well it was a bad tip and not a drug dealers house at all but a law abiding citizen who thought he was experiencing a home invasion robbery when the police broke in and he armed himself and was shot and killed by the police. That case is the poster child for police running amok because they are looking to cash in.
On the race issue a member of the San Diego Chargers got stopped in his neighborhood because he was black and driving a Mercedes.
We do indeed need to take a long look at our police departments, air airports and all the other places that over the years have pretty much run rampant with the search and seizure stuff. And even now, you sure don't want to be the wrong color.
Ingineer66... the man you refer to was Donald Scott. In Ventura Co., CA. I've run into both his widow and his daughter online in the years since.
Property seizure through civil proceedings is one of those areas that falls under the Supreme Court's "drugs exception" as a means of bypassing Constitutional protections.
This feels like and smells like something that happened ALL the time in Nazi Germany in the earlier stages of that frighteningly horrific movement.
Is this the road we want to go down?? OY!
Ingineer, you are correct our nation's freedom was being deceived earlier and in Democratic administrations as well. I am still hopeful that Obama will bring out the best in our experienced leadership and the nation as a whole. Everyone should feel they are being heard.
I am hopeful too. We will see.
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