“To take from one, because it is thought his own industry and that of his fathers has acquired too much, in order to spare to others, who, or whose fathers, have not exercised equal industry and skill, is to violate arbitrarily the first principle of association, the guarantee to everyone the free exercise of his industry and the fruits acquired by it.” — Thomas Jefferson, April 6, 1816
Monday, April 4, 2011
POLICE STATE 2011: Government Bureaucrats Steal Basketball Hoops In Dela...
There is a lot that can be said on many different levels. I'll try to be brief.
Superficially, it's appears to be a trivial case, but there are deep implications of a government gone too far.
It's difficult to make a sound decision without knowing if due process was followed and what law(s) (regardless if the law or ordinance was just or reasonable) was broken. With that said, I'm not sure where to start.
In a time when municipalities are strapped for cash and most are screaming that taxes need to be raised out of fear of losing police and other public workers, this is what this town sees fit for use of these workers and police officers time? It's hard to make an armchair decision, but it seems absurd.
The woman in the gray hoodie (who appears to be a city official or a police officer) does not seem pliable. In a situation like this, I don't feel it's of any benefit to argue with a police officer as they are, in their mind, only doing their job by enforcing the law. This is true to an extent, but the woman clearly lies to the man, or at least misleads him, that he can keep his basketball pole. There was no reason the workers could not have left the pole in his yard. They only wanted to put an unnecessary burden on the homeowner to retrieve his basketball pole, which, unless you have access to a bulldozer or a large truck, would be expensive, time consuming and difficult.
To me, this only illustrates how spiteful our government (local, state, federal) has become to citizens and shows the arrogance of public employees.
The fact that a government can come to a homeowner’s house, confiscate his property and haul it away is my biggest concern. They threaten him with arrest if he fails to move his van, they threaten him with arrest if he doesn't go inside, they threaten him with arrest for speaking his mind, they threaten him with arrest if he talks to the workers removing his possession from his property, and they threaten his wife with arrest if she climbs up her basketball pole. I know I'm breaking it down and may be oversimplifying things a bit, but am I missing something?
This is my opinion after two viewings of the video, so I admit I may be wrong about my take. Maybe after a few more viewings, I may understand the situation a little better, but initial reactions are usually true and gut instinct tells me this is sad commentary on our liberties. The mode for government appears to be do what they want, regardless of law and justice, and make the individual fight it out in court. As most of us know, our courts have little to do with justice and it will take many hours and many dollars to win back what was yours to begin with. It takes a strong person to devote the time and capital to retrieve what is rightfully yours from crooks that disguise themselves as a governing body. A sane person also knows the likelihood of winning is slim.
"every now and then the tree of liberty must be refreshed, with the blood of patriots, and tyrants." (the band, Sons of Liberty)
This country is turning into a joke. The problem is, we have no property rights. No one will ever own property in this country. If you don't believe me, try not paying your property taxes and see what you own.
Another thing that strikes me is the look of despair and helplessness on the faces of both homeowners. You can hear it in their voices.They know, and rightfully so, that they can't win. The law is against them, the municipality is against them and they know they are beaten. If they fight, they go to jail. The woman officer even said so. The uniformed trooper can't even look them in the eye. A trooper who was right and clear would be heads up more than this guy to monitor the situation more closely. Even if the charges are dropped, they have to spend time and money to clear their names.
The question begs; At what point does a homeowner stand up and fight against this type of aggression from our government. This family, in my opinion, made a wise choice to not escalate this event by getting in the way of the crooks, er, officers and workers, that is. They must have children if they have that pole out front. I'm sure they wanted to make a stand, but like most parents, would have had the immediate consequences on their mind and how it would affect the kids and the family right now. The long term is what you think of when things settle down, asking yourself if you should fight this injustice and face the ramifications that you know will follow. All of this for a basketball pole? No, not a basketball pole, but individual property rights. The basketball pole is a side note.
It still gets me that these officers and crew (watch the trooper and crew foreman quietly confer while chaining up the pole) took this pole just to harass and bully this homeowner for not falling in line. They are quite smug in telling him they can leave it in the driveway, only to turn around and outright lie to him as they take it away. If that were you or I taking this pole, a felony arrest would have been made.
I know, as well as most of your readers, that no punishment or action will be taken over these officers and workers transgressions. The officers and crew knew it too. I'm sure they had a good laugh when break time rolled around.
They tell us to report bullies in schools. What do we do about these?
After posting this on facebook and going somewhat through a discussion on what good government does (which I said wasn't much of anything), I got a response from someone that said this:
"Good things the government provides just off the top of my head: Public education Roads Highways Parks Police Firefighters Courts International trade International relations Military Education grants Subsidized education loans
If you need me to come up with more, just let me know."
Without trying to start an argument and since it's pretty late, I simply replied that I don't think the government does a good job at providing those things. In actuality, I really don't think that government SHOULD be providing those things except for the courts, military and roads (and even then they don't do the best job... especially when it comes to the courts). So I thought to myself, I wonder how Chambless would respond to this...
My thoughts?
ReplyDeleteSickening. Egregious. Overreaching.
There is a lot that can be said on many different levels. I'll try to be brief.
Superficially, it's appears to be a trivial case, but there are deep implications of a government gone too far.
It's difficult to make a sound decision without knowing if due process was followed and what law(s) (regardless if the law or ordinance was just or reasonable) was broken. With that said, I'm not sure where to start.
In a time when municipalities are strapped for cash and most are screaming that taxes need to be raised out of fear of losing police and other public workers, this is what this town sees fit for use of these workers and police officers time? It's hard to make an armchair decision, but it seems absurd.
The woman in the gray hoodie (who appears to be a city official or a police officer) does not seem pliable. In a situation like this, I don't feel it's of any benefit to argue with a police officer as they are, in their mind, only doing their job by enforcing the law. This is true to an extent, but the woman clearly lies to the man, or at least misleads him, that he can keep his basketball pole. There was no reason the workers could not have left the pole in his yard. They only wanted to put an unnecessary burden on the homeowner to retrieve his basketball pole, which, unless you have access to a bulldozer or a large truck, would be expensive, time consuming and difficult.
To me, this only illustrates how spiteful our government (local, state, federal) has become to citizens and shows the arrogance of public employees.
The fact that a government can come to a homeowner’s house, confiscate his property and haul it away is my biggest concern. They threaten him with arrest if he fails to move his van, they threaten him with arrest if he doesn't go inside, they threaten him with arrest for speaking his mind, they threaten him with arrest if he talks to the workers removing his possession from his property, and they threaten his wife with arrest if she climbs up her basketball pole. I know I'm breaking it down and may be oversimplifying things a bit, but am I missing something?
This is my opinion after two viewings of the video, so I admit I may be wrong about my take. Maybe after a few more viewings, I may understand the situation a little better, but initial reactions are usually true and gut instinct tells me this is sad commentary on our liberties. The mode for government appears to be do what they want, regardless of law and justice, and make the individual fight it out in court. As most of us know, our courts have little to do with justice and it will take many hours and many dollars to win back what was yours to begin with. It takes a strong person to devote the time and capital to retrieve what is rightfully yours from crooks that disguise themselves as a governing body. A sane person also knows the likelihood of winning is slim.
Man, am I glad we live in a free country.
Martin
"every now and then the tree of liberty must be refreshed, with the blood of patriots, and tyrants." (the band, Sons of Liberty)
ReplyDeleteThis country is turning into a joke. The problem is, we have no property rights. No one will ever own property in this country. If you don't believe me, try not paying your property taxes and see what you own.
I agree with both of you. It is amazing how the officer told him - while he was in HIS YARD - to go the in house and lied about his basketball pole.
ReplyDeleteAnother thing that strikes me is the look of despair and helplessness on the faces of both homeowners. You can hear it in their voices.They know, and rightfully so, that they can't win. The law is against them, the municipality is against them and they know they are beaten. If they fight, they go to jail. The woman officer even said so. The uniformed trooper can't even look them in the eye. A trooper who was right and clear would be heads up more than this guy to monitor the situation more closely. Even if the charges are dropped, they have to spend time and money to clear their names.
ReplyDeleteThe question begs; At what point does a homeowner stand up and fight against this type of aggression from our government. This family, in my opinion, made a wise choice to not escalate this event by getting in the way of the crooks, er, officers and workers, that is. They must have children if they have that pole out front. I'm sure they wanted to make a stand, but like most parents, would have had the immediate consequences on their mind and how it would affect the kids and the family right now. The long term is what you think of when things settle down, asking yourself if you should fight this injustice and face the ramifications that you know will follow. All of this for a basketball pole? No, not a basketball pole, but individual property rights. The basketball pole is a side note.
It still gets me that these officers and crew (watch the trooper and crew foreman quietly confer while chaining up the pole) took this pole just to harass and bully this homeowner for not falling in line. They are quite smug in telling him they can leave it in the driveway, only to turn around and outright lie to him as they take it away. If that were you or I taking this pole, a felony arrest would have been made.
I know, as well as most of your readers, that no punishment or action will be taken over these officers and workers transgressions. The officers and crew knew it too. I'm sure they had a good laugh when break time rolled around.
They tell us to report bullies in schools. What do we do about these?
Martin
After posting this on facebook and going somewhat through a discussion on what good government does (which I said wasn't much of anything), I got a response from someone that said this:
ReplyDelete"Good things the government provides just off the top of my head:
Public education
Roads
Highways
Parks
Police
Firefighters
Courts
International trade
International relations
Military
Education grants
Subsidized education loans
If you need me to come up with more, just let me know."
Without trying to start an argument and since it's pretty late, I simply replied that I don't think the government does a good job at providing those things. In actuality, I really don't think that government SHOULD be providing those things except for the courts, military and roads (and even then they don't do the best job... especially when it comes to the courts). So I thought to myself, I wonder how Chambless would respond to this...
I think I would have just gone out like a captain of a ship and went down with the pole:)
ReplyDelete