It is man’s peculiar duty to love even those who wrong him. — Meditations, Book VII
My Take – Even the worst of us are still human beings, and deserve treatment that fits that status. It’s easy to dehumanize those who oppose us, or those that wrong us, but to do so takes away from our own humanity.
Posted by daddybear71 on July 24, 2012
https://daddybearsden.com/2012/07/24/30-days-of-marcus-aurelius-day-20/
The subject of police militarization has come up with increasing frequency over the past few years, and the troubling trend of police officers who act more like an occupying army than law enforcement continues.
Radley Balko has devoted a large part of his career to pointing out how the use of federal dollars to beef up paramilitary police units nationwide has led to a long list of deaths, innocent people under arrest, and worse. His essay “Overkill” is an excellent synopsis of the current state of the use of SWAT teams in ways that seem to run counter to the idea of police being a part of the solution.
In the latest installment of his podcast, Common Sense, Dan Carlin does an excellent job of laying out the problem, how we got to where we are, and its roots in the war on drugs. I suggest you give it a listen.
Blackfive brings up the subject of Marine units that are expressly trained and organized to supplement and train civilian police. This troubles me because, as he points out, all it would take is the stroke of a pen to put them on the streets of America in a way that doesn’t violate Posse Comitatus.
Heck, even podcasts of just a bunch of friends getting together to shoot the breeze for a few hours have discussed the subject.
One thing that hasn’t been brought up in all these discussions recently occurred to me. All of these discussions talk about SWAT raids to arrest drug suspects or deliver no-knock warrants to look for evidence, but no-one talks about the judges who take part in the process that makes them possible. Would it make sense to make efforts to convince the judges that authorize no-knock search warrants that their use is detrimental to our society and system of justice? There have to be professional organizations for those who sit on the bench. Could outreach to these organizations be a good step in finding a way to cut down on the overuse of paramilitary tactics and equipment to go after non-violent offenders? A lot of the judges in this country are elected, and advertisements during an election cycle that bring to light the judges’ involvement in the death of citizens when police use overly aggressive tactics or make mistakes that lead to tragedy might get them to re-evaluate their cooperation when the police come asking for a no-knock warrant.
What do y’all think?
Posted by daddybear71 on July 24, 2012
https://daddybearsden.com/2012/07/24/an-idea-and-request-for-comment/
Posted by daddybear71 on July 23, 2012
https://daddybearsden.com/2012/07/23/blogs-roundup-15/
Posted by daddybear71 on July 23, 2012
https://daddybearsden.com/2012/07/23/thoughts-on-the-day-39/
I’m a little tired, and I need something with a good beat.
Posted by daddybear71 on July 23, 2012
https://daddybearsden.com/2012/07/23/todays-earworm-189/
Sally Ride
First American Woman in Space
May 26 1951 – July 23, 2012
Posted by daddybear71 on July 23, 2012
https://daddybearsden.com/2012/07/23/rest-in-peace/
Nothing happens to anybody which he is not fitted by nature to bear. — Meditations, Book V
My Take – Once, during the worst crisis our little family has had to endure, Irish Woman quipped that the Lord never gives you anything you can’t handle. I didn’t believe her at the time, but we endured, we healed, and we have since thrived. When the worst happens to you, you have to remember that you really do have the strength to survive it. Maybe you won’t come through it unscathed, but you can come through it, if only to look at your end with your head high and with peace in your soul.
Posted by daddybear71 on July 23, 2012
https://daddybearsden.com/2012/07/23/30-days-of-marcus-aurelius-day-19/
Posted by daddybear71 on July 22, 2012
https://daddybearsden.com/2012/07/22/thoughts-on-the-weekend-14/
It is royal to do good and be abused. — Meditations, Book VII
My Take – If I get a hard time over doing the right thing, then I don’t listen to the criticism. Conversely, when I am promised reward for doing wrong, I try to decline. Recently, there was a news report about a firefighter who took a little heat because he took off his oxygen mask and gave it to a woman he was pulling out of a burning house. Did he do right or wrong? To him, he did right, because to him his own safety was subordinate to the life of the person he was helping. Now, I’m not a firefighter or anything like that, but I fully invite criticism of my correct steps along with my incorrect ones. If I do get in trouble for doing the right thing, it says more about the person doing the criticizing than it does about me.
Posted by daddybear71 on July 22, 2012
https://daddybearsden.com/2012/07/22/30-days-of-marcus-aurelius-day-18/
Two shootings have been in the national news this week.
In one, a private citizen took responsibility for his own safety and the safety of those around him. Where others were confused or cowered, he stood up and drove off two miscreants intent on robbery and mayhem. He delivered aimed and deliberate shots at threats until they stopped being a threat.
In the other, a whackjob planned and executed an ambush of innocent men and women for no apparent rational reason other than the fact that it was in his power to do so. He fired indiscriminately into a dark theater with no thought as to the suffering he was causing, and destroyed the lives of many.
In both instances, a gun was the tool used to achieve a goal. The gentleman in Florida used that tool to protect innocent life, including his own. In Colorado, guns were used to bring harm to the innocent.
The difference between the incidents was that the person with the gun was a good example of a human being in one, and was a waste of protein in the other.
When we choose to own and carry a gun, we assume a responsibility that, to be honest, frightens me sometimes. By saying “I am responsible for me and mine”, I am stating that if push comes to shove, I am willing to bring violence in a rather explosive manner upon anyone who either harms us or makes me believe that they are about to. I also have the responsibility to never make a mistake with that tool. There are no do-overs, no excuses, and no repayment for the harm a mistake can make. I do not fear my guns, but I do respect the obligation using them places upon me.
The trash who shot up the theater in Aurora completely shirked his responsibility as a gun owner and as a human being. He caused pain and suffering among his victims and their families that will linger for a lifetime, and he has reinvigorated the anti-gun debate for months to come. Some will use this as a cudgel to beat down gun-rights advocates, others will use it to wave a bloody shirt for a very long time. Some sick individuals will even begin to think that violence against the innocent and undefended is a perfectly fine way to spend an evening.
Either we own guns to defend life, or we own guns to take it. As gun owners, we have to decide which side of the argument we want to fall on. Pick your side. I’ll be over here ready to defend what is dear to me.
Posted by daddybear71 on July 22, 2012
https://daddybearsden.com/2012/07/22/a-tale-of-two-shootings/
DaddyBear’s Den 