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| Re: Another Update: The CCRB Called (425824) | |||
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Re: Another Update: The CCRB Called |
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Posted by JPC on Sat May 5 12:32:43 2007, in response to Re: Another Update: The CCRB Called, posted by Broadway Lion on Sat May 5 11:03:21 2007. "King George" has NOTHING to do with this shit that is happening.I was referring to shit in general, not "photobahn" shit. And yes, King George is directly or indirectly responsible for much of the shit in general. And with the shit in general that is going on (suspension of habeas corpus, warrantless wiretaps, rampant corruption, Nixonian secrecy, illegal wars, defiance of Congress and of public opinion), if I had to write my list of complaints to King George, the "photobahn" would be about #739 on the list (that's how insignificant it is compared to the shit that King George is responsible for). But the "photobahn" is an example of what I like to call "Bushian thinking" (if you'll accept the oxymoron), in that it makes the same sort of assumptions - everyone's a suspect, anybody can be questioned or detained for any reason, the rights of suspects are something you honor if you feel like it and it's convenient for you, citizens have no privacy - their lives are open books and they have no right or reason to not say anything and everything to a prying government official...) But I'm sorry if my post was confusing, King George shit vs. photobahn shit. But to jump into the maelstrom... at the 2004 RNC, for example, many of the more egregious policies adopted by the NYPD with regards to protesters were adopted at the insistence of federal officials (they may have done them anyway without the federal prompting, but it is clear that the feds were pushing various ideas down their throat, and they didn't even accept all of them!) I don't know if you've heard of this, but last year a volunteer EMT in NYC was arrested by the NYPD for carrying a badge (something virtually all of us do). He wasn't displaying it or trying to "tin" his way out of a ticket or into a building; it was in his bag. The NYPD made the collar, but only because a Federal Protective Service officer absolutely insisted that they do so. Since then there has been a big brouhaha in NY State over this (I can send you more info if you're interested). The NYPD really doesn't care (I know many members of the NYPD and this is what they're telling me) as long as you don't try to do stupid things with a shield. But the Feds are really pushing this badge business, and Homeland Security officials are pressuring the NY State legislatures not to take action to resolve the confusion (and thus far they have been mostly successful). In an ideal federalist society (you know, the one envisioned by the Founding Fathers), the states would be able to operate more or less independently of the national government (and indeed, that was the way it was for half of this country's history). But since then we've had the 16th Amendment (among others), and power-hungry presidents like FDR who have consolidated power in the national government and decreased state independence. King George is just the latest step in power centralization. So yes, federal pressure IS responsible for some fraction of the shit that takes place at local and state level. |
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