Tag: law enforcement

Opinion

What happens in a bad police shooting?

The recent shooting of a Fort Worth, Texas African-American woman sitting in her home, and playing video games with her nephew, underlines what happens when police officers wrongfully shoot someone. Did the officer fear for his life, and if so what made him so afraid? If he did feel threatened in this situation; should he have been doing police work? Is fear a valid excuse for shooting someone with virtually no warning inside their own home while you are standing outside? What role does psychology play in these shootings? I believe police officers face an enormous amount of stress, but that is no excuse for murder. Almost all Americans hold police officers in the highest regard with good reason. We have great police forces. America’s challenge is always to live up to our potential, and not just be satisfied with being better than other nations. We can and should hold everyone accountable to our laws, and basic human decency.

Opinion

Dark money is political speech, but whose money is it, and how do you know Supreme Court?

I would like to cover more than the destruction of a presidency on my website, but I cannot think of anything more important than what is taking place in our republic right now. A president who wants to turn the executive branch into a campaign organ on a level that is unprecedented in our history is big news. We have a large percentage of students who do not see a problem with a president who invites foreign nations to help him get re-elected (and maybe elected in the first place?). The republic actually being a republic is at stake; is this a country belonging to the citizens or someone else? The Supreme Court in the Citizens United case invited the wealthy and powerful to secretly participate in an outsized way in our elections. Who is to say that those wealthy and powerful persons who are secretly participating are actually citizens of the United States? Thanks Supreme Court for your limited wisdom.

Opinion

Cunning, treachery, corruption, and ignorance

Many of us have been guilty of desiring things that we are not able to handle. The current president ran for the office and no one bothered to tell him that lying, corruption, and criminal behavior would get him into trouble. In fact many of our so-called leaders were busily trying to make everything appear okay when they were incredibly wrong. We are now in a situation where our identity as Americans is under assault by our own behaviors as a country. Our executive branch has become a den of thieves, our judicial branch seems to be political pawns, and our legislative branch debates whether lies are true. The American people seem to be showing that they don’t buy lies all of the time, and are ready to confront proven criminality. I am hopeful that the cunning, corrupt, ignorant, and even treasonous persons in positions of power and trust are concerned about their futures.

Opinion

How many impeachments will there be?

As the facts pile up about the current administration’s attack on the constitution and the rule of law; will there need to be multiple impeachment’s? The Secretary of State has been implicated as a co-conspirator who participated in using tax payer resources for the president’s 2020 political campaign. The Attorney General is implicated in efforts to get dirt on potential opponents, and clear Russia by investigating US intelligence agencies. The Vice-President is reported to have delivered messages to pressure the President of Ukraine to investigate Joe Biden’s son, and some right-wing conspiracy theories. The gist of all of the administration’s behavior is damaging to the US republic, and supportive of Putin’s Russia. We must get to the bottom of everything that took place to threaten the republic in this administration; will it require more than one impeachment?

Opinion

The smell of corruption grows

The Attorney General of the United States even being suspected of involvement in behavior that undermines the constitution is shocking and frightening. The current president has put the United States into a tailspin that has citizens learning to distrust every institution that holds the country together. He tells us to not trust the media, our intelligence agencies, former administrations to name a few. He tells lies so much that intelligent people assume if he is speaking he is lying. I am hopeful that more and more Americans recognize that the problem centers around one man, and not all of our institutions. There is a fix for the massive symptom of a societal problem in the White House; impeachment first, and new laws to strengthen our republic later.

Opinion

Harder and harder to avoid impeachment

The current president is making it very difficult for Democrats to avoid impeachment. We have reached the point where a president is trying to get a foreign government to help him with an election which undermines our republic. The more information that comes in; the worse the President’s Ukrainian bribery phone call looks. We have not seen the taxes of the President and many assume it is because they would show he owes money to Russian oligarchs. Obstruction of justice and elections violations from 2016 are already assumed to be awaiting the President once he leaves office. Numerous crimes not yet in headlines are assumed to have been committed by the President or members of his family and cabinet. Will equal justice under law continue to include the person who is president? I am hopeful that the search for the truth will formally begin soon with Impeachment proceedings.

Opinion

I am thankful for great law enforcement

In a time when there seems to be so much lawlessness and corruption in our current administration it is good to think of the positive in our country; like the great police and law enforcement who protect us every day. I remember the police officers in Dayton. Ohio who within seconds charged straight towards the gunfire that others rightfully fled. The officers used their skill, courage, and professionalism to stop a killer from taking more lives. In America this is the expectation we have grown used to. Maybe other parts of our government bring out the worst in us, but our law enforcement provide a reason to cheer.