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Tuesday, February 16, 2010

New Outrages from the Police

For many years, I have written of the abuses committed by the police around the USA, but this one strikes closer to home. I live about 90 minutes from Chambersburg and just a couple miles from the Pennsylvania state line.

The story about a law-abiding citizen in Pennsylvania being charged with assault against a police officer -- which carries a penalty of 10 years in prison -- is one that should outrage anyone with a sense of decency. I urge you to read this one in its entirety, as the reporter has done what I think is a fair account of the events.

In fact, because the reporter has done such a good job (as opposed to the usual cop-worshiping fare that passes as "journalism" these days), I will encourage you to read Vicky Taylor's account and make your own judgment. I must admit that I appreciate reading such an account, in part because there are too few reporters willing to do anything but be PR agents for the local police.

For all of the "protect and serve" mantra we hear from police, in reality, the police in this country today act more like an occupying army. They are unionized, have tremendous political leverage, and have a license to kill. You tell me whether or not such people make us "safer," or place our lives in even more peril. To make matters worse, they team up with prosecutors who are all-too-happy to come up with clever ways to help fill our prisons with non-criminals.

(Thanks to Will Grigg for the story.)

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