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Tuesday, December 28, 2010

America's Newest Crime: "Cutting the Cheese" During Class

Camille Tilley has sent me this link, and it definitely puts things into perspective. The USA, with 5 percent of the world's population, has a quarter of the world's prisoners.

Here are some highlights (or maybe "lowlights" is more appropriate):

#1 A Michigan man has been charged with a felony and could face up to 5 years in prison for reading his wife’s email.

#2 A 49-year-old Queens woman had bruises all over her body after she was handcuffed, arrested and brutally beaten by NYPD officers. So what was her offense? The officers thought that her little dog had left some poop that she didn’t clean up.

#3 A 56-year-old woman who was once a rape victim refused to let airport security officials feel her breasts so she was thrown to the floor, put in handcuffs and arrested.

#4 In Milwaukee, one man was recently fined $500 for swearing on a public bus.

#5 Several years ago a 12-year-old boy in South Carolina was actually arrested by police for opening up a Christmas present early against his family’s wishes.

...

#8 Back in 2008, a 13-year-old boy in Florida was actually arrested by police for farting in class.

#9 The feds recently raided an Amish farmer at 5 AM in the morning because they claimed that he was was engaged in the interstate sale of raw milk in violation of federal law.

#10 A few years ago a 10-year-old girl was arrested and charged with a felony for bringing a small steak knife to school. It turns out that all she wanted to do was to cut up her lunch so that she could eat it.

#11 On June 18th, two Christians decided that they would peacefully pass out copies of the gospel of John on a public sidewalk outside a public Islamic festival in Dearborn, Michigan and within three minutes 8 policemen surrounded them and placed them under arrest.

And, the ultimate:

#14 A few years ago a 70 year old grandmother was actually put in handcuffs and hauled off to jail for having a brown lawn.

Yes, who says that our wonderful police state is falling down on the job. Furthermore, the vast internal spy network being developed with "cooperation" between state, local, and federal authorities is sure to further stuff our prisons.

Welcome to Prison Nation.

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

The truth about what you posted.

#1 He had no right to access her email without her permission. The wife has pursued this prosecution because he has invaded her right to privacy. If law enforcement or anyone else did this you would be pounding your keys writing about the injustice done to the wife. Why is there a difference?

#2 When the officers approached her about her dog she started yelling at them so they charged her with causing a ruckus. She resisted arrest and had to be forced into handcuffs. Stanczyk has a prior history of trouble dealing with others and her anger.

#3 Statements from two witnesses who were there during Hirschkind protest. They did not report any wrong doing by the police. "I understand her side of it, and their side as well, but it is for our protection so I have no problems with it," said Gwen Washington, who lives in Killeen. "It's unfortunate that that happened and she didn't get to fly home, but it makes me feel a little safer," said Emily Protine. Don’t fly if you don’t want to go through the security. If you must fly get a private plane.

#4 “People should be able to ride the bus without feeling intimidated by someone’s language or behavior.” Local residents applaud the law and assert that it is a well-known one. Milwaukee resident Tiffany Cook observed, “People should not get on the bus having to hear disruptive conversations. You can get a fine for that. It’s the law. You can’t do that.” Similarly, passenger Jean Jones remarked, “I think he should have got it. Kids be on the bus, families be on the bus. Nobody wants to hear that kind of language.”
Resident Ebony Jett said, “You can’t swear. A lot of people don’t like all the ‘f’ words and ‘s’ words around their kids, and there’s a lot of elderly people on the bus, and you have to respect your elders, so that’s what he gets. Next time, he’ll know, no swearing on the bus.”

Anonymous said...

#5 On 12/03/2006 at approximately 0916 hours, Officers responded to 428 Oates St. in reference to juvenile causing problems at his grandmother’s house. When officers arrived on the scene, they spoke with Nancy (victim) advised that she bought a Play station Game Boy and wrapped it for Christmas and placed it under the Christmas Tree. Nancy stated she gave specific instructions to her 12 year old son (suspect) not to bother it because it was a present for Christmas. Nancy advised that she came home and found the present unwrapped and the Game Boy box opened. Nancy advised that she asked suspect where the Game Boy was and he stated he didn’t know. Brandy (complainant) asked where it was also and he gave her the same answer. Brandy advised that when she told suspect she was calling the Police, suspect told her he had it in his room and got it for her. Brandy stated that suspect has been causing all kinds of trouble at home and at school. Suspect advised that he has been arrested before for disorderly conduct last month for trying to assault a police officer. Suspect stated he was kicked out of school because he didn’t want to follow the rules and he has failed rebound twice. Nancy advised that she has had it with suspect and she is seeking any type of help she can to set him straight. Nancy advised that he is always stealing and acting out.
#8 The 13 year old admitted to purposely breaking wind and then shutting off some computers other students were currently using. He was charged with disruption of a school function. I guess this would pass for acceptable behavior in your class.

#9 A person can’t commercially sale unpasteurized milk. The benefit of pasteurization is that it renders milk much safer to drink. During the 1980s, the main producer of raw milk in the United States was the Alta-Dena Certified Dairy, of City of Industry, California. During this period, it falsely advertised that its raw milk products were safe and healthier than pasteurized milk. These claims were challenged in a lawsuit filed in 1985 against Alta-Dena and its affiliate Stueve's Natural by Consumers Union and the American Public Health Association and later joined by the Alameda County District Attorney. In 1989, a California Superior Court Judge that: (a) "overwhelming evidence proved that Alta-Dena's raw (unpasteurized) milk frequently contains dangerous bacteria that cause serious illness".
#10 While the situation is easy to ridicule, Mosley (the principle) said, children bringing prohibited items to school shouldn't be a laughing matter. Although she believed the girl meant no harm, Mosley added, educators must err on the side of caution. Where’s the demand for parental responsiblilty. Instead of beating up the police you should be holding the parents accountable for their lack of responsibility.
#11 Four were arrested for breach of peace, one of the four was charged with failing to obey a police officer. This group goes to this city every year with the intent to disrupt a local cultural festival and misrepresent facts. They didn’t follow any of the festival rules that were in place for public safety that other religious organizations who were present did.

#14 The officer was citing Perry for a city ordinance about her yard. She was arrested for refusing to provide her name for the citation. The woman admits you should do what an officer tells you and by this admits her actions may not have been correct.

Anonymous said...

Oh my goodness!This person that commented on each act of "authority" by our lawless law enforcement obviously has never had the opportunity to see the dark side of those with a badge. I have personally seen those with authority take advantage and misuse what level of power they have. This must be someone in law enforcement. More times than not someone with a badge uses force that is completely unnecessary! What education does a police officer have - a few weeks or maybe a few months of training. They are lawyer wanna be's that don't have the brains to make it through even a bachelor's degree program. I hope this individual gets to feel the brutality of the law and what it can do!!!

Doc Ellis 124 said...

There are more folks like anon 2.54 than like anon 10.46 in the US. The US is currently a prison state because of this reality.

Doc Ellis 124

William L. Anderson said...

Doc is right. Note how this person justifies every ARREST. In other words, issues that once upon a time were dealt with by parents or supervisors now must end in the arrest of someone.

If a person did those things, he would be kicked out of my class, period. I have kicked people out before, including someone who wore an obscene T-shirt and claimed I was infringing upon his freedom of speech.

However, the idea of calling the police to deal with such a problem is like burning down my house because I saw a spider on the floor. When police come into the scene, things become escalated; after all, at least one person is armed and sometimes dangerous.

Notice that this person cannot differentiate between a CRIME and simple bad behavior.

For what it's worth... said...

Anonymous is a Statist, like so many of our neighbors.

Keep in mind that all of those ridiculous arrests were effected by Law Enforcement Officers. They are as much a part of the problem as anyone.

Rob said...

Anonymous @ 12/29/10 2:53 & 2:54 PM:

I believe we've encountered one another before. Greetings once again.

You have a bad habit of quoting sources without citing them. I will continue to call you out on this bad habit. Please provide the sources you quoted from.

More importantly, however, your exposition of "the truth" actually proves Dr. Anderson's point. I doubt he'll deny that, in each of those situations, one or more laws was technically broken. His point (as I see it) is that these laws themselves are egregious.

The situations posted are all the result of legal positivism, the philosophy of law that states "thou must obey whatever is decreed by the powers that be". Dr. Anderson, myself, and others do not follow legal positivism. We prefer the concept of natural law.

Furthermore, laws against such things as "disorderly conduct" are ambiguous in the extreme. At the time of confrontation, they mean whatever cops want them to mean. So it's not surprising that they're used as "catch-all" laws when people can't be arrested any other way.

Of course, the behavior of the police does factor into these situations. I've concluded that we're living in an increasingly zero-tolerance society. This conclusion is supported by not only the proliferation of mala prohibita but also by the increasingly heavy-handed methods of enforcement.

Finally, Anonymous, I think it's clear that you espouse the belief that one must completely (blindly?) obey a cop in anything and everything he tells you to do. What basis do you have for that belief, aside from the implicit threat of violence that every cop makes?