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Vol. 31, No. 18 September 21, 2015
Cover Story 8 Are Local Police to Blame? by William F. Jasper — With riots and killings, political elites are calling for nationalizing local police.
Features AP Images
15 Media Encouraging Riots, Looting 15 19 by Alex Newman — Mainstream media blamed white privilege for black problems and cultivated riots.
19 Soros Provides Pressure From Above, Below by Alex Newman — The billionaire “progressive” has been AP Images bankrolling hundreds of “activist” groups. AP Images
21 What’s Happening to Our Police? 27 by William F. Jasper and Alex Newman — Federal agencies are forming police units, and Washington is nationalizing police.
27 Feds Seek to Nationalize Local Police by Alex Newman and William F. Jasper — The federal government 21
is bribing and coercing police departments to follow federal edicts. AP Images AP Images
29 Sheriffs: the Key to Local Control 29 31 by Joe Wolverton II, J.D. — County sheriffs backed by informed citizens are a crucial barrier to a national police state.
31 Gun Control, Sheriffs & Police Chiefs by Larry Pratt — Most officers support the right of Americans to defend themselves.
33 What About Police Brutality? 33 by Joe Wolverton II, J.D. — Police brutality and false claims of police abuse can be minimized.
37 What Killed Black Progress? by Steve Byas — The Left chants “Black lives matter,” while instituting policies that often hurt black Americans.
39 Police Perspective 37 39 by C. Mitchell Shaw — To understand the difficulties of police work, one must look at them through the eyes of those who wear a badge.
44 What You Can Do to Maintain Your Local Police by Arthur R. Thompson AP Images
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Space Available 2,750 square ft. and 2,820 square ft. Call 239-677-7441 or Email [email protected] Cleveland Ave. (Rt. 41) • Ft. Myers, Florida • Stamra Inc. from THE EDITOR Publisher John F. McManus Peace Officers some — not just street protesters but pow- Editor erful voices in the media and government Gary Benoit and the Rule of Law — do not portray the local police this way. Senior Editor Have you ever wondered what would hap- Instead, they vilify them as racist brutes. William F. Jasper pen if there were no government what- Moreover, rioters have seized upon the soever, including no police? Would the accusations to “justify” violence and de- Associate Editor absence of government allow for greater struction. And in the name of “justice,” Kurt Williamsen freedom? Or would it instead have the op- war has been declared on police. That war Copy Editor posite effect? In fact, could a state of no has included outright assassination. John T. Larabell government — anarchy — even exist for What is the solution being offered to very long before a new government arose? remedy the alleged police abuse? It is to Foreign Correspondent James Madison, the father of the U.S. turn our constitutional system on its head Alex Newman Constitution, imagined a hypothetical by centralizing police powers in Wash- Contributors situation. “If men were angels, no gov- ington. But common sense and human Bob Adelmann • Dave Bohon ernment would be necessary,” he wrote in experience should tell us that this “solu- Steve Byas • Raven Clabough The Federalist. And he added, “If angels tion” would ramp up the abuse of power. Selwyn Duke • Brian Farmer were to govern men, neither external nor How could it be otherwise when the police Christian Gomez • Larry Greenley internal controls on government would be power is consolidated in one pot, and when Gregory A. Hession, J.D. necessary.” police are beholden to distant Washington, Ed Hiserodt • William P. Hoar Of course, Madison was well aware that D.C., rather than to the local communities Patrick Krey, J.D. • Warren Mass men are not angels and that angels do not where they live and work? Llewellyn H. Rockwell, Jr. govern men, as were the other Founding If you smell a rat, you are not alone. In C. Mitchell Shaw • Michael Tennant Fathers who gave us the U.S. Constitution, the pages that follow, we shed light on the Rebecca Terrell • Fr. James Thornton the supreme law of our land. They knew war on police, which is a war not only on Joe Wolverton II, J.D. that without law there could be no free- the police themselves but on the rule of dom. Human nature being what it is, the law and the very fabric of our society. Our Art Director Joseph W. Kelly elimination of the rule of law would result police provide a vital line of defense be- in the rule of the jungle and the loss of tween our homes and families, and the vile Graphic Designer freedom. They also understood the impor- elements of society that would do us harm. Katie Carder tance of controlling government, so it does Do we claim no policeman has ever not end up destroying the very freedom it’s abused his position? Of course not! But we Research supposed to protect. do make clear that whatever genuine police Bonnie M. Gillis One of the ways to control government is brutality does exist is being greatly exag- PR/Marketing Manager to divide power — so that it is not all in one gerated to bring about a gigantic transfer of Bill Hahn pot. Another way is to keep government as power on the way to nationalizing police. close to the people as possible, with the na- And this power grab, we show, is being ad- Advertising/Circulation Manager tional government given only those pow- vanced not only by street radicals but by Julie DuFrane ers — for example, national defense — that powerful interests who support them. could not be effectively handled at the local If such a scheme sounds too fantas- level. Our constitutional system is based on tic to be true, we ask that you evaluate such principles, and in our system, police the evidence assembled herein — and powers are a local responsibility. then decide if we are right or wrong. From the standpoint of preserving free- We also encourage all readers who Printed in the U.S.A. • ISSN 0885-6540 P.O. Box 8040 • Appleton, WI 54912 dom, this makes perfect sense. The police value the rule of law to “Support Your 920-749-3784 • 920-749-3785 (fax) perform a vital function, protecting us Local Police — and Keep Them Inde- www.thenewamerican.com from the lawless element, and they should pendent!” Our “Last Word” (page 44) [email protected] be as close as possible to the communities summarizes steps you can undertake Rates are $49 per year (Canada, add $9; foreign, add $27) Copyright ©2015 by they are entrusted to protect and serve. toward this end. American Opinion Publishing, Inc. Periodicals Yet, as we all know, — Gary Benoit postage paid at Appleton, WI and additional mailing offices. Postmaster: Send any address changes to The New American, P.O. Box 8040, Appleton, WI 54912. EXTRA COPIES AVAILABLE The New American is published twice monthly ➧ Additional copies of this issue of The New American are by American Opinion available at quantity-discount prices. 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Milwaukee Sheriff David Clarke Sets Record Straight “If only these faux protesters were asked by media about all the black on black killing or black babies aborted in U.S. every year.... When I hear these things that black lives matter, the only people who really believe that statement are American police officers who go into American ghettos every day to keep people from killing each other.... Look, the abortions? If Black lives — if they really mattered, that’s where the outrage would David A. be that’s where we’d see protests [at the abortion clinics].” Clarke, Jr. In an interview with CNN, Milwaukee County Sheriff David A. Clarke, AP Images Jr. expressed his hope that the media would question black-lives-matter protesters about whether in- nocent black lives truly matter to them.
Al Sharpton Pushes Nationalized Police “Congress must immediately start hearings to deal with laws that will change the jurisdiction thresh- old for federal cases and policing.... We need federal intervention without delay. The state has already proven that it cannot do the job.... This is an idea whose time has come.” “Reverend” Al Sharpton, in a December 8, 2014 column for the Huffington Post, exploits the deaths of Trayvon Martin, Michael Brown, Eric Garner, and other black men.
Congressional Black Caucus Calls for Federal Police “Czar” “The Administration must appoint a federal Czar, housed in the U.S. Department of Justice, who is specifically tasked with promoting the professionalization of local law enforcement, monitoring egregious law enforcement activities, and adju- Barack dicating suspicious actions of local law enforcement agencies that receive Obama federal funding.” The Congressional Black Caucus called on President Obama to nation- alize the police, in an August 25, 2014 letter.
Presidential Candidate Obama’s “Civilian National Security Force” “We cannot continue to rely only on our military in order to achieve the na- tional security objectives that we’ve set. We’ve got to have a civilian national security force that’s just as powerful, just as strong, just as well-funded.” Addressing a Colorado campaign rally on July 2, 2008, then-Senator and presidential aspirant Barack Obama proposed vastly expanding the
AP Images federal AmeriCorps, Peace Corps, and other programs.
President Obama Funds Police Militarization — While Decrying It “Since its inception, the [DOD 1033] program has transferred more than $5.4 billion worth of property. In 2014, $980 million worth of property … was transferred to law enforcement agencies.... More than 8,000 law enforcement agencies have enrolled in the program.” The federal Law Enforcement Support Office (LESO) website notes the enormous amounts of military equipment it has assisted in transferring from the Defense Department to local police organizations under the 1033 program.
Thomas Jefferson Opposed Centralization of Police Power “The way to have a good and safe government is not to trust it all to one, but to divide it among the many, distributing to everyone exactly the function he is competent to. Let the national government be entrusted with the defense of the nation and its foreign and federal relations; the state governments with the civil rights, laws, police, and administration of what concerns the state generally.” In an 1816 letter, Thomas Jefferson explained that police, as well as many other powers, should not be entrusted to the national government.
Danger Lurks Whenever Federal Aid Is Provided “It is hardly lack of due process for the Government to regulate that which it subsidizes.” In his 1942 ruling dealing with an issue involving agriculture, Supreme Court Justice Robert Jackson stated clearly that federal aid will always be followed by federal control. n — Compiled by John F. McManus
www.TheNewAmerican.com 7 Police
Watts Baltimore (1965) (2015)
AP Images AP Images Are Local Police to Blame? With riots and killings happening in cities in the wake of the deaths of young black men, political elites are calling for nationalizing local police, but what would that actually do?
by William F. Jasper the next three years: 1966 (San Francisco, government programs and more govern- Chicago, Cleveland, Omaha), 1967 (De- ment spending, especially by the federal arlem (1964). Watts (1965). East troit, Newark, New York City, Minneapo- government in Washington, D.C. It is also Coast, West Coast. A police shoot- lis, Grand Rapids, Houston, Milwaukee), essential, say the protesters and their elite H ing and an attempted arrest pro- and 1968 (Chicago, Baltimore, Pittsburgh, supporters, that the federal government vide the pretexts for days of massive riot- Louisville, Detroit, Washington, D.C.). take over the functions of local police, ing, looting, arson, death, and destruction. Fifty years later: Ferguson (2014), or at least impose national (some are de- Racism and police brutality, say the riot- Baltimore (2015). Again rioting, looting, manding international) standards on local ers/looters (and their supporters in politi- arson, and devastation. Racism and police law-enforcement agencies. cal office, the media, and academia), are brutality, say the rioters/looters (and their To those (such as this writer) who are responsible for the violence and devasta- supporters in political office, the media, old enough to have lived through the ear- tion. The Harlem riots provided the spark and academia), are again to blame. “Sys- lier riots (of the 1960s and beyond) this for additional riots that year in Chicago, temic racism,” “structural racism” — the seems — in the words of Yogi Berra — Philadelphia, Rochester, and the New type that can only be remedied, claim the “like déjà vu all over again.” Not only do Jersey cities of Paterson, Elizabeth, and critics, by overturning the “exploitation” we have the same revolutionary rhetoric Jersey City. The war zone-like wreckage and “inequality” of our capitalist system and the same street tactics producing the of Watts, a black neighborhood in Los and the “racist” brutality it perpetuates same deadly results, but we are seeing, Angeles, became the symbol “inspiring” in our police departments. And this can once again, the same alliance of radical similar rioting in more than 100 cities over only be accomplished, they say, by more thugs in the streets and radical suits in
8 THE NEW AMERICAN • september 21, 2015 Fifty years of mayhem: Watts riots, 1965 (left); Baltimore riots, 2015. Riot-making Not only do we have the same revolutionary rhetoric hasn’t changed; the same tax-exempt and the same street tactics producing the same deadly foundations (and new ones) are still results, but we are seeing, once again, the same funding chaos. alliance of radical thugs in the streets and radical suits in the suites. the suites. The same tax-exempt founda- tions (Ford, Rockefeller, Carnegie, etc.) and corporate globalists who funded the (one by the St. Louis County Office of the est threat facing black Americans today,” incendiary Marxist-Leninist cadres that Medical Examiner, one by outside expert wrote Manhattan Institute scholar Heather burned down our cities in the ’60s (leav- Dr. Michael Baden, and one by the Depart- Mac Donald in her December 2014 City ing millions of black Americans in even ment of Defense’s Armed Forces Medical Journal article, “The Big Lie of the Anti- more desperate straits) are still shoveling Examiner System), as well as an abundance Cop Left Turns Lethal.” billions of dollars to the radical arsonists of additional physical evidence presented In the wake of the grand jury’s decision who are pouring gasoline on the racial to the grand jury, supported the claim of Of- not to indict Officer Wilson, she noted, embers today. They are also still funding ficer Darren Wilson (who is white) that Mi- the “New York Times ratcheted up its al- scholarly reports, studies, commissions, chael Brown (the “victim,” who is black) ready stratospheric level of anti-cop po- and task forces that, not surprisingly, call was reaching inside the police vehicle and lemics. In an editorial justifying the Fer- for nationalizing and “standardizing” our attacking Wilson and trying to get Wilson’s guson riots, the Times claimed that ‘the police powers. In a nutshell, we are wit- gun. The forensic evidence also belies the killing of young black men by police is a nessing both “pressure from above” and claim that Brown (the “gentle giant” who common feature of African-American life “pressure from below” to demonize and had only minutes before been caught on and a source of dread for black parents paralyze local police, and to promote the video committing strong-arm robbery of from coast to coast.’” idea that federalizing our police will solve a convenience store) was gunned down in Mac Donald then offers sobering statis- the reputed police crises. cold blood by Officer Wilson while surren- tics to demonstrate the mendacity of the But as we will show in this and other dering with his hands up. Times and others making similar claims: articles in this special magazine issue, it is The “Hands up, don’t shoot!” lie, which simply not true that the havoc now threat- went viral and is still often repeated, is Some facts: Police killings of blacks ening to tear apart our country is the result feeding the continued violence and racial are an extremely rare feature of black of spontaneous outbreaks in response to turmoil. “That lie holds that the police life and are a minute fraction of black “systemic racism” or “police brutality.” pose a mortal threat to black Americans homicide deaths. The police could Which is not to say that racism and po- — indeed that the police are the great- end all killings of civilians tomor- lice brutality do not exist. Indeed, I will readily stipulate (though it should not be necessary to do so) that racism and police brutality do exist in the United States of America — much the same as they exist, along with other sins and social patholo- gies, in every other country on Earth (al- though, arguably, the United States comes out far better than most other countries in this regard). The point, however, is that the race agitators — both in the streets and in the suites — are exploiting and ex- aggerating the racism and police brutality issues (and even outright lying about and inventing race/police horror stories) while offering a “solution” (centralizing power in Washington) that will make genuine abuse worse, not better.
Lethal Lies The riots and chaos in Ferguson, Missouri, AP Images were ignited and stoked by the “Hands up, A lie becomes a meme: The “Hands up, don’t shoot!” mantra helps turn demonstrations into don’t shoot!” mantra. But it was a lie, as riots, even though autopsies and forensic evidence disprove the lie that Michael Brown was we now know. Three separate autopsies gunned down while trying to surrender with his hands up.
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Sheriff Clarke’s comments, of course, I will readily stipulate that racism and police brutality stand in stark contrast to inflammatory do exist in the United States of America — much the bloviations from the liberal media. In an April 30, 2015 column for the Huff- same as they exist, along with other sins and social ington Post entitled “Take the Racial pathologies, in every other country on Earth (although, Justice Pledge,” Donna P. Hall, presi- dent and CEO of the Women Donors arguably, the United States comes out far better than Network, wrote: “The tragedy of le- most other countries in this regard). thal police violence against unarmed black men and women has become all too common. The streets of Baltimore row and it would have no effect on He added that the rioters were exploit- scream with outrage over the death of the black homicide risk, which comes ing Gray’s death, even though they cared Freddie Gray.... Was the shooting of Mi- overwhelmingly from other blacks. nothing for him. “These individuals that chael Brown in Ferguson not a wake-up In 2013, there were 6,261 black ho- are rioting and looting right now and call?” Hall called on “the progressive micide victims in the U.S. — almost throwing rocks and bottles do not know donor community” to fund the prolifera- all killed by black civilians — result- Freddie Gray, do not care about Freddie tion of “racial justice” organizations that ing in a death risk in inner cities that Gray,” said the sheriff. “If they were in a are responding to the “epidemic of racially is ten times higher for blacks than for nightclub in Baltimore [they] would shoot charged police violence.” Hall urged her whites. None of those killings trig- and kill him for bumping into them on the fellow progressives to fund “Black-led gered mass protests; they are deemed dance floor.” organizing for Black liberation.” Interest- normal and beneath notice. The police, The following day on Twitter, Sheriff ingly, Hall is white, as are virtually all of by contrast, according to published re- Clarke stated further: “I am tired of this her wealthy donor friends; in fact, every ports, kill roughly 200 blacks a year, mealy-mouth crap from politicians. They one of the “activists” pictured in the photo most of them armed and dangerous, cause the conditions for a permanent under- on the organization’s web page appealing out of about 40 million police-civil- class in America.” In another tweet, he said: for “Black-led organizing for Black libera- ian contacts a year. Blacks are in fact “Why are we surprised at this sub-human tion” is… lily white. killed by police at a lower rate than behavior on display in American ghettos? The Women Donors Network is one their threat to officers would predict. Lib policies created the conditions.” of numerous funding coalitions of white In 2013, blacks made up 42 percent of all cop killers whose race was known, even though blacks are only 13 per- cent of the nation’s population. The percentage of black suspects killed by the police nationally is 29 percent lower than the percentage of blacks mortally threatening them.
One elected black official who recognizes the lie and the reality of the racism/brutali- ty propaganda is Milwaukee County Sher- iff David Clarke. In an interview on Fox News’ Your World With Neil Cavuto, the outspoken sheriff charged that liberal poli- cies, not the death of accused Baltimore drug dealer Freddie Gray, are responsible for the violence in that city. “Like Baltimore, like Ferguson, like New York and many other areas where failed liberal government policies have led to high unemployment, chronic pov- erty, failing schools,” Sheriff Clarke said, “this is what besets the Baltimore area.
Ninety percent of the homicide victims in AP Images the Baltimore area are black as are ninety “Black lies matter”: Milwaukee County Sheriff David A. Clarke, Jr. blasts black “leaders” for percent of the suspects. That’s a bigger playing the race card while ignoring the real crisis of black-on-black crime and the murder of problem than Freddie Gray.” black babies by abortion providers such as Planned Parenthood.
10 THE NEW AMERICAN • sEptember 21, 2015 radicals that are funneling tens of millions of dollars into phony grassroots “black- led” organizations that can be called on to materialize protesters on cue, whether the cause be global warming, minimum wage legislation, abortion rights, homosexual rights, racism, or police brutality. Other funding channels include Bolder Giv- ing, Grassroots Institute for Fundraising Training, Neighborhood Funders Group, North Star Fund, Proteus Fund, Resource Generation, Associated Grant Makers, Environmental Grantmakers Association, Grantmakers for Education, Grantmak- ers for Children, Youth and Families, and Funders for Lesbian and Gay Issues. These groups act as money laundries Media arsonists: Columnist for The Nation Mychal Denzel Smith celebrates “The rebirth of Black for directed giving to radical groups by rage,” which, he says, will “make America face its racist past and present. Or burn it down trying.” major foundations, corporations, and government agencies. Some of the largest of The Nation is Katrina vanden Heuvel, a and led the 1960s race riots mentioned donors — Ford Foundation, Tides Foun- member of the ultra-establishment Council above, as well as the “student” and “anti- dation, Open Society Foundation (Soros), on Foreign Relations (CFR), the globalist- war” riots that erupted on so many col- the Rockefeller foundations, Bill and Me- minded brain trust that has directed much lege campuses during that same period. linda Gates Foundation, et al. — give di- of the media, foundation, and government One of the main Ford Foundation agents rectly to the street agitators too, but the support for the revolutionary movements brought in to incite the Harlem riots was full extent of their largess is frequently that have been rocking our nation for the virulent black racist Herman B. Ferguson, obscured by these third-party funders they past five decades. a member of the Revolutionary Action utilize as conduits. Smith’s op-ed echoed a much-used Movement (R.A.M.), a communist ter- On August 16, 2015, The Nation maga- theme, one that was also promoted by Ford rorist organization. Ferguson and some of zine, venerable far-left pipe organ of the Foundation president Darren Walker, in a his R.A.M. comrades were subsequently establishment, published “The Rebirth of December 12, 2014 column entitled “A piv- arrested and indicted in a plot to assas- Black Rage,” an op-ed by Mychal Denzel otal moment for racial justice.” Like The sinate more moderate black leaders, as Smith, celebrating the new racial mili- Nation’s vanden Heuvel, he is a member of well as Senator Robert F. Kennedy. Fer- tancy. “As the deaths of young, unarmed the Council on Foreign Relations, as have guson jumped bail and fled the country black people continue to become head- been many of the activists heading the big — to Marxist Guyana, where he stayed lines, and social media holds more hashtag foundations. According to the man who for many years. Turns out he had received funerals, the hope has turned to despair, holds Ford’s hefty purse strings, “We are in at least $77,000 from the generous Ford and the despair into rage,” wrote Smith. a pivotal moment, one filled with opportu- folks to fund his incendiary activities. “That rage consumed the streets of Fergu- nity for the racial justice field.... We’re see- And before there was a “Reverend” son when Michael Brown was killed; it set ing broad-based coalitions coalesce around Al Sharpton or Jesse Jackson to stir the fire to the streets of Baltimore when Fred- racism targeting blacks. And we’re seeing “racism/police brutality” pot, there was die Gray was killed.... Black rage is back, emerging leadership that is young, multira- “Reverend” Milton A. Galamison. A co- cutting to the core of white supremacy and cial and national in scope, exercising tactics founder of the Communist Party’s W.E.B. demanding that America change.” and strategies that are grounded in a deep DuBois Clubs, Reverend Galamison, a According to Smith and The Nation, analysis of systemic racism and prioritize much-arrested leader of street disorders, “The resurgence of black rage in the politi- people-centered democracy.” had received at least $160,000 in grant aid cal sphere is finally ready to make Ameri- “They need and deserve our support,” from Ford. ca face its racist past and present. Or burn Walker stated. And, of course, the Ford Still another riot-maker and Ford aco- it down trying.” Foundation is well endowed to provide lyte was Leroi Jones (aka Amiri Baraka), a Or burn it down trying! This open en- that support — and has been supporting black racist and pornographic “poet/play- dorsement and encouragement by the es- a myriad of the new radical “racial jus- wright” and Black Power militant. Ford tablishment press of mayhem and destruc- tice” organizations, just as it has been the showered him with tens of thousands of tion is hardly unique; the New York Times, principal funder of militant racial groups dollars. It heaped even more on “former” Washington Post, CNN, NBC, and other and Marxist activists for more than half a Communist Party organizer Bayard Rus- “mainstream” organs have run similar century. tin, who allegedly broke with the commu- (or worse) fare. It is worth noting that the Ford, for instance, played a seminal role nists, but continued to work with them and longtime publisher, editor, and part-owner in financing key operatives that sparked their front groups. www.TheNewAmerican.com 11 Police
According to the watchdog group dis- The riots and chaos in Ferguson, Missouri, were ignited coverthenetworks.org, “Between 1996 and 2010, the Tides Center served as a fis- and stoked by the “Hands up, don’t shoot!” mantra. But cal sponsor to some 677 separate projects it was a lie, as we now know. with combined revenues of $522.4 mil- lion; in 2010 alone, the Center was active- ly managing nearly 200 projects.” Many And we have not even scratched the Maclovio Barraza, a “former” agitator for of these Ford/Tides-funded groups have surface of the organizations funded by the Communist Party. According to Henry been in the forefront of street agitation in Ford (and the other major foundations) Santiestevan, former head of the South- Ferguson, Baltimore, and other conflagra- to stir up racial hatred and civil turmoil west Council of La Raza: “It can be said tion spots. — which have been detailed in many pre- that without the Ford Foundation’s commit- Then there’s the Open Society Founda- vious articles in The New American (as ment to a strategy of national and local in- tion projects of billionaire leftist George well as our predecessor magazine, Ameri- stitution-building, the Chicano movement Soros (a CFR member, CFR corporate can Opinion). would have withered away in many areas.” funder, and former CFR director) that Similarly, we can see the “pressure from The same can be said for many other overlap with Ford and Tides. Soros has fu- above and below” operation at work in the AstroTurf “movements.” eled the street demonstrations by funding “student” riots, the organizers of which With $11 billion in assets, Ford hands agitators from the Center for Community also depended on Ford benefactions. out hundreds of millions of dollar annu- Change, the Gamaliel Foundation, and Under McGeorge Bundy’s leadership in ally to hundreds of radical groups, such Organization for Black Struggle (OBS), the 1960s and ’70s, Ford promoted revolu- as the American Civil Liberties Union among others. (See article on page 19.) tionary activities on college campuses by (ACLU);National Lawyers Guild; Mexi- OBS, which was organized by hardcore heavily funding, for instance, the National can-American Legal Defense and Educa- Marxists, such as Jamala Rogers, Mon- Student Association, a Soviet intelligence tion Fund; Progressive, Inc.; New World tague Simmons, and Bill Fletcher, was operation that was launched at the Krem- Foundation; Black Church Center for one of the key organizations that launched lin-sponsored World Student Congress Justice and Equality; Muslim Advocates, the Hands Up Coalition aimed at getting held in 1946, in then-communist Prague, Sojourners; Color of Change; Center for more angry young black Americans into Czechoslovakia. Social Inclusion; Neighborhood Funders the streets by emotionally exploiting the Or take, for example, the militant Chi- Group, Inc.; and Funders For Justice. lie that Michael Brown was “murdered” cano/open borders movement, into which One of Ford’s most important grant- by a white cop. the Ford Foundation has poured many mil- making operations is its perennial funding Literally thousands of phony “grass- lions of dollars since the 1960s. Consider of the Tides Foundation and Tides Center, roots” activist organizations have been, just one Ford grant (of $630,000), in July which serve as the conduit to, and incuba- and are being, created and funded by 1968, to the violent revolutionaries at the tor, trainer, and manager of, an ever-grow- the radical millionaire-billionaire elitists Southwest Council of La Raza, headed by ing stable of activist organizations. through their tax-exempt foundation net- works. Are these elitists unaware that the militants they are funding are causing so- cial, political, moral, and economic havoc that threatens our country with breakdown and collapse? After more than half a cen- tury of financing revolution and mayhem, can these supposedly well-intentioned “do-gooders” truly be ignorant of the harm they are doing? Certainly, the average American is completely unaware that the rioting and agitation that seem to be spontaneously breaking out all over the country — the pressure from below — are actually the result of a well-funded and highly coordi- nated campaign provided by some of the wealthiest people on the planet.
AP Images More Pressure From Above Funding the revolution: Ford Foundation Presidents McGeorge Bundy (1960s-’70s, left) and Equally important to providing pressure Darren Walker (current, right) and other Ford officials have kept a pipeline of cash flowing to from below, in the form of demonstrators/ revolutionaries and rioters for more than half a century. rioters, is the pressure from above, in the
12 THE NEW AMERICAN • sEptember 21, 2015 “A completely ungovernable body?” Un- governable by whom? Each and every one of those local “ungovernable” bodies is governed by state and local laws, by state constitutions and county and city charters, by state and local elected and/or appointed officials. They are governed by state gov- ernors, county commissioners, mayors, city councils, city managers, state and county prosecutors, police chiefs, sher- iffs, police commissioners, internal affairs bureaus, state and county grand juries, as well as state and county courts. Yes, it is an imperfect system, and abus- es and corruption are — and always will be — issues to contend with. But would those issues magically disappear, or even ameliorate, if police functions were na- tionalized? Is there any basis in empirical evidence or sound logic to suggest that Red-on-black crime: The Organization for Black Struggle, which played a key role in the Ferguson centralizing political and bureaucratic riots, is one of many communist-led groups receiving foundation funding. The OBS website features control in Washington, D.C., would make the communist clenched fist and a volunteer canvassing neighborhoods in Ferguson. our police more efficient, less corrupt, or more accountable? Should we feel more form of more “moderate” agents provid- The danger is insignificant.... Policing is confident and secure with a President ing “rational” solutions. These agents not effective.” Murphy continued, reflect- George W. Bush, Barack Obama, Hillary are frequently politicians, academicians, ing the Ford Foundation line: Clinton — or any other national politician media commentators, or scholars from — in charge of our police? Have we not think tanks such as the Brookings Institu- We worship local government and seen enough of the murderous dangers in- tion, Aspen Institute, RAND Corporation, home rule in this country — I like herent in nationalized police states under Center for American Progress, and the it too — but the problem must be Hitler, Stalin, Mao, Pol Pot, and dozens of like. One of the groups that has served the solved by a higher level of govern- lesser dictators and autocrats? Nazi Ger- Ford funders and CFR elite very well in ment, like welfare. We must move it many’s Gestapo, the Soviet KGB, Com- this capacity is the Police Foundation. up to the state level. The state must munist China’s Ministry of State Security, In 1970, Ford Foundation President Mc- say, “These are the standards.” We Castro’s DGI — every totalitarian police- George Bundy (CFR) announced that the would save money and get better ef- state apparatus is based on the claim that it foundation was giving the enormous sum ficiency, if we consolidate the little is indispensable for national security. of $30 million for the creation of a “Police police departments in a county. Fortunately for us, our Founding Fa- Development Fund.” The Milwaukee Jour- thers viewed with great apprehension the nal reported on July 23, 1970, that the fund Murphy’s consolidation spiel was a dangers of centralized government. As a “will be the largest private agency in the regurgitation of the federal Law En- result, they placed constitutional chains on nation concerned exclusively with police forcement Assistance Administration’s federal policing powers, reserving the vast work.” Subsequently the fund changed its (LEAA) propaganda aimed at convinc- majority of those functions to “the States, name to the Police Foundation, but it has ing Americans that our system of locally or to the People.” If we have genuine prob- certainly retained its preeminence in terms controlled police must be replaced with lems with a local police organization, we of influence on “police work.” a national model. In a 1971 address to must avail ourselves of the local means al- Police Foundation president Patrick V. a meeting of police chiefs, LEAA As- ready extant: the offices of the mayor, city Murphy, a former New York City police sociate Administrator Clarence Coster council, county commissioners, county commissioner, stated in a 1974 interview presented the nationalization agenda in grand jury, local news media, local citi- with American Opinion magazine that he these terms: zen education groups. If we want our law- had “no fear” of a national police force enforcement agencies truly “to protect and and believed our police departments must Today, in this country, we have 40,235 serve,” we must be sure that they remain be consolidated to make them more effi- law enforcement agencies, ranging the servants, not the masters. And that can cient. “I have no fear of a national police from one-man departments to New only be accomplished by keeping them force,” said Murphy. “I don’t want one, York City, with more than 40,000 po- local — and independent of any controls but crime control is not working, and our lice officers. This many units form a from national politicians and national gov- 40,000 police departments are not sacred. completely ungovernable body. ernment institutions. n
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EncouragingMedia Riots, Looting AP Images
With little to no evidence they were correct, and despite Egged on by the media, criminal arsonists called “protesters” by the Associated Press the known dangers, mainstream media cultivated riots by burned down and looted much of Ferguson, Missouri, to “protest” the police shooting of blaming white privilege for black problems. Michael Brown.
by Alex Newman tor to a wide array of other establishment such as Time and the Washington Post, media, including the Washington Post. that sympathize with and encourage the n August 2014, in the immediate af- “The violent protests in Ferguson, Mo., destruction in majority-black neighbor- termath of a violent incident wherein are part of the American experience,” hoods ironically at the same time chastise I police officer Darren Wilson fatally reads the sub-header for the Time “Ideas” efforts of political groups that push voter shot a young black man named Michael column promoting riots and senseless vio- registration initiatives because those ini- Brown, outraged and agenda-driven agita- lence as a proper and effective means of tiatives supposedly create hardships for tors — many from out of town — seized achieving political goals. “Peaceful pro- poor minorities, making their lives more on the news as an excuse to run wild, steal, testing is a luxury only available to those difficult. It’s very questionable about destroy property, and more. Businesses safely in mainstream culture.” Cunha then whether those initiatives make minor- were burned to the ground and looted. goes even further: “Riots are a necessary ity lives harder, but it is undoubtedly a Even a local church was not spared by part of the evolution of society.” To defend fact that burning local businesses makes the frenzied and violent mob. According her thesis, she even cites the Boston Tea minority lives more difficult. Yet the en- to news reports, more than 160 gunshots Party, equating it with the current mayhem couragement to loot goes on. were fired by “protesters,” too. At least enveloping Ferguson. The agenda to foment racial unrest and one man died amid the chaos. Pictures Since the grand jury’s decision was rioting as a means of achieving “change” that emerged after the late 2014 round of announced, Ferguson faced even more is perhaps nowhere more evident than in rioting and looting revealed an American violence, which was stirred up by many the establishment press. Recently, more suburb that looked more like a war zone. groups and organizations, although the than a few news outlets have dropped In response to the tragedy, Time maga- looting and burning merely makes life every pretense of neutrality and started zine published a pro-rioting piece by Dar- more difficult for local residents who the to openly advocate rioting and looting. lena Cunha, who also serves as a contribu- media say are already oppressed. Media, And the trend is accelerating.
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After months of fomenting strife, hate, riot, race-obsessed Cunha insists that she them, a system that has told them they are and unrest surrounding the fatal shoot- is not racist, styling herself a “realist” less than human for years, we ought to be ing of Brown by Wilson in Ferguson, instead. “Until I have had to walk in a reaching out to help them regain the hu- Missouri, for example, Time magazine person of color’s skin, I will never under- manity they lost, not when a few set fire to and others took it to the next level. On stand, I will always take things for grant- the buildings in Ferguson, but when they November 25, Time published Cunha’s ed, and I will be inherently privileged,” were born the wrong color in the post-racial incendiary opinion piece headlined “Fer- she claimed. “But by ignoring the very America,” she said. It was not immediately guson: In Defense of Rioting.” As the real issues this country still faces in terms clear who told blacks they were “less than title suggests, the commentary defends of race to promote an as-of-yet imagi- human for years” or how having slightly the perpetration of violence following a nary colorblind society, we contribute to more melanin content made somebody the grand jury’s decision not to indict Offi- the problem at hand, which is centuries “wrong color.” cer Wilson on charges of murder or man- of abuses lobbied against other humans Cunha’s argument was promptly at- slaughter. But the piece goes even beyond on no basis but that of their skin color.” tacked by critics as absurd. Rick Moran at that, calling riots “necessary” to the “evo- Nowhere does Time or Cunha point out American Thinker, for example, pointed to lution” of society. that the allegedly racist American people the business owners (“almost all of them “Because when you have succeeded, it twice elected Obama, who is half black, minorities”) who watched helplessly as ceases to be a possibility, in our capital- to be president. their lifetime dreams went up in smoke. ist society, that anyone else helped you,” “I would put forth that peaceful pro- “There are, indeed, justifications for Cunha continues, dismissing the explana- testing is a luxury of those already in breaking the law. But there is nothing ‘po- tion offered by one critic of the rioting mainstream culture, those who can be as- litical’ about destroying property not your who blamed the violence on the mental- sured their voices will be heard without own, injuring people, and taking what you ity of “blaming everyone else” for one’s violence, those who can afford to wait want without payment,” he wrote, ridicul- own failures. “And if no one helped you for the change they want,” Cunha writes ing the notion that burning, smashing, and succeed, then no one is holding anyone in her widely criticized and ridiculed de- looting could be legitimized as some sort else back from succeeding. Except they fense of rioting. “Blacks in this country of “political statement” that Americans did help you, and they are holding people are more apt to riot because they are one had better submit to. back. So that blaming someone else for of the populations here who still need to. “Even if you buy into the dubious your failures in the United States may very In the case of the 1992 riots, 30 years of ‘white privilege’ sociological crap, you well be an astute observation of reality, black people trying to talk about their must recognize that when law and order particularly as it comes to white privilege struggles of racial profiling and muted, break down, we are left with the rule versus black privilege.” but still vastly unfair, treatment, came to of the jungle. And in a jungle, only the Before saying blacks are more apt to a boil.” Of course, countless black Amer- strong benefit from mayhem. The victims icans — including many are those who can’t or won’t fight back,” whose businesses were Moran concluded. “So Ms. Cunha is actu- looted and burned down in ally supporting jungle law vs. civilization recent days — would likely — a civilization that makes possible her take offense at the bizarre freedom to publish nonsensical screeds notion that their “popula- like this without worrying about anyone tion,” which in Cunha’s setting her house on fire or looting her world is apparently defined belongings. Wouldn’t that be a ‘political’ solely by melanin content, statement, too?” “need” to riot. Cunha was not alone in openly defend- Concluding the bizarre ing rioting. Gawker, a widely read web- argument, Cunha goes on site that largely peddles celebrity gossip, to defend the individuals in- even published a piece purporting to volved in the violence, loot- make the “economic case” supposedly ing, and rioting, suggesting justifying wanton destruction of prop- they are merely “angry” at erty and violence. “There is, of course, “the system” and that steal- the historical case to be made for rioting: ing and destroying other the past is replete with examples where people’s property while rioting gets the goods,” the piece argues. shooting randomly may be “But there is also, I’d submit, an even justified responses. “Instead more straightforward case for rioting: at of tearing down other human the right levels, rioting is economically “Parenting” writer Darlena Cunha wrote a piece for Time, beings who are acting upon efficient.” According to Gawker’s com- headlined “Ferguson: In Defense of Rioting,” encouraging black decades of pent-up anger at mentary, by rioting and looting, Ferguson Americans to burn down and loot cities as a form of “protest.” a system decidedly against residents are teaching authorities a lesson
16 THE NEW AMERICAN • sEptember 21, 2015 while making future shootings of citizens by police less likely through the imposi- tion of heavy “costs” on taxpayers, busi- nesses, and residents. This May, Time was at it again, running a piece by former NBA star Kareem Ab- dul-Jabbar promising that the anti-police riots this year in Baltimore were “just the beginning,” while comparing the violence and looting to the “Boston Tea Party.” Repeatedly referring to what happened in Baltimore, a city with a black mayor and a black police chief, as an “uprising,” Abdul-Jabbar insisted it was about more than Freddie Gray. It is apparently about “systemic injustice,” which he views as applicable to blacks only. As The New American’s Selwyn Duke recently doc- umented using objective data, that race- obsessed “blacks as sole victims” narra- tive fails spectacularly, with more whites AP Images being shot by police than blacks, though Writing in Time, multimillionaire Kareem Abdul-Jabbar bemoaned alleged oppression of black blacks are far more likely to shoot an of- Americans and vowed that Baltimore’s riots were “just the beginning.” ficer than whites — yet it continues to be parroted by the press and establishment While careful to say he does not think think you want some “change,” burn down lackeys with an agenda to push. destroying businesses and institutions is your city, attack police, loot your neigh- Abdul-Jabbar had some colorful analo- a “good idea,” Gantt quickly proceeds to bors’ businesses, and you’ll get it — all gies, too. “For African Americans, it feels explain why he believes it is. “If you look with support from the press. as if we are all gathered together in the at past riots in Los Angeles, in Detroit, in Since the media pushing this line of path of giant steamroller. We shout up Atlanta and urban uprisings in hundreds thought is left-leaning (Big Government at the driver to put on the brakes, but he of other cities, when the skies light up promoting) and their answer to the riots keeps shouting for us to get out of the and costs go up, things begin to happen,” has been calls for more federal control of way. But there’s no place to go,” com- Gantt wrote. “Compare Central Florida, local police functions, it should at least plained multimillionaire Abdul-Jabbar, New York City, Ferguson and other areas be considered whether their callous dis- who was appointed by then-Secretary of to Baltimore. In those cities, nothing regard of minority property, livelihoods, State Hillary Clinton as “cultural ambas- happened after the non-violent marches and lives in promoting rioting has main- sador” for the U.S. government, adding called by so-called and politically en- ly been little more than a cynical ploy that 70 unarmed blacks had been killed dorsed Negro leaders. But when flames to gain a political objective. While the by police over a 15-year period. “We can be seen from miles and miles away, anti-capitalist screed last year in Time keep backing up and backing up. In Bal- every resource a city has is put into action defending and promoting rioting drew timore, it felt as though everyone’s back immediately!” He also suggested people swift condemnation and ridicule from was against the wall, and there was no should “die fighting for equal rights and the alternative and conservative-leaning place to back up to anymore. If shouting justice” rather than be killed by police. press, such half-baked agitation and pro- doesn’t get the driver’s attention, maybe Even after the flames had died out in motion of unrest and division has actually something more drastic will.” Baltimore and Ferguson, the establishment become a staple among the mischaracter- Other race-obsessed voices were also press was whipping up mobs to keep de- ized “mainstream” media — though per- given a media platform to promote racial stroying cities to achieve “change.” On Au- haps not quite as openly as Cunha’s piece. strife and unrest. “More and more urban gust 5, for instance, the far-left media organ From giving respectability and credibility uprisings will take place in the future as Huffington Post was telling readers that to race-mongers and profiteers to wildly long as political puppets, social opportun- their violence had paid off. “The Fergu- sensationalizing stories that help advance ists and embedded informants masquer- son Protests Worked,” reads the headline. the Big Government/nationalized police ading as leaders call for peace, while the The sub-header: “Were the riots costly and agenda, the increasingly discredited es- poor, the Black, the denied, the exploited destructive? Yes. But reform never would tablishment press appears to be becom- and the oppressed masses are calling for have happened without the unrest.” The ing more and more brazen in its efforts equal rights and justice!” argued Lucius BBC and other outlets published similar to distort the facts and foment chaos for Gantt in the Florida Courier, with its claims, quoting a rap star in the headlines less-than-idealistic purposes. And it will motto “Sharing Black Life, Statewide.” saying “riots work.” Get it? Next time you continue as long as it is effective. n
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coalitions of his own AstroTurf outfits — to drum up hysteria. Some Soros groups developed dubious “academic research” and generated editorials that the establishment press was only too happy to promote and parrot. The Soros-funded orga- nizations “fed off each other,” the Times reported, creating what the paper described as an Soros “echo chamber” within social media and the mischaracterized “mainstream” press. Even some Provides of the media outlets hyping the Soros-funded “grassroots” Pressure From Above, schemes are funded by Soros. Among the radical Soros or- ganizations that descended on Below Ferguson and participated in the scheming were the Samuel De-
AP Images witt Proctor Conference in Chi- cago, the Drug Policy Alliance, The billionaire progressive has been bankrolling hundreds of activist Make the Road New York, Equal groups, many of which are inciting racial turmoil and fomenting riots. Justice USA, Sojourners, the Ad- vancement Project, the Center for Community Change, and net- by Alex Newman charitable activities. In fact, as The New works from the Gamaliel Foundation. “All American has documented extensively, were aimed at keeping the media’s attention illionaire Big Government-par- varied efforts have benefited from the pow- on the city and to widen the scope of the in- tisan and Obama administration erful hedge-fund boss’ largess, including cident to focus on interrelated causes — not B ally George Soros provided at the anti-market Occupy Wall Street “move- just the overpolicing and racial discrimina- least $33 million in a single year to radical ment,” the Obama election campaign, and tion narratives that were highlighted by the leftist groups orchestrating protests and deadly revolutions overseas. news media in August,” the Times reported unrest in Ferguson, Missouri, and nation- In Ferguson and beyond, though, the in- about the activities of the collection of So- wide, according to an explosive investiga- fluence of Soros’ billions was felt close to ros-funded groups, including more than a tion into filings of the globalist financier’s home by millions of Americans. “There’s few race hatemongers and pseudo-religious tax-exempt “Open Society” foundations. a solitary man at the financial center of outfits with strong ties to the Obama ad- Dozens of Soros-funded outfits helped the Ferguson protest movement,” reported ministration. lobby the media, bus in AstroTurf protest- the Times’ Kelly Riddell, citing financial More than a few critics have referred to ers and “community organizers,” coor- records and interviews with key players Soros’ operatives as “racist hate groups.” dinate propaganda messaging, create an about the Soros role in fueling the manu- In one column lambasting admitted Na- “echo chamber,” and more, the Washing- factured chaos that engulfed Ferguson. tional Socialist (Nazi) collaborator Soros ton Times revealed. In other words, Soros, “No, it’s not victim Michael Brown or as “evil,” for example, the billionaire a key globalist establishment figure, was Officer Darren Wilson. It’s not even the financier’s activities were described as helping to provide pressure from above, Rev. Al Sharpton, despite his ubiquitous “paying racist leftists to block roads and and pressure from below, in the war on campaign on TV and the streets. Rather, harass you.” Columnist Daniel Greenfield local police. Based on the establishment it’s liberal billionaire George Soros, who also suggested that Ferguson victims of media’s non-stop parroting of the Soros- has built a business empire that dominates Soros-linked rioting, looting, and violence funded propaganda, the relative success of across the ocean in Europe while forging ought to send the bill to the prominent the strategy was plain to see. a political machine powered by nonprofit hedge-fund boss. Ben Bullard at Personal Despite the recent uproar over Soros’ foundations that impacts American poli- Liberty Digest, meanwhile, noted that, by giant role in exploiting Ferguson and tics and policy.” the end of the Times report, “‘echo cham- bankrolling nationwide anti-local police According to the Times story, which gar- ber’ begins to seem an inadequate descrip- machinations, it is hardly the first time that nered headlines worldwide, Soros’ orga- tion for a coterie of groups that occupy Soros, a protégé of the Rothschild banking nizations helped mobilize demonstrators such a claustrophobic ideological, organi- dynasty, has faced scrutiny over his pseudo- and build up “coalitions” — oftentimes zational and financial space.”
www.TheNewAmerican.com 19 Politics
and “international law,” the UN boss and hordes of his “human rights” bureaucrats were constantly interfering in U.S. affairs. Even after the police officers involved were cleared of criminal wrongdoing by their peers, the UN did not let up — at least until two New York City police offi- cers were murdered amid the Soros-funded and UN-backed hysteria. Soros, of course, is a big fan of the United Nations, and has funded numerous UN reports, commis- sions, and programs over the years. Of course, no manufactured statist protests to “transform America” would be complete without communist involve- ment and “useful idiots” to do the dirty work. And Soros’ latest antics from Fer- AP Images guson to New York aimed at promoting Violent anniversary: Protesters yell as police form a line across West Florissant Avenue on Big Government, radical “change,” and August 9, 2015, in Ferguson, Missouri, before shots were fired near the protest. nationalized police were no exception. While most of the establishment press Still, despite Soros’ giant footprint in provided grants to a leftist “community” never bothered to report it, conservative- Ferguson, the widely criticized billion- organization that was involved in produc- leaning websites and sources were quick aire was not entirely alone in fomenting ing a rap music video glorifying and en- to point out that the signs held by many the unrest — his establishment allies and couraging the murder of police officers. of the demonstrators across America were other powerful forces helped too. As our The outfit, dubbed “Bronx Defenders,” produced and supplied by the Revolution- cover story on page 8 points out, the Ford has received at least $1.5 million in U.S. ary Communist Party, USA — as the signs Foundation, Tides Foundation, and other taxpayer dollars from Obama’s Depart- themselves admitted, even including an radical tax-exempt “philanthropies” have ment of Justice, and more than $100 mil- Internet address for the totalitarian party’s poured millions of dollars into the activist lion from New York taxpayers since 2007! website. The Communist Party USA was groups, encouraging the riots and discord. Obama’s “Organizing for Action” out- also busy hyping and participating in the Amid ongoing anti-police protests in fit is currently involved in training 10,000 alleged “movement.” New York and across the nation, analysts “progressive community organizers” to If the “establishment” media did its job dug up a 2010 news story that reported on fan out across America and transform the and reported the facts rather than conceal- another Soros funding angle that might nation. According to the Washington Post, ing them to advance the cause of “progres- have also played a role in building up the OFA “was designed to essentially be the sivism,” none of this would be a surprise to “movement” behind the riots. Five years Obama presidential campaign, made eter- most Americans. In fact, the “coalitions” ago, New York schools introduced what nal.” As a 501(c)(4) “social welfare” non- and campaigns would probably never was dubbed a “human rights curriculum” profit, OFA has taken in millions of dollars have happened to begin with. Instead, for middle- and high-school students. In for use in political lobbying and organiz- the wildly mischaracterized “mainstream addition to hyping controversial UN no- ing, much of it from Soros. Meanwhile, media” was too busy frothing about the tions of “human rights,” the scheme fo- Obama and his allies in the establishment Koch brothers while justifying and glo- cused heavily on the anti-police work media have made a major issue of the in- rifying rioting and looting to inform its and initiatives of self-described commu- fluence of “dark money” contributed to dwindling readership about the facts. And nist revolutionary and Soros beneficiary conservative 501(c)(4) organizations for while the Ferguson hysteria from last year Van Jones — the radical who served as political action. appears to have died down for now — like Obama’s “green jobs” czar until his ex- As The New American reported exten- the Soros-funded “Occupy Wall Street” tremist revolutionary background was ex- sively, the dictator-dominated United Na- machinations — the key players and fi- posed by the conservative press. tions was also constantly seeking to stir nanciers are without a doubt already plot- The Obama administration, which ben- up unrest and attacks on the unalienable ting their next pseudo-“grassroots move- efited from millions of Soros dollars on rights of the American people by cynically ment” to “fundamentally transform” the the campaign trail, was also important — exploiting the deaths of Trayvon Martin in United States and its long constitutional with top officials, including Obama, irre- Florida, Michael Brown in Ferguson, and tradition of locally controlled police. Until sponsibly meddling in and commenting on Eric Garner in New York. From attacking they are properly exposed, Soros and his a local issue with a view to fomenting ra- gun rights and the U.S. justice system to de- allies will continue to effectively provide cial strife. The Justice Department, mean- manding that local American police depart- the pressure from above and the pressure while, was recently exposed for having ments adhere to “international standards” from below. n
20 THE NEW AMERICAN • sEptember 21, 2015 Police
But the TSA’s stupendous growth and reach within the span of a decade repre- What’s Happening to sents only a fraction of the spiraling fed- eral police state presence. Virtually every federal agency now has its own SWAT- style paramilitary “police” unit to enforce Our Police? its edicts and “protect the homeland”: the Departments of State, Education, Agricul- Not only are federal agencies such as the Departments ture, Energy, and Treasury, for instance, of State, Energy, and Agriculture forming police units, and agencies such as the Environmental Protection Agency, the Food and Drug Ad- Washington is nationalizing our local police. ministration, the Social Security Admin- istration, the National Park Service, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the Forest Service, the Bureau of Land Management, etc. Not to mention the U.S. Marshals Ser- vice, the FBI, the Federal Protective Po- lice Service, U.S. Customs and Border Pa- trol, and the Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives. There are now tens of thousands of fed- eral “police” running around in an assort- ment of uniforms, even though the U.S. Constitution provides no authority for — and in fact prohibits — any such federal po- lice agencies. Congress doesn’t even know how many of these rogue units are out there operating. In an attempt to get some handle on this matter, Representative Chris Stewart (R-Utah) introduced, in 2014, the Regulato- ry Agency Demilitarization Act (H.R.4934) AP Images TSA mission creep: Federal Amtrak Police K-9 teams patrol at Penn Station on January 30, 2014 directing the U.S. Comptroller General to in New York. Local law enforcement are getting “help” from TSA’s Visible Intermodal Prevention submit an annual report to Congress provid- and Response (VIPR) teams for “sweeps” at bus and train stations, highways, and ports. ing details on the number and description of SWAT-style units of federal regulatory by William F. Jasper and Alex Newman in criminal activity serving as an excuse to agencies and their weapons, training, and further nationalize. purpose. The bill has 31 cosponsors but he federal government has been busy All of us who fly have become accus- has gone nowhere in the GOP-controlled creating unconstitutional agencies tomed (willing or otherwise) to TSA pat- House; Republicans have been as blasé to- Tco-opting policing while simultane- downs, body scans, interrogations, and ward the dangers of a national police state ously using a “carrot and stick” approach other indignities and violations. That is part as have Democrats. — unconstitutional federal aid and federal of the political fallout of the September 11, Just as important as, if not more impor- mandates — to absorb and coerce the local 2001 terrorist attacks: the birth of another tant than, this burgeoning federal police- police, transforming them into instruments federal agency, the Transportation Secu- state apparatus are the various means by of an emerging national police force. rity Administration, TSA. But as is always which federal politicians and bureaucrats This subversive transformation of the case with government, it seems, it did are transforming our local police into America’s way of policing has been under not take long for mission creep to set in. fedgov adjuncts by coopting them with way for a long time. The American ideal of Federal Homeland Security officials soon grants, equipment, and training. The FBI local police — locally funded and locally had TSA units in black military gear lead- Academy in Quantico, Virginia, for ex- controlled — whose job it is to protect the ing multiple federal and local agencies in ample, trains thousands of local peace public against violent and fraudulent crim- police sweeps of Amtrak and Greyhound officers and law-enforcement executives. inal elements that will always be found in bus stations, as well as other “transporta- Less well known are the Federal Law every society, is being radically changed. tion infrastructure” nationwide. By 2011, Enforcement Training Centers (FLETC), Over the past decade, this process has ac- according to TSA chief John Pistole in tes- which, according to the FLETC website, celerated dramatically, with every terrorist timony to Congress, the TSA was carrying “provide tuition-free and low cost training incident, riot, police shooting, or upsurge out more than 8,000 of these sweeps a year. to state, local, campus, tribal and territorial continued on page 24...
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rolling back, if only slightly, a 25-year-old The TSA’s stupendous growth and reach within the span federal program established under Section 1033 of the National Defense Authoriza- of a decade represents only a fraction of the spiraling tion Act (NDAA) used to militarize local federal police state presence. Virtually every federal police with “surplus” war-fighting tools. But his administration has previously used agency now has its own SWAT-style paramilitary “police” that authority to expand police militariza- unit to enforce its edicts. tion to unprecedented levels, even while attacking gun rights of American citizens ...continued from page 21 and claiming “weapons of war” do not be- law enforcement agencies. Programs are between our military and our local law en- long in the hands of civilians. conducted across the United States and are forcement, and we don’t want those lines “We’ve seen how militarized gear normally hosted by a local law enforce- blurred,” as though he had had nothing can sometimes give people a feeling ment agency. Training is also conducted to do with blurring those lines. Likewise, like there’s an occupying force as op- at FLETC facilities located in Glynco Obama’s liberal Democratic sidekick in posed to a force that’s part of the com- (Brunswick), GA; Artesia, NM; Charles- Missouri, Governor Jay Nixon, claimed he munity that’s protecting them and serv- ton, SC; and Cheltenham, MD.” was “thunderstruck” by the sight of police ing them,” Obama said at his speech in Although these programs predate his in military gear on the streets of Ferguson. Camden, which employed a backdrop of administration, President Obama has been But only a few months earlier, Governor police officers in uniform. “It can alien- moving full speed ahead for nationalization Nixon himself had signed off on delivery of ate and intimidate local residents and and militarization of America’s local law the military equipment to Missouri police. send the wrong message.” But it is the enforcement. Indeed, he has done more to fedgov military gear and the adversarial militarize law enforcement and transferred President’s Task Force attitude instilled by fedgov training that more weapons and military equipment to At a May 2015 press conference in Cam- are alienating local citizens. local law enforcement than perhaps any den, New Jersey, President Obama an- The measures Obama has taken toward other president in U.S. history. When the nounced plans to implement recommen- reining in federal distribution of certain riots and violence broke out in Ferguson, dations laid out by the “President’s Task types of military equipment to local po- Missouri, following the police shooting of Force on 21st Century Policing,” a multi- lice forces include limiting the dispersal Michael Brown, many television viewers agency body that he had created by de- of vehicles that use tank-style tracks in- nationwide were as alarmed by the fear- cree to examine law-enforcement issues. stead of wheels, bayonets, weaponized some images of armored military vehicles Unsurprisingly, the outfit recommended aerial vehicles, certain high-caliber guns, and police in military gear as by the scenes national “standards” for police, and much grenade launchers, camouflage uniforms, of rioting and looting. Incredibly (but true more, be implemented at state and local and more. to form, nevertheless), in his August 14, government levels, using unconstitutional But as The New American has been re- 2014 press conference, President Obama federal bribes as a primary mechanism. porting for years, even though the federal denounced the Ferguson police response. The new set of rules on military gear en- government has no business militarizing And he warned, “There is a big difference dorsed by Obama reportedly does include or meddling in local law enforcement to begin with, the feds, and especially the Obama administration, have played a crucial role in transforming and arming America’s police departments. Now that cops are addicted to federal aid, the White House plans to use that addiction to close the trap and increase federal control over local departments. Buried in the details is an element of the Obama rules that has received far less public attention and scrutiny. “There’s other equipment that may be needed in certain cases, but only with proper train- ing,” Obama said, hinting at the elephant in the room that went mostly unnoticed by the press. In other words, the feds will continue
AP Images to militarize local law enforcement — pro- President Barack Obama meets with city officials and police in Camden, New Jersey, on May vided officers receive additional federally 18, 2015, before announcing new fedgov regulations for military gear transferred to local law mandated “training” and comply with new enforcement. “record-keeping” demands and “standards”
24 THE NEW AMERICAN • sEptember 21, 2015 stitutionally protected local jurisdiction? Part of the answer is that many have been bought off. Literally. They have received millions of dollars in federal grants and/or equipment and training. Other federal programs that are coopt- ing and corrupting local police include: • The federal war on drugs: Regardless of one’s opinion on what the proper gov- ernmental response should be to individ- ual use of “recreational” narcotics, under our Constitution, the federal government’s authority is very limited, extending only to interstate commerce in drugs, interdict- ing drugs entering the United States, drug use by U.S. military personnel, drug pos- session and use on federal property, and use of the U.S. Mail for drug transport. AP Images SWAT teams unload from their armored vehicles to go door to door, searching for a suspect in Our Constitution leaves to each state the the Boston Marathon bombings in Watertown, Massachusetts, Friday, April 19, 2013. authority to craft the laws and policies on this matter. Yet, federal authorities have promulgated by the administration. Police “The powers delegated by the … Constitu- usurped this power, and state and local departments that submit to the Obama ad- tion to the federal government are few and governments have weakly acquiesced. ministration’s control will be able to contin- defined,” he declared. “Those which are to • Asset forfeiture, or property confisca- ue receiving armored vehicles, specialized remain in the State governments are nu- tion: A major feature of the “war on drugs,” weaponry, manned aircraft, drones, batter- merous and indefinite,” Madison contin- asset forfeiture allows local police to share ing rams, and even explosives, a fact most ued. “The powers reserved to the several in the booty confiscated from alleged il- of the media ignored. States will extend to all the objects which, legal drug offenders. Not only does this If you are concerned that your local po- in the ordinary course of affairs, concern greatly incentivize police corruption, but lice have taken on too much the appear- the lives, liberties, and properties of the it has also resulted in the violation of the ance of Imperial Stormtroopers out of Star people, and the internal order, improve- rights of many innocent citizens, whose Wars, do not be misled into believing the ment, and prosperity of the State.” The properties have been seized even though new Obama regulations will remedy that regulation of the “internal order” of com- they have no involvement in the drug trade. disturbing trend; they are aimed more at munities — that is to say, “police powers” • Buffer Zone Protection Program making sure the Stormtroopers are under — was clearly understood as among the (BZPP): Under the Department of Home- the control of a federal Empire, rather than “unenumerated powers” reserved to the land Security (DHS), the BZPP is flood- a local governing authority. states and the people. ing local jurisdictions with Big Brother In his famous work A Treatise on the Our Constitution only provides for surveillance technology: night vision Constitutional Limitations (1868), Judge the federal government to punish three cameras, facial recognition technology, Thomas Cooley, one of America’s eminent crimes: treason, piracy, and counterfeit- license plate readers, stop light camera jurists of the 19th century, noted: ing. Yet, today, we have thousands of video feeds, etc. crimes listed in the federal code — from • Fusion centers: According to the DHS, In the American constitutional system robbery, rape, and arson to mislabeling “Fusion centers conduct analysis and the power to establish the ordinary produce and spray-painting graffiti. This facilitate information sharing, assisting regulations of police has been left to has happened by steady usurpation, with- law enforcement and homeland security the individual States, and it cannot be out constitutional amendment. It is not partners in preventing, protecting against, taken from them, either wholly or in unusual now for local police and sheriff and responding to crime and terrorism.” part, and exercised under legislation departments to assist federal agencies By the end of 2012, the DHS had marked by Congress. in illegal, warrantless searches/seizures/ 1,849 locations scattered throughout the arrests, such as aiding, for instance, the 50 states that would serve as regional sur- Judge Cooley was not expressing senti- FDA or the EPA, as their SWAT units veillance collection centers. The DHS has ments that were out of the mainstream. swoop down on a farmer who is selling spent many millions of dollars establishing Indeed, he was merely stating commonly raw milk or whose cows have, allegedly, these federal-local “collaborative” efforts. understood and accepted jurisprudence. pooped in a stream. Yet they have not exhibited a single ter- In the The Federalist, No. 45, James Why do local police chiefs and sheriffs rorist caught during the program, though Madison underscored the strict limitations meekly (or in some cases, enthusiastically) thwarting terrorism served as justification on the proposed new national government. accept this fedgov violation of their con- for the program.
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Federal Coercion local law-enforcement agencies for an al- Those consent decrees cover the police But fear of losing their welfare dole is not leged “pattern and practice” of violating departments of New Orleans, Portland (Or- the only reason local police and sheriffs the rights of citizens. Usually this has cen- egon), Detroit, Albuquerque, East Haven cower before the unconstitutional tres- tered on charges by local activists that po- (Connecticut), Warren (Ohio), Puerto Rico, passes of federal authorities. Another lice use racial profiling or excessive force. and the Virgin Islands. Eric Holder’s suc- reason is the fear of federal prosecution. To avoid costly legal battles and the pros- cessor, Loretta Lynch, has continued the Over the past two decades, many local pect of a possible court-ordered “reform” Obama legacy, using the conflagrations law-enforcement organizations have been mandate, many cities and counties enter in Ferguson and Baltimore to kick up the threatened with lawsuits by the U.S. De- into “consent decrees” with the Justice DOJ’s activities in this arena even more. partment of Justice under the Violent Department that require the law-enforce- Thus, wielding both the carrot and the Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act ment agencies in question to jump through stick, the would-be federal overlords are of 1994. That legislation, signed into law hoops designed by the federal dictocrats. dramatically changing the face of polic- by then-President Bill Clinton, is most re- The Obama administration has been espe- ing in America. However, in using ille- membered as the so-called “three strikes” cially aggressive in pushing this DOJ take- gal, unconstitutional methods to do so, law, which, like similar state laws, man- over of local policing. In a December 4, they are guilty of precisely what they are dates life imprisonment for three-time 2014 press release entitled “Police Reform charging local police with doing, which offenders. The mass incarceration of and Accountability Accomplishments is violating the law (the Constitution) African-American men — which is now Under Attorney General Eric Holder,” the under the color of law. Americans who being decried as evidence of America’s DOJ boasted: “In the past five fiscal years, mistakenly believe that these “reforms” “structural racism” — can be traced to the Department of Justice’s Civil Rights will yield more accountable, responsive this law, which was written by “liberal” Division has opened over 20 investiga- police forces are in for a rude awaken- Democrats Representative Jack Brooks of tions into police departments, more than ing. As alarming trends already show, Texas and then-Senator (now Vice Presi- twice as many investigations than were the centralizing/nationalizing movement dent) Joe Biden of Delaware. Another opened in the previous five fiscal years. will always tend to lead toward a police feature of this law was to establish in the The department has entered into 15 agree- model that more closely resembles Hit- DOJ Civil Rights Division the pretended ments with law enforcement agencies, in- ler’s Gestapo or Stalin’s KGB than Andy authority to investigate and prosecute cluding nine consent decrees.” of Mayberry’s friendly force. n
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dubious policies associated with “com- munity policing strategies.” Those federal grants, of course, along with others, are at Obama and Allies the heart of Obama’s efforts to national- ize everything from healthcare and educa- Seek to Nationalize Local Police tion standards to law enforcement. Among the schemes to be promoted with the new The federal government, in addition to militarizing police grants are national standards for police de- through the dispersal of military hardware, is bribing and partments receiving federal funds. Some critics have started describing the plot as coercing departments to follow federal edicts. “Common Core for police,” a reference to the Obama administration’s Department of Education efforts to bribe states into imposing the deeply controversial na- tional K-12 school standards and the as- sociated federal testing regime. The effort also comes just a few months after United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, citing Ferguson, demanded that American police submit to “international standards.” According to a report by Obama’s task force released in March, two tentacles of the Department of Justice, the Office of Community Oriented Policing Ser- vices (COPS) and the Office of Justice Programs, “should provide technical as- sistance and incentive funding to juris- dictions” that adhere to the White House plan, “in return for receiving federal AP Images funds.” The report also called for uniform Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson, Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter, and Baltimore Mayor federal standards for data collected by Stephanie Rawlings-Blake (seated right) address the President’s Task Force on 21st Century Policing in Washington, D.C., on January 13, 2015. local police departments, and much more. Even before citing militarization of police as an excuse to usurp more control by Alex Newman and William F. Jasper theme of which was promoting increased over local police, Obama was celebrating federal control over law enforcement. the recommendations of his task force, and n December 18, 2014, President While speaking to a group of police at a demanding rapid implementation. “I’m Obama signed an executive order carefully stage-managed event in Camden, going to be asking Eric Holder and the O creating the President’s Task New Jersey, the president also touted some Justice Department and his successor to go Force on 21st Century Policing. In May of his other efforts to exert more control through all of these recommendations so 2015, the task force came out with its Final over police — officers who, in accor- that we can start implementing them,” he Report, which is commonly given the title dance with the Constitution, are supposed explained. “I know one area that’s going “21st Century Policing.” to serve and be accountable to local com- to be of great interest is whether we can One of the report’s recommendations, munities and the wishes of local citizens, expand the COPS program that in the past which the Obama-friendly media fixated not the mandates of the White House. has been very effective, continues to be ef- on, concerns greater restrictions on trans- Among other schemes, Obama boasted fective, but is largely underfunded.” fers of military equipment to local police of his administration’s alleged efforts to The recommendations offered a “great agencies. However, as we reported in our “fight crime,” improve relations between opportunity” to “really transform how we article on page 21, the new “accountabili- police departments and the communities think about community law enforcement ty” rules will not explicitly reduce the flow they serve, and promote “transparency.” relations,” Obama said. “We need to seize of war materials to law enforcement, but He also touted a White House “data ini- that opportunity,” he continued, echoing the simply place more federal controls over tiative” aimed at prodding police depart- “never let a crisis go to waste” rhetoric of local police. Moreover, the new Obama ments into following federal “guidelines” other statists. “This is something that I’m rules regarding military gear were just one on data and body cameras. going to stay very focused on in the months component of a broader set of recommen- Finally, Obama also celebrated federal to come.” He certainly was not kidding. dations issued by Obama’s plan for “21st “grants” created by the administration to Just weeks after the report was released, Century Policing” — the overarching promote and fund the implementation of the administration unveiled a list of six
www.TheNewAmerican.com 27 Politics
U.S. cities targeted to serve as “pilot sites” Stockton, California. Fort Worth Mayor “Americans everywhere should be very to develop and deploy federal guidance for Betsy Price described the program as “a concerned about oversight of local police local police — all of it supposedly to cre- tool to strengthen our partnership with the agencies,” explained former detective Jim ate “better procedures, reduce racial bias, justice system.” But other police depart- Fitzgerald, the national field director for and regain citizens’ trust.” The plan, offi- ments are also in the cross hairs. Accord- The John Birch Society, the parent organi- cially dubbed the “National Initiative for ing to the official announcement, an un- zation of this magazine. The constitution- Building Community Trust and Justice,” specified number of “police departments alist group, which has chapters in all 50 will use U.S. taxpayer dollars to deploy and communities that are not pilot sites” states, has been running a campaign for “experts” and “researchers” charged with will also be targeted for more DOJ “train- decades called “Support Your Local Police training officers to act in a manner that ing” and “technical assistance.” and Keep Them Independent.” The effort the DOJ deems just — in essence doing It bears mentioning that the DOJ, is meant to, among other goals, protect the bidding of the Obama administration. which supposedly will guide local law local communities from having their po- Officially, the Justice Department will be enforcement in proper procedures, has in lice departments turned into tentacles of helping local officials “fight crime” under recent years been exposed training state an all-powerful federal government. the scheme, according to news reports. and local police to view citizens’ speech “These steps to exercise and take control Initially, the program, which will cost as potential indicators of terrorism — in- over police departments should raise a red American taxpayers almost $5 million, will cluding among damning public expression flag among police officials and give deep aim to “assess” the relationship between mundane matters such as bumper stickers concern to anyone who understands the his- local police and the communities they promoting the Bill of Rights or a U.S. tory of national police forces,” continued serve. Then, the DOJ squads will work to withdrawal from the UN. Ironically, at the Fitzgerald. “Have we so soon forgotten the develop plans supposedly aimed at enhanc- time of the announcements on pilot cities, Gestapo and the KGB, both national po- ing “procedural justice,” reducing bias, and the DOJ was being led by disgraced Attor- lice agencies, that terrorized the citizens of supporting “reconciliation in communities ney General Eric Holder, who was held in Germany and Russia and led to the impris- where trust has been eroded,” the Justice criminal contempt of Congress for trying onment and deaths of tens of thousands of Department said in a statement announc- to stonewall an investigation into the ad- innocent men and women? Has there ever ing the plan. With more than two-thirds ministration’s “Fast and Furious” scheme been a national police force that benefited of Americans saying in a survey that the to arm Mexican drug cartels. the citizens who live under it? Never!” federal government is “out of control” and The efforts to further nationalize and Of course, the nationalization of police a “threat” to their liberties, it was not im- federalize law enforcement are also in line did not begin with Obama, and it probably mediately clear how “trust” would be “re- with Obama’s campaign rhetoric about will not end with him. So-called fusion stored” by deepening federal involvement. building a “civilian national security force centers, pairing local and state officials The first six cities to be targeted as pilot that’s just as powerful, just as strong, just with federal bureaucrats under the sprawl- sites will be Birmingham, Alabama; Fort as well-funded” as the U.S. military. And ing “Homeland Security” banner, have Worth, Texas; Gary, Indiana; Minneapolis, critics say the agenda should be ringing been in place since the George W. Bush Minnesota; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; and alarm bells nationwide. administration. And a broad range of DOJ offices and programs has been quietly expanding federal control over police for decades. But the trends are accelerating, and the endgame is becoming more clear. Decentralized government is one of the cornerstones of America’s freedom and its constitutional system of federal- ism. Even if Obama’s radical plans to nationalize police departments were not unconstitutional, though, history pro- vides numerous examples showing why national policing is not just unwise, but extremely dangerous to liberty. Congress must rein in Obama, and in the mean- time, state and local governments should refuse to surrender self-government to an out-of-control White House in exchange for unconstitutional federal bribes. The
AP Images American people, if they hope to preserve Former Attorney General Eric Holder (center) announces six pilot cities for the National Initiative liberty and self-government, should work for Building Community Trust and Justice, at the Department of Justice on March 12, 2015, in to support their local police, and keep Washington, D.C. them independent. n
28 THE NEW AMERICAN • sEptember 21, 2015 police
status of sheriff as the highest constitu- Sheriffs: the key to tional law-enforcement authority: House Bill 274, the “sheriffs first” measure, says federal agents may not make an arrest, search or seizure in the state without the written permis- local sion of the sheriff — or risk prosecu- tion by the county attorney for kid- napping, trespass, theft or homicide. control “This bill is well intentioned,” said sponsor Rep. Nancy Ballance, R-Hamilton. “Federal overreach is a real concern. Our people want to know there is a last line of defense when the feds come into their county. And that’s the sheriff.”
Sheriffs nationwide are awakening to the reality of their role as the ultimate consti- tutionally elected county executive. Once aware of this role and its responsibilities, the lawmen are stepping up in defense of the Constitution. Elected sheriffs, as the top law-enforce- ment officers within their counties, work for the citizens and taxpayers in their ju- risdictions, not the federal government. This is a critical distinction in the era of rapid federalization (nationalization of local law enforcement). One group of lawmen in particular has provided inspiration and information to County sheriffs backed by informed citizens are a crucial county sheriffs willing to be an impenetra- ble roadblock on the federal government’s barrier to a national police state. path toward absolutism: the Constitutional Sheriffs and Peace Officers Association by Joe Wolverton II, J.D. received a letter from the Veterans Affairs (CSPOA). office “warning him that he cannot possess The CSPOA’s two-fold mission is to s one by one the parchment bar- or purchase firearms.” save America and to get enough people ricades protecting the people from Remarkably, found among the throng involved in that fight to make the dream A the destructive growth of govern- of protesters was Bonner County Sheriff a reality. The organization’s website de- ment are being attacked and overrun, there Daryl Wheeler. Wheeler “promised to scribes precisely how they propose to is one key group of officials who are step- stand guard against any federal attempts achieve this lofty and laudable goal: ping into the breach — county sheriffs. to remove Arnold’s guns,” the Associated On August 6 of this year, a sheriff with Press reported. The answers lie within our grasp and an eye on the Constitution and his fellow “I took an oath to uphold the U.S. Con- come from the foundation of our citizens stood steadfastly against the fed- stitution and uphold the laws of Idaho,” country. The principles are embodied eral usurpation in defense of one of the Wheeler said, as quoted in the AP story. within the Declaration of Indepen- residents of his county. “This seemed appropriate to show my dence and outlined in the Constitution. On that day, about 100 residents in support. I was going to make sure Mr. Yes, America is in deep, deep Priest River, Idaho, gathered outside the Arnold’s rights weren’t going to be trouble. The good news is that there home of a U.S. Navy veteran to protest an breached.” is hope and my [CSPOA founder, effort by the federal government to confis- Earlier this year, the Helena (Montana) former Arizona Sheriff Richard cate the man’s guns. Independent Record reported on the ef- Mack’s] victory at the US Supreme Idaho state representative Heather fort of the state legislature to protect not Court proves that it only takes a few Scott said that the veteran, John Arnold, only the sovereignty of the state, but the to stand to make monumental chang-
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es. We do not have to stand by and The history presented by the constitutional when the renowned Alexis de Tocqueville watch while America is destroyed sheriffs is sound. visited America. De Tocqueville found from within. If our counties, cities, Although police officers are the most that in America the “means available to the and states and all local officers keep visible components of today’s law-en- authorities for the discovery of crimes and their oaths to protect us from tyran- forcement apparatus, it wasn’t always this arrest of criminals [are] very few.” To his ny, we can win this battle to take our way. In fact, for most of the early history surprise, however, he found that there was country back. of the United States, the investigation of likely no country on Earth where “crime This is our plan, our goal and our crime and the arresting of suspects was not so seldom escapes punishment.” quest. We are forming the Consti- carried out by a professional cadre of full- How did we manage? How is it that in an tutional Peace Officers Association time police officers at all. era when the people themselves assumed which will unite all public servants Before the creation of the modern police most of the burden of investigating crimes and sheriffs, to keep their word to up- force, the members of society believed that and bringing lawbreakers to justice, the hold, defend, protect, preserve, and they themselves were endowed by natu- streets were safer and the cities more well- obey the Constitution of the United ral law with very broad law-enforcement ordered? States of America. We already have power. In fact, it was only the so-called ex- The answer is found in the wisdom of hundreds of police, sheriffs, and ecutive functions of the law (issuing war- our Founders. Men and women who desire other officials who have expressed a rants, carrying out judicial orders, delivering to live in a peaceful, safe society should desire to be a part of this Holy Cause summons) that were carried out by lawmen. be responsible for making it so. Sheriffs of Liberty. In the early days of the Republic, these elected or appointed by the people should We are going to train and vet them duties were assigned by the people to sher- be tasked with carrying out the executive all, state by state, to understand and iffs or constables, who would be chosen functions of law enforcement, but it is the enforce the constitutionally protected from among the people themselves. They responsibility of the people themselves to Rights of the people they serve, with were chosen (elected, often, but sometimes watch, warn, and weed out. an emphasis on State Sovereignty appointed) by the people and thus were Much of the growth of the police state, and local autonomy. Then these local accountable to them. No one would have then, is a result of a dereliction of duty on governments will issue our new Dec- imagined being a sheriff for life. Acting as the part of the American people. We have laration to the Federal Government a county sheriff was seen as an act of public allowed a law-enforcement bureaucracy regarding the abuses that we will no service, not as a career. One would leave his to grow up as an alternative to our own longer tolerate or accept. Said decla- profession when called upon by his fellow participation in the policing of our towns, ration will be enforced by our Consti- citizens and then, once the prescribed term and now we are reaping the whirlwind of tutional Sheriffs and Peace Officers. of his public service was over, the sheriff increased violence by and against the pro- In short, the CSPOA will be the army would return to his former profession, liv- fessional police. to set our nation free. This will guar- ing among those he recently served. As in so many other areas where we antee this movement remains both This arrangement continued to be com- have seen government and the agents of peaceful and effective. mon practice even as late as the 1830s government transformed from servants into masters, law enforcement will only grow as onerous as we allow it to. We can prevent the federal government from using grant money and fusion centers to stealthily grow a national police force — a sixth branch of the armed forces — right under our noses, by insisting that those entrusted with protecting and serving be chosen by us and accountable to us for any abuses of that trust. We must return to the concept of citizen-sheriff embraced by our Founders and others for generations. By electing courageous and constitu- tionally minded sheriffs, citizens of the 3,007 counties in the United States can clearly communicate to Washington, D.C., their determination to protect them- selves from the “swarms of officers” sent The Founding Fathers gave us a free government that requires citizens to assume responsibility “to harass our people and eat out their for their own safety. The people fulfill this obligation by electing sheriffs who are committed to substance,” and we can return to the days protecting the rights of the people against encroachment. The people themselves, however, must of peaceful, well-ordered cities that were retain substantial police powers if they are to remain safe and free. once the pride of the United States. n
30 THE NEW AMERICAN • sEptember 21, 2015 gun rights
Thank you for calling”! The invaders vi- ciously beat the homeowner and his wife and mother-in-law, and even threatened to shoot the couple’s baby. Fortunately, the homeowner was able to get to his gun and shoot one of the attackers, putting the criminals to flight. The thugs were caught later by police, but it was the victim’s de- cision to fight that kept him and his family from becoming crime fatality statistics. “Progressive” commentators went into full apoplexy mode in 2013 when Mil- waukee County Sheriff David A. Clarke, Jr. ran a radio advertisement that warned county residents that “simply calling 911 and waiting is no longer your best option.” “You could beg for mercy from a violent criminal, hide under the bed, or you can fight back,” Clarke said. The outspoken sheriff, who is black, urged listeners to take a firearm safety course and get a fire- arm “so you can defend yourself until we get there.” “You have a duty to protect yourself and your family,” Sheriff Clarke advised. Yes, you have a duty, as well as a natu- ral right, to defend yourself and your Gun Control, family. Depending solely on uniformed agents of the collective (police officers Sheriffs & Police Chiefs or sheriff’s deputies of the city, county, or state governments) is not only dangerous to one’s immediate safety, but is also an- tithetical to the philosophical foundations It’s a simple fact that police can’t always be where they’re of the natural rights of the individual upon needed. Most officers not only acknowledge that fact, but which our constitutional government is based. By creating a police force to protect support the right of Americans to defend themselves. you and your family, you are by no means surrendering your right to self-defense. by Larry Pratt “response time” varies widely from one The simple fact of the matter is this: jurisdiction to the next, but various stud- When criminals decide to strike you, t’s 2 a.m. and you awaken to the ies show it may be anywhere from four you’re on your own. The police may ar- sound of shattering glass. You are minutes to an hour before police come to rive in time to prevent harm — or, as is I about to be the victim of a home in- the rescue. When every second counts, more often the case, in time to preserve the vasion/rape/robbery. Do you do the po- depending on 911 as your lifeline could crime scene and take notes from survivors litically correct thing and dial 911 — then leave you (and your family) as a chalk or neighborhood witnesses. simply hope that the police arrive in the outline and a crime victim statistic. There Like Sheriff Clarke, Detroit Police next 90 seconds, before the invader(s) gets are plenty of actual, real-life 911 record- Chief James Craig has liberaldom up in to you and your family? On the other hand, ings you can listen to on the Internet of arms (pardon the pun) over his calls urging do you dial 911 (if you have time) or have crime victims being brutalized and mur- more law-abiding citizens to take up arms a family member do so, and pick up your dered while on the phone with 911, wait- in self-defense. “The message should be,” pistol or shotgun and let the thugs learn a ing for police help. There are calls such as he told WDIV Channel 4 News in a March Constitutionalism 101 lesson on the Sec- the one last year from a man in New Port 2014 interview, “that people are going to ond Amendment? Richey, Florida, who called 911 when his protect themselves. They’re tired, they’ve The calculation and recording of police home was invaded by four thugs. On the been dealing with this epidemic of vio- call’s recording, a woman screams in the lence, they’re afraid, and they have a right Larry Pratt is the executive director of Gun Owners background as the 911 voicemail states “If to protect themselves.” of America. this is an emergency, hang up and dial 911. As a general matter, police chiefs tend www.TheNewAmerican.com 31 gun rights to be rather more supportive of gun con- on the initiative. The chiefs backed it, to violate the Second Amendment in his trol and less sympathetic to the Second while the sheriffs opposed it. county. Gun-control advocates heads’ ex- Amendment than are sheriffs. This is es- There was a lack of support for banning ploded when Sheriff Lewis said this: “As pecially true of the big-city police chiefs semi-automatic firearms and magazines, so long as I’m the sheriff in this county, I will of cities dominated by Democratic Party the focus among the law-enforcement of- not allow the federal government to come politicians. Police chiefs are appointed, ficers tended to move toward mental health in here and strip my citizens of their right whereas sheriffs are elected by the peo- issues as a supposed justification for doing to bear arms. I can tell you this, if they ple, which often explains the differences background checks of gun buyers. attempt to do that, it would be an all-out among them. The good news is that significant op- civil war, no question about it.” In January of 2013, President Obama position has sprung up in Connecticut and The vast majority of rank-and-file cops was pushing a range of gun-control New York to the draconian gun-control do not support the gun-control agendas of measures, from banning semi-automatic laws passed in 2013. Sheriffs, some police their political overlords. In a March 2013 firearms, to banning magazines over 10 chiefs, and many gun owners have simply survey of more than 16,000 current and rounds, to background checks for all sales. said they will not enforce or comply with former police officers by Police One, some The president wanted to prohibit access to these laws. The good news to take away interesting results were obtained. Over 91 firearms “that aren’t necessary for hunters from this is that in addition to elected percent of those surveyed favored citizens and sportsmen.” sheriffs in New York, many police chiefs carrying firearms. Nearly half said that Obama was hoping to lay down a defi- in Connecticut and New York also indi- if they were to become chief or sheriff, nition of the Second Amendment totally cated they would not enforce their states’ they would not enforce more restrictive excluding its main purpose, which is to new gun-control laws; New York’s law is gun-control laws. Seventy percent of the ensure that the people retain the means to known as the SAFE Act. respondents opposed a national registry of resist tyranny in government. It is estimated that upwards of 300,000 firearms owners. The president was hopeful that he owners of semi-automatic firearms in Con- In the same 2013 survey by Police One, could mobilize police and sheriffs to necticut have refused to re-register their well over 40 percent did not support re- support his gun-control agenda. He had guns. Refusal to comply with the New quiring training to carry a gun — a key cherry-picked law-enforcement officials York SAFE Act seems also widespread. feature of the laws in seven states that do to attend a January 28, 2013 meeting at So far there has been no effort by police not require a government permit to carry a the White House for the purpose of get- or sheriffs to pursue those not complying. concealed firearm. The survey also found ting behind his agenda. With the exception of a few police of- that about 85 percent of officers say the But it turns out the two national groups ficers and officials, it has been sheriffs en- passage of the White House’s 2013 pro- representing police and sheriffs at the gaging in interposition. For example, Wic- posed legislation would have a zero or 2013 White House meeting — the Major omico County, Maryland, Sheriff Mike negative effect on their safety, with just Cities Chiefs Association and the Major Lewis warned the feds that there would over 10 percent saying it would have a County Sheriffs Association — disagreed be serious consequences if they attempted moderate or significantly positive effect. A survey of police officers by the Na- tional Association of Chiefs of Police in 2011 found that 98 percent of those polled think “any law-abiding citizen [should] be able to purchase a firearm for sport and self-defense.” In summary, a significant number of police officers are supportive of the Sec- ond Amendment right to keep and bear arms in very specific ways. Detroit Police Chief James Craig, who once accepted the “progressive” dogma on restricting civilian access to firearms, now urges citizens to arm themselves. With encour- agement from voters, more police chiefs and sheriffs are likely move in that direc- tion. They may even adopt the attitude of Sheriff Clarke, who said in his address to the NRA in 2014: “If you’re going to AP Images stand with me, you have to be willing to Gun-rights advocates in New York demonstrate at the Capitol in Albany, in 2013, to protest the resist any attempt by government to dis- recently legislated New York SAFE Act and other measures that infringe on the constitutionally arm law-abiding people by fighting with protected right to bear arms. the ferociousness of a junkyard dog.” n
32 THE NEW AMERICAN • sEptember 21, 2015 police
What About Police Brutality? Police brutality happens. False charges about police abuses happen more often — and provide fodder for bad elements to exploit. Yet the abuse and the lies can be minimized.
by Joe Wolverton II, J.D. accusations in a way that should be fol- police bias or partiality. During the inves- lowed by his fellow sheriffs throughout tigation, surveillance video was released n July 11, 2015, Madison County, the country. that showed that, contrary to Johnson’s Indiana, sheriff’s deputies pulled “We all know that nationally, there’s claims, the injuries he claimed were in- O over Ewart Kenneth Johnson, a been all kinds of police-community an- flicted by the arresting officers were al- 51-year-old black man. Johnson’s blood tagonistic situations, and I wanted to get ready clearly visible before Johnson was alcohol level at the time of his arrest was to the bottom of it,” Mellinger said, as booked. When confronted with the video five times the legal limit. Later that night, reported in local Indianapolis media. revealing his pre-arrest appearance, John- while being booked into the Madison “We need to go the extra yard and show son said he “must have dreamt” that he County jail, Johnson claims, four depu- people that number one, we have noth- was beaten by deputies and he “made a ties beat him, resulting in a gash on his ing to hide, and number two, as sheriff, I big mistake.” head and a severely swollen face. want transparency.” In the current socially combustible Stories such as Johnson’s seem to Transparency. Going the extra yard. climate, this is the sort of “mistake” that surface every day. Headlines from coast These are not the type of actions that will could end careers and ignite potentially to coast report cases of police brutality attract the rabid anti-cop crusaders, but lethal protests. Had Sheriff Mellinger (often involving white police officers and they are exactly the type of responsible jumped to the blind defense of his offi- black victims). This case has a different reactions to charges of police brutality cers, the firestorm could have flared and ending, however, one that doesn’t make it that should be reported as widely as are the facts would have been obscured by the to the front page. those of the less reasonable sort. tear-gas smoke. True to his word, Mellinger handed Perhaps the most widely reported in- Video Vanquishes Lies over the investigation of the case to the cident of a police officer exonerated of Rather than jump blindly to the defense Indiana State Police, completely remov- misuse of deadly force was that of Fer- of his deputies, Madison County Sher- ing his own department from the matter, guson, Missouri, Officer Darren Wilson. iff Scott Mellinger handled Johnson’s thus heading off potential claims of pro- In March, the Justice Department cleared
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force. The officers adamantly denied the When confronted with the video revealing his pre- charges and a believing public backed arrest appearance, Johnson said he “must have them all the way. That is until a video surfaced two years dreamt” that he was beaten by deputies and he later revealing the truth of victims’ allega- “made a big mistake.” tions and showing the officers lied about their treatment of the women they ar- rested. Before the video came to light, the Wilson of charges that he violated the brutality was worse than expected. In July officers accused of brutality claimed that civil rights of Michael Brown, who was 2009, police subdued and handcuffed four the women attacked them and that they killed last August. The New York Times women. Later, the women claimed the were quickly surrounded by a mob. None reported that the 86-page report issued by cops roughly threw them to the ground, of that appeared on the video, however. the Justice Department sprayed them with mace, and continued The city awarded the women $360,000, beating them once they were down. The but the policemen who beat them and detailed and evaluated the testimony women, insisting they did nothing to de- then lied about it were put back on the of more than 40 witnesses, the Justice serve such savagery, filed a formal com- streets after the furor died down, this time Department largely corroborated or plaint with the Denver Police Department, as agents of the Denver Civil Service found little credible evidence to con- accusing the officers of using excessive Commission. tradict the account of the officer, Remarkably, this betrayal of Darren Wilson, who is white. the public trust went unnoticed Versions of events that until August 2015, when the sharply conflicted with Mr. women pushed back again, re- Wilson’s were largely incon- sulting in the dismissal of one of sistent with forensic evidence the officers. The other attacker or with the witnesses’ previous had quit in 2013. statements, the report said. And Despite the right resolution of in some cases, witnesses whose this case, many other cases of po- accounts supported Mr. Wil- lice brutality go unpunished and, son said they had been afraid on the other hand, many false to come forth or tell the truth charges of police-inflicted injury because they feared reprisals are accepted without appropriate from the enraged community. inquiry. One of the most notorious Though the dismissal of charges examples of verifiable violence against Wilson didn’t go unchal- committed by cops against lenged, and the agitators didn’t those undeserving of any level go away quietly, content with the of abuse happened in Cornelia, clearing of Wilson’s name, the Georgia, and left a toddler near situation demonstrates the diffi- death, horribly injured, and dis- culty of clearly discerning guilt figured. Bounkham Phonesavanh and innocence in this volatile was 19 months old and asleep in climate where acquittal and con- his crib when a sheriff’s SWAT viction can create combustible team broke open the front door in interactions between public ser- the early morning hours on May vants and members of the public. 28, 2014 and threw a flash-bang While Madison County de- grenade into the front room. His serves credit for its professional- mother, father, and three sisters ism and transparency, too often were in the room as well. The the charges of police brutality grenade attack came during the aren’t so easily disproved and execution of a “no-knock” war- aren’t the result of “dreams,” but rant, supposedly based on an are nightmares that have become anonymous tip regarding an al- very real. leged $50 drug deal. In Denver, Colorado, for ex- AP Images “Everyone’s sleeping. There’s ample, a video not only didn’t ex- Exonerated: Ferguson police officer Darren Wilson during his a loud bang and a bright light,” onerate police accused of beating medical examination after he fatally shot Michael Brown, in the boy’s mother, Alecia Phone- a citizen, but revealed that their Ferguson, Missouri. savanh, told local news station
34 THE NEW AMERICAN • sEptember 21, 2015 WSB-TV. “The cops threw that grenade in the door without looking first, and it landed right in the playpen and exploded on his pillow right in his face.” As a result of injuries from the SWAT team’s tactics, Bounkham was placed in a medically induced coma. “It blew open his face and his chest,” the boy’s mother told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution out- side Grady Memorial Hospital. “Every- body was asleep. It’s not like anyone was trying to fight.” According to an article in the U.K. Daily Mail, Bounkham Phonesavanh has endured some 10 surgeries costing more than a million dollars, “His nerve endings
are dead around his mouth and chest, so AP Images they will not be able to properly develop Candid camera: Eugene, Oregon, Police Sergeant Larry Compton displays his body camera. as they are supposed to, so they [sur- geons] will have to go in and do stretching gobbles up the federal “grants,” purchas- sentative Garnet Coleman; California, ac- and grafts.” He’ll likely need surgery at ing military-grade vehicles, weapons, tress Taraji Henson; Kansas, activist John least every other year as he grows. ammunition, and surveillance technology Sherman; and California, actress Daniele that would make the National Security Watts. Many additional cases have shown Do’s and Don’ts of Intervention Agency (NSA) proud. In December 2014, that ideologues with a political agenda, as While public outcry against abuses of President Obama proposed $263 million well as opportunists attempting to avoid power by those carrying guns and charged in federal funding for local law enforce- the consequences of their criminal activi- with “serving and protecting” their fellow ment, which includes $75 million for ties, have adopted the practice of hollering citizens is understandable and often justi- body-worn video cameras for police of- “racism” and “brutality” at the first con- fied, too often those demanding punish- ficers, the latest panacea for police abuse. tact with police officers. ment of offending officers also demand Budgetary considerations and the consti- While the campaigns for body cams that the federal government get involved tutional federalism issues aside, the body is relatively new, the campaign for es- to crack down on the rogue cops. cam, like the dashcams mounted in many tablishing “civilian review boards” has On the other side, the segment of so- police cruisers and the audio recorders been underway since the 1930s — when ciety sympathetic to the perceived plight already worn by many peace officers, it was launched by the Communist Party. of police and hostile to those claiming can offer some measure of accountability The term “civilian review” is deceptive- abuse at their hands also petition the fed- — both for the peace officers and those ly appealing, and we already have it in eral government, demanding that they who accuse them of abuse. It is worth the form of civilian officials elected by send local law enforcement more power- noting that available evidence indicates the people and other civilian appointees ful weapons to help them fight the foes that more often than not, dash-cam and and institutions established under state of law and order and keep police on the body-cam videos exculpate, rather than constitutions and county/city charters: street safe from rocks thrown by rioters. convict, officers of wrongdoing. state and county grand juries, county Constitutionalists on either side of the The recent case of liberal Connecticut commissions, city councils, mayors, issue should recognize the problem with activist Professor Minati Roychoudhuri, county sheriffs, etc. The Communist both reactions: increased federal control who falsely accused a state trooper of Party and its fellow travelers intended over local law enforcement. racial profiling, is one of many in which to undermine this constitutional civilian Of course, the federal government gets video/audio recordings have shown accu- process by inserting over the police and what it wants regardless of who wins the sations of police misconduct to be totally sheriffs an unelected board of activists fight for “safer streets.” false. The recordings show Trooper John (whom they intended to control). Un- A key plank of the Obama administra- Such was courteous and professional, fortunately, this subversive program has tion platform seems to be the conversion and the professor’s public accusations now been instituted in more than 100 of the local police into a sixth branch of were false and malicious. Roychoudhuri U.S. cities. the U.S. armed forces, and all the atten- is being prosecuted for her demonstrably As it stands now, the multi-pronged tion paid to charges of police brutality false charges against the trooper. In other war against locally-controlled police is and the riots that so often erupt is push- similar recent examples, police videos dangerously advanced. Unless citizens ing that agenda forward at breakneck have exonerated officers in “celebrity” awaken to this fact and reverse the trend, speed. racism/brutality accusation cases, such as we will find ourselves accelerating faster Cash-strapped local law enforcement these: in Texas, Democratic state repre- down the trail to tyranny. n www.TheNewAmerican.com 35 A Superior Degree of Reliability
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A depth of resources Brick, Block, and Stone; that make all Basements, Chimneys, the difference and Fireplaces; when it matters most. We build new and repair. Lead Paint Mold Removal Period Restoration {as seen on This Old House} Jim Squire office: 330-239-3134 SUPPORT YOUR cell: 330-350-0169 LOCAL POLICE AND KEEP THEM INDEPENDENT! fax: 330-239-1150 877-527-4040 [email protected] [email protected] www.alpine-environmental.com culture What Killed Black Progress? The Left chants “Black lives matter,” while instituting policies that often result in resentful, downtrodden black Americans. One cannot both care and continue on the same path.
that in proportion as the Negro learned to produce what other people wanted and must have, in the same proportion would he be respected.” As the years passed, blacks worked in all manner of jobs, slowly elevating their eco- nomic status, dramatically illustrating the wisdom of Washington’s sage advice. As segregation was established by law, blacks responded by carving out of their own com- munity an economically vibrant society, with their own lawyers, doctors, businesses, and social life. They certainly did not look to the government for a handout, but usually did their best to stay out of its way. Most charity was provided by either private mu- tual aid societies or black churches. David
AP Images Belto, in his book After the Welfare State, This Penn State student was among the protesters in the college’s HUB building. With the words noted, “In 1920, about eighteen million “Black Lives Matter” taped to their mouths, they dressed in black and laid on the floor to protest Americans belonged to fraternal societies, the shooting of Michael Brown by a Ferguson, Missouri, police officer. i.e. nearly 30 percent of all adults.” The breaking of baseball’s “color line” by Steve Byas Walter E. Williams, an economist from by Jackie Robinson in 1945 also dem- George Mason University and a best-sell- onstrates Washington’s point, as his suc- he Left is fond of saying, “Black ing author, noted: “There is no question, cess was the embodiment of the strategy lives matter.” Of course they do! though it’s not acknowledged enough, that of making oneself “valuable” to society. T But implicit in the statement is black Americans have made greater gains, When given the opportunity to play for the that modern victimization of blacks is over some of the highest hurdles and in Brooklyn Dodgers, Robinson played the a “legacy of slavery” extending to the a very short span of time, than any other game so well that fans wanted to watch present day, and that America’s continu- racial group in mankind’s history.” him play, and his personal conduct — not ing racism is what is blocking the path of In his famous autobiography Up From treating prejudice in kind — as well his black progress, with local police as a key Slavery, famed black educator Booker T. outstanding baseball skills won him the exponent of the alleged white racist power Washington recounted not only his own admiration of whites and blacks alike, structure supposedly suppressing blacks. amazing emergence from slavery, but including even many of the whites who Reality is actually quite different. Upon showed the way for other former slaves had opposed the integration of baseball. the abolition of chattel slavery, accom- and their descendants to overcome preju- In so doing, he blazed the trail for other plished by the 13th Amendment in 1865, dice and achieve greatness. “The whole great black athletes to follow. And he ac- emancipated blacks had limited skills; were future of the Negro rested largely upon the complished this feat without court orders without homes, savings, and education; and question as to whether or not he should or other government intervention of any were often victimized by overt discrimina- make himself, through his skill, intelli- kind to force the integration. tion. Despite the legacy of slavery, with gence, and character, of such undeniable Washington and Robinson were of dif- its dehumanizing effects, and the prospect value to the community in which he lived ferent generations and possessed different of intense hostility on the part of much of that the community could not dispense talents, but in their own ways they were the surrounding majority white popula- with his presence,” Washington wrote. exemplary role models who inspired mil- tion, blacks persevered over the next sev- “I said that any individual who learned lions to achieve greatness through hard eral decades, making steady progress. This to do something better than anybody else work and initiative. Washington, through progress was accomplished not only with- — learned to do a common thing in an un- Tuskegee University, which he estab- out governmental aid, but in spite of gov- common manner — had solved his prob- lished, also provided the education many ernment, with its multiple legal roadblocks. lem, regardless of the color of his skin, and poor blacks so desperately needed to start
Call 1-800-727-TRUE to subscribe today! 37 culture climbing up the economic lad- 6,000 blacks are murdered on an der and achieve their part in the annual basis, with the murderer American dream. being another black person 93 But what happened to stall this percent of the time. upward climb? Liberal programs As mentioned previously, claiming to help black Ameri- many have traced the present di- cans, such as the so-called War lemma of black poverty, crime, on Poverty launched in the early and disintegration of the family 1960s, have had the opposite ef- to the Great Society of President fect. In particular, the black fam- Lyndon Johnson, which declared ily, once strong, has been under- “war” on poverty in the 1960s. mined by government programs. Since this massive expansion of Dinesh D’Souza wrote in The the welfare state, there has been End of Racism, “More black a three-fold increase in the num- males are in prison than in col- ber of children growing up in lege,” and that 65 percent of single-parent families. black children are born out of In their article for the Heri- wedlock. Sister Souljah, an au- tage Foundation entitled “How thor and liberal black activist, Welfare Harms Kids,” Patrick contends that the unenviable Fagan and Robert Rector ex- state of black families, black plained how this accelerating crimes, and black employment trend has affected the incidence is all about “racism,” which she of violent crime and burglary. said “has turned our communi- They found that growing up in ties into war zones.” Liberal a single-parent family on wel- politicians and opinion-makers fare triples the probability that generally agree with her. Jackie Robinson broke the “color line” of major league baseball, a young black man will engage But if racism were the primary and won “rookie of the year” honors in 1947. in criminal activity. It is in- problem facing the black commu- structive that the explosion of nity, then the multitude of problems they cies effectively made that impossible. illegitimacy and single-parent homes has are suffering from should have been much Most cities still require license fees of occurred since 1960. It was in 1964 that worse before 1960. After all, the election many thousands of dollars. Other types President Johnson led Congress to enact of a person of black African ancestry as of businesses were closed to most blacks his bundle of reforms dubbed the Great president of the United States would have because of insurmountable permit fees, Society. been unthinkable 50 years ago, and even as well, shutting the door to a person of According Fagan and Rector, welfare more so 100 years ago, when racism and limited financial resources from launch- “has made marriage economically irra- discrimination were far more intense. ing a small business. tional for most low-income parents. It has However, black problems weren’t Then there’s that “family thing.” Today, transformed marriage from a legal institu- worse prior to the 1960s. Most of the prob- fewer black children grow up in a two- tion designed to protect and nurture chil- lems encountered by blacks today can be parent family than under slavery. In 1925 dren into an institution that financially pe- traced to government, mostly the federal New York City, Walter Williams noted, nalizes nearly all low-income parents who government. At one time, blacks had a 85 percent of black households were two- enter into it.” Welfare pays for non-work lower unemployment rate than whites, but parent. “As late as 1950, only 18 percent and non-marriage — and thus, not surpris- then minimum-wage laws often prevented of black households were single-parent. ingly, we get more of both. young black men from getting jobs. Walter From 1890 to 1940, a slightly higher per- Urban gangs in large cities have often Williams explained that early work expe- centage of black adults had married than replaced the male role model of the father rience teaches youths “things like … you white adults. In 1940, black illegitimacy in the home, leading young men into tragic come to work on time, you respect the su- was about 14 percent.” confrontations with the local police. Yet pervisors, you dress in a certain way.” Yet, Now black illegitimacy is 75 percent. without the police, these cities would be the minimum wage creates a situation in This has a definite correlation to pov- even more dangerous for their inhabitants which the potential employee costs more erty. As Williams noted, “Among married — black and white alike. to hire than what that person can possibly families it [the poverty rate] has been in Sadly, more federal control of local law earn for the business. the single digits for more than two dec enforcement is the rallying cry of liberal Other government policies affected ades.” And children raised by single par- black activists and progressives in general, blacks equally perniciously. If a young ents are likelier to use drugs and become once again offering the creator of many of black person wished to offer taxicab involved in criminal behavior. these problems — the federal government service, for example, government poli- According to FBI statistics, more than — as the solution. n
38 THE NEW AMERICAN • sEptember 21, 2015 police
the street.” When the car finally came to a Perspective stop, Slater and his backup approached the Police car. One man was injured. The other was Is it possible to truly understand the inherent difficulties and dead. Both were armed. Often horrific interactions with citizens dangers of police work without looking at it through the eyes happen just that fast, and the potential for of those who wear a badge? imminent violence is a fact that police of- ficers never forget and that citizens don’t generally understand — along with the incredible restraint that officers exercise on a daily basis and the effects that police work can have on officers’ personal lives. Slater began his career in law enforce- ment as a state game warden in 1983. He joined the Henrico County Police Depart- ment in 1989 and worked there until retir- ing in May of 2015. During that time, he was promoted to sergeant, with up to 14 of- ficers reporting to him. Even as a supervi- sor, Slater never lost his patrolman’s spirit. He often went on patrol with his officers. After the events of that fateful midnight shift in 1992, Slater did briefly consider leaving the job. He knows what most will never know: the weight of having taken John a life. It impacted him as a person. It im- Slater pacted his family. He called it “a very difficult thing that changes one’s defini- tion of normal,” adding, “It’s something that — having been down that road — I by C. Mitchell Shaw erate, Slater was snatched off his feet and wouldn’t wish on anyone.” found himself being dragged beside the car. Slater also says the very nature of the n 1992, patrolman John Slater of It had only been a split second since he job is something that has “a cost.” As he the Henrico County, Virginia, Police had looked up at his backup. In that split put it: I Department was working a midnight second, everything had changed. What shift when he made a traffic stop in the city began as a routine traffic stop was now There is a cost to doing this. The ma- of Richmond. In the car were two men. a life-and-death struggle as Slater was jority of police officers, on a day-in Something in their behavior seemed suspi- pulled along beside the car for 150 feet. day-out basis, especially in urban and cious, so after writing the driver a ticket, Because both the driver and the passenger suburban law enforcement, deal with Slater asked for permission to search the were holding his hand against the gear- what I would characterize as the un- car. The driver said it would be all right. shift, Slater could not pull free as the car derbelly of society. I would go so far As Slater’s backup approached the passen- continued to speed up. Over and over, he as to say that it is impossible to deal ger side door, Slater looked up just for a yelled for the driver to stop. As he told The with the criminal element, that often- moment. As he looked back into the car, New American, “Fortunately, there were times is intent on inflicting harm on his flashlight illuminated the passenger no cars on the opposite side of the road. someone or will do whatever they reaching under his shirt for a gun. If that had been the case, it would have need to do to get away — including Slater instinctively drew his sidearm. As sheared me off.” killing you — it’s impossible to deal he did, the passenger pulled the gearshift Because his life was in danger, Slater — with that on a day-in day-out basis into drive and yelled for the driver to go. who still had his sidearm in his right hand and not have it have some effect on With his left hand, which was still holding — “fired until [his] gun was dry,” hitting [you as a] person. the flashlight, Slater reached into the car both men in the car. Only then was he able and pushed the gearshift back into park. to break free. “I pushed myself away from Thankfully, Slater did not leave his chosen But the driver and passenger both put their the car,” Slater said, adding that because career. Though suffering from depression weight into pulling the gearshift back into he did not know how much damage he had for a while, his family and his faith helped drive, trapping Slater’s hand. As the car done, and because he knew the passenger him through it. He said, “I decided that I pulled onto the road and began to accel- was armed, “I had to take my chances with did not want this to become my identity www.TheNewAmerican.com 39 police and I pulled myself up.” His wife contin- ued to support him, but the shooting was a turning point for her, as well. The dangers of police work — which had been ethereal — became real to her. In the following weeks and months, there were visits to see doctors and coun- selors. There was a departmental inves- tigation and, as per state law, a criminal investigation to determine whether Slater Ben had acted appropriately. He was cleared by Sauriol both investigations and returned to work. Slater’s story is significant not because it is abnormal, but because it reminds those of us who are not in law enforce- ment that police officers are real people with real families and that they have real struggles dealing with things that most of us will never experience. True, few police officers and deputies will ever fire their officers are called to a location to check While lying on the ground, the PTSD- sidearms in the line of duty and fewer will on someone’s well-being, Sauriol related fueled former soldier continued to reach ever take a life. But as Slater points out, to The New American. On one particu- for the gun despite Sauriol’s warnings that many of them do deal on a day-to-day lar call, things escalated very quickly, and unless he stopped, Sauriol would have to basis with a criminal element of society, Sauriol’s training and level head kept the shock him again. After one more jolt of a which lacks the morality that keeps the situation under control. When he arrived at few thousand volts, he finally gave up and rest of us in check. In the absence of that the location of the call and approached the was taken into custody. When the hand- moral check, it is good that there are police man he was there to check on, he could tell gun was examined, it was found to be fully officers and sheriff’s deputies willing to something wasn’t right. loaded with a round already chambered. stand in the gap. “He was in the backyard of his brother’s When asked why he chose his Taser in- Winneconne is a village in Winnebago house. His parents called him in [to the po- stead of his sidearm, Sauriol said, County, Wisconsin, and is about as far re- lice] because he has post-traumatic stress moved from the metropolitan environment disorder (PTSD) — he’s former military Because I didn’t see the gun in there of Richmond, Virginia, as one can get. The — and he had been drinking,” Sauriol and until you see an actual weapon population of the village is less than 2,400 said, adding, “He was quite upset about a — now granted, I knew there was and officers there, such as Ben Sauriol, few things and his parents couldn’t calm most likely a gun in there — but until often depend on neighboring towns, vil- him down. They called the police because you see it, you can’t assume. Imagine lages, and counties for their backup. While they were concerned for his safety.” if I would have shot him, and then Winneconne does not have the gang prob- When Sauriol asked if everything was there was not a gun in there. What lems and violent crime of a big city, of- OK, the man gave him “a thousand yard would that have looked like? So you ficers there still face some pretty intense stare and just said, ‘no’,” Sauriol said. have to show great restraint until you situations that call for level heads and When Sauriol asked the man if he wanted actually have a situation where you good training. to hurt himself, he said he did. The man are in great danger of death or serious Officer Ben Sauriol, who has been at then backed up to a detached garage and bodily harm. Winneconne for 12 of his 15 years in law reached up to the eve of the roof with his enforcement, says officers in his area often left hand. When he brought his hand back When asked if he had been afraid for his know as friends and neighbors the people down, he was holding a gun case — the safety during the ordeal, Sauriol said, “No. they interact with professionally. They see type that holds a handgun. “I told him sev- I just relied on my training.” His backup these people during work hours and during eral times to drop the case and he was giv- on that call was Officer Luke Luther from the rest of the week. They go to church ing me that look and he said ‘no.’ At this neighboring Omro, Wisconsin. Omro has with them. They see them at the grocery point, I had my Taser on him and I told a population of about 3,500, and the de- store. Their kids go to school together. It him, ‘If you don’t drop the case I’m going partments often provide backup for each is important to maintain that “neighborli- to have to Tase you,’” Sauriol said. Instead other. Luther says there are times when he ness” both for the job’s sake and for the of dropping the case, the man turned his is concerned for his safety, but it doesn’t community’s sake. back on Sauriol and reached with his right keep him from doing his job. He also says The effectiveness of the training that of- hand to open the case. Sauriol Tased him, his training is a great comfort in that re- ficers in his department receive can be wit- and when he fell, he dropped the case. A gard, because he believes that he is pre- nessed during a “welfare check,” in which .45-caliber pistol fell out. pared to handle situations as they arise.
40 THE NEW AMERICAN • sEptember 21, 2015 power comes from the citizenry. And we will stop being the police when the citizens tell us, “We’re not going to allow you to police us any- more.” The way to [maintain that re- lationship] is to be professional and realize the Constitution applies to everybody and that the Constitution is what everything the police do is derived from.
As the second largest city in Idaho with a population of about 85,000 people, Me- ridian has a good mix of people. And it has its crime, but Basterrechea says police Luke Luther with his three work is so much more than just going out daughters and arresting the bad guys. “We are pub- lic servants who are problem solvers,” he said, adding, “The vast majority of work So how do these officers view the bal- training, and there are many situations we do really isn’t enforcement.” When ance between doing their jobs and making where in the back of my mind I know asked for an example of the non-enforce- sure people’s rights are not abused? Offi- there’s more than meets the eye, but I ment service provided by Meridian’s of- cer Sauriol said there is no question there; know I can’t go there because I don’t have ficers, Basterrechea couldn’t give just one: rights come first: the right to trump someone else’s rights. I take that seriously, and I believe all of our We’ve had officers go on shoplifting Our job is not to infringe on people’s officers take that seriously.” calls and the store owner is demand- rights; a law enforcement officer’s job Sergeant Slater agreed. He said that on ing that this female is to be arrested is actually to protect people’s rights. If many occasions he has stopped cars along or at least cited. And she was stealing we pull someone over for a valid, law- Interstate 95 — a known drug corridor baby food to feed her kids because ful stop, it is not our job to push the en- through Richmond — and just known, they had no food. And I know of an velope and try to search the car to see because of his experience, that there were officer who wrote the citation be- if they have anything illegal in the car. drugs in the car, but had no proof. He has cause the shop owner demanded it I’ve always said the ends don’t justify asked if he can search these cars and had but then the officer paid for the food the means and the process matters. We the drivers refuse. His response? Give the because she had no food at home. take an oath to defend and uphold the driver the ticket for the offense that caused We’ve had officers who have gone Constitution and it’s our responsibility the stop and send him on his way. “I know to calls to check on the welfare of — as law-enforcement officers — to I allowed drugs to stay on the street,” he kids and realize there’s hardly any make sure we understand what that said, “but if the alternative is to violate the food in the house and have gone — oath means. The Fourth Amendment Constitution and people’s rights, it’s not and with their own money — bought is the main amendment we deal with worth it.” groceries and gone back and put in our jobs — dealing with unreason- Deputy Chief of Police Tracy Basterre- food in the house. Officers who have able searches and seizures — and if chea in Meridian, Idaho, near Boise, has bought gas for people when they’ve we infringe on somebody’s rights been in law enforcement for 20 years and run out of gas, changed tires on the because of drugs or whatever, yeah has spent all of that time at Meridian. He side of the road, I mean they do this you might get the drugs off the street started out as a patrolman and worked his every day and they don’t ever come or the illegal weapons off the street, way up through the ranks. As Sergeant back and say, “Hey, you know what but you need to do so in the proper Slater did until he retired, Basterrechea I did?” We usually find out about it manner. And if you don’t do it in the goes out on patrol. He sees the people and much later when somebody picks up proper manner, then you do yourself the way they interact with his officers, and the phone and calls us and then the an injustice, you do the community he is careful to communicate a message of officer’s embarrassed. Because they an injustice, and you’re quite frankly police protecting people’s rights, because didn’t do it for the recognition. doing the badge an injustice because as he says, the power to police “comes you’re not upholding the principles of from the citizenry.” On the other side of Idaho, in the sparsely the Constitution. populated Adams County, Chris Green One of the things our Founding Fa- works as a sergeant for the Adams County Luther said, “In many of our training ses- thers did is that they abdicated a lot Sheriff’s Office in the same community sions, we cover constitutional law and of control to [local] police and that where he grew up. The people he polices
Call 1-800-727-TRUE to subscribe today! 41 police are his neighbors, his high- has such a “stake in the commu- school teachers, and his boy- nity” — would hopefully react hood friends. “You get to know differently. “I would think that the the people here so you get a people here wouldn’t overreact good rapport with everybody without all the facts if something and I try to treat everybody with were to happen,” he said. the respect I want from them,” Basterrechea said he has dis- he told The New American. He cussed this issue with his com- recognizes that encounters with mand staff and the officers in police are not usually positive Tracy Meridian. His message to them? Basterrechea events. He said, “Usually when “You have to do your job. The we run into somebody they’re rest will sort itself out. If you are having their worst day of their doing things the right way for lives. We are not there to be bul- the right reasons, we’re going lies, we’re just there to do our to back you. We understand that job. We’re people just like you.” video is sometimes edited. When Where protecting citizens’ you see the whole video, from rights is concerned, Green says the police officer’s perspective, he thinks it is an important part it can change everything.” That of all police work. There are is one reason his department has times when officers need to re- body cameras for its officers. member that, “just because you As he points out, “You have to can do something, it doesn’t try to get the [complete] informa- mean you should. If there’s a fine line, I’d Because the narrative is so skewed — tion out first because when the misinfor- rather not step on it.” particularly in the post-Ferguson world mation gets out, that’s the information that But are Slater, Sauriol, Luther, Baster- — there is the very real danger that police sticks. That is what happened in the Fergu- rechea, and Green anomalies, or do most officers are second-guessing themselves son shooting. The misinformation got out police care about people and the Constitu- at times when milliseconds may mean the and was the first thing people saw and so tion? What about all the YouTube videos officer is “the second one to pull the trig- it became ‘the Gospel.’” of police officers abusing, assaulting, and ger,” as Slater put it. He said in his last Basterrechea knows what it is like to be violating people? few months before retiring in May 2015, put in a bad place with few options. Years Slater said there were many occasions he had officers under his command who ago, while serving a search warrant, he where citizens would use a smartphone to told him their reflexes and reactions were had to draw his weapon when he saw one video what was happening with police. He slower because they feared being accused of the men in the house walking toward a said, “I would approach them and identify of acting wrongly. Even though they are shotgun. After ordering the man to stop, myself and give my badge number and tell following department policies and doing Basterrechea drew his weapon and contin- them that I was glad to see what they were their jobs properly, they do have concerns ued to tell him to stop. The man did even- doing. I’d tell them, ‘You have every right that they could be the next leading story tually stop and no shots were fired, but to do this. I’m glad you’re doing it. If you because of either a misunderstanding or a Basterrechea said that in that moment, “I don’t exercise this right, you may lose it.’ false accusation. Or both. was just thinking, ‘Please don’t grab that Most of the time, they would put the phone Sergeant Green says he believes the shotgun. Please don’t make me do some- away, which isn’t what I wanted, but they Ferguson factor is creating an officer safe- thing I don’t want to do.’ Because no of- aren’t going to get a bunch of hits on their ty issue. He said the deputies who report ficer wants to take someone’s life.” It may video if someone isn’t getting their rights to him have told him they are concerned be a good thing he didn’t hesitate to draw violated.” about being accused of using too much his weapon that day, since his action may Slater makes a real point there. How force and that it causes them to question have saved lives — his own and those of reliable is the perception that people draw themselves before using force even when his fellow officers on the scene. from the videos of police brutality and it may be needed. Hopefully as more and more people re- heavy handedness? Are those videos an Officer Luther said in the aftermath of alize that most police officers and deputies accurate reflection of day-to-day reality, or Ferguson, he feels like “a lot of people may are not villains but fellow citizens protect- are they just the extreme exception that get have jumped to conclusions before all the ing and serving their local communities, shown simply because it is extreme. How facts were known. A lot of them believed the Ferguson factor will fade into the many YouTube videos could be made of ‘facts’ that weren’t actually facts. It defi- background. Then perhaps fewer officers officers unlocking cars or changing tires nitely makes me think a little more, and it and deputies will waste precious millisec- for people, or searching for lost children, might slow me down in certain things.” He onds second-guessing themselves before or spending their own money buying gro- was quick to add that his community — be- they act. Because as Sergeant John Slater ceries for families in need? cause it is smaller and the police department knows, things happen fast. n
42 THE NEW AMERICAN • september 21, 2015 Roger Given, MBA, CPA Financial Advisor*
2015 Bluffside Terrace Colorado Springs, CO 80919 (888) 822-4430 [email protected]
*Securities offered through H.D. Vest Investment ServicesSM, Member SIPC. Advisory Services offered through H.D. Vest Advisory ServicesSM, 6333 North State Highway 161, Fourth Floor, Hewes Marine Company, Inc. Irving, TX 75038, (972) 870-6000 2600 North Highway • Colville, WA Given & Associates, CPAs, PC is not a registered 1-800-326-6594 broker/dealer or independent investment advisory firm. THE LAST WORD by Arthur R. Thompson What You Can Do to Maintain Your Local Police
ecoming informed using professionally pro- about the American duced educational tools. You B system of local law will also be helped to expand enforcement and the forces your educational reach, aim- arrayed to nationalize local ing at your state legislators police is insufficient without and congressmen. Many of action. It is as if you see that these elected officials do not a cloudburst has filled your realize the danger represented street with water, and it will by federal subsidizing, train- begin to come into your ga- ing, and regulating of local rage and then your living police departments and the room if you do nothing. resultant long-range prob- You may study the effects lems for freedom. of water, the damage that The Founding Fathers water can do to rugs and dry- wisely refrained from grant- wall, even your freedom to ing local law-enforcement live in your home, but what power to the federal govern- good is it if you do nothing with that knowledge? What good is ment. In accordance with the 10th Amendment, local law-en- that knowledge if you do not learn how to stop the flooding and forcement power is reserved to the states and local government. begin the task of doing so? Seen in this light, the fight to preserve the independence of our So it is with the ongoing transformation of our system of local police is an essential part of the larger fight to preserve the local police, that is beholden to local citizens, into a national Constitution and secure our God-given rights from usurpation police force beholden to the federal government. If you have by a tyrannical federal government. read this magazine, you understand the problem. But what do It will be up to you and your SYLP committee to: you do about it? • Help your community and county resist the temptation to Since the local police merely reflect a desire of local citizens to accept federal government funding for, and power over, your maintain a local government and law-enforcement agency, the so- local police and sheriff, regardless of the crisis; lution begins with you and like-minded citizens in your local area. • Help your community oppose existing or proposed police re- Restoring and preserving local control over your local police view boards, because they have the potential to hamper local law means that hard decisions must be made by your city council enforcement by replacing police management by elected officials and county government as to how much law enforcement local with police management by unaccountable, appointed officials; citizens really want and are willing to pay for in local budgets. • Help your community influence the county sheriff to in- Outside money brings outside control. terpose between the federal government’s attempts to enforce Maintaining local control over your local police department unconstitutional laws and local citizens; means educating as many other citizens as you can about the • Help influence state legislators to nullify all federal pro- problem of the federal government nationalizing our local po- grams that subsidize, train, regulate, and otherwise tend to na- lice and how citizens have a responsibility to prevent this from tionalize your local police; and happening. Such educational efforts are especially necessary for • Help change the political climate in your community and informing your local officials and community opinion molders. local area so that congressmen are nominated and elected who This special issue of The New American would make an excel- will vote to stop the funding of all federal programs that would lent educational tool for this purpose. lead to the nationalization of local police. Although you and a group of like-minded citizens may be Finally, help your Support Your Local Police committee to es- able to accomplish much along the lines just discussed above, tablish as close a relationship between the community and your you can greatly multiply your effectiveness by joining a “Sup- police as possible. A separation in many cities has occurred pro- port Your Local Police — and Keep Them Independent!” ducing a “them and us” mentality among the citizens and the po- (SYLP) committee and becoming part of a nationwide network lice. You are all neighbors, including the police who serve you. of such committees under the organizational leadership of The Let them see that you appreciate them, and you will be amazed at John Birch Society. If there is no SYLP committee in your area, the change in community attitude it will produce. This will serve contact the Birch Society field coordinator for your area at as a platform for moving a “Support Your Local Police — and 1-800-JBS-USA1 and learn how a committee can be started up. Keep Them Independent!” agenda forward rapidly. n As part of such a committee, you will be able to implement the national SYLP educational initiatives in your community Arthur R. Thompson is chief executive officer of The John Birch Society.
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