On November 21, 2006, 92 year old Kathryn Johnston was shot dead in her home while trying to defend herself from Atlanta police who were executing a no-knock warrant.
Ms. Johnston managed to fire one round from her old gun before she died in a hail of police gunfire that also wounded several officers. The public and her family were rightfully outraged over the killing.
While much has been said this past year about correcting police procedures for drug raids, little attention has been given to the issues of drug enforcement and no-knock warrants.
Untold billions of dollars and many innocent lives have been lost in our national obsession with the "War on Drugs." We are no better off today than we were in the 1960s.
Out jails are packed with non-violent drug offenders, scarce law enforcement resources are being diverted to enforce drug laws, yet both violent crime and drug use are on the rise. Like Prohibition, the War on Drugs is not working.
No-knock warrants have no place in our free society. When a mistake is made, the outcome is usually bad.
Law enforcement will tell you that they need no-knock warrants so they can get in before the drugs get flushed down the toilet. What insanity is it that our precious law enforcement resources are being wasted on busting such small amounts of drugs?
If the government must go after street drugs, go after the big dealers and shippers. That would free up resources and jail beds.
Outlaw no-knock warrants so we can all sleep at night without worrying that some SWAT team with the wrong address will bust down our doors, forcing us to die while trying to defend ourselves from some unknown assailant.
Wednesday, November 21, 2007
Tuesday, November 20, 2007
The Hijacking of Christmas is Complete
The American retail industry has finally completed its takeover of Christmas.
The first sign was when the Christmas advertisements started showing up before Thanksgiving. Now it starts before Halloween.
The next indication was when it became politically incorrect to use the word "Christmas" in public. The term "holidays" came into vogue to ensure that the shopping orgy was all-inclusive.
Depending on where you live, you may have witnessed the last nail in the Christmas coffin - the black Santa. Surely this bit of insanity sprung fully formed from the brain of some mall manager or corporate marketing minion.
I can't believe the black Santa is the brain child of intelligent, free-thinking African-Americans. I don't understand why the Black community would tolerate such racist pandering.
A touch of history: Santa Clause has his origins in Saint Nicholas, a White European of the third century. After becoming the patron saint of Russia, Nicholas lore spread throughout Europe.
The red suit has its origins in bishop's robes and the current depiction of Santa comes from Haddon Sundblom's paintings that were commissioned by Coca-Cola in 1931.
The history and tradition of Santa Clause is much more than can be covered in a blog. The point is, up until the last few years, Santa has always been an old, White man. He is not Black, he is not Hispanic, he is not Asian, and he is not Jewish.
Why confuse the little children with conflicting images of the Jolly Old Elf? Leave the old guy alone, he is doing the best he can as a front man to peddle your cheap Chinese crap.
The first sign was when the Christmas advertisements started showing up before Thanksgiving. Now it starts before Halloween.
The next indication was when it became politically incorrect to use the word "Christmas" in public. The term "holidays" came into vogue to ensure that the shopping orgy was all-inclusive.
Depending on where you live, you may have witnessed the last nail in the Christmas coffin - the black Santa. Surely this bit of insanity sprung fully formed from the brain of some mall manager or corporate marketing minion.
I can't believe the black Santa is the brain child of intelligent, free-thinking African-Americans. I don't understand why the Black community would tolerate such racist pandering.
A touch of history: Santa Clause has his origins in Saint Nicholas, a White European of the third century. After becoming the patron saint of Russia, Nicholas lore spread throughout Europe.
The red suit has its origins in bishop's robes and the current depiction of Santa comes from Haddon Sundblom's paintings that were commissioned by Coca-Cola in 1931.
The history and tradition of Santa Clause is much more than can be covered in a blog. The point is, up until the last few years, Santa has always been an old, White man. He is not Black, he is not Hispanic, he is not Asian, and he is not Jewish.
Why confuse the little children with conflicting images of the Jolly Old Elf? Leave the old guy alone, he is doing the best he can as a front man to peddle your cheap Chinese crap.
Friday, November 02, 2007
Belated Christmas Wishes
Before we get too late into the season, I would like to wish everyone a merry Christmas.
Too soon, you say? Well, at least one national chain started its Christmas advertising before Halloween. If you get the feeling that the Christmas season is getting longer and longer, you are right.
Many years ago, the season began when Santa made his appearance at the Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade. Now it starts as soon as merchants get shelf space from their last big holiday extravaganza - which is now Halloween.
What used to be a Christian holiday has now morphed into the largest retail sales blitz of the year. Religion is lost in the materialistic orgy that consumes so many Americans in November and December.
Instead of Christians worshiping their God, Christmas is now a frenzy of people buying gifts they can't afford, with money they don't have, for people who don't need it.
Spare me the insanity, at least until I have had my fill of turkey. And, this year, instead of trying to play one-up with your gift buying, give a little more to charity.
Too soon, you say? Well, at least one national chain started its Christmas advertising before Halloween. If you get the feeling that the Christmas season is getting longer and longer, you are right.
Many years ago, the season began when Santa made his appearance at the Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade. Now it starts as soon as merchants get shelf space from their last big holiday extravaganza - which is now Halloween.
What used to be a Christian holiday has now morphed into the largest retail sales blitz of the year. Religion is lost in the materialistic orgy that consumes so many Americans in November and December.
Instead of Christians worshiping their God, Christmas is now a frenzy of people buying gifts they can't afford, with money they don't have, for people who don't need it.
Spare me the insanity, at least until I have had my fill of turkey. And, this year, instead of trying to play one-up with your gift buying, give a little more to charity.
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