USA - Cop Turned Lawmaker Just Proposed Making the Teasing of Cops ILLEGAL. No, Seriously Read more at http://thefreethoughtproject.com/cop-turned-lawmaker-proposed-making-teasing-cops-illegal-no/#KquygwguscM5P7Me.99

OFF THE WIRE.
By Matt Agorist..

“If you believe in freedom of speech, you believe in freedom of speech for views you don’t like. Goebbels was in favor of free speech for views he liked. So was Stalin. If you’re really in favor of free speech, then you’re in favor of freedom of speech for precisely the views you despise. Otherwise, you’re not in favor of free speech.”
― Noam Chomsky

image: http://tftppull.freethoughtllc.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/Cop-Turned-Lawmaker-Just-Proposed-Making-the-Teasing-of-Cops-ILLEGAL.jpg

Harrisburg, PA — Earlier this week, at the PA state capitol, lawmakers, police officers and their supporters gathered. This gathering was held to give themselves a collective pat on the back for the insane and brutal police state they are complicit in creating. This mass of government force was aptly called, Law Enforcement Appreciation Day.
Among the festivities, there was the praising of the state’s immoral war on drugs and a felicitation of the police state and revenue collection in general.
At such a gathering, this type of self-aggrandizing encouragement of the police state is to be expected. State Sen. John Rafferty (R), even came out with his resolution to recognize 2015 as the “Year of the Law Enforcement Officer.” 
All fine and dandy, no harm, no foul.
However, one former cop turned Pennsylvania lawmaker, went above and beyond any rational expectations of tyrannical public speaking when he called for the termination of free speech.
State Representative and former chief of police of the Pittsburgh Police Department, Dom Costa (D), came out swinging when he suggested that he would introduce legislation to protect cops from having their feelings hurt.

“This nonsense that is going today on where police officers are being taunted by people and being provoked, let’s face it we’re all human beings, and eventually that emotion will break. And that’s what they’re trying to do,” he said, according to Raging Chicken Press.

Costa then suggests that the laws in place that protect police dogs from being taunted should be expanded to officers as well.

“So, what I’ve talked to some of my colleagues and the senator [Senator Rafferty] is that we have a bill about taunting a police dog.  It’s illegal.  There should be out that you can’t taunt a police officer because you’re going to get those emotions up.  I myself and Representative Vereb are looking at that bill to put it forward in the House, and I am sure the Senate will follow.  Or at least support that bill.”

Costa wants to use government force to stop people from speaking out about the use of government force, to protect those who abuse their monopoly of government force.

In other words, “Shut up and take this tyranny, slave!”
Can you imagine the resultant ridiculousness from police officers being able to arrest someone who hurts their widdle feewings?
We already see cops violate the constitutionally protected act of raising one’s middle finger by detaining, arresting, kidnapping and caging folks for giving the bird.
This legislation would not only legalize such tyrannical practices, but it would outlaw speaking out against them.
Being an asshole will not get you any friends, but neither will forcing assholes to remain silent. In fact, even the most vitriolic and hate-filled speech must be protected if society is to have any semblance of freedom.
Dom Costa has crossed a line, and he deserves to know it. While we still have a little free speech left, let’s use it to let tyrants like Costa know, that we the people will never be silenced.
Share this article with your friends and then Tweet it at him @RepDomCosta Or leave him some feedback on his Facebook Profile.
I’ll start.

Read more at http://thefreethoughtproject.com/cop-turned-lawmaker-proposed-making-teasing-cops-illegal-no/#KquygwguscM5P7Me.99

Can you imagine the resultant ridiculousness from police officers being able to arrest someone who hurts their widdle feewings?
This is SEROUSLY ridiculous: http://goo.gl/xyjr2L

Former cop turned State Senator, John Rafferty, wants to limit your freedom of speech by making it illegal to talk to cops in any way other than with complete and total respect. This is not a joke. Instead of protecting our freedoms, this cop wants to make sure you don't have freedom. Make this guy famous!
Full report: http://bit.ly/1IRxmG6
Via - The Free Thought Project.com

BABE OF THE DAY

Legislation that Fines Cops $15,000 for Interfering with Citizens who Film Them, Passes House

OFF THE WIRE

Legislation that Fines Cops $15,000 for Interfering with Citizens who Film Them, Passes House
Learn more: http://goo.gl/YDk9QE

OFF THE WIRE

Wayne Peal, Livingston Daily     




Two fatalities were reported last year in Livingston County. One involved Hamburg Township Police Department Sgt. James Sanderson. The other involved a 26-year-old Marion Township man. A suspect has been charged in Sanderson’s death.

Over the past 10 years, motorcycle fatalities peaked at 129 in 2012.
The reporting system is provided by the Michigan State Police and can be accessed at http://www.michigantrafficcrashfacts.org.
While safety month is directed at automobile drivers as well as motorcyclists, ABATE officials say there are things riders can do on their own to boost safety.
Most important, Consiglio said, is for riders to obtain a cycle endorsement on their driver’s license.
“It’s something we strongly encourage riders to obtain,” he said.
Endorsements are added to the driver’s licenses of riders who successfully complete written and riding tests at Michigan secretary of state offices.
Under state law, endorsements are also a requirement for riders who choose not to wear helmet. Helmetless riders must also be 21 and carry at least $20,000 in medical benefits.
Though endorsements are required under Michigan law, many riders do not obtain them.
According to ABATE, nearly two in every five of last year’s fatalities involved riders without endorsements.
Contact Livingston Daily reporter Wayne Peal at 517-548-7081 or 



















COMMENT

For all of my Washington State Legislator Facebook friends: WE HAVE BEEN TELLING YOU THIS FOR YEARS! Michigan has seen a decrease of nearly 20% fatalities since Freedom of Choice legislation passed in 2012! I realize it might be a hard pill to swallow, but Law Enforcement, NHTSA, AAA, the Michigan university guess study, and all opponents of repealing the helmet law have been lying to you about the benefits. The last 4 states to repeal mandatory helmet laws (MI, FL, TX and PA) have all shown the same trend. It is time to listen and 'Let those who ride decide"! Where is the 37% increase that was predicted? Empirical Data shows quite the opposite!
http://www.livingstondaily.com/…/mototcycle-helme…/26251501/
DONNIE

When enough Americans realize the systemic police problem, politics will change

OFF THE WIRE

When enough Americans realize the systemic police problem, politics will change

With technology, the public is becoming increasingly aware of problems with police abuse, brutality and corruption. Everyone has a cell phone and thus a camera. In a real sense, America is filled with millions of independent daily reporters who show everyone what is happening in their local areas. This tool is tremendous to protect liberty, and it is increasingly revealing problems with law enforcement agencies and offices. Despite the common excuse, you can't judge them all by a few bad apples, evidence reveals that our problems with police go beyond a "few bad apples."

A recent article by The Atlantic points out this reality. The article rightly notes that if the problems we now commonly see are simply a "few bad apples," then we would be seeing the "good cops" tossing the "bad apples" out and would be seeing police administration correcting the problems from a systematic standpoint: better training, hiring, discipline and policies.

Instead, we see cops sticking up for cops, even when the conduct is blatantly abusive and unconstitutional. But when video reveals the horror of the police' conduct, one has to wonder how and why good cops would so easily support and help the "bad apples." A recent example of this took place in San Bernardino County, CA, where

in the two minutes after the [suspect] was stunned with a Taser, it appeared deputies kicked him 17 times, punched him 37 times and struck him with batons four times. Thirteen blows appeared to be to the head." As many as 11 sheriff's deputies were ultimately complicit, with only the very last to arrive on the scene having a plausible excuse. (source).

Were the vast majority of police "good" and there only a very few "bad apples," then why do all of the good police either (1) sit back and do nothing in the face of abuse, or worse, (2) assist the "bad apples" in abusing suspects or violating the Constitution? Where is the individual's responsibility for upholding the integrity of the system? There seems to be little, from the lowest ranking officer to the highest.

The responsibility of police is diffused among many layers in the system, so that it is almost impossible to blame the system itself or the leaders who hide behind "bad apples". This diffusion of responsibility makes it really easy and convenient for police in higher positions to blame the "bad apples," while the system itself encourages and promotes what creates "bad apples." Sheriffs and police chiefs know or should know it.

The sad reality is, the atmosphere in which police are trained and operate promotes an "us versus them" mentality. Police presume guilt and prioritize "officer safety" over all. The right of the people to be secure in their persons and property takes a back seat in the bus, and accusation, arrest, prosecution and conviction drive the entire train--full steam ahead! If a person dares to assert his right not to speak or consent, officers assume he is guilty of something and is hiding contraband; and they treat him with disdain. Instead of respecting those who know and use their rights, police treat them more harshly.

When they feel like it, police will violate the people's rights: like search their property without consent or warrant; coerce people to speak or consent; stop and arrest on unreliable information or based on pretext; and belittle citizens with the slightest of evidence. At the end of the day, police care little for what rules and laws they broke because they say, "well, the courts can fix any mistakes I may make." In short, police have no reason not to break the law, because no one disciplines their unlawful behavior, even when it becomes known in court.

Then, when a good officer really attempts to respect the rights of the people and do things right, he will become overwhelmed by pressure and "suggestions" from his superior officers--those who have made a career in arresting and helping prosecutors convict people for victimless crimes. These good officers have two choices: 1) endure the wrath of "bad apples" or 2) quit. Most quit, which allows the "bad apples" to multiply like rabbits and control the system.

In the case of city police, the chiefs are (mostly) unelected. Instead, they are appointed by city council and/or mayor. They have no accountability to the people, and the people have no way to remove them. The police chiefs are term employees of a corporate municipality. Their job is not so much to "protect the public against crime." It is to collect fines from, what ends up being, the poor--those with little to no means of defending themselves and who, unfortunately, are little educated to know how to handle a police stop. Quite literally, city budgets are funded in large part by the poorest in society.

Adding insult to injury, cities will use the fines they collect from the poor to hire more officers. This leads to more prosecutions against mostly poor people. In many cases, city police will literally drive poor people into such tremendous debt that they will never dig themselves out of the hole. They give up because it simply isn't worth the effort. There is no relief, no reprieve. This cycle is vicious.

Add to this poison prosecutors who see themselves and police as a team. They are unwilling to discipline police and dismiss cases that are weak through illegally-obtained evidence or statements. Instead of reprimanding police action that is, at best, borderline lawful, the prosecutors justify everything the officers do and welcome them at their table in the courtroom. Meanwhile, they and the officers sneer at those they prosecute and criticize defense attorneys who represent their clients earnestly (see here for example). With this kind of support and kinship from the State, police feel invincible, especially when judges view the officers in the same light and refuse to correct their breaches of duty and law.

Too, we have national talk show hosts like Sean Hannity who laud police as though they deserve undying respect regardless of the social and personal atrocities created by their arrests and prosecutions. When police abuse makes its way to the national stage, "conservatives" spin the story to appear as though "liberals" are cop haters. They demonize the suspect as a villain so the public will forgive and forget whatever police abuse occurred. This causes people to rationalize their condemnation of the suspect, thinking, "he deserved what he got;" and praising the officer, exclaiming, "thank you for protecting us!"

But not all Americans are duped. Many realize and are realizing that the problem within police agencies and offices is not a "bad apple" problem. It is a systemic problem, one that touches the core of the voluminous laws we pass; the incentives given to officers to arrest; the layers of diffused responsibility that protects police abuse; the judicial system that defends the illegal actions of police; the distorted narrative by, mostly, "conservatives"; and the public's justification for police misdeeds because "bad people deserve it."

When enough Americans realize the systemic police problem, politics will change--laws will change--the system will change. Republicans will not get elected on a "tough on crime" mantra. Democrats will not be allowed to give only lip service to protecting the poor. True politicians will disdain the dangers of a legal and judicial system that encourages and protects "bad apples" and do something to correct it.

© 2015 Timothy N. Baldwin, JD - All Rights Reserved.

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