Stop While We Get Your DNA

People in Fort Worth Texas were funneled into a single lane and then they were asked to move into a parking lot. There were contractors working on some government program to collect DNA to see the number of people on the road who were driving with an intoxicating substance in their system. People could give a mouth swab, blood or do a breathalyzer.

All of this was voluntary and there were plenty of signs indicating so and people were paid if they gave a mouth swab or blood.

BUT, it did not feel voluntary. People who read the signs and did not want to participate were still forced to pull into the parking lot by Fort Worth police officers. People indicated that they were told it was voluntary but it did not feel voluntary. They were detained even if they did not want to participate.

One of the handouts indicated that the air inside the car was passively monitored for alcohol (this is done with small machines that sample the air which contains the exhaled air of the driver). No one volunteered for that but it was done as part of the process that forced them off the road and delayed them.

It does not matter if the entire exercise was voluntary if the police did not act like it was voluntary. If people believed they were being compelled to participate and if they indicated they did not want to participate and their car’s air was sampled and they were delayed then their rights were violated.

I hope those who did not agree are able to get this resolved with perhaps some sort of legal action. I am not normally a sue them first kind of person but government and its police state is getting more and more brazen in the way it violates our rights.

If we make it hurt by taking their money then perhaps they will get the message and stop violating our rights.

Cave canem!
Never surrender, never submit.
Big Dog

Gunline

Kwame Kilpatrick, In Jail Where He Belongs

Former Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick was given an awful lot of rope after he was found guilty of perjury and obstruction of justice when he tried to cover up wrongdoing while in office. He was given probation and ordered to pay back 1 million dollars to the city. He was allowed to move to Texas so he could work at his $120,000 a year job to pay off his debt but he screwed that up. He hung himself with the rope he was given.

Kilpatrick, as part of his probation, was ordered by the court not to hide any assets that could be used to pay restitution. He decided to hide assets and the judge sent him to jail for violating his probation. This from the judge says it all:

“Probation is no longer an option. The terms of your earlier probation no longer apply. That ship has sailed,” Groner said. “This is all because of the actions of you, Mr. Kilpatrick. You were convicted … all because you lied under oath. That lie … was part of a broader attempt to cover up your misdeeds while serving as mayor.

“You challenged this court’s authority,” Groner said. “You attempted to utilize semantics and exploit loopholes. The broader context of this issue is that your family living expenses — including living in a million-dollar home, driving a brand new Escalade and purchasing elective surgery for your wife — you have made it perfectly clear that it’s more important to pacify your wife than comply with my orders.”

Kilpatrick will get 120 days credit for time he served in 2008-09 in the Wayne County Jail. That means he will serve 14 months in a Michigan prison before he can apply for parole.

“Sergeant, can you secure the defendant, please,” Groner commanded as four sheriff’s deputies moved in to handcuff Kilpatrick and led him from the courtroom. Detroit News

Kilpatrick will have to serve between 1.5 and 5 years though his attorneys are certain to appeal. His supporters feel he was treated unfairly.

Right. The only people treated unfairly were those who trusted him to hold office in an ethical fashion. He shattered that trust and spun a web of lies.

He needs to spend time in jail though I doubt he will learn a thing.

There is concern about what this will do the the family. Sell that million dollar home and pay off the debt and then get jobs.

Now there is a novel idea.

Never surrender, never submit.
Big Dog

Gunline

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