Power to the Jury
Dec 21, 2010 Political
A very nice story from Missoula District Court. The scare-mongering and gnashing of teeth is classic. The government employees cannot contain themselves because they’re terrified of the power of The People.
The story screams and whines about not being able to seat a jury in a case because the jurors, during questioning, wouldn’t do what the judge wanted. Yes, literally. The jurors were asked if they could convict a person for possession of 1/16 of an ounce of marijuana. If they would not, they were not allowed on the jury. In other words, if you won’t do what the judge tells you, he doesn’t want you on his jury.
The DA and other lawyers were irate and baffled. The writer of the article was angry. But know what? That is almost exactly how the jury is supposed to work. The only step missed was that the jury shouldn’t have been asked that question before the trial. Instead, the case should have gone to trial, all those jurors should have been put on the case, and then when it was time for a verdict, they could vote to acquit. In that case, justice truly would have been served. Instead, sadly, the defendant plead guilty to something.
If you are ever called to jury duty, know your rights. In most cases, the judge will openly lie to you. Sorry, but that’s the truth. Any judge who says, “As a juror, you are to judge the facts and not the law” is lying. You CAN and SHOULD judge the law. That’s your job as a juror. If you, personally, don’t like the law, you get to say NO. And no, you will not be prosecuted for it — no one has been (one was tried, but the judge lost the case eventually).
The jury box is one of the last defenses against tyranny. Judge the law — that’s your job.
The Blog Squad
Oct 6, 2009 Political
The propaganda machine in the Obama administration is in full swing. We have propaganda art courtesy of the NEA in collaboration with the Obama White House and now there are reports that there is a team of bloggers at the Department of Justice and their job is to troll around the web and anonymously comment on stories that are unfavorable to the DOJ and/or Obama.
The Department of Justice has hired a team of partisan Democrat campaign bloggers to work at the Department. The Muffled Oar has learned this decision was treated with a great deal of skepticism both inside the career ranks at the Department but also among some Obama loyalists who expressed concern that such a decision would lend itself to the growing appearance that the Holder Justice Department is more political than the Bush Justice Department was ever accused of being. Tracy Russo is one such blogger from the campaign of John Edwards. The unit is housed in the Office of Public Affairs. Not only is the Department of Justice Blog Squad going to reach out to nontraditional media like TPM Muckraker or the Muffled Oar, but they are also tasked with fostering anonymous comments at conservative leaning blogs such as the Free Republic. The Muffled Oar
So the most transparent administration in the history of the modern world has anonymous bloggers trolling around to comment on articles critical of Obama and his friends at the DOJ? It seems to me that if this were a transparent process the bloggers would have to use their real names and indicate that they work for the DOJ. Instead, they hide behind fake names and make comments that give the appearance of being from some regular Joe who supports Obama and his DOJ cronies.
This is a criminal act, but just as importantly, it reeks of the old Soviet or Nazi propaganda machines (though in a modern venue). They are out pumping information about the administration in a truly phony fashion and passing it off as genuine. It is dishonest and when combined with the NEA propaganda art truly illustrates how Communistic this administration really is.
Propaganda for Dear Leader by his secret propaganda wing of government.
And Pelosi called the tea parties astro turf…
Also:
NRO
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Tags: holder, justice, lies, Obama, transparency
Texas Does It Right- The Feds Do Not Know How
Sep 12, 2009 Political
Here we go- the more things change, the more they stay the same. In the 1800s, groups of Texas Rangers roamed the borders of Texas, seeking to stem the flow of Mexican cattle rustlers and renegade indians, trying to ensure that the communities in Texas could have the safety and security that they needed to thrive and grow. Even as a part of the United States, as a border state, Texas was beset by unlawful incursions by Mexicans looking to get rich off the “gringos” to the north.
Now it has come full circle, with the drug cartels seeking routes and safe houses within Texas’ borders. There have been appeals to the Federal government, but these appeals are falling on deaf ears, so Governor Rick Perry has given the Texas Rangers the task of cleaning up the border.
Special teams of Texas Rangers will be deployed to the Texas-Mexico border to deal with increasing violence because the federal government has failed to address growing problems there, Gov. Rick Perry said Thursday.
“It is an expansive effort with the Rangers playing a more high-profile role than they’ve ever played before,” Perry said of the Department of Public Safety’s elite investigative unit.
The forces, dubbed “Ranger recon” teams, are the latest effort “to fill the gap that’s been left by the federal government’s ongoing failure to adequately secure our international border with Mexico,” he said.
msnbc.msn.com
Yes, it is true, and it has been intentional, this “gap” that the Feds have left in our security net, but that’s par for the course when you are talking about the spineless Democrats in office today- they are afraid of offending anyone except conservatives. Witness how they bow and scrape to the Islamo- fascists, as well as anyone without a valid visa.
The governor early this year asked Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano for 1,000 National Guard troops and renewed his call last month in a letter to President Barack Obama. The request is bogged down over who will pay for the troops and how they will be deployed.
Perry’s announcement Thursday comes amid increasing border violence, particularly in El Paso, mostly involving people with ties to Mexican drug gangs.
“They’ll be deployed to high-traffic, high-crime areas along the border,” he said. “They’ll give us boots on the ground, put people in these hot spots no matter what or where they may exist.”Perry said the effort also would focus on remote areas where farmers and ranchers have complained of being overrun by smugglers and gangs from Mexico in numbers that also overwhelm local law enforcement and border patrol officers.
“Washington is shortchanging them, not giving them the support they need,” Perry said. “As a result, we’re having to dedicate our resources to deal with the challenges we have along the Texas-Mexico border and ensuing issues that porous border has created all across state of Texas.”
msnbc.com
You bet Washington is short- changing us, and you know what? We are used to being treated like the red- headed stepchild here. We don’t like it, especially when we give more than our share in Blood and Treasure to the Feds and get so little in return- It is OK to sell natural gas that is pumped from Texas wells for less than we pay in Texas- we are used to that- it isn’t right, but the Federal government has always screwed Texas, and I am sure it won’t stop now.
He said the state would pick up the tab of $110 million, allocated by the Legislature in the past two sessions.
Perry’s announcement drew immediate criticism from U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, who is running against the two-term incumbent in the March GOP primary.
“Today’s announcement is yet another empty election-year promise from Rick Perry on border security,” Hutchison spokesman Joe Pounder said.
Perry fired back that it was the “height of hypocrisy for someone who’s been in Washington, D.C., for 16 years, who’s had the opportunity to help Texas on our border security, and they’ve been no more successful in delivering the resources and help.”
“So please do that job up there first before you come down here and start criticizing about the state of Texas,” he said.
msnbc.com
Now, I don’t agree with Rick Perry about everything, but on this, I think he is right, and Sen. Hutchison needs to stay in Washington and demonstrate how well (or not) she can fight for Texas. So far, I would rate her performance as lukewarm. And that is a shame, because we need all the intelligent people we can get in order to beat back this onslaught against our liberties that the Democrats in Washington are determined to shove down our throats.
“I happen to think we’ve taken advantage of every program that’s been effective,” responded Perry, who has been branding his opponent as someone from Washington out of touch with her home state. “Pointing out one program that has been funded and leaving the 800-pound gorilla — which is 1,000 National Guard troops that we need — I am stunned someone from Washington, D.C., would say they’ve done enough to secure our border.”
Brig. Gen. Joyce Stevens, commander of the Texas Army National Guard, said about 200 soldiers and airmen already have started integrated operations with the Rangers.
msnbc.com
The first thing we need to do is secure our borders, doing whatever it takes- the Mexicans used to fear the Texas Rangers, and with good reason- few prisoners were taken, and justice was administered on the spot. We need more of that, in lieu of the soft, squishy, feel- good liberalism our courts have been subjected to for years.
When a Drug Cartel gang tries to set up shop, we need to do a curettage, scooping out the cancer before it spreads, with extreme prejudice- this is something the Texas Rangers used to know how to do right.
I hope they still have the will to do so again, because nothing else will make an impression on these people.
Our borders need to be secure, or like Rome, the Gauls, Visigoths, and Huns of the present day will get past the gate, and tear us apart. And here is something the liberals haven’t thought out-
The Huns will tear apart the Liberals too.
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Tags: border security, cartels, ILLEGAL immigration, justice, Texas Rangers
Seems About Right to Me
Aug 14, 2009 Political
Looking over stories in the New York Times ( on the basis that it is a good thing to know your enemy), I came across a story that absolutely warmed the cockles of my heart. I understand why not everyone would feel as I do, but this is truly a tale about morality.
They strode into the restaurant supply store in Harlem shortly after 3 p.m. on Thursday, four young men intent on robbery, one with a Glock 9-millimeter pistol, the police said. The place may have looked like an easy mark, a high-cash business with an owner in his 70s, known as a gentle, soft-spoken man.
But Charles Augusto Jr., the 72-year-old proprietor of the Kaplan Brothers Blue Flame Corporation, at 523 West 125th Street, near Amsterdam Avenue, had been robbed several times before, despite the fact that his shop is around the corner from the 26th Precinct station house on West 126th Street.
There were no customers in the store, only Mr. Augusto and two employees, a man and a woman. The police said the invaders announced a holdup, approached the two employees and tried to place plastic handcuffs on them. The male employee, a 35-year-old known in the community as J. B., struggled with the gunman, who then hit him on the head with the pistol.
nytimes.com
Yeah- that’s right, another robbery in New York- go figure, right? Four punks, who felt as if this Mr. Augusto Jr. should just hand over his hard- earned money to them, were in for a shock-
Watching it happen, Mr. Augusto, whom neighborhood friends call Gus, rose from a chair 20 to 30 feet away and took out a loaded Winchester 12-gauge pump-action shotgun with a pistol-grip handle. The police said he bought it after a robbery 30 years ago.
Mr. Augusto, who has never been in trouble with the law, fired three blasts in rapid succession, the police said, although Vernon McKenzie, working at an Internet company next door, heard only two booms, loud enough to send him rushing to a window, where he heard someone shout: “You’re dead! You’re dead!”
The first shot took down the gunman at the front. He died almost immediately, according to the police, who said he was 29 and had been arrested for gun possession in Queens last year and was the nephew of a police officer.
Mr. Augusto’s other two blasts hit all three accomplices, who stumbled out the door, bleeding.
nytimes.com
Oooh- Snap! that’s a big error on the part of the robbers- and they got what they deserved- I know that this is traumatic for this older man, because it is traumatic to shoot anyone, even if they had it coming.
There was no way that Mr. Augusto could have known if these robbers would leave them alive after the robbery, and he did exactly the right thing, since, as I have pointed out before, the Police are a reactive force, generally brought in after the fact. They solve crimes, but in reality, rarely prevent them, although they surely would love to.
The reaction of the relatives of these robbers was striking-
Outside the emergency room entrance of the hospital, at 113th Street and Amsterdam Avenue, relatives and friends of the dead and wounded men screamed and wailed in anguish as word of what had happened spread.
“No! No!” a woman cried. “They said he just died!”
Another crying woman, surrounded by family members, heard one of her relatives had been shot trying to rob a store.
“Oh my God!” she wailed. “Why would they want to rob a store?” She started to scream: “Damn! Why? Why would he go to a family store? He got money!” She slumped against the wall and began to pray.
Later, a man ran into the emergency room and came out screaming, “Oh, God!” He held his head in his hands and sat at the curb, apparently devastated.
A youth about 16, crying and pacing at the emergency room entrance, slammed his fist into a yellow pole.
nytimes.com
Where were these people in providing a moral compass to guide these young mens’ behavior? It clearly wasn’t an economic thing, judging from the comments of the relatives, so why? The only answer I can come up with is weak morals. A person cannot be led by the nose if he or she has the moral clarity to resist. These young men did not, and now two are dead, and two are in the hospital, and the short story line is, “That’s Justice.”
Unfortunately, this occurred in New York, so Mr. Augusto does not get off with a medal, but with a citation-
Paul J. Browne, chief spokesman for the Police Department, said that Mr. Augusto had not been arrested or charged. He was being treated like a witness and was still being questioned early Friday at the station house. It was unclear if the shotgun was registered, but Mr. Browne said, “There is a lower threshold for owning a shotgun in the city, a permit as opposed to a license.”
A law enforcement official said that the district attorney was considering a possible misdemeanor weapons charge against Mr. Augusto, indicating that he did not have a permit for the shotgun.
nytimes.com
No good deed goes unpunished, as they say, especially in New York. This man not only thwarted a robbery (a crime in itself), but possibly saved not only his own life, but those of his employees. For that, he should be given a medal.
There need to be more Mr. Augustos.
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Justice Department Sanctions Voter Fraud
Jun 3, 2009 Political
Eric Holder’s Department of Justice handed down a ruling stating that the state of Georgia had to stop asking for proof of citizenship to register to vote. The Justice Department gave the same lame arguments that are always given when one speaks of proving eligibility to vote; it will disenfranchise minorities. I guess minorities don’t have a birth certificate or a Social Security number in addition to the ID they never seem to be able to get. Given that Obama has refused to release his birth certificate it is not surprising that voters in Georgia would not be required to show one.
This is nothing more than a ruling to help people who should not vote do just that. This ruling will allow illegals to register. The opponents claim there were over 7000 people flagged who turned out to be eligible to vote. Perhaps there is a larger problem. Did someone else have the same Social Security number? Did the birth certificate not have the raised seal? Who knows but it appears as if the problems were cleared up. Seems to me that these folks were flagged and upon further investigation they were cleared. Isn’t this how things should work?
Not under the Obama Justice Department run by Holder. Under that corrupt organization voter intimidation is excused because the criminals involved were Obama supporters. The New Black Panthers violated the Voting Rights Act but were not prosecuted because they have many branches around the country and they support Obama. Can’t go ticking off the supporters especially when they might be needed to intimidate white voters in the future. They also can’t go ticking off the illegal voter population if they want to win.
Georgia is one of two states required to get Justice approval for voting issues because of Jim Crow law problems of the past. That requirement is up before the Supreme Court and if all goes well they will remove the requirement so Georgia can run its own program without interference from the criminals at Justice.
But until then Georgia must allow anyone who wants to register to vote to do so without any proof of citizenship. Citizenship is a requirement to vote but it is a pesky nuisance for Democrats so they work around the requirement.
Voting is an important civic duty and everyone who is eligible should be allowed to do so under our current laws. I have problems with people who have no stake in the country voting in it but the law says they can. But we should make absolutely certain that the people who are voting are eligible.
We need to prove citizenship for many things. One must prove citizenship to get a job (though Democrats make that a hazy process to accommodate illegals), one must prove citizenship (or legal status) to join the military, Americans must prove citizenship (with a passport) to get back in the country, one must have ID to rent a movie, cash a check, board a plane and to buy cigarettes or alcohol. Why is it so difficult to prove one is a citizen in order to register to vote and to show ID when voting?
I am tired of the bogus arguments about people not having ID. People have birth certificates and most people have a Social Security number. The downtrodden that the Democrats always feign worry for are never put out when ID is needed for government benefits. People who show up to apply for any of the various welfare programs have to show ID and by some miracle they always seem to have it. Yet, the act of voting puts some undue burden on them.
It would seem from this list that proof of citizenship or an ID is required for everything except running for president and voting. Funny how the Democrats always seem to defend the flaws in the systems, flaws that make it easier to commit fraud. Then again, the Democratic Party is the one all the dead people vote for. They are in line right next to the illegals.
Maybe people should start complaining about having to get a passport to reenter from Canada or Mexico. This is an undue burden on people. How dare the government require proof of citizenship to enter the country when it will affect so many people.
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Tags: eric holder, georgia, jim crow, justice, voter fraud