A very important comment from Listener JLG
“I have never posted here although I have been a listener for several years. I had the utmost respect for the commentary and insights found on this site.
I am a libertarian, sound money advocate, fan of Russian literature, teacher, and police officer. I have spent 27 years arresting drunk drivers so they don’t end up in the back of your wife’s mini-van. I have spent 27 years interviewing and arresting sex offenders so they don’t sleep with your children. And yes; during my 27 years I have put several murders including one serial killer in jail for life.
To hear and see independent thinkers parrot propaganda on this site is very disappointing. Al – you are my favorite but to not even express remorse and sympathy over the death of two young law enforcement officers is unpardonable. You should be ashamed. To those criticizing the police on this blog, what makes you an expert? Did you read something in a blog? OR did you go for a ride-along in East St. Louis? Did you attend a Citizen’s Police Academy? Have you sat down with your local police at the coffee shop and listened to them?
Your words have meaning folks. Be careful. You may very well get a “libertarian-hands-off-police force”. THEN God help you because we may not!
But for now, I promise, I will return to work and protect you with all the zeal I can muster. God Bless”
AND MY RESPONSE
Thank you very much for the comment JLG,
Our official comment, as you probably know, is that we abhor violence.
I happen to disagree with those who say that they believe that the U.S. has turned into a police state. That doesn’t mean that we are not friends. It simply means that we disagree.
I was remiss in not expressing my feelings more adamantly about the two slain police officers and I am sorry for that.
My comments, mostly off mike, dealing with situations like Ferguson are quite negative about the populations of areas like that. One simple question I have is why don’t those folks take care of business. Charles Barkley asks the same question.
God Bless you and people like you JLG.
My pleasure.
Al I must say I agree with JLG. It appears your site is becoming more and more a platform for the radical left wing. Every few weeks you have a guest on your show that I feel ignites hatred of our government with his insidious conspiracy theories.
What?! Both the Democrats and the Republicans LOVE their government —as long as THEY are in control. Both parties are, in fact, LEFT. Both are full of collectivists that view their governments as a force for good. Neither has any philosophical aversion to the use of force (theft, violence, etc.).
The pledge of allegiance was written by a socialist. Statists are leftists.
The Cops: Is It a Question of Bad Apples?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hFLraa4aeCw
Absolutely right, Matthew. Virtually everyone in America today is a collectivist or a Marxist. Do you support public education? If you do, you are a Marxist? Real Americans hate gubmint skools, property taxes, income taxes (graduated or not), central banks, and the infringement of inheritance rights (not to mention the right to free speech and the right to own weapons).
Agreed Matthew. The founding fathers advised remaining critical of our government as it changes things over time, and to scrutinize the direction of the policies. Both the Democrats and Republicans are becoming big government, nanny-state collectivists, which trample on the rights of the individual liberties. The Federal government now imposes its will on the people instead of the opposite. The Federal government forces itself into issues that are really States laws.
Keylime – not being happy with the choices in Washington DC does not make people radical left wings. If anything this site is probably predominantly Libertarian or just freethinkers unaffiliated with a party line. Your comments seem to be the conspiracy theory, not the experts that provide the commentary with a healthy discussion about real issues.
Keylime, you must be looking at the mirror. If we are a collection of left wingers, every one must be singing I love you Obama. To your surprise, most people in the world are not friends with US governments. Talking to any one from Middle East. poeple should love their country but may not love their government.
Do you put pot smokers in jail and tell kids to put away their lemonade stands, too, JLG? If so, you’re not a genuine libertarian. It’s your job to help us, not to harass us. That means you have to thoughtfully sort out perverted law from proper law, and only enforce the latter. That means you have do something your job title doesn’t allow you to do. So, to who/what do you truly owe your allegiance? If it’s to the “force” and perverted law, then I WILL protect MYSELF. If it’s to liberty and only proper law, then I thank you very much, and I encourage you to have a talk will your fellows to do the same, because the “force” has a huge decision to make.
I express no more disdain for the slaying of those officers than I do for people who put pot smokers in jail for years and kill a cigarette seller. Where does the violence end when peacekeepers are trouble makers?
Law is the expression of religion. What is “proper law”? I hope you mean biblical law because ONLY God is just. Since there is only ONE God, all pretenders (idols) are false and EVIL and, therefore, CANNOT set man free but rather make laws that enslave him.
Proper man’s law protects my life, liberty, and property. God’s law is God’s law. See Frédéric Bastiat’s book, “The Law”.
I have read his book. Have you read the Word of God?
I for one couldn’t be more opposed to a “Christian gods” law.
Yeah, but see how far God’s Word gets you with the police and the courts. You may as well try to cite baseball rules in a football game.
The Christian God says: “One witness is not enough to convict anyone accused of any crime or offense they may have committed. A matter must be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses.” So what is wrong with this bb?
God’s Word prevails with God . . . and He is over ALL of your police and the courts! Ask and you may receive but don’t expect justice if you never petition the Judge.
Wayne, is the united states a “Christian” nation? built on “Christian” values?
And I personally don’t see anything wrong with requiring more than 1 witness to a murder, gotta remember tho, that was before dna evidence and forensics, anyway, is the U.S. a “Christion” nation built on “Christian” values?
Judge Andrew Napolitano: America is becoming a Surveillance State
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DYvYnmklNhs
‘radical left wing..?’ HELLO Hatred of govt… !? He just had a policeman on…
Maybe you have your political ideology confused keylime…
Great comments JLG.
I did sense in Al’s response, some political correctness however. Although he says that he abhors violence, in fact constructive violence is a necessary element to our very survival. The Army beat that into me very well. I took an oath and was trained to kill people and break stuff to defend America. It matters not if the threat is foreign or domestic.
Frankly, constructive violence is the remedy for unnecessary violence. This is not a law enforcement issue alone, any more than crime is only a law enforcement matter. As more citizens are trained to lawfully use constructive violence (up to and including lethal force) to defend themselves and their loved ones, there should logically be a reduction in unnecessary violence. For example, Michael Brown did not try to seriously harm or kill another cop today and he won’t try it tomorrow either. I for one, don’t understand why people are protesting over this righteous shoot.
So, I believe it is more important to distinguish the difference in the types of violence, than broadly call everything violence. Think of it as cholesterol, there is both good and bad cholesterol.
I’ll throw my hat in the ring on this one too for what it’s worth, which may not be anything…
First personally I have a dislike for cops.
The few times I’ve encountered them I found them to have a singular type of arrogance and ego. I am not making a blanket statement or generalization, but I think the vast majority of them are to put it simply full of themselves. I think it goes with the turf.
This JLG who wrote this commentary used the word “I” no less then 10 times.
Now putting my personal feeling aside I think in both cases, Ferguson and Staten Island, the police officers were completely right and justified.
Police officers have a very difficult job and anyone who has been speaking out against them ought to try their job for a day. These low life’s who are bashing them ought to walk in their shoes and see how they would respond given these situations.
I completely support these police officers.
I also think mayor DeBlasio is a piece of crap who should have stood behind his men, and women, instead of stabbing them in the back.
So even though I personally don’t care for cops, I stand behind them, and respect them.
If I am ever detained by one of them I show the utmost respect and obedience to the law.
If the two people who died had done the same thing they would be alive today.
The problem today I a complete breakdown for the rule of law.
So to repeat, personally I don’t like most of them, not all, but when they are wearing that uniform, they all deserve the utmost respect.
You used the word “I” 15 times. Just sayin….
KeyLime,
You really need to do some research.
The boob tube has you fooled.
I bet Vortex has an interesting take on all this.
Ebolan, I sure do.
I’m just not sure my inputs or thoughts on the militarized police forces that profoundly disgust me as an American and that now run unchecked over everyday average citizens of the US would raise the level of discussion that many have already laid out in fine detail up to this point.
What I am most profoundly positive about though, is the disconnect from reality that Mr. Cop guy and his tear-jerker sad-sack story of disbelief, hurt feelings and dismay that we as Constitutional believing law abiding individuals and critical thinkers on this site would hold a vastly different view on Police than he and his run of the mill crony enforcer comrades. Additionally he would find it appalling and be even less than enthused that I didn’t find his ilk of head smashers and the redundant use of unarmed citizens as target practice dummies and human battering rams as worthy of my respect as he does. He offers us a glimpse into a world that is the height of privilege, arrogance and hubris.
Make no bones about this subject. No one of any discernible character or a sound moral belief system feels that what happened to those officers was justified or right. The actions of a deranged serial three time loser criminal fresh from prison are and were deplorable and unconscionable. But how I personally process and reconcile the deadly events that took place is up to me and me alone.
And Keylime’s innocuous subliminal back-handed slap at many liberty loving individualistic libertarians (not liberals) with in our group, that frequent Al’s site as not conforming to his/he indoctrinated and supremely honed collectivist, and socialist’s cookie cutter mainstream thought vectors would leave him/her just as disappointed in my thoughts.
I think Keylime should stick to investments and financial concerns and leave his collectivist mindset at home and Mr. collectivist enforcer Cop guy with his delusional single minded views and belief system that may have a conflict with the real world and what real people should think on important subjects such as unaccountable above the law militaristic armed goons reeking havoc over the masses should have a self induced reality check and maybe just go back to watching old reruns of Adam 12 and Starkey and Hutch where he can do no harm and stop trying to tell people how and what they should think and feel about events that are tragic but unfortunately apart of life.
America and the nation as a whole has a very sick modern society that is in the grips of a glorified militarized death cult of lost values combined with a broken moral compass to guide the greater consciousness.
And in a lawless society that shields police from prosecution of well reported indiscriminate killings of its citizens and an occasional crazed individual with in the population that kills a police officer from time to time are unfortunately delineated and representative of a greater sickness through which unpleasant events, and manifestations play out in real life, in many forms, and comes in all races, ethnic categories and throughout all economic spheres of influence.
In closing, as long as my country continues to lock-up a poor kid with no future that has never had a decent home to live in and punish him with 20 years in prison for nothing more than stealing a $2 dollar coke from a convenience store, but turns right around and honors, promotes and allows to live free a disgusting entitled bureaucrat, executive or privileged banker who has stolen Billion of dollars from account holders with out any prosecution or spent a day in jail, then there can be no claim to normalcy.
So until this rigged game is reversed expect the parameters of chaos to exist and multiply.
To the collectivist, Marxist group thinkers among us, when this sick rot and decay of a two tiered BS American justice system get’s corrected, which I doubt will happen………..then maybe we can sit down and have a serious conversation about life and whats right and wrong in an unbiased manner.
This was not a cop bashing exercise and not meant to defame or insult police good officers who operate with in the true meaning of Constitutional black letter law and who carry out their duties above reproach and truly honor life and I know I have not done the topic justice.
We all have so much to learn and so much to do to make things better.
V
Opps, four lines from the bottom should read: “good police officers”
I think jlg has a point, I for one don’t like a police person getting killed, nor do I like innocent people being strangled to death or civil forfeiture.
For all police with integrity and maybe even heroic effort I thank you.
But I can not ignore the fact we have become a police state either.
I do understand that policing is a dangerous position, and necessary, especially when we take serial killers or gangs into consideration.
I know I couldn’t do it, but people have the right and even obligation to mention the corruption when they see it too.
jlg, maybe in times like these we tend to overlook those people that really do try to serve and protect.
Believe it or not, in the 40s there were police that attempted to bring murders to justice in Germany too. Go figure, but Im afraid that didn’t change what Germany was at the time.
A person very close to me and a police officer just wrote a book that was mentioned in the Wall Street Journal. Folks might like to read it just to understand one cop’s feelings about his job and interaction with different groups that he comes into contact with on the job. The book is “400 Things Cops Know” by Adam Plantinga. You might enjoy it.
JLG may very well be a good man but he makes a ridiculous statement admonishing Al or anyone else not to criticise the police unless we went to the Academy or rode with a cop or at least had a dougnut with one! This is a very foolish statement and perhaps expected by an authoritarian member of a power group of armed servants of the people. The cops that were killed may very well have been exemplary men in many ways and I for one am saddened by their senseless deaths but certainly not more so then any senseless human death including the guy choked in NY city. The tenor of policing in this country has palpably changed in my 59 year life and it has not been positive change. Even a cursory review of documented cases of police abuse this year would be enough to satisfy any person of goodwill that serving has been replaced all too often by authoritarian bullying. In my city of Atlanta we have had ample evidence if all you do is read the newspaper headlines or watch the evening news. A very mild example would be the obese fool that shot and killed an eight pound dog while at the wrong address because he feared for his safety!! You caved in like a mild lamb Al.
Mark- you have proven my point.
I’ve suggested you think independently. You have elected to trust others (the mainstream media) to do your thinking — rather than seeking out truth for yourself (get to know your police a little).
JESUS ! Love’s You the only way ! Change ! God !
the state is out of control. The cops are caught in between. 460.00 traffic fines are fascist!! Civil forfeiture is out of control. Like a lot of us, cops are gonna have to answer that big question. Do I go along to get along or do I make a stand.
Also, all pedophiles agree: working for CPS is best.
WE as the populace must give our police the benefit of the doubt. We ask them to to a job we would not do. The two police officers were in deed murdered. I do believe that if the individuals whose deaths have caused this discussion had only complied with the police officers requests they would ALL still be alive. The two officers did not get that choice. When did we start teaching our children to question the police? Why is it so hard for everyone to see the real problem which is lack of willingness to comply with those in authority. You may not feel the police officer is correct when he arrests you but that is what the courts are for. You do not have the right to argue with the police. I’ll get off my soap box, I yell at the TV News every night about this.
The real problem is the lack of willingness to comply with those in authority?
Well, I do call anyone carrying weapons sir or mam.
Jesus CDC..of course you have the right to argue. You can argue with the Queen of England if you choose, with the Judges, lawyers, Magistrate, City Hall and your local politician too. Maybe the real problem is nobody says anything anymore. Silence is acquiescence. If that becomes a virtue in the human race we are doomed for sure.
Keep yelling at the TV,, yeah
You are a good man Al. Thank-you.