ObamaLaw – Coming to a police department near you! – Part One

This morning on my FB feed I saw an article claiming that Obama is trying to take over our state and local law enforcement – ObamaLaw they called it. Ever the diligent researcher, I decided to investigate this before I jumped to any conclusions. I started this blog in one browser window and pulled up my research in another. Based on what I’ve found we should all be afraid – very, very afraid.

On December 18th of last year (2014), as a direct result of the chaos in Ferguson, President Obama created by Executive Order the President’s Task Force on 21st Century Policing. Known as COPS (Community Oriented Policing Services), this task force “seeks to identify best practices and make recommendations to the President on how policing practices can promote effective crime reduction while building”. This week the task force released its Interim Report and made it available for view on the DOJ’s website.

The report is organized into six “pillars” (pillars? really?!? not at all related to the Five PIllars of Islam I’m sure <insert sarcastic eye roll here>) and those are followed by a section on implementation. The first pillar is “Building Trust & Legitimacy”. A lot of the suggestions in this section are actually great ideas. However, there are a couple of areas that I found to be somewhat concerning. On page 11 of the report there was this:

1.3.2 ACTION ITEM: When serious incidents occur, including those involving alleged police misconduct, agencies should communicate with citizens and the media swiftly, openly, and neutrally, respecting areas where the law requires confidentiality.

One way to promote neutrality is to ensure that agencies and their members do not release background information on involved parties. While a great deal of information is often publicly available, this information should not be proactively distributed by law enforcement.

Apparently, the government was extremely unhappy about the division that occurred not because a black teenager was shot, but because public opinion of him was swayed when the police released the video of the teenager committing a strong-armed robbery right before his run-in with the police that resulted in him being shot. The kid was a THUG but the government did not want the public to know that. Why not? Did they want us all to just sit around and think the cop was racist and had targeted the young man? That’s certainly what that action item implies. Considering the mayhem that ensued after it was plainly obvious that the kid got what he deserved, I would have to say that the police department probably released that video as a means of self defense for their other officers. If the lawless and true racists burn the city down after evidence shows the kids was in the wrong, what would have happened if everyone was under the assumption the kid was innocent?

Moving on down to page 15 there was a recommendation to an action item that was almost laughable.

1.6 RECOMMENDATION: Law enforcement agencies should consider the potential damage to public trust when implementing crime fighting strategies.

Let me get this straight….if there is a police officer being attacked, or if the police officer is trying to stop someone else being attacked, they are supposed to first think about whether their actions are going to impact the public’s opinion of him. Ummm…..no. The officer should use whatever force is necessary to insure their own safety as well as the safety of the innocents around them. Cops put themselves in the line of fire daily and the last thing they should have to worry about is public opinion.

At the very top of page 16 is the potential for a serious trojan horse. It’s recommended that the federal government be responsible for developing and using surveys that would measure the public’s trust in their local law enforcement.

1.7.1 ACTION ITEM: The Federal Government should develop survey tools and instructions for use of such a model to prevent local departments from incurring the expense and to allow for consistency across jurisdictions. A model such as the National Institute of Justice-funded National Police Research Platform could be developed and deployed to conduct such surveys. This platform seeks to advance the science and practice of policing in the United States by introducing a new system of measurement and feedback that captures organizational excellence both inside and outside the walls of the agency. The platform is managed by a team of leading police scholars from seven universities supported by the operational expertise of a respected national advisory board.

The only time the federal government ever wants to be in charge of the research is when they want to find a way to either take over something or tax it (or take it over and then tax it).

Further down page 16 we find another gemstone…..

1.8.1 ACTION ITEM: The Federal Government should create a Law Enforcement Diversity Initiative designed to help communities diversify law enforcement departments to reflect the demographics of the community.

Okay, show of hands, who still thinks that Affirmative Action was/is a good idea? No? I didn’t think so. Now, how about Affirmative Action in law enforcement? Let’s see….new hires and promotions are no longer based on performance but are now directed by color, race, gender, etc. Yep, that’s exactly how I want to handle public safety. Who cares about quality performance anyway.

Finally getting to move on to page 17 I found something that almost made me spew my Coke (cola) all over my laptop.

1.8.3 ACTION ITEM: Successful law enforcement agencies should be highlighted and celebrated and those with less diversity should be offered technical assistance to facilitate change. Law enforcement agencies must be continuously creative with recruitment efforts and employ the public, business, and civic communities to help.

“Technical assistance”? “Creative with recruitment efforts”? Remember earlier when I said that government only wants to be involved when they can either take it over or tax it? This falls under the heading of taking it over.

Not to be outdone by Action Item 1.8.3, Action Item 1.8.4 was equally disturbing.

1.8.4 ACTION ITEM: Discretionary federal funding for law enforcement programs could be influenced by that department’s efforts to improve their diversity and cultural and linguistic responsiveness.

So, let me get this straight…..hire more black people and you get more money. Learn to speak Spanish and you get more money. Don’t do all the things that the federal research found necessary and now you’re losing money. Maybe I’m overreacting, but this sounds for all the world to me like “Do what we say or the public safety of your community will suffer.” Folks, that’s a threat. And I don’t take lightly to being threatened.

Now that my feathers are thoroughly ruffled, I tried to move on. I didn’t get far. On the bottom of page 17 was this:

1.9.1 ACTION ITEM: Decouple federal immigration enforcement from routine local policing for civil enforcement and nonserious crime.

Let me translate this one for those of you who don’t speak legal-ese. “If you pull over someone for speeding and you see that they’re in the country illegally you are NOT allowed to detain them and process them for deportation. Only the federal government can do that.”

Correct me if I’m wrong but the first part of the term illegal immigrant is “illegal”, indicating that they’ve already broken the law. Just by the virtue of them being here illegally we don’t know if they’re a threat or not because we have no historical records or background checks. In 2011, 12% of the illegal aliens who were deported were deported because they had committed a violent crime….another 23% were deported due to drug offenses (Office of Immigration Statistics). I don’t care if you’re Paul Blart, Mall Cop, if you find someone who’s here illegally you should have the right to detain them.

Moving on before I pop a vein…..

Apparently moving on was not an option. At the very top of page 18 was this:

1.9.3 ACTION ITEM: The U.S. Department of Justice should remove civil immigration information from the FBI’s National Crime Information Center database.

This is why I don’t do video blogs. After reading the above action item I literally spent 10 minutes ranting about how stupid of an idea this is and about how the one administration who swore the most transparency has actually spent more time and money trying to conceal crap than any other administration in history. Ridiculous.

My first [calm] response to this is very simple – why? Why doesn’t the government want that information included? If someone were arrested for a crime shouldn’t it also show that they’ve committed another crime by entering the country illegally? There was another terrifying thought that came to mind once my mind had calmed down enough to actually think. What is the main purpose of the FBI database? To register felony offenses. Right? Why? So that employers can know what kind of people they’re hiring. If removed from the FBI database, illegal aliens would be able to apply for jobs and their employers never know that they’re here illegally. So now we’re potentially being exposed to violent criminals AND we’re making it so that they can take our jobs. Lovely.

Fortunately, this is the end of “Pillar” One. Thank God because these 18 pages alone have given me a tremendous headache…probably as a result of high blood pressure.

I’ll be posting Part Two to this later when I delve into “Pillar Two: Policy & Oversight”. If you have the time, I urge you to read the report for yourself. I can’t encourage you strongly enough to always, ALWAYS, do your own research and confirm what you read before you believe or dismiss it. Here’s the link to the report and Obama’s COPS program.

We need to unite once again

Two days ago I read an article that made my blood run cold….for about 2 seconds and then it started to boil. Sen. Mark Kirk, R-Ill. and Nebraska Gov. Dave Heineman have both made claims that the obama (not capitalized intentionally, thank you very much) administration is sending illegal alien children to their states without their knowledge and consent. Furthermore, when discovered, the elected officials inquired about the children and the federal government refused to tell them the names and locations of these children.

Folks, that’s a game changer right there. When you have a federal government that is using state resources without the consent or knowledge of the state, and then refuses to include the state in the activity once it’s discovered, you are officially living in a socialist country. When the federal government bypasses the people’s elected representatives then the people no longer have a voice and the federal government is running the show according to their will, not the people’s. This is what we’re dealing with.

And this is what needs to happen….

Contrary to what everyone is saying, that the states all need to secede and become independent, I think this country needs to unite. The states need to band together through the power of their elected officials and seal their own borders…..against the feds. The federal government has evolved into an independent entity. It is no longer acting on behalf of the people….it is no longer the voice of the people and the will of the people. No. The federal government has evolved into a corrupt entity that has hijacked our tax dollars, trespassed into the People’s House, and is threatening the safety and sanctity of our great nation. It acts independently of any other entity, creating it’s own laws and circumventing any restrictions that we attempt to apply to it. Benghazi? The survivors (aka witnesses) don’t want to speak about it….because I’ve threatened them if they do. IRS scandal? Oh, sorry, hard drive crashed. Gun-rights restrictions? I give up, you can keep your guns, but Operation Choke Point will put your firearm product suppliers out of business. Obamacare? You can keep your insurance if you want to, but I’m going to make it so expensive that you won’t be able to. And these are just a few of the verified, confirmed scandals facing the federal government.

The states united before against tyranny….they need to do it again. The first step, though, is closing our borders to those that would undermine our safety – and I don’t mean our national borders. I’ve started a petition demanding (yes, demanding) that the States’ Governors close their borders to federal vehicles transporting illegal aliens. The feds have many of our representatives in its pocket, and we need to get back into the people’s corner. We can do this in 2 different ways: 1)make sure they know that they have our support in standing against the feds, and 2)elect OUT the ones who won’t work with us and bring in the ones who will. Plain and simple.

So….that rant being made…..sign the petition, forward the petition, share the petition, and FOR THE LOVE OF GOD AND COUNTRY get out and VOTE this November for someone who is FOR THE PEOPLE.

Petition to Governors – Close your state’s borders to the feds