Monday, May 11, 2015

Fallen Heroes

obama, obama jokes, political, humor, cartoon, conservative, hope n' change, hope and change, stilton jarlsberg, brian moore, liquori tate, benjamin deen, police, killings, freddie gray, ferguson, baltimore, police week

Last Friday, NYPD Officer Brian Moore (posthumously promoted to Detective) was laid to rest following his senseless murder. Thousands of peace officers and dignitaries attended his funeral - none of whom were from the White House or Department of Justice.

Rather, new DOJ head Loretta Lynch chose the sad day to announce that she was launching a full investigation of the Baltimore police department in the wake of Freddie Gray's death, searching (and no doubt hoping) for "a pattern or practice of violations of the Constitution or of federal law."

The following day, two policemen were gunned down in cold blood in Mississippi following a routine traffic stop.  Benjamin Deen, 34, a former "Officer of the Year," and his rookie partner Liquori Tate, 25, died of wounds allegedly inflicted by suspects (now in custody) with a history of felony convictions and gun charges.

There is currently an ugly and invidious narrative from the Left, from the White House down, which paints law officers as a threat to our national well-being and the cause of growing social disorder. It is implied, when not stated outright, that there is a police culture of rampant racism - even when the police officers themselves are non-white.

We're told that the police "need to evolve" and require "sensitivity training." We're told that the reason young black thugs are running wild and burning buildings in Baltimore is because insufficient federal funds have been spent to civilize them, and that the inspirational father figures who could have provided strong moral guidance were cruelly taken away by the same prison system which, somehow, couldn't contain the frequently convicted alleged killers of Officers Deen and Tate.

The narrative is that even when the police are shown to be right (as in the shooting death of Michael Brown), the real problem is a "lack of trust" between minority communities and the police. A "lack of trust" fomented by the likes of Barack Obama when he refers to the Ferguson police as oppressors. A "lack of trust" that gets officers killed.

There can be no better time to reflect on all of this than National Police Week, when we solemnly remember the many who have died in the line of duty to keep us safe.

Hope n' Change thanks all of those who serve in uniform for the public good. And we stand in awe of their professionalism and dedication - continuing to do their exceptionally difficult and dangerous jobs when under attack not just from felons, but from opportunistic race hustlers and politicians whose ultimate goal is social discord rather than public safety.

24 comments:

Mike aka Proof said...

The job of the "Thin Blue Line" is hard enough without a horde of race baiting jackals stabbing them in the back.

(Nasty note to follow.)

Mango Deveraux said...

Hear, hear.

George in Houtx said...

while there are a few (very few) bad cops, the vast majority are just trying to do their job. they help people when they can. unfortunately, most people don't have any dealings with cops until the blue and red lights come on. yes, cops have a bad side to their job! the race baiting that we have seen is a constant with Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson. the sad part is when elected federal officials, sworn to uphold the law and the Constitution, feel it mandatory that they, too, weigh in on the race issue. the way these officials handle these cases serves only to advance their agenda of greater racial division. I wish this would all end happy and peaceful. however, experience has shown me that people will not change until things become severely intolerable. and then it gets real ugly real fast.

REM1875 said...

Thank you and God bless all LEO. We do appreciate y'all.

Anonymous said...

I served 30 years on a police department, 21 in which I was a supervisor.
One of the most awful days in my career was when I was sent to pick up the wife and two children of an officer who was ambushed and killed.
I had to take these survivors to the hospital, and it took all my strength not to break down in tears.
We did not tell the survivors that their loved one was killed, only that they had been involved in an 'incident' and were at the hospital.
The bad news was given by a clergy, but we sergeants knew all along that there was a death.
These notifications were some of the most difficult assignments, and especially when we actually had to take the survivors to the hospital.

Barbara said...

God Bless the Thin Blue Line - those who have fallen and those who press on - and all their dear families.

You have to hand it to the Obama administration...fundamental transformation is well underway. They are accomplishing what they planned. Control health care, squash religious freedoms, curtail private property rights and now sadly, this PLANNED RACIAL AGITATION OPERA we are being treated to, yet cannot put a halt to. Racial chaos will entangle domestic police forces under more and more federal control. A few days ago, Mark Levin linked to this Instapundit /PJ Media article. http://fb.me/45YJm0e3z . It is especially easy to transform if the local leaders are Democrats and they actually invite federal investigation. How expedient of them. Whatever you call it...The Fabian Society or The Progressives... it is just a century old plan coming together. The next thing to watch is national sovereignty being lost to global agreements and treaties. The Progressives will find a way to bypass the Senate, just like they have found ways around the Constitution to date. The revolutionaries have the bit between their teeth, and are running with it. Freedom is burning and yet we stand transfixed.

Bobo the Hobo said...

Now that President Obama can no longer be re-elected, it is going to be interesting to see what comes out of this administration in the next 18 months. Michelle already let loose with the race baiting during her Tuskegee graduation speech.

Anonymous said...

Anyone else get upset when Police Unions support democrats?

Rod said...

HEAR. HEAR. Very well said, Sir.

Amy said...

It interesting how the unions support Democrats then when those same Democrats get in, the Democrat turns on them and insults the hell out of them, blasts them and pretty much calls for their jail time. Will these same unions support and endorse the next Democrat presidential candidate?

Barbara said...

Yes,(Anonymous and Amy) it upsets me when police unions support the Democrat party. At the first opportunity, Mayor Bill de Blasio (gag) was willing to throw law enforcement under the radical's bus. When the big urban cities go bankrupt (like Detroit did), it will be the bankruptcy judge and emergency managers that the unions will be looking to, for anything going forward. I wish the unions would get a clue about the future. I hope city police union members start to take a new, cold stone sober look at the perfect storm heading their way. Perhaps today is not the day to go on this rant. Today is a day to remember the fallen.

Geoff King said...

Militarize the police, foment racial riots and distrust of law enforcement, then bring in federal control of local police. Voila! Total police state without violating Posse Comitatus.

Juanita the Icon said...

Bingo Geoff.

Anonymous said...

The "Game" is afoot of divide and conquer, good cop, bad cop and oppressed minorities meaning blacks and suppressed minorities meaning the TP and the "Bitter Clingers".
Police thuggery is all too real, but criminality is criminality where ever it is found.
http://christiannews.net/2015/05/09/kentucky-police-seize-10-children-of-homeschooling-off-grid-family-arrest-pregnant-mother/

John the Econ said...

The left has made great hay over the last decade about how much America has wasted on recent wars. And yet, the trillion or so spent on Afghanistan and Iraq doesn't compare to the tens-of-trillions spent over the last 50 years on the wholly lost "war on poverty". And the left's only response to this failure is to spend even more on the same failed approach.

As for creating a more "evolved" and "sensitive" police force: The irony is that as the Progressives continue to throw police under the bus and make their work more and more difficult and dangerous, more an more of the highest quality individuals who are either currently officers or may be considering becoming one will be changing their minds about belonging to the profession, and will seek safer and more lucrative jobs elsewhere. The net result will be less effective police forces with even lower morale and problems. After a generation of purge, Progressives actually will get the kind of police forces that they complain about today; consisting mainly of people who are only there because they seek the cheap power trip.

One thing I am all in favor of is universal deployment of the body cameras. Everyone seems to be in favor of that. But I think it needs to go a step further; where every minute recorded gets uploaded to the web so that the public gets to see what our police officers have to deal with every single day. I don't think the Progressives will be so thrilled about that.

And a follow up on a topic here from a few weeks ago, Simper Fem, It seems as though the Army finds itself in the same position as the marines do:

All 19 women have washed out of Army Ranger School — in the first phase

@Anonymous (the officer), God bless you. I can only imagine how awful a job that must be. Just reading that, I can feel the pain you clearly still feel from that experience decades later. It's just more of the unseen collateral damage so many are forced to endure as a result of subsidized Progressive disorder.

HeroHog said...

I support all good cops. I feel for their families and coworkers loss. Now for the part some won't like; I do NOT support those who break the law they swore to support. My BIGGEST issue is with the "policing their own" issues especially given the "us VS. them" mentality and the cursed "Thin Blue Line" mentality that leads the "not so good" to cover for the bad. When you cover for a bad cop, you become a bad cop. We are seeing WAY too much of this now and things MUST change.

Pottsboro 11 said...

I have been a peace officer for 34 years, and I sincerely appreciate the tribute in this edition.
Thank you...

American Cowboy said...

Looking at the photos I can plainly see why the professional protestors are so angry at the police.

A Lincoln hearse. Many people grieving. And of course they don't like the idea that when they die they will only have two pallbearers. after all a garbage can has only two handles!

Joseph ET said...

From the history films I’ve seen I feel that I’m witnessing a re-run of the 1938-1939 period. Adolf Hitler was a community organizer. When he got to be fully in charge he disbanded all the political parties except his, shut down labor unions and took their funds as well. Then he nationalized the local police and we know how that worked out. Hitler, a master orator, by the way. And guess what? He told people precisely what they needed to hear: The uplifting voice of “change.” That sounds familiar! He did get people back to work by building the Audubon. That’s why Obama keeps crying for building our infrastructure. But this day in age the folks that do the infrastructure building are in specialized closed membership unions and it doesn’t take hundreds of people with a pick and shovel to do it. Back then if you were a German and a unemployed Banker, Lawyer, Doctor or whatever, it was “here’s your shovel get to work.” That will not work now.

Stilton Jarlsberg said...

@Proof- Exactly. Like anyone else, our police need to be able to stand up to legitimate criticisms and take responsibility if there is wrongdoing. But right now, we're seeing a blanket attack on police forces in their entirety for political reasons, and it enrages me.

@George in Houtx- There are real and complex issues related to the police, race, and socioeconomic classes. But the narrative from the left is untrue and unhelpful. Deliberately so.

@Anonymous- Thank you for your service and for sharing that heartbreaking story. I wish there was a lot more awareness that "Cops Lives Matter." Although I should make clear my belief that most Americans - of all classes and colors - do support the police. It's the professional troublemakers (in the streets and in high office) who are ramping up the rhetoric of hate.

@Barbara- Excellent points throughout. I agree with every word - and thank you for commenting!

@Bobo the Hobo- I, too, think that Barry is going to continue to deliver one affront after another now that he doesn't need to run for re-election. Which makes this a very scary time.

@Anonymous- As a matter of fact, I do.

@Amy- It's hard for me to imagine many police unions could support the candidates who are calling them an "oppressive force" in our cities. Then again, a lot of things I find hard to imagine happen every day. Darn it.

@Barbara- Actually, we can rant all we like today. While this is Police Week, the actual memorial day is the 15th (Friday).

@Geoff King- I hope you're wrong. I don't know that you are. As Obama likes to say, I'm developing "issues of trust."

@Anonymous- In a country as large as ours, with as many bizarre laws and individual municipalities, there's always going to be some weird arrests being made - even when the cops are just following orders. And yes, there will sometimes be flat out bad behavior by cops - as there will be with doctors, school teachers, politicians, and every other human.

When it comes to the "bad apples," it's amazing how quickly the media says that no terrorist is truly Muslim because Islam is by definition the "religion of peace." But let one actual peace officer abuse his authority, and suddenly the Left starts damning every cop in the nation. I'm sick of it.

@John the Econ- Yes, yes, yes to the body cams AND the live feeds of what the police are actually forced to deal with. Not that the latter will ever happen.

And I'm glad that those women washed out of Army Ranger School if they couldn't hack it - although I applaud them for having tried. There was a recent story about a female firefighter who got the nod (in New York, I believe) even though she couldn't pass the physical requirements. I can't imagine that ending well.

@HeroHog- I certainly don't condone bad behavior, and there may be some systemic problems of the kind you describe. But the things that "MUST change" will have to include broader societal measures, and not just making cops more sensitive. (By the way, I'm not disagreeing with you - just amplifying my own take on things.)

@Pottsboro 11- Thank you for your service. You and your brothers and sisters in uniform deserve every accolade.

@American Cowboy- The pictures of Brian Moore's funeral tore me up. He was hardly more than a kid (well, to an old guy like me) with his whole life ahead of him. And the same for officers Deen and Tate, just 34 and 25.

And Al Sharpton can come picket in front of the Hope n' Change office tower if he wants, but when I see the pictures of the accused killers, I see only street trash. Human garbage. And I ache inside...

Stilton Jarlsberg said...

@JosephET- Good points.

Unknown said...

Just felt encouraged by the comments; the orchestrated chaos is all part of an extremely devious plan - about which the "regular" public is in complete denial. All of it: the complete disregard of and disrespect for our police, the obvious racist bent of the WH (who will attend any "black" incident but not show for DETECTIVE Brian Moore's service) - it makes me sick. One of my favorite quotes regarding the "race-baiters" is appropriate right now, and methinks BTW is rolling over in his grave. "There is another class of coloured people who make a business of keeping the troubles, the wrongs, and the hardships of the Negro race before the public. Having learned that they are able to make a living out of their troubles, they have grown into the settled habit of advertising their wrongs - partly because they want sympathy and partly because it pays. Some of these people do not want the Negro to lose his grievances, because they do not want to lose their jobs. There is a certain class of race-problem solvers who don't want the patient to get well." ~ Booker T. Washington 1856-1915

John the Econ said...

This one got past me last week:

CNN ANCHOR BROOKE BALDWIN BLAMES MILITARY VETERANS FOR BALTIMORE RIOTS

“I love our nation’s veterans, but some of them are coming back from war, they don’t know the communities, and they are ready to do battle.”

You know, I love our nation's blonde airheads as much as the next guy, but some of them get on TV and they don't know s*** about reality, they certainly don’t know about the communities they're reporting on, and they are ready spout their ignorance Progressive nonsense.

In other hopey-changey news:

Obama's Middle East summit is falling apart. A "summit" is theoretically a get-together to exchange ideas. But Obama isn't interested in what anyone else thinks; it's more of a cram-down of his Iran non-policy that nobody but the mullahs in Tehran are happy with. Since nobody wants to sit through a lecture from Obama, they're checking out before they check in.

Meanwhile, on the ongoing Islamification of the west:

Complaint says crosses at Catholic school offensive, prevent Muslim prayers

"Crosses in every room at Washingon D.C.’s Catholic University of America are a human rights violation that prevent Muslim students from praying."

The horror. Muslims worldwide are slaughtering people for the sake of slaughtering, but in the US we're going to consider a cross on the wall at a Catholic university a "human rights violation"?

This is exactly why we need a "loser pays" legal system.

It turns out that the Obama Administration has been ignoring a Federal court injunction against his amnesty policy:

"The Justice Department lawyers said Homeland Security, which is the defendant in the case, told them Wednesday that an immigration agency had approved about 2,000 applications for three-year work permits, which was part of Mr. Obama’s new amnesty, even after Judge Hanen issued his Feb. 16 injunction halting the entire program."

So what's going to happen? Is anyone going to be held responsible, or does Obama just get to ignore both Congress and the courts?

If you've been waiting for further proof that we're now living in a dictatorship, this may be it.

And finally, from my "We are not Charlie" file: It seems that the mainstream media believes that uppity Jewess Pamela Geller owes someone an apology for the death of those 2nd-rate terrorists who attacked her gathering.

AP "Pamela Geller says she has no regrets about Prophet Muhammad cartoon contest that ended in 2 deaths: apne.ws/1IkVUKN

Washington Post: Event organizer offers no apology after thwarted attack in Texas

It's almost as though she's the terrorist and she attacked them! Could anyone imagine that if I were to go to a local bank with assault weapons and were to get killed in the process, the bank owing an apology to me?

There are those who like to say that the "radical" Muslims are literally "insane". I don't think so. In fact, I think they're acting quite rationally. It's American Progressives that are insane.

David in SoCal said...

Dr. Jarlsberg: Thank you and bless you for this post. The honor you have bestowed upon our brave Policemen/Policewomen is heartfelt and well deserved.
@Pottsboro11 and Anonymous: God bless you and thank you for your service to your communities, and service to our country as well. You help/and have helped to keep us ALL safe.
This hits VERY close to home here at the SoCal Shack, as we have a son in law, nephew, and many friends who proudly and selflessly serve in Law Enforcement. Mrs. SoCal and I pray EVERY day for their safety, while on or off duty. Fortunately, we live in a fairly safe area, but these days, there may not be such a thing as a 'safe' community; especially for Police. Just heard on the news that Police killings in the year 2014 were up 80+%....Ahem, and God Bless/protect our Law Enforcement personnel; AMEN.