The man, on his way to the birthday party for his wife, suddenly remembered that he had not yet purchased a gift and as he was waiting at a red light, decided that a pre-paid gift visa card would be best, since he was out of work and they were on a budget due to the hard times. Pulling over, he ran into a gas station and picked out a card with a fun picture on the front, paid for it, and returned to his car. Pulling out into traffic, he looked at his watch, realized he was running late, and in doing so, ran the light. Luckily, or unluckily, as the case may be, a nice police officer saw the whole thing and quickly pulled the man over. The officer asked the man for his license, quickly ran it through the computers, and it came back a hit for a known drug dealer. Although our hero was not the criminal in question, the officer did not know that, so he followed protocol and immediately pulled out his new department issued gadget, ran it over the pre-paid card, and poof! Just like that, the cash was gone. The man would have to prove his innocence, if he wanted it back. And his poor wife? Well, to paraphrase the soup-nazi-“No birthday present for you!”
Now, if you are wondering what just happened, then you don’t live in Oklahoma. Local news reported that-“The Oklahoma Department of Public Safety has purchased several 'Electronic Recovery and Access to Data' devices to install in police cruisers for seizing funds from prepaid debit cards during roadside arrests.” The story continued by noting – “Using the scanners, cops can increase the number of roadside seizures of cash earned through sales of illicit drugs.” That’s right. The police are now able to seize money off of pre-paid cards, ostensibly from “drug dealers”, but in reality, from anyone they want. This is almost reminiscent of being back in middle school, where that tall kid would grab something from you and hold it way above your head, making you jump to get it back, or even resort to begging or worse.
Boing Boing wrote about the story and noted that – “Civil asset forfeiture is the subject of heated debate throughout America. Federal and state laws allow police to take property or cash said to have been earned through drug trafficking. The officer grabs the assets, and the law enforcement agency they work for then takes ownership of the assets through a civil court action.” See, the key words there are “drug trafficking”. That makes everything ok. But does it?
The Washington Post ran a story awhile back on this issue that noted –“The police have been violating the laws to confiscate assets all over the country. A scathing report on California warns of pervasive abuse by police to rob the people without proving that any crime occurred. Even Eric Holder came out in January suggesting reform because of the widespread abuse of the civil asset forfeiture laws by police.”
All of this talk is pretty empty without a picture, and let’s go back to Boing Boing to get a better understanding of how serious the problem is. They wrote – “US police seized $4.5 billion through civil asset forfeiture (through which police can take money and valuables away from citizens without charging anyone with any crimes) in 2014; in the same period, the FBI estimates that burglars accounted for $3.9B in property losses.” Get that? The police literally stole the top spot for the “possessing things that were not rightfully theirs” competition.
And speaking of “possessing things that were not rightfully theirs”, or at least sticking their collective noses into other people’s business, the Wall Street Journal just ran a story noting that – “U.S. State Department Officials Call for Strikes Against Syria’s Assad”. Confused? Shaking your head? Wondering what is going on? The article goes on to note that – “Dozens of State Department officials this week protested against U.S. policy in Syria, signing an internal document that calls for targeted military strikes against the Damascus government and urging regime change as the only way to defeat Islamic State.” Now, if you are wondering just who exactly the State Dept is and what they do, we can take a quick look at wiki – “The United States Department of State, often referred to as the State Department, is the United States federal executive department responsible for the international relations of the United States, and is equivalent to the foreign ministry of other countries.” That’s right. They are diplomats that should be focused on bettering or at least maintaining relations with other countries, not blowing them up. (Just don’t tell that to the Libyans, and Hillary Clinton, we are looking at you).
Now, before we take the letter from people that – are not in Congress, are not the Commander-in-Chief, and are not even in the military, serious and start dropping bombs and killing more people, let’s take a moment to pause and step into the not-so wayback machine. Just a few months ago, in March, the media world was ablaze with headlines noting that – “In Syria, militias armed by the Pentagon fight those armed by the CIA”. That’s right. Different rebel/terrorist groups already fighting in Syria are supported by various groups in Washington DC — with a completely different outcome in mind. Why can’t the people in the State Dept go out with their colleagues in the Pentagon and talk it over, or at least hash it out over drinks with their buddies in the CIA? Isn’t that what diplomats do? Schmooze and bring consensus? Or is that the new reality inside the beltway? That US foreign policy and the fate of other nations and their leaders is created by the rank-and-file, by those at the bottom, by faceless not elected bureaucrats?
In fact, the article at the WSJ notes – “The internal cable may be an attempt to shape the foreign policy outlook of the next administration. President Barack Obama has balked at taking military action against Mr. Assad, while Democratic presidential hopeful Hillary Clinton has promised a more hawkish stance toward the Syrian leader. Republican candidate Donald Trump has said he would hit Islamic State hard but has also said he would be prepared to work with Russia in Syria.” So, even if you are against Trump diplomacy, just ask yourself, do the American people really want another Benghazi?
As the planet continues to tilt towards another world war, people in America and the West should be asking themselves who the enemy really is. Who was behind the recent and largest mass murder in Orlando? Who was behind the bombing in Belgium or even the killings in France? Was it Assad? Or was it radicalism, manifesting itself yet again in death and destruction? Instead of building walls and fences, the world should be building bridges, based on business, mutual understanding, and sometimes, even agreeing to disagree.
So, what do you think dear listeners – “Is Russia the real enemy?”
