News You Need to Know – Page 116

OccupyGOP

I reported a short while back that the Minnesota Republican Party has been unable to pay the rent on their headquarters. From individuals connected to the party I’ve learned that the Minnesota Republican Party aren’t planning on paying the rent and they’re also planning on fighting any potential eviction. At this point I believe it’s time to declare a new occupation, OccupyGOP. To help get this initiative off its feet I’ve decided to offer some ideas to help get OccupyGOP rolling.

First some slogans are going to be needed. One of the biggest fights Occupy has selected is trying to get local municipalities to allow tents erected on public property. Occupy’s argument is that housing is a human right so I believe the OccupyGOP needs to adopt a new slogan: office space is a human rights. The idea is simple, the Minnesota Republican Party currently occupiers office space and they don’t want to pay for it. What is one to do when they want something but don’t want to pay for it? Declare it a human right! People sick of paying for Internet access have petitioned the United Nations (UN) to declare Internet access a human right, which they happily did. Now when somebody wants Internet access but doesn’t want to pay for it they can just argue that they are owed Internet access by “society” because it’s a human right (positive rights theory is so convenient that way). Since OccupyGOP is already occupying a building there is no need to erect tents, although it would add to the movement if they fought endlessly for the right to erect tents on their property.

Next OccupyGOP needs to raise awareness. OccupyMN has been attempting to raise awareness by marching down major streets and obstructing traffic. Perhaps OccupyGOP can attempt something similar, but with a slight twist. Instead of marching down busy streets to annoy people OccupyGOP could march into polling places this November and attempt to prevent people from voting. This would raise awareness by annoying politically minded individuals who are trying to vote and it won’t require the passage of a constitutional amendment like the Republican Party’s current voter ID initiative does.

What about the police? Eventually the police are going to be called by the landlords to evict the occupation. OccupyGOP is in a better position than any other occupation since OccupyGOP actually has political connections. While screaming “WE’RE RESISTING ARREST!” several members of OccupyGOP could work with “representatives” at the capitol to pass legislation that will cut the pay of Minnesota police officers. This could lead to the police making a deal with OccupyGOP: in exchange for keeping their pay the police can refuse to evict OccupyGOP from the building they’re not paying rent on.

Overall it’s rather ironic that the Occupy movement, which has traditionally been considered a left-leaning movement, has more in common with the Minnesota Republican Party than the Minnesota Democratic Party.

It’s Called Payback

How many people do you know that have spent time in one of the state’s cages? How many of those people were later found innocent of any wrongdoing? How many of the people found guilty were actually guilty of a crime involving a victim? The state loves to throw innocent people into cages and it’s always good to read stories about payback:

Venus Green, who was 87 when she was handcuffed, roughed up and injured by police, will receive $95,000 as part of a settlement with Baltimore City. The city chose to settle the case instead of taking a chance in front of a jury.

“We thought we would have a difficult time in front of a city jury, or any jury,” Baltimore City solicitor George Nilson said.

[…]

In July 2009, Green’s grandson, Tallie, was shot and wounded. Tallie said he was shot at a convenience store, but police insisted it happened inside Green’s house and that the shooter was either Tallie or Green.

“Police kept questioning him. They wouldn’t let the ambulance attendant treat him,” Green said. “So, I got up and said, ‘Sir, would you please let the attendants treat him? He’s in pain,'” Green said.
Green said the officer said to her, “Oh, you did it, come on, let’s go inside. I’ll prove where that blood is. You did it.”

Police wanted to go the basement, where Tallie lived, but Green refused on the basis that the police did not have a warrant.

[…]

A struggle ensued between a male officer and Green.

“He dragged me, threw me across the chair, put handcuffs on me and just started calling me the ‘b’ name. He ridiculed me,” Green said.

An officer went into the basement and Green locked him inside.

“She locked the door, the basement door. She basically took matters into her own hands,” Nilson said.

“This was my private home, and if I latched it, that was my prerogative because he had no search warrant to go in my basement. So, I had to right to latch it,” Green said.

Venus Green is awesome. Since she was on her way to a cage for a crime she didn’t commit it is only fitting that she tossed her aggressor in a cage as well.

TSA Doing what Government Agencies Do

The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) is following in the footsteps of every government agency before it by continually expanding its power:

A new program in Houston will place undercover TSA agents and police officers on buses whose job it will be to perform bag searches, watch for “suspicious activity” and interrogate passengers in order to ‘curb crime and terrorism’.

Democratic Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee unveiled the program, labeled Bus Safe, during a press conference on Friday. According to a Metropolitan Transit Authority of Houston (METRO) press release, agencies involved in the scheme will, “ride buses, perform random bag checks, and conduct K-9 sweeps, as well as place uniformed and plainclothes officers at Transit Centers and rail platforms to detect, prevent and address latent criminal activity or behavior.”

If you still don’t believe the United States has become a police state you’re not paying attention. It seems you can use any mode of transportation without worrying about some government goon treating you like a potential criminal.

Outside the Box Thinking can Saves Lives

Sometimes you just need to be creative tosave lives:

A suicidal man clung to an overpass high above Interstate 94 Monday morning, facing near-certain death if he jumped or fell.

But a quick-thinking state trooper found an ingenious way to save him: He summoned a convoy of 18-wheelers that had been stuck in halted traffic beneath the Groveland Avenue bridge as the emergency unfolded at about 10 a.m.

Trooper Carl Hoffman rounded up a six-pack of the big rigs, positioning the trucks one by one to break a potential plunge to the pavement about 25 feet below.

“It really speaks to the trooper’s ingenuity,” Patrol Lt. Eric Roeske said. “‘Hey, we can shorten his fall and he’d be less likely to harm himself.'”

In a way the story is kind of comical. When the trooper guided semi trucks below the man threatening to jump he would shuffle away from the semis, only to have the trooper position another semi under the jumper. Being creative and having the ability to think quickly are important.

A Scary Trend

We hear numerous stories about police officers who are gunned down but what we don’t hear much about is this disturbing trend:

Ten times more civilians were killed by cops than cops were killed by civilians in 2008, but you won’t find that information in Tuesday’s New York Times story on the “disturbing trend” of officers killed by perps.

[…]

There’s arguably an even bigger problem with the Times’ story, and that’s the absence of any data about how many civilians the cops have killed, even though that information is widely available, as demonstrated by the Advocacy Center for Equality and Democracy:

From 2003 to 2009, 4,813 people died in relation to an arrest in “all manners of deaths.” Each year ranged from 627 (2003) to 745 (2007). Source – Andrea M. Burch, U.S. Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Statistics,Arrest-Related Deaths, 2003-2009 – Statistical Tables, November 2011.
Of those, 2,913 (about 6 in 10) were reported as “homicide by law enforcement.” Each year ranged from 375 (2004) to 497 (2009). See Burch.
In the only year in which the NYT article and the Bureau of Justice Statistics report overlap, 2008, law enforcement killed roughly 10 times the number of people during arrests (404) than officers killed (41). See Burch.
Since 2001, at least 500 people have been killed as a result of being tasered by officers in the United States alone.

To serve and protect…

Shootout in New Hampshire

I’m not sure if journalism can get much more shoddy than the coverage the shootout that just occurred in Greenland, NH:

The body of a man suspected of killing Greenland’s police chief and wounding four other officers was found dead inside his home early Friday morning, police said.

[…]

Greenland Police Chief Michael Maloney, 48, who was with the department for 12 years, was shot and killed trying to gain entry to the home while serving a drug-related warrant, Delaney said. He was set to retire in one week.

Maloney and four officers from the Attorney General’s drug task force arrived at the home at about 6 p.m. when Mutrie opened fire.

At first I thought this post would be discussion how the war on drugs has needless claimed more victims and caused the police to insert violence into an otherwise non-violent situation (manufacturing, possessing, and selling unapproved drugs is not a violent action). Unfortunately I ran into a bit of a problem since news articles didn’t go into any detail about the drug-related offense. Finally I came across this:

The Portsmouth Herald reported in February 2011 that Cullen Mutrie, 29, was a resident of the home on 517 Post Road and had been arrested and charged with possession of anabolic steroids.

The newspaper reported that the steroids were found in the home when officers went to confiscate guns after Mutrie was arrested on domestic assault charges. According to a police affidavit, the steroids were found in Mutrie’s living room on July 24, 2010, but were not verified by the state crime lab until Jan. 18.

A domestic violence charge lead to a drug charge. Domestic violence is, oftentimes, a violent situation and therefore intervention is justifiable. With that said domestic violence situations are one of the hardest situations to figure out because it is often an emotionally charged he-said-she-said argument. Sometimes a husband beats his wife, other times the wife beats her husband, and in other cases yelling and screaming leads to one party making false accusations against the other. Needless to say I have zero details on what happened and therefore can’t no comment on it.

What is interesting is the fact the police apparently confiscated Mutrie’s firearms yet he still had firearms to shoot the police with when they arrived to arrest him this time around. Apparently confiscation doesn’t actually work, who would have guessed? Likewise it should go without saying that Mutrie surrendered his firearms peacefully otherwise he wouldn’t have been at home when the police came to arrest him for the drug charges. Therein lies the key, this situation would have been unlikely to happen if it wasn’t for the drug charges so ultimately this case still boils down to the fact violence was used to enforce a decree against non-violent action.

The worst part about the war on drugs isn’t the cost, it’s the fact violence is being initiated against non-violent individuals. Manufacturing, selling, and using drugs are nothing more than commerce. People want the drugs so a market develops and that market is fulfilled legally or not. Since the state uses violence to enforce its decree prohibiting some drugs the obvious response to drug manufacturers, sellers, and users is to use violence to defend their business. In this way the war on drugs should really be called the initiation of violence against drug market actors. I realize that’s quite a mouthful but it would be far more accurate.

Zimmerman Charged

All of you who have been demanding Zimmerman’s arrest can finally breathe a sign of relief, he has been charged with second degree murder:

A Florida neighbourhood watch volunteer has been charged with second-degree murder over the shooting of unarmed black teenager Trayvon Martin.

George Zimmerman turned himself in on Wednesday and is now in custody, special prosecutor Angela Corey said.

[…]

“Today we filed an information charging George Zimmerman with murder in the second degree,” Ms Corey told reporters.

“I can tell you we did not come to this decision lightly. Let me emphasise that we do not prosecute by public pressure or petition,” Ms Corey added, in a reference to the intense media scrutiny that has surrounded the case in recent weeks.

I wonder if Corey is being less than honest as I’m assuming the charges had, at least, something to do with the public outcry. Let’s face it, the chances of an LA Riot occurring in Florida if Zimmerman wasn’t charged was pretty high. With that said I fully admit that I have no grounds for my claim nor am I claiming that to be the sole reason Zimmerman has been charged. As I’ve been stating we really need to just put the evidence available before a jury.

My fear that a fair trial may be impossible considering the strong emotions felt by the public regarding this case still hold. It could make Corey’s career if she successfully prosecutes Zimmerman because nothing builds a career like ruling in favor of public opinion in a high profile case. Furthermore, if Zimmerman is ruled innocent it will likely lead to violence as people unhappy with the verdict, those demanding Zimmerman be lynched, lash out. From what I can see it’s in the best interests of everybody besides Zimmerman to rule him guilty. This all depends on the evidence presented through as Zimmerman may very well be guilty as hell.

The coverage of this case is likely to be phenomenal so should remain well informed as things unroll. In fact this case as the potential of being the next O. J. Simpson trial (although I hope it isn’t, that coverage was just insane).

I Feel Better Now

I take a great deal of pleasure in pissing off the enviro-nazis. Environ-nazi is a term I use for those who claim they’re environmentally friendly but in actuality are not because they oppose real methods to improve the environment. Needless to say it always puts a smile on my face when I can mention the average 17mpg my Ford Ranger gets to one of these individuals. With that said I’m not a fan of paying for gas and I do want to get some physical exercise so I periodically ride a bike. Riding a bike is a double-edged sword in my book because it does offer great exercise and transportation but only at the cost of gaining approval of the enviro-nazis. Thankfully some researchers have my back:

Substituting bicycling for driving is frequently promoted as a means of reducing energy consumption and the associated degradation of the environment. This paper estimates the magnitude of this effect. The analysis takes account of the first-order effects due to the dramatically lower energy requirements of transportation by bicycle relative to automobiles. The environmental benefits of human power are, however, strongly coupled to the environmental costs of increased population, due to increased longevity of those who engage in physical activity. Paradoxically, increased use of human power for transportation is unlikely to reduce substantially the use of energy because of this second-order effect. Human powered transportation is therefore less an environmental issue and more an issue of public health. The interplay between longevity and environmental impact is a central feature of the conflicting societal objectives of improving human health and increasing environmental sustainability.

Since riding a bike leads to a longer life it gives me more time to use energy and increase my carbon footprint. Therefore I can continue riding a bike in good conscious knowing it ultimately goes against everything the enviro-nazis support (which is to say it lets me increase my carbon footprint).

Zimmerman Case Not Going to Grand Jury

I must say that this is an interesting turn of events:

A prosecutor says she will not hold a hearing to determine if a Florida neighbourhood watchman should be tried for shooting dead unarmed black teenager Trayvon Martin.

Angela Corey says her office is still investigating the incident. She could file charges or drop the case.

This decision is a big concerning merely because of the consequences it could reap. Those of us who favor law and order have been saying we can only wait for a grand jury trail, where all the evidence will be presented to the jurors, before we can decide whether or not to condem Zimmerman. Now that the grand jury isn’t happening it could spark even more outraged in the community that has been screaming for Zimmerman’s lynching, even though Zimmerman isn’t entirely out of the woods as Corey can still file charges.

My main concern is the public’s reaction to this news. Let us not forget the LA Riots were sparked from a situation not entirely different from this one. Hopefully violence doesn’t come from this decision but considering some of the demands made by those who have ruled Zimmerman guilty already I wouldn’t be too sure.

Mobibro IQ Scam

I come to you with warning about a text message scam. Last night I received a text message from the number 584-98 that stated:

MobibroIQ Fun Facts billed at $9.99/mo. Msg&Data Rates May Apply. Reply HELP for help. Enter UR password on the website to continue: 4647

Yeah, they have a website. No, I’m not linking to it. I merely ignored the text message as I figured it was a fishing expedition trying to get a reply from my phone to confim it’s a valid number. Fifteen minutes later I received the following message from the same number:

MobibroIQ: Welcome to IQ! For HELP call 18888906150 $9.99/mo. for 3msgs/wk. Reply HELP for help, Reply STOP to cancel. Msg&Data Rates May Apply

Then I received a third text message from the same number that stated:

Guest What? Unlike humans, crustaceans, insects and spiders have their skeleton on the outside of their body called the exoskeleton. For HELP call 18888906150

The first thing you need to know about any kind of scam, be it text message delivered or e-mail delivered, is that you should never respond to them. Instead I went straight to my AT&T billing statement and lo and behold a mystery charge for $9.99 appeared. The charge was listed under the AT&T Monthly Subscriptions section and had the following details:

03/13 Multiple Types
MistyMobileAlerts
Short Code: 94408 ID: 10186
Provider: Dream Audio
Contact: http://www.mxtelecom.com
Renew Date: 04/13/2012

It should go without saying that I didn’t sign up for anything, but it appears that the default behavior of an AT&T line is to allow random entities to sign you up for monthly subscriptions. As I’m not a very tolerant man when it comes to crap like this I called AT&T’s customer support and dialed 0 to talk to a real human being. After explaining my situation the customer support agent credited my account for the charges and put a block on text purchases. I didn’t even need to mention my ultimatum: credit my account or I’m leaving (as I said, I have zero tolerance for these kinds of scams).

Check your billing statement (you should be doing this every month anyways), especially if you receive any text messages from Mobibro IQ or the number 584-98. If you’re receiving the text messages I typed above then you’re likely being charged $9.99 a month on top of your regular bill. Give you carrier a call and I’m sure they will credit your account and block the number without much hassle.