Racial Fires Ignite: NYC Police Shooting

Its 4am outside a Queens nightclub. 7 undercover police officers are conducting routine surveillence on the club (known for high levels of crime) when they take notice of 3 sunjects: Joseph Guzman, Trent Benefield and Sean Bell.

Outside the club, the three were observed engaging in a verbal altercation when one of his friends made a reference to a gun (twice), at which point the 3 headed for their vehicle, one officer closely in pursuit. As the officer walked towards the front of the car, Bell (driver) hit the gas and struck the officer as well as a parked undercover police van. This is where everything seems to get fuzzy. 5 of the officers then proceeded to squeeze off 50 rounds (yes, 50) at the subjects while Bell backed up his vehicle and surged forward again into the police van. Moments later the fire ended. Bell was killed, Guzman and Benefield were wounded, struct 11 times and 3 times respectively. No weapon was found on any of the subjects or in their car.

Why is this racial you ask? The 3 men were black. The African American community (including Rev. Al Sharpton, City Councilman Charles Barron & US House Rep Charles Rangel) has now become "outraged" that one of their "own" has been "murdered" again by the "evil" NYC Police Department. First off, of the 5 officers who pulled a trigger, 1 was white. Second, we now have Councilman Barron claiming he will not encourage his people to be passive anymore and that "both sides can bleed." An in depth investigation now follows, and you better believe the heat is on.

I am unable to form an opinion at this point, not enough information on the incident is available and a full reconstruction has not been formed (the criminalist in me). This promises to be an interesting case that will require a lot of information presented to the public. On one hand, if all the officers are not indicted of any charges, the city will most likely see a riot similar to the situation in Los Angeles with Rodney King. On the other hand however, if the officers are criminally charged and see prison time, what message does this send to officers in the NYPD or nationwide about the difficult job they must endure? Everytime one of these cases comes about, officers begin to question their decisions (which are made in split seconds and usually in intense situations) which makes the position less safe for our protectors.

All in all, what if the city is pressured to act criminally on these officers due to potential consequences? Careful steps need to be taken and the enforcement of the law and integrity of the role of Police Officer needs to be maintained or we will continue down this path of insecurity in our own public safety field. Tough situation. This cannot be about race because that will set the stage for poor decision making and inadequate justice.

The one question I have for readers is this: What do you think would happen if only the white officer was criminally charged and found guilty in this situation? I'd put money on the whole thing going away. Once again, this cannot be about race. I look forward to the investigation and results.

A New Draft?

Lets talk about this. US House Representative Charles Rangel (D-NY) is proposing a new bill that would reinstate the military draft. His logic goes as follows: A military draft would deter politicians from from launching future wars. There's no question in my mind that this president and this administration would never have invaded Iraq, especially on the flimsy evidence that was presented to the Congress, if indeed we had a draft and members of Congress and the administration thought that their kids from their communities would be placed in harm's way," Rangel said.

This is beyond ridiculous, and for the following 5 reasons...

1) A draft will not deter politicians from declaring war if it is the right thing to do in time of need (unless Mr. Rangel is assuming something about our political process and representatives that is immoral).
2) He assumes that the Iraq War would not have happened had there been a draft in place, which is also untrue. We had heavy evidence to indicate that Iraq was a hotbed for terrorist activity, planned to build a sizeable force of chemical and biological weapons, and was under the control of a leader who was sworn to use his force on us and our allies once he obtained such power (it was a violation of the treaty signed post Gulf War conflict to even plan such actions).
3) If his only purpose is to deter politicians from making pivot decisions that are essential to our security, then this policy is neither ethical nor constitutional.
4) If he also has the motive to build a stronger military, then he must not be informed of the current size of our armed forces and its strength.
5) US Rep Rangel is a moron.

If we were to reinstate the draft, it would have to be in time of dire need. When that time comes (if ever) I believe every American should support it by joining up voluntarily. To those who say that time is now, consider this: The last time we had the draft we were in Vietnam. More than 55,000 American Soldiers lost their lives. However, during 3+ years of war, we have yet to accumulate the death toll of the American Citizens who were murdered within 100 minutes on September 11th, 2001 (approx. 3,030). I will not buy into this media frenzy that we are involved in a losing battle and need more to maintain a foothold or simply give up. Bull.

Do not run for the hills...no draft is needed, nor will one pass. Simple numbers, research and some morals and ethics put this all into perspective. Charles Rangel needs to use a little common sense and not the ridiculous ideals that will initiate a bill such as this.

Another Step Backwards

Yesterday (November 15), the San Francisco Board of Education banned JROTC (Junior Reserve Officer Training Corp) for the 7 high schools within their grasp, removing the opportunity for the more than 1600 students in the program. This action is not only tragic, it is a violation of citizens rights.

First off, there is no justification to ban this program, but they tried to anyways: Apparently high school students are too "vulnerable" and would be influenced to heavily by a program like the JROTC. What kind of message is this sending to people within that school district and around the nation about our military? This is an insult to our armed forces and should not be tolerated.

One must also ask: Where is the ACLU on this? If a Gay/Lesbian club had been banned, you better believe they would be all over it. Now we have over 1600 students with parental consent and an interest in these activities who cannot take part simply because the school board believes in these San Francisco values of an evil military.

Our schools should not be deterring students from any choice of career or lifestyle, and simply because a minority of people in the San Francisco area believe our military is unethical or unjust does not mean stripping students of their right to engage in the activites they choose to participate in.

Our troops on all levels deserve an undivided level of respect, admiration and gratitude from us. Acts such as this only make fighting a tough enemy even tougher, and divides our nation even further. This division will only hurt us in the long run and make America a more dangerous place. Do not tolerate these actions out on the west coast. Remember, "United we Stand, Divided we Fall."

Thomas Paine and the Beginning of American "Common Sense"

"Common Sense: Addressed to the Inhabitants of America." On January 10, 1776, Thomas Paine anonymously wrote, published and distributed his small pamphet entitled "Common Sense." His work denounced British rule and oppression, as well as embodied the beginnings of American values. Even Thomas Jefferson used this work as a tool for writing the Declaration of Independance.

He preached such values as the best government is that which governs least, and a government should be to protect its citizens, not control them, "In America, the Law is King!" He touched on the religious morals and values, as well as the ideals that motivated our Founding Fathers to build the America that we live in today are emphasized in this work, and those ideals are continually comprimised everyday. This hurts the integrity and solidarity of our nation. His work sold over 600,000 copies to a population of 3 million, equaling about 60 million copies by todays standards. The only publication outsold at the time was the Bible...different times now, huh?

I write this work tonight to emphasize the overall purpose of everything you can expect to read here. "I offer nothing but the simple facts, plain arguments and common sense," and I promise to do just that. Let us begin.