Just over three years ago, in the wake of George Floyd's murder by police in Minneapolis on May 25, 2020 , riots erupted across America and protests even emerged in Europe. Time may not heal all wounds, but it can give perspective. And now may be an opportunity to suggest realistic police reforms to restrict further militarization of police and circumscribe the authority of police within boundaries we can accept. Rescind the Doctrine of Qualified Immunity Qualified immunity is the judicial doctrine that states that government officials cannot be sued for infringement of civil rights unless...
Government Intrusion Laid Bare
In Utah, a woman is being charged with three counts of lewdness involving a child and may have to register as a sex offender for the next decade because her stepsons walked in on her while she was topless. Is it the responsibility of government to ensure a moral rearing of children, and if so, based on whose morality? Tilli Buchanan and her husband were hanging drywall in their garage, near the end of 2017 or the beginning of 2018. They both stripped down to their underpants to limit the amount of gypsum dust they would need to clean from their clothes. While they were working, Tilli’s...
The Scandal of Coercive Charity
Amidst the brouhaha surrounding the impeachment inquiry, where the US government and citizens will be challenged to determine whether Joe Biden or Donald Trump is more corrupt, an issue deserving of far more attention by the American public is brushed to the wayside. Much has been made of President Trump’s early attempt to withhold $450 million in military aid to Ukraine, but the corruption inherent in the payment has been ignored. The Trump administration has seen significant reductions in the total budget for foreign aid. The final budget for the Obama administration included $42 billion...
The Last Man
Sergeant First Class Elis Angel Barreto Ortiz could have been the last American serviceman to die in Afghanistan. Could have been. After the Taliban took credit for the attack that killed Sgt. Ortiz, President Donald Trump called off his meeting with the Taliban last weekend. This week, he announced that peace talks are “dead.” The peace deal was done. With only a signing ceremony remaining, the US military was prepared to draw down. The Taliban continued to press their war against the Kabul government, and a car bomb detonated in Kabul on September 5, killing 12, including Sgt. Ortiz. ...