Blog

Shot By Cops, Thwarted By Judges And Geography

How qualified immunity works: U.S. courts show wide regional disparities in granting qualified immunity, the controversial legal doctrine now under fire for protecting officers accused of excessive force.

The shooter was Fort Worth, Texas, police officer Hugo Barron. He and his partner had been looking for two shirtless Black men wanted for an armed robbery involving tennis shoes. When the cops spotted David Collie, they pulled into the apartment complex, got out of the squad car and started shouting commands at him.

Police dashboard camera video shows that Collie was walking away from the two cops as he pulled his hand out of his pocket and raised his arm. That’s when Barron fired his gun. A hollow-point bullet slammed into Collie’s back, punctured a lung and severed his spine, leaving him paralyzed from the waist down.

In the four years since then, Collie, now 37 years old, has lived in nursing homes, afflicted with infections, pressure sores, and bouts of crushing depression. As he talked about the July 2016 shooting and what it took from him, wails from an elderly patient echoed down the corridor. The odors of urine and excrement wafted in from the hall. Collie closed his eyes and exhaled. “Paralyzed over some tennis shoes? Come on, man,” he said. “You’re playing with a human life here.”

More here

Is it worth it?

At some point as a cop, you have to ask yourself.

Notwithstanding your sense of justice, is it worth watching your city burn down so you can follow procedure and kill somebody?

 

Jim Bovard in 1987: US Out of the Middle East

in USA Today:

If sailing our fleet into the Persian Gulf was stupid, keeping them there is positively idiotic. Just because we are a superpower does not mean that we must perpetuate our mistakes.

Jumping into the middle of the Iran-Iraqi war is just one more example of our government’s habit of wandering into a barroom brawl and trying to fight while carefully holding one pinky up in the air.

Putting U.S. flags on Kuwaiti oil tankers makes about as much sense as making Poland our 5lst state. This whole scheme is reminiscent of the great victory of our Marines in Beirut in l983. In Beirut, having our Marines standing tall – albeit with unloaded guns and a dozen other restrictions on their self-defense – was supposed to bring peace to Lebanon. As long as only a few Marines were killed each week, the absurdity was tolerable. But, after a truck bomb blew up the Marine barracks and killed over 200 Americans, the U.S. withdrew.

Kuwait is one of the richest nation in the world, and could afford to almost buy the the U.S. Seventh Fleet and provide its own protection. This is like the government providing free limo service to all the millionaires in New York City.

Why intervene in a fight between two anti-American governments? As one Washington foreign policy expert said, “The ideal situation for Americans would be for the last Iraqi to kill the last Iranian.” [cringe 2020]

If the re-flagging is a “success,” we have spent several hundred millions dollars (bare minimum) in order to bolster Kuwaiti oil profits. And if the re-flagging is a failure, we end up in a pointless war with a nation that just bought many nice American missiles.

If we fight Iran and win, the Iranians will go running to the Soviets – and Soviet influence in the Persian gulf will soar. And if we lose…. we lose.

It is said that if we leave the Gulf without blowing up a few Iranians, Mideast governments will not think well of us. Every government in the Mideast has frequently disregarded or subverted U.S. interests. Why should we sacrifice our vital interests for their erratic opinions?

Iran is more of a pesky mosquito than a vital threat to the U.S. If the Iranians actually shut down the Strait of Hormuz, then the U.S. and other western powers can conduct a surgical bombing run. Until then, the best thing to do is to let Iran and Iraq continue to reap the rewards of their own knavishness.

The key question is: how does this escapade affect our ability for national defense? The preeminent threat to national security continues to be the Soviet Union. Would getting enmired in a conflict with millions of religious fanatics increase or decrease the Pentagon’s ability to defend against a Russian attack?

This is not our war, and there is no profit in U.S. intervention. The U.S. fleet should declare victory and withdraw.++++

Podcasts

scotthortonshow logosq

coi banner sq2@0.5x

liberty weekly thumbnail

Don't Tread on Anyone Logo

313x0w (1)

313x0w (1)

313x0w (1)

Pin It on Pinterest