“I Am Kerik!” What We Can Learn from Giuliani’s Buddy Bernie Freedom is about authority. Freedom is about the willingness of every single human being to cede to lawful authority a great deal of discretion about what you do. Rudy Giuliani, 1994(Thanks to Anthony Gregory for the tip on that quote.)Political criticism is our enemy’s […]

The Conscience of Lt. Col. Stuart Couch (UPDATED ) A Christian Patriot: Lt. Col. Couch and his wife, Kim William Roper: So, now you give the Devil the benefit of law! Sir Thomas More: Yes! What would you do? Cut a great road through the law to get after the Devil? William Roper: Yes, I’d […]

The Blackmailer-in-Chief: Bush Threatens The Troops (Click to enlarge)For the people I must tell you, that their liberty and freedom consist in having of government, those laws by which their life and their goods may be most their own. It is not for having a share in government, Sirs: that is nothing pertaining to them. […]

“Your Papers, Please” — Simplified (A quick note: There is a brief update on the Derek Hale case at the end of this essay.)Deltha O’Neal, the Pro Bowl cornerback for the Cincinnati Bengals, was arrested at a DUI checkpoint last December. When O’Neal showed up at he municipal courthouse in Batavia, Ohio a few weeks […]

Get The Kiddie-Cuffs, or Police State Pedagogy (UPDATED) “Do you think this is the first 6-year-old we’ve arrested?” This comment by Avon Park, Florida Police Chief Frank Mercurio to New York Times columnist Bob Herbert easily qualifies as the pull-quote of the day, perhaps of the month. Chief Mercurio was justifying the arrest — complete […]

Resurrection Sunday: A Memo to the Loser You lose. In fact, you lost a long time ago. You’ve never gotten it, have you? Since before time began – I’m not exaggerating one bit – you’ve been the poster child for Not Thinking Things Through. In your arrogant ambition you actually thought it was possible to […]

From Local Police to Occupying Army, or LESO: The Greater of Many Evils Well, it sure ain’t an RV: This “Peacekeeper” Armored Personnel Carrier is listed by the Charleston, S.C. Police Department as a “Patrol Vehicle.” There are Peacekeepers deployed in US cities, but they’re not under UN command. They’re armored personnel carriers supplied to […]

The Killing of Derek Hale: Death by Police PR Stunt? Too short a season: Derek with step-children Taylor and Garrett, and wife Elaine (below), shortly before he was killed. (Hale family photos courtesy of Stephen Neuberger.)Derek J. Hale, Marine veteran of two combat tours in Iraq and (much more importantly) a young husband and father, […]

Highway Robbery Anybody old enough to have lived through the 70s, and who avoided the vices that would make remembering that decade difficult, can probably recall the 1975 populist anthem “Convoy” (and perhaps even the 1978 Kris Kristofferson/Ali McGraw film of the same title). The C.W. McCall ballad described the spontaneous rebellion of long-haul truckers […]

Massacre at V-Tech: Death by Government This time the State didn’t commit the slaughter directly, as it did fourteen years ago in Waco, Texas. Instead, it created a veritable hunting preserve for the armed psychopath who carried out the massacre. Since the victims had been disarmed by the State, the murderer was able to carry […]