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Thread: Militarized Police and the Threat to Democracy... Dennis Kucinich, Huffington Post

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    United States Avalon Member spiritguide's Avatar
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    Lightbulb Militarized Police and the Threat to Democracy... Dennis Kucinich, Huffington Post

    Good read..

    Article lead in...

    Dennis J. Kucinich ... Former 16-year member of the U.S. Congress and two-time U.S. presidential candidate

    Militarized Police and the Threat to Democracy
    Posted: 08/18/2014 11:18 am EDT Updated: 08/18/2014 11:59 am EDT

    As a former big city mayor of a racially diverse city, Cleveland, Ohio, I can understand the cross currents sweeping through Ferguson, Missouri.

    We are at a moment of national crisis in the way our domestic law enforcement is being conducted. The killing of an unarmed civilian by a law enforcement officer is, sadly, not unique. But the police response to the protests has provided a powerful cautionary moment for America. The militarization of local police has led to the arrival today in Ferguson of the actual military, the National Guard.

    This crisis comes from:

    1) The erosion of a principle in federal law, Posse Comitatus, meant to restrict the use of the military in civilian law enforcement;
    2) The Pentagon's dispersal of military equipment to domestic police units, which has increased since 9/11;
    3) Military-style police training reliant upon weaponry, as opposed to peace keeping, including skills development for de-escalation of violent tensions.

    An unarmed, African-American teenager was shot and killed by a policeman. As people protested, the Ferguson police response evoked images of an occupying army come home.

    The show of military-style force in an American city has created a huge backlash because the underlying concerns for justice have not been addressed. Moreover, Americans don't want armies patrolling their streets, attempting to stifle public dissent.

    There is something deep in the American psyche which resents and resists military-style force in our neighborhoods. The hard-edged military pose of armored vehicles, heavy duty weaponry, and sound cannons, which can permanently damage hearing, may seem like modern crowd control to some law enforcement officials. But to the people in the community who are on the receiving end, it is an escalation of violence, in real terms and by the law.

    A quick review of pertinent American history:

    The Boston Massacre of March 5, 1770, was a catalyst toward the American Revolution. Five civilians were killed by the British soldiers. The Declaration of Independence, in condemning the offenses against liberty by George III, stated:

    He has kept among us, in times of peace, standing armies without the consent of our legislature.

    He has affected to render the military independent of and superior to civil power.

    He has combined with others to subject us to a jurisdiction foreign to our constitution, and unacknowledged by our laws; giving his assent to their acts of pretended legislation:

    •For quartering large bodies of armed troops among us
    •For protecting them, by mock trial, from punishment for any murders which they should commit on the inhabitants of these states

    From our earliest beginnings, when John Adams spoke to "the dangers of standing armies," Americans have demanded accountability and rejected military presence in our daily lives.

    Link to rest of the article...

    http://www.huffingtonpost.com/dennis...r=Black+Voices

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    United States Avalon Member Zionbrion's Avatar
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    Default Re: Militarized Police and the Threat to Democracy... Dennis Kucinich, Huffington Post

    What democracy?

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    Default Re: Militarized Police and the Threat to Democracy... Dennis Kucinich, Huffington Post

    Quote Posted by Zionbrion (here)
    What democracy?
    The government we were handed is a Constitutional Republic, very different. Read and learn the Constitution for more info.

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    Default Re: Militarized Police and the Threat to Democracy... Dennis Kucinich, Huffington Post

    I only wish that Obama and the congress would "Read and learn the Constitution for more info." And then abide by their vows to uphold it.

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    United States Avalon Member GlassSteagallfan's Avatar
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    Default Re: Militarized Police and the Threat to Democracy... Dennis Kucinich, Huffington Post

    Infowars reporter Joe Biggs recorded this in Ferguson MO live last night: (Warning: mature languague; violence)


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