Dear cj, A point of view worth understanding. rkm ============================================================================ Date: Thu, 04 Nov 1999 23:21:38 -0800 From: APFN <•••@••.•••> Organization: APFN http://www.insidetheweb.com/mbs.cgi/mb77532 To: •••@••.•••, APFN ONELIST <•••@••.•••>, ChristianPatriot <•••@••.•••> Subject: The "police state" isn't just philosophical chatter anymore . . . "In the beginning of a change, The Patriot is a scarce man, brave, hated and scorned. When his cause succeeds, however, the timid join him, for then it costs nothing to be a patriot." -- Mark Twain From: •••@••.••• Subject: The "police state" isn't just philosophical chatter anymore . . . ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Tonight, during Halloween weekend, I went downtown in my small college town. There were police walking in and out of the bars all night--they'd stroll in, look around for smokers (it's illegal in California), walk through the bar to assert their presence and then leave. It's becoming a really common occurence in this town--holiday weekend or not. It got me thinking about my personal brushes with the law over the last year, and how it seems the police in my town (and in the news) are becoming more and more present in my life. I should note first that I'm White, 32, engaged, gainfully employed, and a homeowner. My hair is short (and getting shorter), I have no tattoos or piercings, and I generally shy away from clothing with slogans such as "by any means necessary," etc. In short, not the type of guy that usually meets the profile of a troublemaker. I mention these things not to blab about how fantastic a citizen I am, but just because I often wonder if I'M getting so much hassle, what about the folks who are little out of the ordinary in appearance or lifestyle? Here's a quick summary of my last year with the cops. There have been no beatings, no major incidents--I just want to show how the police in my town (and elsewhere) are becoming more and more a part of our lives, with more power to confiscate, question, and detain citizens. 1. By way of a press release, police informed citizens in our town that couches on porches are a fire hazard, and that they will be ticketed--and hauled away if necessary. 2. A few months ago, a friend borrowed my car on an errand and was pulled over for a minor traffic violation. She was informed that her license had been suspended for failing to pay a previous parking fine, and because she was non-licensed, MY car was confiscated by the police and impounded. 3. I do computer development and often work late nights. When I'm on the street late at night, I'm usually tailed and "profiled" by an officer about one out of three trips. Occasionally, cruisers will follow my car closely for ten or more blocks, including turns. Recently, a cruiser turned off its headlights while following me. I drive like a grandmother, so none have ever pulled me over. 4. This summer, my band was recording in a garage on the outskirts of town. The local Sheriff came out and informed us there'd been a noise call. We shut down, packed up, and started to BBQ with friends and family. The Sheriff returned with five deputies as backup, came into the homeowner's back yard and arrested the homeowner for noise violation. They also arrested two others for "drunk in public" (in a back yard?) but both requested blood-alcohol tests and were released after being booked and held for hours. The deputies also confiscated all of our music equipment and held it as "evidence" for three days. 5. Last Thanksgiving I and my fiancee drove six hours south so she could meet my parents for the holiday. On our return, we were stopped by a CHP and told that our car's registration was expired more than a year (it was). We were left on the side of the road at about 11 p.m, 50 miles from our home while the police first searched and then confiscated our car. (Nothing was found in the search but a bear claw donut on the dashboard) 6. My neighbor was walking to work at 5 am one morning, a time when our local streets are very dead. He made his usual shortcut (which required a short jaywalk across a one-way street in which traffic would have been visible for several blocks in either direction). A police cruiser had just passed by. The cop spotted my neighbor, and backed up three blocks going the wrong way on the one-way street to issue a jaywalking ticket. 7. At a local bar, my band had just finished a set when we heard some noise outside. Apparently a patron had stepped out of the bar holding a water glass, and three cruisers were out front assessing the situation. The bartender on duty apologized and the officers were ready to leave, when the bar owner's voice took on a tone that displeased one of the officers. Three officers went inside the club, went immediately behind the bar, and began shining flashlights through the liquor bottles searching for "contaminants." Two bottles were found to be contaminated, both of them top-shelf liquors. 9. After playing a gig at a local bar and having three beers in the process, I was driving home and found a cruiser on my tail, but hanging back a block or so. Not knowing if three beers would put me over the limit, I figured it best to pull over and walk. When my fiancee and I got out and started walking, the cruiser immediately pulled up next to us and both officers jumped out to detain us. Another car joined them a few minutes later. They asked us questions having little to do with alcohol: where were we going, where did we live, where did we work, where were we coming from, etc. After about 10 minutes of grilling, they let us go. Dear Ken, I needed to vent about this before I exploded, and I'm sure that many others feel the same way right now. I don't know about anyone else, but who does the gov't think they're kidding!?! Here they are making laws and putting restrictions on people and little do they realize that they're making things worse by doing this, even well known old time actors are lobbying against these laws and saying they won't work. What needs to happen before we are listened to and the gov't finally backs off with these unconstitutional law making ideas? I don't think I'm being unreasonable and I know for a fact that we need to do something and we need to do it fast before all our ways of life and our constitutional rights are lost forever, and I'm sure that most of you agree. God Bless Us All. Crismouse "Cris" <•••@••.•••> [APFN] Cris, they just don't care..... after six years, maybe, five out of thousands have stood by me in the battles. POLICE STATE - COULD TEXAS BE OCCUPIED? http://www.involved.com/ewolfe/misc/ ALEX JONES VIDEO POLICE STATE 2000 - A MUST! http://www.infowars.com/ps2k.html https://secure2.jump.net/infowars.com/order.html WHY DO I CARE? YOU DON'T! WAITING AN'T GOING TO GET IT! It will be worse tomorrow, worse the next day and so on! http://www.geocities.com/CapeCanaveral/Campus/2289/webpage.htm Proundly waitng the results of Y2K! Explore this site, research our materials, check with other sources and come to your own conclusions. http://www.4rie.com/secretsocieties.html GUNS AND THE GARGOYLE http://home1.gte.net/firehat/gunsgarg.htm ======================================================================== •••@••.••• a political discussion forum. crafted in Ireland by rkm (Richard K. 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