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Rand Paul: We Must Demilitarize the Police
Time ^ | 8/14/14 | Rand Paul

Posted on 08/14/2014 12:00:52 PM PDT by Valpal1

The shooting of 18-year-old Michael Brown is an awful tragedy that continues to send shockwaves through the community of Ferguson, Missouri and across the nation.

If I had been told to get out of the street as a teenager, there would have been a distinct possibility that I might have smarted off. But, I wouldn’t have expected to be shot.

The outrage in Ferguson is understandable—though there is never an excuse for rioting or looting. There is a legitimate role for the police to keep the peace, but there should be a difference between a police response and a military response.

(Excerpt) Read more at time.com ...


TOPICS: Crime/Corruption; Government
KEYWORDS: libtardian
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To: cripplecreek
Its an issue for individual states to decide and him flapping his gums about small government while actively encouraging stripping even more powers away from the states is disgusting.

BS. He didn't write one word about the feds limiting state power. It's the feds who are giving small town PDs military equipment that they never could or would buy on their own. They are setting up, as one poster here put it, "a turnkey police state".

41 posted on 08/14/2014 2:38:56 PM PDT by Hugin ("Do yourself a favor--first thing, get a firearm!")
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To: Hugin

Hey moron, try reading all of what I said in that post. It had nothing to do with the militarization of police. It had to do with Paul’s pandering on voting rights.


42 posted on 08/14/2014 2:47:18 PM PDT by cripplecreek ("Moderates" are lying manipulative bottom feeding scum.)
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To: cripplecreek

So because he lost you on one issue he can’t be right on this one? Why not comment on the subject at hand instead of taking any opportunity to attack Paul about something else?


43 posted on 08/14/2014 3:03:57 PM PDT by Hugin ("Do yourself a favor--first thing, get a firearm!")
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To: apoliticalone
our as-hole president stated he wanted a civilian military equal to our real military just a few years ago....a fish rots from the head down and he has done every thing he said he would while running for president and the press just let it pass....they are traitors to the american people and too many believe everything they print and know nothing about what they do not print...
44 posted on 08/14/2014 3:04:49 PM PDT by goat granny
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To: Abathar; Abcdefg; Abram; Abundy; albertp; Alexander Rubin; Allosaurs_r_us; amchugh; ...
Damn straight.



Libertarian ping! Click here to get added or here to be removed or post a message here!

45 posted on 08/14/2014 3:26:31 PM PDT by bamahead (Few men desire liberty; most men wish only for a just master. -- Sallust)
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To: Valpal1

I have seen photos of police with face masks as they did not want to be identified. Dress all in black or camo gear. Add in attitude.

$4.2 million dollar mistake. Luck only played a part that these 2 ladies or the guy were not killed. Imagine full auto.

Police opened fire on this blue Toyota Tacoma pickup truck and another pickup in Torrance, California
http://usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/02/07/16888732-women-shot-by-cops-were-just-delivering-papers?lite

Another view.
http://www.hispanicallyspeakingnews.com/uploads/images/amigo-o-enemigo/tacoma.jpeg


46 posted on 08/14/2014 3:55:05 PM PDT by minnesota_bound
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To: Valpal1

Here is a comparison of Adam-12 vs today. It has been posted here before.
http://foodforthethinkers.files.wordpress.com/2014/01/police-adam-12.jpg


47 posted on 08/14/2014 3:56:26 PM PDT by minnesota_bound
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To: Boogieman

Now that it’s been 5 days with no dirt dug up on the victim and verified that he had no criminal record, I find it increasingly difficult to believe that a young man who successfully avoided trouble his entire life and with plans to start college the following Monday suddenly became an aggressor and attacked the officer when told to get off the street.

Maybe he’s thinking along the same lines I am, that something is fishy in Ferguson.


48 posted on 08/14/2014 4:48:17 PM PDT by Valpal1 (If the police can t solve a problem with violence, they ll find a way to fix it with brute force)
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To: Valpal1

Agree with this. I’m not sure I’d agree with his implementation.


49 posted on 08/14/2014 4:59:08 PM PDT by OldNewYork
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To: Valpal1

“Maybe he’s thinking along the same lines I am, that something is fishy in Ferguson.”

That’s fine, I suspect something might be fishy too. However, I am not a U.S. Senator, nor do I get a forum in Time magazine to air my unsubstantiated opinions on the subject. It’s unseemly to me that Paul is doing that, as it’s something you’d expect from a lib more than a conservative politician.


50 posted on 08/14/2014 5:43:46 PM PDT by Boogieman
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To: cripplecreek

So you’re good with militarized police if they are black?

You seem to be conflating two completely unrelated issues. So is Rand Paul.


51 posted on 08/14/2014 6:48:02 PM PDT by Henry Hnyellar
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To: Boogieman
I’m not talking about the main issue he is discussing in the article, I said I agreed with that sentiment in the first sentence of my comment. It’s his tying it to the Michael Brown affair, uncritically, without bothering to wait for the evidence or finding out the real story that is what I am talking about

I thought he was talking about the overwhelming "military" style response last night, rather than the merits of the shooting. Sorry if I misunderstood you.

IMHO, Rand's weakness is that he tries to be all things to all people. You're right, he does pander. And he's not very good at it. Maybe he thinks he can thread a way into the Presidency in 2016, but I think it's a pipe dream (no pun intended). I think he'd be better off being titular head of the rapidly expanding libertarian wing of the GOP and exerting influence that way.

52 posted on 08/14/2014 6:52:31 PM PDT by Forgotten Amendments (Peace On Earth! Purity of Essence! McCain/Ripper 2016)
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To: snarkybob

Thank you.


53 posted on 08/14/2014 7:58:56 PM PDT by Forgotten Amendments (Peace On Earth! Purity of Essence! McCain/Ripper 2016)
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To: magellan

“I think Senator Paul has a point.”

I don’t.


54 posted on 08/15/2014 1:16:16 AM PDT by Beagle8U (Unions are an Affirmative Action program for Slackers! .)
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To: Beagle8U
p>I don't.

Then don't complain when one of a dozen or more federal, state, or local SWAT teams who have jurisdiction over you, your family, and your property come calling.

55 posted on 08/15/2014 6:17:17 AM PDT by magellan
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To: Valpal1
Is Sen Paul conflating police militarization with the situation Ferguson Mo.?

Yes

Is Sen Paul pandering?

Yes

But, more importantly: Are Sen Paul's current positions on police militarization, non-violent offenders, and mandatory minimums consistent with his past positions?

Yes.

One may disagree with Sen Paul on the issues. But I for one have more respect a consistent politician I disagree with, than someone who changes with the political winds.

56 posted on 08/15/2014 6:28:24 AM PDT by magellan
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To: cripplecreek

Great comments. I totally agree. This was what happened to a town here in CA. All the people in the city were crooks and the people of the town finally forced a change. However, they did not do it quite so violently.


57 posted on 08/15/2014 7:02:25 AM PDT by CyberAnt (True the Vote: " MY AMERICA, ... I'm terrified it's slipping away.")
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To: magellan

“Then don’t complain when one of a dozen or more federal, state, or local SWAT teams who have jurisdiction over you, your family, and your property come calling.”

Do you have reason to be worried about that? I’m not.


58 posted on 08/15/2014 7:19:58 AM PDT by Beagle8U (Unions are an Affirmative Action program for Slackers! .)
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To: Beagle8U
"Do you have reason to be worried about that? I'm not."

You are naive.

Three Felonies A Day: How the Feds Target the Innocent

The average professional in this country wakes up in the morning, goes to work, comes home, eats dinner, and then goes to sleep, unaware that he or she has likely committed several federal crimes that day. Why? The answer lies in the very nature of modern federal criminal laws, which have exploded in number but also become impossibly broad and vague. In Three Felonies a Day, Harvey A. Silverglate reveals how federal criminal laws have become dangerously disconnected from the English common law tradition and how prosecutors can pin arguable federal crimes on any one of us, for even the most seemingly innocuous behavior.

Meanwhile, in Ferguson:

This SWAT team (which is doing beat patrol in this picture) is wearing MultiCam. MultiCam camouflage was developed specifically for the Afghan Theater, not the Missouri Theater.

59 posted on 08/15/2014 4:56:01 PM PDT by magellan
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