Police Ala Carte Blanche

Has anyone noticed the increasing irresponsibility that is being displayed by police officers across the country? It seems that ever since 9-11-2001, when we lauded the performance and sacrifice of the NYPD and the NYFD, there has been a growing attitude amongst some police officers across the country, that they can do no wrong, and if they do step out of line, they will escape punishment, because they are, "heroes". In Louisiana, we have an officer who used his tazer 9 times on a suspect in custody and handcuffs. The medical examiner states that the 21 year old was most likely dead after the first 7 tazes. The police claim the young man to have had asthma and had taken drugs as well. The autopsy showed no signs of asthma, and his blood was negative for drugs. The officer has been charged with manslaughter and I am hoping that he faces charges in a court of law and not a police review board, which tends to justify all actions of police officers by excusing them on the basis that, "the officer feared for his life."
Here in Phoenix, this week, a young teenager, in a crosswalk headed back to school, was run down by an officer in a police sedan, running full lights and siren. The boy is in the hospital with his legs broken in several places, and I hope that he will recover quickly and fully, as young people have that potential to do so. It's hard to tell from a report in the local paper exactly what happened, but the officer was responding to a call on 115th ave and the boy was struck at 35th ave. That's a long haul, and I'm surprised that there were not officers closer to the 115th ave location to respond to the call. Even so, hauling through an intersection, with lights and siren, does not give officers the right to take out unfortunate pedestrians who could not vacate the crosswalk! The officer is reported to be on administrative leave, which is not much of a punishment as he will still receive pay and most likely be cleared of any charges by an internal review board. How about, at the very least, reckless driving? How about , "failure to yield to pedestrian in a crosswalk"? Maybe even, "failure to control the vehicle to prevent an accident".
I think today's police officers ought to experience kinder, more gentle times and return to the use of bicycles and billy clubs, especially if they use tazers like instruments of death and drive like they are above the laws they were hired to enforce.
Society's laws are meant to maintain harmony and safety for all citizens. Ignoring the laws, or, "ignorance of the law", is still inexcusable and should be prosecuted in a court of law, regardless of one's status in society.

Could That Have Been A Republican?

In my travels today, into downtown Phoenix, my husband spotted and pointed out a Ford Taurus with an American Flag mounted on the trunk lid, fluttering in the breeze as it drove down the road. Nothing totally strange about this, I am hip deep in McCain country and here is a stereotypical example of Republican pride. But, wait! I missed the unusual part. A bumper sticker that read, "Yes, I Have Had Enough". I felt the joy that Anne Sullivan must have experienced when Helen Keller uttered the word, Water", as it poured over her hands and words and thoughts came together for the first time.

I would like to take this opportunity to welcome all Republicans on board who have also come to this conclusion. You don't even have to come out of the closet. No one will ask you to pass out "OBAMA" buttons in your neighborhood, unless, of course, the spirit moves you to do so. All I ask is that you take a long hard look at all the damage that 8 years of Bush has done. The economy, housing, gas, middle class people, middle class jobs, foreign relations, unending war and national debt delicately balanced on the edge of third world country. Gives new meaning to The Depression, right? Yeah, enough IS enough.

The word for our time is not Republican, nor is it Democrat. The word is, "bipartisan". No, you don't have to choose sides, just join the team! Let's not spend years arguing about global warming, let's find ways to fix it! Fixing is something we have been good at since we decided to leave behind the word, "monarchy". For instance, oil came from rotting dinosaurs, which are now extinct, as will be the oil that they left behind. Is it time for alternative fuel? Unless you want to be cavemen and women, YESSSss!

Offshore drilling in hopes of finding oil is about as foolish as when we were warned about investing in oil exploration on the stock market. The length of time it will take to get to the gas pump isn't worth it, especially as the availability of oil dwindles due to expanded world wide usage. Are our coast line eco-systems worth it? With all this in mind, I can't understand how GM could design SUV's and trucks and not them or any of the BIG 3 ever thought to try to improve gas mileage. Why? Why do we hear legends of bought up copyrights to prevent better gas mileage, or any kind of alternative fuel usage. It has taken such a short period of time for computers to become our best and biggest friend, and enough improvements and breakthroughs to make us want to buy a new one every six months. What if they had gotten to a gigabyte and said, "that's enough, no more!" Yet, the automobile has been here for 100 years and except for the bells and whistles, the engine design is basically, the same. The pistons are pushed up and down by a spark and an explosion in the chamber. Great idea, agreed, but it is time to take it to a new level and research new ways to run an engine!

If GM were to ask the government for a bail out, I would say, sure! As long as it includes plans to manufacture cars that get 100 miles per gallon and/or alternative fuel research. Also, could we see a 3, 5 and 7 year plan to reach goals?

We need a Manhatten project, we need a World project, we need a team. There are coral reefs dying, there are polar bears with no ice to forage on. They say within 20 years the polar caps will melt completely. We already have incurable human viri on a pandemic basis, depletion and pollution of the atmosphere, allowing UV rays to cause more skin cancers, more warming and entire environments evolving to warmer temperatures, which will bring extinction and more changes to the inhabitants of those environments.

What we do as a nation, the plans we make, the money we spend, the world we choose to live in is a choice. A choice we have never had to make before. I prefer we not go on the tried and true path. We need a visionary to reach into the unknown, as did JFK, when he promised us the moon and we GOT it! Heros are people who work for the benefit of all of us, not just political interests. We haven't seen a hero in quite awhile. But I think, that Barack Obama is the real McCoy. It is never a leader's job to have all the answers, it is the leader's job to convince all the followers that they can find the answers together.

Oh, and yes, I DO believe we can say the words, "Democrat", "Republican" and Together" in the same sentence and have it mean something. If we can't, it will literally mean nothing.