One Drunk Redneck

Have your day in court...but is it worth it? Recently the national spotlight has focused its attention on police actions that have resulted in excessive use of force and, sadly, sometimes death.   A common refrain, usually from middle class White people, is "When a cop pulls you over or confronts you on the street, treat him with respect no matter how wrong you think he may be.   You'll have your day in court." While this is sound advice, it is hard advice to follow in the real world in most every day situations.   Just as a police officer is a person prone to poor judgment and emotions, a suspect - that is anyone a police officer decides to pull over or talk to on the street - is also prone to poor judgment and emotions.   The difference, of course, is we expect the police officer, a professional, to be less prone to these human flaws because he or she was trained to recognize and control them. Let's dispense of the normal statistical citations tha...

Dear President Obama: In response to your press conference today regarding the George Zimmerman case, you are correct - we all need to do some soul searching, but not by the side of the coin you implied during your press conference.   Let me suggest the following: The executive branch (that's currently you and your administration) and the legislative branch (that's Congress) have no business sticking their noses in most state issues.   The Zimmerman case was one such issue.   The Justin Carter case in Texas is an example of where the federal government did have reason to voice an opinion on a state issue, but chose not to.   In that case, a teen in Texas posted a sarcastic joke that a Canadian reported to authorities and the Texas teen was promptly arrested and spent five months in jail until just recently when an anonymous benefactor posted bail for him.   He still faces up to ten years for his joke he posted o...