Over the weekend I was watching the Boston police illegally enter homes and force innocent families out onto the street at gunpoint, all in the name of finding one 19 year old Muslim radical. There’s no use iterating how I feel about the events I saw, since unfortunately it seems very few people outside of the Prepper and Patriot communities seem to care about the sad state of our country anyway. For many, as long as Honey Boo Boo is being piped into the living room idiot box uninterrupted, most people are comfortably content with the decline of Western society.
But, over the weekend, Bostonians got a taste of what less than 50% of us voted for. For those not in the know regarding current US politics, what we saw play out was actually the “hope and change” the President has been so excited to show us. I feel a great sadness for those families affected by the illegal activities of the Boston Police, knowing that a good number of the families affected were suddenly faced with the realization that the country they thought they lived in is actually nothing more than a romantic memory, a decrepit shade of its former self. That my friends is the honest truth.
I encourage anyone living in a city here in the US to move to rural surroundings, before this all gets exponentially worse.
Go America.
Plan and Prep,
“Exigent circumstances arise when the law enforcement officers have reasonable grounds to believe that there is an immediate need to protect their lives, the lives of others, their property, or that of others, the search is not motivated by an intent to arrest and seize evidence, and there is some reasonable basis, to associate an emergency with the area or place to be searched.”
Was it not the intent of the Police and SWAT teams to arrest and seize evidence? During the manhunt, what was the emergency that is required for “exigent circumstances” to apply?
With regard to consent to search: Exactly how does one give informed, honest consent to a search when he or she is asked by a screaming SWAT team with rifles pointed at his or her face? Further, how does that fall under the concept of “protect and serve”?
We can go on and on debating the minute details of the actions of the Boston Police and SWAT teams, but the bottom line is they wanted their man so badly they were willing to do ANYTHING, including pointing weapons at women and children, and I’m not OK with that, nor will I ever be. It was great they captured their terror suspect, but the way they approached it was truly pathetic and shameful. But rest assured, I see that in this new America, the ends justify the means, so it seems all bets are off in terms of how we should conduct ourselves. Well, that may fly for some folks, but not in my circle. Just like the majority of the ailments that plague our society, this is a morals and values issue, plain and simple, and I want no part of a community where this nonsense passes as the status quo.
Regarding the voting numbers: I realize the current President won with slightly over 50% of the popular vote. I derived the stat in my initial comment by considering the total US population, since not everyone is, or was, a registered voter. If you feel I am being unfair to the POTUS, you wouldn’t be entirely off track, because I feel, based on his actions and words, my negative bias toward him is definitely earned.
Plan and Prep,
I don’t suspect conspiracy in this case at all. What I’m bringing to light are abuses of the Constitution by the Boston Police and Swat teams. Whether or not people stood by and cheered, these officers took an oath to uphold the Constitution, and in my opinion, failed to uphold that oath in an epic way. Whether or not people cheered them in their efforts does not change the fact they broke the law in the pursuit of the 19 year old Muslim terrorist. Continue down this path and we’ll have police spraying bullets into suspected criminals’ cars just to “be sure they got their man”… Oh wait they already did that In California when they were searching for the ex-officer-gone-rogue several months ago and shot up that blue puck-up truck during a newspaper delivery.
If you (or anyone else) want to give those in authoritative positions a pass for being sloppy and illegally heavy-handed in their work, then be ready for the consequences of that when or if it suddenly affects you or your family.
Further, I do not blame the current President for the Patriot act. That was the work of G.W. Bush and his progressive-leaning administration. Rest assured I get that.
Whether or not Bostonians are upset about the abuses we saw over the weekend, one anonymous poster on another site summed it all up in one line: “I didn’t know the Constitution had a pause button…”
RSOPerator,
I believe the reason you are stating that they violated the Constitution is based on them searching homes and property for the suspect without a warrant.
Now, of all the people whose homes were searched, how many of them were not asked or did not give consent? Do you know for a fact that the owners did not give permission? I would venture to say that most of the owners, if not all, gave their consent when informed of the reason for the search.
Secondly, even if some of the people were not asked, or did not give consent, under the law the homes could still be searched under the premise of “Exigent Circumstances”. This is when a situation exists that poses a threat to the community at large or possible escape, etc.
Lastly, in regards to the Constitutional Rights of these people being violated, none of them were charged with a crime for anything found in the homes. If they had been charged and the things found were used, THEN they could say their rights were violated. The suspect certainly can’t claim they violated his rights by searching the boat. The home owners can’t claim that their rights were violated because nothing was seized and no one was charged.
I am guessing this is news to most people just like the decision not to read the Miranda rights to the suspect.
Finally, in your original post you claim that this is the “hope and change” that less than 50% of us voted for in the 2012 election. When questioned about it you backed down but I just wanted to point out the following:
Barack Obama won 51.02% of the Popular Vote. Each state individually counts their election results and the following site compiled those results and tabulated them. They also provide links to their verified state sources.
http://uselectionatlas.org/RESULTS/national.php
It doesn’t matter if you or I don’t like the President, or don’t agree with his programs or results or ideas or anything else. Per the sources he won the election and to claim otherwise constitutes a conspiracy. There is always a winner, and there is always a loser.
Sorry if this comes off as preachy, I don’t mean it that way. I do enjoy your site and many of your posts but sometimes I feel it necessary to speak up when I disagree.
Plan and Prep
RSOperator,
On April 14th you wrote an article entitled “Remembering to Keep It In Perspective”. I feel that perhaps you are failing to do that in this case.
Although I agree with you that our American society is in decay and possibly full collapse the events of this past week in Boston are being overplayed by a lot of preppers and certainly by many anti-Obama persons. While I tend to be critical of the government and suspect of their reasons for doing things, not everything is a conspiracy. While I don’t agree with how this President has gone about bringing “hope and change” to this country I cannot blame him alone for problems that are much more systemic.
First I would point out that there were only a few cases where people were removed from their homes and that was done when the police had reason to believe they were in danger. Whether or not you believe that is up to you but you weren’t on the ground in Boston and I would venture to guess that none of those that were “illegally removed” are complaining. As a matter of fact they were on the streets cheering the police when the suspect was apprehended.
This event over the past week did appear ominous on the news with military vehicles and throngs of police marching through the streets. It was a bit surreal and if you are worried of this happening on a grand scale than I can see where your concerns would be heightened. However, when a dangerous person is on the loose that has already shown the proclivity to cause death and destruction without remorse then the police are duty bound to find that person. They are also bound by duty to protect the innocent. If that means telling people to evacuate then that’s what they’ll do.
Finally I find it difficult to determine exactly which part of this event was due to President Obama in your opinion. Everything that happened in Boston was completely legal under the Patriot Act, which has been in place since well before President Obama took office. The materials that were used are common to large police forces and National Guard units. I don’t recall seeing waves of DHS vehicles or personnel taking over the investigation. I remember seeing a lot of Boston and Watertown cops, FBI agents and National Guard troops.
I think instead of trying to sow fear and hatred with the event in Boston we should all be proud of just how quickly this suspect was apprehended. This could have been a much uglier situation than it already was and I believe these police did an excellent job.
Again, talk to those that lived it and see if they are complaining.
Plan and Prep