SWAT Abuse
I generally try to keep subject matter here on MCOJ relatively light, but after seeing the above video, I am compelled to post and propagate.
From BoingBoing:
Radly Balko of Reason posted this video of a SWAT raid on a family in Missouri. The officers found a small amount of cannabis, and so they arrested the parents on a charge of child endangerment, naturally.
“It’s horrifying, but I’d urge you to watch it, and to send it to the drug warriors in your life. This is the blunt-end result of all the war imagery and militaristic rhetoric politicians have been spewing for the last 30 years — cops dressed like soldiers, barreling through the front door middle of the night, slaughtering the family pets, filling the house with bullets in the presence of children, then having the audacity to charge the parents with endangering their own kid. There are 100-150 of these raids every day in America, the vast, vast majority like this one, to serve a warrant for a consensual crime.”
After forwarding the above video to a friend, he pointed me to the equally horrifying account of Cheye Calvo, the Mayor of Berwyn Heights, Maryland. In 2008, a SWAT team smashed into his home, shot his two dogs and terrorized his family with no warrant in hand. He was quickly exonerated of any wrong-doing, but no apology was given for the mistake.
Cheye Calvo spoke at the Cato Institute on September 11, 2008 and recounted his experience. You can view a snippet of the talk here.
The implications of this are horrifying to me. The idea of 8 to 12 officers in full armor with high-caliber firearms breaking into my house, shooting my cats (because they are major threats to fully-armored SWAT officers, naturally) and terrorizing/traumatizing my family on the basis of suspicion of trafficking a non-narcotic is straight out of a dystopic movie.
I’m sure I’d be within my rights as a citizen of the United States of America (land of the free, etc.) to defend my home from invaders. Sadly, though, I doubt that I, in my pajamas and armed with my eskrima sticks, would fare well against 8 to 12 fully-armed officers.
via BoingBoing
via CATO Institute
The Political Compass
With the complexity of today’s economic and social issues, I agree with website The Political Compass that a simple one-dimensional scale (i.e. left vs. right) is an inadequate descriptor of my socio-economic philosophy. To me, it’s not as simple as declaring myself as a “Democrat” or a “Republican”. Like college laundry, there’s not just “clean” and “dirty”, but rather, many fine levels and classifications in-between.
The Political Compass attempts to tackle this complexity by adding a 2nd dimension: Authoritarian (Facism) vs. Libertarian (Anarchism). I’d love to post where famous leaders fall on the above graphic, but it’s more fun if you take the (short) quiz on their website to find out where you stand first. There’s no spin here. They won’t ask you for any personal information.
After you complete the quiz, the site will show where you fall on the scale and also where other world figures fall. I found it completely enlightening and reaffirming of my personal beliefs and convictions. I also found myself in respectable company. 
Enough babble. Take the quiz and share your thoughts on this scale! No need to post your results.
Thanks for the link, Brian!
UPDATE: When you finish the test, check out where the U.S. Senate (as of 2008) lands on this scale.
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