Watch Maher explain why Gates arrest more about police power than race.  

Bill Maher Discusses Palin, Gates Arrest, Health Care Reform On CNN (VIDEO).

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Yesterday Sarah Palin blamed the media for her decision to quit her governorship.  Today NY Mets GM Omar Minaya blamed the media for his firing of assistant GM Tony Bernazard.  In a Palinesque press conference, Minaya repeated the word ‘investigate’ 26 times by my count. Do they think we are so stupid that all they need to do is repeat a mantra like “politics as usual” two dozen times and then we will march off believing it?

Then Minaya used innuendo to squirm out of any responsibility   by accusing Daily News reporter Adam Rubin — who broke the stories about Bernazard emotional outbursts including a meltdown in front of the Mets minor league team in Binghamton NY which featured a shirtless Bernazard challenging the two dozen 19 and 20 year-olds to a fight. 

But like Palin, Minaya shot the messenger: “I’m saying that I scuffled a lot as I made by decision because I had known that the person that had been writing this had been lobying myself and others in the organization for a position in player development,” Minaya said.

Rubin who was at the press conference had the guts to ask Minaya if he was accusing him of writing the stories to take down Bernazard in an effort to get his job.   But like any bully Minaya backed down when confronted and said that wasn’t what he was implying.

Rubin accurately called Minaya’s accusations “despicable.”

via Omar Minaya says decision to let Bernazard go was his – SILive.com .

via talkradionews

Barack Obama was wrong to apologize for his remarks about the Gates arrest. Backing down and calling for a group-hug with the officer is another dangerous example of our surrender to the police state.

In 1644, the great English jurist Sir Edward Coke proclaimed “A man’s house is his castle.” This has been a foundation stone of Anglo-American law ever since.  Once the Cambridge police officer established that Gates did indeed live in the house, he should have turned his back and walked away.  According to the police, Gates said some offensive things like “I’ll speak with your mama outside.” Even if we are to believe that, it doesn’t matter. Sure the officer felt disrespected. (When did cops become so damn sensitive?)  But Gates was in his own house and a man’s house is his castle.

I understand why the incident has been framed by race.  Fresh out of jail, Gates immediately began promoting a new PBS special about racial profiling– hosted by him of course.  But by framing the Gates arrest as only a problem of racial profiling, we risk missing an opportunity to confront a deeper threat to our liberties– the creep toward a police state.

Last month a cop tasered a white 72-year old great-grandmother because she supposedly threatened him.  Watch the video to see how much of a threat the old woman posed.  Like Gates, this woman was the victim of a cop behaving stupidly.  And like Gates, police brass blamed the victim. Where was the national outrage?

A week before that, Oklahoma highway patrol stopped an ambulance carrying a sick old woman because the ambulance driver supposedly gave them the finger.  (Again, when did cops become such shrinking violets??) Watch how the cops rough up the EMT while the old woman screams from inside the ambulance.

I understand being a cop is tough and I’m truly grateful for their service.  But every time an incident of police brutality and stupidity happens, the public seems to look the other way.  We’ve been taught to automatically ‘respect the badge.’ But we must also protest every time the police violate the rights of our fellow citizens, regardless of whether or not racism is involved.

Today’s NYT reports that Dick Cheney wanted to use the military to perform police operations — clearly violating the Fourth Amendment and the 1878 Posse Comitatus Act.  Like the CIA hit squads, Cheney’s plans for domestic military operations probably won’t generate much public outrage.  And that’s a terrible shame.

Every American must understand that the police are both defenders of and threats to our rights.  Does that sound too harsh?  Take a look at the Bill of Rights and count how many of the first ten amendments specifically target the cops and military.  The founders understood the importance of public vigilance against the police state.  I only wish today’s Americans felt as defensive.

Just because to cops or the government do it dosent make it right. And you can exect to see more of the creeping police state unless there is some public outrage.

Good story in Politico about political sex scandals connected with C Street bible study group.

“Lawmakers flock to 133 C St. SE  for cheap rent, weekly dinners, Bible studies and spirituality sessions that serve as a sort of group therapy for some of the country’s most powerful men. But now the stately brick house is becoming known for something else: It’s ground zero for Republican sex scandals.”

via Republican sex scandal meets spirituality on C Street – Lisa Lerer and Kathryn McGarr – POLITICO.com.

Judge Rules CIA Committed Fraud In Court.

Another day, another criminal complaint against the CIA.