ARRA News Service
News Blog for social, fiscal & national security conservatives who believe in God, family & the USA. Upholding the rights granted by God & guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution, traditional family values, "republican" principles / ideals, transparent & limited "smaller" government, free markets, lower taxes, due process of law, liberty & individual freedom. Content approval rests with the ARRA News Service Editor. Opinions are those of the authors. While varied positions are reported, beliefs & principles remain fixed. No revenue is generated for or by this "Blog" - no paid ads - no payments for articles. Fair Use Doctrine is posted & used.
Blogger/Editor/Founder: Bill Smith, Ph.D. [aka: OzarkGuru & 2010 AFP National Blogger of the Year]
Contact: editor@arranewsservice.com (Pub. Since July, 2006)
    Home Page
   

One of the penalties for refusing to participate in politics is that you end up being governed by your inferiors. -- Plato (429-347 BC)

Wednesday, November 26, 2014

Ferguson: What Lessons?

by Rick Manning: In an unheard appeal for calm in the wake of a Grand Jury’s decision to not indict Officer Darren Wilson in what was determined to be a justifiable shooting of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Mo., President Barack Obama urged that we learn lessons from the tragedy.

But what lessons will be learned?

One that was readily displayed across the nation’s television sets was that in spite of overwhelming forensic and other physical evidence, those leaders with a vested interest in the victimhood of Brown refused to listen.

Pulitzer Prize winning Washington Post columnist Eugene Robinson looked past the evidence presented to the Grand Jury to declare on MSNBC that the choice to not indict the police officer showed that, “If you’re a white person in this country and you feel intimidated by a black person it seems that our system is saying, you know, shoot first and worry about consequences later.”

Forensic evidence be damned, Robinson and others of his ilk for some reason psychologically need Michael Brown to be the embodiment of an entitling victimhood.

This failure is likely a result of a culture frozen in the racist past and unable to see the massive strides that have been made to break down barriers of discrimination.

Attorney General Eric Holder once famously stated, “Though this nation has proudly thought of itself as an ethnic melting pot, in things racial we have always been and continue to be, in too many ways, essentially a nation of cowards.”
This same Attorney General refused to shut the door on future federal legal actions against Officer Wilson by saying that, “the Justice Department’s investigation into the shooting of Michael Brown remains ongoing.”

There never have been any fact-based allegations that Officer Wilson’s actions that night were based upon race, the only racial dynamic is that a white officer of the law shot and killed a black man who attacked in him his vehicle trying to get his gun, and then rather to submit to arrest, turned and ran at the officer.

If Wilson was black, this incident would not be known by many even inside Ferguson, but he wasn’t. And those who profiteer off of hate and misery descended on the small town with Holder amongst them.

Maybe we can have a national conversation about that, if Holder only had the courage to look at it honestly.
Perhaps the media will learn a lesson.

However, the breathless reporting that Brown had his hands up in surrender when he was gunned down became the narrative that drove the lynch mob against Wilson. This reporting was debunked in the end by the Grand Jury, but many misinformed protestors continue to cling to that visual.

The 24/7 media cycle that demands fresh information to feed the beast no longer seems to stop to question whether the information is true or not, or what the consequences of reporting it might be. They merely “report” what they are hearing, spend hours analyzing it until even those talking about it believe that what was a rumor is hard fact, and then move on to the next tidbit. In their wake, professional agitators like Al Sharpton use these fog of war reports to pour salt into the wounds of the grieving family without regard for the injustice they are committing.

Who is naïve enough to believe that the get it first wrong or right news media will learn any lessons as the fruit of their ratings are driven as the controversy driven by those erroneous reports plays out in the burning buildings of Ferguson?
Perhaps President Obama will learn a lesson.

A lesson that when you flout the laws as a regular practice expressing frustration that the Constitution is just too restrictive, you don’t have a lot of credibility when you urge calm using the argument that ours is “a nation built on the rule of law.”

Hollow words coming from someone who days before engaged in one of the greatest usurpations of legislative authority in history. Yet somehow, the President’s teleprompter writers caused most of the nation to snicker in disbelief as he claimed a rule of law for others that he, himself, does not submit.

Perhaps America will learn a lesson.

Don’t believe early reports, and don’t take sides in criminal justice cases. Whether it is the O.J. Simpson murder trial, the George Zimmerman or this Michael Brown case, the public knows significantly less about what happened than someone who is sitting on the Grand Jury questioning witnesses, or in a jury box.

Those sitting in the position of responsibility to determine whether there is probable cause for a case to go to trial or whether the defendant is guilty beyond a reasonable doubt have sworn an oath that they will treat the accused as innocent until proven guilty.

For me, I choose to accept the integrity of that system, even when I don’t agree with their findings, and I choose to reject demagogues on all sides who seek to politicize Ferguson-like situations.

America has a long history of treating juicy criminal trials as a perverse form of reality entertainment, from the folklore of Jesse James to Lizzie Borden to Bruno Hauptman to O.J., we love a good real life Law and Order episode. The cases that catch the public’s imagination have to have a hook. Is the defendant attractive, rich, a celebrity or the trifecta? Is there a racial component that can appeal to base fears and instincts? Is there some unusual perversion or abnormality that catches the 140 character attention span of modern America?

But criminal trials are not sporting events. They are searches for the truth through muddy water with conflicting testimony and viewpoints. They are not television shows where the accused is always clearly innocent or guilty. They are messy judgment calls.

In most countries in the world, the state almost always wins because the accused is presumed guilty unless they can prove their innocence. In America, anything less than the prosecution’s complete and total annihilation of all reasonable doubt about the guilt of the accused is designed to result in a finding of not guilty.

In spite of the obvious fact that sometimes the guilty go free under this system, would anyone have it any other way?
----------------
Rick Manning (@rmanning957) is the vice president of public policy and communications for  Americans for Limited Government. This article was also shared on NetRightDaily.

Tags: Ferguson, Mo., Rick Manning, Americans for Limited Government To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. and "Like" Facebook Page - Thanks!
Posted by Bill Smith at 3:37 PM - Post Link

0 Comments:

Post a Comment

<< Home


View U.S. National Debt

Don't miss anything!
Subscribe to the
ARRA News Service
It's FREE & No Ads!

You will receive a verification email
& must validate you subscribed!

You Then Receive One Email Each AM
With Prior Days Articles / Toons / More


Also, Join & leave conservative posts & comments on
Facebook.com/ARRANewsService


Recent Posts:
Personal Tweets by the editor:
Dr. Bill - OzarkGuru - @arra
#Christian Conservative; Retired USAF & Grad Professor. Constitution NRA ProLife schoolchoice fairtax - Editor ARRA NEWS SERVICE. THANKS FOR FOLLOWING!

Action Links!
State Upper & Lower House Members
State Attorney Generals
State Governors
The White House
US House of Representatives
US Senators
GrassFire
NumbersUSA
Ballotpedia

Facebook Accts - Dr. Bill Smith
Pages:
ARRA News Service
Arkansans Against Big Government
Alley-White Am. Legion #52
Catholics & Protestants United Against Discrimination
End Taxpayer Funding of NPR
Overturn Roe V. Wade
Prolife Soldiers
Project Wildfire 4 Life
Republican Liberty Caucus of Arkansas
The Gold Standard
US Atty Gen Loretta Lynch, aka Eric Holder, Must Go
Veterans for Sarah Palin
Why Vote for Hillary (Satire)
FB Groups:
Arkansas For Sarah Palin
Arkansas Conservative Caucus
Arkansas County Tea Party
Arkansans' Discussion Group on National Issues
Blogs for Borders
Conservative Solutions
Conservative Voices
Defend Marriage -- Arkansas
FairTax
FairTax Nation
Arkansas for FairTax
Friends of the TEA Party in Arkansas
Freedom Roundtable
Pro-Life Rocks - Arkansas
Republican Network
Republican Liberty Caucus of AR
Reject the U.N.

Patriots
Exchange
Links

Request Via
Article Comment

Links to ARRA News
A Patriotic Nurse
Agora Associates
a12iggymom's Blog
America, You Asked For It!
America's Best Choice
ARRA News Twitter
As The Crackerhead Crumbles
Blogs For Borders
Blogs for Palin
Blow the Trumpet Ministry
Boot Berryism
Cap'n Bob & the Damsel
Chicago Ray Report - Obama Regime Report
Chuck Baldwin - links
Common Cents
Conservative Voices
Diana's Corner
Greater Fitchburg For Life
Lasting Liberty Blog
Liberal Isn't Amy
Marathon Pundit
Patriot's Corner
Right on Issues that Matter
Right Reason
Rocking on the Right Side
Saber Point
Saline Watchdog
Sultan Knish
The Blue Eye View
The Born Again Americans
TEA Party Cartoons
The Foxhole | Unapologetic Patriot
The Liberty Republican
The O Word
The Path to Tyranny Blog
The Real Polichick
The War on Guns
TOTUS
Twitter @ARRA
Underground Notes
Warning Signs
Women's Prayer & Action
WyBlog

Editor's Managed Twitter Accounts
Twitter Dr. Bill Smith @arra
Twitter Arkansas @GOPNetwork
Twitter @BootBerryism
Twitter @SovereignAllies
Twitter @FairTaxNation

Editor's Recommended Orgs
Accuracy in Media (AIM)
American Action Forum (AAF)
American Committment
American Culture & Faith Institute
American Enterprise Institute
American Family Business Institute
Americans for Limited Government
Americans for Prosperity
Americans for Tax Reform
American Security Council Fdn
AR Faith & Ethics Council
Arkansas Policy Foundation
Ayn Rand Institute
Bill of Rights Institute
Campaign for Working Families
CATO Institute
Center for Individual Freedom
Center for Immigration Studies
Center for Just Society
Center for Freedom & Prosperity
Citizens Against Gov't Waste
Citizens in Charge Foundstion
Coalition for the Future American Worker
Competitive Enterprise Institute
Concerned Veterans for America
Concerned Women for America
Declaration of Am. Renewal
Eagle Forum
FairTax
Family Research Council
Family Security Matters
Franklin Center for Gov't & Public Integrity
Freedom Works
Gingrich Productions
Global Incident Map
Great Americans
Gold Standard 2012 Project
Gun Owners of America (GOA)
Heritage Action for America
David Horowitz Freedom Center
Institute For Justice
Institute for Truth in Accounting
Intercollegiate Studies Institute
Judicial Watch
Less Government
Media Reseach Center
National Center for Policy Analysis
National Right To Work Foundation
National Rifle Association (NRA)
National Rifle Association (NRA-ILA)
News Busters
O'Bluejacket's Patriotic Flicks
OathKeepers
Open Secrets
Presidential Prayer Team
Religious Freedom Coalition
Renew America
Ron Paul Institute
State Policy Network
Tax Foundation
Tax Policy Center
The Club for Growth
The Federalist
The Gold Standard Now
The Heritage Foundation
The Leadership Institute
Truth in Accounting
Union Facts



Blogs For Borders

Reject the United Nations

Presidential Prayer Team

Thousands of Deadly Islamic Terror Attacks Since 9/11


FairTax Nation on FaceBook
Friends of Israel - Stand with Israel
Blog Feeds
Syndicated - Get the ARRA News Service feed Syndicated!
ARRA Blog Feed

Add to Google Reader or Homepage

Add to The Free Dictionary

Powered by Blogger


  • To Exchange Links - Email: editor@arranewsservice.com!
  • Comments by contributing authors or other sources do not necessarily reflect the position the editor, other contributing authors, sources, readers, or commenters. No contributors, or editors are paid for articles, images, cartoons, etc. While having reported on and promoting principles & beleifs beliefs of other organizations, this blog/site is soley controlled and supported by the editor. This site/blog does not advertise for money or services nor does it solicit funding for its support.
  • Fair Use: This site/blog may contain copyrighted material the use of which has not been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. Such material is made available to advance understanding of political, human rights, economic, democracy, and social justice issues, etc. This constitutes a 'fair use' of such copyrighted material as provided for in section Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107 of the US Copyright Law. Per said section, the material on this site/blog is distributed without profit to readers to view for the expressed purpose of viewing the included information for research, educational, or satirical purposes. Any person/entity seeking to use copyrighted material shared on this site/blog for purposes that go beyond "fair use," must obtain permission from the copyright owner.
  • © 2006 - 2020 ARRA News Service
Creative Commons License
Creative Commons Attribution Noncommercial Share Alike 3.0 Unported License.