Saturday, October 23, 2010

DOJ and the NBPP in Philly

Over at The Washington Post we have an article in the Friday paper on the Justice Department and how it has dealt with the alleged voter intimidation in Philly in the 2008 General Election.  The title of the article is "Dispute over New Black Panthers case causes deep divisions".

Per the WashPost the case against the alleged perps is not quite as clear-cut as some have suggested, but still, as a voting citizen, I am not happy with the attitude I am hearing exists in the Department of Justice regarding this issue.  I count on the DOJ to be honest and to clean up its act when it finds that it has stumbled.  I was heartened when the new Attorney General, Eric Holder, told us we needed an honest conversation about race in this nation.  The conduct of this investigation does not encourage me that we are heading in the proper direction.

Regards  —  Cliff

5 comments:

  1. The race baiting angle makes me weary.

    How long until NPR=ACORN?


    Toto, I've a feeling we're not in Kansas any more. Get used to it.

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  2. At first I read the last word as wary, and then when I got around to looking to respond I realized it was weary.

    I am wary of race baiting myself and that is why I somewhat soft-peddled this item.  On the other hand, "civil rights" belong to all of us.  Paying attention to minorities (and the female majority) while ignoring Caucasians in general and Caucasian males in particular does not make up for several hundred years of civil rights denials for others.  Given how the oppressed group tends to shift, it is also bad politics and bad law enforcement.

    I guess I don't see an NPR/ACORN equivalence.  In my mind they represent two different socio-economic groups.  That they have objectives or interests that might coincide does not create equivalence.

    But, the nice thing is that while we are not in Kansas any more, sometimes things change and if Toto pulls back the curtain, revealing what is happening behind the curtain, then things may well change.

    In the mean time, I worry about a Department of Justice that thinks that protection of the guarantees of the US Constitution are only needed for small groups or a DOJ that thinks that their own hiring should be from the limited pool of Ivy League Law School graduates.

    Regards  —  Cliff

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  3. Mountians and molehills. my friend.

    The Black Panther thugs in this case are in no way equivalent to the systemic suppression of minority votes.

    It's like, if two Armenians killed a Turk and the whole of Turkey screamed, "You killed Turks too!"

    The "false equivalency" runs amok on the Right. It's a preferred distraction it seems.

    Now tell me, Glenn Beck doesn't run this up the flagpole to keep the birthers, bigots and islamophobes foaming at the mouth?

    And your intellectual curiosity, along with that of the Post's,lead's us where? That justice is tainted by politics?

    Have you heard of Justice Scalia?

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  4. But, all politics being local, I don't see that.  Maybe on the other side, but I see the encouragement of our biggest minority, the Cambodians, to register and vote.  That encouragement is based upon the P J O'Rourke theory that "They'd prosper and vote Republican."  (I do think the P J O'Rourke piece is a bit over the top and maybe satire, but I think the point about illegal immigrants becoming citizens and then voting Republican is based in reality.  Them or their children.)

    Regards  —  Cliff

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  5. Stockholm Syndrome?

    It is wonderful when immigrants begin to benefit from the opportunity and prosperity all around them here. Frankly,it's the reason why they left their country of birth.

    Some recognize the inherent subsidies that community provides. That sharing is fundamental to progress.

    Some, will vote Republican. ;v)

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