I have been asked and have agreed to appear on The Generation Why Podcast to discuss my book and the Lindbergh kidnapping.
The Generation Why Podcast is dedicated to unsolved murders, controversies, mysteries, conspiracies, as well as anything that impacts our culture. You can check out their website at www.thegenerationwhy.com.
We will be taping on December 14th. I will advise once it is up and running.
Friday, November 21, 2014
Wednesday, November 19, 2014
Legislative Blackmail
The Sheriff started a program whereby checks were being made of people entering DSS to see if they had any outstanding warrants. Recently, a person was arrested who was wanted on a felony. Sounds pretty good, right?
Well ........ the liberals in this county went bananas. Legislator Bartels went so far as to propose an amendment to the 2015 budget to eliminate the Sheriff's security detail. Now, having been legislatively blackmailed, the Sheriff is temporarily suspending the policy.
Now, let me pose a question. Suppose a person is wanted for feloniously assaulting a child. He enters DSS, but nobody checks to see if he has a warrant. Two days later, since the man is still at large, he assaults another child and this time the child dies. You still like the policy change?
My example sounds extreme, but it is certainly possible.
Now, those who say that checking for warrants is a violation of rights, let's examine the truth. When people go to DSS, they have to sign in. This requires giving their name. Since the county has their name, why is it unreasonable to see if that name appears on the wanted list? From a legal standpoint, it is not a constitutional violation. They are not taking fingerprints or DNA. They are checking names on a list.
Yet, people are going crazy falsely claiming a constitutional violation. Where is the outrage that a legislator used a proposed budgetary maneuver to blackmail the constitutionally elected Sheriff into changing a policy on apprehending offenders? Where is the outrage that elected legislators are more concerned that people lining up for public assistance are being checked for warrants than they are at protecting our citizenry?
Look, I am as outraged as anyone at some of the lengths the government has gone to violate personal freedoms. The reading of private e-mails and text messages was wrong. The domestic spying was a constitutional violation of epic proportions. Since 9/11, the federal government under both major parties has eroded our personal freedoms.
I am one who considers Eric Snowden to be a hero for blowing the whistle.
All of that being said, simply checking a list of names to see if someone has an outstanding arrest warrant is not an egregious violation of constitutional rights. It is not a warrantless search. It is not a violation of the Constitution. It is just good basic police work.
I pray that nobody gets hurt by someone who had a warrant out for their arrest and would have been apprehended and taken off the streets but for this recent legislative blackmail.
Well ........ the liberals in this county went bananas. Legislator Bartels went so far as to propose an amendment to the 2015 budget to eliminate the Sheriff's security detail. Now, having been legislatively blackmailed, the Sheriff is temporarily suspending the policy.
Now, let me pose a question. Suppose a person is wanted for feloniously assaulting a child. He enters DSS, but nobody checks to see if he has a warrant. Two days later, since the man is still at large, he assaults another child and this time the child dies. You still like the policy change?
My example sounds extreme, but it is certainly possible.
Now, those who say that checking for warrants is a violation of rights, let's examine the truth. When people go to DSS, they have to sign in. This requires giving their name. Since the county has their name, why is it unreasonable to see if that name appears on the wanted list? From a legal standpoint, it is not a constitutional violation. They are not taking fingerprints or DNA. They are checking names on a list.
Yet, people are going crazy falsely claiming a constitutional violation. Where is the outrage that a legislator used a proposed budgetary maneuver to blackmail the constitutionally elected Sheriff into changing a policy on apprehending offenders? Where is the outrage that elected legislators are more concerned that people lining up for public assistance are being checked for warrants than they are at protecting our citizenry?
Look, I am as outraged as anyone at some of the lengths the government has gone to violate personal freedoms. The reading of private e-mails and text messages was wrong. The domestic spying was a constitutional violation of epic proportions. Since 9/11, the federal government under both major parties has eroded our personal freedoms.
I am one who considers Eric Snowden to be a hero for blowing the whistle.
All of that being said, simply checking a list of names to see if someone has an outstanding arrest warrant is not an egregious violation of constitutional rights. It is not a warrantless search. It is not a violation of the Constitution. It is just good basic police work.
I pray that nobody gets hurt by someone who had a warrant out for their arrest and would have been apprehended and taken off the streets but for this recent legislative blackmail.
Monday, November 17, 2014
The 2014 Political Season Ends ... and 2015 Begins
As the 2014 political season ends, there have been several developments that will effect the local 2015 races. The most significant is the order of the parties on the ballot and the entry of two new parties.
The top three: Democrat, Republican, and Conservative kept their places (Rows A, B, and C respectively). Moving to Row D is the Green Party based on the showing of Howie Hawkins in the Governor's race. He became the liberal protest vote against Andrew Cuomo.
The Working Families Party drops to Row E and the Independence Party is now Row F. Since the Green Party often leaves their line blank in local races, this presents a real problem for the WFP and IND parties.
As such, in races where the Green Party line is blank, the top three will have a distinct advantage. For that reason, expect a lot of Opportunity to Ballot petitions for the Green line.
Two new parties have joined the list. The Women's Equality Party and the Stop Common Core Parties are Rows G and H. For the first two or three years, these parties will endorse using a Certificate of Nomination process. You can expect that the Women's Equality Party will endorse Cuomo leaning Democrats and the Stop Common Core Party will support Astorino leaning Republicans.
With all of these parties, we may see candidates with four party lines, none of which will be Republican or Democrat. This could create an interesting dynamic for those looking to challenge the status quo.
The final big change in the City of Kingston in 2015 will involve the Conservative Party line. For the last decade or so, the Conservative endorsement has been decided by the County Executive Committee. However, starting in 2015, conservative endorsements for the City of Kingston will be handled by the CITY Executive Committee, not the county.
For those who do not know, the City Committee had its reorganization meeting and elected myself as City Chairman; Don Ryan as 1st Vice Chairman; and Bob Boughton as 2nd Vice Chairman.
Stay tuned for more information in the weeks and months ahead.
The top three: Democrat, Republican, and Conservative kept their places (Rows A, B, and C respectively). Moving to Row D is the Green Party based on the showing of Howie Hawkins in the Governor's race. He became the liberal protest vote against Andrew Cuomo.
The Working Families Party drops to Row E and the Independence Party is now Row F. Since the Green Party often leaves their line blank in local races, this presents a real problem for the WFP and IND parties.
As such, in races where the Green Party line is blank, the top three will have a distinct advantage. For that reason, expect a lot of Opportunity to Ballot petitions for the Green line.
Two new parties have joined the list. The Women's Equality Party and the Stop Common Core Parties are Rows G and H. For the first two or three years, these parties will endorse using a Certificate of Nomination process. You can expect that the Women's Equality Party will endorse Cuomo leaning Democrats and the Stop Common Core Party will support Astorino leaning Republicans.
With all of these parties, we may see candidates with four party lines, none of which will be Republican or Democrat. This could create an interesting dynamic for those looking to challenge the status quo.
The final big change in the City of Kingston in 2015 will involve the Conservative Party line. For the last decade or so, the Conservative endorsement has been decided by the County Executive Committee. However, starting in 2015, conservative endorsements for the City of Kingston will be handled by the CITY Executive Committee, not the county.
For those who do not know, the City Committee had its reorganization meeting and elected myself as City Chairman; Don Ryan as 1st Vice Chairman; and Bob Boughton as 2nd Vice Chairman.
Stay tuned for more information in the weeks and months ahead.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)