I often make jokes and sarcastic comments about living in clown world but this sort of behavior is genuinely terrifying and leads to the worst place imaginable.
The crux of the matter is as follows: These people on the podium running the meeting risk no punishment for blatant violation of a citizens First Amendment rights. The citizen is taken away and only gets reinstated after a long legal proceedings which so far are successful. The violator didn't lose any sleep. He/she gets to do it again on some other pretext. How about automatic 30 days in the slammer for taking away First Amendment rights in a public meeting adducted by the nearest Justice of the Peace or Notary Public? No wait.Have some one of authority attend such open, public comment type meetings who is empowered to eject the person on the podium at the same time that person had the citizen ejected. This petty shadow of a police state behavior has to stop real quicklike.
It’s egregious. I was a county Deputy for 17 years in a rural Midwest county (that borders IA). I KNOW exactly how these small town mayors, council operate (and the police chiefs are puppets). What should happen is an Attorney General’s/IA DPS office investigation. This is misconduct of a public official. We had state statutes for this in my old state.
It ALMOST goes without saying, but an important reason for brutalising the poor obese schlub is unrelated to the schlub's conduct or the content of his complaint.
It's to send a message; to let everyone know that if they kick against the traces, some tax-eater with a gun and badge will ruin their day (and possibly shoot their dog).
"Pour encourager les autres", as was famously said about the execution of an Admiral.
It stems from the fact that most politicians are ignorant of basic Constitutional rights. If they even had Civics or government in high school they didn’t pay any attention. And they think they are superior to citizens.
This reminds me of the arrests for vagrancy, loitering, disorderly conduct, and similarly vague bad behavior that supposedly were a key tool for county sheriffs in the South.
This is seemingly becoming endemic across the country and yes, this needs to drill down to the very individual or individuals who perpetuate it. It seems like the majority of politicians quickly forget the BS they spewed to get elected and act insulted that you expect them to do their jobs. That officer put the handcuffs on the wrong person. They belong on that arrogant mayor.
Let's encourage high school civics classes ( do they still have such a thing? ) to have a contest among the local high schools. The award would go to the class that drafted the clearest, most easily enforced, most appeal resistant law punishing attempts to abridge First Amendment rights at public meetings specifically held to hear citizen comment on the issues of the day. The award would take the form of a locally enforceable law made part of local governance. Maybe the Leadership Institute would be interested in fostering such efforts across the fruited plain.
Ignorance of the constitution or laws is of course no excuse. Prosecute a few of these fool mayors and police chiefs for violation of 1A and and even the 4A where it applies. That will stop most of this garbage.
Only intellectual cowards, charlatans, and liars don’t like counter argument, questions, or open dialogue. The narrative cannot be controlled if free/critical thought and open dialogue is permitted. Therefore, it must be banished to retain control.
While it may be a bit unpleasant to hear someone say things we don't agree with or don't ENJOY, the main reason, in my opinion, that we're in this situation we're in today, is because of a serious and egregious disregard for the First Amendment here in the USA, the cradle of the Covid Lie, and coupled with the part of the NDAA from 2012, the legality of the government being able to LIE to the People with impunity. If not for the abandonment of the First Amendment by much of the "authorities" running this country, we could have had a national conversation, and reasonable debates, about what Covid is, what was done to us in the name of "safety," and what continues to keep a lot of people from discussing their rights being violated and from being able to obtain work, and from the mainstream of the population being able to understand the violations that have happened to whistle blowers, from doctors to journalists to data keepers to any number of concerned citizens simply seeking the facts and/or the truth.
This is what the Founders meant when they said ALL OTHER FREEDOMS depend on a Free Press and Freedom of Speech for every person. This is not a "privilege," it is an INALIENABLE RIGHT, and therefore NO ONE has the authority to take it from us.
I often make jokes and sarcastic comments about living in clown world but this sort of behavior is genuinely terrifying and leads to the worst place imaginable.
The crux of the matter is as follows: These people on the podium running the meeting risk no punishment for blatant violation of a citizens First Amendment rights. The citizen is taken away and only gets reinstated after a long legal proceedings which so far are successful. The violator didn't lose any sleep. He/she gets to do it again on some other pretext. How about automatic 30 days in the slammer for taking away First Amendment rights in a public meeting adducted by the nearest Justice of the Peace or Notary Public? No wait.Have some one of authority attend such open, public comment type meetings who is empowered to eject the person on the podium at the same time that person had the citizen ejected. This petty shadow of a police state behavior has to stop real quicklike.
It’s egregious. I was a county Deputy for 17 years in a rural Midwest county (that borders IA). I KNOW exactly how these small town mayors, council operate (and the police chiefs are puppets). What should happen is an Attorney General’s/IA DPS office investigation. This is misconduct of a public official. We had state statutes for this in my old state.
It ALMOST goes without saying, but an important reason for brutalising the poor obese schlub is unrelated to the schlub's conduct or the content of his complaint.
It's to send a message; to let everyone know that if they kick against the traces, some tax-eater with a gun and badge will ruin their day (and possibly shoot their dog).
"Pour encourager les autres", as was famously said about the execution of an Admiral.
It stems from the fact that most politicians are ignorant of basic Constitutional rights. If they even had Civics or government in high school they didn’t pay any attention. And they think they are superior to citizens.
This reminds me of the arrests for vagrancy, loitering, disorderly conduct, and similarly vague bad behavior that supposedly were a key tool for county sheriffs in the South.
This is seemingly becoming endemic across the country and yes, this needs to drill down to the very individual or individuals who perpetuate it. It seems like the majority of politicians quickly forget the BS they spewed to get elected and act insulted that you expect them to do their jobs. That officer put the handcuffs on the wrong person. They belong on that arrogant mayor.
Let's encourage high school civics classes ( do they still have such a thing? ) to have a contest among the local high schools. The award would go to the class that drafted the clearest, most easily enforced, most appeal resistant law punishing attempts to abridge First Amendment rights at public meetings specifically held to hear citizen comment on the issues of the day. The award would take the form of a locally enforceable law made part of local governance. Maybe the Leadership Institute would be interested in fostering such efforts across the fruited plain.
...thank you....and I will keep sharing and posting........
Ignorance of the constitution or laws is of course no excuse. Prosecute a few of these fool mayors and police chiefs for violation of 1A and and even the 4A where it applies. That will stop most of this garbage.
SCOTUS 1964 New York Times v. Sullivan.
Only intellectual cowards, charlatans, and liars don’t like counter argument, questions, or open dialogue. The narrative cannot be controlled if free/critical thought and open dialogue is permitted. Therefore, it must be banished to retain control.
That behavior qualifies for immediate tarring and feathering of everyone responsible.
I live in Iowa. I am sad this happened here. If it can then it can be anywhere!
While it may be a bit unpleasant to hear someone say things we don't agree with or don't ENJOY, the main reason, in my opinion, that we're in this situation we're in today, is because of a serious and egregious disregard for the First Amendment here in the USA, the cradle of the Covid Lie, and coupled with the part of the NDAA from 2012, the legality of the government being able to LIE to the People with impunity. If not for the abandonment of the First Amendment by much of the "authorities" running this country, we could have had a national conversation, and reasonable debates, about what Covid is, what was done to us in the name of "safety," and what continues to keep a lot of people from discussing their rights being violated and from being able to obtain work, and from the mainstream of the population being able to understand the violations that have happened to whistle blowers, from doctors to journalists to data keepers to any number of concerned citizens simply seeking the facts and/or the truth.
This is what the Founders meant when they said ALL OTHER FREEDOMS depend on a Free Press and Freedom of Speech for every person. This is not a "privilege," it is an INALIENABLE RIGHT, and therefore NO ONE has the authority to take it from us.
Ugh!