Quotes

In the 1990s, it had been the right wing—particularly the far right—that was up in arms over police militarization. Recall the outrage on the right over Waco, Ruby Ridge, and the raid to seize Elián González. The left had largely either remained silent or even defended the government’s tactics in those cases. But the right-wing diatribes against jackbooted thugs and federal storm-troopers all died down once the Clinton administration left office, and they were virtually nonexistent after September 11, 2001. By the time cops started cracking heads at the Occupy protests, some conservatives were downright gleeful. The militarization of federal law enforcement certainly didn’t stop, but the 9/11 attacks and a friendly administration seemed to quell the conservatives’ concerns. So long as law enforcement was targeting hippie protesters, undocumented immigrants, suspected drug offenders, and alleged terrorist sympathizers, they were back to being heroes.

http://www.salon.com/2013/07/10/militarized_police_overreach_oh_god_i_thought_they_were_going_to_shoot_me_next%E2%80%9D/

Just because legal and ethical overreach might coincide with your personal beliefs does not justify tolerating extrajudicial behavior.

The ends do not justify the means

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Ironic this quote comes from the very man scorned for his disagreements with popular opinion, and yet it is incredibly appropriate for the situation.

“America’s intellectual community has never been very bright. Or honest. They’re all sheep, following whatever the intellectual fashion of the decade happens to be. Demanding that everyone follow their dicta in lockstep. Everyone has to be open-minded and tolerant of the things they believe, but God forbid they should ever concede, even for a moment, that someone who disagrees with them might have some fingerhold on truth.”

—Card, Orson Scott (2009-11-30). Shadow of the Hegemon (The Shadow Series) (p. 176). Tom Doherty Associates. Kindle Edition.

I say long live the first amendment! Long live the true free exchange of ideas, opinions, and thought!

 

What frustrates me most about the religion of popular intellectualism

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