Stupid to Arrest Harvard Prof. Henry Louis Gates, Jr.?

President Barack Obama's comment last week that Cambridge, MA, police "acted stupidly" when arresting Harvard Professor Henry Louis Gates started a media firestorm that mostly missed an important First Amendment free speech issue as I show in this video.

Included in this video is a PUBLIC DOMAIN clip from Pres. Barack Obama's July 22, 2009, press conference which is available in full at http://www.whitehouse.gov/video/President-Obamas-Primetime-Press-Conference-o...

There are also clips of Dave Briggs and Alisyn Camerota on Fox News' program "Fox and Friends Saturday" broadcast on July 25, 2009 (which I have not been able to find online).

I also use clips of Paul Krugman and Donna Brazile appearing on ABC's "This Week with George Stephanopolous " airing on July 26. 2009 that come from a larger discussion you can see on ABC's website at http://blogs.abcnews.com/george/2009/07/roundtable-obama-sparks-race-debate.html

In addition, the clip of Prof. Michael Eric Dyson comes from CBS' "Face the Nation," also broadcast on July 26, 2009, that is part of the larger discussion you can see on the CBS website at http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=5189425n&tag=contentMain;contentBody

You can find the full text of the Massachusetts court decision I quote in my video at http://masscases.com/cases/app/60/60massappct723.html

And, finally, as always, you can find DOZENS and DOZENS more examples of Fox News bias on my Fox News bias playlist on YouTube at http://www.youtube.com/view_play_list?p=A3BD2524FE99BD4D

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[elnick1000]

I think Obama's comment may have been a factor in why a Republican was elected in a Senate seat long held by Edward Kennedy. I think Obama realized later that he had made a big mistake by getting involved in this issue. I also think when he criticised some rap star for going on stage when a country singer had won a grammy over Beyonce, he did it to try to even a playing field.

[capturedpilot]

@gamerunknown Man, I just can't get this together. Gotta ease off on the H.

[gamerunknown]

@capturedpilot

Hell, one could say that the government doesn't want us to consume these substances precisely because they lead to mind altering experiences. The brains of people that have consumed LSD even once are different to those that haven't. Would the world have been a better place if Steve Jobs, Carl Sagan and Paul Erdos were thrown in jail for their lives or executed by the government? Even William F Buckley ceded that drugs should be completely legalised.

[gamerunknown]

@capturedpilot

I wouldn't be comfortable knowing my dentist or pilots were currently completely pissed, but I don't think that alcohol should be made illegal. Neither would I be happy if the pilot was busy reading the Bible instead of flying the plane. What if the dentist decided to shoot every other patient? Should we outlaw guns? It's a complete non-sequitur to suggest that legalising drugs would mean repealing DUI laws and permitting them in any context.

[capturedpilot]

@gamerunknown Okay, here is the chasm between us showing itself. Drug-dealers should be executed, along with pimps and terrorists. Lethal injection. If drugs were legalised, think of the implications: you'd be okay going to your denist knowing they might just be coming down from an LSD trip? You'd be okay with an airline-pilot who is mellowed-out on burn? Evenutally, the government would make drugs compulsary: the masses would be drifted-out on downers; easy to control. Sleepy sheep.

[gamerunknown]

@capturedpilot

I also think that legalising drugs would reduce a lot of crime (after all, having gangster T-shirts and throwing up gang signs isn't a crime, which is what he was accused of other than drug dealing). It works in Amsterdam and Sweden and it really is a civil rights issue. I am also pro-life, so yeah. That all adds into it. Legalising drugs is different to legalising other criminal stuff because it only affects the person buying it, which can be regulated.

[gamerunknown]

@capturedpilot I guess it depends on framing. I have no real sympathy for people that promulgate the gangster lifestyle as he did and then reap the consequences from their gangster acquaintances. However, while it was likely he was a gangster, he was never charged with shooting anyone and the police were mendacious when prosecuting him - shooting their own radio in order to make it seem like he'd shot at them. How the police treat criminals is a good indication of how they treat civilians.

[capturedpilot]

@gamerunknown Okay. Thanks, I will get reading and get back to you.

Re Duggan, give the UK Police a break: they were confronting a known shootist. I am not a fan of the UK Police; but credit where it is due; this time, they actually took down one of the bad guys. That's their job.

Duggan was a thug, a bully and a criminal. Why cry for him? Save your tears for real victims. Like the people he terrorised, beat up, or shot.

[gamerunknown]

@capturedpilot

You're right that Mark Duggan was armed, sorry for getting that wrong, but his gun was recovered in a sock and was unfired. One study was "Conservatism, dogmatism and authoritarianism in British police". Another is "Institutional racism and the police". I haven't studied the topic in a while so can't remember any others. "The Secret Policeman" was an undercover documentary.

[capturedpilot]

@gamerunknown Name one study. I will read it and get back to you.

Mark Duggan was an armed gangster, with a record of firearms offences.

In the UK, the police are ultra-careful with their use of firearms, especially regarding black Yardies. In America, all police-officers do all possible to avoid armed confrontations with black criminals. Being black is now total carte blanche.

By 2040, whites will be the minority in American (about 48%). Then you will reap the whirlwind.