tvc184

    Thank God for many witnesses in Ferguson that came in and told the truth even though it did not toe the party line. Thank God that the physical evidence (although admitted grudgingly slow from the federal investigation) showed that the claims were false (including the crime of perjury) that wanted an officer to be guilty. 

That is why in my first post I questioned if he was a friend of the chief. TX at one time had reserve officers/deputies that had a lesser training requirement than full time officers. They have since changed that to having reserves get at least the same academy training hours as any other officer. TX at one time allowed reserve officer to work off duty jobs the same as a full time officer. I believe that now they can only work alone off duty if the work for pay at least 32 hours a week. Some states or areas are notorious for appointing police officers based not on standards but who you know. I escorted a tour group to Louisiana early in my career while I was on duty. We stopped at one city and I spoke to one of the on duty officers. Naturally we talked shop and I asked how many officers the city had. He asked, "full time or reserve?". This city had about 8,000 people but they had about 30 officers... full time. He said they might have up to 200 reserves. Compare that to Nederland with 17,000 people that has about 22 officers and no reserves. Hmmmm.......... I have no idea what Louisiana's requirements are today but 25 years ago, I think they had a bare minimum if any standards. Fortunately in TX a person has to have at least the same minimum training hours as any other licensed officer including annual continuing education. Of course that does not mean that they will always go through a 40 hour a week field training for several months as most agencies require. In this area places like Beaumont and Port Arthur require officers to attend the five month academy and then even though they come out as fully licensed officers they must ride with field training officers for another 5-7 months. The field training officers are basically senior police officers that are chosen by supervisors to act as instructors that ride in the police cars with the rookie officers. The rookie officers are not allowed to act alone and are always with an instructor officer. Counting the academy, it takes about a year of training 40 hours a week to be able to ride in patrol unit alone and act as a officer. In some states unlike TX, I do not believe that they have that minimum standard of at least the same academy hours and continuing education as full time officers. They likely have some standards but it may be like a security guard or a couple of weeks of classroom training and no field training. I am wondering if the 73 year old guy was ever a police officer or was someone that was appointed due to political connections. Some reserve officers are retired police officers with 25 or more years on full time duty and just work as a reserve after retirement just as the military has reserves from people that have done a few years time in active duty. By doing so the retired officers (now reserves) can also keep their police license active. Those kinds of reserves are just like any other full trained officer with many years of experience and are retired but help out a couple of days a month out of boredom or to keep that license active. With all that, what was this 73 year old reserve's experience, if any? Was he a 30 year retired police officer or just a guy the sheriff or chief liked? The agency that used him is obviously in deep trouble but I think it is even deeper if he "bought" a badge. I also suspect that the agency might be ending their reserve officer program. In this area I think that mostly the sheriff's department allows reserve officers but some of the smaller agencies might "hold someone's badge" or call an officer a reserve so that he/she doesn't lose his license. I think that PA, Beaumont and Orange PD's do not allow any reserves. It is my experience that many (most?) full time officers have little respect for reserve officers that have not "done their time" in full time duty. I wonder if firefighters feel the some way toward "vollies"?

  It means that unlike wishful thinking and innuendo there is actually evidence and not merely political agendas. 

What does any of that have to do with discrimination under the law?

Training?   Poor carry policy or none at all?   73 year old "reserve"?   Why was he even there? Friend of the chief perhaps.........   I have no clue without knowing further but what a screw up. Was his Taser carried on the same side as his handgun? Was he trained at all in it or simply given one?   We carry the Taser on the opposite side as our handgun so that an officer has to intentionally reach across his body to draw it so there is no mistake. Ours are also yellow that it can easily be seen as a Taser and not a handgun. I saw a video from a few years ago where an officer shot a guy in the back seat of a patrol car that was kicking around or something and she thought that she was going to stun him into compliance but drew her Glock (which was right above the Taser which was also black) and shot the guy. It is complete stupidity to place two weapons that look alike next to each other to be used in the heat of battle. Did that happen here? Again, no clue but what a stupid and unforgivable mistake.    It is almost more disgusting than the SC incident. 

    You are going off the deep end trying to rationalize prejudice.    Cops profiling?    Can't tell a crook?   Someone said you can't use your eyes?   You can tell a gay couple when they walk in and ask you to bake a cake for two women or two men. Great, it is out in the open. But what if you know that a guy that shops in a store has been convicted of theft or any other crime and is current suspected of others. You "know" that as a fact. Do you refuse them? What about a person that you know is having an affair and committing adultery. What if a guy comes into a store and asks for a birthday card for his girlfriend.... but asks you to keep it quiet because he doesn't want his wife to find out. Now that he has admitted adultery do you deny the sale?   Or again, do you fall back on what you can see?    It is like this, the law prohibits discrimination. You can have any religious belief that you wish or you can have none at all. That is your right. Your rights end at denying other people their rights.    People are defending IN and a law allowing discrimination on religious beliefs but the govern that signed it said that was not the intent and it is being misread. They are also in the process of changing that law to make it even more clear. We still have people defending a law that does not exist and does not allow discrimination based on religion and still claiming that it is some kind of religious victory. 

  So your sinning has ended?    Apparently you are now Christ like and are now infallible. Either that are they should refuse you service as a continuing sinner. 

  So it is "looks" that is the problem, not the sin. If you can't visually tell that someone is sinning at the moment, I can only presume by your statement that it is okay.    Apparently the people that discriminate based on religion only do so when the appearance is not liked.    I've get it. 

I have no problem with homosexuality being a sin in the Bible. I am just wondering if those that refuse service based on sexual transgressions from the Bible will also ban adulterers, people who have stolen anything, those that have lusted for or coveted anything from someone else, have given false witness, etc. I am assuming that they draw the sin line at one specific issue. ALL SINNERS WELCOME except homosexuals. It sounds a bit like Matthew 7:3 where Jesus spoke of pointing out a speck of sawdust in your neighbor's eye while ignoring the log in yours. Or perhaps it was when in John 8:7 Jesus spoke if the wonan sentenced to death by stoning, let he who is without sin cast the first stone. I think there are a lot of stone holders and sawdust pointers in the crowd that demands strictly adherence to the Bible as a means of rejecting public commerce (discimination) when it comes to one sin but completely ignores the rest. The Klan hides behind the Bible as their claim to their righteous indignation toward blacks. I wonder if that is likewise acceptable discrimination based on their view of the Bible or freedom of religion.

I never knew there was any other barbecue than Patillos until I was about 18 years old. It was the only place that I have ever eaten links until I was maybe 30 years old. 

  Go back and read the context.  :)   You said that it might not happen in SC but would happen in Ferguson.    With that in mind, the facts didn't stop them (in Ferguson) from protesting the first, second or third times (even after the officer was exonerated) so why would the facts in this case (officer already arrested and charged) stop them this time. 

..... and I think this officer needs to get a very good lawyer and try to make the best plea deal he can for the least amount of prison time that he thinks he can swing.

  True, the facts didn't stop them the first time, why should it this time?

People are going to protest and demand that..... wait, he has already been charged.

The officer has been arrested and charged with murder. What is the problem going to be?

    It makes sense to me.

I finally got around to reading the IN law. I can't see the controversy.   It reminds me of "Hands up, don't shoot" and "Romney has not filed an income tax return" which were both found to be outright lies and known to be outright lies when they were stated. It is a political agenda of convenience when no such reality exists. It is like someone saying today, "I demand that we end slavery in the USA now and quit waiting", all the while knowing that it ended 150 years ago. It is nothing but a straw man argument.   The actual law says that the "state" may not enforce any action that may substantially interfere with religion.    It speaks nothing of any protected class under federal law and speaks nothing of individuals or businesses.    The law says that "state action" (the prohibited act that goes against religion) is defined as "implementation or action based on implementation of a state or local law". I cannot contemplate how that is being portrayed as not serving people based on race, religion, national origin, etc.    The relief for a claimed grievance is the business that is being discriminated against (for example the company that does not want to bake a cake because the state forbids it) is to go to court and claim your religious freedom was discriminated against. The way the law looks to me, it is the bakery that has to file for the injunction or other relief. It is not the person that asks the cake to be baked. The law in no way allows individual discrimination by anyone.   Of course that is just the law and has nothing to do with the current political rant that is based on emotion of a claimed law that does not exist.    Back to your regularly scheduled arguments on religion that have nothing to do with this faux discrimination............... 

Billy was out playing golf today at the Garth House fund raiser......... for what that's worth.  :D   I went to a couple of schools with him back in my youth like Intoxilyzer update and Standardized Field Sobriety Tests.... all when he was a DPS trooper. 

    No man, they're just wannabe's. No real harm............... 

Bad crimes can and will happen anywhere at any time. No one is immune including good cities, good families or good schools. People are individuals and they walk among us. Because there are bad people does not mean that a culture in a city, school district, individual school or family is corrupt. 

  His mother was an American, she lived for more than 10 years in this country and at least 5 years after her 14th birthday. That was the law prior to November 1986. After that time, any person born anywhere that has at least one parent that is a US citizen, that person is born as an American.    Cruz being born in 1970 qualifies as being an American at birth because his mother was born an American and lived the required number of years in the USA. 

  Sure, why wouldn't he be?

  Maybe I read the article incorrectly but I thought it said that he was "required" to sign up for it due to a provision in the law. If that is true, rather than show a question on why he is doing it, it is yet another valid reason for him to be against it as it is forcing his hand. 

  Is it the culture of a school? Was Columbine evil because of Klebold and Harris?    Perhaps it could be a bad person(s) amidst a group of good people........... 

    I understand the idea that you don't like what they did, think they were undermining the president, etc.   I can accept that as your honest opinion.     It is the calls of treason and other violations of the law (Logan Act) that makes your position untenable.    Not liking it? Great.   A crime because you don't like it? Not in the least.