By Nathan Barton

Good morning, and what a week!  First up today is a long list of tyranny by cops – no, not tyranny, just plain abuse.

Cops as thugs: In rural southwestern Missouri, An elderly man, Elbert Breshears, called for an ambulance for his 78-year-old wife who suffers from dementia, but it was police who showed up first.  And beat him up.  He needed the medical attention more than she did.  He is charged with abusing the elderly, resisting arrest, and assault on a police officer.  At the hospital, they dug gravel out of his head and sewed him up.  This is rendering aid and assistance by cops.

As several folks noted, it seems likely that, once again, police got violent because they can, just as they did in attacking a wedding party years ago in Galveston, using the excuse of a 19-year-old reported as having an open beer can in his hand (now subject of a federal lawsuit for permanent injuries to several of the party).

Which brings us to this story: A Texas cop who trips and shoves high school students while being recorded. The excuse was they were being rowdy and causing a “riot” to celebrate their victory in a soccer game – on the playing field.  But never fear, he is being “investigated” and is on administrative leave.  It is noted that he was Officer of the Year, last year.  He is sure to win it for a second year in a row with this sort of exemplary behavior.  Wonder what he did last year?

A pebble in a windshield is adequate excuse for a cop to stop a vehicle, even if the cop doesn’t know which law applies, according to the Nevada Supreme Court, further giving cops (like the ones above) more excuses to harass drivers and strut their stuff.

Mama’s Note: … or shoot them. This is getting serious, folks. Eventually, somebody’s going to start shooting back. The cops need to give this some serious thought.

One bright note, I think.  A few days ago, the Kansas Supreme Court found that even a strong smell of alcohol (as from a leaky bottle of wine) was NOT “probable cause” to search a car, even when the cops made a bogus stop because they suspected the driver of being involved with illegal drugs.  Of course, the real criminality here is the cops who used not a “failure to signal” but rather failure to signal in time (only 30 feet instead of 100 feet) as the excuse to stop and see if the guy had drugs.  This is KANSAS for crying out loud: even a 30-foot signal is better than 50% of drivers do.  As for the smell of alcohol, I recall two events from my earlier years: one in Colorado where I was the designated driver for a group coming back from a banquet (I don’t drink alcohol, period) and one of the cadets didn’t make it out of the car in time to avoid barfing half a bottle of wine in the car – smell, yes!  The second was on the Golden Gate Bridge, when a chain accident caught a small car with two women between two larger vehicles.  The other two vehicles (part of a chain of 50 or more) were not badly damaged but the one was crunched badly and the windows were covered with red fluid when I jumped off my motorcycle and raced to them with a first-aid kit.  It turned out to be several large jugs of wine which had been thrown forward and shattered inside: the little car smelled like Napa Valley…

Mama’s Note: Egads, what a waste! Anyone transporting liquid of any kind in glass containers would do well to pack it in such a way that they won’t get launched in a sudden stop or collision. The bottles themselves become deadly missiles.

Kenya’s Anglican Archbishop says that the West is pressuring African nations to ‘Treat Homosexuality as a Human Right, But We Will Not Relent.’ Clearly, he does NOT understand the Scriptures he claims to follow.  I think that I understand the point here, but will share my own thoughts.  ANY human has the right to exercise their free will in ANY thing, provided that they are willing to accept the consequences.  IF that exercised right is aggression against other humans, then the person doing that must accept the consequences of their action: to the point of death, physical death, by those seeking to defend themselves or others against the person exercising that right.  And of course, they WILL answer to God as well, after their death, when they may face eternal death (punishment) for exercising their right.  Having the right to do something does NOT equate being free of the consequences of that action, whether it is physical or spiritual.  So as a practical matter, there are few societies which recognize a general right to kill (murder) other humans, to rape people, to steal, and  so forth (remembering that government is an excuse to do many of these things).  Homosexually is just as much (but no more) a sin as murder, rape, stealing, adultery, fornication, divorce and others, but sometimes is NOT aggression as some of these others generally are.  Indeed, there is less justification for making homosexuality a crime than making adultery a crime (since it is violating a freely-accepted contract).  But there is no legitimate power of government to make something a crime just because it is a sin. Aggression – a victim other than the person committing the act – is the crime.  This archbishop does not understand…

“Rev.” Franklin Graham says Gays ‘Absolutely’ Can Go to Heaven But They Must ‘Repent’.  For once, he is making a scripturally-accurate statement, but one that homosexuals will of course for the most part reject.  (Remember “broad is the way” versus “narrow is the gate”?)  They don’t want to repent, they want affirmation, endorsement, and unconditional love that lets them do whatever they want to.  And of course the opportunity to “exterminate” christians and anyone else (except, apparently, Muslims) who does not make them out to be the preferred culture and sexual orientation: the elite.

Mama’s Note: Painting with a rather broad brush here, Nathan. I’ve known a great many homosexuals, both patients and others, all through my life, and I’ve only encountered a few who were militant about forcing others to accept them. I’ve never met any who gave any indication that they wanted to “exterminate” Christians, or anyone else. I’m sure there are some, and there might well be more of them these days, but they remain a minority. The only exterminations I’ve heard about were perpetrated by “religious” people, including so called Christians.

Obamas’ Easter Church Visit: ‘Michelle Blew Kisses From Inside Their Pew’. Actually, I’m surprised that they didn’t have special coins minted that she could have handed out to cure people of the King’s evil and as commemoration of their visit, which is, after all, a more rare event than the Obama’s visiting a mosque during their frequent overseas trips.  I wonder how much she got for her autographs?

Obama’s Malaysia Trip Includes Visit to a Mosque, just like he visited a cathedral in the UK and one in Mexico when he (or his family) visited.  Opps, no, they didn’t.  Visit churches, that is.  But mosques?  Istanbul, Riyadh, and where ever, sure.

Mama’s Note: Why should anyone care? I don’t get it. He can visit anything he likes… as long as it’s on his own dime. His position, power and hypocrisy are the problems, not his itinerary.

Sebelius stays on just long enough to get government benefits, by pledging to stay on until the Senate confirms her replacement.  Now we know why:  she becomes eligible next week to get both a government pension and taxpayer-funded health-care benefits.  She gets her permanent slice of the loot; she “served” a grand total of five years.  Military personnel get NOTHING without at least ten years service and even then, nothing like this: for that 20 or more is needed.