NIGHTWATCH
This morning, while getting ready for the day, after a great night's sleep, at the TLC Inn or the Tender Loving Care Inn, Bozeman, Montana, I had the pleasure of seeing a new TV show, called, Nightwatch, after exhausting the Sunday morning, Criminal Minds TV show. This is a reality based TV show about cops and EMT, or emergency medical technicians, on the streets of New Orleans, a tough town, with at least 1,000 calls per night for assistance of one form or another. In the first scenario, when the EMTs had been called to assist and young black man, who had been shot 5 times, in a gang incident, I could not have been more impressed with the valiant effort of the medical attention and care, that these EMTs exhibited, when treating this young black man, without, one ounce of hesitance, restricted effort, attempt to save, and disappointment when, they heard, that the young man had expired, when he got to the emergency room at the hospital. Especially, the male driver, who rushed in and out of traffic, to get the man some help, for his wounds, taking it extremely hard and personal, while the female EMT, tried to comfort him, and tell him, that they kept him alive, and he was delivered to the hospital staff, in the best condition, that they could have expected, given the fact that the man was shot, dead spot, in the middle of his chest. Later, to the relief of both EMTs, the young man was revived, and there was a chance that he might make it.
As the show proceeded, both the cops and the firefighters, working side by side, with racial differences, yet, with no apparent prejudices, just guys and gals on the same team, working to stop crime, save lives, and help people in distress. The really great thing about cities and diversity, is the rubbing up against people of different colors, races, religions, creeds, sexes, ages, all in a common goal of protecting the health, safety and welfare of the citizens of their communities! Contrast and compare that to what I experienced, just last Friday, with the mayor justifying cop shootings and getting pissed at me for suggesting that they would kill for a two week vacation or administrative leave . . . well, okay, let's put them on unpaid administrative leave, and see if the cop shootings, don't in fact go down! Then the man, who, in reaction, to me telling him, that I watched all day, the day Michael Brown was shot, heard the first hand accounts, saw the videos, that were later suppressed and dismissed as having discrepancies in the report of the facts, difference in vantage points! The threat, I felt for my own safety, as I have felt in many cities, when I express my first amendment rights to free speech, not being some uneducated person in this area, but might actually be considered, actually an expert, who is trashed, rather than listened to!
Smart cities, cop shops, and others, should, admit, there is always, room to improve! Constructive criticism, is invaluable, rather than spin doctors, who gloss over, needed, and apparent gaps in training, discriminatory practices, and bigoted responses, that can lead to lawsuits, and sensitivity training, if you are unlucky enough to get a really good, civil rights, defense, or constitutional law attorney, like me on a case . . . and I am sure, that is why I am chased from each county and town, for fear, that there might be a situation arise, where, I actually get my teeth into your asses. I am trying to be a friend, to educate, teach, assess, write, comment, without lawsuits, the soft ball approach I prefer to take, but, you and I know, that if all of this falls on deaf ears, that sometimes there is no other alternative, and you lies to protect, the women, who are claiming to be me, with my blog stolen now . . . I can barely find my own blog, because, the bad ass con law chick or bad con law chick connection has been buried to the less familiar title of Know Your Rights, the Law is the Law, or JoAnn+, with three million hits per 35 seconds . . . another 1st amendment right, redressing grievances with your government!
Religiously, You Can Believe Anything You Want, But When Those Beliefs, Translate Into Actions, and Cross the Lines, Against the Laws of the United States, Like Anti-Discrimination Laws, Under the 5th & 14th Amendments, You Are, or Should Run Into Trouble in the Courts, with Constitutional Issues!
The primary role of government, the reason for its existence, is to protect the rights of the citizens! Not just the citizens who are like you, believe the same way you do, look, think and act like you do, or have sex the way you do . . . but for every person, who is a citizen of both the state you reside in, and the country you live in. Read the 14th amendment, with part of it, most applicable to state legislators, now in the heat of battle, writing, reading and passing the laws, that will govern their states, some subject to constitutional challenges, lawsuits, etc. States cannot, offer less, to their citizens, denying privileges, other members of the United States have. Therefore, the Unites States Constitution is the bottom line threshold of rights, contained, as interpreted, by the plain language of the statute or the constitution, the Supreme Law of the Land, or the United States Supreme Court, with the executive branch, enforcing those laws, that the legislative or rule making body, have passed, as long as they don't deny privileges, rights, protections, and options, that fall below those permitted by the federal government and statutes!
Laws cannot be repugnant to the Constitution or they are void . . . they must be consistent with the letter and spirit of the Constitution, to be considered constitutional! Those laws passed that fall outside, either off these Supreme Court, mandates, are void as a matter off law! If you are a county recorder, or a judge, magistrate, mayor, or someone who opposes, issuing marriage licenses to gay couples, try finding a new job! You can personally, be abhorred by homosexuality, and perform your job, without violating the laws of this land, and also keeping your personal beliefs in check, because God knows, you preferences, your feelings, and it is not your job, to force those beliefs on anyone, while practicing them yourselves! You only run a foul of the dictates of this secularlly run government, when you put your personally held beliefs into action, or deny someone the rights and privileges afforded to people of this country. You can always move to another country, that is closer to the beliefs you have, some even have state sanctioned religions, like ISIS, but you might be beheaded for being a Christian! In America, we have not state sanctioned religions, that we can force down someone else's throats . . . perhaps you would be more comfortable with another set of rules, but these are ours!
The Firefighting Bigot vs. the Mayor Who Fired Him
This case is a very interesting case. The fire chief, wrote a book, against homosexuality, either with or without permission from his boss, whom in most towns, is the mayor. Now, you might, at first glance, make the statement or believe, that the firefighter, was just expressing his personal objections to homosexuality, and it has nothing to do with his job. Or does it? Let's apply the law . . . people can't be discriminated against, or a lot of reasons, and sex is one of them. Is a person for vocal, and also a high profile member of the city, able to separate his personal beliefs, from, say his professional practices? Obviously, he has a strong opinion on the subject, above and beyond, what most of us would have, because he went as far as to write a book about it. He may, even be using his position as a chief, to further his personal beliefs, hoping to sway other members of the community, or those within the firefighting community, with close contact with cops and EMTs, to create an atmosphere of discrimination, within the community, that might have devastating effects, on the way someone responds to a fire, a 911 call, or an emergency situation, knowing that their boss, feels, beliefs, and religiously opposes, the members of the gay community. Are they, the first responders, going to perform their duties to people, if they know their boss has such an affinity against certain segments of the population. I would say, that the chief, has crossed a line, making his beliefs, well known and published, and at a time when, the laws are changing, people are evolving, and expectations are high, to treat members of the community fair, with respect, and with all efforts to save lives, protect property, and respect rights and privileges, the mayor was right in firing the fire chief!
If we are to make a more perfect union, avoid protracted lawsuits, in this ever changing and evolving America, with gay marriages, changing faster, becoming more accepted, and becoming integrated into our system of secular thinking, and even spreading into our religious communities, with a focus on love, brother and sisterhood, and practicing the golden rule, that of doing unto others what you would have done to you. I venture to say, that all segments of society, have experienced discrimination at one time or another, in the history of either coming to this country, as emigrants, visiting here, or moving to a culture of a predominantly different society or state. I love reading the Bible, in the Book of Leviticus, where God, lays the law down for the children of Israel, and he says to treat foreigners well, because once, they, were foreigners in a strange land also, in Egypt! We all want our piece of Heaven, but we are hesitant to give it to others, once we get our own!
Authorities in Arizona, Trying to Bring Polygamists in State to Modern Living
Sorry, I told the motel clerk, that I wasn't going to need the computer password this morning . . . we joked, never on Sunday, I was going to forgo my blog today, but after reading the Bozeman Chronicle, going over to McDonald's for a Diet Coke and to get a newspaper, there were so many articles, in the Sunday section on religious topics and issues, that I came back and asked for the password, and thus, the inspiration for this blog, if you can find it, with hackers, Mormons, NSA, and others who have a vested interest in burying my interpretation of these topics, but, I wanted to give credit to the excellent writing and articles in the newspaper this morning. But, Arizona authorities, working with followers of Warren Jeffs, the imprisoned alleged prophet of the FLDS church, a break off group of polygamists, with strongholds in Colorado City, Hildale, and other locations, that are spread across the borders of both Utah and Arizona, are finding that while many polygamists are still loyal to Jeffs, even while he is in prison, many are starting to want to own property, their homes, send their children to school, and modernize the communities, previously, controlled by Jeffs and the United Kingdom.
Again, these people have been, off the radar screen, so to say, and they have violated many laws of the states their communities reside in, as well as many laws of the United States, while claiming to be practicing their religion, or freedom of religious liberty. Again, they can believe anything they want, a ton of Mormons, those who know about polygamy, secretly believe that multiple wives, is essential to eternal salvation in the highest kingdom of Heaven, while not practicing it, thus exemplifying exactly what I am talking about, belief is one thing, and action is another, actually violating laws, is another. But, after the raid on Short Creek and the XYZ Ranch in Texas, authorities are realizing that when dealing with polygamy, they are dealing with a can of worms, and have to get people who know the communities, the practices, from the inside, rather than from the outside world, and work with kit gloves, so as not to make things worse, than they already are. But, Arizona authorities, are urging women and kids, who want things to change, or who suffer abuse, to call, county authorities, rather than the police forces, within their jurisdictions and polygamist communities, who either are members of Jeff's congregations, and loyal to him, or the principle, rather than loyal to the laws of the state and land.
The Arizona Attorney General, is bringing things up to snuff, and after being the one, who pushed for Jeff's arrest, investigation and prosecution, at first, with Texas, following suit, and Utah, since 2005, putting FLDS church property in receivership, so as to allow for private property ownership, taxes, and bringing the community options they have never had before! People are starting to entertain the options of public schooling for their 1500 children, that need a public education, against Warren Jeff's personal and religious objections. So, we are getting there, a more perfect union, without church sanctioned, or at least legally objectionable religious practices, and protecting rights, freedoms, and liberties, within the confines of the laws of the United States. The United States government has always objected to polygamy, making the practice forbidden forever in Utah, that is until the male members of the legislature, illegally, unconstitutionally, and unlawfully, violated their own sections of the Utah State Constitution, and just up and disappeared, I believe the 22 section of article I, of the state's contractual conditions for statehood!
One Day, We Will Truly Be One Nation Under God . . . Following his Commandments to Love Him, Love Our Neighbors as Ourselves, and Do Unto Others What We Would Have Done to Us! We Are All of the Body of Christ, When One Part Hurts, We All Hurt!
LOVE ONE ANOTHER, THINGS GO BETTER!
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