Terry Olson
Chief Petty Officer
- Joined
- Aug 20, 2005
- Messages
- 415
Re: Vessel Boarding
The world's full of "Patriots" concerned about their constitutional rights - who also complain about rampant crime and ineffective law enforcement. You can be one, you can be the other, but you can't have it both ways. What protects you from an overzealous government also protects criminals from the best efforts of the police. You're a legitimate patriot if you're concerned for everyone's rights, but not so when your only concern is your own rights. <br /><br />I'm not saying that we have too many protections - just reminding everyone that those protections are THE most significant factor in the government's inability to reduce crime. <br /><br />The idea that we should never sacrifice any of our liberties is great in theory and easily said and agreed with but it's simplistic and can't be seamlessly applied in the real world. Your liberties compete with mine - where do yours end and where do mine begin? This is why we have courts and judges and as we all know even they can't agree when applying the principles of the constition to real world circumstances.<br /><br />I have no argument with you so long as you aren't grousing about overzealous law enforcement while at the same time complaining that the police aren't getting the job done. I don't agree with those who believe the police are routinely and consistently violating citizen's rights. This just isn't the case. Moreover, I find that most who make these claims aren't anything more than casually familiar with the constitution and more to the point unfamiliar with specific court rulings which are examples of the court's most recent interpretations of the constitution as applied to specific circumstances. You can't know what the constitution allows or restricts according to the courts (which is where the rubber meets the road) when you don't know the caselaw. All too often police critics just don't know the material they need to in order to have an informed opinion. <br /><br />This is apparent in some of the previous posts in this thread and in other anti-police threads we see routinely on this site.
The world's full of "Patriots" concerned about their constitutional rights - who also complain about rampant crime and ineffective law enforcement. You can be one, you can be the other, but you can't have it both ways. What protects you from an overzealous government also protects criminals from the best efforts of the police. You're a legitimate patriot if you're concerned for everyone's rights, but not so when your only concern is your own rights. <br /><br />I'm not saying that we have too many protections - just reminding everyone that those protections are THE most significant factor in the government's inability to reduce crime. <br /><br />The idea that we should never sacrifice any of our liberties is great in theory and easily said and agreed with but it's simplistic and can't be seamlessly applied in the real world. Your liberties compete with mine - where do yours end and where do mine begin? This is why we have courts and judges and as we all know even they can't agree when applying the principles of the constition to real world circumstances.<br /><br />I have no argument with you so long as you aren't grousing about overzealous law enforcement while at the same time complaining that the police aren't getting the job done. I don't agree with those who believe the police are routinely and consistently violating citizen's rights. This just isn't the case. Moreover, I find that most who make these claims aren't anything more than casually familiar with the constitution and more to the point unfamiliar with specific court rulings which are examples of the court's most recent interpretations of the constitution as applied to specific circumstances. You can't know what the constitution allows or restricts according to the courts (which is where the rubber meets the road) when you don't know the caselaw. All too often police critics just don't know the material they need to in order to have an informed opinion. <br /><br />This is apparent in some of the previous posts in this thread and in other anti-police threads we see routinely on this site.
<br />I am curious to know what a zodiac will accomplish against someone who would have enough chutzpah to attack a ferry? Again 
