As surely as the sun rises in the east, comes another charge of racism against the police by those who seem to have no fear of criminals. We all know the cycle: an arrest; a controversy; fiery accusations of racism; the talk-show rounds by the usual race-baiting suspects; and an abject apology by the chief of police. Then everyone goes home none the worse or better for the experience save for the poor patrolman whose life and career are ruined.
This week our media are vigorously attempting to fan the flames of yet another bogus charge of racism because it involves a friend of no less than the President of the United States. Mr. Obama was so incensed that he saw fit to mention the event, with anger, in a press conference.
Big surprise ensuing: this time, we aren't at all following the customary story arc to which we have become accustomed. Rarely do you find a white policeman with as sterling a record as a non-racist: the online news site Boston.com reports that Sgt. James Crowley a few years back desperately tried to save the life of Reggie Lewis, a black basketball player who died of a heart attack while practicing. Sgt. Crowley is respected and honored by his black fellow-officers, black superiors, black neighbors, and yes, even local black community organizers.
Yet America's race-baiters don't let mere facts stand in the way of furthering their agenda:
Yesterday, as President Obama condemned the Cambridge Police Department during a prime-time White House news conference and Crowley steadfastly refused to issue the apology that Gates has sought, a fuller picture began to emerge of the 42-year-old sergeant who arrested the Harvard scholar last week on a charge of disorderly conduct on the porch of Gates's Cambridge house.
Sgt. Crowley performed above and beyond the call of duty, though unsuccessfully, in an all-out attempt to save the life of a black man. He was honored for his efforts at the time. No KKKer is going to spend 15 minutes doing mouth-to-mouth on a dying "member of an inferior race;" yet Crowley did, with dozens of witnesses awestruck at his dedication and singleminded humanity.
What, then, of the black man whom he arrested, Harvard "Professor" Henry Gates? As a professor at one of America's leading universities, he would seem to be above reproach.
Quite the contrary: "Prof." Gates is a creature of our national fixation on race relations. Although Boston.com says that he is regarded as one of the "foremost scholars on race in America," this incident reveals him as just another race-baiting scam artist.
"Prof." Gates owes his academic stature to the politically-correct creation of bogus black "studies" departments in universities all over America. His happens to be at Harvard University, which is as politically correct as any.
In today's far-left politically correct academy, the key job requirement of a black studies professorship is fervent belief in the idea that every single bad thing that ever happens to any black person is the fault of Whitey. This is not a healthy worldview, and certainly not an accurate one.
The problem with viewing all white people with an accusatory eye is not just a penchant for disseminating lies and slander masquerading as scholarship; it also has very observable consequences in the real world we live in every day. This incident provides a crystal-clear illustration of exactly how.
When Gates arrived at home after a trip to China, he and his driver had to push open his front door, which was stuck. This looked like a break-in to neighbors; they called the police.
Crowley arrived and demanded that Gates, now inside, show him identification.
Consider this situation for a moment. If a neighbor saw two bedraggled-looking people trying to bash in the door of your house, wouldn't you want them to call the police? As it happened, Mr. Gates' appearance had a perfectly innocent explanation: he'd just got off a 14-hour plane trip. He was bashing in his own door, he said, because the lock was broken and the door jammed - which he has every right to do - but neither the neighbor nor the police could possibly know that. That's why you send a cop to investigate, as the officer proceeded to do.
At this point, any individual with the brains that God gave geese would be grateful for the diligence of the local gendarmerie, explain himself with an embarrassed chuckle, and present identification. Remember, Mr. Gates just got off an international flight; his passport couldn't have been any further away than his pocket.
But no! According to the official police report:
As I [Sgt. Crowley, in full uniform] stood in plain view of [Gates]... I asked if he would step out on the porch and speak with me. He replied, "No, I will not." ... Gates opened the front door and exclaimed, "Why, because I'm a black man in America?" I then asked Gates if there was anyone else in the house. While yelling, he told me it was none of my business and accused me of being a racist police officer.
There's certainly racist actions on the part of the Cambridge police: it was unquestionably a racist action for the Cambridge cops to drop charges against the professor when they had ample witnesses to his conduct - not just the officer, but backups from two other departments who arrived as reinforcements and a small crowd of civilians who stopped to watch. A white man making a similar scene wouldn't have gotten off so easily.
Mr. Gates, though, is no ordinary civilian. This is a man who makes a living writing about racism. He'll go out of business unless he can find enough racism to write about.
Being accosted by the local police in his very own house must have seemed like too good an opportunity to pass up, particularly since he's a friend of President Barack Hussein Obama. Sure enough, Mr. Obama chimed in, accusing the Cambridge Police of racism even though he admitted he didn't have all the facts.
For years and years, any white person who was accused of racism was convicted on the spot regardless of the facts. Black grafters like Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson expect white people to roll over and play dead when they play the "racism" card.
It's what they've learned to expect; Mr. Gates and, for that matter, Mr. Obama are no different. Remember how quickly Bill Clinton rolled over when Mr. Obama accused him of playing the race card in Carolina during the campaign?
This time, shock of all shocks, the white policeman is pushing back. What's more, he's not alone.
But people who know Crowley were skeptical or outright dismissive of allegations of racism. A prominent defense lawyer, a neighbor of Crowley's, his union, and fellow officers described him yesterday as a respected, and respectful, officer who performs his job well and has led his colleagues in diversity training.
People have been reading the police report and saying that Gates is in the wrong. Witnesses are confirming the cop's story and pointing out that Gates used vulgar language.
A photograph has surfaced clearly showing him addressing the police in, let's say, a non-academic manner. Bill Cosby, no less, said he was shocked that the President would speak about something this incendiary when he doesn't have the facts.
Officer Crowley has about as solid a not-racist credential as a white cop can have. Having been selected for the job by a black police commissioner, he teaches racial profiling awareness in his district. He has been endorsed by other black cops in the area.
He went above and beyond the call of duty trying to save the life of a black sports star. If any white can be a saintly-pure non-racist - a concept Mr. Gates probably wouldn't accept, actually - it is Sgt. Crowley. It seems that he is fully justified in refusing to back down or apologize, saying everything he did was 100% correct both legally and morally - because it was.
Meanwhile, racism bestirs itself in Holland. Fox News reports:
The descendants of an African chief who was hanged and decapitated by a Dutch general 171 years ago reluctantly accepted the return of his severed head Thursday, still angry even as the Dutch tried to right a historic wrong. [emphasis added]
The head of King Badu Bonsu II was discovered last year in a jar of formaldehyde gathering dust in the anatomical collection of the Leiden University Medical Center. The Dutch government agreed to Ghanaian demands that the relic be returned.
This story starts out like a standard account of early colonial oppression, but there are some subtle details:
The head was taken by Maj. Gen. Jan Verveer in 1838 in retaliation for Bonsu's killing of two Dutch emissaries, whose heads were displayed as trophies on Bonsu's throne, said Arthur Japin, a Dutch author who discovered the king's head when he was working on a historical novel.
The elders demanded the Dutch government provide aid to their tribe to appease the slain chief. [emphasis added]
The Dutch send ambassadors to King Bonsu, he chops their heads off and puts them on his throne as trophies. Some might consider this to have been murder, if not an act of war, and might think that it would be appropriate for the General to hang the king for murder.
Alas, though the heads may be shrunken, their skin color still remains: such inconvenient truths are politically incorrect. Ignoring the fact that their ancestor murdered and decapitated not one but two Dutch diplomats, the king's descendants want the government of the Netherlands to "provide aid to their tribe."
They want money! What a surprise! This sounds exactly like the demands we've been hearing from Sharpton, Jackson, and all the other racist scam artists down through the decades.
Let's hope that Officer Crowley sticks to his guns and that the Dutch content themselves with returning the head. Perhaps they should send the elders the embalming bill, as many prisons do for executed murderers?
Meanwhile, what should the Cambridge police do to show they aren't racist and that we have equal justice in this nation? Re-arrest "Prof" Gates and put him in jail for resisting arrest and disorderly conduct as they would have done with a white person under similar circumstances.
What happened to "equal justice under the law?" When Mr. Daschle withdrew his nomination to the cabinet because he hadn't bothered to pay his income taxes, President Obama said:
I've got to own up to my mistake, which is that ultimately it's important for this administration to send a message that there aren't two sets of rules. You know, one for prominent people and one for ordinary folks who have to pay their taxes. [emphasis added]
- President Barack Hussein Obama, New York Times quote of the day, Feb 4, 2009
Mr. Obama needs to read his own speeches and own up to his mistake. Having said there aren't two sets of rules, he not only nominates a racist, sexist Latina for the Supreme Court because of her "empathy," he calls a professional policeman who arrested a citizen for disorderly conduct "stupid."
As Obama said, there aren't two sets of rules. He clearly seems to believe that there are many sets of rules - one for Democrat tax cheats, another for Republicans like Leona Helmsley who went to jail for tax evasion. There's one set of laws for white folks who get in trouble for disorderly conduct and another for black "scholars" who happen to be friends of the President. One set of rules for Republicans who get caught with their pants down and are howled from office, and another for Democrats like Ted Kennedy and Bill Clinton whose legendary escapades go on for decades with no permanent political price extracted.
Mr. Obama needs to realize that this sort of thing demeans the office of the presidency and devastates the rule of law that keeps us all prosperous and safe. We elected him to be Commander in Chief, not Racist in Chief. We'll soon know which role he prefers.
What does Chinese history have to teach America that Joe Biden doesn't know?
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/sns-ap-us-harvard-scholar-arresting-officer,0,4731766.story
According to a 2007 Associated Press story, Obama was a parking ticket deadbeat for more than a decade and felt the need to pay the 15 outstanding parking tickets only as his presidential campaign began in earnest in 2007.
Here is the Associated Press story detailing Obama's negligence:
Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama got more than an education when he attended Harvard Law School in the late 1980s. He also got a healthy stack of parking tickets, most of which he never paid.
The Illinois senator shelled out $375 in January two weeks before he officially launched his presidential campaign to finally pay for 15 outstanding parking tickets and their associated late fees.
The story was first reported Wednesday by The Somerville News.
Obama received 17 parking tickets in Cambridge between 1988 and 1991, mostly for parking in a bus stop, parking without a resident permit and failing to pay the meter, records from the Cambridge Traffic, Parking and Transportation office show.
He incurred $140 in fines and $260 in late fees in Cambridge in all, but he paid $25 for two of the tickets in February 1990.
Jen Psaki, a spokeswoman for the Obama campaign, dismissed the tickets as not relevant.
"He didn't owe that much and what he did owe, he paid," Psaki said on Wednesday. "Many people have parking tickets and late fees. All the parking tickets and late fees were paid in full."
Yet another set of laws - white people have to pay parking tickets, blacks don't unless they're running for president.
1) Racism is both color-blind and equal opportunity;
2) Assuming Prof. Gates would have never treated a BLACK cop that way, he, the loudmouth race-baiter, acted racist himself;
3) Again, assuming President Obama would never call it "stupid" for a black cop to arrest a black man for disorderly conduct (unless it were he:-), HIS comment was racist.
4) Instead of leading us past our racist legacy (as he promised), Obama may end us wrapping us around that tar baby all the more. Time will tell.
There is still a God in heaven, even though other loudmouths make an equally ridiculous scene when others pray in his name (Jesus). The only reason they, like the race-baiters, can take themselves seriously is that too many of us do.
But since he IS in heaven, maybe, just maybe, the tide will turn and more and more whites (and blacks) will say "Oh, BS!" when hucksters play the race card.
1) Racism is both color-blind and equal opportunity;
2) Assuming Prof. Gates would have never treated a BLACK cop that way, he, the loudmouth race-baiter, acted racist himself;
3) Again, assuming President Obama would never call it "stupid" for a black cop to arrest a black man for disorderly conduct (unless it were he:-), HIS comment was racist.
4) Instead of leading us past our racist legacy (as he promised), Obama may end us wrapping us around that tar baby all the more. Time will tell.
There is still a God in heaven, even though other loudmouths make an equally ridiculous scene when others pray in his name (Jesus).
The only reason they, like the race-baiters, can take themselves seriously is that too many of us do.
But since he IS in heaven, maybe, just maybe, the tide will turn and more and more whites (and blacks) will say "Oh, BS!" when hucksters play the race card.
http://www.wnd.com/index.php?pageId=104813
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/25/us/politics/25gates.html says:
Sergeant O'Connor said at Friday's news conference that the president went too far. When a person says up front they do not know the facts, as President Obama and Governor Patrick both said in their separate comments, Sergeant O'Connor said, "one would expect the next statement to be, 'So I cannot comment.' "
Yep. If you haven't a clue what you're talking about, better keep mouth shut. Mr. Obama may not know, "Be sure brain is engaged before putting mouth in gear." Maybe his teleprompter fouled him up. What has he been saying to the Russians when we're not listening?
The stupidest part is this bogus professor mouthing off at a cop. Doesn't he know that every cop knows that any time any cop approaches any situation, the cop might get shot dead?
Not long ago, a couple of white cops stopped a black guy for a traffic violation. The black guy was a parole violator who didn't want to go back in. By the time bullets stopped flying, four cops were dead.
Would Gates have mouthed off to a black cop? If not, he's a racist. If he would, he's too stupid to be on the Harvard faculty no matter how much affirmative action they hand out.
Anybody who mouths off at any cop, any time, any place, no matter how wrong the cop may be, is an idiot. If a cop wants to live to collect retirement, he's always ready for anything, his nerves are all tuned up. If you make him more nervous, you may be sorry.
In case they don't teach this at Harvard, here are the rules I was taught:
1) Be nice. He may be wrong, but he has a gun. So do his friends. They'd rather hurt you than have you hurt him.
2) Be respectful. Talk calmly, the cop may relax a bit. Yell at him, he may think you're about to attack.
3) Keep your hands where he can see them.
4) Don't make sudden moves.
5) If he wants an ID, show one, and thank him for asking. It's his ass if things go wrong, not yours. Who gets yelled at if your house is robbed, him or you?
The reason I know, there were riots someplace and I asked a Cambridge cop. He told me the rules. Cops don't like being yelled at. A little politeness goes a long way. Or is that too simple for sophisticated Harvard types?
If you don't believe me, go find a cop and ask him how you stay out of trouble. He'll tell you if you convince him you're interested and not just giving him a hard time.
Gates has hurt his friend, our Commander in Chief, by calling President Obama to defend him in this self induced major lapse of judgment on his part.
President Obama had to stoop so low as to even mention Gates' bigoted tirade against the police, who were at his house to defend him and/or his property.
Our President has had to attempt to mop up a mess that Gates should have avoided in the first place. President Obama is now taking grief for his words in defense of the indefensible.
The Gates tantrum has diverted the attention of our President and our Country, in this critical time, to smooth over a thoughtless mess from a selfish man.
Gates has sullied the name of the prestigious institution that is Harvard University.
"Tracing the ancestry of Yo Yo Ma"? That's a noble pursuit....to some I suppose.
Gates should quite his sniveling, take the silver spoon out of whatever orifice he has it in and man up!
He's a whining over privileged race baiting knucklehead who feels entitled and clearly doesn't feel that "your Mamma" comments are beneath him.
Gates is a professional victim. He complains and plays the race card when he's created a political and personal mess with his own actions.
It's a shame that Harvard has employed him to impart his "wisdom" to others under the guise of education.
Skippy should have thanked the police and his neighbor for responding to help him.
He felt that this was an issue that would make him a hero in the 'black community', whatever that is. Well, it did make him note worthy, just not like he planned when he staged this event.
Gates could set race relations back decades if people don't see him for what he is....a weak whiner with a chip on his shoulder.
Mr. Gates....Let's keep this story going in the media. I'm sure that President Obama and Harvard University will appreciate your antics.
I'm sure that we'll all enjoy your 15 minutes of fame, you moron.
President Obama and Harvard will undoubtedly appreciate the negative attention that your overt racism has already yielded and undoubtedly will continue to bring.
Gates, you've very publicly embarrassed yourself.......Go away now loser!