The Chronicles: Gov't, Police Have Forgotten the 'Rule of Law'

Cross posted with permission from thePurcellChronicles: 

By Rev. J.J. Purcell

Riots are alive throughout this country now. And, they are not going to get better for now, I fear.

Someone whom people do not learn about in school anymore is 17th century English philosopher John Locke (1632-1704). Since most people are so badly schooled, they probably think that was when the pyramids were built. Regardless, Locke helped to intellectually enlighten most of our Founding Fathers here in America (that means 'they listened to what he said a lot'). 

So, this writer, Locke, said in his "Essay Concerning Human Understanding" that the mind is a blank slate at birth and is filled through experience. Well, old Locke was a great believer in "cause and effect." People are born understanding logical systems. For example, bad guy does something bad, they are arrested, then they are jailed and all is right with the world. But, wait! An example that would not be considered a logical system to people would be: 'Bad guy kills someone for no real reason, is caught, no one does anything about it and the killer is set free.' You see, if the bad guy can get away with murder, then who is to say he will not murder again, or people like him or her murder again? So, people become distressed and -- BANG! ZAP! -- you have yourself a mob looking to get rid of the murderer.

Of course, this does not examine things from a racial point of view. But, so many others are doing that I decided I would go another route. 

What is the gist? In modern society, there must be rules and everyone must follow them or the society will become unhinged because, if there is a special group of people whom are not accountable for their actions, the center will not hold and the society will collapse upon itself. 

I know some ignorant rednecks are having a tough time with this -- too much thinking. You should navigate away right about now. Go back to reading and making bumper stickers. 

Riots rocked NYC during Tammany Hall days of corruption.

The Republicans in our National Government, many local Mayors and Councils and, apparently, most of the Police Departments in the country, now believe that ordinary Americans can be deprived of justice, beaten, murdered at the whim of police officers and subjected to a host of inhuman and wrongful acts. The ever-present "I feared for my life" offered by officers would go a lot farther, I believe, if there were not so many random shootings or strangling of unarmed Black men, from sea to shining sea.

As I write this today, two NYPD officers were killed by a lunatic for the misdeeds of Police who murdered unarmed Black men in Missouri and New York, respectively. The practice of randomly murdering whomever they wished has gone on quite a while for Police. No one said too much for the longest time. Well, the purpose for our system of justice (working rightly) is intended so mobs, such as we are seeing now, do not form into lynching parties in the street for murderers hiding behind badges.

Then, one day, people got sick of it; fed up to the gills. 

Back when Tammany Hall (through the Society of Tammany) ran New York City, during the Civil War, the War of the Five Points destroyed the city because people believed it was impossible to receive justice or fairness out of the City and Police back then. The result? A goodly sized chunk of New York City was burned to the ground. 

In Newark, New Jersey in 1967, the White City Government and Police thought civil rights were a joke. Well, it wasn't. Newark was burned to the ground and didn't even start to come back until about 10 years later. All because some Police morons had to play cowboy and arrest and beat down some poor kid who did nothing to anyone -- oh, yes, he was Black. 

Right now, something in this country is going on too. People are fed up with injustice and the inability of American citizens to be treated with human rights in their own communities. Sadly, since the Police and Prosecutors decided to cover up things and explain away murder, and the Courts rubber stamping those farces -- the crowds started to react. They became mobs. 

I am a proud American. I do not want Police to be murdered. I do not want them to be goons either. I want bad guys arrested. But, I do not want them murdered for standing on the wrong corner. It is wrong that a Policeman not liking the way someone parts their hair can wrongly, conspicuously and in cold blood murder Americans. No, not that. The Rule of Law is broken when either police or mobs do it. Right now, aside from a nut-job here or there, it is mostly the protesters who have been the most civil, all things told. 

If all protesters are contributing to the murder of the policemen in NY today, then does that mean that all Police are contributing to the murder of helpless, unarmed people? We are on a slippery slope, kids.

Yet, it is not just these protesters of the moment to worry about. There can be many more coming soon. 

The Republican Congress vows to end Social Service programs. So now, on top of there being no justice in the streets by Police or Courts, sea to shining sea, now the central government intends to starve people by ending Food Stamps, make them homeless with an end to rental assistance, and God knows what else. 

Continue reading @ ThePurcellChronicals

Middletown's Forgotten Wet-Siders

If you've been watching or listening to news reports since Hurricane Sandy blew through 6 days ago, you have been seeing and hearing a lot about those that seem to have been forgotten by federal and local officials.

I keep seeing reports from NY's Staten Island and Queens of residents complaining that relief agencies have forgotten them in favor of those living in Manhattan. Their loud complaints to local news media covering the devastation in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy, brought swift responses of help from the Department of Homeland Security and FEMA. The same federal response however can't be said about relief efforts for those that live in Middletown neighborhoods on the "wet" side of Route 36. They seem to have been forgotten in large part due to the devastation along the Jersey Shore.

(The Goodell-Wilson home on Church St.)

I've been getting requests from a few wet-sider friends asking me if I could post something about their plight, in hopes that someone will listen to them and speed up some relief efforts.

One such person is Danae Goodell-Wilson, she is a single mother of a 14 year old daughter who lives on the wet-side of Church St. in Belford.

(The Goodell-Wislon basement)

Danae and her daughter have been trapped in their home for days because Danae's cars  were under water and won't start. Her house smells like mold and sewage (it's everywhere) and has pretty much become a cave, a shell, where they keep their belongings. She and her daughter don't have much of a choice right now, they don't have any family in the area to stay with and they can't leave and go to a shelter because they have pets. She's in a classic Catch 22 situation.

Danae has file a claim with FEMA but has heard nothing, she tried calling 4 times yesterday to get some information, to find out what the rules are for temporary housing and transportation but was hung up on every time with the excuse that those on the other end of the line were too busy. All they will tell her is that she will receive a letter with some type of decision concerning to her circumstances in two weeks, which is unacceptable.

So, she sits in her house waiting, with no clue as to what to do. Not the township, the federal government or any charities are willing to do anything more at this time, than tell her to leave her pets behind and go to a shelter.

All she wants are some answers to her questions and a little help to figure everything out, but no one seems able to do so at this time. It is extremely frustrating.

Logically, she can't continue to stay in her home for much longer but she is fiercely independent and has no real place to go. Hopefully someone will come to her rescue soon.

My heart goes out to her and all the others in a similar situations as her, over on the wet-side of 36 living along the bayshore.