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Friday, August 28, 2009
This is just absurd.

5 comments:

Steve said...

I'll say!

There seems to be no end to the absurdities when people in the government have a little power.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hIKPKjl0-pg

Check that one out, as well.

Chris A said...

Not unlike what happens here in the land of the free.

"Troy Molde awoke at 3 a.m. Thursday to police flashlights shining in his face. Two uniformed Lakeville officers were in his bedroom, knocking on the wall to wake him up.

They were there, they said, to warn him to keep his doors closed and locked.

Their surprise visit was part of a public service campaign. Officers had fanned out across the city, leaving notices on doors to remind residents how to prevent thefts by keeping garage doors closed, not leaving valuables in cars and locking windows or doors.

But at Molde's house, they went further.

His two sons, ages 5 and 7, and 5-year-old twin nephews were having a sleepover in the living room. They awoke to find the officers in the house.

'I was violated, but ... I wasn't physically damaged,' Molde said of what he considers an invasion of privacy.

The officers told Molde his garage door was open, the TV was on, keys to his truck were left in the ignition and the door to his house was ajar.

Police said the intrusion was justified because the officers' initial door knocks went unanswered. Police went inside to check if anything was wrong, Sgt. Jim Puncochar said."

If you ask me, this is worse. This is what causes people to get killed. Try that in Oklahoma, where I grew up. You'll get a cap busted in your hiney guaranteed.

This happened in the twin cities area. The original Pioneer Press article was archived, and you have to pay to read it, but you can read a bigger excerpt here:

http://www.roguegovernment.com/news.php?id=10128

Chris A said...

Umm...this is unrelated, but after I looked at that YouTube video Steve posted, I found this John Stossell piece about health insurance. It is quite eye-opening.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3WnS96NVlMI&feature=ytn%3Amptnews

Darius said...

To be fair, I think the Lakeville police weren't nearly as out of line as those UK ones. If the door was actually ajar and the garage door was open, it makes sense that they would check it out. Who leaves both their front door and garage open? Maybe out in some rural area, but Lakeville is a suburb. Now, the question is was the front door really ajar or was that just an excuse they made up?

I think another difference is that with the British police, it is actual POLICY to break into cars, whereas in Lakeville, it sounds that this was the decision of the two cops and the general policy is just to hand out leaflets.

Chris A said...

Another article I read says that the cops claimed the back door was open. Either way you don't barge into peoples' houses. Cops do not have that right.

Its essentially the same ideology behind this program as the one in the UK. The police are "protecting" you from your own negligence by engaging in criminal acts against you. A garage door open and a back door open is not probable cause to enter a home without a warrant, just like cops can't pilfer your stuff just because your car door is unlocked.

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The Cross Centered Life: Keeping the Gospel The Main Thing
Crazy Love: Overwhelmed by a Relentless God
Overcoming Sin and Temptation
According to Plan: The Unfolding Revelation of God in the Bible
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Money, Greed, and God: Why Capitalism Is the Solution and Not the Problem
When Helping Hurts: Alleviating Poverty Without Hurting the Poor. . .and Ourselves
The Prodigal God: Recovering the Heart of the Christian Faith
Respectable Sins
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Life Laid Bare: The Survivors in Rwanda Speak
Machete Season: The Killers in Rwanda Speak
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