The Morning Roar: Elderly Man Calls 911 & Receives Police Beating, CT Sen. Barely Avoids Train at Railway Safety Presser, and Reefer Madness in Colorado
Welcome to your Tuesday edition of The Morning Roar!Elderly Man Calls 911 & Receives Violent Beating from PoliceIn a story that could easily be a Felony Friday headline, an elderly man named Elbert Breshears found out the hard way why many libertarians strongly recommend you never, ever, ever call the police. Breshears called 911 in Humansville, MO in order to receive assistance in dealing with his wife, who has dementia and had broken one of the windows in their house. He was not calling for police assistance, but rather merely for paramedics who would be properly trained to help his wife.As Elbert found out, however, when you call the State you get the cavalry, regardless of what you ask for.Instead of paramedics, it was the Humansville police who showed up first, and immediately began to assault Mr. Breshear KSPR reports on Elbert Breshear's account of what can only be described as an assault:
"The wife and I were standing about here, that's the window she knocked out. I was standing here holding her hand and she was wavering hollering help," Breshears said.When police got there,"police car drove up, he bailed out ran over and knocked me down. He told me to get up, I told him I couldn't," he explained.That's when Breshears says police got aggressive. "First thing, I know they grab me, threw me out there on the gravel. One of them sat down on my back, the other sat down on my head. They were trying to get handcuffs on me. I told them I can't get my hands up. I have no objection to being handcuffed," says Breshears.
As if an unprovoked assault weren't enough, Elbert Breshear is actually facing charges over the incident: abuse of the elderly, resisting arrest and assault on a police officer. Yes, that's right. The Humansville Police assault an elderly man before turning around and charging that very same elderly man with "abuse of the elderly." The only thing more ironic is that this took place in a town called "Humansville," which is apparently "protected and served" by people who have certainly acted far less than human in this incident.The police in Humansville, like those in almost every other city, town, and municipality in this country, maintain a local, coercive monopoly over police services. They are not a real "business" - they have no competitors, and due to their status as "public servants" likely have little fear of retribution over their actions towards the citizens they are meant to protect.It may very well be the case that the police in this incident mistakenly believed that Elbert Breshear had beaten his wife, and that her calls for "help" were an indication that he may have been assaulting her, despite the fact that he was the one who called 911 in the first place. In a free market for the services provided by the police, officers would likely be much more discerning in their assessment of a situation involving a customer of theirs. But the Humansville police do not view Breshear, his wife, or any other citizens as "customers", nor does it seem they even view them as human beings with the same individual rights that they have.I'm not one of those who necessarily advocates never calling the police, but Mr. Breshear's story should serve as a reminder that it would be wise to exhaust every option before picking up that phone and dialing 9-1-1.Connecticut Senator Blumenthal Nearly Hit By Train At Railway Safety Press ConferenceNo, it's not a story from The Onion; this actually happened. During a press conference at the Milford, CT Metro-North railway station this past Friday, CT Senator Richard Blumenthal was proudly standing by Milford Mayor Ben Blake as he railed (pun actually not intended, I swear!) against the MTA's safety violations, which have added up to $552,000 in fines from the state over the last 10 years. Senator Blumenthal has made railway safety accountability a major issue of his administration, and wasn't going to miss this photo op for anything.Well, it was almost Blumenthal's last photo op, as he narrowly avoided being hit by a train as seen in this now-that-we-know-nobody-got-hurt-its-okay-to-laugh-at-it gif.
For all the posturing Blumenthal has done on railway safety, one would think he would at least follow the very simple rule of staying on the other side of the yellow line and therefore safely away from any passing trains. Thankfully for Connecticut taxpayers, Blumenthal had the wherewithal to save the stats-laden easel standing next to him.Transportation safety is of course an important issue for those that use certain modes of "public" transport, but those concerned should want politicians like Blumenthal as far away from deciding just how to best implement safety procedures as possible. A brief scan of his Wikipedia page suggests that Richard Blumenthal has no experience in the transportation industry whatsoever. In fact, he has spent his entire life either as a lawyer or a politician.Only a true free market that must compete for customers and therefore guarantee their safety can adequately develop the best safety procedures and regulations. But even the best safety procedures can't account for a lack of common sense and an inability to follow basic rules.Does anyone really believe that the type of guy who doesn't even realize he probably shouldn't stand 6 inches from an active railway - despite a very clearly marked yellow "don't stand here, idiot!" zone - should be remotely involved in "public safety?"Colorado Experiences a Case of Reefer Madness; Look to Crackdown on Marijuana EdiblesLast week a House committee in Colorado - which fully legalized marijuana last year - advanced a bill that would ban certain marijuana edible foods and require stricter labeling requirements for edible marijuana in general.ABCNews7 out of Denver reports on the concerns surrounding edible marijuana, and attempts to link it with the deaths of at least 2 people. The first was a man who shot his wife while "high on marijuana and prescriptions." The second death is that of Levy Thomba Pongi, who leaped from a hotel balcony after consuming edible marijuana.These deaths are tragic, but the leap to blame marijuana for the deaths is an all-too-typical knee-jerk response - just the kind that politicians often love to latch onto to score political points. Why, what sort of heartless politicians could oppose a bill to protect people from jumping off of balconies or shooting their wife?Marijuana is already clearly labelled on the packaging in which it is sold. Further labeling requirements or restrictions on the exact form a marijuana edible will take will do nothing to prevent people - some of which may already have mental or substance abuse problems - from ingesting the substance in any amount they please.Dan Anglin of edible-maker EdiPure went to the Colorado legislature to deliver an excellent defense against the illogical bill:
Last week during a hearing, McNulty showed lawmakers a tray with various sweets, some containing marijuana and some not, and he asked his colleagues if they could tell the difference. On Thursday, Anglin responded with his own presentation, showing lawmakers several clear plastic bottles with liquids."Do you think this is apple juice? This is hard apple juice. That's liquor at 17 percent. How about this?" he asked. "This is root beer that has alcohol in it. This is lemonade with alcohol in it. Which one of these is water? Can you tell?"
In an early episode of the Lions of Liberty Podcast, I spoke with Dr. Mark Thornton about the economics of the War on Drugs. One key point we touched upon was how, absent government regulations, the markets are able to best regulate drugs of all kinds and protect consumers from improper use of their products. If a distributor of marijuana is delivering its product in a manner which poses a risk to its customers, it can and should be subject to a legal liability for doing so. WalMart and CVS do not want their customers overdosing on their products, and neither do the distributors of edible marijuana. It is simply bad for business.The only thing politicians are capable of is interfering in the natural process by which markets determine the safest and most effective ways to deliver their products to consumers. The lawmakers in Colorado would be well advised to give this podcast with Dr. Thornton a listen, and spend less time watching Reefer Madness. To see some real paranoid hysteria on marijuana, check out the original Reefer Madness!http://youtu.be/Azf320JDdqURead The Morning Roar every weekday Monday-Friday!The Lions of Liberty are on Twitter, Facebook & Google+Receive access to ALL of our EXCLUSIVE bonus audio content – including “Conspiracy Corner”, “Degenerate Gamblers” and the “League of Liberty Podcast” by joining the Lions of Liberty Pride and supporting us on Patreon!
