Thread: AZ-Lawbreakers get rights the rest of us lack

5/29/2010 10:01:00 PM
Talk of the Town: Lawbreakers get rights the rest of us lack


By DENNIS MILLER


On Christmas Day, when a radicalized Islamic Terrorist tried to blow himself and hundreds of innocent passengers out of the sky over Detroit, the very first concern a majority of the mainstream press voiced centered on this individual receiving his Miranda warning.

The next order of business for the press and most politicians was to admonish against jumping to conclusions about this man and his affiliations. The implication was that in America we don't pre-judge, we have due process and don't draw reactionary conclusions.

Well, a disconnect exists between the reaction to the Christmas Day bomber and enactment of Arizona's SB 1070. Since we were so careful in not pre-judging the underwear bomber, I fully expected a rational, balanced discourse of the pros and cons of SB 1070. Boy, was I mistaken. No due process, no attempt at analyzing the issue, nothing but biased, irrational, political grandstanding by the likes of Al Sharpton (remember Tawana Brawley?), and our very own President (remember the Cambridge Cop?). The condemnation was so quick and brutal that even a mildly rational person should be appalled at the rush to judgment.

It is sad that any attempt at discussing this issue brings accusations of racism and Nazism. I have actually read the law and the amendment. It is not a draconian departure from the laws of the land, and in fact carries a higher threshold than federal law when it comes to establishing an individual's immigration status.

It is not about racial profiling, but about behavioral profiling. If your behavior is illegal, you can expect to be held accountable. No different than any other ordered society in the world.

So why all the outcry about the potential violation of the civil rights of someone who has come here illegally, when there are actual civil rights violations occurring daily? The murder of Robert Krentz was the ultimate civil rights violation.

Murders, kidnappings and "civil rights" violations take place daily in this fine state, and where is the outcry? Where is the "Miranda Warning" for the rest of us, who would like to discuss issues that affect our lives without being branded and vilified? Where is the "due process" that protects citizens with dissenting opinions from pre-judgment? Why do suspected terrorists get every benefit of the doubt when ordinary citizens can't express an opposing opinion without being subject to hate?

If we as a country don't come to our collective senses, we will soon find ourselves marching off the cliff of national destruction - a bunch of smug, self-righteous, politically correct lemmings meeting our collective doom.

To all the boycotters around the country, I say shame on you. Your misguided ill-conceived efforts will hurt only innocent law-abiding citizens of this country. Look in the mirror and make an honest assessment of your motivations and then rethink your decisions.

I like the words of one candidate for Arizona governor, Buz Mills: "It's a free country, but just don't get in our way."

Dennis Miller, a retired airline captain, has lived in Prescott with his wife for the past three years.

http://www.dcourier.com/main.asp?Sectio ... leID=81625

very well commentary