LIFE Matters

I don't need to say anything else but ZIANNA OLIPHANT...You should remember that name. I will!

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This Is A MUST Hear...Miami Gardens!

I recently heard this boradcast on This American Life. I had to share it with you. Please take the time to listen to this. I would like to know your thoughts both here and on Facebook.

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Black Lives Matter...Most Of The Time

The recent excuses given to not indict or even take to trial individuals trusted to protect the public has created a firestorm of controversy in the United states. The Presiding Bishop of the Church Of God In Christ, Bishop Charles E. Blake, calls on the COGIC community along with all believers to send a strong message of solidarity Sunday Dec. 14th that Black Lives Matter! (I will save my continued and ongoing commendation to the church to prove the same in a future writing thus the "Most Of The Time" appellation in the title)

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McCulloch, STUPIANI & HOW!

Rudy Stupiani on CNN New Day
Partner In The Firm McCulloch, Stupiani & How!

The former Mayor of New York, Rudolph William Louis Giuliani better known as Rudy Guiliani or Rudy "STUPIANI" on this blog until further notice, not only inserted his foot in his mouth and ate crow with his over the top, ignorant and racist rant against Michael Eric Dyson over the weekend, but continued to display his complete arrogance and utter ignorance through cunningly and meticulously devised fables aimed at appealing to the White "power right" base which were eager to hear him lie, and deceive in effort to get Black people "told". 

Ooh it was easy for STUPIANI to do this because he had an audience ready to swallow his racist, ranting and insults. I mean paint the picture, Blacks in America are out of control...Blacks can't obey the law...Blacks kill one another at epidemic rates...all of which demands that White man, along with tax dollars, have to rescue the world from Blacks right? 

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Police, Black Men & Racism. More Evidence

Ladies and Gentlemen, the Sixth Article of the Bill of Rights, otherwise known as The FOURTH Amendment of The United States Constitution:

The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.[HERE]

In my previous post, "Is It Open Season On Black Men?" I pose the question regarding the over the top response by the police to Black people in public settings. I also look at the resultant overstep of law enforcement towards the Black community in general and the Black man in particular. This video is more proof of a very real and ongoing problem.

Taken Jan. 31st in Minneapolis St. Paul, MN. You will NOT find a man with a gun, drugs, cigarette, or a criminal record. You will not find a man running from the police while shooting at them, nor one who has just robbed a store. What you will find is a CITIZEN of the United States of America trying to conduct himself in a manner consistent with his rights granted him under the Constitution of the United States which supposedly also guarantees his personal freedoms. This video, if nothing else, is evidence that for some reason, (race being the issue) was denied the opportunity to live out his freedom.

This is shocking. However, it is all too consistent with how many Black people are confronted by the police either privately or within groups. The young man that was harassed by the police in the video said this:

"All of my charges were dismissed as of July 31st which means everything I did I had a legal right to do so... You can say as much as you want against my case... But the fact that it was already dismissed shows your opinionated predisposition when you comment saying Ignorant things... I was vindicated of all charges already..."

Yes, even though I don't know of anyone who would condone police behavior in this incident, this young man has taken criticism for speaking up and out on the issues and making the point, as it is clear that RACE had everything to do with what we witnessed here. 

To say that race is not an issue as it pertains to community policing and related issues, is to bury one's head in the sand and separate one's self from the historic understanding of not only what racism is, but how the new racism has extended itself within modern society. To confuse this issue with issues of "Black on Black crime" is further ignorance of the real problem. 

The fact is that stereotypes and attitudes against Blacks within society, especially as it pertains to police and issues of freedom, continue to exist...When fellow Americans admit that there is a problem and seek to find solutions to those problems, then we can ALL have a community that we can be proud of. Until then, there is much work to do and all people must be careful and at the same time, demand more from those in authority who have been entrusted to protect ALL citizens of the community. 

Blessed! 

Additional info from Wickipedia:

In certain situations, law enforcement may perform a search when they have a reasonable suspicion of criminal activity, even if it falls short of probable cause necessary for an arrest. Under Terry v. Ohio (1968), law enforcement officers are permitted to conduct a limited warrantless search on a level of suspicion less than probable cause under certain circumstances. In Terry, the Supreme Court ruled that when a police officer witnesses "unusual conduct" that leads that officer to reasonably believe "that criminal activity may be afoot", that the suspicious person has a weapon and that the person is presently dangerous to the officer or others, the officer may conduct a "pat-down search" (or "frisk") to determine whether the person is carrying a weapon.[52] This detention and search is known as a Terry stop. To conduct a frisk, officers must be able to point to specific and articulable facts which, taken together with rational inferences from those facts, reasonably warrant their actions.[53] As established in Florida v. Royer (1983), such a search must be temporary, and questioning must be limited to the purpose of the stop (e.g., officers who stop a person because they have reasonable suspicion to believe that the person was driving a stolen car, cannot, after confirming that it is not stolen, compel the person to answer questions about anything else, such as the possession of contraband).[54][55]

On Probable Cause:

The standards of probable cause differ for an arrest and a search. The government has a probable cause to make an arrest when "the facts and circumstances within their knowledge and of which they had reasonably trustworthy information" would lead a prudent person to believe that the arrested person had committed or was committing a crime.[80] Probable cause to arrest must exist before the arrest is made. Evidence obtained after the arrest may not apply retroactively to justify the arrest.[81]

COPBLOCK.COM ~ Are You Required To Show ID On Demand? 

[Neither Pastor Harvey Burnett nor the Dunamis Word offers, gives or provides legal advice. Legal information is provided for educational purposes only. Those who are in need of legal representation should seek out appropriate individuals actively engaged in the field or practice of law.]  

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Constitutional Protection Of Ferguson Protesters SHOT DOWN!

Missouri Governor Jay Nixon allowed whom he described as "a very few" and "hand full of looters" to trump the Constitutional rights of the thousands gathered together in peaceful protests and assembly in Ferguson, MO. in response to the Michael Brown murder. 

In what was one of the most contentious press conferences that I've ever witnessed, the Governor gave away the Constitutionally protected rights of peaceful citizens to some opportunist crooks under the guise of community "safety". Some, including the Governor, have been duped into believing that this should have been done to settle the crowd down and to place parameters on protest. Only that is a violation of the law for peaceable protest...I and many others say...ARREST those responsible for the crimes, BUT begin with the crime committed by the officer who killed a young man with his hands raised! 

At this time however, there is still no statement from the police as to any potential charges that could be leveled against the officer. "It is still under investigation" is the phrase to wart off any possible demand for acquisition of the individual suspected to have killed Michael Brown. On the other hand, what there has been are pictures and statements that implicate Michael Brown and call his character into question saying that he was a "man on the run" looking to start trouble with the police over cigarillos that he reportedly stole from the store prior to his death. This is said to have placed him in an "offensive" mindset, whereby he would have attacked the police...like a modern day, Al Capone, John Dillinger or Pretty Boy Floyd....We are to believe that Michael Brown was willing to establish a lifelong criminal record over some cigarillos....OK...SURE!!!!

As the family continues their quest for justice, we find that we are following the same path as the highly publicized case of Trayvon Martin's family in their quest for justice. Once again, we wait for anyone to even admit that something was wrong when a person gets shot multiple times from a distance with their hands up in a surrender position. Further, what we have also found out is that Michael was blocked from getting any type of medical care. Yes, there was a RN on site that begged police to allow her to tend to the victim...she was prohibited from doing anything and yet Michael's body lay in the street over 45 minutes.

Then YOU think that citizens, fed up with it all should just, "go home" and "calm down"? R U Serious?   

Citizens of Ferguson WE STAND with you! 

HANDS UP! DON'T SHOOT!

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Is It Open Season On Black Men?

UPDATE 11/26/2014: Much has been made of forensics saying that Michael Brown was not shot in the back. Forensic specialists conclude eye witnesses that say that Officer Darren Wilson shot at Michael Brown while he was running away, were simply wrong. They further conclude that because there were no shots in the back that Darren Wilson is credible and simply told the truth.

But we remember the testimony of Piaget Crenshaw who says that she saw and heard Darren Wilson shooting at Michael Brown.while Michael Brown was running away. Now, why would they conclude that she was wrong? There is only one reason...They ASSUME that Darren Wilson was an accurate shooter. If that is the case, then why are none of the shots that hit the target center mass of Mike Brown's body? It is quite easy to understand why there were no shots in the back. Darren Wilson was not a good shooter.

***THIS WAS TOP STORY ON NBC NIGHTLY NEWS WITH BRIAN WILLIAMS 8/11/2014***

18 Yr. Old Michael Brown

18 year old, UNARMED, Black youth Michael Brown, was killed by the Police in Ferguson, MO Saturday afternoon Aug. 9th, 2014. According to the police, Michael was a participant in an "altercation" with police when "someone" fired a shot at the police. The policeman, after being pushed into his car, responded by coming up and shooting multiple shots. Reportedly, Michael was hit by most of these multiple shots and killed.

Eyewitnesses however have somewhat of a different version of events which has stirred considerable controversy. One eyewitness, who happens to be the other young man whom the police stopped with Michael, Dorian Johnson, reported that the police initially stopped both the youths without provocation and proceeded to try to place Michael in the squad car forcibly. Michael resisted. The police evidently shot though no shots were fired at him/them. Johnson went on to say this:

“He shot again and once my friend felt that shot he turned around and put his hands in the air and started to get down, and the officer still approached with his weapon drawn and fired several more shots.”...“We wasn’t causing no harm to nobody [sic],”...“We had no weapons on us at all.”

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