Acting Stupidly

http://www.thesmokinggun.com/archive/years/2009/0723092gates1.html

I don't give a damn what Gates called Crowley. Gates was in his own home, had not done anything illegal and had not called the police.

If authoritarians simply want to condone abuse by police, that's one thing…..it's quite another to actually defend the indefensible.

The first thing Crowley told reporters when asked about Obama's initial press conference comments was…."I didn't vote for the man."

Nothing worse than a cop with a chip on his shoulder.

King…the police report was written by Crowley. Crowley said Gates started to call the cops racists the second the cops arrived. I wouldn't have expected Crowley to say anything else.

What I find enlightening is that you found the report written by Crowley enlightening…..LOL

Now we'll be forced to update our existing 911 system with an automated menu.
Press 1,2, or 3 for white, black, or latino respectively. We may also need a submenu to identify one's political preference and/or sexual orientation.

Even then, I'm not so sure it would have a difference in this specific case. When an individual throws out the "Do you know who I am? " phrase………………an ego now becomes the obstacle to any sensible resolution.

Nonetheless, Sharpton, and the entire Democratic party should be pleased with the outcome of this incident: Dumbed down individuals can continue to blame their plights on racism and those who exploit are afforded job security.

Has anyone here heard that the 911 call did not mention race at all. I guess the police were totally outside the door when they came to the house. It still appears to me that Gates was the instigator of the blowup and that he did it for racial reasons. What other reason was there for hi to go postal on a policeman who was answering a 911 call about a breakin? Yes the professor of Black Studies at Harvard U sees himself as something special and tries to do his trick on a simple policeman who he doesn't know.

This incident was racial as all hell and it was Gates that made it that way. The whole thing could have been forestalled if Gates hadn't reacted like an "important" member of society. He surely likes himself and now he gets to sit in the White House and sip a beer with the President. The only thing about this that could ruin Gates' "party" would be the commoner policeman who just happens to be white.

I can hear Obama and Gates talking about Crowley now.

Professor of black studies, can you imagine how many victims that class turns out. I'll have to admit though, that pic is precious.

roybot……they haven't released the 911 call tapes yet…..the police want to finish their cover-up…..whoops, their "investigation".

the woman that made the 911 call said she didn't describe them as black….she was allegedly too far away.

Of course I have a different perspective of this than most of you because of my dealings with the Disciplinary Counsel of the Supreme Court of Ohio. That's where the investigator for the Medina County Bar Patricia Walker ignored the evidence submitted by both James McIlvaine and myself then made stuff up on which she based her determination.

roybot….from the police report written by Crowley…."She went on to tell me that she observed what appeared to be two black males with backpacks on the porch of (?) Ware Street."

the woman Lucia Whalen said she made no mention to Crowley about the race of the men on the porch.

Now what?

roy says….

"It still appears to me that Gates was the instigator of the blowup and that he did it for racial reasons."

Your comments have been better, roy….seriously,…but libertarians and conservatives are all for government staying out of your life, home and business…..so there's a problem.

Gates and Crowley were standing in whose house, roy? Furthemore, the owner of the home did not call the police in the first place. There's no law against shouting at a policeman inside your home, especially one whom you did not call or invite in, in the first place.

Conservatives used to think actions like Crowley's were all wrong…..but ever since we elected a black Democratic president, …not so much.

Protect the women,the Negroes are coming!

Wow you libs are so racist. And Walt they play the tape and there is no mention of black men with back packs.

I have been hearing those 911 tapes since about 10:00 this morning. Of course, that was on Fox and I bet Walt doesn't watch that stuff. I have heard too much about Gates Gate today than most lefties, but then I do watch Fox.

Rev, Gates started the crap about treating a black man that way as soon as Crowley got in the door. Crowley backed out on the porch and Gates came after him with the same crap. Maybe he though that Crowley's "mama" was out there since he said on the inside that he would talk to here out there.

Rev, have you heard about when the beer party at the White House will be held? It seems that 6:00 pm Thursday will be when they have the Crowley teaching. I am sure that two blacks can teach Crowley quite a bit about racial profiling.

I can hear Gates and Obama's conversation. It will start out; " who does that MF'ing cracker think he is dealin wit…………"

joe…..try reading the report written by Crowley. He talked to Whalen BEFORE he went to the house. Crowley writes in his report ""She went on to tell me that she observed what appeared to be two black males with backpacks on the porch of (?) Ware Street."

Lucia Whalen denies she said this. Either Crowley is lying or the woman is lying…..I just happen to think it's Crowley

it's called CYA……Cops, lawyers, doctors, the military…..almost all professional careers seem to do it……it's a cultural thing

roybot, joe……they've had what, about a week to work on those tapes…..I can certainly understand why there's no mention about blacks with backpacks on them

Had Crowley known the bs he would step into, he would have been better served to notify Harvard campus security and have them respond to this call. Then we can have a whole different discussion on how the po po response time lags when it comes to black folk.

The Harvard "elitist" mentality seems to be commonplace in our society now.

The conspiracy of the criminal police. Afterall they must be wrong and prejudice look how many blacks they arrest compared to whites. Could'nt be that blacks commit most of the crimes and most crimes happen in the inner city.

A cultural thing or you are just paranoid and watch to many movies Walt.

Lag time, like Katrina?

I was listening to NPR yesterday to a program that mentioned http://www.domelights.com which is a website on which policemen can anonymously comment on issues. It says it is the Voice of the Good Guys. The comment was that the Gates arrest was a very hot item on the site and that is was instructive to go there are read the posts. I did and it was very instructive to read what was posted. I will not go into to what I read because each should in interpret it for themselves. I see now the website has been suspended until further notice.

Walter has automatically decided the police are lying, the 911 tapes are doctored, and evidence to the contrary is meaningless.

This is what I was talking about in my original post. Blaming the police is the liberal default position. Facts are meaningless.

The fact that the police went to Gates' house to protect it is meaningless too. The libs see a black man and a white officer, and that's it, end of story. The police are wrong, the police are racist, no matter what the facts say, no matter that there was no racial profiling in this case, no matter that the only one who made things racial was Gates, no matter that the black officer on the scene backs up Crowley "100 percent."

It's like trying to discuss logic with a fish. Impossible.

Rev says, "Conservatives used to think actions like Crowley's were all wrong…..but ever since we elected a black Democratic president, …not so much."

I don't think so, Rev. Conservatives (and almost everyone else) are strongly in favor of the police investigating potential crimes. Consevatives (and almost everyone else) don't think the police should be unfairly attacked when they are investigating those crimes. Conservatives (and almost everyone else) realize the police were doing their job in the Gates case. Only those liberals perverted by ideology see things differently.

And what does a "black Democratic president" have to do with anything ? Nothing, except for that president's liberal default position of blaming the police without having command of the facts.

What conservatives are doing is to look at the facts of the Gates case. Liberals only care about the identities of the parties involved.

and King has automatically decided Lucia Whalen is lying and holding back a week on the 911 tape is SOP.

"What conservatives are doing is to look at the facts of the Gates case." Kinda like they did in the Walprin case…..LOL

maybe we should get republican gas bag Grassley and another of his stoopid 12 questions in the mix here.

joe….I'm not paranoid at all. I DO understand that lawyers will lie to protect other lawyers…..look at my experience with Patricia Walker and Kenneth Donchatz of the Disciplinary Counsel of the SUPREME COURT OF OHIO. Doctors protect doctors. Military protect military….just look at the case of Army Ranger Pat Tillman. And believe it or not, cops will lie. There is nothing that Crowley will put in that report that will make him look bad…..even if it means lying or stretching the truth.

that's just a statement of fact

republicans like King are going to immediatly jump on the Crowley bandwagon just like they jumped on the Walprin bandwagon. True conservatives are going to wait until the facts are in.

Read Barry Saunders column in today's Raleigh News & Observer: http://www.newsobserver.com/news/saunders/story/1623946.html

Via N.E Frye's link…..From the retired Raleigh police chief….

"Barring Gates threatening the officer, Stokes said, "When he found out that was his home, the officer should have left.""

That's what I'm saying.

After seeing Crowley in several interviews now, the prickishness is right under the surface all the time. Just the way I see it.

It is interesting to see many alleged conservatives siding with police. I guess conservatives are simply submissive in the face of authority now. All this time I thought conservatives were strict individualists who believed that the government should stay out of our lives. Now, not so much.

domelights is closed down…..interesting

al the chemist….what were some of the comments

Rev said………"It is interesting to see many alleged conservatives siding with police. I guess conservatives are simply submissive in the face of authority now. All this time I thought conservatives were strict individualists who believed that the government should stay out of our lives. Now, not so much."

"Submissive" is an interesting term, as we are now faced with an administration that prefers it's constituents in the doggy-style position.

I look at it in a different light. Maybe conservatives just elect to respect those who protect and serve the people of this nation, regardless of uniform. We entrust these men and women to keep us safe…………….just as the criminal elements of society tend to rely on a liberal judiciary system to protect their right to infringe upon ours.

And although I respect our uniformed men and women…………….I would like to emphasize that this respect has it's limitations. Unfortunately they do not extend to AmeriCorp and other fascist entities that inject a political bias into their existence.

Like I said, authoritarian conservatives are submissive in the presence of authority figures…and proud of it.

Rugged individuals. What a joke.

"Liberal judicary system", what? like Anthony Kennedy and the Four Horsemen of the White Victimization Apocalyse?

this from ThinkProgress…….

On Monday, Fox News Legal Analyst and former New Jersey state Judge Andrew Napolitano told to the conservative network’s audience that police broke the law when they arrested Professor Henry Louis Gates for disorderly conduct. Gates was charged with disorderly conduct during a conflict with police on his own property, but as Napolitano explained, the law only “allows an arrest for being disorderly if you are in public. … So if Professor Gates was arrested because of the words he used to police inside his house, on the front porch or on the front lawn, it was an improper arrest.” Napolitano added that police violated Gates’ Fourth Amendment rights the minute they entered his home without his permission:

The law says, unless [a police officer] witnesses a felony…or unless he has a piece of paper from a judge—a search warrant or an arrest warrant—saying “you can go in that house,” he can’t go in the house. So when Professor Gates said “no you can’t come in,” and the police went in anyway [the police] violated the federal Constitution.

Napolitano added that because of the violation of Gates’s constitutional rights, he would be eligible to pursue legal action against the police department.

In his police report, arresting officer Sergeant James Crowley wrote that woman who reported the suspected break-in “went on to tell me that she observed what appeared to be two black males with backpacks on the porch of Ware Street.”

Attorney Wendy Murphy, who represents the 911 caller Lucia Whalen, said her client never spoke with arresting officer Sgt. James Crowley at the scene.

“Whalen’s lawyer [...] said yesterday her client’s only contact with Crowley was fleeting, with Whalen saying ‘Excuse me, I’m the one who called,’ and the Cambridge cop replying, ‘Stay right there,’”

walter quotes Judge Napolitano – "The law says, unless [a police officer] witnesses a felony…or unless he has a piece of paper from a judge—a search warrant or an arrest warrant—saying “you can go in that house,” he can’t go in the house. So when Professor Gates said “no you can’t come in,” and the police went in anyway [the police] violated the federal Constitution."

Gates never said "no you can't come in." I haven't heard that anywhere, not even in Gates statement through his attorney. The police report only says that Gates said he wouldn't come OUT initially when the officer asked him to, and that Gates opened the door for the police officers. There was no constitutional violation.

Rev says, "It is interesting to see many alleged conservatives siding with police. I guess conservatives are simply submissive in the face of authority now. All this time I thought conservatives were strict individualists who believed that the government should stay out of our lives. Now, not so much."

Now the Rev thinks conservatives should be against the police investigating reports of a crime, and that being FOR the police investigating crimes is somehow a violation of conservative principles. Un-be-liev-able, even for you, Rev. Calling for limited government and freedom is completely different than calling for anarchy, which is what you are describing with your anti-police rhetoric.

And who is more submissive to authority than liberals ? They want the government to control EVERYTHING, to take care of their every need, like they are little helpless children, like they are poor little victims of this mean old American society.

king….let me re-post this…..

"In his police report, arresting officer Sergeant James Crowley wrote that woman who reported the suspected break-in “went on to tell me that she observed what appeared to be two black males with backpacks on the porch of Ware Street.”

Attorney Wendy Murphy, who represents the 911 caller Lucia Whalen, said her client never spoke with arresting officer Sgt. James Crowley at the scene.

“Whalen’s lawyer [...] said yesterday her client’s only contact with Crowley was fleeting, with Whalen saying ‘Excuse me, I’m the one who called,’ and the Cambridge cop replying, ‘Stay right there,’”

already there are inconsistencies in Crowley's report.

in Crowley's report he says that Gates opened the door. Gates was calling Crowley a racist thru the front door. Do you really expect us to believe that Gates would invite a police officer into his home after he just called him a racist? Obviously even right wing Fox talker Judge Napolitano didn't buy into that crap.

when Gates called Crowley a racist Crowley opened that door and walked in and what Crowley's sole intent was to teach this elitist negro a lesson.

Come on guys, let's be honest, the only reason you support Crowley is because here's a white cop teaching an uppity negro a lesson

walter says, "Come on guys, let's be honest, the only reason you support Crowley is because here's a white cop teaching an uppity negro a lesson"

If Crowley was just going after Gates because Gates is black, why would the black officer at the scene SUPPORT CROWLEY ?????? Does the black officer hate blacks too ??? Why would the other black Cambridge cops support Crowley if he's such a racist ???? More blacks who hate blacks ????

Like I said on the other thread….you're an idiot.

why indeed…….

Imagine Whalen's lawyer telling her to tell everyone she didn't speak to the officer. The key word is the 3rd. Lawyer.

King why waste your time trying to explain and reexplain to these haters of the establishment. They are backward in their thinking.

King….if the charges against Gates were right why were they dropped?

as far as the other part of your rant…..sterotype much?

wanting the police to respect a person's 4th Amendment rights is backward thinking? So be it.

First the filth you wrote about Mexicans now you are calling blacks "uppity." Nice racism, walter.

walter…my good person…you have tied these fellows up in knots with your questions and clear delineations of the points at issue.

Good work.

And I agree wholeheartedly with your point about conservatives not sounding like conservatives by siding AGAINST the rights of a homeowner inside his own home and FOR a law enforcement representative's "right" to violate that homeowner's rights.

That isn't a conservative, let alone, libertarian position.

walter says, "King….if the charges against Gates were right why were they dropped?"

Well gee, let's see. The PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES backed up Gates, and the GOVERNOR OF MASSACHUSETTS backed up Gates. You freaking dimwits don't even understand that the POWER was behind Gates. The cop was just a regular blue collar worker.

D-U-H.

"walter…my good person…you have tied these fellows up in knots with your questions and clear delineations of the points at issue."

LOL, yeah that's what it is Rev. Probably his superior intelligence. Haha

King….the charges were dropped July 21. Obama made his comments July 22

King, this is why the charges were dropped…….."On Monday, Fox News Legal Analyst and former New Jersey state Judge Andrew Napolitano told to the conservative network’s audience that police broke the law when they arrested Professor Henry Louis Gates for disorderly conduct."

had nothing to do with Obama, the police broke the law.

Tell it to the Judge……LOL

Is that why the charges were dropped Walt. You talked to the source. I would be willing to say the charges were dropped because Gates had a clean record and it was no big deal after things cooled down. Plus, Obama's people had them drop the charges to get this off of the front pages. Obama f*cked up bad and he knows it, his approval ratings are spiraling down the tubes since this started. This must be why Hillary was talking about running for president in 2012.

joe, I can see where YOU would think that it's no big deal for the cops to break the law and deny Gates his rights under the 4th Amendment of the United States Constitution……..Gates is a negro fer crissakes

What rights did they deny Walt? Right here it is. They did search his house all they wanted was ID stating that he was who he was. They didn't seize anything or anyone. He was suspect because of his own actions.

"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."

Again in typical liberal style. If you cant make a point you try to attack a persons crediblity by trying to insinuate that I am a racist. We all are to a point, even you Walt. However I would not take away any of Gates' constitutional rights. He is an American and entitled to them, that's how conservatives roll. Not like the libs who want to continue to take away our rights, you are on the wrong team and don't know it. However I do know one thing about you, you are just like Obama, you make up sh*t without knowing the facts. You lied against my character and you don't even know me, you have never seen me or even talked to my friends or family to determine my character. You are a liar. How do you know I'm not black.

Sorry, I meant to say they didn't search his house.

pdt1420 sezzzzz…. only Rev could think walt was intelligent…

I see joe has ventured into the Walter Zone (similar to the Twilight Zone), just like I did.

I propose an experiment for you, walter. Go find a cop and then start yelling at him. Follow the cop around, ranting and raving. Call him a racist, say things about his mother. Do it in public. When he warns you multiple times to stop, just keep right on yelling at him. Let's see if you get arrested.

I'll bail you out.

Eventually.

pdt….King, and everyone else for that matter, have not answered walter's questions. If they have, please point those answers out, cause I missed them.

Stating the obvious, that walter's questions have not been answered convincingly, is just that.

And…perhaps you might explain what it is that conservatives accept as proper police behavior in situations like these. Is a homeowner at least safe from police abuse inside his own home or do the police have a right to do as Crowley did…….in less than six minutes from arriving, after finding out that, indeed, it's your house, you get arrested for talking loudly to a policeman inside your own home…..one whom you did not invite in.

King, let me repost this…..

"On Monday, Fox News Legal Analyst and former New Jersey state Judge Andrew Napolitano told to the conservative network’s audience that police broke the law when they arrested Professor Henry Louis Gates for disorderly conduct. Gates was charged with disorderly conduct during a conflict with police on his own property, but as Napolitano explained, the law only “allows an arrest for being disorderly if you are in public. … So if Professor Gates was arrested because of the words he used to police inside his house, on the front porch or on the front lawn, it was an improper arrest.”

"but as Napolitano explained, the law only “allows an arrest for being disorderly if you are in public. … So if Professor Gates was arrested because of the words he used to police inside his house, on the front porch or on the front lawn, it was an improper arrest.”

"but as Napolitano explained, the law only “allows an arrest for being disorderly if you are in public.

So if Professor Gates was arrested because of the words he used to police inside his house, on the front porch or on the front lawn, it was an improper arrest.”

joe, this is for you…..

Napolitano added that police violated Gates’ Fourth Amendment rights the minute they entered his home without his permission:

The law says, unless [a police officer] witnesses a felony…or unless he has a piece of paper from a judge—a search warrant or an arrest warrant—saying “you can go in that house,” he can’t go in the house. So when Professor Gates said “no you can’t come in,” and the police went in anyway [the police] violated the federal Constitution.

Of course Judge Napolitano was only a judge where you and King are the inventors of law……LOL

Rev,
It would be helpful if you pointed out which of walter's questions were not responded to. I ask so many myself that y'all ignore that I don't feel compelled to answer every single one y'all bring up.

walter,
Since it was Fox News that said all this stuff, it must be wrong. That's what liberals tell me about every other thing Fox News says. Fox just spouts those lying GOP talking points, remember walt ?

Just messin' with ya.

quoting – "as Napolitano explained, the law only “allows an arrest for being disorderly if you are in public. … So if Professor Gates was arrested because of the words he used to police inside his house, on the front porch or on the front lawn, it was an improper arrest.”

I'm glad you brought this up again, walter. Gates was arrested OUTSIDE his house after he wouldn't stop screaming at the cops in PUBLIC.

quoting – "Napolitano added that police violated Gates’ Fourth Amendment rights the minute they entered his home without his permission"

This one's a possibility (a lot better possibility than that stupid racial profiling nonsense that prompted me to write about this in the first place), but I've heard no evidence that Gates denied the cops permission to enter, plus Gates opened the door to them.

What else ya got ?

So if someone breaks into my house, (bust's down a door at that) and the police come, they don't have to show him an ID because they are in a private residence, they can just tell them they are the owners and the cops must take them at their word? Then if the police suspect this robber may actually be a liar, they have to get a warrant to arrest him? So all the robbers have to say is that they are moving and then the cops should just turn around and leave? Doesn't make sense…. I think it would be better for all parties if the homeowner would just produce an ID and thank the cops for their concern and then thank the neighborhood watch captain for the awareness they have instilled in the residents.

This isn't a case where the cops were casually driving by and saw a person trying to get into a house because they locked their keys inside, this is a case where a reported crime may have been in progress.

King sez……"but I've heard no evidence that Gates denied the cops permission to enter, plus Gates opened the door to them." Where's the "Gates opened the door to them"?

King sez……"Gates was arrested OUTSIDE his house after he wouldn't stop screaming at the cops in PUBLIC. He was arrested as soon as he left his house so he was arrested for what had transpired inside his house

"as Napolitano explained, the law only “allows an arrest for being disorderly if you are in public. … So if Professor Gates was arrested because of the words he used to police inside his house, on the front porch or on the front lawn, it was an improper arrest.”

average….nice strawman….has absolutly nothing to do with this case but nice none the less