Wednesday, November 26, 2014

Barbarism clashes with reality in Ferguson


Barbarism clashes with reality in Ferguson

 

Michael Brown was both a victim and victimizer in a society fueled by racism. Fuzzy reporting by elite left wing media outlets created a myth behind the death of a youth whose life was extinguished too early. Concentrating on race not reality media sources elevated Brown to Sainthood when the facts pointed in another direction. Absconding with a box of cigarillos, after a confrontation with the manager of a convenience store, Brown and fellow thief Dorian Johnson encountered police officer Darren Wilson. Many accounts of the subsequent interlude with Officer Wilson are murky. As the evidence worked its way through the investigatory process a picture emerged of a hostile young man and a determined police officer. Descriptions of an innocent child gunned down by a rogue cop were absolute nonsense. Fifteen weeks after Brown succumbed to Wilson’s fatal shot the Grand Jury’s findings were released. In their view Officer Wilson had probable cause to act in the fashion he did. Therefore no indictment would be forthcoming against him. In the aftermath members of the Ferguson community, egged on by outside agitators, deprived their small city of the sanity it deserved. http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/11/25/us-usa-missouri-shooting-idUSKCN0J80PR20141125

 

Two nights of unrest followed the Grand Jury’s decision not to indict. Businesses were looted and burned to the ground. Automobiles were set ablaze as the mob continued its rampage across town. Assaults, too numerous to count, set the stage for intense police and state militia involvement where dozens were arrested for their barbaric acts. Though the consequences of the decision were highly predictable police response to the initial rioting was minimal. Questions have arisen whether the police were told to stand down during the hours after the Grand Jury spoke their collective minds. Subsequently political voices filled the airwaves encouraging calm in the wake of this decision. President Obama’s message to the protesters contained nebulous dialogue which, on the surface, appeared to encourage violent outbursts by the crowds. As other community leaders voiced their concerns many appeared to accept violence as part of the process to heal a fragmented city. http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-11-26/obama-says-anger-over-ferguson-outcome-no-excuse-for-violence.html

 

Discussions throughout social media circles were harsh on both sides of this issue. Many suggested Michael Brown was deprived of decent parenting therefore had no respect for authority or private property. Perspectives of others questioned whether the police could have managed their response in a less insidious format. No one denied Brown’s initial criminal offense, yet some tried to diminish its value in a larger frame of reference. Was Brown a victim of circumstance and bad parenting which led to his death or is he the poster boy for crime endemic in many of our cities across the country? The latter can only be reconciled when communities and their guardians exchange ideas not bullets in their search for peaceful solutions to issues.

 

Mark Davis MD, President of Davis Writing Services, www.daviswritingservices.com  Dr. Davis’ most recent book is, Obamacare;

Dead on Arrival, A Prescription for Disaster. For media requests please contact Dr. Davis at: platomd@gmail.com  Join him on twitter at: twitter.com/americassage

Wednesday, November 19, 2014

Baltimore: A City on Edge


Baltimore: A City on Edge

 

Murder, rape and other violent crimes have caused Baltimore to be listed as one of the most violent cities in the World. Recently Baltimore was found to be 36th on the planet in terms of killings with 38 deaths per 100,000 residents. Few other cities in America have received this distinction. Ironically Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake and her minions have done little to stem the tide of violence occurring daily within the confines of Baltimore. Sadly this Mayor is at war with her own police department. She requested the United States Attorney General’s Office to investigate her police department for brutality towards civilians. With respect for police ebbing to new lows these brave warriors must confront the predatory population daily. Body cameras would be an excellent addition to the armaments of the local police. Yet the Mayor will not allow a body camera bill, passed in the City Council, to become law.http://baltimore.cbslocal.com/2014/11/18/baltimore-body-cameras-passed-despite-mayors-veto-vow/  Mayor Rawlings-Blake worries the information collected by the cameras may be used improperly. She plans to form an investigatory group to study the issue. Behind her nonsensical rejection of body cameras lies the real reason for her vow to defeat this issue. Body cameras would enable the police to prove within a degree of certainty how a crime was committed. Additionally cameras would display who is brutalizing whom during an arrest. Mayor Rawlings-Blake’s disingenuous motivations on this issue will not make the public safer. Instead police will continue to confront brutality claims with little recourse to prove otherwise.

 

Baltimore residents and those who visit the city are in constant fear of victimization. Crime that used to be hidden in the shadows is now blatantly occurring in broad daylight. Violence has spread to every neighborhood in the city. Daily police reports indicate an array of crimes, some so hideous their description is beyond comprehension. Social decay, perpetuated by an entitlement mentality, is at the nidus of many negative issues in Baltimore. Attempts to rectify the crime problem over the last decade have been challenged on every level. When police made efforts to stem the blood flow the Department’s leaders would be either be fired or declared an enemies of the city. Schools cannot discipline children on their way to crime ridden lives because some lawyer somewhere will shout Civil Rights. Government officials curry favor with City’s residents for votes so status quo not change is inevitable from this arrangement. From the City Council to the present Governor’s Office it is to their advantage to prevent Baltimore from moving forward. The long term answer is leadership which is sorely lacking at the city and state levels. Without leadership Baltimore will continue to be immersed in the criminal quagmire for which it has become known.

 

Mark Davis MD, President of Davis Writing Services. Author of the recent book, Obamacare: Dead on Arrival, A Prescription for Disaster. www.daviswritingservices.com  For media requests please contact Dr. Davis at:

Saturday, November 15, 2014

Showdown at 1600 Pennsylvania


Showdown at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue

 

President Obama has set up a confrontation with Congress that he cannot win. His intention to use Executive Orders to repair perceived inequities in immigration goes far beyond the powers granted to the Executive Branch. There is no section in the Constitution or in statute that permits Executive Orders. Executive power is noted in Article II, Section 1, Clause 1 of the Constitution which merely refers to the President as the Executive. The President is directed to “take care that the Laws be faithfully executed” as explicitly stated in Article II, Section 3, Clause 5 or else would face impeachment. Prior Presidents used “Executive Authority” to carry out duties delegated to their branch of government in the normal course of its functions. Failing to fulfill these requirements could be a cause for removal from office. In the case of President Obama his planned Executive Order on immigration would circumvent the legislative process hence making a new law which he is not empowered to do. This is the conundrum Congress and the American public face.

 

Days after the 2014 election a defiant President Obama misread the will of the people claiming he was going ahead with his plans to resolve “the immigration crisis.” A rapid rebuke to Obama’s plans came from the new Majority Leader of the Senate Mitch McConnell and the current House Speaker John Boehner. In no uncertain terms, Speaker Boehner noted, circumventing Congress would jeopardize immigration reform for the rest of Obama’s term. http://www.politico.com/story/2014/11/john-boehner-obama-immigration-112861.html?amp The President seemed oblivious to the remarks from these leaders as his closeted plans leaked to the media. Expectations are Obama will proceed with his immigration agenda which will be met by an immediate judicial review or worse, an impeachment hearing. Quiet rumblings of impeachment by the more youthful members of Congress is not off the table. Excluding the latter

blocking funds for enforcement of Obama’s stated goals is another mechanism to stop his illicit acts. Ramifications of President Obama’s planned actions are numerous including a cost to implement in the tens of billions. As these people are legitimatized by Obama’s edicts rest assured more legal Americans will be edged out of work and onto entitlement programs. Boehner and McConnell are aging fossils who were very silent as Obama trampled on the Constitution in the past. They need to be replaced with more youthful members of the conservative caucus who want to act quickly to contain the President. Obama has drawn a proverbial line in the sand, which he plans to cross, daring Congress to act against him. Lame duck presidency will take on new meaning this January as the Republicans take control of the Senate. The question is: Do they have the cojones to act or will this be a replay of the Reid tenure? Most likely the former will occur, if not the Republicans will find their majority will dwindle next election cycle.

 

Mark Davis MD, President of Davis Writing Services  www.daviswritingservices.com Author of the popular book, Obamacare: Dead on Arrival, A Prescription for Disaster. For interview requests: platomd@gmail.com

Monday, November 10, 2014

Barack Obama: A Tale of Two Minds


Barack Obama: A Tale of Two Minds

 

Who is the real Barack Obama? Is he the person who takes his cues from a teleprompter or the one behind the curtain of deception? Schizophrenia has come to the Oval Office. Americans are not sure which President will greet them on a daily basis. The man who took the Presidential Oath on January 20, 2009 no long inhabits the confines of the White House. His elusive double has taken control leaving no doubt his best interests do not favor ours. In his carefully crafted speeches President Obama’s doppelganger projects divisiveness and anger to a nation bleeding from hate. Conciliation and compromise are not elements embedded in his demagoguery. Antithetically the President was elevated to his office based on the latter themes. Transitional influences from 2009 onward affected this President’s demeanor and performance. He became more detached from day to day management of the country concentrating instead on personal pleasures. Shifting many responsibilities to the shoulders of appointed minions it has been difficult to know who is in charge of the American universe. Scandal plagued Administration aside an array of challenges to his management style has the country questioning: Are we a leaderless society? Corrupted by socialistic ideals in his more youthful years his game plan plays to a sub-segment of society which excludes a vast majority of Americans. Currently his mind betrays his inability to deal with reality. After an election that repudiated his Administration the President verbally attacked those who could bring an end to his reign. Nowhere in his recent speech did he concede the electorate, through the Republican landslide, had rejected his political agenda. As usual he blamed conservative media for the massive Congressional changes ahead not his failed policies. This nation has come to know two Obamas. One reflects a person who depends on mechanistic jargon to coral the unsuspecting and the other a confrontational demagogue whose values elude defining. Those trained in the art and science of psychoanalysis may see shades of gray in the President’s personality I have not described. Yet the central theme remains the same. America has a leader who doesn’t lead. A man who believes he can individually coerce a nation to follow his trail without dissent. In his fictitious World only his values and evaluations count. The public be damned. As the new power structure takes hold in Congress their first priority is a moral imperative, contain Barack Obama. Otherwise his alter ego may consume more of America leaving only the remnants to his successor.

 

Mark Davis MD, President of Davis Writing Services. www.daviswritingservices.com  For interviews and media requests please contact the author at platomd@gmail.com  Dr. Davis is the author of the Demons of Democracy and the very popular book Obamacare: Dead on Arrival, A Prescription for Disaster.