President May Want to Fix Your State, Too
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It’s easy to discredit this. Ask a cop to guess the speed of a passing red Corvette, dull gray mini-van, and UPS delivery van that are, in reality all carefully going precisely the same speed, what would you like to bet he pegs the red sports car as going faster than the mini-van or UPS truck? Of course, if he happens to be a racist, he might just think a car driven by a black guy is going faster than a car driven by a white guy.
In Arizona, where I lived for quite a while and wouldn’t endanger my life by living now, its state legislature has passed a law that validates existent federal law, that makes it illegal to be there illegally as an illegal immigrant (ie. criminal), but still only allows police officers to inquire about citizenship status in situations in which the person has already been stopped or engaged for some other reason. Even then, the officer must have “reasonable suspicion” the person he stopped for some other reason may also be here illegally. This same law has specific prohibition of racial or ethnic profiling.
About this law, President Obama has set himself afire, vilified the very fed up legal citizens of Arizona as well as their elected officials, threatened to sic his Justice Department on the governor, all based on his insistence that police officers in Arizona cannot be trusted to administer this law correctly. They will be tempted, he says, to use it as means of unfairly discriminating and harassing certain citizens and non-citizens.
So far, the president is mute about the
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Meddling in states’ rights is slippery slope. The U.S. Supreme Court is constitutionally charged with doing it to a limited degree. The president isn’t invited. But if he is going to invite himself in, fairness dictates he find an objectionable law unique to each state. For that matter, in every county, city, burb and burg, school board, school. Why not pick one in every locale, make a master list, organize a Presidential Task Force, and with an even hand and simultaneous assault, correct injustice far and wide?
Maybe the media could help. Instead of it joining the president in his assault on
Dan Kennedy is a serial entrepreneur, adviser to business owners, sought-after speaker and author of 14 books. His latest, “Make ‘Em Laugh & Take Their Money: A Few Thoughts on Using Humor as a Speaker or Writer or Sales Professional for Purposes of Persuasion,” contains a lelection of his BMI essays. More information about Dan can be found at www.NoBSBooks.com, and a free collection of his business resources including newsletters and webinars at www.DanKennedy.com.<?xml:namespace prefix = u2 />
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