UPDATE II: The McCulloch Remarks Nobody Bothered To READ (Coulter’s Blame-Liberals Reductionism/Rubbish)

Ann Coulter, Justice, Law, Left-Liberalism And Progressivisim, libertarianism, Race, Racism

Regrettably, at the time of the Michael-Brown shooting, this libertarian column had expressed the opinion that Brown was the victim of “murder-by-cop.” As the evidence subsequently demonstrated, I was wrong.

Part of my conversion lies is the remarks of St. Louis County Prosecuting Attorney Bob McCulloch, a Democrat. These were, well, remarkable. (More about that in the weekly, WND column, tomorrow.) McCulloch’s remarks revealed the exhaustive scope of the search for truth undertaken by a grand jury that was left to its own devices.

Since the text of the statement has not been disseminated, I’ve transcribed and summarized some of it for interested Americans. Particularly brilliant is the manner in which McCulloch co-opted the DC “RIC” in support of the rule of law, in Ferguson, Missouri:

St. Louis county police conducted an extensive investigation at the crime scene together with agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, at the direction of Attorney General Eric Holder. Together they sought out witnesses and gathered additional information over a period of three months, beginning on the day of the shooting death of Michael Brown. Fully aware of the growing concerns in parts of the community that the investigation and review of the death would not be full and fair, St. Louis County Prosecuting Attorney Bob McCulloch decided to hand over to a grand jury all physical evidence related to the case, all individuals claiming to have witnessed any aspect of the events and any and all related matters. The grand jury comprised of 12 members of the community.

Federal investigators worked closely with local law enforcement, with the St. Louis county police and persecutor and Attorney General Holder and his department vowing to follow where the evidence led. These federal investigators shared information with St. Louis county investigator and vice versa. In addition, the Department of Justice conducted its own investigation and performed its own autopsy. Yet another autopsy was carried out by the Brown family and all information was shared and collated. All testimony before the grand jury was immediate forwarded to the DOJ. Eyewitness accounts were compared with the physical evidence. Many witnesses contradicted their own statements and the physical evidence.

As an example of witness testimony that contradicted the physical evidence McCulloch offered numerous statements that claimed to have seen Officer Wilson stand above Michael Brown and fire many rounds into his back. Others claimed that Officer Wilson shot Mr. Brown in the back as he was running away. Once the autopsy was released showing that the deceased did not sustain injuries to his back, statements to that effect were retracted. Others admitted they had, in fact, not witnessed the shooting.

All statements were recorded and presented to the grand jury before the autopsy results were released. There was no “document dump,” as some media claimed. Two of Bob McCulloch’s assistants presented the information to the jury in an organized, systematic manner. All jurors heard every word of testimony and examined every item of evidence presented. McCulloch described a proactive and engaged group working since August 9th to do their due diligence. In the course of 25 days, the jury dissected over 70 hours of testimony and listened to 60 witnesses. They heard from three medical examiners and many other DNA and forensic experts. They examined hundreds of photographs and looked at various pieces of physical evidence. They were instructed in the law and presented with five possible indictments. Their burden was to determine, based on all the evidence, if probable cause existed to determine that a crime was committed and Daren Wilson committed that crime. There is no question that Officer Wilson caused the death of Michael Brown by shooting him. However the law authorizes an officer of the law, and all people, to use deadly force to defend themselves in certain situations. The grand jury considered whether Officer Wilson was the initial aggressor, or whether he was authorized to use deadly force in the situation and acted in self-defense.

They were the only people who examined every piece of evidence and heard every witness. They debated among themselves. After an exhaustive review of the evidence the grand jury deliberated further over two days to arrive at their final decision. And it is that no probable cause exists to file any charges against Officer Darren Wilson. They returned a “No True” bill on each of the five indictments. All the evidence, witness statements included, was made public.

[SNIP]

UPDATE I: I abbreviated without explaining: RIC is the “Racism Industrial Complex,” originated by Jack Kerwick. More in the weekly, WND column, tomorrow.

UPDATE II: Coulter’s Blame-Liberals Reductionism/Rubbish. As I always argue, in the structure of argument—and thus the source of culpability— there is no difference between conservative, lite-libertarian, and left liberal. That structure is: The Dog/Society/State/Liberals Ate the Criminal’s Homework. This, Ann Coulter proves. She blames liberals for rioter actions.

“‘Absolut’ Libertarian Lunacy” touches on this blame the society/state/liberals reductionism: “For the sins of man, hard leftists blame society, and hard-core libertarians saddle the state. ‘The State made me do it’ is how such social determinism can be summed-up.”

UPDATE IV: A Remarkable Legal Process Unfolds In Ferguson (Individualism Vs. Collectivism)

Individualism Vs. Collectivism, Justice, Law, libertarianism, Race

A remarkable process unfolded in Ferguson, Missouri, where St. Louis County Prosecuting Attorney Bob McCulloch has just detailed the grand jury’s lengthy fact-finding mission, executed impressively, the upshot of which is that Darren Wilson, the police officer whose fatal shooting of the unarmed Michael Brown “sparked days of turbulent protests,” will not be indicted.

As infuriating as ever is that the entirety of the text of an official statement is no longer released to media, right away. No one reads any longer. However, McCulloch’s remarks (précised here) were impressive in the exhaustive scope of the search for truth they reveal, undertaken by a grand jury that was left to its own devices.

Nor did the unethical intervention of Attorney General Eric Holder and President Barack Obama on one side of the dispute serve to sway the grand jury. This is a good day for American justice. Unfortunately, many of the vested interests do not understand that the law is a search for facts; truth, and not about an abstract idea of social justice that exists in the minds of the perpetually aggrieved.

UPDATE I: Documents:

* Ferguson grand jury documents, courtesy of the LA Times.

* President Obama’s remarks after the Ferguson grand jury announcement.

UPDATE II (11/25): In the absence of text, I had to transcribe, but will keep the written material for the weekly column.

UPDATE III: FACEBOOK Thread:

Myron Robert Pauli The grand jury most likely acted properly (I say most likely since I was not presented with all the evidence) and any rioting is inexcusable. But I will slightly digress in saying that I read a long but interesting article by “libertarian” Radley Balko on how the local governments (politicians/lawyers/cops) exploit the lower classes (mostly black) in St. Louis County by extorting $$$ to support their parasitical power base using petty traffic crimes, etc. When government goes from protecting lives and liberty and property of people to just bleeding people to support itself (e.g. Inspector Javert meets Lucky Luciano) – it is a sad and tragic overreach. A long article but it raises interesting questions.

Ilana Mercer: Dog ate my homework, Myron Robert Pauli, from left-libertarians. The government robs me too. Blind. It robs you as well. More so than those who get back from the state (aka the taxpayer) more than they pay in. This is a prime example of confusing the argument. Lite libertarians make the mistake a lot. “‘Absolut’ Libertarian Lunacy” touches on this blame the state for individual flaws: “For the sins of man, hard leftists blame society, and hard-core libertarians saddle the state. ‘The State made me do it’ is how such social determinism can be summed-up.”

UPDATE IV (11/26): FACEBOOK Thread:

Myron Robert Pauli:

I always like to caution those on the right OR left when dealing with statistics about people. Yes, in my business, it might mean something to say that “Sensor X has an 80% of detecting Vehicle Y and Range R in Atmospheric Condition Z” – models and data points can be validated to some degree and one can draw conclusions. People are a bit different – so when the left says “look, Group N is underrepresented in Activity M” (Vietnamese women in the NBA, Black women in physics departments), it is not per se a proof of some deep conspiracy. Similarly, if 0.01% of Thai women are pathologically violent but 2% of black men are pathologically violent, it still means that 98% of black men are NOT pathologically violent even if it is far more likely to see that group rather than Thai women behind bars. However, statistical generalizations aside, Ferguson’s Kristallnacht is a reason to be depressed about the “melting pot ideal” working in America.
3 hrs · Like · 1

Ilana Mercer:

Actually, Myron Robert Pauli, sorry to burst the Bubble you’ve retreated into, but check that book, “Into the Cannibal’s Pot.” I gave it to you personally. If only 98% of black men were non-violent, we’d have our Jeffersonian republic. South Africa would be one too. Your stats are way OFF. Still, you are right about treating individuals as individuals, something I’ve preached too for as long as I can remember. Coming from a “black” country, my book is dedicated to 2 black ladies the likes of which cannot be matched among whites: ladies of the finest upbringing and nobility of character!!!! My dad’s caretaker is a gem: a black man. Kind and sweet like nothing I’ve seen among whites. Myron Robert Pauli, you are right about your reminder, not your numbers.

Tyranny Strives For Uniformity: The Onslaught Against Steve Hofmeyr

Free Speech, Media, Natural Law, Political Correctness, Race, Racism, South-Africa

South African media (even more illiberal than America’s) have almost nothing positive to say about Steve Hofmeyr, an immensely popular singer, songwriter, actor and Afrikaner activist. (In the new multicultural South Africa, Afrikaner identity is tantamount to a “racist” identity, naturally.) For speaking out of turn, the forces of tyranny have converged on Hofmeyr with the intent to silence him, and worse. Note the sovietized nomenclature used to bring one man to heel and to induce conformity: Hofmeyr is said to go against “nation-building,” to be “extremely abnormal,” to express a “startling sentiment.”

OMG!

A fellow named Brad Cibane, in training at the American Ivy League (which, increasingly, does not stand for true intellectual excellence) to excel as Conformity Enforcer in South Africa, illustrates his terrifying notion of allowable speech. Deploying somewhat specious distinctions such as the “vertical right to free speech vs. horizontal right to free speech”— Cibane does, however, make a valid point with respect to Hofmeyr’s court injunction against a clown called Conrad Koch. Both have a natural right to speak out of turn. Nevertheless, I do understand Hofmeyr wanting to use all arrows in his quiver because the deck—the state included—is stacked against him and his cause.

The libertarian imperative here is to deal with the meta-issues, leaving out the substance of the offending words: They are irrelevant. As this column has explained, policing what people say for political propriety is not a dance in which libertarians should partake—it is “a dance adopted by the political establishment to cow contrarians into submission. By going on the defensive—allowing themselves to be drawn into these exchanges—libertarians are, inadvertently, conceding that speech should be policed for propriety, and that those who violate standards set by the PC set are somehow defective on those grounds alone, and deserve to be purged from “polite” company.”

Joel Pollak Knows Diddlysquat About South Africa, Old & New

Crime, Democracy, IMMIGRATION, Left-Liberalism And Progressivisim, South-Africa

Some pipsqueak, Joel Pollak, has written a deeply silly, short, insubstantial piece about South Africa. “Blue State Blues: My Immigrant Father’s Warning—’When Illegality Becomes the Law'” is sufficiently shallow, ahistoric and counterfactual to elicit emotions at Breitbart.com, without taxing critical thinking. Pollak, who should know better as he is from South Africa, is an example of the convergence of American liberalism and conservatism. Conservatism in the US is leftism by any other name, when it comes to most things, but especially South Africa.

More people are murdered in a week under Democracy than were murdered by the National Party over 40 years of rule. Read Dan Rood’s response.

Joel Pollak Knows Squat About South Africa, Old & New
By Dan Roodt

Joel Pollak’s article is just way off the mark in every respect. What Obama’s executive decree on immigration has got to do with South Africa is a complete mystery. If anything, Obama’s actions are a lot closer to what Pollak’s parents did, trashing a country that had nurtured and educated them in favour of the unknown and siding with radical liberals and communists seeking the overthrow of the legal government of South Africa.

The number of people who “disappeared” during forty years of Afrikaner rule from 1948 to 1994 may be counted on one hand and those who were victims of police brutality like Steve Biko were immortalized by the hysterical liberal media. Those same media ignored the car bombs on the streets or in restaurants planted by terrorists sponsored by the ex-Soviet Union, East Germany and the equally crazy Sweden.

Terrorism is still an international crime. Terrorism and disinformation brought South Africa to its knees. One of the first things that the new revolutionary government did in 1994 was to abolish all forms of border control, letting our country be swamped by illegal immigrants. Our legal system which used to be far better and more efficient than in most Western countries, scrupulously maintained by well-trained and professional jurists, has been perverted by an anti-white constitution and activist liberal judges who abolished the death penalty and introduced same-sex marriage against the will of all the people, white and black.

The same liberal screamers in the media who excoriated police action against terrorists and communist revolutionaries in South Africa are now completely silent about the 700 people who die annually in police custody or the 15% of police who have criminal records. Not to forget the 77 homicides taking place every day. Since the advent of so-called “democracy” in South Africa – which is little more than mob rule – over 500 000 people have been murdered, between 15 and 20 million women have been raped and our major cities have become the equivalent of Detroit.

South Africa used to be a pillar of Western civilization. Betrayed by the likes of Mr. Joel Pollak and his parents, it has now become a kind of science-fiction dystopia where up to 500 people are murdered annually for body parts to be used in black magic potions, while you order your “medicine” from your witchdoctor on a mobile phone. There are Ferguson-style riots and protests almost every day, routinely ignored by the liberal MSM as they consider rioting a normal function of “democracy.”

This very afternoon there were blackouts all over the country as our once proud electrical utility, Eskom, ruined by corruption, mismanagement, theft and race preferences (“affirmative action”), is struggling to keep the grid running.

As Ilana Mercer warns in her prescient book “Into The Cannibal’s Pot”, the USA is at risk of following in South Africa’s footsteps. A minority of ultraliberals and communists will assemble voting cattle from across your borders, whip them up with racial and ethnic resentment against traditional white Americans, and then rule forever while pillaging your country.

The recipe has already been applied in South Africa and the utter devastation is there for all to see.

*****

DAN ROODT, Ph.D., is a noted Afrikaner activist, author, literary critic and director of PRAAG (which features my weekly column). He is the author of the polemical essay, “The Scourge of the ANC”.