Lest you need reminding, Eric Holder is the mostly useless and malign Attorney-General of America. His sins of commission and omission whilst in office are legend but, praise the Lord, he is about to step down. (Before broaching the 'champers' there are hints and nudges to the effect that his successor will be even worse!) However, bearing in mind that biblical quote about the Lord rejoicing for every repentant sinner, it's worth raising a glass of something in his direction to cheer his most recent decision.
According to the WaPo, he has struck down the scam by which local and state police forces 'over there' can seize money and valuables from anyone they suspect of a crime at the point of arrest, long before any court considers their innocence or guilt:
Since 2008, thousands of local and state police agencies have made more than 55,000 seizures of cash and property worth $3 billion under a civil asset forfeiture program at the Justice Department called Equitable Sharing.
The program has enabled local and state police to make seizures and then have them “adopted” by federal agencies, which share in the proceeds. It allowed police departments and drug task forces to keep up to 80 percent of the proceeds of adopted seizures, with the rest going to federal agencies.
So, if you are American and you wondered how your local 'plod' managed to afford all those Armoured Personel Carriers, that storm-trooper military gear and 'full metal' gun-power, then now you know. In a proper world they would no longer be able to afford all that 'X-box' paraphernalia and would return to doing their duty like a proper constabulary. But alas, as you know just as well as me, it ain't a 'proper world' and so you can expect your town and state politicians to raise up your taxes to keep the police in the style to which they are now accustomed. Of course, it will all be done in support of that mythical lady, 'Laura Norder'! Still, at least you will not face the risk of being pulled over by greedy, grasping cops on the highway and being bullied into having your cash sequestered for no good reason.
So here's to you, Mr. Attorney-General, you were mostly crap but at least you gave a final squirt of air-freshener before you left.
Eric Holder is little more than a Crime Syndicate Don.
David, a personal note--you seem to be holding up well on all fronts.
Posted by: Whitewall | Saturday, 17 January 2015 at 16:47
Am I missing something here?
David, is there a problem with your front or your back?
Posted by: Andra | Saturday, 17 January 2015 at 19:36
No problem, Andra, it's just Whitewall's elliptical reference to my appearance on another blog.
Posted by: David Duff | Saturday, 17 January 2015 at 20:09
David that word sequestration I had forgotten about. Mrs Thatcher and her mobsters used it to help starve her own British citizens into history. Scotland is using assets recovered from the criminal fraternity and not one criminal has taken the Gov to court.
Posted by: jimmy glesga | Saturday, 17 January 2015 at 23:34
The armoured personnel carriers, etc, are given to the locals by the Feds. Sometimes they charge a tiny bit of a price. Sometimes, nothing is charged. If you think this upsets Americans, you are getting warmer. There are local moves in many jurisdictions to rein in the SWAT teams, the military-uniformed police, the APC's used against civilians. Tanks are already forbidden by law, although Clinton used one or two on the religious camp at Waco, right before a fire mysteriously broke out in three different places in a long wood-frame building.(The fire also broke out a few minutes before the tank punched holes through the three stairwells.) The Feds may or may not have set the fires. The holes were rammed through the stairwells on live television. If people outside Texas understood what happened, Clinton would have been impeached and convicted.I am astonished how little people in the Northeast and California know about those events. The press covered up the reality rather well. However, Waco is only a hundred miles up the Interstate from Austin. People send their kids to Baylor University there. There are many family connections. Around here, it was an open secret. I was horrified at the time, when I was still a Democrat. I just accepted the mumbled explanations and went on voting for him, a second time. A slow learner, I guess.
Posted by: Michael Adams | Sunday, 18 January 2015 at 04:55
Oops! The fire broke out after the stairwells were hit.
Posted by: Michael Adams | Sunday, 18 January 2015 at 04:56
Whereas the fuzz over here are not subject to any sort of constitutional limits and can continue to help themselves to the property of those they merely suspect of being crooks.
Posted by: Andrew Duffin | Monday, 19 January 2015 at 12:19