Murder by revenue enhancement
by Bob Livingston
Eric Garner was black, but that’s not why he was targeted for abuse by New York LEOs (legally entitled to oppress). No, Garner became a target because he was allegedly selling a perfectly legal product in a way that deprived the state and city of New York of taxes, and the state and city of New York couldn’t abide that.
In their never-ending quest for more “revenue” and to keep the people “safe” from the “evils” of tobacco, New York City and New York state politicians levied a tax of $5.85 per pack on cigarettes. So rather than pay that exorbitant price, New Yorkers turned to the black market. Black market cigarettes now make up almost 61 percent of the cigarette sales in the area. That’s a lot of money the city and state believe they are missing out on.
Garner was standing on a sidewalk hurting no one when he was accosted by badge-wearing thugs operating on behalf of the city’s division of theft, i.e., revenue department. He declined their offer to accompany them to headquarters, so Officer Daniel Pantaleo grabbed Garner from behind in a chokehold, and three fellow officers wrestled him the ground and suffocated him, ignoring his complaints that he couldn’t breathe. The officers then stood by and did nothing while Garner died, never once attempting to resuscitate him even when they realized he was in trouble.
Of course Pantaleo was not indicted by the grand jury. The grand jury is run by the prosecutor. The prosecutor is part of the system, as Pantaleo is part of the system. The system protects its own — just as it did in the Michael Brown case, and just as it has done countless time in countless cases.
Pantaleo and the other LEOs who stood by while Garner suffocated murdered him. But also complicit are the bureaucrats and politicians that Pantaleo and his gang work for. Because politicians and bureaucrats never have enough “revenue” to spend on their pet projects or to keep the people “safe,” they raise taxes and create new “laws” — thereby creating new criminals who weren’t criminals before — and send out swarms of enforcers to enforce new laws and arrest newly created criminals.
And if you’ve encouraged politicians to raise taxes and raise taxes and raise taxes again so that some pet project or social program can be funded at higher and higher levels, or if you’ve ever supported “sin” taxes in order to curtail behavior you don’t approve of, you’re complicit in Garner’s death, too.
New York Mayor Bill de Blasio, a Communist, vowed in press conference this week to have his thugs continue to “strictly enforce” the anti-cigarette laws. After all, “The law is the law,” said the mayor, one of the creators of said laws.
This is what big government looks like.
After all, it’s all about keeping everybody “safe,” right? And we end up with murder by revenue enhancement, all in the name of keeping the people “safe.”
Charges for videographer
While the grand jury gave a pass to the thugs caught on video murdering Garner, the man who made the video was not so lucky. Ramsey Orta, Garner’s friend who videoed the takedown and gave the video to CBSNew York, was indicted on Aug. 15 on a weapons charge after police claim they saw him hand a .25 caliber pistol to a friend.
Orta’s wife, Chrissie, claims Orta called her the day after Garner’s death was declared a homicide and told her New York police were “trying to pin something” on him. Orta’s mother told CBSNew York that police had been following him since Orta made the video.
Orta, who has prior convictions on drug and weapons-related charges, claims he’s not guilty.
The New York City Patrolmen’s Benevolent Association issued a statement on Orta’s arrest with harsh words for “criminals like Mr. Orta who carry illegal firearms who stand to benefit the most by demonizing the good work of police officers.”
A telling statement, that. It’s also a cleverly veiled threat to anyone who dares expose police misconduct.
Link:
http://personalliberty.com/murder-revenue-enhancement/
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