Video of Philly 5 Arrest

Here, from Red Oasis via Discoshaman. So, from halfway around the world, the good bloggers STILL trump me with video footage of the happenings here in my backyard.

And while I have spent this week defending the cops against the ignoramouses on the left who would celebrate a cop killer, it's time to let them know when they've overstepped their authority. Before watching the video, I had a mental picture of some confrontational, fire and brimstone spewing raving lunatics coming near to physical blows with festival goers. That seems not to have been the case at all. The gentleman in the video, who I presume to be the ringleader of the bunch, was reasonable and mild-mannered through the entire occurance. That the police would act in occordance with the wishes of the majority and arrest the unpopular folks within a crowd is horrifying. Their job is not to quell disagreement, but to protect the citizens whom they serve. Anything outside of that description is an unforgiveable abuse of authority. And the precedent set that this type of action is acceptable is nothing short of frightening.

In addition to the police overstepping their bounds, the idea that Lynne Abraham's district attorney office found it reasonable to detain and prosecute these folks I find disturbing. That they had the gall to persue felony charges is unconscionable. I'm much more disturbed by this entire situation having seen this video and attempting to reconcile it with the reaction of our authorities. Once again, they have no need to be concerned, as they are part of the entrenched and unreachable Democratic political machine in this city. The only way to protest is to vote with your feet, and for years, that's what thousands upon thousands have been doing.

And you know...

I really DO wonder what those French protesters would have to say about all this.