Guest Post by Eric Peters
In “Third World” countries – the ones Americans take comfort in making fun of – they just take your money.
The cops, I mean.
No pretext, just hand it over.
And now, here.
The Oklahoma Highway Patrol is using a gadget called an Electronic Recovery and Access to Data Machine (ERAD – god, how the state’s thugs love their acronyms) to simply vacuum whatever money you happen to have in your bank account or on a prepaid gift card. The machine accesses your account – basically, like a card reader at the cashier of any store/restaurant where you just bought something – and takes it.
All of it.
Without your having “bought” anything.
Much less having been convicted of committing a crime.
These thugs – literally, in the historic sense (see here about the infamous Thuggee Cult of India) simply steal whatever they wish, using threats of lethal reprisal to assure the cooperation of their victims, who are legally forbidden to defend themselves.
This is an outrage for which there are no words.
Screams are the only appropriate response.
And, perhaps, something more.
It may be time for that – god help us.
Mind, there is no conviction – or even accusation. Merely the thug-in-costume’s assertion that you – his victim – seemed (to him!) to be behaving “peculiarly.” Because no reasonable person would ever feel the slightest bit nervous and defensive, having just been waylaid by an armed thug with the legal power to simply strip him of his possessions and possibly his life, if he objects in any way.
Continue reading “Charge It….”
