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Should membership in whackadoodle political groups be grounds to dismiss cops or soldiers?

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Stinky The Clown Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Oct-20-09 06:38 PM
Original message
Should membership in whackadoodle political groups be grounds to dismiss cops or soldiers?
I'm reacting to the head of a whackadoodle organization who was just on Mattthews' show. It doesn't matter what group except to describe them as fomenting fear and putting false ideas in the heads of their members. A thinly disguised hate/militia group.

Should membership in such organizations be cause to dismiss those who carry guns and have power over the citizenry including the power to intimidate?
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bbinacan Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Oct-20-09 06:41 PM
Response to Original message
1. How does a court etc.
determine what a whackadoodle organization. One could determine that DU is a whackadoodle organization .
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Stinky The Clown Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Oct-20-09 06:43 PM
Response to Reply #1
2. DU is, in fact, a whackadoodle organization.
By the way, this isn't a left/right issue. Whackadoodles come in all flavors.
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bbinacan Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Oct-20-09 06:44 PM
Response to Reply #2
3. LMAO. n/t
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Imajika Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Oct-20-09 06:45 PM
Response to Original message
4. I dunno...
...but I really, really like the word "whackadoodle" ;)
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NYC Liberal Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Oct-20-09 06:47 PM
Response to Original message
5. At the very least there should be a full disclosure requirement.
They should be required to report, at least to the department, any organizations that they belong to.
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Stinky The Clown Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Oct-20-09 06:54 PM
Response to Reply #5
9. That seems a very reasonable compromise.
It could also lead to some interesting - and possibly beneficial - court cases when an accused charges prejudice or bias against an officer based on his membership disclosures.
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AlienGirl Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Oct-20-09 07:26 PM
Response to Reply #5
12. What happens when the cop in the Bible Belt has to report he's in a gay advocacy group?
No matter how well-intentioned this may be now, it would be used for evil purposes. And the really wacky ones, in the KKK or NSM or whatever, would just lie anyway, so any sense of security this would provide would be illusory.

Tucker
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OffWithTheirHeads Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Oct-20-09 06:50 PM
Response to Original message
6. Uh...Did the last 8 years not teach you anything?
Did you forget the last admin essentially purging everyone who was not a "Loyal Bushie"? Whackadoodle is defined by your perspective and I, for one, don't want ANY power elite to decide who to include or exclude.
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ddeclue Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Oct-20-09 06:51 PM
Response to Original message
7. Cops probably no - soldiers yes
soldiers operate under the UCMJ and they have a great deal of restriction on what they are allowed to do.
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GreenPartyVoter Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Oct-20-09 06:54 PM
Response to Original message
8. Slippery slope. I would be thrilled to see wackdoodles out of the military and police but
what happens when someone starts deciding liberals are wackdoodles? What if we set ourselves up for McCarthy-style witch hunts?
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Xithras Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Oct-20-09 06:54 PM
Response to Original message
10. No.
If they're not doing anything violent RIGHT NOW, being associated with any group is a protected 1st Amendment right. That's the same reason the ACLU fights for the KKK's right to parade.

As someone upthread pointed out...what if a Republican President labelled DU a radical group? Should he have the right to purge the government of DU members?

What you're talking about has been done by our government before...it was called McCarthyism, and it was pointed in our direction. I'm in no rush to bring that kind of thinking back, even if it will be US using it against people WE don't like.
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Chemisse Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Oct-20-09 07:12 PM
Response to Original message
11. As long as it does not affect the performance of their jobs
They should be allowed to serve, just like anybody else. And that means, leave the wackydoodle shit at home.
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MadMaddie Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Oct-20-09 07:48 PM
Response to Original message
13. Don't you all remember the cop down south last year who
was an active member of a group like the klan? He got fired because he was in a position of power and he arrested not only whites but blacks. The question was could he perform his duties without racial bias?

No matter what side if ones private memberships violate the very essence of their job then yes they should be prevented from that particular position.

(This is not the best example)
It would be like asking if pedophiles should be allowed to work at facilities where children are. Can they separate their mind set from their job. Well duh...we know the answer is no..
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stray cat Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Oct-20-09 07:49 PM
Response to Original message
14. Like DU?
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lonestarnot Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Oct-20-09 07:52 PM
Response to Original message
15. w/o a doubt!
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arthritisR_US Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Oct-20-09 07:54 PM
Response to Original message
16. NO. what they do in their private hours is their own affair and nothing to do with the job. n/t
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HiFructosePronSyrup Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Oct-20-09 07:55 PM
Response to Original message
17. Depends on the degree of whackadoodle.
Take for example the klan member who was denied the bar.
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