“A fondness for power is implanted, in most men, and it is natural to abuse it, when acquired.”

As a volunteer advocate and investigator for missing persons (mainly cold cases) for the past two years, I am shocked, angered, and saddened by the lack of interest by many police investigators who show no interest in working these type of cases in which most of these missing persons have been a victims of homicide. And as a student of criminal justice, I have decided to use my degree to do what ever I can to contribute to passing new laws that punish the police for violation of oath and dereliction of duty. I feel at the very least they should have their rights to be employed with any police agency taken away indefinitely.

As can be seen to have manifested itself in the Congress over the decades since about 1913, and most especially in President Bush.

This quote reafirms in me a thankfulness that I am not most men.:-) Amen to that.

Good answer Guess Who! I would like to temper this quote wih the wisdom of Abe Lincoln who said, "As I would not want to be a slave I therefore would not want to be a master." Men in power must remember the Golden Rule.

Janet, said well. One of my original motivating factors for going to law school was to prosecute policemen. Though I have met a few noble of the profession, the vast majority are lying, power driven, gun toting, lacking in integrity revenuers. The higher up the food chain the thugs are, the worse they get. Once acquiring the position, most police gleefully abuse the power they’re so fond of (it is an unspoken and glassy eyed expectation). If it weren't for the government's self justifying rhetoric, propaganda schools, and its 4th branch (the media) deification, the policing agencies of this nation could not have become so unlawful, arrogant, or abusive. Several supreme court legislations now define policing duties as being, not to the once sovereign but, to protect state interests.

I think you are full of it Mike. You talk like a member of the Black Panthers! Cops are like that because they are overworked and understaffed and that is why they cannot get to all cases. Janet you must have learned what Mikey has not, that government is at best benign. It cannot stop all crime or catch all criminals. By prosecuting some government hopes to stop the rest. It does not have the resources to solve all crime or catch all criminals.

Men in power do not have to remember the Golden Rule -- he who has the gold makes the rules. For that reason, in America, power is vested in the individuals who make up 'We The People.' and the limitations of that power are to be enforced by us. The government cannot be trusted with absolute power, that is why we are going to have to rise up against the current fascism prevalent on both sides of the aisle. They have assumed too much power, and they aren't going to give it back without a show of force. As far as policemen go, they are nothing but citizens, and the people have the same rights to arrest or shoot 'criminals' with the same liability as paid policemen have. In my experience, policemen are blue collar workers with little education about law. They are trained in 'enforcement' not law. With the police state growing, they have been assuming more powers than they have been granted.