John Koster issued this press release criticizing Rick Larsen for the fate of Wayne Groen.
Oh, Bravo to the ENTIRE Sierra...
Lets count the corn kernels in this particular steaming pile, shall we?
Okay, this...
...is a flashlight.
This...
...is a spotlight.
Notice any differences? Like say several hundred thousand candle power worth of difference? Me too.
Groen didn't use a flashlight, he used a spotlight.
A helicopter flying at 500 feet is flying too low to allow a controlled landing in the event of an emergency.
And the helicopter crew was wearing night vision goggles at the time, since they were flying at... um... night.
Mr. Groen's "brash and impudent" actions blinded a helicopter pilot operating an aircraft at low altitude. The jury, which I will get to in a moment, had a different characterization of Mr. Groen's actions... felony.
As far as the Federal Government's heavy hand, I remind anyone reading this that it was a jury of Mr. Groen's peers who convicted him. He got his day in court just like the Founding Fathers intended him to get. He got a jury trial. The verdict wasn't handed down by a judge appointed by anyone. It was his fellow private citizens who handed down the verdict. The Federal Government abided by that verdict.
What in the holy hell was Rick Larsen supposed to do about that? What in the holy hell would John Koster have done about that?
This entire press release raises troubling questions about John Koster's views on the Separation of Powers. (Hint for you Constitutional Scholars out there: Google Marbury v Madison. Or you can start at wikipedia HERE.)
And what do Obama's "incoherent policies" have to do with a citizen being convicted of a felony by a jury of his peers? If the jury had been persuaded by the evidence that Mr. Groen was not guilty of a felony, or that the incident was a result of incoherent policies then they would have aquitted Mr. Groen of all charges. Instead, they found him guilty of a felony.
Koster's statements are deceptive and incomplete and warrant a lifetime standing invitation to The Annual Lying By Omission Family Picnic and Team Building Retreat.
It is profoundly inappropriate for a Member of Congress to be meddling in the judiciary, regardless of the party affiliation of that Member of Congress.
I iterate my hope that Mr. Groen gets the lightest sentence possible under the circumstances. I'd like to see him do no prison time. Just don't tell me he is innocent. A jury of his peers convicted him of a felony. Blame the jury if you don't like it. But unless Rick Larsen was serving on that jury, it's a cop out to blame him.
PRESS RELEASE
July 19, 2011
KOSTER BLASTS FEDS FOR PROSECUTION OF LYNDEN FARMER; CITES INCOHERENT LARSEN/OBAMA IMMIGRATION POLICIES AS CAUSE
LYNDEN, WA - July 19, 2011- In a message written by John Koster to Whatcom County Republicans and delivered in a speech in Lynden by a campaign representative on Saturday, Koster blasted the Federal prosecution of Lynden farmer Wayne Groen and the incoherent border policies of President Obama and Congressman Rick Larsen.
"This is the heavy hand of the Federal Government at its worst," said Koster. "Here we have a relatively minor incident where a law abiding citizen of the United States shines a flashlight into the eyes of a helicopter pilot hovering over his private property some 500 feet above. A brash and imprudent thing to do? Yes, but not the stuff of a federal prosecution." ...
Link HERE.
Oh, Bravo to the ENTIRE Sierra...
Lets count the corn kernels in this particular steaming pile, shall we?
"This is the heavy hand of the Federal Government at its worst," said Koster. "Here we have a relatively minor incident where a law abiding citizen of the United States shines a flashlight into the eyes of a helicopter pilot hovering over his private property some 500 feet above. A brash and imprudent thing to do? Yes, but not the stuff of a federal prosecution."
Okay, this...
...is a flashlight.
This...
...is a spotlight.
Notice any differences? Like say several hundred thousand candle power worth of difference? Me too.
Groen didn't use a flashlight, he used a spotlight.
A helicopter flying at 500 feet is flying too low to allow a controlled landing in the event of an emergency.
And the helicopter crew was wearing night vision goggles at the time, since they were flying at... um... night.
Mr. Groen's "brash and impudent" actions blinded a helicopter pilot operating an aircraft at low altitude. The jury, which I will get to in a moment, had a different characterization of Mr. Groen's actions... felony.
As far as the Federal Government's heavy hand, I remind anyone reading this that it was a jury of Mr. Groen's peers who convicted him. He got his day in court just like the Founding Fathers intended him to get. He got a jury trial. The verdict wasn't handed down by a judge appointed by anyone. It was his fellow private citizens who handed down the verdict. The Federal Government abided by that verdict.
What in the holy hell was Rick Larsen supposed to do about that? What in the holy hell would John Koster have done about that?
This entire press release raises troubling questions about John Koster's views on the Separation of Powers. (Hint for you Constitutional Scholars out there: Google Marbury v Madison. Or you can start at wikipedia HERE.)
And what do Obama's "incoherent policies" have to do with a citizen being convicted of a felony by a jury of his peers? If the jury had been persuaded by the evidence that Mr. Groen was not guilty of a felony, or that the incident was a result of incoherent policies then they would have aquitted Mr. Groen of all charges. Instead, they found him guilty of a felony.
Koster's statements are deceptive and incomplete and warrant a lifetime standing invitation to The Annual Lying By Omission Family Picnic and Team Building Retreat.
It is profoundly inappropriate for a Member of Congress to be meddling in the judiciary, regardless of the party affiliation of that Member of Congress.
I iterate my hope that Mr. Groen gets the lightest sentence possible under the circumstances. I'd like to see him do no prison time. Just don't tell me he is innocent. A jury of his peers convicted him of a felony. Blame the jury if you don't like it. But unless Rick Larsen was serving on that jury, it's a cop out to blame him.
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