December 22, 2014

Police commissioner who served time in prison given column in Time magazine to attack police protests: "as dangerous as any global enemy we face"

In one of the more extraordinary, and scary, journalistic perversions of late, Time Magazine ran a column attacking police protesters written by a former NYC police commissioner who served time in prison. Bernie Kerik even says in his column that the protesters are conducting a war. This fits in ith a recent NY police email that used the war analogy as well. The significance of this is that it is an attempt to transform democratic protest into alleged acts of terrorism. A few excerpts from Kerik's column:

Bernie Kerikm, TimeWar is being waged in our homeland. Not a war of the enemies we have become accustomed to—ISIS, Al-Qaeda, the Taliban, radical extremists who hate everything we stand for and want to annihilate us.

No, this war is of our own making. It is a war on law and order. It is a war on what keeps our communities safe. It is a war on cops who live to protect those they serve.

This war is as dangerous as any global enemy we face. In some ways, it is even more dangerous because it pits Americans against Americans, those who serve against those who are served, communities against their very own.

What is worst of all is that this war is built on a lie…. a lie that has quickly become so embedded in our society that it will take a Herculean effort to bring this lie to the light of day so everyone can see it for what it is: a lie.

...It’s a lie! It’s a lie that has inflamed the hearts and minds of many and turned them against every cop in the nation. It’s a lie that has the potential to rip America at its seams and cause damage far worse than any attack on our country, including that on 9/11/2001.

It’s a lie that has caused protests and riots all over this nation, communities to be burned to the ground, police officers to be attacked and beaten, and horribly, two New York City police officers to be assassinated.

If this lie and the behaviors it incites continue, America will look more like a wasteland than the greatest country in the world in just a few short years. Lawlessness will rule. We will face devastation in social, economic, political, and unfathomable ways. No community will be safe.

And now a few facts from Wikipedia that Time Magazine forgot to tell its readers
 
Wikipedia Bernard Bailey "Bernie" Kerik (born September 4, 1955) is an American former police officer and consultant who served as New York City Police Commissioner from 2000 to 2001...

In 2004, Bush nominated Kerik to be the head of the Department of Homeland Security. However, Kerik soon withdrew his nomination, explaining that he had employed an illegal immigrant as a nanny...

Shortly after withdrawal of the nomination, the press reported on several other incidents which might also have posed difficulties in gaining confirmation by the Senate. These include: questions regarding Kerik's sale of stock in Taser International shortly before the release of an Amnesty International report critical of the company's stun-gun product; a sexual harassment lawsuit; an alleged affair with Judith Regan; allegations of misuse of police personnel and property for personal benefit; connections with a construction company suspected of having ties to organized crime; and failure to comply with ethics rules on gifts.

On June 30, 2006, after an eighteen-month investigation conducted by the Bronx District Attorney's Office, Kerik pleaded "guilty" via a sworn statement in open court to two ethics violations (unclassified misdemeanors) and was ordered to pay $221,000 in fines at the 10-minute hearing. Kerik acknowledged that he failed to document a personal loan on his annual New York City Conflict of Interest Report (a violation of the New York City Administrative Code) and accepting a gift from a New Jersey construction firm attempting to do business with the city (a violation of the New York City Charter).

On November 8, 2007, in White Plains, New York, Kerik was indicted by a federal grand jury on charges of conspiracy, tax fraud and making false statements. Prosecutors say Kerik received about $255,000 in renovations to his Riverdale, Bronx, apartment from a company seeking to do business with the city of New York and concealed the income from the Internal Revenue Service.[40] The indictment also charged that Kerik made several false statements to the White House (in his background information statement regarding his Department of Homeland Security appointment) and other federal officials. If convicted on all 16 counts in the indictment, Kerik could have faced a maximum sentence of 142 years in prison and $4.7 million in fines. He was released upon payment of a $500,000 bond.The New York charges were dropped in December 2008, but he was indicted in a separate Washington, DC action because that is where the crimes happened.

On October 20, 2009, Kerik's bail was revoked after he allegedly disclosed information which was under seal. He was remanded to the Westchester County Department of Corrections jail in Valhalla, New York, which has a section reserved for federal prisoners.

On November 5, 2009, Kerik pled guilty to eight felony tax and false statement charges,and surrendered at the U.S. minimum security prison camp in Cumberland, Maryland on May 17, 2010. He was discharged from federal custody on October 15, 2013, after serving 5 months on home confinement.

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