This guy obviously is one of the many in the mainstream talking head “press” who believe there are approved reporters and competition. The competition never gets permits for their First Amendment Rights.

Well, what you said but also

“It’s as if he can’t think.”

Better.

http://blogs.miaminewtimes.com/riptide/2009/11/rick_sanchez_twitter_breakdown.php

I have no disagreement there. He should either know it or have enough sense to double check. It can even be done polite request to ask a citizen to wait (I realize this gets into detaining and all the issues there).

Cops and district attorneys like to tell us that “ignorance of the law is no excuse”. Because of that I hold enforcers of the law to the same standard. Gylfie has no excuse!

I’ll take exception to Gylfie being a liar with regard to taking pictures. It really is just as likely the guy is clueless on the law here, and because he’s a cop, whatever he thinks the law is that must be what the law is. Being wrong doesn’t make you a liar, just lousy at what you do. It’s galling of course when you’re lectured by someone you know to be ignorant, and who will arrest you if you don’t listen to their ignorance. And who will refuse to just check on it, because there is no way you might know better than he. Some people just aren’t good at their jobs.

I write this because of an incident regarding a woman who left her sleeping child in the car in Texas. She was of course threatened with arrest by a cop, when she told him Texas has a 5 minute rule (it does) along with some proximity rules I believe which she followed , he told her he was a cop, she wasn’t, so he knew the law, she didn’t. Later she ran across him and he refused to look at her copy of the statute. Ignorance followed by willful ignorance. A lousy cop.

As for Sanchez and CNN, what do any of you expect? Do any of you believe any network or news organization gives you the truth at all times? Hearst over Cuba, Duranty in the 30s, CNN in Saddam’s Iraq (we lied to you about Iraq so we could bring you the news from Iraq), Reuters doctored photos, the list goes on and on. I’ve had my own personal experience with the newspaper that shall remain uncapitalized, front page out of context misleading quote and pictures that were purposely misleading too, all because they had an agenda. We rail about police corruption or incompetence, but the news organizations have theirs also. It isn’t “is there corruption and incompetence”, but how much and where and do they police themselves, or does someone need to step in and help them. If the story is big enough, it will get corrected, if not, you’ll have to live with it or hope the Blogosphere will expose them and it goes viral.

This is a normal part of the human condition, but it doesn’t mean we should put up with it, or those who would turn a blind eye to it either. Eternal vigilance isn’t just the price of liberty, its the price of truth too. (No I don’t expect perfection, that’s adolescent, but if you ignore it, act like it doesn’t really exist, it will only grow.)

While i’m not a photographer of any kind, i visit your site mostly to read up on police corruption.

I couldn’t help but to be completely pissed off yesterday when I saw this RANT by Rick Sanchez. It truly does wreak of biased Journalism, even going as far as to praise the police officer. It is ever so ironic that Rick Sanchez and many other reporters of the time are quick to use so called “citizen reporting” videos to garner ratings when they feel it would do them good. It’s also interesting to note that a number of “undercover” reports are done in similar fashion. Small and/or hidden cameras and no press credentials shown.

Las Palabras Del Dia: Journalistic Hypocrisy