Talk about political expediency and gross incompetence, we find progressive socialist democrat Maxine Waters calling for improved security at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) and silent about the domestic terrorist gangs roaming her district and threatening law-abiding citizens. This is the very same representative who is willing to excoriate banks, but doesn’t really want to know where the billions spent on social services, reducing crime, reducing poverty, and increasing education in district may have gone in the decades under progressive socialist democrat governance.

Rep. Maxine Waters calls for improved security at LAX

In the wake of last month's deadly shooting at Los Angeles International Airport, a local congresswoman has called for improvements to airport security, including the permanent assignment of armed police officers near passenger screening checkpoints.

Rep. Maxine Waters (D-Los Angeles) also urged law enforcement officials to allow airport police to have access to all airport security cameras.

Behind the scenes, more union manipulation …

By training and arming unionized TSA officers, you create another class of unionized employee – one destined for “peace officer” status and the union contractual arrangement that allows their pay and benefits to be “synchronized” to those of other peace officers like the Federal Protective Services. More money for the union coffers and the creation of another union-controlled police force. Perhaps Maxine Waters might be concerned about the corruption within the TSA and the propensity to abuse travelers as these newly-minted petty tyrants flex the power of the government. 

Critics of the decision, including former airport security officials, said the reassignment of the officers reduced the chances officers had of stopping the gunman. In addition, union officials, who represent TSA workers, requested that TSA officials be trained to carry firearms at the checkpoints.

Airport Police Chief Patrick Gannon said the officers were reassigned at LAX to make the security strategy less predictable.

In her letter, Waters reiterated a suggestion made by the Los Angeles Airport Peace Officers Assn. in September 2012 to the TSA. It called for the location of an armed police officer within 300 feet of passenger checkpoints and the need to increase police access to airport security cameras.

"I am deeply concerned that these issues have yet to be addressed by TSA," Waters wrote. "I urge you to immediately revisit and re-evaluate the proposals put forth .... "

Representatives of the American Alliance for Airport Police Officials said they supported Waters' call for improvements and described them as common-sense measures that will enhance security at LAX and all major airports. <Source>

For those unfamiliar with the law enforcement hierarchy in Los Angeles, the Los Angeles Airport Police, Port of the Los Angeles Police, and School Police are NOT under the unified command and control of the Los Angeles Police Department. There appears to be a movement to create a parallel federal TSA police force that would expand, federalize, and duplicate most of the existing functions of local police forces – while not under local control. I don’t know about you, but I do not seem to recall stories about organized theft that is perpetrated by union-controlled employees in major airports, ports, and schools.

	The Los Angeles Airport Police Division (sometimes referred to as "LAWAPD" or LAXPD") is the largest police agency in the United States dedicated exclusively to 24-hour airport activities. It is the fourth largest law enforcement agency in Los Angeles County, with more than 1,100 law enforcement, security and staff. It also has the largest civilian Airport security force in the nation. LAX Police is a division of Los Angeles Department of Airports, Los Angeles World Airports (LAWA). The City department that owns and operates four airports in Southern California: Los Angeles International, LA/Ontario International, LA/Palmdale Regional and Van Nuys (general aviation). Although currently working very closely with the Los Angeles Police Department, the Los Angeles Airport Police is a separate entity, primarily due to the Airport Police having specialized training and funding resources. <Source>
	The Los Angeles Port Police is a specialized law enforcement agency at the Port of Los Angeles, under the control of the Los Angeles Harbor Department (WorldPort LA). <Source>
	The Los Angeles School Police Department (LASPD) is a law enforcement agency in Los Angeles, California, whose duties are to provide police services to the Los Angeles Unified School District and to enforce state and city laws. LASPD Officers assist staff with disturbances and potential criminal activity on the campuses on a daily basis. <Source>

Waters on domestic terrorist gangs – just neighborhood associations?

A young man from the Youth Justice Center started off the discussion by asking the panel “how can we stop the state of California from being the state that incarcerates the most youth?”

Immediately Maxine Waters took the podium to respond to that question. She applauded the youth for trying to create a dialogue with the police and continued by stating, “we have problems in our city and neighborhoods and they have not been dealt with in ways that we can help young people reach their potential and they are not dealt with in a ways that we can help the police department with the problems in our community.” Waters is familiar with gangs having worked with former gang members in the community. She continued to state that “We are in 83 Gangster Crip neighborhood and where ever you go you are going to be in somebody’s hood. That needs to be understood and dealt with. We have gang problems but I am of this opinion, just because you belong to a gang does not mean you are bad.”

For years academic researchers including anthropologists, sociologist, criminologist and geographers such as myself have been debating just this point; Are gangs in and of themselves intrinsically violent? Most of the inquiries, based on ethnographic qualitative research and quantitative sociological work suggest that there is a core group within the gang that are habitual felons, but the majority of membership are those that are involved in lesser nuisance offenses. Most gang members loiter, socialize, and pass the time in a series of legal activities, and then repeat these activities daily.

The audience applauded the notion of belonging to the gang as not being bad, but Waters continued to state that, “gangs should be thought of as community associations, but it is unacceptable to be in a gang and commit crimes as gang members because you create problems for yourself, the community, your family, and the police. You also ruin opportunities to grow, develop and earn a living. Some of what we do, we bring it upon ourselves, but I am not letting the police off the hook. Daryl Gates and I went at it for years, because the police have power and at times have abused that power. We have to say that everyone has to take some personal responsibility. I don’t like laws that bar association because people are going to rebel and they [those laws] do not work. We don’t want police officers grabbing people off the street and locking them up because you suspect something. This new police chief [Bratton] has an opportunity to straighten out the problems of Gates. There is no easy answer but we can continue talking about this as we are doing today to reduce the incarceration.”

More social gobbledygook, there are no redeeming characteristics of the Crips, Bloods, MS-13 gangs.  I suggest that the lower crime rate in Los Angeles and surrounding areas is because a large number of criminals remains incarcerated, and when you release these miscreants back into the community the crime rate will, once again, rise.

More social engineering from the progressive socialist democrats that puts the law-abiding community at risk at the same time the progressive socialist democrats are trying to disarm law-abiding citizens. Perhaps to create a public outcry for an expanded police state and increased government control over your life. Unfortunately, the use the “last crime committed” to determine if you are violent. So if an armed robber commits a drug offense, they could be ruled as non-violent and released. 

CA Crime Skyrockets in Wake of Brown's Prison Release Plan

In 2011, Governor Jerry Brown signed into law California Assembly Bill 109, a piece of legislation designed to relieve overcrowded prisons in accordance with a Supreme Court decision. AB 109 enshrined “realignment” into law – a plan to place supposedly “non-violent, non-serious, and non-sex offenders” in county jails rather than state prisons. In other words, local governments were handed the problem of prisoners the state didn’t want to hold. On January 8, 2013, Brown said, “we’ve gone from serious constitutional problems to one of the finest prison systems in the United States.”

The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation calls the realignment plan “historic legislation that has helped enable California to close the revolving door of low-level inmates cycling in and out of state prisons.” But in reality, realignment has created a revolving door for criminals: they cycle in, they leave, and they harm innocent citizens across the state. 

According to statistics provided to Breitbart News by the office of Los Angeles County Supervisor Mike Antonovich, 11,473 criminals have been sent to Los Angeles County jails rather than state penitentiaries since realignment kicked in. Over 43,000 inmates are doing their time in local jails rather than state pen. By 2014, that number will skyrocket to 54,000. Now here’s the kicker: under the Brown realignment plan, Los Angeles county misdemeanor offenders will serve approximately 10-15% of their sentences. Then they will be released. That number will drop as jails become more crowded.

More criminals, more crime. According to statistics from the Los Angeles County Sheriff and Probation Departments, burglaries have increased dramatically, from 175% in Hawaiian Gardens to 45% in South Los Angeles to 50% in Compton; auto theft is up 365% in Artesia, 100% in Marina Del Rey, and 92% in Bellflower. The Criminal Justice Legal Foundation reports that in the six-month period after realignment, California’s crime rates rose across the board, including a 7.6% jump in homicide.   <Source>

Why did I cite this? Look at Maxine Watters’ District --

The 43^rd Congressional District is comprised of South Los Angeles including the communities of Westchester, Playa Del Rey and Watts. The Westchester and Playa del Rey communities, including Los Angeles International Airport (LAX), form the western part of the 43^rd District. The district also includes the unincorporated areas of Los Angeles County: Lennox, West Athens, West Carson, Harbor Gateway and El Camino Village, as well as the cities of Gardena, Hawthorne, Inglewood, Lawndale, Lomita and Torrance.

All areas related to criminal gang activities committed by those fine community association members who are unfairly and unjustly incarcerated!

Bottom line …

I do not mind the concept of a police, fire, or EMT benevolence organization that looks out for its member officers – line officers, not cubicle workers. What I do mind is the political activism of these unions who almost always are involved in progressive socialist democrat politics and encourage political corruption to the point of excluding the taxpayer from the bargaining table. Especially when these unions bargain with politicians beholden to the unions for campaign financing and voter support. A cozy, self-serving relationship that promotes corruption and crime.

I do, however, mind corrupt progressive socialist democrats like Maxine Waters who managed to subvert a two-plus year ethics (as if there is any such animal) investigation of her improper activities in trying to get a financial institution (connected with her husband) a bailout by allowing them to use worthless Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac securities as part of their core capital requirements.

Where is Maxine Waters when it comes to the decay, destruction, poverty, illiteracy, and crime in her district – standing there with an open hand waiting for more taxpayer money – but never demanding an audit for the missing and/or misused funds under the democrat regime? Suggesting that gangs are misunderstood community organization.

Folks, the progressive socialist democrats among us represent a clear and present danger to America and all law-abiding Americans. They must be thrown out of office by decent folks or the system will collapse under its own criminal incompetence and corruption – precisely the goal of the socialist/communist agenda. Because when the public demands a stronger, tougher government, freedom and liberty are sacrificed for non-existent safety and the rule of a kleptocratic thugocracy.

-- steve

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