Tag: police state

City Proposes Fining, Arresting Good Samaritans Who Donate to the Homeless

There is no doubt that the United States is experiencing a homeless epidemic. From coast to coast, the homelessness crisis has surged as cities struggle to cope with a growing number of houseless people, many of whom only recently found themselves in this predicament thanks to the government-mandated shutdown which sent the economy into a downward spiral over the last 18 months.

As municipalities struggle to find solutions, dinosaur politicians continue to rely on the one thing that has never worked — the police state. During a city council meeting last month, Council Member from Charlotte’s 6th District, Tariq Bokhari proposed making it a crime to help the homeless.

“People aren’t getting it and they’re still bringing food and money and resources directly to the folks that are out there right now. They’re only making themselves feel good, they’re hurting the ultimate folks, perhaps we explore making that a misdemeanor,” Bokhari said.

When asked why he thought this was a solution, Bokhari chalked it up to “tough love” in the form of fines or possible imprisonment for helping those in need.

“I think we need a heavier dose of tough love amongst this community especially amongst those who continually give money, and food, and clothing directly to these folks instead of giving them to the organizations that are designed to help them,” Bokhari said.

Apparently this low-level tyrant thinks that punishing people for their good deeds is how to solve the homelessness crisis. Though his comments went largely unchallenged in the meeting, luckily Bokhari is not finding much support for his proposal in the community and has received hefty backlash from activists.

“If there is someone standing outside asking for money and it’s laid on your heart to give them money, what should stop you?” Deborah Woolard, founder of Block Love Charlotte, which works on the ground with people who are homeless, told the Charlotte Observer.

“You shouldn’t feel like ‘I’m going to go to jail because I helped someone,’ because you never know if they truly are on their last (dollar), if it’s money needed to eat.”

It appears that instead of addressing the problem of homelessness with actual solutions like the construction of tiny homes or rehabilitation centers, authorities have turned to the police state once again. As TFTP has reported on countless occasions, this proposal illustrates that the state not only goes after the homeless, but they go after those who try to help them as well.

In the land of the free, government and law enforcement not only wage war on the poor and homeless through various unscrupulous means designed to extract revenue and attack the right to exist, but those who try to help the homeless—by feeding, clothing, or sheltering them—also face the wrath of the state. As TFTP has reported, even those who’ve laid down their lives for the state—veterans—and the ones who help them are also being targeted.

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New South Wales bans church singing due to COVID – even over Zoom

Another example of Australia’s sometimes draconian Covid restrictions has come to light in reports that say the authorities in New South Wales have banned singing in churches – even if it is for the purpose of being live streamed to a physically distant congregation.

The current rules have been in force since June 26 and are meant to last two weeks amid a fresh round of lockdowns. The Public Health Order states that, “singing by audiences at indoor shows or by congregants at indoor places of worship are not allowed.”

The thinking behind banning singing among groups of people is that the virus is transmitted faster than through the act of speaking; however, the fact that singing on Zoom, i.e., to a camera is also banned, has left some church leaders in Australia upset with the decision.

The New South Wales order, shared with religious leaders in an email, says that the purpose is to protect those who “may be involved in assisting in live streaming,” and also those who “may be in regional communities attending a service.”

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Spain’s Proposed ‘National Security Law’ Would Allow Seizure Of Citizens’ Property During Health “Crisis”

The prominent Spanish daily El País is reporting a hugely alarming scenario in which Spain’s central government is mulling a national mobilization and “security law” which would compel citizens to “temporarily” give up their rights in instances of future public health crises or emergencies such as happened with the coronavirus pandemic.

The law is currently at the level of a mere proposal but worrisomely it would elevate matters of public health to the level of ‘national security’ – as El País spells out based on a translation of its reporting: “Any person of legal age shall be obliged to carry out the ‘personal obligations’ required by the competent authorities, following the guidelines of the National Security Council, when a state of crisis is declared in Spain. In this case, all citizens without exception must comply with the orders and instructions issued by the authorities.“

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