What's In A Name

Reason writers around town: At The LA Times, Brian Doherty gives a name to the case of Larry Hiibel, the Nevadan arrested for failing to identify himself to police.

Comments

[Brian Doherty]

Under the hubristic assumption that someone will actually try to click-through and read it, yes, let me be the first to point out that the LA TIMES has a particularly intrusive Reg. requirement, but of course feel free to make up all the "information" they request. Believe me, it will be well worth it.

[Jean Bart]

Brian Doherty,

Just type: plastic & plastic

[Brian Doherty]

JB--

Thanks for offering up that reg name and password.

[Swamp Justice]

The following usernames and passwords often work many reg web sites:

cypherpunks/cypherpunks
laexaminer/laexaminer

[Jean Bart]

Brian Doherty,

I have found that plastic/plastic works on many websites in the US; so far, registration is not as common France as it is in the US, but give us a few months. 🙂

[Joliet Jake]

With all of the acronyms floating around that article, I thought I'd add my favorite:

SCMODS = State County Municiple Offender Data System

[Another Login that works]

bselig/bselig
or
[e-mail]/bselig

[Gadfly]

Plastic Plastic works. Thanks, JB.

I saw a program the other night that had the police video of the arrest. Apparently the guy wasn't as innocent as he makes out to be. The cops were responding to a call of a guy beating up a woman in a parked car but she defended him when they started taking him away. The whole thing was pretty ugly.

[late for the boom]

Gadfly, did they mention that the 'woman' being 'beaten' was his 17 year old daughter? A minor, who did not have any apparent marks on her body, and, a minor who was also violently ripped out of the truck and sat on by an officer for about 3 minutes.
First contact with Mr. Hiibel was an officer pulling up to the truck and Mr. Hiibel was standing outside of the truck, near the rear gate, smoking a cigerette, the only 'evidence' of a woman being beaten apparently was an anonymous phone caller. The officers did not notice any visible marks on the girl, and were so concerned about the woman being beaten that they never asked her once during the entire contact about it.

The full version of that video is availble at:
http://www.papersplease.org

Although the site is dedicated to Mr. Hiibel's defense, they have hosted the full version of the video, as subpeoned, which starts from first contact though arrest and placement in the car without edit and includes subtitled transcript for the hearing impared.

I would like to hear your opinions after knowing all of the facts, since I too have watched the spin in the 'liberal' media, and have been disturbed by what I have been hearing, they dont seem to be talking about the same case.

[PapayaSF]

I think it's clear why the guy didn't want to identify himself to the police: he's just really, really sick and tired of having to spell out his last name and explain that yes, that's a double "i", and why is that so freaking difficult for everyone?!?

[david]

I think that this is much ado about relatively nothing...the cop made a REASONABLE request. The "victim" in this case was just being a jerk, and is now trying to rally people to his cause, aided by "freepers" who think that they finally have a cause celebre.

This is NOT a Rodney King-like story of police power & abuse gone out of control.

(And Joliet: minor correction - municipal. SCMODS -- one of the greatest movie acronyms in history.)

[Ignorant Law Student]

He might have been a jerk, but that doesn't mean that he has to give up his identification. There is no reason why the police should be able to force you to give up anything without officially detaining you for questioning, at which point you can claim your right to have a lawyer.

[Mac]

I'm not a strong law and order type, but this smells like a setup to me, like in Griswold. Tip-off - how quickly he asked to be arrested. He probably made the call about a fight himself.

[speedwell]

mac, that's a damned funny thing to say without a shred of evidence other than your own ill will, K?

[K. Jordi]

Oyez, oyez! Here come their lordships of the most noble and exalted Supreme Court of the most eminent and mighty United States of the uttermost superior continent of America!

So, what's the matter?

Two jerks with too much time at their hands met on a road somewhere in the backwoods near the behind of the world, deep, deep into the middle of nowhere (a.k.a. fly-over country, alias "the heart and soul of America dearest").

One of those jerks had a badge, thus he was able to call his bullying of the other jerk an "investigation" and a "lawful arrest". The other jerk took issue, what hardly comes as a surprise.

Objecting to this special brand of rural harrassment -- "Leaning-On-Car-While-Chewing-Tobacco-Redneck-Bashing" -- his lawyers were crying foul and may now "end up redefining our ability to move in public without having every aspect of our lives investigated at the whim of the police."

Is that a great country or what?

But don't worry! Of course the US Supreme Court will define that we cannot move nowhere without having every aspect of our lives sussed out and scrutinized and nosed at the whim of the police and of every other busybody in government.

After all, there's a war going on, forgot that?

Bona causa triumphat!

[JD]

Jeez, doesn't anybody remember HL Mencken?
"The trouble with fighting for human freedom is that one spends most of one's time defending scoundrels. For it is against scoundrels that oppressive laws are first aimed, and oppression must be stopped at the beginning if it is to be stopped at all." The guy probably is a jerk, but that doesn't mean that you should have to hand over 'your papers, please' whenever some member of the blue polyester gang gets a bug in his ear.