by Diane Dimond on April 30, 2012
Who or What Do You Trust?
“With liberty and justice for all…..” are the last six words of our Pledge of Allegiance. I’m just sappy enough to still hold on to that sentiment as the creed for my country. But to achieve a true feeling of justice you have to have faith, right? So let me ask. How’s your faith holding up? Mine is a little shaky lately.
I’m not talking about a religion-based faith. I’m talking about the faith and admiration we need to have in our government, our social institutions, our communities and our fellow citizens.
An article in the National Journal entitled, “In Nothing We Trust” got me thinking. [click to continue…]
by Diane Dimond on April 16, 2012
Annie McCann Was Just 16
How did 16 year old honor roll student Annie McCann die? Her parents have been agonizing over that heart wrenching question for too long. Definitive answers have been few but these determined parents refuse to give up asking.
On October 31, 2008 Annie left a note in her bedroom which mentioned suicide but she had also added the hope-filled line, “But I realized I can start over instead. . . . If you really love me, you’ll let me go.” Then, she inexplicably ran away, taking $1,000 in cash, jewelry and the family Volvo. It was a shock to Dan and Mary Jane McCann whose daughter was a devout Catholic, quiet and studious – a child who had never given them any trouble.
Two excruciating days later the McCann’s got a phone call informing them Annie’s body had been found at a housing project in Baltimore, Maryland about seventy miles from their home. They were dumbfounded. [click to continue…]
by Diane Dimond on April 2, 2012
Do We Really Know All the Facts Yet?
There are two sides to every story. So, why do the media sometimes run whole hogged with the most sensational version of events and why do we eat it up like candy?
It is time for some critical thinking about a widely reported crime story currently in the news.
More than a month ago a tragic incident occurred in a gated community in Sanford, Florida when a Neighborhood-Watch volunteer shot and killed a 17 year old young man. The teen was black, the man with the gun was mixed race Hispanic. The teen was walking back from the store, the adult was in his car going to the store.
When I read the first accounts of how young Trayvon Martin died I was outraged! Seemed as though a 28 year old, gun-toting man named George Zimmerman – a guy who had called 9-11 dozens of times over the last year – was one of those modern day gunslinger types who went around his neighborhood hunting for suspects to bully. Several news accounts called him a, “cop wanna-be” who likely targeted the hoodie-wearing teen because of his race. [click to continue…]
by Diane Dimond on March 26, 2012
Army Staff Sgt Robert Bales
The drumbeat has already started and I want it to stop.
The moment the horrific news that a U.S. soldier had gone on a rouge killing spree in the far away province of Kandahar, Afghanistan – murdering 16 Afghan civilians, mostly women and children and then burning some of the bodies, America has been struggling to make sense of it. If the reports are true, what could have caused Army Staff Sgt. Robert Bales, the married father of two, to commit such a heinous act of multiple murder?
In the days since we first heard the news I’ve lost track of how many times I’ve read or heard the sentiment that somehow the culture or conditions within our U.S. military made him do it. Or that the military “taught him to kill.” Nonsense.
Look, war is hell and since America has now endured more than a decade of non-stop wars maybe it should come as no surprise that this has been the [click to continue…]
by Diane Dimond on March 19, 2012
Proving Who You Are to Get What You Want
Welcome to the 21st Century. In this day and age you can’t write a check, use a credit card, set up a bank account, get on an airplane, rent a hotel room or a car or even get a library card without first showing your photo identification – usually a driver’s license.
It is a pain, but we dig into our wallets and pull out the old ID card (with the photo we wish we could change) because, well… because that’s the way it is. Today, we have to prove who we are to get what we want.
So, why are some people so aghast at the idea that when we vote we should have to show a photo ID? [click to continue…]
by Diane Dimond on March 5, 2012
Equality For All People, Right?
I have never written a column about the state of North Dakota, a state from which my parents hailed and where I still have close relatives. The state’s motto is, “Liberty and Union Now and Forever, One and Inseparable.”
But that’s not necessarily so if you are a Black American.
North Dakota has no anti-bias or hate crimes on the books, no independent Human Rights Commission** (as most states do) and no easy, reliable system for those who feel they have been wronged to seek relief. The issue is important because minorities are pouring in to the state to work in the newly lucrative oil fields. The industry’s six-figure salaries have trickled down to create many more jobs in the housing, restaurant, hotel and home furnishings sectors and people of color are responding in droves. [click to continue…]
by Diane Dimond on January 30, 2012
In Olden Times This Caught Criminals
Back in the Wild West days law enforcement officers like Wyatt Earp and Bat Masterson had few tools to keep the peace. Guile and a gun on their hip were about all they possessed in the face of trouble.
Today’s officers have many more ways of tracking down and capturing the bad guys. That makes their job much easier than in days of old but also more complicated. A recent ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court may have just made modern day law enforcement more complex.
Bear with me a moment here and I’ll explain why.
First, you should know that the Supreme Court decision I speak of stems from the case of Antoine Jones, a nightclub owner in Washington, D.C. who was suspected of being a part of a massive cocaine selling ring. [click to continue…]
by Diane Dimond on January 3, 2012
What Road Will The New Year Take?
Time for New Year resolutions. Mine take the form of wishes and hopes focused on how to make our crime and justice system safer, saner and more evenhanded for all.
I know some of my wishes are unlikely to come true. But I also know many of them could if we were all determined to make society work better.
I hope that the coach Jerry Sandusky scandal at Penn State University gives strength and solace to the millions of victims of child sexual abuse everywhere, no matter how old they are now. May each of them understand that society condemns every person who preys on children and that the shame isn’t theirs, it rests solely on the molester. [click to continue…]
by Diane Dimond on December 19, 2011
Blagojevich: Famous For Being Infamous
It is an odd thing we do here in America. People who get wrapped up in scandal often become elevated to celebrity status.
You know the type of people I’m talking about – those who are caught up in sex or drug scandals, criminal suspects, or some other type of social misfit who’s every move is followed by reporters. Cameras are there as they hustle in to court, show up for their community service or just try to dodge embarrassing questions about their problematic behavior.
These folks become famous for being infamous. [click to continue…]
by Diane Dimond on December 5, 2011
A Jury Says He Killed Michael Jackson
You may not have been the least bit interested in the recent trial of Dr. Conrad Murray who was found guilty of involuntary manslaughter in the death of entertainer Michael Jackson. He has now been sentenced to the maximum – four years behind bars for giving Jackson the hospital-only anesthesia Propofol in his home every night for at least two months.
Here’s why the case is important.
The case riveted doctors across the nation. Especially doctors in celebrity studded areas of the country like Los Angeles and New York, Aspen and Nashville, Atlanta and New Mexico where concerts and movie shoots attract some of the biggest divas in the entertainment business.
As the old Hollywood saying goes, “Where there’s a star there are drugs.” [click to continue…]
