Editorial

Keith Olbermann’s authoritarianism exposed

Brent Hatley Radio Personality
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On January 10th, 2010, shortly after a crazed gunman named Jared Loughner killed several innocent people and injured Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, then-MSNBC host Keith Olbermann interviewed Pima County Sheriff Clarence Dupnik. Olbermann and Dupnik implicitly blamed the Tea Party for inspiring Loughner to commit these horrific crimes, despite the fact that there wasn’t any evidence that Loughner was anything other than an out-of-control, deranged, violent maniac.

On May 5th, 2011, the Pima County Sheriff’s Office murdered former United States Marine Jose Guerena in his home, two hours after he got back from working the night shift at a mine to support his wife and two children. Guerena served two tours in Iraq and was honorably discharged from the Marine Corps. Guerena and his wife have no criminal record whatsoever. But the USA Patriot Act, which was just renewed for another four years, allowed the Pima County SWAT team to conduct an all-out assault on this innocent Marine’s domicile.

They stormed his house in unmarked vehicles, didn’t identify themselves as the police, and completely ignored the “knock and announce doctrine” — the doctrine that law enforcement officers should wait 15 to 20 seconds after knocking on a door before breaking it down — that the Supreme Court mandated in U.S. v. Banks (2003). The Pima County SWAT team supposedly had a warrant to search for marijuana, which hardly calls for a full-on assault. Nevertheless, they broke down the door and shot Guerena over 60 times.

To make matters worse, Mrs. Guerena called 911 and the paramedics arrived in two minutes, only to be held at bay by the Pima County Sheriff for over an hour while this innocent Marine, husband, father, and provider bled to death for committing no crime. The story from the Pima County Sheriff’s Office has changed multiple times. Now, Sheriff Dupnik has gotten all the warrants and documents sealed, refusing to abide by the Freedom of Information Act. He’s covering up this murder.

Last night I sent a message via Twitter to @KeithOlbermann from my Twitter account @brenthatley asking, “What do you think of Sheriff Dupnik now? He’s actively covering up HIS agency’s MURDER of an innocent US Marine?” The retort from the Cornell-educated Keith Olbermann: “bullshit.” Well said, sir, quite the retort to a serious question about the cold-blooded murder by the Pima County Sheriff’s Office and cover-up by Sheriff Dupnik of a Marine war veteran who was doing all the right things to support his family.

The next time Olbermann decides to bloviate about Tea Partiers, gun owners, libertarians, or citizens who’ve just had enough of government waste, remember: he could care less about the people who carry assault weapons, under the color of law, and murder innocent veterans who’ve served our country honorably.

Now that Mr. Olbermann is on the smug Al Gore’s Current TV, I doubt anyone will actually hear his holier-than-thou rants. It goes back to the philosophical question posed by George Berkeley: “If a tree falls in the forest, and no one is there to hear it, does it make a sound?”

Brent Hatley, a Marine Corps veteran, is the executive producer of the Bubba the Love Sponge Show.