State of our local union?

The president has recently done his state of the union address, and it brought to mind for me the "local" state of our union. There seems to be a record number of law enforcement officers in this area, which should make people feel safer right? Except, there are also a record number of "Constitutionalist."

Now, one would think that this wouldn't be a problem because, they should all be on the same team, supporting one another? Especially because the police, prosecutors, judges, and elected officials all swear to the same oath when they take office or their job. You know, the oath about protecting and obeying the constitution of the U.S.

Why then, have I heard, first-hand about a judge who threatened to hold someone in contempt of (traffic) court if he mentioned his constitutional rights one more time? Or the jailer who overheard some of the road deputies stating how they couldn't wait to get one of those "Constitutionalist" in their sites. So I ask you, what is the state of our local union? Do you feel safer with more cops on the street, per-capita, than any where else in the world (with the execption maybe Iraq). Just curious?

JAMES "BEAN" JOHNSTON

Sandpoint