Seattle police officers are starting to walk away from a dysfunctional city, and its dysfunctional city council. Part of the problem is the civilian Office of Professional Accountability (OPA).

Recently, SPD management broke with OPA when it recommended discipline for Officer Nick Guzley after he tackled an ax-wielding man, despite repeated attempts to convince the man to drop his weapon. Only OPA seemed to think this was a case of misconduct. In fact, a leading, national expert in use-of-force had volunteered his time to present a case on Guzley’s behalf to Chief Best. Guzley, it turns out, was cleared of any wrongdoing by Chief Best, according to a source (though this has not yet been made public and the Chief explained she cannot yet confirm details either way).

There are lessons that can be learned from history, and sometimes those lessons can be painful. The ideals of liberty, and all men are created equal are worthy ideas and should be practiced, but they are dependent upon good men and women. Human beings are flawed, so at times liberty and equality is for us and not for them.

During WWII it was not just the Germans, and the Russians that instituted concentration camps. The United States and Canada did as well. There are some interesting parallels between the criteria of the German and the American criteria on who should be interned, and relocated to the camps. There is an important distinction between the fate of those that were interned in Germany, and America. There is however no escaping the fact that the internment, and relocation into the camps of American citizens of Japanese descent was due to racial animus. Sixty percent of the Japanese interned were American citizens.

Major Karl Bendetsen and Lieutenant General John L. DeWitt, head of the Western Command, each questioned Japanese American loyalty. DeWitt, who administered the internment program, repeatedly told newspapers that “A Jap’s a Jap” and testified to Congress,