The Red Queen Rules

One of the truly scary things about living in The Homeland, as it is officially styled nowadays, is that you are subject to punishment prior to conviction. Merely to be accused is sufficient to deprive you of liberty and property.

And even when – after much expense (yours) and time forever lost – you are eventually able to prove your innocence (rather than them having to prove your guilt) those who abused you are never themselves punished for what they did to an innocent person – and good luck getting them to make you whole for what they did to your innocent person.   

The WarrnTrr – and The War on Some Drugs – account for much of this, but the rot goes deeper. The Homeland’s armed goons – and the Homeland’s robed goons – can summarily seize your person, your property and dispose of them as they wish for almost any reason.

Even a trumped-up traffic ticket.

This happened to Melanie Pence in my part of the Homeland, Roanoke Virginia.

Time to buy old US gold coins

Pence was involved in a minor fender-bender and one of the Homeland’s armed goons showed up to make the problem worse.

Usually, the armed goons of the Homeland will simply hand out extortion notes demanding that sums of money be given over to the higher-up goons, as punishment for various transgressions of statute  – usually having nothing to do with any harm caused.

Usually, you are not forced to hand over money (or other property or your liberty) until after the asserted transgression has been adjudicated and a robed goon has decreed you to be guilty.

This courtesy was not extended to Pence (news story here).

The Homeland goon, using his Infallible Computer, determined that Pence was driving on a suspended license. In fact, she was driving on a restricted license – a difference that makes all the difference.

But not to the Homeland’s goon, nor the subsequent robed goons.

Despite a call at the scene to the clerk of the Salem General District Court – to confirm to the Homeland’s goon that, indeed, Pence was lawfully driving on a restricted rather than suspended license, the goon seized Pence’s vehicle and had it towed to an impound lot.

Where, less than a week later, the company that towed the vehicle sent Pence a letter advising her that it would be sold forthwith if she did not cough up $1,890 in “towing, administrative and impound fees.”

This works out to about $300 a day, a tidy racket for these guys.

Pence attempted to get her car back, according to a subsequent lawsuit – and even attempted to pay the outrageous ransom demanded by G&J Towing of northwest Roanoke  –  but they would not release the car without a court order.

And when Pence did not pay the larcenous sum demanded, they sold off her car – a 2012 Hyundai Sonata – for “approximately  $1,000.”

Keep in mind that Pence had not committed any offense against the Homeland – much less been adjudicated guilty of any offense. She had merely been accused. This is sufficient – as in many other cases – to simply dispose of her (and by implication, anyone else’s) property.

That is, to steal it.

How else to describe it?

The word is brutal, but precisely appropriate. The Homeland’s goons took Pence’s vehicle from her, then – having control over it – gave it over to a towing company that acts as its enforcement arm and had it taken away to a car prison, then sold out from under Pence before the specious charges against her could even have been heard in court. It takes weeks – usually, in Virginia, a couple of months – before a traffic ticket court date arrives.

Pence’s car was sold out from under before one week had gone by. During which time the mafiosi tow company levied “towing, administrative and impound fees” that would embarrass a New Jersey loan shark.

All perfectly legal, too.

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