Posted on "InTheLineOfDuty.com" a police informational website:
Did Virginia Tech's Gun Ban Contribute To Massacre?
Tuesday, 17 April 2007
In light of the recent Trolley Square Shootings, which were brought to a quick end by an armed off-duty Ogden Police Officer, we can't help but wonder if the tragic Virginia Tech shootings could have been stopped much sooner if someone, anyone, in that campus building was armed.
While the State Of Virginia allows licensed law abiding citizens to carry concealed weapons, Virginia Tech forbids them on campus.
We unearthed this little gem, originally posted on April 13, 2005.
Would the chance of an armed response by faculty or students deter school shooters?
*************************************************************************************
Wednesday, April 13, 2005
Virginia Tech's ban on guns may draw legal fire
Some people question whether the university has the authority to ban the carrying of firearms.
By Kevin Miller
From roanoke.com
BLACKSBURG - Virginia Tech's recent action against a student caught carrying a gun to class could draw unwanted attention from groups already angry about firearms restrictions on public college campuses.
University officials confirmed that, earlier this semester, campus police approached a student found to be carrying a concealed handgun to class. The unnamed student was not charged with any crimes because he holds a state-issued permit allowing him to carry a concealed gun. But the student could face disciplinary action from the university for violating its policy prohibiting "unauthorized possession, storage or control" of firearms on campus.
Tech spokesman Larry Hincker declined to release the student's name or specifics of the incident, citing rules protecting student confidentiality. But Hincker said Tech's ban on guns dates back several decades.
Students who violate the school policy could be called before the university's internal judicial affairs system, which has wide discretion in handing down penalties ranging from a reprimand to expulsion.
"I think it's fair to say that we believe guns don't belong in the classroom," Hincker said. "In an academic environment, we believe you should be free from fear."
Most public colleges in Virginia ban or restrict guns on campus. But the root of that authority is murky, according to some observers.
Virginia law already prohibits students or visitors from carrying guns onto the grounds of public and private K-12 schools. The state also prohibits concealed weapons in courthouses, places of worship during a service, jails and on any private property where the owner has posted a "no guns" notice. State employees are barred from possessing guns while at work unless needed for their job.
But Virginia code is silent on guns and public colleges. And two bills seeking to give college governing boards the authority to regulate firearms on campus died in committee during this year's General Assembly session.
David Briggman, a resident of Keezletown in Rockingham County, has made it his personal mission to challenge state colleges' authority to enact tougher gun restrictions than the state.
Briggman, who is a former police officer, said he forced Blue Ridge Community College to allow him to carry a gun onto campus while a student. And he sued James Madison University over its ban on concealed weapons even among permit holders. While JMU's policy still stands, Briggman said he has been told by campus police officials that they will not arrest visitors who carry a gun legally.
"It's extremely easy to challenge university policy by looking at ... whether they are given the statutory authority to regulate firearms on campus, and of course, they're not," Briggman said Tuesday.
Hincker, meanwhile, said it is not unusual for colleges to have more restrictive policies than the state. As an example, Hincker said certain chemicals and explosives that are legal on the outside are prohibited in the classroom or in dormitories for safety reasons.
"We think we have the right to adhere to and enforce that policy because, in the end, we think it's a common-sense policy for the protection of students, staff and faculty as well as guests and visitors," Hincker said.
Virginia Tech also has the backing of the Virginia Association of Chiefs of Police. In a policy position paper dated April 1, association executive director Dana Schrad wrote that the presence of guns on college campuses "adds a dangerous element to an environment in which alcohol is a compounding factor." Students should not have to be concerned about guns on campus, Schrad wrote.
"The excellent reputation of Virginia's colleges and universities depends in part on the public's belief that they are sending their college-age children to safe environments," the policy paper reads.
At least one attorney who represents college students would like to see the concealed-carry permit issue clarified.
John Robertson, the Student Legal Services attorney at Tech, said he's heard differing interpretations of the policy at Tech. Robertson, whose position is funded through the Student Government Association's budget, does not represent students in disputes with the university but offers free legal advice and services to students on civil and criminal matters.
Robertson said he would like to see either a court or the state Attorney General's Office resolve the matter. As for a university's refusal to honor a concealed-carry permit, Robertson added: "I am dubious that one particular arm of the state can do so without a particular statute."
Hincker acknowledged that the concealed guns issue had "never been tested" and that the university could be opening itself up to legal action.
"But we stand by the policy unequivocally," Hincker said.
Tuesday, April 17, 2007
Pelosi May Be To Important To See Her Own Supporters
Marine's Mom Arrested
Associated Press | April 17, 2007
WASHINGTON - The mother of a Marine who tried to kill himself after two tours of duty in Iraq was arrested Monday while protesting the war outside the office of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.
Tina Richards of Salem, Mo., was charged with disorderly conduct, said Sgt. Kimberly Schneider, a U.S. Capitol Police spokeswoman. Schneider said Richards would be issued a citation and released.
Drew Hammill, a spokesman for Pelosi, D-Calif., said Richards was with a group of 15 to 20 protesters when she was arrested in the hallway outside the speaker's office. He added that Pelosi's office made no complaint about the presence of the protesters and was informed of the arrests after they had taken place.
Gael Murphy, a spokesman for Codepink, an anti-war group that helped organize the protest at Pelosi's office, said Richards was arrested after chanting anti-war statements.
"I have been trying to meet with Speaker Pelosi since November because she needs to listen to the moms and other women affected by the war," Richards said in a statement.
Hammill said Richards' request for a meeting with Pelosi is pending. "She's met repeatedly with staff, and we've passed her concerns to the speaker," he said.
Last month, Richards confronted Rep. David Obey, D-Wis., chairman of the House Appropriations Committee, in her effort to persuade lawmakers to cut off funding for the war. That exchange was videotaped and played widely on YouTube.
"You can't end the war if you vote against the supplemental. It's time these idiot liberals understand that," Obey told her during the exchange. He later apologized.
Associated Press | April 17, 2007
WASHINGTON - The mother of a Marine who tried to kill himself after two tours of duty in Iraq was arrested Monday while protesting the war outside the office of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.
Tina Richards of Salem, Mo., was charged with disorderly conduct, said Sgt. Kimberly Schneider, a U.S. Capitol Police spokeswoman. Schneider said Richards would be issued a citation and released.
Drew Hammill, a spokesman for Pelosi, D-Calif., said Richards was with a group of 15 to 20 protesters when she was arrested in the hallway outside the speaker's office. He added that Pelosi's office made no complaint about the presence of the protesters and was informed of the arrests after they had taken place.
Gael Murphy, a spokesman for Codepink, an anti-war group that helped organize the protest at Pelosi's office, said Richards was arrested after chanting anti-war statements.
"I have been trying to meet with Speaker Pelosi since November because she needs to listen to the moms and other women affected by the war," Richards said in a statement.
Hammill said Richards' request for a meeting with Pelosi is pending. "She's met repeatedly with staff, and we've passed her concerns to the speaker," he said.
Last month, Richards confronted Rep. David Obey, D-Wis., chairman of the House Appropriations Committee, in her effort to persuade lawmakers to cut off funding for the war. That exchange was videotaped and played widely on YouTube.
"You can't end the war if you vote against the supplemental. It's time these idiot liberals understand that," Obey told her during the exchange. He later apologized.
The Way I See It
I received this from my brother so I can not give credit to where it was originally published.
Saturday, April 14, 2007
From John McCain via AOL
Mr. McCain recently came under fire from Democrats and other critics for what they called an overly optimistic assessment of security conditions in a Baghdad market, which he toured under the protection of more than 100 soldiers. Mr. McCain later said that he would have been prepared to tour the market with much less protection.
In the interview, Mr. McCain said that if he became the commander in chief, he might keep Robert M. Gates as defense secretary. For the post of chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, he suggested that he would consider Gen. David H. Petraeus, the senior commander in Iraq, Lt. Gen. Raymond T. Odierno, the day-to-day commander in Iraq, and Adm. William J. Fallon, the newly appointed head of the Central Command. They are carrying out the new strategy in Baghdad. Mr. McCain has been critical of their predecessors, Gen. George W. Casey Jr., the former American commander in Iraq, and the former secretary of defense, Donald H. Rumsfeld .
Mr. McCain also said he would seek to attract corporate leaders to improve the management of the Pentagon, citing figures like Frederick W. Smith, the chief executive of FedEx Corporation, and John T. Chambers, the chief executive of Cisco Systems.
“I would go to these people and say: ‘Look, you’ve made a billion dollars. Come on now, and do what David Packard did years ago. Serve your country,’ ” Mr. McCain said, referring to the co-founder of the Hewlett Packard Company who served as deputy defense secretary in the first Nixon administration.
Mr. McCain also described retired Gen. James L. Jones, the former NATO commander and Marine commandant, as one of his closest friends, adding he expected he would “play a key role.”
Mr. McCain discussed Iraq during an hourlong session on Thursday at his Senate office, sipping cappuccino and talking in measured if intense tones in the presence of two aides. He ended the interview to go to the White House for a meeting with Mr. Bush.
“One of the things that I’m going to tell him, and I don’t often talk about my conversations with the president, is that the American people need to be told more often what’s happening,” he said. “Where we’re succeeding; where we’re failing; where we’ve made progress; where we haven’t, here’s the state of readiness, here’s why we continue to see suicide bombers.”
“There’s got to be more communication with the American people,” he added. “Franklin Delano Roosevelt did it.”
“So how do you motivate the Maliki government? Well, one of the ways is go sit down and have dinner with him like Lindsey Graham and I did last week,” he said, alluding to his Republican colleague from South Carolina. He said that he and Mr. Graham had warned Prime Minister Nuri Kamal al-Maliki that the patience of the American public was running out. Many members of the Bush administration and other lawmakers have met with Mr. Maliki to make the same point.
“We’re telling you, there’s been votes in both houses of Congress which portend, unless the American people see measurable success, that we’re going to be out of here,” Mr. McCain said, recalling the message he had delivered to the Iraqi leader. “No matter whether I happen to agree with it or not.”
“He gets it. He gets it,” Mr. McCain said of Mr. Maliki. “The question is whether they do it or not.”
According to the military’s deployment schedule, only three of the five additional combat brigades that are to be deployed in and around Baghdad under Mr. Bush’s plan have arrived. Mr. McCain said the prospects for the new strategy would be known “within months.”
Even more unclear is what Iraq might look like by the time a new president takes office in the United States. The most optimistic course of events he envisioned involved a steady reduction in violence and a gradual turnover of security responsibilities to the Iraqis during the remainder of the Bush administration. Under those circumstances, Mr. McCain said, the United States military would gradually withdraw to its bases in Iraq, though he did not provide a timetable for how long that might take.
American air and ground forces could continue to operate from those bases when needed but then eventually leave, he said. He said that he had recently met with Gen. Pervez Musharraf, Pakistan’s president, and had been told that Pakistan and other Muslim nations would be prepared to help Iraq if the country was secure.
One plan proposed by some Democratic lawmakers is to withdraw American troops to Kuwait, from where they might carry out strikes against terrorists in Iraq belonging to Al Qaeda in Mesopotamia. Mr. McCain argued that this approach reflected a naïve understanding of the difficulties in obtaining intelligence and conducting operations in Iraq. “The fact of modern warfare is that you can’t parachute into places,” he said. “You can’t go in without a solid base of support if you’re going to be engaged in heavy fighting.”
Another plan, advocated by Mrs. Clinton, would maintain a reduced force at bases in Iraq to stabilize Kurdistan, deter neighboring nations from intervening and to fight terrorist groups there. “That assumes somehow that the place has not descended into chaos,” said Mr. McCain, who warned that reducing the force without first stabilizing Iraq would put the American forces in the position of being “rocketed in their bases.”
Putting additional emphasis on training the Iraqi Army, Mr. McCain also argued, would not be effective unless security in Iraq was improved. “I’d be very reluctant to send your men into a country where there is chaos and tell them they’re going to be trainers.”
Partitioning Iraq into Sunni , Shiite and Kurdish enclaves, as some experts have proposed, was “totally unrealistic,” Mr. McCain argued, because the Iraqis are opposed to measures that would lead to the further dislocation of the population and even divide families.
He also suggested that setting deadlines for withdrawing troops — as many lawmakers were seeking to legislate — would backfire, hamstringing commanders and giving opponents a way to wait out the Americans.
Mr. McCain acknowledged that his message — that a long, hard and uncertain road still lies ahead in Iraq — was not a popular one, and could mark the end of his political ambitions. However, it could be as politically treacherous for Mr. McCain to back away from his support of the war as it is for him to stay with it.
During a recent speech at the Virginia Military Institute, Mr. McCain noted that he had recently met Petty Officer First Class Mark Robbins, a member of the Navy Seals who was shot in the eye in an ambush outside Baghdad, in a military hospital in Germany and that he planned personally to award him the Purple Heart.
“Oh, God, I’ve seen a lot of things in my life,” Mr. McCain recalled in the interview. “I’ve seen a lot of things. That kid sitting up there. His head. Blood all over the back of him.”
“Grabs my hand and says, ‘I’m honored you’re here. Thanks for your support. We can win this fight.’ You know, I’m supposed to worry about my political future?”
In the interview, Mr. McCain said that if he became the commander in chief, he might keep Robert M. Gates as defense secretary. For the post of chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, he suggested that he would consider Gen. David H. Petraeus, the senior commander in Iraq, Lt. Gen. Raymond T. Odierno, the day-to-day commander in Iraq, and Adm. William J. Fallon, the newly appointed head of the Central Command. They are carrying out the new strategy in Baghdad. Mr. McCain has been critical of their predecessors, Gen. George W. Casey Jr., the former American commander in Iraq, and the former secretary of defense, Donald H. Rumsfeld .
Mr. McCain also said he would seek to attract corporate leaders to improve the management of the Pentagon, citing figures like Frederick W. Smith, the chief executive of FedEx Corporation, and John T. Chambers, the chief executive of Cisco Systems.
“I would go to these people and say: ‘Look, you’ve made a billion dollars. Come on now, and do what David Packard did years ago. Serve your country,’ ” Mr. McCain said, referring to the co-founder of the Hewlett Packard Company who served as deputy defense secretary in the first Nixon administration.
Mr. McCain also described retired Gen. James L. Jones, the former NATO commander and Marine commandant, as one of his closest friends, adding he expected he would “play a key role.”
Mr. McCain discussed Iraq during an hourlong session on Thursday at his Senate office, sipping cappuccino and talking in measured if intense tones in the presence of two aides. He ended the interview to go to the White House for a meeting with Mr. Bush.
“One of the things that I’m going to tell him, and I don’t often talk about my conversations with the president, is that the American people need to be told more often what’s happening,” he said. “Where we’re succeeding; where we’re failing; where we’ve made progress; where we haven’t, here’s the state of readiness, here’s why we continue to see suicide bombers.”
“There’s got to be more communication with the American people,” he added. “Franklin Delano Roosevelt did it.”
“So how do you motivate the Maliki government? Well, one of the ways is go sit down and have dinner with him like Lindsey Graham and I did last week,” he said, alluding to his Republican colleague from South Carolina. He said that he and Mr. Graham had warned Prime Minister Nuri Kamal al-Maliki that the patience of the American public was running out. Many members of the Bush administration and other lawmakers have met with Mr. Maliki to make the same point.
“We’re telling you, there’s been votes in both houses of Congress which portend, unless the American people see measurable success, that we’re going to be out of here,” Mr. McCain said, recalling the message he had delivered to the Iraqi leader. “No matter whether I happen to agree with it or not.”
“He gets it. He gets it,” Mr. McCain said of Mr. Maliki. “The question is whether they do it or not.”
According to the military’s deployment schedule, only three of the five additional combat brigades that are to be deployed in and around Baghdad under Mr. Bush’s plan have arrived. Mr. McCain said the prospects for the new strategy would be known “within months.”
Even more unclear is what Iraq might look like by the time a new president takes office in the United States. The most optimistic course of events he envisioned involved a steady reduction in violence and a gradual turnover of security responsibilities to the Iraqis during the remainder of the Bush administration. Under those circumstances, Mr. McCain said, the United States military would gradually withdraw to its bases in Iraq, though he did not provide a timetable for how long that might take.
American air and ground forces could continue to operate from those bases when needed but then eventually leave, he said. He said that he had recently met with Gen. Pervez Musharraf, Pakistan’s president, and had been told that Pakistan and other Muslim nations would be prepared to help Iraq if the country was secure.
One plan proposed by some Democratic lawmakers is to withdraw American troops to Kuwait, from where they might carry out strikes against terrorists in Iraq belonging to Al Qaeda in Mesopotamia. Mr. McCain argued that this approach reflected a naïve understanding of the difficulties in obtaining intelligence and conducting operations in Iraq. “The fact of modern warfare is that you can’t parachute into places,” he said. “You can’t go in without a solid base of support if you’re going to be engaged in heavy fighting.”
Another plan, advocated by Mrs. Clinton, would maintain a reduced force at bases in Iraq to stabilize Kurdistan, deter neighboring nations from intervening and to fight terrorist groups there. “That assumes somehow that the place has not descended into chaos,” said Mr. McCain, who warned that reducing the force without first stabilizing Iraq would put the American forces in the position of being “rocketed in their bases.”
Putting additional emphasis on training the Iraqi Army, Mr. McCain also argued, would not be effective unless security in Iraq was improved. “I’d be very reluctant to send your men into a country where there is chaos and tell them they’re going to be trainers.”
Partitioning Iraq into Sunni , Shiite and Kurdish enclaves, as some experts have proposed, was “totally unrealistic,” Mr. McCain argued, because the Iraqis are opposed to measures that would lead to the further dislocation of the population and even divide families.
He also suggested that setting deadlines for withdrawing troops — as many lawmakers were seeking to legislate — would backfire, hamstringing commanders and giving opponents a way to wait out the Americans.
Mr. McCain acknowledged that his message — that a long, hard and uncertain road still lies ahead in Iraq — was not a popular one, and could mark the end of his political ambitions. However, it could be as politically treacherous for Mr. McCain to back away from his support of the war as it is for him to stay with it.
During a recent speech at the Virginia Military Institute, Mr. McCain noted that he had recently met Petty Officer First Class Mark Robbins, a member of the Navy Seals who was shot in the eye in an ambush outside Baghdad, in a military hospital in Germany and that he planned personally to award him the Purple Heart.
“Oh, God, I’ve seen a lot of things in my life,” Mr. McCain recalled in the interview. “I’ve seen a lot of things. That kid sitting up there. His head. Blood all over the back of him.”
“Grabs my hand and says, ‘I’m honored you’re here. Thanks for your support. We can win this fight.’ You know, I’m supposed to worry about my political future?”
It's Not Massachusetts' Fault, Somebody Else Has To Be Responsible
This sounds like a good job for the Massachusetts National Guard. Place them all around the border to prevent the evil citizens of the United States of America from sending all of those nasty firearms to the citizens of Massachusetts who are misbehaving (committing crimes sounds so BAD).
In my honest opinion, when the honest citizens are restricted from firearm ownership, then the less honest and more willing to issue harm citizens can then have their own way.
I know the State of Massachusetts disagrees with me and I can only say:
How is it working out doing it your way?
Massachusetts Named Most Violent in the Northeast
Updated: April 13th, 2007 05:18 PM EDT
E-mail Story Print Story Most Read Most Emailed
Story by thebostonchannel.com, taken from Officer.com on 4-14-07:
Amid an increase in youth violence, Massachusetts is now the most violent state in the northeast, according to the FBI.
NewsCenter 5's Steve Lacy reported that community leaders met on Thursday to look for ways to combat the trend.
"The proliferation of guns in my neighborhood and my community where I go to bed and hear gunshots -- I hear them. I don't come into my community and talk about it. I live it," said Rep. Marie St. Fleur.
Lawmakers are calling for new legislation to crack down on the number of guns flooding the city's streets.
"Gun violence tears at the soul of our community," said the Rev. Jeffery Brown of the Ten-Point Coalition.
The proposed changes would make it illegal to fail to report a lost or stolen gun; it would create a state database to track the resale of guns in the secondary market; and when setting bail, judges would be allowed to consider whether a suspect was in possession of a gun at the time of their arrest.
"We also want to see police with better tools at their finger tips when investigating these crimes," said Sen. Jarrett Barrios.
The renewed call to crackdown on guns comes as the city struggles to combat a recent spike in violent crime.
But not everyone is sold on creating new gun laws saying there are enough restrictions on lawful gun ownership and greater enforcement of existing laws is needed. People who live in some of the city's hardest hit neighborhoods disagree, saying any law that can reduce the number of guns is welcomed.
"We need to be using all of our forces at every border that surrounds Massachusetts and stop this flow of guns and drugs in our communities," said Rep. Gloria Fox.
There have been 17 homicides so far in 2007. Thirteen of the victims were 25 or younger.
In my honest opinion, when the honest citizens are restricted from firearm ownership, then the less honest and more willing to issue harm citizens can then have their own way.
I know the State of Massachusetts disagrees with me and I can only say:
How is it working out doing it your way?
Massachusetts Named Most Violent in the Northeast
Updated: April 13th, 2007 05:18 PM EDT
E-mail Story Print Story Most Read Most Emailed
Story by thebostonchannel.com, taken from Officer.com on 4-14-07:
Amid an increase in youth violence, Massachusetts is now the most violent state in the northeast, according to the FBI.
NewsCenter 5's Steve Lacy reported that community leaders met on Thursday to look for ways to combat the trend.
"The proliferation of guns in my neighborhood and my community where I go to bed and hear gunshots -- I hear them. I don't come into my community and talk about it. I live it," said Rep. Marie St. Fleur.
Lawmakers are calling for new legislation to crack down on the number of guns flooding the city's streets.
"Gun violence tears at the soul of our community," said the Rev. Jeffery Brown of the Ten-Point Coalition.
The proposed changes would make it illegal to fail to report a lost or stolen gun; it would create a state database to track the resale of guns in the secondary market; and when setting bail, judges would be allowed to consider whether a suspect was in possession of a gun at the time of their arrest.
"We also want to see police with better tools at their finger tips when investigating these crimes," said Sen. Jarrett Barrios.
The renewed call to crackdown on guns comes as the city struggles to combat a recent spike in violent crime.
But not everyone is sold on creating new gun laws saying there are enough restrictions on lawful gun ownership and greater enforcement of existing laws is needed. People who live in some of the city's hardest hit neighborhoods disagree, saying any law that can reduce the number of guns is welcomed.
"We need to be using all of our forces at every border that surrounds Massachusetts and stop this flow of guns and drugs in our communities," said Rep. Gloria Fox.
There have been 17 homicides so far in 2007. Thirteen of the victims were 25 or younger.
Thursday, April 12, 2007
I Believe
When I was growing up, all my heroes could make the world right. Whether it was Superman or Batman & Robin in the comic books or Roy Rgers, the Lone Ranger or Lash La Rue in the movies. As I got older there was Audie Murphy (a real hero as well as a movie hero) and John Wayne among many others.
When I graduated from high school, I tried to emulate my heroes by joining the U. S. Navy.
However, soon after I enlisted the world began to change drastically. People who did not like they way the world turned began to commit what they called acts of "civil disobediance." The incidents of "civil disobediance" continued in many different venues. Suddenly it was fashionable to leave the country to demonstrate "civil disobediance" then the acts of "civil disobediance" continued until they often became traitorous.
But our government did not prosecute those who committed tratorious acts. In fact one of the most famous went on to become President of the United States of America. Another ran for the same office not to long ago.
Now we are in the position where many of those who grew up on "civil disobediance" are now in high levels of government where they are still committing irresponsible acts in and out of the government.
They say they are exercising their rights of free speech, that honest discourse is necessary in our government.
I say these people are , as in the past, only interested in their own interests. Whether it is keeping their ass out of harms way, insuring their political survival or increasing their wealth.
There are still citizens who feel like I did then and still do now. However, they are busy supporting their country, trying to protect their fellow citizens from those who would destroy us.
Unlike their fellow citizens who use the rights obtained by the U. S. citizen soldier, sailor or airman for their own personal gain these citizens put themselves in harms way .
After a 30 year career in the U. S. Navy, I understand life sucks sometimes and then you die. But until that time, I believe in protecting this country from those who would do us harm and supporting the military who makes it all happen.
Whenever I take one of those on-line quizzes to determine whether I am a liberal or a conservative I come up on the liberal side. Whenever I look at the liberal politicians I see really scary people. When I look at the conservative side I feel they are somewhat more honest, but not to bright.
At this point in time, I do not believe that either political party is doing what they are voted in for at this time. I really can not believe the opportunities each side is throwing away in their stampede for power, for their side.
When I graduated from high school, I tried to emulate my heroes by joining the U. S. Navy.
However, soon after I enlisted the world began to change drastically. People who did not like they way the world turned began to commit what they called acts of "civil disobediance." The incidents of "civil disobediance" continued in many different venues. Suddenly it was fashionable to leave the country to demonstrate "civil disobediance" then the acts of "civil disobediance" continued until they often became traitorous.
But our government did not prosecute those who committed tratorious acts. In fact one of the most famous went on to become President of the United States of America. Another ran for the same office not to long ago.
Now we are in the position where many of those who grew up on "civil disobediance" are now in high levels of government where they are still committing irresponsible acts in and out of the government.
They say they are exercising their rights of free speech, that honest discourse is necessary in our government.
I say these people are , as in the past, only interested in their own interests. Whether it is keeping their ass out of harms way, insuring their political survival or increasing their wealth.
There are still citizens who feel like I did then and still do now. However, they are busy supporting their country, trying to protect their fellow citizens from those who would destroy us.
Unlike their fellow citizens who use the rights obtained by the U. S. citizen soldier, sailor or airman for their own personal gain these citizens put themselves in harms way .
After a 30 year career in the U. S. Navy, I understand life sucks sometimes and then you die. But until that time, I believe in protecting this country from those who would do us harm and supporting the military who makes it all happen.
Whenever I take one of those on-line quizzes to determine whether I am a liberal or a conservative I come up on the liberal side. Whenever I look at the liberal politicians I see really scary people. When I look at the conservative side I feel they are somewhat more honest, but not to bright.
At this point in time, I do not believe that either political party is doing what they are voted in for at this time. I really can not believe the opportunities each side is throwing away in their stampede for power, for their side.
Saturday, February 10, 2007
From Neal Boortz: Somebody's Got To Say It
Sat Feb 10 2007
Global Freezing Returns
Ever notice that during December and the first part of January, the media was more than happy to report that global warming was going to end life as we know it and kill everything on the planet? Now, just in time for the UN's big report on climate change, we hardly hear a peep. Why? Because for most of the country, it's almost below zero outside. Tough to sell the global warming charade when people's car doors are frozen shut.
So as much of the Midwest and the Northeast enjoys wind chills below zero, let's take a look at some recent quotes from the global warming pimps on the Left. From Al Gore, the former Vice President and and Nobel Appeasement Prize nominee: "Never before has all of civilization been threatened. We have everything we need to save it, with the possible exception of political will. But political will is a renewable resource." Never before! Those are strong words, Al. Maybe this really is the end of the road for all of us.
Then we heard from Ted Turner, the cable TV titan and owner of his chain of buffalo burger restaurants. Said The Ted: Global warming is the "single greatest challenge that humanity has ever faced. The biggest danger is we won't do enough soon enough." He called for a moratorium on all new carbon-producing power plants. Hey Ted...how about we build more nuclear power plants? No carbon emissions there. Just an idea.
And of course the great hypocrisy of the Left rolls on, for they do not practice what they preach. They tell us all how to live, how global warming is going to kill us all...then get into their private jets and Hummers and speed off to their next destination. Or in the case of Nancy Pelosi, her military jet. Must be nice!
Global Freezing Returns
Ever notice that during December and the first part of January, the media was more than happy to report that global warming was going to end life as we know it and kill everything on the planet? Now, just in time for the UN's big report on climate change, we hardly hear a peep. Why? Because for most of the country, it's almost below zero outside. Tough to sell the global warming charade when people's car doors are frozen shut.
So as much of the Midwest and the Northeast enjoys wind chills below zero, let's take a look at some recent quotes from the global warming pimps on the Left. From Al Gore, the former Vice President and and Nobel Appeasement Prize nominee: "Never before has all of civilization been threatened. We have everything we need to save it, with the possible exception of political will. But political will is a renewable resource." Never before! Those are strong words, Al. Maybe this really is the end of the road for all of us.
Then we heard from Ted Turner, the cable TV titan and owner of his chain of buffalo burger restaurants. Said The Ted: Global warming is the "single greatest challenge that humanity has ever faced. The biggest danger is we won't do enough soon enough." He called for a moratorium on all new carbon-producing power plants. Hey Ted...how about we build more nuclear power plants? No carbon emissions there. Just an idea.
And of course the great hypocrisy of the Left rolls on, for they do not practice what they preach. They tell us all how to live, how global warming is going to kill us all...then get into their private jets and Hummers and speed off to their next destination. Or in the case of Nancy Pelosi, her military jet. Must be nice!
Tuesday, November 14, 2006
Toys for Tots
Tonight my local radio station in Melbourne, Florida reported that the USMC Tots for Tots program had turned down 4000 talking Jesus dolls. The company that manufactures these dolls also makes, according to the news broadcast, Mary, Joseph and Noah dolls that also talk.
The doll company reported the USMC response to their offer of free dolls was basically:
"As a government entity, they could not allow these dolls to be given inadvertently to Jewish or Muslim families."
HOW ABOUT THAT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
The doll company reported the USMC response to their offer of free dolls was basically:
"As a government entity, they could not allow these dolls to be given inadvertently to Jewish or Muslim families."
HOW ABOUT THAT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Wednesday, November 08, 2006
From a USMC Sergeant
John Kerry said, "You know education, if you make the most of it, you study hard, you do your homework, and you make an effort to be smart, you can do well, and if you don’t, you get stuck in Iraq”
So I wrote him a letter:
I am a Sergeant in the United States Marine Corps. I am currently on my second tour in Iraq, a tour in which I volunteered for. I speak Arabic and Spanish and I plan to tackle Persian Farsi soon. I have a Bachelors and an Associates Degree and between deployments I am pursuing an M.B.A. In college I was a member of several academic honor societies, including the Golden Key Honor Society. I am not unique among the enlisted troops. Many of my enlisted colleagues include lawyers, teachers, mechanics, engineers, musicians and artists just to name a few. You say that your comments were directed towards the President and not us. If we were stupid Senator Kerry, we might have believed you.
I am not a victim of President Bush. I proudly serve him because he is my Commander and Chief. If it was you who was President, I would serve you just as faithfully. I serve America Senator Kerry, and I am also providing a service to the good people of Iraq. I have not terrorized them in the middle of the night, raped them or murdered them as you have accused me of before. I am doing my part to help them rebuild. My role is a simple one, but important. You see Senator Kerry, like it or not, we came here and removed a tyrant (who terrorized Iraqis in the middle of the night, and raped them and murdered them). And we have a responsibility to see to it that another one doesn’t take his place. The people of Iraq are recovering from an abusive relationship with a terrible government and it’s going to take some time to help them recover from that. We can’t treat this conflict like a microwave dinner and throw a temper tantrum because we feel like it’s taking too long.
Senator Kerry, you don’t have to agree with this war. You don’t have to say nice things about those of us who choose to make sacrifices for the rights of every American rather than sit back and simply feel entitled to it. But please Senator Kerry, if you’re going to call me a stupid murdering rapist, stick by what you say. Don’t tell me that I misunderstood or that you would never insult a veteran because you’re one too. Having been there and done that does not give you a free pass to insult me.
My suggestion for you, Senator Kerry, is to remember that your speeches are recorded, and broadcast to us simpletons over here. You may want to write down what you want to say before you say it, maybe have somebody look at it before you say it and tell you what others might hear. Remember that we can’t read your mind, if there are any misinterpretations in what you say, it’s because you didn’t communicate clearly.
Good luck to you Senator Kerry, if nothing else it’s always entertaining to watch you try and climb out of the holes that you constantly dig for yourself.
Sincerely,
Somebody who is watching his daughter grow up in photographs so that you can have the right to say whatever you want about him.
This was copied from my daughter's blog @ http://www.jacquibeepink.blogspot.com/
So I wrote him a letter:
I am a Sergeant in the United States Marine Corps. I am currently on my second tour in Iraq, a tour in which I volunteered for. I speak Arabic and Spanish and I plan to tackle Persian Farsi soon. I have a Bachelors and an Associates Degree and between deployments I am pursuing an M.B.A. In college I was a member of several academic honor societies, including the Golden Key Honor Society. I am not unique among the enlisted troops. Many of my enlisted colleagues include lawyers, teachers, mechanics, engineers, musicians and artists just to name a few. You say that your comments were directed towards the President and not us. If we were stupid Senator Kerry, we might have believed you.
I am not a victim of President Bush. I proudly serve him because he is my Commander and Chief. If it was you who was President, I would serve you just as faithfully. I serve America Senator Kerry, and I am also providing a service to the good people of Iraq. I have not terrorized them in the middle of the night, raped them or murdered them as you have accused me of before. I am doing my part to help them rebuild. My role is a simple one, but important. You see Senator Kerry, like it or not, we came here and removed a tyrant (who terrorized Iraqis in the middle of the night, and raped them and murdered them). And we have a responsibility to see to it that another one doesn’t take his place. The people of Iraq are recovering from an abusive relationship with a terrible government and it’s going to take some time to help them recover from that. We can’t treat this conflict like a microwave dinner and throw a temper tantrum because we feel like it’s taking too long.
Senator Kerry, you don’t have to agree with this war. You don’t have to say nice things about those of us who choose to make sacrifices for the rights of every American rather than sit back and simply feel entitled to it. But please Senator Kerry, if you’re going to call me a stupid murdering rapist, stick by what you say. Don’t tell me that I misunderstood or that you would never insult a veteran because you’re one too. Having been there and done that does not give you a free pass to insult me.
My suggestion for you, Senator Kerry, is to remember that your speeches are recorded, and broadcast to us simpletons over here. You may want to write down what you want to say before you say it, maybe have somebody look at it before you say it and tell you what others might hear. Remember that we can’t read your mind, if there are any misinterpretations in what you say, it’s because you didn’t communicate clearly.
Good luck to you Senator Kerry, if nothing else it’s always entertaining to watch you try and climb out of the holes that you constantly dig for yourself.
Sincerely,
Somebody who is watching his daughter grow up in photographs so that you can have the right to say whatever you want about him.
This was copied from my daughter's blog @ http://www.jacquibeepink.blogspot.com/
Thursday, August 24, 2006
Immigration
After a lot of thought I have decided that immigration amnesty is not the way to go. I really do not care how many immigrants we let in legally with proper registration, finger prints, etc. However, those who come in illegal need to be sent back to the end of the line with some form of punishment.
I do not support providing multiple signs in all the various languages of the world. As child in the 1950's I remember the Hungarian revolution where the Hungarian tried to throw out the Russians and the Russian supported Hungarian government. Many of those who escaped Hungary came to the US. Some even came to upstate New York where I grew up. But the had to mix and mingle in English to get ahead.
I am happy to welcome new folks who want to be US citizens to this country. I am not interested in adding 2 million Mexicans who feel that California, Arizona, New Mexico and Texas really belong to Mexico.
So for those legals who come here, "Welcome Aboard." For the ILLEGALs, my vote will get you some time in jail and more time added to your inprocessing.
Our laws need to be changed and enforced to ensure the safety of this country and neither political party seems to really care about our internal security as long as they can pander for more votes.
I do not support providing multiple signs in all the various languages of the world. As child in the 1950's I remember the Hungarian revolution where the Hungarian tried to throw out the Russians and the Russian supported Hungarian government. Many of those who escaped Hungary came to the US. Some even came to upstate New York where I grew up. But the had to mix and mingle in English to get ahead.
I am happy to welcome new folks who want to be US citizens to this country. I am not interested in adding 2 million Mexicans who feel that California, Arizona, New Mexico and Texas really belong to Mexico.
So for those legals who come here, "Welcome Aboard." For the ILLEGALs, my vote will get you some time in jail and more time added to your inprocessing.
Our laws need to be changed and enforced to ensure the safety of this country and neither political party seems to really care about our internal security as long as they can pander for more votes.
Friday, August 18, 2006
History Channels Show on the Waffen SS
The History Channel has a series of shows titled "SS". This series is on the Waffen SS units of WWII. Should you watch any of these shows, particularly the ones concerning Himmler or Heydrich look for any parallels between their beliefs and behaviors and those of the Muslim zealots that exist today. Another show deals with lower ranked individuals, the gophers if you will, all of whom killed people they believed to be "less than" themselves. This "less than" was the official party line of the German Nazi Party and it was not limited to Jews only.
If you notice any similarity between Nazi's and fanatic (or as they say, devout) Muslims you might want to ask the following questions:
1. Is Muslim-American really an oxymoron?
2. Can a devout Muslim be an American patriot and a loyal citizen.
And you might consider checking out this website:
www.bible.ca/islam/islam-kills-oxymoron.htm
If you notice any similarity between Nazi's and fanatic (or as they say, devout) Muslims you might want to ask the following questions:
1. Is Muslim-American really an oxymoron?
2. Can a devout Muslim be an American patriot and a loyal citizen.
And you might consider checking out this website:
www.bible.ca/islam/islam-kills-oxymoron.htm
Tuesday, August 01, 2006
Mel Gibson
Mel Gibson and I differ on many things; one being the Second Amendment and another his possible feelings about Jews. However, the man was drunk. After serving in the US Navy for 30 years and being in law enforcement for another 15 years full-time plus a few years part-time I have interacted with more than my fair share of drunks. I can also admit that sometimes I was the drunk.
Drunks embarrass themselves, their famly and friends. Their tongues may be a little looser and their inhibitions fall by the wayside.
During my last five years in the US Navy, I was assigned to the Department of Defense Equal Opportunity Management Institute (DEOMI). At DEOMI we interacted with males, females, enlisteds, and officers of all of the miltary services plus the US Coast guard. Although their were only token Marines because they tried to convince everyone they only saw Marine green.
This was a school that had started as the Race Relations Institute back in the early 1970s if I am correct on the time. I arrived in early 1987. During this period that school with all of those fine instructors could not teach anyone to like another person of the same or different race, gender or religion. In fact, by the time I arrived that was no longer their goal. The goal was to put facts in front of people that caused those people internal dissonance. Once the seeds of dissonance were sowed and the facts were conflicting with their thoughts it was up to them to decide how they wanted to handle what they had experienced.
They left knowing the military rules and regulations that governed their behavior.
In my opinion, many folks went completely through the course and neither understood nor agreed with anything put forward to them. However, they knew what was required of them if they wanted to complete their military careers. These folks retained their pre-DEOMI beliefs and basically went underground.
Another smaller group understood some of the topics better than others, perhaps racism but not sexism. These folks were making efforts to comply and tried to learn how to understand their internal dissonance and grow by challenging some of their previously held beliefs. I often visualize many of thse folks, two or even three years later, going: "Aha, now I understand what they were trying to tell or show me in%2
Drunks embarrass themselves, their famly and friends. Their tongues may be a little looser and their inhibitions fall by the wayside.
During my last five years in the US Navy, I was assigned to the Department of Defense Equal Opportunity Management Institute (DEOMI). At DEOMI we interacted with males, females, enlisteds, and officers of all of the miltary services plus the US Coast guard. Although their were only token Marines because they tried to convince everyone they only saw Marine green.
This was a school that had started as the Race Relations Institute back in the early 1970s if I am correct on the time. I arrived in early 1987. During this period that school with all of those fine instructors could not teach anyone to like another person of the same or different race, gender or religion. In fact, by the time I arrived that was no longer their goal. The goal was to put facts in front of people that caused those people internal dissonance. Once the seeds of dissonance were sowed and the facts were conflicting with their thoughts it was up to them to decide how they wanted to handle what they had experienced.
They left knowing the military rules and regulations that governed their behavior.
In my opinion, many folks went completely through the course and neither understood nor agreed with anything put forward to them. However, they knew what was required of them if they wanted to complete their military careers. These folks retained their pre-DEOMI beliefs and basically went underground.
Another smaller group understood some of the topics better than others, perhaps racism but not sexism. These folks were making efforts to comply and tried to learn how to understand their internal dissonance and grow by challenging some of their previously held beliefs. I often visualize many of thse folks, two or even three years later, going: "Aha, now I understand what they were trying to tell or show me in%2
Friday, July 21, 2006
Thanks Brian Williams, NBC News, for your interpretation
Tonight, while listening to Brian Williams, NBC News I heard him say there were 335 casualties in Lebanon, most of whom were civilian. After having served a career in the military I thought all Hezbollah personnel were civilian.
As a submarine sailor I have never participated in a war. However, I have been watching wars in or on the news all of my life. The History Channel continually shows bombings of Germany during WWII and pictures exhibit miles of desolate territory throughout Germany, Russia, Japan, etc. During those bombings the civilian populace were targeted much as Hezbollah is targeting Israel.
If Israel was targeting Lebanese civilians the death tolls would be a hell of a lot higher than 335. Hezbollah aims their weapons using a somewhat basic point and shoot method like oldtime chinese rockets. Israel aims their weapons using modern ballistics.
Brian Williams may want to come up with a new term other than "civilians" to identify the Hezbollah thugs and their supporters who are dying in Lebanon.
As a submarine sailor I have never participated in a war. However, I have been watching wars in or on the news all of my life. The History Channel continually shows bombings of Germany during WWII and pictures exhibit miles of desolate territory throughout Germany, Russia, Japan, etc. During those bombings the civilian populace were targeted much as Hezbollah is targeting Israel.
If Israel was targeting Lebanese civilians the death tolls would be a hell of a lot higher than 335. Hezbollah aims their weapons using a somewhat basic point and shoot method like oldtime chinese rockets. Israel aims their weapons using modern ballistics.
Brian Williams may want to come up with a new term other than "civilians" to identify the Hezbollah thugs and their supporters who are dying in Lebanon.
Wednesday, March 22, 2006
Rules for a Gun Fight
1. Have a gun. Preferably one you have demonstrated skill with and bring as many of your other guns as possible. If possible, bring all of your friends and their guns.
2. Anything worth shooting is worth shooting multiple times, ammo is cheap but life is not.
3. Only hits count. You can't miss fast enough to win. (Front sight & trigger squeeze!)
4. If your shooting stance is good, you're probably not moving fast enough or using cover correctly.
5. Move away from your attacker, distance is your friend. Try to move both laterally and diagonally if at all possible.
6. If you have the opportunity to choose what to bring to a gunfight, bring a long gun. Bring as many as possible of your friends with their long guns.
7. In ten years nobody will remember the details of caliber, stance, or tactics. Those that remember will only remember who lived.
8. If you are not shooting, you should be communicating, reloading, and/or running.
9. Accuracy is relative, more combat shooting standards are dependent on "pucker factor" then the built in accuracy of the gun. Long barrel guns are inherently more accurate than short barrel guns due to multiple factors.
10. It is much more important to use a gun that WORKS EVERY TIME. It is imperative that you know how to operate the gun under adverse conditions. Although all skills are in vain when an Angel blows the powder from the pan of your musket.
11. Someday it is possible someone may kill you with your own gun, However, they should have to beat you to death with it because it will be empty.
12. Always cheat, always win. The only unfair fight is the one you lose.
13. Have a plan and a have a back-up plan or two, because your first plan can and will go to sh*t in a heartbeat.
14. Know the difference between cover and concealment and use both to your advantage as much as possible.
15. Flank your adversary whenever possible but ensure you cover yours.
16. Don't drop your guard. Be prepared.
17. Always tactically reload and threat scan 360 degrees.
18. Watch their hands. Hands kill but so can feet. Be very alert when giving commands that require hand and/or foot movements.
19. Decide to be aggressive ENOUGH, quickly ENOUGH.
20. The faster you finish the fight, the less shot you will get.
21. Be polite. Be professional. But, have a plan to kill everyone you meet.
22. Be courteous to everyone, friendly to no one.
23. Your number one option for personal security is a lifelong commitment to avoidance, deterrence, and de-escalation.
24. Your number two option for personal security is lifelong training and preparation for when your number one option fails.
25. Do not knowingly attend a gun fight with a handgun, the caliber of which does not start with anything smaller then "4". Rule #1: Have a gun may sometimes trump this rule.
2. Anything worth shooting is worth shooting multiple times, ammo is cheap but life is not.
3. Only hits count. You can't miss fast enough to win. (Front sight & trigger squeeze!)
4. If your shooting stance is good, you're probably not moving fast enough or using cover correctly.
5. Move away from your attacker, distance is your friend. Try to move both laterally and diagonally if at all possible.
6. If you have the opportunity to choose what to bring to a gunfight, bring a long gun. Bring as many as possible of your friends with their long guns.
7. In ten years nobody will remember the details of caliber, stance, or tactics. Those that remember will only remember who lived.
8. If you are not shooting, you should be communicating, reloading, and/or running.
9. Accuracy is relative, more combat shooting standards are dependent on "pucker factor" then the built in accuracy of the gun. Long barrel guns are inherently more accurate than short barrel guns due to multiple factors.
10. It is much more important to use a gun that WORKS EVERY TIME. It is imperative that you know how to operate the gun under adverse conditions. Although all skills are in vain when an Angel blows the powder from the pan of your musket.
11. Someday it is possible someone may kill you with your own gun, However, they should have to beat you to death with it because it will be empty.
12. Always cheat, always win. The only unfair fight is the one you lose.
13. Have a plan and a have a back-up plan or two, because your first plan can and will go to sh*t in a heartbeat.
14. Know the difference between cover and concealment and use both to your advantage as much as possible.
15. Flank your adversary whenever possible but ensure you cover yours.
16. Don't drop your guard. Be prepared.
17. Always tactically reload and threat scan 360 degrees.
18. Watch their hands. Hands kill but so can feet. Be very alert when giving commands that require hand and/or foot movements.
19. Decide to be aggressive ENOUGH, quickly ENOUGH.
20. The faster you finish the fight, the less shot you will get.
21. Be polite. Be professional. But, have a plan to kill everyone you meet.
22. Be courteous to everyone, friendly to no one.
23. Your number one option for personal security is a lifelong commitment to avoidance, deterrence, and de-escalation.
24. Your number two option for personal security is lifelong training and preparation for when your number one option fails.
25. Do not knowingly attend a gun fight with a handgun, the caliber of which does not start with anything smaller then "4". Rule #1: Have a gun may sometimes trump this rule.
Saturday, January 07, 2006
The Mastermind
The following letter of mine appeared in the Florida Today on 01-25-05:
Graner unpersuasive as abuse mastermind
As a retired U. S. Navy master chief petty officer, I can only imagine that those people who believe Army Specialist Charles A Graner Jr. was the ringleader in hte Abu Ghraib abuse scandal will also believe this;
That CBS newscaster Dan Rather was taken in by his underlings in the now discredited story of President Bush's National Guard Service.
I am not saying Graner was not involved. But his grade as a specialist is very low on the military food chain.
Some questions that might spring from this situation are:
Where was his leadership? What was his chain of command? Whether his chain of command knew or not, they should have been held responsible for his behavior.
Ringleader my eye.
**********************************************************************************
Now almost a year later, I still wonder about that chain of command. What type punishments were handed out to the senior non-commissioned officers as well as the junior and senior grade officers above Spec4 Graner.
I did see recently that LtGen Sanchez (3 star) who was in total charge during this incident has decided to retire rather than be promoted to General ($ star) and go through Senate hearings on his leadership during the Abu Ghraib scandal.
Perhaps if he had actually been leading and properly investigated the situation and handed out appropriate discipline to those involved he could have enjoyed the rank he most surely earned for his service.
Graner unpersuasive as abuse mastermind
As a retired U. S. Navy master chief petty officer, I can only imagine that those people who believe Army Specialist Charles A Graner Jr. was the ringleader in hte Abu Ghraib abuse scandal will also believe this;
That CBS newscaster Dan Rather was taken in by his underlings in the now discredited story of President Bush's National Guard Service.
I am not saying Graner was not involved. But his grade as a specialist is very low on the military food chain.
Some questions that might spring from this situation are:
Where was his leadership? What was his chain of command? Whether his chain of command knew or not, they should have been held responsible for his behavior.
Ringleader my eye.
**********************************************************************************
Now almost a year later, I still wonder about that chain of command. What type punishments were handed out to the senior non-commissioned officers as well as the junior and senior grade officers above Spec4 Graner.
I did see recently that LtGen Sanchez (3 star) who was in total charge during this incident has decided to retire rather than be promoted to General ($ star) and go through Senate hearings on his leadership during the Abu Ghraib scandal.
Perhaps if he had actually been leading and properly investigated the situation and handed out appropriate discipline to those involved he could have enjoyed the rank he most surely earned for his service.
Wednesday, November 16, 2005
J****
Real early this morning my son called to see if we had any information regarding his best friend. The initial word he heard was his friend shot himself with drugs and was found dead. These two guys have been pals since kindergarten. He did not want to call J****'s mom at 0130 hrs but Ryan said she was on his answer machine and she sounded real grim.
This morning, my wife called his mom and learned J**** had been shot to death in his apartment but she had no further information as yet.
By 0900 my wife had found out that J**** and two other people ( his off again on again girlfriend and another guy) had been doing drugs and alcohol overnight. Early in the morning the guy and gal started to trash the apartment and J**** told them to stop doing that. The end result was J**** went to his room, got his pistol and shot the two who were trashing the apartment. The male is in critical condition and the female was dead. Then J**** went into his room and shot himself. He died at the hospital.
This was one really nice kid, who would have never done anything like that without the substance abuse. At this time, I have no idea how often he used drugs and alcohol or what substances he used.
I do remember him as a cub scout and boy scout. He was a very good kid all through school. He graduated with my son, Ryan. Him and Ryan also worked often around our house as my wife's lifters and movers and assisting her in many varied projects. The kid and his many talents will be missed.
And he will be remembered by many for the wrong reasons.
Friday, October 14, 2005
Brevard Shutters, Rockledge, Brevard County, Florida
I ordered my hurricane shutters on 01/07/2005, they are installing my accordion shutters today, 10/14/2005, as I write this. This does not mean the job is or even will completed today, it is only part of a long list of screw-ups by this company. But I must let them finish the job so I can detail all of the errors.
Since April of this year when they actually started installing things, the job has gone downhill. While they were putting up the wrong type rails to hold the aluminum shutters I told them. They completed that install but when I asked them where the see through panels were The installer basically said "Aw s**t and left. Today is the first day they have managed to get back here.
While some of the problem is the fact that suppliers are overwhelmed by their orders since last years hurricanes most of the problem seems to be poor management. The see through panels were finally ordered on 06/01/2005 a fact that no one bothered to tell us. In fact there has been almost absolutely no communication from Brevard shutters to us and more than one failure to return our calls.
More to follow as the adventure continues.
Today is the 18th of November. My shutter installation is still not complete. About 3 weeks ago, I had a visit from the owner of the company who came to offer his apologies and ensure the job was finished right. He went over everything , listened to me and told me of some of the problems his company had suffered. He then called a work crew with explicit instructions to report to my home between )800 and )900 the next day, Saturday to complete the job.
At 0815 I on Saturday, I called their office to see where my installers were. I was told they had to attend an officew meeting but were on their way. They arrived about an hour later and commenced work.
They did complete everything except my upstairs bonus room. Initially the shutter peices had been cut to long and their boss told them to cut off about one and a half inches. This they did without checking. However, they had also replaced the L2 track and installed a plate behind it for a better fit. Each time the lower track was replaced (they were up to 4 timesnow) the measurements changed. They then cut the shutters IAW their bosses instructions abd Voila, they are now to short. When I came out they were preparing to lower the upper track to make the shutters fit.
At this point, I said NO Way. Each time they move the track, I get four more holes in the front of my house. They plug them with caulk BUT. I told them I wanted the upper track where it was and they needed to go get shutters that fit.
The next week I was out of town and the week after that I had doctors appointments and personal items to take care of. My last phone conversation with them, in which Lynette again asked me who I was I told them to get together a plan and call me. Still no phone call almost three weeks later yet when the installers left they assured me they had the necessary material in the shop.
More to follow as the adventure continues.
Yeah Right!
Just before Christmas, I called Brevard Shutters and asked what they plan was. Craig told me he was reviewing my file and wondered what else I needed besides an outside lock. I told him the lock had been installed weeks ago but that I really needed the second floor window completed, that the rails were in place and all I needed was the hurricane panels installed. He said he would send a man right out. I told them there would be know one home and to be sure and bring a ladder because it was a second floor window. I even said just put the shutters up and after I inspect them, I will take them down.
That night when my wife came home she found a business card from Brevard Shutters tucked in the door but no shutters. Today the date is 01-07-06. A year ago today, we ordered these shutters and the last flurry of action from Brevard Shutters was before Christmas when they stuck a card in the door.
The work they do seems to be good, but you could die of old age waiting for them to install your shutters.
Since April of this year when they actually started installing things, the job has gone downhill. While they were putting up the wrong type rails to hold the aluminum shutters I told them. They completed that install but when I asked them where the see through panels were The installer basically said "Aw s**t and left. Today is the first day they have managed to get back here.
While some of the problem is the fact that suppliers are overwhelmed by their orders since last years hurricanes most of the problem seems to be poor management. The see through panels were finally ordered on 06/01/2005 a fact that no one bothered to tell us. In fact there has been almost absolutely no communication from Brevard shutters to us and more than one failure to return our calls.
More to follow as the adventure continues.
Today is the 18th of November. My shutter installation is still not complete. About 3 weeks ago, I had a visit from the owner of the company who came to offer his apologies and ensure the job was finished right. He went over everything , listened to me and told me of some of the problems his company had suffered. He then called a work crew with explicit instructions to report to my home between )800 and )900 the next day, Saturday to complete the job.
At 0815 I on Saturday, I called their office to see where my installers were. I was told they had to attend an officew meeting but were on their way. They arrived about an hour later and commenced work.
They did complete everything except my upstairs bonus room. Initially the shutter peices had been cut to long and their boss told them to cut off about one and a half inches. This they did without checking. However, they had also replaced the L2 track and installed a plate behind it for a better fit. Each time the lower track was replaced (they were up to 4 timesnow) the measurements changed. They then cut the shutters IAW their bosses instructions abd Voila, they are now to short. When I came out they were preparing to lower the upper track to make the shutters fit.
At this point, I said NO Way. Each time they move the track, I get four more holes in the front of my house. They plug them with caulk BUT. I told them I wanted the upper track where it was and they needed to go get shutters that fit.
The next week I was out of town and the week after that I had doctors appointments and personal items to take care of. My last phone conversation with them, in which Lynette again asked me who I was I told them to get together a plan and call me. Still no phone call almost three weeks later yet when the installers left they assured me they had the necessary material in the shop.
More to follow as the adventure continues.
Yeah Right!
Just before Christmas, I called Brevard Shutters and asked what they plan was. Craig told me he was reviewing my file and wondered what else I needed besides an outside lock. I told him the lock had been installed weeks ago but that I really needed the second floor window completed, that the rails were in place and all I needed was the hurricane panels installed. He said he would send a man right out. I told them there would be know one home and to be sure and bring a ladder because it was a second floor window. I even said just put the shutters up and after I inspect them, I will take them down.
That night when my wife came home she found a business card from Brevard Shutters tucked in the door but no shutters. Today the date is 01-07-06. A year ago today, we ordered these shutters and the last flurry of action from Brevard Shutters was before Christmas when they stuck a card in the door.
The work they do seems to be good, but you could die of old age waiting for them to install your shutters.
Thursday, October 13, 2005
Sex Offenders and Sexual Predators
Thank goodness for small politicians and loud causes. Sex offenders and predators belong to the State of Florida. Politicians in counties and cities need to be more concerned with road repair, maintenance of replacement of public buildings and funding of city or county services.
With every jurisdiction in the State coming up with different restrictions on sex offenders and predators the job of the Department of Corrections Probation Officer assigned will become almost impossible.
As a former DOC Probation Officer with a caseload of sex offenders I can assure you that not all sex offenders are equal in their crimes, some who were charged with serious crimes pled down to lower level crimes and other offenders were so purely evi, you wanted to ensure your firearm was with you at all times.
With the new proposed criteria of having local police check their status more often than the State's requirements I cannot help but wonder: If the subject commits another sex crime, has the local jurisdiction supposedly watching him or her now assumed at least some liability from the state. Who will the attorneys for the victim come after now.
And most of these sex offenders WILL recommit more sex offenses.
Are these jurisdictions who intend to use their police to follow sex offenders prepared to hire more police officers or do they intend to act like the state and continue to increase the workload without proper funding?
When you read in the paper that the Florida Department of Law Enforcement says X number of predators and Y number of sex offenders live within a particular jurisdiction remember this: sex offenders lie, they change their locations without notification and they are ALWAYS positioning themselves in their search for new victims. In addition, they also move from other states without following the rules of the state they left or the one they moved into.
I might also add that the ACLU is surely waiting in the wings to initiate lawsuits regarding the unequal application of restrictions on a class of people in this state.
In my opinion, if citizens are not satisfied with the Department of Corrections and the Florida Department of Law Enforcement they should make their feelings known the their state representatives and state senators to have the laws changed.
With every jurisdiction in the State coming up with different restrictions on sex offenders and predators the job of the Department of Corrections Probation Officer assigned will become almost impossible.
As a former DOC Probation Officer with a caseload of sex offenders I can assure you that not all sex offenders are equal in their crimes, some who were charged with serious crimes pled down to lower level crimes and other offenders were so purely evi, you wanted to ensure your firearm was with you at all times.
With the new proposed criteria of having local police check their status more often than the State's requirements I cannot help but wonder: If the subject commits another sex crime, has the local jurisdiction supposedly watching him or her now assumed at least some liability from the state. Who will the attorneys for the victim come after now.
And most of these sex offenders WILL recommit more sex offenses.
Are these jurisdictions who intend to use their police to follow sex offenders prepared to hire more police officers or do they intend to act like the state and continue to increase the workload without proper funding?
When you read in the paper that the Florida Department of Law Enforcement says X number of predators and Y number of sex offenders live within a particular jurisdiction remember this: sex offenders lie, they change their locations without notification and they are ALWAYS positioning themselves in their search for new victims. In addition, they also move from other states without following the rules of the state they left or the one they moved into.
I might also add that the ACLU is surely waiting in the wings to initiate lawsuits regarding the unequal application of restrictions on a class of people in this state.
In my opinion, if citizens are not satisfied with the Department of Corrections and the Florida Department of Law Enforcement they should make their feelings known the their state representatives and state senators to have the laws changed.
Sunday, September 18, 2005
Sheep, Wolves and Sheep Dogs
The people of this world are divided into three categories.
The first are those categorized as Sheep. Sheep have to be taken care of. They have to be protected from predators of all shapes and sizes. Most of the people in the world are sheep. That is to say they go through their life totally oblivious to what is happening around them and if they are not protected by someone or some thing different than their fellow sheep, they are injured or killed off by predators.
Wolves are the segment of the population that consists of predators. These predators that exist to feed off the sheep. Wolves go after sheep for food or fun. The damage caused by wolves is not limited to just what the wolf needs to survive. For the wolf it is almost a bloodsport to kill, injure or just terrify sheep, singular or plural.
The final and perhaps smallest part of the population are the sheep dogs. Sheep dogs exist to protect the sheep from the wolf and any other physical danger that may arise. Sheep dogs have been known to sacrifice themselves when they are highly outnumbered by the wolves.
I suppose each of us has the ability to consciouslly decide whether to be a sheep, a wolf, or a sheep dog.
The main problem for those who become sheep, whether they reached that staus consciously or not, is there are never enough sheep dogs to protect all of the sheep every minute of every day throughout the lifetime of each sheep. Additionally, the sheep normally refuse to foot the bill for the cost of 24 and 7 sheep dogs. When it comes to finances, the sheep are always prepared to sacrifice some other member of the flock to hold down costs. Although some sheep often use the following battle cry "for the good of the lambs" when they try to interest the flock to increase their protective blankets.
The first are those categorized as Sheep. Sheep have to be taken care of. They have to be protected from predators of all shapes and sizes. Most of the people in the world are sheep. That is to say they go through their life totally oblivious to what is happening around them and if they are not protected by someone or some thing different than their fellow sheep, they are injured or killed off by predators.
Wolves are the segment of the population that consists of predators. These predators that exist to feed off the sheep. Wolves go after sheep for food or fun. The damage caused by wolves is not limited to just what the wolf needs to survive. For the wolf it is almost a bloodsport to kill, injure or just terrify sheep, singular or plural.
The final and perhaps smallest part of the population are the sheep dogs. Sheep dogs exist to protect the sheep from the wolf and any other physical danger that may arise. Sheep dogs have been known to sacrifice themselves when they are highly outnumbered by the wolves.
I suppose each of us has the ability to consciouslly decide whether to be a sheep, a wolf, or a sheep dog.
The main problem for those who become sheep, whether they reached that staus consciously or not, is there are never enough sheep dogs to protect all of the sheep every minute of every day throughout the lifetime of each sheep. Additionally, the sheep normally refuse to foot the bill for the cost of 24 and 7 sheep dogs. When it comes to finances, the sheep are always prepared to sacrifice some other member of the flock to hold down costs. Although some sheep often use the following battle cry "for the good of the lambs" when they try to interest the flock to increase their protective blankets.
Illegal Confiscation of Firearms in New Orleans
This post includes the main points of a message I forwarded to each Florida Senator and to my Congressman, Dave Weldon:
Dear Senator or Congressman,
In the article below, Deputy Chief Warren Riley from the New Orleans Police Department states: "No one will be able to be armed. We are going to take all the weapons."
This mans own police officers are seen on national television looting a Wal Mart store. While looting, they were shown in uniform and wearing sidearms.
The situation as deacribed below is totally unsatisfactory. I am a police officer in Florida and these people, such as Deputy Chief Riley, are using their position to further their personal agendas. And while doing so, they are violating the civil rights of honest and law abiding citzens.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Katrina Educates World On Need For Owning Guns
by Erich Pratt
"All our operators are busy right now. Please remain on the line and an operator will be with you shortly. Your call is important to us."
Can you imagine any words more horrifying after dialing 9-1-1? Your life's in danger, but there's no one available to help you.
For several days in September, life was absolutely terrifying for many New Orleans residents who got stranded in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. There were no operators... there were no phone calls being handled.
Heck, there was no 9-1-1. Even if the phone lines had been working, there were no police officers waiting to be dispatched.
Hundreds of New Orleans police officers had fled the city. Some took their badges and threw them out the windows of their cars as they sped away. Others participated in the looting of the city.
While there were many officers who acted honorably -- even apprehending dangerous thugs while grieving the loss of their own family members -- most residents were forced to fend for themselves.
Many did so successfully, using their own firearms, until New Orleans Police Commissioner Edwin Compass III issued the order to confiscate their guns.
Anti-gun zealots confiscate firearms from law-abiding citizens
On September 8, several news outlets began reporting that officials in New Orleans were confiscating firearms... not from looters, but from law-abiding citizens who legally owned firearms!
"No one will be able to be armed," said Deputy Chief Warren Riley. "We are going to take all the weapons."
It was like a scene out of the former Soviet Union or Communist China.
The Associated Press quoted Compass, the police commissioner, as saying, "Only law enforcement are allowed to have weapons."
Well, there you have it. Given the chance, gun control advocates will always implement their real agenda -- confiscation of firearms from everyone... except the police!
ABC News video on September 8 showed National Guard troops going house-to-house, smashing down doors, searching for residents, and confiscating guns. Every victim of disarmament was clearly not a thug or looter, but a decent resident wanting to defend his or her home.
Many of the troops were clearly conflicted by their orders. "It is surreal," said one member of the Oklahoma National Guard who was going door-to-door in New Orleans. "You never expect to do this in your own country."
Many never would have expected it -- confiscating firearms from decent people who were relying on those firearms to protect themselves from the looters.
It was an outrageous order -- one that should not have been obeyed. There was no constitutional authority for the directive, and it ignored the fact that many good people had already used firearms to successfully defend their lives and property.
Guns were saving lives and protecting property prior to the confiscation order
As flood waters started rising in New Orleans, a wave of violence rolled through the city.
"It was pandemonium for a couple of nights," said Charlie Hackett, a New Orleans resident. "We just felt that when [looters] got done with the stores, they’d come to the homes."
Hackett was right... which is why he and his neighbor, John Carolan, stood guard over their homes to ward off looters who, rummaging through the neighborhoods, were smashing windows and ransacking stores.
Armed looters did eventually come to Carolan's house and demanded his generator. But Carolan showed them his gun and they left.
No wonder then that gun stores, which weren't under water, were selling firearms at a record pace to people looking to defend themselves. "I've got people like you wouldn't believe, lots of people, coming in and buying handguns," said Briley Reed, the assistant manager of the E-Z Pawn store in Baton Rouge.
"I've even had soldiers coming in here buying guns," Reed said.
Makeshift militias patrol neighborhoods
In the Algiers neighborhood of New Orleans, dozens of neighbors banded together to protect their neighborhood.
"There's about 20 or 30 guys in addition to us. We know all of them and where they are," Gregg Harris said. "People armed themselves so quickly, rallying together. I think it's why [our] neighborhood survived."
Harris isn't joking about the armaments. A gun battle erupted one afternoon between armed neighbors and looters. Two of the thugs were shot.
Since then, no more looters have bothered the neighborhood. But the neighbors aren't letting their guard down. They all take their turn keeping watch.
Gareth Stubbs sits in a rocking chair on his front porch, holding his shotgun and a bottle of bug spray.
In another home, a 74-year old mother keeps the following near the bed: her rosary, a shotgun and a 38-caliber pistol.
Vinnie Pervel and two other volunteers man a balcony-turned-watchtower with five borrowed shotguns, a pistol, a flare gun, and old AK-47 and loads of ammunition.
To be sure, many of the weapons were borrowed from neighbors who fled before the storm hit. Pervel and Harris did not have any working firearms themselves in the aftermath of the storm. But because Pervel had been keeping in contact (via phone) with neighbors who had already evacuated, he got permission to go into the vacant homes and get his neighbors' weapons.
"I never thought I'd be going into my neighbor's house and taking their guns," Pervel said. "We wrote down what gun came from what house so we can return them when they get back."
Firearms were a hot commodity
It would be an understatement to say that firearms were the hottest commodity in the days following the massive destruction. In Gulf Port, Mississippi, Ron Roland, 51, lost everything -- three homes, four cars, a bait-and-tackle shop and a boat. It was all destroyed by Hurricane Katrina.
Nevertheless, Roland was determined to salvage what he could amidst the rubble -- with or without police protection. And it's a good thing, too, because there would be no such thing as "police protection" in the days following the storm.
Standing guard over one of his homes with a handgun in his waistband, Roland used his firearm to stop looters from rummaging through his storm-damaged property.
Roland and his son even performed a citizen's arrest on one plunderer and then warned future thieves by posting the following message in his yard: "NO TRESPASSERS! ARMED HOMEOWNERS."
Signs like this were common throughout the Gulf Coast region in the days following Katrina.
Unfortunately, some people had to learn the hard way about the utility of keeping firearms for protection.
Water, food... but what about guns?
The managers at the Covenant Home nursing center in New Orleans were more than prepared to ride out the hurricane. They had food and supplies to last the 80 residents for more than ten days.
They had planned for every contingency... or so they thought.
"We had excellent plans. We had enough food for 10 days," said Peggy Hoffman, the home's Executive Director.
But they had no firearms. So when carjackers hijacked the home's bus and drove by the center shouting "Get out!" to the residents, they were completely helpless.
All of the residents, most of them in wheelchairs, were evacuated to other nursing homes in the state.
Hoffman says she has now learned her lesson.
Next time, "We'll have to equip our department heads with guns and teach them how to shoot," she said.
Thank goodness someone is learning from their mistakes.
Does anyone remember Los Angeles?
We should have learned this lesson more than ten years ago when the entire country saw horrifying images coming out of Los Angeles.
If the riots of 1992 taught us anything, it is that the police can't always be there to protect us.
For several days, that city was in complete turmoil as stores were looted and burned. Motorists were dragged from their cars and beaten.
Further aggravating the situation, police were very slow in responding to the crisis. Many Guardsmen, after being mobilized to the affected areas, sat by and watched the violence because their rifles were low on ammunition.
But not everybody in Los Angeles suffered. In some of the hot spots, Korean merchants were able to successfully protect their stores with semi-automatic firearms.
In areas where armed citizens banded together for self-protection, their businesses were spared while others (which were left unprotected) burned to the ground.
The pictures of Korean merchants defending their stores left quite an impression on one group of people living in Los Angeles: those who had previously identified themselves as gun control advocates.
Press reports described how life-long gun control supporters were even running to gun stores to buy an item they never thought they would need -- a gun. Tragically, they were surprised (and outraged!) to learn there was a 15-day waiting period upon firearms.
Confiscating guns puts people at risk
Fast forward more than a decade, it seems that many folks still haven't learned the lessons from previous tragedies. If the Mayor and his cronies really wanted to help the decent citizens of New Orleans, they would have been issuing people firearms instead of taking them away.
These guns were the only thing that prevented many good folks from becoming victims in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.
Now that residents are disarmed, will the Mayor provide 24-hour, round-the-clock protection for each of these disarmed families? Will he make himself personally liable for anyone who is injured or killed as a result of being prevented from defending himself or his family?
When your life is in danger, you don't want to rely on a police force that is stretched way too thin. And the last thing you want to hear when you call 9-1-1 is, "All our operators are busy right now...."
That might just be the last thing you ever hear.
Dear Senator or Congressman,
In the article below, Deputy Chief Warren Riley from the New Orleans Police Department states: "No one will be able to be armed. We are going to take all the weapons."
This mans own police officers are seen on national television looting a Wal Mart store. While looting, they were shown in uniform and wearing sidearms.
The situation as deacribed below is totally unsatisfactory. I am a police officer in Florida and these people, such as Deputy Chief Riley, are using their position to further their personal agendas. And while doing so, they are violating the civil rights of honest and law abiding citzens.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Katrina Educates World On Need For Owning Guns
by Erich Pratt
"All our operators are busy right now. Please remain on the line and an operator will be with you shortly. Your call is important to us."
Can you imagine any words more horrifying after dialing 9-1-1? Your life's in danger, but there's no one available to help you.
For several days in September, life was absolutely terrifying for many New Orleans residents who got stranded in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. There were no operators... there were no phone calls being handled.
Heck, there was no 9-1-1. Even if the phone lines had been working, there were no police officers waiting to be dispatched.
Hundreds of New Orleans police officers had fled the city. Some took their badges and threw them out the windows of their cars as they sped away. Others participated in the looting of the city.
While there were many officers who acted honorably -- even apprehending dangerous thugs while grieving the loss of their own family members -- most residents were forced to fend for themselves.
Many did so successfully, using their own firearms, until New Orleans Police Commissioner Edwin Compass III issued the order to confiscate their guns.
Anti-gun zealots confiscate firearms from law-abiding citizens
On September 8, several news outlets began reporting that officials in New Orleans were confiscating firearms... not from looters, but from law-abiding citizens who legally owned firearms!
"No one will be able to be armed," said Deputy Chief Warren Riley. "We are going to take all the weapons."
It was like a scene out of the former Soviet Union or Communist China.
The Associated Press quoted Compass, the police commissioner, as saying, "Only law enforcement are allowed to have weapons."
Well, there you have it. Given the chance, gun control advocates will always implement their real agenda -- confiscation of firearms from everyone... except the police!
ABC News video on September 8 showed National Guard troops going house-to-house, smashing down doors, searching for residents, and confiscating guns. Every victim of disarmament was clearly not a thug or looter, but a decent resident wanting to defend his or her home.
Many of the troops were clearly conflicted by their orders. "It is surreal," said one member of the Oklahoma National Guard who was going door-to-door in New Orleans. "You never expect to do this in your own country."
Many never would have expected it -- confiscating firearms from decent people who were relying on those firearms to protect themselves from the looters.
It was an outrageous order -- one that should not have been obeyed. There was no constitutional authority for the directive, and it ignored the fact that many good people had already used firearms to successfully defend their lives and property.
Guns were saving lives and protecting property prior to the confiscation order
As flood waters started rising in New Orleans, a wave of violence rolled through the city.
"It was pandemonium for a couple of nights," said Charlie Hackett, a New Orleans resident. "We just felt that when [looters] got done with the stores, they’d come to the homes."
Hackett was right... which is why he and his neighbor, John Carolan, stood guard over their homes to ward off looters who, rummaging through the neighborhoods, were smashing windows and ransacking stores.
Armed looters did eventually come to Carolan's house and demanded his generator. But Carolan showed them his gun and they left.
No wonder then that gun stores, which weren't under water, were selling firearms at a record pace to people looking to defend themselves. "I've got people like you wouldn't believe, lots of people, coming in and buying handguns," said Briley Reed, the assistant manager of the E-Z Pawn store in Baton Rouge.
"I've even had soldiers coming in here buying guns," Reed said.
Makeshift militias patrol neighborhoods
In the Algiers neighborhood of New Orleans, dozens of neighbors banded together to protect their neighborhood.
"There's about 20 or 30 guys in addition to us. We know all of them and where they are," Gregg Harris said. "People armed themselves so quickly, rallying together. I think it's why [our] neighborhood survived."
Harris isn't joking about the armaments. A gun battle erupted one afternoon between armed neighbors and looters. Two of the thugs were shot.
Since then, no more looters have bothered the neighborhood. But the neighbors aren't letting their guard down. They all take their turn keeping watch.
Gareth Stubbs sits in a rocking chair on his front porch, holding his shotgun and a bottle of bug spray.
In another home, a 74-year old mother keeps the following near the bed: her rosary, a shotgun and a 38-caliber pistol.
Vinnie Pervel and two other volunteers man a balcony-turned-watchtower with five borrowed shotguns, a pistol, a flare gun, and old AK-47 and loads of ammunition.
To be sure, many of the weapons were borrowed from neighbors who fled before the storm hit. Pervel and Harris did not have any working firearms themselves in the aftermath of the storm. But because Pervel had been keeping in contact (via phone) with neighbors who had already evacuated, he got permission to go into the vacant homes and get his neighbors' weapons.
"I never thought I'd be going into my neighbor's house and taking their guns," Pervel said. "We wrote down what gun came from what house so we can return them when they get back."
Firearms were a hot commodity
It would be an understatement to say that firearms were the hottest commodity in the days following the massive destruction. In Gulf Port, Mississippi, Ron Roland, 51, lost everything -- three homes, four cars, a bait-and-tackle shop and a boat. It was all destroyed by Hurricane Katrina.
Nevertheless, Roland was determined to salvage what he could amidst the rubble -- with or without police protection. And it's a good thing, too, because there would be no such thing as "police protection" in the days following the storm.
Standing guard over one of his homes with a handgun in his waistband, Roland used his firearm to stop looters from rummaging through his storm-damaged property.
Roland and his son even performed a citizen's arrest on one plunderer and then warned future thieves by posting the following message in his yard: "NO TRESPASSERS! ARMED HOMEOWNERS."
Signs like this were common throughout the Gulf Coast region in the days following Katrina.
Unfortunately, some people had to learn the hard way about the utility of keeping firearms for protection.
Water, food... but what about guns?
The managers at the Covenant Home nursing center in New Orleans were more than prepared to ride out the hurricane. They had food and supplies to last the 80 residents for more than ten days.
They had planned for every contingency... or so they thought.
"We had excellent plans. We had enough food for 10 days," said Peggy Hoffman, the home's Executive Director.
But they had no firearms. So when carjackers hijacked the home's bus and drove by the center shouting "Get out!" to the residents, they were completely helpless.
All of the residents, most of them in wheelchairs, were evacuated to other nursing homes in the state.
Hoffman says she has now learned her lesson.
Next time, "We'll have to equip our department heads with guns and teach them how to shoot," she said.
Thank goodness someone is learning from their mistakes.
Does anyone remember Los Angeles?
We should have learned this lesson more than ten years ago when the entire country saw horrifying images coming out of Los Angeles.
If the riots of 1992 taught us anything, it is that the police can't always be there to protect us.
For several days, that city was in complete turmoil as stores were looted and burned. Motorists were dragged from their cars and beaten.
Further aggravating the situation, police were very slow in responding to the crisis. Many Guardsmen, after being mobilized to the affected areas, sat by and watched the violence because their rifles were low on ammunition.
But not everybody in Los Angeles suffered. In some of the hot spots, Korean merchants were able to successfully protect their stores with semi-automatic firearms.
In areas where armed citizens banded together for self-protection, their businesses were spared while others (which were left unprotected) burned to the ground.
The pictures of Korean merchants defending their stores left quite an impression on one group of people living in Los Angeles: those who had previously identified themselves as gun control advocates.
Press reports described how life-long gun control supporters were even running to gun stores to buy an item they never thought they would need -- a gun. Tragically, they were surprised (and outraged!) to learn there was a 15-day waiting period upon firearms.
Confiscating guns puts people at risk
Fast forward more than a decade, it seems that many folks still haven't learned the lessons from previous tragedies. If the Mayor and his cronies really wanted to help the decent citizens of New Orleans, they would have been issuing people firearms instead of taking them away.
These guns were the only thing that prevented many good folks from becoming victims in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.
Now that residents are disarmed, will the Mayor provide 24-hour, round-the-clock protection for each of these disarmed families? Will he make himself personally liable for anyone who is injured or killed as a result of being prevented from defending himself or his family?
When your life is in danger, you don't want to rely on a police force that is stretched way too thin. And the last thing you want to hear when you call 9-1-1 is, "All our operators are busy right now...."
That might just be the last thing you ever hear.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)