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On Today

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Initially I wasn’t going to put up a post regarding today.  Then I went over to Weer’d’s place and read his post.  I was about to write a comment but instead I realized it was growing into a post.  Here’s what I wrote before I pulled the plug.

I haven’t forgotten, I may or may not put up a post this year.

Yesterday I was embracing the suck and someone was all too unhappy about it. You see our Federal overlords have declared everyone and their mother suspected terrorists for things as innocuous as going about their daily business.  Things such as using cash for a transaction.

I do remember that day.  I remember it quite well.  I remember staring at the TV in disbelief as I watched what was happening live as I prepared to go to school.  I remember the freedom and liberty I had prior to that day.  I also remember hour our government reacted.  They have reacted to the point where they label me with the same title as those monsters.  By god if they’re going to stick me with that title, I am going to embrace the suck and drag the meaning of that word right straight down.

Thanks to the behavior of our modern government, in 2001 terrorists were responsible for that atrocious act.  In 2012, the best that can be said is it was done by evil.  By monsters who despise and hate us.  The title of terrorist no longer fits because according to our overlords, those who fight these monsters are terrorists as well.

Every year on this day I used to be angry at just those who attacked us.  Angry at those who took the lives of so many innocent people.

As the years progressed though I found my anger including others.  While I am still mainly angry at the men who started this snow ball, I am just as angry at the American politicians for exploiting this tragedy for a power grab.  At the same time I am angry because the American people have been complacent with it.

The biggest difference for the majority of America between now and September 10th, 2001 is that we have considerably less freedom now than we did then.  Some would argue that “it was necessary” and it keeps us safe.  The only thing is, it doesn’t do anything to actually make you safe, it just makes a bunch of sheep feel safe.

Today is a day of mourning.  Mourning for not only those we lost, but an ideology that is slowly being destroyed, all in the name of the “War on Terrorism.”  Most of the things on the above list are things that I do as well as many of my friends.  Hell, you can go through all the flyers for different types of flyer’s here.

When you start labeling normal behavior as a “potential terrorist action” why don’t you just admit that you think anyone who isn’t just a good little sheep a terrorist that needs to be put down?

I would further like to note, the mere fact I’m willing to voice this dissenting opinion probably gets me labeled a terrorist as well.  See, they don’t outlaw speech anymore, they just tell you what you said makes you either a racist or a terrorist.  Isn’t all this freedom we have nice?  Never mind that the government actually fits the real definition of the word terrorist.

*I think I need to get one of these T-Shirts to wear on September 11th every year from now on.

SSCC #405-#407: Woodbury

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When the gunman who had been tormenting the group told Henderson to go to the window to see if any police were outside, Henderson took his chance and made a beeline for the door. The kidnapper opened fire at him in response but missed. As Henderson bolted out the door toward them, Woodbury police opened fire and cut him down.

That’s right, the victim was shot and ultimately killed by the police for trying to escape his captor.  Supposedly he wasn’t listening to commands, probably because there was a man with a gun behind him trying to shoot him.  The police assumed he was armed and killed the hostage.

No worries for the cops though:

The three Woodbury police officers who fired their weapons are on standard paid administrative leave. They are officer Anthony Ofstead, an 11-year veteran; officer Stacey Krech, who’s been with the department for five years, and officer Natalie Martin, who’s been with the department for two years.

It is interesting that we constantly hear about how great less lethal options are and in the middle of a standoff no one seemed to think that might be a good idea for when a hostage escapes.  Evidently a hostage is supposed to just obey their captor and hope the aggressor decides to let them live.

The lesson from this, the cops will not save you, they will shoot you.  If you want to survive someone holding you hostage, kill them yourself.

State Sponsored Criminals #405: Anthony Ofstead

#406: Stacey Krech

#407: Natalie Martin

Because a hostage trying to escape is totally a viable target. Because you know a man trying to engage you with a firearm will be running as fast as he can while trying to shield himself.  Good hostages know to obey the police so they can be shot by the aggressor.*

While some may say I am “Monday Morning Quarterbacking” it doesn’t matter.  Law abiding citizens, even more than that, victims of crime have the right to be able to go home at the end of the day.  That right exists more so than those who serve in law enforcement.  If those officers dislike it, they can find a new profession.  They killed an innocent man and will suffer no consequence for doing so.  The victim had no weapon on him and received a treatment of lead from his “saviors” while trying to escape his captors.

At minimum it’s manslaughter, you can even claim involuntary if you want, but they hold the responsibility.

Quote of the Day – Frank Fleming

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I hear the DNC had a video tribute to Ted Kennedy, the only politician with a confirmed kill in the War on Women.

Frank Fleming (@IMAO_) – Tweet (via Alan Gura)

[All I can think to add to this is, “That’s about par for the course.”  I did make a tweet about the hypocrisy of the DNC requiring ID to get in, but you don’t need ID to vote.  Someone replied saying the following:

It’s called security you know secret service.

I didn’t realize they needed photo ID before they searched you or your belongings for “security”.  Sounds like a great excuse to keep out “undesirables.”

Joe and I were driving across Nevada as the thing went down though we were getting updates via Bitter and others.  The feeling I got by the end was the hypocrisy coming from them was so thick it could have been granite by the time it was all over.  -B]

SSCC #396 – Mentor

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Former police officer Matthew Mole — who served on the Waite Hill, Willoughby Hills, Beachwood and Mentor-on-the-Lake Police Departments — was sentenced to two years in prison Monday morning on a charge of sexual battery.

So what was so minor he only got 2 years?

Mole, who lives in Mentor, is accused of having an unlawful sexual relationship with a 14-year-old boy from Richmond Heights.

Yup, good thing they gave him such a minimal sentence, the longer he stays in prison, the more likely the population will take care of him.

State Sponsored Criminal #398: Matthew Mole

Because if a guy tells you he’s 26, and looks 18, he’s 12.  Was the fact he was sneaking into this kid’s parents house in the middle of the night not a big flashing neon sign of a clue?

Another Compare and Contrast

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via Uncle comes this story.

There were two big developments Monday in the case of a motorist who was shot and killed along Greenwell Springs Road Friday after a fight with a police officer.  Investigators say an autopsy shows the deadly bullet was fired by a bystander, not the officer.  Police also announced that no charges would be filed in the case, either against the police officer involved or the bystander who fired the fatal shot into the head of George Temple.

The other kicker is the following:

According to Col. Greg Phares, "[Mr. Stevens] orders Mr. Temple to stop and get off the officer.  The verbal commands are ignored and Mr. Stevens fires four shots, all of which struck Mr. Temple."

There is also this assessment of the NYPD shooting from the Balloon Goes Up.  If you haven’t read it yet, I suggest you do.  Of significance is the behavior of Officer 1 versus Officer 2.  It gets better though because Joe found something I saw a while ago but couldn’t remember where I found it.

A nationwide study by Kates, the constitutional lawyer and criminologist, found that only 2 percent of civilian shootings involved an innocent person mistakenly identified as a criminal. The "error rate" for the police, however, was 11 percent, over five times as high.

Sit back and let that sink and and absorb into your brain.  Remember that one of the arguments against concealed carry is that lawful carriers are more likely to shoot innocent bystanders.  The problem is the facts do not support this and there is a serious reason why.

Sit back for a second and think about your job, odds are your job provides you extra training from time to time relevant to your specific field.  For instance I once or twice a year attend classes specifically on power systems and power protection, paid for by my employer.  I am also regularly evaluated on my performance, including my ability to apply skills as well as learn new ones.  That said, while I do occasionally study power system material on my free time, that is a rare occurrence.  I do often study up on software design, as well as write my own applications.  I went into software and EE because I love the subject, so studying it doesn’t really bug me as it’s something I enjoy… That is until I start getting a headache from trying to follow some of the math.

Many officers however carry a gun because it is a part of the job.  They attend merely the mandatory training and leave it at that.  Luckily for a majority of officers this is not a problem until such time as they require the use of that skill.  Officer Doughnut though doesn’t want to spend his own money and off time practicing a skill with something he doesn’t inherently enjoy.  There is no incentive for him to do that.  Unlike me, where I love to shoot, it is my choice to carry a firearm, and I love learning new skills.  I have no problem spending my own money or time on such an endeavor, many within this culture have no problem with that.

We do have a problem with mandatory training requirements because as a wise man once told me, “You can lead a horse to water but you cannot make him drink.”  Officers of the law are no exception to this rule.  Just because they went into law enforcement doesn’t mean they enjoy firearms.

This closing comment from Ron in his article on the Empire State Building shooting I think drives the point home sufficiently well.

But that is the power of video’s like this! It allows us, with a clear head, to review the actions that occurred and learn from them. If you don’t think about how you are going to respond and just think you will rise the occasion, you are wrong.  You will default to your level of training.

The Empire State Building shooting is a chance for us to learn what went wrong and what we need to do better.  On both sides of the fence.

A Compare and Contrast Exercise

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Lets look at exhibit A:

The results?  15 rounds, 9 innocent bystanders wounded.

Exhibit B:

Result, no innocent bystanders shot, 2 perps wounded and found in the hospital.

So can someone please explain to me again why concealed carriers are so dangerous?  Especially given the following information:

–You are 8 times more likely to be killed by a police officer than by a terrorist

I really should spend some time aggregating the stats for the number of innocent people shot by officers during an engagement versus the number of innocents shot by a concealed carrier while defending themselves.  I hate spending my time doing that because I already know the answer and I know there was a study on it, my Google fu just can’t find it again.  I have a feeling though it may be buried and I will probably end up doing it.

Intrepid readers, if you find it, please let me know!

SSCC #395 – Baton Rouge

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An 18-year-old was shot and killed by a deputy. That teen’s family has now filed a federal suit claiming it was a wrongful death. Could the deputy’s past have foretold the future?

What did this young man do to deserve such a reaction from the officer?

“He was approaching the police to help them. He was telling them you’ve got the wrong person. You’ve got the wrong person. He had his hands in the air when the officer turned and shot him point blank, and he fell. When he hit the ground, he still had his hands above his head,” said attorney Donna Grodner.

This isn’t even an issue of he said she said.  The Sheriff supported the statement and continue on further to add the following:

“We have no reason at this time to believe that this 18-year-old did anything wrong and certainly, I want to make that clear. He was unarmed. I’m not saying he violated any laws what so ever,” said Sheriff Edwards.

So given the Sheriff is supporting the family, why would this be a SSCC?  It’s a prime example of why I do this and why I want officers fired immediately upon misconduct.

“Chief Nelson was the police chief at that time, and he recommended the city council terminate his employment because of numerous complaints against him,” said Chief Ambeau.

Complaints like verbal and written warning notices regarding his unauthorized absence, failure to follow the law and leaving well before his shift was over.

The minutes from that August 2001 council meeting showed the chief and council members frustrated with all the complaints against the officer. It only got worse when it came to then-St. Gabriel Mayor George Grace.

That’s right folks, this officer had a history and now someone finally ended up dead because of this officer.  Worst thing about this is I have no doubt that officer went home and slept like a baby.

The fact is officers don’t normally jump into the deep end off the bat. They slowly work their way up and administrators and public officials need to pay attention to the warning signs and have the balls to say, “Son you’re not going to work here.”

State Sponsored Criminal #395:  William Phebus

Because really what you see when an officer has been fired numerous times is a cheap employee, don’t worry about why he was fired, he won’t want to do it again.

SSCC #394–Spring Valley

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This one is a good one:

An investigation was under way Monday into a deputy-involved shooting in which a Spring Valley woman was shot by a deputy who was checking her backyard for a masked man. 

The reasoning behind the shooting:

Gore said the deputies thought Orey’s open gate looked suspicious, so they went into her backyard. The deputies ran into Orey, and one of them had a "spontaneous reaction."

Where I’m from, that’s called a Negligent Discharge.  When it strikes another person, you or I would be held criminally liable for negligence.  This man obviously violated 2 of the 4 rules and shot an innocent woman in the chest, who was unarmed, and had nothing in her hands.

Have no fear though:

Morgan said he believes the sheriff’s department is downplaying the shooting.

Of course they would, heaven forbid they admit that the anointed were criminally negligent.  Surely they will not fire that officer either, instead he will receive “extra training”.  Probably in some Panama City sailor want to hump hump bar.

Here’s the thing folks.  Yes people are human, yes people make mistakes.  But there is no calling a bullet back, there is no undoing shooting someone.  So if you screw up like that, you damn well deserve to go home permanently at a minimum.

Negligent discharges can and doe happen.  I am guilty of just such an offense.  The thing is it requires two rules to be violated to plug a person.  That is unacceptable and non-negotiable.  Go work at McDonalds sir because frankly you have no business being a cop.

State Sponsored Criminal #394: Officer John Doe

Because when a woman identifies her as a home owner as you are prowling her property without informing her you are doing so, you method of informing her should be a rapid deployment of hot lead into her body.