Are Entire Police Agencies Really So Ignorant About Firearms?

When criminals commit crimes with firearms and police chiefs or their spokesman talk to the media they love to suggest that the criminal’s weapon was especially deadly.

Today, such an event happened in Miami when a gunman wearing camouflage invaded the Miami Herald. Whatever the issues were they somehow got resolved as the gunman, a cartoonist and former employee of the paper surrendered to police.

At a press conference, the Miami police chief, John Timoney said the gunman carried "some kind of automatic machine pistol" with 30 rounds of ammunition. That’s vague enough to send reporters off to new adventures in sensationalizing their story like wildfire.

Is there not one officer in that town with enough knowledge to identify the make and model and caliber of the firearm in question? It’s not very difficult for a knowledgeable person to quickly determine if the firearm was really fully automatic as suggested. By the time the media learns the skinny on this firearm the story will no longer be newsworthy.

That begs yet another question that the reporter never even asked, was this gun even real? Most reporters don't have a clue about firearms so they report whatever vague information they get as fact.

Oh, that picture above is only a very convincing replica of a genuine, HK-MP5 fully automatic pistol. It does fire little plastic pellets.

I doubt very much that the gunman really had an automatic machine pistol. Cops don't come accross those things too often.

An update! How'd I guess?

Gun control? Control This!

Potato guns are not new but a well made how to do it film, made by a couple of characters with way too much time on their hands is here for your viewing pleasure.

A Better Idea For Airline Security In America

Every time I must travel on an American commercial airliner the TSA torture gauntlet becomes more offensive and demeaning. I simply hate to fly anywhere anymore. They are trying to program us with the idea that the more miserable they make us the safer we are. It’s simply a lie.

We can however change the rules and ease the threat considerably. We can end air travel on American carriers for all foreigners from enemy countries. We begin with Iran and Iraq and add countries to the no fly list. Citizens of those countries, even those with American Green Cards can fly the carriers of other countries.

I can just hear the Liberals screaming about this concept. Aren’t these Liberal folks from the same Democratic Party that controlled Congress and that wildly popular Franklin D. Roosevelt during World War II? Wasn’t it the very same folks that detained every Japanese American and forced them into interment camps? This action is not nearly as drastic. These folks from enemy countries are free to fly their own country’s carriers or not fly at all.

If we require passports and valid Green Cards to fly on America carriers, we can curtail movement by illegal aliens too. We can always make exception for one-way passage home for those people here from friendly nations.

Perhaps we can then relax the screening of American passengers to a level of civil courteousness and a pre-9/11 state.

Putting A GPS Tail On Cops

What a really great and horrible idea! GPS can be used to pinpoint the location of every sworn officer at any given time. Should an officer be kidnapped, he or she could be found in minutes. Police dispatchers could always determine which officers are closest to an in progress crime or other emergency. Supervisors could quickly determine if an officer has strayed from his beat or post without permission. That’s the upside of this argument.

A downside? Say it ain’t so! The new technology can’t be that difficult for burglars, rapists, armed robbers and hit men to hack into. Imagine criminals being armed with precise information as to the location of every officer! If the system were somehow hack-proof, would the civilian employees sell that sensitive information to the crooks?

In cities like Chicago with draconian gun bans citizens will be even more vulnerable to the predators.

There are too many answered questions about his hardware. Perhaps police agencies should spend this money on bringing departments up to authorized strength and training. I have not even touched the area of the officer’s privacy and civil liberty involved. When police agencies are having difficulties finding and hiring qualified candidates, as it is this idea is ill advised.

A Reason To Be Happy Today On Thanksgiving

We like to brag that we are in the greatest country of the world but maybe not…

Another Side Of Kramer’s Rage on that L.A. Stage

It’s amazing to watch all those self-righteous jerks condemn comedian Michael Richards for exploding at the L.A. Laugh factory. He was taunted by a couple of really rude African American dopes trying to be hurtful. Richards soon dished out a little more than they bargained for in return.

Of all the discussion of this story not even one person offered any sympathy to Richards who was having the worst night of his career.

In this country we used to have thicker skin for name-calling. “Sticks and stones may break my bones but names will never hurt me”, used to be recited by every American child. Richard used that N-word civil people just can’t bring themselves to repeat.

In a different time in this country the hecklers would have been given the bum’s rush out of any nightclub for interrupting someone’s act. The hecklers involved with Richard’s outburst, deserved to be taken out back and bitchslapped silly.

I’m not really condoning Richard’s outburst and slur slinging but I can understand how he felt that the heckling was mean spirited and hurtful. He simply responded to the attack in kind.

As for the two African-American heckling jerks? Why it’s the celebrity victim treatment as they make the circuit of TV’s morning news shows.

Here is the video:

UCLA Taser Cop Is An 18-Year Veteran

During an 18-year career, a cop is bound to be involved in some action. That’s certainly true of officer Terrence Duren who is at the center of the overblown Taser incident with student, Mostafa Tabatabainejad, 23.

Duren had to shoot a trespassing vagrant in a campus study hall three years ago. Then there was a brawl on fraternity row where someone complained about Duren using excessive force. The complainers got the best of Duren who took a 90-day suspension avoiding dismissal.

There are always a percentage of ignorant people arrested for criminal activity that complain about the cop hoping that their complaint will somehow nullify the arrest. That phenomenon is much more prevalent with young people that deny or minimize the conduct that led to the arrest when explaining things to their parents.

Making smoke about the use of the Taser or suggesting racial profiling does not change three things, Tabatabainejad’s refusal to show ID, leave as ordered, and his failure to peacefully submit to arrest. Tabatabainejad put on a good show for the other students by getting Tasered but the fact remains he was uninjured.

A better approach to calling officer Duren on the carpet would be to examine Tabatabainejad’s conduct and whether he should be suspended or expelled as a student.

I Want To Come Back As Tony Bennett In The Next Life

As I’m now finding myself on the dark side of 50 the depression of my suffering from the terminal illness of aging is a reality. Tonight I watched the NBC Special, Tony Bennett, An American Classic, and watched an amazing and ageless phenomenon.

Here is a guy that had a hot career when I was a little kid and he’s still singing and dancing with really delightful women. I’m sure by now Bennett is outliving his dentists and doctors. Not only That, but he is singing as good as ever.

Bennett survived Rock& Roll, The Beatles, and Disco without missing a stroke. So many singers ended their careers with those speed bumps but not Tony Bennett. Rather than conform to fads he was the fad for nearly 60 years so far.

With a life like Bennett’s, is the earned wealth, lots of first class, world travel and the thrill of meeting and performing with every music legend on earth. Of course it all began in New York in those jazz clubs for little or no pay while he developed his voice and persona. The day will come when we will lose Tony Bennett but we will never lose the gift of his wonderful music. To NBC, all the performers and others that made this special I say thank you. To Anthony Benedetto, I say thank you.

Court TV -- CNN Please Have The Decency To Fire Nancy Grace

Nancy Grace, the former prosecutor whose questionable practices have led to court reversals, has been sued in connection with the suicide of Melinda Duckett. Duckett shot herself to death after Grace's outrageous interrogation. Even after they knew about Duckett's death, CNN Headline News aired a segment showing Grace hammering the young mother about her whereabouts Aug. 27 the day 2-year-old Trenton Duckett was reported missing.

Now Duckett’s family has filed suit claiming Grace caused Duckett’s emotional distress leading to the suicide. Grace used her program to interfere with the ongoing police investigation by accusatory and confrontational questioning of Duckett on national TV.

Grace has polluted public opinion with her misstatement of facts and inflammatory commentary regarding high profile criminal cases since the day she was allowed on the airwaves. Under the guise of news reporting on criminal trials Grace always does her best to influence the outcome of trials by slanting every case heavily to favor the prosecution.

In the Duckett case facts have surfaced recently leading authorities to believe that little Trenton Duckett is still alive.

It’s time for Court TV and CNN to send Grace packing before she does more damage.

Legendary Film Director, Producer And Writer, Robert Altman Dead at 81

Robert Altman, the Director of M.A.S.H., Nashville, Cookie’s Fortune and Gosford Park has died Monday night in a Los Angeles hospital. I will have an update later as information is released.

Sex Offender Style Registries For Gun Ban Violators Are Coming Soon

Somehow we elected too many Gun-Rights hating politicians again in this country. They're chomping at the bit to exact revenge on gun owners for their successfully evicting of a whole gaggle of gun-rights haters from Congress in 1994. Now these politicians have big plans for a War On Guns.

These politicians, being aided by the International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP) are trying to create a Gun Offender Registry that operates just like the popular Sex Offender Registries. They will put the names of people that violate any of the highly technical gun laws and bans. They will then place these victims in with killers, rapists and muggers using guns during crimes.

The IACP is controlled by the big city police executives appointed by the exclusively Liberal Democrat, big city mayors.

Because a person carries a gun for self-protection in a high crime neighborhood with no visible police protection and the local politicians refuse to provide concealed weapon permits he will qualify for placement on the list of Gun Law Offenders.

The Gun Offender status will be encoded on driver’s licenses, so you can get, “the treatment” on a traffic stop. This of course will be in the name of Officer Safety.

These same politicians will need to appoint a new cabinet level, Gun War Czar. The character created by the late actor Charles Middleton, Emperor Ming fits the correct profile for this position.

The future of gun owners and their rights in America are more at risk then ever.

Reinstating The Military Draft Is An Absolute Necessity

Congressman Charles B. Rangel is a strange bird. He’s a Liberal Democrat with an agenda. He wants a jobs program and is calling it a draft. Young folks would be conscripted to work for the government or be in the military and receive educational benefits after honorable service.

Rangel would create a whole class of workers being forced into new jobs. What about those who are already happy with the jobs they have? This scheme may sound nice but its just plain nuts. I want to serve helping the Girl Scouts not fighting a war, who must I bribe to make that happen?

The best soldiers in our armed forces were conscripts. The draft works even though it’s a form of slavery. The draft itself is a jobs and scholarship program. It’s important that all healthy young men serve the military for two years. Exemptions for all but health or criminal history should be abolished. Conscientious Objectors should be required to work in a military or veteran’s hospital.

If the United States was involved in an expanded war with any major country we’d be defeated in short order. Our politicians have left us defenseless. Of course this is precisely the reason our founding fathers gave us the Second Amendment so we as Americans could be armed and defend with our arms. Of course because of gun bans they will have to use pitchforks and shovels for arms in Washington, D.C.,Chicago and New York.

The benefits of a military draft are clear, to maintain a strong military and at the same time make young men more than mere stockholders of a government. Soldiers are trained and this training will help them to defend themselves, families and country for their entire lives.

Jerry Springer’s Strange Bedfellows Television Special

JWe all know these faces, Fred Goldman, O.J. Simpson and Denise Brown. I’d never pick any of these folks to be my friends. They were and still are part of the huge saga that launched so many careers of personalities and pundants in that circus called O.J. Simpson case.

This was really more about two people savagely stabbed and slashed to death in the swank community of Brentwood on the West Side of Los Angeles. Nicole Simpson and Ron Goldman may well have been murdered by O.J. but the jury found reasonable doubt. Of course that jury of public opinion is deadlocked almost down the middle along racial lines.

Fred Goldman and Denise Brown both tried very hard to capitalize on their new celebrity victim status making the rounds of the talk shows and TV specials. Quickly their stars faded as Fred Goldman is selling men’s suits and Denise brown is trying to do something with her charitable victim’s foundation promoted with the free publicity generated by her victim status.

O.J. Simpson’s career as an actor and TV pitchman ended as a result of the civil judgment against him by the two surviving kin of the murdered victims. That’s a judgment that we all know will never be paid.

Forgotten in this mix are the two children of O.J. and Nicole Simpson. They deserve a life and have had to bear the grief of this ongoing battle of words and hatred for most of their childhood.

I have a solution for everyone involved in the form of a settlement that would pay off for everyone including the two forgotten children being raised by Simpson. The lawyers for all involved need to sit down and work out a realistic settlement while the parties are still young enough to enjoy it.

It can begin with a face off on prime time television hosted by the one and only Jerry Springer. They can shout and scream at each other all they want. I’d let the agents for the contenders work out the details. Perhaps a series of these confrontations with guests like the cops, lawyers, reporters, pendants, witnesses and other wildlife made famous during the Simpson Circus.

Oh, and O.J. must agree to split the proceeds to his now well over promoted book three ways.

Burning O.J. Simpson’s Yet To Be Published Book

The breaking news today is that Rupert Murdoch has cancelled O.J. Simpson's upcoming book and TV special amid the controversy and threats of boycotts by Fox affiliates and various booksellers.

I have in image in my mind like the one above of a book burning by Nazis during the Third Reich in an newsreel film. The Nazis did this during celebrations of sorts that were really quite pointless deeds like shooting the messengers for bringing us bad news.

None of us read Simpson’s book and frankly I don’t want to do so. We have to accept there are millions of people that want to shell out their hard earned cash to buy and read this book now more than ever.

I’m no Judith Regan, but I could spend much of the so-called, blood money on some very worthwhile needs. The fact is this book is a hot property and will sell somewhere and rather quickly. I only wish I could have a part in the deal.

As for Fred Goldman, I never thought he was very bright. Goldman has done all he could do to stop Simpson’s book and TV interview plans. Now Goldman can’t even try to claim even a part of the proceeds to satisfy his huge and unpaid judgment against Simpson. I guess Goldman wants to sell men’s suits in Scottsdale for the rest of this life.

No I’m not sad for Simpson over this. Instead I’m sad that we as a society have apparently learned nothing about concept of freedoms of thought and speech. This was a victory for ignorance.

It’s Probation For George Weller Of Santa Monica

Three years ago ten people were killed and over 60 others were injured when George Weller lost control of his car at the crowded Santa Monica Farmer’s Market.

Today L.A. Superior Court Judge Michael Johnson passed sentence on the 89-year old Weller who is a month shy of his 90th birthday. In recent years the law has provided for victim impact statement giving living victims and the relatives of the dead the opportunity to say whatever they want to the court before sentence handed down. Those victims came in, read from their prepared statements and rambled before the court in that pointless exercise.

I’ve hated this prosecution and jury verdict that’s based on witchcraft and psychic phenomena. That's the only way they could determine Weller’s thoughts and presumed intent at the time of the disaster. They called Weller’s event as an intentional act despite Weller’s perfect record as a citizen and driver.

Today Weller’s health is in such a state of decline that he can’t control his bodily functions. They attempted to install a pacemaker in Weller’s chest and that failed. Prison for Weller would have made the government responsible for his huge ongoing medical bills and care. This while Weller is a threat to nobody.

Now watch as the vultures take Weller’s home, furniture and all assets via the civil lawsuits. Perhaps they can make sure the government has to pay for Weller burial when he dies too. Perhaps they can get any gold teeth he has in his mouth once he’s dead.

If I Did It, Here's How It Happened

In that Broadway play, Miss Siagon, the Engineer sang about entrepreneurial opportunities in America that he longed to experience first hand as an American. In one line he sang, “(In America) you can sell shit and get thanks.” The Engineer’s message was clear that Americans have a rather large disposable income and the ability to even buy crap they don’t need.

Without having read Simpson’s new book, “If I Did It, Here's How It Happened” I have placed it in the category of crap I don’t need nor want to my waste time or money to read. That goofy title alone puts this book into the realm of watching Jerry Springer’s way too popular, TV talk show.

Gifted book promoter and publishing agent Judith Regan brokered this deal and is taking the heat for the new controversy. What’s the big beef with Regan? Controversy sells and frankly that’s Regan’s job! Are we now going to blame Regan for all the bad taste in American literature?

Okay, here’s where I part company with my fellow Gringos and copper friends. I was not upset in any way with the Not Guilty Murder Verdicts in the Simpson case. There was enough funny business with the physical evidence and exposed perjury by an important government witness to raise plenty of Reasonable Doubt. I do have a big problem with the second, civil trial and its outcome.

Did Simpson kill his wife and the Goldman kid? I was not there and never saw a security video. I have to guess just like everyone else. There’s certainly a good chance Simpson may well be the perpetrator of that ghastly double homicide.

Today Simpson is a pariah in our current pop culture world despite his acquittal. The fact is he’s raising two children and needs to make a living like everyone else. Simpson should be left alone to do this. Society has cut off much of Simpson’s earning potential and opportunities. What’s the former murder suspect to do? Simpson’s new book will make money no matter how ghoulish it’s subject matter. As for the controversy and massive publicity, that’s every bookseller’s dream.

Instead of the publisher paying for a big ad campaign, the news media and all the broadcasting giants are selling this new voyeuristic offering for free. Every time we see Fred Goldman whine about Simpson and his dead estranged son on TV, another 50,000 books will be sold. Judith Regan is a publishing genius!

Watch Fred Goldman Whine!

More Fallout on the Hiding Homicides Story In Chicago

A copper friend of mine recently made a telling statement about WBBM-TV’s Top Gun Investigative Reporter, Pam Zekman. “She’s like the ACLU, you hate her until you need her”, said an old North Side, now Area 3 robbery dick.

Zekman caught up with Chicago Police Superintendent, Phil Cline and Mayor Daley. I never saw Cline run so fast as he did with Zekman chasing him and biting at his chubby ankles. The exchange was one of the more memorable moments for me in television news history. Zekman laid her evidence right before Daley and Clines’s blinking eyes. What could they possibly say now?

Sit back and watch but don’t have any food or drinks around because they may well wind up on the floor!

Here’s the link!

Near Riot At UCLA Riot (Taser video)

Tuesday night the UCLA library was anything but a quiet place to study when Mostafa Tabatabainejad, 23 was questioned by a university cop and asked for a student ID card. After a refusal the student was asked to leave the library. That escalated into an arrest situation. The library was filled with other students at the time.

Tabatabainejad was eventually zapped by a Taser Gun and began screaming. Other students began screaming too, and it quickly became a scene of chaos and bedlam. Another student captured six minutes of the circus on a cell phone camera.

The video shows no acts of anything more some students trying to hold court on the incident right then and there instead of the courtroom. Tempers were out of control and the cops sounded really officious and loud. Instead of the cops carrying their prisoner out they apparently kept shocking him demanding he get up and walk.

Had Tabatabainejad simply submitted to the arrest and fought for his rights in the courtroom he’d be in a much better position today. Resisting and obstruction of even an unlawful arrest is a crime and now Tabatabainejad is charged with both.

Campus police written response to the Taser controversy

The official Taser use policy at UCLA

Sit back and watch the video…

Getting Out Of Jury Duty With The Help Of Court Security Programs

I wrote about getting out of jury duty a while back. For obvious reasons this blog gets hundreds of hits from Google searches on this subject.

For the jury system to work we need a cross section of the community, not just the retired, or factory and government workers actually sitting on juries. Do we expect the doctors, lawyers, cops and business people to line up with simple and obedient servants for this duty any time soon?That just won't happen. The system is nearly broken and I’m not going to help repair it in any way.

In the last three decades the judges and court clerks have felt the need to frisk Americans before they enter public buildings. More than need it was truly a case of monkey see, monkey do.

The court bureaucrats get around the Fourth Amendment, Constitutional search issues by arguing that such searches are by your consent since you do not have to enter the courthouse at all. If you refuse to be searched they will simply deny your admittance.

That all changes when you’ve been summoned or subpoenaed as a juror or witness in a court case. They are demanding for you to appear but now also demanding that you submit to being frisked like a common thief under arrest.

I’d simply tell the security folks they post at their checkpoints that you are there in response at the courts direction but you refuse to be searched. The security people will look at you like you just arrived from Mars on a flying saucer. They just won’t know what to do other than invite you to leave. Make a note of the date and time and get a name or a number for the person who kicked you out and unknowingly excused you from your duty.

Write a letter to the person, court or other official telling them you responded but were not allowed into the courthouse. It will be impossible for anyone to cite or hold you in contempt of court since you actually responded as ordered. You need not waive your Constitutional rights just to make some court official happy.

This method is rarely used because the sheep have not yet learned to do this. Refusing to be searched is in no way refusing to respond to service as a witness or juror.

The reality is that if you’re there for jury duty they will quietly excuse you in hopes that this does not spread like wildfire and shut down their courts.

As a witness you should inform the lawyer by phone that subpoenaed you and tell him you wouldn’t submit to being searched. That may bring a delay in the case but if they need you count on being escorted in without being searched because the judge can make that happen.

If people begin doing this they will have to change their ways and let people responding to these invitations in without being searched simply be showing your summons or subpoena.

Feel free to hand over copies of my article to anyone and everyone that takes exception to your refusal to be frisked, fondled or otherwise molested without probable cause or a warrant under these circumstances.

Experience Real Las Vegas Excitement Up Close And Personal

Ever wonder what it would be like to experience the heart stopping rush of risking it all playing high stakes Blackjack in Las Vegas? You’ll get the star treatment with that kind of gambling and receive great perks that include, transportation, the best hotel rooms, meals, shows, and service. Perhaps you’ll even star in your own biographical film about your life. Is it all too good to be true? Watch the new docufilm, “VEGAS STRIPPED” and judge for yourself as you walk in our gambler, Darren Leverenz’s shoes.

Three excellent storytellers, Producer Nancy Alspaugh, Producer and Director Bernard Salzman along with the gambler, Darren Leverenz, take you on an amazing ride into this Las Vegas dream come nightmare. Experience the glitz, the glamour and the heartbreak of a man who shares this probing, postmortem examination of his remarkable life with us.

The official site for VEGAS STRIPPED