Government Informants And Injustice

The Drug War has brought a plague of evil on our country, as did Prohibition. Murder, public corruption and wrongful imprisonment are the sad consequences of our drug control policy. I’ve grown weary of this ineffective, and impossible quest to control the uncontrollable behavior of our drug addicts.

A chief byproduct of the War on Drugs has been the new RICO laws, and lots of new and diabolical ways to obtain sworn testimony tailored to the exact needs of prosecutors so they can win convictions in court.

It’s a crime to offer something of value to a witness in exchange for testimony. That’s of course only, if the witness is sought by a defense lawyer seeking to exonerate a defendant. Prosecutors can routinely offer a witness his very life in exchange for testimony. Every inhabitant of our jails and prisons know they can tell tales and get decades taken off of their sentences if a prosecutor needs it to convict someone when real evidence is either too weak or non-existent.

When criminal cases finally wind their way to trial and the evidence has not materialized too many desperate prosecutors go to the jails seeking inmates who were or are in custody with the defendant. They bring in the inmates one at a time and interview them. The interview is really an audition to see just which despicable louse can sound the most believable before a jury. The lucky inmate turned snitch is cleaned up, put in a suit and paraded before the jury.

Too often in cases this informant testimony turns out to be the only “evidence” of a defendant’s guilt. This is true in cases where people are arrested on mistaken information or the evidence that became the basis for the actual arrest or otherwise evaporates before trial.

Out of this madness with the help of Internet publishing came the website, Whose A Rat. This site posts names, mug shots, actual court records and other information on the rats that offer themselves up for the prosecution’s generous payout.

The Rats are exposed to the wrath of the both the underworld and innocent suspects by this site which is also popular with defense lawyers trying to learn more about the snitches used against their clients.

Perhaps a better way would be to end all rewards for snitches to keep the system both honest and fair.

Britany's Beaver

I wish I could understand Britany Spears' high profile all night, every night partying and acting like a pig. If she wants to show us that thing she should at least let Heffner do it right and we will all pay for a peek. What publicist on earth would suggest she put on this bizarre display?

Here is a somewhat censored video of how mothers teach their daughters not to get out of cars while wearing a skirt. This poor girl can’t even afford a thong!

Why Did Those Cops Fire So Many Rounds?

This video may help answer that question with a re-creation of a 1999 tragic killing of an innocent man, Amadou Diallo in New York city. This case resulted in criminal charges against the officer involved and a huge civil lawsuit. The officers were acquitted after expert testimony that included renowned firearms expert and author Massad Ayoob.

Not mentioned was the ineffective 9MM rounds that left the suspect standing after he had already been shot numerous times. In limited light officers are unable to see their bullets strike or do damage. They assume that they must have missed their target. That feeling would cause near panic conditions in anyone.

Say Goodbye to Snoop Dog, he’s toast now

Say Goodbye to Snoop Dog, he’s toast now

I’ve defended Snoop Doggie Dog’s rights despite his sordid past. I guess you can call this a case career suicide. I hate laws against weapons possession and I’m not fond of drug laws either because of my Libertarian leanings. The Dog seems to be beyond help or hope.

For the third time in a month, Snoop Dog as arrested by police. This time it was in Burbank for yet another gun, cocaine and marijuana. The arrest was apparently made in connection with a search warrant on the Dog and his vehicle.

What was the Dog’s real crime? Being incredibly stupid for wrecking his entertainment career that paid him handsomely like a slot machine.

I suggested the Dog is toast but he will most likely get a spin through the rapidly revolving corrections door.

TMZ gets the hat tip again on this one. Harvey Levin’s crew rock!

Urban Outfitters' Gun Ornament Shootout

Urban Outfitters prides themselves in unusual gifts such as Ghettopoly a satire game based on Monopoly complete with crack houses and housing projects. This year their holiday gifts were no exception with a new offering of glittery ornaments in the shape of handguns.

It didn’t take long for these new gun ornaments to catch the attention of the various gun-rights hating groups with too much time on their hands. Soon demonstrators followed by news crews at an Urban Outfitter store boosted sales of these items. The free advertising helped the on-line catalog sell completely out. As of this morning, there are a few Urban Outfitters retail stores that still have some in stock as of this morning, such as the one in Westwood CA.

We have to laugh at the gun-banning crowd. Every time they are marching many more guns and NRA memberships are sold. Then when laws are proposed to ban the guns, hundreds of thousands more firearms hit the streets. I’m convinced nobody can sell guns to Americans better than well-organized gun control groups and misguided politicians. That’s certainly true as Urban Outfitters laughs all the way to their bank.

It has to be safe to say that because of the gun control movement and the gun laws that were passed since the primary effort in 1968 that there are many millions of guns in American homes today that would never have been manufactured, sold or purchased. Humans always want anything that’s difficult to obtain and firearms are no exception.

After the Assault Weapons Ban became law the membership of the NRA was never higher. As that onerous law expired and nearly every state allowed law-abiding citizens the right to carry concealed weapons, membership in the NRA dropped significantly.

Here is video of the Urban Outfitters in Westwood, California with their quickly selling out ornament.

New York Mayor Bloomberg Sold His Soul Today

That Billionaire mayor spent the day kissing his city's African-American troublemakers asses by suggesting there was wrongdoing by several New York cops. This came well before the investigation has been conducted or concluded into that Queens, strip club shooting. Bloomberg did some major patronizing of Al Sharpton and his merry band of thugs.

The rub is a simple one. Frankly, for the time being, I don’t expect New York cops to do much in the way of police work or revenue generating citation writing until some drastic efforts are made to be reasonably fair to working cops. If I were a New York cop today my reports would read like War And Peace. I’d be so busy getting the details of minor theft or property damage reports absolutely correct I'd lave little time for anything else. That of course would protect me from responding to those calls where you have to arrest people, especially African-Americans. I fully expect cops to act more like tourists as they patrol New York avoiding trouble at all cost. Why should any New York cop subject himself to this treatment by a city that will sell him out in a life or death situation?

This may be time for New York's criminal element to get their piece of New York. Perhaps that might convince people like Bloomberg that cops are both wanted and needed in New York. If that's not the case let them wallow in their decadence, crime and yes, their own blood.

This is not a good time in a city where goofy laws have made sure that only the criminals have guns. Can you say hello, National Guard?

New Yorkers have all too soon forgotten the huge sacrifices made by their cops during and long after the 9/11 attack. If they were really grateful New York citizens would storm City Hall with rakes, torches and pickaxes demanding that worthless mayor’s resignation. There should be enough real citizens to make Shapton’s thugs look like what they are.

Another Rush To Judgment In New York Police Shooting

An angry mob was roaming the streets of New York yesterday. That, as a Leftist Mayor and his bureaucrats rush to appease and patronize this same police hating bunch at assemble every time there is the slightest controversy involving force used on an African-American criminal suspect. This group has a habit of turning everything into an issue of race alone. They also like to see themselves on television a lot.

This is their latest response to the vehicular assault on an undercover police officer and an unmarked and occupied minivan outside a Queens strip club. The officers fired some 50 rounds to terminate the assault and threat. One suspect was killed and another is in critical condition. This happened at night when visibility prevented officers from clearly seeing just what threat they were or legitimately thought they were under. I don’t know if the officers thought the suspects were armed or not but no firearms were found. Guns do have a nasty habit of disappearing at crime scenes everywhere regardless of whether the police are involved in firing shots.

How quick some people are to forget or ignore that the suspect’s vehicle was and is a very deadly weapon. In any event this incident must be properly investigated and reconstructed and that can easily take weeks to learn the truth.

Another factor is that New York officials demand that their cops carry the underpowered and inadequate 9MM round. This poorly performing round that far too often won’t stop determined offenders. That’s the real reason that often officers have to fire extraordinary numbers of round in order to survive confrontations with criminals. The criminals are not saddled with department regulations as to how powerful their own weapons are. Criminals simply don't care about gun laws or any kind of regulations.

A methodical and fair investigation needs to take its course. Handing the streets over to a mob of thugs as they agitate and spread their unbridled hatred of police is not the answer.

There is a bigger danger here and that is cops may figure their intervention into stopping crime is just not worth the risk of being caught up in this kind of a mess. The result is they stop making arrests altogether and wander the streets like tourists instead. That mob of goons may just get their wish.

An Expert Talks About Murder

Hear the words of wisdom about murder in our world from a real expert.

The Newest TSA Extortion Program-Call For A Boycott

Do you want to feel less suffering and pain while traveling with commercial air carriers? Do you want a small slice of that liberty so many of our soldiers fought and died for when you visit mom on the holidays? If you register as a traveler, give up your privacy, submit to fingerprinting and pay a $100.00 annual payment you can enjoy a tiny taste of freedom when you fly! It’s called The Registered Traveler Program

Call it what you will it’s nothing less than pure and simple extortion. This program is straight out of Orwell’s, Animal Farm, where some pigs are more equal than others.

Perhaps it’s time for a boycott of air travel. Perhaps we can begin by picking a single day to avoid air travel. The cost in lost tax revenue alone would send a clear and loud message that we want relief from the ever-increasing TSA punishment.

If our government is serious about protecting Americans from terrorism they can make some real changes.

Why Rookie Cops Need To Listen To Old Timers

When you’re a young cop, you instantly become the smartest, strongest, best looking, bravest son of a bitch on the planet. You look in the mirror a lot to admire yourself in that superman uniform.

Soon you are sent to patrol and get an lazy old goat for a partner instead of another cool dude like yourself. That’s a bummer. Your new partner has bad feet, seems way too cautious and you just know he was hired when cops did not get real training like you’ve just gotten. You find it embarrassing to be in the same vehicle working with a guy older than your own father.

In Chicago I worked on the Near West Side (012). I had Cook County Hospital, Greek Town, Jew Town, Taylor Street, Skid row and a large high crime area with projects filled with poor African-Americans. It was a busy district and a great place to work. My first boss, Commander Ronald Nash took a big fall and went to the joint for corruption.

As you come to the end of your police academy training you are sent out for Field Weeks to district patrol units. The normal plan is to pair you with an experienced officer working as a “Field Training Officer”. Sometimes they just run out of those creatures and you get what you get.

I was sent to the Near North Side (018) for one such Field Week and was assigned to work a wagon with a real dinosaur. His first name was Gene but I can’t remember his last name. Gene was several months away from mandatory retirement because he’d be 63 years old.

It was Easter Sunday morning and I knew it would be a really dull day. Gene was complaining to me about having to baby sit for a recruit. I was to keep my ears and eyes open. Further I was told to keep my mouth shut and perhaps he’d let me live. We were off to a great start.

Our first radio call did not come in for two whole hours! Then the radio cracked, “Eighteen-seventy-two.” I grabbed the microphone and responded, “Eighteen-seventy-two” The reply was,“Eighteen-seventy-two, a complainant says there’s a DOA floating in the Chicago River." I retorted excitedly, “Ten-Four squad we’re in route!”

Gene said two words, “Oh fudge!” Okay, it was a little stronger than fudge. I was going my first probable homicide call! Gene drove the wagon to the river parking next to the bridge. There was nobody around, not even a complainant, or passers by. As we got out of the wagon to look for a body we were suddenly hit with a really foul odor. Instantly we knew the call was legitimate as we gagged.

Walking closer to the river there he was in all his glory. Large and obese, this fellow was floating face up in the water. He was wearing only a white t-shirt and had his left leg severed attached only by a little tissue. He was bloated and looked ready to explode from the expaneded gas inside his abdominal cavity.

Suddenly the glamour of being a cop was on the ropes for me. We would have to somehow put this huge smelly pile of sh*t into our wagon, take him to a hospital, get a physician to pronounce the guy dead (they won’t take a cop’s word on that in Illinois) and then we'd take him to the Cook County Morgue. Once at the Morgue we'd be expected to remove his t-shit and inventory it as evidence once it was dry. This last procedure has since changed and been assigned to Medical Examiner’s personnel.

Our uniforms would be destroyed and we’d be barfing for sure. Suddenly our fortunes were improving! Two little Black boys were crossing the bridge on bicycles carrying fishing poles. Gene quickly flagged them down and asked to borrow one of the poles. Next, I watched an expert fisherman go to work.

Gene cast the hook right to that T-shirt and snagged it. Then I watched Gene pull the floating mess straight West from the bridge. The soon the body was on the West side of the river! Gene yanked the fishing line and broke it. He crossed back over giving the pole to the now complaining Black kids. Gene reached in his pocket and fished out $5 and gave it to them. The boys left happy and Gene said I now owed him $2.50.

Gene grabbed the radio microphone and called, “Eighteen-seventy-two” The dispatcher responded, “Eighteen-seventy-two.” Gene replied, “Eighteen-seventy-two, be advised this call is bonafide but the DOA is on the 13th district side of the river, we’ll stand by for 13. They’re going to need the Marine Unit or Fire Boat for assistance squad.”

We waited and watched the two poor bastards working a 13th District wagon as they handled the job in the finest tradition of the Chicago Police Department. That was the day I learned that the old timers were smarter than I was. There are some things you just can’t learn in the academy.

Open Thread

This is my first open thread where my visitors can talk about whatever they want, well almost. This is your turn…

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.