Phoenix, AZ —The penalty phase of the Jodi Arias ended when jurors could not arrive at a unanimous verdict and any and all hope of putting Arias to death is over.   The Alexander family members present were observed both angry and weeping which does not speak well for their character or humanity.    They only sought revenge, pure and simple.  Even the execution of an accused never brings satisfaction or closure for those close to the decedent.  Had Arias received a death penalty it would be decades before it,  if ever was carried out.   This case at best was an obvious manslaughter case at best and Arias already served the maximum incarceration time prescribed by Arizona law. The emotion and rage involved in the altercation was best displayed in the remains of Travis Alexander. The amount of wounds most of them superficial indicated there was an epic fight between Alexander and his killer. The issue of the actual trial that was by far t...

Washington, DC —The United States Supreme Court reaffirmed and settled the primary Second Amendment rights issues of all Americans in two somewhat recent cases, Heller and McDonald . Despite this some arrogant politicians feel they and some of their supporters are above the law.   They still seek to use the full force of government and violence against anyone exercising their gun rights. It looks like it may take several more years of lower court battles before these determined and lawless political thugs are reigned in.   These cases move ever so slowly through the courts.   The Second Amendment simply says we can possess and carry firearms.   Impairment of these rights by government is nothing more than a pure Civil Rights Violation. On their face laws barring Campus Carry or those that allow for Gun Free Zones clearly violate the law of the land. Campus Carry: These prohibitions like every law only affect the law-abiding.   The late convict...

Los Angeles, CA —I had a brainstorm while watching a news story of those dangerous and sometimes deadly bird strikes that plague airports. I wasted no time in calling my American Airlines pilot pal to ask him his thoughts on my idea.   He loved the idea and is convinced it’s inexpensive, workable and lifesaving.   Wow!  This is the very same buddy that got me hooked on drones!   For some reason birds love airports and thrive in the critical runway areas where planes take off and land.   They are often seen as high as 5,000 feet and collisions between aircraft and birds have been catastrophic. When you try to deal with the airport bird problem battle lines are drawn between the airports and the bird lovers.   Poisoning or shooting the birds is not on the table as a viable solution. My idea is a simple one.   Airport workers could use small drones to stalk and chase the birds away.   Today airports must use workers in various ground vehi...

Los Angeles, CA —The recent video threat to the Minnesota Mall of America and similar targets has some people on edge.    They certainly should be! The threat in Minnesota is not foolproof because that state allows for concealed weapon permits and frankly those prohibition signs are being ignored more often by permitted gun owners than the mall operators realize. Should things get difficult, armed citizens will always follow their training and do whatever it takes to survive. A quick thinking armed citizen could really put a cramp in some terrorist's plans.  However right now pending the resolution of Peruta vs. San Diego, the draconian gun ban is in place.   All of the densely populated cities of California are Gun Free Zones.   Meaning only those willing to break the law will be armed. No gun law will ever prevent or deter any dedicated terrorist or criminal from using bombs, gasoline or firearms to murder innocent people. Terrorists would be fa...

Washington, DC —What’s past is prologue.   We humans never learn from history as we allow politicians to control, plunder, pillage and eventually murder us.   No Holocaust can ever take place without massive ignorance ambivalence and apathy by the governed.   We are at that point once again. The most important tool for dictators is absolute power.   That’s usually willingly handed over to despotic politicians that can convince their population that liberty must be somehow balanced and compromised with security. We once had a Bill of Rights but we surrendered it piecemeal to our politicians.   They somehow convinced us into believing that they needed enhanced police power to insure our safety. They swayed far too many of us into believing that our thoughts of self-reliance was really just a fantasy.   Like every despotic government many our own politicians persuaded a significant portion of the population into becoming totally dependent on gove...

Los Angeles, CA —I just spent a long time on the telephone with an FAA Aviation Safety Inspector.   I’m not going to name him.   He was knowledgeable and helpful under the circumstances.   My question involved the use of a somewhat small multi-rotor drone for photography and videography.    Specifically, I wanted an exemption certificate for the use of a drone to obtain aerial images of accident, crime scenes, aerial damage surveys of structures for insurance adjusting and electronic newsgathering (ENG). Just last Sunday the FAA issued a draft copy of their intended drone regulations.   After a public comment period as much as three years will pass before a final regulation is published.   The rub here is that the drone technology is changing at lighting speed and whatever they promulgate will already be outdated and stale by the time any rule is adopted. The inspector I spoke with was an obviously bright fellow.     He among othe...

Malibu, CA —Earlier this month former Olympic champion, Bruce Jenner was involved in a fatal accident on Pacific Coast Highway.   Jenner was driving a Cadillac Escalade towing a trailer.   As most of my blog visitors know I’m a former cop and licensed private investigator for longer than I care to admit.   I have conducted many fatal automobile accident investigations and understand the process.   A white Lexus was in front of Jenner’s vehicle being driven by a 68 year-old Arizona woman driving with an expired driver’s license.     She suddenly slowed down for no apparent reason.   Jenner apparently hit her and somehow pushed her Lexus into oncoming traffic.    A Hummer then struck the Lexus head on killing the woman.   Apparently there was no evidence of excessive speed or impaired driving involved .   Right now sheriff’s officers are trying their best to reconstruct the accident to determine fault. Just because there...

Washington, DC —The documentary film is called, CITIZENFOUR and may be the most important documentary of our time.  It’s been nominated for an Academy Award.   The German producers of this film were blessed with incredible access to American hero and NSA whistle blower Edward Snowden .  This was at the time when he was handing over data and documenting the massive criminal acts of our President and high intelligence officials to the  Guardian Newspaper . The only person ever indicted for a crime was of course Edward Snowden.  Frankly the sheep do not understand that our democracy will never be the same because of our people’s stolen secrets.  Political extortion, financial manipulation is our future since the Genie is forever out of the bottle.  But for the ignorance of masses, they’d rise up, storm the Whitehouse and immediately hang the occupants for treason.  Buy a ticket and see this remarkable film.  Then ask your...