Light posting ahead

On the road for a couple of days. 

Here's hoping that the particular "Urban" area that I'm in doesn't get too "Urban" too quickly.  If it does, here's hoping I can get out quickly in the rent-a-hoopty that I have. 

Suits and Badges

From WRSA, Suits and Badges.

The hand only moves because of instruction from the head.  Further, if the hand gets burned, does the head suffer consequence? 

"Meditate on this, I will" - Yoda

Body Armor

It didn't hit me until this morning. 

The SWAT team that murdered Jose Guerena was wearing body armor.  Why?  For safety.  body armor gives you a chance of not being injured when shot at.  It affords you the luxury of time. 

With that in mind, who fired the first shot? 

The SWAT team. 

The same team that already has the advantage of surprise, heavy armor, full-auto rifles, a battering ram and the color of law still wants more.  They want to fire the first shot. 

Do you understand?  Even with all of that protection, SWAT teams are still on pucker factor 10.  And how many times a day is this happening?  Even though they could survive being shot, they are ready to start shooting NOW.  Even though they can afford to wait another second or two, they want to shoot first. 

Overwhelming force. Body armor. Surprise attack. The Government won't accept a surrender. Won't send in medical help. And then smears the victim afterword.

From Pro Libertate, Will Grigg writes:

When asked about the AR 15 Jose reportedly brandished to defend his home from the SWAT team, Vanessa stated -- more than once -- that she "didn't see a weapon" in Jose's hands, and referred to the rifle found near his body as "the weapon that was thrown right there."

later he writes:

If the AR 15 had been planted next to Jose, that could explain why the safety was still on when it was found -- something otherwise difficult to understand, given that he was a Marine combat veteran. The "drop gun" scenario, while dubious, is quite a bit more plausible than the one suggested by (Detective Dan) Preuss, in which a young father who worked overtime at a local mine and made pinatas by hand to save money was actually a secret drug kingpin whose home was honeycombed with secret caches laden with guns and cash.

I think Arctic Patriot hits it square on the head.  Is this not Waco?  I suppose the only thing different is that zero shots were fired at the agents government gang of home invaders. 
 
When I first came up with the mashup for Don't Take Me Alive, it was David Codrea who opined, "How about 'Don't take me...at all?'"  Police forces seem only to happy to grant this wish.

Dilbert gets it

You only need the first two panes here, but it seems that Dilbert is starting to get it. 


(click picture to see strip)

And since we're on Dilbert, this one from yesterday  



I'll keep it brief, Divided we stand, United we fall. 

Tortoise Mating

You know, since that whole restoration of the Republic, Liberty and Freedom isn't working out at the moment and doom is just a heartbeat away, I thought I'd have myself a laugh. 

Apparently, Al, a 130 year old Aldabra tortoise hasn't "been with a female" since 1983.  Story here.  Al is making up for lost time!  Eat your heart out, Bob Dole!  No Viagara needed for this old chap.  Why, he probably feels as spry as he was at 94.

I put some old Whitesnake on there for Al.  Enjoy,

Open rant to Dan Patrick

Dear Mr. Patrick,


here it comes...

You have a right to be angry at being bullied by the TSA.  You have a right to feel betrayed by those who withdrew their support in the face of such bullying. 
But what I read indicates that you withdrew the bill upon determining that it didn't have support to pass. 

Is that really your problem? 

If you are truly going to stand for liberty, then you're going to have to be this guy.


Reaper Man, aka "that guy"

You're going to have to step out there in front of the Reapers and be as Tank Man was-risking everything so that you might pass freedom on to those behind you.  On blind faith, you must trust that others will follow.  On the first pass, 137 of them did, right? 

Is this...

...worth stopping?

When you back down in the face of the "lobbying" from TSA and you have to look these victims in the eye, what do you tell them?  "I stand for Liberty"

Seriously? 

When you return from the battlefield without ever offering battle to the TSA, how can you possibly look those injured by the TSA in the face and make this claim? 

The outcome of the vote is irrelevant.  If it fails, let it fail.  If a hundred of your colleagues give up, let them.  If the vote is suddenly reversed from 138-0 to a vote of 1-137, it is not your problem!  By advancing the bill, you force the issue and force your colleagues to take a stand.  By withdrawing it, you've provided them all cover they need-by becoming the bulls eye and a target for ridicule, I might add.  Let's be honest here.  Deep down, in words they will seldom if ever express to you personally, they are grateful to you for withdrawing the bill.  You and you alone have borne the burden of all their cowardice in such a way that they never have to be called to account for it.   

This issue is a whole lot bigger than a few people being groped.  It is my hope that someone might truly stand for liberty where you stepped away.  It is my hope that someone else might carry this challenge through to a conclusion where you left the field with the battle unfought.  

It is my failing hope that you will have peaceful and prosperous days in which you might shamefully ponder your missed opportunity that someone else carried to success. 

It is my growing fear however that we will all instead curse your name while shackled by chains of poverty and prison and curse your name. 

I award you this Cone of Shame which is yours until otherwise noted.  Superimposed over the star of Texas is a Department of Homeland Security logo.  Quite frankly, iIf Texas can't succeed here, then who can?  If Texas won't be "the man", who will? 

Keeping your honor would have been costly had you not withdrawn the bill.  It will be even more costly now.  I urge you to reclaim your honor no matter what it costs. 

What now, Texas?

As I expected, the cone of shame and charge of cowardice in the face of the enemy does not sit well with some.  This in regards to the Texas vs. TSA. 

I elevate this comment to the front page not to bash the commenter, but to advance the issue. 

Namenlos said...

And what legislation did your state have? Oh wait none . . . seriously . . . whatever.

Thanks for reading and for the comment.  Namenlos, I don't suppose it would help to point out that Texas doesn't have any legislation either.   It was withdrawn, remember?

In one of the articles I read, several other states were considering passing similar laws.  I wonder how that will work out now-seeing that Texas has capitulated to the TSA without even seeing it through to a vote?  Seriously, if the TSA can bully Texas, then what state has a chance? 


For any of you Texans out there, it might be more productive to redirect any anger towards your state representatives and senators so that this bill might at least get a vote.  In writing and coming up with the cone of shame, I thought I might be as Patton was to this soldier:


 
Did Patton discard the soldier?  No.  Did he court-martial him and send him to prison?  No.  He tried to shame him into regaining his sense of honor and duty. 
 
In like manner with this business of Texas vs. TSA.  It is abject cowardice to retreat from the battlefield with the battle unfought.  It is enraging to hear someone say that they stand for liberty when they turned their back to the enemy.  It must be especially painful to hear for who have actually suffered through the Molocaust.  In the video clip, these people would be the soldiers in the adjacent beds who have suffered injury at the hands of the enemy. 
 
If the Molocaust is wrong, then it's wrong.  Resist. 

"I Don't Cave In"

"I don’t cave in to heavy handed threats by the federal government,”

said an angry Sen. Dan Patrick, R-Houston, the Senate sponsor of the bill, who ultimately withdrew the bill.

______________

Um.....you just did.  Now bend over and accept the enhanced screening.

(click to enlarge)

Financial Terrorism: TSA Holds Texas Flights Hostage

From Infowars.  Story here.

In a letter sent to Texas lawmakers, including to Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst, Speaker Joe Straus, the House Clerk, and the Senate Secretary, U.S. Attorney John E. Murphy threatened to cripple the airline industry in the state if legislators did not back down.

See there, bullying does pay off.  Just ask Lord Cutler Beckett.
And then what I consider to be the money quote is in this passage:

Following a fiery debate in the Texas House last night, Senate sponsor Dan Patrick (R-Houston) pulled the bill, remarking that TSA representatives had been “lobbying” the Texas Senate in an effort to mothball the legislation.


“I will pull HB 1937 down, but I will stand for Liberty in the state of Texas,” Patrick said.

I will stand for Liberty......until they tell me to sit down.

I have to give Texas credit for coming up with this bill, for getting it through their house by a 138-0 vote. But I must note with some sadness that the Molocaust will continue.

No matter how much TSA gropes, they still can’t find a spine or testicles. Even in Texas.

The writer of this story hits it right on the head.

The TSA’s initial response to HB 1937 was to claim that it could not become law because it violated Supremacy Clause of the U.S. Constitution (Article. VI. Clause 2), a law that the TSA claimed “prevents states from regulating the federal government.”


In reality, this was a complete fabrication.


“The statement is false. Ignorance from the TSA is unlikely, so I’ll call a spade a spade. They’re lying. The supremacy clause says nothing of the sort,” reported Michael Boldin of the Tenth Amendment Center.


Here’s the full text:


This Constitution, and the Laws of the United States which shall be made in pursuance thereof; and all treaties made, or which shall be made, under the authority of the United States, shall be the supreme law of the land; and the judges in every state shall be bound thereby, anything in the constitution or laws of any state to the contrary notwithstanding.


“So, in simple terms, what does the supremacy clause mean? Just what it says. The constitution is supreme. And any federal laws made in line with the constitution is supreme. Nothing more, nothing less,” writes Boldin.

…And any law passed that is not Constitutional is not supreme either.

Win or lose, Texas had the opportunity to press the issue of the Constitutionality of the very existence of the TSA as well as the Molocaust.  There was at least the opportunity to win. 

A little shove from Leviathan, a dusting of the old ground, and the drawing of a new line. And then Leviathan says to you, “What line? Where? There’s no line back here. The line is right there, and you’re right up against it and need to stand down.”

It is with great sadness that I award this cone of shame to Texas for backing down-what otherwise would be called cowardice in the face of the enemy.

Updated:

(click to enlarge)

Reaper Man

Arctic Patriot's post today, Individual vs. The Collective has put the spurs to me to finish a particular project.  A while back, I had a specific request for photos of The Minuteman.  I got a few good links and many thanks to those who offered photos.  I came up with another idea that I think works even better. 

We've all seen this photo:

I wonder what this man was thinking.  Seriously, what went through his mind?  What was on his heart when he made his lone act of defiance against tyranny?  Who among us would like to be "that guy"?

To bring this to a conclusion, I give you Reaper Man. 


(click to enlarge)



Who is going to be "that guy?" 

Who?

More importantly, who else? 

If you are not here, then find out who is.  And find out who else is here.  Then spread the word so that there may be thousands and ten thousands beside and behind him. 

In a nation of a billion people, Tank Man stood alone.  Will Reaper Man stand alone? 

Ray Lewis, Baltimoron

Story here.

“Do this research. If we don’t have a season, watch how much evil, which we call it crime, watch how much crime picks up when you take away our game”

Got that?  It's not your game or even America's game.  The game belongs to the players.  Or are they playas? 

Coming from anyone else, I might laugh, but coming from Ray Lewis I'm now a little concerned.  But Lewis as you'll recall was once charged with murder and was able to get the charges dropped.  Lewis quote to me smacks of extortion.  If there's no football, there'll be a lot of crime.  All it needs is a Johnnie Cochran rhyme to go with it. 

If only the NFL were having a lockIN, rather than a lockout.

Oh well, at least my state is NFL-free!

More on The Beast

As is typical, one idea leads to others. 

GardenSERF has some practical thoughts and observations about the beached whale and how it was handled.  Well worth the read. 

The Beast gets stuck in Dumblin

No, MicHELLe Ceaucescu is fine.  The car is stuck though.  This from the same people who brought us the dumbrella... (Everything you need is in the first minute.) 

Clearly this bump in the road is racist.  Why else would it snag the blundercarriage of Pres__ent HusseinO's hoopty? 

The driver is clearly not up on his Alinsky.  I mean, when you hit the first bump in the road, isn't the S.O.P. to hit the gas?

Your Supreme Court at work: 46000 inmates to be freed in California

Story here

WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court ordered California on Monday to release tens of thousands of its prisoners to relieve overcrowding, saying that "needless suffering and death" had resulted from putting too many inmates into facilities that cannot hold them in decent conditions.

Congratulations!  I guess California just got 46,000 new people who are qualified to run for office.

In other news, the SSEIU reported a 46,000 jump in their California membership in May. I would say that street gang membership just went up, but it’s probably more like an active roster/inactive roster thing in baseball.

If I get out the CW2 cube I wonder what this just did? 

I'd love to think that a whole lot of people like Brian Aitken and David Olofson who don't belong in prison are now being freed.  But the more likely case is that a whole lot of really bad people were just put back onto the cube.  But where on the cube are they?  Are they in the Rich-White-Urban corner? 

On the one hand, the Supreme Court in an 8-1 decision thinks that it’s okay for cops to barge in if they think evidence is being destroyed and presumably find something to send you away to prison. But don’t sweat that because prison is overcrowded and the Supreme Court will make sure to turn at least some of you out on the street again. On the one hand, the government is intent upon incarcerating the maximum number of people they can. On the other, they’re committed to not depriving you of your life, liberty, and property for very long.

Rules for Radicals: By Benjamin Franklin

He even wrote it on 9/11!!!!!!!!  (1773). 
Only when he wrote it, it was satire. 

Go.

Read. 

All. 

Tell me how much of this has already been fulfilled in your own lifetime. 

You know the stats as well or better than I do.  You know the court rulings.  You know the outrage upon outrage that we've seen.  You know the long train of abuses.  You can see the pictures in your head.  You can see the blood stains on the ground and the chalk outlines.  You can hear the soundbytes.  Why, you might even hear Lee Greenwood singing as a siren in the background, soothing words of satisfied patriotic glory about a country that . . . is no longer. 

H/T to GardenSERF for a great read. 

Finding Marizela: Frustration

Finding Marizela

Michelle Malkin's cousin, Marizela Perez has now been missing since March 5, 2011.  In this latest post, Malkin shares some e-mail ping pong with the King County Government Apparatus. 

It is interesting to me just how slow the wheels of injustice turn.  A missing, 19 year old girl, perishable data, a simple request and the entire system acts like roadkill painters. 

On the other hand, how quickly would the wheels of "justice" turn to unlock all of the secrets of GoogleVerizonATTETC in a matter of hours if the request was classified as a matter of National Security. 

I can't help but think that there has been an explosion of precisely these Important requests that of course preclude actual Urgent requests like Marizela's case. 

What an awful, heartbreaking, enraging time for this family. If you can help them, please do. If you can help yourself by learning from this case, then please do.

Urgent Deep Space Giffords Alert!!!

There's absolutely nothing to report. 

It seems that the news cycle has been consumed with...well, news.  The Mississippi River floods, Killing Osama, the head of the IMF being arrested for the sexual assault of a maid, and calling on Israel to give back land that they won in battle and paid for in blood seem to be dominating. 

I hear that Giffords did in fact get to watch the launch and sounds like she's recovering well. 

As to why there wasn't a media circus?  Hmmm, hard to say.  I guess I missed that call. 

Perhaps showing Giffords all over TV wouldn't work with NASA's prime mission of Muslim outreach. 

Perhaps as a result of the shooting, Giffords isn't as liberal as she used to be. 

Perhaps they have something bigger in mind. 

Or perhaps the hoplophobes would rather not be seen or heard at the moment since the ATF's sins via Gunwalker threaten to unravel an entire agency that has long needed unravelling. 

Presuming that the Endeavor makes it back safely, I guess that closes the book on this one. 

Middle East Policy Shift

With regard to the call for Israel to return to their pre-1967 borders, let me make this very short, very simple, and very clear:

Arab Spring = Israel Fall. 

New head of the IMF

As I wrote about previously, watch the other hand where this IMF business is concerned.  Today, this story.

Another of Ms. Lagarde’s selling points, though, may be one not listed on her résumé.

“What’s happened with Strauss-Kahn underscores how great it would be to have a woman in the role,” said Kenneth S. Rogoff, a former I.M.F. chief economist who is now a professor at Harvard University.

"She is enormously impressive, politically astute and a strong personality,” he said. “At finance meetings all over the world, she is treated practically like a rock star."

Uh....like Meat Loaf? He was a rock star.

So in the same vein as HusseinO, it would be great to have a woman running the IMF simply because....we haven't had one yet.  And oh by the way, who could miss the symbolism of having a woman replace the man who has been accused of rape.  Am I the only one who thinks this would be convenient? 

Why not go for broke and get a "wise Latina"? 

Later, this:

European officials are frantically maneuvering to keep one of their own in a post Europe has controlled since the I.M.F. and the World Bank were created in the late 1940s. It will not necessarily be easy. Three years after financial excesses in the United States and Europe brought the world economy to the brink of catastrophe, Mr. Strauss-Kahn has become the latest symbol of what many see as the faults of the wealthy West.


Appointing simply another European, particularly another white middle-age male, might not fly this time.


The world’s fast-growing emerging economies say they should now get a shot at running a big institution like the I.M.F. — or the World Bank, traditionally headed by an American in a long-standing understanding between the two economic powers.


But with Europe facing a drawn-out financial crisis of its own, global leaders may consider it politic for a European to finish serving out Mr. Strauss-Kahn’s term, which ends in 2012. That might then create an opening for a leader from one of the emerging markets — from South Africa or India, for example — whose collective economic heft and effect on global markets is starting to eclipse that of the West.

Hmmmm. So in the same vein as having Syria on the UN Human Rights Commission, we need to get a leader from an "emerging market" to head it up. You mean, one of those countries where they pay pennies a day for labor, have no environmental laws at all, and their entire populace lives in squalor? By Jove, they'll show the rest of the world the way to do poverty right!

And I'm sure that they wouldn't exercise power to "bring home the bacon" to their own countries at the expense of the rest of us.......riiiiiight? I'm sure that a new IMF chief from an emerging country wouldn't do a Jar Jar Binks and unwittingly swerve the world away from the dollar and onto a new currency?  (In Star Wars II, Attack of the Clones, Jar Jar Binks makes a motion to grant Chancellor Palpatine emergency powers.  Sort of like the Patriot Act.) 

On the one hand, while you can, enjoy the laughs about the irony of a bankster who screwed trillions getting arrested for a single rape. I have a feeling that you won't like what's on the other hand.
 

4th Amendment Blues

You know, just thinking some more on the 4th Amendment death here; Some black humor:

• Don't sweat that 4th Amendment stuff.  You won't need that when you're in the camps. 
• When we're all homeless, what difference will the 4th Amendment make?

Trying to expand my field of vision, it's starting to become a little clearer. 

Consider again the foreclosure rates and the illegal foreclosure practices.  Consider how banks have tried to take property that they did not have a clear title to-even from people who had been paying their mortgages faithfully.  Consider how the banks have made loans that they knew were bad.  They made loans to people they knew couldn't pay.  Consider how the government bailed out the banks which allowed them to balance their books for a cycle, pay themselves huge bonuses, but not purge the debt. 

Consider that none of these bank executives have gone to jail.  Nor the government criminal class who enabled them and covered their sins-with your money I might add.

Consider that realtors and appraisers have been pressured to keep home prices artificially high.  Bigger commissions, bigger loans, bigger bonuses. 

Consider that most of American real estate is probably overvalued by a lot.  Which is really convenient because the local tax assessors in most cases haven't generally lowered their assessment against your property-even though so many can't sell it for a profit, much less what they paid for it. 

Consider that there's talk of eliminating the home mortgage interest deduction for income taxes.  Do you know how huge that is for some?  I am guessing that for some, this mortgage deduction equals 40-60% of their itemized deductions.  Let's get honest and call that a tax increase-a disincentive to home ownership. 

Consider the environmental regulations out there.  In some places, you're told that you may not cut a tree on your own land for the sake of the habitat of some obscure animal (which of course cannot possibly live anywhere else on the whole damned planet.)  

Consider the Kelo decision which eviscerated the 5th Amendment for the sake of a proposed development....which still has not happened.

Deep breath. 

Now combine all of this with the 4th Amendment news of late.  The Oklahoma law, the Indiana Ruling, and The 8-1 Supreme Court ruling last week.  

It's more than a direct assault on the middle class from all conceivable angles.  It is an encirclement and annihilation of the entire concept of the middle class. 

Why...It's almost like they don't want you to be capable of owning your own property.  I would say that it's like they want you to forever be a serf paying rent to them but hey, what are property taxes if not rent?  It's almost like they want you to be homeless, hopeless, scratching out your survival, merely existing on table scraps, charity, and the benevolence of the government.  That or in a "relief camp"  with a "Work makes you free" banner over the entrance.  What's the difference? 

It is said of God that when you come to the place that He's all you have, you'll find he's all you need.  Government is trying to be "godlike" in this way-bringing all Americans to the place where they are all you have and all you need. 

Perhaps we should have started a Bill of Rights countdown as they started disappearing.  Since 5 and 4 seem to be gone, then can #3 be far behind?  Besides, if all property belongs to the banks, then it really belongs to the government anyway.  When everything belongs to everybody, then nothing belongs to nobody. 

IN Sheriff: If We Need to Conduct RANDOM HOUSE to HOUSE Searches We Will

H/T to Scott for the link to this story.

CROWN POINT, Ind. – According to Newton County Sheriff, Don Hartman Sr., random house to house searches are now possible and could be helpful following the Barnes v. STATE of INDIANA Supreme Court ruling issued on May 12th, 2011. When asked three separate times due to the astounding callousness as it relates to trampling the inherent natural rights of Americans, he emphatically indicated that he would use random house to house checks, adding he felt people will welcome random searches if it means capturing a criminal.

Sounds like someone is itching for an opportunity to exercise his new found power. 

As a reference, Crown Point is ~14 miles south of Gary, Indiana-just a hop, skip, and jump from Chicagoland. 

IMF head arrested

I've refrained from commenting on this.  I just fail to be surprised here.  The behavior attributed to Dominique Strauss-Kahn is consistent with what bankers have been doing to the rest of us.  It's just a matter of scale. 

Allow me to bend this quote-commonly attributed to Stalin. 

"The death raping of one is a tragedy, death rape of a million billions is a statistic"

There!  I fixed it.
If only they could arrest them all. 

What else is about to happen in the world of finance, debt, megadebt, and teradebt?

Watch The Other Hand.

Treasury to tap pensions

Story here.

I commented about this here.  So has Denninger. 

Oh sure, it's only Federal pensions.  It's not 401k's and IRA's. 






yet. 

RIP 4th Amendment

H/t to Balko here and here.

I guess it's official now. 

The US Supreme Court has ruled ...

The justices in an 8-1 decision said officers who loudly knock on a door and then hear sounds suggesting evidence is being destroyed may break down the door and enter without a search warrant.

And remember, in Oklahoma, you can't fortify your home.  And in Indiana you have no right to refuse an officer entry. 

Dare I ask what decree might be issued out of whole cloth tomorrow? 

Want to know the really funny part?  Ruth Bader Ginsburg, the Uber-Liberal is the only dissenting vote.  Wow.  Whodathunk?  In her dissent, Ginsburg writes:

“The court today arms the police with a way routinely to dishonor the Fourth Amendment’s warrant requirement in drug cases,” Justice Ginsburg wrote. “In lieu of presenting their evidence to a neutral magistrate, police officers may now knock, listen, then break the door down, nevermind that they had ample time to obtain a warrant.”

If I can't be secure in my own home, then who can?  What happens when a man has nothing left to defend-and is left completely defenseless?  What can he possibly do? 

Offense.

Your Home is not a Castle either

I had a brain flash this afternoon thinking about the Indiana Supreme Court (Official Motto: Why make Guantanamo like America when we can make America like Guantanamo!)

I remembered that Oklahoma passed a law recently

HB 1579 "It shall be unlawful for any person to willfully fortify an access point into any dwelling, structure, building or other place where a felony offense prohibited by the Uniform Controlled Dangerous Substances Act is being committed, or attempted, and the fortification is for the purpose of preventing or delaying entry or access by a law enforcement officer, or to harm or injure a law enforcement officer in the performance of official duties. (Emphasis mine)

As one bright guy has noted,

Cops WILL find a controlled substance. They, like the Boy Scouts, are always prepared.

Word. 

Consider as well the strength of support behind HB 1579 (which by the way was in the 2009 session of the Oklahoma legislature).  On the final votes, it looks like it passed 42-0 in the Senate and 92-6 in the House. 

Think about this for a second.  "Where a felony offense is being committed."  Some of you legal guys and recovering lawyers help me out; in the eyes of the law, how do we know if a felony was committed at all? 

Isn't a felony determined only after due process has been followed and a jury finds that a felony has been committed?  In that case, it seems to me that the only way one could even be charged with violating this law would be after a jury had found you guilty of a felony.  (For which you'd already be going to jail.) 

One wonders why they just didn't outlaw doors altogether.  Maybe they're warming up to tyranny slowly. 

When I combine Indiana's Su Casa-Mi Casa ruling with Oklahoma's Anti-Castle Doctrine, the prospect for liberty looks very dim indeed. 

Indiana Court Ruling, MacRib Test?

Could the Indiana Su casa = Mi casa ruling simply be a MacRib test? 

H/t to Garden SERF for directing me to this piece. 

As I shared with him:

They’re just aligning the principle to the practice.  Which in itself is wrong.  Practice should align to a principle.  When you align principle to practice, it could be that you’re saying that the ends justify the means.

Indiana Court: No right to resist illegal cop entry into home

Story here.

Back to principles, practices, does this change anything?  Really?  Su Casa = Mi Casa.  Si Se Puede!

In practical terms, this has been law enforcement's bent for years.  Just ask Joel Guerena.  Or Aiyana Jones.   

So then all the court really did is to make explicit that their principle matches the practice.  But did anything change? 

The only thing that I see changed is that a few more of the black-robed mafia have self-identified as enemies of liberty. 

Of the five justices, only Justice Robert Rucker and Justice Brent Dickson dissented from the ruling.


That leaves Justice Frank Sullivan, Jr., Chief Justice Randall Terry Shepard, and Justice Steven David who wrote the 3-2 opinion. 


Steven David

An excerpt from the bio:  

He ... served in the United States Army Judge Advocate General’s Corps, and he has continued to serve in the Army Reserves ever since, earning the rank of Colonel and holding top secret security clearance since 1982.  As a military officer, he has made significant contributions to military rules, protocols, and investigative reports and held multiple legal posts, including that of Chief Defense Counsel for detainees subject to the Military Commission’s proceedings at Guantanamo Bay. 

Why settle for making Guantanamo Bay like America when you can make America like Guantanamo Bay!

House passes a bill to lift drilling moratorium

Story here.


Fail.

What is the problem with this approach?

Obama will veto it. True, but irrelevant.

It won’t clear the Senate. True, but irrelevant.

The problem with this approach is that one federal judge has already voided this moratorium.

Obama responded by writing a new one and widening it. Basically an "are too +1".  This was a blatant, arrogant display of contempt for the judiciary branch of government.

So what’s the correct answer?

Well, it clearly isn’t another judicial review.  Even without the moratorium, even if the judiciary wins, does anyone think the results would be different?  Would the Obama administration approve any drilling permits or drag their feet on them?

Presumably, the oil companies could drill wells anyway and thumb their noses at the President. In which case, Obama would move as before using this model: Burden, Bail-out, Bankrupt, and Boardroom.  Then oil companies might be as nationalized as GM, Chrysler, or Citgo.

The Oil Companies could together shut all refineries and stop all deliveries. Sort of a "Who Run Bartertown?" moment.  (from Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome)



In which case, Obama would move as before using this model: Burden, Bail-out, Bankrupt, and Boardroom.  Then oil companies might be as nationalized as GM, Chrysler, or Citgo. 

Sigh.  Whose ass to kick? 

Impeachment might be a nice start. 

Just a working man with his tools

H/t to CA at Western Rifle Shooters Association

Matt Bracken with another practical, cheap idea for carrying your tools. 

Not Even a Look Out the Window?

What? Not Even a Look Out the Window? The Blog on Obama: White House Dossier:

"President Obama doesn’t seem to have even peered out his Air Force One window to view the swelling Mississippi, a minimal show of interest for which George W. Bush was pilloried when he took a peek at the damage wrought by Hurricane Katrina in 2005. At least Bush bothered to look.

Obama is traveling today OVER the devastation being wrought by the Mississippi in order to get to events in Texas, where he will rally his Hispanic supporters with a speech on immigration in El Paso and then head to the Lone Star state’s liberal bastion of Austin for two fundraisers.

White House Press Secretary Jay Carney, who spoke with reporters aboard Air Force One, was asked whether Obama had bothered to get a view from above.

“I haven’t seen him do that but I haven’t been with him for the full flight so far,” Carney said."

Liberals never looked out the window while over fly-over country before, why should they start now. 

I wonder if Air Force One might make a few low altitude passes.  You know, to buzz the tower in celebration like Maverick in Top Gun.  Like they did in New York. 



This is Maverick, requesting permission to buzz the tower. 

Maybe they'll swing by on the flip side...

China Wants a Peek at Secret Helicopter

Osama Bin Laden Raid: Pakistan Hints China Wants a Peek at Secret Helicopter - ABC News:

"Pakistani officials said today they're interested in studying the remains of the U.S.'s secret stealth-modified helicopter abandoned during the Navy SEAL raid of Osama bin Laden's compound, and suggested the Chinese are as well."

really?  This is my shocked face. 

Make a note. 

If this administration gets upset about China getting a peek, it will not be based on national security interests.  It will be based on a lost opportunity for campaign contributions. 

How you say, "Never let a crisis go to waste" in Mandarin? 

And still more on blasting levees

Great comments from the Cliff Dwellers here.

One asks whether corporations will buy up the farmland after the flood waters recede? 

An excellent point.  I hadn't looked that deep into the palantir yet, but given the Obama administration's bent to leave things worse than they found them, I think it's a fair question to ask whether the levees will be repaired at all.  (How many new drilling permits have been approved since last year?)  And if that's the case, these green, fertile acres might very well be left underwater or at risk for the next flood. 

This is as good a place as any to post something I read about Calvin Coolidge the other day.  He was opposed to farm subsidies and was quoted as saying, "government control cannot be divorced from political control."

Word. 

Another points out that blowing the levees will deposit sand and do much more in erosion damage than would a simple flood. 

Indeed.  Rather than being submerged by rising waters that spread out as they go, the blown levees will act like nozzles that blast away at farms close to the levee wall.  Let's just call it Obama's Surge Plan.  This surge will do much more damage than would a gradual flood. 



In pondering some more on Cairo, Illinois, I really do hurt for those folks.  I've seen Flint, Michigan several times over the last 20 years and it looks worse every time I go.  A dying town, situated between walls, protected from flooding by levees.  Hmmm, Cairo sounds just like .... New Orleans.  Perhaps the Corps of Engineers is still feeling stung from their experience there in 2005-and the subsequent PR tornado whipped up by the press. 


Unused evacuation vehicles.

I always wondered why the looters didn't steal a schoolbus, make a trip through the neighborhood, pick up as many folks as possible and get their butts ABOVE SEA LEVEL.

By the way, don't miss that third video.  It's all Lee, Levees, and Leverage.

More on Blowing the Levees

CNN is a few days behind me, but I told you so.  Also, I was off a little.  The levees were blown at Bird's Point to save Cairo, Illinois.  Not even an enormous metropolis, but a decaying, dying city. 




And at 1:54, the money quote, “Cairo is predominantly African-American.”

And it's in Illinois.  The "home" state of Barack Obama. 

Suddenly the picture becomes clearer.

Oh and as far as our sons defending freedom, here you go…Major General Michael Walsh.



God Bless The USA!
Sing it Lee!

The plan since 1928 has always been that if Cairo, a city of about 15,000 at the time, was in danger of flooding, the levee would be opened to save the city. But back then, things were much different, Cairo was a vibrant river community…most of the businesses downtown are gone, most of the people have left as well, in fact, less than 3000 people remain.

Family sued for displaying flag.

Story at Big Peace

“Our Son Defends Our Freedom.”

...says a family who lives in a neighborhood with covenant restrictions.  Allow me a moment on the soapbox.

You people knew what the restrictions were when you moved in.  You agreed to them as a condition of buying the home.  You’re bound by them.  End of discussion.  When you agreed to these covenants, you in effect gave away part of your freedom for the perceived security of improved home values over time.   How's that working out?  Not so well?  Then congratulations, you have just learned a valuable lesson. 

Neighborhood HOA's provide a small scale learning experience for the citizen with his eyes open.  You get to see up close and personal just how government really works and works against you.  You get to see up close and personal how it is your own neighbors that oppose your freedom for their security.  Worse, since you signed the line agreeing to the covenants, you are now bound by it so you can't really complain about how bad they are.  You have given your consent to be governed by those rules.  Think of an HOA as a neighborhood kollectiv.  Think of it as compliance training.  Think of it as an opportunity to ease your way into totalitarian communist rule. 

I lived in a neighborhood with covenants and an HOA once and have made the commitment that I will not live in such a neighborhood again.  There were great folks in that 'hood.  There were also some jerks.  Just like any neighborhood.  I just want as few rules on my property as I can get.  Why would I sign up for more rules? 

This story represents an all too common theme.  Our sons defend freedom overseas and we give it away here.  Maybe our sons should defend freedom here.  Maybe citizens should defend freedom here and now for themselves-rather than outsourcing it overseas.  Just saying.  

Problem is that both parties are getting fooled.  If you join the military, you serve the state-not freedom.  Period.   I used to think otherwise, but I'm a little wiser now.  And sadder.

From Sipsey Street:

Great post here.

"As if some big enemy came and chloroformed their minds"

Or as we like to say around here, Which way are you facing?

USS Conyngham (DDG-17) 5-10-90 Walkdown Video

USS Conyngham suffered a mainspace fuel fire on 5-8-1990. 

A couple of days later, a video of the damage was made.  At the time, USS Conyngham was tied up to #5 pier in Norfolk across from USS Wasp (LHD-1).  While we went to work restoring some of our ship, we ate onboard Wasp.  Some of our guys may have berthed over there temporarily as well. 

I found this old videotape and put my digitizing skills to work.  The finished video is enormous in size if not fantastic in quality.  It took half of forever to upload to YouTube, but it's worth it. 

My hope is that Gus Boat veterans will find this useful.

New Osama Football!

Divas

Marlon Brando, Liz Taylor and Michael Jackson…

...are said to have embarked on their journey to flee New York in a hire car the day after the 9/11 terror attack.


Fearing a follow-up attack, the trio first sought refuge in New Jersey, according to one of Jackson’s former personal assistants.


From there they undertook a 500-mile odyssey across America – with Brando and Jackson behind the wheel and stopping only to fuel up on Burger King and KFC takeaways – until they finally reached a mystery destination in the state of Ohio.


The remarkable tale, told to this month’s Vanity Fair magazine, is set to become the stuff of Hollywood legend – or possibly even part of a film script.

or a Saturday Night Live skit.  Or a Snicker's commercial...



I'm trying to imagine Steppenwolf's "Born to Be Wild" blaring in the background as these three eccentric celebreties make their way across America in a car on 9/12/01.  How'd you like to be the driver hired for that run? 


As a bonus, I thought this Snickers commercial was hilarious (at least for those who have not been attacked by sharks anyway).

More Tornado lessons

Lesson Learned: Really big tornados may have an eye-like a hurricane. Maintain cover for a few minutes before you emerge.  Story here.

No OBL photo

As soon as the news was going out on May 1, I posed this question:

I wonder if we'll get as much proof of Osama's death as we got of Obama's qualifications to serve as President? 

And just as Obama's birth certificate led to years of legal wrangling and countless dollars wasted, Osama's death certificate (photo) will lead to years of legal wrangling and countless dollars wasted. 

For my part, these pictures have already been paid for in American blood. 

Like this guy for example:


 You wonder what went through his mind as he fell.  I'm sure it wasn't, "Hey, I sure hope that when they get the bastard that did this we don't release the photos."

I wonder if he might have thought, "I hope that God and everybody sees this and never forgets."

Or how about this guy:


Nick Berg: "...if only they were moderate Muslims!"

Or this guy...


Paul Johnson

Or even this guy:


Daniel Pearl

Or how about these guys:


Mogadishu, 1993.  "spiking the football"

Forgive me here, but spiking the football only happens once a touchdown is scored.  In light of HusseinO's comments, it's a fair question to ask; Have we?  Have we really scored a touchdown? 

Updated: Obama has his metaphors mixed up here though and that's understandable given his status as an athletic supporter and not an athlete. 


Obama, spiking the football.

In football, the referee must actually see the ball break the plane and signal a touchdown on the field.  This cannot simply be called down from the replay booth.  A few of the anointed have apparently seen the photo(s).  The rest of us in the stands likewise need the proof. 

If we don't get to "spike the football", then Obama is publicly declaring that he is not worthy of any credit or political points for killing him.  Osama is either important, or he's not.

Updated:
Say, isn't pigskin another moniker for football?  Just saying....

Look, I don't want to merely spike the football.  I want to spike the football, pull out a sharpie and sign it, pull out my cellphone and call someone to celebrate, all that Michael Irvin/Deion Sanders/Terrell Owens crap, that's what I want to do if Osama's dead.  Oh, and I want to lay a pound of bacon on the opponent's midfield logo. 

Release the photos my friend, release the photos.



Blasting Levees

PMSNBC Story here.

Levee blast saves town, flood focus now on Memphis
Other levees could be blown up as way to divert water from urban areas

A group of 25 farmers sued the federal government Tuesday, arguing that their land had been taken without adequate compensation.


"In the process of breaching the levee, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers also destroyed or is in the process of destroying 90 households and more than 100,000 acres of the country's richest farmland," said J. Michael Ponder, the attorney from Cape Girardeau, Missouri, who filed the suit.


"What these property owners and farmers are seeking is just compensation for the land and livelihood they have lost — possibly forever or for decades."

So 90 households-probably farmers will “take one for the team so as to presumably protect ….whom?  Oh by the way, notice how many households that Wyatt had in the 2000 census-right at 160.  Sounds to me like blowing the levee nearly wipes Wyatt off of the map.

Flooding fears prompted Shelby County, which includes Memphis, to declare an emergency for 920,000 residents. Authorities blocked some suburban streets, and about 220 people were staying in shelters.

Anyone want to compare the demographics of Memphis, Tennessee and Wyatt, Missouri?  Which levees were blown?  Which voting bloc was “spared”?  Which voting bloc was nailed?  Just saying . . .

Get out the CW2 cube again. 

If you’re looking to compress the cube, blowing levees during floods is "Bi-winning".  You compress on the axis of wealth and location.  Oh, and I shouldn't wonder that the area being flooded was far more productive than the land that is being spared.  This would further dovetail in with the Obama plan of destroying America’s ability to sustain herself.  Would this be Tri-winning?  Whatever.

Didn’t we have an enormous flood in 1993 of the Mississippi River?  Didn’t we have other flooding in 2007?  I wonder why some of this hasn't been resolved since then? 
Let’s review some more history. The Great Mississippi Flood of 1927. In this article it says this:

The aftermath of the flood was one factor in the Great Migration of African-Americans to northern cities. Previously, the move from the rural South to the Northern cities had virtually stopped. In June 1927 the flood waters began to recede, however the interracial relations were too strained to withstand. Hostilities had erupted between the races; a black man was shot by a white police officer when he refused to be conscripted to unload a relief boat. As a result of displacement lasting up to six months, tens of thousands of local African-Americans moved to the big cities of the North, particularly Chicago, many thousands more followed in the following decades.

Hmmmm, so then the flood had a great impact on the demographics of the area and on certain groups in particular. Could the results of a similar flood be manipulated to have an opposite effect?

Speaking of levees, I remember seeing a documentary one time on the great flood.  I seem to recall them saying that during this flood, saboteurs would troll levees on the opposite bank and attempt to blow them up.  In this way, their lands would be kept safe while those on the other bank would take the flood.  Out of necessity, armed citizens took up guard duty on the levees themselves to protect their homes, farms, and families.  Could we see this again in modern times? 

Farmers and residents of Wyatt, close to the levee, gathered just after dawn Tuesday to survey the several feet of murky brown waters inside. A small cluster of cattle stood grazing on the slope of the levee, and National Guard soldiers patrolled the area.

I presume though that in this case, the National Guard is there to make sure that citizens don't interfere in the blowing of various levees that aren't "too big to fail."



Why the hell else would you build a levee if not to protect certain piece of land from flood?  Why then would you build a levee to protect land-only to blow it during a flood?  This would then flood previously protected land so that unprotected land (which was previously not protected because it was not as valuable to protect) could be protected.  That’s exactly what we’re doing here.

Keep the CW2 cube handy.

One more thing; when barge traffic shuts down on the Mississippi, the supply-chain consequences will be huge.  Much more so than in 1993 or even a couple of years ago.

UPDATED: In his comments, Graybeard sent a link to link that I'm including here.  I had not read this before writing my piece, but am struck by the similar line of thinking regarding the productivity of the land being flooded vs. the productivity of the land being protected.  The Daily Impact.

Illegal Aliens

With Superman renouncing his US citizenship and Obama's birth particulars still unclear, this idea and image popped into my head at bedtime last night.  Glad I remembered it this morning prior to coffee. 

Winning! The only thing.

A post by Dedicated Dad is worth the read. 

We're basically in agreement.  The main thing here, the only thing here has to be defeating Obama.  Hopefully at the ballot box-should we all live that long, still have elections, and that whole Mayan calendar thing doesn't ruin the Black Friday shopping adventures!

There are an enormous number of odd facts that beg for an answer (which we'll never get).  A friend sent me a link to a mother lode of this information which I include here by reference.  Is it important to memorize every single fact in here?  No.  It is important though to realize that we're dealing with an illegitimate presidency.  We could point to any number of reasons why this is so, but ultimately it all comes back to the mirror.  We let it happen. 

Over at DD's I said this:

I maintain though that the road to victory is paved with the figurative carcasses of the useful idiots on our side. If we can't whip those useful idiots then we sure can't whip HusseinO. And if we can't whip the useful idiots, then maybe we don't deserve to win at all.

Particularly galling is that those useful idiots plugged their ears in 2008 when this was relevant. Those same people who had so much opportunity, so much of an audience, and so big a megaphone did so little to advance the issue in 2008, now pontificate in 2011 about the irrelevance of the issue that they helped to make irrelevant.

It's sort of like Mogatu complaining that Derek Zoolander only has one pose.



The emperor has no clothes.  But according to the left, it is racist to mention this.

Pervez Musharraf speaks out

The Cliffs of Insani-TV has you covered with this interview from former General, President, and Dictator Musharraf:

Enjoy,





Updated:


Oh yeah, and another thing, if this raid violated Pakistan’s sovereignty, then whose fault is that? Pez, you had the chance to say “no” in 2001. You said yes. Even though you meant no then, you said yes. So you lied.

Did the US bully Pakistan? No doubt. Could you have said no? No doubt. Would it have been hell on Pakistan? No doubt. Would it have been harder on us? No doubt. Had you said no, you keep your integrity intact. Instead, you said yes and effectively whored yourself and by extension your country.   You'll have to regain your honor some other day, sir. 

Still More on OBL

Eric Holder defends killing OBL.  Story here. 

(Reuters) - Attorney General Eric Holder defended as lawful on Tuesday the U.S. operation to go into Pakistan that resulted in the death of al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden and the taking of his body.


The acts taken were "lawful, legitimate and appropriate in every way. The people who were responsible for that action, both in the decision making and the effecting of that decision, handled themselves I think quite well," Holder told the House of Representatives' Judiciary Committee.

Am I the only one who finds it odd that DOJ is justifying a raid that was not carried out by the DOJ? And isn’t Holder basically justifying this to the same audience who is supposed to be grilling him about Gunwalker? Come to think of it, OBL is liable to steal a lot of headlines from what should be a very interesting set of Judiciary Committee hearings.  Watch the other hand, folks!

It should surprise no one that DOJ would rush to defend this. They’ve never met a military or police raid against a home that they didn’t like. Whether it be Elian Gonzalez, Waco, Ruby, Aiyana, or 92 year old grandmothers, it’s all good. Just so long as the cops stay safe…right?

Just to tie a bow on this, I wonder if Holder could tell us how many such raids have been performed inside Mexico's borders by US agents? Or maybe how many raids by "Mexican authorities" have been performed inside of ours?
_______________

This from WH Press Secretary:

Bin Laden also "resisted" during the raid, Carney said, adding that such resistance does not require a firearm.

Uh…since it was a kill mission, why does it matter if he resisted? This is old hat to a number of folks who have been around since the black helicopter days, but for newbies out there listen up: Did you notice the equation? You can resist without a firearm. I think it's safe then to extrapolate that mere possession of a firearm = resistance.  If you have a firearm at all, you must be resisting.

If they want to come and kill you, the fact that you’re still breathing and have a pulse means you’re resisting.

Note carefully what was done in Pakistan.  Because whatever was done over there today will be done here tomorrow. Whatever the military does today, the police want to do tomorrow (because as we all know, the gangs are getting more violent and all). It’s like the old racing adage, “Win on Sunday. Sell on Monday.” You can bet that if TPTB want the individual bad enough, then this is how they’ll do it. What that Holder’s statement says to me is that this is coming soon to SWAT teams in friendly countries near you. (i.e. somewhere other than Detroit.)  That applies to the whole equation around resistance and firearms too.
__________________

Likely will become the most viewed photographs in modern history...

I sure hope so! If the photographer didn’t do such a great job, let me help out. I’ll rub some bacon on it and make sure it’s inflammatory.

As for me, I’m just waiting for the photo to be released so I can caption it as follows, “You’ll shoot your eye out!”


T-shirt vendors must be clearing out their production lines right now getting ready for the mother of all T-shirts-perhaps the last big rush of business before it all goes boom. The image of dead Osama should be put on billboards, on coffee cups, bumper stickers, business cards, text books, range targets, Mother's Day cards, Christmas cards, tax returns, license renewals, and commemorative stamps.
______________________

Leon Panetta...Says Obama Couldn't See Bin Laden's Death...

Obama couldn’t watch or wouldn't?

Some community organizers just don’t know who’s ass to kick or whose throat to step on-even though they like to talk as if they do. And some just can't stand to watch the dirty work being performed. Of course, Panetta is as full of crap as any of them so who knows. 

This is really understandable though. Few have the stomach to watch a true brother get slaughtered on live TV. If only from the standpoint of hating America and trying to destroy it, Obama is a true brother with Osama. Ideologically, they are separated only by BS.

We saw footage of the Twin Towers falling for at least a month. This footage should have gone out on tape delay just minutes after it happened. All channels, all the time, for the next 3 days.
__________________

Osama dumped into the sea.

Really? Why not hook him to the catapault, set it heavy and launch him?  Videotape that to the strains of the ship's band playing Anchors Aweigh!  Drink to the friggin foam!
____________

"Americans want to humiliate Muslims" - Lebanese cleric Omar Bakri Mohammed

Well, since leveling every Muslim capital and Mecca with a W-80 is going to be denied to us, I guess humiliation of Islam will have to suffice.

Personally, if I had a yacht, I’d offer a cruise to the Indian Ocean where we would chum for sharks using only pork scraps. In this way, the bacteria would eat the pork and produce pork laden waste. So would the sharks. And the crabs. And the fish. And the plankton. And the whales. And the squids. And every living thing in the sea there. All of them. And as the sea creatures eat bacon and crap pork residue it’ll all fall down on Osama’s grave. Put the hell to the yeah.

Oh, what was it that the Ayatollah Khomeni said about the hostage crisis?  They wanted to rub America's nose in the dirt-something like that.  Eat pork waste and die, Omar Bakri Mohammed. 
_________________

UN rights boss asks US for facts on bin Laden killing...

Any word on the rights of those who were killed on 9/11/01?  Can I buy a vowel? 

We found him. We killed him. You’re welcome. If you don’t like it, then leave NYC immediately. Every last one of you.

More on OBL death

Memes heard:

The ingelligence obtained to find/kill Osama was obtained during the Bush Administration.  Bush should get the credit.

Really? 

If that's true then it means that the intel has been around for a while, but never acted upon.  Maybe Bush has some questions to answer about why OBL isn't dead already. 

Pakistan has some questions to answer...

Really? 

The US bullied Pakistan into becoming "allied" with us.  They were given the "Team Player" speech. 



They were told that if they weren't for us, they was agin us.  We threatened to bomb them (according to Pez Mush). 

It provided the appearance of us being friends while we used their country to stage all kinds of stuff into Afghanistan.  Of course, now Pez says that we violated their sovreignty. 


Pervez Musharraf: "You fargain iceholes have violated the sovreignty of my sominombachin' country."

Guilty. The USFL once sued the NFL for anti-trust violations. The jury agreed with them and awarded them $1 in damages. I feel the same way towards Mush and Pakistan.


Pakistan Army پاک فوج motto: Iman, Taqwa, Jihad fi Sabilillah. Translated into English, it means "Faith, Piety and Fight in the path of God". And as it turns out, shazam!, they’re not actually with us. This is my surprised face.  Say, Pez, weren't you the head of the military for a while?  I'm sure you didn't know a thing about this compound where OBL was shot dead-built in 2005 when you were still running the show, a mere 1000 feet from the Military Academy-I'm sure you don't know anything about that....right? 

It sounds to me like someone is just unhappy with being out of power, in exile, and having an arrest warrant hanging over his head for the 2007 assasination of Benazir Bhutto.  But that's just me. 

The photos of OBLs death could be inflammatory...

I sure the hell hope so! If your opponent is given to fits of inflamed rage, then incite him to inflamed rage. Fine with me. When they’re inflamed and raging, they’ll be easier to shoot. After all, who can forget the great success of Iran’s human wave attacks against Iran in the 1980s?  

Is it real?

I wonder if the useful idiots of the media (yeah, I know that’s redundant) will apply as much scrutiny to any Osama photos as they did to Obama’s birth certificate? How convenient is it that Osama’s death follows so closely behind the alleged release of Obama’s “birth certificate”? And since the whole issue of birth is “settled” the press won’t devote another line to it-instead devoting all their attention to Osama bin Goldstein.

Everybody I know needs what I'm selling

Welcome to Team Freedom, Calvin.

Enemy At the Gates - Blues Brothers Mashup

I can't embed, but you can see it here.

Have I told you today that I hate Blogger?

Oh.....yeah.  I have.

Observations and thoughts from Tornado Relief

I have collected a few thoughts and observations along the way to share/discuss/debate.


4/28/11
Cahaba Heights area was badly torn out. Many trees, no power, etc. We delivered past dark.


We noted that folks asked who was there before they opened the doors-especially after dark. I told one of the church ladies I was with that in their shoes, I'd answer the door with a shotgun. She said that she didn't doubt it-just based on a few things she'd heard me say. Sigh. I told her this: "It's a different world when the power goes out. Especially at night."


I didn't elaborate further because I was with a group of women and kids. The bottom line though is that once the sun goes down, you're counting on the ability to flip the switch to see what's going on. You're counting on the ability to use light to see what's happening, who's there, and what they want. When there is no light, then you have nothing but the person's word as to who they are, what their intentions are, etc. When the power goes out and it's nighttime, society is held together only by the thinnest of presumptions that everyone will play by the rules.


There were so many enormous hardwood trees just pushed over from the stump to the peak. On one street, the tree was so huge, it had been sawed in two places, the chunks removed, and the stump winched to one side to allow vehicles to access the end of the road.


This may be obvious, but an enormous, downed tree can be a great tool for denying access. It can also be a great tool for denying escape.


4/29/11
Lesson learned: Any trip into a disaster area should be accompanied by at least one gas can. Any trip out of the disaster area should likewise be accompanied by an equal number as when you went in. I'd gladly give a lot up for folks that are hurting, but not my gas cans.


I did not proceed past the checkpoint on this trip so I don't know what kind of questions or searching they were doing. The National Guard had EBRs of some flavor-M4s I presume.


I did see an Army convoy headed north on I-65 at about 2 PM. Lots of Deuce and a halfs, Hummers and such. One medic truck. 3 or 4 front end loaders, several flatbed low-profile trailers. I figure they were going to Cullman or some point north of I-59 in the Birmingham area. They had convoy issues as well as they had 5 or 6 vehicles straggling behind the main body.


Whatever else you're trying to do in disaster relief to help someone else, it's training for you and those around you.


What do these people need?
They lost everything, so I guess they need everything. Start with the basics. Water, non-perishable food, sanitation, clothing, shelter, fuel, batteries. The same thing you'll find in a prepper's horde. They also need some physical security from the inevitable scum of the earth looters. These come in more than one flavor.


Perhaps more important than their physical needs are their spiritual needs. I hear that some are trying to remove trees from their house some three days later-in the hopes of finding someone that's missing who may be buried in the rubble. It's that bad. Some are looking at their house in denial of what's going on. Mental/Spiritual needs are arguably as important. One has to face what has happened, accept it, and start moving forward. And sometimes it doesn't matter how many shovels and strong backs you bring. Team Freedom, converts are made up here (that's me pointing to my head) and in here (heart). I had planned to stow the rifle in my vehicle. Had I gone in past the checkpoint, I could easily have been challenged and heavily scrutinized. And all the focus would be on the rifle instead of the truckload of ice I had. In daylight, I think a concealed pistol ought to be good enough. Night time is different of course.


In a relief situation, there are a lot of people ready and willing to help. Yet few have a good plan. Find the ones who are preppers and doomers-or at least understand the concept, and you'll find folks who are effective at helping in disaster relief.


Work some relief efforts and you will find out for yourself the importance of simple things. Communication. Mobility. Security.


Disaster relief is a time not only to help others by serving their needs, but a time to educate those you're serving with. Find those teachable moments where you can share the importance of being prepared.


I live in an area where I think many people take much for granted.


Example: We get to the farm house where we're going to offload. I'm the tail vehicle. Everyone else is parking, getting out, walking around. I pull up, do not turn the vehicle off, and ask, "Where are we unloading." MISSION. There should have been at least two vehicles backed in-ready to offload when I got there. Instead, they carried their stuff from farther away and I got to back in and offload from very close. Oh well, a shorter walk for me.


Example: We're walking around, handing out meals to folks and it's getting dark. Someone asks if anyone has a flashlight. Uh….Psshyeah!


Many seem to consider the possibility of needing something only at the very moment they actually need it. That mindset has to change and fast.
As an update, I talked with the team that went into Pleasant Grove. They came in sort of the "back way" to the town and the checkpoint was not as strict. No worries. On the main way into town, there was a LOT of scrutiny. I think most of the folks who were being stopped and turned around were from one particular axis of the CW2 cube. I'll let your imagination figure that out.


Lesson Learned: Minimize the number of vehicles and the size of the team for checkpoint crossings. I'm convinced that part of the reason that they were able to get through is because there were 3 people in two vehicles full of water, food, and supplies. The small size increased their chances of getting in. And any questions about intent could once again be answered by looking at the full bed of water, supplies, food, etc. This is what we're here for. Be safe, go ahead through. Once the rest of our convoy had unloaded, we went home.


4/30/11
Ran another convoy to Pleasant Grove. This one was much better. Some good communication with the crew up front, 4 FRS/GMRS radios among 8 vehicles. A couple of new lessons to add to the convoy list:

1. Everybody go before we go. If you don't have to go, go practice.
2. When one hits the turn signal EVERYONE hits the turn signal. (On the other hand, if you're using only the flashing hazards all the way, then turn signals aren't necessary.)
3. When you give out the radios, set every single one of them to max volume. Perform radio checks once you're rolling. If they're set to the max, then you know that they'll hear you once things get rolling. Twice now I've had no contact with another vehicle because the volume was initially set too low.

Went through the checkpoint and got to see some of the badness in Pleasant Grove. They still had cadaver dogs running on Saturday. We were told at one point that they had pulled 9 people out of one location alive. Then later heard that this may have been BS. Sigh. Another lesson of disaster areas; Maintain a questioning attitude about all news you hear. In some cases, it could be nothing more than gossip.

My Zaniest had a bad attitude at having his Saturday imposed upon. I was calm and quiet with the lad. He got some lunch and was much better. After lunch I took him over the hill to look down into the valley where the tornado's path had devastated nearly everything. I explained to him that this is why we came up here. Lots of these kids will not be playing with anything at all for quite a while. Some of them died. We came up here to serve those families and survivors.

It got through to him.

I noticed a general lack of organization. Where we were, there wasn't a lack of bodies, bread, beans, or bandaids. They just needed a few sheep dogs. I think there were a number of people who came up there to make a day of it and who didn't seem to get much into anything. I understand though for the folks who survived this and are at the churches running these relief efforts. They're still dealing with the chaos on a deep emotional level. This is why planning ahead is so vital. If the plan is already set, then all you need do is grab the plan and run it as best as you can. Many volunteers just needed to be directed to where they could get to work. On the other hand, many groups that came up to volunteer needed to be better organized so that they could get plugged in quickly and get productive.

I committed to myself that I would not shame myself and break down and cry in front of these good people. If one of them needed a shoulder, then I'd probably cry with them. But they suffered through this, not me. I'm just seeing the aftermath. I can't imagine the hell that it must have been inside some of these homes to ride this thing out.

Me and one of the older gentlemen in our group were sitting on a bench at lunch and had a couple of chance meetings that speak volumes.

First, we saw this polished looking guy come up with a State Trooper in tow. We kept our seats. Greg Reed introduced himself and we talked briefly. He's their state senator. I passed on a chance to ask him where he stood on Vermont style carry in Alabama. That's not what I went up there for. Him either. I joked with my friend though that I usually carry a gun- cops are so heavy and bulky to tote around with me all day.

Just a minute or two later, I was on the phone with a friend in the area and I elbowed my friend. "Hey, that's James Spann." We both got up and walked over to introduce ourselves. Many folks in these parts swear by James Spann and his weather forecasting. He does a mighty good job and sure earned his pay last week. I appreciate that the man has a cool head, a great knowledge of the area, and of the subject at hand. Maybe it's just me, but I've noticed that when the severe weather hits, the weather boobs step aside for the gray headed men to come out and tell you what's going on.

Samantha Mohr (Of course you are!)

The first time I saw her on the Weather Channel, I thought they were going all Bond Girl on us. Like Plenty O'Toole ("Well of course you are.") or Octopussy.

We kept our seat for the state senator in business casual clothes. We got up for the weatherman in shorts and a Montgomery Biscuits T-shirt.

5/1/11Another trip to PG. This time to retrieve some items. We got into delivering a bunch of food/water/ice/etc. As bad as it looked, just to the east of the First Baptist Church, we got into some areas that were another order of magnitude worse still.

Lady Zane said they were having trouble with stray animals up there. Without even thinking, I responded that I hadn't seen the first FEMA person in Pleasant Grove. She picked up on the connection right away. I didn't even realized I'd made it until I'd said it. I haven't seen a lot of the area though, so perhaps like Obama and the DHS Garden Gnome, we may have just missed each other.

Lots of signs that say, "Looters will be shot." Excellent! When they're done with those signs, we need them for the next End the Fed Rally. Yes, I'm serious.

Katrina Sign

What difference is there in the looters in suits and the ones picking through ruined houses?

We heard at one point that 3 looters had been shot in the night. Well, if that's the truth, then good. They should broadcast this on the news and post it at every checkpoint. I've heard that the local "hotel" also known as the jail is full of looters. Which is also good news. I have heard a couple of indications that a great deal of Pleasant Grove will have to be leveled by area before it can be rebuilt. Wonder what the property owners will have to say about this? FEMA vs. Alabama? Hmmm, my money's on the home team. I could easily see a situation develop where FEMA declares a house to be unsafe, uninhabitable, etc. and then denies entry to the residents for their own safety. Residents are then up the creek as to how to recover their own belongings from their own place without The Man giving them crap about it. Would they then be classified as looters if they tried to recover valuables from their very own house?

Lesson Learned: Diversity is a strength! No, I haven't turned left. Diversity of storage locations for resources would be a goodness thing. You generally want to cache in areas with a lot of cover. However, that same cover can become a debris pile 20 feet tall with the right tornado. (Oh, and there go a lot of your landmarks too.) Sigh. Decisions, decisions.

One thing we noticed is a huge amount of vehicle traffic trying to move around this town. Lesson Learned: If you're trying to do work in the town, carry as many people per vehicle as you can. It's not a green thing, it's a keep the streets clear thing. Most streets were passable, but many were packed, it was always irregular and always an adventure.

The best vehicle for something like this? Maybe A jeep or small pickup truck. Motorcycles and 4 wheelers could ride through with no trouble of course. Helmets are optional in the disaster zone-it's not like you'll ever build enough speed to go flying anyway. Bicycles might be good also, but you never know when you'll catch a roof nail or glass. Thankfully, I got none.

Overheard one guy who drove up and was talking to some residents. "I'm just a guy with a saw who wants to help." Right on. Lesson Learned: If you're going to be effective, know what it is that you can do before you go in. Don't go in thinking that you'll know where you will work and they'll tell you what to do. Decide and positively know what it is that you're going to do and then let the where be the variable. While the Chain Saw man was in a truck by himself contributing to the traffic issues, he was effective in helping someone.

More than once, we saw people walking along my path. I offered them rides. We were often not going much faster than walking speed anyway. I didn't get to carry them far, but it was appreciated. Every bit helps.

Observation: I believe that the checkpoints start getting stricter as the day ends. When I came in, the National Guard Sergeant asked only if I was with the vehicle in front of me. When I left, the State Troopers were asking people for driver's licenses. A little more serious. Again, it's different rules when the power is out-especially at night.

Lesson Learned: Keep a full tank. You certainly won't find any gas inside the checkpoints. Since Katrina, I do not let my tank go below 1/2. I've maintained that rule during the relief efforts as well. Make sure you're full before you go in.