I had an interesting thought/realization about change this afternoon.
It seems that every 10 years or so my life makes a drastic change, whether by choice or circumstance:

In 1973/74 dad died and the family moved from Philly to central Florida.
In 1983/84 mom remarried and the family moved from central Florida to northeast Florida (1985).
In 1994 I moved to Atlanta.
In 2004 I separated from the wife.  2005 started my medical drama.
In 2014 - well it's been a challenging year on a lot of fronts and change has been a constant theme.

Just a passing thought but it seems like more than coincidence.

Napoleon Dynamite, Little Miss Sunshine, and Juno are all approaching 10 years old.
All 3 movies about quirky individuals trying to succeed despite family dynamics and against the odds as set forth from the narrative of societal restraints and expectations - the old square peg/round hole formula.

I felt sad for all the hipsters who saw LMS in 2007 and thought it was a great and moving story.

One of the biggest inspirations for taking my trip cross country via motorcycle was the miniseries, "Long Way Round" with actors Ewan McGregor and Charley Boorman.
It's a fantastic adventure between two guys who seem to genuinely love and respect one another.
Outside of the wonderful tour itself, what shines most is their obvious man love, and I mean that in a very positive and hetero sorta way ,))

"Long Way Round" follows the pair from London thru Europe, Russia, and Mongolia, and on thru the U.S. via Alaska, and ends in New York City.  The last episode will really pull at your heartstrings as Ewan's dad surprises him on the last day of riding.

"Long Way Down" finds the two going thru the whole of Africa, traveling thru 18 some odd countries in just a couple of 3 months.  It's not quite as much fun to watch as the first show but still damn cool - particularly after they hit the midway point and cross into Rwanda.  This time Ewan's lovely wife shows up for a few days of riding.

Unbeknownst to me, Charley has been doing a travel series of his own for the last few years and it looks to be worth watching and I fully intend to do just that.

"By Any Means" follows Charley across the globe as attempts to reach his various destinations however he can - cars, trucks, bikes, boats, even elephants keep him moving at different parts of his journey.

He's also doing a sponsored sort of ride along with Eagle Rider Motorcycle this November that will take a large group from Los Angeles to Cabo San Lucas.
Check it out here:
http://www.eaglerider.com/motorcycle-tours/guided-motorcycle-tour/baja-with-charley-boorman-experience.aspx

If you can come up with the roughly $5,000 you can grab one Eagle Rider's bikes and join him for a weeklong adventure down the coast of California and on into Mexico.

Charley's website is here:  http://www.charleyboorman.com/

Ya' know, the really fun part of watching '80's rock videos is looking for the one band member that enjoys the hair spray, make up, and women's clothing a little too much.

The '80's were a weird time for rock.
Coming out of the horribleness that was '70's soft rock and disco, many rock bands started going for a heavier, more in your face sorta sound.  They also had to find a new way to shock and entertain and just generally be outrageous.  Hence the crazy outfits and the wacky hair.  But because of the competitiveness of the music world and because of that new fangled Music Television, the weirdness kept getting raised higher and higher, as did sales of Aquanet.

Here for your listening and viewing pleasure, I take you back to the early days of 1980's LA glam rock music scene for a little group known as Ratt.

Enjoy.

Interesting side note on Ratt:  Tawny Kitaen, high school sweetheart of guitar player Robin Crosby, who'd graced the cover of the band's EP from the previous year, agreed to appear on the cover of their debut full-length album. She also appeared in their video for "Back For More" as the girl in the 1950s skirt at the jukebox.

Over the last few weeks the media has been going bonkers about a new study claiming that 97% of scientists agree on the main issues of "global climate change" (formerly known as global warming).
President/National Golfer Obama even mentioned it in a speech recently citing the consensus view that global climate change was going to lead man's extinction and the end of the world.
(Ok.  I added the last part.)
Turns out that the "scientist" that came up with the 97% number is more activist and PR for the climate change folks and his methodology and ethics have been called into question.

The short version is that he cooked the books to arrive at 97%.

From Brietbart:  http://www.breitbart.com/Breitbart-London/2014/09/08/Obama-s-97-Percent-Climate-Consensus-debunked-demolished-staked-through-the-heart

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"Ninety-seven percent of scientists agree: #climate change is real, man-made and dangerous."

Remember that statement, a while back, from some bloke on Twitter? What we now know with more than 97 per cent certainty that this guy - or whoever is in charge of running his Twitter account - is either wilfully dishonest or woefully ill-informed.

The "97 per cent" claim is an utter nonsense. This report released today by the Global Warming Policy Foundation explains exactly why.

First, that word "dangerous". This is a concept that was never mentioned in the study responsible for that 97 per cent claim. The paper was written by an Australian warmist activist called John Cook (and others). It drew its conclusions having allegedly reviewed 12,000 papers on climate change and found - so it claimed - that the vast majority of them supported the "consensus" on global warming.

But here the watch-the-pea-under-the-thimble game begins. The "consensus" which the Cook et al paper supports is so banal and trivial as to scarcely be worth stating, viz:

• that carbon dioxide (CO2) is a greenhouse gas;

• that human activities have warmed the planet to some unspecified extent.

Since even the vast majority of sceptical scientists agree with this statement you might wonder why, when Cook et al released their findings they got so much attention in the global media. (And they really did. That tweet of @barackobama's helped, of course. But you only have to recall how many occasions you've heard that "97 per cent" figure cited as unquestionable "proof" of the existence of man-made global warming to appreciate how effective this propaganda exercise was; and also to realise just how ineffective the world's media generally is at subjecting such claims to any kind of rigorous analysis).

But this fudge, of course, was always part of the plan. We know this because John Cook's internet home is an alarmist propaganda website called Skeptical Science. Unfortunately for Cook, a security lapse at his site in 2012 led to the disclosure of private email exchanges between Cook and his co-conspirators.

Here's one from Cook himself, explaining the purpose of the paper:

It's essential that the public understands that there's a scientific consensus on AGW. So [Skeptical Science activists] Jim Powell, Dana [Nucitelli] and I have been working on something over the last few months that we hope will have a game changing impact on the public perception of consensus. Basically, we hope to establish that not only is there a consensus, there is a strengthening consensus."

Two things are immediately apparent from this email. 

1. Cook had decided even before he began his investigations what those investigations would reveal. 

2. This was always going to be a PR exercise, not a scientific one.

Next we find Cook digging himself still deeper by referring to a chosen methodology - its name coined by one of his associates, Ari - as the "porno approach." What he means, presumably, is that rather than allowing for rigour and nuance, his paper will be researched in such a way as to deliver the most dramatic, headline results possible. Not just tasteful nudie pix, then, but hardcore with donkeys...

Okay, so we've ruled out a definition of AGW being 'any amount of human influence' or 'more than 50 percent human influence.' We're basically going with Ari's porno approach (I probably should stop calling it that) which is AGW = 'humans are causing global warming'. e.g. - no specific quantification which is the only way we can do it considering the breadth of papers we're surveying.

Under these criteria even an otherwise arch-sceptical paper conceding that, say, the methane from the farts of beef and dairy cattle might have a marginal influence on climate, could be claimed by Cook et al as being in support of the "consensus."

As Andrew Montford's GWPF report goes on to reveal, this is more or less what happened. He cites two  examples of scientists who had written highly sceptical papers which - much to their mortification and irritation - they discovered had been graded by Cook and his team as endorsing the "consensus."

"It is not an accurate representation [of my work]" wrote one, Nir Shaviv.

Statistically and scientifically, as Montford goes on to detail, Cook et al's survey was a dog's breakfast. ("This is garbage, and a crisis," wrote one critic, all the more damningly because he self-describes as a believer in man-made global warming, "It needs to stop, and [such] papers need to be retracted immediately, especially Cook, et al (2013)")

Elsewhere in the report, Montford finds space to chronicle dodgy goings-on at the University of Queensland, where Cook is the Climate Communication Fellow for the Global Change Institute. Rather than 'fess up to the scandal, the University responded with blustering threats and a press release containing a pack of lies.

But for me the most interesting part of Montford's report is the light it sheds on the modus operandi of the wider climate change alarmist establishment, from the Guardianjournalists who disseminate this naked propaganda to the politicians, from Barack Obama to UK Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change Ed Davey, who use it to justify their dubious policies.

Here is Davey, talking last year on the BBC's Daily Politics Show, to Andrew Neil:

We've had a complete unchallenged view of the climate change deniers. I think we need to have rather more balance in the debate, particularly when we saw a recent analysis of 12,000 scientific papers...and of the scientists who expressed a view - these were climate change papers - of the scientists who expressed a view 97 per cent said that climate change was happening and that it was human-made activity.

Most neutral observers on hearing such a claim would, I imagine, find it highly persuasive. "12,000 scientific papers? Sounds a lot! 97 per cent? Wow!" And while they might find Davey a fairly slippery character, they would have no real reason to question the analysis he is citing. As a senior government minister heading a department full of experts in the field he must surely know what he's talking about. Right?

So this is where we're at in the climate wars. (And where, indeed, we have unfortunately been at for a very long time). You can be the biggest, most risible assclown in the history of junk statistics and pseudoscience but so long as you can somehow cobble together a half-way plausible paper, no matter how inept your methodology, which helps prop up the vast man-made global warming industry then you have it made: the President of the USA will Tweet you; your University will back you to the hilt; your colleagues will rally round you; you will get a very favourable write-up in the Guardian (and myriad other alarmist publications); your critics will be sidelined and ignored.

But wait. It seems that Cook and his friends have now produced a response to these criticisms almost as devastatingly convincing as that original report. Over a period of 97 Hours Of Consensus, his website will be showing cartoon caricatures of climate scientists from around the world, each with little speech bubbles coming out of their cartoon mouths explaining exactly why global warming is more real and dangerous than ever before.

For further updates don't watch this space because I'm afraid, cynic that I am, I find this all a bit desperate, childish and silly. Instead, why not check out @barackobama's Twitter feed? I'm sure he'll be reporting on this exciting development in our understanding of the climate change phenomenon any second now.....

This unvarnished bigotry will not stand, Sir!
Across this line, you do not cross(eth)!!!

Incredible.
In a blatant display of racism, bigotry, poor taste Krispy Kreme - purveyors of late night snacks and early morning tidbits - have turned to name calling and mockery to sell their wares.

How dare you, I say!
How.  Dare.  You.

Yesterday Apple used this image to sell their goods:

Today it's this:

And to further fuel their mockery Krispy Kreme added this "black face-esque" insultery:

http://www.thatsnerdalicious.com/news/krispy-kreme-is-giving-away-free-donuts-to-pirates/

Talk Like a Pirate day is just around the corner on September 19th, and Krispy Kreme is celebrating by giving you a doughnut. If you talk like a pirate, then you get a doughnut. 

If you dress like one too, then the bounty becomes a dozen doughnuts, but approved attire must include three items from the list below:

Eye Patch
Pirate Hat
Bandana
Peg Leg
Parrot on Shoulder
Pirate Shirt / Loose white shirt
Knickers
Leather Belt
Silver and gold necklaces and earrings
Pirate Hook
Pointy black boots or ragged brown sandals

______________________________________________________________________________

What's your next ad campaign going to look like, Mr. Krispy Kreme Man ?  Oh, here's an idea:

"Puts on ya'lls black face and we'suns gonna give you a free Chocolate Kreme!"

Or how about this Krispy Kreme Man:

"Hey Vatos!  Come get a free Churro or somethin, man!!!

Just when you think that the world has moved beyond these petty stereotypes someone or something comes along to remind you that we're all just as bass-akwards as we've always been.

#disappointed

Apple was kind enough to "cartoonize" me.  Love that the bird has an eyepatch too !

How does a woman fit 4 kids plus her husband, sisters, nieces, nephews, step-children and various others into her 4 seat car?

Evel Knievel nearly burnt down my house!

True Story!!!
Hand to God.

That really almost happened.

I was watching, "I am Evel Knievel", the documentary movie about stuntman and legendary bad/jackass Evel Knievel on Thursday night and I was reminded of that time that he set my childhood home alight.

If you missed the show shame on you; it was great.

Those of you who remember life without cable TV are probably old enough to remember Evel's historic daredeviling.  In that special time of the early '70's when, still reeling from the losses of the Vietnam War and recovering from the turbulent civil chaos of the late 60's, America wanted and needed a hero.
A man for and of the common man but a patently American man.   Rugged.  Forthright. Handsome and flawed.  Like you and me only a lot less inclined to take anyone's B.S.
A guy that could drink and woo the ladies and fix a car or settle somebodies s@#t if they got outta line but do it with a little smile on the edge of their lip like they were just being sarcastic a bit because they've seen all this before and "they ain't really worried none."

It was in that special time and space that men like Steve McQueen, Clint Eastwood, and Evel Knievel made their mark.  Men who talked little but acted quickly.  Men who could tell you everything you need to know (right now) with a single, sharp glance or glare as the situation would call for.

For me it was Evel Knievel right from the start.
He had those cool leather biker suits and those loud as hell Harleys and all the bravado in the world.
Evel was a great showman and endless self promoter who knew how to keep the audience's attention thru years of doing small shows on the local dirt track circuits out in Montana.
Throughout the early to mid-70's Evel's stunts got bigger and bigger and more and more dangerous.
He jumped the fountain at Caesar's Palace and nearly killed himself at Snake River Canyon and again at Wembley Stadium trying to jump 15 buses.  In the documentary he says he knew he couldn't make that jump over the buses because he didn't have the correct gear setup on his bike but he refused to back down and went ahead anyway.

He was so popular when I was a little kid that he had his own best selling toys.

And that's how the house nearly burnt down.

One year for Christmas I got:
The Official Evel Knievel Action Figure with Daredevil Motorcycle

and The Official Evel Knievel Scramble Van (with accessories)

That was a good year!
I played with those things all the time.
Evel jumped over the kitchen table and the coffee table and the dog and the cat and just about everything else in or outside of the house.
For several months my life was one big screamin, slidin', poppin' a wheelin', stuntmanin', nonstop adventure.
Good God I loved that little toy.  We had a grand time riding around together.

But then came that fateful day when "The Source of the Trouble" was out of the house and Evel tried to jump "The Flames of Doom".

Ya' see, after a few months of stunt-manning our way up and down Ave J, Evel and I needed a new challenge.  The crowd, i.e. me, needed something more thrilling, more daring, and way more riskiery!

What's a guy to do?
You gotta please your loyal fans.
So Evel and I decided to jump over fire.

Everyone knows that fire makes just about everything 58% better.
It's just good science.
So off Evel and I went to dig up one of momma's scented votive candles to liven up the show.
We put the candle on the roof of the Scramble Van, did our Hail Mary's, cranked up the Harley, and got ready to put on the most spectacular jump of our lives!

And WHAT a jump it was!!!
Damn you should've seen it!
Me and Evel sighted ourselves down a straight path from underneath the bedroom window to a few feet from the closet where the van was parked with "The Flames of Doom" burning brightly atop.
We did one trip around the room just to loosen up then we hit the throttle and with that front tire pointed at heaven off we went.
We hit the ramp right on target and our speed carried us up and over the rear of the van.
It was beautiful.
But we must've failed to accurately calculate the crosswinds because the rear tire dipped and just when you thought we would barely make it, the rear end caught the candle and tipped it over catching Evel's cape in the process.  The cape erupted into flames burning my hand and scaring the bejeezus outta me.  I threw the now fiery bike down but the forward momentum carried it into the closet where it continued to smolder.  Meanwhile the hot wax melted the roof of the Scramble Van dumping the candle inside where it immediately burst into a ball of burning plastic.
Thick, black, putrid smoke filled the room in an instant and the young "pinche'r" panicked.

Never before had one of our stunts gone so horribly wrong.
We were unprepared for this possibility.
Of course, professional medical teams were always on standby for any of our jumps - we were stuntmen and we accepted that things occasionally went wrong - but something this catastrophic had never entered our collective realm of imagination.
It was awe inspiring and terrifying at once.

So I ran to the nearest water source:  the hall bathroom.  And I grabbed the first cup I saw: the Dixie Cups that hung on the wall by the sink.  And I filled it and ran fast as I could back to the conflagration and threw the water on it.
Nothing happened.
Because Dixie Cups held about an inch or so of water at best and I spilled most of it running back.
So I ran again.
And filled the cup again and threw it on the fire again.
The fire sizzled and laughed and grew larger and hotter.
And off I went to get more water, growing more and more frantic as the fire continued to grow in the back bedroom.
My older brother finally noticed a slight whiff of smoke.  That coupled with me running in and out of the hall bathroom got him interested enough to come see what the heck was going on.
Oh boy, did he yell when he saw that damn fire!
But he was calm enough to get the big pitcher out of the kitchen and douse the fire once and for all.
His yelling got "El Deucey's" attention and he came in and stomped out the fire just starting in the closet.
And there they stood, staring at their little brother and his melted toys for what seemed like forever.

Finally, "Deucey" said, "Mom is going to kill you", and walked out.

The other brother couldn't help but ridicule my choice in firefighting apparatus.

"Usin' a f@#ing Dixie Cup!?!  Are you f@#ing kiddin' ME!?!  What the hell is wrong with you!?!
A friggin' Dixie Cup?  JeeZUS!!!"  and walked out laugin'.
That was nearly 40 years ago and he still laughs about it every time he tells it.

Usually,, just after the story about how he put me in the dryer and turned it on.

I think "The Source" did nearly kill me that day.
It was long time before,
A.)  the smell of burnt plastic went away.
B.)  I could sit down without wincing.

And if you pull up the carpet in the back bedroom of the old house on Ave J, there on the tile, you can still see the black ring where my daredevil career with Evel came to an abrupt ending in a puff of black smoke.

The Source of the Trouble plays 20 questions!

"The Source of the Trouble", aka mom, has been a travel agent for years and years.
It's been a great to have her as a resource when I travel.  She's helped me many, many times over the past 10 + years whether getting last minute flight deals or finding a decent place to stay for business travel.  Without her help on my recent trip to Marfa, TX the guys and I would have been driving 45 minutes every morning to get to work.  She worked some magic and found a house for rent right in town, just a 5 minute drive, and for less money than the available hotels.
And because of her connections and knowledge, I was able to bank thousands of extra Marriott points while working in NYC which I later used to stay free at Marriott properties all over the southeast.
Going places is fun.
Going places free is way more funner.

Dee, one of her friends and clients, recently interviewed "The Source" for her blog.
Results are below.
Way to go Mommy!!!

If you would like to read Dee's blog, write to me and I'll connect you.


_______________________________________________________________________________


September 2014

Twenty Questions With Judy

My friend Judy and I met in our wonderful book group, The XXXX Book Club. Our dynamic leader runs a very loose ship but it’s always lots of fun. In the meeting last Saturday Judy mentioned she could use some marketing help with her travel business.  I met her for lunch on Monday and we brainstormed.  All of my clients are attorneys, so it was fun to talk about a different profession for a change.

I was intrigued to find Judy is a travel agent. I honestly thought nobody used travel agents any more.
Judy is an independent agent for Company X Travel.  It’s great that she gets to work from home.
Judy specializes in tours and cruises.

“People don’t realize that most of the time a travel agent can find the same or better rates, even finding perks not accessible to the public.“

I know from my own experience on my adoption trips, it’s great to be able to call your travel agent if there’s an issue, like the hotel room isn’t available or you need another ticket for your flight, etc. Judy handles that sort of thing for her clients and she’s a lot easier to reach than the 800 number of the airline or hotel company.

She often books travel a year in advance. “Often times a cruise line or tour company will have great rates that are only available months in advance.”

Where do most of her clients like to cruise?  I asked her. “In this area, most people want to cruise the Caribbean seeking out warm weather. However, I’ve done several European cruises this year. I was able to find a great rate on an Alaskan cruise for a couple celebrating their 50th wedding anniversary.

She gets a lot of repeat customers. “Frequent travelers tend to be a bit more adventurous and take longer trips.”

Judy is only a phone call away. You don’t necessarily need to be in Atlanta. You can reach her at xxx-xxxx.  (I'll be happy to put you touch with The Source.  Just write to me here.)

I asked her how the industry has changed now that everyone uses computers. “Most of the cruise lines use electronic tickets same as the airline industry. If you not familiar computers or have a printer, I will fill out the necessary informational forms and mail paper documentation,” she explains.

Judy has been on many cruises. “I love cruising. You either love it or you don’t.”

What type of cruise does she like?   “I like the river cruises best. The boats are much smaller making it easier to dock in smaller ports. The smaller boats take you to small towns and you get a better feel for the people and area. Cruising on The American Queen on the Mississippi River is fun and a part of American history."

(I would be thinking of Mark Twain the entire time if I could cruise the Mississippi!)

The river cruises in Europe serve recipes made with local fresh foods which I like. I don’t want to go to Europe and have a hamburger from McDonalds.”

Why cruises?   “A cruise is great because everything is right there. Adults have activities and entertainment and the kids usually have a kid’s age appropriate program. There are numerous dining options and you don’t have to get off the ship in port.”

The ships usually pull into a port in the morning and stay anywhere from 8-12 hours. Most of the port calls are for a day. Sometimes a European cruise will port overnight.

“Over Thanksgiving I am taking a Celebrity cruise out of ------. Our ports of call are XXXX, XXXX, and XXXX.

One of Judy’s passions is for genealogy. “I’ve only been to Italy once but it wasn’t a genealogy type of trip. I belong to an Italian genealogy group. I’ve done quite a bit of research. The internet makes researching a whole lot easier. I used to troop through old cemeteries, visit small libraries, and go into dusty old basements in little courthouses. Genealogy is a history puzzle. That’s why I like mystery books more than anything. That mystery part in genealogy goes into that mindset – why my ancestors came to this country and when. My dad’s side of the family is Italian. They were from San Lorenzo, north and east of Naples.”

Where else would she like to go? “I haven’t been able to do all the traveling I’d like to do. I’d love to go to Australia and New Zealand but there are other places closer I haven’t seen. I’d love to see all the US national parks.”





What is your full name? Judy X.

Where would you live, if you could live anywhere in the world?  Right now I am actually perfectly happy with Greater Atlanta.  Greater Atlanta is a unique little area that offers a lot. I’m close to art galleries, the airport, the Fox Theatre, but it also has a hometown feel. I would really have to think about that a while.

What is your favorite movie and why? I am not a movie person. However, I loved the Harry Potter movies.

What was your least-favorite subject in school when you were a kid? Probably Geography. (Ironic!)

What was your nickname when you were a kid? I don’t think I had one. I don’t remember anybody calling me anything but Judy.  (I've taken care of this for her ,))

Do you believe in God? Yes. I don’t think there’s a person sitting in the sky. I think of God as an energy force, a force of love and goodness.

What sound or noise do you love? Wind chimes. I have a whole slew of them – probably 5 or 6 out front. I love the sounds of the wind chimes.

If you could do anything other than what you do, as a profession, what would it be? I’d still travel. I hated Geography in school. I didn’t realize or care about geography or history until I started genealogy research-- and all of a sudden history and geography really meant something.

If heaven exists, what do you think it is like?  I don’t envision it as a building or a place. I think maybe it’s less specific, more of a just an area…

Do you have siblings? Yes. (How many?  Male/Female?  Alive?  Where?)

What is your favorite memory of childhood [something specific]?  Not a special day but a special time when I was little and I lived with my grandparents on their farm. It was a laid back, peaceful time.

If you had to choose between one week traveling around the USA by car, or one week traveling around Europe on a train, which would you choose and why? I’d want to do BOTH! I’d want to get off the train a lot. I’ve been to Niagara Falls and the Grand Canyon but there are so many other places to see and things to do here in the US.

What or who inspires you? Probably my sons, they really do.  (awww...)

Which holiday do you prefer, Christmas or July 4th?  July 4th because it’s a fun time and there’s not a lot of pressure to make everything perfect. Not a lot of cooking, no worry about gifts. You just enjoy the day.

What project or idea are you most passionate about, right now? I want to dig deeper into family history. I love family stories.

Do you know how to cook? Yes. (Lasagna?  Hello?  Pleeeeasssseee?)

What is your favorite thing to cook/eat? I have a special pound cake recipe that came from my grandmother and it’s a very good recipe. I have sent it to my sons many times. Cakes have gone to California, New Jersey, foreign military bases, all over.  (Yes, more pound cake please!!!)

If you could go on vacation anywhere in the world, for 2-4 weeks, all expenses paid, where would you go and why?   I would go to Italy. I’d really like to go and do more in depth genealogy research.

Who do you love the most in the world?  My children and grandchildren.

What question has nobody ever asked you, but you wanted to answer?  I don’t know.


Editor's Update:  If you would like info on travel feel free to contact me and I'll put you touch with The Source!

The latest post in which Bedford Slims steals my likeness!

www.bedfordslims.com

I stumbled onto this little ad last night.  Bedford Slims are a new-ish brand of electronic cigarette.

Of course I wrote them.

_____________________________________________________________________________

“Dear Bedfordians,

If you're going to use an eyepatch wearing model for your website, why not use the real thing ? 

El Pinche Pirata del Fuego at your service!

You may not know this, but I have been Atlanta's top pirate since 2007 and was recently voted, "Hottest White Dude at Publix"  (Ponce  de Leon location) 

Lofty honors to be sure.

But not as great an honor as representing your fine company would be!

El Pinche Pirata del Fuego - don't settle for imitators!!!

xoxo,

Your friend and mine,

J  “

______________________________________________________________________________

This has not really worked in the past.

My letter to Monday Night Brewing was completely ignored.  F@#ers!

http://elpinchepirata.blogspot.com/2012/10/monday-night-brewing.html

Dear Monday Night Brewing Company People(s),

I had the great pleasure of meeting some of your company's representatives at my favorite local adult beverage and good time emporium, The Family Dog, last night.

They seemed like really nice people despite the fact that they were on their way to an Alanis Morrisette concert.  

But that is neither       here.     Nor                               

                                                                                                                                                there.

I am writing to you today because I feel that we, that is I, the Royal "We" if you will, think that I would be an excellent spokes-pirate for your company in general and especially for your 2 beers, Eyepatch IPA and Blind Pirate.

Who better to represent these 2 hand crafted beers than El Pinche Pirata del Fuego himself!?!

Or his self, if you prefer.

You may not know this, but I have been Atlanta's top pirate since 2007 and was recently voted, "Hottest White Dude at Publix"  (Ponce location) 

Lofty honors to be sure.

But not as great an honor as representing your fine brewing company would be!

I have already taken the liberty of throwing an advertising campaign together just so you can get a little taste of what EPPdF could do for you!

You can see it at www.elpinchepirata.blogspot.com under the post “Monday Night Brewing.”

Much love and many thanks,

Your friend and mine,

El Pinche Pirata del Fuego

I don't wanna brag or name drop but I have Lauren's number!

(It's a damn shame I didn't get it from her though and, although the lady that gave me her number was well meaning, I can never use it.  That would be weird and creepy.  But damn is it disappointing!!!)

It's new music Monday!

Here are some bands I've been listening to recently.  Hope you enjoy!

Vintage Trouble live on The Tonight Show.

Vintage Trouble's official video for Pelvis Pusher.

Ruby Velle and the Soulphonics.

More Ruby.

Lee Fields & The Expressions, "Wish you were here".

I finally updated the company website with pictures from Marfa, Texas and a new "installs" page.

Check it out and let me know what you think:

                                                               www.sunxus.com

Dateline: Marfa, TX.

Tasked with infiltrating the local separatist community and disrupting the general population whenever, wherever, and however possible we made a high speed, 21 hour, all out sling shot straight into the heart of darkness.

3 hours of sleep in 36 hours - check.

14 gallons of coffee - check.

One half eaten, moldy bag of Funyons to share between 3 guys - check.

Thru a meticulous subterfuge we were able to convince one of the locals to grind all of the coffee beans ahead of time and thereby avoid the old "hard tack" brewing method of chewing on the beans in between sips of scalding hot water but I chose to go directly to the hard stuff anyhow- a bottle of Bosco and a few lemon wedges.  A man has to keep his wits about him out here.

To think that the brass even considered launching an amphibious assault is just plain ridiculous!!!

JEEZ!

Do these guys even own a map!?!

The logistics of getting 3,200 metric tons of a medium-coarse Tulum beach sand and 450 million gallons of artesianal spring water onto trucks, across borders, and into position before the locals catch on, much less the noise those damn hovercrafts make on take off!?!

No way!

Not after last time.

But damn Weatherby up in the Big Office insisted on doing the initial paperwork if for no other reason than to spruce up his budget report.

"Let's run it up the flagpole and see what's what," he says.

It wasn't until I brought up the probability of The Dept. of Fish and Wildlife getting involved with that much fresh water moving across the interior that he relented.

"This is bat country, dammit people!!!",  I say.  "Think like a nocturnal flying rodent!"

Damn you, Weatherby!

A wave of Christian Hate and Violence that never came to shore.

A good friend recently posted a clip of Bill Maher going on about the culture of hate in Christianity on her Facebook page. Because there's no off position on my smart ass switch, I responded by citing the extreme hatred and explosive violence of Mother Theresa and Martin Luther King.

Because Salon.com is Salon.com, after the Boston Marathon bombing they had to find the worst examples of Christian and far right violence to prove that Islam is not the problem but all religion. The article is below.

If you exclude people that just plain hated the gov't the number of deaths in the US by christian extremists since 1984 is 14.

14 deaths in 30 years does qualify as a culture of hate or violence.
Totaling all of the deaths in Salon's article will bring that number up to 188 over 3 decades - still not an avalanche of murder and mayhem.

http://www.salon.com/2013/08/03/the_10_worst_examples_of_christian_or_far_right_terrorism_partner/

As our southern border becomes more porous than Gary Busey's brain, our supreme leaders seem incapable of doing anything more than turning the U.S. Border Patrol into a daycare service for illegals.
Yet small towns all over the country have been buying, courtesy of federal grants i.e. taxpayer money, armored vehicles to "protect" American citizens.

Nothing to see here, move along.
________________________________________________________________________________

The presidents of the unions representing Border Patrol agents and Customs and Immigration Enforcement agents will argue that current government policies have led to the massive influx of unaccompanied illegal immigrant minors and family units at a House Judiciary Committee hearing Wednesday.

According to written testimony for the committee hearing, obtained exclusively by Breitbart News, Brandon Judd, President of the National Border Patrol Council, and Chris Crane, President of the National Immigration and Customs Enforcement Council, will lay out what they see are the factors contributing to the unprecedented surge in illegal migration by unaccompanied children. 

Judd, in his written testimony, points to “catch and release,” the decrease in Border Patrol manpower due to sequestration, and cartels as the three primary culprits leading to the surge in illegal immigration.

“The result is no one is afraid of breaking the law,” Judd writes in his testimony of catch and release. “Currently, my understanding is about 90 percent of the unaccompanied minors are being placed with either a family member or a close family friend, many of whom are in this country illegally themselves. Although unaccompanied minors are still subject to deportation through the removal process, we have to be honest with ourselves. Most will never honor the Notice to Appear in court and face deportation. They simply fail to appear and blend into the community.”

Crane points to conversations about amnesty as a draw factor, luring unaccompanied minors to the United States. 

The ICE union president notes that he and law enforcement organizations around the country warned about such a potential crisis 13 months ago when the Senate was debating its immigration legislation.

“As we have stated previously, desperate people in impoverished countries don’t read our laws or our policies, and pay no heed to arbitrary cut-off dates that may require entry by a specific date for inclusion,” Cranes testimony reads. “Continued talk in the United States of amnesty and legalization without appropriate law enforcement safeguards first put in place, will continue to draw millions like a magnet to our southern border.” 

“The most humane thing that we can do as Americans is to deter crises like this one through consistent enforcement of our nation’s immigration laws,” he adds. 

Since October, more than 52,000 unaccompanied minors have been detained crossing into the United States through the southwest border, the vast majority of which have been from Honduras, Guatemala, and El Salvador. The influx represents a 99 percent increase over last year. 

Wednesday the House Judiciary Committee will be holding a hearing on the crisis, featuring Crane, Judd, Tom Homan ICE’s Director of Enforcement and Removal Operations, Ronald Vitiello Deputy Chief of Border Patrol, and Most Reverand Mark J. Seitz, the Bishop of the Diocese of El Paso, Texas.

Read Judd’s complete written testimony:

Testimony of Brandon Judd

On behalf of the National Border Patrol Council

In front of United States House Judiciary Committee June 25, 2014

Chairman Goodlatte, Ranking Member Conyers, members of the Committee, on behalf of the 16,500 rank and file Border Patrol Agents whom I represent, I would like to thank you for having this hearing.

My name is Brandon Judd and I am the President of the National Border Patrol Council. I have been a Border Patrol Agent for nearly 17 years, most of which were spent in the Tucson, Arizona and El Centro, California sectors.

During my years in the Border Patrol, I’ve seen how policy can directly affect border security.

For the Agents on the border, the latest surge in unaccompanied minors is not a surprise. I know our natural inclination is to look for a single smoking gun and apportion blame accordingly. However, this crisis is the culmination of a variety of factors including:

? First - the Catch and Release program. This program is bad policy and encourages people from countries other than Mexico to enter the United States illegally. Under this policy, and in most cases, individuals entering the U.S. illegally know they will be released if apprehended. The result is no one is afraid of breaking the law. Currently, my understanding is about 90 percent of the unaccompanied minors are being placed with either a family member or a close family friend; many of whom are in this country illegally themselves. Although unaccompanied minors are still subject to deportation through the removal process, we have to be honest with ourselves. Most will never honor the Notice to Appear in court and face deportation. They simply fail to appear and blend into the community. 

? Second - under sequestration Border Patrol manpower was decreased by five percent. The real life impact of this decrease means that we effectively lost about 1,100 Agents. To put this loss in perspective, the cities of El Paso and Tucson only have about 1,100 sworn officers each in their respective departments. This manpower decrease did not go unnoticed and for those trying to enter the country illegally – it was a good time to try. 

? Third - organized crime’s ability to quickly adapt to changes in manpower and policies affecting the borders of the United States. Our borders are constantly under attack by multi-national drug cartels and this latest surge in unaccompanied minors is just another example. These cartels have a well-developed intelligence network and are very skilled at exploiting our shortages in manpower. It is no coincidence that many of the same cartels responsible for the violence in Central America are also making hundreds of millions of dollars smuggling unaccompanied children (UAC) across the border. In fact, the current surge has made all aspects of smuggling easier by tying up Border Patrol Agents with large groups of UACs. If efficiency and safety were the goal, it would make more sense for the cartels to cross UACs into the US through ports of entry by way of the Customs Service. That way, they can manage uncertainties better and avoid risking harsh terrains and inhospitable weather while still gaining entry to the United States. Instead, the cartels purposely cross between ports of entry to tie up Border Patrol manpower, creating holes in our enforcement and facilitating their other lines of business, such as drug smuggling and the smuggling of known criminals into the US. Make no mistake this is big business for the cartels. It has been reported that nearly 40 percent of our manpower is being pulled from the field to perform duties such as processing and caring for those in our custody until they are either released or turned over to the Enforcement and Removal Office (ERO), a component of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement Agency (ICE). This decrease has stressed our workforce to the breaking point and makes it nearly impossible to effectively patrol the border and fight against organized crime.

The question I know many of you are asking is what we need to do to address this crisis and I think the following actions would improve our nation’s response:

? End our Catch and Release policy. We need to detain unaccompanied minors until their cases are properly adjudicated. As long as we continue to release unaccompanied minors to family and friends, this problem will not only continue but will grow exponentially. Organized crime will continue to exploit our weaknesses and take advantage of the policy. We know from experience that the chance of minors being deported after they’ve failed to appear in court is small, once they’ve been released into the community. We need to follow through enforcing the laws of this nation, so that breaking the law carries consequences. 

? Do not grant special status. This is a corollary to the catch and release program. We need to be crystal clear that unaccompanied minors and their families will not be rewarded for breaking the law through special or legal status after being arrested. We need to acknowledge that our immigration policies over the last 30 years have been at best inconsistent. If we are to stop this latest crisis with unaccompanied minors, we have to change the cost-benefit analysis for those who exploit holes in border security. 

? Address the manpower shortfall immediately. Congressman Chaffetz has introduced legislation called the Border Patrol Agent Pay Reform Act that would restore manpower on the border while also saving the American taxpayer millions of dollars a year. This legislation is groundbreaking and will increase the efficiency and effectiveness of the agency while also saving money. Several Members on this Committee are already cosponsors and I want to thank you for your support. The Senate Homeland Security Committee is marking up the Senate companion of the Chaffetz bill today. We look forward to working with Chairman Issa on the Oversight Committee and hope to move this legislation before the August recess. Timing is critical as were looking at further cuts in the near future.

? Strengthen interior enforcement. We have already discussed how a lack of consequences for breaking the law in the form of the Catch and Release program has encouraged a new flood of illegal immigration. By the same token, a lack of consequences for those who successfully enter our country without being detected is also encouraging illegal immigration. We already have laws on the books that, if enforced, will stem the flow. However, these laws only work as a deterrent if they are consistently enforced.

This is a difficult issue with no single solution, but I believe the fix is well within our reach. The crisis is real and our Agents are fully aware of the hardship many of the children have endured in search of a better life or to be with their family. Many Agents try to contribute in small ways: some spend their own money to buy toys and diapers, others spend time with the minors in what is undoubtedly a very confusing environment for them. In the end, the current crisis needs to be addressed through consistent enforcement of the laws we already have, and through adequate manpower at the border. We must change the current cost-benefit analysis for illegal immigration so the rewards and incentives are less appealing.

Again, I want to thank the Committee for the opportunity to testify and if you have any questions I would be happy to answer them to the best of my ability.

Read Crane’s complete written testimony:

Statement by Chris Crane, President,

National Immigration and Customs Enforcement Council 118 of the

American Federation of Government Employees

Before the Committee on the Judiciary

June 25, 2014

Chairman Goodlatte, Ranking Member Conyers, and distinguished members of this Committee.

First and foremost, I would ask that members of Congress join me in extending a thank you to the men and women of the United States Border Patrol and ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) for their humanitarian efforts on our southern border. I understand that conditions in some areas are not at the standards we would all like to see, especially as it pertains to the children, but our officers are doing the best they can with the resources they’ve been provided. Many of our officers frequently go above and beyond, taking money out of their own pockets to buy diapers, baby formula and food for these children. The agents and officers of the Border Patrol and ICE are too often criticized, even demonized; but rarely recognized as the dedicated public servants they truly are. Their actions during this humanitarian crisis are commendable.

Before Congress can begin discussing changes to U.S. immigration law related to legalization or “amnesty” on any scale, it must first ensure that the appropriate enforcement safeguards are in place. It is to be a costly lesson in terms of the human toll, as well as the financial expense, but it is the lesson nonetheless that Congress, and indeed all of America must take away from the humanitarian crisis taking place on our southern border.

Reports from ICE officers and agents on the ground in the Rio Grande Valley serve to corroborate leaked Border Patrol intelligence reports indicating that the majority of individuals illegally entering the United States are motivated more by rumors of amnesty, than the situation in their respective countries. Many news reporters have confirmed this information by way of their own interviews.

It is truly surreal that I testify before the committee today, as it is exactly four years to the day, on June 25, 2010, that the National ICE Council and its constituent Locals issued a unanimous vote of no confidence in ICE leadership reporting that the agency had abandoned its core mission of enforcing U.S. immigration law and providing for public safety, as it instead focused on enforcement reduction through amnesty related changes to U.S. immigration policy and law. Over the last four years, our union has repeatedly advised Congress and America that the Administration’s immigration policies are failing in the field.

The Secretary of DHS, the Director of ICE, as well as Tom Homan who is here to testify today, have all been told during town hall meetings by ICE officers and agents in the field that the Administration’s enforcement policies are failing. If the Administration continues with its current policies, it can expect the current crisis to further escalate, and crises in other areas to potentially emerge. As we have stated previously, desperate people in impoverished countries don’t read our laws or our policies, and pay no heed to arbitrary cut-off dates that may require entry by a

specific date for inclusion. Continued talk in the United States of amnesty and legalization without appropriate law enforcement safeguards first put in place, will continue to draw millions like a magnet to our southern border. The most humane thing that we can do as Americans is to deter crises like this one through consistent enforcement of our nation’s immigration laws.

With regard to the current crisis, thirteen months ago in May of 2013, our union sent a letter to every member of the United States Senate. The same letter was issued as a press release for all lawmakers and members of the public to review. One hundred and forty sheriffs nationwide and five law enforcement organizations signed the letter. Collectively we warned America that “Thousands of unaccompanied children, runaways and families now attempt to illegally enter the United States in hopes of receiving legalization." Stressing the dangers of the situation on the border, as well as the magnitude of the situation, law enforcement also warned in the letter that thousands could be victimized or perish while attempting the dangerous crossing into the United States.

In February of 2014, our union took to television and radio calling the situation on the border a “humanitarian crisis.” Not until this month, June of 2014, did the Administration truly acknowledge the situation, as President Obama finally described the conditions on the border as an “urgent humanitarian crisis.” Much more could have and should have been done sooner to curtail this situation and

safeguard human life. This crisis did not begin last month as some reports indicate.

For over a year, ICE agents, officers and employees in the Rio Grande Valley have been overwhelmed. ICE ERO leadership I believe attempted to assist, but due to the extremely limited resources and manpower available, their efforts had little effect. As a result, ICE officers and agents in the Rio Grande Valley have been working day and night since the early stages of this situation. As problems continue on the border and the severity of the situation increases, however, other ICE ERO offices and facilities throughout the U.S. have been called in to assist and are now also experiencing similar workloads.

As the U.S. Border Patrol has tripled in size since 9/11, and ICE’s immigration division, Enforcement and Removal Operations has become smaller, its seems clear that few understand the critical role ICE ERO plays in border security. It seems clear that few understand that in addition to its own immigration enforcement mission, ICE ERO is also responsible for the detention, transportation and removal of aliens apprehended by the U.S. Border Patrol, making ICE ERO a critical border security asset. An asset long overlooked and now severely undermanned as it struggles to perform its mission of supporting a Border Patrol that has tripled in size.

By way of vans, buses, charter flights and commercial aircraft, ICE officers are transferring hundreds of Unaccompanied Alien Children (UAC), family units and adult aliens out of the Rio Grande Valley every day of the week to points all across the nation. Without ICE agents and officers performing their critical border security mission every day for the last year, border operations in the Rio Grande Valley would have quickly broken down. In speaking with our officers assigned to ICE Air Operations, ICE’s air transportation arm, air transports have been so heavily used during the crisis that two additional planes have already been leased, and still more could be utilized. Taking up the slack from ICE Air Operations transport planes, 60 to 120 ICE officers from around the nation board commercial aircraft everyday escorting small groups of UACs for placement with the Office of Refugee Resettlement/Division of Child Services (ORR/DCS). ICE officers around the nation are under orders to be packed for overnight travel and ready to respond at any time day or night – and responding they are. Contrary to some reports, ICE officers and agents are taking custody of UACs from the Border Patrol, not ORR, and transporting these UACs to ORR placement locations throughout the nation. From the border areas of the Rio Grande Valley, El Paso and Arizona, to areas on the interior like Chicago, Seattle and Newark; ICE agents and officers are scrambling to process, transport and provide detention space in response to this crisis and support Border Patrol operations.

As in the Border Patrol, this crisis is putting a tremendous strain on ICE ERO and its limited manpower and resources nationwide. ICE has already permanently transferred some officers and agents to the border and temporarily detailed others to supplement the hundreds already working in the Rio Grande Valley. This of course does not include the extensive manpower and resource loses created through the daily demands of this crisis on ICE ERO’s network of detention facilities and transportation assets nationwide. It also does not include, for example, yet another detention center being established in Artesia, NM that also will be manned by ICE officers and agents detailed from other locations.

ICE ERO Fugitive Operations Teams in some areas have been completely shut down with ICE officers reassigned to process and transport UACs and Family units. Officers in other vital ERO criminal enforcement programs such as the Criminal Alien Program and Secure Communities Program likewise are being pulled daily from their critical public safety missions. There is no doubt that ICE ERO’s many critical missions, to include its criminal enforcement and public safety missions are impacted. Ironically, as ICE ERO and the Border Patrol spend millions of dollars and shift resources from vital programs to process family units and UACs, it is unlikely that a significant number of these illegal entrants will be removed from the United States unless changes are made to current immigration

policy. Without removals it is doubtful that the influx of those illegally entering the U.S. will subside any time soon.

The Administration has reportedly requested $1.4 billion to address the current situation with UACs; it is also reported that OMB anticipates total expenses for the crisis this year to be $2.28 billion. This is because thousands of teenagers, most between the ages of 13 and 17, are flooding across our border and waiting for the Border Patrol to apprehend them. How do we combat this problem? How do we stop individuals and groups who seek out immigration officials so they can turn themselves in? The answer of course is that we aggressively enforce our immigration laws and quickly remove those who enter the country illegally. And in doing so we send a message to the world that these types of tactics will not be successful. In doing so we also dramatically reduce human trafficking, injury, rape and death. As I have stated on many occasions, law enforcement is not a dirty word; law enforcement saves lives. I sincerely hope that the President and Congress will support law enforcement in aggressively enforcing our nation’s immigration laws in order to bring an end to this crisis, and prevent future ones. We must have their support.

In closing, I know that border security is important to every member of Congress. I hope that my testimony today regarding ICE ERO’s mission during

the current border crisis assists Congress in dealing with the problem and better illustrates for members the critical role ICE ERO plays in border security.

I hope that Congress will also consider the future consequences of allowing ERO to continue in its current state; drastically understaffed with morale plummeting to record lows. As officers we have ideas on how to get ERO back on its feet and operating more effectively. We would like to work with Congress and ICE in making that happen. In the meantime, Congressman John Carter and the House Appropriations Committee have recommended funding for a single officer position at ICE ERO, as is currently in place at the U.S. Border Patrol and ICE Homeland Security Investigations. We believe in doing so Congressman Carter and the Committee have taken an important first step in improving the law enforcement effectiveness of ICE ERO.

Thank you and that concludes my testimony.

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4 shocking examples of police militarization in America’s small towns

Research shows that the number of SWAT teams in municipalities smaller than 50,000 is up more than 300 percent

AARON CANTÚ, ALTERNET

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TOPICS: ALTERNET, RADLEY BALKO, SWAT TEAMS, MILITARIZATION, WARRIOR COPS, MILITARY-GRADE WEAPONRY, POLITICS NEWS

This article originally appeared on AlterNet.

For nearly half a century, the general trend within America’s police precincts has been toward greater militarization, a transformation initiated by the culture wars of the 1960s and facilitated by the war on drugs, fear of inner-city crime, and anxieties over the threat of terrorism.

Fear of drugs, crime and terrorism have been used to justify the expansion of SWAT programs and the acquisition of military grade weaponry and vehicles in America’s smaller towns. Citing previous work, investigative journalist Radley Balko writes that the number of SWAT teams in municipalities with populations between 25,000 and 50,000 “increased by more than 300 percent between 1984 and 1995,” and that 75% of all of these towns had their own SWAT teams by the year 2000. Small precincts acquired wartime weaponry and a warrior culture was engendered among community police.

The ACLU is currently working on a major investigation to illuminate the extent of militarization across America. Here are four shocking examples of militarized police in America’s small towns.

1. Keene, New Hampshire

A town with a murder count of two since 2009, Keene’s city officials surreptitiously accepted a $285,933 grant from the Department of Defense in 2012 to purchase a Ballistic Engineered Armored Response Counter Attack Truck, or BearCat.

The grant was offered through the 1033 program, which was signed into law in 1997 and created a pipeline for the DOD to pass surplus military gear to local police precincts. It may seem preposterous that a sleepy New England town would need to commandeer a tank intended to withstand IED attacks, but in the post-9/11 era, nearly any degree of militarization can be justified with the threat of terrorism.

“We don’t know what the terrorists are thinking,” warned Jim Massery, sales manager for the creator of the Bearcat, Lencor Armored Vehicles, to investigative journalist Radley Balko, before questioning whether residents who took issue with the BearCat “just don’t think police officers’ lives are worth saving.”

---

A series of town meetings led by city councilor Terry Clark revealed a sizable number of city residents opposed the local SWAT’s acquisition of a BearCat. “This is an agreement between the government and arms dealers, essentially,” noted Clark after a representative for Lencor revealed that the transfers of military equipment allow them to tap into the DOD’s $34 billion terrorism budget.

Despite resistance, the Keene police department put the BearCat to use, starting in the fall of 2012, and it was used 21 times as of summer 2013: 19 times for training exercises, once in response to a barricaded person and once in response to a person threatening suicide.

Surrounding cities have signed pacts with Keene to borrow the BearCat when needed, and support throughout the state for similar vehicles remains strong: A state bill to halt the purchase of military equipment by New Hampshire police departments was shot down in late March, making it likely that more departments will seek BearCats from the DOD, in addition to the 11 that already have them.

2. Ogden, Utah

Ogden, a medium-sized Utah town flanked by the Wasatch mountain range and the Great Salt Lake, was for a long time little more than a junction point for railroads crisscrossing the country. These days, it’s ground zero for the debate over the use of SWAT in Utah, which has pitted fervent proponents of aggressive paramilitarism against those who want alternatives to the hyper-violent police confrontations that have roiled the state in recent years.

The flashpoint for the debate came in January 2011, when members of Ogden SWAT battered down the front door of Matthew David Stewart’s home. When the army veteran awoke to the sound of shouting voices and shuffling boots, he grabbed his bathrobe and Beretta and began exchanging fire with the officers, killing one and wounding seven while sustaining multiple gunshot wounds himself.

This disastrous account of law enforcement excess was bookended by death, starting with the raid fatality and ending with Stewart’s own suicide in his prison cell shortly after a judge threw out his self-defense claim. However, the questions raised about the use of military tactics have endured, imbued with urgency by a steady drip of fatal statewide SWAT encounters in the last two years.

Although some in the state advocate more diplomatic means of apprehending drug and other types of offenders, the zeal for Ogden SWAT remains stronger than ever as the institution burrows itself deep into the community’s cultural DNA and swells into nearbyjurisdictions. Three separate bills in the Utah legislature would limit the ability of SWAT to serve “no-knock” raids (the deadly kind in which officers barge in the door while bellowing “Search warrant!”) and increase the standard of transparency that SWAT-equipped precincts must meet.

3. Columbia, South Carolina

Richland County, where Columbia is located, caught the attention of some activists in 2008 when its sheriff purchased an armored personnel carrier from the DOD. Police in the area continued buying military-grade vehicles unchallenged. Most recently, the Columbia Police Department purchased a mine-resistant war truck from the DOD in the fall of 2013.

Unlike Keene’s BearCat, Columbia’s “U.N. blue” has a turret that can be armed with a 50-caliber machine gun. It’s also built to withstand any mine blasts it may trigger in the streets of the “Capital of Southern Hospitality.”

The Mine-Resistant Ambush Protected Vehicle (MRAP) is valued at $658,000, but was handed off virtually free to the Columbia Police Department under the 1033 program. The Nerve foundthat the only costs incurred by the Columbia police for obtaining the vehicle in September 2013 came to about $2,800: a $2,000 annual fee for participating in the 1033 program, and $800 to actually transport the vehicle from a military base at Fort Bragg, North Carolina.

Under the conditions of the 1033 program, the DOD technically retains ownership of the military equipment it loans out, and recipients must use the equipment for at least one year before it is returned. However, the national ACLU confirmed with AlterNet that they’ve never heard of a department returning equipment to the DOD.

Unsurprisingly, drugs and terrorism were used to justify the presence of the vehicle. The Columbia Police Department’s application for the MRAP explained that the armored vehicle was needed to “protect our officers and the public during high risk counter drug and counter terrorism operations within the city of Columbia and the state of South Carolina.”

Victoria Middleton, executive director of the ACLU-South Carolina, noted that local news outlets failed to commit significant time to covering militarization in Columbia. “There has been a huge distraction,” she wrote to AlterNet in an email, “[with the] search for a new police chief, turf issues with Richland County Sheriff department, [and] city administration problems.”

Documents reviewed by AlterNet reveal that the ACLU-South Carolina sent a FOIA request to the Richland County Sheriff’s office in March 2013, demanding the disclosure of “all 1033 programs inventories created and maintained” by county police departments. The sheriff’s office responded with a warning that fulfilling the ACLU’s request “may result in a charge of several thousand dollars,” which the ACLU immediately countered with another letter.

To date, the Richland County Sheriff’s Department has not complied with the ACLU affiliate’s FOIA request.

4. Paragould, Arkansas

The Paragould police chief attempted to turn a rising crime rate into a carte blanche for sending fully outfitted SWAT teams into communities to ask every single person in public for identification. The population of the town is 27,000.

“To ask you for your ID, I have to have a reason,” said police chief Todd Stovall at a town hall meeting in December 2012. “Well, I’ve got statistical reasons that say I’ve got a lot of crime right now, which gives me probable cause to ask what you’re doing out.”

The mayor stood by his police chief. “They may not be doing anything but walking their dog, but they’re going to have to prove it,” he added to Stovall’s remarks.

The policy of de-facto martial law captured national attention and inspired an immediate response from the Arkansas ACLU. Stovall issued a statement justifying police-state tactics as features of “proactive police philosophy dedicated to managing problems before they become unmanageable,” and gave limited lip service to the Constitution and rule of law in general.

The public outrage forced city officials to back away from the Orwellian initiative.

« Benched: Third Broward County Judge Arrested For DUI

Florida Woman Listens To Sermon On God Telling Abraham To Kill His Son, Then Proceeds To Kill Her Former Lover’s Son »

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Atlanta Baby Seriously Injured When SWAT Team Throws Stun Grenade In Crib During No Knock Raid [Updated]

1, May 30, 2014 by jonathanturley

We have previously discussed our concerns over the seemingly exponential increase in “no knock” raids in the country where police give no warning before raiding a home. (hereand here and here andhere and here). A tragedy in Atlanta will only increase those concerns for many. Atlanta police say that they purchased drugs at a home and returned with a no-knock warrant late at 3 a.m. to arrest Wanis Thometheva, 30. They burst into the home and threw a stun grenade which landed next to the head of a 19-month-old sleeping in his crib and exploded. The baby is in serious condition and is in a medically induced coma. The pictures of the baby are too disturbing to post. The police found no drugs or weapons or even the man they were seeking to arrest in the raid. Update: Police have declared that the state officials have concluded that no further investigation is warranted into the raid or the use of the grenade.

The raid left a charred portable crib. The explosion opened up a gash on the baby’s chest, left one lung inoperable, and left the baby breathing on a respirator with a 50-percent chance of survival.

Cornelia police Chief Rick Darby said that a multi jurisdictional force carried out the raid after drugs were purchased. The police cited the belief of guns being present as the basis for the no-knock warrant.

Notably, police arrested the suspect at another homeand the family had nothing to do with the crime. There is always a risk of such innocent individuals being in a home — making the use of such grenades an obvious risk to the very young and the elderly.

Darby says that the police did not see any toys or children clothes that would have warned them of an infant being present. He says that his team is very upset over the injury to the child.

For those who are critical over the increase in no-knock warrants, the incident raises that same concern that magistrates are now granting these warrants with little thought and they are becoming the rule rather than the exception. The question is whether such injuries could be avoided if police announced themselves and demand entry. Police now routinely ask and receive warrants that waive the constitutional requirement to “knock and announcement.” Not only is this requirement codified in the U.S. Code, but it is viewed as a factor in determining if a search or seizure is reasonable under the fourth amendment. In 1995, the United States Supreme Court ruled in Wilson v. Arkansas that the requirement was indeed part of the constitutional test and in Richards v. Wisconsin the Court later rejected categorical waivers for “knock and announcement” for cases like drug investigations. Police must show on a case-by-case basis that they have reasonable suspicion of exigent circumstances.

Source: WSBTV

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http://www.salon.com/2014/06/24/a_swat_team_blew_a_hole_in_my_2_year_old_son/