Now Yemen and Saudi Arabia.
In Europe they ended up with soft socialism. Here, we got the world's finest.
What will we see when the dust settles in the middle East? It occurs to me that prayers are in order, as I recall that the population is heavily moslem in most of the countries in turmoil.
Thursday, February 3, 2011
"That's the Worst I've Ever Seen"
NP has apparently not seen what the Police do in other countries, but this is pretty bad.
The Chronicle reports there are seven Houston Policemen fired and four of them are up on charges . . . and Chad Holley needs to become a moderately-rich young man at the expense of the taxpayers of Houston. Holley was 15 years old at the time he did a robbery. This video shows him running from the COPs and being caught. He (of his own volition) stops running and lays down in total submission . . . and then the HPD proceeds to stomp him into the grass for a minute or two, even after he is well and truly in custody. Note the simultaneous TRIPLE-kick when the first few officers reach the prone and compliant suspect.
Officer Dave says: Hey Jim-Bob, cut out kickin' that boy! If a beat-down like this starts, it may just be time for one officer to be pepper-spraying another. This is totally disproportionate and inappropriate. Kudos to the Chief in Houston for taking swift action to discipline his errant officers.
********
Andrew Blomberg, Phil Bryan, Raad Hassan and Drew Ryser were fired after being indicted on misdemeanor Official Suppresion charges. Good.
Raad Hassan and Drew Ryser were also charged with violating the boy's civil rights. Dam' skippy!
John McClellan, Gaudencio Saucedo and Lewis Childress were fired without charges being filed. Good.
R.E. Abel III, K.W. Cockrill, M.J. Novak, R.J. Oppermann and I.M. Vaughn received two-day suspensions. Good.
********
In related news: that's a pretty nice security camera.
The Chronicle reports there are seven Houston Policemen fired and four of them are up on charges . . . and Chad Holley needs to become a moderately-rich young man at the expense of the taxpayers of Houston. Holley was 15 years old at the time he did a robbery. This video shows him running from the COPs and being caught. He (of his own volition) stops running and lays down in total submission . . . and then the HPD proceeds to stomp him into the grass for a minute or two, even after he is well and truly in custody. Note the simultaneous TRIPLE-kick when the first few officers reach the prone and compliant suspect.
Officer Dave says: Hey Jim-Bob, cut out kickin' that boy! If a beat-down like this starts, it may just be time for one officer to be pepper-spraying another. This is totally disproportionate and inappropriate. Kudos to the Chief in Houston for taking swift action to discipline his errant officers.
********
********
In related news: that's a pretty nice security camera.
20 Accidents Already!
It's been freezing here for two days solid. Now it's raining. The rain is at this moment converting to a sheet of ice on the overpasses. It is to be hoped that the State and City will be rolling sand trucks, but the News just said there are currently 20 wrecks in the Austin metropolitan area. That's a big number for rush hour -and it's the middle of the night. FOUR wrecks just on the upper decks of IH-35 which is on a few miles of elevated roadway.
Don't go anywhere. I plan on calling WM tomorrow to confirm, but it won't surprise me if they wave us off until the streets have a chance to thaw.
There was sleet on our back patio a while back, 1/8" to 1/4" balls of ice that melted on the relatively warm concrete. On the way home, snow was blowing around between the cars on the roadway. It cold outside!
Don't go anywhere. I plan on calling WM tomorrow to confirm, but it won't surprise me if they wave us off until the streets have a chance to thaw.
There was sleet on our back patio a while back, 1/8" to 1/4" balls of ice that melted on the relatively warm concrete. On the way home, snow was blowing around between the cars on the roadway. It cold outside!
Wednesday, February 2, 2011
Wherein I Relate An Amusing Anecdote
(this was much funnier in the dark, in person, with hand gestures)
This morning we had rolling blackouts cross Texas to protect the State-wide electric grid when about 50 power plants had various problems. Our 15-minute (nominal) blackout at the house lasted for about two hours. I was working away at work, and the lights went out, seconds before my Darling Wife sent me a TXT MSG that power was on at home. As I was cleaning my work area by flashlight, I related the following stories to NP.
My Darling Wife called me as I was stopped at a traffic light on the way to work, and told me the power was still off (T+1hour from blackout). I told her to call the power company, I was driving, and I hung up just as the light was going green. I was thinking about this situation at 60 miles per hour when the SUV in front of me braked pretty hard, down to 45-ish MPH. I canceled autopilot and realized we were about a half-mile into a construction zone. This zone is after a long up-hill stretch and lifting off the accelerator pedal is enough to get most cars to 45MPH between the warning sign and the construction zone sign. This always happens. But today, we were panic-braking to 45MPH and I wondered why in an offhand way, until I looked right and saw a Police patrol car in a driveway. As if. If he wanted to, that COP had a dozen easy tickets, but it was obviously not his errand just then. No harm no foul.
It reminded me of boot camp when I joined the Navy. A bit of background information is in order.
In each barracks buildings at boot camp, there were four divisions of eighty-eight men. Each division had its own long room where the men would sleep, study, and tend to uniforms. There were twenty-odd smaller-than-twin-sized gray bunk beds on each side of a wide central aisle. These beds were about 50 years old and made of tubular steel. The top bunk had side bars to keep a man from rolling onto the hard deck below. There was a door at each end of the room. One of the eighty-eight men every two hours took up a watch position at each door, to stand there for two hours in case something happened, which it basically never did but it was good training. The (sadly empty) rifle rack was by the back door. Through the front door every morning would enter the Division Commander, a non-commissioned officer (usually a Petty Officer 2nd Class), and the Forward Watch would greet him quietly: "Good morning, Petty Officer" and report that all was well. Then the watch would throw a few dozen circuit breakers in a panel on the wall, to switch on the overhead lights. Our days began at ohgawdthirty when it was still dark outside. We would be awakened by the CLACK! CLACK! CLACK! CLACK! CLACK! of the circuit breakers, and the lights coming on. Then we would turn out of our racks and stand at the feet of our bed to be counted/inspected.
Failure to stand up for inspection would be the start of a very unpleasant morning.
One morning, I awoke in my too-narrow-to-roll-over bed to the sound of the circuit breakers being thrown. The lights came on. I lay in bed. I continued to lay in bed. I lay in bed some more. As I lay there for what felt like minutes but probably was seconds, I realized that all around me was silence. There should have been the noise of eighty men getting out of bed and scratching their *ahem* and standing for inspection, but it was quiet. I leaned up and looked around, and realized that *nobody* had gotten out of his rack. We all sat around looking at each other as this breach of protocol crept across our collective awareness, and began to wonder . . .
. . . and then the Division Commander started to come in at the front door. The watch bellowed "GOOD MORNING PETTY OFFICER!!!" and then in what felt like a half-second there were suddenly eighty-odd men out of bed and standing at attention all the way down both sides of the aisle. WHOOSH! just like that. I think I actually went under the bar on the side of my bed.
I forget if we got into trouble for that, but I don't think so.
All of that, in a flash, came back to me when I saw that COP car.
This morning we had rolling blackouts cross Texas to protect the State-wide electric grid when about 50 power plants had various problems. Our 15-minute (nominal) blackout at the house lasted for about two hours. I was working away at work, and the lights went out, seconds before my Darling Wife sent me a TXT MSG that power was on at home. As I was cleaning my work area by flashlight, I related the following stories to NP.
My Darling Wife called me as I was stopped at a traffic light on the way to work, and told me the power was still off (T+1hour from blackout). I told her to call the power company, I was driving, and I hung up just as the light was going green. I was thinking about this situation at 60 miles per hour when the SUV in front of me braked pretty hard, down to 45-ish MPH. I canceled autopilot and realized we were about a half-mile into a construction zone. This zone is after a long up-hill stretch and lifting off the accelerator pedal is enough to get most cars to 45MPH between the warning sign and the construction zone sign. This always happens. But today, we were panic-braking to 45MPH and I wondered why in an offhand way, until I looked right and saw a Police patrol car in a driveway. As if. If he wanted to, that COP had a dozen easy tickets, but it was obviously not his errand just then. No harm no foul.
It reminded me of boot camp when I joined the Navy. A bit of background information is in order.
In each barracks buildings at boot camp, there were four divisions of eighty-eight men. Each division had its own long room where the men would sleep, study, and tend to uniforms. There were twenty-odd smaller-than-twin-sized gray bunk beds on each side of a wide central aisle. These beds were about 50 years old and made of tubular steel. The top bunk had side bars to keep a man from rolling onto the hard deck below. There was a door at each end of the room. One of the eighty-eight men every two hours took up a watch position at each door, to stand there for two hours in case something happened, which it basically never did but it was good training. The (sadly empty) rifle rack was by the back door. Through the front door every morning would enter the Division Commander, a non-commissioned officer (usually a Petty Officer 2nd Class), and the Forward Watch would greet him quietly: "Good morning, Petty Officer" and report that all was well. Then the watch would throw a few dozen circuit breakers in a panel on the wall, to switch on the overhead lights. Our days began at ohgawdthirty when it was still dark outside. We would be awakened by the CLACK! CLACK! CLACK! CLACK! CLACK! of the circuit breakers, and the lights coming on. Then we would turn out of our racks and stand at the feet of our bed to be counted/inspected.
Failure to stand up for inspection would be the start of a very unpleasant morning.
One morning, I awoke in my too-narrow-to-roll-over bed to the sound of the circuit breakers being thrown. The lights came on. I lay in bed. I continued to lay in bed. I lay in bed some more. As I lay there for what felt like minutes but probably was seconds, I realized that all around me was silence. There should have been the noise of eighty men getting out of bed and scratching their *ahem* and standing for inspection, but it was quiet. I leaned up and looked around, and realized that *nobody* had gotten out of his rack. We all sat around looking at each other as this breach of protocol crept across our collective awareness, and began to wonder . . .
. . . and then the Division Commander started to come in at the front door. The watch bellowed "GOOD MORNING PETTY OFFICER!!!" and then in what felt like a half-second there were suddenly eighty-odd men out of bed and standing at attention all the way down both sides of the aisle. WHOOSH! just like that. I think I actually went under the bar on the side of my bed.
I forget if we got into trouble for that, but I don't think so.
All of that, in a flash, came back to me when I saw that COP car.
Oh, Well, That's All Right Then.
Student carries a crucifix for religious reasons: weapon, banned, and you're suspended from government school.
Student carries a KNIFE for religious reasons: Super-duper!
I'm glad we cleared that up.
Student carries a KNIFE for religious reasons: Super-duper!
I'm glad we cleared that up.
Do Want: SIG 1911-22
Next up on the do-want list:
Looks like a 1911
Feels like a 1911
Functions like a 1911
SIG quality
$400 list price
Train for using your .45 using .22LR
WIN!
What's not to love? If I had the money to spare, I would take two of these in a heartbeat. Congratulations SIG, you've nailed it.
Hat tip: Uncle
What's not to love? If I had the money to spare, I would take two of these in a heartbeat. Congratulations SIG, you've nailed it.
Hat tip: Uncle
Tuesday, February 1, 2011
Scandal? What Scandal? ATF is Altogether Righteous!
Eric Holder just told the President of Mexico and the Ranking Member on the Senate Judiciary Committee to go fornicate themselves. He's saying that his cover-up is more important to him than truth and decency. All this from a guy who spoke soothing, meeching, insincere words upon the death of Border Patrol Agent Brian Terry.
It's almost like they're trying to foment armed rebellion. Is it malicious corruption, foolishness, or total ineptitude? It is rather hard to tell.
Price of Milk to Go Up. Also, Taxes.
Because it is such a hazardous substance, there must be emergency spill-response plans in place, and trained first-responders in case of an accidental spill or large-scale release of . . .
milk.
So saith the Environmentalist Persecution Agency. You WILL pay to establish a plan for your dairy farm, or we will prosecute you. Of course, we'll need to hire a few more agents to oversee the new regulation. And the cost of producing milk, with no benefit to the producer or consumer, has gone up because of federal regulation.
You're welcome.
********
There is great buzz, but I couldn't find more than reports on reports with a quick search. Source: ?
milk.
So saith the Environmentalist Persecution Agency. You WILL pay to establish a plan for your dairy farm, or we will prosecute you. Of course, we'll need to hire a few more agents to oversee the new regulation. And the cost of producing milk, with no benefit to the producer or consumer, has gone up because of federal regulation.
You're welcome.
********
There is great buzz, but I couldn't find more than reports on reports with a quick search. Source: ?
Bloomberg Sticking His Nose In/Neck Out Again
Mayor Bloomberg is at it again. He sent New York City agents to Arizona for a "sting" to try to show up how bad the gun law enforcement problem is in America. Problem is, the transactions were legal both on their face and in fact, and Bloomberg's gun problem is mostly because he tries to ban them in his town. Didn't he already get in trouble for this sort of thing?*
*He did, but the court says he didn't break the law. What he did was interrupt actual legitimate investigations by the agency whose jurisdiction he was trying to usurp. Best adjective of the day: Nanny Statist.
*He did, but the court says he didn't break the law. What he did was interrupt actual legitimate investigations by the agency whose jurisdiction he was trying to usurp. Best adjective of the day: Nanny Statist.
An Ugly Precedent
Step down? Why? On what basis? Because some agitators stir up the masses? Is it a nation of laws, or is it not? If the rabble rousers will not be satisfied with waiting until the next election, they will be satisfied with nothing short of a full reformation of the entire country.
Iran did that. Palestine did something like it. Just because it's different, doesn't mean it's better. Being punched in the face is different from not being punched.
Iran did that. Palestine did something like it. Just because it's different, doesn't mean it's better. Being punched in the face is different from not being punched.
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