On the Seventh Day of Christmas

Two great gifts to the world: Judeo-Christian values; and the United States of America.

Day Seven-“The U.S. military is the greatest defender of freedom in the world .”

Number 7 from “Twelve Great Reasons to Love a Great Country,” from The American Patriot’s Almanac, by William J. Bennett and John T.E. Cribb; Thomas Nelson, Inc., 2008

On the Sixth Day of Christmas

Two great gifts to the world: Judeo-Christian values; and the United States of America.

Day Six-“No other country has welcomed and united so many people from so many different shores.”

Number 6 from “Twelve Great Reasons to Love a Great Country,” from The American Patriot’s Almanac, by William J. Bennett and John T.E. Cribb; Thomas Nelson, Inc., 2008

Walking the Point, the Cops’ Perspective

“Walking the Point” is the title of a piece honoring the sacrifices made by police officers. The piece is quoted below.

I have not previously heard of the use of the phrase “Walking the Point” in the context of law enforcement. We do use “point” as in “I’ve got the point” during surveillance work to signify that the officer is taking primary responsibility in the reporting on the status of a surveillance target.

The original derivation of the phrase undoubtedly hails from the military. Daryl S. Paulson wrote the book, Walking the Point: Male Initiation and the Vietnam Experience, in 2005.

The quote below is listed on several websites, but I could not find an attribution to the original author. The point of the piece is well made and worth repeating often to remind us that we all owe a deep gratitude to others. I salute the unknown author.

Walking the Point

There are some things that you just can't do without suffering - very literally and profoundly - casualties; and our job is one of them.

You can't race cars without crashes, you can't dig mines without cave-ins, and you sure as hell can't send cops out into the streets of a violent society without violent deaths.

Our fallen brothers knew that and did it anyway--as we all do or have done. ........Their friends will tell you they did the job because they loved it, and any of us who can't say that should envy them for it. At least they died as rare and precious people: doing what they loved to do, and doing it for the noblest of reasons.

That is something we can never explain outside of our profession.

You see, you can't be a good cop simply because you couldn't get another job.

You can only be a good cop because you want it. And there is an answer as to why they died, something I learned half a world away many years ago as a young Marine, preparing to face an enemy in combat for the first time. It was then that my sergeant explained that, like it or not, there are only three rules in war:

Rule Number One is "YOUNG MEN DIE"

Rule Number Two is "YOU CAN'T CHANGE RULE #1"

Rule Number Three is "SOMEBODY HAS TO WALK THE POINT"

You see, when soldiers advance, knowing the enemy is near, there is always one man way out in front of everyone else. His duty is to look and listen and sense that first contact; to spot the enemy, pinpoint the ambush, fire that first shot, and as a consequence, take those first shots.

It offends the logical mind and denies the instinct for survival. It ages and saddens and wizens, and frequently kills those who take their turn "Walking the Point." But it must be done, or there would be no protection for the rest, just more bloodshed, and more grief. For the "Point Man" is there to save lives, even if he gives his own in the process.

Society may not be a company of soldiers, but it certainly has (and needs) somebody walking the point.

Every time you go out the station door, every time you answer the radio call, every time you stop to check out something suspicious, and remember... YOU CAN'T CHANGE RULE #1.

If I could say something directly to the people in our society, it would be this. I know some of you will remember our brothers, but that's not good enough. I want you to honor them for what they did for you-that which they needn't have done. I'm not just talking about what they did on the day that "routine" call or stop went horribly bad. I mean what they did for you day after day, in darkness and light, rain or shine, on holidays and on their loved ones' birthdays, without ever expecting even a "thank you" in return. They volunteered to "Walk the Point.”

Link in this Blog:
Walking the Point: Male Initiation and the Vietnam Experience


Uu-ah Sheepdog! Hunt the Wolf and the Jackal!

On the Fifth Day of Christmas

On the Fifth Day of Christmas

Two great gifts to the world: Judeo-Christian values; and the United States of America.

Day Five-“We enjoy one of the world’s highest standards of living.”

Number 5 from “Twelve Great Reasons to Love a Great Country,” from The American Patriot’s Almanac, by William J. Bennett and John T.E. Cribb; Thomas Nelson, Inc., 2008

On the Fourth Day of Christmas

Two great gifts to the world: Judeo-Christian values; and the United States of America.

Day Four-“This is the place where dreams can come true.”

Number 4 from “Twelve Great Reasons to Love a Great Country,” from The American Patriot’s Almanac, by William J. Bennett and John T.E. Cribb; Thomas Nelson, Inc., 2008

Sheepdog Barking is Now a Twitter

I am trying to stay up with the latest and greatest Internet innervations. As such, I’ve joined Twitter as an augmentation and a pointer to this blog, Sheepdog Barking.

Twitter is a free blog community allowing a posting of no more than 140 characters at a time. The uniqueness of Twitter is that the reader can select and follow the postings of their favorite people, which are directly sent to the reader’s own Twitter site. Alternatively, the reader may go directly to the selected Twitter’s site just like any other blog.

The concept of Twitter is to allow writers to share the little everyday things in life. As the Twitter home page says:

Twitter is a service for friends, family, and co–workers to communicate and stay connected through the exchange of quick, frequent answers to one simple question: What are you doing?

For instance, a fellow Twitter might post that he is sitting in the backyard having a cup of coffee.” Yawn, like who really gives a fat rat’s a…?

Well, apparently a whole lot of people actually do because Twitter is very popular.

I won’t be putting up any such inane postings on Twitter, but I will be posting notifications of new blogs on Sheepdog Barking, and I’ll let you know bits of information that I find interesting. For example, I Twitter posted that Bill Bennett’s new book, The American Patriot’s Almanac, is a good read and that Al Martinez has a new blog piece up entitled, Up Paula’s Nose & Other Stories. My Al Martinez Twitter post has a direct link to his blog posting.

I have not yet figured out all the possibilities of using Twitter, but it seems quite convenient when you want to stay abreast of a limited number of people. So far, I am only following Hugh Hewitt and a For Sarah Palin Twitter accounts. I’ll gradually add more when I see who has posted substantive information.

My Twitter address is: http://twitter.com/SheepDogBarking

Can you believe it? What a twit I’ve become!

Links in this Blog:
SheepDog Barking on Twitter

Up Paula’s Nose & Other Stories

The American Patriot’s Almanac

On the Third Day of Christmas

Two great gifts to the world: Judeo-Christian values; and the United States of America.

Day Three- “No other country has done a better job of establishing equal rights for all citizens.”

Number 3 from “Twelve Great Reasons to Love a Great Country,” from The American Patriot’s Almanac, by William J. Bennett and John T.E. Cribb; Thomas Nelson, Inc., 2008

On the Second Day of Christmas

Two great gifts to the world: Judeo-Christian values; and the United States of America.

Day Two-“America really is the land of the free.”

Number 2 from "Twelve Great Reasons to Love a Great Country," from The American Patriot’s Almanac, by William J. Bennett and John T.E. Cribb; Thomas Nelson, Inc., 2008.

On the First Day of Christmas

Two great gifts to the world: Judeo-Christian values; and the United States of America.

Day One- “The United States was the first nation in history created out of the belief that people should govern themselves.”

Number 1 from "Twelve Great Reasons to Love a Great Country," The American Patriot’s Almanac, by William J. Bennett and John T.E. Cribb; Thomas Nelson, Inc., 2008.