Terry Bradshaw in Afghanistan

Terry doesn't sing like the Cactus Jr. High girls, but his heart is in the right place.

Our Flag is Still There

SheepDog Howls for Fallen Brethren

This morning, four of Lakewood Police Department, WA, officers lost their lives when a gunman burst into a coffee shop where they were completing paperwork on laptop computers. The killing is described as a “targeted ambush.”

This time, the SheepDogs did not have a chance to run toward the gunshots. Others will hunt down the Wolf.

Link in this Blog: 4 police officers shot dead at Wash. coffeehouse

Thanks-Veterans Day 2009

In honor of our veterans on Veterans Day 2009, re-published below is my post, “Saying Thanks With Old Glory.”


Saying Thanks With Old Glory

Friday, February 15, 2008

We were five off-highway dual sport motorcycle riders recently enjoying a long weekend in Death Valley exploring dirt roads avoided for years when riding our Harley Davidson motorcycles. Death Valley is a marvelous place for re-cementing relationships spanning many years.

Russ announced that he was packing a 5 foot by 3 foot American flag for the express purpose of displaying the flag should an American military jet pass by in his proximity. That fired-up the group’s enthusiasm. Not only do we love riding motorcycles, but also we avidly support our military. Russ’ plan was a fine token of appreciation for all that our military personnel do for us. And, the plan was not far-fetched since military jets routinely fly low and fast along the Panamint Valley skirting the Western edge of Death Valley National Park.

Homeward bound, two pick-up trucks loaded, we headed southbound on Highway 178. There was mellowness, tiredness, from two days of negotiating dirt/gravel byways and snow. Roads which tried their best to topple us should we get too slow and allow the front wheel to plow. One second you’re upright, and the next you are down, or struggling to keep the motorcycle from pitching you head over heels.

Then it happened: on the horizon coming toward us; two F-16’s fast and low.

Russ slowed his truck to a stop, and I bailed out from the passenger side struggling to deploy Russ’ flag. The lead F-16 passed just to the West of us at about 500 feet of elevation, and I’m not sure that I got the flag out in time for the pilot to see it. But three seconds later, Ol’ Glory was fully displayed for the Wingman, who came straight up the road, northbound, and directly over our heads. If you have never had a close-up experience with a low flying military jet, let me tell you this: it is an incredible sight and sound to behold.

Russ and I were high-fiving when I observed that both jets were banking to a southbound heading. I shouted to Russ that they were going to come around for another pass. I can imagine the radio conversation between the pilots.

Wingman to Leader: “Did you see those guys holding up Ol’ Glory? Let’s go around.”

Leader to Wingman: “Roger. There are two stopped vehicles about a mile apart. I’ll take the first, and you take the second.”

Wingman to Leader: “Roger that.”

The leading jet buzzed our partners and climbed up and away to the Southwest. Seconds later, Wingman flew over our partners, descended to about 200 feet off the deck and thundered up the road directly at us. Russ and I, holding Ol’ Glory stretched out between us, were eye-ball to eye-ball with Wingman. Whooom, he passed over us and immediately pulled a high-g ascent: as straight up as an F-16 can do; propelled by the flaming jet engine; followed with a barrel roll. Wingman was gone as fast as he arrived leaving us with the smell of jet fuel and a memory of a lifetime. Russ and I went nuts, like a couple of kids.

That’s the way it happened when we said, “Thank You.” And, they said, “You are Welcome.”

Uu-Ah Sgt. Kimberly Munley!

She ran toward the gunfire!

She did what she is trained to do!

She did what is in her heart!

She did what we expect of her!

Link in this Blog: Friends hail police Sgt. Kimberly Munley for taking down Fort Hood gunman, Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan

Hugo Chaves Not as Crazy as I Thought

“CARACAS (Reuters) - Venezuela's socialist leader Hugo Chavez said on Sunday that U.S. President Barack Obama had done nothing beyond wishful thinking to earn the Nobel Peace Prize.”

Link in this Blog: Chavez says Obama did "nothing" to deserve Nobel

Badge Dangles From My Neck No More

It is still there; dangling from a chain slung around my neck. Badge has been there for the last twenty years of a thirty year career. Before it resided on a chain, it graced a dark blue uniform. For the last two decades, display on a uniform has usually been on account of the funeral for a fallen colleague.

Badge has the word “Detective” arched over its top and a number below. Badge’s finish is again worn off due to the natural corrosive action of living against my chest. It’s been refinished before, and it will be again, just before it is encapsulated in a block of clear Lucite. Soon it will reside among a plethora of mementos occupying its own space in my home office display case.

Unlike the mementos of memories, Badge epitomizes the essence and nobleness of the law enforcement career. Badge symbolizes the public’s acknowledgement that a minority of society must be empowered to walk in the dark protecting against the human predators who feast upon the majority.

Actually, I’ve carried two badges. The other one is a flat badge in my wallet. Truth be known, I’ve carried Flat Badge far more than Badge because Flat Badge was always with me, adjacent to my police ID, both on and off-duty. Nevertheless, I don’t have a visceral connection with Flat Badge, and it will be turned in with my other equipment.

Tomorrow I will be issued a new Flat Badge with the word, “Retired.”

Throwing It Away on the 65th Anniversary of D-Day

In 1984, on the occasion of the 40th anniversary of the invasion of Normandy, President Ronald Reagan spoke of the sacrifices Americans made in the quest of freedom for the European continent. Now in 2009, we see that Europeans discarded much of the potential liberty won by the Allies. Europeans first compromised their personal liberties by instituting socialist policies. Today, they continue to relinquish their potential freedoms to the demands of a growing Euroarabia. Witness the judicial and bureaucratic persecution of Dutch Parliamentarian Geert Wilders for his outspoken opposition to the violence associated with radical Islam. In the U.S., we call such speech “free speech,” a value of extreme importance.

Disgraceful as the European socialist path may be, the United States embarked on its own path of socialism with the establishment of the Social Security Administration and subsequent social programs. U.S. socialism is suddenly in fast forward with the election of a president in lock-step with the European cultural version of Russian Roulette.

The American people have no one to blame except themselves for electing governmental representatives and a president who willfully discards their personal freedoms in favor of a socialist form of government and a weak foreign policy that invites our enemies to do their will on our culture and society.

Pres. Barack Obama is bent on apologizing to the world for all sorts of things that the U.S. has or has not done. In the spirit of Obama, it would be appropriate on this historic anniversary to offer an apology to our European brethren for having killed European citizens in the quest to liberate them from Nazi fascism.

The liberation gave Europeans the opportunity to improve their level of personal liberties to match the American model. Europe did not choose to do so.

Disdainful as I am of the European model, I am reminded of the adage that “people who live in glass houses should not throw stones.” I am empathetic with freedom loving Europeans who watched impotently these many years as their governments pandered away the hard earned potential for personal liberty.

Sixty five years after the Allied troops waded ashore and bled on the beaches of Normandy for Europeans, the majority American electorate is eroding away its own hard earned liberties originally paid for with the blood of the American founders over two hundred years ago.

Our forefathers threw off the yoke of tyranny and struck out on a new adventure so well justified in the opening paragraph of the Declaration of Independence.

When in the Course of human events it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation. 1

In the long run, the insidious relinquishment of liberty is no less dangerous than the boot heel of conquering tyrants.

Thomas Jefferson stated, "The tree of life must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants."

What will it take to reverse the deterioration of the United States of America? Our liberties certainly need to be refreshed.

Link in this Blog:
1. Declaration of Independence

With Gun in Hand

Mama, take this badge off of me
I cant use it anymore.
Its gettin dark, too dark for me to see
I feel like Im knockin on heavens door

Knock, knock, knockin on heavens door

Mama, put my guns in the ground
I cant shoot them anymore.
That long black cloud is comin down
I feel like Im knockin on heavens door.

Knock, knock, knockin on heavens door

Bob Dylan sang these lyrics as mortally wounded Sheriff Colin Baker staggers toward a river once destined to float him away in retirement.

Carson City Marshal Walter J. Thibido needlessly worries about what will happen to his family should he be killed by former lawman and shootist John Bernard (J.B.) Books.

Two shotgun blasts in the back mortally wound J.B. Books. He nods in acknowledgement when Gilliom Rogers throws away the handgun he just used to kill Books’ assailant.

Failing to capture a serial killer, Sheriff Ed Tom Bell retires and he and his wife sit at the kitchen table while he recounts a dream he had about his deceased father, a Sheriff in his own right, leading Ed Bell into eternity.

All of this in three movies, Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid, The Shootist and No Country for Old Men, which examine the close of police careers steeped in violence.

One of my law enforcement brothers stated, “Previously, I was a hired gun. Now I am a member of a community.” He’s still a law enforcement officer, but he’s learned something.

Pat Garrett and Sheriff Baker both represented the “hired gun” theme. Garrett alternated between outlaw and lawman. Baker returned the “piece of gold” he required to assist Pat Garrett in hunting for Billy the Kid.

Books was seen by the public as a shootist, a gunman, and thus perhaps a character not dissimilar to the opportunist and morally bankrupt Pat Garrett. The original The Shootist screenplay called for J.B. Books to backshoot an adversary. But, John Wayne refused to play it that way explaining that he had never shot anyone in the back in any movie that he had ever done.

Further arguing in opposition to the characterization, Books embodied the ideals of self sufficiency and fairness in purpose and action. He stated, "I won't be wronged, I won't be insulted, and I won't be laid a hand on. I don't do these things to other people, and I require the same from them." But, what he did not say is that he would not abide the same done to those who cannot defend themselves. And, that is the role of the moral law enforcement officer.

Real cop life does have an element of the “hired gun” in it because society empowers officers with the authority to use deadly force when necessary to protect life. Fortunately, the anti-heroic moral relativism showcased by the spaghetti westerns of Clint Eastwood is not representative of modern police work. Eastwood’s work virtually ended the idealized good guy vs. bad guy storyline of the prior Western genre of films.

Most officers don’t think of themselves as hired guns, and they are just trying to get through the day by doing the right thing and not getting killed. Marshal Thibido and Sheriff Bell were such characters.

Upon retirement, some cops, like Sheriff Bell, struggle to adjust to a civilian life style incongruent with the essence of their adult identity creating a new void in their lives.

A dear friend and retired career law enforcement warrior warned me that I am “too invested” in the political issues enveloping and suffocating the soul of career law enforcement officers. And, perhaps I am too invested for my own good. It’s not in the script for Baker, Books and Bell, but I have a passion that is reason enough for me, grandchildren.

When I am knocking on heaven’s door, I want to be able to know that I made my best effort to influence the system to protect my grandbabies from those who wish them harm. I want to impart something to my grandbabies that will help them cope with the world’s dimming prospects for liberty.

Until that door opens for me, I pray that I retain the mental capacity to wield my pen in warning. That’s one way to address a threat.

When it becomes my time to only carry a retired law enforcement badge, I will not lay down my guns discarding the duty I accepted all these years as a hired gun for the American people. By God, if I can carry a gun for strangers, I can certainly carry one for my kin. That’s a second way to address a threat.

I was in a public park the other day for a family gathering. There was a gun in my pocket. Nobody knew about it, but it was there if a Wolf needed neutralizing.

"I won't be wronged, I won't be insulted, and I won't be laid a hand on. I don't do these things to other people, and I require the same from them." And, I won’t let anyone do it to my loved ones.

The honored badge will be in my wallet and the gun will still be in my hand when it is my turn to step through the door.

Obama is Milk Toast on the Somali Pirates

“Don’t tread on me” is definitely not the motto of Pres. Barack Obama. It is beginning to look like Obama’s is more comfortable as a “milk toast.”

The Somali pirates didn't suddenly appear over the last few years, they evolved over more than a decade of trial and error. A major assist with this is that the international anti-piracy patrol off Somalia is obsessed with avoiding violence, or punishment. The warships rarely fire on pirates, even when they catch the pirates in the act. When pirates are captured, they are usually released. When four armed pirates, and an American ship captain, were cornered recently, the president of the United States would not allow force to be used, until after first letting negotiations proceed for three days. Finally, on the fourth day, a local commander put his career on the line, and ordered the SEAL snipers to kill the recalcitrant pirates, and end the standoff. But that was the exception. 1

The President risked the life of Captain Phillips for three days? According to the quote above, it appears that the Naval Commander acted without the President’s concurrence.

I give the President the benefit of the doubt. In the future, perhaps the President can just be honest and say, “Baaa, Baaa.” The possibility that the President is far worse is too horrifying to contemplate.

“Uu-ah!” to the Naval Commander.

Link in this Blog:
1. The Silent Somali Piracy Pact

Know the Enemy

Go to this link and view “An Alarming video every Westerner should see.”

Beyond the Century of the Wolf

I dubbed the Twentieth Century the “Century of the Wolf.” A hundred years despoiled and drenched in blood by Wolves in the macro. Opening with German aggression and World War I, it continued: with World War II, courtesy of German, Italian, and Japanese fascism; and endured the ravages of Communism; and closed with the rise of Islamo-fascism.

Standing between the people and totalitarianism are SheepDogs. The U.S. Commander-in-Chief is supposed to be the top SheepDog because he is at the head of the Free World.

Let’s review: What is this SheepDog and Wolf imagery?

Most people in the world are Sheep, and they share that commonality regardless of whether they live in freedom or under the suppressive thumb of tyranny. Sheep are everyday people struggling down the path of life looking to provide for their families. The key characteristic of Sheep is that they do not prepare for nor actively engage in self-protection. The ostrich with his head stuck in the sand is a competing analogy.

Sheep are preyed upon by Wolves who include criminals, fascists (Islamo and otherwise), and Communist tyrants. Wolves come in micro and macro versions, individuals and political systems respectively.

Wolves and SheepDogs share common ground in that they are both predators, but 180 degrees apart on the moral compass. SheepDogs battle Wolves and protect the Sheep by running toward the Wolf’s gunfire; gunfire which sends Sheep stampeding in the opposite direction.

There are not enough SheepDogs to protect the people. Fortunately, under dire communal circumstances a portion of the Sheep rise to the occasion by responding to a SheepDog attribute hidden deep within their Sheep DNA. If it were not for this covert characteristic, society on a world-wide scale would degenerate into anarchy and despotism. On the flip side, another portion of the Sheep likewise responds to and facilitates the leadership of enslaving despots.

What are freedom loving people to do when the default leader of the Free World does not demonstrate a SheepDog persona, and he panders to and sucks up to the Wolf leaders of antagonist countries?

Pres. Barack Obama’s recent trips abroad don’t portend well for freedom loving people when he doesn’t see the necessity to underscore traditional American values, values that lead the world to freedom. Where was the President’s strong response when the Latin American Wolf pups nipped at his heels?

Latin American leaders railed against the U.S. during President Barack Obama’s first trip to the region, turning what was intended to mark a new direction in relations into a history lesson that chastised “Yankee troop” interventions and U.S.-dictated economic policies. 1

Instead the President cheerfully accepted a leftist book excoriating the United States and Europe. If the United States had not actively combated the spread of Communism, more Latin American countries would have endured the Communist slaughter visited upon Cuba.

Venezuelan President Hugo Chaves, who last month called Obama an "ignoramus” when it comes to Latin America, today gave Obama a Spanish-language copy of Uruguayan historian Eduardo Galeano’s book “Open Veins of Latin America: Five Centuries of the Pillage of a Continent.” 1

The Twenty-first Century finds the Wolf alive and snarling. Too bad the world’s greatest hope for freedom is now led by a president who appears all too willing to suckle and take comfort at the tit of leftism, fascism, Communism and tyranny. The new President is actively dismantling the previously gutted intelligence and military apparatus that was reviving under the leadership of President George W. Bush.

Samuel Adams would roll over in his grave if he knew what the American public has done to his beloved country. Heed Adams’ words,

"Contemplate the mangled bodies of your countrymen, and then say, 'What should be the reward of such sacrifices?' ... If ye love wealth better than liberty, the tranquility of servitude than the animating contest of freedom, go from us in peace. We ask not your counsels or arms. Crouch down and lick the hands which feed you. May your chains sit lightly upon you, and may posterity forget that ye were our countrymen!"

With the backdrop of a morally bankrupt main stream media, a combination of Sheep passivism, leftist ideology, disdain for the arrogant Clintons, and American voter ignorance and shallowness came together and elected a slick talking, no credentialed, minor league Senator who had the good fortune to come along at a time when Americans are eager to demonstrate that they have moved beyond the corrosiveness of slavery and racial prejudice.

The survival of the Free World depends upon a SheepDog American president. A presidential Sheep or a possible Wolf in Sheep’s clothing is suicidal. We lived through the “Century of the Wolf,” but it looks as if the Wolves are breeding, and we are in for a rough Twenty-first Century.

Link in this Blog:
1. Obama Gets History Lesson From Latin American Leaders (Update1)

Update 4/21/09: After doing the research for this piece, I thought that the phrase “Century of the Wolf” was first created by me. Subsequently, I’ve found a reference showing that Osip Emil'evich Mandel'shtam (1891-1938?) used the phrase as the title of a poem.

My Wish for the Somali Pirates

Without making a judgment on the performance of our military at the site of the Somali pirates holding Captain Richard Phillips hostage in the life raft, I wish that the military was in the position to cancel the tickets of the pirates when the Captain jumped overboard in his bid to escape. A Navy patrol boat could have laid down suppressive fire with the largest caliber weapons on board and not released the trigger until the lifeboat was reduced to flotsam. Then the Navy could have plucked the grinning Captain Phillips out of the water before the sharks began feasting upon the Somali pirate detritus.

Update 4/12/09: Navy SEAL Snipers hit the pirates and the Navy rescued Cpt. Phillips. Uu-ah!

Basketball Game Worth Watching

Is the March Madness insanity over? Oh well, it is college basketball and has some redeeming value. But, what can you say about those pompous, self-centered basketball pros who are worshiped by Americans without a life?

Get back to the real value of sports. Watch this video of a basketball story worth seeing.

The Hairless Court of St. Baldrick’s

Once upon a time, luxurious dark tresses cascaded below the princess’ shoulders, and her many suitors dreamed of the day that they might win the favor of combing their fingers through the object of their desire. The fantasy dissolved on March 19, 2009, as Cynthia’s locks tumbled to the feet of the barber. Inconsolable with grief, the SheepDog pack of 13 stepped forward in allegiance with their heroine, who sacrificed her locks to benefit children with cancer. In turn, each SheepDog was shorn, and his anguish transformed into joy as he joined his brethren encircling their idol to create the Jackson Police Department’s Hairless Court of St. Baldrick’s.

A few months back, several of my partners and I were rendered bald for the cause of defeating children’s cancer. The event sponsor was the St. Baldrick’s Foundation. Here’s how the foundations describes itself.

St. Baldrick's is the world's largest volunteer-driven fundraising event for childhood cancer research. The St. Baldrick's name is a whimsical twist on St. Patrick's Day. At St. Baldrick's events all throughout the year, brave volunteers shave their heads, raising funds for childhood cancer research. Like runners in a marathon, "shavees" collect donations from friends, family and associates. The St. Baldrick's Foundation receives these funds and makes grants to research experts to find new and better cures for fighting kids cancer. 1

For many guys getting bald is all the rage, so I did not consider it a particularly big deal to cut off my hair for the kiddies. But, women deliberately going bald?

It may be news to the public-at-large, but it’s not news to the St. Baldrick’s community that most women are willing to shave their heads for a good cause. 1

A recent poll conducted by the Oxygen television network revealed that 75% of women polled (ages 18-34) would shave their heads to save the life of a stranger. News to us? Not at all. Since 2000, over 7,100 women have shaved their heads to raise funds for childhood cancer research. Add to that another 1,886 currently registered to go bald in 2009! 1

The employees and friends of the Jackson, WY, Police Department joined the cause. The team raised $8,531 with top fundraiser Cynthia Riedel coming in with $3,980. Way to go, Cynthia and team!

Volunteering in the benefit of charitable organizations, beyond just donating money, is a marvelous way to contribute to a positive aspect of society. Besides doing something good for others, the personal benefits are inestimable.

SheepDogs, there is so much more that you can do, so much more to contribute, other than running toward the gunfire.

Members of the flock, there is so many more of you than SheepDogs. You can make the biggest impact. Step forward and walk the path holding the hands of your fellow humans in need.

Cynthia and her Hairless Court of St. Baldrick’s is one way to do it. Pick your favorite and dive in. The water is fine.

Links in this Blog:
1. St. Baldrick’s Foundation

2. Jackson Police Department and Friends

Stigmatized and Narcissistic

Dennis Prager, national talk show host, educator, author and lecturer, is a dedicated advocate for the protection of children’s “innocence” in our sexually permissive and exploitive society.

On the Best of Dennis radio show on 3/27/09, David from Sherman Oaks called in and reported that he is a member of a swim club that uses the facilities of a public swimming pool. David stated, “…fathers who don’t wish to leave small children unattended have been bringing them into the locker room including very young daughters…” David opined that the girls were three-four years old, and he stated that he is uncomfortable having to undress in the young girls’ presence. David said that the pool management was not sympathetic to his plight.

David apparently believes that his self-consciousness in front of three-four year old girls trumps the safety of small children, and the fathers should leave the children unattended, or perhaps not frequent public swimming pools.

Dennis Prager strongly agreed with David’s complaint about being exposed nude to the girls. Dennis stated that the innocence of nude young children is between children and does not apply to the presence of a nude adult male.

Dennis recounted that at the age of four he attended a summer camp wherein the boys and girls were together in “total innocence.” But, if a male adult had walked around (nude) “it would have been very upsetting to all of us.”

Dennis reported many years ago that his then approximately ten year old son was once on a Greek beach in the presence of topless women. Dennis stated that his son could not have cared less about the women as he went about his beach play activity. Is Dennis now saying that adult male nudity is inherently more unsettling than adult female nudity?

Dennis also wondered about: what “these fathers think when they bring their kid (to the locker room)?”; “Does your little girl see you naked?”; and “I am sure that these fathers do not walk around naked in front of their little girls so why would they expect other men to walk around naked?” Dennis, are you thinking that these fathers bring their little girls into the locker room and then hide from them when changing and showering?

David’s discomfort with being seen naked by a child is disconcerting because it may signal an adult fixation on the human body as predominantly sexual. David only voiced uncomfortableness when naked in front of little girls. But, that is not the case with many males today, especially the young, who are hiding from other males.

I take my grand children swimming at the YMCA. Recently my seven and eight year old grandsons and I finished swimming, and we took off our swimming suits in a shower room full of males. Most males do that, but that’s changing. Neither of my grandsons had any problem showering or walking around naked in front of others. But, when my eldest grandson was about to get dressed he started to string up a towel to shield his nakedness. I asked him why he was doing so, and he stated that he did not want anyone to see him. I asked him if he was trying to hide because he possessed something that no one else had. He immediately took down the towel and proceeded as if nothing had occurred. My grandson is comfortable being naked while showering, but something about getting dressed caused him to seek cover. Someone is influencing my grandson to be uncomfortable with his body in the context of getting dressed. Fortunately, my question disrupted that context and put him at ease.

The explanation that young males are hiding themselves from other males because there is so much child sexual abuse is unsubstantiated by the facts. These children are expressing a learned adult prejudice which probably expresses itself in subsequent adulthood as narcissism.

I believe Dennis is reacting to his deep attachment to the precepts of modesty as expressed by his understanding of Judaism. I had the same modesty upbringing under Christianity. I grew up in a household of males, and until I was in college I never saw my mother so much as topless, much less naked. I was embarrassed in the third grade when female classmates were ogling a photo of a nude male statue in the dictionary.

At age twelve, I had a paper route and happened upon a nude female about three years of age. My proximity to her resulted in the police paying a visit to my home that evening. I was embarrassed, humiliated and scared simply because I was curious and had never seen a naked female.

As a teenager and a sexual late bloomer, I had virtually no concept about the female anatomy beyond a gross generalization. On a beach I observed two teenagers and the boy had his hands down the front of the girl’s bikini bottom. He was rubbing his hand forward and backward, and I thought him foolish because his actions could not have accomplished anything for her satisfaction. I had not yet learned anything about the clitoris.

Certainly there is much to admire from the wisdom of religion. But, sometimes ancient wisdom can become a stifling yoke of subjugation and ignorance.

From “YMCA Doesn’t Stand for Christian or Male Anymore and You Can’t Go Nude.”

“A child is born into this world without self-consciousness, and he must be
taught to be ashamed of his nude body. That’s an unhealthy religious/cultural consequence of immense impact. It is the melding of nudity and sex as the former is stigmatized by the “sinfulness” of the latter.”

Link in this Blog:
YMCA Doesn’t Stand for Christian or Male Anymore and You Can’t Go Nude

SheepDogs Are Not Enough

A black parolee murdered four Oakland, CA, police officers. Slain were the SheepDog protectors of society.

The race of the perpetrator is important here because the framework of race has everything to do with the environment in which this scumbag robbed, raped and murdered. Nevertheless, the environment within which he grew up is no excuse for his behavior, and it is fortunate for society that he also died there.

Mixon, who was released from prison late last year after serving a sentence for violating his parole for a San Francisco-related robbery shooting, was a suspect in the Dec. 30, 2007, murder of Ramon Stevens, 42, but witnesses did not come forward, investigators said. And now police have confirmed that DNA evidence from a state laboratory possibly links Mixon to the rape of a 12-year-old girl in February near the 74th Avenue apartment,… 1

Reaction to the events within the community is varied. One news piece reported,

As Oakland struggled for answers Sunday in the somber aftermath of its deadliest police shooting, the family of the parolee who killed three officers and left another brain-dead, before being gunned down himself, could offer one. 2

One woman said that neighbors were slow to give police information.

She said neighbors knew immediately where Mixon had run, but they didn't tell police — who combed the neighborhood — until nearly an hour later. But in East Oakland, lamented the woman, Elaine, who didn't give her last name, that cooperation doesn't easily happen. 2

"It makes you feel bad," she said, wiping her eyes steps from blood spatters that clung stubbornly to a broken sidewalk on 74th Avenue. "But you just don't want to be a snitch. The word, 'snitch,' it's almost worse than murderer." 2

Interviewed on this incident, which came on the heels of the shooting of a black man, Oscar Grant, by a white BART police officer, an Oakland resident was quoted.

"All we want is respect," said Everstine Martin, whose husband is pastor at Prayer Mission Pentecostal Church on MacArthur Boulevard, and says she has lived in the neighborhood for 40 years. "I see police harassing people for no reason. Everyday, they are in this neighborhood casing the area. Do I think this is about Oscar Grant? No. But I would like to see more respect on both sides." 2

It is not hard to understand the mentality and words of the murderer’s family, neighbors and a religious representative. These people live in an urban war zone, and they express the realities of their existence. They are simultaneously victimized by and relate to on some level with their own victimizers.

Historical slavery and systematic cultural/governmental racism supported by law enforcement set the stage for a black suspicion that continues to exist to this day. A poisonous environment exists, in part, due to the destruction of the nuclear family through the implementation of standard liberal social policies of victimization and entitlement.

Prominent liberal whites and blacks don’t live in the blighted communities, and their children do not go to the dangerous schools. The white liberals bask in their “white guilt,” and black liberals manipulate that guilt to politically push a social policy which feeds the cancer enveloping black lower socioeconomic communities.

Through the ghetto cultural prism, it is no wonder that Everstine Martin sees law enforcement demons wherever she looks. Mrs. Martin fails to acknowledge that police activity occurs in her community precisely because members of her own community are rotten to the core, and they have the propensity to prey upon the very same community.

Four police officers are dead and four families are destroyed because of a human predator, a Wolf, the victimizer of SheepDogs and Sheep within his own community. Emotionally, I sometimes think thoughts such as abandon the ghetto communities populated by people who don’t want to “snitch.” Abandon the ghetto communities with people who just want “respect,” without extending a modicum of effort to earn it.

But, there are major intellectual problems with my emotional dark thoughts. There is no way to abandon the ghettos or to isolate them away from the rest of society. The residents of the black ghetto community are the daily targets of their own predatory people, who beat, rob, murder and rape with impunity. The community is caught in a downward spiral of social disintegration driven by drugs, crime and poverty. Accompanying the social disintegration is the degeneration of positive values. That’s why snitching is “…almost worse than murderer."

Despite the environment in which they live, most of the black ghetto community is not populated with criminals. The residents are the living result of a broken liberal social system inaugurated by Pres. Lyndon Johnson’s “Great Society” fresh on the heels of the truly “great” social advancements of the National Voting Rights Act and the forced school desegregation.

Fortunately for the black ghetto community, there are SheepDogs willing to risk their lives for people of whom they have never met. Sometimes the SheepDogs do lose their lives, and we cry. We cry for Sgt. Mark Dunakin, Officer John Hege, Sgt. Erv Romans and Sgt. Dan Sakai.

I welcome the death, by a hail of police bullets, of the degenerate excuse of a human who caused so much misery to both citizens and law enforcement. His death won’t alleviate the misery of: a young raped girl; a robbery victim; the assault victim; or the families of the murdered. But, it did remove from society a small part of the cancer.

Uu-ah My Brother SheepDogs! Hunt the Wolf! And, God help you good citizens of the ghettos because SheepDogs are not enough.

Links in this Blog:
1. Parolee stood over stricken police officers and fired again

2. Cop killer was depressed about heading back to prison, family says

Previous Blog on the Subject:
Brother SheepDogs Pay the Price, Again

Brother SheepDogs Pay the Price, Again

Three Oakland, CA, police officers were slain and one gravely wounded yesterday.

Every SheepDog knows and accepts that he can suffer a like fate. Nevertheless, the news is numbing.

Three Oakland police officers and a suspect are dead, and another officer is in grave condition, after two related shootings on Saturday, the first after a traffic stop and the second after a massive manhunt ended in gunfire, police said.

The slain officers were identified as Sgt. Mark Dunakin, 40, who was killed at the first shooting. The two members of the SWAT team who were killed at the second location were Sgt. Ervin Romans, 43, and Sgt. Daniel Sakai, 35. Officer John Hege, 41, is in grave condition.

Brother SheepDogs, you hunted the Wolf and paid the Warrior’s price.

Uu-ah Brothers Mark Dunakin, Ervin Romans and Daniel Sakai! May you rest in peace.

Uu-ah Brother John Hege! May you heal and return to the good fight with your Brothers-in-Arms.

UPDATE 3/22/09 1952 hours: Officer John Hege has been declared brain dead.

Links in this Blog:
Three Oakland Officers Slain, Fourth Critical

Follow up Blog 3/26/09:
SheepDogs Are Not Enough

Delusional Am I?

After 30 years in law enforcement, you’d think that I would have no faith in mankind when it comes to issues of decency and critical thinking skills. But, I actually do have faith because I have seen the heart of the SheepDog. That does not mean that I am oblivious to the abundant evidence to the contrary.

What evidence might you ask? Well, take the election of President Obama. There is an excellent example of the lack of critical thinking skills. To all who voted for President Obama, give out a great big “baaaaa, baaaaa.”

As for indecency and a lack of critical thinking skills, here’s a good example. South African males are raping lesbians to “cure” them from being lesbian. Damn decent of those males, don’t you think?

Lesbians living in South Africa are being raped by men who believe it will 'cure' them of their sexual orientation…

Women are reporting a rising tide of brutal homophobic attacks and murders and the widespread use of 'corrective' rape as a form of punishment.

Take that baby, it is for your own good!

Apparently, the South African authorities are not taking the attacks seriously.

The report, commissioned by international NGO ActionAid, called for South Africa's criminal justice system to recognise the rapes as hate crimes as police are reportedly failing to take action over the spiralling violence.

What does that tell you about the core values of a country?

Alas, there is no end to the idiocy and depravity of the human animal.

Faith in mankind? Perhaps I am delusional.

Link in this Blog:
South African men are 'raping women to cure them of being lesbians'

Eighty Nine and Counting, SheepDog Call to Arms

En route to breakfast, I spotted it standing by itself on the curb. Splendid in its coat of yellow, it stood as a sentinel reminding all who would take notice that there are firemen waiting to rush to our assistance should a fire threaten all that is dear to us. How come fire hydrants are not painted red anymore? Maybe that went out of style along with red fire engines.

Are you wondering why on earth I am writing about fire hydrants? It’s Lt. Col. Dave Grossman’s fault. You see, I attended one of the LtC’s presentations the other day, and he made a big point about how firemen are always prepared with the tools of their trade. No one ever bad mouths a fireman for having a fire extinguisher or an ax readily at hand.

Some people raise their eyebrows at the prospect of police officers carrying concealed firearms while off-duty. Well, maybe not quite as many of us carry concealed as we should. That was precisely the LtC’s point. He suggested that SheepDogs think about our rights and responsibilities to be armed off-duty. LtC suggested that every time that a SheepDog sees a fire hydrant he should be reminded that if he is unarmed he is unprepared and he might just as well say “Baaaa.”

It’s bad form that many SheepDogs don’t keep the tools of their trade readily at hand, but it is immoral that American leftists are determined to nullify and restrict the Constitutional right to gun ownership. Leftists don’t want the public to have firearms to protect themselves. And, tyrannies never allow their citizens to own guns. There is no deniability of either fact. Is it a coincidence? As the LtC is fond of stating, “Denial has no survival value.”

On the less than 10 mile drive to breakfast, I saw 89 fire hydrants. The fire people are prepared for their job. Come on SheepDogs, let’s each be sure that we are prepared mentally and have at hand the right equipment if we are called upon to defend against the Wolf sinking his fangs into our world. You can’t successfully run toward the gunfire if you are not prepared to take action. And, if you are not running forward, you forfeit the title of SheepDog and become a Sheep.

As I counted fire hydrants, I was prepared with a firearm and a mission go-bag.

Uu-ah LtC! Keep the faith, and preach the word.

Links in this Blog:
Lt Col. Dave Grossman: Killology

Lt. Col. Dave Grossman: Warrior Science

The Messiah Needs the TelePrompter Crutch

Anyone who routinely lectures can appreciate the problems public speaking can cause the President. It is one thing to make repetitive talks and quite another when each speech is unique in and of itself.

At one point in my career, I gave repetitive presentations to public groups on the same general subject matter. The repetitiveness gave me the opportunity to see what worked with the crowd and what did not. I had the opportunity to hone the speech over time and each lecture became nearly extemporaneous.

There is great potential power in an extemporaneous speech because it can portray passion and personal sincerity far better than reading prepared remarks. There is also great risk if you misspeak.

For the President, every utterance in a speech will be dissected and discussed ad infinitum with serious consequences both pro and con.

President George W. Bush was continually bashed and mocked for his public presentations, and yet you knew that he was sincere. You knew it because it was obvious that he often spoke from the heart.

When the Messiah, excuse me Barack Obama, came on the national scene he was touted as a great orator. No he was not, and President Obama is not a great orator. The great orator claim is another mainstream media lie. President Obama is a great reader of a written speech, and he needs a teleprompter to adequately read the prepared words.

President Obama knows his public speech handicap, and he hauls around a teleprompter for even the shortest of presentations. My pre-Presidential election piece “Obama is Inarticulate When Not Scripted,” has a video of the tongue-tied, bumbling Obama when his teleprompter malfunctions. Now the mainstream media is beginning to comment on his continual use of the teleprompter. See the link listed below.

The public has no way of knowing what is in the heart of President Obama when he gives a speech. Every word is crafted by a speech writer and tailored for political purposes.

For the mainstream media to even mention the teleprompter issue is a sign that the honeymoon glow is already fading from the Barack Obama presidency.

Links in this Blog:
Obama is Inarticulate When Not Scripted

Obama's safety net: the TelePrompter

Hey Doc, Your License Says MD Not GOD

During Bill Clinton’s presidency, Hillary Clinton made a fiasco of her attempt to institute a national health care system. Detractors pointed out that national health systems do not deliver the healthcare excellence that they purport to do and fall far short of private medical health care systems. Pres. Obama is about to launch his own national healthcare system and there is no reason to suppose that it will be any better than the British National Healthcare System. Here’s a 2006 report about British doctors rationing health care and hastening the deaths for people deemed unworthy of receiving care.

New figures reveal that 3,000 patients were helped to die by doctors breaking the law in the UK last year, and 192,000 people had their deaths accelerated by medics. Midland doctor RITA PAL accuses medics of playing God with people's lives. 1

…idealistic values have little place in today's NHS. Hospitals are so under-staffed and under-funded that they become treatment factories condoning a 'survival of the fittest' policy. 1

The elderly, disabled, confused - those who are least able to form a rapport with doctors - become an intolerable burden on an over-stretched health system.1

Before long, a consultant will make the decision to withdraw treatment in their 'best interests'.1

The decision is actually based on an assessment of the patient's quality of life versus the potential resource consumption. Unfortunately, the assessment is rarely either detailed or objective. 1

Doctors are so busy and tired that they make subjective decisions nfluenced
by their own culture, upbringing and opinions.1

If the patient's condition does not permit a quality of life that the doctor would personally find acceptable, it is assumed that the life is not worth living and treatment is withdrawn.1

These decisions are often unknown to relatives. 1

I hear the justification of 'best interests' echoed through every NHS ward. I often turn away and wonder how death could possibly be considered in the patient's 'best interest'.1

The foregoing article articulates serious shortcomings in socialized medicine. I had some of the same observations and suspicions during a recent experience in a Southern California hospital where my 92 year old aunt was being treated. I wrote about the experience, and the piece is entitled, “How Shall My Aunt Die?”

My aunt’s attending hospital doctor appears to be Persian. Could he be injecting Middle Eastern cultural bias into his medical judgment? If it had been my uncle in similar circumstances, would the doctor recommend the same course of action?

Then again, maybe the doctor got his medical training in the U.K. and he was simply expressing the national healthcare model and my aunt was the unfortunate victim of “benevolent” socialized medical thinking.

Links in this Blog:
1. Doctors playing God with lives

2. How Shall My Aunt Die?

How Shall My Aunt Die?

The corollary to the question posed in the title of this blog is, “What Part Do I Play in Her Death?”

My aunt is 92 years old and has Myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS) of which she is never going to recover. Since oncological remedies are rigorous beyond what my aunt wishes to endure, she elected to live out her days with few medical innervations and spend her last days as comfortable as possible. To date, that includes a monthly blood transfusion, which is time consuming but not particularly an onerous procedure.

My aunt is a resilient woman. She was once on Hospice in northern California for her MDS condition, but recovered to such an extent that she was taken off Hospice. She again lived on her own doing everything for herself save driving. As bad luck would have it: she had a fall and injured an arm; ended up in the hospital; and subsequently spent a week or so in a rehab center. The hospital/rehab stint resulted in her deteriorating to the status of a bedridden invalid failing rapidly. The rehab center said that they could do nothing further and discharged her.

My aunt was in such a bad state that she was unable to be transported via a passenger car, and I had her transported 300 miles in an ambulance to my residence. By the time my aunt reached my house, she had dramatically improved. It is amazing what the mind can do when the person feels connected to caring family and not left in the charge of outside facility caregivers. Since her arrival five months ago, she has recovered much of her lost ground.

Now my aunt is enduring a hospital stint for a bout of pneumonia. The hospital admitting doctor took me aside and stridently argued for my aunt to again become a Hospice patient. His point was that she is never going to get better due to the MDS, and with the start of dementia, she is going to become a revolving door with pneumonia and other unspecified problems. He stated that he would not write an order for her to receive a blood transfusion.

I’ve got some problems with the doctor’s bleak assessment and his pushing of Hospice. Yes, he is correct in a long-term prognosis, but it is not, in my estimation, my aunt’s reality today. Her beginning dementia is greatly reduced with medication, and it is not possible to know her future mental condition. Today, she is mostly alert, lucid, cognizant as to time, date and place, and engages intelligently in conversation. Yes, she will brush her teeth and then forget that she has done so and brushes her teeth a second time. Most importantly, my aunt wishes to continue receiving her monthly blood transfusions. If my aunt is admitted to Hospice, the transfusions will cease. She must receive a transfusion soon or within a couple of weeks her hemoglobin count will drop into the “6” level, and she will be dead.

As I sit here by her hospital bed, the charge nurse advised me that a Hospice representative will be here in a few minutes to consult with us. Guess what? We are not going to be stampeded into Hospice on the word of one doctor, who has spent a total of 10 minutes with her over the duration of 24 hours.

I am my aunt’s legal/medical advocate. That means that I stand between her and a medical system that does not necessarily operate in her best interest. There are still medical procedures which are agreeable to my aunt and fit within her definition of an acceptable quality of life. My agreeing to Hospice would be a virtual signing of her death certificate. This is not the time, and Hospice is not happening now.

What happens to individuals who do not have an advocate to question, challenge and nullify a physician’s assertion?

Update 3/2/09: Hey Doc Your License Says MD Not GOD

Men Are Not to Like Women in Bikinis

Men like women in bikinis. No kidding, Buckwheat?

It’s official from a Princeton University study that men like women clad in bikinis. Someone needed a study to come to that conclusion? Every women’s libber knows that males are sexual pigs and no study is required to prove it. All that needs to be done to rectify male sexist tendencies is to force some sensitive feminine socialization on the sexual miscreants at a young age and mold them into becoming better human beings. That’s what is being done in both schools and sports. Feminists are diligently working to turn the otherwise future testosterone laden pigs into whimpering wimps as if they are little lumps of clay to be molded to the feminist desire. I think that it is working; turning them into wimps, that is.

But wait, what is this from the study?

Although consistent with conventional wisdom, the way that men may depersonalize sexual images of women is not entirely something they control. In fact, it's a byproduct of human evolution, experts say. The first male humans had an incentive to seek fertile women as the means of spreading their genes.1

"They're not fully conscious responses, and so people don't know the extent to which they're being influenced," Fiske said. "It's important to recognize the effects."1

What the...? Letting those pigs off the hook like that is downright un-feminist!

Both women and men have something to learn from this line of research, Raison said. Women should be aware of how they are perceived when wearing provocative clothing, and men shouldn't let feelings of impersonal sexual longing interfere with their more personal relationships with other women, including female friends.1

Oh, you think that women actually don’t know what they are doing when wearing provocative clothing? It is called baiting the hook, isn’t it?

Here’s a great line from the article.

"Many men make foolish choices because of sexual attraction," he said.1

Foolish choices? Ya think?

Oh well. It’s hopeless. I still like bikini clad women no matter what level my testosterone. Or, is it because of the testosterone?


Blog Links
1. Men see bikini-clad women as objects, psychologists say

633 Marbles, Happy Birthday Honey

My good friend, Chuck, sent me an e-mail containing a piece entitled, “3900 Saturdays.” That’s the number of Saturdays in your life if you live to an average of 75 years old. You can follow the link herein and read the whole piece, but the lesson is about a man who discovers that he only has 1000 Saturdays left before he reaches age 75. To dramatize the slipping away of life, the man purchases 1000 marbles and places them in a large clear plastic container. Each Saturday, he takes out one marble and throws it away. That simple act dramatizes how precious each day is and reminds us to invest in our loved ones and the things that are truly important in our lives.

Today is my granddaughter’s sixth birthday. We gave her a doll house. To help celebrate, I am getting myself a gift. I am going to buy 633 marbles and a clear plastic container. And when my container is empty of marbles, it will be full of treasured moments with those that I love. Every Saturday thereafter I’m going to start adding marbles back to the container.

Link in this Blog:
3900 Saturdays

SheepDog Brothers

With each embrace I intoned, “Uu-ah Sheepdog!” Turning toward the car to give my goodbyes to the wives, I heard from behind me, “Uu-ah, Uu-ah!” I strode into the air terminal, and my friends drove off into the glistening backdrop of snow covered mountains. I headed back to Southern California, and within a couple of days they would part as well.

In the 1970’s, three young police officers worked on a street crime suppression team at a significant Southern California police department. We were enthusiastic and over-invested in some of the greatest police experiences of our law enforcement careers. Amigos, who worked, drank, partied, hunted and fished together. We eventually separated to different police agencies. Two are now retired, and we were together again for a retirement party.

Both of my cohorts performed well in their law enforcement careers. Each served as an Interim Chief of Police for their respective agency.

This weekend I read a letter, signed by every police officer on the Jackson Police Department, requesting that the Interim Chief of Police be appointed as the Chief of Police. The letter extolled the Interim Chief’s virtues and a word leapt off the page at me. The word was not “manager.” It was “leader.”

I’ve heard similar reports about my other former colleague’s career as a Deputy Chief of Police and as an Interim Chief of Police.

In my piece, “Thanks from a Warrior, Antidote to the Jackals,” I lamented the existence of “Jackals,” law enforcement officers who abandoned their sacred oath. I also lamented about the inherent destruction of officer emotional stability and the damage to law enforcement families.

My former partners avoided both pitfalls and emerged from successful law enforcement careers with solid mental health and intact families. Both men exemplify all that is good in a professional police officer. They paid their dues by working the hard details on the street and rose in rank while diligently utilizing their considerable experience to the benefit of their respective agency and its officers. No Jackals are these men. They are the finest of SheepDogs.

I am proud to call each of these men my friend. I salute and congratulate Sergeant Scott Terry (Ret.) Jackson Police Department, WY, and Deputy Chief of Police Wayne Hiltz (Ret.) Pasadena Police Department, CA, for law enforcement careers well done and families well raised.

“Uu-ah Sheepdogs! Hunt the Wolf and the Jackal!”

Link in this Blog:
Thanks from a Warrior, Antidote to the Jackals

No Constitutional Rights For Afghan Terrorists

Glory Hallelujah! Obama got this one right.

The Obama administration, siding with the Bush White House, contended Friday that detainees in Afghanistan have no constitutional rights. 1

Obama made some leftists mad.

"The hope we all had in President Obama to lead us on a different path has not turned out as we'd hoped," said Tina Monshipour Foster, a human rights attorney representing a detainee at the Bagram Airfield. "We all expected better." 1

"They've now embraced the Bush policy that you can create prisons outside the law," said Jonathan Hafetz, an attorney with the American Civil Liberties Union who has represented several detainees. 1

I have personal trepidations about Pres. Obama and national security issues. And, why not? His history is linked to leftist philosophies and Islamo-fascist apologists. But, give Obama credit on this one.

Link in this Blog:
1. Obama admin. backs Bush: No constitutional rights for detainees at Afghanistan base

Obama Selling Out America?

Did President Obama just sell out America by authorizing the funds to immigrate Palestinians into the United States? Various sources are claiming that he authorized the resettlement of Palestinians in the U.S. with the executive order shown below.

Here’s the executive order that he signed.

Presidential Determination No.2009-15 of January 27, 2009

Unexpected Urgent Refugee and Migration Needs Related to Gaza

Memorandum for the Secretary of State

By the authority vested in me by the Constitution and the laws of the Untied States, including section 2(c)(1) of the Migration and Refugee Assistance Act of 1962 (the “Act”), as amended (22U.S.C. 2601), I hereby determine, pursuant to Section 2©(1) of the Act, that it is important to the national interest to furnish assistance under the Act in an amount not to exceed $20.3 million from the United States Emergency Refugee and Migration Assistance Fund for the purpose of meeting unexpected and urgent refugee and migration needs, including by contributions to international, governmental, and nongovernmental organizations and payment of administrative expenses of Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migrations of the Department of State, related to humanitarian needs of Palestinian refugees and conflict victims in Gaza.

You are authorized and directed to publish this memorandum in the Federal Register.

Assistance within Gaza is one thing, but what we don’t need in this country are more Jewish and American hating, Hamas loving Palestinian people. The devil is in the details. Someone better keep a close eye on the doings of this President.

Link in this Blog:

Presidential Determination No.2009-15 of January 27, 2009

Morro Bay Sky

Babes & Bull

Elephant seals north of Hearst Castle.

There is No Free Lunch Unless...

Everyone works for lunch unless you are a non-productive and then you can depend upon Pres. Obama and the Triumvirate of Pelosi, Reid and Kerry to feed, clothe and pamper you while the productive pay for it. That's what the Socialists do to get votes.

Even these guys are productive as they clean up the environment. They are the ultimate recyclers. The Democrats don't wait for you to die before they pick your bones..