New O'Bama ad...

It's Official! I'm Running!

Maverick is in vogue!

H/T: HotAir

Women to the front by Kate Norley

This story is by Kate Norley, a fantastic woman that was a Combat Medic in OIF with the 1st Cav Div.

She wrote this over at BlackFive. I hope it will touch you as much as it did me.

Women to the front

Kate Norley

Iraq? I was there-no shit. Was going there something I had dreamt of as a young girl? No it was not. But real things happen in real life. The reality of my life as a young, free, American woman came into focus the moment my country was attacked by terrorists on September 11,2001. It was at that moment I understood what people meant when describing finding one's own purpose in life. I felt it.

A new willingness to commit myself to a cause I believed in, led me to make the best decision of my life-joining the United States Army. Some who knew me questioned my decision and doubted my ability to survive in the armed services. One thing I've learned is it's too common, for people to make assumptions and form opinions about issues they know nothing about.

Well I was in Iraq and I know what I saw.

I served with the 1st Cavalry Division based out of Ft Hood, TX as a combat medic, my assigned responsibilities changed daily in accordance with the op tempo. Some days consisted of performing routine convoys, working sick call, providing medical care to wounded at various entrance gates of FOBS, sometimes working alongside Mortuary Affair teams in identifying bodies, but all too often to accompany combat patrols.

I was asked to join a civil affairs convoy and meet with local Iraqi women studying at the University of Baghdad Veterinary School. I immediately agreed not knowing just what the interaction would be, or the significance this chance meeting would ultimately have on my Several female Iraqi students had asked to speak freely with an American soldier of their gender. While a simple request, acting in response was a fairly tall order.

In order for this meeting to happen a willing, experienced female translator was essential, as well as perimeter security surrounding the University, the classroom, and also personal security providing safety for my presence once inside. I arrived in a classroom of 8 women (originally 20 had been in attendance, some left in fear of their own safety for purposely meeting with me) and felt like the Pope of Rome with the private security detail assigned me. Acting alone with solely my translator Layla (as she chose to be called while working alongside coalition forces), I stood before these women feeling blank. Aside from the classroom being so different from those I was familiar with, it seemed as if finding a starting point might be a bit tough-we were all nervous as hell!

So I un-slung my M-16 from my shoulder, removed my Kevlar, OTV, and without hesitation let down my hair from a fixed bun and smiled. Instantly, I was encompassed by smiles all around as the female students spoke to Layla asking for permission to be face-to-face with me. From there came a sort-of show and tell consisting of my hair being touched and analyzed, my hands examined, and a relay session of Q&A wrapped with more innocence and excitement than ever before. So much shock and awe felt for all there as we spoke freely with each other through the gift of Layla's translation. Remember the times way back when of being encouraged to follow your dreams, no matter how far-off they may have seemed? Well seeing was believing that day over the exchange of shared hopes and learning of experiences detailing the beauty of freedoms once unimagined. While I didn't exactly cite anything remotely comparable to the "I Have A Dream" speech, I encouraged them as best I could to not give up in their own pursuit of happiness and a better life. I offered them motivation and promises of an existence and conditions other than that of cruel oppression. Never once suggesting the deterrence from Islam, but expressing the significance in learning of rights experienced by women outside of Iraq. In parting, we were no longer strangers. We ended on shared tears, smiles, and commitments from us all to never give up on ourselves.

Years later, deep memories of that day remained along with the desire to learn if improvements had been made in the lives of those women I had once met with; those fellow females, my friends. On March 10, 2008, I attended International Women's Day hosted by our President at The White House. That day a handful of women from around the world were honored for a variety of accomplishments made despite the cultural practice of gender inequality. I recognized from the program provided that one of those to be honored was an Iraqi woman, and following the ceremony attended the reception in hopes of introducing myself as a former visitor who had met with Iraqi women. In the midst of those in attendance my eyes locked by chance with the Iraqi woman. With no exaggeration, time seemed to literally stop. Despite an unknown familiarity shared by us both and without any hesitation we approached one another.

At that moment, both eyes and mouths smiled as this women unveiled her appreciation for my visit several years back at the University of Baghdad. I couldn't believe this was really happening!! "I never forgot what you said", she spoke in perfect English. It was then we reached out to embrace in the midst of heavy tears. What are the chances of both our paths crossing again? Not to mention the likelihood of being in attendance at The White House unknowingly for the honor of a friend once surviving under agonizing conditions. I listened as this beautiful woman beamed with courage and happiness. She explained after having met, she was determined to better the life of herself and her family by researching the freedoms experienced by women from around the world and the influence they were able to have in their own community by doing so. From that she pushed herself through school and earned her degree as a PhD. Hearing this news all the while seeing into her eyes was the proof of success. It was real, and I felt it too.

Go Sarah!

Gov. Sarah Palin bringin' the smackdown on ANWR and oil exploration.

Preach on, sister!


H/T: HotAir

Holy smokes!

I heard on the news last night that there are over 1,000 fires burning in Kalifornia at this moment.

Basically the whole state is covered in smoke. The smoke is covering Sacramento and visibility is about 1 mile.

Nasty.

Luckily, everything should drift away (in Sacramento, at least) by Sunday. Here's hoping.

Something else you won't be hearing about in the MSM...

This past Monday night, up to eight Mexican Army soldiers drove up to Phoenix from Mexico to commit home-invasion-robberies/drug rip's. They targeted one particular house and in the process, they fired over 100 rounds and killed a homeowner.

Two carloads full of these Mexican soldiers were committing these home-invasions. They were armed with M-16's, handguns, body armor, ballistic helmets and "Police" raid shirts.

In one case (where the homeowner was murdered) a member of Phoenix's SWAT team was nearby in an unmarked car and gave chase. Three Mexican soldiers were apprehended. The SWAT guy was told by one of the suspects that they planned to engage any law enforcement they encountered with gunfire, but they ran of ammo!

These crooks used military/police tactics to enter the house. After they left and the SWAT guy began pursuing, they drove down an alley in an attempt to draw the SWAT guy in deeper, for an ambush. Luckily, the SWAT guy recognized it for what it was and didn't take the bait. The suspects foot-bailed and three were later captured/arrested (a K-9 got some practice on one of them).

This type of incident has been happening frequently close to the border, but not usually that far north. It's going to get worse.

For more info check out this page, it has some info on the incident from Phoenix PD.

H/T: Gateway Pundit.

UPDATED: I found this at Mihelle Malkin's place.

Drug Cartels Crossing Mexican Border to Kidnap Americans

This type of stuff is courtesy of George Bush, John McCain and the rest of the "Open-Borders" crowd.

Good job!

From the Frontlines

"From the Frontlines" (from Move America Forward) is trying to get a record-setting number of care-packages to our Troops overseas.

You can watch the telethon (below) from 1pm to 9pm PST and donate here for as little as $16.

Here's what what they've got so far:



Streaming Video by Ustream.TV

I'm very surprised about this...

Based on their kooky rulings of late, I had my doubts that the Supremes would rule they did in Heller vs. D.C.

They finally got one right. Once again, this is why judges matter and McCain must win.

Well done. Now the citizens of D.C. can protect themselves once again.

Affirming:
Scalia
Roberts
Alito
Thomas
Kennedy

Dissenting:
Souter
Breyer
Ginsburg
Stevens

The usual suspects...

Jim Hanson over at BlackFive has some good commentary.

You stay classy San Francisco!

This is one of the many reasons why I neither visit, nor spend a penny in this pile of sh*t city.

San Francisco may name sewage treatment plant after Bush

By Jesse McKinley
Published: June 25, 2008

SAN FRANCISCO: Reagan has his highways. Lincoln has his memorial. Washington has the capital, and a state, too. But President George W. Bush may soon be the sole president to have a memorial named after him that you can contribute to from the bathroom.

From the Department of Damned-With-Faint-Praise, a group going by the regal-sounding name of the Presidential Memorial Commission of San Francisco is planning to ask voters here to change the name of a prize-winning water-treatment plant on the shoreline to the George W. Bush Sewage Plant.

The plan - hatched, naturally, in a bar - would place a vote on the November ballot to provide "an appropriate honor for a truly unique president."

Supporters say that they have plenty of signatures to qualify the initiative and that the renaming would fit in a long and proud American tradition of poking political figures in the eye.

"Most politicians tend to be narcissistic and egomaniacs," said Brian McConnell, an organizer who regularly suits up as Uncle Sam to solicit signatures. "So it is important for satirists to help define their history rather than letting them define their own history."

Not surprisingly, those Republicans in a city that voted 83 percent Democratic in 2004 are not thrilled with the idea. Howard Epstein, chairman of the ever-outnumbered San Francisco Republican Party, called the initiative "an abuse of process."

"You got a bunch of guys drunk who came up with an idea," Epstein said, "and want to put on the ballot as a big joke without regard to the city's governance or cost."

The renaming would take effect on Jan. 20, when a new president is sworn in. And regardless of the measure's outcome, supporters plan to commemorate the inaugural with a "synchronized flush" of hundreds of thousands of toilets that would send a flood of water toward the plant, now named the Oceanside Water Pollution Control Plant.

"It's a way of doing something physical that's mentally freeing," said Stacey Reineccius, 45, a supporter of the plan. "It's a weird thing, but it's true."

The Supreme Court strikes out again...

The U.S. Supreme Court just ruled that child-rapers do not get to have the Death Penalty applied to them. It was a 5-4 ruling, naturally.

As usual, the conservative judges voted against this piece of crap and the liberal judges voted for it.

The Supreme Court just keeps getting it wrong. They were wrong on Kelo and they were wrong on Habeas Corpus for Enemy Combatant's.

And now they're wrong on this.

This is why judges matter and there will be more of these screwy rulings if O'Bama and his ilk, get their way.

This is probably the biggest reason to vote for McCain.


"The death penalty is not a proportional punishment for the rape of a child," Justice Anthony Kennedy writes.

Turd.

Oil Trading Curbs Could Bring Back $2 Gas!

Here's some interesting info I found at Planet Gore:

Two weeks ago, I suggested in “An Unconventional Fix for Fuel Prices” that changes to oil futures trading regulations specifically for speculators could cause a huge decline in energy prices. On Monday, four energy analysts testifying before Congress strongly agreed with my arguments.

As reported by MarketWatch (emphasis added throughout):

Testifying to the House Energy and Commerce Committee, Michael Masters of Masters Capital Management said that the price of oil would quickly drop closer to its marginal cost of around $65 to $75 a barrel, about half the current $135.

Fadel Gheit of Oppenheimer & Co., Edward Krapels of Energy Security Analysis and Roger Diwan of PFC Energy Consultants agreed with Masters' assessment at a hearing on proposed legislation to limit speculation in futures markets.

Krapels said that it wouldn't even take 30 days to drive prices lower, as fund managers quickly liquidated their positions in futures markets.

"Record oil prices are inflated by speculation and not justified by market fundamentals," according to Gheit. "Based on supply and demand fundamentals, crude-oil prices should not be above $60 per barrel." […]

There are two kinds of speculators in the futures markets, Masters said. Traditional speculators are those who need to hedge because they actually take physical possession of the commodities. Index speculators, on the other hand, are merely allocating a portion of their portfolio to commodity futures.

Index speculation damages price-discovery mechanisms provided by futures markets, Masters added.

And here’s the money quote: “Speculators now account for about 70% of all benchmark crude trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange, up from 37% in 2000, said Rep. Bart Stupak, D-Mich., chairman of the investigations subcommittee.”

Since then, oil has risen by more than 300 percent. Any questions?

Proof that Attorney's are scum.

When James Fagen isn't being a Representative in the Massachusetts Legislature, he's a criminal defense attorney.

I'm sure that being a DemocRat doesn't have as much to do with him being a scumbag as does his being a defense attorney.

This is what he had to say while a debate about Massachusetts enacting "Jessica's Law".


H/T: Newsbusters

Two of my favorite things in the whole world!

Girls and guns.


H/T: Theo Spark

I find this to be pretty disturbing...

So apparently, DHS is now seizing people's property without any reasonable suspicion (let alone, probable cause) just because "they can". This is one of the more egregious violations of people's constitutional rights that I've seen in a while.

The DHS is a joke and this is just one more example of why.

You should read the whole thing here.

Seizing Laptops and Cameras Without Cause
A controversial customs practice creates a legal backlash
By Alex Kingsbury
Posted June 24, 2008

Returning from a brief vacation to Germany in February, Bill Hogan was selected for additional screening by customs officials at Dulles International Airport outside Washington, D.C. Agents searched Hogan's luggage and then popped an unexpected question: Was he carrying any digital media cards or drives in his pockets? "Then they told me that they were impounding my laptop," says Hogan, a freelance investigative reporter whose recent stories have ranged from the origins of the Iraq war to the impact of money in presidential politics.

Shaken by the encounter, Hogan says he left the airport and examined his bags, finding that the agents had also removed and inspected the memory card from his digital camera. "It was fortunate that I didn't use that machine for work or I would have had to call up all my sources and tell them that the government had just seized their information," he said. When customs offered to return the machine nearly two weeks later, Hogan told them to ship it to his lawyer.

The extent of the program to confiscate electronics at customs points is unclear. A hearing Wednesday before the Senate Committee on the Judiciary's Subcommittee on the Constitution hopes to learn more about the extent of the program and safeguards to traveler's privacy. Lawsuits have also been filed, challenging how the program selects travelers for inspection. Citing those lawsuits, Customs and Border Protection, a division of the Department of Homeland Security, refuses to say exactly how common the practice is, how many computers, portable storage drives, and BlackBerries have been inspected and confiscated, or what happens to the devices once they are seized. Congressional investigators and plaintiffs involved in lawsuits believe that digital copies—so-called "mirror images" of drives—are sometimes made of materials after they are seized by customs.

H/T: Instapundit

*SHOCKER*

Californians found less likely to worship

By Jennifer Garza - jgarza@sacbee.com
Published 12:00 am PDT Tuesday, June 24, 2008

Nearly half of Californians say religion is an important part of their lives but they are less likely to pray and attend worship services than Americans in other parts of the country, according to a national survey on religion.

Though about half of the Californians surveyed say their religion is very important to them (48 percent, compared with 56 percent nationally), they practice their beliefs less than the rest of the country.

Thirty-three percent of Californians attend worship services at least once a week, compared with 39 percent nationally.

Fifty-two percent of those interviewed in California said they pray at least once a day, compared with 58 percent nationally. In 1994, the number of Americans who said they prayed daily was 75 percent, according to Lindsay.

California has traditionally polled lower in religion surveys. Experts attribute this to a number of factors, ranging from an aversion to religious institutions to the acceptance of alternative spiritual beliefs.

"They may be praying less," said Lindsay. "But meditating more."

Great...

Proof that girls are evil.

H/T: Patterico

Will Smith loves being an American....

..but only since Barry O'Bama got nominated.

I guess he won't be getting any more of my American money...

Engage = Appease

How to speak "Democrat".

"Democrats will engage America's enemies."

Translation:
"Democrats will appease America's enemies."


H/T: Ace of Spades

The Warrior Spirit

I read about Sgt. Marcus Young, Ukiah PD, in this months issue of Law Officer magazine. I'd forgotten about it, until I read it.

Sgt. Young is a true stud and true warrior and sheepdog. He embodies the phrase "Never Give Up!"

Coppers can read some more stuff about this incident here.

The Marcus Young Incident

* Brian McKenna
* Law Officer Volume 4 Issue 6
* 2008 Jun 1

Editor's Note: This is an expanded version of the article that appeared in the June 2008 issue of Law Officer magazine, adding Brian McKenna's analysis of the incident.

The first thing Sergeant Marcus Young noticed about the man coming toward him was the intensity of his features, but then he saw the man’s hands shoved into his jacket pockets. Young, 40 years old and an 18-year veteran of the police department, quickly sat his prisoner down into the back seat of his patrol car and closed the door as he turned to give the fast-approaching man a closer look. Believing the man to be high on drugs, he planned to arrest him. But instead, he was just moments away from the fight of his life, with the lives of several others hanging in the balance.

The incident had started with a call for a shoplifter at a discount store. Young, who had a 17-year-old cadet named Julian Covella riding with him, took the call. Young was enthusiastic about helping the cadets learn as much as possible, and he knew a shoplifting arrest would give Covella some easy exposure to the arrest process.

After contacting Security Officer Tony Unger, 27, in the loss-prevention office, Young learned that Unger had taken an 18-year-old shoplifter named Monica Winnie into custody after she tried to use a forged receipt to obtain a refund. Unger also mentioned that Winnie’s boyfriend had been in the store earlier, but had left shortly after her arrest. He mentioned that the boyfriend had what looked like jailhouse tattoos on his neck, leading Young to suspect that he was a parolee, and probably a doper as well.

Winnie seemed rather hostile, but offered no resistance as Young cuffed her and escorted her outside, accompanied by Covella and Unger. As they walked, Young, who was not one to go blindly into any situation, asked Winnie, “Does your boyfriend have any weapons?”

“No,” she answered.

“Do I have to be concerned for my safety?”

Again, Winnie said no, but her voice hinted of insincerity. Young kept his senses on alert as they stepped out into the chilly night air.

Although unseen, Winnie’s boyfriend, a 35-year-old ex-con named Neal Beckman, was waiting outside on the dimly lit parking lot. He waited in the shadows until he saw the group moving toward Young’s patrol car, and then headed toward them. A member of a violent white supremecist gang who had spent most of his adult life in prison, Beckman already had two strikes against him and had bragged that he would never go back to prison. He had already murdered once when, as a teenager, he had brutally stabbed an elderly man to death during a robbery. Now on parole, he was also wanted for home invasion and was probably about to commit another robbery, or worse—in his car parked nearby were five homemade bombs.

Note: The incident recounted here is true, but some of the names were changed to ensure the privacy of those personally involved. Likewise, in order to preserve confidentiality and clarity, some facts have been altered slightly, but the essential elements of the story remain unchanged.

Young knew none of this, of course, but his instincts told him he would have his hands full. He moved off to his right, away from the others, and immediately addressed his greatest concern.

“Take your hands out of your pockets!” he commanded.

Beckman ignored him and kept coming, “Why is she in there?” he demanded as he glanced toward Winnie in the back seat.

“I said, ‘Take your hands out of your pockets!’” Young repeated.

“Why?” Beckman snapped.

“Because I’m concerned for my safety. What do you have in your pockets?”

“I have a knife.”

The man was now just two or three steps away, his forward advance accented by an alarming movement of his left hand. Young saw no weapon, but it was clear Beckman was drawing something from his pocket.

Young, his reactions fine-tuned from years of martial arts and defensive-tactics training, sprang forward. He grabbed Beckman’s left wrist and trapped it inside the pocket, but only briefly. Beckman was fighting hard to complete the draw, and Young knew he had to control him soon. He pulled hard as he stepped to his right, cranked the arm straight out at a right angle away from Beckman’s body, and twisted hard until he felt the crunch and snap of cracking bone and tearing tendons.

This should have done the trick, but Beckman was uncontrollable. A glint of bright metal flashed across his chest. It was a snub-nose .38, coming straight for Young’s face. Then, before the startled sergeant could do more than flinch, there was a flash and scorching lead tore into his left cheek.

Stunned by the blow but not one to surrender, Young held on and slammed Beckman into the hood of a parked car. The next moments were a blur of vicious hand-to-hand combat. More shots rang out and the valiant officer felt more bullets smash into his body. The exact sequence of shots was never determined, but two of them punched into Young’s body armor, where, had it not been for the Kevlar, they might well have inflicted mortal wounds. But the other two hollow points struck hard, one drilling through Young’s right arm and the other slamming into his left side.

Meanwhile, the two combatants had rolled to the ground, where Young continued his desperate fight despite the grueling punishment from Beckman’s gun. But then help arrived from an unexpected source. Security Officer Unger, though unarmed, had seen enough. Imbued with a sense of duty that transcended his instinct for survival, he slammed into Beckman from behind, and hammered his fist into the side of the man’s head. Reaching down, he grabbed the gun, wrenched it free, and pressed the muzzle against the side of Beckman’s head. He pulled the trigger, but the hammer landed with an impotent click. He tried again with the same results. Now realizing that the gun was empty, he chucked it into a bush and started punching Beckman again.

But Beckman still had the knife, a fixed-blade hunting knife. Switching the weapon to his right hand, he turned it on Unger as Young sprang back into the fight. Before Young could stop him, he drove the blade into Unger’s left chest, ripping open a gaping hole that exposed the lung. Unger, now bleeding freely from the fearsome knife wound, crawled away as Young continued the fight.

“I’ve got to stop this now,” Young thought. A head shot was his best bet, and he sent the draw command to his right hand. Nothing happened.

Suddenly, Beckman broke free and headed for the patrol car. He jumped into the front seat, closed the door behind him and began reaching around inside. Oddly, he made no effort to free his girlfriend or drive away. Then it became clear he knew exactly what he was doing. There was a Remington 870 in the trunk, and a full auto HK33 assault rifle in a rack above the prisoner cage. Both were accessible by means of hidden switches on the dashboard, and both could do incalculable damage.

The parking lot was full of shoppers, Unger had crawled between two parked cars, bleeding so profusely it appeared he would soon die, and Covella was still somewhere nearby. With so many citizens in grave danger, Young knew he must act. Again he commanded his right hand to draw the .40-caliber Beretta 96G at his side, and again the hand refused to budge.

Glancing down, Young saw the unresponsive limb hanging at his side, twisted into an ugly angle and pumping blood. He reached for his holstered pistol with his left hand, but that hand wouldn’t work either. A quick look told him why: There was a wicked, 2" tear between his middle finger and forefinger. He had suffered a wound that threatened to doom his chances of stopping Beckman’s murderous rampage.

Young believed he was dying and nothing seemed to be going right, but he would allow nothing to keep him from doing his duty. His keen mind, unhampered by fear or frustration, flashed through his options. Then he thought of the young cadet.

Covella knew not to get involved if an officer was attacked, but he had refused to stand by doing nothing. After taking cover behind a car, he had remained there and waited for an opportunity to help. Young didn’t know Covella’s exact location, but he knew he hadn’t gone far. “Julian,” he shouted, “Come here!”

Covella emerged from the dark and stood behind Young, who was now kneeling on both knees. Young glanced back at him and gasped, “Take my gun out and put it in my left hand!”

Covella knew the gun was secured inside its Level I security holster with a top snap, but he felt rushed and anxious. After releasing the snap, he discovered he couldn’t draw the gun as easily as he had hoped. Nevertheless, he persisted. After a few seconds that seemed to drag on for minutes, the gun slid from its holster. Covella placed it into Young’s left hand and stepped back.

Although his wounded hand had prevented him from drawing the pistol, Young was able to hold it firmly enough to get on target and pull the trigger. Beckman’s center mass was solidly behind the closed passenger door, but Young knew modern handgun ammunition would probably penetrate a car door. Raising the pistol to eye level, he pointed it at a spot on the door directly in line with Beckman’s body and fired twice. Both shots hit where aimed, but to no effect except to cause Beckman to turn toward the sound. A startled look crossed his face, as he stared down the dark muzzle of the Beretta.

So much for shooting through the door, Young thought. He raised the gun higher and pulled the trigger. Glass exploded from the window frame as Beckman’s head jerked back violently, and Young fired again. Beckman went limp and slumped down into the front seat.

The gunfight was over, but there were still things to be done. Young had to get help for Unger, himself and anyone else who may have been hurt. He told Covella to call for assistance and tell the dispatcher several people were down.

Young knew he was badly wounded and losing blood fast. Fearing he would soon bleed out, he focused on deep breathing to calm himself down and lower his blood pressure while he waited for help to arrive.

The Aftermath
Young had been shot three times besides the two rounds in his vest. One round had struck him in the left cheek and exited the back of his neck near the base of the skull, mercifully missing the spine by a hairsbreadth. Another had shattered his right arm, and the third had hit him in the back of his left side, just above the side panel of his vest and in front of the scapula, zipped horizontally across his back and exited near the spine. Unfortunately, Young’s wounds eventually forced him to retire, but he made the most of it. He went on to earn his Master’s degree and now teaches police science at a local college. He also lectures about the shooting so other officers can learn from his experience.

Tony Unger recovered completely, but later left his security job to move out of state with his family. He, Julian Covella, and Young all received numerous local and state awards for their actions, and Young was also awarded several national awards, including the Presidential Medal of Valor.

Neal Beckman was struck in the forehead by Young’s third shot, but the bullet had hit at an angle and skirted his skull, causing only a flesh wound. Still, the impact caused him to slip down into the front seat so that his buttocks protruded above the lower edge of the window frame. Young’s final round hit him in the right buttock and torn its way up the entire length of his torso, causing extensive internal bleeding before stopping in his neck. He was dead on arrival at the hospital.

Be careful out there.

Your future President...

...unless you vote to stop him.

Allen West for Congress!

You may remember LTC Allen B. West, of OIF fame, as being the guy that pointed an empty pistol at the head of a captured Terrorist in Iraq. West's unit was being targeted and West used the unusual information-gathering technique to save the lives of his men. He was subsequently relieved of command for doing so.

He's running for congress in the 22nd Congressional Dist. of Florida (Palm Beach area).

If you live there, give him your vote.

If you don't, consider giving him some money.

Civic Duty

Well done, Nabil!

A longtime customer brazenly stood up to a suspected would-be bank robber at a Comerica bank on Monday and detained the man until police showed up.

At about 9 a.m., police said a 54-year-old Washtenaw County man walked into a Comerica branch in the 45400 block of Michigan Avenue and handed the teller a handwritten note demanding money.

It also indicated he was strapped with a bomb, police said in a release.

When the suspect demanded "bands of 50s and 100s," police said, the clerk hit the bank's silent alarm and began placing money in a bag.

A teller at an adjacent counter noticed the incident and alerted the longtime customer.

Police said the customer then pulled out a gun, pointed it at the suspect and told him, "You are not robbing this bank."

"But I have a bomb," the suspect said, according to police.

The customer replied: "I don't care. You are not robbing this bank!"

The customer, who has not been named, then led the suspect to a chair, sat him down and held him at gunpoint until police came.

The celebration honoring Nabil Fawzi on Friday at the Sunoco gas station in Ypsilanti continued long after the free hot dogs ran out and the discounted gas was hiked back to $3.89 a gallon.

It seemed like everyone who stopped at the station at Ecorse Road and Redwood Avenue during the late afternoon wanted to shake his hand, hug him or tell him what a good job he did.

On Monday, Fawzi, 39, of Dearborn, who is known to his customers as Bill, thwarted a robbery at a Comerica Bank branch on Michigan Avenue in Canton.

"It's been a long four days, five days," Fawzi said. "It's been like this all day."

Media outlets from around the country have sought interviews since his identity was released Tuesday. He's already done 14 radio interviews, he said.

The local TV stations, the networks, cable news outlets and various newspapers all want to know about the bank customer who pulled out a 9mm handgun and faced down a man who claimed to have a bomb...

Fawzi, a Lebanese immigrant who served in the army during that country's civil war, runs Mr. Bucks, a check-cashing service based at the gas station. On Friday, he fielded questions and compliments from his customers.

"I heard about that when I was working," said Nicole Fisher of Ypsilanti. "That's awesome."

One man gave Fawzi a thumbs up. "Good work at the bank," he said.

From Newsbusters via HotAir

"Global Warming" hits Peru!

I blame George Bush...

Peru Declares Emergency-- Record Cold Kills 61 Children & 5,000 Alpacas

Peru President Alan Garcia enacted a legislative decree to declare a 60-day state of emergency in 11 of Peru’s 24 departments Thursday as temperatures in the Andes region continue to drop dramatically and claim the lives of residents.

As Peru remains in the grip of intense cold — meteorologists have registered temperatures dipping to -22°C, or 7.60 F — the cold weather death toll continues to rise. Sixty-one children have died since April 13.

And, according to Peru’s Health Ministry, more than 50,000 suffer from acute respiratory tract infections and 4,851 from pneumonia.

“Those who are most at risk live in the high Andean regions (3.000 metres or more above sea level) where, since April 15, we have registered the pneumonia-related deaths of 61 children,” Cergio Espejo, a Health Ministry staff responsible for the monitoring of respiratory diseases, told daily Peru21.

The decree, published this morning in the official state daily El Peruano, enacts the President’s call for immediate action in the departments of Apurimac, Arequipa, Ayacucho, Cusco, Huancavelica, Junín, Lima, Moquegua, Pasco, Puno and Tacna.

H/T: Gateway Pundit

Caldwell, TX pursuit and shootout.

I just saw this on the local news tonight. This incident happened on 6-10-08.

Hignight did an EXCELLENT job.

Yeah, the video sucks. It's Blogger, what can I say...

In a matter of seconds, 15 rounds were fired, a Caldwell police officer was shot and the suspect killed.

Police say it all started when Louis Avrin, 36, of Caldwell allegedly robbed the Brookshire Brothers grocery store at gunpoint. According to police, Avrin pointed a gun at several employees, saying he had 16 bullets and would fire them if he didn't get what he wanted. Police say he got away with $5,000 in cash.

Officials say Avrin then walked out of the store and car-jacked a woman at gunpoint. He then allegedly took police on a high-speed chase.

Caldwell Police Officer Cougan Hignight was called to the scene and quickly found himself in a high speed pursuit. Caldwell Police Chief Paul Lilly soon joined in the chase. One that took both officers down winding roads and through a field.

However, neither officer expected what happened next. Avrin crashed the stolen vehicle into a tree then fired, hitting Officer Hignight in the arm.

"He was getting out of his car after he saw the man pointing the gun," Deputy Chief Daniel McElroy with the Caldwell Police Department said. "He got out, the bullet came through the windshield and struck him, it ended up in his back."

Hignight then fired back 10 times, Lilly fired four. Avrin was shot three times, one bullet skimmed his face and nose, one hit him in the hip, the third shot hit his neck and offered a fatal blow.

Officer Hignight was rushed to the hospital by an off-duty officer who stopped to help. Chief Lilly made sure the suspect didn't fire again.

We're told the shootout could have been worse. After Avrin fired once, he accidentally released the clip of his gun, dropping 15 live rounds on the ground.

It's unclear what officer fired the fatal shot. Police tell us both men had the same caliber gun and the same ammunition, making it virtually impossible to tell.

The dash cam video was shown to a Burleson County grand jury Wednesday. The jury found that the video justified the officer's actions. Both Officer Hignight and Chief Lilly were cleared of all wrong-doing.

Now THAT'S a Texas name!

Cougan Hignight

I guess that's one way to get an annulment...

That was a pretty short honeymoon...

What an a**hole.

Bridegroom Gabriel Watson charged with wife's scuba-dive murder

An American tourist was charged with murder yesterday for allegedly drowning his bride of 11 days on a scuba diving trip on the Great Barrier Reef during their honeymoon. Christina Mae Watson, 26, died while diving on a shipwreck near the northeastern Australian city of Townsville while her husband looked on.

Daniel Watson, 31, of Birmingham, Alabama, had claimed during police interviews that his wife had panicked a few minutes into the dive. He said that as she thrashed around in the water, she grabbed hold of his mask and pushed it off his face. He later described seeing her, with her eyes wide and arms stretched out towards him, sink into the deep.

Mr Watson was an experienced diver who had completed a diving rescue course and was acting as a “dive buddy” for his wife, who was a novice. Despite his training, he told police that he decided to go for help rather than attempt to rescue his wife. One of the leaders of the dive trip pulled Mrs Watson to the surface, but attempts to resuscitate her failed.

The incident in October 2003 was captured by another member of the dive party who stopped to photograph his dive buddy with an underwater camera. In the background Mrs Watson can be seen in the murky depths as the dive master swims towards her.

Police believe that Mr Watson turned off the air supply of his wife until she was dead, or nearly dead, then turned it back on and let her sink to the seabed. The murder charge followed several months of inquiry by a Queensland coroner, who finally ruled yesterday that there were suspicious circumstances to the death. Mr Watson was not in court to hear the indictment against him and no plea was entered on his behalf. His lawyer argued that there was no motive for murder.

But Mrs Watson’s father, Tommy Thomas, claimed that his daughter had told him before the wedding that her fiancé had asked her to increase her life insurance and change the policy to make him the sole beneficiary. Mr Thomas told the court that his daughter decided to lie to Mr Watson and pretend that she had made the changes.

Yesterday police began preparing a warrant for Mr Watson’s arrest, the first step in what is expected to be a drawn-out extradition battle. It is not known where Mr Watson is living.

The inquest in Townsville heard that police, who believed initially that the death was an accident, started to become suspicious when Mr Watson changed some details of his story.

A postmortem examination found no medical condition that could have explained the death of Mrs Watson. Tests showed that there was nothing wrong with her diving gear.

In his findings David Glasgow, the Queensland state coroner, said that the exact circumstances may never be known but there was enough evidence of foul play to justify a murder charge against her husband.

“There are only two persons who know what in fact actually occurred,” Mr Glasgow said. “One is Tina, who cannot tell us, and the other is [Mr Watson].”

He indicted Mr Watson formally on a charge of killing his wife. The police said a warrant would be issued for his arrest and that prosecutors would prepare an application for his extradition from the US.

Mr Thomas, his wife, Cindy, and other family members watched as the coroner read out his findings via a live video link to Alabama. “We’re actually relieved to hear the coroner’s findings. It’s something that we have dealt with for quite some time and it validated our beliefs,” Mr Thomas said.

Awwww...

His name is Alex...

Axel Casian.

He's the two-year-old that was beaten to death by his father on a country road, while six people stood around and watched.

Remember his name next time you see a situation and question whether you should get involved.

This cop stepped forward and did what needed to be done, because no one else had the guts to.

I guarantee he would've done it even if he wasn't a cop, because he's a sheepdog and not a sheep.

Officer who tried to save toddler found his career later in life

By JEFF JARDINE
jjardine@modbee.com

last updated: June 19, 2008 10:10:38 AM

Whenever there's an unusual incident or action of any kind, you might think, "Wow, what were the odds of that particular person being there at that particular time?"

For Modesto police officer Jerry "J.J." Ramar, those odds go well beyond being a part of the helicopter unit that responded Saturday night to a most fateful and tragic call: a man stomping his 2-year-old son to death along a rural road west of Turlock.

The odds transcended Ramar jumping out of the chopper as it landed, running up to an electrified fence, pointing his gun at 27-year-old Sergio Aguiar and ordering him to stop his maniacal assault on his lifeless son.

And they go beyond Ramar firing a single shot — truly a shot in the dark — through the dust stirred up by the aircraft's blades, killing Aguiar instantly.

That's because Ramar followed a less-traveled path to become a police officer to be at that point at that very moment.

Some who go into law enforcement go to the police academy right out of high school, junior college or after a hitch in the military. Assuming they survive the background investigations and drug screens, many begin their careers with agencies in small cities.

Ramar comes from another group: Those who tire of life in the private sector and want something different. He entered the academy at age 30, graduated at 31 and joined the 1,400-officer San Jose Police Department in January 2002. He commuted to work for 2½ years until he was hired by Modesto in the spring of 2004.

When the incident occurred late Saturday, the 37-year-old easily could have been reviewing the night's receipts in the Mallard's Restaurant he once managed and later co-owned in Stockton. He could have been checking the pantry to make sure there was enough food to handle the next day's business. He could have been doing any other task a small-business owner does every day to keep the place profitable.

Instead, he traded customer service for an oath to protect the public. In this case, it meant trying try to save a child who, in all probability, was dead before Ramar arrived.

=======================================================

"We used him in a national advertisement — a big picture of J.J. wearing the pants, explaining how he changed the industry," Costa said.

That, of course, wouldn't have happened if Ramar had not changed careers. Nor would he have been on the helicopter Saturday night, and had to fire his weapon for the first time in his career.

The odds of him being in that particular situation at that very moment?

Immeasurable.

H/T: Michelle Malkin

This comment was at MM's site:

For little Axel Casian, I wish the peace and love he was denied in this world.

For his pathetic father, I wish the punishment and judgment he deserves for his barbaric and cruel act.

For the people that stood by and let this happen, I wish for them to see this child beaten to death and hear his screams every night in their dreams. I wish for them no peace, no rest, and no sleep again in their lives ever; and that they go to their graves knowing that a child was slowly and painfully beaten to death and they cowardly stood by and did NOTHING!

I agree with all of that.

They're at it again...

This time, it's four Republican's...

H.R.6257
Assault Weapons Ban Reauthorization Act of 2008 (Introduced in House)
Beginning
June 12, 2008

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

SEC. 2. RESTRICTION ON MANUFACTURE, TRANSFER, AND POSSESSION OF CERTAIN SEMIAUTOMATIC ASSAULT WEAPONS.

SEC. 3. BAN OF LARGE CAPACITY AMMUNITION FEEDING DEVICES.

SEC. 4. STUDY BY ATTORNEY GENERAL.

SEC. 5. EFFECTIVE DATE.

SEC. 6. APPENDIX A TO SECTION 922 OF TITLE 18.

Sponsor:
Rep. Mark Kirk [R-IL]

Cosponsors: [as of 2008-06-13]
Rep. Michael Castle [R-DE]
Rep. Michael Ferguson [R-NJ]
Rep. Christopher Shays [R-CT]

You people that live in these districts should vote these traitors out of office and elect someone that supports the U.S. Constitution.

This is pretty much NEVER a good idea...

It's pretty much never (at least in this day and age) a good idea for cops to have their pics taken with hot, scantily-clad chicks or to let said chicks rub their hoo-hoo's on your trunk or back window. In fact, it's never really a good idea for any copper to have his picture (in uniform, with any identifiable patches/badges) on the internets at all, let alone with a female in close proximity.

Here's a refresher course of why. (This happened in the Virginia Beach and Richmond area.)

I can guarantee that these coppers regret their decisions...









These dumb-asses will probably get some days on the beach for these pics.

Va. Beach police caught up in investigation of questionable photos
Last Edited: Friday, 13 Jun 2008, 11:26 PM EDT

VIRGINIA BEACH, VA. - While a picture may be worth 1000 words, it seems the story behind these pictures is still developing.

Two Virginia Beach Police officers were photographed with their hands on a woman's thigh and leg and another taken with one officer pretending to arrest the same woman as she strikes a revealing pose. The photos appeared earlier this week on a website called TheDirty.com.

"We had another police station contact us to let us know there could be some photos of our police officers on the Internet," said Virginia Beach Police Spokesperson Adam Bernstein...

Rap Lyrics Translated!

Awesome!

Assignment: Please translate the following Rap song lyrics from Ebonics to standard English.
Artist: Notorious B.I.G.
Album: Ready to Die
Song: One more chance (remix)

Original Lyrics:

First things first, I poppa, freaks all the honeys
Dummies - playboy bunnies, those wantin’ money
Those the ones I like ‘cause they don’t get nathan’
But penetration, unless it smells like sanitation
Garbage, I turn like doorknobs
Heart throb, never, black and ugly as ever
However, I stay coochied down to the socks
Rings and watch filled with rocks

Translation:

As a general rule, I perform deviant sexual acts with women of all kinds, including but not limited to those with limited intellect, nude magazine models, and prostitutes. I particularly enjoy sexual encounters with the latter group as they are generally disappointed in the fact that they only receive penile intercourse and nothing more, unless of course, they douche on a consistent basis. Although I am extremely unattractive, I am able to engage in these types of sexual acts with some regularity. Perhaps my sexuality is somehow related to my fancy and expensive jewelry.

Read the rest here.
Funny stuff.

The DemocRats strike again!

Not content with $5/gal gas, Kalifornia DemocRats Boxer, Feinswein and Gov. Whats-his-name (The Austrian Oaf) have said "HELL NO" to coastal drilling in Kalifornia.

Good job Dems!

California leaders say 'no way' to coastal oil drilling
By Rob Hotakainen - rhotakainen@mcclatchydc.com

Published 12:00 am PDT Thursday, June 19, 2008

WASHINGTON – If President Bush and Republican Sen. John McCain are expecting any support from California's top leaders for their plan to lift a ban on offshore drilling, it could be a long wait.

"California's coastline is an international treasure," Republican Democrat Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger said Wednesday. "I do not support lifting this moratorium on new oil drilling off our coast."

Ditto from the state's two Democratic senators, who are out to thwart the proposal. Sen. Barbara Boxer says all Bush wants to do is "drill, drill, drill." And Sen. Dianne Feinstein says the president has returned to "the mantra of drilling."

"Californians are all too familiar with the consequences of offshore drilling," Feinstein said. "An oil spill in 1969 off the coast of Santa Barbara killed thousands of birds, as well as dolphins, seals and other marine animals. And we know this could happen again."
...

Read the rest here if you want.

Not content with that, some DemocRats actually think that having government control over oil production is the way to go!

Right. Because the government is so great at running (or fixing) things...

Rep. Maurice "Rove Planted the CBS Memos" Hinchey said this:

“Maybe the government’s taking it over because it never should have been private in the first place.”

H/T: Michelle Malkin

Happy Juneteenth!

You don't know what that is?

Check it out!

Shameful...

There's a post over at BlackFive about the incident down in Turlock, that I posted about here. Six adults stood around and did nothing to help an infant that was being beaten and stomped to death by his chemically deranged father.

I have nothing but contempt for every one of those people that did nothing to help this poor child.

Someone in the BlackFive thread posted a link to this video. When I watch it, I think of that poor child that was defenseless and it makes my blood boil that those six people did nothing meaningful to save that child.

They should be ashamed of themselves.

They will be judged far harsher when they go to meet their maker.

Firefox 3

No, it's not a Clint Eastwood sequel...

I upgraded to Firefox 3 earlier today, with no problems.
It seems to be faster and pretty cool, so far.

Take the necessary precautions (backup FF files, etc.) and then download/upgrade.

Good luck!

Wonderful...

From the 9th Jerkit Court of Schlemiels:

Here’s the news from the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco:

A federal appeals court ordered reinstatement Monday for 33 janitors in Los Angeles who were fired because their Social Security numbers did not match the government’s database, a ruling that could strengthen unions’ case against a Bush administration proposal to pressure employers to get rid of suspected illegal immigrants…

But in ordering the Los Angeles janitors rehired with back pay, the court said employees can’t be fired merely because the Social Security number they submit differs from the number in the government’s files - a major issue in lawsuits over the administration’s plan…

The employees, whose union contract protected them from being fired without good cause, won reinstatement and back pay from an arbitrator, who said Aramark had no convincing information that they were illegal immigrants. A federal judge disagreed but was overruled Monday by the three-judge appellate panel.

So a company trying to do the right thing is being forced to employ illegal immigrants by labor unions and liberal judges. The labor union in this case is Service Employees International Union (SEUI), which strongly endorses both Barack Obama and amnesty.

H/T: Michelle Malkin

And then there was one...

Wuterich will be acquitted too.

Murtha is a lying scumbag.

Haditha charges dropped against Marine officer

1 hour, 1 minute ago

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - A military judge on Tuesday dismissed the charges against a U.S. Marine officer accused of failing to investigate the death of two dozen civilians at Haditha, lawyers in the case said.

Lt. Col. Jeffrey Chessani was one of eight Marines charged in the November, 2005 incident and the highest ranking officer accused of wrongdoing. The accused ringleader, Staff Sgt. Frank Wuterich, still faces court martial.

Heard this song...

...and I can't get it out of my danged head! I like it because it's kind of Old-Skool!

SOME PEOPLE (you know who you are...) can't appreciate fine music!



Her name is Katy Perry and she seems pretty cool, not to mention, cute.

Update: The original video I posted was deleted on youtube, so I had to post this one. It's way better anyway.

Officer Down...

Last night (Sunday) a Yolo County deputy (the next county over from Sacramento) attempted to make a traffic stop on a parolee, in a rural part of the county, and was shot in the process.

Unfortunately, Dep. Jose Diaz later died from his wounds.

Many allied agencies responded to assist. The suspect later gave up, without a fight, like the coward that he is. It's too bad that he didn't make any sudden moves...

Dep. Diaz, 37, was a 4-year veteran of the department. He is survived by by three children.



Deputy Sheriff Antonio (Tony) Diaz
Yolo County Sheriff's Department
California
End of Watch: Sunday, June 15, 2008

Biographical Info
Age: 37
Tour of Duty: 4 years
Badge Number: Not available

Incident Details
Cause of Death: Gunfire
Date of Incident: Sunday, June 15, 2008
Weapon Used: Gun; Unknown type
Suspect Info: Apprehended

Deputy Tony Diaz was shot and killed while making a traffic stop near the intersection of County Road 6 and County Road 99W at approximately 9:30 pm. The suspect opened fire on Deputy Diaz, striking him in the shoulder.

Despite the wound, Deputy Diaz was able to call for assistance. He was flown to a local hospital where he succumbed to his injuries.

The suspect, who fled on foot after abandoning his infant in his car, was apprehended a short time later.

A special place in Hell for this guy.

And Hell can have him. For some people, a bullet is too good.

I can't even believe this...

Police shoot, kill man who stomped baby to death

Last updated: June 15, 2008 08:51:38 PM
TURLOCK — A crazed man parked on a dark country road Saturday night, took a baby boy from the car seat in his pickup and beat the child to death until a Modesto police officer, dropped on the scene by helicopter, shot the man dead, authorities said.

Passerbys calling 911 at 10:13 p.m. described a horrific scene on West Bradbury Road near the intersection of South Blaker Road in rural Stanislaus County, 10 miles west of Turlock. At least one tried to stop the 27-year-old attacker, who swung and slammed the child into the asphalt and stomped on him behind his parked four-door Toyota pickup.

"In the shadows and light it looked like he had hit an animal," said Dan Robinson, the chief of Crows Landing Volunteer Fire Department, who came upon the chaos on his way home from a late dinner in Turlock. "As we backed up again, I could see that he had blood on his arms. I could see that it was a small child."

Robinson, 52, jumped from his vehicle and confronted the man, who lunged at him. Robinson said the man wasn't screaming and wasn't loud, but was forceful, saying "demons" were in the boy.

"Give me the knife. Give me the knife," the man said as he grabbed for a pen in the fireman's front pocket.

"There was a total hollowness in his eyes," Robinson said, "like I could see right through to the back of his head."

A Stanislaus County Sheriff's Department helicopter, flown by a deputy with a Modesto police officer in the second seat, was on patrol in the Turlock area. It arrived six minutes after the first 911 call, said deputy Royjindar Singh, the sheriff's spokesman.

"The helicopter spotlights the scene and sees this guy just beating on this infant or baby in the middle of the road. I can't imagine what that looked like," Singh said.

The helicopter landed in a nearby cow pasture and the Modesto police officer jumped out. He drew his service pistol and commanded the man to stop from about 10 feet away from behind a set of electric and barbwire fences. The officer yelled at the passerbys to get out of the way. When the man "continued to stomp the child," the officer fired, Singh said.

"They intervened to try and save that infant's life. They thought they could change the outcome of this thing," Singh said.

The officer's name, the number of times he fired and where the dead man was shot were not released Sunday. The officer was placed on paid administrative leave, which is departmental policy for all officer-involved shootings.

The child was rushed to Emanuel Medical Center in Turlock, where he was pronounced dead.

Authorities would not disclose the identity of the dead man or his relationship to the boy. Singh said the boy was 12 to 24 months old, but DNA testing may be required to identify him because he was beaten beyond recognition.

"Our firefighter was doing CPR on the baby when I arrived," said Mountain View Fire Chief Kevin Blount, who was there shortly after the shooting. "It's never easy, but it's always harder with little children, especially in circumstances like this."

Confusion and spotty cell phone coverage had dozens of police scrabbling through Ceres and Turlock until the location became clear. The violence, Singh said, was so graphic from the helicopter's birds-eye view that there was no hesitation on the part of the officer, who shot the attacker dead less the two minutes on the scene.

Dozens of law enforcement personnel, set up under giant spotlights, worked through the night trying to piece together what happened. The attacker and the child were traveling west, but the gold truck was parked in the wrong lane, facing oncoming traffic.

By Sunday afternoon, the investigators had cleared out.

Short rows of fresh-planted corn lined one side of the road, cows were pastured in another. The helicopter rotors washed a big dirt circle into the green pasture.

Two long, dark bloodstains streaked the road.

Neighbors mingled on the fenceline of nearby Thomas Dairy asking the same questions as investigators: Was the attacker on drugs? Mentally ill? All of the above? Why did it happen here?

Isabelle Thomas, who lives a few hundred yards from the scene, was working at Emanuel Medical Center, a nurse in the surgical unit, when her son called her with word something bad had happened. Soon she heard of the little boy who died 500 yards from her front door.

"I couldn't go to sleep. I couldn't rest without seeing it and all that blood. I couldn't believe all that blood," she said.

Sunday morning, she watched a tow truck haul away the pickup. The inside cab, she said, was smeared with blood. A rosary swung from the rearview mirror.

"I've been here 53 years," said her brother, John Thomas, "and I've never seen anything like this. I've never seen anything like this before."

The incident happened on Bradbury Road about 10 miles west of Turlock, a city located about halfway between Sacramento and Fresno.

UPDATE:

Calif. police ID man they say fatally beat toddler

TURLOCK, Calif. -- Police on Monday identified a man who was fatally shot by an officer for allegedly refusing to stop beating a toddler to death along a remote road.

Sergio Casian Aguilar, 27, parked his truck on an unlit road Saturday night, removed a 2-year-old boy from his car seat and proceeded to stomp, kick and punch the boy to death, authorities said. The boy was unrecognizable when he was pronounced dead at Emanuel Medical Center, the Stanislaus County Sheriff's Department said.

Authorities have not released the boy's name but say they believe he was Aguilar's son. The Stanislaus County coroner and the California Department of Justice are testing DNA to confirm the relationship.

Several motorists called 911 and tried to stop the beating, authorities said.

Dan Robinson, a local volunteer fire department chief, told The Modesto Bee that at first glance, he thought the child was a dead animal in the road. He said when he realized it was a child, he tried to stop Aguilar.

He said Aguilar had a "total hollowness in his eyes" and talked calmly of the boy being filled with "demons."

Witness Lisa Mota told the San Francisco Chronicle that Aguilar told people who tried to stop him that the boy was "trash."

Responding to 911 calls, a Stanislaus County Sheriff's Department helicopter landed in a dairy pasture near the scene. A Modesto police officer, Jerry Ramar, fatally shot Aguilar after he failed to heed the officer's warning to stop beating the child, authorities said. Aguilar flashed his middle finger at Ramar before Ramar shot him in the forehead, police said.

"I have never seen anything like that before and I hope I never have to again," Ramar said of the beating.

Authorities have not released the name of the boy's mother.

Aguilar had no previous criminal history, police said. Results of toxicology tests on Aguilar are expected in four weeks.

Ramar has been placed on paid administrative leave, a routine response for officer-involved shootings.

God bless Ofc. Ramar for being there. I only wish it would've been in time.

The Greatest Father in the World

I had planned on posting this for Father's Day, but BlackFive beat me to it. I originally got from him anyway.

Strongest Dad in the World
Rick Reilly
Sports Illustrated Issue date: June 20, 2005, p. 88

I try to be a good father. Give my kids mulligans. Work nights to pay for their text messaging. Take them to swimsuit shoots.

But compared with Dick Hoyt, I suck.

Eighty-five times he's pushed his disabled son, Rick, 26.2 miles in marathons. Eight times he's not only pushed him 26.2 miles in a wheelchair but also towed him 2.4 miles in a dinghy while swimming and pedaled him 112 miles in a seat on the handlebars -- all in the same day.

Dick's also pulled him cross-country skiing, taken him on his back mountain climbing and once hauled him across the U.S. on a bike. Makes taking your son bowling look a little lame, right?

And what has Rick done for his father? Not much -- except save his life.

This love story began in Winchester, Mass., 43 years ago, when Rick was strangled by the umbilical cord during birth, leaving him brain-damaged and unable to control his limbs.

"He'll be a vegetable the rest of his life," Dick says doctors told him and his wife, Judy, when Rick was nine months old. "Put him in an institution."

But the Hoyts weren't buying it. They noticed the way Rick's eyes followed them around the room. When Rick was 11 they took him to the engineering department at Tufts University and asked if there was anything to help the boy communicate. "No way," Dick says he was told. "There's nothing going on in his brain."

"Tell him a joke," Dick countered. They did. Rick laughed. Turns out a lot was going on in his brain.

Rigged up with a computer that allowed him to control the cursor by touching a switch with the side of his head, Rick was finally able to communicate. First words? "Go Bruins!" And after a high school classmate was paralyzed in an accident and the school organized a charity run for him, Rick pecked out, "Dad, I want to do that."

Yeah, right. How was Dick, a self-described "porker" who never ran more than a mile at a time, going to push his son five miles? Still, he tried. "Then it was me who was handicapped," Dick says. "I was sore for two weeks."

That day changed Rick's life. "Dad," he typed, "when we were running, it felt like I wasn't disabled anymore!"

And that sentence changed Dick's life. He became obsessed with giving Rick that feeling as often as he could. He got into such hard-belly shape that he and Rick were ready to try the 1979 Boston Marathon.

"No way," Dick was told by a race official. The Hoyts weren't quite a single runner, and they weren't quite a wheelchair competitor. For a few years Dick and Rick just joined the massive field and ran anyway, then they found a way to get into the race officially: In 1983 they ran another marathon so fast they made the qualifying time for Boston the following year.

Then somebody said, "Hey, Dick, why not a triathlon?"

How's a guy who never learned to swim and hadn't ridden a bike since he was six going to haul his 110-pound kid through a triathlon? Still, Dick tried.

Now they've done 212 triathlons, including four grueling 15-hour Ironmans in Hawaii. It must be a buzzkill to be a 25-year-old stud getting passed by an old guy towing a grown man in a dinghy, don't you think?

Hey, Dick, why not see how you'd do on your own? "No way," he says. Dick does it purely for "the awesome feeling" he gets seeing Rick with a cantaloupe smile as they run, swim and ride together.

This year, at ages 65 and 43, Dick and Rick finished their 24th Boston Marathon, in 5,083rd place out of more than 20,000 starters. Their best time? Two hours, 40 minutes in 1992 -- only 35 minutes off the world record, which, in case you don't keep track of these things, happens to be held by a guy who was not pushing another man in a wheelchair at the time.

"No question about it," Rick types. "My dad is the Father of the Century."

And Dick got something else out of all this too. Two years ago he had a mild heart attack during a race. Doctors found that one of his arteries was 95% clogged. "If you hadn't been in such great shape," one doctor told him, "you probably would've died 15 years ago."

So, in a way, Dick and Rick saved each other's life.

Rick, who has his own apartment (he gets home care) and works in Boston, and Dick, retired from the military and living in Holland, Mass., always find ways to be together. They give speeches around the country and compete in some backbreaking race every weekend, including this Father's Day.

That night, Rick will buy his dad dinner, but the thing he really wants to give him is a gift he can never buy.

"The thing I'd most like," Rick types, "is that my dad sit in the chair and I push him once."

Here's a comment from BlackFive's post. Another great Dad...

On this Father's Day, it is my son at Camp Baharia, Iraq that holds my heart so tenderly in his warrior's hands. The Hoyts' father-son connection is what The Father intended, and so it is with us. On our last phone call, he said, "I hate putting you through this, Dad.". His being gives my life purpose, and his purpose gives my heart the strength to remain strong for him and his mission. I am envious that, unlike Dick, I am unable to be with him, struggle with him, be victorious with him. It is the son that makes the father. Thanks for the story of love, strength, endurance. Love survives all things; Dick and Rick Hoyt prove God is true to His Word.

Posted by: twolaneflash | June 16, 2007 at 11:18 AM

God Bless Rick and Dick Hoyt.

Happy Father's Day

One of the greatest movie scenes ever.

There's a post about this scene over at Michelle Malkin's place on Barry O'Bama and also about how this scene is synonymous with the GWOT.

I agree.

What the future looks like...

This photo is of the outside of The Gun Store Las Vegas. The good news is that gun owners aren't buying into any of the "sensible gun control" nonsense anymore. The bad news is, there is probably very little incentive for Obama to go duck hunting to shore up support from sportsmen, and we'll miss out on all of the great photos of the Senator in blaze orange.

From Instapundit

The SCOTUS decision on Enemy Combatants

By now, I'm sure everyone knows that the SCOTUS gave Enemy Combatants the right to petition for Habeas Corpus challenges to their detention as Enemy Combatants.

I'm with Justice Scalia. American lives will probably be lost as a result of this horrendous decision. America is less safe today, as a result of the Court's ruling.

Fortunately, I have a solution.

1) Move all EC's/detainees overseas, immediately. Hold them in a foreign country and try them at a US Military Tribunal (as originally planned).

2) Do not take any more Enemy Combatant's into custody. Kill them on the battlefield.

Problem solved.

The needle is too good for this turd...

Too bad it'll take him 20+ years to see one...

Judge upholds jury's verdict in CHP officer's murder case

By Hudson Sangree - hsangree@sacbee.com
Published 1:40 pm PDT Thursday, June 12, 2008

A Yolo County judge upheld a jury's verdict and sentenced Brendt Volarvich to death Thursday for the November 2005 killing of California Highway Patrol Officer Andy Stevens.

Judge Stephen L. Mock then ordered sheriff's deputies to transport the 22-year-old Volarvich to San Quentin State Prison. The prison is home to California's Death Row.

Gregory Zielesch, convicted along with Volarvich for Stevens' killing, was also scheduled to be sentenced Thursday. Jurors found that Zielesch supplied Volarvich with the gun that was used to kill Stevens as part of an unrelated murder plot.

But Mock postponed Zielesch's sentencing after his attorney submitted new statements that he said showed Zielesch was innocent. The judge scheduled a hearing Aug. 1 to weigh the new evidence and will decide if Zielesch should be granted a new trial. Zielesch, 50, of Woodland faces a possible sentence of life in prison without parole.

LE Appreciation day at Hard Rock Cafe - June 14th

Hard Rock Cafe Offers Cops $.71 Hamburgers on June 14

Hard Rock International will celebrate its Founders' Day by serving those "rock stars" who serve us. For the second consecutive year, on Saturday, June 14th, participating Hard Rock Cafes in the continental U.S., Canada, and Europe will host the Burger Badge Bash, a birthday celebration like no other. Community servants, including police, firefighters, and emergency medical technicians, are invited to celebrate the birth of an instant classic by enjoying any of Hard Rock's Legendary Burgers for just 71 cents as a commemoration of the birth year of the Hard Rock chain.

Since 1971, Hard Rock Cafes have served more than 6 million Legendary Experience Burgers each year. Now they'll open their doors to the hardworking men and women behind the badge with a 71 cent offering from the Hard Rock Legendary Experience. All six Legendary Burger selections feature a proprietary blend of grilled Certified Angus Beef topped with mouth-watering sauces, cheeses and other unique flavors .

In addition to the 71 cent price of Legendary Burgers for badge holders, select Hard Rock Cafes around the world are creating customized birthday celebrations, featuring retro music set to 1971 and complimentary Hard Rock birthday cake.

"At Hard Rock International, we are dedicated to our 'Love All, Serve All' mantra," said Sean Dee, vice president and chief marketing officer of Hard Rock International. "On Founders' Day, the Burger Badge Bash provides us with a great opportunity to celebrate our heritage, while giving back to those who serve and protect our communities."

Fair Winds and Following Seas...

Chief David Eberhart, the warrior that was battling cancer (that I talked about here) has gone home to be with the Lord. He passed on this past Saturday.

RIP Chief...

DemocRats block domestic oil drilling AGAIN!

The traitors known as DemocRats again blocked a bill to allow domestic oil drilling.

But of course they always blame the Republicans (and the EVIL OIL COMPANIES!) as being the cause of high gas prices.

It doesn't seem to bother Democrats that China is drilling within 50 miles of the US coast but American companies are not allowed to.

Hopefully soon, American's will see what's really going and who's to blame.

A House subcommittee on Wednesday rejected a Republican-led effort to open up more U.S. coastal waters to oil exploration.

Rep. John Peterson, R-Pa., spearheaded the effort. His proposal would open up U.S. waters between 50 and 200 miles off shore for drilling. The first 50 miles off shore would be left alone.

But the plan failed Wednesday on a 9-6, party-line vote in a House appropriations subcommittee, which was considering the proposal as part of an Interior Department spending package.

With record oil prices and gas prices projected to hover around the $4 mark for the rest of the summer, Republicans have ratcheted up their efforts to open up oil exploration along U.S. coastline. But the long-sought change has so far been unsuccessful.

H/T: Gateway Pundit

But I thought the Chinese are our friends...

Wake up people, China is in an un-declared war with America.
They have been for a long time.

2 lawmakers say computers hacked by Chinese

By PETE YOST and LARA JAKES JORDAN, Associated (with Terrorists) Press Writers

WASHINGTON - Two House members said Wednesday their Capitol Hill computers, containing information about political dissidents from around the world, have been hacked by sources apparently working out of China.

Virginia Rep. Frank Wolf says four of his computers were hacked. New Jersey Rep. Chris Smith says two of his computers were compromised in December 2006 and March 2007.

The two lawmakers are longtime critics of China's record on human rights.

In an interview Wednesday, Wolf said the hacking of computers in his Capitol Hill office began in August 2006. He says a computer at a House committee office also was hacked, and he suggested others in the House and possibly the Senate could be involved.

The FBI declined to comment.

Wolf said that in his office, the hackers "got everything," including all the casework regarding political dissidents around the world.

In comments to The Associated Press earlier in the day, Wolf suggested the problem probably goes further. "If it's been done in the House, don't you think that they're doing the same thing in the Senate?"

"I think this is very bad because you have the Chinese compromising and gaining access to computers of any number of members of the House and a major committee of the House," Wolf said. "We don't know how many others."

In calling for hearings in both the House and Senate, Wolf said there "probably are members serving in Congress whose computers have been compromised and they may not even know it."

Separately, U.S. authorities are investigating whether Chinese officials secretly copied the contents of a government laptop computer during a visit to China by Commerce Secretary Carlos M. Gutierrez and used the information to try to hack into Commerce Department computers.

The FBI declined to comment. In Beijing, the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs had no immediate comment. Last week, China denied the accusations regarding Gutierrez's laptop and the alleged effort to hack Commerce Department computers.

Wolf said he has known about the hacking for a long time but was discouraged from discussing it publicly by people inside U.S. government, whom he refused to identify.

"The problem has been that no one wants to talk about this issue," said Wolf. "Every time I've started to do something I've been told 'You can't do this.' A lot of people have made it very, very difficult."

Wolf plans to introduce a resolution that he says will help ensure protection for all House computers and information systems. In a draft of prepared remarks he planned to deliver on the House floor Wednesday afternoon, Wolf says he is "deeply concerned that Congress is not adequately aware of or protected" from cyber attacks.

"My own suspicion is I was targeted by China because of my long history of speaking out about China's abysmal human rights record," Wolf says in his remarks. He said Congress should hold hearings, specifically the House Intelligence Committee, Armed Services Committee and Government Operations Committee.

Wolf's resolution calls for the chief administrative officer and sergeant at arms of the House, in consultation with the FBI, to alert House members and their staffs to the danger of electronic attacks. He also wants lawmakers to be fully briefed on ways to safeguard official records from electronic security breaches.

Speaking generally in May 2006, Wolf called Chinese spying efforts "frightening" and said it was no secret that the United States is a principal target of Chinese intelligence services.