More on Police Military Style Raids

From Popular Mechanics of all places. Radley Balko, aka "The Agitator," is quoted in this article. He is the person responsible for that map of botched raids that Otter linked a couple of posts below.

He also coined the term - The Militarization of Mayberry about tiny towns that get fun new toys that they can use to terrorize their citizenry.

Thus, the sheriff’s department in landlocked Boone County, Ind., has an amphibious armored personnel carrier. (According to that county’s sheriff-elect, the vehicle has been used to deliver prescriptions to snow-bound elderly residents, and to provide protection during a suspected hostage situation.) Jasper, Fla.,—with 2000 inhabitants and two murders in the past 12 years—obtained seven M-16s from the federal government, leading an area newspaper to run a story with the subhead, “Three stoplights, seven M-16s.”

This approach, though, has led to problems both obvious and subtle. The obvious problem should be especially apparent to readers of this magazine: Once you’ve got a cool tool, you kind of want to use it. That’s true whether it’s a pneumatic drill, a laser level or an armored fighting vehicle. SWAT teams, designed to deal with rare events, wound up doing routine police work, like serving drug warrants.

The subtle effect is also real: Dress like a soldier and you think you’re at war. And, in wartime, civil liberties—or possible innocence—of the people on “the other side” don’t come up much. But the police aren’t at war with the citizens they serve, or at least they’re not supposed to be.

This is definitely a frightening trend that can really be tied in with the whole recent trend of failing to value the individual. That valuation choice leads to diminished property rights, limited choices through regulations (see the whole "Trans-fats" issue), and a general reliance on a government that has now proven time and time again that if you get in its way, it will crush you - justice be damned.

Oh yeah, Glenn Reynolds - Instapundit - is the author of the article. Heh!

Kid H.

Freedom and Racism

I finally found some time yesterday early in the morning to watch that video where "Kramer" just looses it on stage. I'll admit, it's pretty bad and it wouldn't necessarily be my word choice. But last time I checked, one of the great things about America is that you have the freedom to say what you want even if you don't like what the other person is saying.

I have problems when people like Jesse Jackson take an incident like this (which to me was nothing more than a rant gone bad) and turned it into an example that "mainstream" America is full of racist bigots. Furthermore, I take issue when Jackson claims that the "n" word is "unprotected." So are we saying that certain words are ok and certain words aren't? Or is it that certain people just can't say certain words.... Don't remember seeing that in the Bill 'o Rights.

A wise college professor once told me that we have "freedom of speech - just be careful what you say." He couldn't be more right in this case.

Paramilitary Police Raids

"If a widespread pattern of [knock-and-announce] violations were shown . . . there would be reason for grave concern."

—Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy, in Hudson v. Michigan, June 15, 2006.

This post is via Neil Boortz... Make sure you zoom in on the map, only after a zoom does all the incidents appear. Also, use the pull down menu below the map to read the news reports for each incident. It's enough to make you sick.

Otter

Are Anti-Capitalists more Likely to be Racist?

THOSE WHO FAVOR INCOME REDISTRIBUTION ARE MORE LIKELY TO EXPRESS RACIST VIEWS.

Last week I posted several times on the charitable donation patterns of redistributionists, the subject of one chapter in the book Who Really Cares and a peripheral issue in a paper of mine, Testing Social Dominance: Is Support for Capitalism and Opposition to Income Redistribution Driven by Racism and Intolerance?

This is definitely some interesting stuff. Certainly not what we've been led to believe.

Kid Handsome

I stole this post verbatim from Hit & Run because it's awesome

A couple of months ago, the Office of National Drug Policy apparently decided that a "with it" kinda' thing to do would be to upload the agency's awful anti-drug videos up to YouTube. Naturally, you aren't permitted to comment on the commercials, keeping with the drug warriors general approach to dissent. Once several hundred people had given the videos poor ratings, they disabled the rating function, too.

What's disappointing is that the agency persuaded YouTube to give it its own little corner of the site, complete with unique formatting and a unique URL. Not cool, YouTubers.

This week's propaganda video is apparently an attempt to encourage young people to buck peer pressure. The tag line is a riot: "When you give up the ability to decide for yourself...You give up what makes you, you."

Marvel for just a sec at the irony in that line.


Kid H.

Link Here Again

Food Poisoning...

.. there are many things I SHOULD be doing... Instead I'm re-reading ALL of Bad News Hughes. I started and can't stop. The man truly is a talented writer (plus he is a drunken redneck, and you really can't beat that).

The link above isn't anywhere near one of my favorite posts, but it does clearly show his talent as a story teller. As with most his stories, it feels almost rambling, one disjointed idea after another. However, by the end, he ties up all the lost threads into a perfect little knot.

If you haven't read Bad News Hughes, give this story a read. If anything else some of his insights into veganism is a hoot!

Otter

Americium-241

I hate to think of what will happen when these dumb asses pick up books other than the Quran.

Otter

Barrel Full of Monkeys…

…more work but as much fun as a barrel full of monkeys

Last night was my brother’s turn at using his recipe to brew our next batch of beer. He chose a modified version of a beer called “A Barrel Full Of Monkeys Oatmeal Stout”.

It was a little more effort than the last couple of batches I’ve made since it was a full grain mash. Eight POUNDS of oatmeal, barley and wheat. Hell the sparging alone took over an hour. The whole process took about 5 and a half hours.

I’m glad my brother chose this recipe, ‘cause it was kind of tricky. Lets put it this way…

The author of the Joy of Brewing, pretty much recognized as the god of home brewing, has a phrase he repeats constantly in his books. Anytime ANYTHING is a little difficult he says “Relax. Have a home brew.” For this recipe, if something isn’t working right he says “Have a home brew, but don’t relax too much, you have to figure out a way to save your mash.”

Even though it was only a one step lauter, there aren’t too many more aspects of brewing that are much more difficult. Basically, when this pans out and is in the glass, we’ll know we can brew anything.

So everything went off without a hitch. Our equipment is now nearing perfect. We have a colander that can hold about 8 pounds of wet grains. We have a propane single burner grill to get our brew-a-boiling, and we have a pot so freaking big it wouldn’t boil over if we were brewing ten gallons instead of five.

This morning when I woke, the primary fermenter was bubbling away showing all the signs of a healthy yeast strain. Little critters turning sugar to alcohol and co2.

Barrel Full of Monkeys Oatmeal Stout will be ready, kegged, put under co2 and chilled in about 15 days.

Within the next week, I’ll be starting up my next brew. I think I’m going to try another variation of an American Pale Ale. Don’t know yet. It needs to be lighter to contrast, which is sure to be, a very hearty stout. However, what this means is we need another quarter barrel, so I can keg my beer when it is ready. In turn, what THAT means is I have to buy a quarter barrel full of beer, which leads us to me saying in the next week or so, stop by and help me drink some beers.

Otter

P.S. Brooklyn Hops... my original creation we last brewed.. It was freaking awesome... Sorry I don't think many of you tried it :)

I came here to post...

... but discovered even with ample topics bouncing around in my head, I have no motivation to type anything other than this brief message. Sorry.

Otter

Cops Are Dumb

This one's a classic. Guy is too intelligent to work for the police. Like I said, it's from 1999, but it's something we shouldn't forget.

Kid

Cox and Forkam

Though a recommended daily read anyway, I wanted to point out this particular article concerning the upcoming election. It's a must read.

Otter

Of freedom of speech..

This past weekend a very lovely young lady asked me to go with her to her cousin’s wedding just outside of Philadelphia. We both left from work on Friday and headed north. I had a really good time all weekend. The wedding was very enjoyable, my date was gorgeous, and no one died or went to jail. A complete success.

Saturday and Sunday were booked, but luckily my schedule allowed the opportunity Friday to spend the night at the home of one of my best friends. “Issss”.

Isss (you can spell it with as many or as few “s’s” as you wish) and I went to college together and both majored in political science. Iss went on to Grad school continuing his political education and worked on the Hill for several years as a lobbyist before eventually returning home to the family business. This is important to know only to establish that Isss KNOWS Politics.

While my attention and interest to politics (often directly proportional to my level of disgust) waxes and wanes, Iss is up on politics not only locally in his neck of the woods but also around the nation. My friend was pissed and felt he needed to vocalize his feelings. Spending a very non-trivial amount of money, Isss had printed 50 signs saying….

“More Lawyers. Less Doctors. – Vote Democrat”

and

“Support the Lazy – Vote Democrat”

Simple, maybe. Funny yes. Honest, more than most would like to admit.

I’ll have photos up when I can get them. Sure it was bumper sticker politics, but it felt good.

In an evening of political chaos, not since the days of the rogue Dole / Kemp mini van crashing the Westminster parade, or the evening fund Raiser at Boss Bulls house for John McCain has the likes of which been seen. We went out into the darkness exercising our Constitutional right and our cultural heritage! The only way I could have felt more patriotic is if we were dressed as Indians and chucked something into the Delaware River. (BTW, believe it or not, McCain Feingold doesn’t apply to us either!)

Basically we put up the signs.

It took a couple hours. However, in the end I remembered how much I enjoyed thinking about the issues we all face. How much I really do care about the direction this country is going. How much I really want the world to be a better place.

Friday ended with beers and Empire Strikes back on TV. Couldn’t get much better than that. Saturday on the way to the wedding I was full of pride every time I road past one of Issss’s signs challenging other peoples opinions.

Otter

UPDATE: It seems the left is as morally bankrupt as they are intellectually. While we only added signs, members the left REMOVED and destroyed some of our signs to put up the uber original "No blood for Oil" message. Way to go losers! Nothing like having a free marketplace of ideas!

If you would like your own copies of the signs you can get them here...

Sign 1
Sign 2

Something Evil Afoot ?

As Dirk Gently knows, there are no such things as coincidences.

Today while driving to work, the light turned red in front of me. I stopped right next to the Maryland Science Center (only important so you can visualize where I am). I was the first person at the light.

To my left, waiting for the light to turn red so she could run past was a very attractive woman in a black body suit. As she jogged in front of me I couldn't help but notice she bounced and didn't bounce in all the right places. She was very pretty, but something about her was "evil pretty". Goth, but without the goth. She just seemed not "good". It was kind of disturbing, like finding the step mother in Snow White hot. She jogged on and then was out of my sight.

Still at the stop light I glance down at my dash and my trip odometer (still running from my return trip from Bourbon and Burn) read 666.0. I was like "damn."

At that same moment a song ended and the Misfits start playing from my newly created mixed CD. Fiend Club. The chorus of that song is "Evil all the time. We are the Fiend Club."

I wonder.... I wonder....

Otter

post script... the fourth floor of my parking garage is exactly one mile from the Science Center red light.

Martin O'Malley is an Idiot

This guy is running for Governor for Maryland, which would include Scaggsville had we not secretly seceded and created something that didn't suck.

Cars in Baltimore, Maryland can be towed even when legally parked. According to the city, a vehicle that is not moved at least once every 48 hours is considered "abandoned" and is subject to towing.

This happened to resident Milton Boyd who had legally parked his Volvo sedan outside his home before a July vacation. When he returned, his car was gone. Boyd thought it had been stolen, but it turned out that police impounded the car and demanded $352 in fines and fees for its return.

The vehicle, though considered abandoned, was in perfect condition, legally parked with a valid registration and license plate. Baltimore Mayor Martin O'Malley responded to an email about the situation by suggesting that those going on a vacation should find, "a neighbor or friend you can entrust the vehicle to."

I also love how they like to boot cars on a Friday, so that you don't have access to your car all week. It's especially cool when they do it only after misreading a license plate number, so they don't even have the right vehicle. I recall shooting off an e-mail to the Mayor about that one - only I never got a response.

I'd like it if NO'Malley would find a neighbor he can trust to govern Maryland while he's preening and making idiotic statements in the hopes we'll see him as the new JFK.

Link via this post on Hit&Run, which you should definitely read, as it includes a blurb about a british guy getting arrested for using the law to get people out of trouble. Apparently, the government equates that with stealing all their nanny-state revenue. Bunch 'o Palsy bitches.

Change - Up

Here is one mom's take on slutty halloween costumes.

Here's a link to a picture of the Slutty Dorothy costume discussed in the above post.

Link via Instapundit

I like the Hubble Telescope

but the repair mission will keep it alive until 2013, and it costs $900 million. I'm thinking we take that $900 million and, oh I don't know, maybe build a new telescope.

Is that really a terrible idea?