Saddam is dead.

The butcher of Iraq is dead, hanged by their new government just after 10pm EST today. Don't look for CNN to run the video, though, As Tammy Bruce points out, it's okay to show a video of a terrorist murdering an American Soldier, but showing the execution of Hussein, well, that's just not right.

For those of you who are re-reading this post, I have edited it. I removed the gloating. To be honest, it was the wrong thing to do, as pointed out by Neal in the comments section of this post.

Fallen Brother

I went, yesterday, to the wake for Manchester, NH Police Officer Michael Briggs. For those who don't know, Officer Briggs was shot and killed by a dirt bag fifteen minutes before the end of his shift last monday morning. Officer Briggs held on to his life for a day or so, while the dirtbag ran to Boston. The Heros at Boston PD picked him up within 24 hours, and the dirtbag is currently fighting extradidtion to NH. The dirtbag is just delaying the inevitable. The NH legislature has authorized $460,000 for the prosocution of the dirtbag. As far as I am concerned, Kelly Ayote, the NH Attorney General can spend it all, and if she needs more, give it to her. You see, the dirtbag has earned himself a Capital Murder charge here in the State of New Hampshire. I hope the dirtbag rides the needle. Ironically, three years age, the Dirtbag was the one who was shot, and Officer Briggs was the first to arrive and render first aid to him.
The weather for the wake yesterday was pouring down rain. I stood out in it for two hours to pay my respects with what appeared to be about a thousand other police officers. I would have stood all day if I had to. The Heros at Boston PD sent a good number of officers, as did the Mass State Police,. and several other Masss agencies. I saw the Vermont State Police. Of course, officers from just about every NH agency were there. It was very moving.
I did not know Officer Briggs. In fact, I don't think that I know anybody at Manchester PD. Still, I felt compelled to go yesterday. I then found out that Officer Briggs and I recieved an award on the same night in the past.
Last night, the most ferocious cold front that I have seen in quite awhile rolled through. Today, for the funeral, it is bright and sunny, cold and windy. I can't tell you why, but I think the weather was perfect yesterday, and perfect for today.
Officer Briggs was 35, just like me. He had a wife and two kids, just like me. Please consider donating to the Family Fund. Officer Briggs died, not having made a mistake, or by some accident while he was working. Officer Briggs died doing his job because he was fiercly deticated to it. He gave everything he had to the City of Manchester. He is a Hero. Farewell and Godspeed, Michael.

Comments

I finally have a little free time, and something to write about, both at the same time. This hasn't happened in about four months.
I was recently paging through my blog and noticed a few comments had been posted on some of my old posts. I don't know when they were posted, but I found them interesting nonetheless, particularly some comments on my Sad State of Affairs post from about a year ago.
First, a comment from Jason:

"I'm wondering if you would have figured it so quickly? The fact is,
cashiers may well be conditioned to just hand back the change
indicated. Did it occur to you that perhaps the person behind the
counter is actually intelligent, but maybe under the pressure of a
crappy job and a long line? Don't be such a preachy elitist. And as for
home schooling, go right ahead; just get used to the idea of your kids
not being able to relate to the rest of the world. I'd be curious to
see one day if your home schooled child ever makes a minor mistake in
the marketplace. But surely, you will cover all the bases, as all home
school parents do."

Jason asks if I would have figured it our so quickly. Frankly, yes. It's not that hard. My second job, which I started while still in High School, was at a Burger King. When I was there, the register did not always tell you what change to give back. So, we were taught how to "count back" change, and it if fairly simple.
This brings me to Jason's second point about pressure, long lines and a crappy job. Guess what? Most jobs have some sort of pressure, so deal with it and don't let it effect your job performance. High School jobs are where people are supposed to learn to deal with that.
And finally, as to his comments about me home schooling my children.... I just may. My wife and I have not decided yet. But I will tell you this: My decision will not be based on how I think my children will relate to other people as a result. There are plenty of other ways to teach my children how to relate without sacrificing their education.

Next a comment from anonymous:

"Bill,
As a school teacher who holds a Master's Degree in
education, (what's your degree in?) I can tell you that the home
schooled children who have arrived in my classroom because their
parents can no longer handle the demands of educating their children at
home, are severely lacking in social skills. I would rather my child
make an honest mistake in making change than be a social outcast. The
"home schooled" children I know have problems with drugs, make the bomb
threat warnings on our bathroom walls, and have no sense of the social
cues around them. I am glad to say that my students have currently
ranked above state standards in our standardized tests, not that I give
much credit to this method of determining a child's potential. As a
police officer, you should also know that a lot more than a school and
classroom teacher makes a child's educational experience a success. How
well do you expect children from dysfunctional homes to do in school?
Sometimes they are doing the best they can and hopefully I can make a
little more of a difference. And by the way, I hope you are not
considering home schooling your children with the number of spelling
errors in your blog.

10:04 PM"

This one is interesting, because anonymous is apparently proud of his Master's Degree in education, as he mentions it first off. He then turns to questioning me about my education level. Yet, he won't say who he is. He could be a she, for all I know, but I refuse to write the he/she B.S. throughout my post, so a he will remain a male until I know otherwise.
Next, he feels the need to talk about all of the formerly home schooled children he has dealt with. They are "severely lacking" in social skills. They have problems with drugs and make the bomb threat warnings on the bathroom walls. Notice that he makes no effort to make it clear that he is not talking about all home-schooled children he has dealt with, so I suppose we can assume that the majority are that way, in his opinion. He then later mentions my career, Law Enforcement. My reply, then, will come from that perspective. Are all government schooled kids bad apples? Absolutly not. But I will tell you that the vast majority of the kids I have to deal with go to the local High School. In our area, there are a lot of home-schooled kids. I can think of one that we have had problems with. I work a lot of details at the High School dances and sporting events, where home-schooled kids are allowed to participate, and the home-schoolers do not cause the problems that arise. In fact, usually they are the victims of assaults and the like. I can tell you that I don't know of one home-schooled child, or former home-schooled child, who has written any of the numerous bomb threats at the school.
Anonymous finally feels the need to criticize my spelling. I won't even reply.

Immigration

I am getting tired of this immigration debate. I am really getting tired of the protests going on against the U.S. actually enforcing it's borders. I am also tired of the pro-illegal rhetoric. But there is one thing that I really can not stand to listen to. "Immigrants are doing jobs that American won't do."

I think that is so insulting to the hard working Americans in this country that have propelled the economy along. The fact is, we just happen to be at full employment, so there are jobs that don't get taken. The Pro-Amnesty crowd will have you believe that the only way to keep the economy moving is to keep the illegal immigrants that are here. Make no mistake. Any plan that rewards someone whose first act and decision on American soil was to break the law is amnesty. Call it what you will, but that is what it is. If it walks like a duck, and talks like a duck, it ain't a goose.

There is a way, though, to keep the economy moving, and remove the illegals. It is called Capitalism. Right now, businesses have no incentive to not use cheap, illegal labor. However, if we were to start punishing these businesses for real, Capitalism would take over and technology would provide the labor. It has worked every time that it has been tried.

More on this subject to come. I haven't had a lot of time lately, but I am doing my best.