Dell Sucks

Let me relate to you my experience with Dell. Dell Sucks, by the way, in case you didn't read the title.

My niece, god bless her, was accepted at a university here in New Hampshire. This year, the university is requiring all of their freshmen to bring a laptop. Not a bad idea. And, they have this contract with Dell that gives you a discount, and will have all the features you need, yada yada yada. So we ordered one. On July 5th.

Well, the ship date of 7/18 arrives, and we get notified that it's been pushed back to 7/27. Great. 7/27 rolls around, and three things happen. We notice that the new ship date is now 8/3. Next, we get an email telling us that the new date is 8/3, and we need to either cancel the order, accept the new ship date, or accept ANY new ship date in the future. Third, I received a message on the phone stating that FTC rules required that, because of the number of times the ship date was changed, I needed to call this number and confirm that I still wanted the laptop, and if I didn't call by 7/27, the order was going to get cancelled. (I had gone away, and received that message on 7/28)

So, I tried calling the number I was given, and after hearing "welcome to Dell" I was transferred to a voicemailbox that was full. Great. Needless to say, I was a bit pissed by this point. So, we went to Staples and found a better laptop, cheaper, and after the rebates, we get more stuff to go with it. So, I spoke with the Dell rep in the area and told him that I'd found another computer, and didn't want the Dell. He said he'd cancel the order. That was on the morning of 7/30.

Well, we then find out that the order was shipped the next day. So, we called DHL and told them not to deliver it. We called the credit card company, and asked if the money had been charged tot he card. No, they said. And since there was now only $50 on the card, they didn't see how it could be. (The hold that Dell had put on the money had run out sometime before 7/27)

So, we get up this morning and find her card $1200 over limit. Great. After 68 minutes on the phone with dell, and getting told a few times "let me transfer you to the RIGHT department," I am left with waiting 3 weeks to get my money back. That's after they admitted that not only was it their fault, but they only thing that is keeping them from crediting the card is a company policy on how they handle credits.

So, moral of the story, DELL SUCKS! Go to Staples, you can go home with your computer.

A Sad Day for NH Law Enforcement

It is with great sorrow that I have to write another post about a fallen officer so soon after my last. On the evening of 5/11/2007, Cpl Bruce McKay, Franconia NH was making a routine traffic stop. The details or sketchy as yet, however, during the stop, the driver left the scene. After a brief pursuit, the driver stopped again. At some point after that, the driver opened fire on Cpl McKay. Cpl McKay was struck four times, and collapsed in the roadway. The driver then ran over Cpl McKay, and pinned him under his vehicle.

This whole incident was witnessed by a father and son. The father, Gregory Floyd, went to the aid of Cpl McKay, and took his duty weapon from his belt. He pointed the gun at the driver, who was in the process of reloading, ordering him to drop the gun. He did not, and was subsequently shot by Floyd.

Cpl McKay was 48 years old and a 12 year veteran of Franconia PD. He has a 10 year old daughter. Gregory Floyd is 49 and deserves a medal. The dead driver is Liko Kenney, cousin of skier Bodie Miller.

Updates as I get them to follow.

Make a Promise to Yourself

Just.One.Person.

This idea was started here, by joe at the Crabby Shack. You should go there and read it for yourself before reading on here.

Just.One.Person.

As a cop, I can tell you that I work every single shift with the mindset that I am going home at the end of it. Every car stop, every domestic, and every fight.

Granted, I am in a line of work where I am put in those situations more than others. But that does not matter. We all have the potential of having to face a goblin.

What are you going to do when it is your turn? Have you thought about it? You should. The goblins do. A lot. Every day of their lives, they do, you can bet on it. So what are you going to do?

Again, as a cop, I can tell you that the police will not be there to protect you. I wish that weren't so, but it is. It is just logistically impossible. I work an area where the vast majority of the time we have two officers covering 200 miles of road. The State Police in this area are spread even thinner. We react to crime. We can not protect everyone all of the time.

People need to be able and willing to defend themselves. That means YOU.

Promise yourself that no matter what you come across, or which goblin you are facing, YOU ARE GOING HOME AT THE END!!!! The more of you that have that mindset, the safer the country will be, whether it is your local crack head looking for his next fix, or a Bin Ladin wannabe picking your mall for his path to his 72 virgins.

Just imagine if there had been one person in one of the classrooms at VT that had made that promise to himself or herself. Think about it.

Portrait of a Hero

The above picture, for those who don't know, is of Prof Liviu Librescu, of Virginia Tech. He is a hero by any sense of the word. A Holocaust Survivor, he spent his last few moments on this earth holding the door to his classroom shut so that his students could escape out the window before that worthless piece of scum executed him. This man's picture should be plastered all over as a shining example of greatness.

It seems, however, that the MSM is more interested in putting up the pictures of the pond scum that wrecked so much havoc on that campus a few days ago. That is pitiful. Predictable, but pitiful. It is what that piece of crap wanted. "No Looking Backwards" has a post that you can sign up to pledge not to put the scumbag's picture on your web site, and I encourage all to do so.

I have waited awhile to comment on the events at Virginia Tech. Partially because there is so much to say that I don't know where to begin, and partially because there are others that say it so much better then I can. LCBrendan at the Anti Idiotarian Rottweiller points out what gun control laws have done to Australia here. There are those that believe that we should repeal the Second Amendment, and Emperor Misha that idiocy here.

As a cop, I can tell you that an armed public that can defend itself is a safer place to live. I don't care if there are more decent, law abiding people with guns. I don't have to worry about them. I assume everyone is armed anyway, until proven otherwise. You have an individual right to carry a firearm. Read the Second Amendment. But I will tell you this. You do NOT have an individual right to protecting from the police. There are times when we have to prioritise which call we are going to first, and you need to be able to defend yourself.

God bless the victims of the Virginian Tech Massacre, and their families.

Funny Stuff!

The Conservative UAW Guy has probably the funniest thing that I have ever read on the web. Warning, if you have done an ab workout lately, this will hurt.....

I've been blog surfing

The John Doe Manifesto...
I couldn't have said it better myself. GOP and College at "The Right Place" printed this...
Everyone should take this to heart, despite the Dems not wanting "John Doe" to be immune from lawsuits for reporting suspicious activity.

Over at Radioactive Liberty, we find this gem....
Just imagine a group of people wanting to deny that slavery ever existed. Hmmmm.

My Trip to Bangor

Bangor Maine. Home of Bangor International Airport. This airport has the distinction of having the longest runway in the east, possibly the country. Because of this, it is a favorite refueling stop for airline chartered to bring our troops back and forth across the pond, and into battle.

I just returned from a trip to Bangor, which for me is about a 3 1/2 hour ride. I went because my brother has returned from four months in Iraq. His plane arrived at 0320 hrs this morning, and I was there to spend the layover with him.

Let me try to convey the experience. First off, I was not alone in meeting his plane. I had the distinct privilege of meeting and spending some time with the Maine Troop Greeters. If you have not heard of these folks, they are an organization that dedicates themselves to meeting every single plane that lays-over there that has troops on it, whether they are coming or going, or whether there is one soldier or 300. They are fantastic people.

I arrived there a little early to find the terminal filled with a couple of hundred Marines headed for seven months in Iraq. It was a moving experience to see these men and women milling about with their laptops and Ipods. I didn't see one look of anxiety. Sure, some were talking on phones, some were laying by themselves. But not one looked afraid. I was amazed. And it didn't look like false bravado to me. These were men and women who were headed to do their jobs, and they all appeared to me to be totally dedicated to it.

After visiting with my brother, I waited around for awhile and met a plane load (305 soldiers) from the Army in from California, headed to Iraq. I stood in line and shook as many hands as I could. What amazed me the most was the number of men that I saw who appeared to be at least my age (35), who had one or two stripes. In other words, they had not been in all that long.

The whole experience was moving. If you ever get the chance, I would recommend doing this once at least. Spend some time at a terminal where soldiers are moving through. And check out the Maine Troop Greeters, and give them some support. They are amazing people.

A tribute to JackArmy

My brother is in the Air Force, so may heart will always be with Air Force Special Operations, however, my friend at JACKARMY, who has part of a post listed below, is one of the brightest, most articulate men I have ever had the privilege of reading. The video below is a tribute to him, and the rest of the US Army, who are working every day to keep us safe and free to be bloggers.


Thank you, Jack!



Video courtesy of MilitarySpot.com

JACK ARMY’s "A Day in the Life” of My FOB

A chaptered story told on many blogs starts here and continues here:
Chapter Eleven: Wildlife
I’m not talking about crazy parties and frat boys boozing it up. There are genuine wild animals running around here! It’s almost like a safari zoo, only different.
There are dogs, as you might expect. Mostly they skirt around our FOB during the day, but at night a few will come on to the FOB and try to knock over trash cans looking for scraps. Occasionally we will trap the dogs and release them far away from the FOB, but they eventually make their way back, usually. We have not yet resorted to shooting the dogs, but I suspect we will if they become a big problem. So far, though, it’s just a few dogs and they stay away from people for the most part.
I’ve mentioned the fox before. Apparently, the story is that this fox has been caught a number of times before we took over this FOB and once someone tried to tie it up and make it a pet. Not a good idea, but the fox took care of the problem by chewing through the rope, which explains why it now has a collar. I still see this fox around the Fob about once or twice a week. He (or she?) will suddenly pop out from behind a corner or just be there, you know? And this thing slithers through holes that look way too small for it.
Right now, the swallows are everywhere. The Iraqis, leave the doors open and encourage the swallows to come in. It is good luck to have a swallow nest in your building, they say. I say it makes a mess under that nest and birds swooping past you as you walk in and out of the bunker or building is disconcerting, to say the least.
A few months ago, before Christmas, I think, there were huge flocks of birds flying east. In the mornings you would see these huge masses of what must have been tens of thousands of individual birds flying to the east, maybe to Iran? I dunno. Never saw them fly back west, though. At least, not yet.
We’ve seen a few snakes, several mice, and a few strange critters, but we don’t have a big problem with pests. It’s been cold but is warming up, but the insects are not yet a big deal. The flies, however, will be nasty, as usually and we all have our swatters ready for action.
I think a large part of the reason why we don’t have a pest problem is the trash cans. I had the dumpsters moved to just outside the wall and all the cans inside the wall have lids. I get on the guys about keeping the lids on securely and about taking large amounts of trash out to the dumpsters instead of just throwing it on the ground next to the cans. Hopefully, it makes a difference. One of the things I fear is going through a whole deployment without injury, combat-related or not, only to get some disease or illness from a bug or mouse and then have to go home sick.
Yuck.

America deserves better

"America deserves better than just a filibuster...." Quick... Who said that? If you guessed Senate Majority leader Harry Reid, you are a winner. Now, for the bonus question. What was he speaking about? Anyone? Well, Sen, Reid was speaking about the non-binding resolution that the Senate has been kicking around for weeks wanting to disagree with President Bush's strategy in Iraq. That's right. When the Senate is actually engaged in their Constitutional Duties, such as, let's say, Federal Judicial nominees, Filibustering is just fine...when it is his party doing it. But when they are wasting time on a resolution that has nothing whatsoever to do with their job, well, America deserves better. Isn't that special.
Personally, though, I hope they spend a lot of time on this resolution. It means nothing, and it will be that much less time that they will spend trying to take away our freedoms. Just sayin'.

Out with Saddam, in with compassionate American Troops

I saw this picture on Boortz today, and though it is a few months old, I thought it was worthy of knocking the Saddam gloating from the top of the blog. If you are not familiar, this is Air Force Chief Master Sgt. John Gebhardt at a hospital in Iraq. The baby is a patient there. Her entire family was murdered by terrorists over there, and she was shot in the head. If you look close, you can see the scar on the back of her head. Apparently, Sgt Gebhardt is one of the only people who can calm the child down when she starts to cry.

This is just one of a large number of wonderful stories coming out of Iraq that does not get the attention that it deserves by the MSM. In case you missed it, both the Senate Majority Leader and the Speaker of the House have signed a letter that they sent to President Bush telling him that we need to "redeploy" (read cut and run) from Iraq within 4-6 months. The Libs refuse to ever point to anything positive that our forces are doing over there. Amazing.

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.

Car Stops and the War on Terror

I have listened to the left repeat the same old arguments against the War on Terror for too long now. The two that drive me the most crazy are: "There were no weapons of mass destruction, so we have no right to be there," and "Why are we in Iraq? What about Saudi Arabia? That's where most of the 9/11 terrorists came from, why don't we bomb them?"

Instead of replying with the obvious answers, I want to try a new perspective, and explain why those arguments are irrelevant with an analogy....Car Stops.

Let's say that there are three cars that I want to stop because I think that there may be drugs in the car. Car 1, I actually saw the drugs as they went into the car. Car 2, I did not see the drugs go in, but I know that the registered owner has a suspended driver's license, and I have no reason to believe that the driver is not the registered owner. And Car 3 I just have a hunch about, but no reason to stop the vehicle yet.

Now, with Car 1, since I saw the drugs go in, I can stop it, get the drugs, arrest the driver, etc. With Car 3, I have to wait for an infraction before I can stop the car. Hopefully, after the stop I will have some reason to confirm my hunch about the drugs, and proceed that way. It is harder to do, and takes more police work, but it can be done, and is done quite a bit.

Now let's consider Car 2. Since I know the registered owner has a suspended license, and since ther is no reason for me to believe that the registered owner is not the driver, (for example, the driver is male and the owner is female) I can stop the car to check to see who is driving. Going further, let's say that the driver is not the owner, and has a valid license, but during the course of the stop I form the opinion that the driver is drunk. Let's go one step further and say that, since my original hunch was about drugs in the vehicle, I am able to obtain a legal consent search from the driver, but I find no drugs. None of this invalidates the original reason for stopping the car, and the driver will still be arrested for Driving While Intoxicated.

Let's tie the analogy to the War on Terror. Afganistan is Car 1. Everyone agrees that we were most justified in going to Afganistan after 9/11, since the Taliban was harboring Osama Bin Laden. Saudi Arabia is Car 3. We may have our own beliefs based on hunches about the Saudi government and their support for terror organizations, but we still cannot justify taking action.

Iraq is Car 2. For the sake of this argument, I will concede that there are no WMD's. ( I happen to believe that there were, and that they were sent somewhere else just prior to the invasion.) I will also concede that Iraq had nothing to do with 9/11. (Again, there are links, but I am not making that argument.) We were still justified in going in because of the cease fire agreement from the Gulf War. Saddam Hussain was not abiding by that agreement. We were very justified in going in. Even though what we found after invading was different from what we expected, we still have every right to be there. The original justification for the invasion was not made invalid.

A Disturbing Trend

I heard a story on the news today that bothered me. I have not heard all of the details yet, so perhaps I am a little premature in my comments. However, what I heard is believable, and the comments that I have so far are applicable elsewhere.

I was listening to the Rusty Humphries Show tonight. At one of the news breaks, there was a story about Federal legislation currently in the works regarding the regulation of over-the-counter medication and placing more restrictions on the sale of it. Now, the story did not give much detail, but did mention Methamphedamines. This led me to believe that the medication in question is Sudafed, and all of the genertic brands with the same ingrediant. If you did not know, Sudafed is used, along with other wonderful things that are great for your body such as lye and gasoline, to manufacture "Meth".

Now for my gut reaction......

How in the world will restricting the sale of Sudafed to law abiding people stop the manufacture of meth? People who make meth don't give a rat's behind about laws and will get the ingredients somewhere.

Does this argument sound familiar? It should. It is the same argument that I have against blanket gun control laws. Folks, it's not the decent people that we need to worry about, therefore we should not be putting restrictions on them. Let's spend more time and energy going after the crime, not trying broad based restrictions on otherwise legal activity, whether it be gun ownership or the need for cold relief.

The Second Amendment Strikes Again

If you have not heard the story of Susan Buxton, go here to listen to the 911 tape. Susan Buxton is a grandmother in Texas who successfully defended herself with a handgun. She is the official "Pistol Packin' Grandma" of the Sean Hannity Show. Here is the gist of her story:

1. Susan Buxton got up at 1 a.m. to let her dog out. She noticed a broken window, and some other thing amiss in her house.

2. Susan, who has a concealed carry permit for her 38 revolver, and is train to use it, started to search her house along with her grand daughter.

3. During the search, a bad guy running from the cops jumped out of her closet. Susan pointed her gun at the bad guy, and ordered him to the ground while the grand daughter called 911.

4. The bad guy made the mistake of trying to grab Susan's gun. She shot him in the leg (which happens to be where she aimed for).

5. The bad guy exited the house to the front lawn, where Susan tried to keep him from running while the cops were on their way.

6. When the bad guy started to run, Susan shot the ground next to him, knowing she did not have the right to actually shoot him again. It didn't work, and the coward was found two doors down cowering on a balcony.

Folks, the cheapest and most effective way to reduce crime is the increase of responsible gun ownership by law abiding citizens. Susan Buxton had her gun for 12 years, and never had to use it. She could have become complacent after a few years and not stayed proficient in the use of her weapon, but instead she practiced regularly. It paid off, and she lived to tell about it. Kudos to her.

Katrina

I have been waiting to comment on the disaster that has struck the Gulf Coast, and in particular, New Orleans. There is a lot to be said, and it seems that everyone has an opinion. It seems to me, though, that there are two separate disasters that can be looked at.
The first is the damage that occurred from Katrina itself. If you look at the areas that were hit by the storm, while it is devestating and tragic, the reaction has been pretty much the same as the rest of the hurricanes that have struck in recent history: The storm goes away, and the people come back and rebuild. Yes, it is going to take quite awhile to rebuild, and in fact some areas are still rebuilding from last year.
The second is occurring only in New Orleans. The storm went away, and everyone was thanking their lucky stars that "we dodged the bullet." The news reporters that day were standing in the streets talking about how dry it was. That was Monday night. By Tuesday morning, however, it was clear that there was a problem: The levy broke, and most of the city flooded.
Now, my heart goes out to the people in New Orleans who are now in a situation of not even having a city to rebuild their home in. These people are stuck in a place that is goverened by people who, in my opinion, are inept. I have heard both the Police Chief and the Mayor of the City of New Orleans on the T.V. Folks, I am a cop. I don't like to bad mouth other cops when I am not fully informed. I know that in almost all situations, we don't know the full picture and the full story. But what I do know about is leadership. And I have yet to see any coming from the City of New Orleans. All that I have seen are the so called "leaders" on the T.V. complaining that the help is not coming fast enough. I have also heard some on the left say that FEMA didn't react fast enough. And why? Because the people in New Orleans are Black, they say.
Let me just say this. President Bush declared the area a disaster area before the storm even hit, starting the ball rolling for FEMA and the federal money while those inNew Orleans were still hoping for the storm to maybe turn. It seems to me that the Mayor and the Governor down there were the ones without a plan.
Think about it. The city is built below sea level. Are you telling me that their evacuation plan in case of immenent flooding was to fill the Superdome? Meanwhile, all of the city buses are now useless, sitting in a parking lot surrounded by water. Are you telling me that the state has no stockpile of food and water in case of a disaster? Four years after 9/11?
Now, maybe FEMA should have realized quicker that there was a distinct lack of leadership in that city sooner. But those rescue helicopters on day one, the ones that were being shot at, were owned by the federal government, not the state of Louisiana. In my opinion, if blame is going to be tossed around, it ought to land squarly on the shoulders of the state and local leadership, not FEMA.

Read Jack Army

Inspiration

I was listening to one of my favorite radio shows, Laura Ingraham, today while driving around in my cruiser looking for bad guys, when I was struck by a guest that Laura had on her show. It was Major Tammy Duckworth of the Illinois National Guard. If you have not heard her story, read it. It's long, but very inspirational.
In a nutshell, Major Duckworth was piloting an Army Blackhawk in Iraq last year when the helicopter was struck by a rockey propelled grenade, which detonated between her legs. She lost her right leg, and most of her left, half of the blood in her body as well as a host of other injuries.
What struck me while listening to her was this:

1. Her main goal is to get back in the pilot seat. "There is no way I am done flying," is what I heard her say during her interview.

2. When asked about Cindy Sheehan, her reply was that Ms. Sheehan has every right to express her point of view, and the Major would no criticize her in any way.

3. Major Duckworth is in the National Guard, folks, not the regular Army. At the time of her commission, she chose 5 preferences for assignments, and first on the list was the only field where she would go to a combat unit, Aviation.

Ladies and Gentelmen, if the story of Major Duckworth does not inspire you, nothing will. What upsets me is that I have heard about Cindy Sheehan on the news every night for weeks now, and this is the first that I have heard about Major Duckworth, who was shot down almost a year ago.

Once Again, God bless the troops, and God Bless the United States of America.