Arrest Professor Ford!

So this one time, in band camp, at my high school, over three decades ago, I was at a party drinking, and this girl, who'd been totally drinking too, but more than me, goosed me.  We called it "goosing", but it was really "unwanted and uninvited sexual contact", which is assault.  Sexual assault. 

I was embarrassed.  Hurt.  It might even have left a bruise, or at least a red mark.  Well, reddish.  Well, kind of.  I left the bathroom, cursing that I could not see my left buttock better, and I left the party, and went home, and I didn't tell my parents, as I'd have been in trouble for drinking, and I didn't tell the police, because I felt ashamed that I'd not been able to defend myself. 

For years then, while staying silent, I wrestled with issues of self-doubt and self-loathing.  Had I somehow invited that attack?  "Asked for it", as it were, due to my rockin' of my Metallica t-shirt, gym shorts, sneakers and tube socks up to my knees?

The woman who raped me?  I mean, because that's what sexual assault is, right?  Her name was Christine Ford.  That's right, the very Professor Christine Ford who now claims - hypocritically - that she was the victim of assault, at some other drunken party, when a teen boy, was briefly on top of her, fully dressed, wanted to be with her, and when rejected did not pursue it.

But I'm not coming forward now because of any political reason, or news reason, but just because only now, with the support of my spouse, do I feel comfortable with finding my voice, and letting it be heard.  I refuse to stand shuddering in the closet any more, hiding and ashamed from my abuser. 

I add my name to the growing throng of hundreds who have been brave enough to speak up about these terrors that we will no longer endure in silence.  I call at once for an FBI investigation into what happened that night, back when Reagan was facing down the Commies, to find out who was at the party, who saw what, who did what, and why we let our kids be abused in such a fashion, too fearful to come forward!

Because that's what the FBI is for, right?  To listen to those old enough to qualify for the AARP recount their kiddy keggers back in their childhood days on the playground or behind the gym? 

And when the FBI investigates my claims then, they can at least arrest her for underage drinking!  Which - like her sexual assault upon my young teen bottom - is a crime!

America's Anne Frank

The murder of this 20 year old girl is the result of the same process that let Anne Frank be murdered.

Blame a group of "others" for every problem you can think of.  It sure saves the trouble of doing any work to really solve such problems.

Demonize those "others".  They are responsible for all bad, they are dirty, they spread disease, they cause crime, they are dangerous, their ways are not ours!  That makes them less than human.

When your soldiers and police start to kill them, it is not "murder" but "self-defense".  Because resisting being sent to the Warsaw Ghetto is an "attack" just like entering a country to find work is an "invasion".  Thus shooting such in the head is "self-defense".

If the populace can put up with that for awhile, and even be told that to criticize it makes on less of a "good German" or "patriotic American", then you can start with the round ups.

After the round ups, well, you have to keep them somewhere, right?

Sadly, we've already got so far as the "round ups" and the keeping them "somewhere". 

Only one step left.  Will we even now back away from it?  Or must we fear our brothers and sisters seeking freedom and opportunity so much that they must all die?

Be This Guy

I'd like each morning for every worker in the United States to stand and face the flag outside their place of work, place their hand on their chest and sing the National Anthem.

I'd also like President Donald Trump to start his work day that way.  And the Board members of the NFL. 

And those who don't need to be fined, for the ThoughtCrime of not loving America, the Flag of America and the National Anthem of America enough.

Or is that just a penalty that we impose on football players who want to quietly kneel in protest of what they believe to be a wrong?

Meanwhile, I encourage all professional football players to "be this guy":

Another Four Star General, another dead black kid

Like peanut butter and jelly, you just can't have a dead black kid without some poster boy for white privilege standing before microphones in all their four star glory.

The latest General with a self-awarded rank higher than that of Founding Father and President George Washington, is Sheriff Joseph "I outrank Grant and Lee" Lopinto.

Now, while most stolen valor posers will don the four stars on each shoulder - or each side of their collar - like the real men of the real military does, this baby boy, unsure as to how real men dress themselves in our armed forces, went for the overkill.

And thus you behold him in all his SIXTEEN STAR glory, as this ignorant poser has donned four stars on his left shoulder, four stars on his right shoulder, and in case you didn't notice them, another four stars on this left collar and another four stars on his right!

Pity his poor wife who has to pin those on to his shirt each morning after starching and ironing his Superman underoos.  I give him credit, though.  The bath towel cape he is without a doubt wearing is well tucked in, and unnoticeable in his pretty white faux military attire.

But what of the death of the black kid?  Oh, his name was Keeven Robinson.  Why, does it matter what his name was?  He was found with "significant traumatic injuries" that were "consistent with asphyxiation".  Had he been white, this would be called "murdered by strangulation".  This happened while he was in the custody of four of the General's white soldiers.  Er, I mean, four of the Sheriff's deputies who happened to be Caucasian.  

But really, must we dwell on that death?  I mean, it's not like anything is going to be done about it.  The mealy mouthed coroner already assured the press that "homicide by medical diagnosis" is not the same as "legal homicide", so really, it's not like there's a crime here.  I mean, what part of "black kid" don't you understand?

The General, when asked by our "free press" if chokeholds were used (because they're not supposed to be, given how they cause death so routinely) answered, "Well, golly now, we don't tell our deputies to use bricks, but if they're under attack and defending their lives, and a brick is laying about, then sure, you use a brick."  I paraphrase, but besides it being expressed a bit dumber, that was the jist.

Cop-ese for "Yes, we routinely use strangleholds on crack addicts, crazies and coloreds, because we can.  Had he had the sense to be born a white girl or rich man, this non-tragedy could have been averted."

Well, let us pray our thanks tonight that Jefferson County, Louisiana is guarded not by some mere officer of the law, but by this sixteen star Generalissimo.  And that he had four husky armed soldiers to "defend" we the people against that unarmed black youth who - in fairness - did have a gun in his car 200 yards away.  

And you know how quick they can run and jump, eh?  Yeah.

In the end, the only important thing is that those "men" got home safely.  And they did.  And it's not like they've not been punished.  Each of them is drawing full pay while sitting at a desk telling jokes about watermelons and fried chickens, so really, justice has been done, eh?

At least such "justice" as is to be found in General Lopinto's America.  

Good Germans

I suppose it would be easy enough to pan on the cops here.  And they are definitely worth panning on.  Or I could pan on the Starbucks employee who called the cops. 

But I'm calling out the filmers.  Those who are no doubt patting themselves on the back right now for "promoting awareness" and doing their part for the "Revolution" by quietly watching a gaggle of cops lead away in chains two black men.

Any of them act like they'd have hid Anne Frank in their attic - but their own phone footage damns them.  They'd have filmed Anne Frank being led away by the Gestapo.

That's all they'd have done.  Of course, that raises the question, "Dean, what would you have done?"

Hmm.  Well, I guess I suck, too. 

Thinking about it, I realize that I'd have done little more than the filmers.  Maybe a few token protests, but then I'd have subsided under fear of arrest.

Or such.

Because I do fear arrest.  "Or such".  And no doubt those there do, too.  We all know, even those who know and love some cops, that to draw their attention always has some element of danger to it.  Far more than it used to.

Far more than it needs to.

Far more than it should.

And if the cops are already wound up, like we each know they are when they're on to some black guy?  Even more danger, even to us white folks.  And especially to us non-Porsche driving white folk. 

Is this the country of our youth?  Our granddad's youth?

Is this the country we want?  Where we know now why the Germans didn't complain back in the forties?

Where we're now the Good Germans?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gegA9GsJ26A

What, me take responsibility?

In yet another example of the Stolen Valor that we see every day in 3,500 counties around America, Four Star General (and Sheriff) Scott Israel of Broward County is whining about how he is not responsible for four of his deputies hiding like, well, er, school children, while actual school children were being murdered.

Take a look at the picture.  Yes, this utter buffoon was not content to self-award himself the rank of Colonel, which would have been bad enough.  A rank of Colonel would have indicated that Scott was such a man among men that he could recruit and provide for - out of his own pocket - 500 men to secure the peace of Broward County.  

But no, Scott, like all the other Sheriffs, isn't content to be a Colonel, as honorable as that rank is.  No, he must pretend to be a General.  And like every half-man who knows the shame of having an unfulfilled wife who knows the schedule of the mailman, he can't just leave it at one star.  Or two.  Or three.

No, when your wife has more Danielle Steel novels than the Pope has funny hats, only FOUR whole stars will do.  On each side, of course, so it looks like he's a real soldier.  As opposed to the civilian politician chasing after votes that he is.

Am I too hard on these strutting peacocks who - in a perfect example of Stolen Valor - dress up as soldiers?  And not just soldiers, but as Generals?  And not just as Generals, but Generals who outrank even the revered Founder of our entire Nation?

No.

The defense of this "General" in the wake of numerous calls for his resignation would be laughable, if it wasn't so utterly bizarre.  "Listen, if ifs and buts were candy and nuts, O.J. Simpson would still be in the record books.", was what the man who believes he is worthy of more rank the President George Washington said.

What does that mean?  Hard to say - as for one, O.J. still is in the record books.  But you know me, this Amicable Anarchist, while I might use such individuals as Scott as examples, I speak more to the over all problem.

And in this case, it's not how badly this one loser flubbed things - though he did.  It's not about his stupid "O.J" line, which meant nothing more than he being confused by the cameras and lights he usually loves.  It's not about the 25 - or 50 - calls that came in about this mass murderer that were ignored or handled poorly.  It's not even about how responsible a "General" is for the desertion of one or four of his troops.  Though the Sheriff literally referred to himself as like a General.

No, it's about two main over-riding things.  

One, about the dirty little secret that those deputies were not flaunting procedure out of cowardice, but instead following exact procedure.  Out of institutional cowardice.

Surprise.

Yeah, see, they weren't actually supposed to go in.  Oh, sure, morally they were supposed to.  If they were men first, before being deputies.  If they cared more about kids than cashing their paycheck.  If they really joined to "serve and protect".  Yeah, in those cases, sure, they could of and would have gone in.

But just as Deputies?  Deputies making 75k and more a year while you eat Top Ramen?  Deputies who got the job because checking to see if warehouses are locked, pulling over drunks and breaking up the random domestic is 100 times easier than real work?  Deputies who were the bullies in your high school, or worse, the nerds who swore that one day everyone would rue the day?  Deputies who buy into the hype of "Blue Lives Matter" and "The only important thing is that YOU get home safely!"?

Ahh, then those deputies followed procedure to the letter.  Set up around the area.  Take cover so you don't die and the State has to go to the bother of training another.  If something comes out, make sure it complies or dies, while you yell and shoot from behind a safe barricade.  

This is hardly the best keep secret in the world.  I'm aware of it.  Any who, like me, used to be a policeman are aware of it.  Any instructor at a Police Academy will tell you.  It's allowed - I mean, the police love to play like they are soldiers, and we civilians, but in truth, they are civilians, and nothing they learn is "classified".  You need hardly take my word for this.

Those deputies waited outside while the kids were slaughtered.  And the only problem the State has with that is that they do not wish you to know that this was as it should be.  As they had taught those deputies.  As they had trained them.

So the politicians are making a big sound and fury now, trying to throw this deputy under the bus, or that deputy, or all deputies, or to toss even the Big Boy himself, Four Star General Israel under that bus.  And if we can muddy it up with NRA this and Liberals that, and talks and what did Trump say, and then this and how about that - anything, ANYTHING to get you to fail to realize that yeah, those kids died because our government cares more about protecting their protectors than saving your kids.

And the second thing?

Well, it has little to do with that first thing, but I think it makes the first thing more likely.  It "sets the tone" so to speak.

That second thing is, oh, yeah, this over-militarization of the police.  They were to be little more than just one of us randomly chose to stand watch for a night.  Now they don't see themselves as civilians protecting other civilians, they see themselves as soldiers occupying us.  People in nations our Army occupy get treated with more gentleness - and more ability to have grievances redressed - then we here at home.

And you can tell this by the fact that what used to be called a "chief" or a "sheriff" now wears the rank of "General".  A Four star General.  I mean, I'll honestly have a heart attack the day I see one of these press conference chasing pretenders show up with only three stars.  "Yeah, I've only three stars, but only because I've only just been elected!  After I've six weeks experience in redecorating my office, making sure my portrait is hanging everywhere, and giving a press conference, then I'll be ready to award myself that fourth star, so that if Robert E. Lee and Ulysses S. Grant come back to life I'll outrank those junior officers!"

Stolen Valor.  It's real, and it has jack all to do with some loser holding a Will Work For Food sign while falsely claiming he was in 'Nam.  It has everything to do with civilians trying to set themselves up as our masters and acting like those tinhorn dictators in Central America and Central Africa who dress up the more the less moral authority they have.

It needs to stop.  You reading this need to start advocating for this, and laughing at these posers in the meanwhile.  They are NOT Generals.  They are NOT soldiers.  They are little boys trying to hide that they are little boys, the same as that guy in Accounting who drives his $65,000 SUV to the convenience store to pick up his wife's hygiene products.    

It's time for the stars to come off.  And it's long past time that we started electing men who don't need such.  Remember Sheriff Andy Taylor?  The fictitious version of what used to be America's ideal of a Sheriff?

Let's close with a pic of how many stars he had.  

Teenage Level Accountability

"Teenage Level Accountability"

I saw an article today in which someone pointed out something that I've pointed out - and been to all appearances alone in pointing out - for years.

That middle aged policemen should be held to the same standards as teenage soldiers overseas.

The article was about a policeman who was found "not guilty" of murder, even though he had shot to death some unarmed white guy after five minutes of making him do a bunch of weird circus tricks in the hallway of a hotel.

The writer made mention of the fact that he'd seen Al Qaida terrorists treated with more dignity and decency while being apprehended in war zones. The writer mentioned that we do in fact have "rules of engagement" for our teen soldiers, but none apparently for cops.

I know from my own service that the Air Force Security Police could not - and do not - get away with what I see in the non-military world. And would anyone claim that the danger is less for policeman on a 20,000 person base than a 10,000 person town?

At 17, I was in the United States Armed Forces Police Academy for the police forces of the Air Force and Marines. I graduated shortly after I turned 18, on the 16th of December, 1986. So pretty soon, it will have been 31 years since I left the Academy.

But I still remember the Rules of Force. And I can say calmly and dispassionately and with no malice towards any particular cop or cops in general that I see them violated each day in the news.

Civilian police are simply not held to the same standard - or any where near - as teen cops in the military. Or teen soldiers dealing with militants, insurgents and terrorists.

The writer of the article I saw pointed out most of all that "fear" - a fear that police can legitimately feel - is not an end all be all excuse for shooting first and never having it questioned later.

Fear can be felt - yes. But they are trained and paid to deal with this kind of thing, and paid far better than Privates in the Army are.

This is NOT an attack against the good and decent policeman out there, however many many or few the individual reader of this feels there are. Those good and decent policeman in many cases voluntarily DO hold themselves to the high standards of a soldier in a war, because they are moral, and because they signed up to aid people, not to exercise power trips.

It is a plea, though. That all people, including the good cops, start to realize that having a touch more accountability - even that minimal amount we expect of 17 to 21 year old kids - should apply to those civilians (and yes, cops are civilians) at home.

"To serve and protect". Good cops make that mean something. Every day. It's time for they, and the rest of us, to not shy away from expecting a touch up of accountability.