Police Story

I was driving to Columbia to see the chiropractor last week when I espied one of the People's Republic of Maryland message boards that have sprung up over the state's highways in the past several years.  The message on it read:

Slow traffic warning
Police funeral - 12 PM to 4 PM

I had to reread the message to make sure I understood.  You're telling me that traffic is going to be FUBAR for 4 hours just because a cop died?

This isn't an unusual occurrence.  This past year a Frederick County Sheriffs Deputy died "in the line of duty" and was given one of these lavish traffic-nightmare taxpayer-funded funerals.  He died during a high-speed chase when the perp was able to negotiate a left turn and he wasn't.  He died because he couldn't drive.  Heroic.

Then there's this tool, who died "in the line of duty" when he learned first-hand that giving a "halt" hand signal won't stop a vehicle going 70-MPH.  Heroic.

There's no telling how the officer whose passing was going to cause a 4 hour traffic nightmare died.  Perhaps he was in high-speed pursuit of a dozen donuts.

"Damn, Vulture!  That's harsh!  Why do you hate on the cops so much?"

Why?  Because NWA was right.  And because of cops like this.

The sentencing hearing for former Chicago police Cmdr. Jon Burge recessed for the day after a University of Chicago professor testified that torture allegations against Burge are unlike any other police misconduct in the city's history.

“This is an unprecedented instance,’’ said Adam Green, who specializes in African-American history. “What happened at Area 2 is really a singular chapter.’’

Green said abuse by police strikes at entire communities, but a sense of worth and respect can be restored if the misconduct is addressed.

Earlier today, one of Burge's alleged victims took the stand and asked Burge, “Why would you do this? … You were supposed to be the law.”

Before a packed courtroom, Anthony Holmes told how he still dreams he is inside the now infamous room at the Area 2 station on the South Side where Burge allegedly used electric shock and suffocation to coerce confessions from suspects.

Holmes, saying it was difficult for him to testify about the abuse, took a deep breath before he started. He said his wrongful imprisonment shattered family relationships and caused constant fear of police and re-arrest.

Officer Burge tortured young black men who may or may not have been involved in any crime in order to extract a "confession". He then turned the young man over to the grasping, politically ambitious Prosecutor, the one person less concerned with guilt or innocence than Officer Burge.  What's the big deal, right?  It's just one more po' nigga in the system.

Except that an innocent person has their life and freedom robbed from them just so law enforcement can bump their statistics.  With the exception of murder and perhaps rape, there is no more heinous crime than that.

I'd love to attend the taxpayer-funded police funeral for Officer Burge.  What I'd leave on his grave site wouldn't pass for flowers.

The PG County "solution"

I've said it before.  There are only two things government does well: growth, and coercion.  So who can be surprised that PG County's "solution" to their obscene murder rate problem is coercion.

Some residents tell 9NEWS NOW that the increased police patrols following the murder spike in Prince George's County has led to some questionable activity.

"The yanked me out of the car, put a knee on my back, and checked my rectum several times," said a 20 year old man who did not want to use his name.

Checked his rectum several times. Is this a gay bath house, or police work?  Has The Prickette found work in PG County?

Seriously, who can be surprised? The Police State is upon us, in varying degrees depending on locale. You might not notice it in the affluent suburbs like Potomac. But if you live in HURTing Seat Pleasant or Anacostia, you're living it. Up close and personal.

Safer in Afghanistan

For those of you unfamiliar with the Washington metropolitan area, here's a brief geography lesson.  Washington DC is surrounded by the state of Maryland (or, as the Vulture refers to the state in which he lives, the People's Republic of Maryland).  There are two PRM counties surrounding DC: affluent Montgomery County to the West, and HURTing Prince Georges County to the East.

PG County has always been a high crime place.  But now it's achieved the kind of milestone that has heretofore never been approached by any stateside jurisdiction - EVER!

Federal agents are embedding with homicide investigators in Prince George's County starting this week in a rare move as authorities scramble to react to a string of 13 killings that have occurred already in 2011.

"It is very unusual for us to bring in agents and embed them in our homicide division," said police spokesman Maj. Andy Ellis. "I can't remember us doing that since probably the mid-to-late '90s."

The county has been rocked by news of a homicide spike since New Year's Day. The county's 13 killings exceed the 12 U.S. military deaths that have occurred this year in Afghanistan as of Friday morning.

Yes, you read that right. There have been more shooting deaths in PG County in 2011 than fatalities in Afghanistan.

Please, explain to me again how the Great Society welfare state, gun control, and the War on Drugs have made our lives so much better. 'Cause I ain't seein' it.

Conservatives and law enforcement

One of the things about so-called Conservatives that really chafes my bottom is their adoration for law enforcement.  Cops are all heroes who accepted a calling from God to be protectors of the citizenry.  Prosecutors are all heroes who eschewed the Siren call of lucrative jobs with prestigious law firms to fight crime and see to it that the guilty are punished.

As has been witnessed by anyone who has read more than a handful of Will Grigg's posts, the reality doesn't match the fantasy.

Prosecutors tend to be bastions of corruption, more concerned with their won-lost record than whether they've sent an innocent man to prison (because it was easy) or let a guilty man walk free (because the case was too hard to win).  On multiple occasions it has been discovered that exculpatory evidence has been hidden by prosecutors to assure the "win"! (See here for one example).  Why do they do this?  What's in it for them?  Why, they have political aspirations, of course!  A prosecutor with a tremendous won-lost record makes an excellent candidate for state or federal office.  Bastards.

Think I'm wrong?  See here, here, and here.  Again, William Grigg has MANY more examples than that.

Cops tend to be fatass bullies, quick to anger, quick to shoot those who don't react immediately to their commands.  Examples of this are legion - particularly on Will Grigg's site, but I've documented a few myself, here, here, here, and especially here.

A prime example of "quick to anger, quick to shoot" is the case of John T. Williams (H/T to Debra Farver).

The police shooting of a talented, aging Native totem carver has sparked anger and outrage in Seattle’s Native community, and beyond.

John T. Williams, long time Seattle resident and a Ditidaht member of the Nuu-chah-nulth First Nations of Canada’s Vancouver Island, was shot four times and killed Aug. 30 by police officer Ian D. Birk, a two-year veteran of the Seattle Police Department.

Police said Williams advanced towards Birk when the officer spotted him sitting on a ledge with a knife and shouted three commands at him to drop it.

As eyewitnesses came forward with a different version of events police then said Williams was crossing an intersection with a knife and piece of wood in his hands, refused to drop the knife and advanced towards the officer.

“His body stance did not look threatening at all,” an eyewitness told The Seattle Times. “I could only see the gentleman’s back, and he didn’t look aggressive at all. He didn’t even look up at the officer.”

Williams died between 1811 Eastlake, a private nonprofit home for chronic drinkers where he’d lived off and on, and the Pike Street Market in downtown Seattle, where he sold his carvings.

Williams was crippled with arthritis and hobbled more than he walked, Randy Lewis, a leader of the United Indians of All Tribes Foundation said. He was capable at most of turning towards the officer when he heard him shouting, to show him what he had in his hands.

That’s if he heard him shouting. Williams’ friends say he was deaf in his left ear from an infection eight years ago.

To summarize:

• A cop orders a man walking down the street minding his own business to drop the knife he's carrying.  Never mind that the block of wood he's carrying is what's known as "a clue" as to what said person's intention is for said knife.


• The cop doesn't get the response he desires; that is, the person in question doesn't immediately comply like a cowering sheep to John Law's demand.  He most likely didn't comply because he couldn't hear him.  This matters not one whit to the man in blue.


• The cop shoots him 4 times.  In broad daylight.  Like a dog.

What do you think of your "hero" cop, Conservatives?  You think he's in law enforcement because he's been called by God to protect the masses?  Or is it because he's hung like a thimble and needs a license to throw his weight around, that license being the sanction of the State in the form of a badge?

Season wrap-up

Since I last wrote about the 49ers and the sorry POS that was their season, a lot has happened.

The Niners are nothing if not consistent.  They lost -- badly! -- to the Chargers, 34-7, and, to quote a familiar refrain written multiple times throughout this season, it wasn't as close as the score would indicate.

So what did Coach Singletary do to fix the myriad of problems, particularly with the offensive line, that made that Thursday night so cringe-worthy?  Why, he benched Alex Smith, of course!  It's ALWAYS the QB's fault when he's sacked, don't you know? [/sarcasm]

Troy Smith was given the start against the Rams.  How'd that work out?  Worse than expected.  The 49ers lost to the Rams 25-17.  Both touchdowns scored by the Niners were flukes: a 60-yard pass-and-run to Michael Crabtree, and a 78-yard punt return by Ted Ginn. 

Aside from the pass to Crabtree, Troy Smith was absolutely putrid: 7-19, 153 yards, 1 TD, 1 pick.  Alex Smith came in in the 4th quarter and led a drive that ended in a field goal, but by then it was too late.  The 49ers were officially eliminated from the playoffs with the loss.

The 49ers "brain trust" (and BOY do I use THAT term loosely) finally performed the mercy killing and fired Coach Singletary with one game left to play.  It figures that the 49ers would choose that game to get something going.  Whether it was Singletary being gone, or the fact that it was the Arizona Cardinals our bitch, I don't know...but the 49ers won by a score of 38-7.  Naturally, it wasn't as close as the score would indicate.

So the Niners finished at 6-10, the exact opposite of the 10-6 I had predicted for the season.  *sigh*

The team is in a major transition period now.  Trent Balke was named as General Manager, and Jim Harbaugh was hired as the new Head Coach.  Normally I would be giddy with optimism with the Niners landing a hot coaching candidate like Harbaugh...but there so much wrong with this team, and, no matter how good Harbaugh is, the team is STILL going to suck next year.

Let's start with the quarterback, shall we?  Who is it?  No one knows.  Alex Smith will be a free agent this off season, and he's pretty much made it known that he's done in SF.  Who could blame him?  The booing.  The "we want Carr" chants.  All he did was overcome a horrendous start (3 touchdowns and 7 picks after 4 games, 6 touchdowns and 9 picks after 5 games) to throw for 8 touchdowns and 1 pick the last part of the season.  He ended up with a passer rating of 82.1.  It's not good, but it's better than 10 other starting quarterbacks including Donovan McNabb and Matt Hasselsuck.  And it was certainly better than what Troy Smith ended up doing (5 TD, 4 picks, 78.8). 

Apparently the plan is to draft a quarterback and trust the combination of David Carr and Troy Smith to server as the stopgap until the new quarterback is ready.  *groan*  This is a sure guarantee of 6-10 seasons as far as the eye can see.

Oh well...it's the playoffs, and hockey season beckons as well.  Great season, Niners!  You broke my heart yet again!.

Demagoging tragedy

Frankly, I don't know which sickens me more: the abhorrent mass murder committed by a sicko-psycho in Arizona that also left Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords critically wounded, or the reaction to her wounding in the media.

Big Media (the BM for short) -- the same BM that demanded that we "not rush to judgment" following the Ft. Hood mass murder by a sicko-psycho -- rushed to judgment bigtime this time.  "Right-wing rhetoric" was blamed by some, an ironic claim, it turns out.  The shooter was described as "quite liberal" and a "political radical" by classmates.

Turns out when it comes to hateful rhetoric, the left doesn't fare too poorly itself.  Caribou Barbie hung in effigy.  Il Duce quoted as saying, "If they bring a knife to the fight, we bring a gun". Ironic.

  Sarah Palin Caribou Barbie was blamed for "putting a bulls-eye on Rep. Giffords", an ironic claim, it turns out.  A Daily Kos blogger said that Giffords was "dead to me" just two days prior to the attack.  Not quite a bulls-eye, but ugly nonetheless.

Of course, Faux News came out all in defense of Caribou Barbie.  What?  You expected differently?  Regardless of where you get your news, children, you're gonna get spin.

Naturally, the Tea Party was blamed as well.  Yeah, all of that "hateful rhetoric" about sticking to the Constitution really makes folks want to kill their Congress-critter [/sarcasm].

Naturally, the Succubus of State had to weigh in, calling the shooter, "an extremist".  Takes one to know one, I suppose...

But the simple fact is that the shooter is mentally unbalanced.  How unbalanced?  Enough to where his college classmates were scared of him.

No one is blaming Caribou Barbie, or the Tea Party, or even Calvin Klein for this kook who castrated a journalist.  Not the right political angle, I suppose.

Look, it's no secret that I hate Team Donkey and Team Elephant equally.  Anyone who thinks that either of them is "the good guys" is drinking the Kool Aid.  But the partisan demagoguery on display the past two days has been nauseating.  And frankly, you have to ask, if the wounded Representative had an 'R' after her name, would there be all of this finger pointing and whining about "hateful political rhetoric"?

I think you know the answer to that question...