Times Such As These...
We live in a remarkable time...no getting around that.
Instantaneous communication, travel that damn near shoots us around the globe at the speed of sound, and the technological marvels that bring all this to us at the touch of a button...
Simply amazing.
And yet, with ALL of this seemingly at our disposal, we're still troubled by the most basic instincts and carnality that humankind can muster. We see it every day.
It's a global problem for sure, but it's also a problem that can occur right at your very own home...or city.
Whether it's terrorism, or crime of another sort (white collar or otherwise), we become a victim of it at one time or another.
Maybe we don't have a gun placed to our head, or even have our heads cut off by some radical in a 3rd world nation, but we are victims, nonetheless.
Something as innocuous as shop-lifting has far-reaching effects...it costs ALL OF US in the end, make no mistake about that.
Ditto for robberies or burglaries...everyone pays something for this at some time.
As to the more "personal" crimes...that's handled on a one-to-one basis.
But the ripple effect is felt in the communities involved...
Doesn't matter if it's a rape, a homicide, a car-jacking, or anything else a thug can dream up.
We're ALL involved to some degree.
And if we're not involved at one end of this spectrum, we SHOULD be involved on the other end of it.
It has often been said that "If you're not part of the SOLUTION...you must be part of the PROBLEM".
Words that ring all too true these days.
Does this bell toll for you...or your neighbor...or even a politician in D.C.?
That should make you stop and think a bit...
Now...as usual...I said all THAT...to say THIS:
** The four officers that were executed at a coffee shop in Tacoma Washington have some closure to their deaths.
The shooter, Maurice Clemmons was killed by police earlier this morning. Here's the link to the updated story:
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,578292,00.html
Personally, I'm damn happy, but also bothered that this psycho can ONLY be killed ONCE...
Be nice to have a bit more atonement for the FOUR officers he killed.
At least he won't be killing ANYONE else.
Let THIS be a lesson to our very flawed JUDICIAL SYSTEM...
Better yet, let this be a WAKE-UP CALL.
Uphold the damn LAW, people. Reinstate (and USE) the death penalty in every damn state, and off animals like this whose sole purpose in life is to bring sorrow and pain to innocent people.
Stop with all the "wheeling and dealing" in the courts...save that for the damn CASINOS and back-room political bargaining...say what you mean, and mean what you say for God's sake.
None of this "hand-holding", trying to "understand" the mind of such creatures...just get them the hell AWAY from the public...and the farther, the better.
Like I said above, something like THIS affects ALL of us.
Every LEO out there now has to watch for something like this coming...and it won't be advertised like some neon or LED display on Times Square. It will come as stealthily as possible and if we, as a people don't act to prevent, or otherwise cut this off at the pass, it will happen again.
And 'ya know...the last time I checked, police officers were STILL...REAL PEOPLE. They have families and lives OUTSIDE of the department, but because of something like THIS, they've got the added stress of having to watch constantly for this now.
Nothing like nutjobs such as Maurice Clemmons to take stress to the next level, hmm?
In another update to a local homicide story:
** The pizza man who was gunned down the other day might have been robbed JUST for the PIZZAS!
Here's the story link:
http://www.journalgazette.net/article/20091201/LOCAL07/312019965/1002/LOCAL
My wife and I are VERY wary to ORDER pizzas for delivery...I don't want to see someone robbed because WE had to order something.
We pick up at Little Caesars...and only have to hope we don't get car-jacked.
This is not the first time a pizza delivery person was robbed, and knowing these animals down here, it won't be the last. A favorite tactic is to call in an order to a "vacant" house...(and we've got plenty around here, because NO ONE in any city agency is RAZING THEM). When the delivery person arrives, they jump him/her....end of story.
I have vacant houses on THREE sides of me...2 houses north, 2 houses south, and one house west of our place.
Talk about an island of reason in a sea of chaos...!!!
Feel more like a drop of white paint on some tarmac!
But crime is STILL active down here, as evidenced by this:
Here's the link to the story:
http://www.journalgazette.net/article/20091201/LOCAL07/312019938
Again, we see TWO knife-wielding thugs robbing another business...oh, did I mention that in ALL THREE robberies, the perps were BLACK MEN...(Advanced Auto, Dairy Queen, Nail salon) that followed the same M.O.
And they left every robbery ON FOOT, but the trail was lost by K-9 units. Must have had a car nearby....maybe the SAME one that was "deserted" on MY street Saturday night...with the window down...that no one has come to claim...after it rained...for several days. Amazing how the car appeared after the robberies later that day.
Called the police...apparently nothing wrong with the car. called parking Control...they gave me a case number...???
Well, we'll see HOW LONG it takes someone to move the damn thing, before it gets stripped (anyone need late 90s Olds 98 parts...call me...LOL).
Now these robberies affect US ALL...
This "abandoned" car affects...US ALL.
It sends a message to every one of us, and if we're paying the hell attention, we'll get it.
It sends a message of being personally responsible..of being accountable...for understanding that actions ALWAYS have consequences, no matter what the situation.
It demonstrates that some people prefer to live in squalor, while others, such as myself, refuse to knuckle under to a sub-human lifestyle, and the crime associated with it.
And perhaps being a bit more demonstrative is something we all need to practice when it comes to upholding traditional values and principles...you know, the things that MADE this nation.
Like I said...there ARE remarkable times we live in...and we can be an active part of it...or just a spectator.
We can decide NOT to be victims any longer.
The choice IS...as always...OUR OWN.
Stay safe out there, America.