Here we go again…….. Planned Parenthood Lie

In 2008, as part of his “Hope & Change” tour, President Obama pledged to change the tone in Washington. Needless to say, that hasn’t happened. Today Washington is as divisive as it has ever been and the President, his Vice President, and all his surrogates are running around calling the candidate, Mitt Romney, a Liar. Not exactly the change that we had all hoped for.

But what about the President? Is he being open and honest with us?

Recently during the “town hall” debate, President Obama once again persisted in perpetuating the myth that Planned Parenthood provides mammograms. Specifically he said “millions of women all across the country who rely on Planned Parenthood for . . . mammograms.”

The truth is they don’t. Planned Parenthood has neither the license nor the machines. The most they can do is refer women to mammogram providers, something any woman can do by opening the local phone book or search on line via Google. Yet I hear this argument being made constantly.

People, this is but one lie, there are countless others. You just have to be willing to open your eyes and ears and do some digging. Forget the media, think of them as your kids. I don’t care how much you love them, cherish them, and believe they can do no wrong. If you saw smoke coming from your kitchen, would you accept little Johnny or Sue’s reassuring claim that everything is alright?

I am not saying that both campaigns don’t engage in this type of behavior, but when I hear one side engaging in a constant barrage of “liar, liar” it makes me wonder what THEY are lying about. In the case of the President, it’s looking more and more like he should take heed of the old biblical verse “physician, heal thyself.”

We the people deserve better and quite honestly we should demand better. If we go around just believing every spoonful of drivel that is hand fed to us, without checking for ourselves, then we deserve what we get.

It’s not terrorism, Panetta said so.

Shock of Shocks, the Pentagon now says it will not reclassify the Fort Hood shootings as a terrorist attack over concern about biasing the case against the gunman.

In rejecting the victim’s pleas, Defense Secretary Panetta’s spokesman cited concern that having the government weigh in could “bias” the case against Army Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan, who is awaiting trial for killing 13 people and wounding 29 others.

Yeah, I can see how it wouldn’t be appropriate now. Maybe they should have thought about that three years ago when it first happened. It seemed everyone else knew it was an act of terror, everyone that is except this administration. Then again, that never really fit their narrative.

Things would be so much easier if we didn’t think for ourselves and just gratefully accepted manna that is being spoon-fed from on high.

It should be noted that Major Hasan had previously asked al-Qaeda terrorist leader Anwar al-Awlaki for religious advice, such as whether a soldier who "died while attacking fellow soldiers" would be a martyr. When this information was forwarded to the FBI terrorism task forces, they determined that Hasan was not a threat and that his questions to al-Awlaki were consistent with his “medical research.”

After the shooting, Awlaki quickly declared Hasan a hero, as "fighting against the U.S. army is an Islamic duty."

Nope, no terrorism hear folks, move along.

241 Lives and 29 Years Later

Today marks the 29^th anniversary of the suicide truck bombing at the U.S. Marine Corps Barracks in Beirut, Lebanon.

On that tragic day, 241 brave American souls lost their lives in a despicable cowardly act aided by Iran and Syria.

Never Forgive, Never Forget.

Media Bias? No Media Bias here folks.......

Last Friday, a CBS News affiliate in Phoenix, Arizona flashed the graphic above showing President Obama beating Governor Romney with 99% of the precincts reporting.

It only appeared for about 17 seconds or so, but unfortunately for the folks at CBS, 17 seconds is an eternity in this technology era.

Only problem, it is two weeks before the elections……………Doh!

Now I am sure that they will try and spin it by saying that they were just “testing” their news crawl for the upcoming election, but let’s face it, their bias come through brilliantly. Arizona isn’t exactly known as a democratic enclave and current Rasmussen polls show Romney as a 10 point favorite.

But whatever their explanation, it appears as if this is their "Dewey Defeats Truman" moment.

Kind of makes you wonder why CBS news perennially finishes in last place when it comes to non-cable news ratings.

Fort Hood Shooting - Work Place Violence ?

The purpose of this article is not really to document the farce that has become the Fort Hood Shooting legal case. I urge you in the strongest possible way to take a moment and research it yourself. The fact that nearly four years later this administration refuses to properly label this as a terrorist act is appalling and beyond my ability to understand. Then again, this administration has been fond of saying that Al Qaeda is “on the run” as well. I guess what they don’t understand is that it is an ideology and will not be destroyed by the death of any particular leader. For a refresher, check out: Absolutely Clueless (Part Deux)

 

No the purpose of this article is to redirect you to the website: Truth About Fort Hood

I have always said that the sole reason for this site has been to ask you to think for yourself.  We owe it to our country, our children and ourselves to be informed citizens and not sheeple who accept everything our politicians or the media spoon feeds us.

The families and survivors or the shooting, which I professionally believe was a terrorist attack, are suffering needless because of the government’s failure to label this for what it truly was. Talk about adding insult to injury.

Consider the following:

• The FBI intercepted at least eighteen (18) emails between Major Nidal Malik Hasan and Anwar Al-Awlaki. Al-Awlaki was a senior talent recruiter and motivator who was involved with planning operations for the Islamist militant group al-Qaeda.

• Additionally, it has been reported that Hasan had more unexplained connections to people being tracked by the FBI than just Anwar al-Awlaki.

• Hasan sought spiritual guidance from Al-Awlaki regarding when Jihad is appropriate and specifically asked if innocents could be killed in a suicide attack.   For the record it should be noted that Al-Awlaki was also the “spiritual advisor” for one of the 9/11 hijackers.

• Hasan reportedly told Al-Awlaki that “I can't wait to join you" in the afterlife.

• On his business card, which omitted his military rank, Hasan had the acronyms SoA(SWT) which, according to investigators, is commonly used on jihadist websites as an acronym for "Soldier of Allah" or "Servant of Allah", and SWT is commonly used by Muslims to mean "subhanahu wa ta'ala" (Glory to God).

• During a military class that he was giving, Hasan reportedly went on a rant about “infidels”

• At the time of the shooting, Hasan was heard shouting "Allahu Akbar!" 

Yet, despite all of this the FBI and U.S. Army investigators determined that there was no evidence of links to terrorist groups. They concluded that his communications with Awlaki, identified as a dangerous Al Qaeda leader, posed “no threat” at the time.

Attorney General Eric Holder decided not to charge Hasan with terrorism, and it was widely debated as to whether Hasan could be called a "terrorist." The administration went a step further and labeled it “Work Place Violence.”

I’m not sure what passes for “investigator” status these days, but as a former detective, I would have been laughed out of my C.O.’s office if I tried to close a case like that. Not to mention the fact that I can guarantee you that gold shield would have been nothing but a distant memory as I was walking a foot post on Atlantic Ave and Eastern Parkway.

I guess it makes it easier to believe the argument that Hasan chose to murder 13 people and wounded 29 others in an effort to avoid being deployed to Afghanistan.

Following that line of thinking I assume that, should the current administration been in office at the time, the attacks of 9/11/01 would have been designated as "Controlled Flight Into Terrain.”

Sadly, for a moment I thought about just writing 9/11, but after Benghazi we now have to include a year. I guess that the Consulate attack can be reclassified as an “International Small Arms Ammunition Absorption Program.”

This administration has buried its proverbial head in the sand. Choosing to ignore reality and pretend that terrorism and terrorist are on the decline. This is a reality that we cannot afford. Pretending that the world really does not hate you is not a viable option. Terrorists are fundamentally opposed to our very existence. They hate the United States for who we are as a nation, not because of who is in the Oval Office.

We must adopt the policy of the late Ronald Reagan when dealing with terrorism. When he was asked about the Cold War he replied “Here's my strategy on the Cold War: We win, they lose.”

It is an utter disgrace to the memories of those brave men and women who died, or were wounded in the attack, to pretend that it was not an act of terrorism.

What world do we live in where Major Hasan is awarded the Global War on Terrorism medal, and those he killed or injured are denied the Purple Heart medal?

Should the voting age be raised?

The other day I was having a political discussion with some younger people (early twenty-ish) and it really scared me. One of them made the comment that they were voting for President Obama because “the other guy wants to take away a woman’s right to contraception.”

Huh? Seriously? Where do these kinds of thoughts originate from?

Mind you this is the first year they are eligible to vote in a presidential election and this was their reason.

After a few minutes spent educating the young lad, I watched as the discussion switched back and forth between texting and half paying attention. Clearly internet photos and jokes rank equally with discussing the election of the leader of the free world. It did not take long to watch as their eyes glazed over and the discussion came to an end.

I walked away realizing that this was not an isolated case. I wondered how long this has been going on. Do you remember the TV show “Family Ties” with Michael J. Fox? It was a sitcom back in the 80’s. Fox’s character was a Republican in an otherwise left leaning family. Mom and Dad were hippies from the 60’s who were members of the Peace Corps, and dad was currently employed with a PBS station. It was funny, because it interjected a strong republican twist and was so opposite what was, and apparently still is, the normal for Hollywood.

But this creates a considerable dilemma for us as Americans.

Who really is educating our children?

Where are they getting their information from?

We as parents have abdicated our roles. The reasons are as varied as we are: hectic lives, apathy, dependence on the school system, etc. We must however come to terms that if it is not us doing it, someone will fill that void.

Our children are like raccoons, they love shiny shit. Look at the lines that wrap around city streets for the latest video game, phone, etc. it doesn’t matter the weather, time of year. They’ll build shelters in the snow just to be at the front of the line for the latest release.

They can spout off at length about the technological advancements regarding the latest phone or gaming system. Yet, if you asked them to explain what bicameralism was they’d probably say it was a new HD movie camera.  

To put it as succinctly as possible, kids today are lost when it comes to politics. They believe and repeat what they are being taught. The question is who is doing the teaching.

As parents, we must realize that we are not cool. We do not have the standing of a celebrity, musician, or for that matter the un-celebrity. Un-celebrities are, as I have come to define, people who have done nothing in their life but, somehow in some weird twist of fate, they have made a celebrity career out of, well, nothingness. It is bad enough when these diminished luminaries spout off about issues, but what’s worse is when they degenerate it to the level of vicious personal attacks. During this election cycle I am astounded by the lack of viciousness spewing forth from left.

The other day I read a large series of tweets that spoke only about how they either were or wanted to “key” cars with Romney bumper stickers. These “kids” were admitting to damaging or wanting to damage other people’s property simply because they disagreed with their political choices. Another series of tweets dealt with the destruction of, or defecation on, lawn signs.

It seems that when it comes down to what is important in our children’s lives, legalizing marijuana and lowering the drinking age has the highest priority.

When did this become acceptable behavior in America?  

These are kids, who in many instances cannot even vote. There was a report about a 15 year old kid being investigated by the Secret Service because he had tweeted that he wanted to kill Romney.

Honestly, what do you think this kid knows? Who is teaching him this?

Each and every day we send out kids off to schools and we think they are safe.

But are they?

Our kids are being spoon-fed political pabulum in schools and we wonder why we have given rise to a social class of entitlement children?

We used to send our kids to school confident that they would get an education that would prepare them for the real world. Now we have to seriously question whether the education they are getting is preparing them to mold the world to their liking.

I remember being at the demonstrations after the start of the Iraq war. The protesters, mostly college kids, would chant about “no war for oil.” I said back then and I stand by it today, if the best you could do was chant that we went to war only to get oil, go back to your college and demand a refund of your tuition.

But what has changed since that time? Nothing! Now we have the “Occupy Wall Street” movement. Again our kids, even younger now, are being taught that capitalism is bad, and that corporate greed is responsible for everything wrong in this country.

And during it all, these “peace loving” people, do their best to destroy whatever they want. If you stand against them, you are vilified.

The sad truth is that we, as Americans, were always on the look out for a danger coming at us from the exterior. The hard truth is that the danger came from within and was in reality ourselves. Years of apathy led to where we are at today. They recognized that we would always come together against a common enemy, so they took a different approach. They identified the most vulnerable, and they focused on them.  In the same way a pack chases down the slowest and weakest.

Our children were fair game. Their influence came from agenda driven teachers, actors, musicians, and media. They had time on their hands and they played it well. Each new generation was like a force multiplier for the next. They moved out and preached their new found political principals to the next.

And one day we woke up and realized we were the enemy.

The old fashioned notions of hard work, personal responsibility, and tenacity died on the altar of entitlements.

What happened to that message, delivered on Inauguration Day 1961, in which President John F. Kennedy said "Ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country."

Sadly our children have lost their way. They were taught that style means more than substance; that electing someone, based solely on popularity, takes precedence over capability; that we should lower standards to include everyone instead of helping others to rise above their circumstances.

I’m not sure how we repair this. Like everything else it didn’t occur overnight and there is no easy fix.

I had thought about whether it might not be a bad idea to raise the voting age, wait until they had made their way in the world and learned the value of hard work and responsibility. Then I thought about our young men and women in the armed forces and what they have had to learn the hard way. It reminded me that I was just looking for the easy solution, lowering standards instead of requiring higher ones.

In the end, maybe it is our generation that has to do the hard work. To finally take back responsibility for the children we have brought into this world. To actually put in the hard work required of being a parent.

Will it make things better? I don’t know. But I would rather teach my children and have them reject it, based on what they have researched for themselves, then to abdicate my job to the likes of Ashton Kutcher, Snoop Dogg, Kim Kardashian and the talking heads over at MSNBC.

In 1974 President Gerald Ford made the following statement to a join session of Congress: "A government big enough to give you everything you want is a government big enough to take from you everything you have.”

Whether you call it welfare reform, providing for the poor, or simply redistribution of wealth, it all remains the same: a government who will care for you, as they deem necessary. We are heading in this direction, all for the “collective” good.

In the end, I pray that we wake up from our slumber and teach our children the important lessons before it is too late. 

I mourn for the NYPD of my youth

A few years back I was sent an email called “I mourn for the NYPD of my youth” by Sgt. Christopher J. Porcu, (NYPD Retired).  The other day I was speaking to a friend of mine who is still on the job back in New York City. We came on about the same time and we were talking about what things were like and how far they have come.

I was going to share the original email, but decided that I would amend it to share things from my perspective.

“I mourn for the NYPD of my youth” (Revised)

I remember what it was like when I first became a New York City Police Officer back in 1985. For a kid who had dreamed of being a New York City Cop since the age of five it was like making it into the major leagues.

I remember the academy and wearing the “Sister Mary Agnes by the Sea” parochial school uniform. The academy was day tours and 4X12’s and we rotated days off. We were thankful for the weekends because traffic and parking was “slightly” easier.

I remember the first time I wore my reefer coat with the double row of brass buttons.

I remember those first weeks of walking a foot post and learning to twirl my nightstick and not take out a storefront window or my kneecap.

I remember my Smith and Wesson Model 10 and my first RMP “swivel” holster. We all carried backups because it was easier to draw a second gun then to try and reload from the dump pouches.

When I first came on the job, there were old timers, real honest to God cops, who shared their war stories with me and told me about the “Good Old Days.” The war stories were real. We were told how cops were being assassinated simply because they were cops. I remember with reverence the names of some of those fallen, including Piagentini & Jones, Foster & Laurie, and Cardillo.

I remember all too well Scott Gadell, who I worked with, EddieByrne, who worked in an adjoining precinct and so many others who paid the ultimate sacrifice while I was on the job. I remember responding on September 11^th and not prepared for how that day would end. I mourn those lost on that day, and those we continue to lose, all these years later.

In my career I went to too many funerals for too many brave young men and women.

Only someone who has worn the uniform can truly comprehend, and appreciate, the sound of bag pipes.

We went to work everyday and we actually enjoyed the job. We considered ourselves to be among the lucky few who could count themselves as part of something bigger. There is an inherent pride that goes along with telling someone that you are a (or retired from) NYC Cop.

It’s the job they write books about, make movies and TV shows about. Like the old Sinatra song they blame at every graduation goes “if you can make it here, you can make it anywhere.”

As rookies we sat on DOA’s, hospitalized prisoners, and EDP’s. We flew to details, a lot of details. We counted ourselves fortunate when he had enough time on the job to take vacation during the West Indian Day parade. Back in the day when that parade never did seem to end and gun shots were just part of the celebration.

I remember being able to smoke in the station house and the RMP’s.  

I remember the Blue Flu.

I remember walking foot posts for six straight months and how important a piece of cardboard could be on a cold winter’s day. I remember making sure I was visible and got my scratch without making the Sergeant track me down.

I remember the first day I rode in an RMP for the tour. The old blue and white Plymouth Gran Fury’s that had no air conditioning and an AM radio. The light bar was controlled by a toggle switch under the steering wheel. The radio was a portable “brick” and you didn’t touch it unless you were told to. You knew you had reached a milestone in you career when the operator looked at you, nodded to the radio and said “their calling you.”

We were fortunate enough to be allowed to be “Cops”, and we were taught how to handle damn near any job without getting the boss involved. We may have been young, but we were the “Police” and we were expected to do our job no matter what it involved.

Sergeants were like God’s and Lieutenants were somewhere just above that. They ran the command as they saw fit. I remember square bags, and making sure the Lt’s were taken care of. We felt bad for them because they were stuck on the desk.

Captain’s worked M-F from 9-5, and very rarely came out of their office, except to address a roll call on occasion. They didn’t need Compstat to tell them what was going on in their commands. If there was a problem we were told to fix it, and fix it we did.

I remember getting assigned rings and making damn sure we made them. I remember being a Sergeants Op. We went to the jobs we needed to, but always after giving the sector enough time to take care of it. I remember being the assistant Desk Officer and running the command when the Lt. was otherwise disposed of.

Collars were made, and summonses were written “when appropriate”. October Collars brought Christmas Dollars, and many of us made collars for dollars. I remember the “church pew” benches in Central Booking and being in the system for days.

If you worked hard, you got to go into anti-crime and wear a field jacket and drive around in the “taxi.” Everyone knew what the color of the day was.

The nine squad chart allowed everybody to get to work with each other, and we “policed” ourselves. Every sector (or foot posts) handled their own jobs unless they were tied up with a collar who heavy job. Those “milkmen” that goofed off, soon found subtle reminders from the others on how to properly handle their jobs. They didn’t goof off often, and certainly not repeatedly.

The job was definitely tighter back then as well. The “Blue Wall” was alive and well and professional courtesy was the order of the day. We came to work to be with our friends, and you rarely took a day off because you didn’t want to miss anything that happened at work, or when you went out afterwards. 4x12’s were generally 4x4’s.

I remember beds in the station house and guys using them when going home wasn't an option, for a variety of reasons.

I remember thin cardboard PBA cards and that professional courtesy was the rule of the day. We were family and we expected nothing less.

We all understood the meaning of what is was like to work in a “paramilitary organization.”

We all wore one uniform too and that included a hat every time you got out of the RMP, unless it was a heavy job. But you better have it on when things quieted down.

We were cops and we dressed like cops. Uniforms include trousers that had the extra pocket for the day billy or sap that most of us carried. “Out of uniform”, usually meant that a guy was wearing a short sleeve shirt before the weather warmed up prior to them being authorized, not the guy that chose to wear whatever he felt like on that particular day. Sergeants conducted inspections at roll call and woe to him that wasn’t in proper uniform. We marched out before the desk officer before beginning our tour, nightsticks at the ready.

Recruitment & retention problems did not exist either. People paid to take the police test when it came up. Granted we didn’t make a fortune, but we were higher paid than Nassau, Suffolk, Port Authority and the New York State Troopers, all of whom surpassed us over the years. You took the test because your friends and family, who were already on the job, told you that it was a job worth taking. Similarly, you passed that information on to your friends and family as well, and were happy for them when they too were sworn in. Now, nobody in their right minds would refer this job to a friend or family member.

Everyone knew that there were certain jobs that you needed a hook for and you never saw them advertising openings in Intel or ESS! You were asked to go there, not the other way around. Everyone remembers their first Rabbi.

I remember the pride of walking across the stage at 1PP when I was promoted to Detective and later Sergeant. I remember how hard it was when I had to turn in my silver shield. It had become a part of me. I would feel the same all those years later when I turned in my Sergeants shield the day I retired.

All in all, I think back on those days and find myself referring to them as “The Good Old Days”, and they truly were.

I wonder if the cops retiring in twenty years will think back upon their first days on the job as “The Good Old Days”, and how they will describe “The Job” to those rookies at that time.

I can honestly say that I didn’t hate the job. I’m proud of my career and the cops I had the pleasure of working with. I actually loved the job.  Unfortunately, it is the politics and ensuing correctness of the department that has steadily ruined it over the years. Rather then bring everyone “up” to the same high standard; they lower everything to the lowest common denominator.

That being said, I mourn for the NYPD of my youth!