Fire Hydrant of Freedom
Politics, Religion, Science, Culture and Humanities => Politics & Religion => Topic started by: Crafty_Dog on July 28, 2003, 12:16:00 AM
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3/14/25
Prompted by my post today on this thread, I have just circled back here and modified the subject line to what you now see.
For my fellow Americans:
Regarded the phrase "well regulated militia": Obviously it comes from our Second Amendment. Due to the change in meaning of the term "well regulated" since the Bill of Rights was passed, the term is currently usually misunderstood as a call for lots of regulations. Not so! At the time the BoR was passed the meaning of the term was "smoothly running". For example a "well regulated watch" (keep in mind the technology of the time) was one that ran smoothly and accurately.
Thus the vision for a "well regulated militia" was one that arose sua sponte of American Citizens getting together with their friends and neighbors to train and practice so that they could serve effectively as "minutemen" in the event of some sort of attack.
Think of who it was that fought the British and the Battle of Lexington and Concord. They were the men who already had fought together against the French and Indians in the border wars of a couple of decades prior-- and that is why they had the cannons (!!!) and guns that the British were coming to confiscate.
Their collective resistance to being disarmed was the beginning of America.
Similarly, think of the phrase in the Constitution about "Letters of Marque"-- again a vision of citizenry with their own cannons (on ships in this case) in order to be able to defend themselves on the high seas.
In neither case was it necessary that the citizens be trained or regulated by the State governments. Witness Title 10 USC Section 311.
In my considered opinion, there is a substantial possibility that massive civil unrest and disorder may come to America sometime soon. Note my words here are NOT a prediction, merely a calculation of possible outcomes.
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Woof All:
This thread is for stories of citizen's stepping forward:
Crafty Dog
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CRIMENETDAILY
Bank robber caught
by fed-up customer
Man who witnessed previous holdup
now chooses to act, pounces on thief
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Posted: July 27, 2003
6:42 p.m. Eastern
? 2003 WorldNetDaily.com
As Yogi Berra might say, it was a case of deja vu all over again.
Last month, Andrew Green was inside the Riverside National Bank in Jensen Beach, Fla., when the establishment was robbed. He stood by helplessly as a witness to the crime. In an incredible coincidence, Green was inside the same branch when it was robbed again yesterday morning. But this time, there was a different outcome, as Green decided to take action and get involved by pursuing the alleged robber.
"At first I just wanted to follow him, so I could identify him to the police," Green told the Stuart News. "He was walking across the parking lot so nonchalantly and was changing his clothes as he walked."
Green watched as the suspect removed his hat and shirt, stuffing them into a plastic Wal-Mart bag. That's when he decided to pounce, tackling Thomas Poisal.
"He struggled a little on the way down," Green told the Palm Beach Post. "He looked a little shocked. He hadn't looked behind him a single time in the parking lot. It felt great," he added to the Post. "All my frustrations just went out of my body."
Deputies from the Martin County Sheriff's Office arrived to find Green and another witness holding Poisal in a bear hug, with $2,000 on the suspect.
"It was bibbity-bam, bibbity-boom," Lt. Mike McKinley told the Stuart News. "[Poisal's] got to know he had a very poor decision-making process today."
Poisal is being charged with armed robbery after telling the bank teller he had a gun, though none was recovered. On June 2, Richard Mandile allegedly robbed the same bank after giving the teller a note, leaving Green amazed by the coincidence.
"What are the odds of this happening twice?" Green asked the Stuart News. "The first time I was really frustrated for not helping," he said. "But this time was great. Your adrenaline really gets pumping and you don't realize what you're doing."
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Respect to Andrew Green for his civilian courage.
Greetings from germany, Mike
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CLIFTON, N.J. ? A 15-year-old boy foiled an apparent abduction attempt when he pulled out his cell phone camera and snapped photos of a man trying to lure him into a car, police said.
The teen also photographed the vehicle's license plate and gave the evidence to police, who arrested a suspect the next day.
"It's surprising the kid had the presence of mind to use the technology under duress," Detective Capt. Robert Rowan told The Record of Bergen County (search) in Friday's editions.
The teen, whose name was not released by police, was walking home at about 7 p.m. Tuesday when a man, later identified by police as William MacDonald, pulled up beside him, Rowan said.
He offered to drive the boy to another town to look for girls, and then began "engaging in a sexually explicit conversation," Rowan said. The teen told him he wasn't interested, but MacDonald, 59, continued to follow him.
At that point, the boy took the pictures, and MacDonald got out of his car and grabbed him by the arm, Rowan said. A struggle followed, but the boy was able to break free and run away.
MacDonald was charged with attempting to lure a juvenile into a car, criminal restraint and simple assault. If convicted, he could face up to five years in state prison. He is being held on $25,000 bail.
A spokeswoman for Sprint (search), whose phone the boy used, said she had never heard of someone using the new technology to catch a criminal.
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http://www.cnn.com/2003/US/Northeast/10/31/crime.girls.reut/index.html
Girls pummel man who exposed himself
PHILADELPHIA, Pennsylvania (Reuters) -- A man described by authorities as a known sexual predator was chased through the streets of South Philadelphia by an angry crowd of Catholic high school girls, who kicked and punched him after he was tackled by neighbors, police said Friday.
Rudy Susanto, 25, who had exposed himself to teen-age girls on as many as seven occasions outside St. Maria Goretti School, struck again on Thursday just as students were being dismissed, police said.
But this time, a group of girls in school uniforms angrily confronted Susanto with help from some neighbors, police said.
When Susanto tried to run, more than 20 girls chased him down the block. Two men from the neighborhood caught him and the girls took their revenge.
"The girls came and started kicking him and punching him, so I wasn't going to stop them," neighbor Robert Lemons told The Philadelphia Inquirer.
Susanto was later treated for injuries at a local hospital. Police said he would be charged with 14 criminal counts including harassment, disorderly conduct, open lewdness and corrupting the morals of a minor.
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An interesting thought came to mind as I read the above article...not that I in any way agree with Susanto's behavior, I don't...but what do you imagine 20 teenage boys would do if a 25 year old woman exposed herself to them? Beat the woman up? What accounts for the difference in reactions?
On yet another note, "corrupting the morals of a minor" sounds a bit scary. I remember seeing on the back of a customs form when entering a communist country, that it is illegal to import materials that "corrupt the morals of a minor", or something to that effect.
David
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An interesting thought came to mind as I read the above article...not that I in any way agree with Susanto's behavior, I don't...but what do you imagine 20 teenage boys would do if a 25 year old woman exposed herself to them? Beat the woman up? What accounts for the difference in reactions?
David
It isn't obvious? How about the fact that teenage girls have good reason to feel threatened by such behavior from a man, while boys wouldn't feel a similar threat from a woman? Or are you wondering why this is so?
A better question would have been "What do you imagine 20 teenage boys would do if a 25 year old man exposed himself to them?"
And the answer is that they would have done the same thing those girls did in response to the unwanted attention.
Or is your point that since boys would have presumably enjoyed being flashed by a woman, that these girls should have enjoyed it also?
What are you getting at?
-milt
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Milt, you beat me to it with that one!
And this from Tampa FL:
Confronted with an armed intruder in their home, two women plied him with a ham sandwich and rum until he became groggy and passed out.
Police arrived and arrested Alfred Joesph Sweet, 52, to end the 5 hour episode. Cathy Ord, 60 and Rose Bucher 63, said they tried to befriend the man after he burst through their kitchen window with a sawed-off shotgun Tuesday night.
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Milt,
My point was certainly not that the girls should have enjoyed what this man did. And I agree with you that boys would most likely also beat up a man who did the same thing.
My point is that teenage girls do have good reason to feel threatened by men, and that IS obvious. I'm not wondering why, because that's also obvious, but how this might change the way women are trained in MA's or self defense. Also, why does it seem that men expose themselves much more than women? I'm sure this is probably a power issue. Should that be addressed in SD training, or will the training bring about a change that addresses it?
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Guardian Angles
By Nikki Usher, Times Staff Writer
They were wearing their trademark red berets, white shirts and combat boots. But on Hollywood Boulevard, amid the throngs of tourists and street performers impersonating Marilyn Monroe, Superman and Batman, they barely stood out.
"I want a picture of you guys!" said Mike Cow, a tourist from San Diego. He turned to a bystander and added: "They're weird. I've never seen them before."
It was perhaps not the most auspicious reintroduction for the Guardian Angels, who this summer returned to the streets of Los Angeles for the first time in a decade.
The volunteer citizens brigade, using martial arts and citizen's arrests, gained national attention in the 1980s by patrolling inner-city neighborhoods that are plagued by crime.
While the Angels made their greatest mark in New York City, the group also had several hundred members in seven branches that patrolled neighborhoods from Venice to the San Gabriel Valley in the 1980s and early '90s. They left amid complaints from police and after several members had been attacked ? one fatally.
Back then, the Los Angeles Police Department "would treat us like we were the Bloods or the Crips. And since the police didn't respect us, the gangs didn't," said Curtis Sliwa, the group's founder.
Now they're hoping for a renaissance. The group has come back to a Los Angeles different from the one it left, where community policing has taken root and crime rates are generally lower. Sliwa said the Angels have changed with the times, working more closely with police and conducting more training for volunteers.
Sliwa said the group decided to come back to Southern California because of LAPD Chief William J. Bratton, who worked with the group when he was chief of the New York Police Department in the early '90s.
Bratton, who became L.A.'s chief two years ago, has offered a conditional welcome to the Guardian Angels. He said his experiences with the group in New York were largely positive.
But he's reluctant to see the Angels in some L.A. neighborhoods. He said patrolling Los Angeles is much more challenging because the city is spread out and there are fewer officers to back up the Angels. Moreover, he said, the group's conspicuous presence and aggressive tactics could backfire in the city's strongest gang enclaves.
"If they wear those red berets in the wrong area, the gangs will shoot them in a second," he said.
So far, about a dozen Guardian Angels have begun regular patrols along Hollywood Boulevard and at MacArthur Park.
Bratton said he's comfortable with the group's presence in Hollywood, a tourist district that already has strong police staffing.
"The visibility and eyes and ears they provide is fine, but just don't do it in areas where they are going to be in great risk and danger," the chief said.
Others aren't so sure.
L.A. City Councilman Bernard C. Parks, the police chief from 1997 to 2002, said that he couldn't support the Angels, and that professional police officers should be the only ones doing law enforcement work.
"It's hard enough to train police and keep them abiding by the law," he said. "These were people we knew nothing about."
Since the Guardian Angels left Los Angeles, the LAPD has tried to work more closely with community leaders to identify and target high-crime areas. Los Angeles also established a network of neighborhood councils that have a voice in law enforcement and other city policies.
But the Angels have yet to establish ties with the councils, according to community leaders in Hollywood and at MacArthur Park, who said they were surprised to hear that the group was back in town.
Sylvia Valle, a MacArthur Park neighborhood activist, said she worries that the patrols might make the situation in her neighborhood west of downtown less stable.
"There are four gangs in the radius of two blocks. This is just going to add fuel to the fire," she said.
Hollywood community activist Ferris Wehbe worked with the Angels when they helped patrol the Yucca Street area in the 1980s. He said that effort was effective because the group worked with neighborhood groups. This time, however, he doesn't see that partnership.
"We don't really need them here," he said. "The reason they worked in Hollywood was that they were connected to what the community was doing and really knew us?. I have had no indication of that happening this time."
In the 1980s, when the group was most active in Los Angeles, it had a decidedly mixed record.
It garnered praise when members patrolled the 1984 Summer Olympics. But a few years later, Sliwa was arrested for allegedly clubbing a man in an area of Hollywood the group had sealed off in an unofficial drug sweep. In 1993, in one of several attacks on group members, Angel Glenn Doser was shot to death when he tried to stop a robbery in Hollywood.
The Guardian Angels of the past, Sliwa and others said, could be aggressive and intimidating. They'd march into high-crime areas and ask tough questions, look for confrontations and try to break up drug deals.
"They were just these young guys and women, many of them ex-gang members, looking to rough someone up, get into a little trouble and feel like they were on the side of the right," said Todd Clear, a professor at John Jay College of Criminal Justice in New York.
The L.A. group has so far been drawn from veteran Southern California Angels and a few new recruits. There's a mix of young and old, and a few women. Sliwa says they're better trained than the Angels of old.
Under new policies, recruits undergo three months of standardized training, during which they learn martial arts and how to make citizen's arrests. They are also subjected to verbal abuse to see how they respond. Guardian Angels are not armed, though many carry handcuffs and cellphones.
Though they've been absent from Los Angeles, the Guardian Angels have remained a force in other cities, mostly on the East Coast. In Washington, D.C., members are working so closely with police, patrolling gang and drug areas, that the department gave them police radios.
Sliwa said the Angels want to pick "mild" targets in Los Angeles, building a record of success, before going into more hostile gang areas. So far, he said, members have encountered little action.
During a recent evening patrol in Hollywood, members didn't make any arrests or break up any drug deals, but they did help an elderly woman and her caretakers push a wheelchair over the curb at Hollywood Boulevard and Ivar Avenue.
An appreciative Vernadette Rebold smiled from her chair and thanked them. "We remember you from 20 years ago, in New York," she said.
Patrol leader Dave Eagle shrugs when asked about the lack of public memory about their Los Angeles days.
"Sure, we're remembered for New York, and maybe people don't remember us here, but we were here and we are here," said Eagle, who was with the group during its Los Angeles heyday. "It's hard to compete with where you started."
If you want other stories on this topic, search the Archives at latimes.com/archives.
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This article was brought to my attention by Seth Kanner of Atienza Kali. "Which one are you?" It's a good question to ask yourself and at the crux of what the DBMAA is all about.
On Sheep, Wolves and Sheepdogs
By LTC. Dave Grossman, USA (Ret)
Author of "On Killing: The Psychological Cost of Learning to Kill in War and Society."
One Vietnam veteran, an old retired colonel, once said this to me: "Most of the people in our society are sheep. They are kind, gentle, productive creatures who can only hurt one another by accident." This is true. Remember, the murder rate is six per 100,000 per year, and the aggravated assault rate is four per 1,000 per year. What this means is that the vast majority of Americans are not inclined to hurt one another. Some estimates say that two million Americans are victims of violent crimes every year, a tragic, staggering number, perhaps an all-time record rate of violent crime. But there are almost 300 million Americans, which means that the odds of being a victim of violent crime is considerably less than one in a hundred on any given year. Furthermore, since many violent crimes are committed by repeat offenders, the actual number of violent citizens is considerably less than two million.Thus there is a paradox, and we must grasp both ends of the situation: we may well be in the most violent times in history, but violence is still remarkably rare. This is because most citizens are kind, decent people who are not capable of hurting each other, except by accident or under extreme provocation. They are sheep. I mean nothing negative by calling them sheep. To me it is like the pretty, blue robin's egg. Inside it is soft and gooey but someday it will grow into something wonderful. But the egg cannot survive without its hard blue shell. Police officers, soldiers, and other warriors are like that shell, and someday the civilization they protect will grow into something wonderful. For now, though, they need warriors to protect them from the predators.
"Then there are the wolves," the old war veteran said, "and the wolves feed on the sheep without mercy." Do you believe there are wolves out there who will feed on the flock without mercy? You better believe it. There are evil men in this world and they are capable of evil deeds. The moment you forget that or pretend it is not so, you become a sheep. There is no safety in denial. "Then there are sheepdogs," he went on, "and I'm a sheepdog. I live to protect the flock and confront the wolf."
If you have no capacity for violence then you are a healthy productive citizen: a sheep. If you have a capacity for violence and no empathy for your fellow citizens, then you have defined an aggressive sociopath, a wolf. But what if you have a capacity for violence, and a deep love for your fellow citizens? What do you have then? A sheepdog, a warrior, someone who is walking the hero's path. Someone who can walk into the heart of darkness, into the universal human phobia, and walk out unscathed.
One career police officer wrote to me about this after attending one of my Bulletproof Mind training sessions: I want to say thank you for finally shedding some light on why it is that I can do what I do. I always knew why I did it. I love my folks, even the bad ones, and had a talent that I could return to my community. I just couldn't put my finger on why I could wade through the chaos, the gore, the sadness, if given a chance try to make it all better, and walk right out the other side.
Let me expand on this old soldier's excellent model of the sheep, wolves, and sheepdogs. We know that the sheep live in denial, that is what makes them sheep. They do not want to believe that there is evil in the world. They can accept the fact that fires can happen, which is why they want fire extinguishers, fire sprinklers, fire alarms and fire exits throughout their kids' schools. But many of them are outraged at the idea of putting an armed police officer in their kid's school. Our children are thousands of times more likely to be killed or seriously injured by school violence than fire, but the sheep's only response to the possibility of violence is denial. The idea of someone coming to kill or harm their child is just too hard, and so they chose the path of denial.
The sheep generally do not like the sheepdog. He looks a lot like the wolf. He has fangs and the capacity for violence. The difference, though, is that the sheepdog must not, can not and will not ever harm the sheep. Any sheep dog who intentionally harms the lowliest little lamb will be punished and removed. The world cannot work any other way, at least not in a representative democracy or a republic such as ours.
Still, the sheepdog disturbs the sheep. He is a constant reminder that there are wolves in the land. They would prefer that he didn't tell them where to go, or give them traffic tickets, or stand at the ready in our airports in camouflage fatigues holding an M-16. The sheep would much rather have the sheepdog cash in his fangs, spray paint himself white, and go, "Baa." Until the wolf shows up. Then the entire flock tries desperately to hide behind one lonely sheepdog.
The students, the victims, at Columbine High School were big, tough high school students, and under ordinary circumstances they would not have had the time of day for a police officer. They were not bad kids; they just had nothing to say to a cop. When the school was under attack, however, and SWAT teams were clearing the rooms and hallways, the officers had to physically peel those clinging, sobbing kids off of them. This is how the little lambs feel about their sheepdog when the wolf is at the door.
Look at what happened after September 11, 2001 when the wolf pounded hard on the door. Remember how America, more than ever before, felt differently about their law enforcement officers and military personnel? Remember how many times you heard the word hero?
Understand that there is nothing morally superior about being a sheepdog; it is just what you choose to be. Also understand that a sheepdog is a funny critter: He is always sniffing around out on the perimeter, checking the breeze, barking at things that go bump in the night, and yearning for a righteous battle. That is, the young sheepdogs yearn for a righteous battle. The old sheepdogs are a little older and wiser, but they move to the sound of the guns when needed right along with the young ones.
Here is how the sheep and the sheepdog think differently. The sheep pretend the wolf will never come, but the sheepdog lives for that day. After the attacks on September 11, 2001, most of the sheep, that is, most citizens in America said, "Thank God I wasn't on one of those planes." The sheepdogs, the warriors, said, "Dear God, I wish I could have been on one of those planes. Maybe I could have made a difference." When you are truly transformed into a warrior and have truly invested yourself into warriorhood, you want to be there. You want to be able to make a difference. There is nothing morally superior about the sheepdog, the warrior, but he does have one real advantage. Only one. And that is that he is able to survive and thrive in an environment that destroys 98 percent of the population.
There was research conducted a few years ago with individuals convicted of violent crimes. These cons were in prison for serious, predatory crimes of violence: assaults, murders and killing law enforcement officers. The vast majority said that they specifically targeted victims by body language: slumped walk, passive behavior and lack of awareness. They chose their victims like big cats do in Africa, when they select one out of the herd that is least able to protect itself. However, when there were cues given by potential victims that indicated they would not go easily, the cons said that they would walk away. If the cons sensed that the target was a "counter-predator," that is, a sheepdog, they would leave him alone unless there was no other choice but to engage.
One police officer told me that he rode a commuter train to work each day. One day, as was his usual, he was standing in the crowded car, dressed in blue jeans, T-shirt and jacket, holding onto a pole and reading a paperback. At one of the stops, two street toughs boarded, shouting and cursing and doing every obnoxious thing possible to intimidate the other riders. The officer continued to read his book, though he kept a watchful eye on the two punks as they strolled along the aisle making comments to female passengers, and banging shoulders with men as they passed. As they approached the officer, he lowered his novel and made eye contact with them. "You got a problem, man?" one of the IQ-challenged punks asked. "You think you're tough, or somethin'?" the other asked, obviously offended that this one was not shirking away from them. "As a matter of fact, I am tough," the officer said, calmly and with a steady gaze. The two looked at him for a long moment, and then without saying a word, turned and moved back down the aisle to continue their taunting of the other passengers, the sheep.
Some people may be destined to be sheep and others might be genetically primed to be wolves or sheepdogs. But I believe that most people can choose which one they want to be, and I'm proud to say that more and more Americans are choosing to become sheepdogs.
Seven months after the attack on September 11, 2001, Todd Beamer was honored in his hometown of Cranbury, New Jersey. Todd, as you recall, was the man on Flight 93 over Pennsylvania who called on his cell phone to alert an operator from United Airlines about the hijacking. When he learned of the other three passenger planes that had been used as weapons, Todd dropped his phone and uttered the words, "Let's roll," which authorities believe was a signal to the other passengers to confront the terrorist hijackers. In one hour, a transformation occurred among the passengers - athletes, business people and parents. -- from sheep to sheepdogs and together they fought the wolves, ultimately saving an unknown number of lives on the ground. "Do you have any idea how hard it would be to live with yourself after that?"
There is no safety for honest men except by believing all possible evil of evil men. - Edmund Burke
Here is the point I like to emphasize, especially to the thousands of police officers and soldiers I speak to each year. In nature the sheep, real sheep, are born as sheep. Sheepdogs are born that way, and so are wolves. They didn't have a choice. But you are not a critter. As a human being, you can be whatever you want to be. It is a conscious, moral decision. If you want to be a sheep, then you can be a sheep and that is okay, but you must understand the price you pay. When the wolf comes, you and your loved ones are going to die if there is not a sheepdog there to protect you. If you want to be a wolf, you can be one, but the sheepdogs are going hunt you down and you will never have rest, safety, trust or love. But if you want to be a sheepdog and walk the warrior's path, then you must make a conscious and moral decision every day to dedicate, equip and prepare yourself to thrive in that toxic, corrosive moment when the wolf comes knocking at the door.
For example, many officers carry their weapons in church. They are well concealed in ankle holsters, shoulder holsters or inside-the-belt holsters tucked into the small of their backs. Anytime you go to some form of religious service, there is a very good chance that a police officer in your congregation is carrying. You will never know if there is such an individual in your place of worship, until the wolf appears to massacre you and your loved ones.
I was training a group of police officers in Texas, and during the break, one officer asked his friend if he carried his weapon in church. The other cop replied, "I will never be caught without my gun in church." I asked why he felt so strongly about this, and he told me about a cop he knew who was at a church massacre in Ft. Worth, Texas in 1999. In that incident, a mentally deranged individual came into the church and opened fire, gunning down fourteen people. He said that officer believed he could have saved every life that day if he had been carrying his gun. His own son was shot, and all he could do was throw himself on the boy's body and wait to die. That cop looked me in the eye and said, "Do you have any idea how hard it would be to live with yourself after that?"
Some individuals would be horrified if they knew this police officer was carrying a weapon in church. They might call him paranoid and would probably scorn him. Yet these same individuals would be enraged and would call for "heads to roll" if they found out that the airbags in their cars were defective, or that the fire extinguisher and fire sprinklers in their kids' school did not work. They can accept the fact that fires and traffic accidents can happen and that there must be safeguards against them.
Their only response to the wolf, though, is denial, and all too often their response to the sheepdog is scorn and disdain. But the sheepdog quietly asks himself, "Do you have and idea how hard it would be to live with yourself if your loved ones were attacked and killed, and you had to stand there helplessly because you were unprepared for that day?"
It is denial that turns people into sheep. Sheep are psychologically destroyed by combat because their only defense is denial, which is counterproductive and destructive, resulting in fear, helplessness and horror when the wolf shows up. Denial kills you twice. It kills you once, at your moment of truth when you are not physically prepared: you didn't bring your gun, you didn't train. Your only defense was wishful thinking. Hope is not a strategy. Denial kills you a second time because even if you do physically survive, you are psychologically shattered by your fear, helplessness and horror at your moment of truth.
Gavin de Becker puts it like this in Fear Less, his superb post-9/11 book, which should be required reading for anyone trying to come to terms with our current world situation: ...denial can be seductive, but it has an insidious side effect. For all the peace of mind deniers think they get by saying it isn't so, the fall they take when faced with new violence is all the more unsettling.
Denial is a save-now-pay-later scheme, a contract written entirely in small print, for in the long run, the denying person knows the truth on some level. And so the warrior must strive to confront denial in all aspects of his life, and prepare himself for the day when evil comes. If you are warrior who is legally authorized to carry a weapon and you step outside without that weapon, then you become a sheep, pretending that the bad man will not come today. No one can be "on" 24/7, for a lifetime. Everyone needs down time. But if you are authorized to carry a weapon, and you walk outside without it, just take a deep breath, and say this to yourself... "Baa."
This business of being a sheep or a sheep dog is not a yes-no dichotomy. It is not an all-or-nothing, either-or choice. It is a matter of degrees, a continuum. On one end is an abject, head-in-the-sand-sheep and on the other end is the ultimate warrior. Few people exist completely on one end or the other. Most of us live somewhere in between. Since 9-11 almost everyone in America took a step up that continuum, away from denial. The sheep took a few steps toward accepting and appreciating their warriors, and the warriors started taking their job more seriously. The degree to which you move up that continuum, away from sheephood and denial, is the degree to which you and your loved ones will survive, physically and psychologically at your moment of truth.
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Woof All:
Although "the Unorganized Militia" is a reference to American law, the following article about things in Mexico covers matters of interest.
Crafty
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THE WORLD
In Mexico, Vigilantism Rises on Surge of Crime, Public Disgust
As faith in the police declines, townspeople increasingly mete out their own justice.
By Chris Kraul, Times Staff Writer
SANTA ROSA XOCHIAC, Mexico ? Maria del Refugio Perez is a 60-year-old street vendor who says she abhors violence. But this month, she joined a raging mob that corralled, pummeled and hog-tied a suspected thief and almost burned her alive.
Drawn by a butcher's shouts that she had caught the woman grabbing money from a cash drawer at her shop, Perez and other neighbors quickly seized her. Once the church bells in this Mexico City suburb started ringing, signaling a town emergency, the mob grew in size ? and anger.
"These things happen because the authorities don't do anything," Perez said, recalling days later how the woman, Juana Moncayo, was tied to a flagpole in the town plaza for several hours as the crowd of 200 insulted and beat her. "Some were yelling, 'Burn her! Burn her!' " when the police finally came to take her away, Perez said.
"I don't like that people act that way, but so what, if it is the only way that delinquents know what they are risking," Perez said.
She and others here said they were fed up with a recent plague of break-ins, assaults and vandalism, and decided to take justice into their own hands ? just like other communities across Mexico have in recent weeks.
"People are very united here. Since the police don't do anything, it's up to us to show the criminals, and others thinking of doing the same thing, what happens when they are caught," said Jose Vargas, a clothing vendor in the town plaza.
Although statistics on mob justice aren't kept, experts agree that vigilantism is rising across Mexico in step with public disgust over violent crimes and the government's inability to stop them. It's the same disgust that sent a quarter of a million marchers into Mexico City's streets two months ago.
Since the march, politicians at all levels have promised to do something about the problem. President Vicente Fox unveiled a 10-point plan last week that includes $100 million in anti-crime funds by the end of the year ? in addition to the $250 million he had budgeted for security. Fox also has promised to increase the federal budget for security next year to $500 million.
Three days earlier, Fox accepted the resignation of the nation's top federal law enforcement officer, Alejandro Gertz Manero, who said he was quitting because he was approaching retirement age.
Mexico City Mayor Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador has also taken action, cracking down on panhandlers, street vendors, windshield washers and prostitutes and promising a 15% reduction in the crime rate over the next year.
Reliable crime statistics are hard to come by, but experts agree that violent crimes, especially kidnappings, have increased in Mexico in recent years. With abductions expected to rise past 3,000 this year, Mexico could replace Colombia as the country with the most cases, victim advocacy groups say.
"It will be difficult to improve things in the short term, but at least the government has made this a top priority, which is a change," said Jorge Chabat, a professor at the Center for Economic Research and Teaching in Mexico City. "The added money will help. That is a real advance. [Fox] put his money where his mouth is."
But people in towns such as Santa Rosa Xochiac remain deeply skeptical that crime will recede anytime soon. Distrust of the local police, seen as being in cahoots with criminals, runs deep.
Several townspeople here said the mob didn't want to give Moncayo up to the police because they feared that she would bribe them and they would set her free.
"We knew once she left in the patrol car, they weren't going to do anything because they never do with the corrupted ones," said homemaker Consuelo Garcia, 44. "But at least in the end, the thieves know they can't play with the people of Santa Rosa, that here they face consequences."
In the meantime, they vow they will continue to take the law into their hands, as have several communities recently:
? A crowd of 100 in the town of San Juan Chamula in Chiapas state threw their mayor and three members of his staff in jail for allegedly misappropriating funds.
? Enraged residents of San Pablo Oztotepec, a suburb of Mexico City, beat two suspected car thieves to unconsciousness. Only the intervention of an assistant city prosecutor saved them from being bludgeoned to death, authorities say.
? A crowd in the Cuajimalpa section of the capital severely beat a policeman after he lost control of his patrol car, killing one person. The officer was rescued, but not before the crowd burned his vehicle.
? Residents of a small town in Campeche state burned several vehicles belonging to a visiting circus after one of the employees was suspected of sexually molesting a 6-year-old girl.
? A man in Yucatan state was doused with gasoline and nearly set on fire after a crowd accused him of torching 15 houses.
Some people also have taken police work into their own hands, frustrated by the authorities' shortcomings in carrying out basic crime investigations. Guadalajara businessman Juan Manuel Estrada started the privately funded Stolen and Disappeared Children Foundation five years ago and has since recovered 47 minors, he said, including several abducted for sexual exploitation
"Yes, I am a kind of vigilante who takes justice in my own hands, but always within a framework of legality," Estrada said, adding that his group concentrates on sexually exploited minors because police tend to shy away from such cases, believing that the victims somehow are responsible for their own abductions.
Estrada said his network has helped uncover an illegal adoption racket in Canada dealing in Mexican babies; exposed a child abuse ring in Puerto Vallarta; and dismantled a child pornography ring operating out of Guadalajara and Colima.
"Society is meeting a void the authorities aren't filling," Estrada said. "That's why we are doing this."
Security expert Ana Maria Salazar said vigilantism is a symptom of the increasing lack of faith Mexicans have in the authorities.
"This has happened in the past, but more so now. People don't feel protected," said Salazar, who is also a newspaper columnist. "There is a general perception that if you go out and commit a crime, nothing is going to happen. And that goes for the vigilantes as much as for the criminals. So there is no incentive not to go out after the criminals."
Maria Elena Morera, a dentist who also leads the citizens advocacy group Mexico United Against Crime, which helped organize the massive June march, said vigilantism works against any reduction in crime.
"What we demand is that the authorities do their job," Morera said. "The citizens can't do what they aren't trained for."
Morera's group and others, including Coparmex, Mexico's largest business owners association, have called on the government to use the added anti-crime funds to "professionalize" the nation's police forces by offering better training and better salaries to make police less susceptible to corruption.
U.S. law enforcement officials and even top Mexican prosecutors routinely say that Mexican police on the local, state and federal levels are by and large contaminated by corruption, which stems from abysmally low salaries, poor-to-nonexistent benefits and weak powers.
"Who can expect a policeman who makes $300 a month, as most municipal police do, to do a good job?" Morera said.
Renato Sales, a deputy attorney general of Mexico City, said more money is only part of the solution. The country, he said, is in need of sweeping judicial and penal reforms to go after criminals.
"We are aware that citizens have little faith in the state," he said. "But to make significant changes, we need more resources and we need better laws."
Some human rights officials said that vigilantism only makes a lawless society worse.
"This is nothing new in Mexico, this collective rejection of the law in search of something more overwhelming and immediate," said Jose Luis Soberanes Fernandez, president of the National Human Rights Commission. "But it can't hide what it represents ? an ignorance of legality and of civilized forms built over thousands of years of human history."
But people are less philosophical in San Mateo Tlaltenango, another Mexico City suburb, where a mob recently set fire to a patrol car after a drunken policeman rammed into two taxis and then tried to drive away.
"The problem is the police here are corrupt, they never come to protect us, and when they do come they only cause problems," shopkeeper Alberto Gonzalez said. "Community justice isn't going to stop until we have good police and good leaders. Until then, the people are going to have to take their own measures."
Vargas, the Santa Rosa Xochiac clothing vendor, agreed. "If someone does something bad here, the community will grab him," he said. "We'll defend ourselves because there is no one else to do it."
*
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Times researcher Cecilia Sanchez in Santa Rosa Xochiac and special correspondent Sean Mattson in Guadalajara contributed to this report.
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Another case from Mexico. I am much less in touch with matters in Mexico than I used to be, but have heard of cases of kidnapping gangs involving police. This may or may not be a part of the dynamics of this affair.
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THE WORLD
Angry Mob Kills 2 Police Officers in Mexico
Crowd upset about child abductions attacks three undercover agents taking students' photos.
From Associated Press
MEXICO CITY ? A crowd angry about recent child kidnappings cornered plainclothes federal agents taking photos of students at a school on Mexico City's outskirts Tuesday and burned the officers alive.
Officials said two agents were killed and one was hospitalized.
Federal police director Adm. Jose Luis Figueroa told local media that the three agents went to the school in an unmarked car as part of an anti-drug-dealing operation.
The killings, filmed and broadcast on local television stations, were carried out by a crowd of people who cheered, chanted and shouted obscenities as they kicked and beat the agents. The mob then dowsed two officers with gasoline and set them ablaze.
Police didn't make any immediate arrests; officials said they were investigating.
In the video, the agents, blood streaming down their faces, spoke into the cameras before the burning, saying they were federal anti-terrorism agents who had been sent to the area on official business.
The mob held the agents for several hours before killing them. Figueroa said heavy traffic and residents who blocked authorities from moving kept police from responding in time.
The surviving agent, badly beaten, was rescued by police.
Images taken from a helicopter showed dozens of residents milling around the two burned bodies left in a street. Dozens of police in riot gear moved in more than an hour later and dispersed the crowd.
The violence began in the early evening, when several people collared three men staking out a school in the San Juan Ixtlayopan neighborhood.
The area has been tense since two youngsters disappeared and were feared kidnapped from the school. Some in the crowd appeared to believe the agents were kidnappers.
When asked about complaints that authorities had failed to respond to demands to investigate the disappearances, Figueroa said a full schedule had prohibited federal authorities from concentrating on the case.
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I would imagine that during the hours the federal agents were held, they must have identified themselves as Mexican law enforcement.
According to the story they were openly taking pictures of children (probably adults too) as part of an anti drug operation not pretending to be drug dealers. I would presume Mexican federal agents carry badges or some other form of ID.
Appearently being a federal cop in Mexico is not enough to convince people you are not involved in the child kidnapping. Was "Man on fire" a documentary? Maybe the crowd knew exactly whay they were doing? I wonder how many children have been abducted since this happened.
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There is more about this incident on our Spanish language forum. Several of the articles are in English.
Changing subjects, here's this from about 2 miles from my house:
===============
Diners bolt from breakfast to chase down a thief
Police praise two men who were eating at Rod's Charburger on Artesia Boulevard when they ran after a man seen stealing from an "older gentleman."
By Larry Altman
Daily Breeze
Kevin Jeanotte sat enjoying a plate of pork chops and eggs for breakfast Monday morning. And then he took a bite out of crime. The termite inspector chased a suspected robber in Redondo Beach, tackling him on the sidewalk and holding him until police arrived.
"I saw an older gentleman getting jumped and it's not right," Jeanotte said. "I saw it happen and I took off after him."
Police credited Jeanotte and Redondo Beach street maintenance worker Gosford Tukutau with grabbing the suspect and subduing him. Jose Manuel Jimenez, 19, of Carson was arrested on suspicion of robbery.
"They did an excellent job and I'm sure they can expect some commendation from the city," Redondo Beach police Sgt. Phil Keenan said.
The robbery occurred at 9:30 a.m. outside Rod's Char-burger, 2600 Artesia Blvd., as Nick Kelesidis, 71, left the business with $7,200 in a bag, said police and the restaurant's manager, Dino Fotoulos. Jimenez pushed Kelesidis to the ground, snatched the money bag and ran, Keenan said. Jeanotte, 36, of Cypress said he saw the attack through the window, saw the older man fall and leaped from his breakfast table to help.
"I took off after the guy and tackled him about two blocks down the road," Jeanotte said.
Tukutau, who was eating a burrito on his break, saw Jeanotte run, looked out the window and saw Kelesidis on the ground. Kelesidis said he had been robbed, so Tukutau took off to help Jeanotte. Tukutau helped detain Jimenez after Jeanotte had tackled him.
"I grabbed him and there were some contractors and they called the cops for us," said Tukutau, a 25-year-old Hawthorne resident.
Jimenez told the men he was hungry, but Jeanotte said he had $100 shoes and a cellular telephone.
Tukutau said he believed the crime was a set-up.
"We told him if he wanted food, he should have come into the restaurant," Tukutau said.
"We wouldn't have given him money, but we would have bought him a burrito."
Jimenez was held at the Redondo Beach jail on $100,000 bail. Police gave the money back to the restaurant. Fotoulos, who is Kelesidis' nephew, said his uncle suffered a few scratches but was fine. He appreciated the good work of his customers.
"They are good guys," the manager said.
"I tell them, 'Thank you, I have to do something for you guys.' They said, 'Don't worry. Don't worry.' "
Both men were nonchalant about hero status.
Jeanotte said he was just a man who "tried to help out an old man."
Tukutau said people need to help others when they are in need. He said the thought occurred to him that the thief might have had a weapon.
"But if you think about that you are just going to let him go," he said. "You have to put that out of your mind and do what's right. What's right is chasing him down."
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Anyone having trouble sleeping may want to check out this memo written for the US Attorney General earlier this year:
http://www.usdoj.gov/olc/secondamendment2.htm
It's pretty pedantic--Stephen Hallbrook's That every man be armed: the evolution of a constitutional right is far more readable. Still, it's refreshing to see the DOJ acknowledge the obvious.
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Family Captures Suspected Stalker
(original article here) http://abcnews.go.com/US/story?id=409745
The quick action of a teenage girl's family may have saved her from being abducted as she waited for a school bus this morning, police said.
A man suspected of stalking the 14-year-old at her bus stop was caught and beaten by two members of her family, police said.
Several hours later, the suspect was still in the hospital while neighbors were crediting the family with possibly saving the girl's life.
Investigators told ABC News affiliate WFTS-TV in Tampa the teenager said she had seen the same man drive past her bus stop several times over the last few weeks, both in the mornings and afternoons. She said he sometimes stopped to ask her where she was going or to tell her how nice she looked, police said.
On Wednesday, the girl told her parents that the man had become more aggressive, pulling in front of her and opening the door in an attempt to get her to go with him.
Based on that, the girl's father and uncle accompanied her to the bus stop today, where they spotted the suspect at the intersection of Ola Avenue and Indiana Street.
While they called police, the girl's family tried to restrain the man, who tried to get away, police said. A scuffle ensued, but the suspect, later identified as Alfredo Rivera, 45, of Spring Hill, got the worst of it, investigators said.
"I thought that it was school kids having a fight," one neighbor told WFTS-TV. "The guy was on the ground already. Every time he moved, he got kicked again."
Knife, Duct Tape Found in Vehicle
By the time police arrived, Rivera's face was bloodied badly enough to require treatment at Tampa General Hospital.
Police said they are not sure what his plans for the girl were, but they found a knife, duct tape, and pillows in the back of his station wagon.
He was charged with aggravated stalking and attempted armed kidnapping.
Police say they don't encourage people to take the law into their own hands, but neighbors were very supportive of the family.
"I'd have probably been out there kicking him too if I'd have known what was going on," another neighbor added. "I think [the family] did right. Street justice." [ABC News]
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Here's a news story to analyze. What would you have done? His granddaughter was living in the residence that was being burglarized. The article does not mention that Glenn Adams is also a correctional officer.
Another news article ends with the following:
Adams says his only regret is that he was unarmed during the chase.
"I wish I'd just had my gun," he said.
Man Chases Burglary Suspects
(Dunn Daily Record)
Jon Soles, Reporter
A watchful Johnston County resident braved gunfire to fight back at crime in his neighborhood Monday. Glenn Adams chased a minivan after seeing its occupants on his property, finally ramming it with his own truck until the van lost control and crashed.
The incident happened just after noon Monday and attracted at least two dozen law enforcement officers from the Johnston County Sheriff?s Office and the N.C. Highway Patrol.
Two men who were suspected of breaking into a mobile home near Blackmon?s Crossroads escaped on foot after the minivan wrecked on Godwin Lake Road. Deputies combed woods in the vicinity with dogs while a helicopter hovered overhead. The two suspects were finally located, after about three hours, hiding in a van behind a house near the scene where the van stopped. Edward Duncan of Dudley and Jeremy Faison of Goldsboro, both 21, were arrested by deputies. Both men were recently released from prison after serving sentences for property crimes.
The two suspects pointed a gun at Mr. Adams and then shot the front of his pickup as he chased them down N.C. 96 and Godwin Lake Road. Mr. Adams said he did not actually cause the van to wreck, but watched it careen out of control and into a ditch at the intersection of Godwin Lake and Golda roads.
The incident started when Mr. Adams, who is 64 and said he often stays alert for suspicious activity in his neighborhood, noticed an unfamiliar blue minivan at the mobile home he rents to his granddaughter on Adams Road.
?What happened was I was in my house and saw a vehicle. I went and parked behind them. In my mind, I thought they were breaking in,? Mr. Adams said. ?I opened my door to say something and they pointed a gun.?
Mr. Adams said the two men got into the minivan and rushed off. Mr. Adams followed, even though he saw the gun.
?I knew they had a gun but I kept going,? he said.
Mr. Adams saw the gun up close when the passenger in the van crawled to the back seat and pointed a handgun out a broken rear window. Mr. Adams said he heard the shots fired at him. What he didn?t realize until he stopped was that a bullet pierced the hood of his truck, right in front of the driver?s seat.
Mr. Adams rammed his sturdy pickup into the van several times, causing both vehicles to swerve and shudder, he said.
Tried To Stop Them
?I hit them, bumped trying to stop them,? Mr. Adams said. ?I made contact every place I could.?
The van finally stopped when it hit the ditch on Godwin Lake Road, not far from the Sampson County line. Mr. Adams kept going until he reached a home where he could use the phone to call 911.
When sheriff?s deputies arrived, they found the van wedged in the ditch with a television in the back seat. The two suspects were not around, but were seen by a motorist who said they asked him for a ride.
The minivan, with faded blue paint, rust spots and a broken rear window covered with plastic, was familiar to Bobby Johnson of Mamie Road.
?I?ve seen that van 10 or 15 times riding up and down the road,? he said. ?I told my wife one day, ?Them people is up to something.? ?
Mr. Adams said he was proud of his pickup, which has a recently-rebuilt engine. He said, despite the danger, he was determined to stop the van.
?I wanted to stop them because if they had broken in one time, they were going to do it again,? he said.
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As the saying goes "God created man, Mr. Colt made them equal."
Gamage gets his guns back
By Stacey Creasy/Editor
MACOMB - Nearly two months after 87-year-old Leonard Gamage fought off an intruder, McDonough County Sheriff Mike Johnson gladly returned the gun that saved Gamage's life.
On Dec. 4, Gamage used his .22 caliber rifle to shoot 20-year-old James Vanderveen of Geneva, in the foot after Vanderveen allegedly attempted to force his way into Gamage's residence.
Gamage said the ordeal began just after 9 p.m. while he was sitting in his home, watching television. He does not know why Vanderveen was trying to break into the house, but he wasn't going to take any chances. After Gamage and the suspect struggled twice, Gamage spotted an opportunity to grab the gun.
"I seized the moment," Gamage said in a previous interview. "I didn't know if the gun was loaded or not, but I was sure it would change his (Vanderveen) mind about getting into the house."
Even though Gamage had Vanderveen in his gun sights, Gamage said the young man continued to threaten to harm Gamage. That is when Gamage fired a warning shot. When Vanderveen refused to back off, Gamage said he shot him in the foot.
While Gamage called a neighbor, Vanderveen fled. Gamage went after him and located Vanderveen next to the garage, near the barn.
"I snuck up on him and told him, 'move an inch and I'll kill you,'" Gamage told the Journal. Gamage said Vanderveen then begged him not to shoot him. Gamage held Vanderveen in that spot until his neighbor, Tom Friday arrived.
Gamage was shaken up, but not injured. Gamage said he was surprised at the amount of strength and energy he had during the ordeal.
Officers from the McDonough County Sheriff's Department arrived at Gamage's residence and sent Vanderveen to the hospital. He was charged a few days later with felony trespassing, and was released from jail after posting a $25,000 cash bond.
During the investigation, the police officers learned Gamage did not have a current Firearms Identification Card, so they confiscated the rifle and second gun in the home. Gamage said the guns have been in the family for years.
Johnson told Gamage once he received a new FOI card, he would return his guns. Johnson kept his word.
The ordeal evolved into Gamage's proverbial 15 minutes of fame. Gamage was invited to talk about the ordeal on a number of radio talk shows. During the talk shows people gave Gamage nicknames like "lock and load Leonard."
The story the Journal broke was also picked up by newspapers and magazines coast to coast.
"You would not believe how many people have called me about this," Gamage said. "I've talked to people in New York and Texas and about every place in between."
A number of people were outraged the police took Gamage's guns, but they were simply abiding by Illinois law.
Gamage said he hopes the story deters would-be burglars from breaking into homes.
"You never know, someone might be there," he added.
http://www.macombjournal.com/articles/2005/02/01/news/news2.txt
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Several of my interests overlap and coalesce in the following article from Reason online. The concept of "gun control," and its disparate effect on those on the lowest rungs of the socio-economic ladder, is certainly nothing new.
The Klan's Favorite Law
Gun control in the postwar South
Dave Kopel
If you believe everything that Michael Moore says in Bowling for Columbine and his books, then you would think that "pro-gun" people are white racists, and that "gun control" would be a wonderful way to help minorities. But a look at America's past reveals what historian Clayton Cramer has accurately called "The Racist Roots of Gun Control."
After the Civil War, the defeated Southern states aimed to preserve slavery in fact if not in law. The states enacted Black Codes which barred the black freedmen from exercising basic civil rights, including the right to bear arms. Mississippi's provision was typical: No freedman "shall keep or carry fire-arms of any kind, or any ammunition."
Under the Mississippi law, a person informing the government about illegal arms possession by a freedman was entitled to receive the forfeited firearm. Whites were forbidden to give or lend freedman firearms or knives.
The Special Report of the Anti-Slavery Conference of 1867 complained that freedmen were "forbidden to own or bear firearms and thus.rendered defenseless against assaults" by whites. Or as a letter printed in the Jan. 13, 1866 edition of Harper's Weekly observed: "The militia of this county have seized every gun found in the hands of so-called freedmen in this section of the county. They claim that the Statute Laws of Mississippi do not recognize the Negro as having any right to carry arms."
Congress' "Report of the Joint Committee on Reconstruction" set forth the factual case for the need for a 14th Amendment to protect the liberties enumerated in the federal Bill of Rights. At the Committee's hearings, General Rufus Saxon testified that all over the South, whites were "seizing all fire-arms found in the hands of the freedmen. Such conduct is in clear and direct violation of their personal rights as guaranteed by the Constitution of the United States, which declares that 'the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed.'"
Despite the statutes, and at the suggestion of Reconstruction governors and other leaders, blacks often formed militias to resist white terrorism. For example, in June 1867 in Greensboro, Alabama, the police let the murderer of a black voting registrar escape; in response, a freedman who would later serve in the Alabama State Legislature urged his fellow freedmen to create a permanent militia. "Union League" militias were formed all over central Alabama.
The freedmen slipped from white control. One planter protested that his workers were "turbulent and disorderly," coming and going when they wished, as if they had a choice whether or not to work. The Union League, protested another ex-master, was advising freedmen "to ignore the Southern white man as much as possible...to set up for themselves."
The next spring, the Ku Klux Klan came to central Alabama. The Klansmen, unlike the freedmen, had horses, and thus the tactical advantages of mobility. In a few months, the Klan triumph was complete. One freedman recalled that the night riders, after reasserting white control, "took the weapons from might near all the colored people in the neighborhood."
The same dynamic existed throughout the South. Sometimes militias consisting of freedmen or Unionists were able to resist the Klan or other white forces. In places like the South Carolina back-country, where the blacks were a numerical majority, the black militias kept white terrorists at bay for long periods.
While many blacks participated in informal, local militias, most of the reconstruction governors set up official state militias that were racially integrated. Like many other facets of the reconstruction governments (and the racist governments which followed them), the integrated "black" state militias were corrupt. The state militias, which sought to protect the state governments and the election process, were frequently in conflict with informal white militias. Arms shipments from the federal government to arm the militias were often intercepted and seized by white militias.
Official or unofficial, the black militias were the primary target of the white racist resistance. "Pitchfork" Ben Tillman, the U.S. Senate advocate of racism for many decades, joined a "Sweetwater Sabre Club" whose members seized control of South Carolina's Edgefield Country from a black militia in 1874-75, and attacked a black militia at Hamburg, South Carolina in 1876.
In areas where the black militias lost and the Klan or other white groups took control, "almost universally the first thing done was to disarm the negroes and leave them defenseless," wrote Albion Tourge? in his 1880 book The Invisible Empire. (An attorney and civil rights worker from the north, Tourge? would later represent the civil rights plaintiff in Plessy v. Ferguson.)
The Klan's objective in disarming the blacks was to leave them unable to defend their rights, a Congressional hearing found. Afraid of race war and retribution, whites were terrified at the mere sight of a black with a gun. As legal historian Kermit Hall notes, "From the southern white's point of view, a well-armed Negro militia was precisely what John Brown had sought to achieve at Harpers Ferry in 1859."
The Vicksburg white riot of 1874 typified the problem. According to a Congressional investigation, the whites conducted, "Unauthorized searches by self-constituted authority into private homes, searches for arms converted, as is unusual, into robbery and thieving...." The Congressional Report detailed one arms roundup:
One poor old man, half crazed, but harmless, sitting quietly in a neighbor's house, is brutally shot to death in the presence of terrified women and shrieking children. He gained his wretched living by hunting and fishing, and had a shot-gun. No one pretended that Tom Bidderman had anything to do with the fight, but he was black, and had a gun in his house, and so they murdered him for amusement as they were going from the city to restore order in the country.
The Radical Republican Congress observed the South with dismay. The Republicans intended to use federal power to force freedom on the South. One of the Radical Republicans' most important tools was the 14th Amendment to the Constitution, which required states to respect basic human rights. While the vague language of the amendment has produced disagreement about exactly what is covered, the Congressional backers of the amendment seem to have intended, at the least, protecting the core freedoms listed in the national Bill of Rights. Announced Representative Clarke of Kansas: "I find in the Constitution an article which declared 'the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed.' For myself, I shall insist that the reconstructed rebels of Mississippi respect the Constitution in their local laws."
The earlier Freedman's Bureau Bill had also been squarely aimed at protecting the right to bear arms. The bill guaranteed federal protection of "the full and equal benefit of all laws and proceedings for the security of person and estate, including the constitutional right of bearing arms."
The Amendment was quickly emasculated by the United States Supreme Court in The Slaughter-House Cases and United States v. Cruikshank, The Supreme Court understood the social realities of the South. The Cruikshank decision gave the green light to the Klan, unofficial white militias, and other racist groups to forcibly disarm the freedmen and impose white supremacy.
One state at a time, white racists took control of government by using armed violence and the threat of violence to control balloting on election day. Freedmen and their white allies also resorted to arms. But white Republican governors were usually afraid that employing the black militias fully would set off an even broader race war.
The white South, while defeated on the battlefield in 1865, had continued armed resistance to Northern control for over a decade. When the North, an occupying power, grew weary of the struggle and abandoned its black and Republican allies in the South, the white South was again the master of its destiny.
In deference to the Fourteenth Amendment, some states did cloak their laws in neutral, non-racial terms. For example, the Tennessee legislature barred the sale of any handguns except the "Army and Navy model." The ex-Confederate soldiers already had their high quality "Army and Navy" guns. But cash-poor freedmen could barely afford lower-cost, simpler firearms not of the "Army and Navy" quality. Arkansas enacted a nearly identical law in 1881, and other Southern states followed suit, including Alabama (1893), Texas (1907), and Virginia (1925).
As Jim Crow intensified, other Southern states enacted gun registration and handgun permit laws. Registration came to Mississippi (1906), Georgia (1913), and North Carolina (1917). Handgun permits were passed in North Carolina (1917), Missouri (1919), and Arkansas (1923).
As one Florida judge explained, the licensing laws were "passed for the purpose of disarming the negro laborers... [and] never intended to be applied to the white population."
That gun control has a very unsavory past does not, in itself, prove that all modern gun control proposals are a bad idea. But it does offer reasons to be especially cautious about the dangers of disarming people who cannot necessarily count on their local government to protect them.
Dave Kopel is Research Director of the Independence Institute. This article is based on his book The Samurai, the Mountie, and the Cowboy: Should America Adopt the Gun Controls of Other Democracies? The book contains citations to numerous secondary sources discussing the issues in this article.
http://www.reason.com/hod/dk021505.shtml
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http://wm.gannett.speedera.net/wm.gannett/wkyc/050219pizzaassault.wmv
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Sparks store clerk hurt after battling robber
Staff Report RENO GAZETTE-JOURNAL
4/20/2005 12:23 am
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A store employee was injured Tuesday during what appeared to be an attempted robbery at the Dhaka Convenience Store in the 2100 block of Victorian Avenue, Sparks police said.
The employee suffered head injuries and was transported by REMSA to Washoe Medical Center, where he was in the intensive care unit, police said.
It?s unclear whether any cash or merchandise was taken during the incident that happened about noon, police said.
An investigation found that a man allegedly took an aluminum baseball bat into the store with the intent of robbing it, police said.
The store employee also had a bat behind the counter and the two began fighting, police said.
Police said an employee from a neighboring business chased the man to a getaway car parked around the corner and provided a license plate information to a police dispatcher.
A 19-year-old man was being sought, police said. A warrant had not been issued Tuesday night.
Anyone with information is asked to call the Sparks police at 353-2225 and reference case No. 05-4877 or Secret Witness, which is anonymous and translates most languages, at 322-4900.
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I remeber as a kid somebody in a Brooklyn junkyard caught a burglar and through a chase in the junkyard the burglar had something fall on him and it paralyzed him from the waist down. He then sued the chaser (owner ) of the place and wound up taking the guy for all he was worth.
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Woof All:
Our editor, Ron "Night Owl" Gabriel tells me the hero here used to be a bodyguard for Marcos. :shock:
Crafty Dog
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LOS ANGELES; Alleged Carjacker Meets Match; [Home Edition]
Los Angeles Times. Los Angeles, Calif.: Sep 7, 2001. pg. B.5
Full Text (204 words)
(Copyright (c) 2001 Los Angeles Times)
A stranded motorist apparently got more than he bargained for when he allegedly tried to rob a 65-year-old good Samaritan who stopped to lend him a hand in West Covina, the Los Angeles County district attorney's office said Thursday.
Authorities said Anthony Salinas, 19, of Azusa ran out of gas in a stolen car on a West Covina street Wednesday and was trying to push it to a gas station when Elio Bongon, a janitor from Fontana, happened by in his pickup truck. Bongon offered Salinas and his girlfriend a ride to the station and gave them $10 to buy gas.
At the gas station, according to police, Salinas pulled what turned out to be a BB gun and ordered Bongon to give up his money and his truck. Bongon refused and attempted to disarm Salinas, they said. The gun discharged during the struggle, with a BB striking Salinas in the shoulder, police said. They said Bongon wrestled the gun away from Salinas and began hitting him on the head with it.
Salinas fled but was arrested a short distance away.
The district attorney's office Thursday charged Salinas with carjacking, along with attempted carjacking and second-degree robbery in connection with the encounter with Bongon.
San Gabriel Valley Tribune (West Covina, CA)
==============
Same story as covered by a more local paper
December 13, 2001
Carjacker gets 5 years in prison
Victim says he does regret trying to help Salinas
Author: Bill Hetherman Staff Writer
Section: Local
POMONA - An Azusa man who allegedly tried to rob a good Samaritan was sentenced Wednesday to five years and 10 months in prison.
Pomona Superior Court Judge Jack P. Hunt imposed the term on Anthony Salinas, 19. Salinas pleaded guilty Wednesday to charges of carjacking and attempted carjacking. An attempted robbery count was dropped.
The good Samaritan, 66-year-old Elio Bongon, was once a bodyguard for then-Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos.
Using his training in the martial arts, Bongon, of Fontana, disarmed Salinas after the defendant pointed a weapon at him that turned out to be a BB gun.
Bongon had a mixed reaction Wednesday to the sentencing.
"Actually, I forgive him, but he has to pay for what he has done," Bongon said. "I hope he will repent and not come out trying to get revenge against me."
Salinas' lawyer, Joseph Gibbons, said Wednesday his client is sorry for what he did and that he was under t! he influence of methamphetamine at the time.
"I've seen so many young people with drug problems," Gibbons said. "My client is not really a violent guy."
Three days before the attack on Bongon, Salinas stole a car from Javier Gonzales in the parking lot of a convenience store on Gladstone Street in Azusa, police said.
Salinas had one hand on what appeared to be the handle of a gun in his pocket, Gonzales told Azusa police.
Salinas was driving Gonzales' car when it ran out of gasoline on Sunset Avenue about 1 p.m. Sept. 5. Bongon, a janitor at Piano City at 210 N. Sunset Ave. in West Covina, helped Salinas push the car into the parking lot of the business.
"He told me he had no money to buy gasoline, so I gave him $10," Bongon testified at an earlier preliminary hearing.
Bongon said he drove Salinas to two places to buy a gas container. Without warning, Salinas pulled out a gun and pointed it at Bongon's right side, he said.
Bo! ngon said he grabbed Salinas' arm, got the gun away and beat him with the weapon until he ran away.
Police caught Salinas a short distance away on Yaleton Avenue when he pretended to be visiting someone and knocked on the door of a home he chose randomly, officers said.
Bongon said Wednesday he does not regret trying to help Salinas and will come to the aid of someone else in need if it happens again.
"I surely will," Bongon said. "I don't think everyone would, but in my opinion I have to do it."
-- Bill Hetherman can be reached at (626) 962-8811, Ext. 2236, or by e-mail at <A
HEF=mailto:bill.hetherman@sgvn.com/>bill.hetherman@sgvn.com[/url] .
(c) 2001 San Gabriel Valley Tribune. All rights reserved. Reproduced with the permission of Media NewsGroup, Inc. by NewsBank, Inc.
Record Number: 1253649
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From the San Mateo (California) Daily Journal:
Murder charges sorted
The man who stabbed another man to death Saturday in Millbrae while defending his wife will not face murder charges. Instead, the friends of the dead man may face murder charges since they were committing a felony when he was killed.
Police questioned and released the husband Saturday. The man?s wife was repeatedly hit in the head with The Club, an anti-theft device used to lock car steering wheels, after being asked to buy the three underage men alcohol at Safeway. She is out of the hospital after receiving stitches.
The bizarre Saturday morning incident had police at two crime scenes with two victims. After sorting out evidence, police arrested the friends of Dwayne Beverly, 20, of San Francisco who was stabbed to death. Marco Bolanos, 19, of Sacramento, and Michelle Cardarelli, 18, of Daly City were booked into San Mateo County Jail on attempted murder charges.
However, their charges could include murder when they are arraigned today.
The unidentified man stabbed Beverly in self defense when he found him and his two friends allegedly beating his wife near a bus stop in front of Safeway on El Camino Real in Millbrae. Since Bolanos, Cardarelli and Beverly were committing a felony by allegedly beating the woman, the friends can ultimately be held responsible for Beverly?s death.
Millbrae police Capt. Mike Grogan reports Bolanos and Cardarelli were arrested on charges of attempted murder and murder. However, they were only booked into San Mateo County jail on attempted murder charges, said Chief Deputy District Attorney Steve Wagstaffe.
Official charges will be filed during their arraignment this morning in San Mateo Superior Court.
The incident leading up to the stabbing still remain foggy.
At about 6:45 a.m., police responded to two reports ? one at the bus stop near Safeway and the other at the Millbrae Avenue overpass.
Police reports indicate Beverly, Bolanos and Cardarelli approached the woman and asked the woman to buy alcohol for them. When she refused, they began beating her with The Club.
Her husband had just dropped the woman off and went into Safeway for a moment. He saw the trio beating his wife when he exited the Safeway. In an act of self defense, the man stabbed the 20-year-old Beverly in the chest, Grogan said.
The three friends drove off, but stopped on Millbrae Avenue when Beverly couldn?t continue to drive due to excessive bleeding.
Both Beverly and the woman were taken to San Francisco General Hospital. Beverly was pronounced dead upon arrival, Grogan said.
http://www.smdailyjournal.org/article.cfm?issue=05-10-05&storyID=42778
Another version from the San Francisco Chronicle:
MILLBRAE
2 teens arraigned in attack on couple
Adults at bus stop refused to buy alcohol for youths
Two Daly City teenagers who allegedly attacked a Millbrae couple after they refused to buy them alcohol were arraigned Tuesday on charges of attempted murder, assault and battery for their roles in the Saturday morning incident that left a third accomplice dead from a stab wound.
Authorities say Marco Bolanos, 19, Michelle Cardarelli, 18, and 20-year- old Dwayne Beverly were driving down El Camino Real at 6:45 a.m. after a night of partying when they pulled over at a Safeway supermarket. They asked an unidentified Millbrae couple waiting for a bus to buy them alcohol, said Martin Murray, a San Mateo County prosecutor.
When the couple refused, the three suspects got out of the car and began attacking the man and woman, Murray said. He said it was unclear what words had been exchanged, but the suspects indicated they felt disrespected by the couple.
"It's a senseless crime," Murray said. "You're at a bus stop at 7 a.m. on your way to work. You don't expect that kind of violent reaction. It's not the kind of activity we expect to see in sleepy Millbrae on a Saturday morning."
Murray said Beverly and Bolanos had begun attacking and punching the male victim, who responded by brandishing a 3 1/2-inch pocket knife. He said the suspects then retrieved a Club, a device used to prevent auto thefts.
During the ensuing fight, the male victim, who was hit with the metal club, stabbed Beverly in the chest, authorities said. Sometime during the incident, Bolanos also used the Club against the female victim, hitting her over the head numerous times, Murray said. He said Cardarelli had punched the female victim and held her down while Bolanos attacked her.
A short time after Beverly was stabbed, the three suspects got back into their bronze Toyota Camry and fled with Beverly at the wheel, Murray said. Police found the trio on the Millbrae Avenue overpass at Highway 101 after Beverly collapsed. He was taken to San Francisco General Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
The female victim was also taken to San Francisco General with head injuries but was released later that day. Her husband, who sustained injuries to his arms, will not be charged in the case, Murray said.
"At this point we don't anticipate filing charges against him unless new information develops," Murray said. "At this point it appears to be self- defense."
Police said they would not release the names of the two victims out of fear for their safety.
"There is some gang-related information we are looking at, possibly that the suspects are affiliated with a gang out of San Francisco," said San Mateo County Sheriff's Lt. Lisa Williams.
Bolanos was arraigned in San Mateo County Superior Court on charges of attempted murder, assault with a deadly weapon and battery. He did not enter a plea. Cardarelli was arraigned on one count of battery and pleaded not guilty Tuesday. Both were assigned attorneys through the county's private defender program.
Bolanos, who faces up to life in prison if found guilty on all counts, was in San Mateo County Jail without bail. The bail for Cardarelli, who faces up four years if convicted, was set at $25,000.
http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2005/05/11/BAGUHCN1DM1.DTL&type=printable
Best regards,
Argyll
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DAYTON
Two teens with guns approached a 40-year-old man at Riverview Avenue and Catalpa Drive early Friday. The man backed away, with outstretched hands.
Then things changed swiftly.
The targeted man, Mark Hill, pulled out a Glock 23 handgun ? he has a concealed-carry permit ? and fired several shots, hitting one of the gunmen, a Dayton police report said.
It was Dayton's first shooting by a holder of a concealed weapons permit, according to Sgt. Dennis Chaney.
Police went to the 2000 block of West Riverview about 12:45 a.m. in response to numerous calls about the shooting.
Police found Mark Hill at his residence. He told them he was walking west on Riverview when two teenage males in dark clothing approached him from Catalpa. One shoved him, he turned around and both flashed handguns, a police report said.
Hill "began to back away in a bent-over position with his hands outstretched," according to the report. Then he pulled out a Glock 23, a .40-caliber handgun, and fired, hitting one of the gunmen several times.
The two ran off, the report said.
Shortly after the shooting, a 17-year-old showed up at Good Samaritan Hospital. He was admitted with gunshot wounds to his leg, abdomen and arms, Chaney said. Hospital officials called police.
He was with two 16-year-olds. Police said all three matched the description of the gunmen and a male seen by the man in an alley north of the Riverview and Catalpa during the robbery attempt.
Police arrested the younger teens as they tried to leave the hospital, Chaney said.
The three had shown up in a Jeep Cherokee stolen Thursday on Lakeview Avenue, Chaney said.
"We don't know if they stole it (originally)," Chaney said.
The 16-year-olds were in the Family Court Center, pending delinquency charges of aggravated robbery and receiving stolen property.
Chaney said Hill, who has both a Dayton Firearms Owner's Identification Card and Montgomery County Concealed Carry Card, acted in self-defense.
http://www.daytondailynews.com/localnews/content/localnews/daily/0604robfoil.html
Best regards,
Argyll
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Hmm, interesting. Other versions I've read about the above incident have an exchange of gunfire initiated by the bad guys. . . .
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Well, we the Unorganized Militia did NOT come through on this one , , ,
:evil:
http://wm.gannett.speedera.net/wm.g...izzaassault.wmv
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'He walked into a hornet's nest'
posted: 06-14-2005
A would-be robber got a hard lesson at a beauty school in Shreveport Tuesday: Don't mess with a class of aspiring hair stylists.
The man went into Blalock's Beauty College in the 5400 block of Mansfield Road around noon intending to rob it.
Instead, he wound up on the receiving end of fists, curling irons, a table leg and a 2-by-4 when the 18 women and two men in the class fought back, beat him up and held him until police arrived.
"He walked into a hornet's nest," Police Officer E.J. Swartout said.
The students said the man had ordered everyone to lie on the floor. But instructor Dianne Mitchell tripped him when he came out of a back room. He fell onto a chair and the students went after him.
"I was getting up and saying, 'Get him! Get him!' And everybody started charging him," Mitchell said.
"I've been out on the streets eight years and this is one of those deals when he walked into the wrong place at the wrong time," Officer Swartout said.
Police said the would-be robber, identified as Jared Gipson, 24, was carrying an unloaded gun.
Three people at the school suffered cuts and bruises. Gipson was taken to LSU Hospital to get stitches. He was in a maximum-security cell by himself today at City Jail. Bond has not been set.
Roberts' mother, Verline Norris, waited outside the school while police investigated.
"They should have whipped him," she said of what happened inside. "That will stop a lot of this robbery that is going on in Shreveport."
http://www.ktbs.com/news-detail.html?cityid=1&hid=26380
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Cop Stabbed During Dunkin' Donuts Heist
Tuesday, June 28, 2005
By Jamie Schram, John Mazor and Andy Geller
New York Post
BROOKLYN, New York ? A heroic off-duty cop was slashed yesterday in a fierce struggle with a vicious punk who was holding up a Brooklyn Dunkin' Donuts (search), cops said.
Officer Vincent Schiavelli, 24, who has made 64 collars in his two years in the NYPD, walked into the shop just as the heist was going down, cops said.
Dramatic surveillance photos show the robber ? who wore a Yankee cap and was later identified by cops as 22-year-old Shron Killings ? jumped on top of the counter and lunged at the clerk, trying to slash him with a folding knife.
The robber was reaching into the cash register when Schiavelli ? wearing a white T-shirt ? grabbed him from behind and the two began struggling. The punk, a suspect in two other Dunkin' Donuts robberies with two prior arrests, lunged at the hero cop with his knife but missed.
Schiavelli then got the thug in a bear hug and tried to subdue him. That's when Killings slashed the hero cop in the left side and ran outside, police said. He drove off in a red Kia SUV and was being sought yesterday.
Schiavelli, unaware of his wounds, ran outside and gave chase, but collapsed in pain. He rushed back into the store and called for help.
Schiavelli, who suffered a cut about an inch long where the chest meets the abdomen, was taken to Kings County Hospital, where he was in stable condition. He was kept overnight for observation.
Schiavelli was visited by his parents, Paul and Kathy, and by a steady stream of fellow officers.
"I've been proud of my son since the day he was born," said Kathy as she left the hospital.
Police Commissioner Ray Kelly was effusive in his praise of the brave officer. Schiavelli "did a terrific job. We're proud of him. He took immediate action without concern for his own safety," Kelly said.
His actions "represent the finest traditions of the NYPD. If he wasn't there, the clerk may very well have been wounded."
Mayor Bloomberg said, "Although we have come to expect this kind of heroism from our police officers, what makes Officer Schiavelli's actions so exceptional is that he was off duty at the time.
"This young officer, out of uniform and without a partner, didn't hesitate to put himself in harm's way to protect a fellow New Yorker."
The drama at the store at 40 Empire Blvd. in the Prospect Lefferts Gardens (search) section unfolded at 6:40 a.m. as Schiavelli was heading to work at the nearby 71st Precinct in Crown Heights (search).
The surveillance video showed the robber walking into the shop carrying a dollar in his left hand and ordering a French cruller. No one else was there.
When the clerk turned to get the doughnut, Killings took the folding knife out of his right pocket but held it under the counter.
He gave the dollar to the clerk, who opened the register. At that point, he lunged at the clerk and Schiavelli grabbed him.
As the suspect fled, a witness copied the license plate of the SUV and cops traced it to Killings' mother, who said she lent it to her son.
Cops said Killings was a suspect in a $300 stickup at the same store on May 17 and a $400 holdup at a Dunkin' Donuts on Utica Avenue on May 25.
An accomplice, Jims Medy, 18, was arrested on June 11 in connection with the first robbery.
Killings' prior arrests are for criminal possession of a weapon and unlicensed operation of a motor vehicle.
Shalha Khairkhah, the manager of the Prospect Lefferts Gardens shop, said: "We were very lucky the officer was there. Otherwise I don't know what would have happened."
Demetrius Hinson, 23, who works at a Wendy's next door to the doughnut shop, said he moved to Brooklyn two weeks ago from Charlotte, N.C.
"This is all shocking to me," he said. "This doesn't make me want to stay in New York City. It makes me want to grab my things and get out."
__________________
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COMMENTARY
The Big Lie of the Assault Weapons Ban
The death of the law hasn't brought a rise in crime -- just the opposite.
By John R. Lott Jr.
This wasn't supposed to happen. When the federal assault weapons ban ended on Sept. 13, 2004, gun crimes and police killings were predicted to surge. Instead, they have declined.
For a decade, the ban was a cornerstone of the gun control movement. Sarah Brady, one of the nation's leading gun control advocates, warned that "our streets are going to be filled with AK-47s and Uzis." Life without the ban would mean rampant murder and bloodshed.
Well, more than nine months have passed and the first crime numbers are in. Last week, the FBI announced that the number of murders nationwide fell by 3.6% last year, the first drop since 1999. The trend was consistent; murders kept on declining after the assault weapons ban ended.
Even more interesting, the seven states that have their own assault weapons bans saw a smaller drop in murders than the 43 states without such laws, suggesting that doing away with the ban actually reduced crime. (States with bans averaged a 2.4% decline in murders; in three states with bans, the number of murders rose. States without bans saw murders fall by more than 4%.)
And the drop was not just limited to murder. Overall, violent crime also declined last year, according to the FBI, and the complete statistics carry another surprise for gun control advocates. Guns are used in murder and robbery more frequently then in rapes and aggravated assaults, but after the assault weapons ban ended, the number of murders and robberies fell more than the number of rapes and aggravated assaults.
It's instructive to remember just how passionately the media hyped the dangers of "sunsetting" the ban. Associated Press headlines warned "Gun shops and police officers brace for end of assault weapons ban." It was even part of the presidential campaign: "Kerry blasts lapse of assault weapons ban." An Internet search turned up more than 560 news stories in the first two weeks of September that expressed fear about ending the ban. Yet the news that murder and other violent crime declined last year produced just one very brief paragraph in an insider political newsletter, the Hotline.
The fact that the end of the assault weapons ban didn't create a crime wave should not have surprised anyone. After all, there is not a single published academic study showing that these bans have reduced any type of violent crime.
Research funded by the Justice Department under the Clinton administration concluded only that the effect of the assault weapons ban on gun violence "has been uncertain." The authors of that report released their updated findings last August, looking at crime data from 1982 through 2000 (which covered the first six years of the federal law). The latest version stated: "We cannot clearly credit the ban with any of the nation's recent drop in gun violence."
Such a finding was only logical. Though the words "assault weapons" conjure up rapid-fire military machine guns, in fact the weapons outlawed by the ban function the same as any semiautomatic ? and legal ? hunting rifle. They fire the same bullets at the same speed and produce the same damage. They are simply regular deer rifles that look on the outside like AK-47s.
For gun control advocates, even a meaningless ban counts. These are the same folks who have never been bashful about scare tactics, predicting doom and gloom when they don't get what they want. They hysterically claimed that blood would flow in the streets after states passed right-to-carry laws letting citizens carry concealed handguns, but that never occurred. Thirty-seven states now have right-to-carry laws ? and no one is seriously talking about rescinding them or citing statistics about the laws causing crime.
Gun controllers' fears that the end of the assault weapons ban would mean the sky would fall were simply not true. How much longer can the media take such hysteria seriously when it is so at odds with the facts?
John R. Lott Jr., a resident scholar at the American Enterprise Institute, is the author of "More Guns, Less Crime" (University of Chicago, 2000) and "The Bias Against Guns: Why Almost Everything You've Heard About Gun Control Is Wrong" (Regnery, 2003).
http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/commentary/la-oe-lott28jun28,0,4447615.story?coll=la-news-comment-opinions
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79-Year-Old Shoots Two Intruders, Police Say
Homeowner Says Men Kicked In His Back Door At 5 A.M.
POSTED: 12:09 pm EDT July 9, 2005
UPDATED: 11:13 pm EDT July 9, 2005
DRY RIDGE, Ky. -- A 79-year-old man armed with a .357 magnum revolver shot two men after they broke into his home overnight, News 5's Bina Roy reported.
Police answering a call about a break-in and burglary found two men shot outside a home on Ellen Kay Drive in Grant County.
The homeowner told police the two men kicked in his back door just before 5 a.m. Saturday. They tried to flee after being shot.
Police said they found one wounded man in the driveway and followed a trail of blood to the other man nearby.
Nearby residents were stunned but supported their neighbor's actions.
"At that time in the morning, if I was in that situation, I might try to do the same thing," Everett Musgrave told News 5. "I am glad he was able to protect himself. That's the big thing. At least he's not hurt."
"He's old school," Lisa Garner said of her neighbor. "My grandfather would have done the same thing.
"It bothers me because we have children. It bothers me that anybody would intrude into your home," Garner said.
Musgrave had a message for anybody thinking about breaking into somebody's home.
"Yeah, don't pick the wrong door," Musgrave said.
AirCare helicopters flew the men to Grant County Hospital. Their names and conditions have not been released.
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64-Year-Old Central Fla. Woman Fatally Shoots Home Intruder
Local 6 News( Central Florida ) ^ | May 30, 2005 | staff
A 64-year-old Central Florida woman killed an intruder in her home over the weekend with a single shot from her .38-caliber revolver, according to police.
The woman shot the unidentified man in the chest from about 10 feet, sheriff's authorities said. The man ran out the back door and collapsed, Local 6 News partner Florida Today reported. He was declared dead shortly after he was found in the yard of the home in an unincorporated beachside neighborhood north of U.S. 192.
Agent Lou Heyn of the Brevard County Sheriff's Office said the woman heard a window break and hid behind her bed, according to Florida Today.
"That woke her up," Heyn said. "She can't I.D. him. Never seen him before.''
Heyn said the case is considered self-defense.
"The bottom line is that when somebody enters your home like that, it's self defense," Heyn said. "Breaking into the house obviously shows some intent."
Sheriff's investigators hope somebody will come forward with information about the intruder. He had dark brown hair, a dark brown mustache and was wearing a dark blue Champion T-shirt, light blue swim shorts and tennis shoes. He also had a tattoo of a cross on his right hand, between his index finger and thumb. He also had a tattoo of a Harley Davidson on one arm and several female names tattooed on his other arm.
"It's very rare. Occupied burglaries are rare in of themselves," Heyn said.
"This just underscores how dangerous those are."
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Tuesday, September 06, 2005
What Michael Moore and Liberals Don?t (and Will Never) Understand About the Second Amendment
Armed citizens protecting their neighborhoods from marauders. [link]
Some of the most heartening tales coming out of the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina are the tales of Americans standing up and taking responsibility for their own safety and survival rather than whining about ?the government? not taking care of them.
The Washington Post reports that in Popps Ferry Landing, a neighborhood near Biloxi, Mississippi, the local neighborhood watch is keeping an armed night watch to prevent looters from invading the neighborhood. Following the looting of the local Dollar Store, neighbors who very rarely spoke to each other, got together to protect their own. They?re not going out hunting down anyone; they?re just camping out at their houses with their constitutionally protected firearms preventing the roving bands of criminals from destroying their peaceful middle class neighborhood.
It is times such as these, for which the Second Amendment is so important. In the aftermath of the greatest natural disaster in the history of this nation, it is the citizen himself that must stand in the breach of the wall of civilization, created by the storm and the consequent disorganization and lack of police presence, to protect himself from the anarchy which reigns in the world outside. These are the minute men of the 21st Century. These are ordinary middle class men, plumbers, engineers, managers, carpenters, and salesmen who have gotten out of their easy chairs and off their sofas, gone out into their neighborhood and introduced themselves to their neighbors. They have, in this time of danger decided, not to wait around to become a victim and then whine about why our government hasn?t done something to protect them, but to take responsibility for their own safety. Our Founding Fathers would not be proud of these men they would merely nod their heads in acknowledgement of men doing what should be expected of them.
It is precisely this for which the Second Amendment was designed. I know it?s difficult for Liberals to understand, but as we are seeing currently, we can?t always depend on the police. The Second Amendment is not, much to the chagrin of Liberals like Michael Moore, Al Gore, and John Kerry, about a person?s right to hunt; it is about the American citizen?s right to feel safe in their own residence. This fact which so sadly escaped the two last Democrat candidates for President is what made the images of John Kerry traipsing around in borrowed jacket with borrowed gun attempting to look like a hunter so hysterical to the gun owners of America. The N.R.A. is not about arming criminals like Michael Moore has inappropriately and inaccurately tried to portray in his crassly exploitive movie ?Bowling for Columbine,? it is about educating the American citizen on the rights and responsibilities of gun ownership, the proper use and care of those firearms, and the protection, from those who would usurp those rights under the misapprehension that a gun-free state is a safe state, of those rights as guaranteed in the Bill of Rights.
It is true that guns are designed for the purpose of killing. They are the most efficient form of killing that the average citizen has available to them. They are also the most effective form of self defense the average citizen has available to them. In their absence, individuals, men, women, and children are at greater risk. To an unarmed man, alone on a road or in his house, a group of four or five (or even a couple) burly men intent on evil represent a real life threatening situation; to an armed man, or women, properly trained in the use of firearms, they become a manageable threat. In a society in which the criminal frequently has more rights than the victim, being armed should be, as the Second Amendment intends, an untouchable right. Carrying a firearm, whether concealed of openly, should not only be allowed, it should be encouraged. The fact of the matter is, the better armed the citizens of a community, the lower the crime rate, particularly the violent crime rate, of that community. Those cities like Washington D.C., New York, and possibly soon to be San Francisco, have the highest per capita violent crime rate in the nation.
As can be seen in the Popps Landing example, total dependence upon government agencies for our safety can quickly turn into a liability, if those agencies are overwhelmed by circumstances beyond anyone?s control. At a time when police response to emergency calls can be five to ten minutes (if not much longer) it is ludicrous for the American people to be forced to rely on the government for their protection, as the anti-gun lobby would have us do. That is a real path to the imprisonment of the average citizen inside their houses. In Britain, certainly there is a lower murder rate than in the U.S.A., but the overall violent crime rate is considerably higher than in America. Groups like Handgun Control International, Center to Prevent Handgun Violence, and Common Cause would have Americans surrender their rights to self-defense for the illusory concept of complete safety. There is no such thing as complete safety, and a person can be as easily and more surely killed by a knife as a gun. It has been stated by the Second Amendment lobbying groups so often as to become a trite saying, ?if guns are outlawed; only outlaws will have guns.? Trite maybe, but also true, so true that it becomes a profound statement of universal truth. By definition, an outlaw, a law breaker, a criminal, does not care whether or not he is breaking the law by carrying a firearm. If a person has criminal intent, he will find a means to implement it.
These people, people of the left like Mr. Moore, are the same people who would have had us unilaterally disarm during the cold war in the face of a growing Soviet Nuclear threat. President Reagan, proved how mistaken the unilateralist?s position was by presiding over the first stages of the complete dismantlement of the Soviet Union. Unilateral disarmament in the face of a known threat is an invitation to victim hood. It is only by show of strength that threat can be countered. This is not some new ?off-the-wall? concept, this is human nature at its very core. The anti-gun forces exhibit the same Pollyannaish naivet? of human nature that the Marxists do. There are and always will be predators in our society. It is the human nature of some to covet more than their ?fair share.? The entire concept of ?fair share? is faulty thinking based on the mistaken concept that material wealth is a zero sum game. It is also human nature for some in our society to desire that for which they are not willing to work. They are the predators which must be confronted in everyday life. If relying on the police was a successful concept, there would be no crime. No one would have to lock their door and a woman walking downtown after dark by herself would neither be uncommon nor foolish. Since not even the most rabid Liberal in society would consider that situation reasonable behavior, the basic premise of their arguments against guns is false. I dare say that Sarah Brady would not feel comfortable walking the dark alley ways of D.C. even though there are extremely strong anti-gun laws in place there.
There are no reasonable arguments in favor of gun control, only emotional ones. That is why one so often hears bogus statistics coming out of the anti-gun lobbyists. Thankfully, most Americans understand this concept and reject the irrational policies recommended by the gun haters. You will also hear them claim that they are not anti-gun, rather that they are only seeking to impose ?reasonable? restraints on gun ownership. This is an evolutionary principle for them brought about through their numerous defeats, by gun owners, in their legislative endeavors. You will often hear them use the phrase ?I am a hunter myself...? or ?We?re not talking about taking away a hunter?s guns...? invariably followed by the word ?but.? They then will use the phrase, ?reasonable people,? or ?reasonable restrictions,? so as to make it clear that only an ?unreasonable? person would object to their efforts to restrict gun ownership.
In a society of law-abiding citizens, we have nothing to fear from an unrestricted right to gun ownership. Law-abiding citizens are by definition going to obey the law. By restricting their ?right to keep and bare arms,? we only encourage law breaking by those same citizens. Laws are intended to preserve freedoms, not restrict them. In committing a crime, someone is infringing on the rights and freedoms of another. In an armed society, those who would seek to impose their will on another are significantly less inclined to do so. It is for that reason, that the citizens of Popps Ferry Landing will not have to worry about having their property destroyed or stolen, their families killed or injured by marauding bands of criminals. And the authorities will not be additionally burdened in the exercising of their duties responding to this crisis.
An armed citizenry is a safe and fearless citizenry.
posted by Will Malven at 10:17 AM
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A special will be on the Discovery Channel Sept. 11th at 9PM ET about Flight 93.
http://dsc.discovery.com/convergence/flight/flight.html
Gruhn
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I've been shocked at what seems to me to be extra legal confiscation of firearms in New Orleans. Indeed, I was left agog by a photo published in yesterday's Washington Post where two SWAT garbed men identified as "drug enforcement officers" armed with sub-machine guns were using entry tools to force open a door of a private residence so they could "search for weapons."
I've heard a quote over the years to the effect that no urban area is more than 48 hours away from food riots. It also seems no jurisdiction is more than 72 hours away from the suspension of all constitutional protections by extra legal methods.
[David Kopel, September 9, 2005 at 9:57pm]
New Orleans Gun Confiscation is Blatantly Illegal:
On Monday, I'll have an article on the New Orleans gun confiscation on Reason.com. But there's one part of the story that's too important to wait: the confiscation is plainly illegal. I realize that there are plausible arguments that the house-to-house break-ins and gun-point confiscations violate the Second, Fourth, Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments of the United States Constitution, as well as numerous provisions of the Louisiana Constitution, including the right to arms. Indeed, the confiscations are inconsistent with the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and with natural law. But my point is much more specific. The particular Louisiana statute which allows emergency controls on firearms also clearly disallows the complete prohibition being imposed by the New Orleans chief of police.
The relevant statute is La. Stat., title 14, ? 329.6. It provides:
?329.6. Proclamation of state of emergency; conditions therefor; effect thereof
A. During times of great public crisis, disaster, rioting, catastrophe, or similar public emergency within the territorial limits of any municipality or parish, or in the event of reasonable apprehension of immediate danger thereof, and upon a finding that the public safety is imperiled thereby, the chief executive officer of any political subdivision or the district judge, district attorney, or the sheriff of any parish of this state, or the public safety director of a municipality, may request the governor to proclaim a state of emergency within any part or all of the territorial limits of such local government. Following such proclamation by the governor, and during the continuance of such state of emergency, the chief law enforcement officer of the political subdivision affected by the proclamation may, in order to protect life and property and to bring the emergency situation under control, promulgate orders affecting any part or all of the territorial limits of the municipality or parish:
(1) Establishing a curfew and prohibiting and/or controlling pedestrian and vehicular traffic, except essential emergency vehicles and personnel;
(2) Designating specific zones within which the occupancy and use of buildings and the ingress and egress of vehicles and persons shall be prohibited or regulated;
(3) Regulating and closing of places of amusement and assembly;
(4) Prohibiting the sale and distribution of alcoholic beverages;
(5) Prohibiting and controlling the presence of persons on public streets and places;
(6) Regulating and controlling the possession, storage, display, sale, transport and use of firearms, other dangerous weapons and ammunition;
(7) Regulating and controlling the possession, storage, display, sale, transport and use of explosives and flammable materials and liquids, including but not limited to the closing of all wholesale and retail establishments which sell or distribute gasoline and other flammable products;
(8) Regulating and controlling the possession, storage, display, sale, transport and use of sound apparatus, including but not limited to public address systems, bull horns and megaphones.
(9) Prohibiting the sale or offer for sale of goods or services within the designated emergency area for value exceeding the prices ordinarily charged for comparable goods and services in the same market area at, or immediately before, the time of the state of emergency. However, the value received may include reasonable expenses and a charge for any attendant business risk in addition to the cost of the goods and services which necessarily are incurred in procuring the goods and services during the state of emergency, pursuant to the provisions of R.S. 29:701 through 716.
B. Such orders shall be effective from the time and in the manner prescribed in such orders and shall be published as soon as practicable in a newspaper of general circulation in the area affected by such order and transmitted to the radio and television media for publication and broadcast. Such orders shall cease to be in effect five days after their promulgation or upon declaration by the governor that the state of emergency no longer exists, whichever occurs sooner; however, the chief law enforcement officer, with the consent of the governor, may extend the effect of such orders for successive periods of not more than five days each by republication of such orders in the manner hereinabove provided.
C. All orders promulgated pursuant to this section shall be executed in triplicate and shall be filed with the clerk of court of the parish affected and with the secretary of state of this state.
D. During any period during which a state of emergency exists the proclaiming officer may appoint additional peace officers or firemen for temporary service, who need not be in the classified lists of such departments. Such additional persons shall be employed only for the time during which the emergency exists.
E. During the period of the existence of the state of emergency the chief law enforcement officer of the political subdivision may call upon the sheriff, mayor, or other chief executive officer of any other parish or municipality to furnish such law enforcement or fire protection personnel, or both, together with appropriate equipment and apparatus, as may be necessary to preserve the public peace and protect persons and property in the requesting area. Such aid shall be furnished to the chief law enforcement officer requesting it insofar as possible without withdrawing from the political subdivision furnishing such aid the minimum police and fire protection appearing necessary under the circumstances. In such cases when a state of emergency has been declared by the governor pursuant to R.S. 29:724 et seq., all first responders who are members of a state or local office of homeland security and emergency preparedness, including but not limited to medical personnel, emergency medical technicians, persons called to active duty service in the uniformed services of the United States, Louisiana National Guard, Louisiana Guard, Civil Air Patrol, law enforcement and fire protection personnel acting outside the territory of their regular employment shall be considered as performing services within the territory of their regular employment for purposes of compensation, pension, and other rights or benefits to which they may be entitled as incidents of their regular employment. Law enforcement officers acting pursuant to this Section outside the territory of their regular employment have the same authority to enforce the law as when acting within the territory of their own employment.
F. Notwithstanding the provisions of this Section, except in an imminent life threatening situation nothing herein shall restrict any uniformed employee of a licensed private security company, acting within the scope of employment, from entering and remaining in an area where an emergency has been declared. The provisions of this Subsection shall apply if the licensed private security company submits a list of employees and their assignment to be allowed into the area, to the Louisiana State Board of Private Security Examiners, which shall forward the list to the chief law enforcement office of the parish and, if different, the agency in charge of the scene.
First, there are the procedural issues. According to subsection B, emergency orders must be published in a newspaper in the jurisdiction; the Times-Picayune is heroically publishing on-line, but I did not find any evidence, on Friday night, of any publication of the gun confiscation order, whose implementation had already begun on Thursday. According to subsection C, an emergency order must also be filed with the court in the relevant parish (impossible under current conditions), and with the Secretary of State (whose office in Baton Rouge is entirely functional). The Secretary's website gives no indication that a gun confiscation order has been filed.
The more serious issue is the substantive one. The emergency statute creates authority for "prohibiting" some things, and for "regulating" other things. The statute uses "prohibiting" in subsections (A)4, 5, and 9. The statute uses "regulating" in sections (A)3, 6, 7, and 8. Quite clearly the legislature meant to distinguish "prohibiting" authority from "regulating" authority. In the context of the statute, it is not plausible to claim that "prohibiting" means the same as "regulating."
"Prohibiting" authority applies to the sale of alcohol, presence on public streets, and the sale of goods or services at excessive prices. "Regulating" authority applies to firearms, flammable materials, and sound devices (such as megaphones). The "regulating" authority is undoubtedly broad. But it is not equivalent to "prohibiting." The statute does not authorize the New Orleans Police--abetted by the National Guard and the U.S. Marshalls--to break into homes, point guns at people, and confiscate every single private firearm--or every single private bullhorn or private cigarette lighter.
Yet New Orleans' lawless superintendant of police, P. Edwin Compass, has declared, "No one is allowed to be armed. We're going to take all the guns."
The Compass order appears to be plainly illegal. Under section 1983 of the federal Civil Rights law, any government employee who assists in the illegal confiscation would appear to be personally liable to a civil lawsuit. Moreover, higher-ranking officials--such as the National Guard officers who have ordered their troops to participate in the confiscation--would seem to be proper subjects for impeachment or other removal from office (and attendant forfeiture of pensions), depending on the procedures of their particular state.
All police officers, National Guard troops, and U.S. Marshals take an oath to uphold the Constitution and the laws. It appears that carrying out an illegal order to confiscate lawfully-owned firearms from homes would be inconsistent with the oath, contrary to sworn duty, and perhaps a criminal act.
UPDATE: Orin's response to my post (above) contains several misunderstandings, in my view:
1. The most serious problem is that he reads the power of "regulating and controlling" as equivalent to the power of "prohibiting and controlling." By his theory, the Louisiana legislature could just as well have said "controlling" instead of "prohibiting and controlling" and the legislature still would have granted the power of prohibiting. In an abstract semantic sense, Orin's theory is not implausible. But the Louisiana legislature obviously used the words more precisely; the repeated shifts from "regulating" to "prohibitting" plainly show that the two words are not identical, and that adding "and controlling" after each word does not create identical phrases. If the Louisiana legislature meant to convey the same powers over each of the items in subsection (A), the legislature would have used the same operative words in each subsection.
2. He's right that the statute doesn't specify whether proper publication and filing are necessary for the emergency orders to be lawful. (And as my original post indicated, it's not absolutely certain that proper publication and filing have not occured, although it would be odd for the Louisiana Secretary of State not to post the filing of such an important order.) At least in some circumstances, strict adherence to the provisions of subsections (B) and (C) would be impossible. For example, the Secretary of State's office might be closed; indeed, the courts in Orleans Parish are currently closed. However, if the police chief failed to file the proper notice with the Secretary of State, even when the Secretary of State's office is open, the failure to file indicates, at the least, a disregard on the part of the chief for proper legal procedure.
3. Note subsection (B)'s rule that "Such orders shall be effective from the time and in the manner prescribed in such orders... Such orders shall cease to be in effect five days after their promulgation..." Has the police chief ever promulgated a proper emergency order about firearms? Sending police officers out to confiscate guns is not "promulgation." For the order to be valid, there must, at least, be some form of proper order to the public, not merely to the police. The "promulgation" must, at the least, include a date on which the order goes into effect, because a legal start date is necessary to calculate the automatic expiration date five days thereafter. It seems unlikely that a press conference merely announcing--after the confiscations and break-ins have already begun--the confiscations are taking place, consistutes the promulgation of an "order." The only Louisiana case law definitions of "promulgate" come from election law cases; they rely on the dictionary definition of "promulgate" as "To make known or announce officially and formally to the public." The cases further specify that "promulgate" should be understood in its specific statutory context. E.g., LeCompte v. Board of Sup'rs of Elections of Terrebonne Parish, 331 So.2d 173 (La. App. 1976). And it appears that the chief of police has not complied with any of the statute's specific standards for promulgation (newspaper, parish court, Secretary of State).
4. Violation of a person's state constitutional right to keep and bear arms is a violation of her 14th Amendment rights, and gives rise to a cause of action under section 1983. Kellogg v. City of Gary, 562 N.E.2d 685, 696 (Ind. 1990):
For all of the foregoing reasons, we now hold there is a state created right to bear arms which includes the right to carry a handgun with a license, provided that all of the requirements of the Indiana Firearms Act are met. This right is protected by the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment and is both a property and liberty interest for purposes of ? 1983.
If the confiscation of firearms is illegal under Louisiana statute, then the confiscation is very likely a violation of the right to arms under the Louisiana constitution. Moreover, pursuant to United States v. Emerson, the Second Amendment is recognized as an individual right in the Fifth Circuit, which includes Louisiana. The Second Amendment, even if unincorporated, would be the basis of a section 1983 claim against any federal employees involved in the confiscation. Also, the warrantless entry into homes and illegal confiscation of property might give rise to section 1983 claims premised on the Fourth and Fifth Amendments.
5. In response to some of the issues raised by comments on related posts...the President of the United States probably has the power, as Commander in Chief, to order the confiscation of firearms from areas in actual rebellion, following a proclamation of martial law. Martial law has not been declared. The "standard of scrutiny" question for the deprivation of state or federal constitutional rights is irrelevant here; the question would be relevant if there were a challenge to the constitutionality of the Louisiana emergency statute. When the police chief exercises power which he was never granted by law, then his act is ultra vires, and necessarily illegal.
http://volokh.com/archives/archive_2005_09_04-2005_09_10.shtml
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Buz,
I think it's becoming clear that when "things fall apart" and the government steps in to "help" as they did in the hurricane-striken areas, ALL of our rights seem to evaporate...and there ain't a damn thing we can do about it.
Forced evacuation, forced detention, forced disarmament. Pretty f*ing scary if you ask me...
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Oh my god. Watch brave California Highway Patrolmen whup on an armed, older woman who does not want to leave her home. Un-freaking-real:
http://www.ktvu.com/news/4936363/detail.html#
Go to the story near the bottom of the page titled:
CHP Takes Part In Door-To-Door Search
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Oh my god. Watch brave California Highway Patrolmen whup on an armed, older woman who does not want to leave her home. Un-freaking-real:
http://www.ktvu.com/news/4936363/detail.html#
Go to the story near the bottom of the page titled:
CHP Takes Part In Door-To-Door Search
Personally I think they handled it very well. I was expecting a clip of a LEO using unnecessary force to control her. By the looks of it, it seems that the officer reached for her weapons to control them before controlling her and she fell to the ground. It is interesting that the reporter asked ?will they use deadly force? and personally I could see that situation turning deadly quite quickly.
Gruhn
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Ryan:
Disagree with you on this one. I don't have audio on my system at the moment, but my memory of this footage is that they entered her home to "persuade" her to leave. Holding a gun by the barrel (unloaded IIRC) she showed them she had the means to protect herself. Then this.
All:
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Defenseless On the Bayou
New Orleans gun confiscation is foolish and illegal
Dave Kopel
In the nearly two weeks since Hurricane Katrina, the government of New Orleans has devolved from its traditional status as an elective kleptocracy into something far more dangerous: an anarcho-tyranny that refuses to protect the public from criminals while preventing people from protecting themselves. At the orders of New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin, the New Orleans Police, the National Guard, the Oklahoma National Guard, and U.S. Marshals have begun breaking into homes at gunpoint, confiscating their lawfully-owned firearms, and evicting the residents. "No one is allowed to be armed. We're going to take all the guns," says P. Edwin Compass III, the superintendent of police.
Last week, thousands of New Orleanians huddled in the Superdome and the Convention Center got a taste of anarcho-tyranny. Everyone entering those buildings was searched for firearms. So for a few days, they lived in a small world without guns. As in other such worlds, the weaker soon became the prey of the stronger. Tuesday's New Orleans Times-Picayune reported some of the grim results, as an Arkansas National Guardsman showed the reporter dozens of bodies rotting in a non-functional freezer.
In the rest of the city, some police officers abandoned their posts, while others joined the looting spree. For several days, the ones who stayed on the job did not act to stop the looting that was going on right in front of them. To the extent that any homes or businesses were saved, the saviors were the many good citizens of New Orleans who defended their families, homes, and businesses with their own firearms.
These people were operating within their legal rights. The law authorizes citizen's arrests for any felony, and in the past (in the 1964 case McKellar v. Mason), a Louisiana court held that shooting a property thief in the spine was a legitimate citizen's arrest.
The aftermath of the hurricane has featured prominent stories of citizens legitimately defending lives and property. New Orleans lies on the north side of the Mississippi River, and the city of Algiers is on the south. The Times-Picayune detailed how dozens of neighbors in one part of Algiers had formed a militia. After a car-jacking and an attack on a home by looters, the neighborhood recognized the need for a common defense; they shared firearms, took turns on patrol, and guarded the elderly. Although the initial looting had resulted in a gun battle, once the patrols began, the militia never had to fire a shot. Likewise, the Garden District of New Orleans, one of the city's top tourist attractions, was protected by armed residents.
The good gun-owning citizens of New Orleans and the surrounding areas ought to be thanked for helping to save some of their city after Mayor Nagin, incoherent and weeping, had fled to Baton Rouge. Yet instead these citizens are being victimized by a new round of home invasions and looting, these ones government-organized, for the purpose of firearms confiscation.
The Mayor and Governor do have the legal authority to mandate evacuation, but failure to comply is a misdemeanor; so the authority to use force to compel evacuation goes no further than the power to effect a misdemeanor arrest. The preemptive confiscation of every private firearm in the city far exceeds any reasonable attempt to carry out misdemeanor arrests for persons who disobey orders to leave.
Louisiana statutory law does allow some restrictions on firearms during extraordinary conditions. One statute says that after the Governor proclaims a state of emergency (as Governor Blanco has done), "the chief law enforcement officer of the political subdivision affected by the proclamation may...promulgate orders...regulating and controlling the possession, storage, display, sale, transport and use of firearms, other dangerous weapons and ammunition." But the statute does not, and could not, supersede the Louisiana Constitution, which declares that "The right of each citizen to keep and bear arms shall not be abridged, but this provision shall not prevent the passage of laws to prohibit the carrying of weapons concealed on the person."
The power of "regulating and controlling" is not the same as the power of "prohibiting and controlling." The emergency statute actually draws this distinction in its language, which refers to "prohibiting" price-gouging, sale of alcohol, and curfew violations, but only to "regulating and controlling" firearms. Accordingly, the police superintendent's order "prohibiting" firearms possession is beyond his lawful authority. It is an illegal order.
Last week, we saw an awful truth in New Orleans: A disaster can bring out predators ready to loot, rampage, and pillage the moment that they have the opportunity. Now we are seeing another awful truth: There is no shortage of police officers and National Guardsmen who will obey illegal orders to threaten peaceful citizens at gunpoint and confiscate their firearms.
Dave Kopel is Research Director of the Independence Institute
http://www.reason.com/hod/dk091005.shtml
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Crafty,
May I ask what part you disagree with?
Gruhn
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Mr. Gruhn:
Doubtless I'm seeing things through a Libertarian lens, but the events shown in the clip in question give me the willies on several levels. First, there are CA cops enforcing LA emergency directives of dubious origin (see above Kopel piece). It's hard to imagine a coherent statutory mechanism that gives CA police the power to enforce directives contrary to the LA, and US, constitutions. Authority is exercised nonetheless.
Second, it's quite clear to me that the homeowner doesn't want the cops in her home, nor does she want to leave it. Though it's hard to know the exact circumstance of the area from viewing the clip, there doesn't appear to be any imminent danger. There have been a lot of contradictory statements out of LA about just how vigorously, and by which legal mechanism, evacuation can be forced. Despite many a gray area by all reports, the CA cops enforced evacuation with a vigor that spooked me.
Finally what the fornication was a news crew doing in the mix? What, the area is too dangerous for homeowners, but camera crews can intrude where they will? Though I suppose some would argue we should count ourselves lucky for having the fourth estate there to bear witness, I can't help but wonder how the observers impact the observed. It's not like some omniscient eye just happened by, rather a reporter, producer, cameraman, and perhaps sound man managed to attach themselves to a group of police doing a sweep. The all trundled into a private residence, and perhaps served as a moderating influence, or perhaps served to exacerbate things. What cop wants to be filmed turning tail on an older woman; if his buddies saw the tape he'd never live it down.
Bottom line for me is that here's a woman who's survived a pretty horrific event coming into contact with agents of the government ostensibly there to help her. The result? She is wrestled to the ground by an out of town cop, disarmed, and evicted. Perhaps I'm more idealistic than I let on, but I can't help thinking it wouldn't take much official effort to produce a far more desirable outcome.
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That's close to what I would say but IMHO gets involved in a couple of tangents.
She didn't want to leave her home. She didn't want the police in her home. The police came into her home anyway. They told her it wasn't safe for her to stay. She showed them that she had a gun with which she could defend herself. She is disarmedby force and taken from her home by force.
The willies indeed.
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I was under the impression that it was a mandatory evacuation and that no one was permitted to stay. Now that I see it through different eyes I can see the ethical questions that were brought up. The news crew definitely brings confusion into the mix and I understand the legal questions of the whole ordeal.
Gruhn
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Yes, the idiot mayor announced a mandatory evacuation, but he or someone else that no one would be forced to leave. WTF? :roll:
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Yes, the idiot mayor announced a mandatory evacuation, but he or someone else that no one would be forced to leave. WTF? :roll:
( WTF? ) Why Think First? :idea:
Woof P.C.
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Woof All:
This thread is for stories of citizen's stepping forward:
Crafty Dog
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CRIMENETDAILY
Bank robber caught
by fed-up customer
Man who witnessed previous holdup
now chooses to act, pounces on thief
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Posted: July 27, 2003
6:42 p.m. Eastern
? 2003 WorldNetDaily.com
As Yogi Berra might say, it was a case of deja vu all over again.
Last month, Andrew Green was inside the Riverside National Bank in Jensen Beach, Fla., when the establishment was robbed. He stood by helplessly as a witness to the crime. In an incredible coincidence, Green was inside the same branch when it was robbed again yesterday morning. But this time, there was a different outcome, as Green decided to take action and get involved by pursuing the alleged robber.
"At first I just wanted to follow him, so I could identify him to the police," Green told the Stuart News. "He was walking across the parking lot so nonchalantly and was changing his clothes as he walked."
Green watched as the suspect removed his hat and shirt, stuffing them into a plastic Wal-Mart bag. That's when he decided to pounce, tackling Thomas Poisal.
"He struggled a little on the way down," Green told the Palm Beach Post. "He looked a little shocked. He hadn't looked behind him a single time in the parking lot. It felt great," he added to the Post. "All my frustrations just went out of my body."
Deputies from the Martin County Sheriff's Office arrived to find Green and another witness holding Poisal in a bear hug, with $2,000 on the suspect.
"It was bibbity-bam, bibbity-boom," Lt. Mike McKinley told the Stuart News. "[Poisal's] got to know he had a very poor decision-making process today."
Poisal is being charged with armed robbery after telling the bank teller he had a gun, though none was recovered. On June 2, Richard Mandile allegedly robbed the same bank after giving the teller a note, leaving Green amazed by the coincidence.
"What are the odds of this happening twice?" Green asked the Stuart News. "The first time I was really frustrated for not helping," he said. "But this time was great. Your adrenaline really gets pumping and you don't realize what you're doing."
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"At first I just wanted to follow him, so I could identify him to the police," Green told the Stuart News. "He was walking across the parking lot so nonchalantly and was changing his clothes as he walked."
Green watched as the suspect removed his hat and shirt, stuffing them into a plastic Wal-Mart bag. That's when he decided to pounce, tackling Thomas Poisal.
"He struggled a little on the way down," Green told the Palm Beach Post. "He looked a little shocked. He hadn't looked behind him a single time in the parking lot. It felt great," he added to the Post. "All my frustrations just went out of my body."
Deputies from the Martin County Sheriff's Office arrived to find Green and another witness holding Poisal in a bear hug, with $2,000 on the suspect.
"It was bibbity-bam, bibbity-boom," Lt. Mike McKinley told the Stuart News. "[Poisal's] got to know he had a very poor decision-making process today."
Poisal is being charged with armed robbery after telling the bank teller he had a gun, though none was recovered. On June 2, Richard Mandile allegedly robbed the same bank after giving the teller a note, leaving Green amazed by the coincidence.
"What are the odds of this happening twice?" Green asked the Stuart News. "The first time I was really frustrated for not helping," he said. "But this time was great. Your adrenaline really gets pumping and you don't realize what you're doing."[/quote][/quote]
I'm here new.My traning is at start.So therefore i have so many questions.What exactly the dog brothers are?And what is the unorganized millitia??If you will answer I will be very thankfull.Greetings to all:)
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Woof Szymon:
The American ear recognizes the phrase "a well-regulated militia" from the second amendment to our Constitution, which is the one guaranteeing the right of the people to bear arms. There is argument about whether this right is that of the individual (the correct position in my opinion) or of the "militias", which are now held to be the "National Guard" of the various states of the United States.
There is also the "unorganized militia". For a good legal discussion of this see:
http://dogbrothers.com/wrapper.php?file=savedbythemilitia.htm&osCsid=2fb71eaeda1710704825c5d440d40b9a
This page is the "Flight 93 Memorial", a button for which can be found towards the bottom on our front page.
For the role of all this in the concept of Dog Brothers Martial Arts go to the clip on our opening page titile "The Unorganized Militia"
Your post is a perfect example of what we are talking about. Thanks for sharing it with us.
Hope this helps.
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Woof Szymon:
The American ear recognizes the phrase "a well-regulated militia" from the second amendment to our Constitution, which is the one guaranteeing the right of the people to bear arms. There is argument about whether this right is that of the individual (the correct position in my opinion) or of the "militias", which are now held to be the "National Guard" of the various states of the United States.
Hey Guys,
The argument that the anti-gun/anti-personal defense/anti- individual rights, crowd likes to think negates our god given, individual, constitutionally protected right to keep and bear arms, is that the second admendment was intended for a state militia and a state militia only. They have been proven wrong by constitutional lawyers and historians time and time again. They believe that if they repeat a lie long enough, often enough, that they will imprint this lie into the minds of the American public as being fact. They are close to doing that. Most Americans do not understand what their rights are or why they have them. Many Americans don't know that our form of government is a constitutional republic.
Woof P.C.
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Hi It's me again:)Thank you very much for your answer and opinion.I am also very thankful toTomek Jurczyński for training us.Dog Brothers are changing my life I hope for good.Big thanks to all the dogs.I am starting training but I'll stay for good.It's some kind of spiritual healing for me I can train my body and mind,senses,my soul.as You have sad"Higher Counsciousnes trough harder contact"
In poland also it is forbiden to wear weapons,even like ticks or knives.I also think people have right to protect themselves.So therefore I will train as hard as I can.I'll do my best.Big Greetings from Poland.Woof:d
Hope this helps.[/quote]
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Hi It's me again:)Thank you very much for your answer and opinion.I am also very thankful toTomek Jurczyński for training us.Dog Brothers are changing my life I hope for good.Big thanks to all the dogs.I am starting training but I'll stay for good.It's some kind of spiritual healing for me I can train my body and mind,senses,my soul.as You have sad"Higher Counsciousnes trough harder contact"
In poland also it is forbiden to wear weapons,even like ticks or knives.I also think people have right to protect themselves.So therefore I will train as hard as I can.I'll do my best.Big Greetings from Poland.Woof:d
Hope this helps.
[/quote]
Sorry for gramatical mistakes.There is sticks or knives
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http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dy...5100301649.html
Facing Abductor, Girls Proved Martial Arts Training
By Jamie Stockwell and Tom Jackman
Washington Post Staff Writers
Tuesday, October 4, 2005; Page B01
When the masked man attacked them inside their bedroom in the middle of the night Sunday, the twin 10-year-old girls responded just as they had been taught in their martial arts class: They fought back.
The commotion woke their parents, who rushed in and thought they recognized the tall, ponytailed intruder. The girls' father whacked him with the base of a table lamp and yanked off part of his mask. As the intruder ran from the Vienna townhouse, the parents were pretty sure it was "Andy," an instructor at Mountain Kim Martial Arts studio in Vienna, where their daughters take classes every week, the mother told police.
Suspect Andrew Jacobs had taught the girls martial arts skills. (Fairfax County Police Department - Fairfax County Police Department)
Hours later, Andrew Jacobs, 42, a part-time instructor at the studio who holds a black belt, was arrested at the brick house he shares with his sister, not far from the girls' home. Yesterday, he appeared in court, with a black eye and bruises on his face, on charges of assault, attempted abduction and burglary. A judge ordered him held without bond.
Capt. Mike Miller, the acting police chief of Vienna, said that Jacobs had taught the twins, who hold blue belts. When they were attacked in their bedroom about 12:30 a.m. Sunday, Miller said, "the children responded the way they were instructed to by the suspect" in their training.
"He had attempted to gag one of the 10-year-olds," Miller said, which attracted the attention of her sister. Jacobs told police that he had brought wire ties and a cut-up towel to the house to tie up the residents, Miller said.
There was no sign of a break-in at the townhouse, one of several on a quiet, shaded street in the Townes of Moorefield subdivision off Nutley Street. After his arrest, Jacobs told police that he intended to tie up the residents to "keep everybody quiet" while he stole valuables, including "loose money, jewelry and VCRs." according to a search warrant affidavit filed yesterday in Fairfax Circuit Court.
One of the sisters told police that Jacobs "struck her in the face with his hand and placed one of the [towel bits] around her mouth," the affidavit says. The other girl then screamed, and moments later the parents rushed into their room.
Reached at home yesterday, the mother referred calls about their ordeal to Vienna police. On Sunday evening, the father told a reporter that the family "took care of it" and declined to comment further.
Grandmaster Mountain Kim, who owns the Vienna martial arts studio, said Jacobs has been a student and occasional instructor for him off and on for many years. He said that Jacobs wasn't around for about 10 years but showed up again this summer.
"I thought he was okay. He was not ever real friendly, but I knew him for a long time," Kim said yesterday afternoon as young students wearing white wrap jackets filed out of a van and into the studio. "It's a terrible situation, and I'm very sad that it happened."
No one answered the door at Jacobs's home, a detached brick house with a freshly mowed lawn and manicured bushes. A blue pickup with the license plate AMJ 4X4 sat at the curb.
Next door, Jennifer Copp, 34, stood on the driveway with her 2-month-old daughter. She said she has known Jacobs for about a year.
"He didn't talk much to anyone or socialize a whole lot," she said. "We knew him only as the man next door. We knew him only as Andy and didn't know whether he had a job. We never saw him leave."
Copp said her husband watched as Jacobs was led in handcuffs from his house Sunday evening. When they watched the news later that night, she said, she "almost fainted."
"Good for them for fighting back. I guess the girls were taught well," she said. If the allegations prove true, she continued, "who else will the family wonder about in their lives? Here was someone who was supposed to be teaching them how to be safe."
Staff writer Nikita Stewart contributed to this report.
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Hi !
SoryI think I didn't understood the topic.what are those stories all about.Woof
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Woof Szymon:
The idea common to all these stories is that they are about people defending themselves or defending other people.
Does this help?
Crafty Dog
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Kinda the antithesis of the militia ethos being created in the UK. You'd think someone there would be detecting a pattern.
Crackdown on Samurai swords
devon.editorial@archant.co.uk
04 October 2005
A CAMPAIGN to stop shops selling Samurai swords has been launched by Devon and Cornwall police.
Police have written to retailers asking them to act responsibly and withdraw the weapons from sale.
They also hope to persuade people who own swords to surrender them at the police station to stop them falling into the wrong hands.
The move comes after a number of incidents in the area involving the swords, including the death of Sidmouth man Matthew Stiling in July.
Chief Superintendent Bob Pennington said: "We are experiencing a significant number of offences being committed using Samurai swords.
"These offences include murder, serious assault, criminal damage and possession in a public place.
"The threat to the public and the police is significant and we have had to deploy officers with firearms and special equipment to deal with these incidents."
Mr Pennington said there had been 18 incidents in Devon and Cornwall between April 7 and August 2005. "This has a direct effect on the public in terms of cost and preventing officers from dealing with other incidents.
"We want to reassure the public we are doing everything we can to deal with Samurai swords and reduce the opportunity for people to have access to them," he said.
http://www.devon24.co.uk/midweekherald/news/story.aspx?brand=MDWOnline&category=news&tBrand=devon24&tCategory=newsmdw&itemid=DEED04%20Oct%202005%2015%3A42%3A15%3A397
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Woof Szymon:
The idea common to all these stories is that they are about people defending themselves or defending other people.
Does this help?
Crafty Dog
Thank You very much :) It sure does:)The trainings are getting better day by day,Thanks to Tomek :D .Thanks for the post.Woof
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No charges in death of intruder
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No charges in death of intruder
A Boulder County couple used a bat and a masked assailant's own knife to kill him when he broke into their home. The DA's office says the pair acted in self-defense.
By George Merritt and Felisa Cardona
Denver Post Staff Writers
As a masked intruder lay bleeding in front of her house, Becci Starr called 911 and described a violent and emotional struggle to protect her home at the expense of a man's life.
"I have never felt so violated," she told an operator. "I was hitting him over the head. Like, I must have hit him 20 times. I have a baseball bat at my front door, and the guy kept coming at me. And then my husband came, and he tried to cut him up."
Authorities released recordings of the 911 call Monday, the same day the district attorney's office announced the couple will not face criminal charges. The intruder was carrying a plastic water gun, a hunting knife, pepper spray and a flashlight when he broke into the home in the 100 block of Poorman Road in Boulder County on Oct. 3, authorities said. Starr and her husband, Scott Mattes, fought back, beating the man with a metal bat and stabbing him with his own knife.
The commotion was first reported by a neighbor across the street who said she thought she could hear someone being hit with a bat.
Starr pleaded for operators to send help fast so she would not have a man's life on her conscience. The intruder had "multiple stab wounds, I'm sure of it," Starr said. "Because I'll tell you something, my husband was in a rage. I hope it's not like a bad thing. I mean this guy came into our house, and I'm freaking out now because he's (expletive) dying in my front yard."
When the intruder stopped fighting, Mattes administered cardiopulmonary resuscitation in an attempt to revive him.
"The circumstances of this incident reveal a clear case of self-defense and defense of others," First Assistant District Attorney Pete Maguire wrote in a report. "Mr. Mattes and Ms. Starr were each acting to protect the other from the actual use of force from the knife- wielding assailant. ... The ferocity of the attack left no doubt that if they had not defended themselves effectively, they would likely have been killed."
The intruder is still unidentified. Authorities have issued a sketch of the man in an attempt find out who he is. He probably came to the house on a bicycle and was carrying a satchel that contained small sections of rope, duct tape and plastic restraints called zip-ties, authorities said.
The district attorney found two legal reasons for clearing the couple: a Colorado law that allows people to defend themselves, and the Make My Day law, which allows homeowners to use deadly force if someone enters their home illegally with the intention of committing a crime.
When Starr answered the door, the masked man identified himself as "Boulder County police" and pinned her against the back of the front door, according to officials. Starr grabbed a metal baseball bat - it stood near the front door for 26 years - and beat the man back.
The intruder dropped his plastic gun and flashlight and reached for the knife in his satchel. Starr screamed for help, and her husband charged the intruder.
The couple fought the man with the bat and the intruder's knife until he stopped struggling.
"Ms. Starr recalled saying to her husband, 'Don't kill him,' to which her husband replied, 'He's killing me,"' the report says.
Emotional and out of breath at times, Starr told the 911 operator that she had felt empowered to defend her home.
"He says he's having difficulty breathing, but you know, do I care? " she said. "I mean this (expletive) guy came into my house."
Starr reported that it was hard to believe what had just happened.
"I don't know how much time has passed, but let me tell you, I feel like I was just in an action movie," she said. "You know. And I watch a lot of films."
http://www.denverpost.com/news/ci_3104973
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Killing of intruder deemed justified
DA says Boulder County couple fought for lives
By Bill Scanlon, Rocky Mountain News
October 11, 2005
BOULDER COUNTY - The husband and wife who killed an intruder at their home in Sunshine Canyon likely would have been killed themselves if they hadn't fought back, so no charges will be lodged, the district attorney's office said Monday.
"The ferocity of the attack left no doubt that if they had not defended themselves effectively they would likely have been killed," First Assistant District Attorney Pete Maguire said in a statement.
"The amount of force used was not excessive," the statement said.
"I believe the homicide to have been justified, and will not be filing criminal charges arising from this incident," Maguire said.
The intruder, who still hasn't been identified, didn't stop his attack until he was near death. He was hit repeatedly with a baseball bat and stabbed with his own knife.
The incident on the night of Oct. 3 unfolded this way, according to the Boulder County Sheriff's Office:
The intruder likely arrived by bicycle at the home of Becci Starr and Scott Mattes, on Poorman Road, just off Sunshine Canyon Road. Starr told sheriff's investigators that her husband had walked her daughter to her car parked in the driveway shortly after 10 p.m. As Starr was preparing for bed, she heard the doorbell ring. She first thought it was her husband who might have accidentally locked himself out of the house. As she approached the front door she heard a man say "Boulder County police." As she opened the door, a man with a mask pushed it open and pinned her against the wall. Starr said he was armed with a gun and carried a flashlight. She reached for a baseball bat that she'd kept by the door for 26 years. The intruder dropped the gun - it turned out to be a plastic water pistol - and the flashlight, and pulled a hunting knife from his satchel. Starr screamed for help as she used the end of the bat to try to push the man back outside. Mattes ran upstairs from the basement and tackled the intruder. The intruder got on top of Mattes, who tried to push the knife hand away to keep from being stabbed. Starr repeatedly whacked the intruder on the head and back with a baseball bat.
The intruder dropped the knife, and Mattes picked it up. Starr tried to call 911, but heard a commotion and ran back to the door to see that her husband had been pepper-sprayed and was again struggling for control of the knife.
Starr again hit the man with the baseball bat and told her husband, "Don't kill him."
Mattes replied, "He's killing me."
Starr kept striking the man while Mattes was underneath him, stabbing him from below. The intruder eventually stopped fighting, at which time the couple stopped striking and stabbing him. Starr finished her 911 call while Mattes tried to resuscitate the man. Starr can be heard on the 911 tape saying, "I must have hit him 20 times with the baseball bat!"
Less than five minutes elapsed between the first 911 call from a neighbor and the time that the intruder stopped struggling. The man was carrying a toy water gun, the knife and pepper spray, and a green satchel that contained a rope, duct tape and zip ties. The man's fingerprints were run against the CBI's and FBI's files, but no match was found. A morgue photograph of the man, distributed to police and deputies, brought no recognition. A sketch of the man's face has been distributed to newspapers and TV stations.
Colorado's Make My Day law allows use of physical force, including deadly physical force, when an intruder illegally enters a home and when the occupants have a reasonable belief that the intruder intends to commit a crime and use physical force, no matter how slight, against them.
Neighbors said Mattes and Starr are friendly, peaceful people. A sign on their property reads, "May Peace Prevail on Earth."
http://www.rockymountainnews.com/dr...4148946,00.html
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Perhaps a bit too inside baseball, this piece provide a good overview of Posse Comitataus, and argues against making the military first responders.
October 26, 2005, 8:24 a.m.
Maintaining the Divide
Posse Comitatus should stay as is.
Mackubin Thomas Owens
I see that my good friend and Naval War College colleague Derek Reveron has climbed aboard the military-should-be-the-lead-agency-in-domestic-catastrophes bandwagon. He's in good company. In the wake of Hurricane Katrina, the president, members of Congress, editorial writers, and pundits have been making the case for increased use of the military in domestic affairs. The only folks that seem to be opposed are the governors, but we can write off their opinion as an attempt to defend their own turf.
I certainly agree with Derek that the military is extremely well equipped to act as the lead agency in disaster relief. If we are looking for efficiency and respect, the military outshines most other agencies, whether at the local, state, or federal level. After all, generals and admirals become generals and admirals because they are good at getting things done ? and often being outspoken. Who didn't love it when General Honore blasted a reporter for being "struck on stupid"?
But why stop at disaster relief? The American political system is messy and inefficient, but if efficiency is the main criterion in deciding who does what domestically, why not let the military take the lead in everything? The most obvious response is that there is a little document called the Constitution that established a federal republic. Domestic affairs are primarily the concern of the states, not the federal government, and most assuredly not the U.S. military.
Of course there are many things the military can do on the domestic front, especially during natural disasters. But before we take steps to further involve the U.S. military in domestic affairs, we need to answer two fundamental questions: Do we really want the American public turning to the military for solutions to the country's problems? And do we really want to saddle the military with a variety of new, non-combat missions, vastly escalating its commitment to formerly ancillary duties?
If we do, we will find that we have involved the military in the political process to an unprecedented and perhaps dangerous degree. These additional assignments will also divert focus and resources from the military's central mission of combat training and war-fighting.
The United States has avoided such extreme manifestations of "bad" civil-military relations as coups and military dictatorship. Nonetheless, some observers have argued that the state of American civil-military relations has deteriorated seriously since the end of the Cold War. They fear that current trends will result in a large, semi-autonomous military so different and estranged from society that it will become unaccountable to those whom it serves. They are also concerned about the politicization of the military, and the increased employment of the military in domestic affairs will only exacerbate this trend.
Indeed, concern about politicization of the military was the catalyst for passage of the Posse Comitatus Act in 1878. A perusal of recent articles reveals the undeniable fact that most commentators do not understand the Posse Comitatus Act at all: It does not constitute a bar to the use of the military in domestic affairs. It does, however, ensure that such use is authorized only by the highest constitutional authority: Congress and the president.
Posse Comitatus has a Valuable History
The Constitution itself does not prohibit the use of the military in domestic affairs. Indeed, the U.S. military has intervened in domestic affairs some 167 times since the founding of the Republic. In the Anglo-American tradition, the first line of defense in enforcing the law is the posse comitatus, literally "the power of the county," understood to be the people at large who constituted the constabulary of the shire. When order was threatened, the "shire-reeve" or sheriff would raise the "hue and cry" and all citizens who heard it were bound to render assistance in apprehending a criminal or maintaining order. Thus, the sheriff in the American West would "raise a posse" to capture a lawbreaker.
If the posse comitatus was not able to maintain order, the force of first resort was the militia of the various states, the precursor of today's National Guard. In 1792, Congress passed two laws that permitted implementation of Congress's constitutional power "to provide for calling forth the militia to execute the laws of the union, suppress insurrections and repel invasions": the Militia Act and the "Calling Forth" Act, which gave the president limited authority to employ the militia in the event of domestic emergencies. In 1807, at the behest of Pres. Thomas Jefferson, who was troubled by his inability to use the regular Army as well as the militia to deal with the Burr Conspiracy of 1806-07, Congress declared the Army to be an enforcer of federal laws, not only as a separate force, but as a part of the posse comitatus.
Accordingly, troops were often used in the antebellum period to enforce the fugitive slave laws and suppress domestic violence. The Fugitive Slave Act of 1850 permitted federal marshals to call on the posse comitatus to aid in returning a slave to his owner, and in 1854, Franklin Pierce's attorney general, Caleb Cushing, issued an opinion that included the Army in the posse comitatus:
A marshal of the United States, when opposed in the execution of his duty, by unlawful combinations, has authority to summon the entire able-bodied force of his precinct, as a posse comitatus. The authority comprehends not only bystanders and other citizens generally, but any and all organized armed forces, whether militia of the states, or officers, soldiers, sailors, and marines of the United States.
Troops were also used to suppress domestic violence between pro- and anti-slavery factions in "Bloody Kansas." Soldiers and Marines participated in the capture of John Brown at Harpers Ferry in 1859.
After the Civil War, the U.S. Army was involved in supporting the Reconstruction governments in the southern states and it was the Army's role preventing the intimidation of black voters and Republicans at southern polling places that led to the passage of the Posse Comitatus Act. In the election of 1876, Pres. Ulysses S. Grant deployed Army units as a posse comitatus in support of federal marshals' maintaining order at the polls. In that election, Rutherford B. Hayes defeated Samuel Tilden with the disputed electoral votes of South Carolina, Louisiana, and Florida. Southerners claimed that the Army had been misused to "rig" the election.
If It Ain't Broke
While the Posse Comitatus Act is usually portrayed as the triumph of the Democratic Party in ending Reconstruction, the Army welcomed the legislation. The use of soldiers as a posse removed them from their own chain of command and placed them in the uncomfortable position of taking orders from local authorities who had an interest in the disputes that provoked the unrest in the first place. As a result, many officers came to believe that the involvement of the Army in domestic policing was corrupting the institution.
And this is the crux of the issue. The Posse Comitatus Act prohibits the use of the military to aid civil authorities in enforcing the law or suppressing civil disturbances except in cases and under circumstances expressly authorized by the Constitution or by an act of Congress. As the foremost authority on the use of the military in domestic affairs writes:
All that [the Posse Comitatus Act] really did was to repeal a doctrine whose only substantial foundation was an opinion by an attorney general [Caleb Cushing], and one that had never been tested in the courts. The president's power to use both regulars and militia remained undisturbed by the Posse Comitatus Act. . . .But the Posse Comitatus Act did mean that troops could not be used on any lesser authority than that of the president and he must issue a "cease and desist" proclamation before he did so. Commanders in the field would no longer have any discretion but must wait for orders from Washington. [Italics added.]
Do we really want to return to the days when "lesser authority" than the president could use the military for domestic purposes?
Derek observes that the U.S. military is respected and trusted by the American people. But what happens to this trust and respect the first time a soldier shoots an American citizen? As it is, the U.S. military has had to fend off attempts by domestic law-enforcement agencies to rope them into cooperation that could have resulted in the death of U.S. citizens. For example, an Army officer observed that "had legal advisers to Joint Task Force 6 [the military's counter-drug taskforce] which supported the BATF [Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms] during the siege at the Branch Davidian Compound in Waco, Texas, not questioned that agency's request for support, the Armed Forces would have been inappropriately and illegally involved in an operations that ultimately led to the deaths of U.S. citizens."
Even so, the fact is that Congress may at any time authorize the president to employ the U.S. military for domestic purposes, including law enforcement. Separately, the president has all the power he needs to employ the military in domestic affairs if he needs to do so. It is the so-called Insurrection Act. Although intended as a tool for suppressing rebellion when circumstances "make it impracticable to enforce the laws of the United States in any State or Territory by the ordinary course of judicial proceedings," presidents used this power on five occasions during the 1950s and 60s to counter resistance to desegregation decrees in the south. Reports indicate that President Bush chose not to invoke the Insurrection Act in the case of Katrina because of concerns that such an action would have been viewed as federal bullying of a southern Democratic governor.
Posse Comitatus is Still Relevant
Derek's comments notwithstanding, increasing the use of the military for domestic purposes will adversely affect its ability to wage war. The U.S. military is structured to play "away games." It is good at protecting the United States by threatening the sanctuary of our adversaries abroad. There are, of course, things the military can do to enhance the security of the American homeland, but we should not be blurring further the distinction between military activities and domestic affairs. To paraphrase what Casper Weinberger said in opposition to the use of the military in the drug war, further weakening the Posse Comitatus Act in response to terrorism makes for terrible national security policy, poor politics, and guaranteed failure in the terror war.
The response to Katrina indicates that procedures at all levels of government must be streamlined. But the maintenance of both healthy civil-military relations and a combat-ready force dictates that we don't repeal or modify the Posse Comitatus Act or give the president power beyond that of the Insurrection Act. And by no means should we expect the military to go beyond its current mission of supporting civil authorities in the event of domestic emergencies.
? Mackubin Thomas Owens is an associate dean of academics and a professor of national-security affairs at the Naval War College in Newport, R.I. He is writing a history of U.S. civil-military relations.
http://www.nationalreview.com/owens/owens200510260824.asp
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Not inside baseball at all! A sound post on a matter of great importance. In times of war, it is easy to let freedom slip away.
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Gentleman, Ladies and the rest of you,
Junkyard Dog foiled a bank robbery in Hemet California. It seems a man, a very 'gang-memberish looking man' robbed a bank in Hemet. He then used a bicycle as his get away car. Hearing the screams of the teller, JD went in pursuit of the man. It must be said that his Girlfriend, affectionately named "Satan" was right along side. Once they caught up with the man, he grabbed Susan (Satan) and tried to use her as a shield. She immediately began hitting him and broke free. Junkyard Dog grabbed the man and took him to the ground. He then used a Kali arm lock to keep him there until the Police arrived.
When the police arrived they said "We will take it from here," not acknowledging his and Susan's accomplishment.
But let it be known here they foiled the bank robbery. Junkyard is a little too humble to write about this, I am not.
Pappydog
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Most commendable, Junkyard Dog. You've proven yourself while the rest of us continue to test in the Dojo.
I would really like to know how the pair caught up with the cycler
and some details on the take down.
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Pappy:
Please let JD know that we are inspired.
Guro Crafty
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BY R.S.N. MURALI SEREMBAN: Four armed robbers fled for their lives when they inadvertently broke into the home of a Muay Thai (Thai kickboxing) coach at Taman Bukit Intan here.
The 28-year-old Muay Thai coach John Yong fought off the four Indonesian robbers when they broke into his home at 2.30am yesterday.
Yong, who was woken up by the screams of his 52-year-old mother, rushed to her aid and saw that two of the robbers were busy tying up her hands while the rest were ransacking her room.
Yong immediately went for them.
He kicked the two robbers who were busy tying up his mother.
They fell to the ground but the other two robbers retaliated by slashing Yong?s right arm and chin with a meat cleaver. He also sustained a shoulder wound after being stabbed with a screwdriver.
Undeterred, Yong continued attacking the robbers, injuring them all.
Realising that they were unable to take on the martial arts exponent, the four fled with only a mobile phone.
Yong?s family members rushed him to a private hospital here for treatment.
When met at the hospital, Yong said he wanted to teach the robbers a lesson as he was infuriated with the way they had treated his mother.
?Luckily, my eight years' experience in boxing came in handy,? he said.
Yong said he fought with all his might against the four robbers, adding: ?At one point, I felt like the silver screen hero, Jackie Chan, when I took on the four.?
OCPD Asst Comm Mohamad Abdullah said police had launched a manhunt for the robbers.
http://www.thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2004/10/1/nation/9023628&sec=
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Posted on Sat, Dec. 03, 2005
Victim stabs her attacker
By Stephanie L. Arnold
Inquirer Staff Writer
After being raped inside her Germantown home by a stranger yesterday afternoon, a woman persuaded her attacker to let her take her toddler upstairs - and when she came back down, she had a knife.
Her attacker, a 51-year-old man whose name was withheld, was in critical condition last night at Albert Einstein Medical Center with a chest wound.
Police said the events leading up to the rape and the woman fighting back began about 2:30 p.m., when the man approached the woman's home in the 200 block of West Haines Street and asked if he could rake her leaves.
The 30-year-old woman, who was home alone with her 2-year-old child, declined, said Capt. John Darby of the Special Victims Unit.
The man then asked for a glass of water, which made the woman suspicious. She tried to shut the door, but the man forced his way inside and raped her at knifepoint, Darby said.
Darby said the woman then begged her attacker to allow her to put her child in an upstairs bedroom.
When she returned, she rammed the knife into the man's chest.
"After the man was injured, he ran a distance on the block and collapsed," Darby said.
Darby said police found the man on the ground a short distance from the scene, along with the knife authorities believe he used during the assault. He was bleeding, and was rushed to Einstein.
The woman was treated at an unknown hospital for a small cut on her hand and the sexual assault. Police said the man faces charges of rape and other offenses.
"The good news is that this individual will be in custody and not be a threat to the neighborhood, thanks to this particular woman," Darby said.
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? 2005 Philadelphia Inquirer and wire service sources. All Rights Reserved.
http://www.philly.com
http://www.philly.com/mld/inquirer/news/local/states/pennsylvania/13317965.htm?template=contentModules/printstory.jsp
Best regards,
Argyll
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Follow up to a post a couple pages back where CA cops took down a woman who did not want to leave her intact LA home.
Hurricane Katrina Survivor Victimized Again: Injuries from Police Use of Excessive Force Required Surgery
12/14/2005 8:00:00 AM
To: National and State Desk
Contact: Ashton R. O'Dwyer, Jr., 504-561-6561
NEW ORLEANS, Dec. 14 /U.S. Newswire/ -- A New Orleans woman is recovering from surgery this week from injuries resulting from when she was roughed-up by authorities who forced her to leave her home a week after Hurricane Katrina. Patricia Konie, 58, has filed a Federal lawsuit over the injuries and other violations of civil rights.
"My client was severely injured in a needless removal from her home," stated attorney Ashton O'Dwyer. "Patricia Konie had food, plenty of water, and a roof over her head. The police who illegally entered her home and imposed their will on a frail, middle-aged female should have been out apprehending armed, male looters instead."
Konie was greeting a reporter and photographer from a San Francisco TV station and a journalist from the London Times when police unexpectedly entered her home. When she refused to leave as ordered, they confiscated a firearm used for defense and according to Konie, "slammed" her to the ground, both displacing and fracturing her left shoulder.
After remaining in custody for several hours without charges being filed against her by authorities, she was flown alone to South Carolina where she remained for more than a month before returning to her native New Orleans.
A Federal lawsuit was filed claiming that authorities assaulted and knocked her to the ground when she refused to leave her New Orleans home on September 7th, 2005. Konie also alleges numerous civil rights violations including assault and battery by police in her suit against several Louisiana and California State Police officers who took her into custody. She also alleges authorities violated her Second Amendment right to keep and bear arms.
"Hurricane Katrina was horrible, but there is no excuse for what happened to this nice lady", said O'Dwyer. "Police caused her months of pain and suffering and she still faces months of physical therapy. This suit will hold the individuals responsible for their misdeeds."
Konie had her surgery early on Monday morning, December 12. She is still recovering in the hospital, and lives alone on a limited budget of Social Security benefits. She is devastated by what happened and has not had her seized property returned.
"Sadly, Patricia Konie is only one of many examples of police going too far in the wake of Hurricane Katrina," said O'Dwyer. "Already one court has ruled against their strong-arm tactics, and we look forward to our day in court."
http://www.usnewswire.com/
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/? 2005 U.S. Newswire 202-347-2770/
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http://www.bakersfield.com/newsalert...-5869512c.html
Elderly man shoots robbery suspects to protect his wife
By STEVE E. SWENSON, Californian staff writer
e-mail: sswenson@bakersfield.com
Posted: Tuesday January 24th, 2006, 12:39 PM
Last Updated: Tuesday January 24th, 2006, 1:21 PM
A 71-year-old Bakersfield man responded to his wife?s plea for help by shooting at three home invasion robbery suspects, killing one and wounding a second, Bakersfield police reported today.
Norman Laxson, who has sold guns online, rushed to the aid of his 69-year-old wife, Ramona, as she was confronted Monday night at her front door by the suspects, according to police and an Internet search.
Police responded to the 9:48 p.m. incident and found Laxson bleeding from multiple cuts as he was seated just outside his front door, the department reported.
Next to him was Jose Covarrubias, 18, who was on the ground with multiple gunshot wounds, police said.
Nearby, was Jermaine Dabbs, 24, who was dead from a fatal gunshot, police said. A loaded handgun was located next to him, police said.
Laxson was injured in a struggle with the third suspect, a 17-year-old boy who attacked Lawson after his buddies were shot, police said. The boy wrestled Laxson?s gun away from him, police said.
The youth ran away but was arrested a short distance from Laxson?s house in the 9900 block of Kearney Hills Drive, police said. That?s in Rosedale near Brimhall Road and Calloway Drive.
Covarrubias was in stable condition at a local hospital, police said.
He and the youth were arrested on charges of robbery, conspiracy, assault with a deadly weapon and murder, police said.
The murder charge stems from the state?s felony murder rule in which murder charges can be filed against suspects in a felony during which someone was killed, even if the suspects didn?t actually fire a weapon.
Laxson was also treated at Kern Medical Center for his injuries and he was in fair condition Tuesday morning, a nurse said.
His wife was not hurt, police said.
Dabbs has a long criminal record from 2000 to 2004, including theft of a firearm, battery, trespassing, several thefts and disrupting a school, according to records in Kern County Superior Court. He recently got out of prison from a 2-year term he receive in the gun theft conviction, records indicate. Covarrubias has no record as an adult in Kern County Superior Court.
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Principal Hailed As Hero For Taking Down Gunman
POSTED: 11:46 am CST January 27, 2006
UPDATED: 12:57 pm CST January 27, 2006
SAN ANTONIO -- The principal of Rayburn Elementary School tackled a gunman who was threatening her students and teachers Wednesday afternoon.
Shannon Allen, 31, a former Jourdanton High School athlete, said she just did what anyone else would have done.
On Wednesday afternoon, a man entered the school's front door and made his way to the library, where school staff members directed him to the main office.
Once in the office, he told Allen he had a gun. She persuaded him to toss the gun into a nearby trashcan, and then tried to talk to the distraught man.
"He didn't know I knew where the weapon was. He continually glanced over there. He got up and I tried to coerce him to sit down. That's when he became agitated and went for the weapon in the trashcan," said Allen.
Allen said instinct kicked in and she tackled the man when he tried to reach for the gun.
"(It was) somewhat of a struggle -- keeping him away from the weapon. We ended up kind of against the wall," said Allen.
Police arrived and arrested John Zermeno, 26, of Eagle Pass.
Police said Zermeno was released in December from an Eagle Pass jail, where he had been charged with aggravated kidnapping and aggravated assault with a deadly weapon.
Allen said she's grateful no one was injured.
"You think about the safety of the kids and what could have happened, and it all worked out fine," said Allen.
Allen said she's received a lot of praise for what she did, and some kidding -- including a suggestion for another career.
"To join the (Dallas) Cowboys," said Allen. "They need a tackle."
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Bystander Fired Deadly Shot, Not Officer
There were two big developments Monday in the case of a motorist who was shot and killed along Greenwell Springs Road Friday after a fight with a police officer. Investigators say an autopsy shows the deadly bullet was fired by a bystander, not the officer. Police also announced that no charges would be filed in the case, either against the police officer involved or the bystander who fired the fatal shot into the head of George Temple.
East Baton Rouge Sheriff's spokesman Greg Phares says Officer Brian Harrision was escorting a funeral procession Friday when he pulled Temple over and wrote him a ticket for breaking into the procession. According to Phares, that's when Temple attacked Harrison. Police say Perry Stevens was walking outside of the Auto Zone on Greenwell Springs Road when he heard Harrison yelling for help. Harrison was reportedly on his back with Temple on top of him. That's when Stevens went to his car and grabbed his .45 caliber pistol.
According to Col. Greg Phares, "[Mr. Stevens] orders Mr. Temple to stop and get off the officer. The verbal commands are ignored and Mr. Stevens fires four shots, all of which struck Mr. Temple."
Perry Stevens fired four shots into Temple's torso. Officer Harrison had already fired one shot into Temple's abdomen. With Temple still struggling with the officer, Perry continued to advance toward the scuffle.
"He again orders Mr. Temple to stop what he was doing and get off the officer. Those commands are ignored and he fires a fifth shot and that hits his head. The incident is over with, and as you know, Mr. Temple is dead."
Police are calling the shooting death justified. Perry Stevens has a permit to carry a concealed weapon. Col. Phares would not give out any more details relating to the shooting. Both Phares and Baton Rouge Police Chief Jeff LeDuff stopped short of crediting Stevens with saving the officer's life. LeDuff says the entire incident is unfortunate.
"I spoke with his father at the scene briefly," said LeDuff. "I think this is a tragic situation all around."
9 News is told George Temple has a criminal record, and Officer Harrison was involved in a shooting while employed as a prison guard in East Baton Rouge Parish, where he was suspended for three days back in 1995.
Reporter: Jim Shannon
http://www.wafb.com/Global/story.asp?S=4527526
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HEALDSBURG
Victim's husband kills masked attacker
- Jim Doyle
Tuesday, February 28, 2006
An armed assailant wearing a black ninja-style mask was shot to death by a 68-year-old man Monday after the attacker jumped the man's wife outside their home and chased her inside, police said.
The shooting happened about 7:30 a.m. at the end of Sunset Drive on the east side of town.
Sandra Phillips, 64, was about to take the couple's two Wheaton terrier dogs for a walk when the masked man, dressed all in black and wearing black gloves, grabbed her outside her garage, police said. The woman struggled, broke away and ran screaming into the house, with the attacker in pursuit.
Her screams awoke her husband, Lou Phillips. He grabbed his .357 revolver and fired three times, Police Chief Susan Jones said.
The unidentified intruder, described as being in his 30s, died at the scene. Jones said he had a gun, but she could not say what type.
Lou Phillips was unhurt. His wife was treated for a head laceration.
The chief said the incident was "completely out of the blue" for the town. "Until the suspect is identified, we won't really have a motive."
http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2006/02/28/BAGM5HFO8J1.DTL
Best regards,
Argyll
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About freaking time. . . .
New Orleans Now Admits It Seized Firearms From Citizens
By Susan Jones
CNSNews.com Senior Editor
March 16, 2006
(CNSNews.com) - A Second Amendment group calls it a "stunning reversal." After denying it for months, the City of New Orleans on Wednesday admitted that it does have a stockpile of firearms seized from private citizens in the days following Hurricane Katrina.
The city even took lawyers to the place where some 1,000 firearms are being stored.
"This is a very significant event," said attorney Dan Holliday, who represents National Rifle Association and the Second Amendment Foundation in an on-going lawsuit seeking to stop the city from seizing privately-owned firearms.
The city's disclosure came as attorneys for both sides prepared for a court hearing on a motion to hold the city in contempt. (On March 1, The Second Amendment Foundation and the National Rifle Association filed a motion to have New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin and Police Superintendent Warren Riley held in contempt of court for refusing to comply with an injunction to stop illegal gun confiscations and return all seized firearms to their rightful owners.)
"We're almost in disbelief," said Second Amendment Foundation Founder Alan Gottlieb on Wednesday. "For months, the city has maintained it did not have any guns in its possession that had been taken from people following the hurricane. Now our attorneys have seen the proof that New Orleans was less than honest with the court."
Under an agreement with the court, the hearing on the contempt motion has been delayed for two weeks, and during that time, the city reportedly will set up a process to return the guns to their lawful owners.
"While we are stunned at this complete reversal on the city's part, the important immediate issue is making sure gun owners get their property back," Gottlieb said.
"What happened in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina was an outrage," he added. "Equally disturbing is the fact that it apparently took a motion for contempt to force the city to admit what it had been denying for the past five months."
As Cybercast News Service reported in February, the National Rifle Association used images of law enforcement officers confiscating legally possessed firearms from New Orleans residents to rally conservatives at a recent conference in Washington.
National Rifle Association Executive Vice President Wayne LaPierre urged people attending the Conservative Political Action Conference to "Remember New Orleans!"
See Earlier Stories:
Contempt Motion Filed Against New Orleans Mayor, Police Chief (2 Mar. 2006)
Second Amendment Groups Move to Stop Gun Seizures (22 Sept. 2005)
New Orleans Gun Seizures Allegedly 'Creating More Victims' (14 Sept. 2005)
http://www.cnsnews.com/ViewCulture.asp?Page=\Culture\archive\200603\CUL20060316b.html
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March 21, 2006, 7:44 a.m.
Defenseless Decision
Why were guns taken from law-abiding citizens in New Orleans?
By John R. Lott Jr.
In the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, New Orleans? residents got an idea of what life is like without the rule of law. They had no telephones, no way to call 911. Even if they had, the police who reported for duty were busy with rescue missions, not fighting crime. Citizens had to protect themselves. This was made rather difficult by the city?s confiscation of guns, even from law-abiding citizens.
After five months of denial in federal district court, the city last week made an embarrassing admission: in the aftermath of the hurricane, the severely overworked police apparently had the time to confiscate thousands of guns from law-abiding citizens.
Numerous media stories have shown how useful guns were to the ordinary citizens of New Orleans who weren?t forcibly disarmed. Fox News reported several defensive gun uses. One city resident, John Carolan, was taking care of many family members, including his three-year-old granddaughter, when three men came to his house asking about his generator, threatening him with a machete. Carolan showed them his gun and they left. Another resident, Finis Shelnutt, recounts a similar story that the gangs left him alone after seeing ?I have a very large gun.?
Signs painted on boarded up windows in various parts of town warned criminals in advance not to try: the owner had shotguns inside.
Last September 8, a little more than a week after the hurricane, New Orleans? police superintendent, Eddie Compass announced: ?No one will be able to be armed. Guns will be taken. Only law enforcement will be allowed to have guns.? Even legally registered firearms were seized, though exceptions were made for select businesses and for some wealthy individuals to hire guards.
Undoubtedly, selected businesses and well-connected wealthy individuals had good reason to want protection, but so did others without the same political pull. One mother saw the need for a gun after she and her two children (ages 9 and 12) saw someone killed in New Orleans after the hurricane. The mother said: ?I was a card-carrying, anti-gun liberal ? not anymore.?
John C. Guidos was successfully guarding his tavern on St. Claude Ave on September 7, when police took his shotgun and pistol; indeed, it was the only time that he saw any cops. Soon afterwards robbers looted the tavern.
Wishing for a gun during disasters isn?t anything new. Just a little over a decade ago, police stood by, largely helpless, during the Los Angeles riots after the Rodney King verdict. Yet, not all the victims were defenseless. Korean merchants stood out as one group that banded together and used their guns to protect their stores from looting.
A similar lesson hasn?t been lost on New Orleans? citizens. As one resident, Art DePodesta, told the New York Daily News shortly after the storm hit, ?The cops are busy as it is. If more citizens took security and matters into their own hands, we won?t be in this situation.?
Not only do law-abiding citizens with guns deter many criminals from committing a crime to begin with: Possessing a gun is the safest way to confront a criminal if you are forced to.
Deterrence works. The United States has one of the world's lowest ?hot? burglary rates (burglaries committed while people are in the building) at 13 percent, compared to the ?gun-free? British rate of 59 percent. Surveys of convicted burglars indicate American burglars spend at least twice as long as their British counterparts casing a house before breaking in. That explains why American burglars rarely break into homes when the residents are there. The reason most American burglars give for taking so much time is that they?re afraid of getting shot.
Even without a catastrophe like Katrina, it would have been a poor strategy for would-be victims in New Orleans merely to call 911 and wait for help. The average response time of police in New Orleans before the hurricane was eleven minutes. The Justice Department?s National Crime Victimization Survey has shown for decades that having a gun is the safest course of action when a criminal confronts you, far safer than behaving passively.
It would be nice if the police were always there to protect us, but we don?t live in a utopia and the police understand that they almost always arrive on the scene after the crime has been committed. What does New Orleans? Mayor Nagin recommend that people such as John Carolan and his granddaughter do the next time that have to fend for themselves? The city must know that there isn?t much of a defense for taking citizens? guns; after all, it took them five months to admit to it.
? John R. Lott Jr., a resident scholar at the American Enterprise Institute, is the author of More Guns, Less Crime.
http://www.nationalreview.com/comment/lott200603210744.asp
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Firearms Fight?
When does customization of a firearm become manufacturing? That seemingly simple question is occupying the near undivided attention of the firearms industry. Observers say it is a question with the potential to become a firestorm that could put custom gunsmiths out of business; if not behind bars. , , ,
Note from Crafty Dog:
As usual, another fine post from Buzwardo. I've taken the liberty of moving it to the "Well-armed People" thread.
Yip!
Crafty Dog
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Machete attack fended off with knife
Kate Williamson, The Examiner
Apr 6, 2006 9:00 AM (6 days ago)
SAN FRANCISCO - A man fought off a machete-armed assailant Wednesday afternoon in La Honda, sending both to the hospital, police said.
The San Mateo County Sheriff's Office arrested Samuel Bakalian, 19, of Wyoming, for attempted murder. Bakalian, who was wanted in his home state for a car theft dating to March 11, had been camping near the 8700 block of La Honda Road, Lt. Lisa Williams said.
At around 10:10 a.m., Williams said, "the caretaker at the Creekside [Apartments] had told him that he needed to leave; as he turned and walked away, Samuel hit him over the head with a machete."
The caretaker turned and struck out at his attacker with a small knife he was carrying, and a knife fight ensued, Williams said. Neither has life-threatening injuries, though Bakalian was injured in the face and head and was airlifted to a hospital to receive medical care. The caretaker was transported via ambulance.
Bakalian is in custody at the hospital and will be brought to court when his injuries have been attended to, Williams said. She did not know if he was intoxicated at the time of the attack.
http://www.examiner.com/Local-a69782%7EMachete_attack_fended_off_with_knife.html
Best regards,
Argyll
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Former Marine fends off robbers in Atlanta, kills one
The Associated Press - ATLANTA
A former Marine turned the tables on his attackers, killing one and wounding another with a knife as they tried to rob him, police said.
Thomas Autry was walking to his girlfriend's home from his job waiting tables at a restaurant in Midtown Atlanta around 11 p.m. Monday when he was approached by five people in a car, Atlanta police detective Danny Stephens said.
Autry began running down the street yelling for help as four people in the car got out and chased him. One of the attackers had a shotgun and another had a pistol, Stephens said.
The suspects eventually caught up with Autry. But Autry, who managed to pull a knife out of his backpack, kicked the shotgun out of one of the attacker's hands. He then stabbed a teenage girl who jumped on him and a man who attacked him.
The suspects ran back to their car and drove off.
Police found them later at a hospital, where the teenage girl, who was pregnant, was pronounced dead. Another man was in critical condition, Stephens said.
Stephens credited Autry's military training with helping him fend off his attackers, who are suspected of having committed other robberies in the area over the last week.
"I would say he had to do what he had to do to stop the threat," Stephens said. "You can tell his training kicked in and he knew what to do."
The suspects will face robbery and aggravated assault charges, Stephens said. With the suspects in custody, police now expect to solve other recent robberies.
"One of these guys confessed to me that they were robbing people all week long," he said.
Autry, who will not be charged, suffered a cut to his hand and a bruise on his chest, Stephens said. Stephens also said Autry was very remorseful over the incident.
Copyright 2006 The Associated Press
http://www.accessnorthga.com/news/ap_newfullstory.asp?ID=75890
Best regards,
Argyll
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Outstanding!
And what sadness that the woman whom he had to kill was pregnant.
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Most recent reports indicate that the dead attacker wasn't pregnant after all. The defender, however, is still understandably upset about having to take a life.
http://www.wsbtv.com/news/9290011/detail.html
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Link in the article (URL below) links to a video of the incident.
Caught on Tape: Store Owner Shoots at Robbers
A surveillance camera catches the would-be crooks on tape.
E-mail This Article
Printable Version
(Beech Island) - Mary Todd is the first to tell you - she takes safety into her own hands.
"I don't keep a gun on me, but there's one always with hand's reach," she says, nodding towards a silver pistol.
Just a week and a half ago, the owner of Todd's Food Store in Beech Island was forced to put it to use. On the afternoon of June 16th, three masked gunmen walked into the store, while a fourth waited in the car.
"They started grabbing customers, putting them on the ground, sticking guns to their heads and so forth," says Investigator Chuck Cain with the Aiken County Sheriff's Office.
Investigator Cain says the crooks would have succeeded if it weren't for Mary. As one of the men tried to kick in her office door, she fought back.
"I shot my gun through my little office window," she says.
Adds Cain, "Right then the boys were like, 'We're getting shot at, we're outta here.'"
In the end, the only thing the men got was out without getting shot. Now, investigators hope one of them slips up and talks about it.
"There were four suspects involved in this," says Investigator Cain. "There is absolutely no way these four are gonna keep their mouths shut."
Cain believes the four have ties to Aiken and Augusta.
If you have any information that can help, call Crimestoppers at 1-888-559-TIPS or e-mail a tip to the Crimestoppers website.
All tips are kept confidential and you could receive a cash reward for information leading to an arrest.
http://www.wltx.com/news/story.aspx?storyid=39203
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Homeowner Kills Home Invader
Man perched at head of the stairs and started firing
By Jim Forsyth
Monday, July 10, 2006
Three men who tried to mount a home invasion in Stone Oak this morning were greeted not by the terrified homeowner they expected, but by a handgun wielding resident who blasted away, killing one of the would-be invaders and leaving the two others running for their lives, 1200 WOAI's Michael Board reported today.
It started shortly before three in the 25000 block of Summit Creek, near Hardy Oak, when Leonard Packham heard several pickups pull in front of his home. Packham grabbed a handgun, and perched at the top of the stars with a good view of the front door, the gun locked and loaded.
When the intruders started trying to kick in the door, Packham started firing. Police estimate he got off eight rounds before the attempt to kick in the front door ended. Police followed a trail of blood a a block away to the intersection of Summit Crest and Summit Creek. That's where they found one of the would-be home invaders dead. He had been shot three times.
Police Sergeant Gabe Trevino says Texas law is clear in cases like this.
"You are allowed to use deadly force in defending your property from imminent attack in the nighttime," he said, adding that bad guys don't have to come into your house before you can shoot.
"There's that old story that if you shoot someone you should drag them inside the house, that's not true," Travino said.
Trevino said you can even open fire at nighttime house burglars who are in the process of running away.
Two pickup trucks, apparently abandoned by the men, were found in Packham's front yard.
Detectives say there were no lights on and no cars in the driveway, and point out that the men rang the doorbell before starting to kick in the door, indicating the trio may have thought the house was empty. Trevino says the area of far north San Antonio has seen 'its fair share' of burglaries.
Trevino said the district attorney's office will make a final determination of charges. He said a second man was also in the house with a gun trained on the front door, but its not known whether that man fired. Detectives say there appears to have been nothing inside the house that would have singled it out for attack, and no apparnet connection between Packham or his roommate and the trio.
Trevino said Packham and the other man both called 911 before the shooting to report men trying to break into their home.
Best regards,
Argyll
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Family wallops would-be robber, wraps things up for police
By Kevin Deutsch
Palm Beach Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, July 19, 2006
WEST PALM BEACH ? While covering his head amid the barrage of flying fists and feet, his legs bound with a jump-rope by children half his size, a bruised and bloodied Craig Mack had a sudden realization, police say: He'd picked the wrong family to mess with.
Mack arrived at the Perez family home at 611 28th St. Monday night just as an exhausted Mateo Perez was getting home from a 12-hour day of landscaping and cleaning buildings. Mack probably figured he could swipe Perez's wallet and get away without much of a fight, police said.
Mateo Perez and wife Candelaria sit with their children: (from left) Juan, 10, and daughters Alycia, 6, Vitalina, 17, Juana, 15, and Imelta, 13. 'If they had not come out, maybe I would have been badly hurt,' Perez said.
Mack
But he didn't count on having to brawl with the rest of the Perez clan: Candelaria, the 4-foot-9 housewife with a wicked right hook she honed as a girl on the streets of Guatemala; daughter Imelta, the mellow 13-year-old who never dreamed she would take a chair to a robber's head and tie him up; and son Juan, the 10-year-old Miami Heat fanatic who traded his basketball for a stick to whip an attacker.
When Mack attacked Mateo Perez shortly before 10 p.m., the father of five cried out for help from the family he has supported single-handedly since arriving from Guatemala in 1987. Within seconds, they were fighting at his side. About 20 minutes later, police found Mack lying face down in the back yard, his legs bound in jump-rope, Mateo sitting on top of him.
Mack, 23, of Loxahatchee, was examined at St. Mary's Medical Center and later taken to the Palm Beach County Jail. He is being held without bail on charges of robbery and battery. His criminal history includes arrests on charges of larceny, dealing in stolen property and firing a weapon.
"We knew we had to be strong and help our dad out," said Juana Perez, 15, who called 911 during the fight. "This guy was big, but we weren't going to let him get away. He wasn't going to kill our dad in our own yard."
Mateo Perez, 45, had spotted Mack lurking in the bushes, the family said. Knowing he was in danger, he banged on a house window and yelled for help. Mack was suddenly on him, dragging him to the ground before pulling his wallet from his shirt pocket, police said.
Mack started to run away, but Perez grabbed his feet and pulled him to the ground. The men wrestled in the yard. That's when Candelaria, 42, and her children Imelta, Juana, Juan and 6-year-old Alycia came running out of their pink two-bedroom home.
Candelaria said she grabbed Mack's hair, shaking his head while she and her husband struggled to keep him down. The 6-foot, 155-pound Mack punched or kicked her, she said, sending her to the ground. He beat her husband and ripped his shirt.
Her parents in trouble, Imelta picked up a blue plastic yard chair and cracked it over Mack's head, leaving him stunned and dizzy.
"I smacked him, and he went silent," the Palm Springs Middle School sixth-grader said.
Candelaria, bruised and furious, charged Mack again as he wrestled Mateo Perez. She punched him, grabbed his hair and repeatedly slammed his head into some wooden boards in the yard, the family said. Juan came after him with a stick.
Candelaria ordered Imelta to go inside and get something to tie Mack up.
She came out moments later holding an old white jump-rope with wooden handles. As her father held down Mack, she and her siblings carefully bound his legs and tied a solid knot.
"If they had not come out, maybe I would have been badly hurt or maybe killed," Mateo Perez said.
When police arrived, the family said the officers ordered Candelaria to step away from Mack. But before she stood up, the housewife gave him a final sock in the face. Police took him away.
"I hope he learned his lesson," Candelaria said.
__________________
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Customer subdues robber with applesauce
Tue Jul 18, 11:35 PM ET
A customer at a city grocery tackled an armed robber and beat him with a can of applesauce when he refused to drop his gun, police said.
The suspect shot himself in the head during the struggle, and passed out after the 66-year-old customer administered four blows to the head with the Mott's applesauce.
"Finally, the guy passes out," said Det. Curtis Matthews. "There's blood everywhere ? on the floor, all over."
About 15 customers were in Gomez Grocery in the city's East Germantown section when the gunman walked in Sunday afternoon, jumped atop a small freezer and pointed the gun at store owner Eddie Gomez, police said.
Customer Thomas Santana, who is 5-foot-4, grabbed the 6-foot-1 gunman from behind when he was on the freezer, and with help from Gomez knocked him down.
The suspect, 23-year-old Thomas Reyes, was in stable condition at a hospital, and was expected to be charged with attempted murder, attempted robbery and other charges, authorities said.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060719/ap_on_fe_st/robbery_applesauce_2;_ylt=AkEekZFvT47RxweAp4e4V6QuQE4F;_ylu=X3oDMTBidHQxYjh2BHNlYwN5bnN0b3J5
Best regards,
Argyll
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8 employees stabbed at Tenn. grocery store By WOODY BAIRD, Associated Press Writer
A knife-wielding grocery store employee attacked eight co-workers Friday, seriously injuring four before a witness pulled a gun and stopped him, police said.
Elartrice Ingram, 21, was charged with nine counts of attempted first-degree murder, police said. The attack apparently stemmed from a work dispute, investigators said.
Four victims, one in critical condition, were admitted to the Regional Medical Center, the main trauma hospital for the Memphis area. Four others were less badly hurt and treated at another hospital. Seven of the victims were stabbed, while another suffered heat-related symptoms while being chased, police said.
Another person was threatened, resulting in the nine charges against Ingram, The Commercial Appeal reported.
Ingram, chasing one victim into the store's parking lot, was subdued by Chris Cope, manager of a financial services office in the same small shopping center, Memphis Police Sgt. Vince Higgins said.
Cope said he grabbed a 9mm semiautomatic pistol from his pickup truck when he saw the attacker chasing the victim "like something in a serial killer movie."
"When he turned around and saw my pistol, he threw the knife away, put his hands up and got on the ground," Cope told The Associated Press. "He saw my gun and that was pretty much it."
Police arrived within minutes and took the Ingram into custody.
"He just kept saying, 'I'm insane. I wish I was never born' and that kind of stuff," Cope said.
The attack started in an employee area of the Schnucks supermarket on the outskirts of Memphis and no customers were involved, Higgins said.
Police said two large kitchen knives used in the attack were found at the scene.
Witness Frank Rector said the attacker held a knife high in a stabbing position as he chased a victim into the parking lot. The victim, Rector said, "was circling, trying to get away from him."
The ages of the victims were not immediately released. Higgins and a company spokeswoman said all the victims were employees of the store.
The spokeswoman said officials from the St. Louis-based company were on their way to the scene.
Higgins said police were pulling into the parking lot as Cope was confronting Ingram.
"We commend him," Higgins said. "But we don't encourage people to take that kind of risk. He could have been hurt."
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060722/ap_on_re_us/supermarket_stabbing_5&printer=1;_ylt=AnOUSCZ0y.9KIGEpu36TpSZH2ocA;_ylu=X3oDMTA3MXN1bHE0BHNlYwN0bWE-
Best regards,
Argyll
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Ex-Marine takes down man after clerk is hit
By Pat Reavy
A man who had just been released from jail was sent right back Monday after police say he picked the wrong store to attempt a robbery.
Thee 30-year-old man was in line at a 7-Eleven, 2175 E. 9400 South, just before 8 p.m. When he got to the counter he asked the female clerk for a carton of cigarettes, said Sandy Police Sgt. Victor Quezada. But after he received them he walked out without paying, Quezada said.
The clerk told another female clerk who followed him outside the doors and told him to stop. Instead, the man turned around and punched the clerk in the face, Quezada said. James Sjostrom was standing in line right behind the man who took the cigarettes and saw the entire thing unfold. "He just turned and clocked her," Sjostrom said. "He pounded her face. It was pretty vicious."
That's when Sjostrom went after the man who assaulted the store clerk.
As he went outside, Sjostrom said he saw the man standing over the clerk, who was kneeling over on the ground, as if he were going to punch her again. When the man saw Sjostrom coming at him, he took a swing at him, too. But the attacker quickly found out he was no match for the bulky Sjostrom. Sjostrom is a former Marine who taught hand-to-hand combat and currently teaches a course on Russian kettlebells, or the martial art of strength training, at the Sports Mall in Murray.
"I grabbed him, threw him on the ground, put his hands behind his back, sat on him and waited for the cops to come," Sjostrom said. In just a matter of a few seconds Sjostrom had the man pinned. When the man realized he had no chance, Sjostrom said he became "pretty quiet." "Anybody would have done the same thing," he said.
"Another guy in the store said he was in the Army and asked if I needed any help." With a grin, Sjostrom replied to the man, "The Marines got here first."
The would-be thief refused to tell police who he was. They figured it out, however, when they found his release papers from the Salt Lake County Jail still in his pocket. The man had been released from jail on another assault arrest just hours earlier, Quezada said.
Although police don't normally encourage people to go after bad guys themselves, in this case, "The guy did something that was great," he said. The female clerk who was punched suffered a cut above her eyebrow. She was treated at the scene by paramedics and released.
http://deseretnews.com/dn/view/0,1249,645195431,00.html
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Police: Nurse, 51, kills intruder with bare hands
PORTLAND, Oregon (AP) -- A nurse returning from work discovered an intruder armed with a hammer in her home and strangled him with her bare hands, police said.
Susan Kuhnhausen, 51, ran to a neighbor's house after the confrontation Wednesday night. Police found the body of Edward Dalton Haffey 59, a convicted felon with a long police record.
Police said there was no obvious sign of forced entry at the house when Kuhnhausen, an emergency room nurse at Providence Portland Medical Center, got home from work shortly after 6 p.m.
Under Oregon law people can use reasonable deadly force when defending themselves against an intruder or burglar in their homes. Kuhnhausen was treated and released for minor injuries at Providence.
Haffey, about 5-foot-9 and 180 pounds, had convictions including conspiracy to commit aggravated murder, robbery, drug charges and possession of burglary tools. Neighbors said Kuhnhausen's size -- 5-foot-7 and 260 pounds -- may have given her an advantage.
"Everyone that I've talked to says 'Hurray for Susan,' said neighbor Annie Warnock, who called 911.
"You didn't need to calm her. She's an emergency room nurse. She's used to dealing with crisis."
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Robber gets beaten by beauty shop workers.
http://www.zippyvideos.com/2447999705978406/robberattackedwithcurlingirons/]
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Gunman in classroom? Texas students told to fight back?
By Jeff Carlton
The Associated Press
BURLESON, Texas ? Youngsters in a suburban Fort Worth school district are being taught not to sit there like good boys and girls with their hands folded if a gunman invades the classroom, but to rush him and hit him with everything they have: books, pencils, legs and arms.
"Getting under desks and praying for rescue from professionals is not a recipe for success," said Robin Browne, a major in the British Army reserve force and an instructor for Response Options, the company providing the training to the Burleson schools.
That kind of fight-back advice is all but unheard of in schools, and some people fear it will get children killed.
But school officials in Burleson said they are drawing on lessons learned from a string of disasters such as Columbine in 1999 and the Amish schoolhouse attack in Pennsylvania last week.
The school system in the suburb of about 26,000 is believed to be the first in the nation training its teachers and students to fight back, Browne said.
In Burleson, which has 10 schools and about 8,500 students, the training covers various emergencies, such as tornadoes, fires and situations in which first aid is required. Among the lessons: Use a belt as a sling for broken bones, and shoelaces make good tourniquets.
Students also are instructed not to comply with a gunman's orders.
Browne recommends students and teachers "react immediately to the sight of a gun by picking up anything and everything and throwing it at the head and body of the attacker and making as much noise as possible. Go toward him as fast as we can and bring [the gunman] down."
Response Options trains students and teachers to "lock onto the attacker's limbs and use their body weight," Browne said. Everyday classroom objects, such as paperbacks and pencils, can become weapons.
"We show [students and teachers] ... they can win," he said. "The fact that someone walks into a classroom with a gun does not make them a god. Five or six seventh-grade kids and a 95-pound art teacher can basically challenge, bring down and immobilize a 200-pound man with a gun."
The fight-back training parallels a change in thinking that has occurred since the Sept. 11 attacks, when United Flight 93 made it clear the usual advice during a hijacking ? don't try to be a hero, and no one will get hurt ? no longer holds. Passengers aboard that flight rushed the hijackers, and the plane crashed into a Pennsylvania field instead of into its presumed target in Washington, D.C.
Similarly, women and youngsters are often told by safety experts to kick, scream and claw their way out during a rape attempt or a child-snatching.
In 1998 in Springfield, Ore., a 17-year-old high-school wrestling star with a bullet in his chest helped stop a rampage by tackling Kip Kinkel, 15, a freshman who had opened fire in the cafeteria. Kinkel killed two students and his parents, and wounded 22 other people. The wrestler survived.
Hilda Quiroz, of the National School Safety Center, a nonprofit advocacy group in California, said she knows of no other school system in the country offering fight-back training and finds the strategy at Burleson troubling.
"If kids are saved, then this is the most wonderful thing in the world. If kids are killed, people are going to wonder who's to blame," she said.
"How much common sense will a student have in a time of panic?"
Terry Grisham, spokesman for the Tarrant County, Texas, Sheriff's Department, said he, too, had concerns, though he had not seen details of the program.
"You're telling kids to do what a tactical officer is trained to do, and they have a lot of guns and ballistic shields," he said. "If my school was teaching that, I'd be upset, frankly." Burleson straddles Tarrant and Johnson counties.
Some students said they appreciated the training.
"It's harder to hit a moving target than a target that is standing still," said Jessica Justice, 14, who received the training in the summer during freshman orientation at Burleson High.
William Lassiter, manager of the North Carolina-based Center for Prevention of School Violence, said past attacks indicate that fighting back, at least by teachers and staff, has merit.
"At Columbine, teachers told students to get down and get on the floors, and gunmen went around and shot people on the floors," Lassiter said. "I know [fighting back] ... sounds chaotic and I know it doesn't sound like a great solution, but it's better than leaving them there to get shot."
Lassiter questioned, however, whether students should be included in the fight-back training: "That's going to scare the you-know-what out of them."
Most of the freshman class at Burleson's high school underwent instruction during orientation; eventually, all Burleson students will receive some training, even the elementary-school children.
"We want them to know if Miss Valley says to run out of the room screaming, that is exactly what they need to do," said Jeanie Gilbert, district director of emergency management. She said students and teachers should have "a fighting chance in every situation."
Burleson High School Principal Paul Cash said he has received no complaints from parents about the training. Stacy Vaughn, president of the Parent-Teacher Organization at Norwood Elementary in Burleson, supports the program.
"I feel like our kids should be armed with the information that these types of possibilities exist," Vaughn said.
Material from The Seattle Times archives is included in this report.
Copyright ? 2006 The Seattle Times Company
Best regards,
Argyll[/size]
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A 70-YEAR-OLD British pensioner, trained in martial arts during his military service, dispatched a gang of four would-be muggers in a late-night attack in Germany.
The man was challenged by three men, demanding money, while a fourth crept up behind him. Recalling his training, the Briton grabbed the first assailant and threw him over his shoulder.
When a second man tried to kick him, the pensioner grabbed his foot and tipped him to the ground. The men fled.
http://www.unison.ie/irish_independent/stories.php3?ca=9&si=1711107&issue_id=14798&eid=249099
Best regards,
Argyll
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Woman douses car thief in unleaded gas
TYLER, Texas — Carjacked at knifepoint while pumping gas, a 75-year-old woman didn't give in without a fight. Mary Gean Smyth opened the door of her sport utility vehicle and doused the assailant in gas.
"I'm sure he was burning like mad," Smyth said of the Tuesday carjacking. "I mean, I drowned him right in the face."
Police caught up to Smyth's GMC Denali Envoy at a restaurant and arrested 52-year-old John Clay Stricker Jr., a transient with an address in the North Texas town of Lake Kiowa, Tyler police spokesman Don Martin said.
Smyth said police told her the suspect had apparently taken a shower because he had a bag with fuel-soaked clothes and a bar of soap, the Tyler Morning Telegraph reported in its Wednesday editions.
Smyth's wallet and credit cards were found in the car, but her cash was gone. A representative of the Brookshire grocery store, where Smyth was getting gas, has offered to pay for car cleaning and repairs, Smyth said.
Stricker was being held without bail Tuesday in the Smith County Jail on charges of parole violation, aggravated robbery and theft.
http://www.statesman.com/news/content/gen/ap/TX_Fuel_Shower.html
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Police: U.S. seniors fight off muggers, killing one
SAN JOSE, Costa Rica (AP) -- A tour group of U.S. senior citizens fought off a band of muggers in eastern Costa Rica, sending two of the assailants fleeing and killing a third, police said Thursday.
One of the tourists -- a retired U.S. serviceman whom officials estimated was in his 70s -- allegedly put Warner Segura in a headlock and broke his clavicle after the 20-year-old and two other men armed with a knife and gun held up their tour bus Wednesday, said Luis Hernandez, the police chief of Limon, 80 miles east of San Jose.
The Americans had arrived in Limon on the Carnival Cruise Lines ship Carnival Liberty.
"It was a group of 12 senior citizens from the United States who were going to spend a few hours in the area, but their tour bus entered a dangerous sector known as Cieneguita", Hernandez said.
The tourists drove Segura to the local Red Cross branch, but he was declared dead, Hernandez said. He declined to give the names or hometowns of the tourists.
The Red Cross also treated one of the tourists for an anxiety attack, Hernandez said.
Costa Rican authorities said they did not plan to file charges against the tourists, who left on their cruise ship after the incident.
"They were in their right to defend themselves after being held up," Hernandez said.
Hernandez said Segura had previous charges against him for assaults.
http://www.cnn.com/2007/WORLD/americ...rss_topstories
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http://www.sltrib.com/ci_5253614
BARRETT 'BEAR' DODDS & WALLY DODDS
Shopowner warns others
Determined to help: When Dodds saw the gunman, he ordered people to hide, then prepared to take on the shooter
By Brooke Adams
The Salt Lake Tribune
Article Last Updated: 02/18/2007 03:56:02 AM MST
Barrett "Bear" Dodds doesn't have much tolerance for mean people.
Never has.
So when Bear realized a gunman was loose in Trolley Square, his testosterone kicked in.
Bear is the owner of the Brass Key Antique store, located on the south side of the mall's upper level. His acts helped keep dozens out of harm's way, likely distracted the shooter and aided the off-duty officer who was first on the scene.
On Monday night, Bear left his store in the hands of his grandpa Wally Dodds while he went across the floor to Haroon's clothing store. He hoped to pick up a Valentine's Day present for his girlfriend.
As he stood at the counter, he heard a pop, pop.
"That was gunshots," he said to the clerk.
Bear, 29, ran out of Haroon's and looked into the atrium below.
He saw a young man - Sulejman Talovic - standing outside the Cabin Fever gift store, shooting through its window.
In the same instant, he saw his grandfather, lured out of the Brass Key by the odd sounds, approach the south railing. Wally Dodds was moving into the direct sight of the shooter.
In the booming voice he used as a bouncer at various Salt Lake City clubs, Bear issued an order: "Grandpa, get back in and lock the door."
Wally moved back and began shepherding 15 or so people who had amassed in the hallway into the Brass Key. The shoppers took cover among the antiques, some crying, most fearfully quiet.
Bear's shouted command drew the attention of Talovic, who turned and looked up at him. By now, the commotion had drawn other shopkeepers along the east hallway to their doors.
Across the way, Bear saw about 20 people running in his direction. He put his hand up and yelled that the gunman was below. "They got the point," he said.
Bear then moved along the east hallway stores - Vitamin World, John Robert Powers, Ypsilon - telling storeowners to lock their doors. The sounds of Talovic's rampage continued.
"It was shot after shot after shot the whole time," Bear said.
He grabbed a tall, black metal stool from the Liken movie kiosk at the end of the east hallway and began making his way back to the atrium. As he reached The Spectacle, the last store on the left, Bear had a clear view of Cabin Fever.
"I could see the bodies," he said, among them what appeared to be an older man. "That's when you realize this has gone too far. It's for real."
His thoughts flashed on his grandpa, and "I lost my temper."
Bear began weaving in and out of sight of Talovic. His mind raced through the options.
"I could see him reaching in his pocket, reloading and reloading," said Bear, who had no idea how long it might take for police to intervene.
Bear said he tried to count shots so he could tell when Talovic would need to reload, but the teen never emptied his shotgun. He watched with disbelief as Talovic put the weapon to his shoulder and took aim, shooting victims once, twice or more.
Bear figured he could throw the stool, but knew it was not heavy enough to do anything but distract the teen. He calculated the odds of landing on him if he jumped.
From a window in the Brass Key, Wally Dodds could see Bear.
"I thought, 'Oh no.' I knew he wasn't going to run, wasn't going to hide, he wasn't going anywhere," Wally said. "He was going after the guy with a stool."
Talovic began backing up toward the Pottery Barn Kids store and Bear moved over to Haroon's to keep him in view. He spotted Ogden police officer Ken Hammond at the atrium's south end, moving toward Talovic.
"The officer said something like, 'I've only got six bullets, I can't have a long shoot-out,' " Bear said, "which scared me to death because I knew that guy had a whole lot of bullets."
Bear shouted that he could no longer see Talovic and that he had to be in Pottery Barn Kids store directly below him. About then, Hammond held his badge up and identified himself to arriving Salt Lake City police.
Bear said he put the stool down, realizing it might be mistaken for a weapon by new cops on the scene. He crouched down and moved closer to Haroon's as an officer shouted, "Police, drop your weapon."
There was a shotgun blast and then a volley of shots. Police officers swarmed the mall, telling people to "go, go, go."
"I am so grateful that Ogden police officer came because I might have lost him," Wally said. "It's not in [Bear's] nature to back down. He knew there was a good chance he would get shot but he couldn't stop."
When the mall reopened on Wednesday, a steady stream of shopowners, mall patrons and customers made their way to the Brass Key to give Bear a hug.
A woman and her young son came by Thursday to give Bear flowers and a card, which read in part: "You are a hero without a gun."
So did Randy Kennard, a long-time family friend and owner of Kennard Antiques, who wanted to shake his hand.
"That's Bear," he said.
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Franconia Police Officer Fatally Shot; Suspect Also Killed
Officials Say Officer Was Shot Four Times
POSTED: 3:48 pm EDT May 12, 2007
UPDATED: 5:31 pm EDT May 12, 2007
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FRANCONIA, N.H. -- A Franconia police officer was shot and killed during a routine motor vehicle stop on Friday.
The state attorney general's office says Cpl. Bruce McKay, 48, was shot four times and run over by the suspect's car on Route 116 in Franconia. McKay was a 12-year veteran of the Franconia Police Department.
The state attorney general's office says the incident began Friday night when McKay attempted to pull over Liko Kenney on Route 116. Kenney took off, leading McKay on a brief pursuit.
Investigators say when McKay stopped Kenney a second time a mile up the road, he used pepper spray to subdue him. According to police, that's when Kenney shot the officer four times and the proceeded to run the officer over with his car.
State Attorney General Kelly Attorney said a passer-by, Gregory Floyd, 49, witnessed the incident and rushed to the officer's aid. Investigators say Floyd grabbed McKay's gun and ordered Kenney to drop his weapon. According to Senior Assistant Attorney General Jeff Strelzin, Floyd fatally shot Kenney when he tried to reload his gun.
Ayotte said the state has decided Floyd's actions were justified and he will not be facing any charges.
According to police, there was a previous incident involving McKay and Kenney. Back in 2003, Kenney was convicted of simple assault and resisting arrest for an incident involving McKay.
Family members said Kenney was ski champion Bode Miller's cousin.
Back in September 2005, McKay pulled Bode Miller over on Route 116 for going 83 mph in a 40 mph zone.
As of Saturday afternoon, Miller did not return any calls to comment about the incident.
Friday night, Gov. John Lynch ordered all flags be lowered to half staff. He also visited with first responders in Franconia on Saturday who spent the night investigating McKay's death.
He said, "My thoughts and prayers, and those of my wife, Susan, are with the family of the New Hampshire police officer killed this evening while serving the people of our state."
The last police officer killed in the line of duty was Manchester Officer Michael Briggs, who was shot and killed in October 2006.
__________________
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Graying duo keep passenger in check
By Kevin Cullen, Globe Staff | June 5, 2007
Shortly before landing, Bob Hayden and a flight attendant had agreed on a signal: When she waved the plastic handcuffs, he would discreetly leave his seat and restrain an unruly passenger who had frightened some of the 150 people on board a Minneapolis-to-Boston flight Saturday night with erratic behavior.
Hayden, a 65-year-old former police commander, had enlisted a gray-haired gentleman sitting next to him to assist. The man turned out to be a former US Marine.
"I had looked around the plane for help, and all the younger guys had averted their eyes. When I asked the guy next to me if he was up to it, all he said was, 'Retired captain. USMC.' I said, 'You'll do,' " Hayden recalled. "So, basically, a couple of grandfathers took care of the situation."
The incident on Northwest Airlines Flight 720 ended peacefully, but not before Hayden, a former Boston police deputy superintendent and former Lawrence police chief, and the retired Marine had handcuffed one man and stood guard over another until the plane touched down safely at Logan International Airport around 7:50 p.m.
State Police troopers escorted two men off the flight. Trooper Thomas Murphy, a State Police spokesman, said one of the men was transported to Massachusetts General Hospital for "an unspecified medical issue, possibly mental health."
He said State Police detectives will investigate whether the man's behavior should be treated as a medical or criminal matter. A second man escorted off the plane identified himself as the unruly passenger's brother. Murphy said police would not release the names of the men, who Hayden said appeared to be in their 30s or 40s.
Dean Breest, a spokesman for Northwest, confirmed that "there was an incident that required State Police to come on board the aircraft" but declined further comment.
Hayden said the unruly man's behavior upset some passengers. One told Hayden the man had said, "Your lives are going to change today forever," as he shouted and refused to take his seat before takeoff and at various times during the nearly three-hour flight. He said that at one point the man lay on his back and was screaming, moaning, and thrashing on the floor.
"Some people were crying," Hayden said. "I thought it might be a diversion. I kept scanning the back of the plane to see if anyone was going to rush forward. The flight attendants did a great job, literally surrounding the two guys who were making all the noise. I told one of the flight attendants I was a retired police officer and would be willing to assist, so we agreed on a signal."
When the captain announced preparations for landing, the man jumped up shouting, the flight attendant held up the handcuffs, and Hayden and the Marine came bounding down the aisle. Hayden said he and the retired Marine, whose name he never got, received an ovation from fellow passengers, and "some free air miles."
Hayden's wife of 42 years, Katie, who was also on the flight, was less impressed. Even as her husband struggled with the agitated passenger, she barely looked up from "The Richest Man in Babylon," the book she was reading.
"The woman sitting in front of us was very upset and asked me how I could just sit there reading," Katie Hayden said. "Bob's been shot at. He's been stabbed. He's taken knives away. He knows how to handle those situations. I figured he would go up there and step on somebody's neck, and that would be the end of it. I knew how that situation would end. I didn't know how the book would end."
© Copyright 2007 The New York Times Company
http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2007/06/05/graying_duo_keep_passenger_in_check/
Best regards,
Argyll
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Homeowner Fatally Stabs Burglary Suspect
Police Search For Another Person Who Fled
POSTED: 9:26 am EDT June 8, 2007
UPDATED: 4:37 pm EDT June 8, 2007
HARTFORD, Conn. -- A homeowner fought back overnight against two burglary suspects, stabbing one to death.
Channel 3 Eyewitness News reporter Hena Daniels reported two people entered a house in the 100 block of Park Terrace near Pope Park at about 1:30 a.m.
Hartford police said two men entered the three-family home under renovation, which has been burglarized in the past.
Investigators said the homeowner retrieved a knife from a bedroom and tried to escape.
"The homeowner interrupted a burglary with two suspects. A struggle ensued, one of the suspects was stabbed and the other is at large," Hartford police Lt. Patrick Jobes said.
Police said the burglar who was stabbed in the chest tried to run but fell a few feet from the house, leaving a trail of blood. Daniels reported emergency medical crews could barely find a pulse. The man later died at Hartford Hospital
Police said they do not believe the homeowner and the burglars knew each other. Hartford Police Chief Daryl Roberts said the homeowner has been honest and has cooperated fully.
"We don't believe that there was any malice on his part," Roberts said. "He was trying to actually get away... he saw the guys in the house, fled to the bedroom, and thought, 'I need to get out of house,' and then one of the burgulars actually came after him."
Police have not yet released the identity of the man who died. Police have called the death a "justifiable homicide."
Police said they believe the only thing taken from the house was a Samurai sword.
The homeowner said that he has been burglarized several times recently. Residents of the neighborhood told Eyewitness News that burglaries have become common in the area.
http://www.wfsb.com/news/13466673/detail.html
Best regards,
Argyll
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No charges for SLO auto mechanic in stabbings
Three door-to-door magazine salesmen guilty of battery in street fight; a fourth to appear in court
By AnnMarie Cornejo - acornejo@thetribunenews.com
A San Luis Obispo mechanic who allegedly stabbed two men during a fight in San Luis Obispo last week will not face criminal charges, the county District Attorney’s Office said Tuesday.
Adam Caraveo, 24, of San Luis Obispo was arrested on suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon on June 5 after a fight broke out between him and four traveling magazine salesmen.
Deputy District Attorney Louise Comar reviewed the case and determined there was sufficient evidence that Caraveo was acting in self defense, said Chief Deputy District Attorney Steve Brown.
Four men from out of the area were arrested on suspicion of battery, including Jason Iorio, 23, of Belvedere, Ill.; John Vuras, 19, of Las Cruces, N.M.; Michael Moorefield, 24, of Phoenix; and Robert Thrasher, 23, of Independence, Mo.
Three of the four pleaded no contest and were found guilty of battery by the judge last week, Deputy District Attorney Craig Von- Rooyen said. They were sentenced to three years’ probation and 15 days in jail and must pay restitution to the victim, Caraveo. The fourth will appear in court later this month. The group of salesmen
had apparently driven to San Luis Obispo from Los Angeles early on June 5 to sell magazine subscriptions door to door before heading to Monterey. The group was in a van when an unknown person in the van yelled a derogatory remark at Caraveo, who was on the 300 block of Higuera Street.
Iorio, Vuras, Moorefield and Thrasher allegedly got out of the van and attacked Caraveo. Caraveo pulled out a knife and stabbed Moorefield and Thrasher, police said.
Moorefield and Thrasher were treated for minor stab wounds at Sierra Vista Regional Medical Center in San Luis Obispo. Moorefield was stabbed in the back, and Thrasher was stabbed in both arms, police said.
http://www.sanluisobispo.com/news/local/story/66458.html
Best regards,
Argyll
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Interesting facts in that case Argyll, thanks.
Here's one to make the blood boil a bit:
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'You're fired,' man hears after saving a woman's life
The 24-year-old grabbed a gun before going to help his neighbor who had been shot.
By Jim Schoettler, The Times-Union
When a neighbor screamed she'd been shot, Colin Bruley grabbed his shotgun, found the victim and began treating her bloodied right le contextual_ad_head g.
Tonnetta Lee survived Tuesday's pre-dawn shooting at her Jacksonville apartment, and her sister and a neighbor praised Bruley's actions. But his employers, the same people who own the Arlington complex where Bruley lives, reacted differently. They fired him.
Bruley, a leasing agent at the Oaks at Mill Creek, said he lost his job after being told that brandishing the weapon was a workplace violation, as was failing to notify supervisors after the incident occurred. He'd worked at the Monument Road complex since December and for the owner, Village Green Cos., since 2005.
Bruley said he was too shaken to call his supervisor immediately after the incident, which occurred just before 2 a.m., but planned to eventually do so. He also said he was acting as a citizen, not an employee, and shouldn't have been punished for trying to protect himself and others. He never fired the shotgun.
"I was expecting work to give me some kind of commendation," said Bruley, 24. "I was totally blown back. It was a crisis that most people don't go through."
Andrea Roebker, the company's director of public relations, said "We're not in a position to discuss any employment issues outside of [with] the employee.
She declined to comment further, citing confidentiality rules.
A complaint Bruley said was given to him by his supervisor Tuesday said he violated several company policies found in an employee handbook. Those procedures were also explained in a recent meeting and an e-mail, the complaint said. One policy prohibits any type of weapons being used in the workplace. The complaint cited him for "gross misconduct."
"Colin demonstrated extremely poor judgment in responding to this situation," the complaint said. "Colin's failure to immediately report this incident ... could have serious ramifications to the property, its associates and residents."
A police report said the shooting followed a domestic quarrel involving Lee, 24, and her boyfriend. Bruley said he was dozing off in his apartment when he heard Lee's screams. He said he then grabbed a 12-gauge shotgun he uses for protection and hunting.
Bruley said he found the woman bleeding heavily. He handed the shotgun to a neighbor, tied a tourniquet around her right leg and waited for police and rescue to arrive.
"I was kind of in a state of shock. I had blood all over my body," Bruley said.
After emergency officials took Lee to the hospital, Bruley returned to his apartment and tried to settle down, eventually falling asleep. He said he could have called his supervisor but didn't think she could do anything at the time. He said he was called into the office about 9:30 a.m., gave his account and then left. He said he was called back that afternoon and told he was fired.
Neighbor Kevin Courson joined Bruley at the crime scene when he saw Bruley had a gun for protection. Courson said he is incensed by the dismissal.
"Here was a guy trying to do a good deed. He wasn't trying to hurt nobody," said Courson, 31.
Erica Jenkins, Lee's sister, said Bruley should still have a job. Lee couldn't be reached to comment despite several messages left with her sister and mother.
"If it wasn't for him ... she could have lost her leg or died," said Jenkins, 19. "He put his life in jeopardy for someone else."
Bruley said he is considering contacting a lawyer about his dismissal, but will first look for another job and possibly another home. He promises he won't shy away from aiding others in need.
"If I'd lose my job again for helping some girl's life ... I'd do it over and over," Bruley said.
jim.schoettler@jacksonville.com, (904) 359-4385
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Security camera footage here:
http://video.nbcsandiego.com/player/?id=123230
Liquor store clerk wounds gunman during robbery attempt
UNION-TRIBUNE BREAKING NEWS TEAM
1:28 p.m. June 25, 2007
OCEANSIDE – A liquor store clerk shot and wounded a gunman during an attempted armed robbery on Saturday evening.Police were called to the Big Liquor store on North Redondo Drive near North River Road at 9:42 p.m. Police said they believe the clerk shot the robber after he entered the store and demanded money at gunpoint.
The suspect, a 20-year-old Marine lance corporal, was found around a block from the crime scene, where he had collapsed as a result of his wounds. His injuries are not believed to be life-threatening and he was transported by air ambulance to a local trauma center for treatment.
Detectives are trying to piece together whether the crime is linked to eight other hold-ups at liquor stores in the city.
l
http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/northcounty/20070625-1328-bn25liquor.html
Best regards,
Argyll
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Ex-Marine, 72, Teaches Pickpocket a Lesson
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. —
Bill Barnes says he was scratching off a losing $2 lottery ticket inside a gas station when he felt a hand slip into his front-left pants pocket, where he had $300 in cash. < o>
He immediately grabbed the person's wrist with his left hand and started throwing punches with his right, landing six or seven blows before a store manager intervened.
"I guess he thought I was an easy mark," Barnes, 72, told The Grand Rapids Press for a story Tuesday. He's anything but an easy mark: Barnes served in the Marines, was an accomplished Golden Gloves boxer and retired after 20 years as an iron worker.
Jesse Daniel Rae, the 27-year-old Newaygo County man accused of trying to pick Barnes' pocket, was arraigned Monday in Rockford District Court on one count of unarmed robbery, a 15-year felony. Barnes said he had just withdrawn the money from a bank machine and put it in the pocket of his shorts before driving to the Marathon service station and Next Door Food Store in Comstock park, a Grand Rapids suburb. He remembers noticing a patron acting suspiciously, asking the price of different brands of cigarettes and other items. While turned away, Barnes felt the hand in his pocket, so he took action. "I guess I acted on instinct," he said.
Kent County sheriff's deputies said the store manager quickly came around the counter. The three of them struggled through the front door, where two witnesses said the manager slammed Rae to the ground and held him there. "There was blood everywhere," said another manager on duty, Abby Ostrom, 25. Barnes was a regional runner-up in Golden Gloves competition in the novice and open divisions before enlisting in the Marines in 1956.
He lived most of his adult life in Comstock Park with his wife, Patr icia, before recently moving to Ottawa County. The couple have three children.
After retiring as an iron worker, he now works part-time as a starter at a golf course.
Barnes said he'd probably do the same thing again under the same circumstances, if for no other reason than what he would face back home. "I wouldn't want my wife to give me hell for lettin' that guy get my money," he said with a smile.
Best regards,
Argyll[/size]
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http://fallbackbelmont.blogspot.com/...f-montana.html
Out of Montana
What happens when a mother of three and small town municipal judge decides to take on the online Jidhad? Shannen Rossmiller tells the story of how she helped unmask a number of malefactors, including some who were seeking to acquire Stinger missiles and finally track down a renegade in the US National Guard. Viewed from one perspective, it is a fascinating case study of the private citizen warrior, embarked on what Rossmiller called her own "counterJihad".
Before 9-11, I had no experience with the Middle East or the Arabic language. I was a mother of three and a municipal judge in a small town in Montana. But the terrorist attacks affected me deeply. ... I began to read vociferously [voraciously] about Islam, terrorism, extremist groups, and Islamist ideology. ...
This housewife found she could fight her private war from a computer keyboard. Her first step was visit and learn all she could about Jihadi websites.
In November 2001, I saw a news report about how terrorists and their sympathizers communicated on websites and Internet message boards and how limited government agencies were in their ability to monitor these web communications. This news report showed me how extensively Al-Qaeda used the Internet to orchestrate 9-11 and how out of touch our intelligence agencies were regarding this Internet activity. Apparently, there were not procedures in place for tracking communications and activity on the Al-Qaeda websites and Internet forums at the time.
So she invented her own procedures. But as she ghosted through the websites and forums, she realized that any further progress required a knowledge of Arabic. Nothing daunted, Rosssmiller set out to learn Arabic. And she did. Over the Internet, from a Cairo language academy.
Early in January 2002, I began taking an Arabic language course online for eight weeks from the Cairo-based Arab Academy, which, that autumn, I supplemented with an intensive Arabic course at the State University of New York at Buffalo. As I learned more Arabic, the jihadi websites opened for me. Certain individuals stood out for either their radicalism or the information that they sent. I followed and tracked these individuals and kept notebooks detailing each website and person of interest.
Soon Rossmiller grew skilled enough to pick out the signature style of individuals and successfully impersonate a Jihadi. If on the Internet nobody knew if you were a dog, it might be equally possible for a mom of three to convince her quarry she was a terrorist looking to hook up.
I created my first terrorist cover identity on the Internet on March 13, 2002, to communicate and interact with these targets. In my first chat room sting, I convinced a Pakistani man that I was an Islamist arms dealer. When he offered to sell me stolen U.S. Stinger missiles to help the jihadists fighting the U.S. and coalition forces in Afghanistan, I used the Persian Gulf dialect of Arabic to ask him to provide me with information that I could use to confirm his claims, such as stock numbers. Within a couple of weeks, the missile identification numbers were in my computer inbox.
Stock numbers and the e-mail correspondence in hand, I intended to drive to the closest field office for the FBI here in Montana but was afraid that the FBI would not take me seriously. What were the chances of a Montana mom showing up at their door with information about an individual in Pakistan who was trying to sell Stinger missiles? Instead, I submitted the information to the FBI's online tips site.
A few days later, I received a telephone call from an FBI agent from New Jersey who proceeded to question me. It felt like an interrogation. Several days later, the same agent called to thank me and say that the stock number information for the Stingers did match some of the information that the government had about the missiles.
Encouraged by this success, I continued to communicate with these jihadis online and proceeded to gather more information. Using various Muslim personalities and theatrics for cover, I began monitoring the jihadist chat rooms into the early hours of the morning while my family slept. Plunging in, I started making headway into the world of counterterrorism.
Rossmiller went on to detect early warnings of a bombing attack against expatriates in Saudi Arabia and was even asked -- in 2003 -- to courier some money for Saddam's fedayeen in Jordan. But not all the homes burning the midnight oil in America belonged to individuals fighting for their country. Some of the nocturnal denizens haunting the Internet were bent on selling out their country for gain or out of hatred. At some point Rossmiller's path and theirs were bound to cross.
It was soon afterwards that I learned that I was not the only American surfing the chat rooms. In October 2004, while monitoring Arabic Islamist websites for threat-related information and activity, I saw a message posted in English by a man calling himself Amir Abdul Rashid. He said he was a Muslim convert who "was in a position to take things to the next level in the fight against our enemy (the U.S. government)." He further requested that someone from the mujahideen contact him for details. I was suspicious because Rashid posted his message in English on an Arabic website and was openly seeking contact from the mujahideen. I traced his IP address back to an area outside of Seattle, Washington. Over time, it also became apparent to me that he was a member of the U.S. military.
With the Montana mom aware of him the net slowly closed. Rashid turned out to be Spec. Ryan G. Anderson, whose National Guard unit was scheduled to deploy to Iraq. Anderson was hawking the weaknesses and vulnerabilities of the M1-AI and M1-A2 Abrams tanks as well as U.S. troop locations in Iraq. The price for this success was the end Rossmiller's anonymity. Called to testify at Anderson's trial, Rossmiller's modus operandi and identity were revealed in court records. Her cloak stripped away, the hunter soon became the hunted.
After the media picked up my identity at Anderson's Article 32 hearing in May 2004, I received numerous threats and, on December 5, 2004, someone stole my car out of my family's garage. It was later found wrecked two counties away from my home, riddled with bullet holes. As a result, I now have permanent security.
There's more. And if you want to know of her other exploits you should as they say, read the whole thing.
Ironically if Rossmiller had been engaged in important sleuthing such as uncovering whether Scooter Libby had talked about Valerie Plame before or after Richard Armitage instead of the trivial pursuit of hunting down terrorists intent on mass murder or traitors selling their country's secrets, her story might already be the subject of a blockbuster movie instead of the obscure pages of Middle East Forum. Rossmiller would be on the Good Morning America and Oprah shows, pulling in money instead of shelling it out for personal security.
Yet her saga is more than a cultural commentary on our times. It also illustrates the largely unrecorded exploits of individuals who are fighting the Jihad on their own time and dime. Wearing a wire for the FBI. Tracking down Jihadi training camps in rural America. Translating documents. Jamming terrorist sites. Raising the alarm. Baking cookies for the troops. It's a story of the gaps in the official warfighting apparatus and the enterprise that quietly fills them in. It is a perfectly 21st century story; a tale of networked counterinsurgency. But it is also a story from the past: of the 18th century idea of a nation in arms, not literally perhaps -- the keyboard is probably a more common weapon -- but of people's war, something that shocked the Continent when the French revolution brought it into European existence.
This perhaps, is Osama Bin Laden's saddest contribution to history. Not that he should make war upon the nations, but that he has raised the nations, right down to their living rooms and front porches, to make war upon him and his.
-
Karate newsagent challenges thief
A knife-wielding robber met his match when he tried to steal money from a shopkeeper trained in karate.
The man ran into the Edinburgh shop owned by Mohammed Afzah, 39, a former bodyguard for the prime minister of Pakistan, and demanded money.
Mr Afzah immediately adopted his martial arts stance and shouted "I'm ready - come on" at his assailant.
The would-be thief turned on his heels and fled empty-handed from the shop during the raid at 2100 BST on Sunday.
Mr Afzah, who was born in Pakistan, spent eight years in the country's security police.
I stepped out from behind the till and assumed my karate attack position
Mohammed Afzah
Shopkeeper
He was trained in hand-to-hand combat and anti-terrorist techniques before becoming a police bodyguard in Lahore.
He was tasked with guarding politicians and VIPs, including then-Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif at his official residence.
Mr Afzah said: "The guy ran into my shop and shouted 'give me the money, give me the money'. At first I thought he was joking until he pulled out a kitchen knife and told me to hand over all my takings.
"I stepped out from behind the till and assumed my karate attack position while I shouted 'I'm ready, come on then'.
"He was waving the knife about so I moved towards him with my hands positioned to disarm him like I had been trained in the army."
Cult hero
Mr Afzah, who had been cashing up about £500 in his Stockbridge Newsagent shop in Deanhaugh Street, shouted at the robber to get out - and the terrified raider was only too happy to oblige.
Mr Afzah, who left the police nine years ago, added: "I was trained in many aspects including how to take a knife from someone before turning it on them. Fortunately I didn't have to put this into action."
The shopkeeper said he would not encourage people to take the law into their own hands, but said he was inspired by the actions of Glasgow Airport baggage handler John Smeaton, who became a cult hero after helping the police.
He said: "I would do the same again although it's the first time I've had to put my training into practice in this country.
"I have so much respect for John Smeaton and the other guys who stood up to the terrorists in Glasgow.
"They showed so much courage and were protecting their property, in their case it was their country though which was incredibly admirable."
Police are now studying his shop's CCTV footage in the hope it identifies the attempted robber.
A Lothian and Borders Police spokesman said: "We want anyone who was in the area at the time, or who saw the man running away from the scene, to contact police."
The suspect is described as being white, about 6ft tall, aged between 30 and 35, with short brown hair and an Edinburgh accent.
He was wearing a short-sleeved black shirt, black trousers and light coloured shoes.
Published: 2007/07/17 15:38:15 GMT
© BBC MMVII
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/1/hi/scotland/edinburgh_and_east/6903171.stm
Best regards,
Argyll[/size]
-
http://www.wreg.com/Global/story.asp?S=6538977
Man drives himself to hospital with butcher knife lodged in chest
Brutal stabbing lands man in hospital with knife still in chest
MEMPHIS - An East Memphis man drove himself four miles to Germantown
Methodist Hospital after he was stabbed with a butcher knife in the chest.
It happened at the Butterfield Apartment Village on Roxbury Wednesday
evening.
According to the victim's daughter, this all started because of some lewd
comments made by a group of guys.
53-year-old Greg Shackelford told police he overheard a group of guys near
his apartment complex Tuesday, making suggestive comments about his
17-year-old daughter Allie. He says he confronted them and flipped them off.
She says he overreacted.
"He'd said he'd had a bad day at work, was upset," she said.
That should've been the end of it, but it wasn't. Shackelford told police
the same men he'd confronted the day before attacked him on his front porch.
One held him down, while the other stabbed him with a butcher knife in the
chest.
"It went straight down in front of his heart, directly in front of his
heart," said ex-wife Diane Sprague. "It's a miracle he survived."
"They were trying to kill him, almost got his heart over something so
stupid," said Allie Shackelford.
It's a crime that has these family members shaking their heads, wondering
why things had to escalate.
"How dare you attack someone out their front door over something so
ridiculously minor," said Sprague. It's sad our city's come to this."
Police are still investigating the case. So far they haven't named any
suspects. Meanwhile, Shackelford is in intensive care at the Med in serious
condition. He's expected to make a full recovery.
=======================
Ohio man prevents girl's assault four years after foiling a robbery
Monday, May 21, 2007
CLEVELAND Don Lewis was walking home from his job at an auto shop one night
earlier this month when he heard a girl cry for help and saw a man
struggling with her.
Many would have passed without getting involved, fearing for their safety.
Not Lewis. He chased the assailant for six blocks, called police and stopped
a crime - for the second time in recent years.
"Lewis should be applauded," Lorain County Sheriff's Capt. Richard Resendez
said. "And God bless him that nothing bad happened."
Residents of the city's Old Brooklyn neighborhood also have been praising
Lewis, who stopped the assault on a 13-year-old girl. The suspect is being
held on $1 million bond in the attack.
"My customers have been calling me, saying, 'You're a hero!' " said Lewis,
who operates D&C Customizing, an auto repair shop. "No, I'm not. I have
three daughters. I would have wanted someone to do the same thing for them
if they were in that situation. We have to watch out for each other."
It wasn't the first time that the 35-year-old Lewis had intervened when
someone was about to become the victim of a crime.
In 2003, Lewis helped foil a robbery at a pharmacy. Police reports confirm
that a thief tried to grab money from the cash register shortly before the
store closed.
Lewis was standing behind the thief and, with the help of other customers,
wrestled the man to the floor and held him until police arrived.
"It really upset me," Lewis said of the robbery attempt. "I have to work
like crazy for my money. I've been working since I was 10, cutting grass and
pulling weeds. And here is this guy who wants to walk in and steal it. It
wasn't right."
Lewis acted instinctively in both cases, following the values he learned
from his parents. Also, he acted out of anger that "little punks who think
they can do whatever they want" are mistreating residents of one of the city's
oldest neighborhoods.
He never thought that he might be hurt while stopping the crime. Police are
glad he got involved.
__________________
-
TheStar.com - GTA - Man with cane beats robber into submission
July 27, 2007
Justin Piercy
Staff Reporter
Police in Durham Region say a 64-year-old Whitby man derailed an Oshawa drugstore robbery this week when he beat the would-be robber with a cane.
Officers were called to Central Pharmacy on Simcoe St. N. for a report of a robbery in progress shortly before noon on Monday.
When they arrived, they found a suspect being detained by another man, who was armed with a walking cane.
Witnesses told police a man carrying a large knife and wearing a stocking over his face entered the store and demanded drugs from the pharmacist.
At that point, a customer who saw the robbery in progress jumped into action. Removing a cane from a nearby display case, he hit the would-be robber several times, disarming him and keeping him at bay until police arrived.
Police say they also found an accomplice inside the store and arrested him without incident.
Walter William Wilson, 43, and Lee Silverthorne, 25, both of Bruce Street in Oshawa, are charged with robbery and possession of weapons dangerous. Wilson was also charged with wearing a disguise with intent
Anyone with information about this incident is asked to contact Durham Region police at (905) 579-1520 ext. 5360. Anonymous tips can be made to Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477.
http://www.thestar.com/News/GTA/article/240570
Best regards,
Argyll
-
Argyll:
I particularly liked the one on Mohammed Azfeh.
-
Robbery Victim Knifes His Attackers
YouNewsTV™
Story Published: Jul 29, 2007 at 4:52 PM EDT
By Ginger Geoffery
Watch the story
Police say Bobby Lipscom, a man in his 50s, was walking home around one o'clock in the morning Saturday after visiting a friend at ECMC. When Lipscom reached a vacant lot near Moselle and Genesee police say he was confronted by two men wearing hoodies. They started scuffling with Lipscom.
"That's when the victim produced a small knife, box cutter-type knife," says Michael DeGeorge, Buffalo Police spokesperson, "He ended up cutting both of the suspects."
Lipscom was able to fend off the two attackers who police say are men half his age. Then Lipscom called 9-1-1. Police arrived and arrested 22-year old Corvair Harge and 21-year old Jason Tyus. The two men face charges for second degree robbery, but first they're healing from their stab wounds. Both were at ECMC Saturday night, one in critical condition and the other in stable condition. Lipscom did not need any medical treatment. Police says his attackers likely did not think he had a weapon. "Probably to a certain extent he probably did surprise his attackers by having the box cutter knife," says DeGeorge.
Police say they have no plans to charge Lipscom for stabbing the two suspects.
Find this article at:
http://www.wkbw.com/news/local/8797557.html
Best regards,
Argyll
-
Argyll:
You have some really good finds. Thanks for sharing them here.
yip!
CD
-
The Patriot Post
Founders' Quote Daily
"[T]he people are not to be disarmed of their weapons. They are
left in full possession of them."
-- Zacharia Johnson (speech in the Virginia Ratifying Convention,
25 June 1778)
Reference: The Debates of the Several State..., Elliot, vol. 3
(646)
-
http://fallbackbelmont.blogspot.com/...f-montana.html
Out of Montana
What happens when a mother of three and small town municipal judge decides to take on the online Jidhad? Shannen Rossmiller tells the story of how she helped unmask a number of malefactors, including some who were seeking to acquire Stinger missiles and finally track down a renegade in the US National Guard. Viewed from one perspective, it is a fascinating case study of the private citizen warrior, embarked on what Rossmiller called her own "counterJihad".
Before 9-11, I had no experience with the Middle East or the Arabic language. I was a mother of three and a municipal judge in a small town in Montana. But the terrorist attacks affected me deeply. ... I began to read vociferously [voraciously] about Islam, terrorism, extremist groups, and Islamist ideology. ...
This housewife found she could fight her private war from a computer keyboard. Her first step was visit and learn all she could about Jihadi websites.
In November 2001, I saw a news report about how terrorists and their sympathizers communicated on websites and Internet message boards and how limited government agencies were in their ability to monitor these web communications. This news report showed me how extensively Al-Qaeda used the Internet to orchestrate 9-11 and how out of touch our intelligence agencies were regarding this Internet activity. Apparently, there were not procedures in place for tracking communications and activity on the Al-Qaeda websites and Internet forums at the time.
So she invented her own procedures. But as she ghosted through the websites and forums, she realized that any further progress required a knowledge of Arabic. Nothing daunted, Rosssmiller set out to learn Arabic. And she did. Over the Internet, from a Cairo language academy.
Early in January 2002, I began taking an Arabic language course online for eight weeks from the Cairo-based Arab Academy, which, that autumn, I supplemented with an intensive Arabic course at the State University of New York at Buffalo. As I learned more Arabic, the jihadi websites opened for me. Certain individuals stood out for either their radicalism or the information that they sent. I followed and tracked these individuals and kept notebooks detailing each website and person of interest.
Soon Rossmiller grew skilled enough to pick out the signature style of individuals and successfully impersonate a Jihadi. If on the Internet nobody knew if you were a dog, it might be equally possible for a mom of three to convince her quarry she was a terrorist looking to hook up.
I created my first terrorist cover identity on the Internet on March 13, 2002, to communicate and interact with these targets. In my first chat room sting, I convinced a Pakistani man that I was an Islamist arms dealer. When he offered to sell me stolen U.S. Stinger missiles to help the jihadists fighting the U.S. and coalition forces in Afghanistan, I used the Persian Gulf dialect of Arabic to ask him to provide me with information that I could use to confirm his claims, such as stock numbers. Within a couple of weeks, the missile identification numbers were in my computer inbox.
Stock numbers and the e-mail correspondence in hand, I intended to drive to the closest field office for the FBI here in Montana but was afraid that the FBI would not take me seriously. What were the chances of a Montana mom showing up at their door with information about an individual in Pakistan who was trying to sell Stinger missiles? Instead, I submitted the information to the FBI's online tips site.
A few days later, I received a telephone call from an FBI agent from New Jersey who proceeded to question me. It felt like an interrogation. Several days later, the same agent called to thank me and say that the stock number information for the Stingers did match some of the information that the government had about the missiles.
Encouraged by this success, I continued to communicate with these jihadis online and proceeded to gather more information. Using various Muslim personalities and theatrics for cover, I began monitoring the jihadist chat rooms into the early hours of the morning while my family slept. Plunging in, I started making headway into the world of counterterrorism.
Rossmiller went on to detect early warnings of a bombing attack against expatriates in Saudi Arabia and was even asked -- in 2003 -- to courier some money for Saddam's fedayeen in Jordan. But not all the homes burning the midnight oil in America belonged to individuals fighting for their country. Some of the nocturnal denizens haunting the Internet were bent on selling out their country for gain or out of hatred. At some point Rossmiller's path and theirs were bound to cross.
It was soon afterwards that I learned that I was not the only American surfing the chat rooms. In October 2004, while monitoring Arabic Islamist websites for threat-related information and activity, I saw a message posted in English by a man calling himself Amir Abdul Rashid. He said he was a Muslim convert who "was in a position to take things to the next level in the fight against our enemy (the U.S. government)." He further requested that someone from the mujahideen contact him for details. I was suspicious because Rashid posted his message in English on an Arabic website and was openly seeking contact from the mujahideen. I traced his IP address back to an area outside of Seattle, Washington. Over time, it also became apparent to me that he was a member of the U.S. military.
With the Montana mom aware of him the net slowly closed. Rashid turned out to be Spec. Ryan G. Anderson, whose National Guard unit was scheduled to deploy to Iraq. Anderson was hawking the weaknesses and vulnerabilities of the M1-AI and M1-A2 Abrams tanks as well as U.S. troop locations in Iraq. The price for this success was the end Rossmiller's anonymity. Called to testify at Anderson's trial, Rossmiller's modus operandi and identity were revealed in court records. Her cloak stripped away, the hunter soon became the hunted.
After the media picked up my identity at Anderson's Article 32 hearing in May 2004, I received numerous threats and, on December 5, 2004, someone stole my car out of my family's garage. It was later found wrecked two counties away from my home, riddled with bullet holes. As a result, I now have permanent security.
There's more. And if you want to know of her other exploits you should as they say, read the whole thing.
Ironically if Rossmiller had been engaged in important sleuthing such as uncovering whether Scooter Libby had talked about Valerie Plame before or after Richard Armitage instead of the trivial pursuit of hunting down terrorists intent on mass murder or traitors selling their country's secrets, her story might already be the subject of a blockbuster movie instead of the obscure pages of Middle East Forum. Rossmiller would be on the Good Morning America and Oprah shows, pulling in money instead of shelling it out for personal security.
Yet her saga is more than a cultural commentary on our times. It also illustrates the largely unrecorded exploits of individuals who are fighting the Jihad on their own time and dime. Wearing a wire for the FBI. Tracking down Jihadi training camps in rural America. Translating documents. Jamming terrorist sites. Raising the alarm. Baking cookies for the troops. It's a story of the gaps in the official warfighting apparatus and the enterprise that quietly fills them in. It is a perfectly 21st century story; a tale of networked counterinsurgency. But it is also a story from the past: of the 18th century idea of a nation in arms, not literally perhaps -- the keyboard is probably a more common weapon -- but of people's war, something that shocked the Continent when the French revolution brought it into European existence.
This perhaps, is Osama Bin Laden's saddest contribution to history. Not that he should make war upon the nations, but that he has raised the nations, right down to their living rooms and front porches, to make war upon him and his.
-
I wasn't quite sure where to put this one, this thread seems like the closest fit:
12/10/07 - News section
Prisoner 'throws boiling oil' over terrorist leader who plotted to murder thousands with dirty bombs
A prisoner has been accused of throwing boiling oil over an al Qaida terrorist who planned to murder thousands with dirty bombs.
The 22-year-old inmate is accused of scarring for life Dhiren Barot, who was jailed for life for leading a British-based terrorist cell that plotted bombings across the world. Barot's lawyer claimed he had the boiling oil thrown over him during the attack in the high security Frankland Prison in County Durham. The unnamed prisoner faces charges of wounding and assault occasioning actual bodily harm following the incident on July 6. He will appear in court later this month.
After the alleged attack, which left Barot, 35, with excruciating burns, a news blackout was imposed to protect medical staff from possible attack while he was treated at Newcastle's Royal Victoria Infirmary.
A Durham Police spokesman said today in a statement: "A prison inmate from Sunderland has been charged with an assault at Durham's top security Frankland Jail this year. The victim, a 35-year-old Category A prisoner, suffered burns to his body and face in the alleged attack on July 6. He was treated for several days at Newcastle's Royal Victoria Infirmary before being readmitted to the prison. Police inquiries have been taking place since then and this morning detectives from Durham charged a 22-year-old from Sunderland with wounding and assault occasioning actual bodily harm. He is due to appear before magistrates at Peterlee on October 23."
Barot was sentenced to life, with a minimum term of 30 years, for planning to plant radioactive, chemical or toxic gas bombs and pack limousines with nails and explosives in the UK and America. The al Qaida mastermind had been moved to Frankland from Belmarsh jail, south east London, after fears for his safety. Barot was arrested in August 2004 and accused of conspiracy to murder. He admitted planning to bomb several targets including the New York Stock Exchange, the International Monetary Fund HQ, and the World Bank.
Barot, who recruited other bomb plotters, was sentenced to life in prison last November. It was recommended he serve 40 years but that was cut to 30 years on appeal in May.
Barot was born in India then moved to Kenya with his family. They came to England in 1973 and his banker father had to work in a factory to support them. Hindu Barot converted to Islam aged 20. He later travelled to Pakistan for al Qaida training and funding.
Find this story at http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/news/new...7347&in_page_id=1770
-
Citizens Militia Forming In Stockton
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
To me this article ties into others posted about the hollowing out and de-legitimizing of the state.
Notice that the reporter actually treats the group seriously, no laughing behind his hand, cheap shots, etc.
Concerned resident aims to form armed militia to patrol Stockton
By David Siders
Record Staff Writer
April 07, 2009 6:00 AM
STOCKTON - A retired truck driver and Vietnam War veteran said Monday that he is forming an armed militia - mostly men with rifles and armbands, four to a car - to patrol Stockton this summer, when at least 43 police officers are to be laid off.
Alan Pettet, 66, said he has recruited 18 men, most of whom are ex-military. He said the militia will train at a firing range and "activate" if the city lays off any officer, as it intends by July 1.
The likelihood of an armed militia materializing is uncertain - there are legal concerns, and posturing to influence City Hall is not uncommon - but for a neighborhood activist even to advance such a proposal was indicative of frustration about Stockton's awful budget forecast. The City Council is expected by July 1, the start of fiscal 2009-10, to order police layoffs and spending reductions citywide to balance a general fund budget that is otherwise expected to be $31million in deficit by June 2010.
Pettet, a midtown neighborhood activist who has a Desert Eagle pistol, said militiamen will detain suspected criminals and call police to arrest them. They will wear armbands and will patrol in a car marked by a magnetic sign, he said.
"It's going to be 'Stockton Armed Militia,'" Pettet said. "'SAM' for short."
Neither the Police Department nor the city administration was impressed.
"We are not at the point that we need to have armed militias patrolling Stockton," Vice Mayor Kathy Miller said.
Mayor Ann Johnston said, "Oh, no no no no, no no no. ... We don't want armed citizens out there who are not trained."
That it is illegal in most circumstances in California to carry a loaded firearm in one's car did not disturb Pettet.
"If you look under the Constitution, a militia can be formed," he said. "Watch and see. Who's going to stop us?"
Attorney and anti-blight activist Ron Stein, who is a friend of Pettet's and has been advising him, said the militia will conform to state law, perhaps by having members seek permits to carry concealed handguns.
"You've got to do what you've got to do," Stein said.
Pettet said the militia will bill the city $350 per hour for its services. City Attorney Ren Nosky said he knew of no legal basis requiring the city to pay such a bill. Nosky had other reservations, too.
"I just don't know if that's in the best interest of these gentlemen, from a safety perspective," he said. "We have a concern about the level of training that these gentlemen have, if any, especially in light of the firearms that they say they're going to be carrying."
Police encourage people to report crimes and form Neighborhood Watch groups, said Officer Pete Smith, a department spokesman. To form a militia is "taking it to another level," he said.
"It's ill advised," he said.
Stockton's violent crime rate is among the highest in the state. Stein and Pettet are critical of a budget proposal by City Manager Gordon Palmer that would require laying off at least 43 of the city's 403 police officers.
"We've got to protect ourselves," Stein said. "We are in the wild, wild West when you take people who are supposed to protect us off the street."
The telephone number Pettet is using for the militia is that of midtown's Safe Neighborhood Action Group, a group formed in the 1990s.
"You've reached the Safe Neighborhood Action Group," a recording at that number said. "Helping to protect Stockton citizens from their mayor and City Council."
Contact reporter David Siders at (209) 943-8580 or
-
To me this article ties into others posted about the hollowing out and de-legitimizing of the state.
**I agree. This is just a glimpse of what's to come.**
-
http://www.yalelawjournal.org/pdf/427_pa9skxwv.pdf
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Militia_Acts_of_1792
https://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/granule/USCODE-2011-title10/USCODE-2011-title10-subtitleA-partI-chap13-sec311
https://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/USCODE-2011-title10/html/USCODE-2011-title10-subtitleA-partI-chap13-sec311.htm
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http://www.nytimes.com/2016/08/23/world/europe/france-terrorist-attacks.html?emc=edit_th_20160823&nl=todaysheadlines&nlid=49641193&_r=1
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https://www.easyreadernews.com/residents-tackle-rb-robbery-suspect/?utm_source=Daily+News&utm_campaign=4fa2163c1a-Daily_EMAIL_NEWSLETTER&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_b41a925468-4fa2163c1a-286697493
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http://madhousemagazine.com/home/robert-plant-uses-karate-skills-to-disarm-gunman
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https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/10/246
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http://www.constitution.org/mil/mil_act_1792.htm
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https://www.nationalreview.com/2018/11/jemel-roberson-police-shooting-raises-hard-questions-about-restraint/?utm_source=Sailthru&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=WIR%20-%20Sunday%202018-11-18&utm_term=VDHM
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https://www.minuteman-militia.com/2017/03/16/what-is-the-militia/
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https://www.timesofisrael.com/simcha-rotem-last-surviving-fighter-in-warsaw-ghetto-uprising-dies-at-94/?fbclid=IwAR1uyncKm3NfuHS7Pm-KNPhcK5sG7ma9bgueTMgq6LbemZe3CUkJCJ2Upms
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https://nypost.com/2019/04/20/this-is-a-war-meet-the-texas-ranchers-forming-their-own-border-militia/?utm_source=facebook_sitebuttons&utm_medium=site%20buttons&utm_campaign=site%20buttons&fbclid=IwAR3Tj607W8XvkKckjwwbZfq4rwkcvfG0rCr5gC8ib4eAMGL268JP3hWZAp4
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https://www.theblaze.com/news/armed-militia-new-mexico-migrants?utm_content=buffere0687&utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook.com&utm_campaign=glennbeck&fbclid=IwAR041ZNuSbecUjjKvnqm-OlgNnjeh3-aGHxFH8YtwxM26hbnDanJXCLVMKY
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Third post
https://news.ntd.com/report-man-arrested-near-border-faced-similar-weapon-charge_319746.html?fbclid=IwAR3J1HO6_K5eTM1Y63WMkedKqvnG_ZqrjFAoWbbJTaZ6t-JPG4ZKl3EELro
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https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2019/04/22/armed-militia-group-kicked-out-new-mexico-camp/3545014002/
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https://twitter.com/AsianJ86/status/1122542647460102145
Find your inner roof Korean.
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https://www.kvia.com/news/new-mexico/federal-judge-orders-alleged-militia-leader-be-held-in-jail-until-trial/1073526029?fbclid=IwAR0eC_9_DyHjADxA-OPiktX7Y07hD6isAe9xGLDPA3KVHz36NZ3R8U9NCm8
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Heroism at the Synagogue
The best defense against a killer with a gun is a defender with a gun.
By The Editorial Board
April 29, 2019 7:24 p.m. ET
A woman lights a candle during a vigil and prayer service in Poway, California, April 28. Photo: david maung/Shutterstock
When a gunman filled with anti-Semitism opened fire Saturday at a synagogue in Poway, Calif., worshipers turned into heroes. Sixty-year-old Lori Kaye was killed after jumping between Rabbi Yisroel Goldstein and the attacker, according to witnesses. Others shielded nearby children or hurried them to safety. Rabbi Goldstein, who was shot in the hands and lost his right index finger, wrapped his bloody wounds in a prayer shawl and rallied his congregation outside.
Two men confronted the attacker. An Army veteran named Oscar Stewart, 51, shouted and charged the gunman, who ran. An off-duty Border Patrol agent at the service, whom the Rabbi identified as Jonathan Morales, also gave chase, firing his own weapon at the getaway car. The assailant was arrested shortly afterward and is charged with murder and attempted murder.
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One person was killed and three injured. But, Rabbi Goldstein said, it could have been much worse. Police say the attacker’s rifle may have malfunctioned. He could have been left unharried to continue killing. “Mr. Stewart risked his life to stop the shooter,” the San Diego County Sheriff’s Department said, “and saved lives in the process.”
Mr. Stewart demurred. “I’m not a hero or anything. I just reacted,” he told the Los Angeles Times. “I thank God that he gave me the courage to do what I did.”
In the wake of last year’s attack at the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh, which killed 11, some places of worship have hired guards. Rabbi Goldstein said his congregation can’t afford that. But he spoke with Mr. Morales “about coming to the synagogue armed, because he’s trained, and I want trained security as much as possible.” The best defense against a killer with a gun is a defender with a gun.
As for the battle with anti-Semitism, may everyone mirror Rabbi Goldstein’s resolve. “The Constitution of the United States guarantees freedom of religion for all faiths. We are so grateful to live here in this country that protects our rights to live openly and proudly as Jews,” he told NBC. “We will not be intimidated or deterred by this terror.”
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https://www.ktsm.com/news/local/el-paso-news/us-rep-veronica-escobar-calls-for-investigation-into-border-militia/1954458609?fbclid=IwAR1fODRQutGVRVdY3lVyhIGNZtNYqiE231E8RSsxAw_eVjtv5cTGhJv1WFE
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I haven't listened to this yet; these are the folks who were assisting BP at the NM-Mexico border.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F0pUKzKrads&fbclid=IwAR0cY8ZKl1qk7mBYJczGTH8lEz9vy5OliLaL-hFFmWl7YZZbFLpouLWvPKw
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I FIND THIS TO BE A VERY INTERESTING CONCEPT, FULL OF POTENTIAL.
https://www.secondamendmentdaily.com/2019/12/virginia-county-board-of-supervisors-forms-an-active-militia/
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https://lis.virginia.gov/cgi-bin/legp604.exe?201+ful+HB67
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zu3XjB7uzN8&feature=share
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An MSM piece on this:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lMdbTGUcpkI
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An MSM piece on this:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lMdbTGUcpkI
MSM does not know what far right is, IMHO. Yes these groups attract nuts and need to weed them out, as he said.
If "right" means a conservative in favor of individual liberties, free enterprise, constitutional system etc., being extreme in that belief does not mean shoot up innocent people, hate people because of color or anything like that. Identify Americans by ethnic and racial group is "far Left".
If Feds come to disarm the citizens of an entire nation without first amending the constitution prohibiting that... being ready to resist that extreme but possible situation seems like good planning and deterrence.
As one who is (mostly) unarmed, I am glad that millions of good people are armed and ready.
We don't have a national, nuclear arsenal because we want to blow up the world. We have it for deterrence so that the scenario where we would need to use that arsenal never arises. Likewise for an armed citizenry.
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No victory yet, they still want registration , , ,
https://freebeacon.com/issues/virginia-dems-cave-on-confiscation-as-2a-sanctuaries-expand/
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You need to fix that, Doug. Time is running out to prepare for what is coming, sooner or later. You need to be able and ready to protect yourself and your loved ones.
An MSM piece on this:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lMdbTGUcpkI
MSM does not know what far right is, IMHO. Yes these groups attract nuts and need to weed them out, as he said.
If "right" means a conservative in favor of individual liberties, free enterprise, constitutional system etc., being extreme in that belief does not mean shoot up innocent people, hate people because of color or anything like that. Identify Americans by ethnic and racial group is "far Left".
If Feds come to disarm the citizens of an entire nation without first amending the constitution prohibiting that... being ready to resist that extreme but possible situation seems like good planning and deterrence.
As one who is (mostly) unarmed, I am glad that millions of good people are armed and ready.
We don't have a national, nuclear arsenal because we want to blow up the world. We have it for deterrence so that the scenario where we would need to use that arsenal never arises. Likewise for an armed citizenry.
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quote author=G M You need to fix that, Doug. Time is running out to prepare for what is coming, sooner or later. You need to be able and ready to protect yourself and your loved ones.
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Yes. Hopefully I am coachable. I drove past a nice store of that type today, can't believe it's still legal here in the state where nothing is allowed.
We should talk generically about what steps a hypothetical person should take, perhaps more details by secure email. For one thing, I don't want increased readiness to put me on a list accessible to those who might later seek confiscation as politicians openly discuss that. I don't want to be the next Carter Page or tea party group targeted by anybody for anything. I would like to quietly get ready to be of some help to the cause in a crisis situation.
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https://www.lawenforcementtoday.com/it-begins-virginia-forms-active-militia-to-protect-sheriffs-citizens-from-unconstitutional-laws/?utm_campaign=shareaholic&utm_medium=facebook&utm_source=socialnetwork
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https://www.zerohedge.com/political/virginia-activates-official-militia-after-gun-confiscation-threats-lawmakers-want-make
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https://lis.virginia.gov/cgi-bin/legp604.exe?201+ful+HB67
These people are first order thinkers, which I am sure they would see as a compliment. One of Obama's real legacies is the gutting of American law enforcement. The average age of an US LEO used to be in the 30s, now it's around 42. Morale sucks. Agencies around the country are seeing a 60% drop in applicants. I saw an article where NYPD had a 132% drop in applicants.
So, where are they going to find replacements for all the cops they intend to fire? What if things turn kinetic? Who wants the job then?
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"I saw an article where NYPD had a 132% drop in applicants."
Ummmm , , , how is it possible to drop more than 100%?
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https://www.ammoland.com/2019/11/second-amendment-sanctuary-movement-continues-to-lock-down-virginia-counties/?utm_campaign=shareaholic&utm_medium=facebook&utm_source=socialnetwork
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"I saw an article where NYPD had a 132% drop in applicants."
Ummmm , , , how is it possible to drop more than 100%?
Let's try 17.8 in 2015 to be more precise.
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https://www.wearethemighty.com/history/why-the-kentucky-militia-was-most-feared-by-americas-enemies
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https://bearingarms.com/came/2019/12/18/number-virginia-second-amendment-sanctuaries-now-101/
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https://www.3ccorp.net/2019/12/17/virginia-county-to-fund-militia-per-us-constitution-in-wake-of-democrats-gun-control-agenda/
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https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/washington-secrets/uprising-90-of-virginia-counties-join-gun-sanctuary-movement-expands-to-9-states
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https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/washington-secrets/uprising-90-of-virginia-counties-join-gun-sanctuary-movement-expands-to-9-states
(https://i1.wp.com/wilderwealthywise.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/captcha.jpg?w=564&ssl=1)
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https://www.westernjournal.com/whopping-79-virginia-becomes-gun-sanctuary-gun-bans-backfire/?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=empowerconservatives
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second post
https://www.lawenforcementtoday.com/warning-to-let-stop-reporting-on-virginia-militia-or-your-editors-will-be-charged-as-felons/
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Third post
https://gunowners.org/na12192019/?utm_source=alert&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=alert-2019-12-19
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second post
https://www.lawenforcementtoday.com/warning-to-let-stop-reporting-on-virginia-militia-or-your-editors-will-be-charged-as-felons/
They sound scared.
The smart leftists should be.
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https://face2faceafrica.com/article/the-deacons-the-black-armed-christians-who-protected-mlk-civil-rights-supporters-before-black-panther
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second post
https://dailycaller.com/2019/12/20/virginia-mark-herring-gun-rights-sanctuary/
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https://www.lawenforcementtoday.com/national-guardsman-we-will-not-comply-if-ordered-by-virginia-governor-to-arrest-police-confiscate-guns/
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https://www.lawenforcementtoday.com/virginia-bill-to-make-firearms-training-an-illegal-paramilitary-activity-and-felony/
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http://gunrightswatch.com/news/2019/12/22/kentucky/kentucky-becomes-a-sea-of-orange-as-second-amendment-sanctuary-county-efforts-progress/
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third post
https://kwhi.com/grimes-co-joins-growing-list-of-gun-sanctuary-counties/
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https://concealednation.org/2019/12/local-govt-allocates-funds-for-militia-in-virginia/
https://www.lawenforcementtoday.com/virginias-new-gun-control-plan-isnt-about-saving-lives-its-about-controlling-them/
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https://gunowners.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/GOA-VCDL-Response-to-Herring-AO-December-26-2019.pdf
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second post
https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2019/12/27/virginia-billboards-warn-northam-bloomberg-gun-confiscation-2-weeks/?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_term=best_of_the_week&utm_campaign=20191228
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https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Militia_(United_States)
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https://abc7ny.com/news/muslim-teen-helps-police-catch-man-who-attacked-jewish-woman-on-subway/1678286/
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https://www.lawenforcementtoday.com/thousands-of-cops-veterans-supporters-pledge-to-join-militia-in-virginia/?utm_campaign=shareaholic
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https://clarionproject.org/muslim-patrol-new-bill-could-fund-islamist-vigilante-groups/?utm_source=Clarion+Project+Newsletter&utm_campaign=e847b62ec4-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2020_01_14_12_28&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_60abb35148-e847b62ec4-6358189&mc_cid=e847b62ec4
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https://www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/2020/08/11/policing-ugly-truth-neighborhood-patrols-failures-column/3334613001/
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https://www.defenseone.com/ideas/2021/03/how-norway-folding-civilians-national-defense/172630/
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https://www.zerohedge.com/political/were-taking-back-our-street-sacramento-man-barricades-street-stop-out-control-crime?utm_source=&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=639
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https://mexiconewsdaily.com/news/puebla-self-defense-force-fighting-narcos-10-years/?utm_source=jeeng&utm_medium=webpush
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https://media.gab.com/system/media_attachments/files/107/770/480/original/b152e7f1b6b5b0ab.jpg
(https://media.gab.com/system/media_attachments/files/107/770/480/original/b152e7f1b6b5b0ab.jpg)
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https://www.aier.org/article/a-well-regulated-militia-is-necessary-to-the-security-of-a-free-state/
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https://gun-rights.org/news/texas-licensed-to-carry-bystander-shot-el-paso-mall-shooter-as-he-targeted-more-would-be-victims-police/
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https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11848881/Minnesota-dad-uses-shovel-moose-antler-kill-77-year-old-sex-offender-stalked-daughter.html
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https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11848881/Minnesota-dad-uses-shovel-moose-antler-kill-77-year-old-sex-offender-stalked-daughter.html
The jury can do the right thing.
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https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-12079021/Boy-13-saves-sister-17-year-old-tried-abduct-beat-woods.html
I can't find it (help GM?) but somewhere here I think there is a post about a 13 year old drag queen. Helluva contrast
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ddEw8lY4IPs&t=61s
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Wait a Minute, Mr. Postman
A Postal Service clerk said it could take months to repaint a vandalized mailbox.
By Bert Stratton
Jan. 10, 2024 5:54 pm ET
215
Gift unlocked article
Listen
(3 min)
image
A repainted mailbox in Lakewood, Ohio. PHOTO: BERT STRATTON
Lakewood, Ohio.
I wanted to repaint a graffiti-tagged U.S. Postal Service mailbox. It sits in front of an apartment building my family has owned since 1965 in Lakewood, Ohio. I wanted to make it blue again. That simple. This would be like an art project, but it wouldn’t be cool or edgy. Just the opposite. Call it “Keeping Up the Neighborhood.”
I had hoped the Postal Service would do the job, but I had no such luck. A clerk at the neighborhood branch told me in 2021 that it would take “months, not weeks” to clean the box. He said the Postal Service had only one person in northeastern Ohio dedicated to the task.
When 2022 came around and the graffiti was still on the mailbox, I wrote the mayor. She wrote back: “Our building department has documented the vandalism on this mailbox. Please let your tenant know that we share in his frustration; however, we are prohibited from removing graffiti from mailboxes because they are property of the United States Postal Service. We will reach out to USPS again to convey the need to fix this problem without delay.”
Months passed, and I wrote the mayor again: “One of my tenants is really annoyed with this situation and wants to buy blue paint. On the other hand, he doesn’t want to go to Leavenworth prison. Hah! Anything you folks can do?” (The so-called “tenant” was actually me, the landlord.)
The mayor said no, and I couldn’t hold it against her. The feds had her in a no-win situation. I knew she was anti-graffiti; the city occasionally cites me and other landlords for graffiti on our buildings, and we’ve dealt with it, using wire brushes, graffiti remover and elbow grease.
Last year I bought a can of Rust-Oleum deep-blue spray paint at Home Depot. I asked one of my employees to do the hit job—a repaint of the mailbox—and he said no way. So I did it myself. I worked at midday but made sure nobody was walking by while I painted.
My shade of blue was slightly off—I should have used navy—but it was close enough. I didn’t win an art prize, yet here we are in 2024 with a clean blue box. I have the spray-paint can in my car in case the graffiti-artist strikes again. “Keeping Up the Neighborhood” is a work in progress.
Mr. Stratton is author of the blog Klezmer Guy: Real Music & Real Estate
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https://www.vice.com/en/article/n7e5xm/democrats-propose-bill-to-neuter-militias
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A well-argued piece w/ a ton of supporting links:
https://reason.com/volokh/2023/12/20/how-magazine-bans-thwart-self-defense/
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Thread Nazi here.
This thread is not a bad choice BBG, but this one would have been better.
https://firehydrantoffreedom.com/index.php?topic=95.msg404#msg404
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Thread Nazi here.
This thread is not a bad choice BBG, but this one would have been better.
https://firehydrantoffreedom.com/index.php?topic=95.msg404#msg404
Alrighty then.
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:-D
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https://nypost.com/2024/01/15/metro/straphanger-shot-dead-on-brooklyn-subway-was-trying-to-break-up-a-dispute-about-loud-music-sources/?fbclid=IwAR3s0XB3mTKZnqrsmgiePMZLq91WcMVzW5I4MKc7qD_8NWmsPf-8WXC-oa0
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Tennessee man who was working with militias planned to act as a sniper and attack Southern border, feds say
Paul Faye was arrested Monday after he allegedly sold an undercover agent working with the FBI an unregistered suppressor for an AK-47, according to federal court records.
Read in NBC News: https://apple.news/AM6mfhQMpTRGUhhPxOKZDhA
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============================
The discussion in question arose in the context of a conversation about Apo Ramiro's Kabaroan system when I mentioned that it was a distinctive system in that the problem it looked to solve was of a village looking to defend its crops when a band of bandits arrived to steal the crops. (think of the Samurai movie - The Seven Samurai" and the Western homage to it "The Magnificent Seven")
"Further to our discussion and for potential reference, here are some questions regarding the village defense concept in the context of collective resistance.
- What triggered mobilization for a village?
- To what extent did or could villages mutually support one another?
- To what extent did the government sanction collective defense or see it as a threat?
- Did better prepared villages deter attacks?
- What was the early warning system?
- How did villages leverage terrain and/or employ defensive obstacles (such as but not limited to fences, dogs, man traps, gates, moats, camouflage, deception, etc)?
- Was there a chain of command or was defensive action initiative based?
- What kind of deception did they employ if at all?
- Was the strategy primarily one of deterring, delaying, or destroying intruders?
- What was the origin of village defense?
- Were weapons generally improvised or deliberate?
- How could a village measure success?
- How did defensive action differ at night versus during daylight or during different seasons?
- What was the greatest challenge to mobilization?
- Who was most often more violent, the villagers or the intruders?
- What was clean up like?
woof"
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ao6lcq1ybQQ&t=142s
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lNnGUmKd4SM&t=12s