2016 could not end fast enough.

2017, here we go!

Looking back, 2016 was rough. The silver lining of a very rough year was Mrs. Bill Clinton was sent packing, hopefully we have seen the fall of the House of Clinton (and the House of Bush, for that matter…guys, enough of you already) and the Republicans have the executive and legislative branches now. Don’t blow it like you did 16 years ago!

Now, for 2016, besides the usual of loose weight, get to the gym, etc…

1. Spend more time with the family. I’ve had only a few years with my step-daughters and they will be gone too soon. Not to mention after Beth getting her BSN, me finishing my MA, we should finally get to spend some time together. We’re looking at a motorcycle cruise this spring. Not to mention visit family and friends in New Orleans more often.

2. Read and write more. I’ve got over 100 books on the shelve to read, but I subscribe to around 10 magazines and I want to spend more time reading and less time on Facebook, etc. I’ve had an article for a police trade magazine accepted and it should be published in the next few months. Thanks to my friend Mike Ford leading the way, I’ve gotten several articles published by American Thinker. Now that I finished my master’s program, I hope to keep the blog up. A bit of a solumn duty, but I caught up with the Office Down postings. Hopefully we don’t have as many as last year.

3. Catch up on the emails, finally. And dump some of the email subscriptions I have.

4. My house is 18 now and needs a few touch ups. I did get the fence replaced last month and now I need to finish the garage update. And Beth and I want to work on the downstairs.

5. Commit myself to more range time. I work the streets, I need to be more proficient with my weapons.

6. Ride my bike more and get more rides planned for the Blue Knights.

7. Simply my life as I can. Make things sync more, as time is wasting.

A quick post as I’m sitting on the porch, enjoying a Rocky Patel and some Red Breast Irish Whiskey. It’s 15 minutes till midnight, so I’ll get my class of champagne ready (don’t care for the stuff, but like the cabbage, which I loath, it’s part of the New Year’s tradition) and get ready to kiss Beth.

Happy New Year all!

Another reason to say screw 2016…

Yes, I know a calendar year doesn’t kill someone and in her case, there is no question, it was not the years. It was the mileage.

But seeing Carrie Fisher pass is another part of my childhood going by the wayside. I remember her as Princess Leia and like many a teenage over hormone filled kid, I wanted to be Luke (later on I could relate to Han, and as I’ve passed 50, I can understand Darth a bit more…) and to save the princess. Even after we found out the it was incest…Mom, just this one time! :<) A few memories of her. Like me, she is a dog lover and I just found out her dog Gary has his Twitter feed:

Here she is as George Lucas is given his Lifetime Achievement Award at the American Film Institute. The way she makes fun of her own issues is classic:

Not to be outdone, she used the same self deprecating humor when she roasted Harrison Ford at his Lifetime Achievement Award.

I’ve used her opening line for more than one presentation, “Hi, I’m Mike Thiac, and I’m an alcoholic…” Breaks the ice well.

Carrie Fisher said by the time she was 20 she was part of the biggest movie in a generation and by the time she was 26 she was a Hollywood has been, and the fall was epic. Narcotics and other items, a life that was covered in her semi-autobiographical book Postcards from the Edge. She returned as strong as ever in The Force Awakens and she did finish filming for the next movie. I guess we will have to see if they will kill her off or bring her back to life like Grand Moff Tarkin. But at least the people of New Orleans assembled a parade for her already.



One of the classic lines of Def Leppard's Rock of Ages, "...Yeah, it's better to burn out, Yeah, than fade away..." Unfortunately a life that burned out too fast, but she will not be forgotten. As John Wayne put it so well, "It's not how you're buried. It's how you're remembered".

UPDATE: Not another:

William Christopher, Father Mulcahy on 'MASH,' dies at 84

William Christopher, the actor best known for his role as Father John Mulcahy on the hit TV show "M*A*S*H," died on Saturday, his family confirmed to Eyewitness News...

...He was 84.

...The actor played the role of Father John Mulcahy on "M*A*S*H" from 1972 to 1983 and in the follow-up series "After M*A*S*H*" from 1983 to 1985.

He also had parts in the movies "The Fortune Cookie," "With Six You Get Eggroll," and the TV show "Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C...."

...William Christopher leaves behind his wife Barbara and his sons John and Ned.

Officer Down

Trooper Landon E. Weaver
Pennsylvania State Police, Pennsylvania
End of Watch: Friday, December 30, 2016
Age: 23
Tour: 1 year
Cause: Gunfire

Trooper Landon Weaver was shot and killed when he and another trooper responded to a domestic disturbance at a rural home on Bakers Hollow Road in Juniata Township, Huntingdon County, at approximately 6:30 pm.

He had responded to the home to investigate a protective order violation when he was shot. The subject who shot him had been released on bail on a felony charge earlier in the month. The subject was located the following morning is and is now deceased.

Trooper Weaver had served with the Pennsylvania State Police for only one year and was assigned to Troop G. He is survived by his wife.

Rest in Peace Bro…We Got The Watch

Nemo me impune lacessit

Day is done, Gone the sun, From the lake, From the hills, From the sky. All is well, Safely rest, God is nigh. 

Officer Down

Corrections Officer Lisa Mauldin
Miller County Sheriff's Office, Arkansas
End of Watch: Monday, December 19, 2016
Age: 47
Cause: Assault

Corrections Officer Lisa Mauldin was killed when she and another officer were attacked by an inmate inside the Miller County Detention Center's kitchen at approximately 1:00 pm.

The inmate attacked both officers, seriously injuring them. Officer Mauldin was transported to Wadley Regional Medical Center where she succumbed to her injuries. The other officer transported to the same hospital where she was admitted as well.

Other officers were able to subdue the inmate who attacked them and he remains in custody.

Rest in Peace Sis…We Got The Watch

Nemo me impune lacessit

Day is done, Gone the sun, From the lake, From the hills, From the sky. All is well, Safely rest, God is nigh. 

Another problem we will have in the profession

Asked why I became I cop and I'll often mention watching Adam-12. But it's a career that I was attracted to be if only because I was never a "9-5" worker. Doing what others talk about doing was one of reasons. The Army is another.

The last few years the war on cops has made the profession less attractive to younger people and in the third largest city in the country, there is a move to lower the standards for police recruits. Ironic these people have been the most critical of officer's actions in field, but they want people with issues brought on the force. And the fact police murders have increased 72% this year.

With that in mind, here is a very poignant post from a former cop. Depressing, . The author covers the sides of police work that are not covered, dealing with the damaged people, having to endure things that civilians don't have to. Please read.

Why I Would Never Encourage My Children To Become Police Officers

Being a cop is a great job, I thoroughly loved it for the first ten years or so. As a police officer, I was able to help countless people, made some of my best friends and became a member of a life long fraternity. I worked with people who I will never forget as long as I live, people that on more than one occasion saved my life, came to my aid and stood by me in difficult times. No matter where I go, New York, Chicago or Los Angeles, whenever I identify myself as a police officer to a police officer I get treated differently.

There were also plenty of people I couldn’t help, people I could do absolutely nothing for but say a prayer over their body, people that met their maker in my presence by their own hand or that of another. These are the people that haunt me daily. I was twenty years old, never had a real job in my life and I was given a gun, a modest amount of training and basically told to go forth and enforce the law, protect society and serve the community. I was a rookie policeman in Miami in the 1980’s, a time when death and crack cocaine was everywhere. It ruled the life of many and ended the life of many more.

My father was a cop, my grandfather was a cop and my great uncle was a cop. I was the third generation in a line of cops, the first in my department and I truly hope I am the last of that line. My father was a cop in the 1960’s, my grandfather and uncle in the 1940’s and 1950’s and all killed people in the line of duty. As a rookie I worked with many old timers that killed in the line of duty, some more than once. I looked at these men in awe, sort of idolized them as old gunslingers of the Wild West. These men never spoke of their shootings, all our information came from rumors. One memory sticks out in particular, in the last years of his career, this person worked the front desk at a regional substation. He was a devout Christian, read the Bible constantly during down time and never said more than five words to me when I worked with him. He was a big man, one that could easily beat you to death as sure as he could shoot you, yet he was quiet and gentle. Even in his last years on the job, he was nothing short of an intimidating physical presence. I never gave a thought to the emotional trauma these men were exposed to, they were crime fighters and they showed no emotion. My father never spoke of his shootings and the only one I recall was when I was about ten years old. My father shot and killed a man and was placed on three days administrative leave per policy so we got to start our vacation three days early that year. It wasn’t until many years later, when I became a policeman that I discovered what happened that night. My father didn’t tell me, I pulled the police report and read it for myself...

One thing I greatly agree with is the recognition of PTSD and the efforts of police agencies to handle it. I know a cop who was put into an impossible position, to kill another cop. The man murdered his girlfriend and turned the gun on this officer, hoping he would shot him. The officer couldn't, so the cop took his own life.

That other officer, watching two deaths in the course of 60 seconds, at the hands of a fellow officer and friend, couldn't take it. He quit within six months, in spite of a lot of therapy.

...My father was dispatched to a dispute between two males in a project area. When he arrived, one man armed with a knife chased another into a house. The subject had already stabbed the victim at least once. My father followed them in and in a dimly lit bedroom, no more than a few feet apart, three men’s lives crossed and were changed forever. After ignoring commands to drop the knife, the subject was standing over the victim who had fallen on a bed, the knife was reared back, over his head ready to plunge into the victim again when my father fired. The subject was shot twice, once in the neck and once in the torso and he died. My father never spoke of this shooting, not when I was a child, not when I applied to be a police officer, not even when I graduated the police academy, never, ever. Then again, under the reigning school of thought he wasn’t supposed to. My father, like many of his generation, they were expected to take their three days off and report back to work thereafter. They weren’t touchy, feely men, they were hardcore crime fighters, expected to do society’s dirty work and feel nothing. Like many of these shootings, this shooting was up close and personal, only a few feet apart with time to look into the face of the life you’re taking. The subject in my father’s shooting was a bad guy, he was intent on killing his victim and this was a “good shooting,” but is there ever really a good shooting?

When I was a patrolman, I was dispatched to a call reference a man lying on the side of the road. When I arrived I found an eighteen-year-old kid lying on the shoulder in a condition, technically termed in police language as “shot to shit.” This kid had so many bullet holes in him I don’t know how he was still alive. I stood over him, the only thing I could do is ask for an ETA on rescue, several times. Then he spoke, he asked me “Is it bad?” I replied, “It aint good!” He asked me to tell his mother and I kneeled down next to him, wrote down his name, address and mother’s name. I remember feeling helpless, I was relieved when rescue finally arrived so someone could do something for this kid. He died at the hospital. He wasn’t a good kid, he was a player in the drug trade and was taken out by a rival. I remember everything about him, his name, where he lived, what he was wearing, how he sounded and the look of coming death in his eyes. He was three years younger than I was, I was twenty-one.

A sobering event in my life, sitting with the father of a 16 year old who had killed himself. I had no words for him (I was mis 30s) but he couldn't be left alone.

I was dispatched to an armed robbery at a gas station in the wee hours of the morning where I found a pool of blood next to a gas pump and nothing else. The attendant told me the guy who was shot drove off. A few minutes later the victim showed up at the hospital, another officer secured the scene and I went to the hospital to interview the victim. The hospital staff was preparing him for an airlift to the trauma center, he was alert and talking. He told me a man with a gun approached him while pumping gas, the man demanded his wallet and he handed it over to him. When the subject was walking away, he turned and shot the victim in the head. I asked him what it felt like, he said it was like getting hit in the head with a 2×4 and he has the worst headache he’s ever had but otherwise he felt ok. He was twenty-five years old.

On October 30th, 1993, I was at NW 54 Street and 7th Avenue when I got a call from my homicide partner. One of my academy classmates was shot in an armed robbery. She was beautiful, with two young children and was nothing less than a wonderful person. The subject took three dollars, a set of keys and my friend’s life. She was thirty-four years old. I visit her every chance I get.

When I was in homicide I got to see a side of society few get to witness, and that is the damage humans can inflict upon one another. I’ve seen people literally ripped apart in car wrecks, shot by every caliber of handgun imaginable, crushed to death and beaten by those who supposedly loved them. Death was my occupation and it was plentiful, it takes a toll on you, it has to. When death and destruction become routine it changes you, you are desensitized, more accepting of tragedy, less compassionate.

My children are eighteen and nineteen, almost the age I was when I became a policeman. They are both in great colleges and thankfully pursuing other interests. If they decided to become police officers on their own, I’d be supportive and proud, however if they ask for my counsel, I’d give them the talk I didn’t get.

Patrick J. McGeehan, Esq. is a criminal defense and family law attorney in Miami, Florida. In addition to having over 20 years of law enforcement experience...

Mr. McGeehan, give them the talk, make sure they know the life is like (long hours, missed vacations and holidays, etc) but understand, they will make their own decisions. Hopefully they make good ones.

Happy New Year to you sir.

Officer Down

Public Safety Officer Jody Smith
Georgia Southwestern State University Department of Public Safety, Georgia
End of Watch: Thursday, December 8, 2016
Age: 26
Tour: 4 months
Cause: Gunfire
Incident Date: 12/7/2016

Public Safety Officer Jody Smith and Police Officer Nicholas Smarr, of the Americus Police Department, were shot and killed while responding to a domestic violence incident at a local apartment complex at South Lee Street and Country Club Drive, near the Georgia Southwestern State University.

Officer Smith, who was nearby, also responded to backup Officer Smarr at approximately 9:40 am. As they arrived at the scene they encountered an armed subject who opened fire on them. Both officers were transported to a nearby hospital where Officer Smarr died. Officer Smith was flown to a hospital in Macon where he died the following day.

The suspect fled the scene but was found deceased the following day following a SWAT raid of a residence.

Officer Smith had served with the Georgia Southwestern State University Department of Public Safety for four months. He had previously served with the Sumter County Sheriff's Office and Plains Police Department.

Rest in Peace Bro…We Got The Watch

Nemo me impune lacessit

Day is done, Gone the sun, From the lake, From the hills, From the sky. All is well, Safely rest, God is nigh. 

My senior leadership mentor strikes again...

I've made the point younger people (shit, when I did get out of the "younger" group?) need to get their shit together. This explains it well.

Obama and the "Dignity" of Terror

In the last year I've become a Facebook friend with Steven Mason and he's pinned a great small column here.

On his way out the door, the rampant Anti-Semitism of the Obama regime is shown in full bloom. Again, he stabs the only democracy in the Middle East in the back by allowing the UN to condemn Israel for settlements. As he wants America destroyed (excuse, fundamentally transformed), he will like to see Israel pushed off the map. His State Department wants Israel set back to pre-1967 borders...where the country at one point is six miles wide.

One of the points I (and many others) have made is the fact American Jews give the Dems 70% of the vote, while the Democratic Party is the worse enemy Israeli has. To borrow a phrase from Leonard Nimoy, "Not logical." In repose to me making that point, his response was, "And perhaps this will take that number down to 60%. Baby steps."

Let's hope so. Otherwise, enjoy this.

Obama and the "Dignity" of Terror

After eight long years, the wait is over. Now freed of any political necessary to engage in the taqiyya he so richly practices, he has chosen to reveal his malefactor's soul, denuded of the raiments with which he had clothed his true intentions: the utter deracination of Israel, the full embrace of anti-Semitism.

And now that he has delivered by directing leftist U.N. Ambassador to vote the equivalent of "present," a choice he embraced during his mercifully short time as a Senator, he has done us all multiple favors, the value of which far exceeds the damage done to Israel:

First, except for possibly the J Street crowd (the Jews who hate themselves so much that if their thoughts were physical matter, they would spontaneously combust) the rest of the Jews as well as many Democrats, those who falsely believed Obama cared about Israel, now see Obama and his agenda for what it is: baldly anti-Semitic, pro-radical Islam and pro-terror. For what if nothing else but terrorists are the Palestinians, they who send nail bombs, suicide bombers and stabbers across the border to foment terror, to kill civilians, women, children, babies, everyone; they who school their children with maps that do not have Israel on it; they who treat their own citizens as offal while launching jihad after jihad against Israel? Now, as Obama's legacy, he has removed all doubt: the man who stated that "the future is not for those who would slander the prophet of Islam" has gone all-in. And the Democrats will lose support and votes because of it, not a tsunami, but a gradual, yet inexorable decay, just as he lost the red states.

Second, he has exposed himself as the petty man and malignant narcissist that he is. Even beyond his open embrace of terror is the desire to "get back" at Netanyahu, the man who would not bow to His Majesty. And for the sin of lese majeste, a sin against Obama's anointment as the wisest, greatest President of all time, Netanyahu had to pay. And so he did. But Obama will pay, too, not among the BDS-embracing, leftist elite, but among left-liberals who sought any reason to embrace the First Black President. Now their cognitive dissonance in trying to square the circle will overwhelm many, their worldview of Obama The Great, Obama The Protector, Obama the pro-Israeli President against Trump, that vicious anti-Semite whose most trusted child is a convert to Judaism, who appointed the most pro-Israeli ambassador ever and who got El-Sisi to withdraw his resolution -- but, alas, it was too late. Not all will accept the truth, but some will. And that is enough. Now some would argue that Obama must have been able to anticipate this, but that is because they ignore his malignant narcissism, that of the man who, in his own words, knew more than any of his appointees, more than his campaign managers, more than essentially anyone. Such people will not conclude that Obama is a malignant narcissist, however; rather, they will conclude that he really did and does and for ever shall hate Israel and the Jews.

Third, the action is a sign not of power, but of desperation, of his signature "achievements" being vitiated by Trump. He had to get one last lick in, that last series of kicks between the legs of the Jews and all those who value Western Civilization. All because he is so small a man, so small a President, that schoolyard revenge, Chicago-style, was the primary motive force behind his action, seconded only by his need for adulation by the ever more-deranged left, an adulation without which his life would mean nothing. And if history is written by the victors, and we do indeed eliminate the cancer of radical Islam, that is precisely how he will be remembered: as nothing but a quisling to freedom, liberty and justice for all.

Officer Down

Police Officer Nicholas Ryan Smarr
Americus Police Department, Georgia
End of Watch: Wednesday, December 7, 2016
Age: 25
Tour: 1 year
Cause: Gunfire

Police Officer Nicholas Smarr and Public Safety Officer Jody Smith, of the Georgia Southwestern State University Department of Public Safety, were shot and killed while responding to a domestic violence incident at a local apartment complex at South Lee Street and Country Club Drive, near the Georgia Southwestern State University.

Officer Smith, who was nearby, also responded to backup Officer Smarr at approximately 9:40 am. As they arrived at the scene they encountered an armed subject who opened fire on them. Both officers were transported to a nearby hospital where Officer Smarr died. Officer Smith was flown to a hospital in Macon where he died the following day.

The suspect fled the scene but was found deceased the following day following a SWAT raid of a residence.

Officer Smarr had served with the Americus Police Department for one year.

Rest in Peace Bro…We Got The Watch

Nemo me impune lacessit

Day is done, Gone the sun, From the lake, From the hills, From the sky. All is well, Safely rest, God is nigh. 

Officer Down

Deputy Sheriff Ryan Thomas
Valencia County Sheriff's Office, New Mexico
End of Watch: Tuesday, December 6, 2016
Age: 30
Tour: 1 year
Cause: Automobile accident

Deputy Sheriff Ryan Thomas was killed in a single vehicle crash near the intersection of Manzano Expressway and South Del Oro Loop at approximately 9:00 pm.

He was responding to a call for service when his patrol car left the roadway and overturned. He suffered fatal injuries when he was ejected from the patrol car.

Deputy Thomas had served with the Valencia County Sheriff's Office for one year. He is survived by his expectant wife and one child.

Rest in Peace Bro…We Got The Watch

Nemo me impune lacessit

Day is done, Gone the sun, From the lake, From the hills, From the sky. All is well, Safely rest, God is nigh. 

The Story of Christmas Is a Chorus, Not a Carol

The Story of Christmas Is a Chorus, Not a Carol 

December 25, 2016 | 14:17 GMTA Palestinian Christian dressed as Santa Claus greets a Palestinian Muslim in Jerusalem's Old City on Dec. 21, as Christians worldwide prepare to celebrate Christmas. (GALI TIBBON/AFP/Getty Images) 

Analysis 

Editor's Note: In light of the Christmas holiday celebrated in several parts of the world Dec. 25, Stratfor is running this analysis originally published in 2015. 

By David Judson 

The joy of children, the sharing of gifts with loved ones on a sacred day, the renewal of faith. These elements of a holy day are not the normal fare of Stratfor — we normally devote ourselves to the study of geopolitical power and not to the intangibles of human experience. One day a year, however, we can set aside our professional detachment to tell a Christmas story. And there are many Christmas stories. It is a holiday with deep and diverse roots and one that has, by the 21st century, become truly global — and for that matter, geopolitical. And so I will share my own, with a bit of context. I hope that readers will indulge me in this small departure, one that I think comports with the way Stratfor views the world and its complexities. 

My Christmas story took place a decade ago in Antalya, Turkey. This city sits, appropriately enough, a few miles away from Demre, the modern name for the ancient Roman and Byzantine city of Myra. And it was in Myra, in A.D. 270, that the original St. Nicholas was born.I was visiting family in Antalya, my wife Nermin's hometown. On Christmas Day I took a walk with my five-year-old niece, whose name is Mine (pronounced Mee-neigh). We were walking hand-in-hand and talking about her Christmas, which the Turks call Noel. The Turkish Noel is celebrated on New Year's Eve and is a secularized version of the West's Christmas tradition. Children wait for Noel Baba, or Father Christmas, who comes down the chimney or through a window to leave presents under a pine tree. Across the country, streets are decked out in lights as on any American Main Street. And Iyi Noeller, meaning good noel, is the greeting one shares with passersby or with a friendly shopkeeper. 

"Uncle David," Mine said to me, as a hint perhaps, "Nayeel Baba is bringing me a bicycle." I need to explain that Nayeel is a common Turkish name. The Turks as a nation contrived Noel Baba as a stand-in for the Western Santa Claus. Mine, however, took the innovation a step further; her five-year-old mind corrected the pronunciation to something more logical and more authentically Turkish. I thought then, as I do now, that Nayeel Baba works just fine. It is simply an additional piece of glass in the cultural and historical mosaic that the global celebration of Christmas has become.A woman has her photograph taken in front of Christmas decorations outside an Istanbul shopping mall on Dec. 22. (CHRIS MCGRATH/Getty Images)Cynics may attribute Christmas' spread to the success of modern marketing and globalized commercialism. And of course I made a mental note to check with Nermin that we had Nayeel Baba's bicycle promise covered. But at the same time, I found myself thinking that if the Bishop of Myra from down the road — the original St. Nicholas — were watching from on high, he would no doubt approve. 

For what young Mine did to reshape the name Noel is emblematic of the syntheses of names, traditions and characters that has been going on for well over two millennia.In Christendom, Dec. 25 celebrates the birth of the Messiah, Jesus Christ. The rituals by which we mark the date today, however, trace back further. And with many twists and turns ever since, what we have is a holiday spirit that is embraced across the world by people of virtually every faith, including my Turkish niece in Muslim Turkey. So let us go back a bit over a rough summary of history. 

Early Roots

Long before the advent of Christianity in the first century, the pagan world celebrated the winter solstice, the shortest day of the year. In northern Europe the holiday was called Jul, which entered English as yule, now a synonym for Christmas. 

The world into which Jesus Christ was born — probably not in year 1 of the Gregorian calendar, and probably not in December — was not friendly to the religion he founded and his disciples preached. After executing Jesus, the polytheistic Roman Empire turned relatively quickly to persecuting the rapidly spreading practice. The crackdown began in earnest in A.D. 64 under Emperor Nero and continued for over two centuries. The most iconic punishment for Christians was the damnatio ad bestias, casting the Christians to animals – a punishment formerly reserved for slaves and hardened criminals.The baptism of Constantine as depicted  by artists at the workshop of Italian artist Raphael, produced between 1517 and 1524. (Wikimedia Commons)But in A.D. 312, the Roman Empire made a dramatic about-face. In that year, the Emperor Constantine won the Battle of Milvian Bridge and control of the Western portion of the empire. He also converted to Christianity and officially legalized the religion the following year. This was just in time for St. Nicholas, then living as a monk in Bethlehem in what is now the West Bank. After returning home to Myra, he became its bishop in A.D. 317 and later sat on the First Council of Nicea, which chose the Christian texts that would become the Bible. Ultimately, Nicholas became the patron saint not only of children for his secret gift giving, but also of sailors, merchants, repentant thieves, archers, brewers and even pawnbrokers. 

But what first brought St. Nicholas into the story of Christmas was the spread of Christianity into the British Isles beginning in the third and fourth centuries. The newly converted saw in the figure of St. Nicholas — and his December feast celebration — a surrogate for a pre-Christian deity mentioned by some historians, who possessed many of the same attributes of generosity. The mid-December traditional Roman feast of Sol, the sun god, also likely helped push the new celebration along.A 1493 depiction of Pope Adrian I asking French King Charles to provide assistance defending Rome in 772. (Wikimedia Commons)Even after this, the Dec. 25 Christmas holiday remained a minor one in a liturgical calendar packed with more prominent saints and feasts. The day's importance increased, however, in A.D. 800, when Pope Leo III crowned the French King Charles, better known as Charlemagne, the first Holy Roman Emperor at St. Peter's Basilica in Rome. This event marked a key moment for the spread of the Roman Catholic Church's secular power across Europe. Centuries later, it became an important day on the church's Gregorian calendar. 

In the coming centuries, it became a particularly prominent holiday in England and marked the start of the iconic 12 days of Christmas — this was in spite of the country formally renouncing Catholicism in the early 1530s. In the 1640s, however, the Puritans in England's parliament cracked down on the celebration of all of the saints' days they associated with Catholicism, especially Christmas, condemning them as "popish" and pagan. Puritans in the Americas followed suit and not only questioned the appropriateness of the Dec. 25 date itself but also looked askance at the drinking, dancing and frivolity involved. After this, Christmas all but disappeared in England and North America. 

Christmas Revived 

The 19th century brought a major rebound for the holiday. On the Continent, Germans and Scandinavians incorporated pagan-derived pine trees, reindeer and a few other accessories. The Dutch, meanwhile, brought back St. Nicholas, whom they called Sinterklaas, the early ancestor of the modern Santa Claus. 

In the English-speaking world, credit goes to New York-born author Washington Irving, whose five stories on Christmas rehabilitated the holiday in the 1820s. Irving kitted out St. Nicholas with the now-familiar pipe and introduced the tradition of stockings hung by the chimney.Cartoonist Thomas Nast's drawing, "Merry Old Santa Claus,” printed in the Jan. 1, 1881 edition of Harper's Weekly. (Wikimedia Commons) 

Pere Noel, or Father Christmas, had by now emerged in France, associated with the Christmas spirit but not with gift giving. And with some help from Charles Dickens and his famous 1843 "A Christmas Carol," Santa and Father Christmas merged amid the holiday's revival in Great Britain. 

More voices then joined the chorus. Madison Avenue discovered the value of the jolly, gift-giving Santa in the late 19th century. In 1932 Coca Cola, as part of an advertising campaign, gave us the bearded and red-suited Santa Claus that has become a global icon. Through the 20th century, this Santa has spread not just throughout the Christian world but also to Japan, China, India and many Muslim countries, including Turkey.This Christmas syncretism is not without controversy, and of course not everyone is pleased by the global spread of these symbols and rituals. Just this week, for example, Tajikistan banned trees, gift giving and other activities evocative of Christmas that have become part of New Year's celebrations in the secular but predominantly Muslim country. Christmas is certainly Christian to the core. But the spirit of the holiday has become something larger, even universal. We can phrase this in geopolitical terms – the confluence of so many factors, from the rise of Rome to the crowning of Charlemagne to the role of the Puritans in America — but the holiday we see today is transcendent.Christmas decorations along Nisantasi Street in downtown Istanbul. (MUSTAFA OZER/AFP/Getty Images)Back in contemporary Turkey, the merger of holidays and the rechristening of the New Year holiday as Noel began only in the late 1980s and was, appropriately enough, the brainchild of Vitali Hakko, a Jewish Turk and owner of the country's largest department store. Visit Beyoglu, the main retail district of Istanbul today, and you will see portraits of Noel Baba, colored lights and Christmas trees bedecking the main boulevard.Or as Mine would have it, Nayeel Baba. Her contribution to this most syncretic of holidays is just one small tributary in a cultural river that has been running for thousands of years. 

We are of many faiths, creeds and national origins here at Stratfor, both in our Austin headquarters and in the field around the world. And this universality of the holiday is something that I, and I believe all of my colleagues here, embrace.In our troubled era, with much that is venal in the world, Christmas is a celebration of innocence. In this, all the world can take heart. So from all of us, here's to Nayeel Baba, and to the happiest of seasons to our readers, clients and supporters on this special day, in this special time of the year. 

Merry Christmas.

The Story of Christmas Is a Chorus, Not a Carol is republished with permission of Stratfor.

Merry Christmas....

Growing up in New Orleans, part of the daily routine was Phil Johnson's Editorials for WWL TV. He had two classics, one was for Mardi Gras.

"No one should be serious on Mardi Gras, and we will not be. But we reserve the right to be serious, tomorrow. Good evening."

Here is the second classic editorial, for Christmas Eve. He gave it for over 20 years until his retirement. And it's very good to enjoy. Merry Christmas all.

Officer Down

Trooper Frankie Williams
New Jersey State Police, New Jersey
End of Watch: Monday, December 5, 2016
Age: 31
Tour: 11 months
Badge # 7953
Cause: Automobile accident

Trooper Frankie Williams was killed when his patrol car was struck head-on by a vehicle on Route 55, near milepost 22, in Millville.

He was responding to a call for service when the other vehicle crossed the grass median of the highway and collided with his patrol car. He was flown to Cooper University Hospital where he succumbed to his injuries.

The subject in the vehicle that struck his patrol car was also killed.

Trooper Williams had served with the New Jersey State Police for only 11 months.

Rest in Peace Bro…We Got The Watch

Nemo me impune lacessit

Day is done, Gone the sun, From the lake, From the hills, From the sky. All is well, Safely rest, God is nigh. 

Officer Down

Police Officer Reginald Jacob "Jake" Gutierrez
Tacoma Police Department, Washington
End of Watch: Wednesday, November 30, 2016
Age: 45
Tour: 17 years
Badge # 44
Cause: Gunfire

Police Officer Jake Gutierrez was shot and killed after responding to a domestic disturbance call at a home on the 400 block of East 52nd Street.

A male subject inside the home opened fire on Officer Gutierrez, fatally wounding him. Other responding officers were able to make entry into the home and pulled Officer Gutierrez from it. He was transported to a local hospital where he succumbed to his wounds.

The subject barricaded himself inside the home and used two young children as human shields for several hours. He was eventually shot and killed by a Pierce County Sheriff's Office SWAT sniper.

Officer Gutierrez had served with the Tacoma Police Department for 17 years.

Rest in Peace Bro…We Got The Watch

Nemo me impune lacessit

Day is done, Gone the sun, From the lake, From the hills, From the sky. All is well, Safely rest, God is nigh. 

Officer Down

Trooper Cody James Donahue
Colorado State Patrol, Colorado
End of Watch: Friday, November 25, 2016
Age: 34
Tour: 11 years
Cause: Struck by vehicle

Trooper Cody Donahue was struck and killed by a commercial vehicle on northbound I-25, at Tomah Road, near Castle Rock.

He was investigating a minor traffic crash when the commercial vehicle struck him while he was outside of his patrol car with another trooper. He was wearing a reflective vest at the time he was struck.

Trooper Donahue had served with the Colorado State Patrol for 11 years. He is survived by his wife and two young children.

Rest in Peace Bro…We Got The Watch

Nemo me impune lacessit

Day is done, Gone the sun, From the lake, From the hills, From the sky. All is well, Safely rest, God is nigh. 

Officer Down

Sergeant Collin James Rose
Wayne State University Police Department, Michigan
End of Watch: Wednesday, November 23, 2016
Age: 29
Tour: 5 years, 6 months
Badge # 128
Cause: Gunfire
Incident Date: 11/22/2016

Sergeant Collin Rose succumbed to gunshot wound sustained the previous day while questioning a suspicious person near the university's downtown campus.

Sergeant Rose was in an area that had experienced numerous thefts from vehicles the previous day. He informed dispatchers that he was making contact with a suspicious person in front of 3650 Lincoln Street. During the encounter Sergeant Rose attempted to detain the man but the subject suddenly pulled out a gun and shot him in the head.

The subject fled the scene and remains at large.

Sergeant Rose had served with the Wayne State University Police Department for 5-1/2 years and served as a canine officer with the agency. He was posthumously promoted to the rank of Sergeant. He had previously served with the Richland Police Department. He is survived by his fiancee.

Sergeant Rose was a member of Police Unity Tour.

Rest in Peace Bro…We Got The Watch

Nemo me impune lacessit

Day is done, Gone the sun, From the lake, From the hills, From the sky. All is well, Safely rest, God is nigh. 

Off duty carry...

I started carrying off duty from the time I had my badge. From my younger days, someone told me about a gun. "It's like blood, air or a parachute. You don't need it unless you need it really bad."

Found this story from Police Magazine (linked through Texas Police News) and it gives so things to think though.

4 key considerations for off-duty carry

The topic of off-duty carry is too big an issue to ignore, especially when it is so starkly presented in the news headlines of the day

An off-duty Philadelphia Police Officer was shot Friday while he shielded his son from gunfire. Angelo Romero and his two-year-old son were caught in the crossfire of a gunfight between a two rival groups of suspects aged between 15- and 18-years-old. Romero was shot in the hand. His son was not injured. Romero is recovering and is expected to be OK.

Philadelphia Police Commissioner Richard Ross later said, “He was just so, so lucky.”

At the time of the incident, Romero was unarmed. This fact raises once again the never-ending discussion about off-duty carry. What follows is in no way a criticism of Romero, whose actions that afternoon were truly heroic. But the topic of off-duty carry is too big an issue to ignore, especially when it is so starkly presented in the news headlines of the day. News like Officer Romero’s bravery last week creates an opportunity to revisit training and other consideration for off-duty carry. Here are four things to think about.
1. Choosing your equipment

An off-duty gun is like a parachute. When you need it, you really, really need it, and nothing else will do. Like a parachute, you want to be sure that you’re packing the best possible equipment.

In an ideal world, you will be permitted to carry your duty weapon while off-duty, but we do not live in an ideal world. For many officers, their off-duty gun ends up being a different model, if not even a wholly different manufacturer than their on-duty rig.

The good news is that smaller and more-concealable versions of existing duty guns have recently come to the market. The Glock 43 and the Smith and Wesson M&P Shield are both excellent single-stack 9mm auto pistols with mechanics that mirror their bigger brothers which sit on the hips of hundreds of thousands of American police officers.

Make a very deliberate decision about location of carry (appendix, hip, ankle) and be sure you select the best possible holster for you. There are countless good options in both leather and Kydex. I’m not a fan of pocket carry (for a host of reasons), but if that’s your selection, an absolute must is getting a pocket holster from Sticky.

You can elect to add a laser-grip from Crimson Trace, or upgrade your sights to a high-visibility option such as is available from HIVIZ Shooting Systems. Both options can lead to better performance.

Be sure to spend top-dollar for the best possible ammo — cheap ammo is for plinking — and purchase a couple of spare magazines and mag pouches.

Remember that the easiest element in off-duty carry is the shopping trip to your local firearms dealer.

Things only get much, much more difficult from there — starting with training.

I have several and the ammo is changed out yearly. Ammo is cheap, your life is not.

2. Committing to training

Simply carrying a gun off-duty is not enough — one must vigorously train to use it safely and effectively. This means putting hundreds — perhaps thousands — of rounds downrange, and doing so on regular and ongoing basis.

Bring your new off-duty set-up to the company range — assuming that’s within policy, of course — and get busy. Your marksmanship training may begin with the “dot-torture” drill or some other high-intensity accuracy drill. Move on to the “who’s your buddy” drill or some other hostage-shot exercise.

Practice drawing and moving to cover simultaneously. Practice drawing and shooting from a seated position — as if at a restaurant. Practice your verbalization skills.

Whenever possible, train with a buddy — so much the better if your buddy is a firearms instructor — because having someone present to observe and critique your work is very valuable. You may even elect to attend private training from a certified instructor who specializes in CCW tactics. Be sure to do your homework on the school and the instructor — there are some snake oil salesmen out there.

When you are at home, practice dry-fire manipulations and everything else that goes into running your gun at the highest possible level. Do your mental preparation with scenario visualizations and when/then thinking.

Remember to include your family in your training. They don’t necessarily have to go to the range with you — although that is also an option to consider in the event that you go down in the fight and they have to defend themselves. Develop a language between you and your spouse and you and your kids so when you suddenly yell ‘Get behind me!’ or ‘Get away from me!’ they instantly know what to do.

Train your family to immediately call 911 in the event of an off-duty shooting. They should be able to calmly but quickly describe your appearance, your location and your firearm.

Remember, when the time to preform arrives, the time to prepare has passed.

Real good point about the family. A friend was in a restaurant in New Orleans when he noticed some suspicious people want into the restaurant they were in. After about five seconds he knew what was up, told his family "Get under the table!" and moved out to handle the threat. Yes, the three were armed and were about to rob the place. When he heard "Police! Freeze!" they ran.

3. Picking your battles

Sometimes, the battle picks you, and armed response is the only way to reasonably believe that survival of yourself or an innocent victim is possible. Recall that when 43-year-old Traci Johnson was about to be beheaded at a Vaughan Foods processing plant in 2014, the company’s chief operating officer — an off-duty Oklahoma County Sheriff’s Deputy named Mark Vaughan — shot and killed the attacker, saving Johnson’s life.

However, there are cases in which you are at such a tactical disadvantage that an armed response actually puts you in more danger than other options — most notably, seeking cover.

Remember that in Philadelphia on Friday, Romero was not the intended target — he and his son simply were caught in a lousy place at a lousy time. Had he been packing, and had he started uncorking rounds at the two warring groups, he and his son could well have become bullet magnets — not a good situation when you’re outnumbered and carrying little more than a single-stack 9mm or a six-shot .38 revolver.

Moving away from the fray and seeking solid cover is a viable option that simply must not be forgotten when you find yourself heavily outnumbered or outgunned.

Further, consider the fact that there are instances when an off-duty officer’s best course of action is to make the best possible witness for investigators. For a sheepdog, this can be a very difficult thing to do, because sheepdogs are creatures of action, not passivity. But getting into an off-duty beef can be a one-way ticket to another career, or a civil lawsuit, or both.

This reminds me, one of the most important things to have in your pocket in the event of an off-duty shooting is the name and telephone number of a good attorney. This is a relationship that has to be established when you first make the decision to carry off duty. Have this programed into your contacts list on your phone.

Excellent advise about a lawyer.

4. Welcoming the cavalry
If you’re off-duty and you get into a shooting, as soon as the gunfire ends, you should prepare to immediately comply with commands of arriving uniformed officers. When the threat has been neutralized, reholstering the gun or even setting it on the ground is a good way to prevent a tragic blue-on-blue situation when the good guys get to the scene.

Once the uniforms get there, they run the show and you do your best imitation of a compliant citizen. Put yourself in the shoes of those arriving uniforms. Would you want a guy in plain clothes waving a badge and a gun around at a “shots fired” scene?

A suggestion made by my academy staff was once the calvary arrived is to have your badge or ID out next to your gun. That is where the cops will look at. Being able to verify you're a good guy is important.

Doug Wyllie is Editor at Large for PoliceOne, responsible for providing police training content and expert analysis on a wide range of topics and trends that affect the law enforcement community...

Now for something completely different...

Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Sammy Davis Jr, Johnny Carson, Quincy Jones and Count Basie.

From the early 1960s, six incredible talents. Enjoy.

Officer Down

Trooper Eric Dale Ellsworth
Utah Highway Patrol, Utah
End of Watch: Tuesday, November 22, 2016
Age: 32
Tour: 7 years
Badge # 395
Cause: Struck by vehicle
Incident Date: 11/18/2016

Trooper Eric Ellsworth succumbed to injuries sustained when he was struck by a vehicle at approximately 9:45 pm on November 18th, 2016.

He had responded to reports of low hanging power lines on Route 13, near 13600 North, in Box Elder County. He was waiting for the local power company to arrive at the scene to repair the line when he observed a semi approaching. As he exited his patrol car to warn the driver of the obstruction he was struck by a vehicle traveling in the opposite direction.

He was flown to Intermountain Medical Center in grave condition. He succumbed to his injuries four days later.

Trooper Ellsworth had served with the Utah Highway Patrol for seven years. He is survived by his wife, three young sons, and parents. His father is a retired Utah Highway Patrol trooper.

Rest in Peace Bro…We Got The Watch

Nemo me impune lacessit

Day is done, Gone the sun, From the lake, From the hills, From the sky. All is well, Safely rest, God is nigh. 

STRATFOR: The Dawn of the Armored Fighting Vehicle, September 15, 2016

The Dawn of the Armored Fighting Vehicle

Summary

On the morning of Sept. 15, 1916, soldiers of the German 1st Army rushed to their defensive positions between Flers and Courcelette, on the Western Front. The lifting of the Allied artillery barrage typically presaged an infantry charge, and the defenders made their machine guns ready to cut down advancing British and French troops. But this time, instead of onrushing infantry, from the smoke and mist emerged grinding mechanical contraptions, spewing bullets and shells. The Germans poured machine-gun fire onto the strange, new vehicles lumbering across the ragged mud and wire of no man's land, but the bullets had little effect. The day of the tank — a concept that would go on to define land warfare in the 20th century — had arrived.

The Battle of Flers-Courcelette was part of the ongoing Battle of the Somme in France and the first time that modern armored fighting vehicles were deployed in combat. Yet despite triumphant claims in the British press of a new weapon that would turn the tide of war by breaking the impermeable German lines, the tank's initial deployment was largely inauspicious. Those first tanks were rushed into service and woefully underpowered for the terrain they would encounter while saddled with the weight of armor. Riddled with developmental problems and manned by crews with almost no training, of the 49 original Mark I tanks deployed to France 100 years ago, 36 set off from the British line of departure Sept. 15. Only 27 made it as far as German forward positions, and a meager six trundled as far as the secondary and tertiary objectives. Mechanical failure plagued the new invention, but the concept had been proved, and successive generations of tanks and tank tactics would turn a "mobile pillbox" into a battle-winning asset.

 

The Evolution of the Tank 

The appalling conditions of static trench warfare in World War I made life miserable for the fighting troops, and the incessant mud and rain also presented severe logistical problems. Moving large amounts of men and materiel by sea and rail was efficient. But getting ammunition, supplies or replacement troops from the railhead or port to the front lines was not. The constant passage of foot traffic and light vehicles made the largely unpaved roads and dirt tracks impassable. The wheeled vehicles of the time were inadequate for the conditions. Engines lacked the power to cope with broken terrain, and wheels simply sank into the muck. As a result, most armies continued to use horses and horse-drawn artillery for the duration of the war. 

Innovators of the industrial age prided themselves on finding mechanical solutions to man's problems, and the answer to moving heavy supplies to the front lines was continuous track technology — already prevalent in agriculture. That innovation was initially ignored by the British military establishment, but worsening battlefield conditions eventually resulted in trials of vehicles such as the Holt Caterpillar tractor, which was deemed suitable for hauling heavy artillery — but little else. 

In a conflict known for its technological innovation and rapid prototyping, it is somewhat ironic that the inception of the tank was such a fraught and painful process. Early designs for armored fighting vehicles failed to capture the interest of the British or French hierarchy, and it fell to the Royal Navy to nurture the imaginatively titled "landships" project. At the insistence of Winston Churchill, then first lord of the admiralty, the Landships Committee sought to develop an armored fighting vehicle prototype. The aptly named "Little Willie" was tested Dec. 3, 1915, but was found insufficient for the breaching and crossing tasks envisaged. This led to the development of the now-classic rhomboidal tank design, which serves to this day as the insignia of the British Royal Tank Regiment. Following a successful demonstration during which the fledgling Mark I (christened "Mother") defeated a number of typical Western Front obstacles, including low wire entanglements, cratered ground, trench systems and parapets, an initial order of 100 vehicles was made… 

Tactical Analysis

The tank was originally conceived as an infantry support platform and moved at walking pace. Able to traverse trenches and breach wire obstacles, tanks relied on intimate support from ground troops. The steel armor offered some degree of protection from small arms, and the tanks' weapons were effective in knocking out German gun positions. Successive generations of tanks, most notably the Mark V, sought to rectify the mechanical problems that plagued the early designs. Even so, tanks remained prone to mechanical failure throughout World War I. Crew comfort was an afterthought, and conditions inside the first tanks were infamously bad. It was not uncommon for a tank to stop midattack because its crew had passed out from internal fumes. 

In September's Battle of Flers-Courcelette, the Allies gained substantially more ground with about half the casualties than in a similar attack that they had staged in July. Though the addition of tanks to the attack was one factor in increasing their success, a general revision of battlefield tactics was underway, and other technologies were having a larger impact on the war. Better integration between infantry and artillery, aided by aerial spotters, was to prove pivotal. A more decentralized approach to command and improved liaison between formations also improved operational effectiveness on the ground. And in terms of troop tactics, the first major update to prewar methodology had been disseminated in May 1915. This paved the way for an updated training manual in February 1917 that effectively did away with "traditional" infantry tactics — namely, forming up in an extended line and advancing slowly toward the enemy. Several techniques from the revised manual are still employed by modern infantry platoons. 

The infantry support tank served its purpose, and massed assaults combining armor and infantry continued. Spurred on by French and British innovations, the German army proceeded to make its own heavy tank. But it was the advent of the "cruiser" tank by the British in the 1930s that best illustrated where the future of armored warfare lay. Cruisers were lighter and faster than heavy tanks (often at the expense of protection and firepower) and operated more like traditional cavalry — exploiting battlefield gains and pursuing fleeing troops. Lighter tanks also proved useful for reconnaissance, and the British continued to experiment with tank design and tactics in the postwar years. Though the Allies led in the field of tank design in World War I, after the war, the Germans and the Russians recognized the untapped potential of armored warfare and invested heavily in design and employment. 

The holy grail of tank design is a highly mobile platform with excellent protection and formidable armament, embodied by the German Tiger series of World War II. Tank technology and battlefield tactics matured during the years between the two wars, but the masterstroke was to fully utilize radio communications as an aid to command and control, leading to more effective maneuver and shock action. The German high command in World War II realized that an integrated force comprising infantry, armor, artillery and air assets operating in concert was devastating on the battlefield.

The impact of the tank on the World War I battlefield was very localized and, while they contributed to tactical success, tanks were not independently responsible for it. Still, where infantry proved vulnerable, the tank plowed on regardless, cleaving a path for skirmishers to follow. That in itself was revolutionary, and the advantage of defense held by the entrenched German army took a critical blow as a result.

COPYRIGHT: STRATFOR.COM

A law cops are not above....

Nor do the need to enforce.

Officer Down

Deputy Sheriff Eric James Oliver
Nassau County Sheriff's Office, Florida
End of Watch: Tuesday, November 22, 2016
Age: 32
Tour: 7 years
Badge # 935
Cause: Struck by vehicle

Deputy Sheriff Eric Oliver was struck and killed by a vehicle while involved in a foot pursuit of a subject near the intersection of County Road 200 and Chester Road at approximately 7:30 am.

He and another deputy had responded to backup several United States Border Patrol agents who were interviewing several subjects at a gas station. One of the subjects being questioned fled on foot with Deputy Oliver and the second deputy in pursuit. Deputy Oliver was struck by a vehicle as he chased the subject across the roadway.

The man being pursued fled the scene but was later apprehended and held on felony charges of entering the United States illegally.

Deputy Oliver was a U.S. Navy veteran and had served with the Nassau County Sheriff's Office for seven years. He is survived by his wife, 6-year-old daughter, parents, and two brothers.

Rest in Peace Bro…We Got The Watch

Nemo me impune lacessit

Day is done, Gone the sun, From the lake, From the hills, From the sky. All is well, Safely rest, God is nigh. 

K9 Down

K9 Payne
Pembroke Police Department, North Carolina
End of Watch: Tuesday, November 29, 2016
Breed: Labrador Retriever
Age: 2
Gender: M
Cause: Gunfire
Incident Date: 11/18/2016

K9 Payne succumbed to gunshot wounds sustained on November 18th, 2016, when he was shot while on duty in the area of Union Chapel Road and Garden Street.

Payne's handler had let him out of their patrol car for exercise during their shift. It is believed that Payne picked up a scent and began to track it as he ran out of sight of his handler. Several minutes later his handler heard several gunshots. Payne then returned to his handler suffering two gunshot wounds.

It is believed that a homeowner mistook Payne for a dog that was going to attack his dogs.

Payne was taken to a local animal hospital where he remained for several days. He suffered complications after being released and died on November 29th, 2016.

K9 Payne had served as a narcotics detention canine for one year with the Pembroke Police Department.

Rest in Peace …till our next roll call at the Rainbow Bridge!

In Memory of all Police Dogs

They handled themselves with beauty & grace

And who could ever forget that beautiful face

Whether at work; or at home; whatever the test

They always worked hard; and did their best

They were real champions; at work or at play

But their lives were cut short; suddenly one day

While working on the job with their partner one day

They put themselves out on a limb; out into harms way

They gave the ultimate sacrifice; any dog can give

They gave up their life; so someone could live

The best of their breed; as his partner and anyone would say

Many hearts are now broken; that he had to prove it this way

Now as the trees are blowing in the gentle breeze

The sun is shining; thru the leaves on the trees

The meadows are green; and the grass grows tall

Off in the distance they can see a waterfall

As they look over the falls; down through the creek

The water flows gently; as a rabbit sneaks a peek

Far up above; in the deep blue sky

They see the birds soar high; as they fly by

They see animals playing; at the bridge by a waterfall

Chasing each other; and just having a ball

They play all day; from morning to night

There's no more rain; just warm sunlight

Off in the distance; they hear trumpets blow

Then all the animals look up; and notice a bright glow

The harps would play and the angels would sing

As they know they've come home; they've earned their wings

We remember that they died; in the line of duty

And are now with the Lord; sharing in heaven's beauty

Off to the meadows now; where they can play and roam free

With an occasional rest stop; under a tall oak tree

No more bad guys to chase; or bullets to take

Just a run through the meadow; down to the lake

A quick splash in the water; then back to the shore

Then it's off to the forest; to go play some more

These special dogs are back home; up in heaven above

They're cradled in God's arm's; and covered with His love

We'll light a candle for all of them; in the dark of night

In loving memory of all; these very special knights

By John Quealy

STRATFOR: Conversation: What's Next for the Islamic State, October 25, 2016

Conversation: What's Next for the Islamic State

Stratfor's Fred Burton and Scott Stewart discuss the challenges that the militant group will face after the battle for Mosul.

Conversation: What's Next for the Islamic State is republished with permission of Stratfor.

Another reason I will not miss the B Hussein Obama regime.

It again shows he really doesn't care about cops or their families.

In one of the first acts of his presidency, B Hussein Obama stuck his nose and ears into a local event with little knowledge, jumped to conclusions based upon his bias and made an ass out of himself (an event that would repeat itself over the next 8 years). With little knowledge of the event, he complained that his fellow race baiter was mistreated by the cops when a neighbor called about a possible burglar.

My understanding is that Professor Gates then shows his I.D. to show that this is his house and, at that point, he gets arrested for disorderly conduct, charges which are later dropped," Obama said.

"I don't know, not having been there and not seeing all the facts, what role race played in that [Gates case]. But I think it's fair to say, number one, any of us would be pretty angry; number two, that the Cambridge police acted stupidly in arresting somebody when there was already proof that they were in their own home; and, number three, what I think we know separate and apart from this incident is that there's a long history in this country of African-Americans and Latinos being stopped by law enforcement disproportionately. That's just a fact."

Gotta say, you did say something correct, ""I don't know, not having been there and not seeing all the facts...'

Fast forward a few years later and Obama and his "Just-Us" department are working to target cops doing their jobs. Darren Wilson justifiably shot the thug Michael Brown. After the incident, Wilson lost his career, he and his family are now in hiding and we have terrorist groups like Black Lives Matter going after cops and their families. In reaction, Congress passed legislation for a "Blue Alert" system. Well...

LAWCOMMENTARY

Obama Administration Still Hasn’t Implemented Alert System to Protect Police, 15 Months After It Passed Congress

Following the Dec. 20, 2014, ambush murders of New York Police Department Officers Wenjian Liu and Rafael Ramos, police officers and their supporters called upon Congress and the Obama administration to take action to help reduce the likelihood of similar events occurring in the future.

A clarion call was struck for Congress to enact the Rafael Ramos and Wenjian Liu National Blue Alert Act of 2015, a nationwide infrastructure of alert systems similar to the type employed in a variety of states throughout the country.

Much like the Amber Alert or Silver Alert systems, which inform the public of incidents of child abductions and missing or at-risk elderly individuals, respectively, the Blue Alert system was meant to alert members of the law enforcement community to threats seen as particularly important for the safety of police officers nationwide.

The hope was to allow information to be disseminated quickly enough that officers could protect themselves against oncoming threats.

Surprisingly, unlike a majority of ideas floating around Congress, support for a nationwide Blue Alert system was near universal and the legislation breezed through both houses of congress on a voice vote.

The Obama administration swiftly signed the bill into law on May 19, 2015—less than six months from the date of the murders of (New York Police Officers) Liu and Ramos....

...Now, more than a year after the Blue Alert Act was signed into law, it continues to languish in a sea of bureaucratic inaction, without implementation.

And while the Obama administration dithers on getting the Blue Alert system in place and active, more and more police officers find themselves at risk and the target of an emboldened criminal element.

Why the hesitation or indecisiveness on the part of the Obama administration in implementing the Blue Alert system? How has it taken so long to enact a system that has otherwise been in use for years in 27 states and counting?

This time, the answer may not surprise you.

According to a statement provided to USA Today, the Obama Justice Department claimed it had taken over a year to merely determine which office within the DOJ should be responsible for implementing the program.

Really?

We can never know for certain whether a fully functioning Blue Alert system could have prevented a single police officer’s death since the bill was passed last year—in fact, a Blue Alert system was already in place in Texas at the time of the July 7 sniper attack that claimed the lives of five Dallas-area police officers.

But in an era of heightened anti-police rhetoric and ever ubiquitous violent attacks against the men and women of law enforcement, the Obama administration has no excuse but to make the full implementation of a nationwide Blue Alert system an absolute priority....

In all fairness, this is the group that took over 4 years and over a trillion dollars and couldn't make a website work, so efficiency and ability are not strong points for the Obama regime. The fact police deaths by firearm have soared 72% this year and are up 14% overall is not a concern of this administration or its supporters. But with a new president and a very law enforcement supportive attorney general coming in, we should have some hope for the future.

Another reason for cops to say to B Hussein Obama on his way out, "good riddance!"

I got unfriended on Facebook in the days after the election by a fellow cop. In fairness, he wasn't a real "friend" but more a business associate. And he is a very big Obama supporter. Now a point I made to him was Mrs. Bill Clinton specifically rejected the invitation to speak at the Fraternal Order of Police convention. Trump addressed them and was endorsed by the largest police organization in the country.

It's been well known Obama and his administration are at best indifferent to law and order issues and at worse (most of the time) hostility to law enforcement and encouraging of rioters. Well on his way out, the Obama regime is giving cops another "FU."

Obama Appoints Cop Killer Mumia Abu-Jamal’s Attorney to 6-Year Civil Rights Post

In a move that has already sparked a backlash among law enforcement groups, President Barack Obama on Thursday appointed Debo Adegbile, a former attorney for convicted cop killer Mumia Abu-Jamal, to a six-year post on the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights. The eight-member commission consists of four members appointed by the president and four appointed by Congress. Unfortunately, the six-year appointments are not subject to Senate confirmation.

Via The Washington Times:

Mr. Adegbile worked at the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund when he represented Abu-Jamal in the appeal of his conviction and death sentence for the notorious 1981 shooting death of Philadelphia police officer Daniel Faulkner. Abu-Jamal’s sentence was reduced to life in prison.

The case prompted the Senate to reject Mr. Adegbile’s nomination in 2014 when Mr. Obama appointed him to lead the Justice Department’s office on civil rights. Some Democrats joined Republicans in voting down the selection at that time.

According to PJ Media's J. Christian Adams, "while [Adegbile was] overseeing the NAACP LDF, the organization offered legal representation to Mumia Abu-Jamal, the murderer of Philadelphia police officer Danny Faulkner." At the time, Adams called Obama's "ultra radical pick" to lead the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division an "in-your-face nomination..."

The FBI Agents Association, National Fraternal Order of Police, Major County Sheriff’s Association, National Association of Police Organizations, National Sheriff’s Association, and the New Jersey State Policemen’s Benevolent Association all came out in fierce opposition to the nomination of Adegbile in 2014.

Adegbile was rejected on a 52-47 vote in the Senate, which Obama called a “travesty based on wildly unfair character attacks against a good and qualified public servant...”

Hopefully this agency gets cut out completely by the Trump administration. Another group of oxygen thieves who need to be removed from the federal payroll.

Officer Down

Detective Benjamin Edward Marconi
San Antonio Police Department, Texas
End of Watch: Sunday, November 20, 2016
Bio & Incident Details
Age: 50
Tour: 20 years
Badge # 2382
Cause: Gunfire

Detective Benjamin Marconi was shot and killed from ambush as he conducted a traffic stop of a vehicle near the intersection of West Nueva Street and Santa Rosa Street at approximately 11:45 am.

Detective Marconi was sitting in his patrol car during the stop when an unrelated subject stopped his car behind Detective Marconi's patrol car. The man walked up to the passenger side of Detective Marconi's patrol car and shot Detective Marconi once in the head. The man then leaned into the patrol car and shot Detective Marconi a second time.

The subject fled in his vehicle. He was later arrested by members of San Antonio Police Department SWAT team.

Detective Marconi served with the San Antonio Police Department for 20 years. He is survived by his two children.

Rest in Peace Bro…We Got The Watch

Nemo me impune lacessit

Day is done, Gone the sun, From the lake, From the hills, From the sky. All is well, Safely rest, God is nigh.