What's going on in the World Today 181012

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USA

Mad rush. The last week of the fiscal year always means a pick-up in defense contracts as the Pentagon rushes to empty its coffers. But this year was more dramatic than most.

Just weeks after winning a major U.S. Navy contract to build the next-generation MQ-25 carrier-based tanker, Boeing snagged two additional Pentagon deals, including the largest U.S. Air Force aircraft program for the foreseeable future.

Meanwhile, Lockheed Martin announced a deal with the Pentagon for the latest batch of F-35s, bringing the unit price of an F-35A below $90 million for the first time.

And Jeff Bezos’ space company, Blue Origin, won a multi-million dollar contract to supply rocket engines for a next-generation rocket being built by United Launch Alliance, a joint venture of Boeing and Lockheed.

Here is a look at some of the major defense contracts finalized this week:

• Sept. 24: Boeing and partner Italy’s Leonardo edged out two competitors – Lockheed Martin Sikorsky and Sierra Nevada Corps – for a contract worth up to $2.38 billion for the Air Force’s UH-1N replacement helicopter, which will guard the nuclear missile fields and transport VIPs. The MH-139 helicopters will be built at Leonardo’s commercial AW-139 production plant in Philadelphia.

• Sept. 27: Boeing and partner Sweden’s Saab again beat out two competitors – Lockheed and Leonardo – to win an up to $9.2 billion to build a fleet of 351 next-generation T-X fighter/bomber trainers for the Air Force

• Sept. 28: ULA selected Blue Origin to power the booster for its next-generation, all-American Vulcan Centaur rocket. Aerojet Rocketdyne was also in the running.

• Sept. 28: The Pentagon and Lockheed announced that they had finalized an $11.5 billion contract for the 11th batch of F-35s. The deal comprises 141 new jets and follows a handshake deal between the two parties, announced in July. The deal pushes the cost of the F-35A conventional variant to $89.2 million per unit, a 5.4 percent reduction over the last contract.

• Sept. 28: The Navy tapped two shipbuilding companies, Huntington Ingalls Industries and Bath Iron Works, to build ten of its Flight III Arleigh Burke-class destroyers, awarding the firms contracts worth about $9 billion altogether.



AFRICA

NOTHING SIGNIFICANT TO REPORT

ASIA

U.S. carrier leads warships in biggest ever Japan defense war game

ABOARD USS RONALD REAGAN (Reuters) - U.S. fighter jets darted over the Western Pacific on Saturday as the nuclear powered USS Ronald Reagan aircraft carrier joined Japanese destroyers and a Canadian warship for the biggest combat readiness war game ever staged in and around Japan.

Japan and the United States have mobilized 57,000 sailors, marines and airmen for the biennial Keen Sword exercise, 11,000 more than in 2016, with simulated air combat, amphibious landings and ballistic missile defense drills. Japan’s contingent of 47,000 personnel represents a fifth of the nation’s armed forces.

“We are here to stabilize, and preserve our capability should it be needed. Exercises like Keen Sword are exactly the kind of thing we need to do,” Rear Admiral Karl Thomas, the commander of the carrier strike group, said during a press briefing in the Reagan’s focsle as F-18 fighter jets catapulted off the flight deck above him.

Eight other ships joined the carrier for anti-submarine warfare drills in a show of force in waters that Washington and Tokyo fear will increasingly come under Beijing’s influence...

EUROPE

Arctic muscle. In the latest sign that the Pentagon is looking to flex its muscles during an era of great power competition, the aircraft carrier USS Harry S. Truman entered the Norwegian Sea on Friday, the first flattop to do so since September 1991. The carrier and select escorts from its strike group are preparing to participate in a massive NATO exercise straddling late October and early November.

LATIN/SOUTH AMERICA

Colombian cocaine production hit record levels in 2017, according to newly released UN statistics.

The UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) says production rose about 31% year on year to some 1,400 tonnes, cultivated on 171,000 hectares.

The agency warned production could harm recent peace-building efforts.

Colombia is the world's largest producer of cocaine, much of which ends up in the US, which is the world's largest consumer.

Gloria María Borrero Restrepo, Colombia's justice minister, reportedly called the data "really very worrying".

How much is being produced?

According to the UNODC report, the coca production acreage in Colombia last year was the highest ever recorded level, increasing by 25,000 hectares from 2016.

The total acreage under coca cultivation was an estimated 17% higher in 2017 than 2016.

The report said the potential production of cocaine had a value of $2.7bn (£2bn) in the local market...

AFGHANISTAN

NOTHING SIGNIFICANT TO REPORT

CHINA

U.S. sanctions China for buying Russian fighter jets, missiles

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Trump administration imposed sanctions on the Chinese military on Thursday for buying fighter jets and missile systems from Russia, in breach of a sweeping U.S. sanctions law punishing Moscow for meddling in the 2016 U.S. election.

In Beijing, the Chinese government expressed anger and demanded the sanctions be withdrawn.

The U.S. State Department said it would immediately impose sanctions on China’s Equipment Development Department (EDD), the military branch responsible for weapons and equipment, and its director, Li Shangfu, for engaging in “significant transactions” with Rosoboronexport, Russia’s main arms exporter.

The sanctions are related to China’s purchase of 10 SU-35 combat aircraft in 2017 and S-400 surface-to-air missile system-related equipment in 2018, the State Department said.

They block the Chinese agency, and Li, from applying for export licenses and participating in the U.S. financial system...

IRAN

Iran says its land-to-sea missiles can now travel 700 km

LONDON (Reuters) - Iran has extended the range of its land-to-sea ballistic missiles to 700 km (435 miles), a senior Iranian military official said on Tuesday amid rising tensions with the United States over Tehran’s missile program.

U.S. President Donald Trump pulled out of an international agreement on Iran’s nuclear program in May and reimposed sanctions on Tehran, saying the deal was flawed because it did not include curbs on Iran’s development of ballistic missiles or its support for proxies in Syria, Yemen, Lebanon and Iraq.

Iran, which says its missile program is purely defensive, has threatened to disrupt oil shipments through the Strait of Hormuz in the Gulf if the United States tries to strangle Iranian oil exports.

IRAQ

NOTHING SIGNIFICANT TO REPORT

ISRAEL

Israel, China: Beijing Tempts Israel With Money for Development

The Big Picture

From Asia to Africa, China is challenging the United States. In the Middle East, it is finding ways to exploit the region's need for investment and to build up relationships beneath the dominating U.S. shadow. The Belt and Road Initiative is a means to that strategic end, and in Israel, Beijing is trying to close a key gap in the Levant. But America's close relationship with Israel means that the task won't be easy.

China's relationship with Israel is unlike any other Beijing is pursuing in the Middle East. Israel is the closest U.S. ally in the region and dependent upon American military aid to keep its armed forces on the cutting edge. Yet China is trying to use the heft of its financial investing to make inroads into Israel and the region. On Oct. 25, Chinese Vice President Wang Qishan completed a three-day trip to Israel, where he sought to expand the Belt and Road Initiative and undermine U.S. influence. The visit produced few new developments in their relations — only promises of future free trade and cooperation — but it did serve to heighten U.S. concern about Beijing's influence there.

In the short term, China is trying to get access to Israeli technology and the know-how behind its vibrant startup environment. In the long term, it is trying to build up a greater partnership to open doors for future strategic development in the Middle East. To do so, it must contend with Israel's close ties to the United States and any obstacles Washington could throw in its way...

KOREAN PENNSULEA

Japan, North Korea: Intelligence Officials Reportedly Met Secretly in Early October

What Happened: Shigeru Kitamura, the head of Japan's Cabinet Intelligence and Research Office, met with an official from the North Korean United Front Department in Mongolia's capital from approximately Oct. 6 to 8 to discuss the past abductions of Japanese nationals, Kyodo reported Oct. 19.

Why It Matters: While Japan has not yet participated in recent efforts to engage with North Korea, this report indicates that Pyongyang is willing to compromise on the issue of abductions. In addition, Japan's decision to engage with North Korea through intelligence officials rather than its Foreign Ministry matches the United States' recent approach.

Background: Japan has long been the strongest adherent to the U.S.-led campaign of maximum pressure against North Korea, as well as the country most excluded from recent diplomatic progress. North Korea has a historic enmity toward Japan, and Tokyo has repeatedly insisted on resolving the contentious issue of Cold War abductions, in which Pyongyang allegedly kidnapped Japanese citizens...

RUSSIA

New Roles For MiG-31 May Include Fighting Satellites

GDANSK -- The MiG-31 interceptor has found a second life – in fact more than one. Not only has the aircraft known to NATO as the Foxhound been extensively upgraded, but the MiG-31 has also taken on new tasks – as the Kinzhal ground-strike system and as an aerospace missile system that can deliver small satellites to orbit or fight enemy satellites.

In September 2018, at the Russian aviation industry’s test center in Zhukovsky, an experimental MiG-31, number “81,” performed its first flight with an extremely large unknown missile suspended on the centerline pylon. The first high-speed taxiing of this coupling was performed several months earlier.

The current program is supposed to be a follow-on of the 30P6 Kontakt (Contact) satellite intercept program of 1984-1995, under which the MiG-31D aircraft with Fakel 79M6 missile was made, and the improved MiG-31DM with Fakel 95M6 missile was being designed.

As early as August 2009, the then Commander-in-Chief of the Russian Air Force, Alexander Zelin, said the Kontakt program might be reactivated. In November 2013, the Russian Duma’s defense committee appealed to President Vladimir Putin to resume the anti-satellite Kontakt program. A parliamentary document sought to order the government to implement the measures needed to renew research and development work on Kontakt within the nation’s armament program from 2016-2025. It is likely that at that time the activities on the new aerospace system, the actual codename of which is unknown, were already in progress.

The advantage of an airborne anti-satellite system over a ground-based one is longer range: the MiG-31 can deliver a missile over a distance of up to 1,000 km (621 mi.) before launch. The characteristics of the current system remain unknown, but they probably are similar to those of the previous Kontakt system, which was intended to destroy non-maneuvering or maneuvering satellites in low orbits.

The 79M6 missile, weighing 4,550 kg (10,031 lb.) was launched by a MiG-31D flying at the speed of Mach 2.55 and altitude of 22 km, and continued to the target, which was at the altitude of 120 km to 600 km, depending on the distance. The missile flight time was 100 to 380 second. The satellite was to be destroyed by a direct hit or detonation of a small, 20-kg explosive charge. The target was designated for the MiG-31 by ground-based 45Zh6 Krona (Crown) system, consisting of large decameter and centimeter-wavelength electronic-scanning radar and optical-laser locator and rangefinder. The Krona system was overhauled and upgraded during 2009-2010.

Two MiG-31D prototypes flew for the first time on Jan. 17, 1987. The trials took place at the evaluation center in Zhukovsky near Moscow and then were relocated to Kambala air base on Shary Sagan testing range in Kazakhstan, the Soviet-era proving ground for the Air Defense Forces, which was also tasked with testing missile defense systems. After the collapse of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, the Shary Sagan test range and both MiG-31D aircraft became property of Kazakhstan.

Memoirs of test pilots indicate that the MiG-31D aircraft flew about 100 sorties with the anti-satellite missile. Missile drops were conducted, but probably without starting the engine. The Soyuz design bureau of Kazan made solid-fuel rocket motors 27D6 for the first stage and 28D6 for the second stage of the 79M6 missile; the third stage had Klimov 16S6 liquid-fuel rocket motor. The 27D6 booster caused problems already during ground tests and new propulsion was being designed for the upgraded missile...

MIDDLE EAST GENERAL

NOTHING SIGNIFICANT TO REPORT

CYBER ISSUES

North Korea's Hackers Play the Long Game

Highlights

- A U.S. federal investigation has shown that Pyongyang has been planning its cyberattacks far in advance, typically with the aim of stealing money rather disrupting its enemies.

- North Korea and others rely on invasive surveillance to increase the potency of their attacks, yet such action increases the chances that hackers will be detected ahead of time.

- Investigations into hacking can force assailants to alter their tactics and operations, but they are not enough to stop them outright.

In July, we noted that the Islamic republic has been playing the numbers game in the world of cyberattacks, using relatively rudimentary tactics in a shotgun approach that targets thousands of individuals in the hopes that a small percentage become victims. Now, the recent release of a U.S. Department of Justice criminal complaint depicts a similar, yet very different, threat from North Korea over the past four years...

Hackers accused of ties to Russia hit three East European companies: cybersecurity firm

BRATISLAVA (Reuters) - Hackers have infected three energy and transport companies in Ukraine and Poland with sophisticated new malware and may be planning destructive cyber attacks, a software security firm said on Wednesday.

A report by researchers at Slovakia-based ESET did not attribute the hacking activity, recorded between 2015 and mid-2018, to any specific country but blamed it on a group that has been accused by Britain of having links to Russian military intelligence.

The report is the latest to raise suspicions in the West about Russia’s GRU spy agency, accused by London of conducting a “reckless campaign” of global cyber attacks and trying to kill a former Russian spy in England. Moscow denies the charges.

Investigators at ESET said the group responsible for a series of earlier attacks against the Ukrainian energy sector, which used malicious software known as BlackEnergy, had now developed and used a new malware suite called GreyEnergy.

ESET has helped investigate a series of high-profile cyber attacks on Ukraine in recent years, including those on the Ukrainian energy grid which led to power outages in late 2015...

China's Corporate Espionage Looms Large in Its Battle With the U.S.

By Scott Stewart

VP of Tactical Analysis, Stratfor

- A series of court documents and statements by U.S. government officials have highlighted China's corporate espionage efforts once more, suggesting that Beijing will continue to prioritize the theft of trade secrets.

- Building on their work in monitoring the activities of Chinese intelligence officers and hackers, U.S. agencies like the FBI and others are redoubling their efforts to oppose Beijing's spying activities.

- As the espionage/counterespionage battle grows between the United States and China, U.S. companies and organizations operating in China could suffer the consequences, even if they do not consider themselves to be targets of spying...

China Shows Off First Quantum Radar Prototype

ZHUHAI, China—A potentially breakthrough quantum radar prototype is making a debut appearance at the Zhuhai Airshow.

In displaying the unique device, China Electronics Technology Group Corporation (CETC) is offering a tantalizing glimpse of one of its most ambitious technologies.

In theory, integrating the principle of quantum entanglement in a radar system can vastly improve performance, making the sensor significantly less vulnerable to radio frequency jamming and more adept at detecting targets...

...The principle of quantum radar is well understood. The device creates a stream of entangled photons, which is then split into two streams. One of them is converted into a microwave frequency that is transmitted and reflected like a traditional radar. The other stream of photons remains in that state as an “idler beam...”

INTEL GENERAL

NOTHING SIGNIFICANT TO REPORT

TERRORISM

When Terrorism Isn't Intended to Kill

By Scott Stewart
VP of Tactical Analysis, Stratfor

Highlights

-The person who sent a recent series of bombs through the mail to top Democrats and others in the United States did not design the devices to explode.

-The inclusion of bombmaking components, shrapnel and white powder in the packages suggests that the perpetrator was attempting to scare and intimidate rather than kill.

-Nevertheless, the packages contained all the elements of a "destructive device" under U.S. law, meaning the sender is likely to receive lengthy prison sentences for the offenses...

MISC

A Middle East Monarchy Hired American Ex-Soldiers To Kill Its Political Enemies. This Could Be The Future Of War.

Cradling an AK-47 and sucking a lollipop, the former American Green Beret bumped along in the back of an armored SUV as it wound through the darkened streets of Aden. Two other commandos on the mission were former Navy SEALs. As elite US special operations fighters, they had years of specialized training by the US military to protect America. But now they were working for a different master: a private US company that had been hired by the United Arab Emirates, a tiny desert monarchy on the Persian Gulf.

On that night, December 29, 2015, their job was to carry out an assassination.

Their armed attack, described to BuzzFeed News by two of its participants and corroborated by drone surveillance footage, was the first operation in a startling for-profit venture. For months in war-torn Yemen, some of America’s most highly trained soldiers worked on a mercenary mission of murky legality to kill prominent clerics and Islamist political figures.

Their target that night: Anssaf Ali Mayo, the local leader of the Islamist political party Al-Islah. The UAE considers Al-Islah to be the Yemeni branch of the worldwide Muslim Brotherhood, which the UAE calls a terrorist organization. Many experts insist that Al-Islah, one of whose members won the Nobel Peace Prize, is no terror group. They say it's a legitimate political party that threatens the UAE not through violence but by speaking out against its ambitions in Yemen.

The mercenaries’ plan was to attach a bomb laced with shrapnel to the door of Al-Islah’s headquarters, located near a soccer stadium in central Aden, a key Yemeni port city. The explosion, one of the leaders of the expedition explained, was supposed to “kill everybody in that office.”

When they arrived at 9:57 at night, all seemed quiet. The men crept out of the SUV, guns at the ready. One carried the explosive charge toward the building. But just as he was about to reach the door, another member of the team opened fire, shooting back along the dimly lit street, and their carefully designed plan went haywire.

The operation against Mayo — which was reported at the time but until now was not known to have been carried out by American mercenaries — marked a pivot point in the war in Yemen, a brutal conflict that has seen children starved, villages bombed, and epidemics of cholera roll through the civilian population. The bombing was the first salvo in a string of unsolved assassinations that killed more than two dozen of the group’s leaders.

The company that hired the soldiers and carried out the attack is Spear Operations Group, incorporated in Delaware and founded by Abraham Golan, a charismatic Hungarian Israeli security contractor who lives outside of Pittsburgh. He led the team’s strike against Mayo.

“There was a targeted assassination program in Yemen,” he told BuzzFeed News. “I was running it. We did it. It was sanctioned by the UAE within the coalition.”

The UAE and Saudi Arabia lead an alliance of nine countries in Yemen, fighting what is largely a proxy war against Iran. The US is helping the Saudi-UAE side by providing weapons, intelligence, and other support.

The press office of the UAE’s US Embassy, as well as its US public affairs company, Harbour Group, did not respond to multiple phone calls and emails.

The revelations that a Middle East monarchy hired Americans to carry out assassinations comes at a moment when the world is focused on the alleged murder of dissident journalist Jamal Khashoggi by Saudi Arabia, an autocratic regime that has close ties to both the US and the UAE. (The Saudi Embassy in the US did not respond to a request for comment. Riyadh has denied it killed Khashoggi, though news reports suggest it is considering blaming his death on a botched interrogation.)

Golan said that during his company’s months-long engagement in Yemen, his team was responsible for a number of the war’s high-profile assassinations, though he declined to specify which ones. He argued that the US needs an assassination program similar to the model he deployed. “I just want there to be a debate,” he said. “Maybe I’m a monster. Maybe I should be in jail. Maybe I’m a bad guy. But I’m right.”

Spear Operations Group’s private assassination mission marks the confluence of three developments transforming the way war is conducted worldwide:

- Modern counterterrorism combat has shifted away from traditional military objectives — such as destroying airfields, gun emplacements, or barracks — to killing specific individuals, largely reshaping war into organized assassinations.

- War has become increasingly privatized, with many nations outsourcing most military support services to private contractors, leaving frontline combat as virtually the only function that the US and many other militaries have not contracted out to for-profit ventures.

- The long US wars in Afghanistan and Iraq have relied heavily on elite special forces, producing tens of thousands of highly trained American commandos who can demand high private-sector salaries for defense contracting or outright mercenary work...

Whaa, whaa, whaa, Clint!

Clint Eastwood. Enough said, drop the mike.

As the man continues to work making great movies (The Mule comes out on December 14), I was channel surfing on Facebook and found this. Have a great weekend.

Honey, I forgot to duck!

I was in my 10th grade math class when a teacher walked in and told us President Reagan had been shot. Reagan was always know for his grace under pressure and nothing tops telling his wife Nancy, "Honey, I forgot to duck." That's even better than looking at the doctors about to operate on him, "I hope your fellows are all Republicans."

This video was from a few months after he had recovered in the hospital. Enjoy.

Liberals show again why the moniker libtard fits...

I have no idea who Mr. Linker is, I found him linked on Hotair. Now I find this enlightening. Liberals like to call themselves more learned, knowledgeable, etc than conservatives. I guess that's has a bit of a point, they can see a "right" to a taxpayer funded abortion, or for two men to marry, in the U.S. Constitution when the words "abortion" and "marriage" are never mentioned in the document. Guess I need my glasses checked again.

But Mr. Linker is explaining why the Dems must win, and how it would be the End of the World as We Know It if the Dems loose, and loose dirty.

The worst-case scenario for the midterms

Damon Linker
November 5, 2018

Unless you're a die-hard Trumpist Republican who wants to see America's supremely polarizing president govern with close to a free hand, the best possible outcome for Tuesday's midterm elections is obvious: Democrats win.

Ideally Democrats would win both houses of Congress. But that's unlikely. The best polling data shows the Dems likely to win the House but lose the Senate. But either outcome — winning both or just one chamber — should be welcomed. Even with just the House, Democrats could provide a real check on our unpopular Republican president for the next two years...

"Unpopular?" His approval ratings are higher at his point of his first term than B Hussein Obama's were. Not to mention Trump's media attention has been like the artillery preparation on Normandy on D-Day, while B Hussein Obama's hard interviews included being called, "The incredible Barrack Obama..."

...But there are worse things than losing.

Like losing dirty.

That, I'm afraid, is how millions of Democrats would evaluate the outcome of the midterms if the Republicans hold both houses of Congress while losing the aggregate vote by multiple percentage points. This happened in 2012, when Democrats in House races received nearly 1.5 million more votes than Republicans, with the Republicans nonetheless winning a majority of the seats (by a margin of 234-201). If that happens again, let alone if the discrepancy between the vote and the practical result is even greater, the United States will begin to face a genuine legitimation crisis — with Democrats systematically denied political power commensurate with their level of support in the population at large.

This systematic bias against the Democrats would put them at a political disadvantage across the entirety of the federal government — with the House, the Senate, and the Electoral College all weighted against them, and the judiciary following suit because judges and Supreme Court justices are nominated by presidents and confirmed by the Senate. When this systematic injustice is combined with the GOP's refusal to govern with the modesty and restraint that befit a minority party, the country would find itself in a highly volatile situation.

That's why this should be considered the worst-possible outcome of the midterm election — one that would portend dark things for the country's future, including a potential radicalization of the left that could well end in political violence far beyond anything seen the United States for decades. Such a turn toward widespread civil unrest would be all the more dangerous because it would not be unjustified....

I recall the worlds of a STRATFOR article:

...We tend to confuse the terms “intellectual” and “intelligent.” An intellectual is a person who makes his living dealing in ideas. He is learned by profession. He could also be a moron. There is no guarantee that an intellectual is intelligent. At the same time, there are people who are enormously intelligent, but not at all intellectual. They do not make their living working with ideas. They are not learned. But their unencumbered intelligence can sometimes see the future more clearly than someone who is encumbered by complex ideas that their intelligence can’t sort through...

Mr. Linker is definitely an intellectual of this mold. Hate to tell you, the "dirty loss" is legitimate. You may have missed something in school, but the federal government did not create the states. The states created the federal government. How the states are organized is up to the people of the state, not to federal buerocrats.

BTY, the results will not "radicalize" the left, they have been since the late 60s/early 70s. The Democratic Party of Scope Jackson, JFK, etc is gone, replaced by a Democratic-Socialist group of radicals who hate this nation and will not stop until the USA is just another second rate European power. Of course, their money and power will not be redistributed, only yours. Funny how that works.

An excellent read on the last election, and the electorate, is The Great Revolt: Inside the Populist Coalition Reshaping American Politics. A point made in their analysis is the GOP does have a demographics issue. As more minorities enter, they can change the nature of the populace. However, the Dems have a geography problem. What they are selling doesn't sell in the Mid-West, etc. And as the president is indirectly elected, and the senate gives equal representation to the states, their is still hope we can keep the Dems out of power.

I'm getting ready for tonight. Predictions? GOP picks up 4-5 seats in the senate, keeps the house, and the governorship in Georgia and Wisconsin.

The Night Before Elections...

Stolen from a friend. Thank you Cece, see ya Friday!

Twas the night before elections,

And all thru the town,

Tempers were flaring

Emotions ran up and down.

I, in my bathrobe

With a cat in my lap,

Had shut off the TV,

tired of political crap.

When all of a sudden,

There arose such a noise,

I peered out my window,

Saw Pelosi and her boys

They had come for my wallet,

They wanted my pay

To hand out to others

Who had not worked a day!

They snatched up my money,

And quick as a wink,

Jumped back on their bandwagon

As I gagged from the stink.

She then rallied her henchmen

Who were pulling her cart.

I could tell they were out

To tear my Country apart!

On Fannie, on Freddie,

On Schumer and Ayers!

On Acorn, on Watters (I added a second t. She's no relative of mine)

She screamed at the pairs!

They took off for her cause,

And as they flew out of sight,

I heard her laugh at a nation

Who wouldn't stand up and fight!

So I leave you to think

On this one final note...

IF YOU DON'T WANT SOCIALISM,

GET OUT AND VOTE !!!!

GOD BLESS AMERICA,

OUR ONLY HOPE.....

Got it in the mail......

I've been an ardent admirer of Justice Clarence Thomas since he came on the public scene, and survived the "high tech lynching" put on by those racist Democrats Joe Biden and Teddy Kennedy. His service on the Supreme Court has been very honorable and it looks like he's gonna keep on going, if only to piss off Chuck Schumer.

Now a few years ago I read his autobiography, My Grandfather's Son, and I've recommenced it to anyone wanting the story of a young man, with the world against him, who did well. And I had this dream of getting it autographed.

Well, I came up with a wild hair up my ass, and wrote the man a letter asking him to do that. And I enclosed a return envelope. Guess what came in today:


Will join the other autographed books in my office. Thank you Mr. Justice Thomas.

Officer Down

Investigator Timothy Dale Cole, Sr.
Comanche County District Attorney's Office, Oklahoma
End of Watch Saturday, August 4, 2018
Age 61
Cause Gunfire
Incident Date Monday, June 18, 2007

Investigator Tim Cole succumbed to gunshot wounds sustained on June 18th, 2007, while attempting to serve a high-risk search warrant at a condominium at 2802 NE 9th Street in Lawton, Oklahoma.

Investigator Cole was assigned to the Comanche County Drug Task Force and was assisting members of the Oklahoma Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs in serving the warrant at approximately 6:40 am. The subject had sold methamphetamine to undercover agents on two occasions was known to be armed.

As agents attempted to breach the door the man opened fire from inside, shooting through the door and striking Investigator Cole and an OBN agent. Other agents returned fired and killed the subject.

Investigator Cole suffered a spinal cord injury that rendered him a paraplegic. His health continued to deteriorate and he died from complications of his wounds on August 4th, 2018.

Investigator Cole is survived by his wife, three children, eight grandchildren, parents, and three siblings.

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. 

Who is trying to lower health care and health insurance cost...

I've made the point countless times that Obamacare has one purpose. It is the bridge to single payer. And thanks to John McCain (rest in piss you POS), the repeal try failed in 2017. But there is some new hope.

As a boss of mine once said, "You eat the elephant one bite at a time." And the GOP seems to be doing that.

The GOP Is Making Health Care Great Again

...While Obamacare has been neither repealed nor replaced, it is being superseded. As President Donald Trump said, “We will deliver relief to American workers, families, and small businesses, who right now are being crushed by Obamacare, by increasing freedom, choice, and opportunity for the American people.”

The total number of Americans with health insurance rose from 292.3 million in 2016 to 294.6 million in 2017, the Census Bureau reports. Some of the following new reforms have helped 2.3 million more Americans enjoy medical coverage and alternatives under Republican leadership rather than Democrat mismanagement.

- Republicans last December “ended the unfair individual-mandate penalty” under Obamacare, President Trump observed. “People are paying a lot of money for the privilege of not paying a lot of money for bad health care. And we’ve ended it.” Every single Democrat in Congress opposed individual-mandate repeal, which was part of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act.

- Trump signed legislation in February to repeal the Independent Payments Advisory Board, also known as the “Death Panel,” that would have rationed Obamacare. IPAB is dead and threatens no one.

- As promised, Trump signed the Right to Try Act on May 30. Terminally ill Americans who have exhausted other options now are free to use drugs that have passed the FDA’s Phase 1 safety trials but not yet passed effectiveness tests. The FDA’s “compassionate use” program only helped some 1,200 patients annually, the White House estimates. It added: “‘Right to Try’ gives the over 1 million Americans who die from a terminal illness every year a new tool to fight and make potentially lifesaving decisions about their treatment.”

“People who are terminally ill should not have to go from country to country to seek a cure,” Trump said. “I want to give them a chance right here at home.”

The U.S. House’s roll call on this measure showed the parties’ true colors.

All 228 Republicans present voted for the Right to Try on May 22. But only 22 Democrats voted yes. The other 169 voted to deprive terminally ill Americans of the experimental drugs that might keep them alive. California’s Nancy Pelosi and Maxine Waters, Maryland’s Steny Hoyer, and New York’s Jerrold Nadler were among the pharmo-totalitarians who did not let even these imminent deaths tame their lust to control others...

I am not surprised. Remember in 2008, B Hussein Obama told a woman it was better to "take a pill." I wonder if he will expect that for his wife, mother-in-law, or daughter.

More reforms that are chipping away at Obamacare:

-The Trump administration in June authorized “association health plans.” Entrepreneurs, small employers, and civic organizations (e.g., the Las Vegas Metro Chamber of Commerce and the Small Business Association of Michigan) now may join hands and insure their employees and members, including across state lines.

Last summer, the administration extended the duration of short-term, limited health plans from three months to one year, with renewals permitted up to three years. In essence, Team Trump increased twelve-fold the allowable length of short-term policies. “For example, according to E-Health, the average lowest premium for an Obamacare plan for a 40-year-old woman is about $4,200 per year,” Trump noted. “By contrast, the average lowest premium for short-term coverage for this individual is about $1,300 a year — a savings of $3,000,” or 69 percent off.
These plans are cheaper because they lack many of Obamacare’s costly, needless, and foolish mandates. Every Obamacare plan must include pediatric vision coverage — even if the policy holder is childless, sterile, and mortally terrified of small, screaming objects.

The GOP’s cost-cutting, liberty-expanding dynamic contrasts vividly with the Democrats’ cruel, truncheon-wielding approach. As Health Secretary Alex Azar wrote in the Washington Post on August 15: “Such plans were offered for terms of up to 12 months for decades until, in an effort to push Americans into Obamacare, the previous administration restricted the plans to 90 days and prohibited insurers from renewing them beyond that time period.”

The administration in August required hospitals to post the prices of their procedures online and update them annually. Patients will be able to shop around when deciding where to get treated. Such competition should slow or even counteract medical-cost inflation...

As my friend Ed P, who put this article up on Facebook first said, these are small steps. I reminded him of the Chinese saying, "A journey of one-thousand miles begins with the first step."

Here's to a lot more steps on the road to the reform of heath care and health insurance.

Officer Down

Police Officer Adam Edward Jobbers-Miller
Fort Myers Police Department, Florida
End of Watch Saturday, July 28, 2018
Age 29
Tour 3 years
Badge 524
Incident Date Saturday, July 21, 2018

Police Officer Adam Jobbers-Miller succumbed to a gunshot wound sustained on July 21st, 2018, after responding to an assault and larceny call at a gas station at 3915 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr Boulevard at approximately 7:30 pm.

As officers arrived the suspect fled on foot along Flint Drive, with Officer Jobbers-Miller in pursuit. The man opened fire with a handgun, striking Officer Jobbers-Miller. Another officer transported him to Lee Memorial Hospital where he remained until succumbing to his wound on July 28th, 2018.

The subject was taken into custody at the scene after being shot and wounded.

Officer Jobbers-Miller had served with the Fort Myers Police Department for three years and had previously served as a firefighter with the Wayne Fire Department in New Jersey.

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.

Bob Seger has Turned the Page...

Without question, one of my favorite singers and songwriters, Bob Seger. I saw him back in 2008 and it was awesome, and I posted a video for his classic, We Got Tonight. Unfortunately the years are passing by, and he's calling it a night. This is Seger's finally tour (I have no doubt he will do an occasional concert), but I got my Christmas present early, The wife and I are going to see him next May.

Here are a few of his classics for your enjoyment. Have a great weekend!

Officer Down

Police Officer Michael J. Michalski
Milwaukee Police Department, Wisconsin
End of Watch Wednesday, July 25, 2018
Age 52
Tour 17 years
Badge 3014

Police Officer Michael Michalski was shot and killed while attempting to apprehend a wanted subject in the area of 28th Street and Wright Street. The subject was wanted for weapons violations, narcotics violations, and violation of parole.

Officer Michalski and other members of the Special Investigations Division located the man in the area and attempted to take him into custody. The man fled on foot and the officers pursued him into a nearby home. The man ran up a set of stairs and encountered a locked door, at which time he hid in a large pile of clothing on a landing for approximately 10 minutes.

As officers searched the house, Officer Michalski walked up the stairs to check the second floor. The man suddenly emerged from the pile of clothes and shot Officer Michalski without warning with a .45 caliber handgun. He then shot and wounded two other officers before running out of ammunition and surrendering.

He was charged with Officer Michalski's murder and two counts of attempted murder in addition to other charges stemming from the incident and original warrants.

Officer Michalski had served with the Milwaukee Police Department for 17 years. He is survived by his wife and three sons.

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.

AC-130 Spectre....

I saw an AC-130 fire in the summer of 1986, and it (pardon the pun) blew me away. I would love to meet the men and women who came up with the idea to put artillery on a cargo plane. The armament includes two M61 20mm Vulcan cannons, one L60 40mm Bofors cannon, one M102 105mm howitzer, one 25mm GAU-12 Gatling gun (baby brother of the A-10s GAU-8 30mm), one L60 40mm Bofors cannon, and one M102 105mm cannon.

The diagram:

And the video. Enjoy!

Officer Down

Trooper Tyler James Edenhofer
Arizona Department of Public Safety, Arizona
End of Watch Wednesday, July 25, 2018
Age 25
Tour 3 months
Badge 10449

Trooper Tyler Edenhofer was shot and killed after he and several officers responded to reports of a subject throwing objects at vehicles on I-10, near Avondale Boulevard in Goodyear, at approximately 10:00 pm.

Three Arizona Department of Public Safety troopers and two Goodyear Police Department officers responded to the scene and attempted to take the subject into custody. The man resisted arrested and engaged the officers in a struggle that lasted several minutes. The subject was able to obtain one of the officers' duty weapons during the struggle and opened fire, killing Trooper Edenhofer and wounding another Arizona Department of Public Safety trooper.

The subject was taken into custody.

Trooper Edenhofer had graduated from the police academy only three months earlier and was still in field training at the time of the incident. He was a U.S. Navy veteran.

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.

I wonder if he was enveloped in flame after getting wet....

This is something you don't see every day.

ND cops arrest naked, high man who climbed into holy water

The 21-year-old climbed into the holy water font during Mass

MANDAN, ND — Police say a naked North Dakota man who was high on drugs climbed into the holy water font during Mass at a church.

Officers in Mandan, which is just across the Missouri River from Bismarck, were called to Spirit of Life Catholic Church at around 9 a.m. Tuesday and arrested the 21-year-old man on drug, criminal mischief and indecent exposure charges. Formal charges were pending.

Deputy police Chief Lori Flaten says the man had been at the church earlier trying to bless people and was asked to leave. She says he later returned, stripped, entered the fountain, and then walked down the aisle performing a lewd act.

Love to hear that confession, "Bless me father for I have sinned..."

Officer Down

Police Officer Diego Moreno
Kent Police Department, Washington
End of Watch Sunday, July 22, 2018
Age 35
Tour 8 years
Badge 265308

Police Officer Diego Moreno was struck and killed by a patrol car while deploying spike strips during a vehicle pursuit.

The pursuit started after officers began investigating the sounds of gunfire they heard in the area of a mobile home park. They attempted to stop a pickup truck leaving the area, but the driver refused to stop and lead officers on a pursuit along Route 516.

Officer Moreno was attempting to deploy spike strips at the intersection of Route 516 and Meeker Street when he was struck by one of the patrol cars involved in the pursuit. The patrol car then crashed into several parked vehicles.

The truck continued to flee but crashed a short distance away. One occupant in the vehicle and the other two were arrested after fleeing the area. The driver was charged with murder and the other two were charged in connection with the initial shooting.

Officer Moreno had served with the Kent Police Department for eight 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.

The real reason they hate Trump...

I've said too many times too count that I didn't vote for Donald Trump, I voted against Mrs Bill Clinton. And that being said, I've been very happy with his performance overall, and have never been as happy to say I was dead wrong before. It has been amusing to see libtards, etc loose their mines during his two years in office. Haven't seen Democrats this upset since Lincoln freed the slaves.

Now I found this column in today's Wall Street Journal, and the author is dead on:

The Real Reason They Hate Trump

He’s the average American in exaggerated form—blunt, simple, willing to fight, mistrustful of intellectuals.

David Gelernter Oct. 21, 2018

Every big U.S. election is interesting, but the coming midterms are fascinating for a reason most commentators forget to mention: The Democrats have no issues. The economy is booming and America’s international position is strong. In foreign affairs, the U.S. has remembered in the nick of time what Machiavelli advised princes five centuries ago: Don’t seek to be loved, seek to be feared.

This has happened before, in the 1980s and ’90s and early 2000s, but then the financial crisis arrived to save liberalism from certain destruction. Today leftists pray that Robert Mueller will put on his Superman outfit and save them again.

For now, though, the left’s only issue is “We hate Trump.” This is an instructive hatred, because what the left hates about Donald Trump is precisely what it hates about America. The implications are important, and painful.

Not that every leftist hates America. But the leftists I know do hate Mr. Trump’s vulgarity, his unwillingness to walk away from a fight, his bluntness, his certainty that America is exceptional, his mistrust of intellectuals, his love of simple ideas that work, and his refusal to believe that men and women are interchangeable. Worst of all, he has no ideology except getting the job done. His goals are to do the task before him, not be pushed around, and otherwise to enjoy life. In short, he is a typical American—except exaggerated, because he has no constraints to cramp his style except the ones he himself invents.

Mr. Trump lacks constraints because he is filthy rich and always has been and, unlike other rich men, he revels in wealth and feels no need to apologize—ever. He never learned to keep his real opinions to himself because he never had to. He never learned to be embarrassed that he is male, with ordinary male proclivities. Sometimes he has treated women disgracefully, for which Americans, left and right, are ashamed of him—as they are of JFK and Bill Clinton...

I've posted multiple times, the STRATFOR Geopolitical Diary for Ronald Reagan's death. A quote from it is relevant for this article:

...Reagan reduced the problem to its essence and correctly identified the trajectory. We tend to confuse the terms "intellectual" and "intelligent." An intellectual is a person who makes his living dealing in ideas. He is learned by profession. He could also be a moron. There is no guarantee that an intellectual is intelligent. At the same time, there are people who are enormously intelligent, but not at all intellectual. They do not make their living working with ideas. They are not learned. But their unencumbered intelligence can sometimes see the future more clearly than someone who is encumbered by complex ideas that their intelligence can't sort through. Reagan was no intellectual. That allowed him to see things that intellectuals could not see...

A point I've made describing "public servants," i.e. the professional political class. They are often learned, educated at the best schools, connected, and went up a political latter. And they are often idiots that have never done anything. See Mrs Bill Clinton (Eight years in the senate and authored all of three bills), Joe Biden (One of five senators who voted against the Alaska Pipeline), B Hussein Obama (Enough said). Republicans, to a much greater degree, draw men and women of accomplishment to office. No question, Trump is part of that group. Is he my style, no. But his administration has accomplished multiple things (tax cuts, judicial appointments, the end of the war on police) or tried to do his promises (Repeal of Obamacare (Rest in piss McCain), the border wall).

So yes, come 2020, I will proudly and gladly vote for Donald Trump's reelection. Don't know if that election night will be as fun to watch as 2016, but as long as the Democrats are kept from power.

A new crowd control technigue from Protlandia....

The usual suspects were protesting the ICE office in Portland OR (not like they would miss work or anything) and the local police objected to them obstructing the office. Now I've used a Taser, a baton, mace, and a bean bag shotgun. But I've never used a paint gun before. It works!

Nice work Portland PD.

Officer Down

Senior Corporal Earl James "Jamie" Givens, III
Dallas Police Department, Texas
End of Watch Saturday, July 21, 2018
Age 55
Tour 32 years
Badge 5484

Senior Corporal Jamie Givens was struck and killed by a drunk driver while conducting a funeral escort for another Dallas police officer at approximately 5:30 am.

The procession was being escorted by motor officers along I-20 to a location in East Texas. Corporal Givens stopped to block traffic entering the highway at Bonnie View Road. He was stationary on his motorcycle, with its emergency lights activated, when he was struck by a vehicle traveling at a high rate of speed.

He was transported to Baylor Hospital where he was pronounced dead.

The driver who struck him was arrested and charged with DUI.

Corporal Givens had served with the Dallas Police Department for 32 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. 

Adam 12...End of Watch

I can't believe it's been a half century since I saw this show for the first time. And yes, I was inspired to a career as a cop by it. Maybe not the most realistic (the social issues of the 60s/70s were a bit simplified, etc), but the struggles and challenges of the street were shown. Here is a great look at Officer Reed and Malloy:

Living with the Sacrifice

with Barbara A. Schwartz

Adam-12 celebrates 50 years on the beat

The TV series introduced the public to LAPD officers Jim Reed and Pete Malloy, inspiring thousands to seek a career in law enforcement

Fifty years ago, on September 21, 1968, Adam-12 premiered on network television during a period of tension between the public and police that was inflamed by news reel images of riots at the Chicago Democratic National Convention one month earlier.

“Adam-12 debuted in an atmosphere very much like today,” said Kent McCord, who portrayed LAPD officer Jim Reed, the rookie cop. Pete Malloy was portrayed by the late Martin Milner.

The Adam-12 episode guide reads like it is taken from today’s headlines: Two men with a camera follow Malloy and Reed from call to call and post photos in a newspaper that are taken out of context, sparking a brutality investigation against the officers. In another episode, ambushed officers return fire and kill an 18-year-old black man. Militants stand in front of news cameras and state that the man was “shot in the back” and “executed by the pigs.”

“We did not set out to cure the social ills of the day. The show was about the job, about two good guys in a black and white solving crimes and making people safe,” said McCord.

Retired LAPD Chief Charles Beck notes that we have cycled back in history and that is why Adam-12 remains relevant. “Every episode showed a facet of policing that still exists today,” said Beck.

Los Angeles Police Protective League President Craig Lally agrees: “The show has lasted through history because the scenarios are still the same – a lost child, traffic stops, domestic violence, family disputes and how things can go to crap really fast. This job basically comes down to people call police and police arrive on the call. That hasn’t changed in 50 years.”

Adam-12 changed the public’s perception of police

“The charm of Adam-12 was that we became a window to the public on what two cops in a black and white actually did,” McCord said.

During the first years of the show, officers told McCord and Milner that citizens had started treating them differently. People, especially kids, were no longer afraid to approach them.

“Both Marty and I were quite proud that the show had a positive influence on the profession,” McCord said.

McCord is also proud that for half a century the show has inspired people to pursue a career in law enforcement.

Lally is one of them. He became not only an officer, but an LAPD officer because of Adam-12. A native of Cleveland, Ohio, Lally watched the show as a teen and journeyed 3,000 miles to be like Pete Malloy and Jim Reed.

What drew Lally in was the realism of the show. “It was almost like a training manual. Not just for policing, but also for LAPD policies and procedures,” Lally said.

Bob Cinader, the genius behind the show’s format and realism, mandated that the actors and writers go on ride-alongs.

Milner rode in Van Nuys and McCord rode in North Hollywood.

“Going on those ride-alongs, seeing what it was that officers did, and seeing how officers were treated by the public was one of the big revelations I had. That gave me the perspective I needed to do the show,” McCord said.

LAPD provided sergeants as technical advisors who edited scripts and made suggestions during filming. McCord and Milner trained with academy instructors on defensive tactics and firearms handling.

For Lally and Beck, the most realistic aspect of the show was the relationship between the patrol partners.

McCord admits that wasn’t acting. Their on-screen relationship reflected their off-screen friendship. “I was the luckiest guy in the world to have been associated with Martin Milner. He was not only a great actor, but also a great human being. We hit it off the first time we met.”

Malloy and Reed were the first cops to be videotaped

“Jack Webb warned us when we started the show that we were reflecting on real situations and real professional men and women out there doing the job every day. We would be the public face of that profession. We were becoming part of a small fraternity and to never embarrass it,” said McCord.

McCord believes officers today, under constant video scrutiny, need to heed Webb’s warning. McCord offers acting advice to officers wearing body cameras: “You have to have the mindset that your training officer is always observing you. You have to act and react like the professional you’ve been trained to be. You have to be the example others look up to. Your training is what separates you from those you have sworn to protect and serve.”

Officers can learn from Adam-12

Chief Beck points out that today’s officers can learn from Malloy and Reed. They practiced law enforcement with great morality, treating everyone fairly and with respect regardless of what they had done, and without bias.

“Adam-12 was the ideal of the way you should act as a cop,” said Beck. “They defined what it was to be a professional police officer. They put a human face on a profession that because of its very nature can be authoritative and distant.”

McCord relates a story about an officer who thanked him for what they did on Adam-12. “He said the show saved his life. When I asked him how, he said with the way he had been doing the job it was only a matter of time before he got blown away.”

The officer explained that when he started emulating how Malloy and Reed did things on the show his life and career turned around.

Television needs another Adam-12

Over the years, McCord has proposed similar series to studio executives only to be shot down. Networks wanted flawed characters, with bad cops doing bad things, and McCord refuses to cave in to the pressure.

Most current cop shows fail to portray police in the positive light that Adam-12 did.

McCord believes the entertainment industry has a responsibility in what it presents because TV shows and movies affect what the audience perceives and presumes about cops.

Commitment to officers

Milner and McCord developed a deep understanding of patrol work. Both actors championed the cause of police officers long after the show ended. McCord wore the uniform in real life as a Los Angeles School Police reserve officer. He retired with the rank of lieutenant.

McCord continues to advocate for officers and supports many police charities.

The public expects the police to treat them fairly and be fair. McCord maintains this goes both ways. The public needs to treat the police fairly, too.

“The heroic nature of what these men and women do every time they put on the uniform and go out on the street can’t be minimized. I wish everybody had the opportunity to do what Marty and I did with ride-alongs. That changes your perception very quickly,” said McCord.

Not everyone has the opportunity to ride-along with officers. By watching Adam-12, riding with Malloy and Reed, the public can gain an understanding of what policing with integrity means and what cops throughout this nation stand for and do every day.

“Law enforcement is the most noble of professions when done correctly,” said Beck. “Adam-12 displayed that nobility. That is what made the show great.”

Time flies, and I must disagree with one point. Seeing how well Hollywood remakes of police/crime shows have gone (Ironside, SWAT, Magnum PI) I don't think we need that. And Hollywood would not want a "flawed" character, but corrupt one. All realist characters have their strengths and weaknesses. With few exceptions, TV producers only want to show police as corrupt, racist, lazy, and uncaring. If they could make them ore three dementioanl, fine, but seeing what's coming out now, I doubt it's worth it.

From a few years ago. The final OD for Martin Milner. RIP Friend...We Got The Watch.

Another symptom of a police agency in distress...

The Dallas Police Department (DPD) is hurting, and there is not easy out. Currently it has 2, 900 sworn officers to cover a city of 342 square miles. But that 600 officers less than 2010, including senior brass. And this doesn’t help:

Dallas Police Department Already Losing Some New Recruits

DALLAS (CBSDFW.COM) – A Dallas Police Academy graduate who was set to begin working for the police department Monday, instead turned in her resignation.

The 34 recruits in Academy Class #359 graduated on Friday, offering hope of much needed reinforcement to the department’s dwindling number of officers.

“It’s disappointing, certainly,” said Deputy Chief Bill Humphrey, who oversees personnel and training, of the new officer’s quick departure.

Humphrey recalled another recruit this year who left two days before graduation. “She was going to work for [the] Allen Police Department, City of Allen. They had hired her,” he said. “When you have officers who can make 15, 16, $17,000 more in another city, that speaks to some people.”

An e-mail from Assistant Chief Angela Shaw dated Tuesday shows nine officers of 167 who’ve graduated from the Dallas Police Academy within the last year are no longer with the department. According to the data provided, two recruits left two days after graduation; another quit after six days.

“We’re paying for them to be trained, as well as we’re paying them a salary while they’re being trained, and we’re losing them,” said city council member Jennifer Gates, whose questions prompted Shaw’s e-mail.

On Wednesday city staff estimated Dallas spends about $90,000 on each academy graduate, but there’s nothing requiring them to stay and work for the Dallas Police Department.

“I’ve got a lot of residents in Dallas that are like, “‘What?! We can’t require this?’” said Gates.

“We do pay for all the training. That’s correct, but once you’re out of the Academy, there’s no binding contract. You can stay or you can leave,” confirmed Humphrey.

Smaller police departments in nearby suburbs, that require applicants to already have a Texas Commission on Law Enforcement (TCOLE) license, can sometimes pay better starting salaries, too, enticing officers to jump ship.

“So, essentially, we’re paying for other municipalities’ law enforcement officers to get their TCOLE license,” said Gates.

Council members Wednesday discussed strategies to improve officer retention. And the problem isn’t limited to the police department. Dallas Fire Rescue Chief David Coatney told the city council that he too is losing recruits to higher paying departments. “They’re moving away from us after we train them,” he said...

It’s not just the money. Police all over the country are having problems getting recruits. The cease fire in the War on Cops is too recent, and police in their nature are not trusting people. Plus after seeing what happened in Baltimore and Ferguson, cops are telling their children and friends children, “Don’t become a cop...it ain’t worth it anymore...” Family and friends used to be the feeder for police and fire recruiting. And I've spoken with a few senior officers who have had it with body worn cameras, use of force documentation, and the constant second guessing by brass and civilians who never rode a patrol. Hopefully, with a less hostile federal government, policing can begin to be more assertive. And "women, children and minorities" will be mostly helped.

Officer Down

Corrections Officer Kyle Lawrence Eng
Las Vegas Department of Public Safety - Division of Corrections, Nevada
End of Watch Thursday, July 19, 2018
Age 51
Tour 7 months

Corrections Officer Kyle Eng suffered a fatal heart attack shortly after struggling with an inmate in the Las Vegas Detention Center.

He began to feel ill after the inmate was subdued and went to the bathroom. Other officers found him unconscious in the bathroom and immediately began CPR. He was transported to University Medical Center where he was pronounced dead.

Officer Eng had served with the Las Vegas Department of Public Safety for only seven 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

Corrections Officer Joseph Gomm
Minnesota Department of Corrections, Minnesota
End of Watch Wednesday, July 18, 2018
Tour 16 years

Corrections Officer Joseph Gomm was beaten to death by an inmate at Minnesota Correction Facility–Stillwater at approximately 1:30 pm.

He was supervising inmates in the prison's industry building when he was attacked by one inmate with a hammer. Officer Gomm was transported to Regions Hospital, in St. Paul, where he succumbed to his injuries.

Officer Gomm had served with the Minnesota Department of Corrections for 16 years.

BIO
Age Not available

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

Agent Cadet Immanuel James Washington
Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries, Louisiana
End of Watch Wednesday, July 18, 2018
Age 38
Tour 10 years
Incident Date Tuesday, July 17, 2018

Agent Cadet Immanuel Washington suffered a fatal heart attack while participating in morning physical training at the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries Training Academy in Baton Rouge.

He had just completed a 2-1/2 mile run with other cadets when he collapsed during a cool-down period. Academy staff immediately began CPR until he was transported to a local hospital. He passed away the following day.

Cadet Washington had served with the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries for only three weeks. He had previously served with the Youngsville Police Department and St. Mary Parish Sheriff's Office for 10 years. He is survived by his wife and two young children. He had previously played on the University of Louisiana basketball team.

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 unifying force of of military service...

Since becoming an adult, and having served in the service, I've been opposed to mandatory military service. Occasionally I hear people suggest a peacetime draft, or some type of mandatory national service. One, the Constitution in no way permits the federal government from mandating civilian indentured servitude as a requirement of citizenship (I know, a quaint concept, seeing if the Constitution allows the government to do something). Two, it will degrade the service overall. I expressed my views in an article for the American Thinker two years ago.

But I have to say this article has a interesting look at the composition of our armed forces. While I don't completely agree with the premise (Hunter Biden, the son of the former veep, served in the Navy Reserve), it's worth a read.

America’s Elite Needs to Get Back in Uniform

Military service is a unifying force in a time of deep division.

Odds are that any American reading this article doesn’t have family serving in the military. That’s the case for most Americans, perhaps especially the folks who read Foreign Policy magazine. In the United States, privately educated and upper-income people are strikingly unlikely to serve or to encourage their children to do so—only 3 percent of military recruits attended private high schools—even more so if they’re from the northern or coastal states, which are the most underrepresented areas for recruiting. U.S. military service can seem foreign or frightening. That’s a mistake—and it’s bad for the country.

Military service made no sense to me, once. As a Jewish psychiatrist’s daughter attending Bryn Mawr College and Princeton University, the military was deeply foreign to me.. Then I married into it and converted to the idea of military life...

Respectfully, she is off there. I spent 23 years in the Army and the Army Reserve, I am a daily reader of Foreign Policy. I generally find the officer corp is very well read, especially the more senior officers.

...In the military, and in a military family, you learn to do something very hard and not of your own choosing, for a cause bigger than yourself. You’re working for a cause determined by the mechanisms of democracy, standing side by side with others who are fully committed. Current U.S. civilian life has a striking absence of “common causes”—tasks that remind us that there is more that unites us than divide us.

What makes every serviceperson valuable is not their wealth, SAT score, or political opinions, but that they have sworn to support and defend, as well as bear true faith and allegiance to the U.S. Constitution, no matter the personal cost.

Almost all the people who serve report feeling proud of the work they do—96 percent in the polls from Blue Star Families, the military family organization I lead, —and report that their experience has made them better. Military service affords the opportunity to live in a relatively egalitarian society —the highest-paid general makes 11 times what the lowest-paid private makes.

Military families get subsidized health care, housing, and child care. The military is integrated; it was the first place in the United States where blacks routinely commanded whites and it built the first integrated Southern schools in the late 1940s. The safest place in the United States for an African-American teen outside the home alone at night is probably on a military base.

But perhaps most relevant in a fiercely divisive political climate is that in the military, you learn to be an American.

The Founding Fathers conceived of the U.S. military as a crucial part of a self-governing democracy; a citizen military, not an army of mercenaries or a warrior caste. They devoted more clauses of the U.S. Constitution to the construction of the military than to any other task—17 in total—and embedded responsibility for it in the executive, the legislative, and the states to bind the military to the constitutional democratic process.

But the founders also saw military experience as an essential part of informed civilian governance—a tradition that lasted for nearly two centuries. True, the founders imagined a state-based military—hence the Second Amendment—but they would likely have approved of the first populist incarnation of our modern standing army.

In the 1950s, the majority of the graduating classes from Princeton, Harvard, and Yale went on to serve in the military. In the 1970s, nearly three-quarters of members of Congress were veterans.

Now, just 1 percent of Americans are currently serving, and since the abolition of conscription in 1973, that comes disproportionately from areas and from families with a history of service. Far fewer than 1 percent of top college graduates—those who go on to newsrooms, C-suites, and government committees—have or will serve in the military...

...Kathy Roth-Douquet is CEO of Blue Star Families, a national
military family organization, and co-author, with Frank Schaeffer, of AWOL: The Unexcused Absence of America's Upper Classes From Military Service - And How It Hurts Our Country...

Again, the entire article is worth the read, but I have issues with the basis premise, for two reasons. One I've already posted above and in the American Thinker article. The other is a bit of bias, but so be it. The closer you get to America's elite universities, the more regressive (i.e. leftist) is the faculty, staff, and classes. In other words, the university students are indoctrinated in a way of thinking that is opposed to the United States as it was founded. Putting in radicals into the officer corps will only weaken the service, which only has one purpose, "to win our wars." Until the echelons of higher learning have more diversity of thought, as opposed to skin color, sex, or religion, this is a non-starter. Think I'm a bit crazed in my way of thinking? Well, could there be a more conservative institution than the United States Military Academy at West Point NY? They would never put a crazed leftist into the service, right? Right:

U.S. Army and West Point both respond about ‘official socialist organizer’ and Army officer Spenser Rapone who is espousing Communism

Spenser Rapone went viral after being discovered as a socialist organizer espousing Communism

Spenser Rapone, a West Point graduate and current U.S. Army officer is under fire after being discovered to be a vehement Communist propagandist and ‘official socialist organizer” of the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA).

Rapone’s social media is filled with up to hundreds of posts, messages and photos which are now being circulated around the military and civilian communities.

U.S. Army spokesperson Valerie Mongello told American Military News:

“Both the Department of Defense and the Army have long-standing policies encouraging Soldiers to participate in the democratic process. Among other activities, Soldiers are encouraged to vote in elections and express their personal opinions on public issues. However, the Army has strict rules regarding the wear and appearance of Army uniforms.”

“All allegations of improper behavior by Soldiers are forwarded to the Soldier’s commander for review and final disposition. The appropriate Command authorities are reviewing the situation.”

Rapone has posted many images and messages on social media that show his vehement support for communism and socialism.

Rapone is a 2LT (Second Lieutenant) and an infantry officer in the 10th Mountain Division at Fort Drum, NY.

He has posted pictures showing his Democratic Socialists of America membership card next to his military uniform along with many other posts...

While some may suggest different viewpoints are good for a diversity of thought, this is not divergent "viewpoints." Questioning the wisdom of the planned invasion of  Iraq as we are deploying to Afghanistan, that is a divergent viewpoint. This is a rejection of the service, the nation it serves, and the Constitution which founded our way of government. This disgrace to the Long Gray Line took an oath, in part, to "...solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion... Thankfully he's no longer in the service, good riddance to bad garbage.

The long march continues. And we don't need that in the service.

UPDATE:

An example of why we don’t need the influence of the “smart” people in the service:

‘Castrate their corpses,’ professor says of GOP senators. White ‘genocide!’ Tucker Carlson cries.

Saturday — two days before white 'genocide’

C. Christine Fair would later call the tweet an “experiment.” Not a performance, exactly. Not a trap, really. Certainly not a genocidal death threat, whatever it looked like at first glance.

“Look at [this] chorus of entitled white men,” the Georgetown University associate professor wrote Saturday afternoon, meaning the Republican senators who were defending Supreme Court nominee Brett M. Kavanaugh from sexual assault allegations. “All of them deserve miserable deaths while feminists laugh as they take their last gasps,” she wrote. “Bonus: we castrate their corpses and feed them to swine? Yes.”

An experiment, she insisted. A little bait tossed into the wilds of the Internet, to see what species of hate it would attract.

Unions and competition....

I am not a big fan of forced unionization. Texas is a right-to-work state, where membership in a union is not required for your job. That being said, I've been a member of a union for 20 years because membership is beneficial to me. Particularly, I have five union funded attorney's who will represent me in legal issues arising out of my employment as a cop. Therefore, the union, in the free market, has sold me their services at a price I'm willing to pay. What a concept!

From Reason, a look at the Janusdecision, a few months after it's taken effect:

Unions Change Their Tune on Janus Supreme Court Ruling

It was the end of the world...until it wasn't.

Steven Greenhut | September 28, 2018

The U.S. Supreme Court is attacking working people by destroying public-sector unions. That's the gist of the argument that the union movement has made as the court considered Janus v. the American Federation of State, Municipal and County Employees (AFSCME). Actually, their arguments were far more overheated, both before and after the high court ruled in June that government employees may not be forced to pay dues to unions—even for collective-bargaining purposes.

"The Janus case is a blatantly political and well-funded plot to use the highest court in the land to further rig the economic rules against everyday working people," intoned a typical statement last year from the American Federation of Teachers, in expectation of the decision. "The billionaire CEOs and corporate interests behind this case, and the politicians who do their bidding, have teamed up to deliver yet another attack on working people."

It wasn't only union officials who made apocalyptic predictions. In her dissent, Justice Elena Kagan argued that the decision "will have large-scale consequences." She predicted that "public employee unions will lose a secure source of financial support. State and local governments that thought fair-share provisions furthered their interests will need to find new ways of managing their workforces. Across the country, the relationships of public employees and employers will alter in both predictable and wholly unexpected ways."

Three months after the ruling, however, union supporters have largely changed their tune. In fact, the pro-union website the74million.org argued this week that "Strangely enough, these kinds of apocalyptic predictions have given way to claims that the ruling has had little or no effect on union membership at all." Mike Antonucci concluded that Kagan's warnings may have been wrong. Instead of "wreaking havoc" on contractual relationships dealing with government workers, the main changes have come from union-friendly legislatures that are passing laws designed to mitigate the effects of the ruling. "If governments are designing new ways to manage their workforces, they are keeping it well hidden from view," he argued....

World to end tomorrow, women, children, and minorities hardest hit, got it. The rest of the article is worth the read, but this paragraph says it all:

"...In a January article for the California Policy Center, I wrote, "Even many union officials and their staunchest allies recognize that eliminating mandatory dues could be a boon to unions. It's counterintuitive, but forcing unions to compete for members rather than take their funding for granted will put an end to the complacency that has dogged these noncompetitive institutions." I've also repeatedly warned critics of public-sector unions not to expect the decision to be the death knell for these unions. It's just the beginning of a long process of encouraging unions to focus more on providing benefits rather than on using the political system to achieve their ends...."

You mean the unions are actually cleaning up their act, providing improved/more services for the money, thanks to competition. Who would have thunk of it!