"Are You Friggen' Kidding Me?"

WITCH HUNT

noreply@blogger.com (Chase Morgan) — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 21:34:00 +0000

A prison chaplain in Wisconsin was the subject of a literal witch hunt when two state politicians tried get her fired right after she was hired in 2001 - because the Rev. Jamyi Witch - her real name - is a pagan. The action, by Rep. Scott Walker, then the chair of the Assembly Committee on Corrections and Courts, and Rep. Michael Huebsch of (yes!) West Salem, was so intense that Witch reported getting death threats. The effort failed on freedom of religion grounds. But now, Witch has pleaded not guilty to supposedly setting up a fake hostage situation in her office at Oshkosh Correctional Institution. During the hostage crisis, she slipped the inmate drugs and, once he was asleep, opened the door for guards. Her alleged motive: to get herself and the prisoner transferred to a different prison. If convicted, Witch, now 52, faces up to 58-1/2 years in prison.

A THOUGHT: Mastermind of a plot, or victim of a plot? You be the judge.

"Bah Humbug!"

noreply@blogger.com (Chase Morgan) — Tue, 10 Jan 2012 03:24:00 +0000

A survey of Americans finds that most of us "dread" something about Christmas. In particular, 28 percent hate shopping for gifts (68 percent worry about having to wait in line to buy them, and 37 percent "abhor" getting in debt over it), 37 percent worry about gaining weight, 24 percent aren't looking forward to seeing relatives, 23 percent hate the seasonal music, and 16 percent hate going to holiday parties. "For all the chatter about nostalgia, family fun and gift giving this time of year," summarized Tod Marks, senior editor of Consumer Reports magazine, which commissioned the survey, "many people don't like too much of a good thing."

A THOUGHT: Which reminds me: cancel my subscription!

Big Balls Banned

noreply@blogger.com (Chase Morgan) — Tue, 10 Jan 2012 03:18:00 +0000

"We want our balls back! We want our balls back!" chanted students after storming the playground fence at Earl Beatty Public School in Toronto, Ont., Canada. Their school administration, apparently afraid after "a few serious incidents" in which balls came close to or hit people, had banned all balls except sponge balls. Supervisors tried to silence the students and drive them away from the reporters on the other side of the fence, but the students persisted in their protest throughout their lunch break. Konstantina Alexiou, 13, explained that teachers were displeased that the students, nearly 100 of whom signed her petition against the rule, had gotten public attention for their cause. "I don't think they should hide it and not let it be an issue," she said. "Because it is an issue for the kids."

A THOUGHT: The kids still have more balls than the school's administrators.

The Godfather Part IV

noreply@blogger.com (Chase Morgan) — Tue, 10 Jan 2012 03:13:00 +0000

"We don't have any enemies," said Patrick Burke. The University of Colorado student and his roommate went to visit friends, and when they got home at 1:00 a.m. they found a severed buffalo head in their Boulder front yard. They called police. Officers had "a concern" and quickly called university police to check on the school mascot, "Ralphie V" -- a real buffalo."She is fine," said Boulder Police spokeswoman Kim Kobel. A university spokesman said Ralphie and its predecessor, Ralphie IV, are taken care of at an "undisclosed location" in order to protect them from such pranks.

A THOUGHT: Undisclosed, eh? Let's find 'em and make Buffalo Burgers!

High Security

noreply@blogger.com (Chase Morgan) — Tue, 10 Jan 2012 03:09:00 +0000

"She grabbed a bag of apricots, dried apricots, opened them, ate a couple, put it back and the security guard watched her do it," says Alissa Jones, about an incident at a Safeway grocery store in Everett, Wash. The guard labeled it shoplifting, and grabbed the culprit, Savannah Harp, and took her and her shopping companion, who didn't see the incident, to the back of the store for interrogation.

"She's banned from the store, and we're pressing charges," the guard told them. "And she needs to sign this form saying she understands she can't come into any Safeways." The problem: Savannah can't read or write; she's 4. But the guard made her scribble something like her name on the paper anyway. Her companion at the store was her father. When corporate officials heard about it, the security guard was fired, and apologized to Savannah's parents."Our policies on shoplifting are intended to protect our customers, but built on common sense," said Safeway spokeswoman Cherie Myers. "And everyone understands what common sense is."

A THOUGHT: Common sense tells those with common sense that common sense isn't very common, as reviewing the security guard's actions should have told Ms. Myers if she had any common sense.

Die Another Day

noreply@blogger.com (Chase Morgan) — Sat, 07 Jan 2012 17:54:00 +0000

"I told her I didn't want to die," said a 17-year-old boy from Edgewater, Fla., to police. "And then she wouldn't get out of the car so I had to pull it over. I had to pull like her, like, move her over and she started hitting me. I have bites, cuts and punches all over my face," he said. The "she" involved is his mother. The family, including his father, was coming home from a Blue Oyster Cult concert, and his mother was drunk and "out of control," driving close to 110 mph, the boy said. The car eventually ran out of gas, which is when he called 911. Deputies gave the boy a ride to protective custody; his father, Ronald Siciliano, a ride home; and the mother, Patricia Siciliano, 41, a ride to jail. She was charged with domestic battery, child abuse without great harm, resisting arrest, and three counts of battery on a law enforcement officer - but not drunk driving, since deputies didn't actually see her behind the wheel. "She's not a very smart alcoholic," the boy said, "at all."

A THOUGHT: Not too many of them are, son.

"Party on Wayne" - "Party on Garth"

noreply@blogger.com (Chase Morgan) — Sat, 07 Jan 2012 17:48:00 +0000

Two 20-year-old men at a party in Sweden noticed an 18-year-old woman had passed out from drinking too much. They thought it would be "fun" to take "compromising pictures" of her - they pulled up her shirt and took photos of her breasts. Other shots showed the men giving each other "high-fives" - with their own pants pulled down to expose themselves next to her. But despite the photographic evidence, the unnamed men were exonerated of sexual molestation because, the Stockholm District Court ruled, by being unconscious, the woman was not aware she was being molested. "She considers herself to have been seriously violated," said prosecutor Gunnar Merkel. He plans to appeal the ruling.

A THOUGHT: Meanwhile, I don't want to even think about what's going on in hospital coma wards in the country.

Dazed and Confused

noreply@blogger.com (Chase Morgan) — Sat, 07 Jan 2012 17:34:00 +0000

Donn Adams, 68, of Louisville, Ky., drove his car into a ditch. When officers arrived, they found Adams confused and disoriented. He denied being under the influence of drugs, but told officers he took Suboxone for an opiate addiction. He refused to give permission for police to search his car, but they spotted two syringes of what appeared to be heroin in plain sight. Adams told police he "thought it was heroin" but that "his friend" had left it in the car, not him. What probably sealed his arrest was when Adams explained to officers that he had only had "two pizzas to drink" for lunch.

A THOUGHT: The question: What kind of mushrooms were on the pizza?

Win $500 from us in about 3 minutes !!

noreply@blogger.com (Chase Morgan) — Sat, 07 Jan 2012 17:01:00 +0000

ARE YOU FRIGGEN' KIDDING ME?'s $500 AMAZON REVIEW RAFFLE

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Throw-up Art?

noreply@blogger.com (Chase Morgan) — Tue, 03 Jan 2012 20:47:00 +0000

I've seen a lot of strange sculptures and art in my time, but this one ranks in the top 20!

A Dreadful Lawsuit

noreply@blogger.com (Chase Morgan) — Wed, 21 Dec 2011 18:06:00 +0000

"He thanked me and said, 'You did a great job and I'm satisfied'," said Attorney Harrison Williams of his client, Eon Shepherd, after their federal lawsuit against the state concluded. Shepherd is a prisoner serving life, and with Williams' help he sued the State of New York because prison guards "touched" his "sacred" Rastafarian dreadlocks during a search, and "slightly tore" his hair. With Williams' help, Shepherd won the suit - and was awarded $1.00 by the jury. Williams says his law firm put in $75,000 worth of billable hours to prosecute the case; an appeals court ruled that the federal Prison Litigation Reform Act, which was passed to try to stem ridiculous lawsuits by inmates, applied in this case. The Act in part limits attorney's fees to 150 percent of a jury award applied, and the court awarded Williams $1.50 for his time.

A THOUGHT: Hopefully he's one and a half times more satisfied than Shepherd.

Completely Prohibited. Unless...

noreply@blogger.com (Chase Morgan) — Tue, 20 Dec 2011 07:36:00 +0000

Matt Epling was incessantly bullied at MacDonald Middle School in East Lansing, Mich. His last day of eighth grade was the final straw - he was given a "Welcome to High School" beating. School officials did little, so his parents decided to go to the police. But fearing retribution from his bullies, Epling killed himself rather than tell the police what happened.

In the nine years since, the state's Republican lawmakers would not let an anti-bullying law through, saying it would create a "protected class" of citizens - gays. Michigan is one of only three states without an anti-bullying law; meanwhile, "at least 10" more bullied students have committed suicide in the state. So this year, "Matt's Safe School Law" was finally put to vote in the Michigan Senate. According to the proposed law put forth by Republicans, torment is not bullying if "a sincerely held religious belief or moral conviction" is behind the bully's actions. The law specifically addresses "cyber bullying" - but only if the bully uses "a device owned or under the control of a school district" - not a student's own cell phone. Also, Republicans would only support the bill if it didn't require schools to report bullying, didn't have provisions for enforcement or teacher training, and did not hold school officials accountable for failing to act. With that, the bill passed - 26 Republican votes in favor vs. 11 Democrats opposed.

A THOUGHT: So if it's signed by the Republican governor, Michigan will still be one of three states without an anti-bullying law.

The Truth Hurts

noreply@blogger.com (Chase Morgan) — Tue, 20 Dec 2011 07:29:00 +0000

After his deputies arrested a man on attempted rape charges, Spartanburg County (S.C.) Sheriff Chuck Wright called a press conference to announce, "Our form of justice is not making it." Walter Lance, 46, he said, had been arrested more than 20 times before. "We had 20 opportunities to make sure this guy didn't rape anybody and we failed to do it," the sheriff said. "I'm tired of looking at victims saying, 'There's life after this'. I'm tired of saying, 'We're sorry, we can't keep them in jail.'" So he gave citizens some advice: "I want you to get a concealed weapons permit. Don't get Mace. Get a firearm." Wright says "It's too bad someone with a concealed weapons permit didn't walk by when the woman was being attacked.... That would fix it." And, he says, "I'm going to keep telling you the truth." For instance, Wright doesn't think everyone should be armed. "I don't think some people should be able to procreate," he said, "...much less have a weapon."

A THOUGHT: In time, we'll have to have a permit for that [procreating], too.

A Hairy Situation

noreply@blogger.com (Chase Morgan) — Tue, 20 Dec 2011 07:21:00 +0000

Sheldon Williams, 12, was sent to the principal's office at Marshall (Texas) Junior High because his haircut violated school policy. He had two lines shaved on the side of his head, which the principal, Debbie Crooms, claimed were "gang symbols." Assistant Principal Michael Morse fixed the problem - by coloring Williams' scalp with a black marker. Superintendent Bruce Gearing said the assistant principal "has been reprimanded," and that "it will never happen again as long as I am part of the district."

A THOUGHT: The principal says she thought it was OK as long as they colored within the lines.

A Sticky Situation

noreply@blogger.com (Chase Morgan) — Thu, 15 Dec 2011 16:09:00 +0000

"When I started taking my clothes off, a man said 'You can't do that in here!'," says Ian Robinson, 43. The former mail carrier was at the Jobcentre in Bridlington, England, and his purpose was protest. "So I went over and glued myself to his desk," Robinson continued. He says he's upset that he had not been awarded government benefits over the pain he sufferers from arthritis, so he resorted to a mid-morning Full Monty. "A society is judged on how it treats the sick and leaving them without disability benefit is criminal," he says. The Jobcentre called police and an ambulance, so Robinson pried himself up because "I didn't want to put the ambulance people to the trouble." This was not Robinson's first protest: he also glued himself to a counter at a department store over a dispute with his bill.

A THOUGHT: I would protest the glue store too - the glue they sell clearly isn't strong enough.

Traitor Jane

noreply@blogger.com (Chase Morgan) — Wed, 14 Dec 2011 18:12:00 +0000

Barbara Walters comments on Jane Fonda

Barbara Walters said:

"Thank you all. Many died in Vietnam for our freedoms. I did not like Jane Fonda then and I don't like her now. She can lead her present life the way she wants and perhaps SHE can forget the past, but we DO NOT have to stand by without comment and see her 'honored' as a 'Woman of the Century'.

(I remember this well)

For those who, like me, served and/or died...

NEVER FORGIVE A TRAITOR. SHE REALLY WAS A TRAITOR!!

and now President OBAMA wants to honor her...!!!!

In Memory of LT. C. Thomsen Wieland who spent 100 days at the Hanoi Hilton [Famous North Vietnam Prison]

IF YOU NEVER RECOMMENDED ANYTHING IN YOUR LIFE FORWARD THIS SO THAT EVERYONE WILL KNOW!!!!!!

A TRAITOR IS ABOUT TO BE HONORED. KEEP THIS MOVING ACROSS AMERICA!

This is for all the kids born in the 70's and after who do not remember, and didn't have to bear the burden that our fathers, mothers and older brothers and sisters had to bare.

Jane Fonda is being honored as one of the '100 Women of the Century'.

BARBARA WALTERS WRITES:

Unfortunately, many have forgotten and still countless others have never known how Ms. Fonda betrayed not only the idea of our country, but specific men who served and sacrificed during the Vietnam War.

The first part of this is from an F-4E pilot. The pilot's name is Jerry Driscoll, a "River Rat". In 1968, the former Commandant of the USAF Survival School was a POW in Ho Lo Prison the 'Hanoi Hilton.'

Dragged from a stinking cesspit of a cell, cleaned, fed, and dressed in clean PJ's, he was ordered to describe for a visiting American 'Peace Activist' the 'lenient and humane treatment' he'd received.

He spat at Ms. Fonda, was clubbed, and was dragged away. During the subsequent beating, he fell forward on to the camp Commandant's feet, which sent that officer berserk.

In 1978, the Air Force Colonel still suffered from double vision (which permanently ended his flying career) from the Commandant's frenzied application of a wooden baton.

From 1963-65, Col. Larry Carrigan was in the 47FW/DO (F-4E's). He spent 6 years in the 'Hanoi Hilton'... the first three of which his family only knew he was 'missing in action'. His wife lived on faith that he was still alive. His group, too, got the cleaned-up, fed and clothed routine in preparation for a 'peace delegation' visit.

They, however, had time and devised a plan to get word to the world that they were alive and still survived. Each man secreted a tiny piece of paper, with his Social Security Number on it, in the palm of his hand. When paraded before Ms. Fonda and a cameraman, she walked the line, shaking each man's hand and asking little encouraging snippets like: 'Aren't you sorry you bombed babies?' and 'Are you grateful for the humane treatment from your benevolent captors?' Believing this HAD to be an act, they each palmed her their sliver of paper.

She took them all without missing a beat.. at the end of the line and once the camera stopped rolling, to the shocked disbelief of the POWs, she turned to the officer in charge and handed him all the little pieces of paper...

Three men died from the subsequent beatings. Colonel Carrigan was almost number four but he survived, which is the only reason we know of her actions that day.

I was a civilian economic development advisor in Vietnam, and was captured by the North Vietnamese communists in South Vietnam in 1968, and held prisoner for over 5 years.

I spent 27 months in solitary confinement; one year in a cage in Cambodia ; and one year in a 'black box' in Hanoi. My North Vietnamese captors deliberately poisoned and murdered a female missionary, a nurse in a leprosarium in Banme Thuot , South Vietnam , whom I buried in the jungle near the Cambodian border. At one time, I weighed only about 90 lbs. (My normal weight is 170 lbs)

We were Jane Fonda's 'war criminals....'

When Jane Fonda was in Hanoi , I was asked by the camp communist political officer if I would be willing to meet with her. I said yes, for I wanted to tell her about the real treatment we POWs received... and how different it was from the treatment purported by the North Vietnamese, and parroted by her as 'humane and lenient.'

Because of this, I spent three days on a rocky floor on my knees, with my arms outstretched with a large steel weight placed on my hands, and beaten with a bamboo cane.

I had the opportunity to meet with Jane Fonda soon after I was released. I asked her if she would be willing to debate me on TV. She never did answer me.

These first-hand experiences do not exemplify someone who should be honored as part of '100 Years of Great Women.' Lest we forget....'100 Years of Great Women' should never include a traitor whose hands are covered with the blood of so many patriots.

There are few things I have strong visceral reactions to, but Hanoi Jane's participation in blatant treason, is one of them. Please take the time to forward to as many people as you possibly can. It will eventually end up on her computer and she needs to know that we will never forget!

RONALD D. SAMPSON, CMSgt,
USAF 716 Maintenance Squadron,
Chief of Maintenance DSN: 875-6431 COMM: 883-6343

Is this an epidemic?

noreply@blogger.com (Chase Morgan) — Fri, 09 Dec 2011 20:02:00 +0000

MARINE VETERAN WAS PEACEFULLY STANDING WHEN ATTACKED BY POLICE

The following photograph on videos show that Marine veteran Scott Olsen was peacefully standing at the Oakland protest when police fired a projectile at him:

DID POLICE INTEND TO HIT OLSEN IN THE HEAD?
Here is a photo of the ammunition or projectiles which police shot at the Oakland protesters:

Karl Denninger argues that the police intended to hit Olsen in the head:

One ex-Marine -- a combat veteran -- took a rubber round in the head. He is in critical condition and may die. That was not a mistake; that was aimed fire and an intentional assassination. Sorry folks, that's facts - from 50' you don't "miss" and hit someone in the head with these things if you're shooting for the legs or other non-vital parts. He was shot in the head by someone who aimed for the head. Those projectiles are not "non-lethal" and the bomb thrown by a cop at the people trying to come to his assistance after he fell wasn't tossed accidentally either.

A marine says that Oakland used crowd control methods that are prohibited in war zones, and that the shot must have been intentional:

Before gas goes into a crowd shield bearers have to be making no progress moving a crowd or crowd must be assaulting the line. Not with sticks and stones but a no bullshit assault. 3 warnings must be given to the crowd in a manner they can hear that force is about to be used. Shield bearers take a knee and CS gas is released in grenade form first to fog out your lines because you have gas masks. You then kick the canisters along in front of your lines. Projectile gas is not used except for longer ranged engagement or trying to steer the crowd ( by steering a crowd I mean firing gas to block a street off ). You also have shotguns with beanbags and various less than lethal rounds for your launchers. These are the rules for a WARZONE!!
How did a cop who is supposed to have training on his weapon system accidentally SHOOT someone in the head with a 40mm gas canister? Simple. He was aiming at him.
I'll be the first to admit a 40mm round is tricky to aim if you are inexperienced but anyone can tell the difference between aiming at head level and going for range.
The person that pulled that trigger has no business being a cop. He sent that round out with the intention of doing some serious damage to the protestors. I don't care what the protestors were doing. I never broke my rules of engagement in Iraq or Afghanistan. So I can't imagine what a protester in the states did to deserve a headshot with a 40mm. He's damn lucky to be alive and that cop knows he was using lethal force against a protester he is supposed to be protecting.

A poster at Occupy Marines Facebook makes the following comment:

You can see Scott Olsen standing, with his BACK TOWARDS THE COPS moments before being shotWatch close- the guy who shot him can be seen backing away from the fence and lowering his shotgun (he musta been less then 5 feet from Scott when he shot him in the head....) he then goes behind two other cops and THROWS THE FLASH BANG himself at the people trying to save them. (the other two cops don't move, but this guys steps back and then forward just as the flash bang is tossed - other two cops in that section don't even twitch as the flashbang is tossed)
Same Guy shot him and then tossed the FlashBang at the people trying to save him.

The policemen firing seemed to be having a little too much fun:

A protester also says the police shot him with a rubber bullet when he helped carry Scott Olsen to safety after he had been injured:

The Oakland police violated their own rules (page 9), and they would have violated the Geneva Convention against targeting wounded combatants or those attempting to render medical aid.

No wonder even Amnesty International has condemned the use of tear gas as well as the actions of Mayor Jean Quan of Oakland, who said the measures were justified because protesters threw rocks. Although the Obama administration and the Department of Justice has shown no interest in investigating.

As Marine Sergeant Shamar Thomas - who stood up to the New York police - notes:

I was involved in a RIOT in Rutbah, Iraq 2004 and we did NOT treat the Iraqi citizens like they are treating the unarmed civilians in our OWN Country. No one was brutalized because our mission was to 'WIN the hearts and minds.' why should I expect anything less in my OWN Country.

OLSEN IS AN EXTREMELY HARD-WORKING NETWORK ENGINEER AND A DECORATED VETERAN

Olsen is a decorated veteran, who was an extremely hard-working network engineer:

Scott Olsen, 24, joined the protests as he worked his day job as a network engineer and left his apartment each night to sleep alongside protesters in San Francisco and Oakland, Calif., Keith Shannon said.
*** Olsen, who is originally from Wisconsin, served two tours of duty in Iraq, makes a good living at a San Francisco software company and had a hillside apartment that overlooks San Francisco Bay.
***
Each night, he would go out to the tent camps that have sprung up over the past month in cities as the movement spread to protest economic inequality and what they see as corporate greed.
***
People at OPSWAT, the company where Olsen works, were devastated after learning of his injuries. They described him as a humble, quiet guy who worked hard over long hours.
"He's been a big piece of what we do here and our growth strategy, so obviously it's pretty devastating for us that he's in the shape he's in," said Jeff Garon, the company's director of marketing.
Olsen was awarded seven medals while serving in the U.S. Marine Corps, which he left as a lance corporal in November 2009 after serving for four years.
He went on two tours in Iraq, one in 2006-2007 and another in 2008, where he worked as a datanetwork specialist. He was awarded seven medals, including the Navy-Marine Corps Achievement Medal, according to the Marine Corps.

Olsen's condition has been upgraded from critical to "fair", although neurologists say that he may require brain surgery.

MILITARIZATION OF THE POLICE IS THE PROBLEM

The increasing militarization of U.S. police departments is clearly the problem (more).

In October 2010, the Oakland Tribune reported:

An Oakland police SWAT team finished second in a prestigious, internationally known training competition this past weekend, losing out to a group of Israeli police but beating more than two dozen other Bay Area law enforcement agencies that participated.

Indeed, the Alameda County Sheriff has hosted some of these Swat competitions (Oakland is in Alameda County, California).

And the militarization of police forces throughout the United States cannot be taken in a vacuum. The bigger pictures is that the government is using anti-terrorism laws to crush dissent.

Some are comparing police brutality towards the Occupy protesters to that used by Israeli forces against Palestinian protesters. Indeed, numerous heads of U.S. police departments have traveled to Israel for "anti-terrorism training", and received training from Israeli anti-terrorism experts visiting the U.S. See this, this, this, this.

VETERANS ARE NOT AMUSED BY THE ATTACK ON OLSEN Veterans are not amused by an attack on one of their own:

Apparently, veterans led the march to re-occupy Oakland after Olsen was injured.

And see this.

ANONYMOUS RELEASES POLICE INFORMATION Anonymous released a video in support of Olsen:

The group also temporarily took down the Oakland police website, and released personal information about Oakland police officers.

MAYOR BACKS DOWN And the Mayor of Oakland has now done an about-face, saying the protesters can stay and that she "supports" them.

Cops Shoot Another Marine

noreply@blogger.com (Chase Morgan) — Wed, 07 Dec 2011 19:53:00 +0000

TUCSON, Ariz. -- Jose Guerena Ortiz was sleeping after an exhausting 12-hour night shift at a copper mine. His wife, Vanessa, had begun breakfast. Their 4-year-old son, Joel, asked to watch cartoons.

An ordinary morning was unfolding in the middle-class Tucson neighborhood -- until an armored vehicle pulled into the family's driveway and men wearing heavy body armor and helmets climbed out, weapons ready.

They were a sheriff's department SWAT team who had come to execute a search warrant. But Vanessa Guerena insisted she had no idea, when she heard a "boom" and saw a dark-suited man pass by a window, that it was police outside her home. She shook her husband awake and told him someone was firing a gun outside.

A U.S. Marine veteran of the Iraq war, he was only trying to defend his family, she said, when he grabbed his own gun -- an AR-15 assault rifle.

What happened next was captured on video after a member of the SWAT team activated a helmet-mounted camera.

The officers -- four of whom carried .40-caliber handguns while another had an AR-15 -- moved to the door, briefly sounding a siren, then shouting "Police!" in English and Spanish. With a thrust of a battering ram, they broke the door open. Eight seconds passed before they opened fire into the house.

And 10 seconds later, Guerena lay dying in a hallway 20 feet from the front door. The SWAT team fired 71 rounds, riddling his body 22 times, while his wife and child cowered in a closet.

"Hurry up, he's bleeding," Vanessa Guerena pleaded with a 911 operator. "I don't know why they shoot him. They open the door and shoot him. Please get me an ambulance."

When she emerged from the home minutes later, officers hustled her to a police van, even as she cried that her husband was unresponsive and bleeding, and that her young son was still inside. She begged them to get Joel out of the house before he saw his father in a puddle of blood on the floor.

But soon afterward, the boy appeared in the front doorway in Spider-Man pajamas, crying.

The Pima County Sheriff's Department said its SWAT team was at the home because Guerena was suspected of being involved in a drug-trafficking organization and that the shooting happened because he arrived at the door brandishing a gun. The county prosecutor's office says the shooting was justified.

But six months after the May 5 police gunfire shattered a peaceful morning and a family's life, investigators have made no arrests in the case that led to the raid. Outraged friends, co-workers and fellow Marines have called the shooting an injustice and demanded further investigation. A family lawyer has filed a multimillion-dollar lawsuit against the sheriff's office. And amid the outcry in online forums and social media outlets, the sheriff's 54-second video, which found its way to YouTube, has drawn more than 275,000 views.

The many questions swirling around the incident all boil down to one, repeated by Vanessa Guerena, as quoted in the 1,000-page police report on the case:

"Why, why, why was he killed?"
---
Outside the family's stucco home, a giant framed photo of Guerena in his Marine uniform sat placed in the front bay window, American flags waved in the yard and signs condemning his death were taped to the garage door.

The 27-year-old Guerena had completed two tours in Iraq, and a former superior there was among those who couldn't make sense of his death.

Leo Verdugo said Guerena stood out among other Marines for his maturity and sense of responsibility. Verdugo, who retired as a master sergeant last year after 25 years in the Marines, placed Guerena in charge of an important helicopter refueling mission in the remote west desert of Iraq.

"He had a lot of integrity and he was a man of his word," Verdugo said.

Verdugo, who also lives in Tucson, said Guerena came to him for advice in 2006 about whether to retire from the Marines and apply to the Border Patrol.

When Verdugo ran into Guerena and his wife at a Motor Vehicle Department office about a month before Guerena was killed, Verdugo said that Guerena told him that the Border Patrol had turned him down because of problems with his vision and that he had instead taken a mining job.

Those who worked with Guerena at ASARCO'S Mission Mine said the man they knew would never be a part of drug smuggling.

"I don't care what the cops say. I don't believe for one moment Jose was involved in anything illegal," said Sharon Hargrave, a co-worker, adding through tears: "They were judge, jury and executioner, and there was no excuse."

Guerena worked as a "helper" at two crushers in the mine, shoveling piles of rocks that fall from conveyor belts and wheel-barrowing heavy debris. "No one in their right mind" would choose this work, which paid about $41,000 a year, if they were bringing in drug smuggling money, Hargrave said.

"He was a hell of a worker," she said. "He's got good judgment and I could trust him."

She said Guerena talked constantly about his wife and two sons, Joel and Jose Jr., 5, who'd gone to school the morning of the shooting. "I know he was definitely in love with his wife and in love with his kids," she said.
Kevin Stephens, a chief steward at Mission mine and head of the miners' union there, said bluntly: "Personally, I think he was murdered, and that is the feeling that is out here."

But the sheriff's office said just because Guerena was a Marine and worked at a mine doesn't mean he couldn't be involved in drug trafficking.

"We know from our experiences that good people turn their lives around and do bad things, and this guy was bad irrespective of his honorable discharge as a Marine," said sheriff's chief of investigations Rick Kastigar.
He said Guerena was suspected of involvement in a drug operation that specialized in ripping off other smugglers. One tip held that Guerena was "the muscle" of the organization, or in Kastigar's words, "the individual that was directed to exact revenge."

An affidavit supporting the search warrant that precipitated the raid describes the department's suspicions about Guerena in a drug investigation that appeared more focused on his brother, and his brother's father-in-law. Guerena's brother does not have a listed number and other family members have ignored written requests from the AP for comment.

Sheriff's Capt. Chris Nanos, who heads the criminal investigations division and oversaw the Guerena case, said that high-powered rifles and bulletproof vests that were found in Guerena's home after the shooting back up investigators' belief that Guerena was involved in drug trafficking. A shotgun found in the home was reported stolen in Tucson in 2008.

In the affidavit, sheriff's Detective Alex Tisch laid out the case against Guerena's family. It details two instances of drug seizures, one in April 2009 in which Jose Guerena was found in a home with other people who had just dropped off 1,000 pounds of marijuana at a separate residence, and another in October 2009 in which a man who had met with Guerena's brother was found with drugs and weapons.

Neither Guerena nor his brother was charged.

The affidavit also cites two traffic stops of Jose Guerena.

The first was on Jan. 28, 2009, when an officer pulled Guerena and two other men over north of Tucson. The officer seized a gun from Guerena, a marijuana pipe from Guerena's cousin and marijuana hidden in canisters of lemonade and hot cocoa that were under the feet of Guerena's friend.

The officer arrested Guerena on charges of weapons misconduct, marijuana possession and possession of drug paraphernalia. But prosecutors filed no charges against him.

The other stop came Sept. 15, 2009, when the sheriff's office pulled over a truck leaving the home of Guerena's brother. Jose Guerena was in the passenger seat and another man was driving. Officers searched the truck and found commercial-sized rolls of plastic wrap that they say are commonly used to package marijuana. No arrests were made.

Tisch wrote in the affidavit that the past arrests of Guerena and members of his family, combined with observations during months of surveillance led detectives to believe that the family was operating a mid-level drug-trafficking organization in the Tucson area.

The investigation is ongoing, the sheriff's office says.

---

After the SWAT video circulated, people who didn't know Guerena traveled from as far as California to march in protest of his shooting, and an Alaska woman began an online petition calling for a federal investigation of the SWAT team. Hundreds of people across the country have written on several Facebook pages dedicated to Guerena with messages that include, "He fought for our country, now we must fight for him."

The Guereno family's lawyer, Christopher Scileppi, filed a lawsuit on their behalf seeking damages from the sheriff's office, the officers involved in the shooting and other officials. The lawsuit didn't specify how much money the family was seeking, but a notice of claim filed Aug. 9 put the amount at $20 million.

"During this investigation, extremely little evidence, if any, was found to raise even a suspicion that Jose Guerena was involved in any possible drug trafficking ring," the notice says.

Scileppi said the fact that Guerena had been fired at 71 times and hit 22 times was "grotesque," and "almost a caricature of an overly excited group of poorly trained law enforcement agents."

Kastigar sharply disputed that, calling the Pima County SWAT team one of the best of its kind in the nation. "We're not a bunch of country bumpkins in southern Arizona with big bellies and cowboy hats," he said.

The shooting was justified, he said, because Guerena pointed his AR-15 at the SWAT officers and said, "I've got something for you," before they opened fire.

The five SWAT team members who shot Guerena believed that he had fired his weapon first, he said. Subsequent investigation revealed that the gun's safety was on and hadn't been fired. Ultimately, that is not an issue, Kastigar said.

"What reasonable person comes to the front door and points a rifle at people?" he said. "It takes several milliseconds to flip the switch from safety to fire and take out a couple of SWAT officers. I'm firmly of the opinion that he was attempting to shoot at us."

The officers laid down "suppressive" fire because one had tripped and fallen and the others thought he'd been shot.

"You point a gun at police, you're going to get shot," Kastigar said.

The five officers who shot Guerena declined to speak to the AP through Mike Storie, a police union lawyer who represents them and defends their actions.

"Anytime that they are faced with a serious, imminent and deadly threat, they are entitled and justified to use deadly force," he said. "And when Guerena came around the corner and lifted an AR-15 and pointed it at them, that provided the justification."

An independent expert, Chuck Drago, a former longtime SWAT officer for Fort Lauderdale, Fla., police who now does consulting on use of force and other law enforcement issues, said that the shooting itself appeared justified.

"It's a horrible, horrible tragedy, but if they walked in the door and somebody came at them with an assault rifle, that would be a justifiable response," said Drago. "It doesn't matter whether he's innocent or not."
But after examining elements of the search affidavit, Drago questioned whether the sheriff's office truly had probable cause.

"When you back up and look at why they're there in the first place and whether the search warrant was proper, my mind starts struggling," Drago said. "There are a lot of things that don't make a lot of sense."

Cop Shoots Marine

noreply@blogger.com (Chase Morgan) — Mon, 05 Dec 2011 19:43:00 +0000

BALTIMORE - City police officials continued to investigate Monday after an off-duty police officer fatally shot an unarmed Marine outside a nightclub early Saturday.

According to Baltimore City police, Tyrone Brown - a 32-year-old Marine who has served two tours of duty in Iraq - was shot at 13 times at close range, with six shots hitting him. He died a short time later.The incident happened outside a nightclub in Mount Vernon.Baltimore police spokesman Anthony Guglielmi said the officer, identified as 36-year-old Gahji Tshamba, shot Brown after Brown made advances toward a woman who was with the officer.

"After the advances, the officer and the individual exchanged words," Gugliemi said. "There was an argument, and the altercation turned physical. At that point, the officer pulled out his service weapon and fired multiple shots at our victim."Brown's sister said she was there when her brother was shot. She said they were out at about 1:30 a.m. Saturday when they approached a group of people - including the off-duty officer - leaving Eden's Lounge.

"There was absolutely no physical contact," said La-Belle Scott, Brown's sister. "The supposed officer was not in any harm whatsoever. He (Brown) had his hands up to show he didn't have no weapons or anything."Scott said her brother tried to diffuse the situation."My brother tried to approach him, saying, 'Calm down, calm down. All this is uncalled for.' And, the next thing you know, several shots rang out. It was maybe eight or nine shots that rang out, and then, all I know is my brother is telling me, 'I'm shot,'" Scott said.Brown's family said they're having a hard time understanding the whole situation, saying Brown wasn't a violent man.

"My brother was supposed to walk me down the aisle next month. I'm getting married on July 24, and he would've walked me down the aisle and he's not here."

- La-Belle Scott,
Tyrone Brown's Sister

"It's just crazy that he would have to shoot 13 times at an unarmed man," Scott said. "He was a loving, caring person. (He) always looked out for everybody. He loved his kids. His family came first."Brown is survived by a wife and two children."Tyrone was the love of my life. I don't know how else to put it," said Brown's wife, Loren. "We just (have to) take it one step at a time, one day at a time and just put it in God's hands. That's all I can do." As they gather to support each other, the family said they have one wish for the future."I just hope justice will be served because my brother was supposed to walk me down the aisle next month. I'm getting married on July 24, and he would've walked me down the aisle and he's not here," Scott said.

The state's attorney's office will review the evidence and decide whether to file charges, which also is customary, he said. Police said they are investigating whether alcohol was a factor. The officer declined to take an alcohol breath test. Guglielmi said Tshamba, a 15-year-veteran, shot a man in the foot after a confrontation while off duty in 2005. The shooting was found to be justified, but Tshamba was disciplined because he was under the influence of alcohol.Police Commissioner Frederick H. Bealefeld III has ordered his senior commanders to oversee the investigation. Officers typically carry their service weapons while off-duty in Baltimore, but Guglielmi said they should not be carrying their guns if they intend to become intoxicated.

Try, Try Again

noreply@blogger.com (Chase Morgan) — Fri, 02 Dec 2011 19:38:00 +0000

A 54-year-old Charleston, W.V., man was distraught over his recent breakup, so he went to his ex-girlfriend's house with a .380-caliber handgun, put it to his head, and threatened to shoot himself if she didn't take him back. Eventually, she convinced him to put the gun down, but he then accidentally shot himself in the left hand and left foot. Police are not releasing the man's name.

A THOUGHT: Who cares! I just want to know if she took him back.

If at first you don't succeed...

noreply@blogger.com (Chase Morgan) — Fri, 02 Dec 2011 19:28:00 +0000

When Chaz Ursomanno, 22, of Seminole, Fla., pulled out his pistol, his girlfriend, Naomi Ensell, 24, objected. Don't worry, Ursomanno told her: the gun was "safe and unloaded." To prove that, he put it to his head and pulled the trigger. Nothing happened. "Confident it was empty, he repeated this again," said a Pinellas County Sheriff's Office spokesman. The gun was, in fact, loaded, and this time it fired. Ursomanno was hospitalized in "serious" condition.

A THOUGHT: I'm more interested in Ensell's condition after watching that.

Inner Peace

noreply@blogger.com (Chase Morgan) — Fri, 02 Dec 2011 19:11:00 +0000

I'm passing this on because it worked for me today... A Dr. on TV said in order to have inner peace, we should finish things we started & we all could use more calm in our lives.

I looked around my house to find things I'd started & hadn't finished, so I finished off a bottle of Merlot, a bottle of Chardonnay, a bodle of Baileys, a butle of wum, a botle of vodka, the remainder of Valiuminun scriptins, and a box of cho..chocooolates. Yu haf no idr how fablus I feel rite now. Sned this to all who need inner piss. An telum u luvum....

Murder Me Not

noreply@blogger.com (Chase Morgan) — Wed, 23 Nov 2011 22:05:00 +0000

Maria Simoes of Pindobacu, Bahia, Brazil, thought her husband was having an affair with Iranildes Araujo, and allegedly paid Carlos de Jesus about US$550 to kill her. When de Jesus saw Araujo, however, he discovered she was a childhood friend, and told her about the plot. They came up with a plan to convince Simoes that Araujo was dead. "I tore my own top, I stuck the knife in my side," she said. "He tied me up and smothered me with tomato ketchup." They sent a picture to Simoes to show the "murder" and she paid the hitman's fee. But the scheme unraveled when Simoes saw the couple in town. Amazingly, Simoes went to the police to report she had been conned. Now all three are facing charges, though de Jesus has skipped town. Meanwhile, Simoes is a laughing stock ("Did she really not notice that the knife was stuck in the armpit?" laughed one local), and Araujo is now so popular, she's a shoo-in to be elected to the town council, the mayor says. Araujo says she's considering it.

A THOUGHT: Especially now that she knows how to fend off assassination attempts.

Academic Freedom?

noreply@blogger.com (Chase Morgan) — Wed, 23 Nov 2011 21:45:00 +0000

"You don't know me, son, so let me explain this to you once," said the poster on theater professor James Miller's door. "If I ever kill you, you'll be awake. You'll be facing me. And you'll be armed." The quote was from Capt. Mal Reynolds, a character on the short-lived space western "Firefly" TV show, who was pictured on the poster. A University of Wisconsin-Stout spokesman said administrators "believe in free speech" but "can't allow posters in public that imply threats of violence." University police officers were ordered to remove the poster. In response, Miller put up a new poster on the dangers of fascism. They took that one down too. "He thinks we acted improperly, and we didn't," insisted university spokesman Doug Mell. "The posters are down and they're going to stay down." Prof. Miller was summoned to a meeting to discuss his posters. The Foundation for Individual Rights in Education flew in to attend, as did actor Nathan Fillion, who played Reynolds on the show. The administration canceled the meeting and returned the posters.

A THOUGHT: "People don't like to be meddled with. We tell them what to do, what to think, don't run, don't walk. We're in their homes and in their heads and we haven't the right." - River Tam, in the Firefly movie "Serenity".

Petty Theft

noreply@blogger.com (Chase Morgan) — Tue, 22 Nov 2011 17:44:00 +0000

When Kenya Ealy arrived home at her University City, Mo., apartment, she found someone inside. She and a friend tried to open the door, but someone inside was holding it closed. When they realized it was an intruder, the roles reversed: they held the door closed while screaming for someone to call the police while the man tried to get out. They held on long enough for officers to take Damon Petty, 36, into custody. Petty had been in Ealy's kitchen cooking bacon, police report, and officers found some other items of Ealy's in his pockets.
Petty has been charged with burglary and is being held on $25,000 bail.

A THOUGHT: Theft of most foods is a misdemeanor, but stealing bacon is a felony, just as it should be.