The Northern Muckraker

Stay tuned...

reaver33@gmail.com (Douglas Hester) — Fri, 10 Jun 2016 19:00:00 +0000

Northern Muckraker coming back in 3,2,1,...

Mission creep

reaver33@gmail.com (Douglas Hester) — Wed, 30 Jul 2014 09:57:00 +0000

Six carloads of jackbooted "Homeland Security" officers showed up at a couple's house in Statesville, North Carolina the other day, in a massive show of force.

The alleged violation that precipitated the overwhelming response? The couple had purchased a 25-year-old Land Rover on eBay that the Feds believe violates EPA emissions standards.

The buyers apparently believed an exemption applied because of the the vehicle's age and historic status. Boy, were they ever disabused of that notion in a hurry.

What minor administrative violation is going to send the goons over to your house?

It's long past time to impose some restraint

reaver33@gmail.com (Douglas Hester) — Mon, 28 Jul 2014 14:41:00 +0000

President Obama is apparently going to unilaterally decide (despite repeatedly stating in public that he has absolutely no authority to do so) to allow as many as 5 MILLION illegal immigrants who snuck into the country or overstayed their visas to stay indefinitely with work authorization. His apparent main excuse this time - anchor babies:

"One option would allow immigrants who are parents of U.S. citizens to apply for temporary legal status which would let them work legally in the U.S. Because children born in the country automatically receive U.S. citizenship, that option could affect about 5 million people, researchers estimate.
A second option would be to allow temporary legal status for the parents of young people already granted deportation deferrals by the Obama administration. That would affect a smaller, but still sizable, number of people."

This course of action will, of course, only encourage untold thousands of people in Mexico and Central America to redouble their efforts to get here by any means necessary in order to partake in this latest amnesty, whether they qualify for it or not. We've already seen what's happened in the last two years just from the Lightbringer's unlawful implementation of the DACA program.

It's time to once again melt down Congress's phone lines and remind them of their duty to impose "checks and balances", especially on a rogue administration that likes to make up its own laws on such issues as health care, immigration and gun control.

Jumping the line

reaver33@gmail.com (Douglas Hester) — Fri, 13 Jun 2014 04:26:00 +0000

We had lunch today at a trendy new Mexican food place near our home. Very good food and attentive service.

While eating we had the chance to have a friendly chat with the 19-year old counter girl, who is from Chihuahua, Mexico. She freely admitted in her excellent English that she's in the country on a tourist visa and is looking forward to studying at a local college in the fall.

Two things are very wrong with this situation, though - visitors on tourist visas are barred from enrolling in higher education institutions, and they are expressly forbidden to work while in this country. This otherwise charming person is doing both, most likely with a fraudulent or stolen Social Security number.

A significant percentage of illegal immigrants to this country don't arrive by trekking through the desert or wading across a river. They simply arrive on a tourist visa and never leave. This person is one of them, and she is knowingly breaking several of our laws in the process.

Immigration reform activists, why should this person get to stay when so many others around the world wait their turn and come here legally?

Why I Carry a Handgun for Protection, Vol. 65

reaver33@gmail.com (Douglas Hester) — Thu, 08 May 2014 19:10:00 +0000

Because an acquaintance of mine, a very kind and gentle fellow named Kevin Ore, was murdered late Tuesday night a scant one block from our home. We suspect, based on what we know of Kevin and of our neighborhood, that it was a random mugging gone wrong.

You alone are responsible for your safety. Plan accordingly.

RIP, Kevin, and thanks for the excellent service and fun conversations on many a Saturday evening.

Why I Carry a Handgun for Protection, Vol. 64

reaver33@gmail.com (Douglas Hester) — Thu, 17 Apr 2014 04:53:00 +0000

Because when seconds count, the cops are only SEVEN HOURS away.

The TSA can't even illegally profile correctly

reaver33@gmail.com (Douglas Hester) — Sat, 24 Aug 2013 18:48:00 +0000

The TSA unlawfully detains a Hindu man for over 4 hours at JFK airport after which, even after being cleared for travel, JetBlue Airlines refuses to let him board his flight. Read his entire account of the incident for full effect.

During his detainment the man was asked such questions as how religious he was, how many times a day he prays and whether or not he would consent to following instructions from a female flight attendant. Remember, the man is Hindu, not Muslim.

Bonus: The man returns to his New York apartment to find that it had apparently been tossed without a warrant.

Feel safer yet?

The government agrees - guns save lives

reaver33@gmail.com (Douglas Hester) — Sat, 24 Aug 2013 18:13:00 +0000

The Messiah's own executively-ordered CDC study on gun violence proves that the incidence of lawful defensive gun uses by Americans at the very least equals the incidence of gun crimes committed by criminals, and most likely exceeds it:

"Almost all national survey estimates indicate that defensive gun uses by victims are at least as common as offensive uses by criminals, with estimates of annual uses ranging from about 500,000 to more than 3 million per year (Kleck, 2001a)." (Emphasis ours)

There you go. Scientific proof that guns in the hands of law-abiding citizens for self-protection equals or betters the rate of their being used in crimes. Where, then, is the urgent need to further restrict their availability to those who responsibly use them?

Not that the general media reported this, as they pretty much are only in favor of scientific evidence when it helps advance their agenda, which of course is not how science works. If they had paid attention in high school they would have remembered that fact.

Why I Carry a Handgun for Protection, Vol. 63

reaver33@gmail.com (Douglas Hester) — Wed, 24 Jul 2013 19:12:00 +0000

So that if we happen to be attacked by a pack of at least 15 stray dogs in broad daylight, as a 52-year-old lady was in Houston on Monday morning, we will have at least a fighting chance of defending ourselves.

Maria Arcos, in addition to being severely mauled, suffered a heart attack during the incident and it is unclear right now whether she is going to survive.

Once again, anti-gun activists, situations such as this one are exactly why normal-capacity magazines of 15 to 17 rounds in handguns, or more in rifles, can make all the difference in the outcome of a crisis. Why should a law-abiding citizen have to suffer grievous wounds from multiple attackers because their firearm was artificially limited to 10 rounds or fewer?

By the way, Houston residents, according to the story animal control has only managed to capture 5 of the dogs so far, which means at least 10 feral canines are still out there roaming your city's streets. Prepare accordingly.

Why I Carry a Handgun for Protection, Vol. 62

reaver33@gmail.com (Douglas Hester) — Sat, 27 Apr 2013 23:42:00 +0000

Because in the city in which we reside the supposed good guys can sometimes actually turn out to be the bad guys.

Detectives with the Arizona Department of Public Safety have concluded that not only did some law-enforcement officer members of the ~~wannabe biker gang~~ motorcycle club the Iron Brotherhood assault a 23-year-old man in a Prescott bar last December 22, breaking his nose among other injuries, the heroic first responders then told massive whoppers about exactly what happened:

"The DPS report notes that numerous members of the club made statements that were contradicted by videotape, other evidence and civilian witnesses."

The victim's transgression? He asked the club's president some questions about the patches on his vest. This apparently angered sergeant-at-arms and Phoenix "officer" Eric "Guido" Amato, who then decided to administer a little attitude adjustment.

Naturally, once other cops showed up to investigate the incident the blue wall of silence immediately went up, as found out by a parallel investigation:

"A separate administrative review conducted by a Coconino County sheriff’s commander and released Thursday by the Yavapai County Sheriff’s Office concluded that at least two Yavapai County sheriff’s deputies — [William] Suttle and Capt. Marc Schmidt — hindered investigators by lying and withholding information."

Open and shut, right? Nope. DPS, despite their findings, has declined to recommend criminal charges against any of the goons but instead merely identified some "potential criminal allegations" against several members of the club including assault, disorderly conduct, obstruction and false reporting.

"Officer" Amato is under a separate internal affairs probe by the Phoenix PD but unbelievably is still out on the street in the South Mountain Precinct as a, get this, "Community Action Officer" (no doubt serving and protecting by educating the citizens about such serious threats as criminal motorcycle gang members).

Two of the cops at least had the integrity to resign their positions, according to the story, but all of them remain uncharged and unsanctioned to date, almost five months later.

If any other biker gang had engaged in this conduct they would have been long ago jailed and criminally charged. We already know the answer but we'll ask the question anyway - what's taking so long in this case?

"The Iron Brotherhood claims on its website to be a fraternity of motorcycle-riding law officers who do not associate with criminals."

Not exactly true, because at least some of them apparently are criminals.

We reserve our right to protect ourselves against an unprovoked criminal assault from anyone, whether they wear a badge for a living or not.

Hush, child. Your bottle is warming

reaver33@gmail.com (Douglas Hester) — Thu, 18 Apr 2013 05:10:00 +0000

A quick response to the Messiah's pathetic mewling in the Rose Garden earlier today:

"By now, it’s well known that 90 percent of the American people support universal background checks"

Says who? Please cite where you discovered such magical fairy-dusted numbers, sir. If anywhere close to 90 percent had truly supported that legislation it would have passed in a slam-dunk. It didn't, of course, which leads us to conclude that you in fact are the one stretching the truth here.

"We’re talking about convicted felons, people convicted of domestic violence, people with a severe mental illness"

Persons who are already prohibited from buying a firearm from anyone anywhere at any time. So you're proposing to make it doubly or triply illegal?

"But instead of supporting this compromise, the gun lobby and its allies willfully lied about the bill. They claimed that it would create some sort of “big brother” gun registry, even though the bill did the opposite."

Universal background checks by definition would create a de facto gun registry that no doubt would be used to locate and attempt to confiscate firearms at some future date. As to the ban on creating an official registry, it's true that one was in the legislation, but the one word "notwithstanding" in the bill basically negates the language and allows the Attorney General to do just that.

"There were no coherent arguments as to why we wouldn’t do this."

There were many, sir. You just dismissed them as you do any viewpoints that differ from your collectivist worldview.

"But if action by Congress could have saved one person, one child"

So we take it you're in favor of any action that saves lives, up to and including waterboarding, then?

"I’ve heard folks say that having the families of victims lobby for this legislation was somehow misplaced. "A prop," somebody called them. “Emotional blackmail,” some outlet said. Are they serious?"

Yes indeed. The same people you've been carting around on Air Force One, parading up in the Senate gallery and pimping out on sycophantic news programs? This is a textbook definition of employing the transfer technique, and you should be ashamed of yourself for dancing in their children's blood to advance your political agenda.

"And I see this as just round one"

Bring it on.

At least he knows which end to hold

reaver33@gmail.com (Douglas Hester) — Sat, 02 Feb 2013 23:48:00 +0000

The President's propaganda office, under immense pressure to produce evidence that Barry has indeed held a firearm at one point in his life, has released a picture of the Messiah apparently engaged in a bit of skeet shooting at Camp David. As if the Second Amendment was put into the Bill of Rights to protect an admittedly fun way to while away an afternoon.

"This official White House photograph is being made available only for publication by news organizations and/or for personal use printing by the subject(s) of the photograph. The photograph may not be manipulated in any way"

Parody is still protected speech under the First Amendment, as far as we can tell. We're sure the Messiah's minions are hard at work undermining that right as well. In the meantime, we eagerly await the Internet memes that undoubtedly will result from the pic.

The mom jeans add an outstanding sartorial touch, by the way.

And I want France to have free ice cream on Tuesdays

reaver33@gmail.com (Douglas Hester) — Wed, 24 Oct 2012 02:31:00 +0000

"Obama Has Massive Lead in Global Poll"

So what?

Only votes cast by U.S. citizens count in the upcoming election, as much as the Messiah and his supporters wish for that not to be the case, as judging by the latest polls that's the only way they're going to be able to pull off a win. Tam, who resides in the battleground state of Indiana, notes that pretty much every single Republican ad she's seen (and she's apparently seen plenty) mentions repealing the abomination that is Obamacare, while all of the Democrat candidates' ads won't even mention the currently millstone-like Obama, much less his signature legislative accomplishment.

Things are definitely getting interesting.

The Jack-Booted Thug(s) of the Week...

reaver33@gmail.com (Douglas Hester) — Sun, 23 Sep 2012 23:50:00 +0000

... are Louisville, Kentucky police officers Trey McKinley, Donald Pugh, Jeremy Linton, Daniel English and Joseph Vidourek, as well as Sgt. Kirby Shobe.

These fine public servants, especially "Officer" English, rousted National Guard Lt. Col. Donald Blake Settle, a highly decorated 29-year soldier with a traumatic brain injury, last January simply because he was wearing dirty clothes from a remodeling job and was observed by English to be having difficulty speaking while Settle was conversing with an acquaintance he ran into at a local mall while shopping for a gift card.

Despite his (accurate) protestations that he was neither impaired nor a homeless vagrant, Settle was menaced twice with a TASER, brutally tossed to the ground and handcuffed, and then threatened with arrest (for what? The story doesn't say, and there definitely was no actual crime being committed) before the cops made some calls and finally managed to figure out that he was telling the truth. Did that information make one bit of difference?

Naw, they still rudely told him to hit the road:

"Settle said he was told to leave the mall and get his gift card somewhere else on the way out of Louisville."

Didn't they already make a movie about exactly this kind of official abuse of innocent veterans by such smug self-proclaimed guardians of proper dress and diction?

Naturally, none of the cops were disciplined for their wrongdoing, not even "Sergeant" Shobe, who despite apparently being the supervisor at the scene didn't bother to fill out a report on the incident, most likely because enough clock ticks had passed for even that half-wit to figure out that he and his fellow thugs might actually face some consequences for their unlawful actions.

"'You always err on the side of caution because what, to me, this looks like, is that we were trying to cover something up,' [Louisville PD Col. Vince] Robison said, later clarifying, however, that it didn’t appear there was any “conspiracy” to cover anything up, just a “poor job” in not documenting what happened."

Oh no, no conspiracy at all, it was just a (very convenient) crappy job by his officers. But no punishment for said crap performance. What a professionally-run department.

Settle has been told he will have to sue the department to receive a copy of the sham "investigation" into incident. According to the story, he plans to do exactly that. We hope he gets some significant monetary damages as well to assist him in his recovery.

Thanks for visiting

reaver33@gmail.com (Douglas Hester) — Tue, 04 Sep 2012 00:26:00 +0000

An illegal immigrant who made his way into the U.S. through Mexico, got caught, made a nebulous asylum claim of "religious persecution" from a government that no longer existed at the time he left his home country (but the rest of his family seemingly has no issues and stayed there), had his claim denied, is ordered deported in 1996 and not only ignored the order but subsequently missed not one but two court hearings to appeal his status, is finally located and picked up by ICE and is in jail awaiting return to his homeland, so naturally he's crying about how unfair the system is.

The man unwisely married and had five children while under that active deportation order, so of course it's America's fault that his family is apparently going to be split up. Nope, he has no sense of personal responsibility whatsoever for his current predicament despite the choices being entirely his at every step of the process.

And no, he doesn't qualify for President Obama's illegal end-run around the law relaxation of immigration policy for certain individuals, which seems to be the main point of the story - let's let everyone unlawfully here stay!

By the way, the illegal alien is from Romania, about as white as a country gets, so the tired old racial bias argument simply won't play here.

You're too stupid to figure it out yourself

reaver33@gmail.com (Douglas Hester) — Sun, 02 Sep 2012 21:52:00 +0000

First Nanny Michelle Obama apparently isn't finished lecturing Americans about what to eat and even how to shop for their vittles:

"Tips from the mother-of-two and healthy living fanatic include to 'steer clear of the cookie, snack and soda aisle'... 'And if you stay at the outer aisles you try to avoid going in and getting the processed, packaged foods.'"

You don't say?

The most disturbing part is that this "fanatic" would unilaterally ban burgers and fries if she all of a sudden had the power, simply because she personally disapproves of such fare.

Maybe you should work on the President before you presume to harangue the rest of us, ma'am. He, true to his hypocritical nature, is definitely not paying attention to one word of your incessant nutritional nagging.

The Jack-Booted Thug of the Week...

reaver33@gmail.com (Douglas Hester) — Sat, 18 Aug 2012 23:08:00 +0000

... is NYPD Officer Flynn, badge 3034, who is seen here threatening to jail a local activist for videotaping a checkpoint outside 1 Police Plaza from approximately 300 feet away while standing on a public street:

Needless to say, the actions engaged in by the photographer were entirely legal and no such arrest took place. Another example of the kinds of empty and impotent threats regularly made by those in "authority".

"They're filming you filming this location".

So what? You have your cameras and so does the citizen. Sounds quite fair to us. And failing to obey your illegal order is not a crime, ma'am.

(link via Carlos Miller)

Why I Carry a Handgun for Protection, Vol. 61

reaver33@gmail.com (Douglas Hester) — Fri, 17 Aug 2012 00:24:00 +0000

So that when six 13 and 14-year old feral youth happen to target us for attack simply because the thugs were "bored and looking for something to do" we will be able to successfully defend ourselves, unlike what happened to North Cottage Hill, Ohio resident Pat Mahaney last Saturday.

Mahaney was stomped into unconsciousness by the teens was only saved from a worse fate by an alert neighbor who quickly called police. He spent four days in the hospital with internal injuries. The feral youth apparently don't feel the least bit bad about their actions, either:

"'They were pretty arrogant in the interview with us,' [Police Chief Gary] Foust said. 'It’s appalling. I think it’s despicable. This appears to be premeditated and there was no remorse on behalf of any of the assailants.'"

Foust also maintains that there was no racial component to the case despite all the assailants being black and the victim white. One can only wonder if he would be so quickly and publicly dismissive of that motive had the opposite been true.

Regardless, if Mr. Mahaney had been equipped and prepared to repel the assault he might be in a far less painful state today.

He probably had more than 3 ounces of liquid "on" him as well

reaver33@gmail.com (Douglas Hester) — Sun, 12 Aug 2012 22:10:00 +0000

The folks in charge of "security" at JFK Airport in New York City certainly have a bit of explaining to do after a stranded jet-skier inadvertently defeated their 100 million dollar perimeter detection system when his craft sank in Jamaica Bay off Runway 4-L Friday night.

Daniel Casillo, whose keys, ID and money apparently went down with his craft, swam approximately three miles to shore, climbed a fence, walked across two active runways and strolled into Terminal 3. He was only stopped once a Delta worker noticed him standing there dripping wet and wearing a bright yellow life preserver.

Naturally, all of this massive and embarrassing "security" fail is the boater's fault:

"He was charged with criminal trespass."

Like the poor guy had a choice in the matter. What was he supposed to do, stay out there and drown because the place is off-limits?

All the other peasants, meanwhile, are still forced to surrender such items as nail clippers, breast milk and inflatable toys to maintain the TSA's silly facade of "security".

Feel safe yet?

Another happy ending

reaver33@gmail.com (Douglas Hester) — Sun, 05 Aug 2012 20:16:00 +0000

Five armed thugs got the shock of their lives while attempting to rob Continental Jewelry in Garden Grove, California last week when the 65-year-old female business owner pulled out her own handgun and opened fire on the invaders:

The segment at :35 when the cowardly hoods smash into each other, Three Stooges-like, as they frantically try to exit the store all at once is particularly enjoyable. The bottom-feeders were so panicked that they actually left three of their crew behind when they drove off. Police are still searching for the suspects, but we imagine they won't be back to that part of town anytime soon.

Once again, just as we saw in Florida the other week, a legally possessed and justifiably used firearm allowed an elderly citizen to successfully defend themselves against a superior number of armed attackers. The Brady Campaign and Violence Policy Center would have you believe these sorts of incidents are rarer than unicorn farts.

Don't buy it.

Magic

reaver33@gmail.com (Douglas Hester) — Fri, 03 Aug 2012 13:53:00 +0000

It's quite interesting to note the near-instantaneous transformative effect the presence of a running video camera has on the surly and bullying attitude of Sergeant Scott Eberle of the San Rafael, California Police Department:

(Carlos Miller via Reason)

Amnesty is officially here

reaver33@gmail.com (Douglas Hester) — Fri, 03 Aug 2012 00:52:00 +0000

The morale of rank and file ICE agents has virtually flatlined, for good reason - apparently the officers no longer can arrest and deport deserving candidates, thanks to that agency's taking of President Obama's unlawful declaration of amnesty for certain classes of illegal aliens (an action he took merely one year after publicly admitting he didn't possess that authority. Well, he seems to have invented some) and extending it to include virtually everyone, even those who obviously don't qualify under the already liberal definition of "Dreamers":

"[National ICE Council President Chris] Crane said a case involving a veteran ICE agent is a perfect illustration. The agent arrested an illegal who was not a “primary target.” The agent’s superior officers ordered the illegal released – even though he did not meet the criteria listed by the Dept. of Homeland Security.

The officer refused to follow orders and is now facing a three day suspension. The 35-year-old illegal immigrant with ten traffic violations was released." (All emphases ours)

Why even have a deportation process if it takes being a serial killer to qualify as a "primary target"?

When that drag-on-society criminal eventually smashes his vehicle into another car and kills someone (which happens all too often), the responsibility for those deaths will fall squarely on the heads of those who supposedly watch out for our "security".

The Jack-Booted Thug(s) of the Week...

reaver33@gmail.com (Douglas Hester) — Fri, 03 Aug 2012 00:15:00 +0000

... are the Alaska State Troopers who arrested an intoxicated man for DUI last Sunday because he was observed floating down the Chena River on an inflatable raft.

Why? He obviously wasn't going to hurt anything or anyone, except maybe himself by falling out of his toy. A drunk in public charge might possibly be warranted but a DUI, with all its serious repercussions?

Please. If floating under the influence rates that kind of serious charge then we know hundreds of people right this very minute on the Salt River in Phoenix and the Apple River in Wisconsin who are guilty as heck. The cops in those places better get out there posthaste to put a halt to that societal scourge.

From the Department of Glaringly Obvious Headlines

reaver33@gmail.com (Douglas Hester) — Tue, 31 Jul 2012 14:00:00 +0000

"Federal Court finds Obama appointees interfered with New Black Panther prosecution"

For those who don't remember this quaint little scene on Election Day 2008:

That disgusting incident of voter intimidation wasn't deemed worthy of punishment, according to Obama's political hacks. But the Republicans are the ones who "rule" based on the color of peoples' skin and thus try to deny them their vote. Riiight.

Now, because of the findings of District Court Judge Reggie Walton, the long-suffering American taxpayer has to pay Judicial Watch's legal fees in the case.

And Eric "Neutral, leaning towards favorable" Holder somehow still keeps his job.

Let them eat cake

reaver33@gmail.com (Douglas Hester) — Mon, 30 Jul 2012 22:12:00 +0000

First Lady Michelle Obama, she of the lavish restaurant dinners and expensive foreign vacations for her and her extended family under the guise of "official business", at least one in which her children received the label of "senior staff" to avoid embarrassment over the trip's runaway costs, showed up at the Olympics sporting a $6,800 jacket while the rest of the country suffers under her husband's incompetent handling of the American economy.

And these two clueless spendthrifts are supposed to represent the "99%"?