The Flying Tiger

Test Entry

2010-08-15T20:20:00.001-07:00

This is a test because I am trying some new software, MARSEDIT. I have no idea how it is supposed to work or how to edit things. I am using it because it is a free trial. If I like it I suppose I will purchase it. If it is a pain in the ass I guess I wont. I really want to be able to add more to my blog in terms of media and layout. I hope this software is able to help me with that.

Freshly Ground Black People!

2010-04-21T08:41:00.000-07:00

Freshly Ground Black People, my FAVORITE ingredient!

FRESHLY GROUND BLACK PEOPLE

Doesn't everyone use them in a recipe every now and then?

2010-03-29T06:34:00.000-07:00

Okay, it's been a VERY long time since I last posted, mostly due to the fact I've been too damn busy with work and have not felt like doing shit on my off days. I am here at CSI school now. It is a 6 day class and the classes are 10 hours long. I am really looking forward to learning everything, and bringing that knowledge back to work.

In other news, some 6 year old kid was shot dead a few days ago. A six year old kid! Some piece of shit gang member was shooting at rival gang members and of course, they did not even hit their intended target and the bullet hit a 6 year old boy, that was in his own home, in the head. Dead. Right there.

Then some of the same citizens have these rallies and "peace" marches, like they do after every shooting. And we all know, that all you need to do is some kind of a march, and chant something zazzy that rhymes, and all of the problems for which you are marching will go away.

It's sad, they can have a march full of 10,000 illegal aliens demanding (in Spanish no less) instant citizenship and for all of these rights but can only manage 2,500 people after a 6 year old gets shot dead. Fucking Illegals.

CSI SCHOOL HERE I COME!

2009-12-17T11:19:00.000-08:00

Our department is relatively small. We serve a city of just over 33,000 people. There are local cities that have fewer citizens and have more officers than us, lower crime rates, and more units. We recently lost our Chief (A story I will not go into because he will NOT be missed) and for the past 6 months have had an interim chief, who, quite frankly, I personally wish was our permanent chief. But I digress.

Anyhow, as the POA president, he met with me in his very first week on the job and was very frank, and asked that I be very frank with him, regarding the direction the PD needed to go. One of the very first things I told him we needed was our own CSI (crime scene investigator) squad. For a smaller city, we have a high crime rate and can't always afford to wait for the local sheriff's department or state department of justice to arrive with their CSI unit, which at times can take up to 4 hours.

So, 5 months later, he put a memo out asking for memos of interest in a CSI position. I put in for it and got one of the 4 spots. I am pretty happy right now. It is a 2 week school and is something I can actually do as a civilian when I retire if I want to. I eventually want to put in for FTO (Field Training Officer) or detective and this is a good step in that direction.

Anyhow, I am looking forward to going to CSI school and learning some new things and increasing my professional knowledge. Be safe everyone.

Work has been busy

2009-12-08T13:47:00.000-08:00

Well, I just had another busy week at work. On my monday, a UPS driver was carjacked and all of the packages were stolen. Fucking savages. Then on Sunday two assholes put a pistol and shotgun to a 16 year old employees head when he was emptying the trash into the dumpster. Then the savages notice a couple that had just pulled up in a car, tried to carjack them, but they got away (only after smashing their car into a light pole).

Unfortunately, we don't have any leads. We were working short that night and had to have the CHP and Sheriff's Department come to assist us immediately after it happened. To top things off, every time I sat down to try and write my report, I ended up getting dispatched to some other bullshit call so it took forever to get a simple report done. Oh well, so goes life as a cop. Be safe out there.

Good times at work.

2009-12-02T23:44:00.000-08:00

So the other night it was painfully slow at work. For a Friday night, there was nobody out to do ped-checks on. And for the cars that WERE out, there was like no PC to stop them. My partner had taken a report of a stolen vehicle earlier in the day, and just after midnight, the owner of the car calls 911. He's telling dispatch that he is following his stolen car in his wife's truck.

Me and my partner start driving all over the city as dispatch updates us with their location. We finally see the guy driving right past us, and we make contact with the driver, it is somebody we are VERY familiar with. So, he starts leading us on a vehicle pursuit after he fails to yield to our lights and sirens, and after a few blocks he crashes his car into a house. All 5 occupants take off running in different directions so me and my partner pick one and start chasing him.

After 3 blocks we're right behind him, and he quits running, and we take him into custody. The next day, our day shift officers contact and arrest the driver and he ends up being charged with 11 different crimes, most of the felonies. (Note to self, when you know the cops are at the door don't leave crystal meth and smoking pipes in the open on your bed.).

So, it turned out to be a good night after all, just took a little while to get there. I am also very proud of myself that at age 33, I was able to keep right up with my 24 year old partner, and a 17 year old suspect. (Don't forget, we also wear all of that extra gear, the vest, Sam Browne belt, pistol, ammo, taser, baton, extra magazines, radio, 2 sets of hand cuffs). Anyhow, be safe out there!

It's been a while.

2009-11-18T23:44:00.000-08:00

Okay,

It's been a while since I posted. A lot has been going on and I have not had much time for much of anything. The city wants 5% of our salary, I have a major role in negotiations, so needless to say, my mind has not been all there.

Also, one of our cats was diagnosed with FeLV, which is similar to HIV in humans, it affects a feline's immune system, and I have been REALLY upset about that. We're in a transitional phase at the PD and there are a lot of changes going on right now. We have an interim chief, and he's actually doing a really good job in my opinion. There are certain things that he has done that we have been BEGGING the last administration for, simple things, like getting us batteries that work on our portable radios (MAJOR officer safety issue), among other things that I will not get into right now.

Anyhow, writing is very therapeutic for me, and although I am relatively new at blogging, reading responses is just as therapeutic, so keep em' coming! Be safe everyone!

High and Tight

2009-10-02T15:50:00.000-07:00

Why is it I still run into "barbers" that do not know what a "high and tight" is? I got my haircut today and I asked for a high and tight. The guy looked at me like I had a penis growing out of my forehead. I had to explain to the guy how to do it. I thought this was a pretty standard haircut, was I wrong? Anyhow, off to work I go.

The enemy will not stop trying. Americans need to remain vigilant!

2009-09-25T08:31:00.000-07:00

Men vanish after taking photos of Philly subway system...

Please, I am begging my fellow American citizens, regardless of your political affiliation, DO NOT FORGET WE ARE AT WAR! The enemy's of this great nation will stop at nothing to ensure our destruction, from within or without! God Bless the men and women of the American Military. Regardless of your branch of service, I appreciate you, and the sacrifices you make every day of your life. Without you there is no America.

Semper Fidelis, from a grateful jarhead.

Lagniappe's Lair: Because Margaret Miller can't raise a kid right, she sues the police.

2009-09-23T12:19:00.000-07:00

Lagniappe's Lair: Because Margaret Miller can't raise a kid right, she sues the police.

One hell of a week...

2009-09-23T12:11:00.001-07:00

I just finished probably the busiest work week here at PD. On Friday (My Monday) the shift was business as usual, traffic stops, ped checks, calls for service. Then at about 0430 (2 1/2 hours before the end of shift) a call comes out about the victim of a stabbing.

I respond code 3 from the PD, I'm the first one on scene. It turns out the guy was actually shot, they mowed him down pretty good too. He was barely alive when I got there, he died about 4 minutes later as medics were transferring him from the vehicle he was shot in, to the gurney, to put into the ambulance. We knew he was dead when the medics canceled the med-evac flight.

I was there till noon that day processing the crime scene (it was a 17 hour work day for me). I slept about 4 hours.....max, only to return to work for a night of going call to call for the next 12 hours. Thank God our Sgt's requested extra officers that night because we would have been royally fucked working the city by ourselves.

I finally got done booking all of my evidence, and wrote my supplemental report the next day. My long week did not end there though. On Sunday (my Friday) we ended up going hands-on (police jargon for opening a can of whoop-ass) with a guy we later found out was infested with scabies. That certainly did not do anything for my now miserable mood. My Sgt wrote up workman's comp paper on the incident and after work I took the longest, hottest shower I ever took in my life. Then.....it was off to an appointment at 10:00 am in a city about 20 minutes away. I FINALLY got home a little after noon, slept for a couple of hours, woke up, cooked dinner, slept till 2 am, then was up the rest of the next day.

Shift work really does a number on your body. I really love my job, love putting dirtbags in jail, but shit, it really does take its toll on you, both mentally and physically. Anyhow, be safe everyone.

On Sheep, Wolves, and Sheepdogs

2009-09-18T14:07:00.000-07:00

On Sheep, Wolves, and Sheepdogs - Dave Grossman

By LTC (RET) Dave Grossman, author of "On Killing."
Honor never grows old, and honor rejoices the heart of age. It does so because honor is, finally, about defending those noble and worthy things that deserve defending, even if it comes at a high cost. In our time, that may mean social disapproval, public scorn, hardship, persecution, or as always,even death itself. The question remains: What is worth defending? What is worth dying for? What is worth living for? - William J. Bennett - in a lecture to the United States Naval Academy November 24, 1997

One Vietnam veteran, an old retired colonel, once said this to me:

"Most of the people in our society are sheep. They are kind, gentle, productive creatures who can only hurt one another by accident." This is true. Remember, the murder rate is six per 100,000 per year, and the aggravated assault rate is four per 1,000 per year. What this means is that the vast majority of Americans are not inclined to hurt one another. Some estimates say that two million Americans are victims of violent crimes every year, a tragic, staggering number, perhaps an all-time record rate of violent crime. But there are almost 300 million Americans, which means that the odds of being a victim of violent crime is considerably less than one in a hundred on any given year. Furthermore, since many violent crimes are committed by repeat offenders, the actual number of violent citizens is considerably less than two million.

Thus there is a paradox, and we must grasp both ends of the situation: We may well be in the most violent times in history, but violence is still remarkably rare. This is because most citizens are kind, decent people who are not capable of hurting each other, except by accident or under extreme provocation. They are sheep.

I mean nothing negative by calling them sheep. To me it is like the pretty, blue robin's egg. Inside it is soft and gooey but someday it will grow into something wonderful. But the egg cannot survive without its hard blue shell. Police officers, soldiers, and other warriors are like that shell, and someday the civilization they protect will grow into something wonderful.? For now, though, they need warriors to protect them from the predators.

"Then there are the wolves," the old war veteran said, "and the wolves feed on the sheep without mercy." Do you believe there are wolves out there who will feed on the flock without mercy? You better believe it. There are evil men in this world and they are capable of evil deeds. The moment you forget that or pretend it is not so, you become a sheep. There is no safety in denial.

"Then there are sheepdogs," he went on, "and I'm a sheepdog. I live to protect the flock and confront the wolf."

If you have no capacity for violence then you are a healthy productive citizen, a sheep. If you have a capacity for violence and no empathy for your fellow citizens, then you have defined an aggressive sociopath, a wolf. But what if you have a capacity for violence, and a deep love for your fellow citizens? What do you have then? A sheepdog, a warrior, someone who is walking the hero's path. Someone who can walk into the heart of darkness, into the universal human phobia, and walk out unscathed

Let me expand on this old soldier's excellent model of the sheep, wolves, and sheepdogs. We know that the sheep live in denial, that is what makes them sheep. They do not want to believe that there is evil in the world. They can accept the fact that fires can happen, which is why they want fire extinguishers, fire sprinklers, fire alarms and fire exits throughout their kids' schools.

But many of them are outraged at the idea of putting an armed police officer in their kid's school. Our children are thousands of times more likely to be killed or seriously injured by school violence than fire, but the sheep's only response to the possibility of violence is denial. The idea of someone coming to kill or harm their child is just too hard, and so they chose the path of denial.

The sheep generally do not like the sheepdog. He looks a lot like the wolf. He has fangs and the capacity for violence. The difference, though, is that the sheepdog must not, can not and will not ever harm the sheep. Any sheep dog who intentionally harms the lowliest little lamb will be punished and removed. The world cannot work any other way, at least not in a representative democracy or a republic such as ours.

Still, the sheepdog disturbs the sheep. He is a constant reminder that there are wolves in the land. They would prefer that he didn't tell them where to go, or give them traffic tickets, or stand at the ready in our airports in camouflage fatigues holding an M-16. The sheep would much rather have the sheepdog cash in his fangs, spray paint himself white, and go, "Baa."

Until the wolf shows up. Then the entire flock tries desperately to hide behind one lonely sheepdog.

The students, the victims, at Columbine High School were big, tough high school students, and under ordinary circumstances they would not have had the time of day for a police officer. They were not bad kids; they just had nothing to say to a cop. When the school was under attack, however, and SWAT teams were clearing the rooms and hallways, the officers had to physically peel those clinging, sobbing kids off of them. This is how the little lambs feel about their sheepdog when the wolf is at the door.

Look at what happened after September 11, 2001 when the wolf pounded hard on the door. Remember how America, more than ever before, felt differently about their law enforcement officers and military personnel? Remember how many times you heard the word hero?

Understand that there is nothing morally superior about being a sheepdog; it is just what you choose to be. Also understand that a sheepdog is a funny critter: He is always sniffing around out on the perimeter, checking the breeze, barking at things that go bump in the night, and yearning for a righteous battle. That is, the young sheepdogs yearn for a righteous battle. The old sheepdogs are a little older and wiser, but they move to the sound of the guns when needed right along with the young ones.

Here is how the sheep and the sheepdog think differently. The sheep pretend the wolf will never come, but the sheepdog lives for that day. After the attacks on September 11, 2001, most of the sheep, that is, most citizens in America said, "Thank God I wasn't on one of those planes." The sheepdogs, the warriors, said, "Dear God, I wish I could have been on one of those planes. Maybe I could have made a difference." When you are truly transformed into a warrior and have truly invested yourself into warriorhood, you want to be there. You want to be able to make a difference.

There is nothing morally superior about the sheepdog, the warrior, but he does have one real advantage. Only one. And that is that he is able to survive and thrive in an environment that destroys 98 percent of the population. There was research conducted a few years ago with individuals convicted of violent crimes. These cons were in prison for serious, predatory crimes of violence: assaults, murders and killing law enforcement officers. The vast majority said that they specifically targeted victims by body language: slumped walk, passive behavior and lack of awareness. They chose their victims like big cats do in Africa, when they select one out of the herd that is least able to protect itself.

Some people may be destined to be sheep and others might be genetically primed to be wolves or sheepdogs. But I believe that most people can choose which one they want to be, and I'm proud to say that more and more Americans are choosing to become sheepdogs.

Seven months after the attack on September 11, 2001, Todd Beamer was honored in his hometown of Cranbury, New Jersey. Todd, as you recall, was the man on Flight 93 over Pennsylvania who called on his cell phone to alert an operator from United Airlines about the hijacking. When he learned of the other three passenger planes that had been used as weapons, Todd dropped his phone and uttered the words, "Let's roll," which authorities believe was a signal to the other passengers to confront the terrorist hijackers. In one hour, a transformation occurred among the passengers - athletes, business people and parents. -- from sheep to sheepdogs and together they fought the wolves, ultimately saving an unknown number of lives on the ground.

There is no safety for honest men except by believing all possible evil of evil men. - Edmund Burke

Here is the point I like to emphasize, especially to the thousands of police officers and soldiers I speak to each year. In nature the sheep, real sheep, are born as sheep. Sheepdogs are born that way, and so are wolves. They didn't have a choice. But you are not a critter. As a human being, you can be whatever you want to be. It is a conscious, moral decision.

If you want to be a sheep, then you can be a sheep and that is okay, but you must understand the price you pay. When the wolf comes, you and your loved ones are going to die if there is not a sheepdog there to protect you. If you want to be a wolf, you can be one, but the sheepdogs are going to hunt you down and you will never have rest, safety, trust or love. But if you want to be a sheepdog and walk the warrior's path, then you must make a conscious and moral decision every day to dedicate, equip and prepare yourself to thrive in that toxic, corrosive moment when the wolf comes knocking at the door.

For example, many officers carry their weapons in church.? They are well concealed in ankle holsters, shoulder holsters or inside-the-belt holsters tucked into the small of their backs.? Anytime you go to some form of religious service, there is a very good chance that a police officer in your congregation is carrying. You will never know if there is such an individual in your place of worship, until the wolf appears to massacre you and your loved ones.

I was training a group of police officers in Texas, and during the break, one officer asked his friend if he carried his weapon in church. The other cop replied, "I will never be caught without my gun in church." I asked why he felt so strongly about this, and he told me about a cop he knew who was at a church massacre in Ft. Worth, Texas in 1999. In that incident, a mentally deranged individual came into the church and opened fire, gunning down fourteen people. He said that officer believed he could have saved every life that day if he had been carrying his gun. His own son was shot, and all he could do was throw himself on the boy's body and wait to die. That cop looked me in the eye and said, "Do you have any idea how hard it would be to live with yourself after that?"

Some individuals would be horrified if they knew this police officer was carrying a weapon in church. They might call him paranoid and would probably scorn him. Yet these same individuals would be enraged and would call for "heads to roll" if they found out that the airbags in their cars were defective, or that the fire extinguisher and fire sprinklers in their kids' school did not work. They can accept the fact that fires and traffic accidents can happen and that there must be safeguards against them.

Their only response to the wolf, though, is denial, and all too often their response to the sheepdog is scorn and disdain. But the sheepdog quietly asks himself, "Do you have and idea how hard it would be to live with yourself if your loved ones attacked and killed, and you had to stand there helplessly because you were unprepared for that day?"

It is denial that turns people into sheep. Sheep are psychologically destroyed by combat because their only defense is denial, which is counterproductive and destructive, resulting in fear, helplessness and horror when the wolf shows up.

Denial kills you twice. It kills you once, at your moment of truth when you are not physically prepared: you didn't bring your gun, you didn't train. Your only defense was wishful thinking. Hope is not a strategy. Denial kills you a second time because even if you do physically survive, you are psychologically shattered by your fear helplessness and horror at your moment of truth.

Gavin de Becker puts it like this in Fear Less, his superb post-9/11 book, which should be required reading for anyone trying to come to terms with our current world situation: "...denial can be seductive, but it has an insidious side effect. For all the peace of mind deniers think they get by saying it isn't so, the fall they take when faced with new violence is all the more unsettling."

Denial is a save-now-pay-later scheme, a contract written entirely in small print, for in the long run, the denying person knows the truth on some level.

And so the warrior must strive to confront denial in all aspects of his life, and prepare himself for the day when evil comes. If you are warrior who is legally authorized to carry a weapon and you step outside without that weapon, then you become a sheep, pretending that the bad man will not come today. No one can be "on" 24/7, for a lifetime. Everyone needs down time. But if you are authorized to carry a weapon, and you walk outside without it, just take a deep breath, and say this to yourself...

"Baa."

This business of being a sheep or a sheep dog is not a yes-no dichotomy. It is not an all-or-nothing, either-or choice. It is a matter of degrees, a continuum. On one end is an abject, head-in-the-sand-sheep and on the other end is the ultimate warrior. Few people exist completely on one end or the other. Most of us live somewhere in between. Since 9-11 almost everyone in America took a step up that continuum, away from denial. The sheep took a few steps toward accepting and appreciating their warriors, and the warriors started taking their job more seriously. The degree to which you move up that continuum, away from sheephood and denial, is the degree to which you and your loved ones will survive, physically and psychologically at your moment of truth.

Which one are you?

Good Guys 1, Bad Guys 0

2009-09-16T15:30:00.000-07:00

Family of man fatally shot accuse Gonzales police of excessive force.

Of course, excessive force. Why is it that whenever an officer has to do his job and give a scumbag a dirt nap, the family (in this case, they very family members that called the po-po on him in the first place) then accuse the officer of using excessive force? Why is it that their little mijo was "turning his life around" when the incident occurred. Would somebody PLEASE explain to me, because I just don't understand, how stealing $160 from YOUR OWN MOTHER is turning your life around?

Normal people do not steal from their mothers. Normal people do not have police rap-sheets a mile long. Normal people do not point or otherwise display weapons at police officers, that is, unless they have a death wish.

Funny how the family insisted that the scumbag was unarmed at first, and now, low and behold, the mother admits that Monterey County's citizen of the year SHOWED her a gun prior to the installation of his new sunroof.

The officer will no doubt be put through the obligatory ringer by the family, and groups like the ACLU and LULAC. All for doing a thankless job that the VAST MAJORITY of the population of our country are either unable, or unwilling to do.

We Are Still At War People

2009-09-16T04:13:00.000-07:00

Queens terror raids part of FBI probe into Denver-based cell plotting attack on 9/11 scale.

It's going to happen again people. The enemy is very patient and has all the time in the world. Look at the amount of time between the first time the first world trade center bombing and 9/11. The first one happened in 1993, that is eight years prior to 9-11. They are waiting for us to forget about what happened, as many people no doubt already have.

No matter where you live, be it a big city or in the boonies, terrorist cells are out there, alive, and well. The battles in Afghanistan and Iraq are just two of the fronts in this war on terror. The main front is here in the United States, as the above article shows, which is why I still don't understand WHY we have not secured our borders yet. If you think terror cells have not already exploited our borders you are very naive. It's not just illegal Mexicans hopping the border.

Cancer Sucks

2009-09-15T14:06:00.000-07:00

Well, Patrick Swayze died of cancer yesterday. While he was not one of my favorite actors, he still had some very memorable roles. The best that come to mind are the parts he played in:

Red Dawn
Road House
Point Break
Ghost
The SNL Chippendales skit he did with Chris Farley

About one year ago, I love my mother to cancer, a couple of months ago one of my close friends lost his father to cancer, our old neighbors lost their son to cancer a few months ago as well. My fiance and I both have cancer survivors in our family, and people still fighting the disease.

Every year for the past few years, she and I have taken part in the RELAY FOR LIFE. It is an excellent charity to donate to, and participate in. This past year was especially tough for me being that mom had just passed away, but, I think it helped with the closure I had been looking for. If you know anyone who is fighting cancer, or who has, I highly suggest you check the website out, and find a relay near you to participate in.

Tased Guy Poops

2009-09-13T08:34:00.000-07:00

I ended up having to shoot a guy with my Taser last night. I won't get into too many details, other than at first, it was reported he may have had a knife. After determining (with about 90% certainty) that he did not have a knife, I transitioned from my pistol to my taser. (My partner already had his Taser out and pointed at the guy.)

After several commands to get onto the ground, the guy refused to comply, so, he rode the lightning. As soon as my Taser darts hit the guy he dropped to his knees and started screaming in agony, then fell onto his face. My sergeant arrives on scene and helps cuff him, then assists my partner in talking to another involved party.

I roll the guy onto his side so I can begin searching him for weapons and stuff, and as soon as I do, I get a whiff of pooh. At this point, the guy says "Officer, I think I let some Hershey Squirts go!" Well...he did. I had to smell it all the way back to the police station too. The guy was totally polite and cooperative after taking a ride on The Lighting Express.

I would love to believe he shit his pants when he saw me get out of my squad car. I would not even mind if he shit his pants because he got tased, but reality is he only shit his pants because he was a half-lit nincompoop. Have fun in jail Mr. Poopie Pants!

A few things.....

2009-09-12T09:01:00.000-07:00

Okay, first of all, apparently my settings were dicked up and nobody could leave comments on my blog, that should be fixed now.

Secondly, so I am at work last night and get dispatched to a couple of suspicious persons possibly casing out the block to burglarize it. Me and one of my partners arrive, and contact 2 people fitting the description of the suspects. It turns out one of the guys has a warrant for his arrest for an FTA (FAILURE TO APPEAR). The strange thing about this contact is, not only is the guy from the same home town as I am (Which is 2,497 miles away) but he is from the very same neighborhood as I am.

Ya know, you think you'd be happy to run into people that are from the same neighborhood that you're from............. What makes this even MORE strange is that my VERY FIRST ARREST EVER AS A COP, is of a guy, from my home town.........2,497 miles away.

I need to find another small city to move to, my people are embarrassing me!

Dead Woman

2009-09-11T17:08:00.000-07:00

Last night we got dispatched to a house, "66 year old female, not conscious, not breathing." Me and one of my partners got there, started CPR, and got the defibrillator ready to go. Just as I was about to attach the chest pads to her, fire and ambulance arrived and took over.

A couple of minutes later she was pronounced. She was dead when I got there, there was no coming back for her. She was already cold and her lips were blue. All in all it was very depressing. The lady's husband broke down. I called his son for him to inform him what happened, that was tough.

Shortly after, family members began to arrive. The coroner was extended due to a homicide he was on. Hanging around a house with a bunch of grieving family members is not my idea of a good time. He eventually was able to call and authorize release of the body to the funeral home due to her medical history and the fact she was just at the doctor the very same day.

It's been almost a whole year now since I lost my mother to cancer. I miss you mom.

9-11

2009-09-10T16:55:00.000-07:00

NEVER FORGET

Dinner Tonight (Part 2)

2009-09-10T16:43:00.000-07:00

The fish was okay. I forgot to oil the grill and when I flipped the fish over, a lot of meat stuck to the grill. The couscous was pretty good, it was the first time I ever had it. I will make it again. If anyone has any good fish recipes, let me know.

Dinner Tonight

2009-09-10T15:12:00.000-07:00

Okay, I really like to cook, and am getting better at grilling. I try to eat fish at least once a week, and try to get something different each time. Today, I am going to grill Orange Roughy marinated in a little olive oil, lemon juice, and Old Bay seasoning.

Accompanying the fish will be some Couscous Pilaf with peas mixed in. I'll let you know how it turns out.

BEFORE:

I Miss The Corps

2009-09-10T04:46:00.000-07:00

I joined The Marines in 1996, two years after graduating high school. I ended up serving for a total of eight years, after which I became a police officer. I can't remember a single day that has gone by where I have not thought about my time in The Corps. I miss it terribly at times. I still keep in touch with some of the guys I served with. Some of them have been very good friends to me throughout the years, even after getting out, and living in completely different parts of the country.

There are days when I think to myself, "I wish I would have finished college" right after high school. Then I think of the route that I did take, and all of the intangibles The Corps has given me, and I would not trade it for anything. Semper Fi.

I guess debate is bickering now.

2009-09-09T16:58:00.000-07:00

OBAMACARE

I guess if you oppose Obama's point of view and bring up points as to why universal health care is not going to work, it is bickering. He pushed this "stimulus" package through without reading it or listening to debate about it. Now he's trying to push this health care package through in the same fashion. He has STILL not determined how this thing would even be financed. I need a drink.

The government trying to run our lives.

2009-09-09T02:53:00.000-07:00

Obama and the soda tax.

This has NOTHING to do with keeping American's healthy and EVERYTHING to do with the government finding new ways of taking MY money from my pocket and spending it as THEY please. If the dems ran a business like they're running the country they'd have been fired a long time ago. I don't understand why it is that people keep re-electing the same old schmucks into office over and over and over again.

Politicians have become way too comfortable, and I think the next go-around most of the incumbents need to be voted out of office. Democrats and Republicans alike both need to be put on notice for having not done their job for far too long. As John and Ken would say, we need to make a political human sacrifice. THEY work for US, not the other way around, let's show all of those who voted for the "stimulus" bill and those who are going to vote for the "Obamacare" who the boss is.

My First Blog

2009-09-04T16:29:00.000-07:00

Okay, I don't have too much time to write today as I am going to be heading into work pretty soon. To tell you about myself, I am a police officer and former active duty United States Marine. I am a semi-Catholic and consider myself to be a libertarian when it comes to politics.

I love animals, ice hockey, baseball, The United States of America, and The United States Marine Corps. (In no particular order.)

I don't agree with how Obama and his cohorts in the senate, congress, and all of his "czars" are trying to expand government and give more of MY hard earned money to the dregs of society. I am also upset with how our government has failed miserably to do anything at all about border security, stopping the flow if illegal aliens into the United States, how illegals are catered to, and having to "Press 1 for English".

I have some partners that are lazy, have piss poor officer safety, that are stupid (and I don't mean that as a simple insult, I mean, really, their level of intelligence is very low (I'm talking box of rocks low.), and that should not be cops. That, is another post for another day.

Anyhow, I guess this is going to be both therapeutic, and educational for me, and those of you (if any) who decide to follow my rants. Anyhow, be safe out there!