Serial Shooter Loose in Little Rock?

            A second shooting of a very suspicious nature occurred Thursday night in Little Rock as reported in the December 3^rd Arkansas Democrat-Gazette newspaper. What wasn’t even hinted at was the possibility that there might be a serial shooter loose in Little Rock. Neither the police spokesperson nor the newspaper mentioned this possibility.

            Of course it is possible that both the newspaper and the police lacked the perspicuity to make the connection between the two shootings. More likely is the probability that they didn’t publicly focus on this danger of a serial shooter so as to not unduly alarm the citizens. But we have all seen sufficient TV CSI type programs to know that more than six similarities between a series of different criminal acts is a pattern that is statistically unlikely to be accidental or coincidental. Therefore these two shootings’ similarities are tantamount to proving that these crimes are the actions of a serial shooter.

            Careful reading of the newspaper’s report reveals a striking similarity in the “modus operandi” of the two shootings. First they both occurred late at night; during the darkest hours. Secondly both victims were subjected to attempted, but botched, armed robbery efforts. Thirdly both victims were shot in the leg. Fourthly both shootings occurred in the same area: southwest Little Rock. Fifthly, both victims had secreted themselves in a secluded location just prior to being shot; an alley and a park.

            And the most telling and compelling similarity between the two crimes, both victims were engaged in the same act at the time of their “Victimization”. Both victims were answering a call of nature, so to speak. The newspaper’s description was more vulgar and graphic; but perhaps it is best to use its exact words so you can for yourself conclude that the shooter was indeed the one and the same person. The shooting occurred “while he was urinating” (each of the victims).

            There are many lessons than one can learn from this. One is to avoid secluded places during the darkest hours. Another is that this particular shooter aims low. There may be other lessons to learn, I’ll leave that level of detailed analysis to the reader.

           

Monday November 28 was a Great Day in a Promising Year!

            Yep, this past Monday may well have been the best day of this year of 2011. The year started off very well when both U. S. Senator Blanche Lincoln and U. S. House Representative Vic Snyder were not sworn back into either the Senate or the House of Representatives. One had resigned rather than face the humiliation of a crushing defeat at the poles from irate citizens. The other, a long time and continuing resident in Virginia, was trounced by a more conservative Arkansan who actually lived in the state. A rather novel approach to residency based on Mrs. Lincoln’s example.

            Next it was with great relief I have witnessed the House of Representatives squelch every new dumb idea from President Obama. Our Founding Fathers knew what they were doing when they made our government have three separate branches on the non legal side. Failure to compromise to allow more spending and new taxes to support a fraction of the spending just doesn’t seem to be the brightest idea that I’ve heard, especially when the deficit is about 1.5 trillion annually and over 15 trillion total.

            But I digress from my topic. The reason that this past Monday may have been the years’ Topper was that it was on this memorable day the Barney Franks announced that he too was going to resign rather than face an ignominious defeat in his newly redrawn voting district! Of course there will be fall out from this. Freddie Mac may actually have to make loans that are valid and such things as that. But what the heck, there is always a price to be paid for progress!

            Good Bye Barney; say hello to Mayberry! 

Stupidity Should Be Painful

            It was reported by the Associated Press in the Arkansas Dem-Gaz on Friday Dec 2, 2011 that one Rolando McClain had been arrested in Decatur, Alabama. It probably made the news because he is currently playing line backer for the Oakland Raiders and had signed a 40 million dollar contract last year..

            Nevertheless there may be something to learn from this incident so here are the reported details.

            Earlier this year Mr. McClain reported “someone in Decatur shooting at his vehicle. However there wasn’t any indication the two incidents were related.”  (It is a wise move to always report incidents to the police. This may help Mr. McClain in his subsequent defense, however tenuous the connection to this current altercation. Bravo for Rolando!)

            The police reported that the unnamed “victim suffered injuries to his head and face during a fight and was bleeding when the police talked to him. The victim told officers that following the fight he crawled to his car.” (This would indicate that he had taken a good ‘lickin’ and probably deserved it for engaging in a fight with a 240 pound pro linebacker. One should avoid such encounters is my best advice. Ergo, run for your car first and don’t have to crawl for it later.)

            “The victim told officers that following the fight, he crawled to his car. He said that when he reached his car, Rolando McClain produced a pistol,” (shootist’s call this ‘presenting’), “and aimed it at him. He said that while he was still on the ground, McClain walked over to him and put the gun to his head. He begged McClain not to shoot him and that McClain took the gun away from his head, held it next to his ear and fired it.”

            “McClain was released on $2,000.00 bond and has been charged with: assault, menacing, reckless endangerment, and firing a gun inside the city limits.”

            So what do we learn from this other than to avoid fights with professional football players outside bars late of the evening? First, if you’ve won, don’t pull your weapon out. Secondly, unless your life is in danger, don’t fire the gun! (I would call all of the criminal acts listed by the police as ‘piling on’ so to speak. After all, do they really need to add ‘firing a gun inside the city limits’ to all the other charges?)

            Since this occurred in Alabama Rolando will probably escape with a hefty fine and probation; unlike poor Plaxico Burress who spent a year in the slammer in NY for shooting himself accidentally. Also unreported was who started the altercation and was Rolando just an overzealous ‘Good Samaritan’ intervening to stop some bad business. (I might run this one past my defense lawyer).

            Still “Stupidity should be Painful” and Mr. McClain was stupid on at least two counts in the above, and luckily the victim was unarmed as he had a legal right to shoot to kill Mr. McClain. That would have made Mr. McClain stupid on three counts, not that he would have cared any longer.

“3 in month found with guns at LR airport” was the headline!

            The above was splashed across the local paper’s front page on November 3^rd as if LR was suddenly being invaded or subject to some type of terrorist’s conspiracy or supremacist’s plot.

            The report’s details later revealed that since January 2010 to date that 16 folks were arrested for attempting to board with a handgun out of 4 million passengers in that same time. My calculator can’t carry out that many decimals, but it is a very, very small percentage. Of course the paper made a big deal out of the fact that three folks in one month during this period was significant to something or other. Implications, who knows what they were trying to stir up, but a little research just may explain the sudden up-tick.

            In early 2011 the Arkansas legislature passed into law that non-violent felons will no longer go to prison; they will be put back out onto the streets of Arkansas. Folks, that’s another 6,000 to 10,000 felons per the state’s own numbers that will be just wandering around loose among the rest of us. That alone is sort of scary to some.

            Add to that the fact that this spring the LR city directors were traveling around the city espousing support of the new sales tax vote by revealing that it took police 5 to 10 minutes on average for the police to answer a “Shots fired” call and up to 20 minutes in west LR. Not information from our civic leaders to exactly makes us feel more secure. After passing the tax increase it is hoped that the average response time, after a 911 call is placed, for a “shots fired” incident will be 5 to 10 minutes. So on average you will only have to entertain the miscreant for 5 to 10 minutes until the police show up.

            These two facts alone may help to explain why more and more citizens have secured Concealed Handgun Carry Licenses. In fact 108,000 Arkansans now have such a license. Turns out, that’s GOOD news for you and me. Why, you ask? Well in the UK where handguns are banned, the majority of home break-ins occur while the occupants are at home. Why, you ask? Because the crooks in the UK know that the homeowner won’t be armed but will be available to point out all of their secret hiding places under duress of threats and actual torture.

Not so here in Arkansas. Per statistics recited in David Kopel’s book The Samurai, The Mountie, And The Cowboy, a study of US criminals revealed that they were more frightened of encountering an armed homeowner than a cop. Ergo, they try to break into your home when you are away.

Sad to say, that doesn’t excuse the action of the LR Sixteen. All were arrested, their handgun confiscated, their CHCL confiscated and sent to the State Police, and they were probably fined. Per Ms. Martha Moore, one of The Sixteen, $1,500.00. There is an old “Shootist” proverb: “Stupidity should be painful.”

To their credit, all of The Sixteen expressed embarrassment at their forgetfulness and the stupidity of what they did. No attempt to blame their upbringing, parental abuse, lack of economic opportunity, etc. Nope, they stepped up and admitted their act was stupid and that forgetful isn’t an excuse before the law. And since all were CHCL holders, all had attended a class where such “non carry” places like churches, courthouses, schools and airports were covered.

Despite their pain, monetarily and reputationally, you have to be sort of proud of them. First for arming themselves to help make the new Arkansas safer for all of us, and secondly for ‘fessing-up’ and taking their punishment like a man. That’s probably why they passed the police background check in the first place; they are good solid folks that we can depend on to be responsible for their own actions, and they will probably never be forgetful again. We can only hope that the state police will be forgiving and after a short time reissue their CHCL.

There is No Honor among Thieves, nor Among Islamic Radicals!

            Just when one thinks that one can rely on fellow terrorists and nut cases, the whole enterprise seems to break apart.

            It is now reported that “Al-Qaida” is “ticked-off” at President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad of Iran. Al-Qaida says enough of this conspiracy stuff that Ahmadinejad has been spouting about the 9/11 attacks on the US being a “Bush Conspiracy”. The Iranian President’s most recent tirade being delivered at last week’s U.N. General Assemblage of all the world’s less than Potentates.

            Per an article in Al-Qaida’s English language magazine, Inspire, “The Iranian government has professed on the tongue of its president Ahmadinejad that it does not believe that al-Qaida was behind 9/11 but rather, the U.S. government. …So we may ask the question: Why would Iran ascribe to such a ridiculous belief that stands in the face of all logic and evidence?” (My answer to this rhetorical question is because Ahmadinejad is a nutcase and only under some Islamic form of government is a nut permitted to rule as long as he is “US-phobic”).

            The article, ascribed to one Abu Suhail, goes on to demand that Ahmadinejad stop all of his efforts to discredit 9/11 with conspiracy theories. It goes on to opine that the Iranian leadership is exploiting anti-American sentiment for political gain and engaging only in “lip-service jihad”!

            Well, there you have it, Al-Qaida tarring Iran for anti-American sentiment and for using it for political purposes. The very idea of them misusing anti-American sentiment for political purposes, it’s scandalous! Every nutcase Islamic radical should understand that you exploit anti-American sentiment for terrorist activities only.

            I suspect that some of the extreme anti-American sentiment express by the nutcases is partial based on their names. They would love to have simple names like Bill, Bob, Jane, or Tyrone. Instead they are marred for life toting around a monicker like Ahmadinejad. What do his friends call him, “Ah”, or “Jad”? Don’t know but his enemies probably call him “Mad”; seems to fit.

            And then there are the poor, under stress Al-Qaida leaders dropping like flies from airborne diseases (U.S. drones), unable to tout their one success in killing thousands of innocent people because that nut over in Iran is convincing the world that Bush did it.

            Next Al-Qaida will probably whine that Michael Moore and all our homegrown nut cases should stop espousing this same conspiracy nonsense. Yea, lots of luck on that one, Abu.

            Do you think that it really ‘ticks off’ Al-Qaida that they must resort to an English language magazine edition to communicate to the world rather than one that is printed in those rather attractive curly-cue figures that resemble the tracks of two inch worms engaged in some type of erotic dance?

On The Agony of Reporting a Terrorist.

            I was uncomfortable as I considered my responsibility to actually call the FBI to report my having apparently identified a real, live terrorist.

She didn’t fit the mold of the typical terrorist that I pictured in my mind. She didn’t wear a burka or walk three paces behind her husband; who only has one wife, the same person I had now identified as a potential terrorist. She was in her seventies, walked with an arthritic limp, had reared three children and had two grandchildren currently serving in the US Army, both paratroopers. She even attended a Christian house of worship on a rather regular basis and was involved in several Bible study classes. Overall, rather a perfect cover for a now identified terrorist.

            To my knowledge she has never previously engaged in any terrorist activity; not any crime for that matter. Yet she was now publicly called out by our political leaders and identified as a terrorist, a person whose very existence was hazardous to the health and future of our nation. It broke my heart to think that I should be the one to call Home Land Security and turn her in; yet what else could I do? And she and all of her friends would eventually figure out that the “snitch” was I. Would they retaliate against me?

            But, my President has made it clear that she poses extreme danger to our country. The White House even has its own website for reporting citizens that disagree with the current administration. Could I do less then and not report a recognized terrorist?

           In the agony of my mental turmoil I decided that prior to turning her in to the FBI that I should at least attempt to verify that she really was a member of a terrorist cell.
          I summoned up the courage and in a face-to-face encounter, (conducted in a public place to help ensure my safety), I ventured to verify if she were actually “one of them”. I asked her, “Are you really a member of the T.E.A. Party?”

The Three “S’s” Rules of Life.

            It’s not really my fault, it just happens! I was surfing the “net” and stumbled (can you stumble while surfing?) onto a “gun-toter’s” site. I’ll confess that it was actually interesting and entertaining. The discussion or debate was over carrying concealed weapons and the need for or not, or something like that. Well a large number of the responders have little “tag lines” or quotes at the end of their response. But one of the best came inside the response. Wish I had clipped the name of the person, as he deserves credit for what has grown on me to be a timeless structure for rearing kids. So whoever you are, the credit is yours.

            In essence his advice to your life’s safety was simple and right on target.

            “Largely if you avoid the "3 stupids" (hanging with stupid people, going stupid places and doing stupid things) then none of this is ever even an issue.”

            What a timeless and effective “three rules of life” by which to rear your kids as well as run your own life.

            The 3 STUPIDS to avoid:

1.      Don’t hang out, go out, or be with stupid people;

2.      Don’t go to stupid places;

3.      Don’t do stupid things!

“My son, don’t go with stupid people. Bad things happen around/to them. Be discerning about your friends, do they espouse or perform stupid things?  If so, find other friends.”

“My darling daughter, don’t let someone convince you to go to a stupid place. Bad things happen to those who are in stupid places. Chances are the person advocating your going there also qualifies as a stupid person. Explain to them that your second law of survival is to avoid stupid places.”

“My children, don’t do stupid things! Nothing good will come from them and a great deal of hurt, regret and misery just might result. Before you do anything, ask yourself, “Is this something that my Father would call stupid? If so, then don’t do it.”

          After drilling these three simple “S” rules into their brain from age 6 months, all you need to do is constantly and continually point out “stupids” to them. Such as going to a bar at 2am might sound like fun, but it is a stupid thing to do and a stupid place to be at that time of nite. I have yet to read of some grand and glorious event that transpired at a bar at 2am, yet I’ve read hundreds (?) of newspaper article about bad things occurring there at late hours.

          So gain the agreement on the Rule of Three “S’s” and then all discussions center of the specifics of an item. Can they honestly say that what they did, or want to, do does not violate at least one of the three S’s? And if you have done your work well over the years, you have already educated them on what many stupid actions and places are. It just might make a difference in their life.

Avoid Walgreens Drug Stores, It could be VERY Dangerous to your health!

            Two gun-toting perps invaded a Detroit Walgreens Drugstore at 4 am and pointed the gun at the pharmacists and demanded drugs and money. The Pharmacists, not wanting to become a statistic, drew his concealed weapon, for which he was duly licensed, and fired at one “felon to be” who immediately fled the premises along with his brave partner without shooting the pharmacist, other employees, or customers.

            Now I know what you are thinking, the pharmacist is a bloody hero, no pun intended. He foiled a robbery of his employer’s merchandise, he saved the other employees from harm; he saved any early morn customers from harm all at the risk of his own life. Plus he prevented a druggie from using his pills to get hopped up and roam the streets looking for additional victims. You probably are thinking that Walgreens, if not promoting this pharmacist, at least gave him a raise, or bonus, or an extra week’s time off for his heroic action.

            Well you are sort of partially correct; Walgreens did give him some time off; a lot of time off. Walgreens FIRED the pharmacist for violating company policy! Seems employees are not allowed to have guns on company premises or resist robberies. Compliance is the company rule. Remember how hijackers were to be treated prior to 9/11? But fire the guy? It’s not like he caused a problem; in fact he stopped a major incident, maybe some murders, including his own! So what do the executives at Walgreens do, they not only fire the hero, but they make a public announcement that their employees are not allowed to have guns on premises and compliance with the perp's request is the store’s policy!

            My reaction was that this was a complete miscarriage of judgment and that the executives should all be fired for small minds and crooked thinking. Unable to fire them, I concluded that the best thing for me to do was to tell my wife and sweetheart, they are one in the same, to avoid Walgreens from now on! Boycott the Stupid imbeciles!

            Wait a minute, I see that knee-jerk, pointee-headed, gun loathing, commie-pinko eastern seaboard liberal attitude. This isn’t about gun control; this is about the safety of my wife and loved ones.

            Those imbeciles at Walgreens have now announced to the world that none of their employees will be armed. Now think about that. You are a perp and or a drug addict. Where can you go and get drugs? How about a pharmacy? Of course they don’t have heroin or cocaine, but apparently there are a lot of prescription pain-killers that are high on the list of abusers and the Walgreens pharmacy is just full of them and no one there is armed. So, since 70% of all shootings are drug related and the perps know this; why not go to a place with drugs but no guns? I.E., Walgreens!

            No, I do not want my wife, my daughters, my sons, and their children to set foot inside a Walgreens and place themselves in harms way in what is now open territory for drug seeking robberies- Walgreens.

      Thank you very much, but we will buy our drugs and stuff from a pharmacy where the crooks don’t know whether the pharmacist is “packin’ heat” or not! After all, our life just might depend on it.

The $4,000,000.00 Rabbit Problem

            OK, I confess, I’m doing it again. I’m filching a complete story from The Taipan group. But it’s not my fault. If they didn’t write stuff that just absolutely infuriates me, reference our govmint’s interference, I’d not have to resort to full scale plagiarism! So, I’m innocent. Read the below and see if you feel safe from our overreaching, no quarter given, Liberal Lead Government.

Joseph McBrennan, Editor, Taipan Publishing Group
Thursday, 25 August 2011

Dear President Obama:

          The following is a 13-second solution to this nation's most festering economic issue: unemployment.

          Employment will increase rapidly only when you fix the $4,000,000 RABBIT problem.

          Mr. President, you're probably asking yourself what, if anything, does a $4,000,000 rabbit problem and unemployment have do with each other?

Allow me to take just a few minutes of your vacation time and tell you a story.

There's a little hamlet in southwest Missouri, just a stone's throw from the Arkansas border, called Nixa. Apart from being the birthplace of Tom Clancy's Jason Bourne, there is a couple by the name of Mr. and Mrs. John and Judy Dollarhite.

         In an act of parental love, the Dollarhites bought a couple of rabbits for their son to raise and, hopefully, learn some responsibility. As any parent knows, the promises children make to acquire pets are seldom kept, as was the case in this rural community in Missouri.

          Rabbits being rabbits, they quickly multiplied.

          Young entrepreneurial Dollarhite began selling his extra rabbits and a new enterprise was born. After a short while, he grew bored of his venture and sold it to his parents for a few hundred bucks.

          The husband-and-wife team, already running a small computer company, took the hobby and managed to eke out a profit. This, of course, excluded any payments to either for the large amount of time it took to properly care for the little critters.

          In 2010, the total profit was $4,600. This is was when the trouble began.

As every young boy and girl learns in the first grade, right after the Pledge of Allegiance, the United States Department of Agriculture's (USDA) section 9 C.F.R. § 2.1 (a) (1) clearly says it's illegal to sell more than $500 worth of rabbits in one year.

          After an unannounced visit from the government's inspector, these evildoers were sent a registered letter explaining they owed $90,643 for their violation. If they didn't send a certified check they could face additional fines up to $4,000,000. (They were offered the convenience of a website that would take their credit card to handle this as well. How thoughtful.)

          The Dollarhite crime syndicate appealed for help from their senator, Roy Blunt, who appears to be in full support of the USDA's actions. Brave man,that Senator Blunt. Way to go, helping out the little guy.

          The case is still pending.

          The moral of the story is clear. Businesses are terrified to take a chance and make a wrong move.

          You, and your crackerjack economic team, have been aware of this solution for a while. Take a look at your own White House blog where you write:

For too long the federal government allowed billions of taxpayer dollars to be wasted on things that are inefficient, unnecessary, or just plain dumb.

And from another blog post at the same site:

The Administration's commitment to hunting down and eliminating waste, fraud and abuse is clear, and with the Campaign to Cut Waste, we will continue to make improvements that protect taxpayer dollars.

          And so, our sound economic advice is JUST DO IT. (My apologies to Nike for stealing their slogan.)

          If you accomplish this simple step, and eliminate the "unnecessary" and "just plain dumb," businesses will begin to hire.

          It really is that simple.

          When the number of laws and regulations are measured by the thickness of the volumes containing them, we are all made, unknowingly, criminals. Why would anyone hire in this environment?

          When a couple barely scraping by finds themselves in a legal battle against an opponent that literally has an unlimited budget, and manpower in which to harass, attack or even imprison, why would anyone take a chance on a new employee?

          Mr. President, if there is any chance this finds your desk or if you're listening at all, this story falls into the category of federal government action that is "just plain dumb," "abuse" and "inefficient" that you've promised to eliminate.

Use your executive power you seem so eager to wield. Increase employment by removing the boot from the neck of U.S. businesses.

          Begin by helping the Dollarhites.

          This isn't an isolated case nor is it limited to the Department of Agriculture. You have the USDOJ, EPA, DNR and an alphabet soup of federal agencies that run roughshod over individuals and businesses.

          Is it any wonder U.S. corporations have retreated to countries that actually welcome the productive? If you want to increase employment, Mr. President, call off the dogs of this bureaucracy war that is being waged on us all.

Sincerely,

Joseph McBrennan

If you're loving this article, sign up for Taipan Daily to receive all of Justice Litle and Joseph McBrennan's investment commentary.

Publisher's Note: Joseph's letter to the president highlights one of Taipan's chief tenets: government regulation is killing prosperity and is stoking great anger.

It clearly goes beyond one family's struggle to raise rabbits. The political circus in Washington affects all of us... and Americans are getting angry.

[Blogger’s note: If you do not subscribe to their free daily email letter, from which the above was lifted lock, stock, and barrel, then you should! Go to their web site and sign up.www.taipanpublishinggroup.com]

City of Cleveland’s Clever Sting Operation!

            Public Officials and Liberals never seem to tire of finding a fall guy but in Cleveland they have found a way to place the law abiding citizen into a fall guy sting operation. If it weren’t so diabolical, you would have to salute them for their cleverness and creativity.

            Let me set the background for this so you can appreciate their creativity. Seems as though the city of Cleveland, as in Ohio, has a crime problem. Well as every Liberal knows, “guns cause crime”; ergo if we can get all the law-abiding citizens to turn in their guns, and only the criminals are left with guns, there will be less crime. Follow?

            Well, wouldn’t you know it but the old Supreme Court has disallowed gun confiscation under some obscure, arcane legal reference called the 2^nd Amendment to the Constitution. So the city of Cleveland comes up with the next best plan. Pass a law that requires all guns to be registered with the police. You know, bring ‘em all down and let the cops check them out.

The process involved:

1.            Applicants will need to bring a photo identification, specifically a government issued driver's license, passport, Ohio identification card or military identification

2.         All applicants should bring all handguns unloaded and securely wrapped to the police district of their choice.

3.         A police officer will verify the applicant's identification, verify the make, model, caliber and serial number of the weapon and do a record check on the gun.

4.         If the investigation turns up nothing, the handgun owner will make an appointment to have a photo taken and pay a fee for the registration process.

          Now think about this for minute, who do you think will show up carrying a gun? A criminal? A Parolee? A Convicted Felon? Someone owning a gun known to have been involved in a crime? Who was the City after? Of course no perp with “beans for brains” is going to go to the Police District for any purpose voluntarily, much less carrying a gun, even if wrapped like a Christmas present. See, even criminals know that they ain’t supposed to carry handguns, even if wrapped; “it’s agin’ the law and they’s likely to go backs to prison ifs they do’s dat dumb stunt”.

            So who’s likely to comply? Well you and me, the innocent, law-abiding citizen who believes the govmint is here to help and protect us.

            Well as it would happen The Ohio Supreme Court ruled 4-3 that the City can’t enforce that law. Citizens don’t have to register their guns with the Cleveland Police. Really pissed, but unbowed, the City now asks that all citizens obey this “Voluntarily”.

            Under a “Freedom of Information” request by one clever person named Larry C. Moore the city finally had to cough up the results of this “voluntary” legal registration. The timeframe is December 2010 through May 2011. There are 88 total lines of registered handguns! The list includes the make and model of the handgun and the owner's name and address. Folks that’s not 88 people, it’s 88 guns! And 22 of the guns are registered to the Cleveland Clinic Security. And as reported by Larry C. Moore, ”he wonders if they took all 22 guns to the district police offices at the same time? If so who was guarding the clinic if all the guns were gone?” I sort of wonder what’s going on in the clinic that they feel the need to have 22 handguns.

           That left 66 handguns registered to 52 individuals. The highest number of handguns registered is 5 to one individual. Do you think these 52 people understand their gun specs, plus their name and address are part of public record? If you were a perp and needed a “free” handgun, you now have a shopping list, provided at no cost to you, by the City of Cleveland. The perp can even be selective and go for the gun of his choice.

            But even that’s not the really clever part of the potential sting on law-abiding citizens. Here’s the really clever aspect of the plan. It is against OHIO STATE concealed carry law to enter a police station with a firearm, especially a concealed weapon! (Remember the gun had to be ‘wrapped’. Folks, that’s concealed). The City of Cleveland Attorney cannot grant immunity to a perp for breaking a STATE law, only a City law.

            So now the state of Ohio has the names of 55 potential perps plus the Clinic folks who have violated Ohio State law. The only reasonable action for the State AG to take is to now confiscate the guns from all those new, formally law-abiding citizens, felons! Bingo!

City of Cleveland can now use the strong arm of the State to do what those 4 rednecks on the Ohio Supreme Court wouldn’t let them do for themselves – Confiscate the guns from law-abiding, armed citizens!

            Aren’t politicians wonderful?

“No One Is Safe From the Government”

      

I generally refrain from just plagiarizing someone else’s hard work, but I confess that I’m unable to add anything to the following, so I’ll give the Taipan Group full credit and as I am just stealing their article putting truth to their headline, “No one is Safe”.

“No One Is Safe (From the Government)
by Joseph McBrennan, Editor, Taipan Publishing Group

It would be easy to site the $4 million rabbit [Blogger's note: I’ll blog this story from Taipan another day] we wrote about two weeks ago. However, we'll give the Department of Agriculture a pass and just acknowledge the remarkable job these men and women have performed by saving us from a mom-and-pop-organized rabbit-selling crime syndicate, where the ill-gotten gains exceeded nearly $4,600 in 2010.

(I wonder how much the prosecution of these two villains has cost us taxpayers?)

We'll shift our focus to Memphis, Tenn., to the scene of a more dastardly crime.

Our story begins on the morning of Aug. 24. Federal agents raided a warehouse and carried away nearly $1 million in illegal contraband.

This dreaded material was wood. It wasn't filled with cocaine, marijuana or any other illegal substance. To date, the only details the company has been given is that the wood was imported.

I would try to be more specific and say that it was an endangered species of wood, but no charges have been filed yet against the company. Their goods are still in the custody of Uncle Sam, and remember, that's at least a million dollars' worth of product.

Oh, and every piece of this imported wood has been properly accounted for, so the alleged crime that this company committed took place overseas, and outside their knowledge. They even purchased the wood from a Forest Stewardship Council certified supplier.

In other words, the company has done everything possible, except check the driving record of the wood exporter, to ensure the goods are not tainted.

And what's the name of a company so dangerous that the raiding agents of the U.S. Fish and Game Service carried automatic rifles and donned Kevlar?

It's called Gibson Guitars, and is as much a part of rock & roll history as the legends who have played these instruments.

As of yesterday, no crime has been alleged, but that hasn't prevented the government agents from seizing their raw lumber, finished guitars, computers and about anything else they could carry off.

And let's say for a second Gibson is guilty of being swindled by a broker in India that falsified papers, and the wood was actually from an endangered plant.

What would be the end result of this crime?

Likely Gibson would pay some hefty fines. Then, the company would need to import the exact same wood, but it would need to be finished and manufactured overseas. The importation of the finished goods, if labeled properly, is completely legal.

The real net result would be the 580 new jobs created over the past two years by this U.S.-based manufacturing icon would disappear and reappear where they are welcomed.

This would be, of course, outside the U.S. borders. Businesses are not fleeing the U.S. because of greed. They leave because of fear of government prosecution.

Most have heard the story of the Amish farmer being bankrupted by the FDA for selling milk labeled NOT PASTEURIZED to a consumer wanting raw milk.

I can just see the black-clad federal agents now, guns drawn and screaming, "Put the glass down; now slowly raise your hands, and walk away from the milk carton."

An alert reader wrote to highlight the plight of an Idaho man who saved the life of his family but likely will be eaten alive by our government.

The long and short of this man's problems began when he courageously defended his wife and four children against a grizzly bear, shooting and killing one of the creatures that entered his property.

The local sheriff, county officers and even state government have all exonerated him of any wrongdoing. In fact, they've recognized his courage and know all too well the possible outcome that could have resulted had he not acted properly and with a pretty large-caliber weapon.

The federal government, on the other hand, has decided to try to imprison Jeremy Hill of Bonners Ferry, Ida., for killing an endangered species.

Even the Idaho governor has been pleading for leniency to the federal official in charge.

It doesn't matter if you are a U.S. business giant, medium-size manufacturer, a tiny mom-and-pop business trying to eke out a living or even a father protecting his family. The government is built to protect only their interests, and eliminate yours.

The only way to increase jobs and turn this economy around is to get government out of our lives.”

Blogger's Note: If you do not subscribe to their free daily email letter, from which the above was lifted lock, stock, and barrel, then you should! Go to their web site and sign up.

www.taipanpublishinggroup.com

State of Arkansas Announces Full Time Payroll less than Last year, They Think!

            After three years of challenged tax income and the other aspects of the ongoing recession, the State of Arkansas thinks that they have actually reduced the number of state employees! Not a bad direction, wouldn’t you agree?

            The Democrat-Gazette headline of September 6^th screams “State’s full-time payroll shrinks”.

            Per the local paper, “The number of people in full-time jobs on the state payroll went down last fiscal year, something that hasn’t happened in at least 24 years, likely longer”. (Wish I could find an investment with that record of growth; at least 24 years without a down year! Wow!)

            With great expectation and enthusiasm for tax payer dollars saved and frugality revealed on the part of our state government, we devoured the details only to discover, “Officially, the total went up by 95 employees, but errors discovered in the reports of several agencies will result in a net decline of 64.”

            Excuse me but officially the number is up 95, but the individual agencies can’t count the number of their own employees and the real number is down 64? Well, this is the same government over which Governor Beebe reigns as CEO and tolerates that his Finance Dept head, Richard Weiss, can’t count the number of vehicles the state owns, somewhere in the 8,000 area, plus or minus a few hundred or so. So keeping track of whether the state has the official number of 56,517 employees, or the “corrected” number of 56,351 employees is understandably a daunting task. A couple of ideas: count the number of payroll checks for the pay period ending 06/30/2010 and compare to the number of payroll checks for the pay period ending 06/30/2011; or have all employees fall in on the nearest parking lot and do a head count. Oh heck, that last one won’t work, all the parking lots are full of the 8,000 or so state cars.

            Not to toot his own horn but the Governor tells us, …“growth in fiscal 2011 was limited because of ‘budget considerations’ due to flat economy, tax cuts, and low growth in revenue. We didn’t have a wholesale requirement that we are just going to cut, slash, and burn.” Excuse me, somewhere between “up 95 to a down 64” is viewed by the Governor as a “cut, slash, and burn” result? He sounds like an eastern seaboard, pointee-headed, commie-pinko liberal. (In his defense, he was born in a tar-paper shack per his campaign ads, so this probably disqualifies him from the eastern seaboard accusation.) The Governor did admit that, thankfully, “In some selected areas, we actually increased (employees)”. Thank goodness for that. In these tough economic time for us tax payers, it is a relief to learn that at least some areas of state government are running as usual and adding folks to the publicly funded feed trough.

            Comparing the 1991 figure of 38,122 full time state employees to the 2011 figure of 56,517 (yes I’m using the “official” number), the payroll for the state has increased by 18,395 full time employees despite automation, etc. An increase of 48.25%.

            Ask yourself, has your service from the state improved by 48%?

            Let’s put this into dollar terms. The 1991 payroll dollars were $1,259,000,000. Yes, that’s billions. The 2011 payroll dollars were $3,598,000,000; an increase of only $2,339,000,000.00 (yes, that’s billions). So the dollar cost for the state’s payroll is up $185.78% over the same time period.

            Yep, employees up 48%; their payroll costs up 185% over the same time frame! Nice job if you can get one!

Has The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette Surrendered to City Hall?

          Less than a week after columnist Pat Lynch excoriated the Gang at City Hall on their current grab for an extra $50 million a year in new taxes, his column is suddenly cancelled by the Democrat-Gazette. Coincidence, or has the Dem-Gaz succumbed to political pressure from City Hall? Are we witnessing the downfall of  “Freedom of the Press”?

            Of course it’s only COINCIDENCE that since firing Mr. Lynch the Dem-Gaz has run a series of Politically Correct articles eloquently extolling the benefits of and many new extravagances to be bestowed by the City on the Taxpayer, but only if this new tax passes.

An interesting revelation, that the paper has failed to share with its readers, was accidentally shared at a Tea Party meeting on the 6^th by one City Director. He was proudly explaining how the City had cut employee numbers to the bone to stay within budget over these past difficult years. For example they eliminated 5 employees at the Zoo. Since they couldn’t eliminate any more “feeders” and “poop picker uppers”, the City eliminated five folks who were responsible for raising money from charities, donors, and grants. Excuse me! The city was paying five fund-raisers more in salary than they were bringing in? Or worse, they eliminated five folks that were bringing in more than they cost! Neither answer engenders growing confidence in the Gang at City Hall.

But back to the Dem-Gaz, it needs to convince its readers that it didn’t succumb to City Hall. How, you ask?  Well perhaps the paper should rehire Mr. Lynch prior to the  voting date on September 13^th  to further rip the covers off the tax proposal by the Gang at City Hall.

The Answer is: Darn near half a million dollars!

          What Shirley? You forgot the question? In a recent “blog” I asked what President Meadors' ‘buyout figure’ might be; I was just speculating that he might get bought out. And sure enough he was. The answer is somewhere between $350,000 and $500,000 is what UCA or as they term it “private funds” will Pay Meadors to depart.

            Isn’t America great? Where else do executives get great big fat ‘buyout’ deals when they are “fired” for some type of misdeed or incompetence or both?

            Former President Meadors, to his credit offered to resign IF, there is always that “IF” isn’t there. Anyway he would leave IF UCA would give him some type of lucrative ‘buyout’. You know, to save UCA from all the hassle and bad publicity of dragging Meadors over the coals and through the mud.

            Here’s the details of the deal per the local paper:

1.      Must vacate another UCA house on Mansion's grounds where he's currently housed, (apparently they have two houses in which the pres can live), by Oct 1^st.

2.      His parents must vacate their university house, (apparently UCA has three ‘presidential’ houses), within 90 days, unless they need more time. But Meadors must pay their rent. UCA has been housing his parents too?

3.      UCA will pay for storage of his stuff; forever apparently.

4.      $1,000.00 monthly car allowance ends Oct 1^st. (I recommend that he ask Governor Beebe to put him on the Game & Fish Commis where he will again receive a state owned car, or two.)

5.      UCA Pays his health insurance tru 6/30/2012. Probably won't cost UCA much as he will surely follow Lou Hardin to Florida and live a healthy lifestyle.

6.      UCA will use remaining annual current salary to purchase his tenure and stuff: about $187,770.83

7.      He’ll be paid an additional $337,987.50 tru 12/31/2013.

            Sort of strange, isn’t it. UCA loses the $700,000 offer; has to pay the culprit who messed up the deal over $500,000; and now needs to hire another new president at some annual cost of around $225,000.00; and all of this was orchestrated by the Board of Trustees. With representation like that, who needs to stay up nights and worry.

            What Shirley? Do I want to bet that the $700,000 offer to fix up the mansion is later accepted? Are you kidding? With this Board of Trustees, I wouldn’t bet on anything.

Arkansas Democrat-Gazette Succumbs to Political Pressure?

          Less than a week after Pat Lynch’s column excoriates the Gang at City Hall on their current grab for an extra $50 million a year in new taxes, his column is suddenly cancelled by the Democrat-Gazette. Coincidence, or has the management of the Dem-Gaz succumbed to political pressure from Mayor Stodola’s “Strong- Armers” and City Manager “Moore’s Mafia”? Are we witnessing the downfall of  “Freedom of the Press” as the Dem-Gaz bows to strong-arm tactics from the powers at City Hall? Has Chicago style politics arrive in LR?

            Of course it could be just another step into oblivion as the paper cancels a third popular column in the interest of, well of what? Frugality? First Oakley, then Sweet Tea, now Lynch cancelled and with whom are we left? Paul Krugman and Gene Lyons both of whom never meet a liberal line not loved and liked and written about.

            What did the Dem-Gaz receive, or with what were they threatened, that compelled them to cancelled Mr. Lynch’s column? We’ll probably never know. Of course we’ll hear the cover-up cry; the usual suspects of excuses: “purely an economy move”, “new direction”, “offended the Editor”, or some such alibi. Like Mr. Lynch’s column is just too expensive in comparison to Mr. Lyons’; and Krugman’s is almost free, close to it value by the way.

            The only way to convince its readers that it didn’t succumb is for the Dem-Gaz to “man-up”, and rehire Mr. Lynch prior to September 12^th to further rip the covers off the tax proposal by the Gang at City Hall.

            I’m taking bets on the likelihood that that will happen.

            It’s really sad to witness the self inflicted wounds ensuring the suicide of a long time, successful independent newspaper, an old friend.

Throw ‘em Under the Bus! My Hands are Clean!

          The University of Central Arkansas (UCA) just keeps on giving, news that is!

            The latest episode involving the $700,000 “gift” from Aramark for Meador’s Mansion has been exposed as having a condition; that being the extension of Aramark’s food service contract for an additional seven years, without a competitive bid.

            This August 12^th offer letter was carried to Diane Newton, UCA VP for Finance & Administration. (Does hand carrying the letter remove any possibility of federal investigation for some type of mail fraud or extortion?) She walked it down to President Meadors. Per President Meadors, in his own defense:

            Excuse #1 and #2: Others are doing it and she told me it was OK.

Meadors said the he asked Newton, “if this type of contractual arrangement was the ‘norm in Arkansas’ as he said it was around the country, and that she replied it was.”

(Obviously it wasn’t Meadors’ responsibility to practice a high degree of ethical conduct concerning bribery; just ask a junior if we should turn down the money to refurbish his mansion or justify keeping it, and lay it off as everybody is doing it- “it was around the country”.)

            Excuse #3 and #4: Did Lou Hardin or others ever do this before, and she told me yes!

“He said he also asked her if UCA had a history of accepting such contingency funding and she indicated that she said it did.” (Of course the prior President Lou Hardin is in the jailhouse now, but what the heck, if it was OK with Lou, let’s go for the money.)

            Excuse #5 and #6: The obviously inflated contract costs don’t cost the students extra to eat, she guaranteed it

He said that she also ‘guaranteed’ me it would not have any effect on [the cost of student] meal plans.”

(Oh please, if Aramark can fork over an extra $100,000 a year for 7 years are you serious that it’s not coming out of the prices charged to the students? If not, who is Aramark gouging for these excess funds that they can lavish on the Meador’s Mansion? Wow, isn’t it convenient to have a VP you can blame for bad advice which assisted you in making a ethically challenged decision to accept what many of us would call a bribe. Of course Meadors was only thinking of the good of UCA, not that the funds would turn his meagerly mansion into a house fit for a king, well, a presidential potentate anyway.)

            Excuse #7: I was told not to tell.

Meadors said (Head Trustee) Roussel asked that ‘we not release[news of this offer] at this time’.”  (Excuse me, informing all of the Board of Trustees falls under the caution ‘we not release at this time’. And isn’t being told to keep your mouth shut sort of a warning that something is rotten in the state of Denmark, or in this case the President’s Office at UCA.)

            Well, based on the testimony from President Meadors it is intuitively obvious to the most casual observer that he is innocent and the victim of poor advice and guidance from “she” and Trustee Roussel. Oh and President Meadors also stated that he “didn’t even think”. A statement of the obvious.

I certainly hope that the Board requires appropriate penance of fellow Trustee Roussel and that President Meadors summarily dismisses “she” for all of her bum advice. Throw her under the bus, President Meadors.

With a leader like that, no wonder he has little campus support.

I wonder what his contract ‘buyout’ amount is?

What? The Vendor demanded Reciprocity for the $700,000 Meadors' Mansion “Gift”?

          Just when you thought that things were finally beginning to straighten out for the “Trustees” at the University of Central Arkansas (UCA) in Conway, one of them alleges that someone foolishly read the entire “Gifting Letter” from the vendor (Aramark) who offered $700,000 to redo President Meadors' Mansion up to some degree of socially acceptable living standard. (One can only wonder what the prior president Lou Hardin did to the mansion to trash it to the extent that over a million dollars is required to make it habitable for the new El Presidency, Alan Meadors). Poor President Meadors, having already sunk $800,000 into his mansion only to be forced to move out as it didn't meet his “standards”, now reveals that the gift has a string attached, a very long string. Turns out that Aramark, having won the current food business bid on the UCA campus via competitive bidding, is willing to fork over the gift, IF, there's always that “IF” isn't there? If UCA will extend their contract another 7 years without competitive bid, they'll come to President Meadors' housing aid.

            After publicly announcing this financial gift and extolling its solution to the need for more mega thousands to make Meadors' Mansion inhabitable, one of the “Trustees” claims that only later “was he informed of the details” of the letter to discover this little “tit for tat”? Now the “Trustees” is “Shocked! Shocked!” to learn of this demand for reciprocity. He promises a deep, immediate wide-ranging investigation to get to the details of this offer.

            To save the UCA from another “Trustee Tryst” at the Red Apple Inn and Country Club costing over $3,000.00 to discuss and investigate this, I can tell them what occurred.

            UCA has been begging for donation for the Meadors Mansion 3^rd and continual refurbishment to meet President Meadors' demands. This vendor, apparently making a substantial and satisfactory profit from their food contract at UCA, offered up the money IF the contract was extended without competitive bid. The “Trustees” went public with the first part of the deal and while congratulating all on a non UCA cost solution to magnificently restoring the Meadors' Mansion some sneak spilled the beans.

            Now begins the “cover-up”. They are surprised, no “Shocked! Shocked!” to learn of this reciprocity demand.

            Now just think about this. They get a good deal and now want to act “Shocked!” that they finally pulled one off for the good of UCA. Complete honesty would compel one of these “Trustees” to just fess up and say, “Look, Mr. and Mrs. Taxpayer, we just saved UCA $700 grand. The food contract was won in an open competitive bid and this vendor was selected. Extending this competitively won contract costs the students and UCA no more than currently, and allows us to make the Meadors Mansion acceptable to his Presidente, and saves UCA from footing the bill for a third go at it.”

            On the surface, sounds like a win-win to me, of course one can quibble that the food costs for the students must be pretty high if there is room for around a $100,000.00 annual gift to El Presidente's Residency. Maybe this is one reason that student matriculation is down for the 3^rd year in a row. But what the heck, the students are being subsidized by the poor folks that play the state's lottery, so I guess it all comes clean in the washing of the facts. Or perhaps it’s the fact that shady and low ethics seem to be in high use at UCA?

            Can someone explain the duties of “Trustees” to me?

There's Just Too Much Temptation For Arkansas's State Employees!

          It's really not their fault. There are just so many state owned vehicles available that an employee is almost dared, compelled to go use one for his, or her, own personal use.

          It's well documented that the Arkansas Game and Fish commission had more vehicles than employees. To over come this imbalance some of the Commissioners took more than one vehicle home. Since only one vehicle can be driven at a time, the other rested safely at their farm or residence until required for personal duty.

          When asked to located and document the number of state owned vehicles and their users, Mr. Richard Weiss, the Head of the Dept. of Finance and Admin., all but admitted that he wasn't capable of doing so. And to his credit he has met that expectation. And what has his boss, the Governor Beebe done concerning this failure to investigate and report? Governor Beebe has continued to use the State Police to drive him around so that he can't be accused of abusing a state owned vehicle. The fact that at least three State Police are thus unable to help defend the citizens seems to be of little or no concern when compared to the possibility of misuse of a state vehicle, or whatever his rational is for using the Professional Police Officers as chauffeurs.

          Now we learn that Sheila Sharp, the Corrections Department Head of Administrative Services has used a state vehicle to take her family on a Florida vacation. At least in her defense it wasn't her personally assigned state vehicle, she took a larger one to better hold all the family and baggage.

          OK, it's not as bad as I've written. She was on her way to a convention on state business; her family just went along for the ride. The fact that she had to take a gas guzzling Dodge SUV, assigned to the computer “Geeks”, rather than her assigned Chevy Impala was to accommodate her daughter, son-in-law, and two grandchildren. But that's not what got her into trouble. What got her into hot water was the fact that she didn't tell her boss beforehand that she was commandeering the “Geeks” SUV and taking the clan on a working vacation. This prior notification was all that was required, then all else she did was OK, Mr. and Mrs. Taxpayer.

          Ms. Sharp has only been with the Department 14 years and her current job is Head of the Administrative stuff so how could she be expected to remember such a piece of trivia.

She was one of 15 state employees who went to this convention. Eleven of them flew, if you can believe that. Passing up the opportunity to take the entire family to Florida and flying? Perhaps they checked with the “Geeks” and learned that Ms. Sharp had already commandeered their SUV.

          But talk about being completely in the fog of life. If you can believe it, two of the folks that attended the conference actually carpooled down and back! What were they thinking? Two traveling for the cost of one? I can only assume that their careers will be suspect when this information gets out to our state executives.

An Apologetic for Plaxico Burress.

          Preseason NFL football games may actually be necessary to prepare new signees and old hands for the upcoming rigors of a sixteen game season. But candidly most of the games are of little interest outside of the 27 diehard fans that watch them. Nevertheless there I was watching the NY Jets stumble through a preseason game against someone. I found myself rooting for the one behind in the score hoping to keep some degree of interest going. It was at the halftime that my viewing buddy mentioned that the NY Giants had traded Plaxico Burress to the Jets after his release from jail where he had spent almost two years in the “hoosegow” for shooting himself in the leg.

          For those of you who may not remember, here is a review of that incident as captured from “Wikipedia”:

“On November 28, 2008, Burress suffered an accidental self-inflicted gunshot wound to the right thigh in the New York City nightclub LQ when his Glock pistol, tucked in the waistband of his sweatpants, began sliding down his leg; apparently in reaching for the gun he inadvertently depressed the trigger, causing the gun to fire. The injury was not life-threatening and he was released from an area hospital the next afternoon. Two days later, Burress turned himself in to police to face charges of criminal possession of a handgun. It was later discovered that New York City police learned about the incident only after seeing it on television and were not called by New York-Presbyterian Hospital as required by law. New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg called the hospital actions an "outrage" and stated that they are a "chargeable offense". Bloomberg also urged that Burress be prosecuted to the fullest extent, saying that any punishment short of the minimum 3½ years for unlawful carrying of a handgun would be "a mockery of the law. Burress had an expired (concealed carry (CCW)) license from Florida, but no New York license.”

(With a Mayor like that sticking up for you, you don’t need any enemies.)

“On Monday, August 3, 2009, prosecutors announced that Burress had been indicted by the grand jury on two counts of criminal possession of a weapon in the second degree, and a single count of reckless endangerment in the second degree, both felonies”. (How they came up with ‘two counts of weapon possession' for this is a mystery to me since he had only one Glock, but then again so is ‘second degree’. Is there a first and third degree level of disobeying the law if you carry a hand gun in NY?)

Well, with all that governmental impetus behind the DA, they refused to entertain a plea deal and Plaxico was indited by the Grand Jury; ended up serving almost 2 years in prison. (I could find no record concerning the prosecution of the NY Presbyterian Hospital for their failure to report the incident. Guess that they have better friends down at the Mayor’s or DA's office.)

During the halftime festivities my buddy and I discussed this shooting episode. Turns out that my buddy carries a weapon legally and was all upset over this incident. Says that Plaxico, having had a Florida CCW permit knew that carrying a gun in the waist band and not in a holster was dangerous and stupid. He did commend him on owning a Glock 9mm however. He dragged me over to the computer and showed on an internet site for “USCCA” how article after article warns to carry hand guns in a holster, and in a holster that covers the trigger so that you don’t accidentally shoot yourself. I asked him if the old west gunmen used that kind of holster, but he just waived me off.

After he left I began to review the whole situation in my very active mind. Seems to me the Hospital was egregessly remise in their legal responsibilty and something should be done to get their attention. After all, when two gangbangers have a shoot out, about the only ones that will know about the firefight will either be the Coronor or some local hospital or doctor. Especially since most of those exchanges seem to occur in neighborhoods that eschew calling 911 for anything.

Then my thoughts turned to Mr. Burress. The guy got a bum deal in my opinion.

          Everyone living in NY City should be allowed to carry at least one handgun. Sure Mr. Burress should have registered like he did in Florida, but two years in the slammer? If I lived in the Bronx, Queens, or the like, I’d want to carry at least two semis and wear body armor, of only the most decorative style of course. Add the wealthy target that Mr. Burress presents to every perp that wants to” take yourin and make it hisin”, and the need is increased to go “armed”.

          Then there is the issue that he shot himself. Yes, he should have been charged with gross stupidity and sentenced to some type of “potty cleaning” community service reserved for only the most mentally challenged weapons' violators. But two years for shooting yourself? It is obvious that this is the type of justice that you can expect in the eastcoast dominated by pointee headed, liberal, commie pinkos that hate guns more than they hate shutting down an abortion mill, ACORN, or Planned Parenthood. Had Mr. Burress been so fortunate to live in the South when this mishap occurred, the Grand Jury would probably have sentenced him to “punishment already received”. After all, he shot himself in the leg at point blank range with a 9mm Glock, the wound cost an entire season of gainful employment and remuneration with the NY Giants, a Super Bowl Winner, and he was traded to the Jets! Wasn’t that enough?

          Yep, Mr. Plaxico Burress got a bum deal in my opinion!