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Category Archives: Politics
Smart Gun Technology Skirts Common Sense and Second Amendment Rights
Armatix GmbH of Germany is selling a new .22 cal. handgun that is slaved to a radio frequency identification (RFID) wristwatch. The pairing makes the gun active when the watch is within ten inches of the firearm and deactivates the gun when the watch does not have the proper PIN entered or is more than ten inches away from the pistol. I am skeptical on several fronts. Other than having to shell out nearly $2,000.00 for the Armatix Smart System ($1,399-gun,$399-watch, add taxes), I can think of a number of defensive scenarios in which this “smart” alternative would be ill-advised stupid. I am addressing the shortcomings of this product from … Continue reading
Posted in Firearms, Politics
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AG’s Office Announces State Officers of the Year
Press release from the Attorney General’s Office: TALLAHASSEE, Fla.–Attorney General Pam Bondi today named St. Petersburg Police Department Sergeant Karl Lounge and St. Petersburg Police Department Officer Douglas Weaver the Attorney General’s 2012 Law Enforcement Officers of the Year. Sergeant Lounge and Officer Weaver were joined by seven fellow officers from around the state at a ceremony recognizing them for their dedication to law enforcement and public safety. “Each nominee is a hero who selflessly serves their communities,” stated Attorney General Pam Bondi. “I am proud to name Sergeant Lounge and Officer Weaver as the 2012 Law Enforcement Officers of the Year. Their courage in the face of danger and … Continue reading
Posted in Media, Officer Down, Politics, SWAT
Tagged Attorney General Pam Bondi, Florida Attorney General, St. Petersburg Police
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Florida Leads Nation in Death Sentences
The non-profit group Death Penalty Information Center published their 2012 report on December 18. Florida had the most death sentences in the country for 2012 with 21 total. California (14), Texas (9), and Pennsylvania (7), and Florida combined to serve 65% of the nation’s death sentences. The projected nationwide total for 2012 will be 78, up from 76 in 2011. Florida executed three inmates in 2012: Robert Waterhouse, David Allen Gore, and Manuel Pardo. Florida currently houses 407 inmates on death row, second only to California with 724. In 2000, lethal injection replaced the electric chair for Florida’s executions. As the use of the death penalty is at all time … Continue reading
Most Important Thing I Did Today
Protect Your Country. Protect Your Freedom. Protect Your Rights. Randall 1:21 am: Well, that shit didn’t work… Sorry.
Posted in Politics
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Election Hype Driving the Gun and Accessory Market
In late October 2008, things were looking a little bleak for my political party. It seemed that there was a darkening cloud on the horizon that ultimately spurred me into action. I ran right out and bought an AR-15. I found a great deal on a new Rock River Arms LAR-15. It was less than $900.00, out the door. I was issued a RRA LAR-15 at work and I had been happy with that gun for the previous five years of service. I co-witnessed an old EOTech Holosight with a new Yankee Hill Machine flip-up rear sight on the top rail of my new rifle. A sling was affixed and … Continue reading
FDLE and AG Announce Decline in Prescription Drug Deaths
The Florida Department of Law Enforcement and the Florida Attorney General’s Office have announced the first prescription drug death decline in ten years. I reported in March 2012 about AG Pam Bondi’s efforts to curb prescription drug deaths through the Prescription Drug Monitoring Program. The FDLE, DEA, and local law enforcement have all collaborated to shut down pill mills, prosecute doctors abusing their authority, pulling the licenses of drug distributors and pharmacies who violate the law, and arresting abusers who violate the law. Here is the press release from the AG’s Office: For the first time in nearly a decade, prescription drug-related deaths have declined. I joined Florida Department of … Continue reading
AG’s Office Issues Brief on Concealed Firearms Carry
Last week, Attorney General Pam Bondi filed an amicus brief with the Florida Supreme Court in the case of Anthony Mackey v. State of Florida. The Supreme Court will consider the direct conflict between Mackey v. State (Fl 3rd DCA 2012) and Regalado v. State (Fl 4th DCA 2010), which relates to concealed firearms carry. The AG asks the Supreme Court to uphold the decision by the Third District Court of Appeal of Florida in this matter. The AG brief addresses the authority of a police officer to conduct an investigation of a person carrying a concealed firearm. In short, on March 6, 2010, Miami Police Officer Alexander May observed … Continue reading
Pensacola Officer Arrested for Battering DUI Suspect
The Pensacola Police Department fired K9 Officer Christopher Geraci for excessive force on Friday, then arrested him for misdemeanor battery in connection with his hit and run/DUI investigation on August 2. Suspect Abbi Bonds struck several cars with her late model Chevy Camaro at 2:30 in the morning. Her vehicle was disabled with heavy damage and pulled to the side of the road several blocks from the crash scene when Geraci found her. After Geraci orders her back into her car several times, she refuses while continuing to talk on her cell phone. He attempts to handcuff her. As he does so, he tries to rotate her against her car. … Continue reading
Posted in Legal, Politics, Street
Tagged Abbi Bonds, excessive force, Ofc. Chris Geraci, Pensacola Police
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Florida Highway Patrol Responds to FDLE Report
The Florida Highway Patrol has come out swinging against the highly critical report published by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement in April regarding the series of fatal crashes on the I-75 stretch of Paynes Prairie. Mainstream media outlets bludgeoned the FHP over what the press saw as mistakes in the Patrol’s smoke/fog response on January 29, 2012. Six crashes involved 24 vehicles, resulting in 11 deaths and 46 reported injuries. In the wake of mounting criticism and 13 wrongful death lawsuits against it, the FHP investigated and published its own report of the incident response, which involved not only the FHP, but the Alachua County Sheriff’s Office, Gainesville Police … Continue reading
Posted in Media, Politics
Tagged Fatal Crash I-75, FHP FDLE Report, Florida Highway Patrol, Lt. John Gourley
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Tragedies Rarely Lead to Closure
I do not consider myself an overly philosophical kind of guy. But there is a nagging, almost rhetorical, question which I have heard many times at the scene of a tragedy and that is, “Why?” I just read another headline in the mainstream media about the mass murder in Colorado that said something like, “Aurora Searches for Answers While Community Grieves.” At the scene of a homicide, especially ones involving extreme violence, it is not uncommon to hear distraught victims, loved-ones, or witnesses ask for closure to make sense of something senseless. Whether in consoling these individuals or in attempting to extract necessary information, their fixations can be both saddening … Continue reading
Posted in Media, Politics
Tagged closure, mass murder, mass shootings, senseless violence, tragic shooting
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Majority Supports Stand Your Ground
Mason-Dixon Polling and Research, Inc. conducted a telephone poll of 800 register voters across Florida from July 9, 2012 through July 11, 2012. One of the questions involved Florida’s Stand Your Ground law. Overwhelmingly, the voters polled supported Stand Your Ground. It is interesting to see how the support and opposition are divided by gender, race, and region in the percentages. Below are the results from Mason-Dixon: Question: Florida’s “Stand Your Ground” law states that a person is justified in the use of deadly force to defend themselves if they reasonably believe that such force is necessary to prevent imminent death, great bodily harm, or to prevent the commission of … Continue reading
Florida Officer Fired For Writing Too Many Tickets…Well Sorta
I’m sure by now everyone has read about the Palm Beach police officer fired for “writing too many tickets.” It was repeated on numerous mainstream media sites. Ad nauseum. You really didn’t need to read between the lines to see it was a two-sided pissing contest. Really? The guy was fired for writing 115 traffic tickets in a month? By some standards that would be a modest four weeks of cites. At my copshop, one officer who consistently writes over 300 cites a month should be drawn and quartered! Hopefully, it was plain as day that the termination was a politically motivated action. The town instituted what amounts to a … Continue reading
Florida Highway Patrol the Latest Victim of Media’s Crystal Ball
On January 29, 2012, there was a terrible series of crashes on I-75 in Alachua County in the Paynes Prairie Preserve area just south of Gainesville. Smoke from a wildfire and early morning fog conspired to create deadly road conditions, which resulted in six vehicle crashes and 11 fatalities. A 38-page report released by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement yesterday detailed a number of findings indicating the Florida Highway Patrol, and specifically FHP Lt. John Gourley, made decisions that morning which would ultimately impact the events on I-75. Following the release of this report, mainstream media outlets immediately slanted the findings of the report to insinuate that the FHP … Continue reading
Posted in Media, Politics, Street
Tagged Fatal Crash I-75, Florida Highway Patrol, Lt. John Gourley
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Another Victim in the Trayvon Martin Case: Objectivity
I have thus far avoided weighing in on the Trayvon Martin-George Zimmerman shooting out of Sanford, FL. I did not want to speak prematurely, however… The controversial incident happened nearly a month ago in the small city outside Orlando. In the ensuing weeks, public outrage over the shooting, the investigation, the chief of police, and the charge of racism has simmered over. Each day, the mainstream media has brought us a fistful of “breaking news,” fresh protests, and the latest in politicians and celebrities vying for the spotlight in the wake of this case. In society’s current zeal for instant gratification, it seems no one has patience for the … Continue reading
Posted in Legal, Media, Politics
Tagged George Zimmerman, Neighborhood Watch shooting, Stand Your Ground law, Trayvon Martin
4 Comments
They Gave My Cruiser a Trespass Warning!
…Updated below… The other night there was a knock at my front door and I saw a guy in plainclothes wearing a badge. It was a command officer from the small city in which I live (but do not work). He apologetically told me I could not park a marked police car in my driveway! I recently received a new slicktop CVPI that is striped and lettered. My old cruiser, old as in a 2001 Crown Vic, was an unmarked unit. The command officer said my new marked car is a “commercial vehicle” and violates the city code banning the parking of commercial vehicles on residential property. He said they … Continue reading
Posted in Humor, Legal, Off Duty, Politics
Tagged AGO 05-36, Florida Attorney General, parking a cop car at home, Police Car Commercial Vehicle
6 Comments