Tuesday, August 19, 2008 The Rot Our Rulers Have Wrought Going down: “It’s an express elevator to hell!”As the elevator doors opened to receive him on the 109th floor, the meek little man — we’ll call him Steve — was preoccupied with work-related thoughts.A slightly built man with unfortunate coke bottle glasses and a downright […]

Thursday, August 21, 2008 Don’t Call The Police: They’ll Sue You The siege at Shingle Springs: A local SWAT operator gestures to his comrades during the June 5, 2007 stand-off that left two men dead, and three deputies injured. Karen Mies, a 66-year-old hospice nurse from Shingle Springs, California, has suffered losses no mother and […]

Tuesday, August 26, 2008 Recovering Lawns, Failed States, and Reasons for Hope Here in western Idaho, amid the waning days of August, summer still announces its presence in afternoon temperatures that retreat just short of the century mark. But the first signs of an overeager Autumn can be felt in the odd, lingering morning chill […]

Monday, March 31, 2008 Just Desertion “The president carries the biggest burden, obviously. He’s the one who has to make the decision to commit young Americans, but we are fortunate to have a group of men and women, the all-volunteer force, who voluntarily put on the uniform and go in harm’s way for the rest […]

Wednesday, August 27, 2008 When Desertion is a Duty A young man named Stephen with large hopes and a small bank account answered an employment ad for a security agency. Offered a generous salary, extravagant benefits, and a sizable signing bonus, he inked a renewable employment contract promising to work for the agency for six […]

Friday, October 3, 2008 The Immigration Bubble Collapses, The Garrison State Thrives (Updated, October 4) The Waterloo Raid: Manacled illegal immigrants muster at an Iowa stockyard in the custody of Homeland Security personnel. As our economy collapses, immigration both legal and illegal is slowing down. Any guess as to the use to which the Homeland […]

Tuesday, October 7, 2008 What Rough Beast… (EXTREMELY Important Second Update, 10/8) The October Revolution of 2008 will prove to be at least as consequential as the one that occurred in Russia in 1917.Beginning immediately after 9-11, George W. Bush and the cabal he represents began the controlled implosion of the hollowed-out shell of our […]

Saturday, October 11, 2008 …Its Hour Come Round At Last… (Important Update) **”When Black Friday comesI’ll stand down by the doorAnd catch the grey men when theyDive from the fourteenth floorWhen Black Friday comesI’ll collect everything I’m owedAnd before my friends find outI’ll be on the roadWhen Black Friday falls you know it’s got to […]

Wednesday, August 13, 2008 America’s Worst Sheriffs, Part I (This is the first of an occasional series.)Morro Bay’s municipal leaders embrace a “felon”? Charles Lynch (center, with ceremonial scissors) is welcomed by the community’s business elite as he opens a licensed medical marijuana dispensary. The red-haired lady to his left is Mayor Janice Peters, who […]

Tuesday, July 8, 2008 It’s a Thieves’ World After All As I was going over the Cork and Kerry mountainsI saw Captain Ferrell, and his money — he was countin’;I first produced my pistol,then produced my rapier, and said, “Stand and deliver -or the Devil, he may take ya.”Whiskey in the Jar(trad. Irish folk tune, […]

Monday, July 7, 2008 Banditti in Blue (Thanks to the Strike The Root blog.)A robber poses with his loot: The lucrative racket called “asset forfeiture,” in which police steal money, cars, homes, and other valuables without convicting their owners of crimes, is a major reason why the fraudulent “War on Drugs” continues. David Seward’s problem […]

Friday, October 17, 2008 The Enforcement Arm of the Robber State Tie him to the Whipping Post: Mendocino County Sheriff Tom Allman apparently sees nothing amiss in sending his thugs to steal the life savings of a seriously ill, law-abiding elderly couple. As the economy collapses, credit lines become constricted, and tax revenues are choked […]

Tuesday, April 22, 2008 The Subject “People” vs. The Ruling “Persons” (Second Update, April 23) “An act like that can’t be ignored,” insisted Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Deputy Paul Miller by way of explaining the gang assault, battery, and arrest of 74-year-old Holocaust survivor Elena Reichman at the Palm Beach International Airport. “A Deputy is […]

Tuesday, October 21, 2008 Fare Thee Well, and Get Ye Lost Now, hatred is by far the longest pleasure; men love in haste, but they detest at leisure. — ByronFor the past eight years, Republicans have diligently cultivated the doctrine of Fuhrerprinzip and nurtured the Cult of the Imperial Presidency. In two weeks the harvest […]

Monday, October 27, 2008 Pwned by the “Ownership Society” Public Enemy on the loose! After spending a weekend in jail — without bail — for the supposed crime of having a brown lawn, 66-year-old Joseph Prudente defiantly models the “Grandpa Gone Wild” novelty t-shirt his grandchildren bought in his honor. Here’s how “justice,” as our […]

Tuesday, February 12, 2008 Theater of the Absurd (Updated) It’s difficult to believe that viewing the epic cinematic debacle Troy could be the high point of an evening, but such was the case for two Utah couples on the evening of May 23, 2004. Harold Curtis and his wife Leslie settled into their seats at […]

Wednesday, March 12, 2008 Who’s Afraid of “Rate My Cop”? Each week, if not every day, brings in its train another illustration of the fact that those who scrutinize us cannot abide reciprocal scrutiny. Witness the apparent demise of the “Rate My Cop” website.Carly Kullman, a one-time police cadet, explains that Rate My Cop was […]

Wednesday, October 29, 2008 Support Your Local Small Town Bully (Second Update, 11/1) Emphatically making his point: Tony Lopez of Homedale, Idaho, lets the public know his sentiments regarding Daryl Crandall, who is running for Owyhee County County Sheriff. The first sign he displayed may land him in jail. (Photo by Scott Watson for Pro […]

Sunday, November 2, 2008 Small Town Tyranny That’s how they roll in Homedale: Reserve Officer Antonucci of the Homedale Police Department, acting on a petty, bogus complaint from Deputy Daryl Crandall, seizes a campaign sign from the front yard of city resident Tony Lopez. Once a supporter of Crandall, Lopez changed his mind and altered […]

Wednesday, November 5, 2008 Briefly Considered: Coda in Owyhee County Last night, Daryl Crandall prevailed in his campaign to unseat Gary Aman as Owyhee County Sheriff. This morning, at the urging of Chief Jeff Eidemiller, Crandall’s misdemeanor complaint against Tony Lopez for “defacing” a campaign sign was dismissed, and the citation was withdrawn.Speaking to a […]