1st Amendment

Tomorrow is Independence Day and I feel like exercising my 1^st  Amendments rights. Warning to readers; one of my rambling, nearly incoherent posts with a heavy dose of Colorado interest political stuff. You may want to spend your time with the bloggers on my sidebar. Much better writers and much more interesting.

No secret the FBI has been investigating and infiltrating white conservative groups for decades. The excuse is almost always racism. For example, from their own publication.

https://www.fbi.gov/news/stories/2012/may/extremism_052212/extremism_052212

A friend who moves in some of the III Percent type organizations said, if not for infiltrators, confidential informers, and agent provocateurs most groups couldn’t muster enough members to fill a small town MacDonalds. One of many reasons I stay far, far away from them.

In the forefront you have the Southern Preposterous Lie Center (tip of hat to Sipsey Street Irregulars) stoking hate and misinformation.

https://www.splcenter.org/fighting-hate/extremist-files

Seemingly ignored are radical islamists and drug cartels. One wonders why?

Could it be fear? That if the white conservatives really, really got pissed and things like the 100 Heads Life and Casualty Company (again tip of hat to SSI) started taking off the casualties among the “elites”, and the compromises to their lifestyles, would mushroom.

 How many did Timothy McVeigh kill? Lots of high quality instructions via military service has been infused into our society. “Kill people and break their shit” skills.

Another  question.  With police departments gaining more Millenniums,  how many of them have the guts and determination of the retiring silverbacks if they will even join. From Bloviating Zeppelin.

BZon Friday, July 1, 2016 at 15:32 said:

WSF, yes, I am a Silverback and proud of it. I am roughly the last of me, though there are some holdouts that I promoted and polished up so that they may carry on. But LE agencies are already having a difficult time locating adequate recruits and keeping them. They don’t care for the long hours, the poor days off and sacrificing holidays and overtime.

BZ

 When “We will not comply”  people start shooting back, how many will have the guts to bust through a door? Elites get their hands dirty? Don’t think so.

I’ve long thought Obama is a bought and paid for creation. Once he leaves office, what future purpose can he serve? Hint. Look at the mileage the collectivists have gotten out of Che Guevara.  Maybe a new fresh (dead) face?

(The above paragraph should guarantee me a place on someone’s shit list. Hey, statist flunky. I’m a broken down senior citizen and little threat to anyone. Really, not even a good writer. Go find some real work)

Moving along, with the primary election over, the GOP Senatorial candidate is an interesting somewhat outsider.

http://www.electdarrylglenn.com/

His incumbent Democrat opponent is a first term turd, a carpetbagger with no real ties to Colorado,  whose previous stint as Denver Schools superintendent allowed him to play in the derivative markets with the school’s money leaving the district deeply in debt. He has little support even among Democrats.

http://coloradopeakpolitics.com/2016/07/01/new-poll-skewed-poll-still-finds-hillary-bennet-in-trouble/

Of course he is well liked (publicly) by Obama and Gov. Wishywashy so he has that going for him.

Off in far right field we have Tom Tancredo still stepping on his dick.

http://www.breitbart.com/radio/2016/06/27/tancredo-oath-to-defend-america-optional-because-it-could-reduce-muslim-immigration/

Joining him is our own local hustler, Dudley Brown of the Rocky Mountain Gun Owners

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dudley_Brown

I’ve had past dealings with this tool not related to firearms. His persona is that of a bully which didn’t work out well for him in our interactions. One of the used car lots I supervised was across the street from his business and he was spending way too much time in our business. Our overly ambitious manager was spending more time with his schemes than she was running the lot. In the end it worked out for her as she is now a two term State Legislator and will probably win a third term. That said, she and he moved their plotting to another location and after business hours.

While I live in the 4^th Congressional District now, I still support with financial donations the 6^th Congressman, Mike Coffman (R). His opponent is a trial lawyer, a (P)regressive’s (P)regressive, and a current State Senator. Seems the national Dems want him gone (he is a fierce and effective critic of the VA) and have pledged millions, or have at least reserved TV time worth millions, to defeat him.  Earlier this year his opponent went on a “listening” tour. Attracted as many as four or six people to her events.

My sister is a Republican with a small (R) while I am a Democrat with a tiny (D). We usually cancel each others vote. She is not a fan of our current GOP Congressman. I don’t have a strong opinion except he favors most trade agreements.  That benefits agriculture. It is not like they benefit from the ethanol scam already. The rest of us? Who benefits? Corporations seeking higher profits? No problem, that is their choice. What is a problem is their expectation the military might of the United States will protect their risky investments. Tell me that isn’t a card the State Department flunkeys let foreign governments get a peek. Nah, that can’t happen.

While not a ditto head Rush Limbaugh fan, I do respect his well thought out points of view. His prediction of Leftist violence if Trump is elected is worth considering. I’m old enough to clearly remember the late 60’s violence stirred up by civil rights and the antiwar crowd.  No internet in those days but opinions still got expressed. I clearly remember a black and white film being shown at our college of the antiwar protests at Berkeley. One scene has always stayed in my mind. A clearly pregnant woman was sitting alone on a curb. A uniformed policeman came up behind her, jerked her back by her hair, and slammed a long wood stave across her midsection. 

The Republican convention in Cleveland is shaping up as a massive clusterfuck. The extra police from around the country have all pulled out. Look for the National Guard to be mobilized. Let’s assume Trump gets the nomination. The Left does their crazy and the violence is spread all over the news. Should piss off and scare enough people to get off their asses and vote for Trump.

I expect to see the GOP elites/establishment make a stand to deny Trump the nomination. Should raise the level of cynicism of the general population to new levels.

Small little person I am, I am enjoying the suffering of the American Mainstream Maggots (hat tip to BZ) covering Trump. They have little choice but to cover him. They can’t resist using every skill set to slant, distort, and discredit. Their personal biases are clearly on display.  That must piss off anyone even slightly favoring Trump, or is that just me?

So ends this ramble with one final thought. Anyone but Shillary.

Good Cop, Bad Cop

“We don’t have time for this” was allegedly said by a North Carolina policeman as he shot a small 18 year old man suffering from schizophrenia while the man was under restraint by two other officers.

http://triadnc.twcnews.com/content/news/coastal/703279/boiling-spring-lakes-father-says-18-year-old-son-shot--killed-by-officer

A good posting with numerous remarks (including mine) is by Guffaw in AZ.

http://armedlaughing.wordpress.com/2014/01/21/we-dont-have-time-for-this/

As is the norm, not all the facts are available, but jumping to conclusions has never been slowed by mere absence of facts. Hopefully, the authorities there will do their due diligence and follow through with appropriate actions.

I contrast this with a personal experience in 1985 in Renton, WA involving my oldest son. He is a high functioning autistic man, about 5’4”, 110 lbs., with an awkward gait. Mentally challenged people are still people, with all the emotional components all people have. In his case, he was in the normal teenager rebellion phase including flirting with drugs. A pusher had him convinced my son owed him money. When his mother refused to give him the money my son demanded, my son decided to rob a local bar.

His weapon of choice was a 1” diameter twig about 3’ long. He brandished the twig and demanded money. The bartender called the police. When the police arrived at the back door, he saw them, screamed, and charged them waving his “weapon”. They grabbed him, subdued him, and took him to jail. I was called to come down.

When I arrived, he was sitting in the lobby with the two officers. My son ran to me, and wrapped his arms around me. Both officers were nervous as they explained what happened. My son was scuffed up with scrapes on his hands and face. I guess the officers were concerned I might go off on them. Instead, I thanked them for their restraint and professionalism. They could have shot him, and been justified in doing so. I was able to take him home with no charges.

I would like to think what happened to my son is the norm in this country; that most police officers would have done the same. I am disturbed by what I see as a trend, “I am going home safe to my family”, regardless. As I have mention before, I have enough past and present LEO relatives to staff a small police department. Of all of them, only one comes to mind who would do what the officer involved in this shooting allegedly did. That relative is a complete asshole, to the point he was kicked off the LAPD back in the day when you had to be really rank to get booted.

Becoming a police officer means you have voluntarily taken a high risk job. If you don’t want the risk, don’t take the job! A certain amount of bruises and injuries are part of the job. Restraining people who don’t want to be restrained is part of the job. Again, if you don’t accept the risks, don’t take the job!

I think of my youngest son who is an Army Healthcare Specialist, aka a combat medic with a downrange deployment. His scores were high enough he could have had any training the service offers. He knowingly took on a high risk job. There have been some negative personal consequences as a result of that decision. He doesn’t bitch about it, just drives on. (Do I need to mention I am immensely proud of him?)

I’ve seen on other blogs and posting words to the effect, “If you don’t obey the laws that protect us from you, don’t be surprised if we ignore the laws that protect you from us,” in relation to the police and the public. I would add, it is your profession, and the primary burden to keep it honest and honorable is on you. No “yeah, buts”, be that officer the public wants to admire and respect.  

Outrageous Abuse of Power

This posting is a rant against abuse of power by a federal agent with a personal religious bias and the unchecked ability to abuse his power. It is by far the longest post I’ve ever put up.

A good friend, Al Imhoff, died recently of natural causes in his motor home in Apache Junction, AZ. He was 71, bad heart, bad lungs, drank in excess, and smoked. His death wasn’t unexpected. R.I.P. Al.

My friend, Al Imhoff, had his life turned upside down by FBI agents. At the end of June 2009, he became a “person of interest” in the disappearance of ten year old Lindsey Baum of McCleary, WA.  A Goggle search will pull up many pages.

One of Al’s grandchildren was in the same school  and the same grade as the girl. McCleary is a very small town. This grandchild is known for a wild imagination (tells lies). He told Al some things about this girl, things she had said at a neighborhood gathering, that Al believed the police should know. He took his grandson to the police station and made sure the Chief and his two man force had the information.

There is much to tell and no good way to tell it; just putting it in print will have to suffice.

Al lived alone, in a motor home, at a county ORV park several miles from McCleary. He exchanged security guard service and some custodial work for a stipend and a place to live in his RV.

The time line of the girl’s disappearance is fairly well established. During this period, Al,  and other park employees, were ushering out customers and securing the premises. After the place was locked up, Al went to his parked motor home for the rest of the night.

The McCleary Police Chief asked for help. First, the Greys Harbor County Sheriff office and state agencies. The FBI came in a few days late

Al had spent time in a Catholic orphanage as a young boy. He, and others, were subjected to severe abuse. A few, as adults,  finally decided to sue. They approached Al. He wasn’t terrible interested but wanted to show solidarity with his fellow orphans.  To him it was never about the money.  He told me more than once, “I would settle for $25 and a written apology”.

A few days into the investigation, the Sheriff’s deputies came calling. No search warrant. Al cooperated; let them look around.

The next day, the FBI arrived. They took his computer, .22 rifle, several hundred DVDs, digital camera, and busted up the interior of his motor home; wanton vandalism. Instead of opening a cabinet door, they tore it open with pry bars. Still no search warrant. Two days later the county did use a search warrant (illegible judge’s signature and no typed name) to seize his car.

A few days after taking his car, he was allowed to pick it up. The interior was torn up. One bonus was all the dog hair from his Cocker Spaniel was vacuumed.

Al was subjected to several interrogations. He cooperated because a little girl was missing. Seems Al was the only one focused on the most important issue. He wanted her found.  He wanted the “authorities” to stop wasting time and resources on him and cooperated so they wouldn’t waste valuable time looking at him. Finally, he had enough, and refused to cooperate further.

A big deal was made of Al, one time, buying ice cream from the ice cream truck, driving down the street his grandson lived on,  for his grandson and some of the grandson’s friends. The girl may, or may not, have been one of the kids getting ice cream.

A law enforcement officer told Al that he, Al, was seen talking to the girl the day before at the local library.  We all know law enforcement would never tell a lie, right?  Al had been at the library that day to return some books.  He didn’t recall talking to anyone except the librarian. He was there for just a few moments; long enough to drop off some books.

The FBI took his legal papers, including the orphanage lawsuit. The lead FBI dude let Al know that he, Mr. FBI, was a practicing Roman Catholic. Further, he let Al know how he felt about anyone suing the church. Alone with Al, he flat told him he would find something to nail Al on.

We all have a few important papers. Birth Certificate, DD 214, VA papers, tax returns, etc. Imagine losing all of them.

The county supervisors panicked and fired Al. He lost his job and a place to park his home.

Other than his car, none of Al’s property has ever been returned.

Al spent a large portion of his life as a professional soldier. He was a decorated Special Forces NCO who went on to what is referred to today as “special operations.”  Among other things, he was a Selous Scout (Rhodesia).   The big bad FBI agent browbeating Al,  in Al’s own residence, didn’t  know how close he was to death. Al sat there thinking of ways to kill him. Have no doubts that Al had the skills to do it.

No question Al made a good looking suspect. The authorities needed to check him out. No question he wasn’t in McCleary from early morning to late in the evening. No question where he was during the time the girl vanished. No question he couldn’t be in two places at once.  No question there were several witnesses as to Al’s whereabouts.  These included other ORV park employees and ORV park patrons being ushered out at closing time. Al was with some of these people from mid morning until nearly 10 p.m. Could he have, days before, made arrangements to meet the little girl that night?  Unlikely. Competent police work should have answered that question.

Al took two polygraph tests. He was told he “failed” them. Again, we know the FBI never lies.

Al supposedly had access to a “backhoe”. There was a large backhoe at the ORV park. Al had a hard time starting and driving a motor home,  let alone heavy machinery.

I think something like this went down among the FBI agents. “What the hell, he looks good for it, we are catching a lot of heat so lets break him and spin it to the press.  Find the little girl? Oh, well.”

For weeks Al lived with the thought he might be killed by the FBI. Maybe driving into town, being stopped on the way, and getting killed in a staged gunfight. The press is told, “We have good evidence and tried to arrest him. Sadly, he threatened our officers. Now he can’t tell us where he put the body.”  Plausible? He lived for months in Condition Orange.

Other suspects?  Her mother isn’t a candidate for Mother of the Year. The man she lived with creeped out  the kids in the neighborhood. The little girl talked to other kids more than once about running away.  Strong indicators she was being abused. Absent biological father. The little girl was living in what is best described as a white trash life. Alcohol, drugs, filthy trash filled house, etc.

The innuendos against Al’s good name were so bad his daughter and grandchildren moved to another county. Al wasn’t comfortable going to McCleary for groceries or an occasional restaurant meal and moved to another town in the area.  It took him some time to find a place to park he could afford. The financial strain nearly overwhelmed him.

The FBI pounced. Al was accused of having “child porn” on his computer.  He had bought the computer used. He had let others use the computer. Al was a very generous person. Who knows what a previous owner, or an acquaintance using the computer, had accessed. This was the computer taken with out a search warrant but, supposedly, with his permission.

By the end of the first month, the local police and sheriff deputies weren’t talking to the FBI. The Fan Belt Inspectors heavy handed tactics turned the locals off to the point the wait staff at the local restaurants refused to accept tips from them and suggested they find somewhere else to eat. Not the FBI’s finest hour, to be sure.

What is most disturbing is there seems to be no FBI accountability.
They can behave as they please and no one calls them on their behavior.

Al never went on the offensive. He didn’t want anything to distract from the search. Imagine, if you will, a trained Special Forces Southeast Asia veteran starting an agitation/propaganda operation in a small, rural, town, with an anti government predisposition (forestry, fisheries, spotted owl, constant urban “greenies” interference, etc.) and high unemployment. Wouldn’t that have been interesting!

Now I’m not naive. Al had some sexual kinks. He had scores of sex partners in his life. He liked them young and skinny, but always of legal age. I never picked up on a S&M vibe. He enjoyed taking explicit pictures. I also know the “facts” I have are seen through filters and colored by my personal friendship.

Al received a substantial settlement from the church, along with others, and used part of the proceeds to buy a nice older Prevost Motor home. He then hit the road.

On July 25, 2012, while going in for a hernia operation at the Phoenix VA Hospital, Al was arrested. Multiple officers, proned out at gun point, and handcuffed. He was arrested by local police on the behalf of the FBI. Oh, his Jeep, dog, and Motor home? One local cop did make a call to one of Al’s friends for him. Probably violated regulations doing so. The friend managed to secure Al’s property, and find a home for “Princess”. During the time Al was in jail his Motor home was ransacked.

He didn’t see a judge until 8/31/12. He didn’t see a lawyer for four months. He was moved around from jail to  jail; Florence, AZ, Las Vegas, and finally Tacoma while not being allowed any outside contact or telephone calls.  While being held, he was treated like the Unibomber. Solitary, thin mattress, no pillow, no books, yellow jump suit, and shackled wherever he went. Finally, he was charged with child pornography and bail was set at $250,000. A friend posted his bail. Out on bail, he wore an ankle monitor and was on close supervision by the probation officers. He didn’t go to trial until the next spring.

Al’s resources were being depleted, but he was able to hire a lawyer. The lawyer found out the FBI had taken Al’s charges to four different judges until they found one who would sign for his arrest. That was the last good thing that the lawyer accomplished. All he ever brought Al was one plea bargain offer after another. Al’s friends, including me, urged him to go to trial. Finally, exhausted and wanting closure, he agreed to plead to a Misdemeanor and be on lifetime probation.

At this time, the prosecutors told Al he was no longer a person of interest in the Lindsey Baum case; he had been “cleared”.

Seems there are  levels of probation, and all kinds of ways probation officers can make you jump through hoops. Al got their full press.

Living in an RV Park in Apache Junction, AZ, Al was contacted by the Apache Junction police. Convinced they had a major predator on their hands, they told Al what their plans for him were. Al presented his case to them. They checked it out, discovered they were being bullshitted by the Feds, and put an end to the major harassments. This was just a few weeks ago.

Throughout this ordeal, what hurt Al the most was the loss of his reputation. Internet searches have sites now that posted raw, unedited internal police documents of the Lindsey Baum case. Al doesn’t look good in some of them. Fact is, he was often a damned fool. Still, that is not a crime.

The pain all this caused Al’s daughters and grandchildren must be considerable.

Consider the amount of our taxpayer money spent on this,  and for what? Guess it shows what a pissed off  FBI agent can do to a citizen.

Speaking of damned fools, how smart am I in posting this? Oh,  that’s right, I am a well seasoned fool. Damned if I will self censor.

Should any federal agent read this, consider this. You need to clean your own  house. If all of you won’t respect the rights of your fellow citizens, why should any of us citizens respect you?