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Wayne Gary

David, Bob

Some criminals never learn.

Several years ago I was jury foreman on a trial.

Facts: Defendant was 32 year old. Observed by a undercover office junp out of a pickup truck run around to the back of a house and return carring a $75,00 pruning saw, Proceded to a drug house where he took the saw into house and was arrested when he came out.

We were told he had 3 previous mistameaner convictions for shop listing and burglery of a car. The DA asked we elevate the case from a mistameaner into a felony. (up to 18 months in state jail)

After we convicted the defendent of a :State Jail Felony" for the sentencaning phase we were asked to elevate it to a 20 year felony. Additional facts we could no be told in the "Guilt/Innonce" trial

When defendent was 20 yr old he was given 20 years for drug dealing. He had 3 convictions for burgulary of a habitat while occupied.

We the jury felt he had enough chances and we needed to protect the public.  We gave him 15 years in TDC.

Bob Davidson

David, I drive a Ford F-150; she was in a Camry or Avalon.  I am much higher than a car.

David Cordell

Bob, ya gotta love a bankruptcy lawyer who drives an F-150! Probably helped when hauling Scout stuff, right?

Wayne, I might take you up on that sometime. We didn't have any guns in my family when I was growing up.

Bob Davidson

David,

I did get the truck to pull the troop trailer and haul camping gear. 

One thing I've noticed at the Federal Courthouse is that debtors' bankruptcy lawyers tend to drive paid-for vehicles, to the point that some of the most successful ones have almost ostentatiously old vehicles.  Creditors' lawyers, like family litigators, tend to like Mercedes, BMW, and Lexus cars. 

I think it's like John O'Quinn and his scuffed shoes and ratty sports jackets.  (O'Quinn was a very famous Houston plaintiff's lawyer who won the agent orange case, among others, and was worth hundreds of millions of dollars. He liked to look like a man of the people in front of juries -- he once told me that defense attorneys with their thousands of dollars suits and fancy ties impress corporate boards and allienate jurors.)

I just noticed that our Soros-funded District Attorney Kim Ogg dropped the charges against almost all of the protestors including those who were charged with being on freeways. 

Hollis Carolyn Heyn

I have not told this story before. I worry how it will be received. I don’t know the right language to express it other than my own thoughts and feelings. This post is not for people of color because they already know it. This is for white people living in suburbs and small towns who think this is a big city problem and “It’s not my town.”

Before moving to New York City, I drove every where. I got pulled over 3 times in 15 years; two speeding tickets and an illegal left hand turn.

The first year I was back in Michigan, I got pulled over 5 times. Each time it was for impeding traffic and I did not get a ticket.

I drove a dark grey, 1998 Chevy Venture van that was in storage for several years. It was in good shape.

The traffic stops were unlike any I had experienced in the past. The first one was in Monroe County on Dixie Highway near Sterling State Park. I was coming home from the park with my dogs. The sun was setting and it was twilight. My Poodle, Merlin, sat in the passenger seat and Indy, a Jack Russel Terrier, was in the back. I was driving down Dixie Highway at 50 mph, which is the speed limit. Flashing lights popped up behind me. My heart raced. What did I do? I pulled over and tried to calm down; I didn’t want to look suspicious.

It was a Monroe County Sheriff. I thought one of my running lights was out. As the sheriff approached my van, he unfastened the top of the holster of his gun. I had not experienced this before. I wrote it off as the new standard procedure on all traffic stops. Or maybe this guy was a cowboy. I said as little as possible.

I waited for the, “Do you know why I pulled over?” This officer asked where I was going. He looked in the window flashed his light on Merlin and his demeanor changed. The stern look on his face disappeared, but he seemed…annoyed… I guess is the best word. I thought I was going to get a ticket for Merlin being in the front seat. He didn’t ask if I’d been drinking or had any weapons. He asked to see my license, looked at it under his flashlight and handed it back. Then he explained he pulled me over because I was going 3 miles under the speed limit and was impeding traffic. There were no other cars on the road. I said I was not aware of it. He told me to keep an eye on it and that he was giving me a warning. I thanked him. He walked back to his car.

I remember being confused about it, but since I didn’t get a ticket, I didn’t think to much about it. Impeding traffic, never heard of it before.

Same thing happened in Flat Rock and Huron Township. Impeding traffic, didn’t get a ticket. On the third stop, I asked one of the officers if impeding traffic was a new law in Michigan and he got a little snappy with me. The oddest one was the second time I got stopped in Huron Township.

Merlin was a tall dog who often sat in the passenger seat. When he was in the passenger seat or the back seat, he was tall enough to be mistaken for a person, especially at night. When the officer got to my window he asked, “Who’s in the back? I said, “No one. Just my dogs.” He asked me two more times. “Who’s in the back?” And I said, “It’s a dog.” He asked me to take the dog out of the vehicle.

The back of the van only opened on the passenger side, I got out, called Merlin to the front and took him out through the driver’s side door. The officer seemed annoyed as he said, “Is that a Poodle?” I said yes and put Merlin back in the van. The officer seemed mad as he explained the impeding traffic law, like I tricked him somehow and was wasting his time.

After that, I had the speedometer on the van checked to see if it was working correctly. It was.

The scariest one was the night I was driving home from my sister’s house at around 10 pm. I was going down Middlebelt Road, again in Huron Township. There was a Huron Township police car behind me since I turned onto Middlebelt. I kept checking my speedometer and I was doing the speed limit. After about a mile, he turned on his lights. I thought, “Again?” It is more than frustrating to be pulled over repeatedly by the police. Your heart races every time and you are scared. There is the thought, “What if it’s not the real cops?”

This time there were two Huron Township SUV police vehicles that pulled me over. One cop walked up on the passenger side of my van. I saw him in the sideview mirror unholstering his gun as he sidled up to the window where Merlin was sitting. Merlin rarely barked at people. His fingers relaxed when he saw Merlin.

I thought, “Holy crap! Maybe my van matches the description of a vehicle used in a crime.” This is a rural area, it’s about 10 pm and it is dark out. I’m a woman alone. Thank God I had Merlin with me.

I rolled down my window and was asked to roll down the passenger window. I did. I asked the officer, “Did I do something wrong?” because I was at a loss. He asked me if I’d been drinking and if I had any weapons. I said no. He took my license and examined it with his flashlight. He handed it back and asked where I was going. I was heading home and explained where that was and the route I was taking to get there. The whole time the other cop is still standing on the passenger side with his hand on his holstered gun.

The first officer explained I was driving erratically and going 5 miles under the speed limit and went through the impeding traffic law as if I was five years old. I didn’t get a ticket.

It was puzzling and irritating. I thought it must be because I’m driving a late model dark van. I was mad at being singled out because I don’t drive a new car. But what could I do?

One day, sitting at a restaurant having breakfast with my Dad; our old neighbor came in and said, “There’s a black man stealing your van. He’s behind the wheel right now.” I paused a minute and realized he was referring to Merlin. Bells went off.

I was furious. I wanted to go home and rage at every police department that pulled me over. I wasn’t impeding traffic, it’s not my van, it’s not my driving–they thought Merlin was a black man!

That’s why I kept getting pulled over. They thought there was a black man in a late model van. I was so angry I wanted to drive to Dearborn at night with Merlin in the passenger seat and create a big stink when I got pulled over. “Call the news!” I’d shout! I wanted to rage at someone. But who? I couldn’t prove any of it. If only I’d realized it as it happened.

There were plenty of times black men pulled up next to me when Merlin was in the passenger seat and said, “Hey, a brother dog.” I should have known. John Steinbeck wrote in “Travels with Charley”, Charlie was also a Poodle, that he had to be careful driving in the South. He got in trouble a few times because people thought Charlie was a black man. How could I be so stupid!

I stood behind my van with Merlin in the passenger seat and could see how he was mistaken for a black man. I wish I had a photograph.

This happened to me 5 times in the span of a year. I cannot imagine having it happen several times a week my entire life. As a white woman, getting stopped by the police is scary; it makes my heart race and my stomach hurt. I’m sure a black person’s fear and rage is a hundred times greater.

Since Merlin died, I have not been pulled over once.

This happens daily to black Americans. It’s not right. The fear is real. The rage is real. Black lives matter.

How do we change it?

For more information on how you be part of the change, check out this excellent post by Michelle Webber on her blog King of States titled, “Racial Justice, A List of Resources for White People Who Are Not on Twitter 24 Hours a Day”

I recommend the book, “Evicted: Poverty and Profit in the American City.” By Matthew Desmond.

He recommends some very simple changes to stop the eviction cycle that keeps so many in poverty. The first is changing the law so everyone who goes to housing court is represented by a court appointed attorney. It will enforce the laws that already exist. This is what I’m working on to make a change.

Bob Davidson

Bob Davidson

My dog -- who rides with me in the truck almost every day.  No one has ever mistaken him for a human of any color.

Wayne Gary

David,

I have a Colt 22 target revolver and a barrette semi-auto 22 target which are good for training and practice.  I like shooting because of very little recoil and I can shoot until I get tired of holding instead of having my had hurt from recoil.  I do have several lager caliber pistols.

David Cordell

Wayne, this is my arsenal. I bought only the Remington 870. I'm pretty sure it's the only one I have actually shot The rest were given to me. I bought a Ruger 22 rifle in 2003, but my late son lent it to a friend. I never got it back. Hope it isn't used in a crime. (Yes, they're all locked up.)

• Mossberg 510 Mini, 20 guage,
• Mossberg Maverick 88, 12 guage
• Remington 870 Express Magnum, 12 gauge
• Marlin Model 60, 22LR
• Savage Axis, .223
• Stag Arms Model 3, 5.56 NATO
• Smith and Wesson MP9 - 9mm
• Walther P22, 22LR 
• Ruger P95 - 9mm

David Cordell

Hollis, yes, it is unfair that people get pulled over just for being black. South Carolina Republican Senator Tim Scott says that he has been pulled over several times for no apparent reason.

I wonder if black women are pulled over more than white women (who don't have big poodles), or if white men are pulled over more than black women.

Meanwhile, Netflix is pulling Gone with the Wind because a black screenwriter complained that it glossed over the cruelty of slavery. I wonder if Italians will demand the the Roman Colosseum be torn down because of the use and abuse of slaves that occurred there. 

I am angered that leftists and radicals are tearing down statues of Columbus. I saw this statue of Columbus in Barcelona last June.

Janalu Jeanes (Parchman)

A very wise and highly educated Orthodox Jewish man wrote of four elements needed to destroy a civilization.

He wrote: It takes a lot to build a civilization, and though it is much easier to destroy a civilization, it takes a lot to do that, too.

But now we have four roots of evil that are guaranteed to do so.

No. 1: Victimhood.

The first is victimhood.  The more people who regard themselves as victims--as individuals or as a group--the more likely they are to commit evil.  People who think of themselves as victims feel that, having been victimized, they are no longer bound by normal moral conventions--especially the moral conventions of their alleged oppressors.

Everyone knows this is true.  But few confront this truth.  Every parent, for example, knows that the child who thinks of him or herself as a perpetual victim is the child most likely to cause and get into trouble.  And criminologists report that nearly every murderer in prison thinks of himself as a victim.

On a societal scale, the same holds true--and being on such a larger scale, the chances of real evil ensuing are exponentially increased.  One of the most obvious examples is Germany after WWI.  Most Germans regarded themselves as victims--of the Treaty of Versailles; of a "stab in the back" German government; of the British, Americans and French; and, of course, of the Jews.  This sense of victimhood was one of the most important factors in the popularity of the Nazis, who promised to restore German dignity.

That millions of Black Americans regard themselves as victims--probably more so today than at any time in the past 50 years--can only lead to disaster for America generally and for Blacks specifically.  While victims generally feel free to lash out at others, they also go through life angry and unhappy.

No. 2: Demonization.

The second of the four ingredients of this civilization-destroying witches' brew, is demonizing a group as inherently evil.

That is being done now with regard to the White people of America.  All--again, ALL-- Whites are declared racist.  The only difference among them is that some admit it and some deny it.  The notion that Whites are inherently evil has long been associated with Louis Farrakhan.  But it has apparently migrated out from his relatively small following to many Blacks, even those who might consider Farrakhan a kook.  Former Barack Obama, hardly a Farrakhan follower, described America as having racism in its DNA.  That is as close to inherently and irredeemably evil as it gets; you cannot change your DNA.

In that sense, not only are Whites demonized, but America is, too.  Unlike traditional liberals, the left regards America as a moral cesspool--not only racist but, according to The New York Times, founded to be so.  The New York Times has created a history of America that declares its founding not in 1776 but in 1619, when the first black slaves arrived.  The American Revolution was fought, according to this malign narrative, not merely for American independence but in order to preserve slavery, a practice the British would have interfered with.  This "history" will now be taught in thousands of American schools.  The combination of victimhood and demonization alone is dangerous enough.  But there are still two more problems 'galloping' toward the looming apocalypse.

No. 3: A Cause In Which To Believe.

Most Americans throughout American history found great meaning in being American and in being religious----usually Christian.  Since WWII, we have lived in a post-Christian, post-nationalist age.  Until very recently, Americans would have found the expression "for God and country" deeply meaningful; that term today, on the left, is laughable and extremely unpleasant.

But people need something to believe in.  The need for meaning is the greatest human need after the need for food.  Leftism, with all its offshoots--feminism, environmentalism, Black Lives Matter, Antifa--has filled that vacuum.  In Europe, communism, fascism and Nazism filled the hole left by the demise of nationalism and Christianity.  Here in the USA, it is leftism and its offshoots.

No. 4: Lies.

The fourth and most important imgredient necessary for evil is lies.  Lies are the root of all evil.  Ironically, slavery itself was made possible only because of the lie that the Black was inferior to the White.  Nazism was made possible thanks to the lie that Jews were not fully human.  And communism was built on lies.  Lenin, the father of Soviet communism, named the Soviet communist newspaper "Truth" ("Pravda") because truth was what the Communist Party said it was.

The New York Times, CNN and the rest of the mainstream "news" media are becoming our version of Pravda.

Objective truth, or unbiased truth, does not exist on the left.  The universities have already declared "objective truth" as essentially an expression of "white privilege."  [White privilege is defined as an invisible knapsack of unearned assets, which one can count on using each day, but about which one is meant to be oblivious.] 

The public self-debasement demanded of anyone who differs with the left--like the New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees just did when he said not standing for the national anthem desecrated the flag and those who have died for it--happens almost daily.  The only difference between this and what dissidents underwent during Mao's Cultural Revolution is that the self-debasement here is voluntary--thus far.

Recently, stores in Santa Monica put signs in their front windows declaring "Black-owned business" so as to avoid being destroyed.

That's how bad it is in America today.

Wayne Gary

It looks like you have a good assortment.  If you were to start shooting on regularly you would have the same problem I have is which guns to take to the range today.  I normally limit myself to 3 or 4.

I am familiar with most of your guns and can help you become proficient with all of them.

Jerry May

I was shocked and horrified at that cop for killing George Floyd. It's these "rogue" cops operating  "on the fringe" who give many of them a bad name. I could tell by his demeanor he was intending to commit grave harm (and in this case death) to the helpless man. And I didn't see them.....but was informed he was "CUFFED!" 

His overly aggressive behavior was showing off to the new cops. As for them.......no matter how long on the job....they should have stopped him.  My hope is they will do some serious prison time themselves. Being scared or ignorant......is no excuse!!

I've observed over the years how aggressive some cops have become. I'm now convinced.....many of those so-called weightlifters are on steroids! And we all know steroids fuel aggression! Whatever the case, no matter the history on George Floyd......NO ONE deserves to die....especially as we witnessed!

Having said this,  I am sad for the family of the PR Director; Leslie Baker ...who was blown away in front of her own home....as she spoke on the phone. What is the crime for sitting in ones driveway....talking on the phone? Yes, I'm sad that lady was executed.....actually around the same time Floyd was killed;  and of course did not receive near the media attention as Floyd. Her home is just blocks from here and is one block over from where Ellen once lived. Many of those same folks she knew.....are still there! 

Two wrongs don't make a right........but at the same time......ALL LIVES MATTER!~j

David Cordell

Well-said, Jerry. Martha and I have cursed the killer Chauvin numerous times for being the trigger for all the violence and destruction. That said, his evil deed doesn't justify the evil deeds of the rioters, looters, vandals, assaulters(?), and arsonists.

I wonder what percentage of them are Republicans?

Note that a healthy percentage of the rioters are not black, and the vast majority of black people are not rioters. 

David Cordell

A more extensive Mona Lisa Quarentine.

David Cordell

Headline in Forbes: "The Minneapolis City Council on Friday, 18 days after the death of George Floyd, unanimously passed a resolution to replace the police department with a community-led public safety system."

Ah! Good plan! I hope they do it immediately, before the election.

As for me, we have two trees in my front yard, one wrapped with a white ribbon and one with a blue ribbon.

Steve Keene

David,

Why don't you just straddle your fence?   Thank God for the white militias in San Antonio.  Armed militia turned back black protestors and looters at the Alamo.

Steve Keene

Hollis,

Part that dog's hair and give him a konk instead of an Afro and you would not have been stopped.

David Cordell

White for care workers and blue for police. 

Hollis, I saw that the historic "Fabulous Fox Theater" put up two banners: #BlackLivesMatter and #BlueLivesMatter. Management was pressured to take down the blue lives matter version and apologize. 

Remember the phase, "Don't let a crisis go to waste" as the left was trying to load up coronavirus bills with unrelated spending? I think the same concept is going on right now with the George Floyd situation.

Janalu Jeanes (Parchman)

So, the white ribbon was for health & care workers....I get it!  I thought it was for peace, or maybe surrender....because we're all exhausted from the constant mayhem and violence on TV.....and elsewhere.......

Is there a ribbon color for the statues being 'left alone' with some additional educational signs affixed, and now the re-naming of everything we've known for ages?  I think the statues are attractive & interesting!  Doesn't this seem like a lot of hooey to most of us?

Can't we just tell the Black Americans and the anarchists,  "Alright, already!!  We GET IT!"

Kurt Fischer

Today my wife and I bought two beanie babies from the toy store.  They are the policeman from Paw Patrol.  We figure they'll soon become collectors items since there is talk of banishing the police character from the show.

Well, we don't really think they'll become collectors items, but we do plan to display them as a symbol of the resistance.

Janalu Jeanes (Parchman)

Kurt,

Ha, ha!  That was a very wise decision and will provide interesting displays added to your shelves.

I'm sure it will bring amusing conversations from visitors who stop by.

A novel idea during the era of the novel virus!

I gave Paw Patrol sheets to my grandson a while back.  He likes the policeman and the dog best of all.

David Cordell

Janalu,

Both of my parents were from northern states. I was never entirely comfortable with statues to Confederate heroes. That said, each statue is a work of art. It is one thing to remove them to a museum. It is quite another to destroy them. I'm not comfortable with destruction of statues to Stalin, either.

By the way, I suspect that  "move them to a museum" means storage in the basement, and I suspect that museums would be 1) loathe to put them on display for philosophical reasons and 2) fearful that there would be collateral damage when vandals decide to spray paint or destroy a displayed statue. I wonder if anyone can tell us where the statues on the UT Austin campus really are. 

Regarding military bases, my guess is that some were named for Confederate Generals in part as an effort to placate southerners who were suspicious of having a military base placed among them. The names will eventually be changed to placate another group.

Janalu Jeanes (Parchman)

David,

The thing about the Confederate statues is they didn't represent slavery, which is what the dissentors claim.  They represented men who the Southerners wanted to honor for their efforts and determination to succeed against mighty odds.

As Pelosi's father once said as mayor of Baltimore, when he was dedicating a statue of Robert E. Lee and Gen. Stonewall Jackson in the city:

"World Wars I and II found the North & South fighting for a common cause, and the generalship and military science displayed by these two great men in the War between the States lived on and were applied in the military play of our nation in Europe and the Pacific areas."

"Today with our nation beset by subversive groups and propaganda which seeks to destroy our national unity, we can look for inspiration to the living of Lee and Jackson to remind us to be resolute and determined in preserving our sacred insitutions."

Isn't it peculiar that the mayor's words, "Today with our nation beset by subversive groups and propaganda which seeks to destroy our national unity...."----are words that are very relevant and still unresolved.....

As you say, they also were works of art, pleasant to view for artistic value at least, while sitting in a southern park reminiscing, and were symbols, to my way of thinking, of the South's aura of a genteel life, led by  Southerners who never owned slaves at all.  Yes it was wrong for them to secede from the North, but to destroy the statues is to pretend that the era didn't happen which is silly, in my opinion.  It happened, and as history it shouldn't be forgotten, just as the Holocaust shouldn't be forgotten.  New placards could be placed on the plinths to explain the mindset of the period, pros and cons, and the statues could go on to serve as a teaching moment.

However, rational thought has not prevailed, so the statues are now gone forever, as you say, relegated to gathering dust in basements, and we are left to viewing plinths.

It's the lack of rational thought that probably irks me the most.

Janalu Jeanes (Parchman)

David,

The thing about the Confederate statues is they didn't represent slavery, which is what the dissenters claim.  They represented men who the Southerners wanted to honor for their efforts and determination to succeed against mighty odds.

As Pelosi's father once said as mayor of Baltimore, when he was dedicating a statue of Robert E. Lee and Gen. Stonewall Jackson in the city:

"World Wars I and II found the North & South fighting for a common cause, and the generalship and military science displayed by these two great men in the War between the States lived on and were applied in the military play of our nation in Europe and the Pacific areas."

"Today with our nation beset by subversive groups and propaganda which seeks to destroy our national unity, we can look for inspiration to the living of Lee and Jackson to remind us to be resolute and determined in preserving our sacred insitutions."

Isn't it peculiar that the mayor's words, "Today with our nation beset by subversive groups and propaganda which seeks to destroy our national unity...."----are words that are still very relevant today.....

As you say, they also were works of art, pleasant to view for artistic value at least, while sitting in a southern park reminiscing, and were symbols, to my way of thinking, of the South's aura of a genteel life lived by  Southerners who never owned slaves at all.  Yes it was wrong for the South to secede from the North, but to destroy the statues is to pretend that the era didn't happen which is silly, in my opinion.  It happened, and as history it shouldn't be forgotten, just as the Holocaust shouldn't be forgotten.  New placards could have been placed on the plinths to explain the mindset of the period, pros and cons, and the statues could have gone on to serve as teaching moments.

However, rational thought has not prevailed, so the statues are now gone forever, as you say, relegated to gathering dust in basements, and we are left to view plinths.

It's the lack of rational thought that probably irks me the most, and the dissenters still don't know the true meaning of why the statues were there, and probably don't even know the whole story of what happened in that era.  They only know there was slavery then.