Resolutions Made and Kept

On New Year's Eve day in 2008, I made a resolution that I've kept for the last eight years. I came close to breaking it a few times, but I didn't cross that self-imposed line.

More about that one further down the page.

There's another I made three years ago, though I put off enforcing it until February 1st of that year. Since that date in 2013, however, I've stuck to it: I haven't bought a cigar since then. That one is huge, and if you've known me for a decade or two you're aware of how attached I was to Tampa Sweet Perfectos. My wife is very happy about my rejection of cigars; she'd be ecstatic if I could give up Skoal Extra Mint Blue dip pouches, which is what I used to wean myself off the cigars. Now I gotta find something to replace the dip. Until I find that substitute, I can't make that resolution.

One of my resolutions for this year will be not to gloat about Donald Trump's presidential election victory over Hillary Clinton. I don't want to act or behave as this nation's Democratic party did after Barack Hussein Obama's ascention to the presidency of this country in 2008 and again four years ago.

Back in 2008, I didn't wish that someone would assassinate Obama, nor did I openly call for public disturbances and protests during his inauguration ceremony. I didn't wish ill towards those who performed during that event, didn't want any vote recounts or the elimination of the Electoral College. Nope, I just accepted what had transpired.

And I endured the next eight years of Obama, knowing and hoping that America would eventually come to its senses and right the ship.

That is what I want today's liberal social justice whiners to do ( I refuse to call them 'warriors'; it would be insulting to our armed forces )....just endure. If that's not enough for them, they can refrain like I did the last 8 years.

I NEVER used the words 'President' and 'Obama' consecutively in a sentence.

On January 20th, however, I'll happily say 'former President Obama'.

That day can't get here soon enough.

Have a Happy New Year, everyone!

'What Were They Thinking?', the College Bowl Game Edition

Hundreds of thousands of high school athletes aspire to play college football and, eventually, on Sundays in the NFL.

Jeremy Sprinkle was halfway through the dream when he crashed into his own roadblock Tuesday.

Sprinkle, a senior tight end for the Arkansas Razorbacks, was scheduled to start Thursday night for Arkansas in the Belk Bowl against the Hokies of Virginia Tech.

Belk, a large chain of retail stores, sponsored the game in Charlotte, NC; along with that sponsorship, Belk gave each player from both teams a gift card worth $450 for use in one of their Charlotte stores during a ninety-minute shopping spree, which occurred on Tuesday. Apparently, Jeremy Sprinkle overindulged.

To the tune of $260 dollars' worth of merchandise.

The Arkansas tight end bought all he could on his gift card, then decided to shoplift what his card's limit wouldn't cover. Store security caught him in the act, called Charlotte-Mecklenberg Police and has him arrested and charged.

Razorback coach Brett Bielema, who suspended his starting tight end for the bowl game, told the media "Throughout his career...Jeremy has displayed numerous times the qualities we want to represent our program. We have standards...that must be upheld on a daily basis, and unfortunately...he failed to do that."

Sprinkle, according to NFL draft analyst Mel Kiper Jr, is the number 7-rated tight end in the upcoming NFL draft. Prospective draftees undergo rigorous background interviews by NFL front office personnel prior to the draft, and his shoplifting incident is sure to garner intense scrutiny from interested teams. Though the incident isn't a certain death blow to his chances of being drafted, Sprinkle's stock will surely take a hit...which might lead to his going undrafted, costing him a large chunk of money from whoever he may sign with.

All for two-hundred-sixty dollars' worth of merchandise.

Arkansas lost to Virginia Tech, 35-24.

Jeremy Sprinkle

A Legend Departs Us

Bunk Harper was a legend.

A man among men. A trailblazer.

He was the city's first black police officer, its's first black Captain and the first black Chief of Police.

Lawrence Harper dropped out of Mansfield Senior High School and enlisted in the Marines on D-Day, 1944. After completing his 4-year enlistment and coming home, Chief Harper finished high school...and became a policeman for the City of Mansfield in 1948. Bunk Harper walked a beat in the city's north end which, back then, was a pretty rough section of town. From what I've been told over the years, Bunk kept order on his beat, one way or another and by whatever means necessary.

Retired Mansfield Police Chief Lawrence 'Bunk' Harper passed away Thursday, December 22nd, in a Galion nursing home, having spent fifty-four years of his working life wearing a badge. He was 90 years old.

I cannot imagine, in this day and age, a city police officer lasting over five decades on the job.

'Bunk' was a Major when I was sworn in at MPD in 1984, and I'll never forget meeting him; even at his then-age of 57, I knew he was an old-school cop; a man who commanded respect, who had a presence about him I hadn't experienced since I was a cadet/dispatcher at post 70 with the Ohio State Highway Patrol.

The man I worked for back then was Lt. J.D. 'Jack' Moore who was, simply, the best cop I ever knew.

Not long after I started at MPD I had occasion to run into Major Harper on the city building elevator. I was about as nervous as a man dressed in a steak suit walking into a lion's den; I think he sensed it.

"How's it going, Clark?"

He remembered my name! I was stunned.

I don't recall how I answered him, but I knew simply having him remember who I was cleared a hurdle with Major Harper; there were some officers who'd worked at MPD for years longer than I whose names he didn't know. Even years after he retired I ran into him a couple of times, and I'd always get that same question: "How's it going, Clark?"

During my years at Mansfield PD, Major...and then Chief...Harper would prove to be a steady, thoughtful commander of his police officers, a real leader who stood up for his people...whether they liked it or not. I'll readily acknowledge that some of his decisions didn't always resonate within the ranks of the police department but, looking back, its easy to see that Chief Harper always had the best interests of the city's residents at heart.

I respected him immensely.

I remember working many a midnight shift and seeing Lawrence Harper, dressed in sweats, jogging the city's darkened streets. He'd run for miles, no matter the weather...rain, snow...it didn't matter. He was a common sight for us graveyard-shifters, slogging along and throwing up a hand when he'd see us pass by.

That was Chief Harper.

And now he has left us.

Heaven's streets are a little bit safer with Bunk Harper, retired street cop and Marine, walking a beat.

MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL!

Here's hoping you and yours celebrate the Lord's gift to all mankind this day, the birth of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ!

Merry Christmas !

Common Sense vs. the ACLU

'So a guy walks into the BMV wearing goat horns...stop me if you've heard this one.'

No, really. He did.

It's not a joke, but it should be.

Phelan Moonsong, 56 years old and a self- procalimed pagan 'priest', entered the Bangor, Maine Bureau of Motor Vehicles office to obtain a state identification card...while wearing goat horns strapped to his head, held in place by fishing line. After telling a clerk what he needed, Moonsong was told he'd have to remove his horns; BMV policy states customers cannot wear any head covering for their operator's license or state I.D. photos...with exceptions.

One of those exceptions is for religious reasons.

Moonsong, who considers the horns his 'religious head dress', refused to remove them; the BMV clerk took his photo anyway, but said Moonsong would have to provide documentation to the Bureau of Motor Vehicles where the wearing of the goat horns was required before his identification could be released.

It seems a member of the 'priest of Pan' men's group had given the horns to Moonsong in 2009 after the member's goat had died, a gift Moonsong deems his 'spiritual antennae' and part of his religious attire. That being the case, Moonsong sent Maine's Secretary of State a personal letter requesting the exemption, along with a pamphlet concerning diversity training for pagan religions. When Moonsong didn't hear back from the Secretary's office, he called them...and invoked the ACLU card.

In my world, 'ACLU' stands for American Crybaby Liberals Union. That wasn't the case for Maine's BMV, however; even though their photo guidelines state that religious headwear must be '...required and does not obstruct or shadow...' the person's face, they issued his state identification card a few days later.

In other words: they buckled. They gave in. They folded. The operative word in their guidelines is 'required'; the BMV should have demanded pagan organizational documentation that Moonsong's horns are mandatory head gear, that he can't practice paganism without their utilization.

But they didn't.

Instead, they gave in. I'm sure Maine's BMV will state that they wanted to avoid costly litigation and thus save the state's taxpayers some money. They issued the card to Moonsong ( not his birth name; he legally changed it this past summer ) without the hint of a whimper and then scurried away, collective tails between their legs.

The American circus rolls on.

Another Episode of 'What Were They Thinking?'

You've been out on the town with friends, enjoying the night life. Eventually, after the bars close, you decide to stop at a decent restaurant and grab a bite to eat before heading home.

You and your friends walk into Fortunato's Italian Market, a popular eatery in St. Petersburg, get seated and order your meal. About halfway through, just before another fork full of spaghetti enters your mouth, a ceiling tile lands on your table.

Followed shortly by a falling man.

James Donald Olsen, age twenty-four and roaringly drunk, fell through the ceiling of the restaurant as patrons dined inside, causing over $1,000 worth of damage.

Police nor management have any idea how Olsen got into the ceiling, as there is no attic space in the restaurant, but police did have space for Olsen inside a jail cell. He was held on charges of criminal mischief and public intoxication.

No patrons were injured.

James Olsen

'Victimless' Crimes and Presidential Pardons

There is no such thing as a 'victimless' crime, nor is there 'non-violent' crime.

Regardless of what the Office of the President may think, for every action there is a reaction. So-called 'white-collar' crime, in which an actor seizes control of property belonging to another through means of the manipulation of intellectual or financial information, is in itself non-violent; however the losses inflicted have very devastating effects for the victims. Driving someone to suicide because they lost everything they have is an indirect consequence of white-collar crime in some cases and, believe me, suicide can be very violent.

Likewise with convicted narcotics traffickers, only in their cases the results are much more visible. Not only is the blood of overdose deaths on their hands, so too is the blood of every murder committed by addicts in the act of robbing a victim in order to feed their addiction, of every murder victim killed in a drug turf war, of every person who loses their life in a traffic crash caused by someone under the influence of drugs.

The list is endless.

The predominance of crime in the United States is driven by illegal drugs and acts associated with addiction; the aforementioned nurders and robberies, the break-ins, thefts, credit card misuse, bad checks...again, the list is endless. Drug trafficking and drug addiction have taxed police and fire resources to the limit; the health care system, from hospital emergency rooms to addiction treatment centers, are stretched to their breaking points.

Yet the current President sees fit to release from prison these purveyors of death and crime, crime that directly affects each one of us at the very least through skyrocketing insurance rates, by way of his powers of commutation and pardon. According to a study completed by the respected Pew Research Center, almost one-third of federally-sentenced drug traffickers commit new crimes related to trafficking after release, some while still on post-release supervision.

It is a pattern that must change.

It will be a monumental task, hard labor on the part of law enforcement, the court and corrections systems. It must go hand-in-hand with educating the public on drug addiction, an increase in the numbers of federally-funded addiction treatment centers and real sanctions against those countries whose criminal elements continually flood drugs into our nation. It will not be easy, it will not be cost-effective but it must be done; it must be done before we lose an entire generation to addiction and its consequences.

Because, after that generation is lost, so will we lose our nation.