Bits o'stuff

- The news media has done a poor job of covering the loss of two officers & wounding of others in Arkansas the other day. Looks like the shooters may have had ties to some of the "sovereign citizen" bozos who pop up now & then. A grim reminder of the dangers we face on every traffic stop - be careful out there & my condolences to the families of those killed.

- Speaking of risks, we've had a rather bad trend here in the metro area over the past week of offenders trying to hit officers with their cars, either during stops or pursuits. Fortunately no one hurt or killed yet, but it's only a matter of time. Very fortunately, unlike some jurisdictions, our agencies recognize this as a deadly force situation. Hopefully the trend gets nipped in the bud before things get ugly.

- Took Jacob to a nice birthday party today - he did great, had fun with a bunch of his school friends & there were no issues. I did have to text my wife though - it was in an area I used to work on midnights, and I was curious if it would be considered poor taste to discuss the neighbor I had sent to prison for 5 years...

- A bit of a kerfluffle going on because of State Police chaplains invoking Christian prayers during various events - it has folks on both sides up in arms every few months, with the "official" rulings going whichever way the daily wind prevails... As for my thoughts (like anyone will listen) - I could care less. I have my beliefs, they have theirs, and others may believe what they want. I don't take someone praying during an invocation as them pushing their particular flavor of God upon me, and I think those who get wrapped up in such are missing the bigger picture. But that's just my simple view.

- Was going to do a DUI special tonight but it just got canceled due to weather. Hopefully this will lead to a normal night's sleep then and me being better able to help with the kids in the morning.