I have been remiss...

In that I've neglected not only some of my reading, but a well-deserved recommendation.

For quite a bit now DaddyBear has thrown up bits from his "Tales of the Minivandians" upon his blog. In a nutshell (for the two of you who may not have already read them), they involve adapting the life of a modern man into a Robert E Howard type vignette short story. Entertaining, well done, and just generally posts I always loved reading when they came up.

Anyway, back in November he published it as both an ebook and a paperback, with some added material beyond what he'd done on the blog. Now, I dutifully picked it up as part of supporting a fellow blogger, but it had simply sat in my "to be read" pile in the Kindle app, along with the 100 other things waiting for the right time.

What with some holiday time off, and not sure what to read, I figured I'd go ahead and enjoy the book. And enjoy it I did. The original material was just as enjoyable as ever, and DaddyBear did a nice twist in the second half of the book taking things down a more "traditional" fantasy route while not losing the root of the tale. Quite simply it was a great read for smiles and entertainment, and I am sorry I left it waiting that long.

So, as part one, I apologize DaddyBear - I should have read this much sooner and promise to do so right away with the sequel you've already promised.

Part two, if you haven't already please pick it up on Kindle or hard copy - it's worth a read indeed.

Food for thought

From another professional in the security industry.

Preemptive Red Teaming re: the ISIS threat

Annoying Irony

I find it bothersome that so many voices (on all sides of the political spectrum) who are ranting about how police need to quit acting as if everyone of certain races/beliefs/outlooks are "bad guys" are the same people who are shouting out that "all cops are fascists/racist/corrupt/abusive/whatever".

Wasn't there a guy who said something about judging people?

Past History is not a Justification

For all those out there examining police use of force incidents, and upon finding out that the suspect in question had a long and/or violent history - then saying "See, this proves the cops were in the right!" Stop. Just stop it. You're not helping.

In fact, you're wrong.

A lawful use of force incident is judged by the totality of the circumstances the officer knew (or should have known) at the time of the event - nothing more, nothing less. It means what is going on right then, and what is imminently foreseeable must be used to make those decisions. And, it does NOT mean that the past history of either the suspect or the officer are the key deciding factors (though both may be elements). The same holds true of non-law enforcement encounters - the facts of the moment are what matter, and what an individual must choose to act or not on.

Now yes, if the officer knows that a suspect has a history of violence that certainly may become an element in how things are addressed - but it doesn't grant a carte blanche permission to up the ante. Everything is dependent upon the actions and choices of that particular moment, and will be judged as such.

I've dealt with several arrests of people with long histories and statements of "I'll never go back to jail!" who ended up surrendering peacefully into custody when the time came. I've also had situations where someone with no violent tendencies flipped out at the wrong moment and the resulting situation turned messy.

And the same happens every single day across the nation. Think about the recent arrest of a suspected cop killer in Pennsylvania - they didn't gun him down, or abuse him - they took him into custody in a safe manner and he gets a day in court. Similarly, even suspected child molesters, terrorists, and other heinous people are given the opportunity when possible to surrender as opposed to an immediate leap to violent action. That's part of why we stress use of force training and judgement to officers throughout their career - to give them a solid basis to make these good decisions.

Now I'm not saying a person's past isn't a relevant factor - but it is more so in the lines of how they choose to face such situations. It is in the decisions they make and the actions they do or don't take when encountering police. This is where the violent tendencies, disregard for authority and other elements come into play - but it is on the offender's side, not the officers.

So please quit trying to solve the issue by using factors that aren't appropriate. It's over-simplifying an event which is anything but.

Drug thoughts

Nothing stunning or amazing. But helped the narcotics unit and the road guys out with a stop the other day, which resulted in a guy getting arrested. And it made me wonder how many people would do drugs if they realized that probably 90% of the time they spent part of their travels in someone's crotch or butt crack?

The Importance of Debate and Accepting Other Views

Over the past week there has been a growing, vocal debate as people take their respective sides of the current issue. Some would label it conservatives or traditionalists vs. liberal or modern outlooks. Others might go with old vs. young. Or whatever particular ideology seems to fit the viewer and narrative.

In either case, we pour over the video clips to support our position - picking out this sound bite or that still frame and debating how it supports the "right" view. Or running through the whole thing and arguing over what it means, how it is either a reflection of what we used to follow, or a radical departure from the original path.

And it seems like there's no middle ground - you're either on one side or the other. Any disagreement just leads to raised voices and more strident arguments. The voices of those originally involved are silent as online and real-world commentary continue to pour over the topic, without a reasonable end in sight. Even my own house hasn't been immune from little comments here and there, or a shared link mocking a different view.

Yes, it's really hard to believe all the stink a ninety second film trailer can cause...

Perspective

Having a callout for recovered military ordnance, and finding out you might be dealing with a live World War One chemical round has a way of focusing the events in your day...

Fortunately it was simply an explosive charge.