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Jesse Hill
Jesse Hill
11 years ago

Samuel Whittmore is my new hero.

Just read a brief biography of him, 6 or 7 paragraphs, seems he was kickin’ butt his entire life. I only hope I could recover from a musket ball to the face and 13 bayonet wounds, at 80, only to survive it to live another 18 years and die of old age.

In 2005, the Massachusetts legislature declared him an official state hero.

Carrie B
Carrie B
11 years ago
Reply to  Jesse Hill

Whittemore is one of our favorite folks to talk about in Appleseed.
Not only did that ornery old cuss live on another 18 years, he also fathered more children! 🙂

Jake
Jake
11 years ago

Could you ask western botanicals about the tincture thing?

tx2styp
tx2styp
11 years ago

Samuel Whittemore, I did not know of him until now. Thanks, Jack. Your account of his fight in the war was very moving and I could see and hear it in my mind as if I were there as it took place. It gave me chills.

tx2styp
tx2styp
11 years ago
Reply to  tx2styp

Samuel Whittemore, more info and good read: http://www.badassoftheweek.com/whittemore.html

InBox485
InBox485
11 years ago

“The Story of the Raid on the Ecovillage in Arlington from a Resident” is a second BQ link.

Sean
Sean
11 years ago

The story of Samuel Whittemore was core cirriculum when I attended an Appleseed shoot a few years back.

InBox485
InBox485
11 years ago

On the cops, take a hint from the Russians. Film everything. If you carry a gun, you are nuts if you don’t at least have an audio recorder. Video would be even better. The correct response to that cop who pointed a gun at a guy for not wanting to show ID was to tell that POS felon with a badge to go to hell, and have it recorded. With no recording, it probably was right to acknowledge that the mafia tells the only story the court will listen to. As for the settlement, $15,000 dollars in civil court for assault with a deadly weapon is a joke. That cop would be in prison if ANY single other cop on that entire force had a pair of balls between their legs.

Jason
11 years ago

Jack,

Just wanted to say that Friday and Monday shows are usually my favorites. Ever since my last flight out of the country about a year ago, I only really keep up with U.S. news via a few sources, and your show is one. I love it when you cover current events.

Keep it up!

Jason

InBox485
InBox485
11 years ago
Reply to  Jason

Same here. I miss interview shows all the time just because of time constraints, but I make sure to catch the feedback shows.

Shannon
Shannon
11 years ago

It’s funny what you about said the Tax payers paying for the Laptop…down here in the Houston Area they are sending out the list of school supplies required for kids…in the Elementary age kids they tell all parents to buy 10 extra of everything just in case some of the kids in the classroom are poor and can’t afford school supplies…in which case your child can give them some of the extras they have….it’s funny they can buy Laptops but don’t have enough money to buy the kids extra glue or pencils….sounds like someones brother-in-law worked for the computer company and worked out a lucrative deal to me.

Shannon
Shannon
11 years ago
Reply to  Shannon

It’s like when they changed the speed limit here about 7-10 years ago back to 55 MPH to help reduce air pollution …well no one did 55 and the cops refused to give tickets…so a year later…instead of changing it back to 70 and just putting the old sign back up they changed it to 65 and spent over a half a million dollars on new signs….brother-in-law with a sign contract?

PowersProduce
PowersProduce
11 years ago
Reply to  Shannon

The antiplanners of the sprawling suburb that is Pierce County, WA must know the same contractors as your local rulers. The benevolent fascists that control our land decided the reason our traffic is so horrible is the dreaded 4way stop, which we’ve been informed are dangerous beyond what the average citizen can handle.

Needless to say, the voting population was convinced we needed a solution. Which we got. In the form of $250,000 4way lighted intersections.

This was all peachy until they began installing said lights, starting with intersections which never had signs, then moving to 4way intersections which had heavy commute traffic in one direction or the other. Intersections that could have been fixed by simply removing 2 stop signs so that the only traffic using the intersection could pass through without needlessly stopping for cars that will never come from those directions.

But alas, when we finally reached the first glimpse of light at the end of the tunnel, or I should say, the first light was about to be put up at one of the few intersections that truly needed it. The county let us know the budget couldn’t support anymore quarter of a million $ lights. So the last bit left in the traffic fund went into red light cameras to cover the loss.

I wish I could say they failed so miserably because of ignorance, but you better believe they knew exactly which existing intersections would profit the most off said cameras..

Thanks for indulging my rant, i needed to blow off steam while the 5 average Americans behind me, honk at me for not racing to the car in front of me, as we sit here in unnecessary traffic at one of the crucial intersections that didn’t get “fixed”

PS: if I decide today’s the day to take matters into my own hands, I’ll be sure to post pictures of the unneeded stop signs I run down and the beautiful flow of traffic that results.

Carrie B
Carrie B
11 years ago
Reply to  Shannon

We homeschool, but one year my two oldest boys wanted to try public school. (Don’t worry, one had had his fill of cliques and arbitrary rules by the end of the first month, and the other by the end of the third.)
Their list of required school supplies also included a list of required “classroom” supplies. This was a list of things that we were supposed to buy and have the boys take in, and they would be confiscated and kept in the closet for classroom use. Paper towels, Kleenex, markers, crayons, pencils, etc etc – basically a repeat of the child’s supply list.

That’s not as bad, though, as a friend’s required list for her son’s first grade class: at the bottom of her list was a notice saying that ALL of his supplies would be taken from him on the first day and put into the supply closet, and would become ‘classroom property’. Forget about picking out his favorite color pencils or erasers that look like Buzz Lightyear… the instant he walked into the classroom, that stuff was no longer his. It belonged to everyone, and the administrative tyrant (excuse me, teacher) would decide what got doled out to whom.
Breaking them in early these days, they are. Community property, authority decides what you get, you must depend on the authority for the things you need, etc.

This was in a small town near Norfolk, Virginia – in case anyone’s interested or thinking “oh that must be up in those liberal states”.

metaforge
11 years ago
Reply to  Carrie B

Yup, same experience here – “community property”. And they ask for a buttload of supplies, like glue sticks, that in order to use, each kid would have to go through 1 glue stick every 1.2 days or something insane like that. I know damn well that teacher is banking stuff from the “haves” so she can give to the “have nots”. With the price of private school out of reach, and home schooling not an option for us, we’re stuck with this sort of wealth redistribution for now I guess.

Adam
Adam
11 years ago
Reply to  Carrie B

We are going to homeschool my daughter, but I have two step kids. One’s father is adamant that he goes to public school even though he wants to be homeschooled. The other child is going into highschool and doesn’t want to do homeschool, so that’s his choice.

I hear you on the glue stick stuff. We bought my stepson nice pencils, scissors, and crayons and the teacher just pulled them into a community group without telling us. Then they send out a request for stuff every month. I’m like just let him keep his stuff and I will resupply it when it needs to be. This year he just gets cheap crap, good lesson in socialism. They also have lots of fund raising things that I don’t do. They do like book drives and I tell him, if you want the book I’ll just buy it on Amazon for 1/2 the price.

I guess the lesson I try to teach is what they are doing. So when they take his stuff, I talk to him about how he feels about it. I ask him why he is told not steal other boys toys, but the teacher can just take his stuff. Also, talk to him about history they teach or the same thing with the pledge, when he brought it up I asked him what it meant. He said he didn’t know. Then I asked why you would pledge to something you don’t understand. It’s tiring to unteach him all the time.

Insidious
Insidious
11 years ago
Reply to  Carrie B

ya know..

this sounds like a great learning opportunity!

Go out and have your kids pick out supplies that they love. The stuff they want, be it branded, or special or just pretty colors..

Then let the gestap.. I mean teachers confiscate it. When they come home upset, explain to them that this is what happens in a socialist state.. and that if they were living in a libertarian state, or even a republic.. that whatever was there’s they’d be able to keep.

Seed of freedom planted, with a nice emotional emphasis!

😉

PowersProduce
PowersProduce
11 years ago

With Tincture,

People run into problems mislabeling an untested health product, not having a liquor license if not using glycerin, and the whole commercial kitchen/cottage industry bs.

And state regs if you have them.

Here in WA state the cannabis dispensaries blatantly break all of those rules producing and selling herb tincture. We work with some of these producers to provide ingredients and have briefly looked over the ridiculous rules I posted below, and the said screw it and did it anyway.

Not that I’m implying that this applies to you, but not once has the fda shut down a dispensary for selling tincture. Or the liquor control board either. Only the IRS, dea, and atf.

So just don’t grow herbs that look similar to mj on your commune with weirdos when making said tincture, at least until the TSP mob bullies the authorities into justice. Then MAYBE you will be left alone.

http://www.fda.gov/cosmetics/guidancecomplianceregulatoryinformation/goodmanufacturingpracticegmpguidelinesinspectionchecklist/default.htm

Jack is a solution guy and I try to follow his wisdom,

My first thought is ditch the interwebs and outsource selling your product at barter fairs and festivals. Your target market is already there and I’ve never encountered the fda at one.

Then I remembered Episode 1079 about makerspaces, and id say of there isn’t a commercial kitchen aspect connected to the maker movement, there should be.

http://www.thesurvivalpodcast.com/navarro-on-hackerspaces

Good luck, and I think this could make a great show or show segment. People who run successful microbusiness in such an oppressive environment.

Shannon
Shannon
11 years ago

The story about Samuel Whittemore is awesome, my great great great grandpa was one of those type of men he came to Texas with Sam Houston as a young man and fought in a lot of major battles including the battle of San Jacinto, when Texas decided to join the civil war he was 56 years old ..he thought it was his civic duty to fight for Texas and left his family and fought the entire duration of the war…when it was over he came home and lived into his 90’s a dirt poor farmer and woodsman in no way would you consider him well off..we would have never known this because he didn’t make a big deal of it, but, my sister joined the D.R.T and discovered what an amazing man he was!

Shannon
Shannon
11 years ago
Reply to  Shannon

Or was what we consider amazing today..just normal back then?

PowersProduce
PowersProduce
11 years ago

Should’ve done my homework first,

http://bangordailynews.com/2013/08/07/living/makerspaces-provide-room-to-cook-sew-and-create-in-cramped-portland/

So glycerin solvent/binder, a community commercial kitchen, an accountant, and legal aid should give you a solid defense against those nagging 3 letter acronyms that rule us.

And with the labeling, you can say what you put in it, and you can say that ingredient has known healing properties by itself, just don’t claim that your product has those healing properties because of that ingredient. That’s where rigorous product testing becomes mandatory for compliance.

Theres a topic on this same thing over on Pauls permies forum that has some good anecdotal info too

*sorry about the double post mod, feel free to combine them if its an issue.

Cody Huey
11 years ago
Reply to  PowersProduce

Thank you so much for the advice. The thought of trade and barter did come to mind.
Cody

Andrew
Andrew
11 years ago

For all those who enjoyed the story of Samuel Whittemore there’s lots of similar stories of “Dangerous Old Men” to be found at your next local Appleseed event. Jack, I hope you make it to an Appleseed in the near future!

Wayne
Wayne
11 years ago

Jack,

I understand your frustration with Ben (BQ)… But we don’t have time for him. He’s irrelevant to our community and is just baiting…

Sean
Sean
11 years ago

Bingo on the economy using the Wal Mart miss of 3/10 of 1 % as an example.

My thoughts exactly.

Chris Martenson talks about this extensively – the continuous growth paradigm and what happens when it fails.

“The next twenty years will be nothing like the previous twenty” – Chris Martenson

garysco
garysco
11 years ago

Re Katy Tx 911 suit. – What happens when tea cups put on the badge & run into people who won’t do what they say. I get to say that because of 20 years experience pushing a patrol car around answering 911 calls..

Steven Fletcher
11 years ago

Great show today Jack… Thank you.

Alan Georges
Alan Georges
11 years ago

Jack, I too have had a run-in with Bad Quaker. At times he can be good, at other times he’s a one man textbook on chasing people away from libertarianism. He has a penchant for tripping up over words and terms, and attempting tripping up others the same way.

I’ll take your “big tent/many paths” approach any day. Nice job handling his, uh, concerns.

ADKwarrior
ADKwarrior
11 years ago

I imagine it was already mentioned at some point but not all call outs are bad. James from Tactical Response gave the podcast and the forums a wonderful shoutout last week in one of his youtube videos. Thanks for all you do Jack.

Brian Hochstein
Brian Hochstein
11 years ago

Solution for privacy on the laptop – if you have a computer at home with internet, learn the usefullness of remote desktop. If set up correctly the remote desktop connection is encrypted and you won’t have to worry about being spied on or any firewall filtering unless they install a key logger or can log in to see what is actually being on the laptop screen. (Most school IT departments don’t even know how or just won’t go that far.)

Brian Hochstein
Brian Hochstein
11 years ago

Oh – but that still doesn’t give the excuse to be doing something illegal via the remote desktop connection while using the laptop.

Matthew N Gooseneck
Matthew N Gooseneck
11 years ago

The “fish faced” guy in star wars is Admiral Ackbar….oh crap I’m such a geek….

Joe Terry
Joe Terry
11 years ago

The biggest worry I would have with tinctures is the medium you use. Most tintures use a very high proof alcohol as a medium to extract the goodness from your herbs. To sell that I would figure you would need the liscences to sell the alcohol.

That would likely be more problematic then the issues with the FDA. You can just say that this product just hasn’t been tested by the FDA and is not sold to cure or prevent any diseases, and that should get you past the FDA dogs.

Cody Huey
11 years ago
Reply to  Joe Terry

Thanks for the advice. I am using vodka but may rethink that.
Cody

bluprint
bluprint
11 years ago

For the school kid, I would seriously suggest he pursue homeschool. At that age (“teenager”), he is plenty old enough to find educational material on his own and study it effectively on his own. No need for parents to “put together” a plan and spend all day “teaching”.

I’ve been investigating homeschool for my kids. It seems you can get a far better and more diverse education, on your own, in half the time. Spend the other half of time working or starting a business and buy all the laptops you want.

If I had high school to do over again, that’s exactly what I would do and I’ll be giving my kids the same option.

Garysco
Garysco
11 years ago
Reply to  bluprint

Agreed. Even better to find a local group of kids/ parents of like mind. Unfortunately we don’t know the attitude of the young mans parents.

bluprint
bluprint
11 years ago
Reply to  Garysco

We don’t know about his parents but I bring it up b/c when I was in high school, I had NO idea that was a realistic option. I thought “homeschool” meant my parents would have to spend all day acting like a teacher. Turns out, that’s not really true.

Brandon
Brandon
11 years ago
Reply to  bluprint

I agree, homeschooling is the way to go. I nearly flunked out of high school because it was so boring I had trouble paying attention. I learned everything at home myself long before we covered it in class. In addition, I got tired of correcting the teachers (because half of what they said was either out of date or just plain wrong) then getting in trouble for correcting them. I’m sorry but if you are going to be entrusted with the education of future generations you should at least get the facts you’re teaching correct.

Adam
Adam
11 years ago

Jack, what I like about your show is you always put things as a journey. None of us were born with labels of Libertarians, preppers, homesteaders, anarchists, etc… its all a walk in life. You always understand that people are at different stages on that walk and the important thing is taking the walk. I backed Ross Perot for my first vote in life, then was a Democrat, then a Libertarian, now probably a Volunteerist. None of the labels matter, really politics doesn’t define or help me.

Any effort to wake people up and to get them to do something for themselves is an effort to support. When people rip other people about not being anarchist or libertarian enough, it just wastes opportunities. This whole thing with Chris and now BQ, we are all pushing for the same causes (at least that’s the marketing).

What is interesting is the Logical Fallacies he ties you too. You should do a show on logical fallacies.

Tom
Tom
11 years ago

The Bad Quaker situation should serve as a warning to all liberty minded people.

His self proclaimed position as arbiter of liberty means he is rather ironically using an old bit of Marxist doctrine which was designed to ferment ever further revolution by destroying the credibility of anyone not on the absolute extreme.

I saw this first hand in the UK when left wing governments were destroyed (thankfully) by the ‘he’s not a proper socialist (libertarian, etc) ‘ fringe groups.

Of course it has the counter productive effect of massively pissing of the general public who have a shorter attention span for endless debates over dogma.

Again in UK we had a situation were the public got so bored of the country being bought to a stand still because left wing groups were arguing with a left wing government over precisely which degree of wage control was ‘authentic’ that they eventually said “bugger off the lot of you” and voted in Margaret Thatcher who spent 10 years deregulating the economy.

My point is that the liberty movement should learn a thing or two from our socialist counterparts and be tolerant of moderates providing their general instincts and principles are sound. This is harder when people wish to be professional radicals for their own vanity.

Beware though we could end up like the Life of Brian film when the “Peoples Front of Judea” have a battle with the ” Judea Peoples Front”

PS – I loved the Samuel Whittemore story even though it was my fellow countrymen he was shooting at. No wonder you won!

Mortissanguine
Mortissanguine
11 years ago

Jack, I just wanted to make a small correction on the rodeo cops. The actual crime would be false imprisonment. Unless they moved him unwillingly, no matter how far, it would be an illegal detention/false imprisonment only. It could be color of authority also. Either way, unless a lawful reason for the stop (4th Amendment issues) no bueno.

I am not sure what the failure to provide ID for trespassing thing was. But if the contact was ended at the rodeo then doing a second contact after being released as a “secondary investigation”…just sloppy.

InBox485
InBox485
11 years ago
Reply to  Mortissanguine

The problem is (and frankly the problem with even the good cops), is the amount of power and de facto immunity they are given. There is ZERO constitutional basis for the separation of class structure between cops and citizens. It is virtually identical to the separation of commoners and nobles that was soundly rejected by the constitution. Defending yourself from cops even in cases where they are causing great bodily harm or injury is like defending yourself from a mafia loan shark. It will only end badly. There is a reason I say never trust a cop if you don’t know their family. My worst case prediction on this is the tax payers will be out some money.

Michael
Michael
11 years ago

I believe the last word by the FDA on the herbal tincture issue was DSHEA in 1994. Large herbal manufacturers and small shops alike had to comply by 2010 which basically had to do with instating good manufacturing practices (GMP’s), proving your ingredients are what you state they are, among other things. I believe that the way it reads is that you are supposed to comply with GMP’s if you sell herbs anywhere, even at farmers markets. Herbal practitioners can apparently skirt this (and all the documentation) by giving a direct personal consultation with the customer before the sale.

Here’s the best synopsis I have found on the subject. http://www.methowvalleyherbs.com/2009/08/fda-on-gmps-notes-on-lecture-by-roy.html

Cody Huey
11 years ago
Reply to  Michael

Thank you very much for the info and the link.
Cody

JT
JT
11 years ago

Jack, regarding the kid with the laptop. This year, for the first time, my daughter’s school is issuing Google Chromebook laptops to all students from fourth grade through high school.

Everything will be done electronically – no more paper books will be issued, and assignments will be turned in electronically. They will also be taking advantage of digital resources such as blogs, forum discussions and of course research.

The cost for this is issued to the parents in the form of a “technology fee” of $75 per year. After three years, the family owns the laptop (unless your student has less than three years left, in which you pay it all up front).

Kevin
11 years ago

Regarding the sale of tinctures:

FDA recently mandated that people who manufacture herbal products for sale to the general public conform to Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) standards for Dietary Supplement manufacturers. This is a major inconvenience for Herbalist practitioners and small scale manufacturers. The requirements are onerous and more or less require a dedicated and expensive effort to successfully fulfill.

Labeling is extremely important. Lets say I sold garlic at a farmer’s market. This would be a food, and there is no problem. If I took the same garlic, put it in a capsule, and slapped on a label saying garlic has been shown to benefit cardiac health – FDA would say I just turned the garlic into a dietary supplement and that I am a dietary supplement manufacturer. If I went on to say that Garlic is good for the treatment of coronary heart disease, FDA would now say I just turned that garlic into a drug, and that I am a manufacturer of pharmaceuticals!

You may fly under the radar for a while, but FDA is looking for violators. Your presence in the marketplace may invite scrutiny. If inspected and found deficient, you will generally be given a grace period to meet compliance. If you are re-inspected and found non-compliant, severe penalties could ensue.

However, if you have a consultation with a client, and then dispense an herbal formula to the client, FDA has decided to turn a blind eye to this practice (for now). They call it “exercising their regulatory discretion.” Unfortunately there is no exception to the GMP standards for Herbalist practitioners, it’s just that FDA is allowing the practitioner – client relationship to continue as it is. This is basically because many practitioners would otherwise be put out of business. Be careful however, because the definition of consultation differs from atate to state, and you will likely need a place of business and a business license.

Tinctures are dietary supplements, not alcoholic beverages. Glycerites or oxymels (vinegar and honey preparations), or lozenges, or syrups would fall under the same umbrella. Topical applications (salves and lotions) are considered cosmetics, and fall under a different set of GMP guidelines.

My free advice is to do your homework and tread lightly.
Good luck!

Cody Huey
11 years ago
Reply to  Kevin

Thank you very much for the info. I will do some more homework and tread very lightly.
Cody

InBox485
InBox485
11 years ago
Reply to  Kevin

Yeah, I was going to mention that tinctures and extracts are not considered liquors. Look at the back of flavoring extracts if you need an example of this. Most of them are 40-80% alcohol, they have no ATF labeling, and a minor can buy them. Even “rum extract” which is really just 160 proof rum.

Cody Huey
11 years ago

I asked local harvest.org about tinctures and this is what they sent back.
Hi Cody,

Thank you for contacting us – this is a big topic, so I’ll include what I know and some suggestions for more information. LocalHarvest does not certify or inspect products, so it is up to our vendors to make sure that they are in compliance with local and federal regulations (this usually means using a certified kitchen and undergoing an inspection from the Department of Public Health).

On each herbal product listing, we include the following statement / disclaimer:

“Disclaimer: Statements contained herein have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. These products are not intended to diagnose, treat and cure or prevent disease.”

In general, medical claims are not included on the packing (ie, list of ingredients, instructions for usage, shelf life, and your contact information are the usual items on the information panel).

I suggest contacting one of our herbalist members to find out what they do, and if they know of specific regulations.

Then they gave the herbslist’s contact info.

BurlingtonRd Farms
BurlingtonRd Farms
11 years ago

Jack I want to thank for a great show. The last story about the old man in the park. Here’s what is so freaking great about it–everything worked. Many a lawyer and man would have sued for more than training and $15k and their arguments could have been valid to get more money. But the man remained reasonable and made sure to do something that benefited everyone.

What I truly loved about this show is it was about laying the gauntlet down. So many people let their egos get in front of them. I was the first to say or do this. Such is a point of pride to be sure but what was the reason for doing something good or great? To be first or to solve a problem? That’s an element that is grossly wrong with today. You know what failure is okay as long as you were trying to do something good, learn from it and try something else because of it. Nothing will ever be perfect except in our minds. But when it meets reality it has to change because our world is not in a standstill. Yeah i know there probably are times where it might work out otherwise but not always.

A very inspiring show!!!! Unlike any other critic out there you are better because you either are trying to come up with solutions or inspiring others to do so. That’s a reason I bought a farm a year ago. I hadn’t listened to you before then but like a stream finds a river that finds the ocean I found another mind that is all about making the world better. Thanks Jack and remember we in or were in the army say hooah not hoorah, though admittedly I like the Marines’ version better.

WilsonM.
WilsonM.
11 years ago

I am prior military, going through the police academy currently. I have been a long time (since listening to your show) Libertarian and have tried my best while in the military to teach other military guys about the Constitution, which they swore to uphold. The legal section of class starts tomorrow for the police academy and briefly glosses over the Constitution, and from what I pre-read it is not entirely accurate, or at best, doesn’t stress the right points. Can’t wait to have a class discussion with the 30 year LE officer teaching the class. Also, can’t wait to ask him “What do you consider more important, your oath or your retirement?”.

Shellie
11 years ago

Thank you for covering this story about the Garden of Eden. This is truly important work you–we all– are doing, shining the light on what is really going on. When decisions are made as to how to proceed, we will let you know. All the support, coming together, standing up for life, liberty and our pursuit of happiness is where great change takes place. United. Grateful for the opportunity to be heard.

Oil Lady
Oil Lady
11 years ago

RE: everyone being all shocked over the actual ages of the Founding Fathers back in 1776

Too many historical paintings have depicted them as old-looking guys standing around the conference tables in 1776. Ditto with too many movies which were supposed to take place in 1776.

Those historical paintings and films were taking their cues from the source paintings (mostly portraits) that were created many decades later in the twilight years of those brave men.

John
John
11 years ago

Jack:
Your repeated attempts to use Ben Stones disability and the fact that he receives a disability pension from the Government to win debating points, or to attempt to publicly humiliate Mr. Stone in some way disgust me.
In my book that is not the way an honourable man conducts himself.

Samual
Samual
11 years ago
Reply to  John

Was Jacks response to harsh and aggressive? maybe, however when the whole argument is over “pure” libertarianism or anarchism vs. statism, the fact Mr. Stone receives government disability payments are completely fair game, and his argument that he had private disability insurance that was shifted to government benefits is a poor one, because likely the only reason he had that private insurance is because the price of the policy was made affordable by the governments agreement to take over payments after whatever period of time.

FoolishCop
FoolishCop
11 years ago

I come from a department where officers did sue — and win — from getting injured after responding to calls. I never could wrap my head around the concept as it always seemed to be part of our job description to putting ourselves in harm’s way in the defense of others. That whole, “we run towards the sound of bullets firing when everyone else is running away.”

It reminds me very much of the people who join the armed services and then are shocked — shocked! — when they’re actually called to go to battle, as if joining the army simply meant free schooling, training, and snappy uniforms that attract the girls.

My department was one that was wracked by racial and ethnic issues. After a white cop shot and killed a black thug with a gun, the town was torn asunder, particularly after race-baiting Al Sharpton showed up on the scene. We had marches and mini-riots. Police cars were flipped and burned and the officers were told to stand down and let the people “vent.” A neighboring town that had responded to our call for aid, ended up packing their bags and going back home after it became apparent they were only going to be allowed to watch the mayhem unfold and not do anything about it.

That background is important because changes were made in the department after that. Minority candidates were hired and promoted in the department under some sort of special exception over white officers. Tensions ran high and suddenly lawsuits were flying. One Lt. won $1 million for a sexual harassment claim from the town that was of dubious merit. A second won $4 million for being harassed for having been friends with the Lt. (that was actually a legitimate complaint to a certain extent).

Then it was as if everyone was on the prowl for how they could score their own payday from the town. Lawsuits out the wazoo were filed and then one hit on the idea of suing a homeowner after the cop had to (non-fatally) shoot him. And he won. Another cop sued a homeowner after injuring his leg at his home. He had responded to a burglar alarm call and the deck he was walking on checking the doors was rotted and he fell through a hole twisting his leg.

When I finally retired a few years ago, the town was still embroiled in dozens of lawsuits. Not just from the police dept., but the fire dept. too, which saw how the cops were cashing in and followed suit.

It was a very disheartening period to be a cop during this time, watching the free-for-all at the public trough and the award payouts growing higher and higher. As a taxpayer in that town, I still feel the brunt of the fallout every year in the form of higher property taxes.

229Mick
229Mick
11 years ago

Don’t see the Google map of the ‘okra house’…?

Mike
Mike
11 years ago

Samuel Whittemore was the first story I told as an Instructor-in-Training at Appleseed. If Whittemores’ story moved you, you should attend an Appleseed, or a Libertyseed (same as Appleseed without the rifles). We tell more similar stories that we call “Dangerous Old Men”, including Hezekiah Wyman (Death on a Pale Horse), David Lamson, and more. You’ll hear the true story of Paul Revere, Isaac & Hanna Davis, Capt. John Parker, Dr. Joseph Warren, and many others. If you don’t care to learn more about rifle marksmanship so you can STAND with your country, then at least get yourself to a Libertyseed and hear the stories of the most important day in American history. Hear the stories of the brave people that STOOD and sacrificed in the face of the world’s most powerful army, so they may be free… so that WE may be free. Libertyseed.org