Arizona - Home of the Stupid Motorist Law

People take their lives into their own hands every day simply by slipping behind the steering wheels of their vehicles. In Arizona, the law says that if you do something stupid, you can be forced to pay for emergency response to rescue you.

You can find them every day, in every state of the country, in every city and town of every state. They're the drivers who think that the rules don't apply to them. You'll see them crossing railroad tracks when the lights are flashing and/or the barriers are lowered, entering areas closed for road construction, any number of things.

These drivers are not only a danger to themselves, they're a danger to others on the road, and when they get into emergency situations, they become a danger to the men and women who are called out to rescue them. Anyone who has spent a significant amount of time in emergency services can tell you, the accidents and rescue operations that could have been prevented by someone simply following posted signs to stay out are the ones that get the least sympathy.

In Tuscon, Arizona, if you are found guilty of creating a rescue situation by failing to follow postings, you may just have to pay the bill for your own rescue. The name of the law, appropriately enough, is the Stupid Motorist Law.

The law was passed in 1995 and requires drivers to reimburse the state for the cost of certain rescues.

"The Stupid Motorist Law as it's commonly referred to is basically a law that says that in the event that a lower lying roadway or area is flooded, it's barricaded, and you drive around the barricade, you can be billed for that," said Joel Peterson, Risk Manager for the City of Tucson's Department of Finance; Risk Management Division.

What if there are no barricades up? "If the barricades are up, then that will make a difference; the law applies.

If the barricades are not up, the law does not apply," he said.

What if you're sitting in your car when a storm rolls in and you get trapped?

"If they're already in there, and they're stuck in traffic then, no- because the barricades would not have been up," said Peterson.

Emergency response involves hours upon hours of training and education, practice, and coordination to develop effective means of rescuing those who are in danger. Emergency personal, though trained, are literally stepping into the same situation as those they are called upon to rescue in order to pull them out of danger and bring them back to safety.

It's dangerous work, and the rescuer is often dealing with someone who is potentially in a panic by the time they reach them. The rescuer has to make sure of their own safety as well as the safety of those they are being sent in to recover. And no two incidents are ever the same, meaning the rescuer has to be able to think ahead and plan, very often, each and every move they make before they even reach the victim.

Personally, having spent ten years as a volunteer fire fighter, I think this is a great law. It's one of those laws that just makes sense. If you see a barricade that says to stay out, do the right thing, STAY OUT and keep yourself, and others, safe.

While it is true that firefighters and other rescue personnel tend to be, to a degree, adrenaline junkies, they would rather be sitting around the station house waiting for a call than to have to respond to a situation that could have been prevented if someone had simply been obeying the law.

Once and Always, an American Fighting Man

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The First Rubber Chicken Award of 2008...

...goes to Hooman Majd at Huffington Post for his accusations of the Pentagon fabricating the speedboat incident in the Straight of Hormuz Sunday morning.

Hat tip to Michael Goldfarb at Weekly Standard.

The Pentagon's version of the encounter in the Strait of Hormuz on Sunday morning, involving U.S. Navy warships and Iranian Revolutionary Guard patrol boats is, at the very least highly suspicious. On Tuesday, the Navy released video footage and an audiotape to back its claims that the Iranian boats acted in a threatening and provocative manner, but neither the video nor the audio are particularly convincing as proof that Iran had hostile intentions. The video, which shows what is claimed are Iranian boats speeding around U.S. ships, doesn't show any of the boats hurtling directly towards any of the navy ships, nor does it show what the Pentagon claimed the Iranians then did, namely dropped "white boxes" in the water.

BLAH blah BLAH blah BLAH BLAH BLECH.

They should call it "Puffington Post," because I DEFINITELY THINK they inhale over there.

I wonder if he thinks the crew of the Cole bombed their own ship, too, because they were upset with the dinning facility?

Here is the video:

I don't know about the rest of you, but to me, in my mind, fast moving little speed boats chasing around after battle ships after being warned to move off? I kind of had these images of commercial airplanes crashing into tall buildings running through my mind, watching it. I don't know what the sailors thought.

We're Proud to present Wake Up America's Rubber Chicken Award to Huffington Post's Hooman Majd, hereby to be known as Hooman Shu.



Once and Always, an American Fighting Man


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Felonious Slicing of Steak

Yup.

You guessed it.

It's rant time.

The back story first.

Knife At Lunch Gets 10-Year-Old Girl Arrested At School

OCALA, Fla. -- A 10-year old Ocala girl brought her lunch to school and a small kitchen knife to cut it. She now faces a felony charge after being arrested. The school and the sheriff's office disagree on the reason for the arrest.

School officials say the 5th grader was brown-bagging it. She brought a piece of steak for her lunch, but she also brought a steak knife. That's when deputies were called.

It happened in the cafeteria at Sunrise Elementary School. The 10-year-old used the knife to cut the meat.

"She did not use it inappropriately. She did not threaten anyone with it. She didn't pull it out and brandish it. Nothing of that nature," explained Marion County School Spokesman Kevin Christian.

I can imagine it looked a LOT like THIS (click here if you subscribe via email):



Zero Tolerance policies are an excuse for school administrations to be lazy. Zero Tolerance is an excuse for school administrations not to have to think. It requires no thought process, no looking into a situation, no BRAINS, to sit and cry "Zero Tolerance Violation."

NAIL clippers fall under Zero Tolerance policies. Drawing pictures of guns can get you suspended under Zero Tolerance.

This little girl was TEN YEARS OLD and just trying to eat her lunch. She was ARRESTED, at the age of TEN YEARS OLD, for trying to eat her lunch. Now, I can understand her being arrested had she been brandishing the knife in a threatening way, eyes glazed over, and holding people at bay threatening to cut them if they did whatever. SHE WAS EATING HER LUNCH AND WAS ARRESTED FOR IT. And they're talking about charging her with a felony for it?

The question I have to ask is if the steak felt overly threatened in any way? WAS there also a felonious use of A-1 sauce as well? Perhaps maybe just a misdemeanor offense of using Heinz 57 instead.

Ten years old and looking at a felony charge JUST because she was trying to eat her lunch.

This is INVERTED. We have reached a point where common sense has gone out the window. THINKING is becoming a lost art and a lost practice. School administrations have taken the lazy route of REFUSAL to think, to contemplate, to investigate, when situations such as this arise. When a LITTLE GIRL can't brown bag her lunch and eat it at lunch time with her little friends without being carted off by sheriff's deputies, we have lost touch with reality in our school systems. WE CAN NOT continue to go down this road where little girls are arrested for doing nothing more hazardous than eating their lunches.

I can hear the nay-sayers now, "Oh, but, you don't under STAND. She brought a WEAPON to school." Let me tell you that a pencil can be just as much a lethal weapon as a knife. I personally know more than a couple of ways to kill a person using nothing more than a wooden number 2 pencil like you'll find in any school in this country. What makes a pencil a weapon? Intent. What makes a steak knife a weapon? Intent. I would dare say that the only thing being THREATENED was the piece of steak that this child was trying to eat for her lunch.

I want to hear from you, America. I want those of you who feel like I do about this to leave your comments. I want those of you who read this site regularly to pass this around to everyone you know. Email it to people. Spread the word. At the end of this week I would LOVE to have a SIGNIFICANT number of comments supporting this child so that I can forward this piece to the Ocala school district demanding that this stupidity be dropped. I want us all to begin taking a stand RIGHT NOW that this "Zero Tolerance" mentality be scrapped in favor of the use of REASON in our school systems.

Zero Tolerance equals Zero Thought Process.

Enough is enough. Arresting a little girl for eating her lunch is one toke over the line.

Once and Always, an American Fighting Man


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Fred Doesn't Have a Hunting License, and Neither do I

I stopped watching CNN after they showed one of our soldiers being taken out by an enemy sniper. Through the years, they have done little more than piss me off anyway, so it was no big loss for my news hunting to do without the Caliphate News Network.

Now they're trying to call into question Fred Thompson's NRA and gun support because he doesn't have a current hunting license. Well big deal, I don't either, and haven't for several years. It's not that I don't like hunting, don't advocate it, and don't wish that I had the TIME for it, I simply DON'T have the time with my work schedule or I would be out there as much as I could doing the hunting and fishing I love to do and look forward to doing one of these days when I retire.

Thompson does not have hunting license

COLUMBIA, South Carolina (CNN) — Fred Thompson has made a point of visiting gun shops and gun shows while hitting the campaign trail in New Hampshire and South Carolina, usually with camera crews in tow.

But Thompson said Wednesday he does not have a hunting license, nor has be been hunting recently.

"It's been too long, it's been too long," Thompson told CNN Wednesday.

Asked if he has a hunting license, Thompson said he currently does not.

"At the present time I do not, but I have been hunting plenty of times. I usually hunt birds and used to have my own skeet shoot, and I got a chance to shoot and practice a lot back then."

Thompson, an ardent defender of Second Amendment rights, was appearing in Columbia to pick up the endorsement of South Carolina Citizens for Life.

(...)

Thompson said Wednesday he wished he had more time to go hunting.

"It seems like other things seem to be getting in its way," he said.

I can certainly relate to that sentiment, all too well.

It's like this. The Second Amendment is about the right to bear arms, NOT the right to hunt. It's a stretch on the part of CNN to try to make this into something that it isn't, and, as usual, highly irresponsible of them to make this attempt.

One more instance of CNN trying to twist things. Seems to me they're afraid of Fred Thompson...

Once and Always, an American Fighting Man


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One Toke Over the Line...

Know this:

I have had enough. The line has been crossed. If I ever witness such as this, I will NOT REST until I see legal action taken against the "parents" involved. I would encourage the rest of you who still love our country to do the same.

Hat tip to Miss Beth for this from Malagent's Domain :

Child Attacked Over Soldier Costume

On my way home tonight I was drawn into an incident that has me so angry that I could not even write about it until I calmed down a bit.

In a residential neighborhood I stopped at an intersection and witnessed several children who appeared to be fighting a few yards from my vehicle. At first it did not seem real serious, however, one of the children said something that caused me to pay more attention. He said “You’re a terrorist just like your dad, I’m going to kill you just like the Iraq is gonna kill him.” It was then that I realized what was going on. A young boy, probably 10 or 11 was dressed as a US soldier, he was pinned on the ground while a group of four or five other boys where hitting and kicking him while at least two older people in costumes watched.

I left my truck in the street and got out just as one boy picked up a softball sized rock and headed towards he boy pinned on the ground. He was yelling “MURDERER” over and over. I yelled at the boy with the rock who dropped it and ran as he saw me. The others did not stop attacking the boy on the ground until I pulled them off of him. It was at this point the two older people started screaming at me. “What are you doing to my boys, leave them alone!” They were the mothers of two of the attackers. I told them I was calling the police and they all ran off.

The boy who had been attacked was crying and told me his father was serving in Iraq so he had decided to dress “like a soldier” for Halloween. He told me the attackers were his friends and that after one of the mothers start calling him and his dad a murderer his friends joined in and then attacked him.

Although he was bleeding he did not appear to be seriously injured and was very adamant that he did not want police or medical help. When I went to move my truck and call the police the boy disappeared into the neighborhood.

I’m still not sure whether I’m more disturbed by the children’s actions or the two mothers standing there watching. Were they going to let the boy be hit with a rock larger than a softball? Why did they allow the fight in the first place?

What kind of environment is required for ten year old boys to attack & threaten death over a soldier costume? I can only imagine the things they here at home and I can only imagine ho much worse these kids while be in the teens and as adults.

Had the assailants been a little older I’m afraid I would have been in jail before it was over. Given the fact they were literally children, I did nothing more then pull them away from the victim.

I really don’t give a damn what one’s position on the Iraq war or any war for that matter, but to allow this situation to happen is flat out wrong.

Happy F’N Halloween!

My first question is how can two "mothers" stand idly by and allow a gang of kids to beat the hell out of another one? What kind of MOTHER would do that? And over a kid paying tribute to his soldier father by dressing up AS a soldier for Halloween?

One word comes to mind.

Inverted.

When two grown women who have born children stand idly to the side and allow their offspring to gather a group of other kids to beat and kick another child, these women are NOT mothers; they are progenitors of terrorism. THIS is an act of home grown domestic terrorism.

Think that poor kid being wailed on wasn't terrorized? Ask five or six of your closest friends to start beating the hell out of you and telling you they're going to kill you. Make sure that two of their mothers are standing nearby watching and doing nothing.

There are not enough words to express the anger I feel, not ONLY as a veteran, but as a citizen. This is unacceptable. The hatred of the left for our troops has now taken the form of violence against someone who ISN'T EVEN OLD ENOUGH TO BE ONE. It's an attack on the family of one of our soldiers, a man who, I am sure, is asking himself right now "this is what I enlisted to protect? A country that hates me so much that my family isn't even safe?"

I don't know who this family is, I don't know who the soldier is, but brother, I'm proud of you for wearing the uniform and it speaks volumes to me that your son respects you enough that he would show you the honor of wanting to be like his old man. Well done, and God bless you.

To the two "mothers" who stood aside and allowed their children to attack another child? There will be a reckoning. Maybe not today, maybe not tomorrow, but there will be a reckoning. I don't know what it will be, and I'm not making any threats; it would be futile to do so as I have no idea who you are, nor do I want to know. What goes around comes around. There will be an accounting for your own act of evil.

To our veterans, this is a wake up call if I've ever seen one. Be vigilant, be alert, and be strong. Our enemy at home has played their next card. This incident will go unpunished by the law, but there will be others. This is just the first, I'm sure. Be ready to make the law accountable for acts of violence against our troops and their families.

To the left, enough. Our troops are there to protect you, show them a little respect. Without our troops, you certainly wouldn't have the freedom to protest. Or would you rather a police state that censors every word, every thought, every freedom? That's the kind of world you're actually advocating when you stand against our nation and our military defending us from those in the world who would see our nation fall.

Enough.

I could go on, I could say so much more...SO much more...but I'm trying to keep this at a level where any age can read it, so I'll keep the poison that this has raised inside me for another outlet...something productive, I can assure you, but I won't go into the cursing rampage that I could go into over this tonight here.

THAT, my liberal leftist hater friends, is called taking the high road.

And no, as much as I would probably like to, I won't go out looking for some moonbat to wail on.

Once and Always, an American Fighting Man


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It's No Wonder

It's no wonder more and more people in our country are gritting their teeth and saying "Enough!"

It's no wonder that there is talk (again) of secession from the Union.

No wonder our children are not being taught the traditions of our nation in our schools and in our homes.

Our traditions are being destroyed.

Flag-folding recitations for vets banned because of religious content
Associated Press OneNewsNow.com
October 26, 2007

RIVERSIDE,California - Complaints about religious content have led to a ban on flag-folding recitations by Veterans Administration employees and volunteers at all 125 national cemeteries. It all started because of one complaint about the ceremony at Riverside National Cemetery in California.

During thousands of military burials, the volunteers have folded the American flag 13 times and recited the significance of every fold to survivors. For example, the 12th fold glorifies "God the Father, the Son and Holy Ghost."

The complaint revolved around the narration in the 11th fold, which celebrates Jewish war veterans and "glorifies the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob."

The National Cemetery Administration decided to ban the entire recital at all national cemeteries. Details of the complaint weren't disclosed.

Administration spokesman Mike Nacincik said the new policy outlined in a Sept. 27 memorandum is aimed at creating uniform services throughout the military graveyard system. He said the 13-fold recital is not part of the U.S. Flag Code and is not government-approved.

Veterans and honor detail volunteers, including Bobby Castillo, 85, and Rees Lloyd, 59, are furious. "That the actions of one disgruntled, whining, narcissistic and intolerant individual is preventing veterans from getting the honors they deserve is truly an outrage," Lloyd said. "This is another attempt by secularist fanatics to cleanse any reference to God."

World War II Navy veteran Castillo said it's "a slap in the face to every veteran."

"When we got back from the war, we didn't ask for a whole lot," Castillo said. "We just want to give our veterans the respect they deserve. No one has ever complained to us about it. I just don't understand."

Lloyd and Castillo are part of a 16-member detail that has performed military honors at more than 1,400 services. They were preparing to read the flag-folding remarks at the Riverside cemetery when graveyard staff members stopped them.

This is outrageous, and we want you to speak up and be heard.

Sign the petition at this link and make your voice count. Help save our traditions.


Once and Always, an American Fighting Man

[Update] More on this topic from:

Military Times and Michelle Malkin.


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Can we question their patriotism yet?

Hat tips to Michelle Malkin and Take Our Country Back for this, right of the bat, before I dive in. Outstanding work, Michelle and Snooper.

Now.

To set aside the temper and let the words come out rationally...

The left goes into a frenzy when we question their sense of patriotism. They snarl, they growl, they demand that the right not DO that, proudly proclaiming themselves to be every bit as patriotic as the next person.

Where is the proof? We have MoveOn.org taking out a full page ad to call our commanding general in Iraq a liar. We have Cindy Sheehan and her disgraceful disrespectful behavior that dishonors the memory of her son. We have the defacing of the Wall...

And now we have Oakland International Airport not allowing Marines and Soldiers into the main terminal.

From The National Review Online:

Saturday, September 29, 2007

Spitting on the Marines [Michael Ledeen]

Here is an e-mail from a Marine chaplain recently returned from Iraq. The story speaks for itself—lousy treatment of our troops at our own airports. He writes about Oakland, and while checking around I find that this is a common experience. I hope that one of our leaders will find a way to put an end to such behavior.

Marines and Soldiers Returning from Iraq not allowed into Oakland terminal.

On September 27th 204 Marines and soldiers who were returning from Iraq were not allowed into the passenger terminal at Oakland International Airport. Instead they had to deplane about 400 yards away from the terminal where the extra baggage trailers were located...

And they wonder WHY we become furious with them? They wonder WHY we look at THEM with the same contempt in which they look at US? They wonder WHY WE stand fast WITH our troops while they pay lip service to "protecting the troops" by demanding that they be withdrawn from the job that they have signed on to DO?

From DailyKos, where they've never met a supporter of the troops or our war effort that they haven't tried to discredit:

Michael Ledeen has never seen a "spitting on the troops" story he didn't like. In this post, entitled "Spitting on the Marines," [woo hoo!] he tells us about an email he received:

Guess what? You Kossacks are going to LOVE this.

Ready?

I'm going to whisper it, ok?

Michelle Malkin obtained the Oakland Airport response and received verification that the story is true.

I have also obtained the Port of Oakland’s response about the incident to Captain David Epstein of the Reserve Officers Association. The Port official blames a lack of “clear communication” from the charter airline hired by the military. In other words: it’s the troops’ fault:

Thank you so much for sharing with me the information you had regarding the incident at the airport. As you know sometimes the way things appear initially regarding an incident turn out to be different after looking into the details. We checked into this once you had called me and raised your public relations concern, so again thank you. Here is the background information I have about the incident as well as the procedures and policies that affected decision-making that day.

In the case of North American Airlines Flight #1777, a military charter flight that arrived at OAK on Thursday, September 27, aircraft parking and passenger service arrangements were coordinated and approved in advance between the ground handling company and Airside Operations. The airport received information that the passengers were not TSA-screened at their originating airport and that weapons were on-board the aircraft. Together with our security partners, the airport made a decision to park this aircraft at a remote location on the tarmac. It is the responsibility of the charter airline that its operation is compliant with TSA screening requirements.

Upon landing and parking at OAK, the pilot-in-command advised the ground handling company that the parking and passenger handling provisions did not meet expectations. Upon learning this, Airside Operations and Aviation Security worked with the ground handling company and other law enforcement partners to coordinate a plan that was satisfactory to the pilot and passengers, and which was compliant with all airport safety and security standards.

Oakland International Airport (OAK) makes customer service a priority for all its passengers, whether they are traveling on commercial, military or general aviation aircraft. Charter airlines operating at OAK can choose to contract with a number of ground handling companies. Ground handlers coordinate flight services such as passenger handling, and aircraft fueling, cleaning and catering. It is the responsibility of ground handling companies to communicate aircraft and passenger operational needs to OAK’s Airside Operations Office in advance so that special accommodations can be coordinated to ensure that all airport operational, safety and security concerns are addressed.

The scheduled arrival and departure time of the flight is set by the aircraft operator. Time is needed to refuel the aircraft, perform maintenance inspections, refresh the catering, and give passengers time to stretch to break-up long travel periods. An analysis of the incident and prior correspondence between OAK’s Airside Operations and the ground handler determined that the airport did not receive clear communication in advance from the charter airline that was hired by the military.

I am out of town starting tomorrow for a convention. If you have any further inquiries about this incident and the way it was handled, Rosemary Barnes who is part of our Public Affairs team would be happy to speak with you. You may also call Joanne Holloway, the acting manager of the Port’s Community and Customer Relations Department.

Kindest regards,
Marilyn Sandifur
Port Spokesperson
Port of Oakland

Well isn't that just DANDY?

But then, can you really expect much more from an area that promotes the Folsom Street Fair and their promotional poster for this year of The Last Supper done by gay men in leather (Oakland is about 15 miles from San Francisco)?

Can we REQUEST that another state secede from the Union? Just an idea...

Once and Always, an American Fighting Man


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John Edwards JUST DON'T GET IT

If you want PROOF that the Breck Boy doesn't get it, send him a message telling him how you are disgusted by his call for protests on Memorial Day, as reported earlier by WUA here and here. What do you get in response? Email's from him asking for your support, and from his wife asking for you to support her husband.

SIMPLY amazing.

Dear Mike,

Memorial Day Weekend is a time to honor all the brave men and women throughout our history who have served in our armed forces, especially those who made the ultimate sacrifice to safeguard our freedom. I believe it is our duty to use that freedom to stand up for those now serving in the most meaningful way that we can—by thanking them, supporting them, and bringing them home to a hero’s welcome.

It's time to support the troops. For far too long, George Bush has abused the rhetoric of patriotism to silence his critics and paper over the devastating cost of his war to the country we love. Our troops have served bravely and sacrificed without hesitation. Yet they are now paying the price for Bush's stubborn pursuit of his failed strategy in Iraq. Our troops deserve far better, and we all have a responsibility to stand up for them.

So this Memorial Day Weekend, I'm asking every one of us to take a stand for the troops and against the war. Let's reclaim patriotism for all of us who love our country, support our troops and fiercely believe in our hearts that this war must end now.

That's the opening of HIS. Here's the opening of HERS:

Dear Mike

I am so proud that today in Iowa, John is announcing the launch of our new group: Women for Edwards. Women from across the country—elected officials, community leaders, workers, political activists, mothers, daughters, sisters—have added their voices to the campaign.

Today, I'm asking you to join us. Please help me by sending this email on to your sister, your mother, a friend or any woman you know who might be interested in joining our campaign. Tell them the news about Women for Edwards, and let them know we need their voice.

Exactly WHAT does one have to do to make it clear when they say something like I said to them that you think that what they are doing is reprehensible?

Congratulations on your idea to turn a holiday tributing our veterans and military into a day of protest. Only the sickest, most vile of minds and cowardly of hearts could have come up with such a disgusting concept. God help me you'll not win an election if it comes to THIS veteran voting for you. Go have yourself a nice little spa day, you don't have the intestinal fortitude to run this country.

UNbelievable.

Once and Always, an American Fighting Man

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