Russian Roulette pt 2

Saturday was one for the books. It was one of the busiest nights I have had in 18 years. But that is unimportant, what is important is that peoples lives were in danger and the blame for that is Dictator Leightons. Here is the what happened.

At 22:36:59 (about 10:37 PM) A dispatch for "a residential structure fire" on N. Meade St. With 3 engines this would be Engine 1, Engine 3, Truck 6 and Medic 5 responding. But with Leightons irresponsible cuts Engine 2 goes because there is 'NO Engine 3'.
So the response on Saturday was Engines 1&2, Truck 6 and Medic 5.
At 22:43:57 (10:44 PM) Engine 2 was onscene.
At 22:42:50 a call came in for "shortness of breath" on George Ave and Medic 3 was dispatched. Now Medic 3 is stationed at South Station (High & Parrish), and because of the distance (all the way across town) the medic unit requested an engine be cut free to help.
At 22:47:03 (10:47 PM) Engine 2 was cut loose (There are only TWO engines most nights) to help (If three engines had been available Engine 2 would have been only around the block).
At 22:52:38 (10:52 PM) Engine 2 and Medic 3 were onscene. The 'Shortness of breath' quickly turned into a cardiac arrest that needed BOTH medic units.
ALL THIS WENT OUT OVER THE SCANNER. I'm not giving out any information that wasn't broadcast (except what is in parenthesis and that is info you could find out easily).

Now if we had 3 engines, Engine 2 would have been there to give oxygen to the Patient and would 'PROBABLY' have forestalled the cardiac arrest. I say probably only because nothing is certain, but in my 18 year experience (7+ on Medic 3) it would have forestalled it and we would have gotten the patient to the hospital before the incident and possibly avoided it.

Leighton is playing Russian Roulette with our lives and yours. This proves it. He can NOT be allowed to continue.


I would have posted this earlier, but I've been under the weather and I had to wait for my legal advise.

Dan Emplit WBFD
AKA Don Quixote

Happy Birthday M1911

Today marks the 100th birthday of the M1911, AKA the .45. It was widely used in World War I, World War II, the Korean War, and the Vietnam War. John Moses Browning designed the firearm which was the standard-issue side arm for the United States armed forces from 1911 to 1985. That is right, Sam Colt DID NOT design the Colt 45. The pistol has been widely copied, the operating system rose to become the pre-eminent type of the 20th century and of nearly all modern centerfire pistols. It is popular with civilian shooters in competitive events such as USPSA, IDPA, International Practical Shooting Confederation, and Bullseye shooting. Compact variants are also popular civilian concealed carry weapons, because of the design's inherent slim width and the power of the .45 ACP cartridge.

The pistol was formally adopted by the Army on March 29, 1911, thus gaining its designation, M1911 (Model 1911). It was adopted by the Navy and Marine Corps in 1913. Battlefield experience in the First World War led to some more small external changes, completed in 1924. The new version received a modified type classification, M1911A1. Changes to the original design were minor.

Many military and law enforcement organizations in the United States continue to use M1911A1 pistols including Marine Corps Special Operations Command, Los Angeles Police Department S.W.A.T. ,the FBI Hostage Rescue Team, F.B.I. regional S.W.A.T. teams, and 1st Special Forces Operational Detachment—Delta.

Despite being challenged by newer and lighter weight pistol designs in .45 caliber, the M1911 shows no signs of decreasing popularity.

This is one of mine, a Paraordinance P14-45.


Well gotta go, the "Brown truck O' Happiness" just delivered a new scope.
Dan Emplit WBFD (and M1911 fan)

Stop Corruption Now! Has a new post

Mayor and City Council Sell Out Parsons!

I've had a few things to take care of, lately. I'll get back to posting shortly.

Dan Emplit WBFD

TRIANGLE FIRE: COMING FULL CIRCLE?

My friend and brother firefighter Stan sent me this. So here it is.

'From Don Konkle PFESI Executive Director Those that ignore history must repeat it.

The Philadelphia Daily News
March 25, 2011
OVER THE DECADES, the annual commemoration of the Triangle Shirtwaist factory fire has provided an opportunity to look back from our enlightened time to marvel at the venality of the factory owners whose greed and indifference led to the horrific deaths of 146 people, most of them immigrant women and girls.

But on today's 100th anniversary of the fire, here's what's stunning: How many of the discredited notions that contributed to the tragedy - extreme individualism, rejection of government regulation and fear of union "socialism" - are making a comeback.

The Triangle Shirtwaist (blouse) factory was on the four top floors of a "modern" 10-story "skyscraper" in Manhattan. Near quitting time on March 25, 1911, fire broke out on the eighth floor. Fueled by piles of paper patterns and fabric, it burned out of control in minutes, trapping 200 workers on the ninth floor.

Firefighters were helpless to rescue them because their ladders reached to only the sixth floor. And one of the two exit doors had been locked so workers could be searched to prevent employee pilfering. About 90 of the victims died not from the fire but from falls when a fire escape collapsed. And many jumped to their deaths.

Available technology like sprinkler systems, fire walls and well-built fire escapes could have prevented the fire or limited its scope, but such safety measures weren't required by law, so they weren't installed.

It's not as if the workers didn't try to change things. In 1909, 10,000 garment workers, most of them women, struck for better conditions. They endured savage beatings by police as New York's corrupt political machine, Tammany Hall, showed whose side it was on. In an HBO documentary on the fire this week, a descendant of onetime Tammany functionary (and eventual reformer, Gov. Al Smith) put it this way: "They looked out for the people giving them the money."

Besides, factory owners believed that their factories were strictly private property and that any attempt to impose safety regulations represented an attack on the liberty of the people who drive the economy. Sound familiar? So there were no safety regulations, no minimum-wage law, no prohibition of child labor - until 146 people died.

Quickly acquitted of manslaughter charges by an all-male jury, the two owners actually made $60,000 in insurance money. But the horror touched the conscience of ordinary people, who forced a turning point in labor rights and workplace safety.

Many people assumed there was no going back. Yet the current campaign against collective-bargaining rights of public workers in several states sure looks like a step in that direction. (And U.S. House Republicans recently introduced legislation that would cut off food stamps to an entire family if one of its members is on strike.)

Today, the memorial at the Triangle building, which still stands, will include the reading of each victim's name as a bell is rung. But this anniversary should also provide a refresher course on what happens when the workplace balance of power tips too far in one direction. We may not see a return to the horrific conditions of those garment workers, but we are on our way back to a time when government "looked out for the people giving them the money."

Copyright 2011 Philadelphia Newspapers, LLCAll Rights Reserved
The Philadelphia Daily News'

Last night, a family had THE CLOSEST of calls, directly because of Leightons cutbacks. I've got to wait for legal advise before I post about it. Sorry you have to wait. But Leighton isn't.

Dan Emplit WBFD

There is a NEW Blog in town.

There is a NEW Blog in town. And its name is "Stop Corruption Now!"

It's run by Jim Hayward and the intro says, "I am sick and tired of the "Rich and Powerful" running everything and taking everthing at the expense of the taxpayers. These "Rich and Powerful" feel entitled and are because the local politicians give them what is the local equivalent of corporate welfare. I am here to spill the beans on anything and everything that I see or know"

Yesterdays post of 'Your property tax relief went to purchase broken surveillance cameras!' is an excellent piece of information, lots of information that isn't readily available. Read it, you won't be disappointed.

Dan Emplit WBFD

Chuck Norris has a column about border violence

Exaggerating US Border Violence? by Chuck Norris 03/22/2011

'After a decade of playing one on television, I, along with my brother Aaron, was blessed a few months ago to become a real Texas Ranger in the presence of Gov. Rick Perry, fellow Texas Rangers and many others.

Perry mentioned at that induction: "As the drug cartels have turned up the heat on the other side of that border over the past few years, we have invested significant state resources to secure our border, looking to local police departments, county sheriffs, game wardens and even Texas Military Forces. However, when it was time to take the fight to the bad guys, there was only one choice to lead our efforts, so we formed our Ranger recon teams. It is reassuring to know that our Rangers are on the job, especially in light of ongoing reports of deteriorating conditions, with kidnappings, assassinations and terroristic acts just miles from Texas communities."

Only weeks later, on Jan. 31, Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano asked public officials to stop exaggerating claims of violence on the U.S. side of the border and "be honest with the people we serve." She added: "Let's stick with the facts. We need to be upfront and clear about what's really happening along our borders."

The latest statistics show that 34,000 people have been killed in Mexico because of organized crime and drug trafficking during the past five years alone, and officials expect that number to rise. Yet we don't expect that escalating violence to increasingly spill over into the U.S.?

Consider just a few recent tragedies in my own state of Texas:
--In April 2010, on a street in Fort Hancock, Texas, four Hudspeth County employees were working on a remote unpaved road, when an unknown gunman fired from across the Rio Grande. (In a January 2011 letter to the U.S. House of Representatives' Judiciary and Homeland Security committees, Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott described the shooting as "yet another incident involving cartel-related gunfire.")
--In June 2010, El Paso's City Hall was struck by at least seven shots fired from across the border in Ciudad Juarez, the epicenter of Mexico's ongoing drug war.
--In August 2010, at least one stray bullet from Mexico hit a building at the University of Texas at El Paso.
--In October 2010, U.S. tourist David Hartley reportedly was shot by a Mexican gunman.
--In November, the University of Texas at Brownsville temporarily canceled classes because of ongoing gunfire across the border in Matamoros, Mexico.

And what about violence in other border states? Exaggerating border violence?

I agree with Rep. Ben Quayle, R-Ariz., who said that for cattle ranchers, the daily reality of drug and human smugglers traversing their property is "far more impacting" than Napolitano conveys. Quayle went on to say, "Statistics and averages might mean something to government bureaucrats and analysts in Washington, but try telling the people who deal with these realities every day that the violence along the border has subsided."

Because of the feds' ineptness and passivity, it's no wonder that half the states in our union are taking matters into their own hands regarding border enforcement and immigration. Arizona-style laws have been proposed in approximately 24 other states. A total of 346 laws and resolutions related to immigration were approved by state lawmakers in 2010, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. More than 100 immigration-related bills are pending in Texas.

Texas Department of Agriculture Commissioner Todd Staples just launched ProtectYourTexasBorder.com, where users can upload pictures and videos about their experiences with suspected drug traffickers at the Mexican border. The goal of the website is to warn the public about not only the dangers to farmers and ranchers but also the potential impacts on the nation's food supply.

According to the Texas Department of Agriculture, at the Texan border alone there are:
--Close to 8,200 farms and ranches, covering more than 15 million acres.
--Producers of beef, fruits and vegetables that are essential to the nation's food supply.
--Counties that account for about half the state's fruit and vegetable production and about 4 percent of the state's total agricultural income.
--Farms and ranches that make more than $700 million in agricultural sales every year.
Exaggerating border violence?

The only ones exaggerating are the feds -- under-exaggerating the threat and severity of border violence and over-exaggerating their success of securing the United States' southwestern border.

In fact, this past Thursday, Napolitano continued her same Obama-victorious-song-and-dance act at the U.S.-Mexico Congressional Border Issues Conference, boasting of (as summarized by her office) the Obama administration's "unprecedented efforts to strengthen security along the Southwest border, which include increasing the number of Border Patrol agents from approximately 10,000 in 2004 to more than 20,700 today."

But while the Obama administration continues to embellish its record, PolitiFact pointed out that it's actually stealing its predecessor's glory: "President George W. Bush was responsible for adding many of the agents on the ground now."

Paul Babeu, sheriff of Pinal County, Ariz., put it well when he said that Napolitano's talking points about security on the border have "more to do with political pivoting for the 2012 elections than (they do) with what is happening on the border."

Ms. Napolitano, the truth is it's you who is misleading the public. Playing down border violence and trumping up Washington's successes may be effective for campaign rhetoric, but it's killing our citizens -- literally. At least I can agree 100 percent with you on this point: As you said back on Jan. 31, let's "be honest with the people we serve. ... Let's stick with the facts. We need to be upfront and clear about what's really happening along our borders'

In my opinion, we are now fighting FOUR wars. This one NEEDS to take top priority.
Step one; MINE the border.
Step two; a REAL wall. John F. Kennedy said, "A wall is a hell of a lot better than a war."
Step tree; put troops (REAL troops) on the border. Tell them there is no bag limit.



As I see it we are supporting several countries. This needs to stop to save our country.


Also in the comments section was a referance to this:
'Tina Griego, journalist for the Denver Rocky Mountain News wrote a column titled, "Mexican Visitor's Lament"- 10/25/07.

I interviewed Mexican journalist Evangelina Hernandez while visiting Denver last week. Hernandez said, "illegal aliens pay rent, buy groceries, buy clothes. What Happens to your country's economy if 20 million people go away?" Hummm, I thought, what would happen, so I did my due diligence, buried my nose as a reporter into the FACTS I found below.

It's a good question it deserves an honest answer. Over 80% of Americans demand secured borders and illegal migration stopped. But what would happen if all 20 million or more vacated America? The answers I found may surprise you!

In California, if 3.5 million illegal aliens moved back to Mexico, it would leave an extra $10.2 billion to spend on overloaded school systems, bankrupt hospitals and overrun prisons. It would leave highways cleaner, safer and less congested. Everyone could understand one another as English became the dominant language again.

In Colorado, 500,000 illegal migrants, plus their 300,000 kids and grandchilds would move back 'home', mostly to Mexico. That would save Colorado an estimated $2 billion (other experts say $7 billion) annually in taxes that pay for schooling, medical, social-services and incarceration costs. It means 12,000 gang members would vanish out of Denver alone.

Colorado would save more than $20 million in prison costs, and the terror that those 7,300 alien criminals set upon local citizens. Denver Officer Don Young and hundreds of Colorado victims would not have suffered death, accidents, rapes and other crimes by illegals.

Denver Public Schools would not suffer a 67% dropout/flunk rate because of thousands of illegal alien students speaking 41 different languages. At least 200,000 vehicles would vanish from our grid locked cities in Colorado. Denver's 4% unemployment rate would vanish as our working poor would gain jobs at a living wage.

In Florida, 1.5 million illegals would return the Sunshine State back to America, the rule of law, and English.

In Chicago, Illinois, 2.1 million illegals would free up hospitals, schools, prisons and highways for a safer, cleaner and more crime-free experience.

If 20 million illegal aliens returned 'home', the U.S. Economy would return to the rule of law. Employers would hire legal American citizens at a living wage. Everyone would pay their fair share of taxes because they wouldn't be working off the books. That would result in an additional $401 Billion in IRS income taxes collected annually, and an equal amount for local, state and city coffers.

No more push '1' for Spanish or '2' for English. No more confusion in American schools that now must contend with over 100 languages that degrade the educational system for American kids. Our overcrowded schools would lose more than two million illegal alien kids at a cost of billions in ESL and free breakfasts and lunches.

We would lose 500,000 illegal criminal alien inmates at a cost of more than $1.6 billion annually. That includes 15,000 MS-13 gang members who distribute $130 billion in drugs annually would vacate our country.

In cities like L.A., 20,000 members of the '18th Street Gang' would vanish from our nation. No more Mexican forgery gangs for ID theft from Americans! No more foreign rapists and child molesters!

Losing more than 20 million people would clear up our crowded highways and gridlock. Cleaner air and less drinking and driving American deaths by illegal aliens!

America's economy is drained. Taxpayers are harmed. Employers get rich. Over $80 billion annually wouldn't return to the aliens' home countries by cash transfers. Illegal migrants earned half that money untaxed, which further drains America 's economy which currently suffers an $8.7 trillion debt.
$8.7 trillion debt.

At least 400,000 anchor babies would not be born in our country, costing us $109 billion per year per cycle. At least 86 hospitals in California, Georgia and Florida would still be operating instead of being bankrupt out of existence because illegals pay nothing via the EMTALA Act.

Americans wouldn't suffer thousands of TB and hepatitis cases rampant in our country-brought in by illegals unscreened at our borders.

Our cities would see 20 million less people driving, polluting and grid locking our cities. It would also put the 'progressives' on the horns of a dilemma; illegal aliens and their families cause 11% of our greenhouse gases.

Over one million of Mexico's poorest citizens now live inside and along our border from Brownsville, Texas to San Diego, California in what the New York Times called, 'colonias' or new neighborhoods. Trouble is, those living areas resemble Bombay and Calcutta where grinding poverty, filth, diseases, drugs, crimes, no sanitation and worse. They live without sewage, clean water, streets, roads, electricity, or any kind of sanitation.

The New York Times reported them to be America's new 'Third World' inside our own country. Within 20 years, at their current growth rate, they expect 20 million residents of those colonias. (I've seen them personally in Texas and Arizona; it's sickening beyond anything you can imagine.)

By enforcing our laws, we could repatriate them back to Mexico. We should invite 20 million aliens to go home, fix their own countries and/or make a better life in Mexico. We already invite a million people into our country legally more than all other countries combined annually. We cannot and must not allow anarchy at our borders, more anarchy within our borders and growing lawlessness at every level in our nation. It's time to stand up for our country, our culture, our civilization and our way of life.

Interesting Statistics!

Here are 14 reasons illegal aliens should vacate America, and I hope they are forwarded over and over again until they are read so many times that the reader gets sick of reading them:
1. $14 billion to $22 billion dollars are spent each year on welfare to illegal aliens

2. $2.2 billion dollars are spent each year on food assistance programs such as food stamps, WIC, and free school lunches for illegal aliens.

3. $7.5 billion dollars are spent each year on Medicaid for illegal aliens.

4. $12 billion dollars are spent each year on primary and secondary school education for children here illegally and they still cannot speak a word of English

5. $27 billion dollars are spent each year for education for the American-born children of illegal aliens, known as anchor babies.

6. $3 Million Dollars 'PER DAY' is spent to incarcerate illegal aliens. That's $1.2 Billion a year

7. 28% percent of all federal prison inmates are illegal aliens.

8. $190 billion dollars are spent each year on illegal aliens for welfare & social services by the American taxpayers. -

9. $200 billion dollars per year in suppressed American wages are caused by the illegal aliens

10. The illegal aliens in the United States have a crime rate that's two and a half times that of white non-illegal aliens. In particular, their children, are going to make a huge additional crime problem in the US.


11. During the year 2005, there were 8 to 10 MILLION illegal aliens that crossed our southern border with as many as 19,500 illegal aliens from other terrorist countries. Over 10,000 of those were middle-eastern terrorists. Millions of pounds of drugs, cocaine, meth, heroine, crack, Guns, and marijuana crossed into the U.S.from the southern border.


12. The National Policy Institute, estimates that the total cost of mass deportation would be between $206 and $230 billion, or an average cost of between $41 and $46 billion annually over a five year period

13. In 2006, illegal aliens sent home $65 BILLION in remittances back to their countries of origin, to their families and friends.

14. The dark side of illegal immigration: Nearly one million sex crimes are committed by illegal immigrants in the United States!

Total cost a whopping $538 . 3 BILLION DOLLARS A YEAR!'

If these numbers are accurate and true...... Maybe we are seeing the end of our great country. I don't see how we can continue on this course.

"I predict future happiness for Americans, if they can prevent the government from wasting the labors of the people under the pretense of 'taking care' of them." ~ Thomas Jefferson

Dan Emplit WBFD

Purebunkin and 'The Donald'

Who Needs The Plumber When I Have The Donald? Has an artcle about 'The Donald' and a few things he said on ABC’s “Good Morning America” last week. I have to admit, I didn't watch it, but some of what he said seems VERY TRUE.

Armed Beauty Queen Fatally Shoots Intruder in Florida Home Invasion

'Armed Beauty Queen Fatally Shoots Intruder in Florida Home Invasion
By Cristina Corbin

Published March 22, 2011 FoxNews.com

When a burly ex-convict forced his way into a posh Florida home last week, he had no idea what awaited him -- a 25-year-old beauty queen with a pink .38-caliber handgun.

Meghan Brown, a former Florida pageant queen, shot and killed 42-year-old Albert Franklin Hill during a home invasion March 12 at the 2,732-square-foot house she shares with her fiance in Tierra Verde, Fla.



Hill barged into the home at around 3 a.m. after Brown responded to a knock at the front door, according to a police report. He allegedly grabbed the 110-pound Brown around her nose and mouth and dragged her to an upstairs bedroom.

The woman’s fiance, Robert Planthaber, said in an interview that he was quickly awakened by the altercation and ran to Brown’s side.

"I attacked him and took a severe beating to the head," Planthaber told FoxNews.com. "But I got him off of her long enough for her to scramble to the room where she keeps her pink .38 special.”

Brown, who reigned as the 2009 Miss Tierra Verde, snatched her gun from a nearby bedroom and shot the suspect several times – hitting him in the chest, groin, thigh and back, her fiance said. Hill was pronounced dead at the scene.

Panthaber, a 42-year-old arborist, said he believes he and his fiancee were targeted because of their wealth. He claimed a pizza delivery man and possible accomplice staked out the home for three months before Hill attempted to burglarize it.

“We live in a very prominent area and my fiancee wears a $60,000 engagement ring,” he said. “The pizza man knew we had money because sometimes we needed change for a $100 bill when he came to deliver pizza.”

Hill had a criminal record stretching back nearly three decades -- including arrests for burglary, battery, drug possession and grand theft. He reportedly served a 13-year prison term in 1987 and was released in September after serving a fourth term behind bars.

Detectives with the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Robbery/Homicide Unit are still investigating the crime but believe the motive was robbery, according to local press reports. They say they haven’t yet determined the relationship, if any, Hill had with the couple. A police report said the ex-convict demanded money before the altercation between Hill and Panthaber ensued.

Panthaber, meanwhile, said he and his fiancee are lucky to be alive. He said he purchased the pink handgun for Brown last Christmas and that the two had gone to target practice together.

“She was not a good shot at the range,” he quipped.'

Two quotes just jump out at you in this article. "Hill had a criminal record stretching back nearly three decades" & "after serving a fourth term behind bars."
What the HELL was this loser doing free?

Thank God the fiance was home and able to distract this creep, and thank the Second Amendment that we have something more potent than 'harsh language' to defend ourselves.


ADD ON EDIT: Couple recount fatal fray at their Tierra Verde home also tells the story

Also #8 came to mind as I read this story

Dan Emplit WBFD

Charlotte Raup's Website

Charlotte Raup's Mayoral website is up! Check it out.

This is an Incredible story!

In 1986, Peter Davies was on holiday in Kenya after graduating from Northwestern University .

On a hike through the bush, he came across a young bull elephant standing with one leg raised in the air.

The elephant seemed distressed, so Peter approached it very carefully.

He got down on one knee, inspected the elephants foot, and found a large piece of wood deeply embedded in it.

As carefully and as gently as he could, Peter worked the wood out with his knife, after which the elephant gingerly put down its foot.


The elephant turned to face the man, and with a rather curious look on its face, stared at him for several tense moments...

Peter stood frozen, thinking of nothing else but being trampled.

Eventually the elephant trumpeted loudly, turned, and walked away.

Peter never forgot that elephant or the events of that day.

Twenty years later, Peter was walking through the Chicago Zoo with his teenaged son.

As they approached the elephant enclosure, one of the creatures turned and walked over to near where Peter and his son Cameron were standing.

The large bull elephant stared at Peter, lifted its front foot off the ground, then put it down.

The elephant did that several times then trumpeted loudly, all the while staring at the man.

Remembering the encounter in 1986, Peter could not help wondering if this was the same elephant.

Peter summoned up his courage, climbed over the railing, and made his way into the enclosure.

He walked right up to the elephant and stared back in wonder.

The elephant trumpeted again, wrapped its trunk around one of Peter legs





and slammed him against the railing, killing him instantly.

Probably wasn't the same elephant..




This is for everyone who sends me those heart-warming bullsh!t stories!

Dan Emplit

Our Government wouldn't ruin someones life without proof, Right?

'National Guardsman's career destroyed by ATF

In recent weeks I have focused on a variety of stupid gun laws. This week I want to look at an example of how application of these stupid laws has seriously harmed one individual.

Albert Kwan lost his small firearms business and his commercial real estate business along with his 25-year career in the National Guard, much of his extensive and extremely valuable firearms collection and all of his life savings. He currently works for a Christian mission program in China and owes his attorney something in excess of $400,000 – all in the name of stupid gun laws and over-zealous enforcement.

Kwan came to the attention of the FBI as they were investigating the 2001 murder of Assistant U.S. Attorney Tom Wales. Kwan's name showed up on a shipping manifest for a company that sold a particular style of replacement barrel for Makarov pistols – an inexpensive Eastern Block pistol. The company's sales records were sketchy, but the FBI had managed to track down about 1,700 of the over 3,600 barrels the company had sold over the previous decade.

Kwan was simply one of those customers, and like many of the others, Kwan was not interested in allowing the FBI to freely dig through his gun collection looking for a needle in a haystack without a warrant. The FBI came back to Kwan's with a warrant and looked through his guns. They took one of his Makarovs for testing, but they also contacted the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, or ATF, to tell them about some of the other guns they had seen at Kwan's.

The FBI was sure that Kwan had purchased two of the Makarov barrels, but Kwan insisted that he only remembered purchasing one – nearly 10 years prior. Convinced that Kwan was holding something back and might be able to lead them to a suspect, the FBI helped ATF swear out a search warrant to search Kwan's collection for illegal firearms.

What they focused on was one M14 semi-auto rifle, a legally owned full-auto H&K machine-pistol with detachable shoulder stock, and a similar, legally owned H&K semi-auto pistol. They also confiscated a second shoulder stock for the machine-pistol.

Meanwhile the FBI arrested Kwan as a material witness and held him for 3 weeks. They announced the arrest to the media, which published information about Kwan and his "arsenal" of firearms. Kwan agreed to take a polygraph test, but the FBI said he failed the test – and released that information to the media too.

After he was finally released on the material witness charge, Kwan, who was a licensed dealer and collector of machineguns, was arrested on the grounds that the M14 the ATF had confiscated was an unregistered machinegun. They later added a charge of possession of an unregistered short-barreled rifle, or SBR.

At the trial, ATF testified that they had ground away welds and replaced most of the gun's internal mechanism to finally get the gun to fire three rounds with a single pull of the trigger.

The jury didn't buy the unregistered machinegun charge in light of the lengths ATF had to go to in order to get the gun to fire full-auto, and the charge was returned "not guilty." On the question of the SBR, ATF insisted that having two shoulder stocks and two H&K pistols to which the shoulder stocks could be attached constituted possession of two SBRs. The judge blocked introduction of evidence to the contrary, and the jury returned a guilty verdict on the SBR charge.

Upon appeal the judge acknowledged that he had erred in disallowing the defense arguments about the SBR and that ATF and prosecutors had misled the court regarding standards for such a charge. The Supreme Court had previously ruled in U.S. v. Thompson Center Arms that just having parts that could be configured into a SBR did not constitute actually possessing a SBR as long as the parts were not actually put together in that configuration – especially when the parts could be otherwise assembled in a way that did not create a violation. The Court also ruled that in such ambiguous cases courts should always lean in favor of the accused, not the government.

With that acknowledgement a judge reversed Kwan's conviction and ordered a new trial. Admitting that they could not win the case with the Thompson Center case being applied, prosecutors dropped the charges against Kwan.

Even though the charges were dropped, Kwan was never publicly exonerated, and the damage to his reputation and his businesses can not be undone. His neighbors have actively petitioned to keep him from reopening his home-based firearms business, his real estate business is gone, the National Guard is resisting his resumption of service and many of his guns have simply disappeared. And with all of that, the lawyers say that even if he had the money to pursue reparations for the devastation government agents have wreaked on his life, they do not believe he could win.

In all of this, not one gun-rights organization, legal defense fund or civil rights group has provided any substantive assistance at all. The Firearms Coalition has done what we can to provide moral support and raise awareness of Kwan's plight, but we do not have the resources to do more than sound the alarm. The only bright spot in Albert Kwan's case is that at least he is alive to try to put his life back together.

Other targets of ATF's enforcement of federal gun laws have not been so lucky.

Remember that Ruby Ridge was triggered by an accusation of a shotgun barrel that was a quarter-inch too short and the Waco tragedy was triggered by an accusation of a semi-auto rifle being converted to fire automatically.

While ATF abuses have become legendary, it is to be expected that any federal agency tasked with enforcement of the current misguided and convoluted gun laws would undoubtedly follow a similar path of abuse. Bad laws make for bad enforcement, and bad enforcement destroys innocent people's lives. Written by Jeff Knox'

Not only did the FBI and ATF ruin this veterans life, The ATF admitted 'framing' him. At least that is what I would call, "At the trial, ATF testified that they had ground away welds and replaced most of the gun's internal mechanism to finally get the gun to fire three rounds with a single pull of the trigger." When a GOVERNMENT agency has to do MAJOR modifications to a weapon to make it illegal and then tries to prosecute you BECAUSE OF THEIR MODIFICATIONS, then something is very wrong.

And if the government takes your property and then 'loses' them, "and many of his guns have simply disappeared" (wanna bet they are in some ATF agents collection?), shouldn't they have to pay you for the cost of replacing them? Hell, find the last person who had access to the weapons and investigate/arrest them.

And finally, "Admitting that they could not win the case ... prosecutors dropped the charges against Kwan.", If they pressed to prosecute a case then they should be held responsible for the aftermath of doing the wrong thing.

Where is the oversight on these agencies? I mean, Any person touching an others private areas without permission is guilty of a sex crime...... Unless you work for the TSA.

"Government big enough to supply everything you need is big enough to take everything you have ... The course of history shows that as a government grows, liberty decreases." ~ Thomas Jefferson

Dan Emplit WBFD

Range time

Took the new rifle out today, and it was an almost perfect day for shootin'.

From a Benchrest


From the Bipod


From a Benchrest


From the Bipod


All shots were at 100 yards, with Ok german surplus ammo. Love the rifle, HATE the scope. Gonna need a new one.

Dan Emplit WBFD

An answer to anti gun rhetoric

The other day a friends girlfriend was going on about how we need better gun control. Somehow I was able to keep my mouth shut. Till now. As you can see my sarcasm meter is pegged by some of the answers. (I was sent this a few years ago).



1. Banning guns works, which is why New York, DC, & Chicago cops need guns.

2. Washington DC’s low murder rate of 69 per 100,000 is due to strict gun control, and Indianapolis’ high murder rate of 9 per 100,000 is due to the lack of gun control.

3. Statistics showing high murder rates justify gun control but statistics showing increasing murder rates after gun control are “just statistics.”

4. The Brady Bill and the Assault Weapons Ban, both of which went into effect in 1994 are responsible for the decrease in violent crime rates, which had been declining since 1991.

5. We must get rid of guns because a deranged lunatic may go on a shooting spree at any time and anyone who would own a gun out of fear of such a lunatic is paranoid.

6. The more helpless you are, the safer you are from criminals.

7. An intruder will be incapacitated by tear gas or oven spray, but if shot with a .357 Magnum will get angry and kill you.

8. A woman raped and strangled is morally superior to a woman with a smoking gun and a dead rapist at her feet.

9. When confronted by violent criminals, you should “put up no defense – give them what they want, or run” (Handgun Control Inc. Chairman Pete Shields, Guns Don’t Die – People Do, 1981, p. 125).

10. The New England Journal of Medicine is filled with expert advice about guns; just like Guns & Ammo has some excellent treatises on heart surgery.

11. One should consult an automotive engineer for safer seat belts, a civil engineer for a better bridge, a surgeon for internal medicine, a computer programmer for hard drive problems, and Sarah Brady for firearms expertise.

12. The 2nd Amendment, ratified in 1787, refers to the National Guard, which was created 130 years later, in 1917.

13. The National Guard, federally funded, with bases on federal land, using federally-owned weapons, vehicles, buildings and uniforms, punishing trespassers under federal law, is a “state” militia.

14. These phrases: “right of the people peaceably to assemble,” “right of the people to be secure in their homes,” “enumerations herein of certain rights shall not be construed to disparage others retained by the people,” and “The powers not delegated herein are reserved to the states respectively, and to the people” all refer to individuals, but “the right of the people to keep and bear arms” refers to the state.

15. “The Constitution is strong and will never change.” But we should ban and seize all guns thereby violating the 2nd, 4th, and 5th Amendments to that Constitution.

16. Rifles and handguns aren’t necessary to national defense! Of course, the army has hundreds of thousands of them.

17. Private citizens shouldn’t have handguns, because they aren’t “military weapons”, but private citizens shouldn’t have “assault rifles”, because they are military weapons.

18. In spite of waiting periods, background checks, fingerprinting, government forms, etc., guns today are too readily available, which is responsible for recent school shootings. In the 1940's, 1950's and 1960's, anyone could buy guns at hardware stores, army surplus stores, gas stations, variety stores, Sears mail order, no waiting, no background check, no fingerprints, no government forms and there were no school shootings.

19. The NRA’s attempt to run a “don’t touch” campaign about kids handling guns is propaganda, but the anti-gun lobby’s attempt to run a “don’t touch” campaign is responsible social activity.

20. Guns are so complex that special training is necessary to use them properly, and so simple to use that they make murder easy.

21. A handgun, with up to 4 controls, is far too complex for the typical adult to learn to use, as opposed to an automobile that only has 20.

22. Women are just as intelligent and capable as men but a woman with a gun is “an accident waiting to happen” and gun makers’ advertisements aimed at women are “preying on their fears.”

23. Ordinary people in the presence of guns turn into slaughtering butchers but revert to normal when the weapon is removed.

24. Guns cause violence, which is why there are so many mass killings at gun shows.

25. A majority of the population supports gun control, just like a majority of the population supported owning slaves.

26. Any self-loading small arm can legitimately be considered to be a “weapon of mass destruction” or an “assault weapon.”

27. Most people can’t be trusted, so we should have laws against guns, which most criminals will abide by because they can be trusted.

28. The right of Internet pornographers to exist cannot be questioned because it is constitutionally protected by the Bill of Rights, but the use of handguns for self defense is not really protected by the Bill of Rights.

29. Free speech entitles one to own newspapers, transmitters, computers, and typewriters, but self- defense only justifies bare hands.

30. The ACLU is good because it uncompromisingly defends certain parts of the Constitution, and the NRA is bad, because it defends other parts of the Constitution.

31. Charlton Heston, a movie actor as president of the NRA is a cheap lunatic who should be ignored, but Michael Douglas, a movie actor as a representative of Handgun Control, Inc. is an ambassador for peace who is entitled to an audience at the UN arms control summit.

32. Police operate with backup within groups, which is why they need larger capacity pistol magazines than do “civilians” who must face criminals alone and therefore need less ammunition.

33. We should ban “Saturday Night Specials” and other inexpensive guns because it’s not fair that poor people have access to guns too.

34. Police officers have some special Jedi-like mastery over handguns that private citizens can never hope to obtain.

35. Private citizens don’t need a gun for self- protection because the police are there to protect them even though the Supreme Court says the police are not responsible for their protection.

36. Citizens don’t need to carry a gun for personal protection but police chiefs, who are desk-bound administrators who work in a building filled with cops, need a gun.

37. “Assault weapons” have no purpose other than to kill large numbers of people. The police need assault weapons. You do not.

38. When Microsoft pressures its distributors to give Microsoft preferential promotion, that’s bad; but when the Federal government pressures cities to buy guns only from Smith & Wesson, that’s good.

39. Trigger locks do not interfere with the ability to use a gun for defensive purposes, which is why you see police officers with one on their duty weapon.

40. Handgun Control, Inc., says they want to “keep guns out of the wrong hands.” Guess what? You have the wrong hands.


Dan Emplit WBFD

Lies and personal attacks

I always knew I would come under some kind of personal attack. This one was in the Times Leader.

'TeaPartyDem

Jolly Roger, like you, I am not an employee either, but find some of these comments interesting. Some people will never give credit to positive news. Dan one of the many commenters here who are WB firefighters, at least identifies himself, sounds like a real team player. The fire and DPW personnel both respond to help the residents, Leighton thanks everyone, including the police, but poor Dan wants the fire department to take all of the credit. Should the residents pay you extra Dan because you did some manual labor? You need to realize that it is people like you who are turning the public against public unions. You try to scare people by saying the city was left unprotected. Yes, if the one working fire the you respond to a week happened, there may have been a delay. What is the alternative, not have on-duty staff contribute? Get real! Look at WI and other movements across the country. People are tired of paying your benefits and salary only to hear you complain about doing work. There are many people who are out of work and can no longer afford paying their taxes. Be thankful you have a job. '

Time to look at what he claims;
"poor Dan wants the fire department to take all of the credit", Nope, nowhere do I even claim this. I know very little about police procedures, operations, or politics. So I don't talk about them.

"Should the residents pay you extra Dan because you did some manual labor?", Once again a political statement, nowhere did I say this, but he wants people to think this is my claim.

"You try to scare people by saying the city was left unprotected", It was left unprotected.

"Yes, if the one working fire the you respond to a week happened, there may have been a delay.", Not 'may', would have. Also, I have challenged him on his moronic 'one working fire a week' crap. So far, no response.

"People are tired of paying your benefits and salary only to hear you complain about doing work." I never complain about my job, just the needless risks that politicians make us go through so they can fund their personal 'pet projects'

Also in the article was ;
'Marie,
Chances are you will not see me at any local bar. I am one of the few people here not making personal attacks on individuals. Sorry the facts are getting in the way of other's mudslinging.'
Wait a second, did he forget the personal attack on me?!!! More lies.

And;
'Marie,
Your grandma might be a little disappointed, you sound like you are drinking the WBFD cool-aid. (A follower it seems) There are not many leaders down at the FD. Otherwise they would have stepped up and disclosed their knowledge of the fraudlent $1 million award.'
Remember OTHERS are mudslinging.
How would this clown know anything about leadership?
And 4 federal judges found Leighton fraudulent for hiding money that was contractually owed (a contract that HE signed). McGroarty started it but Leightons assistant admitted IN COURT that Leighton continued to, KNOWINGLY, hide it.

From all this, I've figured a few things out. TeaPartyDem is one of the 'Anonymous' a$$hats that I have banned.
He is related to a council person.
He has a political agenda
He can give a politician lessons on how to lie (a little truth and then add huge lies)
He is a coward that WILL not back up what he says and is afraid to use his REAL NAME.





Dan Emplit WBFD

New Scam

Charlotte Raub of 'Crime Free Wilkes-Barre' is warning people of a new scam. It doesn't stop.

A European's Warning to America

'The perils of following us toward greater regulation, higher taxes and centralized power.

By DANIEL HANNAN
On a U.S. talk-radio show recently, I was asked what I thought about the notion that Barack Obama had been born in Kenya. "Pah!" I replied. "Your president was plainly born in Brussels."

American conservatives have struggled to press the president's policies into a meaningful narrative. Is he a socialist? No, at least not in the sense of wanting the state to own key industries. Is he a straightforward New Deal big spender, in the model of FDR and LBJ? Not exactly.

My guess is that, if anything, Obama would verbalize his ideology using the same vocabulary that Eurocrats do. He would say he wants a fairer America, a more tolerant America, a less arrogant America, a more engaged America. When you prize away the cliché, what these phrases amount to are higher taxes, less patriotism, a bigger role for state bureaucracies, and a transfer of sovereignty to global institutions.

He is not pursuing a set of random initiatives but a program of comprehensive Europeanization: European health care, European welfare, European carbon taxes, European day care, European college education, even a European foreign policy, based on engagement with supranational technocracies, nuclear disarmament and a reluctance to deploy forces overseas.

No previous president has offered such uncritical support for European integration. On his very first trip to Europe as president, Mr. Obama declared, "In my view, there is no Old Europe or New Europe. There is a united Europe."

I don't doubt the sincerity of those Americans who want to copy the European model. A few may be snobs who wear their euro-enthusiasm as a badge of sophistication. But most genuinely believe that making their country less American and more like the rest of the world would make it more comfortable and peaceable.

All right, growth would be slower, but the quality of life might improve. All right, taxes would be higher, but workers need no longer fear sickness or unemployment. All right, the U.S. would no longer be the world's superpower, but perhaps that would make it more popular. Is a European future truly so terrible?

Yes. I have been an elected member of the European Parliament for 11 years. I have seen firsthand what the European political model means.

The critical difference between the American and European unions has to do with the location of power. The U.S. was founded on what we might loosely call the Jeffersonian ideal: the notion that decisions should be taken as closely as possible to the people they affect. The European Union was based on precisely the opposite ideal. Article One of its foundational treaty commits its nations to establish "an ever-closer union."

From that distinction, much follows. The U.S. has evolved a series of unique institutions designed to limit the power of the state: recall mechanisms, ballot initiatives, balanced budget rules, open primaries, localism, states' rights, term limits, the direct election of public officials from the sheriff to the school board. The EU places supreme power in the hands of 27 unelected Commissioners invulnerable to public opinion.

The will of the people is generally seen by Eurocrats as an obstacle to overcome, not a reason to change direction. When France, the Netherlands and Ireland voted against the European Constitution, the referendum results were swatted aside and the document adopted regardless. For, in Brussels, the ruling doctrine—that the nation-state must be transcended—is seen as more important than freedom, democracy or the rule of law.

This doctrine has had several malign consequences. For example, it has made the assimilation of immigrants far more difficult. Whereas the U.S. is based around the idea that anyone who buys into American values can become American, the EU clings to the notion that national identities are anachronistic and dangerous. Unsurprisingly, some newcomers, finding their adopted countries scorned, have turned to other, less apologetic identities.

The single worst aspect of Europeanization is its impact on the economy. Many Americans, and many Europeans, have a collective memory of how Europe managed to combine economic growth with social justice. Like most folk memories, the idea of a European economic miracle has some basis in fact. Between 1945 and 1974, Western Europe did outperform the U.S. Europe happened to enjoy perfect conditions for rapid growth. Infrastructure had been destroyed during the war, but an educated, industrious and disciplined work force remained.

Human nature being what it is, few European leaders attributed their success to the fact that they were recovering from an artificial low. They convinced themselves, rather, that they were responsible for their countries' growth rates. Their genius, they thought, lay in having hit upon a European "third way" between the excesses of American capitalism and the totalitarianism of Soviet communism.

We can now see where that road leads: to burgeoning bureaucracy, more spending, higher taxes, slower growth and rising unemployment. But an entire political class has grown up believing not just in the economic superiority of euro-corporatism but in its moral superiority. After all, if the American system were better—if people could thrive without government supervision—there would be less need for politicians. As Upton Sinclair once observed, "It is difficult to get a man to understand something when his job depends on not understanding it."

Nonetheless, the economic data are pitilessly clear. For the past 40 years, Europeans have fallen further and further behind Americans in their standard of living. Europe also has become accustomed to a high level of structural unemployment. Only now, as the U.S. applies a European-style economic strategy based on fiscal stimulus, nationalization, bailouts, quantitative easing and the regulation of private-sector remuneration, has the rate of unemployment in the U.S. leaped to European levels.

Why is a European politician urging America to avoid Europeanization? As a Briton, I see the American republic as a repository of our traditional freedoms. The doctrines rooted in the common law, in the Magna Carta, and in the Bill of Rights found their fullest and most sublime expression in the old courthouse of Philadelphia. Britain, as a result of its unhappy membership in the European Union, has now surrendered a large part of its birthright. But our freedoms live on in America.

Which brings me to my country's present tragedy. The fears that the American patriot leaders had about a Hanoverian tyranny were exaggerated. The United Kingdom did not develop into an absolutist state. Power continued to pass from the Crown to the House of Commons.

Until now. Nearly two and a half centuries after the Declaration of Independence, the grievances it adumbrated are belatedly coming true. Colossal sums are being commandeered by the government in order to fund bailouts and nationalizations without any proper parliamentary authorization. Legislation happens increasingly through what are called standing orders, a device that allows ministers to make laws without parliamentary consent—often for the purpose of implementing EU standards.

How aptly the British people might today apply the ringing phrases of the Declaration of Independence against their own rulers, who have "combined with others to subject us to a jurisdiction foreign to our constitution, and unacknowledged by our laws."

So you can imagine how I feel when I see the U.S. making the same mistakes that Britain has made: expanding its government, regulating private commerce, centralizing its jurisdiction, breaking the link between taxation and representation, abandoning its sovereignty.

You deserve better, cousins. And we expect better.

Mr. Hannan is a member of the European Parliament. This essay is adapted from the Encounter Books Broadside, "Why America Must Not Follow Europe."

DANIEL HANNAN'


One of the traditional methods of imposing statism or socialism on a people has been by way of medicine. It's very easy to disguise a medical program as a humanitarian project ~ Ronald Reagan

Government big enough to supply everything you need is big enough to take everything you have ... The course of history shows that as a government grows, liberty decreases. ~ Thomas Jefferson

"They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety" ~ Benjamin Franklin

"The inherent vice of capitalism is the unequal sharing of the blessings. The inherent blessing of socialism is the equal sharing of misery" ~ Winston Churchill

"None are more hopelessly enslaved than those who falsely believe that they are free." ~ Goethe

"We should all rise up, and we should stop this administration from what they're doing because they're destroying this country. They’re driving us into bankruptcy so that they can impose socialism on us, and that’s exactly what they’re doing, and I’m sick and damn tired of it and I know you are too." ~ R. Lee Ermey

"When too much power is concentrated in one person, the government loses touch with the citizens they are there to serve." ~ Me

Dan Emplit WBFD

We dodged another one.

Thank God, We didn't get the rainfall that was forecast. The walls of Solomons creek would NEVER have taken it.
Last Sept. I posted about this Not once but twice.
The facts are simple. $50 million (That's right 50,000,000 dollars) was to be used to fix 4 bridges, that cost about $11.2 million, and the rest, $38.8 million, was to be used for 'rebuilding walls and the natural bed channel along the entire length of the creek -- a span of about 5 miles.' (Oct 21, 2007 The Times Leader). Nothing was done. Where is the money? Did it disappear? Did we not get it (We got some, I mean the bridges were done) and if we didn't get it, isn't it Leightons JOB to fight for it? I mean it was 'cleared'. 'The U.S. House of Representatives passed the bill by a vote of 381-40 and the Senate passed the measure 81-12.' (Oct 21, 2007 The Times Leader).
'The project consists of a detention basin upstream of South Main Street, a 48-foot-wide concrete channel from South Main Street to Division Street, and a 60-foot-wide natural bed channel from Division Street to the Solomon Creek pump station in Hanover Township.' (Oct 21, 2007 The Times Leader)
And the money was definately passed by Nov 21, 2007. "Northeastern Pennsylvania will benefit from the first override vote of President Bush's administration to the tune of $50 million in federal funding for Wilkes-Barre's Solomon Creek Flood Control Project."(Nov 21, 2007 The Times Leader).
And was confirmed on the city's website
'SOLOMON AND LAUREL RUN CREEK REPAIRS ANNOUNCED
WILKES-BARRE - On Tuesday, November 9, at 2:00 p.m., Mayor Leighton held a press conference to announce the details of the wall repairs to Solomon and Laurel Run Creeks.
Sectional repairs will be made to both Solomon and Laurel Run Creeks in order to increase creek wall stabilization and protect the area from any potential flooding. The repair work to Solomon Creek is expected to take place from November 3 - December 7, and the repair work to Laurel Run Creek is expected to take place from November 10 - December 15. The total low bid for both repair projects was $438,220, the funding of which was secured through the Pennsylvania Infrastructure Bank Loan Program.
The creek walls were heavily damaged in recent years due to flooding. Federal funding to repair Solomon Creek in its entirety, estimated at a cost of $50 million, continues to be sought.
"The repair work to both Solomon and Laurel Run Creeks help make the neighborhoods safer, and serve as protection against flooding and pedestrian accidents," said Mayor Leighton. "I thank the neighbors for their patience as my administration works to secure Federal funding in order to continue this vital stabilization project."
Repair work is being performed by Kriger Construction, Inc., and the designer for the project is Borton/Lawson Engineers. For more information, please contact the City of Wilkes-Barre's Department of Operations at 570.208.4177.'

Since NOTHING was done to the creek bed or the walls, I want to know Mr. Leighton, WHERE IS OUR MONEY?! WHERE DID THE $38.8 MILLION GO??!!

Dan Emplit WBFD
AKA Don Quixote

9 out of ten commenter's agree

About a month ago I did a post mostly about comments from the Times Leader. I thought I would do it again.

The article is "Six in running for mayor of Wilkes-Barre"


9 out of ten commenter's agree. Leighton must go.

COWBOY33

Now don't say he never did anything. He did waste over 3 million dollars on a camera system that is seldom useful so that his "pals" can make money. The cameras are poor, seldom work, seldom face the right way to catch something, and at night unless there us A LOT of light can't see anything. But at least JJ Murphy and Dale Rinker were able to start businesses based of it.
That money could have lowered taxes, fixed roads, bought equipment. Instead it paid for a trip for "consultants" to go to Vegas.


Joeythe2nd 5 hours ago

“I have a proven record of accomplishments,” he said. “I believe there are few people who would say that the city is not a better and safer place to live. We’ve maintained and improved services while holding the line on taxes during some very difficult economic times.”

Is Leighton delusional ? Has he walked the neighborhoods of Wilkes-Barre ? Has he forgotten that city property taxes were raised by 30% in 2008 ?


Guy in reply to Joeythe2nd

Don't forget he also re-raised the city wage tax back to 3% from 2.85%! Leighton has to go!


duke911

First of all the neighborhoods are not safer ....show us some statistics........second my tax's went up so i'm not sure what the hell he's talking about ...........third the streets are a mess ........no street cleaning ........recyclables all over the streets every where you look ........call the police for assistance and unless there was a shooting you will be waiting quite awhile ........and if it's deemed not an emergency they won't even show up..........so lets make a change it can't get any worse .

Guy in reply to duke911

I second that on calling the police for assistance and them never showing up because "no officer is available" or show up the next day, meanwhile, if you drive down the road, you will see a cop or two sitting in a parking lot doing nothing or two cruisers where officers are chatting with each other.


Aggie95

what has he done for the neighborhoods ......the only time I see a cop here in the Heights is when we call them or they raid one of the many dope houses.


Ralph_Edmunds

The wisdom in changing leadership every 4-8 years is simple: Corruption, insider favoritism, backroom dealing - it all grows like a vine. Sorta ok at first (big maybe) but eventually it will strangle the life out of a government and rip off the overburdened taxpayers bigtime. Thank you Mr. Leighton for most of what you've done. Now be gracious and say good-bye to this job.


TeaPartyDem

Running crime watch is not anything close to running a city with a $40m budget. And the crazy tower gets a comment in the paper why???

GoldBond in reply to TeaPartyDem

So lets keep these "expert" people in office who allowed the city to be near bankrupt (their words, not mine) for at least 10 years. Every time he speaks, he lets you know that the city is broke, but there is always enough money for legal expenses and all of his "accomplishments" - like adding bars to the downtown area while leaving neighborhoods to go to the gang members. Im not ok with this scenario either. Managing a $40 million budget doesn't make you a good leader. A good leader will put the RIGHT people in place to get the job done.



Guy

$40 million dollar budget is because salaries and debt service eat up most of the city's expense leaving very little room for anything else. Why is it the Deputy Controller of the city makes more than 2 times the Controller amount?



Three things dictator Leighton said in the article jumped out.
First
“I expected competition,” Leighton said. “After seven years as mayor, I don’t expect to have kept everyone happy, nor should I keep everyone happy.”
Most of the people he has made "happy" are political hacks and/or campaign contributors.

Second
“I have a proven record of accomplishments,” he said. “I believe there are few people who would say that the city is not a better and safer place to live. We’ve maintained and improved services while holding the line on taxes during some very difficult economic times.”
How many things are wrong with this statement?
"We’ve maintained and improved services"!!!!! What?!! He has cut the fire/EMS service by about 30% and claims to have 'maintained' services!!!!! We are paying for top notch service but are getting his 'pet projects' instead!!

Third
“We have been able to improve the downtown and we have made great improvements to the neighborhoods,” he said. “There is much more that we can do, and I plan on doing more and that’s why I am seeking re-election.”
What improvements? Yeah, “There is much more that we can do, and I plan on doing more and that’s why I am seeking re-election.”
Like
1. Screwing up selling the Sterling hotel (costing us $325,000)
2. Trying to sell city property for 8 cents on the dollar to a campaign contributor
3. Lying to county officials to get tax forgiveness to a campaign contributor
4. The largely worthless camera system (Costing us well over $2,000,000)
5. Violated contracts (like Citywide Towing's contract) so he could give it to a campaign contributor (that cost us over $225,000)
6. VIOLATED CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHTS, TWICE !!! (Denise Carey & the Hammonds). That's cost us over $275,000. And anyone who has served in the armed forces or has a loved one who is or has served, should be as FURIOUS as I am over this.

Obviously he thinks that there is still money to give to his friends.
Maybe he thinks he's got 'Tiger Blood' because his claims make about as much sense as Charlie's do.

"(Political) offices are as acceptable here as elsewhere, and whatever a man cast a longing eye on them, a rottenness begins in his conduct" Thomas Jefferson (1799)

Dan Emplit WBFD
AKA Don Quixote

Wish comes true for cancer-stricken 10-year-old

Wish comes true for cancer-stricken 10-year-old inducted into Army
By Zachary Roth



'Most kids might hope to get an Xbox or an iPod Touch for their 10th birthday. Brennan Daigle got a reception from a formation of soldiers, a ride in a camouflaged National Guard Humvee--and induction as an honorary member of the Army.

Since October 2009, Brennan, from Sulphur, Louisiana, has been battling embryonal rhabdomyosarcoma--a rare form of cancer in which muscular tumors attach themselves to bones, writer Rachel Reischling reports in the Fort Polk Guardian. Last month, doctors told his family there was nothing more they could do, and gave Brennan just weeks to live.

Brennan has always loved the Army. His mother had created a Facebook page--Brennan's Brigade--to keep family and friends informed of his condition. People from around the world, including soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan, have left comments of encouragement and support. One group of soldiers in Afghanistan posted a picture of themselves holding an American flag, and told Brennan: "We're flying this flag in honor of you; we're here to back you. Stay Army strong."

Becky Prejean, who runs a charity for sick kids called Dreams Come True of Louisiana, heard about Brennan's illness, and got in touch with his mother, Kristy Daigle. Brennan's greatest wish, Daigle told Prejean, was to meet some soldiers in person, before his illness worsened. So the two women contacted the Fort Polk Community Relations Office, which put out a call for a few soldiers to attend Brennan's tenth birthday on Feb. 26.

Forty showed up.

Brennan had been told he was going fishing with his father. But when he got out of his dad's truck, he was greeted by a formation of 1st MEB soldiers, standing at attention in front of a National Guard Humvee. After a moment, they all shouted "Happy Birthday, Brennan!," and broke into applause.

Brennan was speechless, according to his mother. "All he could do was giggle," she said.

Brennan and his best friend Kaleb were invited to check out the Humvee, and Brennan sat behind the wheel. Then soldiers took the two boys out for a spin. Afterward, Brennan and Kaleb put their heads out the hatch on the vehicle's roof, while the crowd snapped pictures.

But it wasn't over. Brennan got out of the Humvee and was led to the front of the formation, where he shook hands with each soldier. He was inducted into the Army as an honorary member, then given a coin symbolizing merit and excellence, as well as a military jacket with his name on the pocket, and other Army-themed gifts.

"Brennan, you exemplify what personal courage means," Pfc. Kamesha Starkey, 1st MEB, told him.

Finally, the mayor of Sulphur, La., gave Brennan a key to the city, and the title of Honorary Mayor of the Day.

"Words can never express what I felt seeing all those soldiers there, knowing some of them had just come back from Iraq and still took time out for just one little boy," Kristy Daigle said. "Just to know that they care enough to give their all, to give their love and support to a little boy is phenomenal. It says so much about our men and women who serve our country in the armed forces."

Some of the soldiers said the event helped put things in perspective for them. "It was good to be able to give back," Pfc. Kyle Frederick said. "It opened my eyes to a lot of things: How I take my kids for granted, how lucky we are, how we complain on a day-to-day basis and we really have it good compared to others."

As for Brennan, it took a while for his new honor to sink in. The next day, he asked his mother, "Am I really in the Army?"

"You most certainly are," she answered. "They don't swear in just anyone."

"That's awesome," said Brennan.

(Photo: Capt. Gabriel Araujo swears in Brennan Daigle at Fort Polk, Louisiana. www.thefortpolkguardian.com)'

This is one of the best demonstrations of why our armed services are true heroes.
They not only protect our freedoms, but they took the time to protect a young boys soul.

Dan Emplit WBFD

Leighton's fiction is finally online

The online budget is online, three days after I posted about the lack of an online budget. It is still in a 'scanned document' form, so no quick reference.
Well dictator Leighton didn't disappoint.
In 2009, because we were down 19 men, the overtime (OT) was $322,000.No new hires means about the same for 2010.
Leighton cried in 2010 that we were burning through the overtime budget and blamed us(even though he knew how our OT works, as manpower goes down OT goes up) which shouldn't surprise anyone, he blames everyone else for his shortcomings.
Well for 2011 he has arbitrarily pulled the number $50,000 out of his... out of the air. Even with the hiring of 6 new men back in September we are still about 19 men down. Wanna bet he starts whining about our OT before the primaries?

Do you want decreased Fire/EMS service for 4 more years?

Do you want 4 more years of back room deals? (the Old River Road Bakery, The Sterling Hotel part one and part two)

Do you want 4 more years of No-Bid contracts? (Ex-judge Conahan's Medic 8)

Do you want 4 more years of VIOLATED CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHTS?

Do you want 4 more years of his lies? (He lied to get a campaign contributor tax forgiveness, 'Ex-bakery sale draws criticism' The Times Leader Oct 2, 2009)

If we want the corruption to stop we need to be heard at the polls.
You can't fix corrupt, but you can vote it OUT!!!!
We are the citys 'customers' and we are experiencing POOR customer service

It's late, Nite


Dan Emplit WBFD
AKA Don Quixote

Charlotte Raup for MAYOR

Crime Watch coordinator announces bid for Wilkes-Barre mayor

'Charlotte Raup, a member of the organization for 16 years, is a Democrat.
BILL O ’ BOYLE boboyle@timesleader.com

WILKES-BARRE – The city’s Crime Watch coordinator says it’s time for her to “put up or shut up.”

So Charlotte Raup is running for mayor.

“My phone has been ringing for weeks with people asking me to run,” Raup, 54, said. “So after careful consideration, I have decided to run. The time has come for the ‘Good Old Boy’ network to end and a new era to begin.”

Raup, a graduate of Meyers High School and Wilkes College with a degree in philosophy, said she will make a formal announcement on her candidacy in the near future.

Raup and her husband live on Gardner Avenue in the Parsons section of the city.

A Democrat, Raup said she has well over the required 100 signatures on her petitions and she will file them before Tuesday’s deadline.

On Thursday she was doing what she loves – conducting a Crime Watch meeting at East End Towers on Scott Street. She has been a member of the city’s Crime Watch for 16 years, the last 10 as coordinator. The organization currently has about 400 members, she said.

Raup has aired her differences with incumbent Democratic Mayor Tom Leighton publicly over the years.

She advocated for a crime prevention officer to attend Crime Watch meetings; Leighton did assign an officer for 2011.

“I guess you can say I’m dissatisfied with the way the city is being run,” Raup said. “But I don’t want to bash anybody. I just want to run and get my message out to the voters.”

Raup said she is putting together her team for the campaign and will unveil her platform as the campaign develops. She said she will hold fundraising events as well.

Raup ran for a seat on City Council in 2007, but lost out in the primary election to Mike Merritt.

In 2008, Raup was the recipient of the national Jefferson Award for Public Service, which is bestowed by the American Institute for Public Service. She was also named volunteer of the year by the Pennsylvania Crime Prevention Officers Association that same year.

Raup was recognized with the citizen crime prevention award by Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency in 2006, the same year she received the Governor’s Award for volunteerism.'


Everyone I've talked to about Charlotte has had only the most glowing things to say, and in my opinion having a Mayor with integrity will be a HUGE improvement.

She has been a member of the Wilkes-Barre crime watch for 16 years. Walking, at night, some of the worst areas this poor city has. When was the last time dictator Leighton has done anything like that? Never unless you count his 4 or 5 desperate "look I'm doing something so vote for me" town meetings. She knows the city (She walks it) and knows where the problem areas are. She cares about the people, or she wouldn't have been a crime watch member for 16 years.
I think she will win by a landslide.
The only downside? What our vindictive dictator do to punish all those who did not vote for him. Council has proven they WILL NOT stand up to him. Expect them to say things like,"There's nothing we can do" a lot.
Remember, I was told, by a very good source, he will sell south fire station by the end of the year, it doesn't matter if he wins or looses. Once it is gone, the south side of the city will NEVER have one again.

Dan Emplit WBFD
AKA Don Quixote

Gunman in Bellmore Out to Cause “Mayhem”

By Rashed Mian on March 3rd, 2011

'The gunman who Nassau County police officers killed after he shot an EMT responding to the suspect’s car crash in Bellmore on Tuesday night was armed with six assault weapons and was prepared to cause “mayhem,” Police Commissioner Lawrence Mulvey said.

Justin Angell, 20, responded with the Bellmore Volunteer Fire Department colleagues to a 911 call for a pickup truck that crashed into a utility pole on Bellmore Avenue shortly before 10 p.m. when the driver,whose name police have not released, shot the victim.

Angell, who collapsed on a nearby lawn, was taken to Nassau University Medical Center where he is being treated for non-life threatening injuries. The suspect then opened fire on police officers before being gunned down, police said.

“It was clear to us that this man was out to commit mayhem somewhere in this county,” Mulvey said.

Police only described the suspect as a 31-year-old Suffolk County resident who just recently moved to Long Island from Florida and may be married with a young child.

“To everyone … thank u so much for the calls concerns and visits … just got up and walked a bit,” said part of a message on Angell’s Facebook page.

A K-9 officer who responded after the EMTs to the crash retreated behind his car after he “noticed the laser sights of a firearm with a long rifle honing in on him,” Mulvey said. The gunman shot at Seventh Precinct officers as well. The officers were not hit by the gunfire.

As officers returned fire, the K-9 officer shot and killed the suspect through the passenger side window of the suspect’s vehicle, Mulvey said.

The suspect fired at least eight shots and had ammunition strapped to his forearm, Mulvey said. He also had a long rifle with a scope strapped across his chest. In his pocket was a small semi-automatic pistol, a long-barreled revolver on his lap and a Tec-9 within easy reach on the floor behind the passenger seat of the car.

Mulvey said the gunman “may have some turmoil in his personal life.”

Detective Lt. John Azzata of the Homicide Squad said the suspect had a minor arrest record but had nothing on his record that is “as violent as what occurred.”

It hasn’t yet been determined where the weapons came from, police said.

Police declined to speculate on the suspect’s motives. The commissioner said “He might have had the intention of leaving that vehicle at some point because of the number of weapons, and the way they were arranged on his body.”'

And

Cops Kill Gunman Who Shot Firefighter in Bellmore
By Timothy Bolger on March 2nd, 2011

'Nassau County police officers killed a gunman who shot a fire department volunteer responding to the suspect’s car crash in Bellmore on Tuesday night, police said.

The volunteer was taken Nassau University Medical Center where he was listed in stable condition while being treated for non-life threatening injuries. The gunman was fatally shot when he threatened officers at the crash scene on Bellmore Avenue at about 10 p.m., police said.

Police said the driver hit a utility pole at the corner of Claxton Avenue. When the local fire department arrived, the man fired shots, striking the volunteer.

Investigators later uncovered numerous weapons in the suspect’s vehicle.

Police did not immediately release the names of either the volunteer or the driver.

Homicide Squad detectives are investigating.'

I'd like to bring your attention to this phrase,
"was armed with six assault weapons and was prepared to cause “mayhem,”"


This is not an assault weapon. It is a .32 caliber pistol. It is not a 'Combat' caliber but it is 'considered' to be the lowest effective caliber.


This is not an assault weapon. It is a .22 caliber pistol that looks 'Bada$$'. 'Lethal'? possibly, but not an assault weapon.


This is a Tec 9 mm. Not an assault weapon. 'Lethal' yes, but not an assault weapon. Every real 'shooter' I know hates this weapon, they call them "Jam O' Matics".


This is a hunting rifle. Not an assault weapon. 'Lethal' yes, but not an assault weapon.


This is a revolver, looks to be a .357. Not an assault weapon. 'Lethal' yes, but not an assault weapon.


This is an SKS. It fits the definition of an assault weapon.

Why did I post this? Because the main stream media knows nothing about firearms and they just play for ratings. What we hear is often not accurate, but is sensationalized.



To all my 'brothers and sisters' in Fire/EMS and police, keep your situational awareness cranked 'up to eleven', because this is becoming more and more commonplace.
Thank God the EMT survived, and it sounds like they will make a full recovery.

Dan Emplit WBFD