When
the North Korean Lt. Colonel got through the mine field at the DMZ,
he was wearing the uniform of a corporal. It's a standard practice
followed to keep the enemy from identifying the officers.
Famished
from his rations of only two bowls of rice per day, he ate an entire
fried chicken, drank a liter and a half of rice wine, and in a
drunken tirade, gave up every secret he possessed in order to be
reunited with his wife and kids in Seoul. Now, he is a political
science professor at a university in South Korea, heavily guarded by
American troopers lest Chinese Communist aggressors locate him or his
family and attack in retaliation.
Our
interviewee, an MP who witnessed this drama in the spring of 1998,
recalls the signs he saw then – and now – that tip him off that
when North and South Korea go into Spring war games, money drives the
deal, and the People's Republic of China is in control.
With the reds holding the paper on two-thirds of America's 17 trillion dollar debt, one is driven to ask the hard questions.
Texas
gun and ammunition purveyors and manufacturers such as Cheaper than
Dirt and LaRue Tactical have joined the burgeoning ranks of outfits
that refuse to sell goods to government entities that refuse their
citizens equal rights to keep and bear arms.
"Who's the hottest Florida politician right now? Is it you or Marco Rubio?" TV talk show host Gregory asked, referring to Rubio, a senator who is also a potential GOP contender. "Who are we more likely to see in the White House?"
"Man, you guys are crack addicts. You really are obsessed with all this politics," Bush replied.
The "Meet the Press" host interrupted, saying he'd been called a lot of things, but never a crack addict.
"OK, heroin addict. Is that better?" shot back Bush, the son of former President George H.W. Bush and brother of former President George W. Bush... - Associated Press
Austin
– Ten-round limits on magazines, anger management courses mandatory
for ammunition buyers, long, drawn-out background checks on any
firearm transaction, these are a few of the proposals circulating in
D.C. and state capitals.
Amid
the political hoopla surrounding gun violence, and the hysteria it
generates, two bills are quietly working their way through the
legislature that would severely limit the power of the federal
government to infringe on Texans' right to keep and bear arms.
They
are HB 553 and HB 928, both of which would nullify any federal laws
regarding guns and ammunition and prohibit state law enforcement
officers from contracting with federal officers to enforce new gun
laws.
One
need only click on each of the two items below to get a good picture of how
these proposed laws have been presented to legislators.
Both
will be heard in the Federalism Committee of the Texas House of
Representatives on Wednesday. If they pass, they will be sent to the
all-important Calendars Committee.
Rep.
Steve Toth, author and sponsor of the Firearms Freedom Act, HB 553,
is on record saying he does not think the Calendars Committee will
allow the law he wrote to make any forward progress to the floor of
the House.
So
it goes.
Call these folks. Ask them to let the nullification laws have a chance. Do it. Get started by clicking here. Texas Legislature Committees
Sen. Dianne Feinstein inveighing against 'large capacity ammunition feeding devices' Get a load of the dude sitting behind her!
Mark Outlaw, Scott And White, Ben Perry, County Commissioner
Waco
– A mosaic of the blue flame logo of the Lone Star Gas Company
emblazons the lobby floor of the Sheriff's Department (MCSO)
headquarters at 901 Washington Ave.
Inside
the vestibule, all is air conditioned, indirectly lit anonymity, the
people who work there shielded by substantial glass panels in their
contact with the public. A locked double door leads up a short flight
of stairs to the interior corridors of the building.
An attractive blonde sales executive
It's
a cop shop, all right. Warm. Inviting. Bullet-proof.
One
is reminded of Alexander Solzhenitzyn's meticulous identification of
the former capitalist identities of the various administrative
buildings of the Stalinist Soviet gulag's alphabet soup agencies.
KGB. NKVD. GRU. The Lubyanka Prison in downtown Moscow – into which
multitudes disappeared forever - was the former headquarters of a
certain life insurance company - and so forth.
Today,
at 7:30 a.m., on a crisp March Thursday morning, all is smiling
political decorum as back-slapping courthouse honchos gather and
greet each other for an unusual meeting of the Commissioners Court
off-campus from its usual digs four blocks down the street, under the
double dome of the courthouse, with its spread-eagled birds of prey
perpetually prepared for takeoff.
The
department heads of local government are here to get the good news.
They gather around a breakfast spread of strawberries, grapes, apple
slices and other healthful finger foods. Steaming pots of coffee
stand ready to open eyes.
The
message:
It's
all about the insurance.
Affordable
insurance, post-Obamacare insurance. Health insurance.
A
former police officer, Precinct 4 Commissioner Ben Perry, whose
present-day calling is insurance, is standing in for interim County
Judge appointee Scott Felton, who is absent due to the tragic death
in the family of a pre-school child.
He
warms the crowd up with a quick joke.
A
cowboy rides into a frontier town and bellies up to the bar for a
beer in the local saloon.
When
he goes back outside to reclaim his noble steed and forge onward, the
beast is missing, saddle, bridle, bedroll, carbine, saddle bags –
and all.
It's
a friendly town, prone to pranks played on strangers just passing
through, Mr. Perry explains. He leaves out the notion of whether the
cowboy is aware of this, but, as the story goes, the cowpoke heads
back into the saloon for another brewski.
He
addresses the room in general, saying, “If my horse isn't tied back
to that hitching rail when I get back out there, I'm gonna have to do
what I did down in Texas.”
Silence.
Deafening. And words to that effect.
He
goes back out and, happily, finds his horse, which he mounts and
resumes his journey.
A
stranger stops him, inquiring in confidential tones, “What DID you
do down in Texas, stranger?”
Sheriff Parnell McNamara
The
laconic reply. “Walked.”
Laughter.
Polite. Nervous. Noncommital.
An
attractive blonde account executive of Scott & White Health Plan
takes the floor, and says of a scheme to gather information on
employees' health conditions, “If you we can't get buy-in, we can't
control escalating premiums.”
The
cause of the escalation?
The
Affordable Health Care and Patient Protection Act of 2010, she says.
Obamacare.
The
last time they tried this, she says, out of 640 employees and 480
dependents, only about 70 took the health conditions test. She
adds, "Some people just drew the black bean when it comes to
hereditary health issues." She makes a reference to diabetes.
Mr.
Perry interjects, saying that it's “totally illegal” for
employers to have access to the information thus gleaned.
Nevertheless, he explained, “They thought we were going to see the
results, which is a total violation of the law...This is a very safe
and secure process.”
“The
only option we have is to encourage people to live a little
healthier.” For instance, smokers already pay a much higher premium
than do non-smokers.
What
to do? Apply peer pressure. Encourage people to walk a minimum of 15
minutes a day. And take a health-risk assessment on-line.
“The
high claims only makes up a few,” she shared, “but if people
would only go to the doctor and learn about high blood pressure, they
may be able to prevent a heart attack...That nurse becomes a
friend...”
It's
only going to get harder to schedule an appointment with the doctor,
the lady from the insurance company said, wistfully, “as we go
along with health care reform.”
Smiling faces, back-slapping bonhomie
The
bottom line turns out to be this, according to Mark Outlaw, Strategic
Account Representative for Scott & White.
Either
see a health care nurse for an on-site health assessment exam - with
no co-pay required - or pay an additional $60 per month premium, he
said.
His
tone, matter of fact. His demeanor, resolved. It is the tone and
tenor employoed by the parent, the guardian, the ever-watchful one
who knows what's good for you.
His
co-worker had said, earlier, “We're going to have to take care of
each other.”
Commissioner
Kelly Snell read the adjournment into the minutes of the Court
session, and that was it. Handshakes, smiling faces, bonhomie - all
around - and it was all over.
When the big pickup passed the other guy tooling along I-35 near a shopping center at Bellmead, he zigged, so the driver zagged – and nearly collided with the fenders of a State Trooper's car on the shoulder.
Wrong.
The trooper hit the lights and followed him into the Wal-Mart parking lot at the next exit on the corner of Lakeshore Dr. and I-35.
DPS Highway Patrolman Basilio Martinez reported a strong odor of alcohol when he approached the vehicle.
He asked Todd Gooden to alight so he could question him, and Mr. Gooden told him he was sorry about the swerve, that it was unavoidable. He also said he and his wife had been to a movie. They had nothing to drink that evening of March 25, 2012, he said.
The time? It was 01:35 a.m.
The trooper wasn't buying into that story. It didn't match up with what he was seeing. More importantly, it wouldn't pass the sniff test, either.
That's when Mr. Gooden, who is Superintendent of Schools at Mart, shifted gears. He said that he had been drinking, after all, but “That was a long time ago.” Six hours.
Trooper Martinez wasn't amused. He is clearly heard saying on the dashcam video that Mr. Gooden is getting real close to going to jail – then and there.
Mr. Gooden did okay on the field sobriety test, stood on one foot, walked heel and toe – all that jazz with following the ballpoint with his eyes, but when it came time to blow into the portable breath alcohol content analyzer, his specimen came up 0.103 – way over the line of legal intoxication, which is drawn at .08 for impaired driving. He also showed six clues of intoxication when his eyes jerked along trying to follow the moving ballpoint pen.
He was told to go stand “over there” while the trooper questioned his wife.
Mrs. Jeni Myrae Gooden stepped out of the pickup and, in sprightly good-natured tones, when asked, said they had been at a popular downtown Waco night spot named Crickett's.
That's not a movie. It's a saloon, a place for drinks, sandwiches and other fine eats, many varieties of cold brew, pool, a very nice stereo system, and lots of very pretty people.
Then, in classic fashion, she gave up the other party to the offense.
Asked if she had anything to drink, she said, yes. Asked if her husband had, she can be heard to say “He hasn't had anywhere near as much as I have.”
Busted.
They both wore the bracelets on the ride to the jail, where Mr. Gooden refused to sign a waiver and supply a breath sample.
Trooper Martinez charged Mrs. Gooden with the misdemeanor offense of public intoxication. He also noted on an inventory of the interior of the pickup that he found two open containers in the passenger cab.
As a first offender charged with DWI, Mr. Gooden could have forfeited his driving privileges for not less than 6 months because he refused to supply a court-admissible breath sample at the jail, but somehow, his case wound up in front of a McLennan County Grand Jury, which no-billed him.
So, it didn't work out that the first charge of DWI lodged against his record would count in the formidable three-strikes-you're out rule adopted by the legislature when it comes to drunk driving.
That third charge is a felony offense, often punished by a trip to a state prison treatment center for a year-long term of Substance Abuse Felony Punishment. ball in first at-ba
When
the big pickup passed the other guy tooling along I-35 near a
shopping center at Bellmead, he zigged, so the driver zagged – and
nearly collided with the fenders of a State Trooper's car on the
shoulder.
Wrong.
The
trooper hit the lights and followed him into the Wal-Mart parking lot
at the next exit on the corner of Lakeshore Dr. and I-35.
DPS
Highway Patrolman Basilio Martinez reported a strong odor of alcohol
when he approached the vehicle.
He
asked Todd Gooden to alight so he could question him, and Mr. Gooden
told him he was sorry about the swerve, that it was unavoidable. He
also said he and his wife had been to a movie. They had nothing to
drink that evening of March 25, 2012, he said.
The
time? It was 01:35 a.m.
The
trooper wasn't buying into that story. It didn't match up with what
he was seeing. More importantly, it wouldn't pass the sniff test,
either.
That's
when Mr. Gooden, who is Superintendent of Schools at Mart, shifted
gears. He said that he had been drinking, after all, but “That was
a long time ago.” Six hours.
Trooper
Martinez wasn't amused. He is clearly heard saying on the dashcam
video that Mr. Gooden is getting real close to going to jail – then
and there.
Mr.
Gooden did okay on the field sobriety test, stood on one foot, walked
heel and toe – all that jazz with following the ballpoint with his
eyes, but when it came time to blow into the portable breath alcohol
content analyzer, his specimen came up 0.103 – way over the line of
legal intoxication, which is drawn at .08 for impaired driving. He
also showed six clues of intoxication when his eyes jerked along
trying to follow the moving ballpoint pen.
He
was told to go stand “over there” while the trooper questioned
his wife.
Mrs.
Jeni Myrae Gooden stepped out of the pickup and, in sprightly
good-natured tones, when asked, said they had been at a popular
downtown Waco night spot named Crickett's.
That's
not a movie. It's a saloon, a place for drinks, sandwiches and other
fine eats, many varieties of cold brew, pool, a very nice stereo
system, and lots of very pretty people.
Then,
in classic fashion, she gave up the other party to the offense.
Asked
if she had anything to drink, she said, yes. Asked if her husband
had, she can be heard to say “He hasn't had anywhere near as much
as I have.”
Busted.
They
both wore the bracelets on the ride to the jail, where Mr. Gooden
refused to sign a waiver and supply a breath sample.
Trooper
Martinez charged Mrs. Gooden with the misdemeanor offense of public
intoxication. He also noted on an inventory of the interior of the
pickup that he found two open containers in the passenger cab.
As
a first offender charged with DWI, Mr. Gooden could have forfeited
his driving privileges for not less than 6 months because he refused
to supply a court-admissible breath sample at the jail, but somehow,
his case wound up in front of a McLennan County Grand Jury, which
no-billed him.
So,
it didn't work out that the first charge of DWI lodged against his
record would count in the formidable three-strikes-you're out rule
adopted by the legislature when it comes to drunk driving.
That
third charge is a felony offense, often punished by a trip to a state
prison treatment center for a year-long term of Substance Abuse
Felony Punishment.
