Sunday, March 23, 2014

America's Last Wild Migratory Herd . . .



Research indicates the region could support many more of these creatures.













I'll link directly to the article, because my comments would be editorialized and present bias.

http://ecowatch.com/2014/03/11/yellowstone-ends-bison-slaughter-following-blockade/

Sunday, March 9, 2014

Blue Line

I remember hearing years ago as a Police Chaplain that there was a "Blue Line."  That's the socially respectable way of saying "them and us."  It wasn't long after that, I left that voluntary position, as I realized in their limited view of that line, I didn't want to be a part of the blue "us," therefore I would always be on the other side of their blue line, making me a "them."

I'm glad I saw it when I did, because I simply could not live with myself if I ever crossed that line.  I followed this for a time, and didn't want to sensationalize the situation with comment, but now the verdict is in.

http://www.northjersey.com/bogota/Former_Bogota_officer_Regina_Tasca_cost_borough_85K_in_legal_fees_this_year.html

Sunday, February 23, 2014

Manpower

Three men were standing outside an Arabic gathering in Dearborn, Michigan, with copies of the Gospel according to John written in English and Arabic, according to this video.  I can't say that I support this kind of evangelism, but they were standing on the public street, not entering and interrupting the event.  

Michigan has been in the news for years now, as some areas of the state are experiencing economic collapse, in virtual broken disrepair.  I checked the city charter, and from the statistics the indication is the police force is down in numbers and the pay scale is not inviting.  

>>>The 2004 voter-approved charter measure on the issue mandates 2.1 officers per every 10,000 residents, totaling 206 based on 2010 census numbers, which put Dearborn at about 98,000 residents.
However, that number has been much lower for years—totaling between 180-190 on average. Currently, there are 182 employees—96 of which are on patrol duty. <<< 

I don't have the actual figures, but working with 96 patrol officers, 3 shifts a day, 7 days a week adds up to 21 shifts, which indicates somewhere between 4 and 5 different shifts of manpower to patrol the city 24/7.  Presumably these officers work a forty hour week.  I know when I was a police chaplain in a town of about 80,000 there were between 9 and 11 patrol officers on the city streets at any one give time.  That was back several years before the economic crash . . .

At 2:00 there are were clearly 8 officers at the scene, in the frame.
Here's the link, but . . .  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u4uXtBSOFN4&feature=youtube_gdata_player
I went to the link and found the message, the video had been removed and the youtube account was closed.