The Shooting of Michael Brown / Some Commonsense / Ferguson, MO

To my readers,

I don’t often do this; but I’d like you to read the following ‘open letter.’  As yet, we don’t know the exact circumstances involving the shooting death of Michael Brown.  We should withhold final judgment.  However, after all the nonsense circulated in the media, maybe we should hear some plain old commonsense from an experienced police officer.  You may not agree with what he has to say; but I do.

True Nelson

An Open Letter to Captain Ronald S. Johnson

From a former St. Louis Metro Area police chief

Chief Ed Delmore |              Sunday, August 17, 2014

FEATURED IN LIFELINE TRAINING

"I have to call you out.

I don’t care what the media says. I expect them to get it wrong and they often do. But I expect you as a veteran law enforcement commander—talking about law enforcement—to get it right.

Unfortunately, you blew it. After days of rioting and looting, last Thursday you were given command of all law enforcement operations in Ferguson by Governor Jay Nixon. St. Louis County PD was out, you were in. You played to the cameras, walked with the protestors and promised a kinder, gentler response. You were a media darling. And Thursday night things were better, much better.

But Friday, under significant pressure to do so, the Ferguson Police released the name of the officer involved in the shooting of Michael Brown. At the same time the Ferguson Police Chief released a video showing Brown committing a strong-arm robbery just 10 minutes before he was confronted by Officer Darren Wilson.

Many don’t like the timing of the release of the video. I don’t like that timing either. It should have been released sooner. It should have been released the moment FPD realized that Brown was the suspect.

Captain Johnson, your words during the day on Friday helped to fuel the anger that was still churning just below the surface. St. Louis County Police were told to remain uninvolved and that night the rioting and looting began again. For much too long it went on mostly unchecked. Retired St. Louis County Police Chief Tim Fitch tweeted that your “hug-a-looter” policy had failed.

Boy did it.

And your words contributed to what happened Friday night and on into the wee hours of Saturday. According to the St. Louis Post Dispatch, you said the following regarding the release of the video:

There was no need to release it, Johnson said calling the reported theft and the killing entirely different events.

Well Captain, this veteran police officer feels the need to respond. What you said is, in common police vernacular—bullshit. The fact that Brown knew he had just committed a robbery before he was stopped by Officer Wilson speaks to Brown’s mindset. And Captain, the mindset of a person being stopped by a police officer means everything, and you know it.

Let’s consider a few examples:

On February 15, 1978 Pensacola Police Officer David Lee conducted a vehicle check. He didn’t know what the sole occupant of the vehicle had recently done, but the occupant did. Who was he? Serial killer Ted Bundy. Bundy attempted to disarm Lee. Lee was able to retain his firearm and eventually took Bundy into custody.

On April 19, 1995 Oklahoma State Trooper Charlie Hangar stopped a vehicle for minor traffic violations. He didn’t know that 90 minutes earlier the traffic violator, Timothy McVeigh, killed 168 people with a truck bomb at the Murrah Federal Building. But McVeigh sure knew it, didn’t he? Fortunately, given his training and experience Hangar was able to take McVeigh into custody for carrying a concealed firearm. It was days later before it was determined that McVeigh was responsible for the bombing.

On May 31, 2003 then-rookie North Carolina police officer, Jeff Postell, arrested a man digging in a trash bin on a grocery store parking lot—an infraction that would rise to about the level of jaywalking. Postell didn’t know that he had just captured Eric Rudolph, the man whom years earlier had killed and injured numerous people with bombs and was on the FBI’s Ten Most Wanted list.

So now, let’s consider Ferguson Officer Darren Wilson’s stop of Michael Brown.  Apparently Wilson didn’t know that Brown had just committed a strong-arm robbery. But Brown did! And that Captain, is huge.

Allegedly, Brown pushed Wilson and attempted to take Wilson’s gun. We’re also being told that Officer Wilson has facial injuries suffered during the attempt by Brown to disarm him. Let’s assume for a moment those alleged acts by Brown actually occurred. Would Brown have responded violently to an officer confronting him about jaywalking? Maybe, but probably not.

Is it more likely that he would attack an officer believing that he was about to be taken into custody for a felony strong-arm robbery? Absolutely.

Officer Wilson survived the encounter with Brown as did Lee, Hangar, and Postell. Michael Brown didn’t survive and it’s too soon to say if Officer Wilson’s use of deadly force was justified and legal. You and I both know that not all officers survive such confrontations. Officers die in incidents like this Captain Johnson, including a couple that I remember from your own organization:

On April 15, 1985 Missouri Trooper Jimmie Linegar was shot and killed by a white supremacist he and his partner stopped at a checkpoint; neither Trooper Linegar nor his partner were aware that the man they had stopped had just been indicted by a federal grand jury for involvement in a neo-Nazi group accused of murder. The suspect immediately exited the vehicle and opened fire on him with an automatic weapon.

Just a month before, Missouri Trooper James M. Froemsdorf was shot and killed—with his own gun—after making a traffic stop. When the Trooper made that stop he didn’t know that the driver was wanted on four warrants out of Texas—But again the suspect knew it.

So Captain Johnson, I guess the mindset and recently committed crimes of the suspects that murdered those Missouri Troopers didn’t mean anything. The stops by the Troopers, as you have said, are entirely different events right?

Bullshit."

Some information contained in this article came from the Officer Down Memorial Page (ODMP).

Kyron Horman / Should Terri Horman be Charged? Or an Apology?

Re:  My post of August 16^th, 2014, I received a comment, which is set forth below, that I felt I should address with somewhat more specificity.  I’m sure there are many out there who have the same perspective as Anonymous – and are frustrated by the slow progress in this investigation.  The anonymous comment was:

“Terri has never been charged with a crime after more than 4 years. Why haven't LE charged her? Could it be because they have no evidence? Just because Desiree thinks Terri did it is no reason this hater crowd stalks this woman. Either charge her if you have something on her or let her go. I hope when all this is over she sues these 4 idiots & takes DD's cousin down as well!”  August 18, 2014 at 10:11 AM

I believe the four idiots she/he is referring to are the four women who testified at the hearing regarding the proposed name change.  I’m doubtful that their testimony had any particular influence on the Judge’s final decision to deny Terri Horman’s request for a name change.  I don’t know, but do not believe that any of the four women held any official capacity or possessed pertinent information other than what has been published in the media. In fact, unsubstantiated vitriol may have actually worked in Terri’s favor.

Regarding DD’s cousin, I’m not sure what Anonymous is referring to; but realize that some of you have followed this case more closely than I have.

Regarding the law enforcement investigation, the apparent lack of progress, and the inability to even characterize someone as an official suspect, it has frustrated all of us.  Why is this?

My belief is that the high profile nature of this case, the retaining of prominent, high-powered defense representation, the miscues by investigative organizations early on; and a lackluster, professionally insecure prosecutive staff have paralyzed any progress.  At this point, the only thing that will move this case along is the discovery of Kyron (presumably dead at this point), or a major reorganization at the Multnomah County Prosecutor’s Office.

I tend to agree with Anonymous in some sense.  Terri Horman, after all that has been said and done, should be charged with something.  I can’t say what crime exactly, because I have not seen what evidence is available.  BUT… If there has been absolutely no prima facie violation, no indictable crime committed in any respect; well, I think Terri deserves some sort of official apology.

However, the prosecutor will not apologize, nor will he attempt prosecution on a lesser charge.  Why?  Because now, after all the publicity, the false promises, the absurd, often unsubstantiated allegations, the official posturing and bravado, the Multnomah County Prosecutor would become a local laughingstock.  That office has taken the position that it is all or nothing, murder or nothing.  In their private conversations they are saying, ‘Look, right now, the Sheriff’s Office and the other investigative agencies are taking the heat.  If we prosecute on any charge, particularly a lesser charge and lose, our careers will go right in the dumper.  Let’s wait and see.  Maybe, they will find the body.  And, if not, the public tends to forget.’

Will the public forget?  Yes.

True Nelson

Kyron Horman’s Step-Mother Terri Moulton Horman / Proposed Name Change to: Claire Stella Sullivan

In a recent Oregonian article (byline Maxine Bernstein), August 15th, it was reported that Terri Horman, Kyron’s Step-Mother, an unofficial person of interest in Kyron’s disappearance, had requested a Douglas County Court to change her name.  Terri Horman testified that she wanted to remove the “stigma” associated with the Horman name.  Reportedly, four women witnesses testified against the name change.  The four women were not identified.

As most of us recall, seven-year-old Kyron disappeared from a Portland public grade school four years ago.  There has been no trace of the child since that day.

It is interesting that the Douglas County Judge refused to grant Terri the name change.  Name changes are normally not a big deal.  With the possible exception as follows:

Although standards vary from place to place, generally speaking, ‘a petition for a name change can be denied if a judge believes that you are making the change to avoid judgments, legal actions, debts or other obligations.’

Terri Horman reportedly described her current name, Horman, as a “stigma.”  This may have been a contributing factor in the Court denying her request.  The word ‘stigma’ is defined as:  ‘A sign of social unacceptability – or the shame or disgrace attached to something regarded as socially unacceptable.’

This might not have been the type of reasoning a judge wanted to hear from a supposedly grieving parent of a missing child.

True Nelson

Jennifer Huston, Missing Woman's Body Found / Resident: Dundee, OR

I’ve been thinking of things to write about.  I’m growing a little tired of writing about crime, criminals, corrupt cops, dishonest and/ or insincere politicians.  But…

I do think the circumstances surrounding the death of Jennifer Huston, resident of Dundee, Oregon, are very odd – at least based on what we know so far.  There are three possibilities or potential causative factors that might have led to her death:  natural causes, suicide, or homicide.

The most recent information disseminated by law enforcement was that they are continuing to investigate, but that there are no signs of ‘foul play.’

Natural Causes:  Highly unlikely, in my opinion.  If someone is gravely Ill, and reportedly she had been having headaches, that person would travel toward medical help; not drive out in a desolate part of rural Oregon.

Suicide:  Perhaps, but why bother with driving to such a remote area?  We don’t know the cause of death.  If she shot herself, I suppose it’s conceivable that someone might seek-out a remote location.  If she took a fatal dose of pills, or ended her life in some less violent manner, again there would be no need to seek a remote location where your body might not be discovered for an extended period of time.  And, of course, the unanswerable question:  Why would such a lovely, young woman with two small children do such a thing?  Was she terminally ill?  Doubtful.  Her husband would have known that information.  And, was there a note left behind?

Homicide:  Based on initial reports, that seemed the most likely circumstance.  Thankfully, I guess we might say, that was not the case.

Sometimes there are just no answers.  The one person who knows the answer is gone.  And, sometimes even that person could not explain, what might have been to her, the unexplainable.

True Nelson

Arizona Execution of Joseph Wood / Botched?

Regarding the recent Arizona execution of convicted murderer Joseph Wood, it didn’t sound pretty.  And, I am a firm supporter of Capital Punishment for certain aggravated (horrendous) murders.  How could anyone not be?  One of the demonstrators outside the prison held a sign that said, “No One Deserves to Die.”  That person is (how might I put this gently) an idiot.  Of course, some murderers deserve to die.

What bothers me is that Capital Punishment is inequitably applied, and unduly delayed; but this recent execution in Arizona really mystifies me.  Why does it take nearly two hours to execute someone?

I’m sure most of you have faced the necessity of ‘putting down’ an old or sick pet.  I have had to do it more than once.  Each time, I held the pet or comforted the pet while the final injection was administered.  They died within seconds without any signs of suffering.  What would a loving pet owner think if his dog or cat gasped for air for two hours?  What if the veterinarian said the animal wasn’t really suffering, it was merely the residual impulses of the brain stem or some other such nonsense?  Nope, no one would accept that explanation.

So now we have a system of execution for humans that seems barbaric by comparison.  Whether or not Wood actually suffered is questionable.  That the execution appeared to involve suffering was perceived by the witnesses and is enough.  What’s going on here?  Don’t get me wrong.  I don’t feel particularly sorry for Mr. Wood.  But, there has to be something more to this.  Is this a backdoor attempt to influence American opinion?  Are we being manipulated one more time?  What’s the deal on the drugs?  Why, currently, are they still reportedly experimenting with various lethal cocktails?

I know, I’ve heard the back and forth about various drug companies refusing to furnish various drugs due to fear that they will be boycotted or called-out in some negative way.  But, there must be a supplier available somewhere.  I just don’t believe it could be otherwise.

In Oregon, we have the ‘Death with Dignity Law.’  It’s actually not used that often; but it does give comfort to some who are terminally ill.  The comfort is in knowing that, if the suffering becomes too great, you will be allowed a peaceful last few moments with family.  From what I’ve heard, these folks do not suffer, or gasp for breath, as they leave this world.  These drugs, as I understand it, are administered orally; and there is, of course, a strict protocol involved.

I suppose this would not work with someone about to be executed.  They would potentially resist taking the pills.  But, maybe they should be offered that option.  If I was about to be executed, I would gladly take the pills and wash them down with a glass of water – or even better a cold beer.

However, the public would not buy this.  The public does now and has always held a fascination with executions.  They want to see a little suffering, but subsequently they often claim they are offended by the sight.  Even the people who demonstrate outside prisons, when an execution is about to occur, are participating in a ghoulish act.  They just don’t recognize their true motivations.  They want to be there, a participant when the lights dim, the deed is done, the final exit.  Something to tell their grandkids about.  Sick – in my opinion.

True Nelson

Portland Police Chief Mike Reese Gets Some Learnin' / about Diversity

An editorial in The Oregonian recently criticized (shall I say ridiculed) the $56,000 spent by the City of Portland so that 14 white male administrators could attend a multi-day seminar at the Resort of The Mountain.  All expenses paid to include golf I’m sure.  What were these white men, these primitives taught you might ask?  Besides improving their golf game that is?  Well, the seminar was about diversity, with a capital D; and to drive (the Nike Covert Tour 2.0 would be my choice – but I digress) home the understanding that white men still don’t get it.  What don’t we get?  That we must treat everyone equally?  Nope.  The answer is that we must give special consideration to some.  Why?  Well, that’s a little subjective – although I’ve been to several of these classes myself.  However, that’s why you get to play golf.  The seminar begins to make sense.  It even makes a little more sense if you can play golf with an African American, Asian American, Hispanic American, or even a woman American; but they were excluded from the club (I mean seminar).  Presumably, if you were a white gay male you could attend, as long as you didn’t make a big issue of it – especially while putting.

OK, some will say that the Police Bureau’s white administrators, the white Mayor (Charlie Hales) and the rest of those white boys, do need some ‘learnin.’  I would ask whether or not the Portland Police Bureau has a conference room that they could use.  And / or is it really necessary to hold the conference where the green fees and associated golf necessities run in the neighborhood of $80 to $100 per outing?

Post seminar, Chief Mike Reese wrote a memo to Police Bureau members regarding the conference (apparently there was a lot of police rank-and-file interest in the subject).  The Chief's comments are as follows:

“Subject:  White Men as Full Diversity Partners Caucus”

“I found the Caucus thought-provoking, and there were many lessons that I learned about diversity and the culture we live in.  One of the most important lessons was that there still exists pervasive and destructive messages directed at women, people of color and other groups that create barriers to success.”  (Quoted from Maxine Bernstein’s article in The Oregonian, 7-14-14.)

Yes, Chief, I’m glad you’re learning these things.  In fact, I would have thought that someone at your pay-grade would already know them.  And, incidentally, who was the very expensive consultant who taught you these things?  What is his or her background?  Or was this just more about getting in touch with your feelings?

Post Script:  Yes, I’m having a little fun with this.  I hope the Chief and Mayor did learn something.  I don’t really care about the $56,000.  I don’t live in Portland, and don’t plan to ever live in Portland.  Although, in many respects, it’s a nice city.

True Nelson

True’s Miscellany / July 5, 2014 / Othelia (Tillie) Remembered, Born 1912 & Died 1930

I enjoy writing this blog for many reasons.  It’s like a journal, but not as solitary.  And, there are rewards, mostly esoteric I suppose.

Once in a great while you touch someone and it causes them to respond.  Sometimes, they agree and elaborate on their personal experience.  Other times, they explain to me why I’m wrong.  In either case, it makes me a better, more informed person.

In blogging, you have to have something you want to say, something you almost have to say, even if no one is particularly interested to hear it.  I hope that someday my grandchildren or great-grandchildren will read these posts.  I would like them to know more about me than just some yellowing photo in a cardboard box.

I wish my grandparents had kept a journal, I actually know so little about what they thought, what concerned them.  Oh, I heard little bits and pieces, funny stories, tragic stories; but not too much about what they thought day to day.  I will tell you one of those stories:

My grandmother inherited the family farm in Wisconsin.  The stipulation was that she and my grandfather were to care for her parents (my great grandparents) until they died.

This was a fairly large farm; and, like all families in those days, everyone (including the children) were pretty much involved in work from dawn to dusk.  The kids did go to school – a one room school house.  The family went to church every Sunday.  My grandparents worked very hard.  My grandmother had a crippled finger which was bent in a strange way.  “Oh,” she said.  “Pa and I were loading frozen hogs on the wagon, and one of them got dropped on my hand.”  “Never had a chance to get it fixed properly.”

They raised their seven children.  All of them grew to adulthood and had their own families – all, that is, except Tillie.  Tillie had graduated from high school and was a recent enrollee at a teaching college for girls in a nearby town.  She was experimenting with lipstick, something she hadn’t done growing up.  The story goes that she had unknowingly obtained some contaminated lipstick from a friend or acquaintance.  She must have had a small crack in her lip.  The lip became infected.  She was placed in a hospital.  My grandparents went to the hospital.  The infection progressed unabated.  My grandparents did the only thing they knew what to do.  They prayed, and prayed.  Tillie died.  She had just turned eighteen.  My grandparents never attended church after that.

As to what my grandparents believed in, as they aged, whether or not they believed in God, I really don’t know.  It was something that they avoided talking about.

My mother was eight when Tillie died.  Mom remembered the last day she saw her.  Tillie was leaving for boarding school.  My mother told Tillie, who was dressed for the occasion and anxious to begin her new life, how pretty she looked.  Tillie came over to my mother, hugged her tight and kissed her.

True Nelson

Final Comments by Former FBI Agent / Re: Megyn Kelly's Interview of Bill Ayers

As a former FBI Special Agent assigned to the Weatherman Squad, Berkeley Resident Agency (mid-1970s), I’d like to make a few more comments regarding Megyn Kelly’s recent interview with Bill Ayers.

It would be interesting to know how much the Fox Network paid Ayers to appear, because he certainly did not do himself any favors.  Ms. Kelly, with her rapid fire, no nonsense, interviewing technique, shredded Bill and his lame rhetoric – rhetoric that he had rehearsed over and over these many years.

During my three year assignment in Berkeley, I became an expert on the Weatherman, which subsequently evolved into the Weather Underground.  I read all their communiques, analyzed their speeches and comments, charted their family, friends and acquaintances; and conducted related investigation.

Of the Agents I worked with, their feeling at the time was that Bernardine Dohrn was the real leadership and principal motivator/instigator in the Weatherman.  She was considered by our group as somewhat sexy, but definitely sociopathic.  Ayers, on the other hand, we often joked about; stating our belief that he joined SDS and the Weatherman so that he could finally get ‘laid.’  Our mistaken belief, at the time, was that Bill was not a sociopath - meaning he might have second thoughts about some of his activities.  However, his persistent efforts over the subsequent years to alter the truth about himself and the Weatherman organization has changed my opinion on that.  He continues to demonstrate that he has no real regrets, no sympathy for the harm he has done and continues to do.  He appears to actually believe that he has caused no harm, and that sympathy or empathy toward others is not required.  He does, in other words, demonstrate a true sociopathic personality.

During the stated interview, I took a few notes:

Ayers said in the interview:  That during the period in question, there were about 20,000 bombings; and that the Weatherman “took credit for twenty.”  He was attempting to give the impression that the Weatherman were pretty much small potatoes compared to all the other bombers operating.  First, I’m not sure where he got the 20,000 figure.  More importantly, he said, “Took credit for twenty.”  “Took credit for” are the operative words.  He has used that phrase many times in the past.  The FBI was quite certain that the Weatherman group were responsible for many other bombings, including, in all probability, the bombing of the Berkeley Resident Agency on March 27^th, 1975.   An Agent, who was stationed in the office, could have easily been killed that night.  The Red Guerilla Family publicly took credit for that bombing.  A group unknown to us.  The case was never solved, but we strongly believed the Weatherman or their immediate affiliates were behind it.

In the interview, Ayers stated how corrupt and violent the Chicago Police were and currently are; that they torture suspects to get confessions.  On the other hand, he said, in his smirky, self-riotous way, that he “hangs out” and chats with police officers at the local coffee shops in the neighborhood.  My advice to the Chicago Police is your reputation is already less than stellar.  So, ‘Stop hanging out with a domestic terrorist, and spend more time helping your honest citizenry.’  Furthermore, ‘Stop torturing confessions out of people.’  For those who don’t appreciate sarcasm, I don’t actually believe the Chicago PD tortures people.  However, I do wonder about the IQ of their officers who find it good fun to hang out with Ayers.

I wish that Kelly would have asked Ayers if he would be willing to take a polygraph regarding some of the statements he made during the recorded interview.  Just to set the record straight.

This might surprise some of you, but the part that bothered me the most was how Ayers continues to denigrate the American military and those who served honorably, particularly in Vietnam.  I would ask Ayers, what is wrong with you?  At least, let that part of your rhetoric die-away.  It so obviously demonstrates your sociopathic personality – no empathy.  What about the families who lost loved-ones in Vietnam?  Can’t you at least allow those families something, some peace, some semblance of pride?  Have you no shame?  Of course, I know the answer to that.

Bill, you suggested that a monument, perhaps more than one monument, be erected to honor American military deserters; that they were, in fact, the true heroes.  Your Vietnam deserter brother, the one you called a war hero, is he as nutty as you?  Does he consider himself a war hero?  And, does mental illness run in your family?

I’m sure you got ‘laid’ many times as a member of the Weatherman.  It sort of went with the territory didn’t it?  So, I guess it paid-off for you.  But, time moves on little buddy.  Even Bernardine has, I’m sure, grown tired of you long ago.  And, she is not the only one.

Post Script:  One last thing.  I don’t happen to believe that Barrack Obama’s 'friendship / acquaintance / barely-knew-him' relationship with Ayers is a big deal.  We all know that most politicians would willingly lie down in a bed of snakes if it would help them get votes.

True Nelson

Megyn Kelly's Interview of Bill Ayers / Part 2

Well, I watched the second part of Megyn Kelly’s interview of Bill Ayers.  It was much of the same.

I was particularly disappointed in the comments of the two formerly undercover FBI Agents; especially, Willie Reagan, who seemed completely ill-prepared to appear on television.  I tend to fault the production crew.  Although, maybe I’m wrong about that.  Willie didn’t appear to understand Kelly’s questions and mostly rambled incoherently, unable to make a single point in his allotted time.  Did the production company brief him on the questions to be asked and that the on-air time would be limited?  Was not he asked to keep his answers succinct, straightforward, and informative?  Did he disregard the production crew’s advice?  Disappointing.

When in Berkeley, in the 70s, I handled (was the contact Agent) for a ‘beard,’ as they were referred to at the time.  In that capacity, I attended meetings with Reagan and other undercover Agents.  Reagan was something of a legend.  However, during my meeting with him and others, I was not that impressed.  I later commented to the Agent that I was handling that Willie has been ‘under’ too long.  Nonetheless, Reagan did, allegedly, obtain some good information, and endured some very difficult and stressful times.  If he now suffers from some sort of post-traumatic issue, I wouldn’t be surprised.

I must say that Megyn Kelly did a pretty good job.  Bill Ayers has been preparing for decades to answer all the tough questions.  Megyn Kelly had to commit much of her information to memory to sustain a rapid fire interview.  I commend her efforts.  She must be a very smart cookie.

True Nelson

Megyn Kelly's Interview of Bill Ayers / 6-30-14 / The Kelly File

I watched the interview of Bill Ayers by Megyn Kelly.  It was on at 6:00PM on the West Coast (The Kelly File, Fox network).  I thought she did a very good job and seemed well-prepared.  The second half of the interview is on tomorrow.

Bill Ayers is, of course, very adept at justifying his political and social beliefs.  After all, he’s been doing it for the last forty years.  I think he must be feeling that he is nearing the end of the road, as many of us do, and that he needs to put a shine on his legacy – hence the books and the interviews.

As a former FBI Agent who was in the 70’s assigned to the Weatherman Squad in San Francisco, it aggravates me that he is able to have this public forum to continue his self-promoting lies – lies that he has repeatedly told and polished for decades.  More importantly, I think Kelly’s interview, although she certainly tried, will not have altered a single person’s point-of-view.  That is pretty clear to me based on the people that I know.

For those in the military and law enforcement that Ayers has oft-maligned, and for those the Weatherman harmed, I’m sorry; but it’s time for us to realize that no one really cares anymore.  And, when the final chapter is written, we will be forgotten and Bill Ayers will live on – a hero to some and a great intellect to others.  Such is life.

True Nelson

Megyn Kelly Interviews Bill Ayers, Kelly Files, 6PM, 6-30-14 (the Fox Network)

I’m encouraging my readers to watch Megyn Kelly’s interview of Bill Ayers at 6PM, PDT, 6/30/2014 (Fox Network).  I’ve seen a preview and it should be interesting.  I hope she nails the little twerp.

I realize that some of my best friends are Liberals; and that they tend to avoid Fox whenever possible.  But, just this once, for me, and old friend, tune-in.  What can it hurt?

I was a member of the FBI’s Weathermen Squad, assigned to the Berkeley Resident Agency in the 70s.  I invite you to click on the following hyperlink.

I think you will find some of my personal observations and experiences to be good background for subsequently viewing Megyn Kelly’s interview.

http://trueattrue.blogspot.com/2013/10/bill-ayers-american-dissident-or.html

Thanks for joining me at 6PM, Monday evening.

True Nelson

Darrion Holiwell, Criminal and Corrupt Cop / King County Sheriff's Office (Seattle, WA) / Part 2

Which brings me to the point that I would principally like to make.

I believe that the final disposition, for Darrion Holiwell, and the other departmental personnel involved, will be relatively minor.  Why?  Because the Sheriff will try to minimize the severity of the issue to protect the department and his own reputation as an administrator.  The King County Sheriff, John Urquhart, should be, I suppose, offered some slack in that he has been the Sheriff for less than one year.  But, he has been a member of said Sheriff’s Office for decades.  That he had no knowledge of Holiwell’s dubious behavior over the last many years, is really hard to accept.

When I was in corporate security for a major company, I investigated an embezzlement which occurred at one of our facilities.  The Purchasing Agent was responsible for the theft – and the inquiry reflected that no one else, with the company, was involved or had knowledge of the theft.  I remember the subsequent telephone conference call with the CEO of our company.  I sat in an office with the Mill Manager, and listened to the CEO’s directives.  He said he had read my report and thought about it.  As a result, the Purchasing Agent was to be terminated and I was to coordinate my findings with local law enforcement to ascertain whether or not prosecution was indicated.  We all agreed.  Secondly, the CEO directed that the Mill’s Controller / Accountant be terminated.  I attempted to interject that there was no indication whatsoever that the Accountant was aware of the misappropriation.  However, the CEO cut me off.  ‘Mr. Nelson,’ he said, ‘it doesn’t matter to me whether or not the accountant was aware of the theft.  It was his job to be aware.  He was the supervisor.  He is to be terminated.’  I saw the look on the Mill Manager’s face.  He was thinking that he might be next.  That did not occur – at least at that particular moment.  And, would have been, of course, something the CEO probably wouldn’t have done in my presence.

My question here is who was supervising Holiwell?  How many others were involved or knew what was going on, but did nothing?  These factors will be exposed in court in excruciating detail in any subsequent trial.  Therefore, a trial of Holiwell is one of the last things the Sheriff wants to see.

I think Holiwell will be fired or more likely resign.  He may be asked to make some sort of restitution.  If there is a conviction, it will be for a misdemeanor.  I think Holiwell will not serve any serious jail time.  The Sheriff will make some meaningless personnel reassignments within the department (a smoke screen).  The issue will drag-on for a period of time until the public generally loses interest.  The smoke will clear.  Business as usual.

True Nelson

Darrion Holiwell, criminal and corrupt cop / King County Sheriff’s Office (Seattle, WA)

We see this sort of thing happen too often.  Another corrupt cop, Darrion Holiwell, age 49, a deputy with King County in Washington (Seattle) has been charged with a major theft from his employer, using and distributing illegal drugs (to include steroids), and promoting a prostitution business involving his wife.  Holiwell is currently being held in the King County Jail with bail set at $150,000.

In the grand scheme of criminal endeavors, Holiwell’s alleged crimes aren’t that big of a deal.  Crime-wise, his offenses are undistinguished.  He is in the same league as countless other two-bit criminals.  Nonetheless, he portends to be a police officer; and he has betrayed the public trust.  If convicted, he deserves to be made an example and should receive the commensurate punishment; a punishment, so to speak, on steroids.

Holiwell has apparently been involved in thefts and other crimes for quite some time.  But, reportedly, this all came as a big surprise to the Sheriff and his supervisory staff.  The cat was let out of the bag when Holiwell’s wife started talking to one of Holiwell’s previous wives about her current abuse at the hands of Deputy Holiwell.  The prior wife reported that conversation to someone she knew at the Sheriff’s Office – and an inquiry was belatedly initiated.  As they might say, at that point, the stuff hit the fan.

This reminded me of a case, years back, when I was a deputy sheriff.  The SO arrested five or six men for Statutory Rape, later reduced to Contributing to the Delinquency of a Minor.  It involved a fifteen-year-old girl.  I happened to see the girl in the office on one occasion.  She certainly didn’t look fifteen – somewhat older – but that is, under law, not particularly relevant.  One of the men arrested was a member of the local police department.  The others were mostly young men in their late teens or early twenties.

Each of the young men ultimately was convicted and received probation.  The cop, on the other hand, upon conviction, was sentenced to three years in the Oregon State Penitentiary.  As I recall the judge lectured the police officer on ‘trust’ and that law enforcement officers should always be held to a higher standard or suffer the consequences.  It is an imperative that the public has trust in their law enforcement personnel.  And, in fact, for law enforcement personnel, it is sometimes not enough to be honest – the public must also perceive them to be honest, which requires a higher level of personal conduct.

Most current and former law enforcement personnel have honored that trust; but many have not.  For those criminally inclined cops, the consequences should be severe, and in the above described instance (for the police officer) they were.

However, I wanted to make another point; perhaps, a more important consideration in the King County Sheriff’s Office investigation.

To be continued…

True Nelson

Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl / This Veteran's Opinion (Part 2)

One of the positive aspects of having a blog is that, occasionally, your comments strike a chord with a reader; and they, in turn, offer their own opinion – which I always welcome.

Regarding Bowe Bergdahl, ‘Anonymous’ made the following points:

Point #1:  Her husband was a “Marine Scout in Vietnam,” fought in many battles, came home injured – and he does not agree with my assessment of what Bergdahl’s final punishment or disposition should be – that it should be much more severe – and that he considers Berdahl’s acts to be desertion in time of war, and probably treason.  The former Marine feels that Bergdahl should, at minimum, spend significant time in prison.

Point #2:  Anonymous said that she has a problem with the trade for Bergdahl; the five for one swap, that she was bothered by trading five “Muslim Extremists” for Bergdahl.  Although, she seemed to agree that it is a good thing that Bergdahl has been ‘recovered’ from the Muslim extremists.  Furthermore, she expressed concern that the extremists seemed to have dictated the circumstances of Bergdahl’s release from captivity.

Anonymous, I hope I was able to summarize your principal points.  For those who wish to read the entire comment from this lady, they can read it under my earlier post on Bergdahl.

But, here are my thoughts…

Your husband is probably right.  Perhaps, my recommendation was a little lenient under the circumstances.  Moreover, additional information, aggravating information, seems to be materializing on almost a daily basis.  Now, believe it or not, Hollywood is planning to make a movie about Bergdahl’s life and adventures.  It kind of makes one sick to their stomach; especially in that almost none of the Hollywood types have ever served in the military and the movie is sure to be a sympathetic rendition.

OK, in my initial post on this subject, I attempted to skirt the political aspects of this case; but they may be becoming increasingly relevant.  I swallowed hard when Susan Rice, the President’s National Security Advisor, described Bergdahl’s military service in Afghanistan as him having served “with honor and distinction.”  Ms. Rice is, in my opinion, little more than the President’s ‘groupie.’  Yes, I know she’s smart.  But, look at her closely.  She is a ‘Stepford’ politician (remember the motion picture, The Stepford Wives which was based on a novel by Ira Levin).  So, we shouldn’t be shocked by what Susan Rice has simply been programed to say.

Regarding the five-for-one trade, that’s no surprise.  Western countries are always on the short-end when it comes to trading prisoners.  Why?  Maybe, it’s because we value life more than they do.  Look at the Israelis, they sometimes trade hundreds of prisoners for the return of one of theirs.  In this instance, maybe the Muslim extremists currently sense American weakness or vulnerability.

Anonymous, historically speaking, as your husband may recall, President Carter, in 1977, pardoned hundreds-of-thousands of ‘draft dodgers,’ as well as approximately 1000 military deserters.  So, it is very likely that if there is too much pushback directed at Bergdahl, President Obama will jump in with a sugar-coated pardon of his own.

For me, personally, I wish it would just go away.  I would like Bergdahl to return to Hailey, Idaho; and that I’d never hear about him again.  Will he live out the remainder of his life in disgrace?  No, I doubt it.  This country swims in apologists who will continue to rationalize the actions of ‘deserters’ or other serious criminal offenders.  Now there is an increasing political movement to give voting rights back to convicted felons and current prisoners.  After all, they have political opinions too and an inalienable right to participate (attempt at sarcasm).  (Incidentally, this challenge is mostly pushed forward by Democrats.  Surprised?  Well, statistics show that criminals, when not otherwise occupied, predominantly vote Democrat.)

‘Honor and distinction,’ ‘right and wrong,’ ‘harmful actions should warrant severe consequences,’ are concepts that have already been nearly rationalized out of existence.  I’m not sure what the words even mean anymore.  Maybe, they actually mean nothing?  It just depends.  Everything is relative and subject to a nuanced interpretation.  Right?  Am I as guilty of this as the next guy?  Yes, I probably am.

True Nelson

Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl / This Veteran's Opinion

The other day, I was having some minor work done on my truck.  The young mechanic came up to me and said, “I noticed you’re a vet; and I just want to thank you for your service.”  I should explain that in Oregon there are many variations of vehicle plates, one of which reflects that you were a military veteran.  I responded, “Well, thank you, that was many years ago.”  I shook his hand.

Driving home, I started thinking about the young man’s comment.  Perhaps the plates indicated to him and maybe some others that I was searching for, or felt deserving of, a compliment, a thank you, a pat on the back.  That was not my intention.  As I said before, in Oregon, they have many different license plates for which you must pay a little extra.  The little extra is generally dedicated to what might be considered a good cause like veterans’ programs, save the salmon, build more bicycle paths, support a local college (aka football team), etc.  As a veteran, and I am proud of that fact, I felt I was making a small contribution to Oregon veterans; although, I’m not exactly sure how that money is allocated.  Nonetheless, I thought I’d let others worry about the salmon.

I was in the military for four years during the Vietnam era.   I spent two years in Southeast Asia.  I suppose there were some hardships associated with that.  I didn’t see my wife for nearly a year.  I didn’t have an opportunity to see my son until he was six-months-old.  But, I wasn’t any hero – that’s for sure.  And, I don’t pretend to be one.

The military was a job.  I’ve always felt the military did me a favor.  In my estimation, they changed me for the better.  Does that sound strange?  There was, perhaps, a little danger involved, but that only added to the excitement.  All things considered, the military was a good experience.  I was given a lot of responsibility for personnel and equipment – a degree of responsibility that was never matched in my later careers.  Yes, and that included being an Agent in the FBI.

I guess what I’m trying to say is if you want to thank a veteran that’s fine.  But, let’s not forget to thank so many others who may very well be equally deserving:  farmers, nurses, emergency personnel, teachers, mill workers, miners; and even (I might add) the young man who worked on my truck.

There are, of course, true heroes in the military past and present.  Admittedly, their opinion on the following should have more credibility than my own.  However, here is one veteran’s opinion regarding Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl.  I’m glad he’s coming home.

From what I’ve heard, he no doubt would be rightfully considered a ‘deserter.’  In times past, he would have been shot or hanged.  But, times are different now.

For the men who searched for and suffered attempting to recover Bergdahl, one can only say that was their mission, their job.  They did it, and for those that survived, they are better men for it.  Their job was damage control, not ‘rescue’ as has been so often described in the media.  Deserters cannot be rescued.  Deserters are recovered to prevent further damage to the overall mission.  However, I understand that this concept may not make a whole lot of sense to non-military types.

Bergdahl is and was a very troubled individual.  He has suffered for his actions.  He will continue to suffer the remainder of his life.  He should be given a General Discharge (not an Honorable Discharge) and allowed to go home.  One other thing.  He doesn’t deserve, nor would he expect, a parade or a community celebration when he returns to Idaho.  Any community that would organize such a celebration dishonors all veterans; and, as a community, brings shame upon their collective-selves.

True Nelson

Kyron Horman / Four Years Since He Went Missing from an Elementary School

Four years ago, today, Kyron Horman disappeared without a trace from Skyline Elementary School; a school within the Portland School District.

I've written many blog posts on the Kyron disappearance and the resulting search and inquiry.  I wish I had something current of significance to offer, but I do not.

What apparently we do have is a near perfect crime.  Or, more likely, an inept investigation by the Multnomah County Sheriff's Office, and a County Prosecutor's Office that has been intimidated into inaction by a top-notch criminal defense attorney, Steve Houze.  Furthermore, we have had no fortuitously developed breaks in the case - something we can all continue to hope for.

Whether or not we will ever see a solution to Kyron's disappearance is becoming increasing doubtful.

True Nelson

Elliot Rodger, age 22 / Mass Murder at Isla Vista, California / Near UC Santa Barbara

I’ve read a large portion of Elliot’s ‘manifesto.’  Manifesto:  Haven’t you grown to hate that word?  It once was a respectable word generally meaning setting forth one’s public policies.  Not now – from the Unabomber (Ted Kaczynski) to Elliot Rodger, serial killers and mass murderers have a name for their insane, written, invariably and extensively published ramblings.

I’m not going to show a picture of Elliot Rodger.  The one we’ve all seen kind of gives one the creeps.  I’m not going to quote his words, I’ve thought about them enough.  I do have some thoughts about this tragedy, based on my life experience.  And, some of you might be interested.

First, please don’t blame this tragedy on guns.  That explanation is so ill-considered and uninformed that it hardly warrants an explanation.  Guns are ubiquitous in American society and always have been.  For those of you who can remember back fifty years – as I can.  Could you name one family during that period who didn’t have some sort of gun in the household?  I never lived in a major city like some of you have.  Perhaps, big city dwellers can think of a family; but I can’t.  I wasn’t exactly raised in the ‘boondocks,’ just typical America where people hunted for sport and to augment their food supply; or just enjoyed plinking.  I was shooting a BB gun in grade school; pistols, rifles and shotguns in Junior and Senior High School.  Guns can’t explain Elliot.  No, something is different about our modern culture and it isn’t guns.

To blame guns is simplistic.  It is an explanation used by politicians to simplify a very complicated issue.  To say we need more gun control is a nonsensical cliché, and an inane answer to a complex issue.  Yes, of course, guns can kill.  Knives can kill.  Cars can kill.  Each method of which Elliot used in his rampage.  He also planned arson to increase the body count.

Well, it might be said, he hated women; sorry I don’t buy it.  I think that was the rationalization of his twisted mind.  After all, he also planned to kill his stepmother and brother.  If he hated women, he would have wanted nothing to do with women.  It sounds to me like he desperately wanted a relationship with a woman.  He railed at the injustice of being a 22-year-old virgin.  Well, a short drive to Nevada in his parents’ purchased BMW, wearing his five hundred dollar sweater, would have solved that problem.  More likely, Elliot hated himself.

So what caused this?

I think the number one problem is the overall breakdown and ineffectiveness of our mental health system.  We used to put the mentally ill in hospitals, sometimes against their will, so that they could be treated.  Now, they live under a bridge and beg on the streets.  Society has failed these people.  Society failed Elliot and his victims.  Elliot was a troubled, to say the least, young man who had been receiving psychological therapy from the age of eight.  He was a person that should have never been allowed to purchase a gun ‘legally;’ but he did.  And, as we know, California has some of the strictest gun laws in the Nation.  Someone, probably more than one so-called medical expert, failed Elliot and society; and contributed to the death of six innocent young people.

Secondly, the news media deserves some of the blame.  They give too much publicity to these events.  They tell us everything we didn’t particularly want to know about the murderer’s background, family, friends, etc.  They create an instant celebrity.  And why do they do it?  Three reasons:  money, money, and more money.

Third, our children are overexposed to violence to the point of being desensitized by movies, television, video games, etc.  That’s modern entertainment folks.

Fourth, I think, based on my experience, if we knew the whole story we would learn that there were serious family issues and trauma involved – as seems to be the case in many of these murder sprees by young men and boys.

True Nelson

The Fatal Shooting of Diren Dede, a German Exchange Student / Missoula, Montana (Postscript)

I’m looking for the proper words here.  Is it ironic or paradoxical, or just plain tragic that Diren Dede was shot and killed.  His death, at the hands of Markus Kaarma, was apparently set in motion by the previous illegal actions of one Tristan Stabler and a juvenile associate.  Can we, therefore, postulate that Diren gave his life so that Tristan and / or, perhaps, the juvenile should live?

Stabler and the juvenile have admitted to the two previous burglaries.  Being successful, on the first two occasions without consequences, it is almost certain Stabler would have returned to the open and inviting garage.  Some might opine that, if Stabler was smart, he would not go back to the same house.  It has been my professional experience that petty thieves generally do not have that level of circumspection.  As they say it’s not rocket science.

The Dede killing is more tragic in the sense that, the night he was killed, it was his first venture into Kaarma’s open garage.  What was Dede’s actual motivation?  Was his intention to steal?  Or was it simply immature curiosity?  We will never know.  However, it makes one remember the foolish things that we all did as teenagers.

Life is never fair.  That is a lesson of which we must be continually reminded.

True Nelson

The Fatal Shooting of Diren Dede, a German Exchange Student / Missoula, Montana (Part 2)

The more I think about this case, the more disgusted I become.  This death was so needless and tragic.

I don’t think the forensic tests are back, but almost certainly Markus Kaarma’s judgment was affected by his use of illegal drugs.  If that is not the case, this man has some serious mental issues.  Most likely, it is both.

Marijuana is known to magnify character flaws (admittedly this is also true of alcohol).

If you read the prosecutor’s affidavit in support of 'probable cause,' you will note that Kaarma had previously boasted to others about waiting to kill the person or persons who had earlier burglarized his garage.  Basically, Kaarma set a trap.  There is no excusing his conduct.  His actions were undoubtedly a crime.

Affidavit / Relevant

This case reminds me of the hypothetical situation, sometimes discussed in law enforcement seminars, wherein a homeowner has rigged a tripwire to a shotgun.  When an unknown person enters the room, he trips the wire and the shotgun fires.  Fact, the homeowner is not at home at the time.  What if the person killed is actually a burglar?  What if the person killed is the homeowner’s son returning, unexpectedly, from college?  This scenario often creates a lively debate.  Is it legal to set a lethal trap within your own home?  Is the death of a burglar less serious than the death of the homeowner’s son?  Is it a crime?  Yes.

We cannot totally excuse Diren Dede that night.  Diren made a terrible mistake that cost him his life.  The other boy, who waited along the street for Diren, was also an exchange student at the high school.  That boy was from Ecuador.  The police interviewed the boy concerning his involvement and found no immediate reason to hold him.  And, as a result, he has since left the United States.  I suppose that was a smart move on his part; but it could become a legal issue at trial.  He was, after all, a principal witness, even a possible co-conspirator in a crime.

What about the high school’s responsibility?  I suppose it goes without saying that you shouldn’t be out stealing from the local residents.  But, what kind of briefing are these teenagers given upon their arrival in the U.S.?

What about self-defense or the ‘castle doctrine?’  Not relevant under the described circumstances – at best a mitigating factor, but doubtful.  The defense attorney will attempt to use self-defense arguments, but it won’t work.

Interestingly, two individuals have been recently arrested by the Missoula PD for the previous two burglaries at Kaarma's residence.  One is an 18 year old, Tristan Stabler, and the other is a juvenile.  Reportedly, during the first burglary, these two cleaned-out Kaarma's stash of marijuana.  During the second burglary, they took a wallet and an iPhone.

The information now available was that Diren and another boy (referenced above) named Robby Pazino were walking in the neighborhood.  Inexplicably, according to Pazino, Diren decided to enter the open garage.  Diren didn't say what he planned to do, but Pazino suspected that Diren was after beer.

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