Weir Only Human

"Doctor in the House" interview with Congressman Michael Burgess

2011-07-09T18:28:00.001-05:00

Weir Talking About It - Edition #1 from Ilegales the Movie on Vimeo.

Is President Obama a flake?

2011-07-01T13:07:00.001-05:00

Women can be brutal too.

2011-06-28T20:05:00.000-05:00

Political criticism should be colorblind

2011-06-28T15:18:00.000-05:00

TO KILL AN AMERICAN

2011-06-09T10:29:00.003-05:00

Written by an Australian Dentist TO KILL AN AMERICAN You probably missed this in the rush of news, but there was actually a report that someone in Pakistan had published in a newspaper, an offer of a reward to anyone who killed an American, any American. So an Australian dentist wrote an editorial the following day to let everyone know what an American is. So they would know when they found

Sarah Palin must be stopped!!!

2011-06-08T16:19:00.006-05:00

Have you ever seen so much hatred for, and vitriolic criticism of, someone who had only a brief stint on the national political stage? Almost 3 years after the presidential election in which Sarah Palin, as the GOP nominee for Vice-President, campaigned for about three months, she is still being pilloried by the left-wing loons as though she had been elected and were actively engaged in

Let's mutilate ourselves today!

2011-06-08T16:07:00.002-05:00

Have you noticed how many young people are wearing jewelry these days? I don't mean wristwatches, bracelets, and finger rings. I'm talking about nose rings, lip rings, tongue studs, bellybutton rings, and even baubles dangling from pierced eyebrows. I've heard of several other places that have been pierced and "adorned" with trinkets, but propriety prevents me from mentioning them in a public

Vietnam vets - a lost generation of patiots.

2011-05-20T16:20:00.004-05:00

This is a column I wrote a couple of years ago, but every time I think about Vietnam and the heroes that arrived home and were subjected to abuse from a bunch of filthy, leftwing, draft-dodging hippies, I am moved to remind people of that lost generation of patriots who were robbed of the recognition they deserved. In late 2009, someone sent me an email attachment about a Vietnam War hero named

What would you do to save your family?

2011-05-09T21:31:00.002-05:00

The debate over interrogation methods continues to be part of the political dialogue because many Americans haven't a clue concerning the danger we face from homicidal terrorists. We often hear that we must not become brutal concerning the methods we use to keep us safe. For example, we shouldn't use force to extract confessions from known terrorists who have information that would save lives.

Remembering my big brother

2011-05-01T17:34:00.000-05:00

My brother Bill died yesterday, April 30, after being in a coma for about 30 days, the result of cardiac arrest that cut off oxygen to his brain. Two years older than I, Willy, as most of the family called him, celebrated his 70th birthday last July, during a surprise party organized by Lucy, his marvelous and devoted wife of 50 years. It was a gala affair at a golf club banquet room, filled with

Euphemistically speaking

2011-03-28T20:10:00.000-05:00

When I was growing up on the Lower East Side of Manhattan, there was an area, about half a mile downtown from me, known as “The Bowery.” One of the most elegant areas of the city during the 1800s, by 1900, the Bowery devolved into low-rent concert halls, flop houses, beer gardens, brothels and streets that became the living quarters for hundreds of people with no visible means of support. These

Dreaming of a pathway to citizenship

2011-03-05T12:46:00.002-06:00

It seems to me that we have reached an impasse in the debate over illegal immigration. Throughout 2010, the 111th Congress continued to consider the so-called DREAM act, which has been tried before in past sessions of Congress. However, even though the House passed it in December, the Senate was unable to override a filibuster and it failed again. Provisions of the bill include eligibility for

Facing the consequences of courage

2011-02-04T12:56:00.000-06:00

I’ve often wondered what happens to alter the values of politicians after they’ve been in elective office for several years. Assuming that they didn’t compromise their principles when they first got elected, did they do so to get reelected? How does an elected official hold on to his principles if they differ from those of his constituency? Let’s say Congressman Jones won his seat 10 years ago as

Here's how to keep all that political 'news' in perspective

2011-01-26T12:00:00.000-06:00

1. The Wall Street Journal is read by the people who run the country.2. The Washington Post is read by people who think they run the country. 3. The New York Times is read by people who think they should run the country and who are very good at crossword puzzles.4. USA Today is read by people who think they ought to run the country but don't really understand The New York Times.

Keystone Exploration and EXPRO Engineering sue the Town of Flower Mound and the Flower Mound Oil and Gas Board of Appeals.

2010-12-28T13:22:00.000-06:00

On Wednesday, December 22, 2010, Keystone Exploration, Ltd. and EXPRO Engineering Inc. filed suit against the Town of Flower Mound and the Flower Mound Oil and Gas Board of Appeals in response to the denial of seven setback variances needed to commence gas drilling on property owned by P.R. Smith in western Flower Mound near Grapevine Lake. On Wednesday, December 15, 2010, the town's Oil and Gas

Press Release from the Town of Flower Mound

2010-12-22T11:35:00.000-06:00

Titan Operating, LLC, filed suit on Dec. 17 against the Town of Flower Mound and the Flower Mound Oil and Gas Board of Appeals in response to the denial of setback variances needed to commence gas drilling on property owned by Elmer Powell in Flower Mound. “The Town Attorney received a copy of the Titan lawsuit and the Flower Mound will vigorously defend the Oil and Gas Board of Appeals and

My conversation with God

2010-12-15T17:26:00.000-06:00

I was sitting alone in my room the other day and I had a talk with God. Me: “God, why is there so much strife in the world?” God: “My son, I programmed my children to be complex beings beset by challenges and struggles which would strengthen them and force them to work out the problems of their existence in order that they be worthy of their complexity.” Me: “But, why did you make us to be so

The stuff of heroes

2010-11-24T08:10:00.000-06:00

Three years ago and half a world away, on a cold, treacherous mountainside in Afghanistan, a young man, wearing the uniform of the US Army, challenged a hailstorm of bullets in order to save his fellow soldiers. On November 16, President Obama, during a ceremony at the White House, awarded Army Staff Sergeant Salvatore Giunta the Medal of Honor for conspicuous gallantry and great personal bravery

Violence at a supermarket near you

2010-11-18T09:15:00.001-06:00

The plight of the Mexican people became stunningly clear to me recently when a friend of mine was visiting my Flower Mound, Texas home with his wife. My friend (who prefers to remain anonymous in this column, so I'll just refer to him as Joe) stopped by to discuss some ideas he has for making a significant and positive impact on the dreadful illegal immigration challenge facing our country. Joe

Savages are walking among us

2010-11-12T19:48:00.000-06:00

For the New England family it was just another July day in 2007 as Jennifer Petit and her daughters, Michaela, 11, and Hayley, 17, went shopping at stores in their Cheshire, Connecticut community. Jennifer was married to Dr. William Petit, a prominent endocrinologist and medical researcher who enjoyed gardening in his spare time. The family represented the best of civilized society, donating

Charitable causes are always in fashion

2010-11-09T08:27:00.000-06:00

If you’re looking for an exciting evening of entertainment, including fashionable clothing designs, being modeled on an elevated catwalk, plus great food, drinks and fun-loving people gathered together to raise money for some worthy causes, check out the Cloud 9 New York Style Fashion Show at the Hilton Garden Inn – Lewisville on Saturday, November 13. This annual affair, sponsored and produced

The roots of voters’ rage

2010-10-29T14:00:00.000-05:00

Well folks, we’re almost there! By the middle of next week the verdict will be in on the first two years of a Democrat-controlled government. The majority of political pundits are predicting an easy GOP sweep of the House and a pretty good chance of taking the Senate. Prognostications are always a reason for concern because it could cause some people to believe that it’s in the bag, hence their

Steve Wynn on the state of America

2010-08-23T10:14:00.001-05:00

Dinner with family at Wine Cat Bistro

2010-08-08T16:31:00.000-05:00

Weirs, Saffys, Zamoras, Osborns and Florie at Wine Cat Bistro

2010-08-08T16:27:00.001-05:00

Dinner with family at Wine Cat Bistro

2010-08-08T16:23:00.000-05:00

Immigration - should we lead with our hearts or our heads?

2010-08-02T15:26:00.000-05:00

Should we lead with our hearts, or our heads?

2010-08-02T15:25:00.000-05:00

They say a picture is worth a thousand words, but I’m going to try to come in at about 800. I took a look at the front page of a major Dallas newspaper and saw a photo of 2 Hispanic women and a 9-year-old Hispanic girl hugging each other and crying as they celebrated the decision by Federal District Court Judge Susan Bolton to block some portions of the Arizona immigration law. It couldn’t be

2010-08-02T15:24:00.001-05:00

Destroying America from within

2010-08-02T15:18:00.000-05:00

There must be millions of people around the world who look at our country and wonder if we are experiencing the last gasps of an empire in decline. When radical Islam attacked and killed close to 3000 Americans, in their workplace, on their own soil nine years ago, the world waited for a response that was expected to be cataclysmic. After all, as President Kennedy said in his inaugural speech: “

The feckless system called “justice”

2010-07-17T08:38:00.000-05:00

Once again, the lawless elements of society found an excuse to loot stores, damage property and create mayhem in their city. When the white Oakland, California police officer was found guilty of involuntary manslaughter for killing an unarmed black man (the color of the officer and the victim is emphasized because if the colors were reversed, there would be a deafening silence on the issue),

The incumbent-entitlement program

2010-06-17T11:10:00.001-05:00

Slavery used to be legal until decent people came to grips with the gross inhumanity of it. Morphine and cocaine used to be for sale over the counter until the rate of addiction moved sensible people to outlaw it. In 1919, the Volstead Act brought in an era of Prohibition, making the manufacture or sale of alcoholic beverages, illegal. By 1933, that law was repealed, making alcohol legal once

How much abuse should officers take?

2010-06-12T14:09:00.000-05:00

For all those hand-wringers out there who are shaking their collective heads in disbelief that a 15 year-old Mexican boy was shot dead by a Border Patrol agent because he was attempting to brain the guy with a rock, let’s be clear; a rock, colliding with your skull, can kill you just as surely as a bullet. When you watch some of the videos of what these Border Patrol agents have to put up with

Courage doesn’t require a megaphone

2010-05-25T15:50:00.000-05:00

I think if I had spent any time around Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal and heard him continually talk about his service in the Vietnam War I would have figured he was a phony. I’ve known men who served in war and they’re not the type of guys who feel the need to brag. They don’t have to! They’re not fighting an inner battle with their manhood or suffering from a guilt complex

AG against a law he hasn't read

2010-05-18T12:18:00.001-05:00

Once upon a time in America

2010-05-17T10:07:00.001-05:00

How did we arrive at a time in our history when the concept of the term “illegal” became a form of ethnic discrimination? The law is clear that it is a crime to enter or remain in the United States in violation of federal law. In addition, states have always had the authority to enforce immigration laws, but, as we all know, they have failed or refused to do so. Moreover, sanctuary policies are

A good weigh to stay in shape

2010-05-14T13:01:00.000-05:00

Well, now that another summer is about to expose portions of our bodies that have been covered up for the past six months, many of us will become aware that we’ve lost the battle of the bulge during the cooler weather. There’s nothing like dark clothing and pullover sweats to hide those unsightly, flesh-covered promontories we carry around like meatball heroes strapped around our waists. If you’

Tyranny may be closer than we think

2010-05-03T12:16:00.000-05:00

When Barack Obama was elected President of the United States, I experienced ambiguity about a national election result for the first time in my life. In every other presidential election that ran counter to my vote, I felt the winner didn’t represent any advantage for the future of the country. When Jimmy Carter beat Gerald Ford, I braced myself for the liberal climate about to descend on us.

False prophets are ravenous wolves

2010-04-07T21:03:00.000-05:00

Just when you think you've seen the most vile, disgusting levels of human behavior, you come across something that makes you fear for the survival of the human race. It's not that I wasn't aware of the vicious demonstrations held by the Westboro Baptist Church; I wrote about their malevolence in 1998 when they picketed the funeral of Mathew Shepard, a young man who had been brutally murdered by a

Dr. Burgess proposes healthcare fix

2010-03-27T10:21:00.000-05:00

Congressman proposes to fix loophole in healthcare

2010-03-26T16:03:00.003-05:00

Last night, Congressman Michael C. Burgess, M.D. (R-Texas), Chairman of the Congressional Health Care Caucus, introduced H.R. 4951, which would fix the loophole that exempted certain staff, as well as Administration officials, from participating in the exchanges created by the Democrats’ flawed health care bill. Burgess’ bill, which has 26 original co-sponsors, including Republican Leader John

All in a day’s work for a cop

2010-03-22T12:39:00.000-05:00

One of the toughest jobs for any police officer is the issuance of traffic tickets for minor violations. It’s one thing to stop someone traveling several miles per hour over the limit and remind him of the dangers of speeding as you cite him with a costly document that will reinforce the advice. But the idea of stopping some guy on his way to or from work, to hit him with a summons for not using

Hobnobbin' at Lincoln-Reagan Dinner

2010-03-04T14:58:00.000-06:00

“One of the biggest mistakes made by Bill and Hillary Clinton was when they threw Dick Morris under the bus,” said one of the attendees at the 26th Annual Lincoln-Reagan Dinner on Saturday at the DFW Hyatt Regency Hotel in Dallas. “Their loss was our gain,” said another. The reference was to the alienation that occurred between Morris and the Clintons in 1996 after the canny political strategist

Be careful what you wish for

2010-02-24T20:48:00.000-06:00

Last week, former New York City Police Commissioner Bernard Kerik was sentenced to 4 years in federal prison, after an investigation that began in earnest when he was nominated by President Bush in 2004 as Secretary of Homeland Security. Kerik’s life story reads like the ultimate Horatio Alger tale of a boy growing up in poverty and reaching the highest levels of fame and fortune. It’s very

There's nothing ordinary about Sarah

2010-02-20T18:10:00.000-06:00

I suppose it was bound to happen, since so many others were jumping on the get Sarah bandwagon, why not one of our most esteemed conservatives? George Will, who runs about even with Pat Buchanan in my favorite columnist category, wrote a piece a few days ago, entitled, Mutual loathing society. With his usual flair for making historical analogies, Will’s treatise, although artfully stated, misses

Do you care who represents you?

2010-02-20T18:05:00.000-06:00

Who are you going to vote for in the Primary Election on March 2? Democrats and Republicans will be chosen to head the tickets in their respective parties. Given the high percentage of Republican voters in Denton County, chances are, whoever wins the GOP primary will ultimately be elected in November. So, the question is; what do you know about the people you see on those brochures, which are

Soft bigotry of low expectations

2010-02-01T14:47:00.000-06:00

“For an hour, I forgot that Obama was black,” said Chris Mathews, the host of MSNBC’s Hardball, after he finished watching President Obama’s State of the Union address. Did Mathews mean that he’s not used to hearing from articulate blacks who sound just like educated whites? Recently, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid was quoted in the book “Game Change” as saying privately that Obama, as a black

What's wrong with celebrating life?

2010-01-28T20:21:00.000-06:00

University of Florida quarterback Tim Tebow hasn’t even made it to the NFL yet and here he is in the Super Bowl. The Heisman Trophy-winning passer for the Florida Gators is the first college football player to both rush and pass for 20 touchdowns in a season and he was the first sophomore to win the highly coveted trophy. Nevertheless, his recent fame comes from an ad that will be placed among

How to cause a political tsunami

2010-01-25T14:29:00.000-06:00

Imagine that you were Martha Coakley and you were a shoo-in for the United States Senate only a month ago, making you a solid vote for President Obama’s healthcare plan. Being a Democrat in Massachusetts with a 20 point lead over your Republican opponent, a month before Election Day, means you could spend the rest of the campaign on a beach in Tahiti with a Mai Tai in your lotion-covered hand.

King was the conscience of a nation

2010-01-17T22:21:00.003-06:00

Every year, during the celebration of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s birthday, I'm reminded of a dreadful day so many years ago. April 4, 1968 is a day I'll never forget. I was working the 4 to midnight shift with my partner, Leroy Spivey, in the Bedford—Stuyvesant section of Brooklyn. We were on radio motor patrol during an unusually

Chasing the bad guys

2010-01-15T11:57:00.000-06:00

One of the most dangerous police activities, placing at risk not only men and women in uniform, but the general public as well, is the chasing of suspicious people driving vehicles. During my police years in plainclothes investigations, I found myself embroiled in many hair—raising episodes of homicidal behavior on the streets of Brooklyn

2010-01-14T14:36:00.001-06:00

Racism is not a private matter

2010-01-12T14:13:00.002-06:00

In 2002, Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott attended the 100th birthday party for Strom Thurmond, his senate colleague, and former segregationist from South Carolina. While honoring an old man who had spent his life in public service, Lott said: “When Strom Thurmond ran for president (1948), we (Mississippians) voted for him. We’re proud of

Students provide relief for AIDS victims

2010-01-10T15:49:00.001-06:00

The Eyes on Africa Foundation received notice on December 16, 2009, that they had won a $25,000 grant from JP Morgan Chase Bank, N. A. through the Facebook Chase Community Giving competition. In Round One, 500,000 nonprofits registered with Chase Community Giving, and 1 million Facebook fans cast votes for their favorite charities. The Top 100 vote-getting charities, which included the Eyes on

Eyes On Africa fighting poverty and AIDS

2010-01-10T15:45:00.000-06:00

If the shorts don’t fit, you must acquit

2010-01-06T15:43:00.000-06:00

Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, the Nigerian man charged with the Christmas Day bombing attempt aboard Northwest Airlines Flight 253, spent time in Yemen after graduating from a London university in 2008. If not for the quick action by passengers and crew, and a faulty detonator, hundreds of lives would have been lost. According to reports, the terrorist told authorities that, while in Yemen, Al Qaeda

Where’s our Mr. Smith in Washington?

2010-01-03T13:11:00.001-06:00

The United States is the world's oldest democracy and I believe the reason we have lasted this long is the tradition of skepticism, even fear, we have of government. As much as we need laws and regulations to keep 300 million people from killing, maiming, raping and robbing each other; we also need to keep a close eye on the lawmakers and regulators. However, the level of concern about government

Enjoying golf for the fun of it

2009-12-20T22:21:00.000-06:00

No, this has nothing to do with Tiger Woods, who, it seems, had more fun off the links than on. I don’t hate golf; I just think it’s an enormous waste of time. Analytically speaking, it’s one of the most absurd of human activities. Grown men (and women) spend about 4 hours swinging a club at a little white ball in their pursuit of dunking it into a small hole surrounded by a severely scalped area

Making schools safe for perversion

2009-12-14T16:43:00.000-06:00

In another example of the so-called “major media” refusing to print anything negative about President Obama, they have given scant attention to the problems associated with Kevin Jennings, his Safe Schools Czar. Jennings is the guy who gave advice to a 15 year-old high school student about how to protect himself when he was having sex with an adult man. Mr. Jennings was told that the boy met the

We need whistle-blowers in Congress

2009-12-01T14:55:00.000-06:00

The term "kleptocracy" is applied to a government that extends the personal wealth and political power of its own officials and the ruling class via the embezzlement of state funds at the expense of the wider population, sometimes without even the pretense of honest service. That sounds pretty close to what we have in America today. Have you ever seen so much in-your-face corruption being dangled

Why the left fears Sarah

2009-11-18T14:42:00.002-06:00

Have you ever seen so much hatred for, and vitriolic criticism of, someone who had only a brief stint on the national political stage? More than a year after the presidential election in which Sarah Palin, as the GOP nominee for Vice-President, campaigned for about three months, she is still being pilloried by the left-wing loons as though she had been elected and were actively engaged in

North Texas was "fashionably" represented

2009-11-16T11:19:00.001-06:00

If you happened to be anywhere near the Hilton Garden Inn in Lewisville last Saturday night you might have seen a glow in the sky and a rhythmic rumbling among the bricks and mortar. It was the Seventh Annual New York Style Fashion Show, put on by Cloud 9, the Kim Cloud owned Beauty Salon and Spa on FM407 in Flower Mound. Several hundred guests were fabulously feted by a vast assortment of

Religious extremism or traditional values?

2009-11-08T12:07:00.000-06:00

When I see the Obama Administration trying to force their version of health care on us; trying to shove Cap and Trade down our throats; and telling us that we can have everything we want without any tax increases, it sounds like the irresponsible parent telling the children they can do what they please without any fear of consequences. Of course, the natural result of such liberalism is a

A Great American

2009-11-06T11:23:00.003-06:00

Radio talk show host, and frequent fill-in for Rush Limbaugh, Mark Davis was at his best last night at Majesty's Restaurant in Parker Square, Flower Mound, as he spoke about the bloody tragedy at Fort Hood. Since all the facts of the massacre were not yet known, Mark made it clear that we shouldn't be too quick to jump to conclusions. Tactful as always, he was careful not to point any accusatory

Beware of liberals supporting Republicans

2009-10-24T11:39:00.001-05:00

One of the best ways to determine someone’s true political philosophy is to observe the people who support him/her. Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison is planning to run against Governor Perry in the Republican Primary next March, putting the GOP in Texas in a tough spot. They are being forced to take sides against two leaders of the party, each of whom claims to be the most conservative. As I outlined

The lucrative business of racism

2009-10-19T15:11:00.000-05:00

This latest imbroglio about Rush Limbaugh being ineligible to buy an NFL franchise, because of a couple of alleged racial comments he made over the span of his many decades on the radio, stands out as one of the phoniest canards ever foisted upon the American public. The irony behind the spurious charge is that they come from two of the most incendiary provocateurs in the race-baiting business.

NAMBLA – Legal child abuse

2009-10-11T10:39:00.000-05:00

I’ve always believed in the existence of monsters. During my 20 years as a cop in NYC, I met quite of few of them, many of whom may still be doing time in prisons around the country. However, they were the garden-variety type of monsters; murderers, rapists, armed robbers and other assorted thugs. But there’s another, even lower, level of criminal that exists in communities all across America,

What makes Kay Bailey run?

2009-09-30T14:18:00.000-05:00

It’s been said that a politician thinks of the next election, while a statesman thinks of the next generation. It’s a phrase that comes to mind in the race getting under way in Texas, where US Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison is challenging Governor Rick Perry for the GOP nomination in March of 2010. Here we have a 3-term senator planning to vacate her position before the end of the year and try to

Keeping the race ace up a sleeve

2009-09-20T13:31:00.000-05:00

When a majority of voters elected the first African-American to the highest office in the land, one would have thought it was a positive sign that racism had been dealt a serious blow. After all, without millions of whites voting for Barack Obama he would have had no chance of being elected president. John McCain, his white opponent, lost the race, even though the overwhelming majority of voters

When truth trumps protocol

2009-09-20T13:06:00.000-05:00

The “you lie” outburst by Rep. Joe Wilson (R-SC) during President Obama's health-care speech last week brought the four-term lawmaker national attention and more than a smattering of hypocritical comments from Democrats. After 8 years of blistering attacks on President Bush by the top echelon of the Democrat Party, suddenly they’ve become prudish about references to the country’s Chief Executive.

Are we being absorbed into the blob?

2009-09-12T12:07:00.000-05:00

Ever since President Obama was inaugurated in January, the American people have paid more attention to their government than in any period in recent memory. Sadly, it’s become axiomatic that most people never take heed to what their elected officials are doing until it hits them in the pocketbook. With trillion dollar deficits piling up as far as the eye can see and a health care initiative that

Ted Kennedy – A life of debauchery

2009-09-12T12:06:00.000-05:00

“Death makes angels of us all,” wrote the author and poet, Jim Morrison. So it appears to be with the demise of the “Liberal lion of the Senate,” Ted Kennedy. The man whose life reads like a manual for bad behavior is, in death, being lionized by those who continue to repudiate his myriad transgressions. What kind of a country are we if we willingly blind ourselves to evil because it masquerades

How about corruption reform first?

2009-09-12T12:03:00.000-05:00

In November of 2007, while campaigning for president, John Edwards, the former North Carolina Senator, said: “Washington is awash with corrupt money, with lobbyists who pass it out and with politicians who ask for it,” adding, “This election is the great moral test of our generation.” About a year later he was being investigated for use of PAC money for personal use, his once-prominent political

Let's talk frankly about crime

2009-08-19T13:12:00.000-05:00

About six months ago, US Attorney General Eric Holder said America is a nation of cowards when discussing race. He said Americans are afraid to talk about race, adding that "...certain subjects are off-limits and that to explore them risks at best embarrassment and at worst the questioning of one's character." Now, the country's top law enforcement official says there are too many people in

Gunning it in Central Park

2009-08-19T13:11:00.001-05:00

It was around the late 1970’s, and NYC was experiencing a wave of robbery-homicides of taxi drivers. A team of 3 male blacks were killing cab drivers after forcing them to drive to Harlem neighborhoods and taking their cash. Since I was a member of a plainclothes undercover unit, I was assigned to drive a cab during the evening hours in Manhattan. Anyone who has driven in that hustling, bustling

Detective Lozano guilty of murder

2009-08-04T14:15:00.001-05:00

Gates proved how small a man he is

2009-07-31T12:57:00.000-05:00

Now that the beer summit is a part of history, let’s look at what was accomplished by the foregoing set of events that should have never been more than a routine police assignment. A white police officer, along with the entire Cambridge, Massachusetts PD, was maligned by a black Harvard professor and a black President of the United States. A white woman neighbor of the professor, who called the

Racism is a history lesson, not current events

2009-07-30T13:32:00.001-05:00

I've known cops who were racists and I've known cops who were pathologically brutal, using their authority as a way to vent their anger. There were times when I wondered how some cops ever made it through the screening process and ended up on the street with the authority of life and death in their hands. When I became a cop in 1964, the job was very different; racism was not only tolerated, it

Obama is the one who acted stupidly

2009-07-30T13:24:00.000-05:00

From the moment a police officer dons that uniform, he/she becomes a symbol of authority, and it becomes obvious very quickly that most people in a free country resent authority. It could be the guy who gets pulled over for speeding or passing a red light; it could be the guy who’s clobbering his wife during a family dispute, or it could be a guy who breaking into a residence that turns out to be

Unilateral government – a roadmap to corruption

2009-07-30T13:23:00.000-05:00

Unless you’ve been in a coma for the last six months you must be aware that the Democrat Party, under the leadership of President Obama, is about to reach ever so much deeper into our pockets until the only thing left is lint. With a majority in the House and Senate, Mr. Obama appears to have a license to radically alter the country that has provided the highest standard of living for the largest

Has decency become passé?

2009-07-30T13:22:00.000-05:00

Although it’s been said many times before, I must reiterate that we are living in some bizarre times. It often seems as though we’ve been thrust into a universe dominated by the hallucinatory influence of LSD. Everything that used to seem normal has been twisted to appear aberrational, while that which once was strange has transmogrified to occupy a sanctioned position in society. When Michael

Sticks and stones may break my bones…..

2009-07-30T13:20:00.000-05:00

About a thousand years ago, when I was growing up on the Lower East Side of Manhattan, there was an area, about a half mile downtown from me, known as “The Bowery.” It was situated between Delancey and Houston (pronounced house – ton in New York) Streets. One of the most elegant areas of the city during the 1800s, by 1900, the Bowery devolved into low-rent concert halls, flop houses, beer gardens

Money talks – Justice walks

2009-07-02T13:47:00.000-05:00

How does a court arrive at a 30 day sentence for someone who was driving drunk and killed a pedestrian? Simple; the drunk-driver arrives at a multi-million dollar settlement with the family of the deceased. When Cleveland Browns running back Donte Stallworth left a party at the Fountainebleau Hotel in Miami Beach with a snootful of booze in his bloodstream, he risked the lives of anyone who might

As a juror, what verdict would you render?

2009-06-01T12:30:00.000-05:00

The recent headline story about the Oklahoma City pharmacy worker who shot and killed one of the gun-toting robbers who charged into the store demanding money reminded me of a watershed movie from 1974. “Death Wish” starred Charles Bronson as a successful, mild-mannered architect and bleeding heart liberal living in New York City in an expensive Upper East Side apartment. Paul Kersey (Bronson),

Compassion is only for murderers

2009-05-29T14:41:00.000-05:00

New York Times columnist Bob Herbert, who never saw a convicted murderer who deserved execution, has found another dirt bag to save. His latest “cause” is Troy Davis, who was found guilty in 1991 for the murder of police officer Mark Allen MacPhail in 1989 in the parking lot of a Burger King in Savannah, Georgia. A jury found Davis guilty of shooting the off-duty officer to death as he tried to

Freedom of opinion is under attack

2009-05-22T12:21:00.000-05:00

My column last week was entitled, “How does gay marriage affect you?” It was phrased as a question because I wanted people to tell me how it will affect their lives if gays get the right to exchange marriage vows. Relating the story of Carrie Prejean, the Miss California contestant in the Miss USA Pageant, who expressed her opinion that marriage should be between a man and a woman, and was

How does gay marriage affect you?

2009-05-10T12:11:00.001-05:00

Recently, a friend of mine asked me what I thought about the chances of gay marriage becoming the norm in this country. Well, the state of Maine just signed the same-sex marriage bill into law, making it the fifth of fifty to do so as of this date. In addition, New Hampshire’s legislature just voted to legalize gay nuptials and is awaiting the governor’s signature. Meanwhile, the City Council of

We can't handle the truth!

2009-05-07T10:14:00.000-05:00

One of the most controversial issues facing us as a country is the way we view treatment of captured terrorists. One side says we should never use coercive methods to obtain information, even if it would result in saving lives. The other side says we should use some techniques that have already been successfully used to avert catastrophes. The term, “waterboarding” was introduced to our lexicon

Women can be brutal too!

2009-05-03T12:15:00.000-05:00

We often hear and read about men brutalizing women and it is a national disgrace that so many women live their lives in terror. I've written many times about the battering situations I came across as a police officer in NYC. But, there's another type of battering I've witnessed, albeit not nearly as often; women brutalizing men. While working a tour in Brooklyn one night, my partner and I were

A handsome hunk of carelessness

2009-05-03T12:12:00.000-05:00

There's something unique about the relationship between police officers and their partners because of the need they have to rely on each other for their safety. Having a partner who can handle himself in a crisis situation is vital, since your imminent demise might be the reason for the crisis. As a cop in New York City for 20 years, I was often in situations that required a skilled partner to

Murdered by Mumia!

2009-05-03T12:10:00.000-05:00

Twenty-eight years ago, a police officer was brutally murdered on the cold, dark streets of Philadelphia. Patrolman Daniel Faulkner, making a routine traffic stop at about three o'clock on the morning of December 9, 1981, was knocked to the ground and shot several times in his upper body and face. Four eyewitnesses to the cold-blooded homicide have identified the murderer as, Wesley Cook (AKA

Copping an attitude

2009-05-03T12:09:00.000-05:00

His name was Frank Danko, and he never should have been a police officer. How he was able to pass the psychological testing portion of the New York City screening process, I'll never know. It wouldn't take a normal person more than 5 minutes to conclude that Danko was several fries short of a Happy Meal. Yet, this wacky, antisocial misfit was wearing a uniform, carrying a gun and dealing with the

Don't tug on Superman's cape

2009-05-03T12:07:00.000-05:00

I had been working radio motor patrol in Brooklyn's Bedford-Stuyvesant area for about a year and had come across what I thought was every conceivable challenge a cop could imagine. Homicides, rapes, robberies, burglaries and an assortment of other acts of human malevolence were a daily occurrence in the high-crime section of the borough. I had handled myriad family disputes that culminated in

The Knoxville horror

2009-05-03T12:02:00.000-05:00

The dictionary defines the word "savage" as beast-like, primitive and lacking the restraints normal to civilized human beings. Usually, in these days of multicultural political correctness, the term is applied to the 4-legged beasts that prowl the jungles of the world in search of a fur-covered dinner. After the animal kills its prey and has a meal, it will find a place to quietly rest and

In the line of duty

2009-05-03T11:59:00.001-05:00

Senior Cpl. Mark Nix of the Dallas Police Department went to work last Friday, March 19, 2007, as he had done for the past 6 years. The 33 year-old officer was engaged to be married, but that marriage will never take place. After a car chase involving what officers thought was a suspect wanted in a murder investigation, Officer Nix was shot in the chest by the suspect, who, as it turned out later

Keeping an eye out

2009-05-03T11:57:00.001-05:00

There's one thing about being a cop, especially in a big city: you get to see things other people can't even imagine. I was working the 4 to midnight tour out of the 105 Precinct in the Rosedale section of Queens. My partner and I were having our first container of coffee (sans doughnuts) when we received a call from the dispatcher about a dispute involving an injury. We pulled up to the rundown

Talk about the naked city

2009-05-03T11:55:00.000-05:00

It was one of those brisk autumn mornings that make you wish you could stay in bed and soak up some more zee's. My partner and I had just picked up a couple of containers of coffee and were heading toward a street in Queens Village to work surveillance on a suspected drug supply house. Before we had our second sip of the ebony—colored stimulant, a cry for help interrupted the serenity. We tossed

Taking a cold, hard stand

2009-05-03T11:51:00.001-05:00

About a thousand years ago, when I became a police officer and started walking the streets of Brooklyn, I believed in the system of justice. I felt that being a cop meant being one of the good guys. It didn't take long before I began to experience the seamier side of life, not only in the street, which I expected, but in the department itself. Sometime during my first few weeks on the job I was

BLoodstained sidewalks and Nobel prizes

2009-05-03T11:43:00.001-05:00

This past week, in early December, 2005, another police officer was murdered in NYC while doing his job protecting the public from thugs. Officer Daniel Enchautegui, 28 years old, with 3 years on the job was slain as he interrupted a break—in next—door to his home in the Bronx.Enchautegui had finished his 4pm to midnight shift at the 40th Precinct and returned to his Pelham Bay apartment. About

Gunning it in Central Park

2009-05-03T11:42:00.000-05:00

It was around the early 1970's, and New York City was experiencing a wave of robbery—homicides of taxi drivers. A team of 3 male blacks was killing cab drivers after forcing them to drive to Harlem neighborhoods and taking their cash. Since I was a member of a plainclothes undercover unit, I was assigned to drive a cab during the evening hours in Manhattan. Anyone who has driven in that hustling,