Accident Scene Investigations

As the commuter rush was ebbing on the evening of January 3rd on Larpenteur Avenue, the border of St. Paul and inner ring suburb Roseville, an automobile struck two pedestrians that appear to have been crossing the street, killing both. The driver of the car stopped at the scene.

The incident, a tragedy for all concerned, occurred at about 5:30 pm. The street, a main east-west traffic artery, was closed both ways until 9:45 as law enforcement investigated the incident. That's 4 hours and 15 minutes to essentially determine if there will be charges filed for the driver of the car. If indeed the two victims were crossing the street and not walking on its edge, it was in an unlighted area known to be dangerous to anyone familiar with it.

That, however, is not the point. The issue is what possible information could be gathered at the scene in the second or third or fourth hour of the investigation? It's possible that there may be more pertinent information, cell phone records of the driver, a possible witness driving beside the car in question, blood alcohol testing, etc. None of that information requires the closure of the highway, interruption of rush hour traffic or ongoing police presence.

The real reason for this extended investigation, and many other investigations of serious accidents, is that officers called to them have an opportunity to receive overtime wages. News media abdicates its responsibility to inform the public of the financial details of its employees compensation when it fails to examine these incidents.

On August 2, 2017 a natural gas explosion destroyed a large portion of the main structure of Minnehaha Academy in south Minneapolis, MN. Two people were killed. The investigative agency, the National Transportation Safety Board, announced at the time that its investigation of the event would likely take more than a year to complete. No final report has been made as of this date, 16 months later. Is there some as yet undiscovered information that will explain what led to this disaster?

A fire broke out in the cockpit of an Alaska Airlines Boeing 737-400 in 2010 while a contractor was doing maintenance on the aircraft. Four years later the agency assigned responsibility for the incident to the airline and fined them a half-million dollars. 

 

Public Art Problems

What do you see when you look at this image? The muralist, Beau Stanton, who painted it on a building owned by the Los Angeles Unified School District meant you to see a representation of screen legend Ava Gardner and some details evoking one of her haunts, the Cocoanut Grove nightclub. Others see different things.

Among them is  Chan Yong “Jake” Jeong, a local attorney and president of the Wilshire Community Coalition,  who sent a letter to the school district that resulted in Roberto Martinez, the senior school district administrator for the area, ordering the application of whitewash to obscure forever the mural. Jeong's objection to it was its supposed resemblance to the Japanese battle flag of WWII.

WWII Japanese flag.Hard to tell the difference.

 

Arizona state flag.

Silly as this is, it's spawned some retaliation. Artist Shepard Fairey had painted a likeness of Robert Kennedy, who was assassinated at the site before it was acquired by the school district. He insisted that he would remove his own work if Stanton's was painted over.

 

That threat was sufficient to restore sanity. The mural stays.

Actually, Ava Gardner probably had a bigger influence on America than Robert Kennedy did. 

Nazi Salutes In Important Places.

In November there was a national brouhaha over a photograph taken of a group of Wisconsin high schoolers that seemed to show them giving a "Nazi salute". This was discovered by someone with more time on his hands than sense, distributed over social media, and then taken up by a commercial media desperate for attention.

 

We know that Nazis aren't only found in Baraboo, Wisconsin. They can be found all over the US.



Here we see Nazi storm troopers saluting a leader in a secret location somewhere near the nation's capital.

Maria Butina Guilty! Country Saved!

Maria Butina, Russian spy in disguise as a South Dakota cowgirl.

After spending almost half a year in solitary confinement Siberian yuppie networker Maria Butina has given up and pled guilty to something or other in a federal action that could see her spend some more time incarcerated and eventual deportation back to Vladimir Putin's hell on earth. As with all those targeted by the federal judicial apparatus, the modern-day Mata Hari faced an opponent with unlimited funding which she and her possible allies could never hope to match. Federal prosecutions have a conviction rate in the neighborhood of 99%, mostly through plea deals. The defense always runs out of money. Not for food or cable access but for payoffs to lawyers.

The point is that Americans should be very happy that Uncle Sam, who had the lass under surveillance as soon as she entered the country, has managed to corral her and prevent the fall of the Empire of Democracy to the Russian horde. The reality is that she didn't have any more access to important information than that available to any average American or perhaps anybody else with an internet connection anywhere in the world. Her real crime, if it can be called that, was circulating around and schmoozing with people, a definite threat to democracy.

In any civilized society strangers are the recipients of hospitality, not suspicion and fear. Americans denigrate tribalists but few "primitives" would lock up a young woman by herself in a cell for half a year just because she was a stranger. 

At least Maria won't be able to shoot her big gun at any loyal Americans. Sure, it seems to indicate that the US might be more fragile than commonly thought if the activities of this babe are such an existential threat. But why take any chances?

And what about her South Dakota friend? Russians are expected to be bad guys but heart of America product Paul Erickson? That's a little tough to take. He's yet to be indicted, however.

 

Do You Want To Be A Prison Guard?

Minnesota State Rep. Jack Considine, DFL-Mankato,plans to introduce legislation in the upcoming legislative session that would expand the number of state corrections officers by 328 individuals.This is the result of the death of Joseph Gomm, a guard at Oak Park Heights prison, last July 18, allegedly killed by an inmate. Gomm was the first corrections department employee to be killed in the line of duty.

Considine's proposed bill is the result of a study made by corrections officials and union bosses at the various facilities. It would be nice if other organizations and businesses could have their staffing determined by union leadership but perhaps the incarceration industry works differently.

If you're interested in the rewarding profession of prison guard you might want to take a look at the requirements and benefits of such a position. Starting wage at the Pre-service Academy is $16.11/hr but rises as far as $28.23 if you stick around for awhile.

An 18-year old with a GED, driver's license and two years of part-time work in any industry for 20 hours per week describes the minimum eligibility for employment. Applicants with a bachelor's degree in any field are also considered. If they are still in arrears on their student loans they  may qualify to receive student loan forgiveness under the Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program.

The rewards and prestige of a position in the Minnesota prison system and the expansion of its work force makes one wonder if there shouldn't actually be high school courses in the field. After all, for years there were classes in industrial arts and secretarial subjects. If indeed, working as a prison guard is where it's at, lets train/educate the next generation of corrections officers.

Bad Guns

This is the FN America FNS-40 pistol, manufactured by FN America in McLean, Virginia. It's a common firearm in use by law enforcement in the US and the US military. A number of incidents have occurred that bring its reliability into question. Thus 2000 of the pistols used in Baltimore County, Maryland will be replaced by new Atlantic Tactical  Glock 17 Gen5 pistols.


The FN-40 had a magazine capacity of 10 or 14 rounds, its replacement 17+1.

New Fish Torture Record

On October 29 a northern pike caught in May that measured 45 1/4 in length was certified as the largest of its species caught and released in Minnesota.
 
The big fish was caught, tortured and then released on the Rainy River, a part of the US border with Canada, according to this story. The aquatic predator remains alive so a continued diet of minnows, ducklings and muskrats is likely to allow it to grow even longer and some wily future fisherman will be able to catch it. The very same fish could conceivably eclipse itself in the state record books.

While technology has had a major effect on some aspects of outdoor sports, notably fishing, with its electronic depth finders and sonar, oddly the same has yet to occur in large and small game hunting.

Unlike fishermen, hunters can't successfully release their quarry alive after bagging and measuring them. A 65 inch bull moose must be dead to be authenticated by the Boone and Crockett Club. Hopefully, the same science that has brought us Grand Theft Auto and Facebook will soon develop equipment and techniques that will enable sportsmen to terrify deer, rabbits, ducks and turkeys yet not damage them extensively. Released, they will serve as quarry for other outdoorsmen.