Neener, neener!

Hey, you remember David Kernell, that punk kid who hacked Governor Palin's e-mail account during the 2008 presidential elections and bragged about it until he got caught? If you recall, he was the sheltered and spoiled son of Tennessee State Representative Mike Kernell, a Democrat, of course.

Well after being convicted of a felony out of that case, he caught a break in the form of liberal U.S. District Judge Thomas Phillips, who sentenced him to an incredibly lenient one day less than a year in prison. The judge's goal was obviously to keep young David out of the prison system (because a sentence of more than a year would mandate incarceration) and in that vein, he also recommended that the federal Bureau of Prisons send him to a half-way house so that he could keep going to school and doing what other non-incarcerated college kids do.

However, the Bureau of Prisons declined, sending him to a real albeit minimum-security facility instead. In a rare written explanation, BOP Chief Jose Santana told the judge that he could not do so because the half-way houses are set up to help recidivism-prone inmates with limited social or job skills transition back into society, and that it would be wrong to deny one of these needy inmates that help just to give this coddled kid an easy ride. Santana's letter said, in relevant part:

“Our agency contracts (halfway house) bed space for inmates who have a greater need … such as those with limited job skills/resources and family and community support,” Santana wrote. “Mr. Kernell has attended three years of college and has the support of his family.”

The bureau instead sent Kernell, 22, to a minimum-security facility in Ashland, Ky.

So despite the best efforts of his dad's influential network of friends and connections--a network which apparently includes a district judge named Phillips, little David's going to actually pay a penalty for his efforts to disrupt and undermine a national presidential election.


I'm happy. Careful bending over for that soap, David!

Let's hear it for the hero

Plainclothes cop shoots gunmen, ends robbery spree

Nashville Police Officer Justin Fox was at the right place at the right time--and had the right mindset--to shoot three masked gunmen in a hotel lobby.

BRENTWOOD, Tenn. — An overnight robbery spree in the Nashville metro area was halted by a plainclothes police officer who encountered the three masked men early Thursday morning at a hotel in the suburbs just south of the Music City.

Three suspects reportedly burst into the lobby of the Hyatt Place Hotel in the small hours of the morning on March 25th, after allegedly already robbing three people at another location in town. Unfortunately for them, 35-year-old Officer Justin Fox was already there — purely by chance — as part of an unrelated, ongoing investigation at the hotel.

The gunmen had forced the hotel clerk to give them cash when Officer Fox and an unnamed undercover cop from another agency entered the lobby at about 0230 hours.

The suspects then ordered the officers to the floor at gunpoint, striking and kicking both men while threatening to kill them, according to a Department press release.

Nashville NBC TV affiliate WSMV had reported during its early morning broadcast today that the Nashville cop, “in defense of his own life and the lives of others in the lobby, shot all three suspects.”

Later in the day, Nashville PD provided some much-needed detail.

“Before Officer Fox went completely to the ground,” said the Nashville PD press release, “he pulled out his department issued handgun, turned around, and fired on all three suspects in defense of himself and the other officer who did not fire a weapon. The suspects did not return fire. A handgun, dropped by one of the suspects, was recovered from the lobby floor.”

Even as new details slowly emerged throughout the day, Jim Glennon, Lead Instructor for the Street Survival Seminar, a nationwide law-enforcement training program, said, “Here’s the thing: life changes fast. You can go from a bike theft, an animal complaint, a domestic issue, or a traffic accident — to taking a life — within seconds. This officer did a great job physically but maybe more importantly he was mentally and psychologically prepared, which is a different animal altogether. There are a lot of officers who can earn a sharpshooter, marksman, or master shooting badge. Adapting to the dynamic reality of real deadly force situations and acting outside of the static training environment is what separates this officer from many others.”

“Being unexpectedly pulled into the middle of an armed robbery is pretty damn frightening,” adds Street Survival Seminar Instructor Betsy Brantner Smith. “In that moment, Officer Fox needed to assess the situation and make some very critical decisions, quickly, and correctly. To be able to draw and deliver multiple rounds to multiple offenders is the epitome of When/Then thinking, and this officer’s response is a lesson to all of us.”

Glennon spoke also of his friend and colleague Bob Nicholas, a Sergeant from Elmhurst Police Department and trainer at the Suburban Law Enforcement Academy in Glen Ellyn, Ill. “Bob tells his academy classes: ‘This is the only job where you can save a life, take a life, and or lose a life in an eight-hour period. You never know when one of those moments will present itself. You have to be prepared whenever a door opens’.”

Brantner-Smith concludes, “In the Seminar we teach: ‘On duty, you go to calls. Off duty, some calls come to you.’ This is often the case when we’re in plainclothes as well. We have to decide how critical this situation is and should we take action or just be a good witness until the uniforms arrived. If we decide to take action, can we do it safely, tactically, legally? Are we going to make the situation better or worse by getting involved? Will more innocent people get hurt as a result of my actions? There is so much to consider in that one-quarter of a second that all cops get to make those life and death, million dollar decisions, which is why we recommend that you think about and visualize various scenarios, like being the victim of a robbery while in plainclothes, and decide in advance how you’re going to respond.”

The masked gunmen, two of whom were critically injured, fled in a maroon van, but Officer Fox followed them in his unmarked car and called in to dispatch their direction of flight. The suspects were soon apprehended as they drove north on Interstate 65 into Nashville. When police searched the van, purses and wallets from the night’s earlier robberies were discovered.

The suspects, identified as Deaunte Carter, 23, Rory Gilmer, 22, and Antonio Leggs, 20, were taken to nearby Vanderbilt University Medical Center, where Carter and Gilmer are reportedly in critical condition. Leggs is in stable condition.

In 2008, Carter was convicted of facilitation of aggravated robbery and sentenced to eight years. Leggs has two previous theft convictions, and Gilmer has been arrested 11 times for driving offenses and for contributing to the delinquency of a minor.

The website for the local newspaper, Tennessean.com, indicated that Officer Fox — a 12-year veteran who reportedly has never before been in a shooting incident — is on routine administrative assignment following the shooting.

Oh--and you guys who say that cops can't shoot...you might want to rethink that claim. Officer Fox just dunked on you, big time. Way to save the day, Officer Fox!

And of course I have no doubt whatsoever that the relatives of the three youth shot by Officer Fox are lining up at this moment to give tearful interviews to the media in which they will relate how the three were just getting ready to turn their lives around and were planning on getting jobs and taking care of their kids any day now.

Should Clifford Clark go to jail and lose the right to own guns forever?

My answer--as a law-abiding gun owner is...hell yes.

So who is Clifford Clark, you ask?
Clifford Clark is the slack-jawed yokel from Knoxville, Tennessee who took a .30-06 rifle out at 2AM last Sunday morning and fired three rounds from it into a red-light camera at the intersection of Broadway and Interstate 640. He then tried to flee but police who heard the shots saw his minivan speeding away and they stopped him and found the gun. When they asked him what he was doing with it, like a craven coward, he replied that he didn't want to say because he didn't want to get in trouble. Way to man up there, Cliff. But further investigation revealed what he'd done and he's now being charged with felony vandalism and reckless endangerment. He's currently being held in jail in lieu of paying an $8,000 bond.

Let me say before going any farther that no one hates these red-light or photo-radar speed cameras more than I do. I've been dinged by them too and it takes a lot of effort on my part to write out the check without adding a curse upon all who handle it subsequent to it's receipt. But because I am a rational adult, I know that the cameras weren't speeding or running the red lights--I was. So I suck it up and pay and try to be more careful the next time. (I also avoid Washington DC, where the things exist in abundance, but that's another issue.) I also wouldn't consider vandalizing the cameras because as an American, I respect the property rights of others just as strongly as I appreciate my right to own and control my property and expect that it be respected by other citizens and government alike. Just because I'm angry doesn't give me the right to deprive someone else of their property.

Now sadly--and predictably--Clifford is being lauded as some sort of a hero on the gun-related internet websites like AR15.com, FALfiles, Glocktalk, and other websites where the Walter Mitty/keyboard-commando types sit and chat and pretend to be warriors and patriots. He's the new darling of the angry losers who think that it makes them sound like real men when they spew anti-government crap via their home computers all night long. They're cheering the fact that Clifford Clark destroyed the private property of someone else and used a gun to do it. And in between posts where they brag of doing similar acts or fantasize about going out and being the next Clifford Clark, they're talking about petitions to make sure that Clark doesn't get a felony conviction and lose the right to own a gun for the rest of his life. To that crowd, the only rights that matter are theirs. If someone damages their property, they scream and demand vengeance, but it's ok for them to destroy someone else's stuff out of spite.
Well apparently none of these pretend patriots live near the intersection where Clark was recklessly discharging that gun and it's a safe bet that neither they nor their loved ones were driving a car in the area. Lest it need be said, a .30-06 round will penetrate a car at well over a thousand yards and go right through most any house or apartment wall as well. Clifford Clark should have thought about that before he decided to get stupid and give all of us decent gun owners a black eye. as it is, I stand apart from those who think that Clark did something admirable and I hope that the District Attorney takes him to trial on the felony charges and ensures that Clifford Clark can never lawfully possess another firearm for the rest of his rather pathetic life.