WEDNESDAY: GOLDEN PIG AWARD

“Just Hitting Another

Brick Wall”

After watching a shocking segment on nightline last night (Monday), I have made the decision to award the “golden Pig” to the entire law enforcement department of new Orleans. Read below to find out why.

We Are A Nation in Serious Trouble or

The Silence of the Lambs – U.S. Federal Government Style:

I saw something on Nightline that scares the hell out of me. After hearing what they had to say, I now fear our police and law enforcement officers as much as I fear any terrorists, and for good reason.

Before I explain what was on the Nightline segment that has me so worried for the safety of America, let me take you back to an earlier time, the 1950’s and 60’s when I was growing up.

Back then, most cities like the one I grew up in had local neighborhood police precinct stations. Under that system, the police knew everyone in the neighborhood and everybody knew the police. I remember seeing the police officers walking their “beats” in pairs, and they always had a smile and a friendly word or two for the people, especially the kids. We liked and trusted the police who patrolled our neighborhoods, and very often, they would give breaks to adults or kids who got into trouble.

Something happened, there was a change in the air that was to spell and end to this friendly relationship between the people and the police. It came slowly at first, in small ways, but the invisible wall was going up, a wall that was to bring animosity of the people toward their police.

The first thing to happen was the closing down of the neighborhood precincts as the police department became centralized. With this move came the end of the friendly neighborhood police officer. No longer did we know the name of the police officers who came into our neighborhoods and they did not know us. As far as they were concerned, we were just faces and they began to treat us with indifference.

The next thing to happen came about as a result of local communities turning to the state for funding to buy equipment, then the states turned to the federal government to get more funding. This was the coup de gras. You see, prior to this, the largest city within each county had a police academy where the various city and town police and deputy sheriff cadets went to train and take courses in law enforcement techniques. These academies were funded mainly through the county by taxes paid by the people of those counties.

When the states began to seek funds from the federal government, things really took a turn for the worse. You see, there is a federal law (I have explained this many times in the past) that states: “Any individual, group, organization or entity that receives government monies in loans , grants or other benefits, is required to abide by any and all rules, regulations or statutes that the federal government may impose on that individual, group, organization or entity.” As a result of this, the federal government demanded that all local police be trained by the U.S. military. Slowly, the police began to look and act less like your friendly neighborhood cop and more like a paramilitary force.

Years ago, it was rare for a police officer to kill a suspect. They were trained to disarm a suspect using a minimum of force. Today, it is a common occurrence to hear about the police using deadly force to apprehend a suspect, and regardless of what the police say; very often such force is totally unnecessary, even in cases where the suspect is armed. One can shoot a suspect in the arms, shoulders or legs without killing them, but no, today’s police are trained to shoot to kill. Yet, they will tell the average citizen, who may have a license to carry a gun, that they do not have the right to use deadly force if they are attacked.

Now back to Nightline and one particular segment dealing with the aftermath of the infamous hurricane Katrina. Before I get into that, let me ask how many of you remember the scenes, that were shown on the Fox News channel, that showed pick-up trucks of police patrolling the streets of New Orleans, those of you that do may recall seeing many of the police officers dressed in combat-style gear and carrying automatic assault rifles that appeared to be M-16’s, and some of them even had rocket launchers. Now ask yourselves; “For what practical purpose would the police have need of either automatic assault rifles or rocket launchers?”

Following the evacuation of large sections of New Orleans, the chief of police ordered his men and the National Guard Troops to go door-to-door and confiscate all guns from the citizens of New Orleans, even from those who had legal gun permits (a blatantly illegal and unconstitutional act). The police and troops took peoples legal fire arms at gun point and in many cases, smashing those guns right on the spot. Later, those who had their fire arms confiscated went to court to sue for the return of those guns. The court ruled that the mayor and chief of police acted in an unconstitutional manner and ordered them to return the guns to their rightful owners, and they were ordered NOT to do that again. To date, the Mayor and the chief of police have refused to comply with the courts order and the chief of police went so far as to say that he did not care what the courts say, if they ever have another event like Katrina, he WILL take away peoples guns again. This alone should worry the citizens of this country, the fact that our police will start acting like Gestapo in times of national emergency.

But wait, it gets worse. This brings me to last nights airing on Nightline dealing with the wanton slaughtering of peoples pets. Pet owners from the low-lying Louisiana parish of St. Bernard have accused sheriff's deputies of having wantonly killed dozens of dogs they forced evacuees to leave behind during Hurricane Katrina in 2005, without regard to the dogs' size or the potential threat they might pose.

One owner said her family was forced at gunpoint to leave its dog behind. Another owner said residents became frantic when, they said, they overheard one deputy claim that "once everybody's gone, we're going to have target practice tonight." They claim in court papers that deputies were under “authorization”...of their superiors and employers.

One of the key pieces of evidence in the civil case is expected to be video footage shot by Pulitzer Prize-winning photographer David Leeson Jr., who said he witnessed dogs being shot while filming in the area after Katrina for the Dallas Morning News. "They shot the dog I was trying to help right in front of me," he told reporters at the time. On his video posted HERE on the newspaper's Web site, gunshots can clearly be heard.

"It was a massacre. It was a shooting gallery," said Mark Steinway, co-founder of the animal rescue group Posada Safe Haven. Steinway was among those who discovered the animals' bodies at three school evacuation centers, gathered evidence and urged the Louisiana State Attorney General's Office to launch an investigation.

"We documented as best we could as a crime scene," he said. "It was obvious [the dogs] had been chased around. There were so many rounds of ammunition and so many holes in the walls and so many random shots to body cavities and legs, areas where you know the animals were trying to get away from these guys."

Steinway described one harrowing discovery he made in the one of the parish schools that he said exemplified the wantonness with which the animals were killed.

"Somebody carefully tied up these two dogs in one of the rooms and shot them, and didn't even shoot them at close range in the head to put them out of their misery,'' he said. "They backed up and started shooting, with a shotgun started firing. Pellets all over the floor, bullet holes in the wall. It was a slaughter."

On Aug. 28, 2005, with floodwaters roaring through St. Bernard Parish, officials announced St. Bernard's High School as a shelter of last resort. Three days later, on Aug. 31, officials evacuated the high school shelters and took residents to the Algiers Point ferry landing. As residents were separated from their animals and moved out of the shelters, many desperately scrawled messages on the walls of the school rooms.

"There is 1(sic) very nice dog in there. Please do not shoot her. Her name is Angel," read one message. Another, with a name and phone number, read, "Call me please. I want my pets back."

Plaintiff John Bozes said his black Labrador, Angel Girl, had saved his family's life. Floodwaters had reached the top of the door of his parish home. "I walked to the door right there, I go to put my hand on the knob to open it, and she got between me and that door and nudged me back. When I looked back I saw water coming through the top of the door and I said, 'Oh boy, we're in trouble.'" They were evacuated to St. Bernard's High School, where he said they were told to evacuate without the pets. "It was a mandatory evacuation -- we either go to jail or get shot, or we leave our pets behind."

Then, he said, he and other owners heard a deputy say, 'Man, once everybody's gone, we're
going to have target practice tonight. There was so much commotion after that statement was
made," he said. "We stood our ground and said, 'We're not leaving them.'" "Next thing you
know, we're either leaving … or you get shot."

Another plaintiff, Joyce Stubbs was told she could not bring her dogs, Max and Lucky,
with her when she was evacuated from Beauregard High School, so "she poured bottles of
water and soft drinks into a large ice chest for her dogs to drink," according to court documents.
"She also put out a lot of food where the dogs could readily access it."

"Stubbs and her children spent a long moment saying goodbye to her dogs. A Sheriff's deputy
approached them and pointed a shotgun at her son's face and threatened to shoot him if they did
not leave the dogs. He also pointed the shotgun at their small dog Lucky," the complaints read.

Judy Migliore and her husband spent three days going from rooftop to rooftop with their
daughters and their poodle, Gidget, which she said means "small" in Hawaiian. Migliore said
they called the dog Gigi. When it was time to go, Migliore said she pleaded with a deputy to
let her take the poodle.

"I begged. … I was crying. I said, 'Please, she'll never, never touch the ground. She'll stay in my arms the whole time.' He said, 'Ma'am, we can do it either nicely or not nicely,' and he said, 'I'm prepared to handcuff you.' "I turned and looked at my husband and I said, 'I can't! I cannot leave her,' and the deputy I knew came up at that time and he said, 'Miss Judy, give her to me and I'll see what I can do.' I gave her to him and he turned and give her to the deputy and that was the last time we seen him," she said, referring to the deputy.

Judy Migliore and her husband spent three days going from rooftop to rooftop with their daughters and their poodle, Gidget, which she said means "small" in Hawaiian. Migliore said they called the dog Gigi. When it was time to go, Migliore said she pleaded with a deputy to let her take the poodle.

"I begged. … I was crying. I said, 'Please, she'll never, never touch the ground. She'll stay in my arms the whole time.' He said, 'Ma'am, we can do it either nicely or not nicely,' and he said, 'I'm prepared to handcuff you.' "I turned and looked at my husband and I said, 'I can't! I cannot leave her,' and the deputy I knew came up at that time and he said, 'Miss Judy, give her to me and I'll see what I can do.' I gave her to him and he turned and give her to the deputy and that was the last time we seen him," she said, referring to the deputy.

Two weeks later, Migliore said, her brother-in-law went back to the school where they left Gigi, but he was turned away. One daughter went online to animal rescue sites and another daughter visited shelters. They knew the poodle would be easy to identify. Gigi was pure white, with freshly clipped nails painted red and a brown collar with a St. Francis of Assisi medal around her neck. On Oct. 9, according to the complaint, a rescue worker informed the family that Gidget had been found shot in the head.

Now people, please ask yourselves: "If our police will do this to our pets during a natural disaster, what will they do to US?" We MUST STOP acting like sheep being led to the slaughter! We MUST start to stand up and fight back. This is OUR country, the police and the government work for us, we do not work for them.

There is something ugly on the horizon and it is terribly frightening. More and more everyday, we are losing our rights and our freedoms. Each day we are being pushed closer and closer to a “Police State”. We are being herded into a one world government. Open your eyes! We are being sold out by the very people we have elected to represent us, and that includes G.W. Bush. Ask yourselves why Bush is being insistent on having his immigration ‘amnesty’ bill passed (and it IS amnesty, no matter what spin he wishes to put on it) knowing that the majority of Americans are totally against this bill? Why is it that he refuses to secure the borders? Another question you should be asking yourselves is; “Why are all of our military personnel over in foreign countries while our military bases here are loaded with foreign troops?”

We have every reason to be afraid, very afraid!

“Abouna” Gregori