Aug 25, 2021
Posted by AAfterwit on Aug 25, 2021 | 1 comment
Growing up, we can remember several things that shaped our sense of community while being kids. First, there were the block parties. Every once in a while the neighbors would get together and have a monster bash with all sorts of food and chatter. There was always a wiffle ball game played across many yards because, well, because that is the way it was done. Even when the party had ended, kids still played wiffle ball across the yards. Not a single neighbor said a thing in opposition.
In the fall, football would take to the streets. Kids and even some parents would play touch football in the middle of the streets with such complex plays a “go long” and “do a square-in at the Buick.”
And then there was snowfall. Living on a hill meant that when snow fell, kids would pull out their sleds and come barrelling down the hill and through an intersection. We always tried to have an adult at the intersection to warn cars that were cutting across the hill’s road. It was great at night with the street lights giving a soft glow to the snow. Parents stood around drinking hot chocolate and maybe even other “adult” beverages. Before we could head down the hill, a small army of kids and parents would always ascend on the four or five homes inhabited by the elderly or infirmed to shovel their sidewalks and steps.
Those gatherings in the streets taught us to do things together as a neighborhood and do things for others in that neighborhood.
(more…)
Aug 6, 2021
Posted by AAfterwit on Aug 6, 2021 | Comments Off on We Wouldn’t Advertise This As A “Job Perk.”
One has to wonder at the things people in government do sometimes….
(more…)
Jul 31, 2021
Posted by AAfterwit on Jul 31, 2021 | 1 comment
So there you are, sitting in your home when a letter arrives in the mail announcing “you have been selected…”
Oh the joy!
You don’t know what you have been selected for, but any time you are “selected” out of the entire population has to be a good thing, right?
You then notice that the letter is from the Pasco County (FL) Sheriff’s Office.
As you scan the letter, your joy turns sour:
(more…)
Jun 3, 2021
Posted by AAfterwit on Jun 3, 2021 | Comments Off on FBI To Couple: Prove Your Innocence.
Jennifer and Paul Snitko have never been in trouble with the law.
Jennifer is an entertainment lawyer, and Paul is a retired aerospace engineer who in his career, has held multiple levels of security clearances.
The Snitkos had valuables they wished to secure, including a will, backup copies of their home computer’s hard drive, and some family heirlooms including jewelry, a fancy watch, and a class ring. They found a company called U.S. Private Vaults, in Beverly Hills, which offered them more convenience and better hours than a local bank.
However, a grand jury indicted the company on counts of conspiracy to distribute drugs, launder money, and avoid mandatory deposit reporting requirements, none of which had anything to do with the Snitkos.
The FBI raided U.S. Private Vaults based on the indictment.
This is where things go off the rails.
(more…)
Nov 25, 2020
Posted by AAfterwit on Nov 25, 2020 | 2 comments
Trent Taylor is a prisoner doing 10 years for robbery in a Texas State Prison.
According to court documents:
Taylor alleges that, for six full days in September 2013, correctional officers confined him in a pair of shockingly unsanitary cells. The first cell was covered, nearly floor to ceiling, in “‘massive amounts’ of feces”: all over the floor, the ceiling, the window, the walls, and even “‘packed inside the water faucet.’”
Fearing that his food and water would be contaminated, Taylor did not eat or drink for nearly four days. Correctional officers then moved Taylor to a second, frigidly cold cell, which was equipped with only a clogged drain in the floor to dispose of bodily wastes.
(more…)
Sep 8, 2020
Posted by AAfterwit on Sep 8, 2020 | 2 comments
Isaiah Elliott is a 12 year old who attends Grand Mountain School (K-8) in Colorado.
Isaiah has been diagnosed with ADHD and other learning disabilities.
While attending a virtual art class, young Isaih picked up a toy gun and moved it from one side of the screen to the other.
Out of the blue, the Elliots were dealing with the police at their door.
On Thursday, Aug. 27, the seventh grader was attending on online art class when a teacher saw Isaiah flash a toy gun across his computer screen. The toy in question is a neon green and black handgun with an orange tip with the words “Zombie Hunter” printed on the side.
(more…)
Aug 28, 2020
Posted by AAfterwit on Aug 28, 2020 | 3 comments
As the disgusting and unproductive rioting goes on across America, people are rightfully saying that we should support protests, but condemn the violence.
It is hard for people to hold a “conversation” that is wanted and or needed when their business is burned to the ground, damaged or looted.
The flip side of this is the “Back the Blue” “movement” that is out there in social media.
While we agree we should support and back law enforcement, the “Back the Blue” supporters fail to make the critical distinction of backing good cops, and not backing or supporting bad cops.
A few examples to illustrate the point:
(more…)
Jun 12, 2020
Posted by AAfterwit on Jun 12, 2020 | 1 comment
“The moment I release it, I give up all of the security features that are in my jail.” – Sheriff Wayne Ivey
More voices are calling for the release of the video of an incident at the Brevard County Jail where Gregory Lloyd Edwards, a 38-year-old army medic, died while in custody of the Brevard County Sheriff’s Office.
Brevard public defender, defense lawyers call on sheriff to release jail video involving Gregory Edwards and corrections deputies
Members of a criminal defense attorney organization, along with the Brevard County Public Defender are calling for Sheriff Wayne Ivey to release a jail video showing a violent confrontation between Gregory Edwards and corrections deputies.
Edwards died the next day.
Margaret Wagner, a criminal defense attorney and representative of the Brevard chapter of the Florida Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, said that lawyers and prosecutors are frequently provided videos of jail interactions and fights as part of public trials and court cases. The group has over 50 members in Brevard.
(more…)
