Sheriff's Office Tows 38 Illegally Parked Cars from S.R. 226 Near Snowbasin Resort - Updated

Sledge-hammer solutions to a fly-swatter problem? You bet!

Lets chalk this up as "rotten" law enforcement behavior, eh, Gentle Readers? Notably this "crime sweep" occurred on Christmas eve, and it's reasonable to assume that at least a few of these auto owners were deprived of their vehicles past Christmas day.

• Sheriff's office tows 38 illegally parked cars from S.R. 226 near Snowbasin Resort

Sledge-hammer solutions to a fly-swatter problem? You bet! We're still scratching our heads wondering why issuing parking tickets wouldn't have sufficed in this instance.

“The people who chose to park illegally did so for reasons of convenience rather than ‘necessity,’” police said.

The Weber County Sheriff;s office just taught these scofflaws about inconvenience, we guess. Right?

Our take? The grinch showed up in unirform on the Snow Basin road on Christmas eve,

Update 12/30/2018 3:10 pm:

• Angry Snowbasin guests say Weber County sheriffs could have ticketed not towed
• UDOT says illegal parking near Snowbasin resort must end

Everybody's got their own ax to grind, no?

Standard-Examiner: Some Fear Legislation to Lower Utah's Blood Alcohol Limit Will Hurt the Economy

A utopian goal requiring excessive compulsion in the pursuit of unattainable perfection?

OGDEN — Supporters of House Bill 155, idiotlc "Mormon" legislation which would lower Utah’s legal blood alcohol limit from .08 to .05, have  "the ability to modify behavior by sending the strong message that 'if you drink, just don’t drive," LOL

HB 155, sponsored by Crackpot Mormon Happy Valley Rep. Norm Thurston, R-Provo, cleared the state House of Representatives in a 48-26 vote last Thursday, and now awaits debate in the Senate. But opponents of the measure fear that it broadcasts an even louder message in terms of Utah culture.

Read up Peeps:

• Some fear legislation to lower Utah's blood alcohol limit will hurt the economy

And here's another counter-argument, from the libertarian website, Reason.com,,  i.e., arguing that a .05 limit is a "utopian goal requiring excessive compulsion in the pursuit of unattainable perfection":

• Why Government Shouldn't Lower the BAC Bar for Drunk Driving

So whaddaya think about all this, WCF readers?

Don't let the cat get your tongues...

U.S. Uncut: Miraculously, 6 Police Officers Across the US Were Charged with Murder This Week

Americans’ confidence in police is at a 22-year low

Crooked, Indicteted Cops

Via Edward Flint: "Why am I a 'cop hater'who spreads the news of police abuses? Because change starts with saying something."

After months of sustained #BlackLivesMatter protests, there have been a seemingly unprecedented six indictments of police in the last four days. This signals a stunning departure from the long trend of non-indictments, most notably in the cases of Michael Brown, Eric Garner, Tamir Rice, and Tony Robinson.

Miraculously, 6 Police Officers Across the US Were Charged with Murder This Week

The uptick in police indictments is not unique to this week, either. In fact, the rate of indictments has increased by 5 times over the course of the last 5 months, according to data compiled by criminal justice professor Philip Stinson.
The sharp rise in indictments isn’t the only change following the anti-police violence protests sweeping across the country. Americans’ confidence in police is at a 22-year low, according to a Gallup poll conducted last month.

Read up, O Gentle Ones..

Standard-Examiner: Judge: NSA Bulk Collection of Phone Records Unconstitutional - Updated

Richard Nixon is rolling over in his grave a wants a do-over

By Dr. Pump and Dump

Richard Nixon was removed from the U.S. presidential office for authorizing a few clowns to break into an office and yet the NSA rapes your privacy on a daily basis:

• Judge: NSA bulk collection of phone records unconstitutional

Richard Nixon is rolling over in his grave and wants a do-over.

Update 12/19/13 8:28 a.m.: Excellent analysis of  U.S. District Court Judge Richard Leon's decision by Fox TeeVee  Judge Andrew P. Napolitano:

• 'Almost Orwellian' -- why Judge Leon is right about massive NSA spying program

"Even though [author of our Constitution, James] Madison would be aghast, surely the Obama administration will appeal this, and just as surely, appellate judges or Supreme Court justices will have the final say. But for now, we have the great satisfaction of knowing that an independent judiciary has saved our liberties from the tyranny of the majority. And this is a cause for great joy," Napolitano says, breathing an almost audible sigh of relief.

Radley Balko 8/29/13 Event Post-mortem

Standing by, awaiting firebrand libertarian Connor Boyack's "next move"

This morning's Salt Lake Tribune reports on last night's blockbuster Salt Lake City Library public event, wherein anti-police violence whistle-blower Radley Balko presented the case for dialing back police militarization in Utah, and indeed all across the whole USA:

• Author’s ‘warrior cop’ message resonates with Utah crowd 

And the D-News competently covers the post-speech public forum/panel angle:

• Families of those killed by Utah cops rally against police militarization

Be sure to read the generally brilliant reader comments posted in the comments sections beneath each above-linked story. It's encouraging to observe normally sheep-like Utahns actually perking up their ears regarding this issue, ainnit? 

Mr. Balko also reports, by the way, that just as we predicted, last night's event played to a "full house":

• Radley Balko (Facebook)

Regarding the Libertas Institute's presumed ongoing efforts to tackle the "police militarization problem", we'll be standing by, with abated breath, to watch their next move, as firebrand Connor Boyack and his "kick-ass" libertarian crew prepare to introduce corrective legislation in the 2014 Utah legislature.

Heads-up on a Thursday's Blockbuster Event: Rise of the Warrior Cop with Author Radley Balko

Get there early, as rumor has it that this event will be packed

Heads up on a big upcoming event, O Gentle Readers, as Radley Balko, senior writer and investigative reporter for the Huffington Post, former senior editor at Reason Magazine and a policy analyst for the Cato Institute appears in Salt Lake City on Thursday to speak about how law enforcement has changed throughout history and what militarized police forces mean for citizens. His presentation will be followed by a Q&A.

Here are the time/place coordinates:

Date: Thursday, August 29, 2013
Time: 7:00 p.m.
Place: Salt Lake City Main Library Auditorium (Address/Map)

For more information on Thursday's blockbuster event, check out the Salt Lake Library online poop-sheet:

• Rise of the Warrior Cop with Author Radley Balko
  

And yes. Of course. Last, but not least, Mr. Balko is also the author of the wildly popular book, "Rise of the Warrior Cop," an item which has been selling like hotcakes via the Amazon ad which we've displayed in our left sidebar for at least the past six months.

Concerned about police militarization in Utah?

Get there early, as rumor has it that this event will be packed to the rafters.

Salt Lake Tribune: Ogden Survey Seeks Feedback on Police Department

You know what to do, folks. Do it on the net

Odd that the Salt Lake Tribune scooped the Standard on this Ogden City-centered story; but, weirdly enough, they did.  "The Ogden Police Department is asking city residents to rate their performance, Cathy McKitrick reports." The online survey’s 20 questions range from "How safe do you feel when walking alone in your neighborhood after dark?" to "In the past year, would you say the overall quality of community living in your neighborhood has increased, decreased or stayed about the same?" and "Overall, how satisfied are you with the Ogden Police Department?"

Read the full Trib story here:

• Ogden survey seeks feedback on police department

You can access the survey via this direct link:

• OPD Citizen Satisfaction Questionnaire

"Determine needed
areas of concentration?"

"In a statement Friday, Ogden Deputy Director of Support Services John Harvey said [ominously perhaps?] that the citizen responses would be "vital in helping us determine needed areas of concentration." [Emphasis added].

If you'd like to submit your input anonymously, skip the last two "optional" questions. Smart phone users might also want to consider disabling your mobile device's GPS tracking function entirely, if you know what we mean; and we think you do.

You know what to do, folks. Do it on the net.

Standard-Examiner Editorial: Our View: Review Police Raids

Some people "get it;" and some apparently don't

Yep. The Standard "gets it." Hopefully our state legislature will "get it" too. It's all about reducing the level of potential violence and keeping everyone as "safe" as possible:

• Our View: Review police raids

What's wrong with our "macho" local police administrations, we ask?

Maybe they need to lay off the Viagra, no?

Standard-Examiner: Will Massive Data Center Make Utah Spy Central?

Write it down so you don't forget it, folks...  "If you have nothing to hide, you have nothing to fear"

Click to enlarge image

Amidst all the hullabaloo surrounding last week's National Security Agency (NSA) "leak" matter, wherein "off-the-reservation" 29-year-old NSA "analyst" Edward J. Snowden "spilled the beans" concerning our federal government's ongoing action of indiscriminately vacuuming-up, collecting and "warehousing" the massive electronic data of each and every U.S. citizen, friend or foe, it stands to reason that a discussion of our own locally-situated Utah Data Center would find its way to the news media front burner, and with this morning's Standard-Examiner story, our home-town newspaper provides just that.  It's a chewy AP story, well worthy of a good read, wethinks:

• Will massive data center make Utah spy central?

All-in-all, a well-researched and highly informative story, wethinks.

Gotta admit that as a University of Utah grad, your blogmeister was fascinated by this interesting story angle (among others) too:

At the University of Utah in Salt Lake City, educators are creating a certificate program that they hope will produce students ready to work at big data centers such as the Bluffdale facility. The NSA helped reviewed the curriculum, offering suggestions, and plans to offer internships to students, said Valerio Pascucci, director of the Center for Extreme Data, Management, Analysis and Visualization.

Imagine that. An academic certificate in spyin' on your neighbors.

There is one important fact element this story did leave out, however.  Although AP reporter Brady Combs does mention "...a spoof website that even includes a phony code name for the facility: "Bumblehive," a play on Utah's nickname of the "Beehive State," our usually fastidious Standard-Examiner editors committed what we believe to be dang near a "cardinal sin" for anyone who publishes stories on the net....  Yep, gentle readers, the S-E editors omitted the spoof website link. 

No hay problema, O Gentle Ones.  We managed to find it this morning after extensive Googling:

• Domestic Surveillance Directorate

Pretty hilarious knock-off of the original NSA site, don'tcha think?

And remember, folks...  "If you have nothing to hide, you have nothing to fear." Mebbe you should write that down so you don't forget it.