Reasons to Believe

What If The Activists Lied?

From the Los Angeles Daily News

ANTI-POLICE BRUTALITY: What if everything the activists said was a lie?

By Robert C. J. Parry

LAST week on Santa Monica Boulevard in Hollywood, two LAPD officers chased a theft suspect before tackling and wrestling him to the ground. When dust settled, crime-scene tape cordoned the area as detectives scoured for evidence.

Their investigation was unrelated to the theft. The alleged thief wasn't even the suspect. Rather, their focus was Officer Ivana Gallegos, who, for all intents and purposes, is the suspect in an assault. The possible crime: During the struggle, Gallegos' radio struck the suspect's head. Accidentally.

Why did this innocuous incident require such fanfare? Why was this cop treated like a criminal? Short answer: The federal consent decree.

Accepting Freedom's Charge

On May 31, 2007, I was invited to be the keynote speaker at Monrovia's Memorial Day Ceremony.  This is the speech I made:

ACCEPTING FREEDOM'S CHARGE

Corporal Glenn James Watkins
Staff Sergeant Alberto Silva
Staff Sergeant John Schiele
Sergeant Paul Neubauer
Sergeant Michael Sonoda
Sergeant Jerry Bonifacio
Colonel William Westley Wood
Captain Raymond Hill
Specialist Shakere Guy

These names appear on memorials, plaques and gravestones across California, and even across our great country.  People in communities not unlike are own will gather in front of them today to pay respects.

But to me they are more than names.  To me, they are brothers. 

Honorable mayors and elected officials, commanders of veterans groups, leaders of our communities, ladies and gentlemen – and children who will protect our freedoms tomorrow – thank you for inviting me to address this important ceremony on this most important National holiday.

I stand before you today to remember these names emblazoned on stones and hearts, and I stand with my comrades to remember those further up in the column of freedom’s defenders, a column that has marched from Bunker Hill, to Gettysberg, San Juan Hill, The Meuse-Argonne, Normandy Beach, Inchon, Hue City and today which stands between good and evil in the streets of Baghdad.

There is a divide in lands of freedom between those who enjoy that freedom and those who also defend it.  It is, I must say, a divide I did not recognize until I had fully crossed over it.  It is the divide between those to whom the names I just read bring thoughts of young men standing up for their country, and those to whom it brings faint echoes of explosions past, or the fading glow of artillery flares drifting over chaos, or the touch of a chaplain’s arm on your bicep as he tells you the man you admired whom you saw just six hours ago, joined that long column as you slept.

When The Last Hero Leaves LA... Will Anybody Notice?

Graciously Posted on Patterico's blog.

[Update and full disclosure:  In the process of fact-checking another OpEd, the 60% statistic cited below became very questionable.  In fact, it was ultimately removed from the OpEd that has since been published.  The LAPD has stated that the correct figure is 24.6 (which seems impossible in a departmnet which should cycle its force more than once every 20 years, with quittings, firings, and medical retirements figured in.)  However, the LAPPL, which published 60% in is own newsletter, said the correct figure is 50%, but admitted it was unable to substantiate it.  Because it is integral to the writing, if not the entire arguement below, I have left it in.  But, now you know]

Despite the tenor of news reports surrounding last week’s violence in MacArthur Park, many officers in the Los Angeles Police Department are valorous and dedicated. In fact, this morning, 17 current police officers will receive the LAPD Medal of Valor. Notably, three of them now serve in other communities.

In fact, according to the L.A. Police Protective League, fully 60% of LAPD officers have been with the department less than five years. At that rate, almost the entire department could have been replaced twice since the 1992 riots. Notably, officers who leave the LAPD in their first five years have to repay the City for their academy training.

If you want to understand why the LAPD can’t retain officers, don’t look to the Los Angeles Times. The story below was first told to five of their top staff writers. Each deemed it interesting, but none reported it. In fact, this very column was presented to their OpEd section, and was rejected because a vaguely similar piece ran last year, addressing a less compelling set of facts. Apparently, only limited space is allotted to critical local issues in Los Angeles’s newspaper of record.

So, instead of looking to the Times, look to two other certified heroes: officers Troy Zeeman and Bryan Gregson. Last November, California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger presented them with California Medals of Valor, for engaging a suspected killer in a running gunfight through a South L.A. apartment building.

The LAPD, by contrast, ruled them tactically deficient, worthy only of retraining.

If that’s confusing to you, it wasn’t to Zeeman and Gregson. They’d both spent a decade in the LAPD hall of mirrors.

But to get the details, you’d have to drive to Newport Beach. That’s where both cops moved months after the shooting.

America Must Re-Learn How To Fight & Win

From the Los Angeles Daily News

By Robert C. J. Parry

WHILE Congress, the president and the media play politics with questions of victory in Iraq, as a combat veteran and student of history, I think we should consider a far more fundamental question: Can America ever win another war?

What might seem silly on its face is magnified to full significance in the looking glass of history. Should we retreat from the battlefield in Iraq -- which is what anything short of legitimate victory would be -- America will have established a 60-year record of failing to prevail against strategically significant enemies.

Of Princes, Sabres & Christmas Tables

An unpublished OpEd for the Holiday

Next May, if all goes as planned, I’ll cross a stage at the University of Southern California, receive a diploma, and charge forth with the title Master of Business Administration. It is a modestly notable achievement, and a title to bear proudly. In many salons, corporate suites and private clubs MBA is akin to prince, placing its bearer in capitalism’s lower royalty.

But, it will not be the title of which I am most proud.  Setting aside matters personal and spiritual, the highest point on my totem pole is easily reserved: American Soldier.

I spent Christmas Eve 2005 in Baghdad, scarfing down dinner, motivated by knowledge that our chow hall was an enemy rocket target. Sixteen of my comrades live to see December 24. Another never saw New Year’s morning. It was my sixth major holiday away from my family’s table in seven years of National Guard service. And I wouldn’t have wanted otherwise.

Sadly, in many salons, suites and clubs “soldier” is eschewed for MBA, attorney at law, or numerous other more “”royal” titles.  They will gladly shake my hand with thanks.  But they won’t be at the table should I face an eighth holiday away.

Notably, this past Friday, someone of formal royal stature received an officers’ commission –  in the British Army. William, Prince of Wales, marched at Royal Military College Sandhurst and formally received the title Ensign (or Cornet in his Regiment), and the privilege of wearing the uniform of the forces he will one day command as Britain’s Sovereign.

While aspirant kings find military service borderline compulsory, William has clearly grasped the saber of leadership concurrent with near-guaranteed combat. Sadly, as anachronistic and undemocratic as royal rule may be, British soldiers have greater chance of following senior leaders who wore the uniform than do their American counterparts.

President Bush’s often ridiculed Viet Nam-era Air National Guard service exceeds that of 90% of our in-coming Congress.  While it may be fair to question the convenience of his enlistment, there is vastly more danger in strapping on a fighter jet for a training mission than in pursuing a Rhodes Scholarship, Harvard JD, or USC MBA.

As Cornet Wales marched across Sandhurst, the investment bank Goldman Sachs announced its bonuses will average about 20-times the base pay of a Second Lieutenant on the streets of Baghdad.
Having worked as a marketing advisor to investment bankers, I do not begrudge this windfall. 

But, while they certainly earn the engorged fruits of Manhattan’s towers, it is those lieutenants who keep the towers upright. How many sons and daughters of Manhattan are among the lieutenants?  Few, if any.
Yet, the rare anecdotes of Marines who left the Street post-9/11 and former soldiers who joined the rat race post-enlistment, make Wall Street a veritable VFW post compared to the service-dodging perfumed princes of Hollywood and professional sports.

Except Ranger Pat Tillman, America’s social elite have been AWOL.

To be sure, I oppose compulsory service.  The all volunteer force is remarkable. But it should not only be all of volunteers; it should be volunteers of all.

Contrary to some assertions, statistics demonstrate today’s soldiers do not lack opportunities. The military is smarter, better educated and healthier than the populous overall, and this is no more true than in the combat arms units who engage the enemy face-to-face.

But, equally undeniable is that our country faces a widening divide between those who preserve its opportunities and those who exploit them.

In no small part, blame for this lies with the vacuosness of the voices who champion the war in Iraq. Precious few who stand tall on the soap box have ridden tall in the saddle. Nor have they sent their children to fight.  Hugh Hewitt, a leading pundit, recently told a group of Christian students that they should consider military service, but noted that it never really crossed his mind to enlist when he graduated college.

That’s not exactly what linemen want to hear from cheerleaders.

Of all the talking heads and spin doctors, the only one to put flesh and blood where her mouth is has been Dr. Laura Schlessinger.  The preachy dial-a-shrink’s son is an Army Ranger, like Tillman,
As one who has seen combat in this war, it would give me confidence to know that my commander- who obviously considered his own service – asked his daughters to ponder joining me - whether they went or not. 
I want to know that we who fight this battle are not alone in sacrfice.

I want to know why no Junior ROTC units operate in West LA schools, but there are plenty south of the10 and east of the 5.

I want to know why few mothers of Bel Air will tonight feel the same empty ache that my mother and wife did a year ago - yet their husbands will make movies about “what it feels like.”

I want to know why bankers will cheer cuts in a defense contractor’s costs then bid up it’s stock. But they won’t bid their sons to carry that cheaper weapon in battle.

I want to know why royalty like Prince William are expected to grasp sabers, while America’s fear being sullied – or bloodied - in the service.

I want to ask this:  Which table will you – or your child – sit at next Christmas Eve?  The comfortable one? Or the one that makes you comfortable

The Truth Soothes

If you would like to read more of the truth about what the 1-184th Infantry experienced in Baghdad, I invite you to read this USA Today article, on news stands this weekend. I am quoted at some length, but the real point is that, no matter what some folks said, we did well.

On related notes, if you are in the city of Los Angeles, you can see me this weekend on Ch. 36, the community television station. I am featured on a panel at the Los Angeles Press Club regarding the war. It airs several times this weekend, according to their Web site.

Finally, I was on ABC-7 last night, here in LA. Thanks to all who saw it and said nice things about me. Real credit should go to SPC Harp and LT Everts. Those guys were in it much worse than me.

The Mouth of the Beast

Greetings from the City of Berzerkeley, um, Berkeley, home of the University of California and its attendant Old Golden Bear. Your fearless blogger is here at the invitation of the Cal Graduate School of Journalism. Last night I participated in a speaking panel here with regard to media coverage of the war.

And, I must say, though more than a few people in the audience were in need of haircuts, they were quite a pleasant bunch of folks. LA Times reporter Rone Tempest, who helped guide my OpEd onto the Sunday Current page last month, was the moderator for the discussion which followed a presentation of a soon-to-be-released movie about soldiers in the war.

I shall reserve my comments (hint: enthusiastic) about the film until it will play well with the producer's overall roll out. Suffice is to say it is a soldier movie, not a war movie.

But the discussion that followed (which carried on into the late hours of the night at a local dining establishment) was lively and respectful. I was joined by another soldier who was part of the film, and the film's director. While I was not the only soldier in the room, I was probably the only guy wearing a tie - and certainly the only one wearint a cardinal one with gold "USC" embroidered all over.

I must say the crowd of journalism students was far more restrained than that of the LA Press Club, where I spoke on Thursday. Nobody in Berkeley has accused me of "marketing war," so far, which was the rather nasty slight hurled at me in Hollywood. I wandered the streets in search of lunch this afternoon, and must say there is nothing quite like the energy of a college town. Even one where everybody needs a haircut.

Speaking of Hollywood, those of you with Cable TV in the City of Los Angeles can watch that lively discussion from the Press Club on Channel 36. I am told it will run at several times throughout the week.

Tonight I shall venture back up the hill for a discussion that is being billed as one fo the biggest events on campus this year, featuring reporters from all over the country, including the NY Time's Baghdad bureau chief. It should be a fascinating time.

Why LA is $271 Million in the Red

Traffic is a mess, the city has no money and nobody can afford a house with a porch (which suits the Mayor just fine - he wants to go vertical).

Why is this town a mess? I'm sure it has nothing to do with the municipal work ethic I've seen every morning for the last eight days on my drive into Century City. You know, this:

Actually, for full disclosure, I must admit that this does not represent what I see every day. On most mornings they are BOTH leaning up against the car. I guess the guy on the left felt dynamic today.

Why Crash Got It Right

If you've not seen the movie "Crash," then, well, you ought to. This movie won the Best Picture Oscar for doign what movies ought to do. It told an entertaining story and threaded in thought provokig moral dillemmas.

Purely as a story - eliminate the politics and moral issues - it is a remarkably well told series of vignettes woven together in a neat blanket. My wife and I still giggle about one of the closing lines: "I am speaking Engrish you COW!"

But, let's deal with those issues head on. There is something here for everyone to nod oward approvingly, and something to make everyone uncomfortable. It is balanced and even, and comfortably uncomfortably so.

If you are a lefty, enthusiastic nodding must have jolted into jaw dropping just as quickly as two young black men spun from complaining about lousy restaurant service and the racism of a passing white woman to car jacking that same woman. The line is a classic, somehting to the effect of: "Why ain't we bothered?" "Because we got guns?"

On the flip side, as Conservative, there is more than enough to irk me. Matt Dillon's Ryan character is portrayed, especially in the media, as an evil white LAPD cop. But, is he really? He clearly crosses lines when he sexually man handles a black woman in front of her husband. But he clearly was provoked into the situation, and obviously does it to get even. It's not right, but he did not start off with that intent. Later he clashes with a black HMO worker who denies care to his suffering father. His questioning whether she got her job due to affirmative action ("over five more qualified white men") has been played repeatedly as an examle of his "virulent racism." Yet, the movie never explores the factuality of the statement, nor does it show why it is that people of all races and creeds have that same fear. It is sad, but true, that many people operate with this question.

One of the nice things about the Army is that you need to look no further than a man's collar to see what he has accomplished. Regardless of his looks, ethnicity, articulation or outward intelligence, if the man has more stars or stripes than you, he's the better man (or woman) and he's gotten there fair and square.

The media has downplayed mroe nuanced aspects of the Ryan character. His father ran a business that employed mainly blacks and gave folks who had no options a better life. His second partner is Hispanic, and they banter fondly.

Moreover, at the end of the movie - at the end of the day - Dillon repeatedly risks his own life to save the same black woman from a fiery car wreck. The LAPD I've seen portrayed in the LA Times and every relevent Jesse Jackson press conference would lead you to believe that he would let her burn. But he does not.

There are more aspects to Crash that should speak powerfully to Conservatives about today's racial politics. A white DA targets a white cop when he kills a fellow black officer who apparrently was corrupt (the details of the case would seem to come straight from the Lyga/Gaines shooting in 1997. Gaines, the black officer who was off duty at the time, almost certainly was corrupt and tied to Rafael Perez). the DA blatantly panders by race. His wife reveals herself to be a limousine liberal, openly questioning the character of a Mexican lock smith, then finding that her only friend in the world is her Mexican maid.

Etc., etc. etc.

So, my congratulations to the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Eschewing preaching and embracing a fine story with provoking thoughts for everyone in the audience is how it should be. No matter how much preaching the Hollywood press tried to impress upon us.

Why Unions Are Dying

Less than 30% of American workers are unionized. Less than 15% work in manufacturing. Now, I'm not a big fan of unions, especially in light of what unions are doing to destroy GM and Ford and, thus their workers. But they have a role to play for the betterment of society. And it was the unions that got behind Ronald Reagan and made him President.

So, then, I have to ask: It takes what for a union to be shamed? A few days ago, the head of the Los Angeles County Federation of Labor, former City Councilman Martin Ludlow, resigned in the face of allegations of misdeeds with union funds during his city council campaign. He did so with two dozen union officials applauding him and standing behind him. The man quit to face criminal prosecution - for deeds involving worker's funds - and the people he betrayed stand with him?

Much the same this morning. A school board candidate is unmasked as a thief who quite likely fudged his resume, yet the TEACHERS UNION stands behind him. If teachers stand behind a liar and a thief, how on earth are we supposed to trust them with teaching our kids any sort of values?

Unions are supposed to stand for higher ideals. They are dying because they stand only for themselves, and the horse they bet on in any given race.