Ballistic Politics

car0358The Arizona political shootings offer an opportunity for the Administration to either defend free speech ( including that which it bitterly opposes) or criminalize it using this event as a pretext.
Any president would be sorely tempted to brand his foes enemies of the state and history tells at least several did.
I’m being intentionally vague because enough gasoline is hitting this particular fire without by brand of high octane propellant. Folks with impulse control problems on all sides of the issue don’t need more provocation to go postal.
Conservatives wonder when the speech codes will be unveiled? Conspiracy theorists on that side expect government surveillance and dirty tricks to exceed Nixon in the wake of this attempted assassination of a sitting Congress woman and murder of a Chief federal District judge among others.
As a security person and political observer I think we need to recognize the pressure cooker of the last few years is causing some to reach their boiling point. That doesn’t mean that prevailing conditions; talking heads or policy makers can automatically be blamed when these eruptions occur, but they are mitigating factors. Study and preemptive action may head off some of these tragedies.
Ballistic politics are occasions when we need to look closely at just how much we believe free speech is worth. In some instances the price can be life itself.
NADRA ENZI AKA CAPT BLACK promotes crime prevention and self-development. http://www.captblack.info
 

Cali RLSH Workshop

motormFrom Motor Mouth:
For those of you in California, Arizona, & Nevada, I have a surprise for you…
I’m holding an RLSH Workshop, BBQ, & patrol on Saturday, the 28th of August.
– Mega-Rad is going over information gathering techniques.
– Med-X is going over medical first responder training.
– Kingsnake is going over teaching body rolls and anti-gun defenses.
– Motor-Mouth (oh, that’s ME!) is going over public relations & dealings with the police.
A BBQ will coincide with this and later in the evening, everyone present will uniform up and hit the streets of San Francisco for a handout then a patrol.
Anyone that wants particulars (as in the address it’s gonna be at) can just hit me up privately on here.
Also, if you’re coming from out of town, no worries for a hotel/motel room. I can’t promise you a bed but I can offer couch or floor space for sure.
Hope to see some of you beyond my local team there!
– MM
Get in touch with Motor Mouth
Facebook – http://www.facebook.com/#!/profile.php?id=100001241867072&ref=ts
Myspace – http://www.myspace.com/motor_mouth_sf
 

Superhero registry adding more Valley members to team

Reported by: Jenn Burgess
Email: [email protected]
It’s dusk in the Valley. A shadow moves among the downtown Phoenix buildings. Though this masked man doesn’t seem to want his real identity fully known, his mission is made clear: stop social injustice and bring peace to the streets.
How do I know this? It’s right there on his MySpace page.
The masked man, known as ‘Citizen Prime’, is part of a growing ring of citizen superheroes. You may see him around town since his region of concentration is listed as Arizona.
But he’s not the only one — another superhero, ‘Green Scorpion’, can also be found in Arizona and New Mexico.
This handful of gold-hearted, masked men and women have their own MySpace pages. Collectively, they even have their own websites: worldsuperheroregistry.com and citizenheroes.com.
They may look wacky, but according to an article in the Times Online, the superhero community was, in part, born in the embers of the 9/11 terrorist attacks when ordinary people wanted to do something short of enlisting.
To even be considered for the Registry, a real-life superhero must meet certain criteria, according to the website.
Three of the primary requirements are wearing a costume, doing heroic deeds, and operating solely by personal motivation, rather than financial gain.
According to Citizen Prime’s MySpace page, he’s married and a proud father. Last year, he was part of an operation to drop off toys to Banner Children’s Hospital.
A blurb on Prime’s MySpace page tells a little more about his mission: “I strive to be a inspirational symbol of hope. We need to stop social injustice – by approaching the heart of the matter – and finding the hero inside every man, woman and child and priming their true greatness. You can be as much hero as I am. Heroes are needed in this life and no cape is required to help change the world.”

Copyright 2008 The E.W. Scripps Co. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

Citizen Prime Robbed! And the rest of the story!

I seldom talk about my private life.  There is so much going on in the world that its hard to find time to write, period.  Over the last month, I’ve been getting ready for the launch of The League of Citizen Heroes, being a guest at the Phoenix Comicon, preparing to patrol during Superbowl weekend, organize the programs housed under the League, etc, so on and so forth.  During the last month, I’ve kept the following secret under my hat.  None the less, I feel this is important so I’m going to “spill the beans.”
On January 4th, my house … was robbed.
Yep.  Citizen Prime’s lair was ransacked!  It was random, street crime.  The burglars  had no idea who I was.  I was just another cased joint.  And it is the last one they’ll be robbing for a long time.  Allow me to explain.
See, we were not home for the holidays.  We were visiting family and friends (including The Black Monday Society) during the end of December and beginning of January.  A wonderful elderly woman watches our house when we are away.  On Friday, January, 4th, we received a phone call.
“Hello, Jim.  I hope you’re sitting down.  I’ve got some bad news,” said the concerned voice of our house sitter on the other end of the phone,  “Over the last few days, someone broke in and took quite a few of your things.” She continued listing the items she thought were stolen.
If you’ve ever received news that your house has been robbed, it’s a surreal experience.  The irony of Citizen Prime being robbed did not escape me either.  Counting myself lucky for having my armor, laptop and cell phones with me, I listened while our house sitter recounted all the things she thought they took.  It ended up being about $15,000 dollars worth of stuff including the desktop computer where all the Citizen Prime info and projects are listed.  Among the “stuff” (and it is just stuff, mostly), what was most disheartening was the loss of photos (a 1000 honeymoon photos among them), Prime projects, and the like.  Theft is an emotional violation, don’t let anyone tell you differently.
While reeling from the news she was delivering on my cell, I was conducting a business call on a land line, pacing furiously, and trying to keep myself in check.  When I hung up both phones. I packed up wife, child and our remaining stuff and raced back to Arizona to survey the damage.
Now, I tell you all this to make the following point.
Crime does not pay.
Without going into details, last week, the thieves were caught!  Working with the local detectives, we are putting a case together to lock these low lifes away for a long time.  And what I feel for the criminals can be boiled down to one word:
Pity.
Seeing the single wide trailer they live in and the old beat up car they use to rob people, how do these geniuses think that crime pays?  Now, its not a crime to be poor, nor is money the symbol of clean living.  That being so, if you could see their living room, bedroom, kitchen, everywhere and all the junk that they live amongst in their quest to hit the big score, you’d agree – these guys did not get rich while they were on their crime spree.  I say “spree” as the authorities estimate they have robbed about 20 houses in the last couple of years.  So what did there life of crime get them?  Not any richer – we saw that.  Instead, it got them years behind bars.  Years away from their kids.  Its just plain stupid.
Looking through the list of evidence and photos from the search warrant, it saddens me even more to see the “stuff”  these petty thugs tried to take away from others.  We saw an irreplaceable World War II photo stolen because the crooks liked the box it was in.  Jewelry, like my wife’s, is often passed down from mother to daughter to granddaughter.  And these guys chop up heirlooms and sell it for the metal.  Theft takes memories and emotions along with the “stuff.”
In this case, all these things, or as much as is able, will go back to the families, while these two short sighted, greedy thieves (and hopefully their accomplices, if the investigation pans out) go away for a long time.  Time they will not get back.  Time that will put their lives that much farther behind the eight ball.  Time that will further ruin their eroded lives.  Its sad.
Crime does not pay.
So to all you budding criminal geniuses out there.  You never know when you will rob the wrong house or the wrong guy.  And when you do, rest assured, the next house you’ll see will be the Big House, or in Arizona, Sheriff Joe’s “Tent City”.  A place you do not want to end up.  You can and will get caught.  The police are sharper than you think, they have allies – seen and unseen – in the community, and there sole desire is to put criminals like these in prison.
And what do I want?  As a victim of random crime, I want my pictures, projects and irreplaceable stuff back.  In large part, I’m going to get that, while these poor souls do hard time.
As Citizen Prime, I want it never to come to this.  I want everyone to fly right! Look. The math is simple.  Don’t do the crime and you won’t do the time.  Its not worth it.  Instead, join me in living a full life in the free world.  Have the guts, strength and the courage to forge your own life – not steal it from others.
Crime does not pay.
 

Phoenix Magazine Real Life Superhero Article

For those who live in or around Phoenix, I highly recommend picking up a copy of the latest Phoenix magazine.  Inside you will find an article about real life superheroes and the great work they are doing in this pioneering effort to raise awareness.
If you live to far from Phoenix and cannot get a copy, I hope Phoenix magazine will go easy on me for presenting a copy here for the community to enjoy!
Citizen Prime
 

Paragon Prime

Citizen Prime (formerly known as Paragon Prime) is a real-life crime fighter. His identity is guarded but not secret. He first appeared in Phoenix, Arizona in early 2006. Citizen Prime, or Prime, claims no superhuman powers. Prime’s experience and training make him an excellent tactician and creative problem solver. He is practiced in Ninjitsu, Tiajutsu, street fighting and Okinawan Karate. He is well versed in various armor technologies and nonlethal weapons. Prime has an excellent understanding of business, finance and technology.
Prime is a founding member of the non-profit Worldwide Heroes Organization and serves as the Vice President and Chief Operating Officer, among other duties.
Prime’s armor (to be completed in January, 2007) provides Level 2 and Level 3 ballistic, stab and blunt trauma protection to 70% of his body while providing complete flexibility. His armor can contain various non-lethal weapons including 130 db alarms, Pepper Spray, various stun technology devices (including Taser, hand held and pen stun devices built into the armor), the ARMA 100 device, etc.. HIs armor and equipment is in a constant state of refinement. His helmet and armor contain communication devices and recording devices, including voice amplification.
Future planned developments: Night vision, fire proofing and electrifying the outer structure of the armor.
Prime typically patrols in an unmarked car, in disguise, or on foot. His investigations center around local issues such as lost children, local drive by shootings and the like.
As of this writing, his real life investigations and encounters remain sealed for confidentiality.
Prime also hosts a podcast on Prime.Vox.com narrating the journey to become a superhero.