driver license check: Kasım 2012

30 Kasım 2012 Cuma

Alert Police Officer likely saves woman's life

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Posted: November 15, 2012 - 2:10pm

A Shawnee Police Officer on routine patrol likely saved a woman's life last week.

The department says, at 11:30 p.m. Friday, November 9th, Officer Justin Cobb was patrolling the area of the 7400 block of Martindale Road, in western Shawnee, when he noticed what he believed to be an unoccupied SUV on the side of the roadway.

Officer Cobb approached the blue SUV on foot. While looking at the stopped vehicle he noticed a woman in the backseat who appeared to be asleep. When attempts to wake the woman were unsuccessful, Officer Cobb opened the car door and found the female was unresponsive.

Johnson County Med-Act was called to the scene and through further investigation determined the woman was suffering from a suspected drug overdose. The woman was transported to a local medical center for treatment.

A statement released by the department says, "Officer Cobb's attentiveness to duty and quick action surely saved the victim's life. Needless to say, the Shawnee Police Department is very proud of Officer Cobb."

Information provided by the Shawnee Police Department.

Woman rescued after crashing vehicle into a tree and ravine

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Posted: November 30, 2012 - 2:14am
Updated: November 30, 2012 - 5:43am

File photo of Shawnee Fire Department's Rescue 71

Firefighters from two area departments worked the scene of a single vehicle accident in Kansas City, Kansas this morning.

The accident was reported shortly before 2 a.m. on County Line Road between S. 59th Street and S. 63rd Street. On the Johnson County side, County Line Road is known as W. 47th Street, while S. 59th Street is Nieman Road, and S. 63rd Street is Quivira Road.

Shawnee Police arrived on the scene at 1:58 a.m., to report one vehicle had left the roadway and partially rolled over. Fire units from Kansas City, Kansas and Shawnee were both dispatched to the area.

Initial reports from the scene indicated that the vehicle left the roadway, struck a tree, and then partially rolled into a ravine.

Shawnee Fire arrived on the scene to report the involved vehicle had sustained heavy damage in the crash and was occupied by one person.

Kansas City, Kansas Fire 'Heavy Rescue 1' and Shawnee Fire 'Rescue 71' responded to the scene for assistance in stabilizing the vehicle and extricating the driver. Crews from both Fire Departments worked for just over 20 minutes to stabilize the vehicle and extricate the driver. The vehicle's airbags deployed in the accident and the driver was wearing a seat belt.

The female driver, said to be in her early 50's, sustained non-life threatening injuries. She was transported by Kansas City, Kansas EMS to a Kansas City trauma center.

Kansas City, Kansas Police are investigating if alcohol may have played a role in the accident's cause.

Stay with Operation 100 News on this blog and on Twitter for the latest details as they become available. Remember where you heard this news first, Operation 100 News, reporting the news to the public as it breaks.

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Shotgun wielding victim chases burglary suspect

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Posted: November 30, 2012 - 4:18am
Updated: November 30, 2012 - 5:04am

Officers from at least four departments searched for an auto burglary suspect this morning in Merriam.

Police were called to the 8300 block of W. 60th Street around 3:45 a.m.. A caller reported that her husband was chasing a man who was seen inside of a parked vehicle. While Merriam officers were responding on the call, Dispatchers reported that the husband was armed with a gun and chasing the suspect away. Dispatchers reported hearing shots being fired over the phone line.

Merriam Police requested assistance from surrounding agencies including; Mission, Overland Park, and Shawnee. Responding officers established a perimeter around the area to contain the suspect.

The victim of the auto burglary, armed with a shotgun, was located about a block away from his residence. Officers secured the weapon and began interviewing the victim regarding the incident.

The suspect was described as a white male with a medium to heavy build, he is said to have a "scruffy" beard and was wearing a dark red flannel coat and dark pants. He was last seen running west towards Antioch Road.

Shawnee Police had their K-9 unit at the scene and searched the area for the suspect. The area search was concluded at 4:50 a.m., with the suspect remaining at large.

No injuries have been reported and Police continue to investigate.

Stay with Operation 100 News on this blog and on Twitter for the latest details as they become available. Remember where you heard this news first, Operation 100 News, reporting the news to the public as it breaks.

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Sapporo's Unseasonal Seasonal Beer

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The Japanese are obsessed with seasons. And the marketing people know it: tons of mass-produced stuff comes in limited-edition seasonal varieties. (We're especially fond of our seasonal wall-hangings.)

The problem is, many of these seasonal varieties are pretty much the same thing you get the rest of the year. Honestly, when you think of "autumn-flavored beer," it ain't straw-colored light lager that comes to mind. This is baseball and barbecue beer I'm talking about. Bad form, Sapporo, bad form - you really ought to change a lot more than the can!

Eating in Japanese restaurants: Some unexpected quirks

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Japanese restaurants are different from Western ones in ways beyond the menu items. We've actually become inured to this sort of difference, but while traveling with Justin's parents, we noticed them through fresh eyes. These are the sort of things which would never make a travel guidebook but which would jerk you out of a novel set here (I can't read the word "whiskey" in novels set in Scotland anymore.)

- Japanese restaurants all have "party of one" seating areas, mostly banquettes. It is normal to go to a restaurant alone. Some places have more of this seating than of seating for groups.
- If you do go to a restaurant with other people, you will still only get one menu. No one can explain this to me.
- Some menus are written and posted on the restaurant wall, diner-style. Those are the hardest for foreigners because they are all text, without pictures, although sometimes they write the spicy dishes in red letters.
- All meals are served with wet towels, either the cheap plastic packaged kind or, in more upscale places, heated white washcloths.
- Japanese chopsticks will always be wood. The Koreans use metal and the Chinese usually use plastic in restaurant settings. Chinese chopsticks are the longest, maybe because of the tendency to eat from shared plates at a distance. Japanese chopsticks are shortest. Korean chopsticks are heaviest.
- You can still smoke in restaurants here. The scent of french-fry grease and cigarette smoke always takes me back to the McDonald's of my childhood.
- Many restaurants set out Kleenex boxes for use in place of napkins.
- At some restaurants, especially ramen restaurants, you might buy meal tickets from a vending machine instead of paying cash to a person. You turn the ticket in to the server and they bring you the food shown on the ticket.
- Some restaurants, particularly those on the ground floors of large buildings, do not have their own bathrooms. To go to the bathroom, you have to exit the restaurant (which is outdoors, in the cold) and walk around to the bathroom, which is typically shared with other restaurants. Often these are squat toilets. THE HORROR.
- Fast-food restaurants like Lotteria and McDonald's have sinks out in the main area, near the order counter, so you can wash your hands without going into the bathroom. Actually, this is brilliant.
- When you discard your tray at a fast-food restaurant, you have to sort your trash first. There is a separate receptacle for the leftover ice in your soda cup.
- Water cups are teeny tiny - no taller than your hand. I noticed this in Europe, too. I don't know why Americans drink so much more than other people. I would die of dehydration drinking the way they do in Asia and Europe.
- Water is often "ã‚»ãƒ«ãƒ—”, or "self-service," from coolers in a corner of the restaurant. This makes the teeny-tiny cups even more annoying, since you have to get up and walk across the restaurant to refill them. Sometimes they have pitchers, though, which helps.
- No sales tax, and no tipping. If you try to leave even a penny behind, they will come out in the street to find you and give it back.
- If you get to a chain restaurant at opening time, you might witness the staff's pump-up ritual. They gather outside the restaurant and cheer a few times before going in and starting work. They do this at major retailers, too.

29 Kasım 2012 Perşembe

Alert Police Officer likely saves woman's life

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Posted: November 15, 2012 - 2:10pm

A Shawnee Police Officer on routine patrol likely saved a woman's life last week.

Kansas Highway Patrol releases Thanksgiving weekend results

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Posted: November 26, 2012 - 3:41pm
Updated: November 26, 2012 - 4:07pm

The Kansas Highway Patrol has released their activity numbers for their Thanksgiving patrols. The Patrol and other local agencies participated in the Special Traffic Enforcement Program (STEP). The Kansas Department of Transportation provided a grant for the additional enforcement.

The reporting period for the holiday weekend began at 6 p.m. on Wednesday, November 21, and lasted through 11:59 p.m. on Sunday, November 25. Troopers say they worked tow fatality crashes during that time. One of those fatal crashes was alcohol-related.

Click numbers to view larger

These numbers are statewide for the Kansas Highway Patrol only. Other local agencies that participated in the holiday weekend STEP will be released separately.

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Three people injured in crossover crash on K-10

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Posted: November 27, 2012 - 7:14am
Updated: November 27, 2012 - 11:40am

Updated story:

The Kansas Highway Patrol has confirmed that this morning's accident was a crossover.

Troopers say at approximately 7 a.m., a 2005 Ford pickup truck was traveling in the right lane of eastbound K-10. The second vehicle, a 2005 Hyundai Elantra was traveling in the left lane next to the Ford truck.

The driver of the Ford truck attempted to change lanes to the left, causing the driver of the Hyundai to make an avoidance maneuver to the left. The Ford's driver lost control of the vehicle and crossed the center median. The Hyundai's driver was able to maintain control of the vehicle and came to a stop in the center median.
A third vehicle, a 2005 Scion XB, was traveling westbound on K-10 and swerved to the right in an attempt to avoid the out of control Ford truck. The Scion broadsided the Ford truck in the driver's door. Both vehicles came to rest off of the right shoulder of the westbound lanes of K-10.

Troopers have identified the driver of the Ford truck as, 62-year-old, Martin Bruce of Baldwin City. Bruce was wearing his seat belt when the accident occurred. He was transported to an area hospital.

The driver of the Hyundai Elantra has been identified as, Lawrence resident, Rachel Debes, 25. She was not injured in the incident and was wearing a seat belt.

Investigators say there were three people in the Scion. Those people have been identified as Olathe residents, Luis Elias-Sanchez, 29; Juan Moreno-Lopez, 22; and Carlos Torres-Oliva, 19. According to the Kansas Highway Patrol's accident report, Elias-Sanchez was not injured in the accident and was wearing a seat belt. Moreno-Lopez and Torres-Oliva were both injured in the crash and, according to the report, it is unknown if they were wearing seat belts. Both were transported to an area hospital.
Troopers did not provide any updates on the conditions of the injured people.

Original story:

The Kansas Highway Patrol is investigating a serious accident on K-10 in De Soto.

The accident was reported to authorities at 7:05 a.m. and is in the westbound lanes of K-10 just east of Kill Creek Road.

Initial reports indicated the crash began in the eastbound lanes of K-10 with a car and truck colliding. The truck then reportedly crossed the center median and collided with a westbound vehicle. This information has not been confirmed by authorities as of this report.

The Johnson County Sheriff's Office say three vehicles, two with heavy damage, were involved in the accident.

Northwest Consolidated Fire District crews responded to the scene with Johnson County Med-Act. Reports from the scene indicated; one person with critical injuries, two others are said to have serious injuries and a fourth person with minor injuries is refusing treatment.

Dispatchers tell Operation 100 News that the accident scene has been cleared and traffic is returning to normal.

Stay with Operation 100 News on this blog and on Twitter for the latest details as they become available. Remember where you heard this news first, Operation 100 News, reporting the news to the public as it breaks.

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Overland Park Police Thanksgiving Mobilization results

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Posted: November 28, 2012 - 3:29pm

The Overland Park Police Department has released their results of the Thanksgiving Mobilizations STEP (Special Traffic Enforcement Program). The campaign began on November 19th and lasted through November 25th.

The Kansas Highway Patrol released their results earlier this week.

During the campaign Officers were looking for DUI and seat belt violations. Officers also looked for child passenger seat violations, speeding, and alcohol related violations in an effort to reduce alcohol related auto accidents.

All information provided by the Overland Park Police Department.
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One person seriously injured in early morning crash

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Posted: November 29, 2012 - 3:00am
Updated: November 29, 2012 - 3:37am

Overland Park Firefighters work to extricate a driver
Image from Overland Park traffic camera system

The Overland Park Police Department is investigating what led up to a serious crash on Metcalf Avenue early this morning.

First responders were called to the 7600 block of Metcalf Avenue shortly after 2:30 a.m., Thursday. Firefighters arrived on the scene to report one of the vehicles had been heavily damaged.

One person had to be extricated from the vehicle, which was believed to have struck a utility pole. That person's injuries were said to be serious but, non-life threatening.

Two other people were said to have sustained minor injuries.

Police are investigating if alcohol may have played a role in the accident.

No other details were immediately available.

Stay with Operation 100 News on this blog and on Twitter for the latest details as they become available. Remember where you heard this news first, Operation 100 News, reporting the news to the public as it breaks.

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28 Kasım 2012 Çarşamba

Assuming that was his real purpose

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The other day I was in county court handling a client's DWI case. The judge was calling the trial docket and trying to figure out if anyone was going to trial that day. One by one came the requests for a continuance - and one by one they were granted. That is, until there were two cases left.

One of the cases, a breath test case, was the one picked to go. The defense attorney asked the judge for a continuance because he wanted to talk to the technical supervisor about the assumptions he made in the process of ~~guessing~~ extrapolating the defendant's alcohol concentration at the time of driving.

I overheard bits and pieces of the conversation at the bench while I waited (and waited and waited). The defense attorney wanted to know what assumptions the technical supervisor was making. The judge insisted that the technical supervisor was assuming only one thing - that the defendant had nothing to drink between the time of his arrest and the time he blew into the little black box. The judge insisted that technical supervisors aren't assuming anything else. She told the defense attorney that they use the time of the last drink and of the last meal and the breath test score and the time that elapsed between the time of driving and the time of the test. The defense attorney said the technical supervisor was also assuming that his client was in the elimination phase at the time of the test.

I couldn't help but think that while the defense attorney was correct in his statement that the technical supervisor was making assumptions, it was a pretty lousy argument to use if you wanted to get the case continued.

Of course the technical supervisor is making assumptions. The judge was so far off base with her assertion that he wasn't. Let's take a look at some of the facts used by the technical supervisor to guess extrapolate a driver's alcohol concentration.

First the technical supervisor needs to know about how much the defendant weighed. He also needs to know how much time elapsed between the time of driving and the breath test. He needs to know when the defendant consumed his first and last drinks and when he ate his last meal. It would be helpful if he knew exactly how much the defendant had to drink.

Now let's think of the assumptions being made by the technical supervisor. First he is assuming that the breath test result is accurate. He is assuming that the machine was operating properly that evening and that the operator conducted the test properly. He is assuming that the operator observed the defendant for at least 15 minutes prior to the test. He is assuming that the defendant is being truthful when asked about the time of his first drink, last drink and last meal. He is assuming that the defendant isn't being truthful when he told the officer he had only had a couple of beers. He is assuming that the defendant is in the elimination stage. He is assuming that the defendant eliminates alcohol at a steady rate equal to the number he plugs into his calculator. Finally he is assuming that armed with one data point it is possible to calculate the slope to a another data point at some time in the past.

So, yes, there are a lot of assumptions being made by the technical supervisor. And each of those assumptions gives rise to a line of questions during cross-examination. The best way to attack the conclusions of an expert is not to challenge the expert head-on. The best way is to challenge the assumptions he made along the way.

Update: Was he or wasn't he?

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The State of Texas murdered Preston Hughes last night.

Maybe he was innocent. Maybe he was not.

The injuries the victim suffered are not consistent with the testimony of the police officer who found her. Did he make up the last words of a dying girl?

We don't know. We'll never know.

The jury thought he did it. But jurors find it hard to believe that police officers lie.

The problem for Mr. Hughes was that the jury found him guilty. That meant he had to present evidence of actual innocence - and that's a world apart from demonstrating reasonable doubt.

His attorney, Pat McCann, did everything he could to keep Mr. Hughes alive. He filed a clemency request with the Board of Pardons and Parole. He tried to file a civil suit challenging the one-drug cocktail. Mr. Hughes didn't think he did enough.

What Mr. Hughes and his supporters couldn't grasp is that the game changes once that jury comes back with a guilty verdict.

Now he's dead. And still nothing has changed.

The victims are still dead. Friends and family still have a void in their lives. The killing of Preston Hughes didn't change that.

And now there's no reason to continue to determine whether or not he was innocent. Maybe the State of Texas killed an innocent man. And maybe not.

Does it really even matter?

Taking a look at notable criminal justice bills in the Texas Senate

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Yesterday we looked at some of the criminal justice bills filed in the Texas House. Today it's time to head down the hallway and check out what the state senate has been up to.

First up is Sen. Rodney Ellis' (D-Houston) reciprocal discovery bill. Yes, the proposal codifies what materials the state must make available to the defense. In many areas of the state these items are covered under standard discovery orders issued by the courts. But the bill would also require the defense to make material available to the state prior to trial.

While some would see no problem with this arrangement, it puts a burden on the defense to produce evidence - something the defense is not required to do at trial. In a criminal prosecution the burden of proof is placed squarely on the shoulders of the state - this isn't a civil case where both sides have a burden to meet.

Additionally, the bill provides no effective relief should the state fail to produce the required items. In fact, the bill makes itself a punch line by explicitly stating that the failure of the state to comply is not grounds to dismiss a case or set aside a verdict.

Sen. Dan Patrick (R-Houston) has put forth a bill that would permit deferred adjudication for intoxication offenses. That is a step in the right direction. If a defendant is able to plead to deferred adjudication for every other misdemeanor offense and the vast majority of felony offenses, it makes no sense whatsoever that he isn't allowed to be placed on deferred adjudication for driving while intoxicated. For recognizing this, I give Sen. Patrick a thumbs-up.

The proposed bill would count a deferred on an intoxication offense as a conviction for enhancement purposes. On this I have mixed feelings. While I think a prosecutor should be allowed to take into consideration a prior deferred on a DWI, I don't like making it black letter law. Defendants choose to take deferred for a variety of reasons. Sometimes that decision is made because the risks of going to trial versus taking a deferred are too great - even for an innocent person.

Sen. Patrick has also proposed a bill that would make it a Class A misdemeanor for former members of the state legislature to lobby until after the second regular session after their retirement, or firing, has adjourned.

Yes, the proposed bill would put a temporary stop to the revolving door that infects our government at all levels. But, do the provisions prohibiting lobbying for a certain period of time violate the First Amendment?

Finally, Sen. Judith Zaffirini (D-Laredo) introduced a companion bill to Rep. Craddick's proposal to make it a crime to text while driving.

The joint that broke the camel's back

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So, Eric Holder, what's the big deal about Colorado and Washington voting to legalize marijuana? Why should it matter that two states decided the benefits of the war on drugs wasn't worth the cost? Maybe you're worried that some other states will come to the conclusion that it doesn't make sense to waste public resources arresting, jailing and trying cases involving an ounce or two of the chronic.

The bigger question, however, is why the federal government is involved in the prosecution of marijuana cases at all. Up until last week, all 50 states had laws on their books making it a crime to possess marijuana. Why were los federales even involved in pot cases? It would seem that the states had it under control.

As I've stated many times before, the only federal crime specified in the Constitution is treason. According to the 10th Amendment, everything else was left up to the states.That's what the conservatives have been screaming for years.

Then how come no one questions why the federal government prosecutes drug cases?

If two states are tired of the time and money spent on pot prosecutions, so be it. I thought the beauty of federalism is that there are 50 little laboratories out there that can test various ideas and programs. Why not let a couple of states try out decriminalizing marijuana? Why not step back and see what happens?

The worst case scenario is more people start passing the bong around the room. Well, Mr. Holder, I've got news for you. Kids are still smoking pot in high school and college and it's been illegal for generations. Anyone who wants to buy any weed can easily find a seller.

The best case scenario is Colorado and Washington save money that would have been spent arresting, jailing and trying folks who were dumb enough to get caught with marijuana (and here's my tip for the day -- smoke the chronic at home and don't carry it in your car, trust me on this). Maybe the states realize some additional tax revenue as a result. Maybe you'd even see a drop off in some violent crime since the distribution of marijuana would be regulated.

And, if these benefits are realized, maybe other states would take a look and begin to question their own laws regarding marijuana. For some states, legalizing it might be the way to go while, for others, reducing possession of small amounts of marijuana to the level of a traffic ticket might work.

Maybe Mr. Holder's real fear is that the actions in Colorado and Washington might lead folks to question why there are so many federal crimes that duplicate the laws on the books in the 50 states. Maybe he's afraid there might be some movement to pare down the list of federal crimes. Or maybe it's because those in power are unwilling to cede any of the authority they've grabbed over the years.

So, Eric, which is it?

Shucking the mark of the beast

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How ironic it was that Northside ISD in San Antonio decided to put radio tracking devices on students' ID badges.

It's hard to believe that in that same city over 175 years ago a ragged band of Texians and other settlers decided that freedom from Mexican tyranny was worth dying for. (We'll just forget about the part where the Mexican government had declared that slavery was illegal over the objections of large landowners in modern-day Texas.)

Andrea Hernandez decided not to wear the device. She based her decision on religious principle. To Ms. Hernandez, the badge was the equivalent to the mark of the beast found in Revelations. I don't know what that makes driver's licenses and smart phones, but that's another topic for another day.

She wasn't the first student to rebel over the school district's plan to obliterate the concept of privacy on campus. But she was the one the school district decided to go after when she took off the badge and refused to put it back on. Northside ISD decided it's only recourse was to expel her from school.

That's right. There is no indication that Ms. Hernandez was a disciplinary problem. There is no indication that she's not a good student. So, because she rebels against an edict that violates her religious beliefs, we must kick her to the curb and get her out of the school. What an example we are setting for the other students.

This nation (and this state) were founded because a group of folks stood up when they felt they were being wronged. They made noise. They caused problems. They questioned authority. They listened to their consciences.

And now, in the name of keeping tabs on every single student on one campus, a cabal of so-called educators is doing its best to squelch out any dissent. Just why does the school administration need to know who's in the restroom and who's in the lunchroom and who's in the stairwell with a member of the opposite sex? Our schools are slowly becoming police states in what would appear to be an attempt to socialize our young folks with the attitude that authority must, without question, be obeyed.

Mr. [John] Whitehead said student tagging and locating projects were the first step in producing a "compliant citizenry".

"These 'student locator' programmes are ultimately aimed at getting students used to living in a total surveillance state where there will be no privacy, and wherever you go and whatever you text or email will be watched by the government," he said.

No, children are not adults. No students don't have the same degree of privacy on a school campus as they would at home. But at some point we must draw a line. At some point we must stand up and say that enough is enough. Students deserve a certain degree of privacy. And that degree of privacy must trump a school adminstrator's desire to track their every move.

While I may find the source of Ms. Hernandez' opposition to the ID badges comical, I do salute her for standing up for what she believes. Her parents should be proud of the daughter they've raised.

Now we can only wait and see if a court values the right of a student to seek redress of her grievances over the insatiable desire of the state to control our each and every movement.

27 Kasım 2012 Salı

"A cell phone is not a pair of pants"

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Anthony Granville got in trouble at school one day. I don't know for what. But he found himself with his hands cuffed behind his back and getting a free ride to the county jail.

The court's opinion just refers to Mr. Granville as having "caused a disturbance." Being that appellate courts are never shy about telling us just how badly a defendant behaved, I find it hard to fathom why the police were carting Mr. Granville off to jail.

But that is a discussion for another time and another day.

While sitting in the county jail, Mr. Granville's cell phone became quite the object of interest from a police officer who had nothing to do with Mr. Granville's arrest. It seems that he somehow caught wind that Mr. Granville had taken a picture of another student urinating.

Armed with this information the officer made his way to the jail, retrieved Mr. Granville's cell phone and, without obtaining a search warrant, began searching through the stored images. Lo and behold, he found the picture in question and Mr. Granville's day suddenly became worse as he was soon charged with the felony offense of "improper photography or visual recording."

Mr. Granville urged a motion to suppress the images on the grounds that the search of his cell phone constituted an unconstitutional search.

The prosecutor argued that the search was "simply a probable cause search of jail property that is a person's effects when they go to jail" and that Mr. Granville had no reasonable expectation of privacy in what was taken from him upon being booked into the jail. According to the prosecutor, a cell phone is the equivalent of a pair of pants.

The trial court was having none of it and granted Mr. Granville's motion.

But that wasn't the end of the matter as the State just couldn't let the matter go and appealed the judge's order suppressing the photograph.

In State v. Granville, No. 07-11-0415-CR (Tex.App.-- Amarillo 2012), the Amarillo Court of Appeals held that the warrantless search of a cell phone by a "stranger to an arrest" violates the Fourth Amendment. In its opinion, the court explained, in detail, why a cell phone is not a pair of pants.

The court explained that a cell phone is more like a computer and that the information contained within the memory of a cell phone provides a glimpse into the private life of the owner and that the use of passwords, encrypted programs and other security measures gave the user a reasonable expectation of privacy.

The court also took note that Mr. Granville's phone had to be turned on by the officer who decided he needed to snoop around and look at the photos stored on the phone. The fact that the phone had been turned off was another indication that Mr. Granville had a reasonable expectation of privacy.

Finally the court addressed the issue of whether a pre-trial detainee (arrestee) has a privacy interest in his cell phone. Mr. Granville was arrested for a Class C misdemeanor (for those outside the Lone Star State, that is the equivalent of a traffic ticket). He was not going to be held in custody for long and he certainly wasn't the type of person that the ordinary citizen would think should be locked up. The court stated that, because a pre-trial detainee has the opportunity to post bond and get released that he has a greater privacy interest in his personal property than an inmate.

I leave y'all with this quote from the opinion:

While assaults upon the Fourth Amendment and article I, § 9 of the United States and Texas Constitutions regularly occur, the one rebuffed by the trial court here is sustained. A cell phone is not a pair of pants.

The joint that broke the camel's back

The truth comes with a hefty price tag

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Two-and-a-half years ago, the U.S. Army accused Pfc. Bradley Manning of leaking classified documents that embarrassed the U.S. government to the whistleblower website Wikileaks. For nine months he was held in a brig at Quantico, Virginia and subjected to physical and mental torture. When word leaked out about the way the government was treating him, he was moved to Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, where he has been held since.

Now, in another twist to this case, Mr. Manning has offered to plead guilty to some of the lesser charges but still maintains he never aided any enemy of the United States.

The documents that Wikileaks published contained cables from the U.S. government that showed the duplicitous, cynical nature of U.S. diplomacy. The documents highlighted how the U.S. got itself involved in the internal affairs of other nations. The documents outlined how our government was torturing so-called enemy combatants in direct violation of the Geneva Conventions.

Mr. Manning is a whistleblower. He exposed to the American people just what our government does in our name. Yes, some of the documents were very embarrassing. So freaking what? If our government can't defend its actions, then maybe someone in Washington needs to be thinking twice before deciding to meddle in another country's affairs.

We don't need any more secrecy. What we need is transparency. We shouldn't have to root around in the dark trying to find out what's being done in our names. We have a right to know what our elected, and appointed, officials are doing. Never forget that they work for us.

I have a theory that if all the backroom dealings that go around the world had to be conducted in broad daylight in the street, that there would be far less conflict. If governments were forced to answer for their deeds, someone might think twice before acting. If elected officials were held responsible for what happened under their watch, maybe someone would actually keep watch.

Bradley Manning is being punished for exposing the truth. How is that a bad thing?

Hey, Sydney's Pretty Photogenic . . . !

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Can you believe we're still catching up on Australia & New Zealand posts? We even have one or two things from Okinawa in the queue. Good thing we're too busy with school to do any new interesting stuff.

I won't lie: Nana and I spent most of our time in Sydney poking around the city's many excellent museums. We both have soft spots for history and ravenously devoured anything we could find about the city's convict past. When we weren't in a museum, we were just ravenously devouring anything we could find.

But we did stop to take a few photos of this very beautiful city whenever the early winter weather would permit.

Huh, my opera looks oddly like air guitar . . .

That's better.

Now, you may not have realized this, but apparently that's a pretty famous building out there. There were, like, all these tourists taking photos of it and stuff.

An old street in the Rocks. Totally cool neighborhood, awesome little (free!) museum.

The Sydney Harbour Bridge.

This is from the top of Observatory Hill.

That's the observatory.

Looking down at the western part of the harbour.

The old clock tower at the central train station. This was conveniently right by our hotel!

Sapporo's Unseasonal Seasonal Beer

26 Kasım 2012 Pazartesi

A couple sporting thoughts

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The other day I was driving to the office to pick up some files I needed for today. I was listening to Colin Cowherd's radio show, "The Herd," on ESPN Radio when I heard Colin say something that was grating on my ears.

Mr. Cowherd was talking about baseball and statistics. He was arguing that sabermetrics misses a key element of baseball. He said that one ballplayer might have a great on base percentage but that what was really important was who was getting hits and knocking in runs late in games and late in the season. He made the claim that a win in September or October was more important than a win in May or June.

I beg to differ. Every major league team plays 162 games a season over the course of about 26 weeks. The standings don't differentiate between a win in May and a win in October. A win is a win, regardless of when it happens. If a race comes down to the wire and two teams are tied after 162 games, that one game back in late April could have made the difference at the end of the season.

The same goes for when someone gets a hit or scores a run. The most precious commodity in baseball is the out. You only get 27 of them a game. Preserving that out in the first inning is just as important as preserving that out at the end of the game. My point is that over the course of a season, I'd rather have the player with the higher on-base percentage than the player whom the media label as "clutch" because of a game-winning hit here or there. Over the course of the season this notion of "clutch" tends to balance out - but the ability to get on base at a higher percentage and to preserve an out become very important.

***

We went to my brother-in-law's house for Thanksgiving dinner on Thursday and the Houston-Detroit game was on the tube. As I sat outside having a cold beer and watching my girls frolic in the swimming pool, Dave, my brother-in-law, came outside and told me that the Texans had scored a touchdown when they shouldn't have because the Detroit coach challenged a call he wasn't allowed to. According to the rules, if a coach challenges a call in that situation, the team loses a timeout and cannot benefit from the challenge.

That rule makes absolutely no sense. If the point of instant replay was to make sure the referees get the calls right by allowing certain plays to be reviewed, then not allowing the play on Thursday to be reviewed led to the absurd result that a call that was clearly incorrect was allowed to stand.

As much as I find instant replay to be annoying (hey, if the standard is "indisputable evidence," then if someone has to watch a replay more than once the evidence was obviously disputable), if you're going to have it, I think college football has the right idea. In college ball a replay official sits in the press box and reviews every play during the game. If there is something that catches his eye, he signals down to the field and play is halted. There are no challenges so that the absurd result of the NFL game cannot occur in a college game.

Tips For Getting Your Driver's License - How to get ready For the Test Mentally and Emotionally

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Apply For Texas

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Alert Police Officer likely saves woman's life

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Posted: November 15, 2012 - 2:10pm

A Shawnee Police Officer on routine patrol likely saved a woman's life last week.

Johnson County teenager killed in ATV accident

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Posted: November 25, 2012 - 4:07am
Updated: November 25, 2012 - 4:48pm

One person was killed and another injured when the ATV they were riding on crashed in rural Miami County this morning.

Authorities were called to a field, just south of 395th Street and Victory Road around 3 a.m.. The accident scene is approximately one mile to the southeast of Fontana in south central Miami County. EMS personnel immediately pronounced one person deceased and another critically injured.

A LifeFlight Eagle helicopter was responded to the scene and transported a seriously injured female to a metro area trauma center. Authorities say her injuries are non-life threatening.

Miami County Authorities believe the Polaris ATV was being driven with four people on it when when it rolled, killing one person and injuring the driver. The person killed has been identified as, 17-year-old, Tyler Rathbun of Westwood, Kansas. The driver has not been identified and remains hospitalized.

A friend of Rathbun's tells Operation 100 News that Tyler was a Senior at Shawnee Mission East High School, in Prairie Village, and was also the Captain of the Soccer team.

The accident remains under investigation.

Stay with Operation 100 News on this blog and on Twitter for the latest details as they become available. Remember where you heard this news first, Operation 100 News, reporting the news to the public as it breaks.

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25 Kasım 2012 Pazar

Black day in Bentonville?

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Today while you're out shopping on Black Friday, Wal-Mart employees will be in the streets protesting labor relations at the world's largest retailer. Wal-Mart attempted to shut down the protests before they began by complaining to the National Labor Relations Board that the United Food and Commercial Workers Union was engaging in unfair labor practices.

The complaint rings hollow as the workers at Wal-Mart are non-unionized - largely due to the company's virulent anti-union and anti-worker policies. Wal-Mart wants you to believe that the vast majority of their workforce is happy to be employed at poverty-level wages. They may be right if we're talking about the teenagers who work after school in order to put gas in their car and pay their cell phone bills.

But, for a full-time "associate," the story is a bit more bleak as a full-time employee making a bit over minimum wage still falls under the government's official poverty line. There is something seriously wrong when full-time employees are paid a wage that won't even pay the bills.

Of course Wal-Mart and the rest of their corporate brethren don't want you to think about that while you're out hunting for the best deal on a flat-screen TV or the latest electronic device on your child's list. They want you to think that those folks living under the poverty line are mooches who are doing their best to avoid responsibility. They don't want you to think about the fact that their profit margins are generated by employing people at the lowest wage possible.

So here's something to chew on while you're waiting in line today. Why is it that our government refuses to raise the minimum wage to a level that working folks can afford to pay their bills? Why is it that President Obama never once mentioned the plight of the working poor during the campaign? Why is it that Wal-Mart is doing whatever it can to prevent its employees from exercising their right to fight for higher wages and better working conditions?

For those of y'all out in the parking lots and sidewalks today fighting for a better life, you have my support.

Alert Police Officer likely saves woman's life

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Posted: November 15, 2012 - 2:10pm

A Shawnee Police Officer on routine patrol likely saved a woman's life last week.

Hey, Sydney's Pretty Photogenic . . . !

Huh, my opera looks oddly like air guitar . . .

That's better.

Now, you may not have realized this, but apparently that's a pretty famous building out there. There were, like, all these tourists taking photos of it and stuff.

An old street in the Rocks. Totally cool neighborhood, awesome little (free!) museum.

The Sydney Harbour Bridge.

This is from the top of Observatory Hill.

That's the observatory.

Looking down at the western part of the harbour.

The old clock tower at the central train station. This was conveniently right by our hotel!

Sapporo's Unseasonal Seasonal Beer

Kyushu Road Trip, Day 2: Hot Springs, Volcanoes, and Fields of Grain

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Read about the first day of our Kyushu Road Trip(s) here.

A few weeks ago, we spent back-to-back weekends driving through the volcanic highlands of inland Kyushu. Day one took us through Kokonoe to some spectacular waterfalls, then up into the Kuju Plateau.

On the second day of each road trip, we headed out after a bath or two followed by a hearty onsen breakfast. From Kuju, the road took us across an odd, rolling grassland unlike anything one would ever expect to see in Japan. Horses, big torii gates marking the entrances to a number of ranches, and even a roadside hot-dog stand flying a giant American flag.

The grassland ends abruptly about 40 minutes south of Kuju, at a sheer drop into the Aso caldera.

You really have to see Aso to believe it. The mountains in the distance in those shots above used to be the southern slopes of an enormous stratovolcano roughly the size of Mt. Fuji. We're standing on the remnants of the southern slopes, looking down into the enormous crater formed when the whole thing blew in a series of major eruptions ending about 90,000 years ago, the largest of which covered the entire island of Kyushu with a layer of volcanic ash.
The light wasn't cooperating for some of our shots, so I've pulled a few images from Wikipedia below:

That's what the northern wall looks like from about 2/3 of the way down.

A cinder cone called Komezuka, on the northern flank of the main peak, with the northern wall of the caldera in the distance.

The result is a low, sheltered, and well-watered valley with rich volcanic soil: some of the most fertile farmland in all of Japan. Of course, that geography cuts both ways, as the area is prone to floods like those that ravaged the area earlier this year. The damage was still evident in a number of scoured creek beds and washouts along the road.
While Aso town, in the heart of the crater, is a cute little burgh with a pretty Shinto shrine . . .

. . . the main attraction in Aso is Naka-dake (literally, "central peak"), site of the area's last active volcanic crater. An access road runs right to the top, winding up the sprawling slopes and their expanse of grassy pastures.

By the time you get to the top, you're pretty sure you're in a war zone. On Mars.

The place is dotted with bunkers to protect visitors in the event of an eruption, and a constant warning message plays over the loudspeaker about the dangers of volcanic gas.

You can't see it, but the light's blue, which is good.

And the crater itself is simply bizarre: a gaping pit in the mountainside, spewing smoke, with a brilliant blue-green lake steaming at the bottom. Pretty much impossible to capture in pictures, so I tried to get some video as well. (E-mail reader: click through to the blog to watch the clip! Provided it's working - doesn't look so good in preview . . .)
video