Call 911 for Columbia PD: conspiracies, threats, coverups, now domestic violence

Tobin Barton, Officer of the Law, arrested for Criminal Domestic Violence

(photo credit:  thestate.com)

Once again the Columbia Police Department (CPD) made the news, in a not-so-desirable way, over the weekend.  Authorities responded to a possible assault call in the wee hours of Saturday morning.  Upon arriving at a residence in the northeast area at about 1 a.m., officers were surprised to find that it was one of their very own they would have to handcuff and haul off to the slammer.  CPD Officer Tobin Barton, 36, was charged with criminal domestic violence after an argument with his girlfriend allegedly turned physical.

Columbia residents have suffered more than their fair share of public humiliation regarding the CPD recently.  There have been allegations of secret recordings, police being ordered to plant drugs and a gun to get a city employee fired, threats and just last week a crime analyst slapped the City of Columbia with a lawsuit claiming her lover and former police chief Randy Scott wrongfully forced her to resign or be terminated on the spot.  

Columbia has had six police chiefs in the last seven years.  After a long and controversial search process current Huntington, West Virginia Police Chief William Holbrook has been selected to be the new CPD chief.  His resignation from the Huntington PD isn’t effective until April 7^th. 

Hopefully all the turmoil brewing in the CPD won’t cause Holbrook to change his mind about coming to our fair city.  CPD needs a leader, and fast, to whip things into shape.  Unfortunately it seems as if the agitation at the CPD is now spilling over into the community with officers taking their stress home.  Hurry Holbrook, hurry.  And it might not be a bad idea if you’d come riding in on a white horse with a long-handled broom to start sweeping things clean down at the CPD station.

Texas gov. hopeful hits campaign trail with Obama-bashing rock star

Ted Nugent and Greg Abbott 

(photo:  forwardprogressives.com)

The sun is threatening to set on the Lone Star State.  Texas politics has reached a new low with the state attorney general Greg Abbott welcoming rock singer Ted Nugent to hit the campaign trail with him.  Abbott is considered to be the front runner in the race for the GOP gubernatorial nominee after Gov. Rick Perry (R) announced that he will not be seeking a fourth term.

 

Ted Nugent has long been outspoken and, often controversial, in his views.  But he outdid himself in a January 2014 interview with Guns.com reporter Daniel Terrill.  He called the sitting  President of the United States of America a litany of disrespectful names to include a “subhuman mongrel”.  You can view the disgraceful video here.

CNN reporter Wolf Blitzer, along with many others, reacted swiftly to Nugent’s being a part of Abbott’s campaign rallies.  Blitzer questioned whether Abbott’s campaign knew how offensive Nugent’s remarks were to the office of the President, as well as to others who have suffered grave oppression.  Among other things, Blitzer said, “That’s what the Nazis called Jews to justify the genocide of the Jewish community,” he continued. “They called them ‘untermenschen,’ subhuman mongrels, if you read some of the literature that the Nazis put out there, there is a long history of that specific phrase he used involving the President of the United States.”

When called to task for including Nugent, a campaign aide for Abbott brushed it off saying, "The controversy is what he said in the past. We are not endorsing Ted Nugent, he is supporting us," the aide said.  That may be true that a candidate cannot control who supports him, but he can certainly control whom he invites to share the spotlight with him and who is seen as sharing like-minded views.

 

Wendy Davis, who will likely be the Democratic gubernatorial candidate facing Abbott called it an “insult to all Texans”.  You can read the full reactions of other politicians here.  Greg Abbott has claimed he didn’t know what Nugent represented.  Now he does know and it will be very telling to the voters if, now being aware, he keeps Nugent on as one of the faces of his campaign.

Hair-raising Shenanigans at the 2012 Olympics!

Olympic Gold Medalist in gymnastics for the United States

Photo Credit:  Mike Blake/Reuters



Gabby Douglas, at the tender age of 16, has become the first African-American all-around gymnastics gold medalist for the United States of America.  Gabby, with the smile that lit up the arena in London like the candles lit up the sky during the opening ceremonies, has done her momma proud.  She has done her family proud, and man oh man, has she done her country proud.  And what are many people focusing on?

Queen Elizabeth II Celebrates Diamond Jubilee

    

 

Credit: en.wikipedia.org

As a proud and happy citizen of the United States, I’ve always considered our government the best ever.  I love the democracy of the citizens of our country having the choice, and the means to elect our leaders.  Our presidential candidates have the opportunity to lay out their platforms before the people and we have the privilege of making a choice of the person that we, the majority of voters, feel will make the best commander-in-chief for America.  Yes, a government by the people, for the people, and of the people.  Many of us, rather smugly at times, have viewed the English monarchy as a rather stuffy lot.  I, too, was guilty of this.  That is until I got, almost involuntarily, sucked into watching the global coverage of Queen Elizabeth’s Diamond Jubilee Celebration.