Ryan Moats incident probably could have been avoided with a 911 call
This scenario is playing itself out in the news way too much lately. On March 18th, NFL player Ryan Moats was speeding through Plano TX en route to take his dying mother in law to the hospital. As of press time today, there is not much more information aside from the officer involved, Robert Powell, apparently held Moats and his wife at gun point at sometime after the pursuit had ended in the Baylor Regional Medical Center’s parking lot.
The video is pretty convincing that Moats was acting rationally and was not trying to cause a scene with Officer Powell. Pardon the link as I do not have the actual You Tube video.
http://www.dallasnews.com/video/?z=y&nvid=345818&shu=1
What is not clear is if Moats or his family called 911 ahead of time. There has been no mention of a 911 call or a 911 transcript so I’m gonna assume that is a no. I know that in a moment of crisis, the body is acting on adrenaline and the brain is high on emotions and quick thinking. A simple call to 911 might have adverted what Moats and his wife had to experience, the dispatchers could have relayed the information to field officers, and maybe he could have been escorted, or followed, or whatever…well we know he was followed. Either way, this officer’s handling of the situation was poor and inhumane.
On the flipside, the other issue is that police officers get this way when influenced by a pursuit. Their bodies begin to act on adrenaline and pure heated emotion from the chase and their ultimate goal is to end the chase and apprehend the suspect. It doesn’t matter if a suspect is going 95 or 35, in the eyes of the cops, this is a fleeing car. Again, I am not making an excuse for an officer acting like a jackass but come on, this is how police act in the heat of the chase. It’s human emotion and their primary objective is to stay alive and end a potentially tragic situation when a chase starts. I know people who are police officers and 99.9% of them are not inherently bad people who consciously go on duty to harass and mentally brutalize people who are breaking the law. Powell was wrong….but I feel Moats and his family were equally “unwise” to have handled it the way they did and not realize what could have resulted from it.
It’s clear by the video that Moats was stopping at cross streets and wasn’t really speeding. He simply ignored the police officers lights all the way to the hospital. I just wished that he or someone else would have called 911 before all this started and explained what was happening. We have a system for emergencies, granted it’s not perfect, but it’s all we have and we have to make it work and use it to our advantage. This is the risk that a common citizen runs when trying to act on behalf of emergency personnel and our law enforcement system. Moats had good intentions and was only breaking traffic laws, but when he did not stop for Officer Powell, this is where the trouble starts whether he wanted it or not.
Officer Powell had no clue what was going on inside that SUV and how could he have known? He would have known had the call been made by Moats and I can’t stress this enough, why was a call not made? You can’t get in your car and ignore the police and not expect something to happen, that’s the way it is people, whether or not someone is dying in the backseat. On the flipside of that coin, the minute he heard Moats say it was a medical emergency, he should have instantly changed from apprehender to protector. Powell stayed in angry cop mode too long and Moat’s payed the price and Powell may pay with his job or career.
So it’s technically three days worth of food…it still sounds awesome!
I would say you probably shouldn’t eat a 4 lb hamburger more than once or twice a month (or a year) but it’s probably the best 45 minutes you’ll experience. A minor league baseball team in Michigan has introduced a 4 lb hamburger sold at the games for $20 bucks. What is even more sad is I bet people buy this thing for only themselves, not the kids or the wife, or the guys in there row…nope…this is a solo burger which requires a pizza cutter to slice it. Oh Yeah! (Actual picture of burger posted on link)
Why are we obsessesed with making hamburgers the size of VW bugs? Well, it’s the novelty and exploitation of food. Both of which are not a great thing considering kids starve in underdeveloped countries but maybe that’s the sign of a great (and self-indulgent) country we live in.
A country with huge waistlines, high blood pressure, heart disease (my personal favorite), no desire to exercise, high medical costs, and an assortment of other health related issues that nobody takes seriously.
We do, however, take the art of hamburger making seriously. Food has become an obession for Americans. We have reality shows about chefs, shows about people losing weight, BBQ contests, BBQ teams, cooking shows, nutritionists, caterers, street vendors, online grocery stores, and free sample Saturdays. The food industry is not interested in your health, rather your money. If you want to eat a 4lb hamburger and feel like a hot air baloon for 3 hours afterwards, that’s all on you sunshine.
Baseball, beer, and red faced belchers stuffing their hole with half a cow’s rump between bread…now that is just plain fun!
I sadly admit I would probably partake in this gluttony fest. The sheer irresistable lure of a fat, juicy burger is hard for the mere mortal to resist. On the flipside, it makes that run on the treadmill feel all that much better…if you wait at least a half hour.
Game on! The Snuggie vs The Slanket Oh jesus…
The Snuggie is a blanket with sleeves and is taking over the world like the RSV virus. I don’t have one and I don’t plan on buying one for myself or any member of my family unless I get a cool gift out of the deal. The poor guy looks like a Gregorian Monk just discovering the magic of the MP3 player.
The Slanket is a blanket with sleeves and taking over the wor…whaaa? It’s the same damn thing! There is only person to settle this “armed blanket” war once and for all, sadly, Darth Vader struck him down with a light saber in 1977.
Moms and Dads…name your daughter Danica
It’s time for a good ole’ fashion male chauvinist pig post. What is up with the name Danica being synonymous with good looks?
Former star of the Wonder Years, Danica McKellar, recently wed composer Mike Verta.
Danica Patrick is a Formula One racer and just as attractive (in a cute, race car driver way)
Actually, I think it’s the same person. You be the judge…
Another take on the Circle of Life?
All that can really be said is AWWWWWWWW. Oh yeah, and don’t try this at home.
I looked this up on Snopes and verified that Barbara Walters didn’t get taken.
Letterman got married! Here’s what he said ….
It didn’t take long for astonished watchers of the CBS closed-circuit feed this evening to start texting the news about the amazing announcement David Letterman made during tonight’s “Late Show” taping:
Last week he made an honest woman of his longtime girlfriend Regina Lasko.
The context isn’t that clear from Bill Carter’s report on the Times website, so I asked a show rep for clarification. Here’s what happened this evening at the Ed Sullivan Theater:
Dave was at his desk, post-monologue, going over his guest list for that night, which included Bruce Willis, and Dave mentioned the fact that Bruce had just gotten himself re-hitched. And oh by the way, he added, “On Thursday, at 3 p.m., March 19, 2009, at the Teton County Courthouse in Choteau, Montana, I was married to Regina Lasko.”
Choteau’s about halfway between Great Falls and Glacier Park, in some of the prettier parts of Montana (my home state).
Anyway, Dave continued …
“Regina and I began dating in February of 1986, and I said, ‘Well, things are going pretty good, let’s just see what happens in about ten years….’
“I had avoided getting married pretty good for, like, 23 years and I – honestly, whether this happened or not – I secretly felt that men who were married admired me … like I was the last of the real gunslingers, you know what I’m saying?”
(His marriage to Michelle Cook fell apart in 1977.)
“So now, we get ready to go and we’ve got to drive into the courthouse and it’s muddy, and we’re supposed to be there at 2, and it’s me, Regina and Harry in the truck, in the pickup truck. … So we get two miles from the house and we get stuck in the mud – I mean, turn the truck over, stuck in the mud. So now we think, ‘Well, somebody’ll come.’ No, nobody comes along. Nobody comes along – it’s Thursday afternoon, who’s coming along, Zorro? No, nobody.
“So I get out of the truck and I walk two miles back to the house into a 50 mile an hour wind. It’s not Beverly Hills, it’s Montana, for God’s sakes. And the whole way, I’m thinking, ‘See, smartass, see, see, you try to get married, this is what happens. See, well, you’ve got nobody to blame but yourself. Could have happened any other day, but you wait now, see, this is what you get.’
“So then we get in the car and Harry says, ‘Are we still going into town?’ and I said, ‘Yes, we are,’ and he gets very upset because Mom had told him if I wasn’t back in an hour, the deal was off.”
Show airs tonight.
P.S. What are the odds that Dave would decide to make the biggest news that Teton County has had in five and a half years … the very week that this animated short comes out about the last big adventure Dave had out there?
source – http://blogs.kansascity.com/tvbarn/2009/03/letterman-got-married-heres-what-he-said-.html
NCAA March Madness points of interest and other useful stuff…
The games are beginning today (some already underway) and everyone needs to be in the know, that’s if you follow college basketball. If you didn’t submit a bracket by now , you’re probably too late but enjoy the madness anyway.
Websites of interest during the tournament:
CBS Sportsline is a great site for streaming games and keeping up on scores. CBS Mobile is a great site for smart phones with a nice, easy to read browser display.
ESPN is always good…or check out each team’s website which some offer streaming video or radio internet broadcasts of the game coverage.
Most sportsbars have multi game packages and all in High Def and are by far the best places to watch. Of course you can stay home too. Good luck in your bracket pools and enjoy the games!
Here is a breakdown of the regionals by date and city thanks to the Tourney Travel website:
Key Dates of the 2009 NCAA Tournament:
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Selection Sunday: March 15
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First Round Begins: March 19
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Final Four Begins: April 4
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National Championship: April 6
Opening Round; Tuesday, March 17
The opening round of the NCAA Tournament matches the 64th and 65th teams in the tournament. The winner becomes the #16 seed in one of the regions.
Dayton, OH; UD Arena
DAYTON HOTELS DAYTON CITY GUIDE
First & Second Rounds; Thursday, March 19 & Saturday, March 21
The first and second rounds of the NCAA Tournament feature eight teams at each host site. Each of the top four seeds in each region is placed at a site as close as possible to the school, and the other three teams in that school’s “pod” also play at that site.
Greensboro, NC; Greensboro Coliseum
GREENSBORO HOTELS
Kansas City, MO; Sprint Center
KANSAS CITY HOTELS KANSAS CITY GUIDE
Philadelphia, PA; Wachovia Center
PHILADELPHIA HOTELS PHILADELPHIA CITY GUIDE
Portland, OR; Rose Garden
PORTLAND HOTELS
First & Second Rounds; Friday, March 20 & Sunday, March 22
Boise, ID; Taco Bell Arena
BOISE HOTELS
Dayton, OH; UD Arena
DAYTON HOTELS DAYTON CITY GUIDE
Miami, FL; American Airlines Arena
MIAMI HOTELS MIAMI CITY GUIDE
Minneapolis, MN; HHH Metrodome
MINNEAPOLIS HOTELS MINNEAPOLIS CITY GUIDE
Regionals; Thursday, March 26 & Saturday, March 28
EAST REGIONAL
Boston, MA; TD Banknorth Garden
BOSTON HOTELS BOSTON CITY GUIDE
WEST REGIONAL
Glendale, AZ; University of Phoenix Stadium
PHOENIX HOTELS PHOENIX CITY GUIDE
Regionals, Friday, March 27 & Sunday, March 29
MIDWEST REGIONAL
Indianapolis, IN; Lucas Oil Stadium
INDIANAPOLIS HOTELS INDIANAPOLIS CITY GUIDE
SOUTHEAST REGIONAL
Memphis, TN; Fed Ex Forum
MEMPHIS HOTELS
Final Four, Saturday, April 4 & Monday, April 6
Detroit, MI; Ford Field
DETROIT HOTELS DETROIT CITY GUIDE
Just another Monday morning traffic rant
Highway driving is unique in that it’s a big game of give and take. At times, you give a little and let someone change lanes in front of you- other times you take, and purposely cut people off because they won’t let you in. (Even after your turn signal has been on for 10 minutes)
One of my new pet peeves is dealing with the merging traffic. Merging on the highway essentially has two reference points – that of the driver on the ramp, and that of the driver(s) in the far right lane of the highway. In my view – this is the quintessential moment of truth which determines whether or not a potential catastrophe will be avoided or not. Again, this all depends on who’s willing to giveth or taketh.
According to most traffic laws, the merging traffic is to yield to those drivers already on the highway, makes sense. In some states like California, the traffic is so heavy that merging traffic has a stop light which instructs them when to enter the highway. The issue is much more complicated then that and here is a breakdown of scenarios we face during this scary 8-10 seconds of time:
1) Merging driver is hauling ass on the ramp!
A favorite of mine because this driver feels that in order to successfully enter highway traffic, one must reach 75mph on the ramp and blow away every driver currently in the right lane. This driver is typically in a Ram pick up, red Nissan Altima, or a late model Trans Am firebird. I can usually see this joker coming down the ramp a good 30 seconds before he reaches the highway and proper concessions are made. Either change lanes or risk getting plowed.
2) Driver in right lane mimics the exact speed of the merging driver.
This is a strange phenomenon when you are the merging driver and oh so pisses me off. Magically, the right lane driver becomes your shadow and you can’t shake them, you slow down, it slows down, you speed up, it speeds up. When this person does eventually let you over, you’re halfway into the grass. There needs to be an option to simply make your vehicle hop over this person and land in the lane next to them. Take note, this can also happen to the right lane driver who experiences a merging car doing the exact same thing – so both parties can be guilty of this one.
3) Merging driver who’s lane is ending and they don’t signal when coming over.
This is the moment when you wish that idiot would pull over and say a small prayer that you let him in, otherwise his vehicle would have kissed a V-shaped, steel turnbuckle head on. Not only did he fail to see his lane ending and the sign was clear as day; but he waits until the last minute and darts left with that casual “two blink” signal. As if his car is saying “Yeah, I just cut you off and whacha gonna do about it?” Well, shooting you isn’t an option so I’ll let it go and curse out your mother.
Here is my solution or plea to other drivers. If both drivers would slow down a little and take note of each other’s presence, we would not have headaches at merges. It’s so easy for the right lane driver to inch up or fall back a bit as a courtesy. (Even in heavy traffic, it can be done!) Just the same, the merging driver needs to take caution and understand it’s not a race to see who gets there first but rather a well calculated game of give and take that must be equally played…fairly!
Everyone be cautious and slow down a bit – it’s not that friggin hard.
Paying off the National Debt and Stimulus Package in minutes, hours, days
I do not think much needs to be said here. Just look at the numbers, and imagine how much money it really is. Numbers like this seemed inconceivable just 30 years ago.
We need to worry about how we are going to fix the debt problem, and we need to ask how those spending the money plan on paying it back.
Stimulus money feels great when you receive it, but paying it back is not as fun.
Cue the circus music! “Yuuuu dat dat dada dada dat dat dudu”
*****OMG…what is that?******
I actually knew this would happen for some strange reason. Jacko (aka Michael Jackson) has hit the jackpot again by selling out all of his announced shows in London. A world tour? Hmm…
You have to admit, we all have (had) a soft spot for Mike. (or maybe his music) The jacket in the Thriller video, Billie Jean, the Neverland Ranch (should have been called NeverPaidTheMortage Ranch).
I’ve always had this theory of what happened to Michael Jackson and please chime if you want to. First of all, a lot of younger people forget that Jackson has been a mega star for nearly 40 years! Since the time he was in grade school in the late 60’s; he was a pop star singing with the Jackson Five. It wasn’t until the late 70’s that Jackson broke out on his own and established himself as a solo artist.
I laugh when I hear people say his career was short lived, um folks, when Thriller came out in 1983, he was already loaded and had been recording all through the 70’s. Thriller was a juggernaut of an album and this was during an era when there was no other media outlets for music besides radio, records, and MTV. The international success of Thriller tossed Jackson out of reality and into a world of seclusion and unimaginable wealth.
The last 10 years or so has been rough for him with all the oddball stuff he’s done and the charges against him. If you think about his life during the 80’s and early 90’s – he couldn’t go anywhere without an entourage of body guards and motorcades. Jackson never grew up. He lost his childhood years before he was a solo star and I think it seriously screwed with his head. He had no real friends besides Liz Taylor, Brooke Shields, and Emmanual Lewis (which teeters on the whole “child” thing which I find disturbing)…oh yeah and a monkey.
His life was not his own. He couldn’t go anywhere or maintain normal relationships with people. He was revered as a demi-God on an international level. Practically every non-english speaking country around the world adorned him as much as his fans in the States did. Same thing happened to Elvis and look what happened to him. That kind of attention and constant spotlight has to seriously jack with your perception of reality. Dude, I’m not a therapist but I try to stay open to all “possible” explanations of how humans behave. This is supposed to be bar talk, remember?
I have always thought Jackson sought some kind of personal solace in children because they posed no threat to his security or financial well being. His relationships with adults deteriorated as he fell deeper and deeper into a trench of lonely super-stardom. It’s like he’s still trying to recapture something that he lost years ago because his family thrusted the siblings into adulthood way before their time. I’ve read stories about Michael sharing hotel rooms with his older brothers, and having to sit idle as they “entertained” groupies. I’m sure life was not all lighted sidewalks and sequin gloves.
Here’s the part where I piss people off which is why I love writing a blog. I’m not totally 100% convinced that Jackson is a full fledged pedophile, but I am convinced that over time he developed a warped perception of who he attached himself too. A lot of it goes back to his status in the world, he was led to believe that he was God because he was treated like God. He rationalized everything he did as being “normal” and “socially acceptable” while the world saw it as freakish and criminal. His constant obsession with appearance and how his face has morphed into a Lord of the Rings, elfin magic looking thing from what was once a baby faced young man. It’s like he was in a perpetual state of hiding from the world by always changing his face and then having to overcorrect, again, again, and again, until he was so far gone that he ruined it.
I’m not undermining those families that brought charges against him, not in the slightest. He’s a fascinating case of someone who made a lot of odd and poor decisions some of which landed him in legal troubles. He should have never of involved himself with children the way he did and it ultimately hurt him professionally.
He has rendered himself old news because of his antics, but still an interesting subject who somehow still manages to wiggle his way back into the spotlight. He’s had a big impact on pop music and sadly the carnage transformed him into what he is today…that of which I’m not sure what.
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- Texas – what the hell is wrong with you!? September 3, 2010
