Uncommon Valor II - Challenge Coins of the NYPD Emergency Service Unit

Back in the summer of 2015, just as I was getting ready to publish: Uncommon Valor - Insignia of the NYPD Emergency Service Unit, the collecting world erupted with a new area: Challenge Coins. At the time I questioned whether I should be the book on hold and include this field, but the more I researched, the more I realized that I would need a lot more time.

I had already invested five years into the cloth insignia history, so I decided to publish that book and then devote the necessary time to properly investigating the coin phenomena. To give you an idea of just how quickly coin fever has gripped the hobby, consider that my first book documented nearly a century of ESU insignia history and comprised roughly 130 pages. This follow-up is nearly the same page count, but only goes back to the late 1990's, when the first ESU coin came out.

Like the first book, this has been a labor of love. At times it felt like I was investigating some deep, dark mystery and at other times banging my head against the desk seemed like a completely acceptable option. In the end it didn't take five years, but it did take almost two.

As much as I love writing these books on ESU, I realize that I much rather write fiction. It is much simpler to create stories in your head, as opposed to conducting research. In the field of non-fiction you only get one chance at being right.

Fortunately, the hard work has paid off and now I add another new book to the catalog. If you are interested in the NYPD ESU or challenge coins, I believe you will thoroughly enjoy this book. It contains over 100 photographs and offers collectors a glimpse at some of the rarest challenge coins produced by the various Trucks and Specialty Units, many of which have never been seen before.

I want to extend my sincere thanks to those members of ESU who afforded me the opportunity to ask innumerable questions and who provided photos of their coins. You are truly the Finest of the Finest.

It is amazing to me, as I submit the file for printing, that this will be my ninth book. It seems like only yesterday that I was holding Perfect Pawn in my hands for the first time. Now it is time to put my non-fiction endeavors to bed for awhile, as I take back up the further adventures of James and Alex.

Knight Fall (James Maguire Series - Book 4)

Now that the hoopla of the 2016 Presidential Election is finally over, I am pleased to announce that my latest novel: Knight Fall, has been released as an e-book on the Kindle platform.

This is the 4th book in the James Maguire series and the 6th book in chronological order. To see the book progression, please click here.

Thank you for your continued support. I hope that you enjoy this and all my other books.

The 2016 Presidential Election is over!! Hallelujah!!

President (Elect) Donald J. Trump

Okay, as one of the Deplorables, I have to admit that I like the sound of that, but once we get past the basking of our post-election victory, we have to take a hard look at our future.

I am many things, but I am not a hypocrite. Back in 2008 I wrote about moving past the post-election celebration. I followed it up with another post in November of 2012. Now here we are in November of 2016 and I am again warning the country that not only must the politics changes, but so must we!!

Let us be completely frank and admit that the division in this country has only increased over the last eight years. That is what happens when politicians don’t have the answers to your problems. Rather than admit it, they divide us. It is an old and quite effective strategy. By turning ½ of us against the other the politicians get to pretend they are victims to their base. This is nothing but a ploy. One that is exacerbated by a main stream media that has made itself part of the problem, aiding in the political deception, instead of being honest arbiters of the news.

Understand that they are not the victims, we are!

We are victims of a political party system that truly does not care about us; just themselves.

I know the country was divided on the Presidential election, but now that it is over I truly hope that we will be able to put this all behind us. Perhaps now we can take the political slogans and actually make them a reality. Will it be easy? No, it will not.

Let us be honest, we have very TOUGH choices ahead of us.

We are in the middle of a financial death spiral in this country and we are going to have to make hard choices. Many of these choices WILL piss off some people, but they have to be done if we are to survive as a country. In this matter I am reminded of what President John F. Kennedy said in his 1961 Inauguration speech: “Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country.”

We must get away from the system of government subsidies and bailouts. We must stand on our own two feet and forge our own way. Assistance form the government should be a last resort and not a first choice. We must learn to own personal responsibility and not look to blame others for our actions or their consequences.

And on that note I would like to personally extend my gratitude to President (Elect) Trump who, last night in his acceptance speech, took the extraordinary step of actually thanking the men and women of law enforcement. It was deeply moving to hear him acknowledge us for all that we have and continue to do for this great nation.

Are we perfect? No, no one is, but there have been a great many lies spread about us, all done for political expediency and support. Remember, the politicians are unwilling to address the real issues, so they pin the blame on us and we become the bad guy.  

In the end, the 2016 Presidential race will go down in history as a landmark event. When a career politician was rejected for an outsider and maybe that is exactly what this country needs. Someone who isn’t going to make political excuses, but force us to see that if we really want ‘hope and change’ then we are going to have to become part of the process. We can no longer remain on the sidelines as spectators; hoping that our political teams will save us. No, we have to shed the burden of reliance on government and play our own game.  

I just hope that it is not too late to create the ‘change’ we truly need. It's time to Make America Great Again!

I’d like to think that in this 4th quarter moment, America is the San Francisco 49’ers of old and we just elected Joe Montana to come into the game to save us.

So, in the immortal words of Knute Rockne: “Win one for the Gipper!!”

Did Hillary Clinton have Classified Information on her Server?

Earlier today, against my better judgement, I got into a social media argument.

I know, like I said it was against my better judgement and I should have just walked away, but I couldn't. Unfortunately it ended with comments like: "I guess i'm that stupid" and "count me stupid too."

Why does it seem that people enjoy making a flippant comment, but when you point out how they are wrong they immediately take things personally? I'm sorry that you are not plugged in to the issues and that you rely on a corrupt media for your talking points.

For the record, yes, Hillary Clinton did have classified information, Top Secret & Above, in her unsecured emails. Information that was so sensitive that even members of Congress were kept from seeing / hearing about it. In fact, Congress was given redacted documents and had to issue a subpoena. Don't believe me, listen to those in charge.

FBI Director James Comey

FBI Assistant Director Jason Herring

Inspector General of the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) Charles McCullough

NSA / NGIA / ODNI Hearing

The problem is that we have become so entrenched in our political party system that we have abdicated our responsibilities as citizens. We have put party over ethics, morality and convictions. It's the reason we are in the place we are today and we have no one to blame but ourselves..... oh, and those pesky little talking points as well !! 

Hillary Clinton is not Innocent, She just wasn't Charged

Today, two days before the presidential election, the FBI Director released a follow-up statement that the latest investigation, into Hillary Clinton’s emails, was being closed and that they had found nothing. Not sure how exactly it took them months to digest tens of thousands of emails, but they seemingly went through hundreds of thousands in a mere eight days, but I will leave that up to you to digest.

If I included this story line in any of my books, my readers would (rightfully) burn them in disgust, because I had simply ‘jumped the shark’ and extend the plot line into the land of outright implausibility. However, in 21^st century politics we have learned that nothing is apparently implausible.

I know a lot of people are having problems with this whole Hillary Clinton / E-mail investigation. Most of the loudest cries of ‘Hillary didn’t do anything wrong’ come from folks who’s closest connection to actual law enforcement comes from having watched old episodes of Law & Order while staying at a Holiday Inn Express.

Sorry, but your Facebook Police Academy Diploma does not count in the real world. So, for the sake of aiding you, in this mind-numbing process, I would be happy to lend my fifteen years of NYC investigatory experience to the equation.

I thought I would make the facts of this case abundantly clear to all of you via the new ‘millennial bumper sticker’ format.

In his testimony before Congress on July 7^th, 2014, FBI Director James Comey testified that former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton did not turn over (thousands) of work related emails to the State Department.

18 U.S. Code § 2071 - Concealment, removal, or mutilation generally:

Subdivision (a) - Whoever willfully and unlawfully conceals, removes, mutilates, obliterates, or destroys, or attempts to do so, or, with intent to do so takes and carries away any record, proceeding, map, book, paper, document, or other thing, filed or deposited with any clerk or officer of any court of the United States, or in any public office, or with any judicial or public officer of the United States, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than three years, or both.

In his testimony before Congress, FBI Director James Comey testified that former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton removed work related emails from the system.

18 U.S. Code § 2071 - Concealment, removal, or mutilation generally:

Subdivision (b) - Whoever, having the custody of any such record, proceeding, map, book, document, paper, or other thing, willfully and unlawfully conceals, removes, mutilates, obliterates, falsifies, or destroys the same, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than three years, or both; and shall forfeit his office and be disqualified from holding any office under the United States. As used in this subsection, the term “office” does not include the office held by any person as a retired officer of the Armed Forces of the United States.

In his statement on July 5th, 2016, FBI Director James Comey stated the following regarding former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and her work related emails from the system: “…there is evidence that they were extremely careless in their handling of very sensitive, highly classified information. For example, seven e-mail chains concern matters that were classified at the Top Secret/Special Access Program level when they were sent and received.”

18 U.S. Code § 793 - Gathering, transmitting or losing defense information:

Subdivision (f) - Whoever, being entrusted with or having lawful possession or control of any document, writing, code book, signal book, sketch, photograph, photographic negative, blueprint, plan, map, model, instrument, appliance, note, or information, relating to the national defense, (1) through gross negligence permits the same to be removed from its proper place of custody or delivered to anyone in violation of his trust, or to be lost, stolen, abstracted, or destroyed, or (2) having knowledge that the same has been illegally removed from its proper place of custody or delivered to anyone in violation of its trust, or lost, or stolen, abstracted, or destroyed, and fails to make prompt report of such loss, theft, abstraction, or destruction to his superior officer - Shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than ten years, or both.

NOTE: For the record, please note that there is no culpable mental state of INTENT anywhere in this passage.

Legal Definition of : Gross Negligence:

n. carelessness which is in reckless disregard for the safety or lives of others, and is so great it appears to be a conscious violation of other people's rights to safety. It is more than simple inadvertence, but it is just shy of being intentionally evil. If one has borrowed or contracted to take care of another's property, then gross negligence is the failure to actively take the care one would of his/her own property. If gross negligence is found by the trier of fact (judge or jury), it can result in the award of punitive damages on top of general and special damages.

There you have it, Hillary Clinton’s extremely careless behavior was the legal textbook definition of Gross Negligence, with the exception that, after making the case, Director Comey CHOSE not to use the exact words.

Understand that if you, or I, committed any of the CRIMES outlined above, we would go to federal prison for a very long time.

She has been cleared, not of wrongdoing, but by a completely personal choice on the part of Director Comey not to pursue this matter, even though it is not his choice to make.

Investigative agencies (in this case the FBI) investigate and present their findings to prosecutorial agencies (in this case the DOJ / Attorney General). It is the responsibility of the prosecutor to determine whether they will proceed. However, in this case the AG, Loretta Lynch, took the unprecedented move of saying she would defer to the FBI, even though the case was still being investigated and she had just participated in a highly questionable meeting, with the subject of the investigation's husband, in a private plane for a social chat.  

Hillary Clinton broke the law and by very nature of the law she broke is disqualified from holding office, but what the above tells you is that she is above the law and that should send a chill down your spine.

November 1st – ACA Enrollment Day

I think I understand why they selected the day after Halloween as the enrollment day for Obamacare. After being visited by all the ghouls and goblins at your doorstep, you probably have a higher tolerance for scary shit. If not, you can always self-medicate with candy.

I wrote about this topic back in 2010 and again in 2013, during my angrier days, so my position has always been clear. I was very critical of it and said why in these two posts: Health Care Reform &  HCR: Why Do I Have A Problem With This, but I wasn’t alone on this topic. A lot of folks, including Dr. Barbara Bellar were also critical. Turns out, we weren’t wrong.

Now, I am one of the lucky ones, as I have coverage through my former employer, so this really doesn’t impact me. However, I thought I would share this comparison with you because it is pretty telling. I’m not going to get into the minutia, because that’s just stupid. Numbers speak for themselves.

From 2010 – 2015, I had BC / BS EPO. I had moved out of New York, so I needed a plan that would give me nationwide coverage. With this plan there were ZERO deductibles, just a co-pay. I went to whatever Dr. I wanted and any facility / hospital I wanted. The monthly price in the beginning was just under a $1k ($12,000 annually) a month. This covered EVERYONE in my family. In 2015 that monthly amount had gone up to just over $1,400 ($17,000 annually) and we were notified to expect an increase. Obviously I don’t have thousands of dollars to waste every year, so we switched back to our old insurance.

Now I pay only a few hundred, but the problem is that it is NYC based medical, everything is out of pocket and I have substantial deductibles. I guess if anything major happens it will be cheaper to fly back to NY to get it taken care of.

Today, just for a laugh, we decided to check out the awesome plans available to us through the ACA.

I would suggest that you grab that leftover bowl of candy and a drink, preferably a (strong) alcoholic one, as you continue to read.

Remember the plan I had back in 2010 – 2015. I assume, based on coverage, that it would be considered either a Gold or Platinum plan. That is important to remember.

After we entered ALL the pertinent information we were happily notified that we had several plans to select from. For the sake of this post, I’m going to stick with the cheapest plan (Bronze) and not bore you with the rest.

Long Story Short: For the incredibly low rate of only $1,800 a month ($21,600.00 annually), my family can enjoy the amazing benefits of medical insurance, which will all be covered, AFTER we meet our annual family deductible of only $14,000.00.

Seriously?

I have to get a job making over $35,000.00 a year just to pay for my medical insurance?

WTF?

I’m sorry, but you mean I could go back to my old (Gold / Platinum) plan, see who I want, when I want, with a minimal ($15.00) co-pay and pay thousands less than the Obamacare (Bronze) plan with a ZERO annual deductible……… ???

Are you people in D.C. smoking Crack ???

This is what you get kids, when your elected representatives don’t read something before they sign it into law. It is the reason that 70% of Americans want this repealed. You were lied to.

I can’t wait to see how they spin this one.

Donald Trump Uses Bad Words

Special Snowflake Trigger Alert - Bad Words Ahead

“Extra, Extra – Read All About It”

That’s the traditional call of the paper seller announcing breaking news. Back in the day it was usually a serious news story, like war or a major criminal incident, today it heralds the latest salacious bullshit that is being peddled to you by an ever growing partisan media. 

Really, It Sounds As Stupid As It Looks.......

Case in point, the latest ‘safe-space triggering’ comments by Donald Trump.

Many of you know about my deep-rooted loathing for coincidence.  So it should come as no shock that that this little nugget fell from the skies almost at the exact same time that WikiLeaks dumped another treasure trove of documents pertaining to Hillary Rodham Clinton.  Mind you, this release comes on the heels of the Guccifer 2.0 dump earlier in the week.

Can you guess which the main stream media sought to capitalize on?

Yes, apparently ‘grabbing pussy’ is much more news worthy than the Democratic nominees admission, behind closed doors, that her campaign is basically a lie. Well, at least as it pertains to the little people she is trying to court.

Wake up people.

Is what Trump said crude? Yes.

Was it inappropriate? Probably.

Is it earth-shattering? No.

Is it limited to men? Hell No!

Anyone who is talking about how ‘upset’ they are about what Donald Trump said eleven years ago is either a liar, a social justice warrior or a practicing Puritan.  For them I have nothing, but for the rest of the adult world: Grow Up.

Here’s a news flash, real people talk that way. Hell, I talk that way and so do you.

Have we forgotten that this was a private conversation? Have you never said things in a private conversation that were, how shall we say: risqué? If someone ever played a highlight reel of all the crude things I have ever said, stock in popcorn would jump 515% as folks gathered around the TV screen to watch.

And if you think it’s just men that speak this way, I have some news for you. Go to a male strip club one night. You’ll hear ‘church women’ say things that would make a Navy Senior Chief Petty Officer blush.

And where was the media’s moral indignation when Hillary said "Come on Bill, put your dick up! You can't fuck her here!"

I’m sorry, but this whole ‘I’m offended’ shit is a joke and is wearing really thin.  You know what I am really offended by? This whole wussification of America bullshit.

‘Donald Trump said something I don’t like…….’ Really, special snowflake, did anything offend you in Fifty Shades of Grey? Because that happy little BDSM romp, written by a woman mind you, sold like over eighty million copies, prompted a sequel along with a movie, and I’m pretty sure there was a lot more going on than ‘pussy grabbing.’

SHAMELESSS PLUG: As an author, I’d like to point out that my books also contain a bit of ‘adult reading’ as well……. You know, if you’re not so easily offended.

We also have to come to terms with an amazing double standard in this country. I have often lamented that the concepts of hypocrisy and irony are lost on the left. The same folks who slam Trump for saying mean things to women are the same ones championed Hillary for standing by her man when he went through the vast Right Wing conspiracy to undermine his presidency. The fact that he actual did the things he was accused of and that she mocked and ridiculed the victims is apparently inconsequential.

Damn It, Stop Objectifying Me !!!

Nor is the fact that many of her biggest supporters, you know, folks Miley Cyrus, Jay-Z, Beyoncé, and Kanye engage in behavior that glorifies what Donald Trump spoke about. I’m sorry, but I have a problem with being lectured on the issues facing this great Nation by a guy who started out his life by selling drugs on the streets of Brooklyn.  I would also like to point out the hypocrisy of being lectured on the objectification of women by a singer who engages in simulated sex acts during her show. Oh Hannah Montana, how far thou have fallen.

That’s the hypocrisy.

The truth is that the media is doing everything they can to shift your attention away from all the negative information surrounding who THEY have decided must win.

When you look at the facts, Hillary Clinton’s actions speak much louder than Donald Trump’s words ever could.

We have real issues facing this country, a lot of which Hillary Clinton has been involved in, yet no one is focusing on them and I have to wonder why. At the last debate, questions were raised about Donald Trump’s taxes and a comment he purportedly made about Miss Universe back in 1996, but not one question about illegal immigration, terrorism, or about the fire storm that is raging throughout the Middle East.

Seriously? This is allegedly what is passing for journalism in the twenty-first century?

Unfortunately, many of those issues could legitimately be laid at Mrs. Clinton’s door, so I can understand why no one wanted to go there.

The funny thing is that nothing Trump did on his taxes was any different then what the majority of tax payers do every year. The problem was the sum of the loss. HRC even used it to question how smart Trump was, having lost nearly a billion dollars. What she didn’t tell you was that the Clinton’s did the same thing on their taxes with a nearly three-quarters of a million dollar loss. She also doesn’t want to talk about the fact that her State Department still has six billion unaccounted for.

That’s the irony.

The latest release of documents is being slammed, not for their content, but because those vile Russians are allegedly behind it all. Think about that for a moment. Not what HRC and her closest aides have done, but what those bad hackers have done.

This sums it up best: ZERO accountability / ZERO responsibility – Focus the blame on someone else.

America is still struggling.

We are still facing desperate financial times and we have illegal immigrants, along with terrorists, streaming across our southern border. What does HRC have to say about that? Well, according to a speech she gave to a Brazilian bank in 2013, this is how she feels:

"My dream is a hemispheric common market, with open trade and open borders, some time in the future with energy that is as green and sustainable as we can get it, powering growth and opportunity for every person in the hemisphere…. We have to resist, protectionism, other kinds of barriers to market access.”

The truth is that HRC does not care about you. You do not have the kind of money that she wants so you are only going to get lip service. It’s not about America’s bottom line, but hers.

Here’s the truth about her campaign slogan: Stronger Together. She only needs you to elect her so that she can continue the relationships she has built with Wall Street and the wealthy.  

But now, even the Republican sharks are circling the waters because of Donald Trump’s words……

What they don’t want you to know is that they, politicians on both sides of the aisle, have been collectively grabbing America’s pussy for decades and taking what they want. This fact seems to have become lost to us and I have to believe that is by design.

Simply put, the system no longer works for We the People, but We the Politicians.

At the end of the day, Trump represents a threat to the political status quo and that scares the hell out of them. Like the democrats, they are part of the problem; the other side of the same coin if you will. I couldn’t care less if they pull their support for Donald Trump, but I hope that they understand I will be pulling my support for them. Just like Hillary Clinton they have only needed me when they want something, but they have to be threatened to do the right thing when it doesn’t benefit them.

November 8^th will be historic. It will be a referendum on our political system. It will either be a vote to maintain the political status quo, which has brought us to this place we are in, or a vote to shake things up.

I know where my vote is going.