Tell Me What Is Wrong With This Story...

... and there is a lot wrong with it. Not with how it was told, I am not saying it is bad reporting, I am saying that the events were all wrong (although I cannot figure why this was only reported now instead of a couple or a few weeks back). This never should have happened, and when it did happen, the end result should not have turned out the way it did. Read it at FoxNews.com Murder With Baseball Bat of Mentally Disabled Man Caught on Surveillance Tape in L.A..

First of all, some pukey little punk with a baseball bat should never have had the lack of respect of life to approach someone and hit him with a bat like this. His parents maybe did not teach him morality well enough, or maybe he is mentally disturbed and should be in a nuthouse for life. I would also be willing to bet this is not his first criminal act, chances are he has been arrested before and he is again out on the street.s Yes these things are all wrong. Ultra Leftist logic that leads to feeling sorry for the poor underprivileged minority type sucks big time when it results in things like this, and it ends up like this all to often. Stuff like this is all wrong, and things like this should be much less commonplace than they are in today's world.

What else was wrong in this story, big time wrong? Look at it, read it again. No it is not that a mentally handicapped person was out walking to the store. That is probably a good thing if he was able to do it on his own within reason. Look , read, think. An unidentified passersby called 911 is what was wrong. Sure it was good that someone called 911 to try to get help for the victim, but that is all that anyone apparently did. Of course maybe they came to his aid and that would have been good.

Now think what was bad about how this all played out with the 911 call. First of all, the passerby who called 911 is unidentified. Why is that? Either he/she did not give a name and then left the scene afraid to become further involved; or the police refused to give out the caller's name for fear of reprisals from the assailant. That is very wrong. The good guy who made the call should be willing to give up his/her name to the authorities, and should be willing to testify as to what was witnessed. There should be little to no fear of reprisals, although it is a fact of life that reprisals in such cases happen all to often when someone comes forward as a witness.

There is also something else wrong with the 911 call. It apparently was the only 911 call. What about all those good people driving by in their cars. Surely someone else witnessed this, why did no one get out to help. Why did no one go after the dirtbag. But that is not all that was wrong.

So what else is wrong, what makes this all wrong, what allows for stuff like this to happen again and again? The fact is that we are a society of potential victims and the criminal dirtbags realize this and use it to their advantage. Too many of us are like sheep and when danger rears its ugly head we run away and this is how our society has made us. There could have a very different outcome though, one that could help put an end to such needless violent acts, and to the fears that fill many hearts after they take place. Imagine for a moment, a passerby walking along minding his own business sees this attack about to take place. He yells "Stop, don't move, I have a gun", or he simply draws and shoots the bad guy. Now the bat may have already swung, and the victim may have already been dealt a fatal blow, but the passerby could still have caused this to end differently by shooting the dirtbag. The dirtbags know you are very unlikely to be armed in a place like Los Angeles, San Francisco, Chicago, New York, Boston and the like, and they take advantage of that fact often. If, on the other hand, most people were armed it would be a different story, and bad guys would think two, three, four, or many more times before attempting such a crime. If good guys routinely shot bad guys who were committing acts of violence against innocents, the chances are the violent crime rates would plummet. Most of the scumbags who attack people like this are cowards. They do it from behind, they do it to a lone person, they do it because they think no one will oppose them. They will keep on doing it too, that is until the people of America wake up and realize that self defense, and defense of innocent others, is not only a right, it is the responsibility of each and every law abiding citizen.

All the best,
Glenn B

An end note: The police are reported as having no motive for this. My bet is, judging by profiling, stereotypes, and available evidence, that this was gang related, probably an initiation of some sort, or revenge. The guy who did this is probably boasting about it to his amigos criminal associates, as in other gang members. Yes that is guess work to a large degree, but darned educated guesswork at that - I have dealt with dirtbags before.

Beers and Ales...

...the ones I think are the hardest kicking better tasting and finer ones, are a thing that can bring good taste to my tongue, a wiff of a pleasent aroma to my nostrils, a pleasing picture to my eyes, and a good feeling overall to my being. I am not talking Budweisser here (no insult intended, but it just certainly is not one of my top choices), no not by a long shot; but nor am I talking about beers and ales that are beyond the reach of the average budget, at least if you drink them in moderation now and then.

For example tonight I went to my local beer distributor and I picked up a few different types of ale and beer. I bought a 12 pack of Franziskaner Heffe Weisse Bier, and it is ever so good. I cannot say it better than they say it show it on their own web site http://www.franziskaner.com/, with this little GIF to the right. That monk clearly knows how good it goes down. It is a one of the better biers I have ever had (I have a penchant for heffe weisse biers), and I certainly have had a lot of them over the years. Others that I really like are Paulaner Hefe Weisse Bier, Erdinger Heffe Weisse Bier, and Hacker-Pschorr Weiss Bier. A 12 pack of the Franziskaner cost me about $14.00 dollars tonight. Sure those run of the mill everyday beers are okay if you are down in the dumps money wise, but if you want something that tastes great every time (at least to me they do), and goes down very nicely with foods of all sorts, then this may be for you.

Of course, I also like American Beers and Ales, although I am not much of a fan of the really popular ones that seem to rule the market. I will drink the popular beers if I have nothing else, or maybe I won't drink them and instead drink a Coke. I really am much more of a small brewery type myself, and no I don't man so called micro-breweries that are really owned and operated by mega breweries (at least not to my knowledge). I like domestic beers and ales that are really given a nice taste, and are a bit on the stronger side. Having said that I need to point out that most of the beers made by Samuel Adams just do not do it for me. Some are okay now and then, but just that for my tastes. Many others are, to me, big disappointments - a lot of hype about their use of hops, and usually way too much hops at that as far as I am concerned. I am not saying that they are necessarily bad, but they are not exactly what I am looking for in a beer or ale. While some of their beers are okay, when it comes to their wheat beers, I will say as that as far as I am concerned they are terrible. I find this to be true of almost every American version of wheat beer that I have tried. They taste nothing like old world weisse biers to me, they come on way to strong in the flavor department (I believe to hoppy).

American beers and ales that I do like are also strong flavored, but are not overboard, and are truly brewed in smaller breweries. Some of the best domestic beers and ales that I have tasted are brewed by Brewery Ommegang in Coperstown, NY (http://ommegang.com/). To heck with the Baseball Hall of Fame, if I ever visit Cooperstown, I am also visiting Brewery Ommegang. They make some of the best tasting abbey style ales I have ever had flow through past lips - a true treat for the taste buds that really makes one think of an Old World setting, and drinking with monks in the cellars of an abbey. By the way, Abbey Style ales are a hallmark of Belgian brewing. One of the best from Belgium is Chimay Ale (a few different varieties under the same overall brand name are available). Ommegang has got it down just right, and their abbey ales are right up there with the Chimay brand (which is I believe still bottled in an abbey by monks). One of my favorites was their namesake: Ommegang Ale. They also make Hennepin and Rare Vos. The Ommegang Ale is about 8.5% alcohol content, and two bottles can easily leave you with a pleasant feeling as if you really had been drinking in the basement of an abbey. They also sell a wheat beer (which is a weisse bier) but I have not yet tried one.

I picked up an offering from Brewery Ommegang tonight at my distributor called Three Philosophers. It is one I had not heard of before, so I figured why not give it a try. It is dark, not too heady, very heavy and tastes great. It turned out to be a truly malty ale, with a hint of cherry lambic. I have got to say, that I am enjoying it, at this moment, very much - so much that it may become a new favorite if I hit the lottery. One bottle cost me about $8.60. I guess the fact that it is over 9% alcohol has something to do with the price.

I also picked up a couple of bottle of the Ommegang Abbey Ale. This while less expensive, at a bit more than half the price of the Three Philosophers, is just as tasty in its own way. It is another dark ale, and robust in flavor, and also has quite the kick. The other offerings I have tried from Ommegang are: Rare Vos and Hennepin. Both are somewhat weaker in strength, lighter in color, but certainly are not lacking in flavor. If you are a lite beer drinker, who actually likes watery tasting lite (lo-cal) beers, then forget about any of these. Speaking of water and beers, I wonder, do you know the similarity between lite beers and sex in a canoe? They are both f''ing close to water. (sorry I could not resist).

Oh well, as they say, later for you as I hear at least one of those three philosophers calling out to me wanting to discuss somethig with me over a cold one. So I am off to the back patio to enjoy the brisk nightime air of Spring's close, as I sip one of the finer ales I have ever tasted, and enjoy the allure of the Honeysuckle as it fills the nigt air with its heavenly aroma. Too bad though that I only bought one bottle of the Three Philosophers, next time I'll have to spend more on this one, and maybe do without the others, it is that good. Since I don't drink all that much, a few bottles of this could last me months weeks a week a few days at least a couple of days. As it is, I'll enjoy the one I have and maybe follow it up with a Franziskaner Heffe Weisse Bier, and then call it a night.

All the best,

Glenn B