Police

134 Tons of Marijuana, Up in Smoke

That’s a lot of weed. And yet somehow I don’t feel any safer. Remember when bringing in weed from Mexico was all fun and laughs? Those were the days.

Police

More later

I’m not posting much here because I’m finishing my book. But I’ll be back in full force after November 8. It’s 5AM. Time for bed.

Police

Trapped in a cold dark place

The human drama of survival in closed spaces, the utter boredom and brief moments of joy, the gathered crowd — why, there’s nothing like the minute-to-minute Twitter updates of my wife’s jury duty. Any moment now the doors of the metal lift will open and she’ll be sprung into the open air of Queens County and Camp Jamaica. I hope…

Continue Reading

Police

Abolish Drunk Driving Laws?

So says Radley Balko: “If lawmakers are serious about saving lives, they should focus on impairment, not alcohol.” I’m not certain where I stand on this, but it does make some sense. Plus, I always appreciate counter-intuitive thinking.

Police

On Writing

People sometimes think I don’t work much (an opinion only reinforced when they see me having my morning coffee at 2pm and still in my bathrobe at dinner time). But I’m a night owl and I work from home. So along with teaching four classes (a very heavy load for a college professor), I have to write. And writing is…

Continue Reading

Police

The Murderers of Mexico

How to write about Mexico’s drug war? There are only a limited number of ways that readers can be reminded of the desperate acts of human sacrifice that go on every day in this country, or of the by now calamitous statistics: the nearly 28,000 people who have been killed in drug-related battles or assassinations since President Felipe Calderón took…

Continue Reading

Police

Stupid-mobiles

Does anybody believe this is a good idea for subway patrol? Granted with only 13 the NYPD isn’t making a major investment, but it’s still a big waste. “Their biggest benefit is increased police visibility, as they put an officer heads and shoulders above the crowds, police said” in the Daily News. What? Actually, no. It puts police about six…

Continue Reading

Police

What do you expect?

“The longshoremen were paid $50,000 to $100,000 for unloading a single duffel bag of cocaine.” I’m glad nobody has offered me that kind of money for that kind of work, because I don’t know what I would do. Meanwhile the tunnel from Mexico business is booming, which is an unfortunate but inevitable result (along with migrants dying in the desert)…

Continue Reading