A guy drives his Jeep with extreme recklessness, swerving around cars stopped at a red light to try to bully his way through the red light and piles into a car trying to make a legal left-hand turn. Guy’s Jeep does a barrel roll and ejects the not-buckled-up-for-safety driver, killing him. The other car’s driver manages by sheer good luck to survive the wreck.
This happened yesterday in Roanoke, Va. (news story here).
As it turns out, the now-deceased Jeep driver was a Hose Hero – a fireman. Also a former Hero of America’s Fight Fer Freedom (to slaughter the enemies of Uncle or whoever just happens to be there) in Afghanistan.
Which probably explains the odd muteness of the chorus.
You know. The media and the politicians. Who – had the Jeep driver not been a Hero but rather just some guy who was in a hurry to get to work (the apparent reason for the Jeep driver’s actions, according to news reports) would surely have erupted in keening outrage at the recklessness of the driver, his indifference to human life. (See, for contrast, the coverage of a woman who was not a Hero but killed a construction worker by cutting him in two with her car.)
Instead, there is this:
“It is with heavy hearts and deep sadness and regret that Roanoke Fire-EMS announces the passing of one of our brothers, Jesse Clingenpeel. Firefighter-EMT Clingenpeel, age 25, was killed in a motor vehicle crash this morning on Brambleton Ave. in Roanoke County. He was on his way to work at Roanoke Fire-EMS Station 4 located on Peters Creek Rd., SW. Jesse was hired by Roanoke Fire-EMS in 2013. He was a decorated veteran and was a very special person that will be sorely missed by all of us. Please keep his family and friends and our department in your thoughts and prayers as we go through this difficult time. Rest easy brother – we will take it from here……”
This was the official statement from the Hose Hero’s fellow Heroes at Roanoke Fire-EMS. Notice the soft-sell. No mention of the fact that the Jeep’s driver blew a red light at high speed, passing other cars stopped for the light (one eyewitness stated: “I saw this accident first hand, I was the first vehicle stopped at the light – the Jeep flew by me, running the red light and hit the Kia who was turning lefthand onto Ranchcrest…”) and was the cause of a horrific wreck that would not have happened had it not been for the Jeep driver’s egregious recklessness. Which was probably a function of his sense of entitlement and specialness as a Hero. Heroes (which has become sadly synonymous with “those wearing government uniforms”) are above the law.
How many times have you witnessed them driving well above the speed limit – with impunity, because they can?
Because if they’re stopped by a fellow Hero, it is likely they will not be ticketed, much less arrested. Heroes are “brothers,” you know.
And so – in the eyes of his fellow Heroes – Clingenpeel “was killed in a motor vehicle crash this morning.”
It was just an accident. An act of god. Stuff happens.
Very sad.
But what are you gonna do?
Not a single finger-wag (so far) about the Hose Hero’s nearly killing an innocent Mundane (and not for lack of trying).
Apparently, the Hero’s victim was not “a special person that will sorely be missed by all.”
And, of course, there will be a North Korean-style state funeral (taxpayer funded) for the Hose Hero.
It is bizarre.
And, telling.
People usually pissed off aren’t. There is no hue and cry to the heavens, no call for stricter enforcement of speed limits. Rather, there is lots of talk about the Tragedy of it all. Plus excuses.
Here, for example:
“I have known Jesse for several years. He was a really good man who served his country with distinction and carried himself with genuine honor and humility. He was decorated for his bravery and was badly wounded in Afghanistan. He was a young man and may have driven a bit recklessly.” (Really? You think?) “To say that his actions are ‘inexcusable’ at this point, is, well, inexcusable. You forget yourself, your place in the community and Jesse’s wife and family when you spout off in a manner that is irresponsible and lacking in both civility and humanity. ”
Italics added.
Note the reverential attitude, the almost doggy devotion.
They say America is an irreligious country, but this is false. Americans venerate uniforms and those who wear them. They are literally awestruck.
And well-trained.
Put a guy (or gal) in a uniform and watch the chorus step n’ fetch.
One wonders whether this commentator’s comments would have been different had a Mundane been behind the wheel of the Jeep. And had it been his wife or daughter, say, who was trying to make that legal left-hand turn.
I think we know the answer to that one.
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Well, the Kia driver’s name is “Basir Khan”…no wonder he’s being blamed…he’s one of them there moose-lums. I’m sure the Roanoke PD will issue a statement that Vlad Putin cannot account for his whereabouts at the time of the accident.
This story illustrates clearly, everyone is equal…but…some are more equal than others.
Hi Mark,
Yup.
The story has… evaporated from local news. Because it’s unseemly to discuss the Hero’s reckless driving. But had Basir Khan (a mundane and a Mooslim) been the responsible party, I can assure you the local media would be covering his recklessness nonstop.
Reckon he was one of them Clinginpeel’s from West Virginny? I’m not insinuating anything here but we’ve all heard those stories. They’ve always gone back to the shack after their stint with Uncle. And those Klingbeil’s generally return to Bonn.
But wouldn’t it have been one hell of a conundrum if he’d been a rancher off to see about his injured bull and got gunned down by them “other” pheroes? If them other pheroes had been vets, who’d have gotten the PTSD tag?
Inability to make distinctions.
Those who risk their lives to rescue people and property from fire are heroes.
Those who drive recklessly and cause accidents are not.
This creates the problem where we ought to honor him for his bravery in fighting fires, but condemn him as much as possible while avoiding speaking ill of the dead from driving like that (even volunteers usually have lights and horns or sirens).
Firefighting was his job. You might term someone who doesn’t get paid to fight fires a hero if he saves someone from a fire. Since heat does such a number on me, you could call me temporarily insane if I saved someone from a fire but certainly not a hero. I saved myself from a truck fire. I called it “adrenalin”. The guy who treated my burns(a regular guy with a first aid kit)called me “son” and told me to keep my butt away from that rig. Several people there, not a “hero” in sight. If you want to term my actions of getting burned trying to save a truck, I think the best term would have been dumbass.
Hi Eight,
Amen.
A hero – properly speaking – is the guy who put his own life at risk for the sake of someone else, without the expectation of compensation.
Government employees with legal immunity – and who get paid to “serve” – are not heroes.
Now, firemen and EMTs are a cut above law enforcement… if they are volunteers and not paid with funds taken from unwilling victims.
I’ve got a kid who is both a volunteer firefighter, and a paid CalFire employee. He excels at his work, and is uncomfortable at being considered anything except what he is, a firefighter. I think that the hero worship thing comes mostly from the outside.
That’s awesome that he volunteer’s. He sounds like a humble guy who doesn’t carry a sense of entitlement. Becoming a rare breed with state employees.
The worship of government employees I believe is yet another manipulation via media and other sources to condition people to being helpless, dependent, and living under authority.
Is no one is anxiously waiting for autopsy results with blood analysis or maybe analyzing this firefighter/EMT’s time cards versus shift schedule? No mention of him responding to an emergency call. I’d bet they’d be pushing the coroner to expedite if reckless behavior by Mr. Kia had actually killed Mr. Jeep. Another suicide by stupidity. My heart goes out to Mr. Kia being wrongfully held in the spotlight as the perpetrator instead of the hapless victim.
I live with that onus as long as I am a CDL holder. I’m stopped signal(multiple lights) indicating a turn and some person, not so much impaired maybe as simply being distracted or just a really bad driver runs into me, maybe fatally……for them. Hopefully, I notice it and don’t move(I’ve known guys to get smashed in the rear and never feel it). I get cuffed(seen it)since I can’t be transported by LEO uncuffed, taken to the horsepital where I am subjected to whatever drug test they possess, regardless of veracity. After hours of waiting(just bureaucratic bullshit since the test is completed quickly), I am uncuffed and can go my own way(if there’s no false/positive result). Hours later, after I have finally found my rig(that’s been trashed by said LEO and all his fuckin buddies, causing a lot of real damage)and bail it out of jail(where said towing company has stolen everything you had), I can continue on my way to my home where a server will be hiding out to serve me a subpoena requiring my presence in court. Then I can hire a lawyer to represent me and go through months of “just us” before the insurance company finally pleads to some sort of guilt in my behalf and puts that bad onus on me of being a driver with an insurance collection on his record(they say this isn’t so but that’s bullshit too). Of course your company has already dropped you since the (once again)insurance company has put that permanent stain on your record. If, like me, your record is perfect, you might get hired by some small outfit or if you’re like me and 65 years old, you can spend the rest of your life looking for employment even though you’ve done nothing wrong. I’ve seen this play out too many times to too many good professionals not nearly my age. Ain’t this country grand?
And I still hear(just yesterday)people trying to find somebody to blame over this and all other atrocities when they only need to refer back to that body of shitheels, the US congress.
I still think examples such as your indicate the need for brass-and-lead recall elections.
I doubt that will ever change….
Will Grigg on the Idaho rancher who was killed by deputies while trying to euthanize his wounded bull.
https://www.lewrockwell.com/2015/11/william-norman-grigg/open-range-open-season/
Hi PTB,
I really enjoy Will Grigg’s writings, but he seems to be struggling for readers/commenters. Maybe if we linked to his own site it might help.
http://www.freedominourtime.blogspot.com/
Kind Regards,
Jeremy
Will Grigg is one of the early 21st Century’s greatest investigative journalists in an era when that essential craft has all but died out. That said, I don’t visit his blog as often as I used to or as often as I know I should because every time I read his work, my blood begins to boil and it puts me at risk of stroking out. I come away from reading his articles with a feeling of “any nation that has put up with this kind of shit from donut-gobbling thugs and their politician enablers for as long as this one has DESERVES to suffer them.”
It’s a shame.
Grigg is, indeed, outstanding. Also Fred Reed. I could do car stuff.
But guys like us are not wanted at major media organs these days. The major media organs want metrosexual and well-coifed press kit purveyors and talking point delivery people; lots of pretty faces and safe, Pravda-style boilerplate “news.”
I have developed sympathy for Dan Rather. He tried to expose The Chimp – the last time I’m aware of that a major news entity actually tried to get The Story out. He lost everything, as did those within the blast radius. The story displeased the corporate owners of CBS.
Rather believed in the political football game and probably still does. Instead of simply telling the story of shrub’s privilege and special treatment and some animals being more equal than others they had to go the extra mile and create a document. I think if Rather and crew had stayed within the narratives of the D vs. R football game he would have been fine. When they created the document themselves they put the entire system in danger of the people waking up to them.
The system doesn’t care which of their guys moves into the whitehouse they care about people believing in the narratives they set up. Dan Rather did something that could break the spell and that’s huge no-no.
I doubt shrub was ever AWOL. The level of privilege afforded to him would make sure it was entirely acceptable. Breaks in the paperwork trail? Most certainly. Such privilege is often not documented for how very unfair it is, but that doesn’t make it AWOL. It becomes like million other things where the special don’t have to play by the same rules. No fake document and the story would be like HRC’s email server. Just two standards.
Who cares about AWOL when he’s guilty of treason? He and his cohorts should have been hung long ago.
That’s another issue.
Dan Rather in his zeal against team R came close to bringing down the illusions of the American people. There was no other choice but to publicly sacrifice his career.
“The system doesn’t care which of their guys moves into the whitehouse”
That’s right. Remember the 2004 election when the ‘choice’ was not just CFR A vs. CFR B, it was Skull& Bones A vs. Skull & Bones B?
Somewhere……way back in their subconscious, I think the mercan sheeple have a little twinge when Yale is mentioned or at least the skulls and bones gang(dark pinstripe, red ties is their gang colors/uniforms). If I’m correct, as Thick Kevin might say, that will be the very thing that allows the trumpster to slide into the WH. There ain’t enough room for me and Hitlery……
I suppose there’s no great difference in her and a couple others but she’s already been proved to be a criminal multiple times. She’s already taken many innocent lives as the first bitch so anyone who votes for her has either a short memory or none at all.
“either a short memory or none at all.” Or they don’t care, as long as it was someone else rather than them.
PtB, an excellent point since the Southern Baptist bunch is ready to fight beside the US federal govt. They must have the shortest memory of all. It wasn’t Islamists who were slaughtered at Waco.
cue Martin Niemoller
PtB, I’d as soon “cue” the Southern Baptists……just use crude oil.
” It wasn’t Islamists who were slaughtered at Waco.”
Nor at Ruby Ridge.
When you say ‘cue’ do you mean as in a pool hall fight?
Dear lib,
“That said, I don’t visit his blog as often as I used to or as often as I know I should because every time I read his work, my blood begins to boil and it puts me at risk of stroking out. ”
Trust me, you’re not alone.
I have also upgraded the mini to el capitan apple’s latest and greatest os. Very nice.
David
BTW, Eric, did you install that SSD i sent you?
I just upgraded my mac mini to 8gb of ram and 250 GB SSD. That mini now screams! Whoo HOOOO! My studio is going to thank me.
David Ward
Hi David,
The memory chip worked miracles; the machine is no longer a three-legged turtle!
But I am a little skeered about its age. It’s an ’08 and that is old for a computer, yes?
If it craps, I’m in trouble. My back-up (laptop) is even older and it’s one that doesn’t have the Intel chip so it’s not compatible with all the new/recent stuff.
I really need a new laptop (back-up and travel). I’m saving the shekels toward that end.
My mini is an 09. It runs el capitan just fine. Your 08 imac is more powerful than my mini just by the nature of the mini. The upgradeability of the mini is rather restricted compared to your imac.
David Ward
Of course, as with all things regular maintenance will extend the life of equipment. I have an air compressor and i regularly blow out my computers. Yes i have plural computers. Dust traps heat and heat is a killer of computer equipment. The cooler a computer runs the happier it is. Also, another safeguard you can implement is to obtain a battery backup unit. The battery in those act as natural surge protectors as long as they are good. Rule of thumb check the battery once a year. If it is marginal replace it. Batteries plus or better yet get the replacement from an online retailer. That is just a couple of things that will make you imac happier and last longer.
David
Forgot to mention that low end UPS units are now relatively inexpensive. I recently got one for less than a C note at Sam’s Club. It was a CyberPower 450va/260Watt unit. It will run your 21 inch iMac for about nine minutes more or less. The only reason I bought it was to use as a surge protection device. My equipment would only stay up a minute or 2 with this thing due to the wattage requirements of the computer attached to it.
The problem with conventional surge protection strips is they degrade over time. The unit will still provide power after the surge protection in it dies. Low end surge protection power strips do not have indicators to let you know when the surge protection is out.
David
Add a little water and grow a crop of maters in my computers. I take the covers off and set them on a plastic garbage can, stand back a way and blow them out, looks like a bomb went off.
I often wonder how people get by without an air compressor.
I know right?!?!?!
David
Damn, I hate Word Press! i just lost a 4 paragraph post because the submit button changed to reply. CRAP!
David Ward
Crap.
I’d love to have a custom-built site – one not built on WP – but (again)… shekels….. plus, I can’t do it. I need a tech guy… hell, I need a tech department!
I know what you mean. I wrote a fairly lengthy reply a couple nights ago and nothing happened. I managed to write it again nearly word for word and the same thing happened. I went to bed.
Hi Eight,
The same thing happened to me when I first started posting. Since then, if I plan to write a long comment, I do so in a word document and then cut and paste to the comment box. Problem solved.
Jeremy
Jeremy,
Good work around for something that should not be needed in the first place. (I have lost some posts over the years due to mysterious features of WP)
Mith,
Yeah, it’d be nice if this never happened. But, I don’t think it’s always due to a glitch in WP or the EP site. Sometimes my internet craps out, or my PC freezes, etc… While I don’t always follow my own advice, it is a good habit to develop when writing long posts.
Jeremy
Jeremy, that’s good advice but mostly when I come in at night, like the other night, I had been on the road hustling 23 ton loads as fast as I could for 17.5 hrs. I’m surprised I could even put something together coherently. Maybe it was the 4 Shiner Bock’s in the last 2.5 hrs. being a passenger and the couple Bohemian Black’s I’d had since walking in. It takes a lot to shut it down after a day like that…….and I got to repeat it yesterday…..whoooo boy, but without the Shiner since I was driving to the bitter end so to speak.
That brings to mind something from a couple nights ago. Much of the digital world sucks but watching T. Graham Brown do Ray Price’s version of Night Life on Youtube with the phone bluetoothed to a great sound system in the truck helped make it a better night.
Eight,
I like Shiner, but if you want to “shut it down” a little faster try a Spaten Optimator or a Paulaner Salvator. Either of these bocks will take the edge off in a hurry.
I looked up the T. Graham Brown video. I love that country blues sound.
Have you ever heard Scott H. Biram? He’s a crazy country blues gospel punk redneck freak from Texas. He may make those long nights in your truck a little better.
Here’s a sampling:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0w3olGsQ6tQ
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7iLGmm9-0HQ
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ys5N1ImHL8w
I hope you enjoy,
Jeremy
Jeremy, I know several Porters that will shut it down but I drink for taste and only drink Bock when I can’t find Black Lager.
I listened to a couple of the Biram vids on youtube and like ’em. thanks.
I’ve known people who think country is all the same. Of course it’s diverse, moreso than many types of music. I have mentioned certain people liking blues and tell em lots of country is blues, white blues but blues all the same. Texas music(the genre) is replete with blues.
BTW, I showed up at a family gathering with about half my stash being Paulaner Salvator. After a couple, somebody said “Are you sure this is beer?”. If you’re going to make a night of them, it could be a short one. You can wake up and just have snippets of memory…..or somebody tell you bed was the second place you went to sleep.
“They say America is an irreligious country, but this is false. Americans venerate uniforms and those who wear them.”
Not only the uniform, but the state itself. The state is attempting to usurp religion by deifying our “leaders” and making those who work in the bureaucracy into clergy and knights. The rest of us can be peasants, slaves or serfs. A lucky few might become freemen, but don’t hold your breath.
Hi Eric,
Yes… and one step farther… what happens to apostates and heretics? Those who do not “believe” (and reverence)?
I am getting old. I think I may end up like the stubborn man in The Crucible, who would not kowtow to the witch hunt. They placed stones on his chest; one more would kill him. The inquisitors demanded that he kowtow. His reply?
More weight.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bDrCHiwpT4M
Got damn them all.
…a number of years ago a Michigan State trooper was killed in a rollover accident. Utilizing social media, I asked a pertinent question…was the trooper wearing his seat belt (as us mundanes are required to do, under penalty of law)? The vitriolic responses I got from clovers was telling. Most of them used the Hillary response–“what difference does it make? The trooper is DEAD”. Far too many people support “law enforcement”, right or wrong…
“Just doin’ my job!” this is the response an officer makes after giving a ticket or arresting someone. Maybe they are explaining themselves to the skeptical public.
Officer gets killed in the line of duty, he becomes a hero. My thoughts – “he was just doing his job” 🙂
Just love how the linked WDBJ7 article insinuates that there is fault with the kia driver, multiple times and even the most recent update states:
‘…Investigators say a car driven by 27-year-old Basir Kahn of Roanoke collided with the Jeep Clingenpeel was driving. Kahn was not hurt.
No charges have been filed at this time…’
Only, by reading much further into this, within the same update, do we see a sort of half-assed attempt to properly assign the blame… You might miss it if you just skim the article:
‘…Clingenpeel was on his way to work at the station on Peters Creek Road, according to the fire department.
Roanoke County Police say Kahn was making a lawful left-hand turn when the Jeep “entered the intersection on a red light from the left turn lane and impacted the Kia…’
What kind of awkward linguistic gymnastics these guys are going through to finally get to the point that it was actually the ‘Hose Hero’ that caused the accident. Heck they go as far to say that Khan’s Kia ‘collided’ with Clingenpeel Jeep, to than later meekly state that Clingenpeel’s jeep ‘impacted’ the Kia… and note the different terms used as well…
“You forget yourself, your place in the community …
A responsible reporter (*smirk*) would have asked “and what ‘place’ would that be? Inquiring minds are eager to know what their ‘place in the community’ is.”
A true testament to the systematic dumbing down of the proletariat is that not only did the reporter not ask the aforementioned question (or something similar), but that this speed-bump-with-a-pulse probably felt no embarrassment whatsoever at uttering this sickeningly robotic statement more characteristic of a denizen of PyongYang than of Roanoke.
“News” stories are just emotional triggers to manipulate the plebeian for the purpose of forming a narrative that is far from the truth.
In this case the narrative would be “a fireman who daily risked his life tragically died in a senseless accident”.
Well it wasn’t an accident at all; running Red Lights would be high risk behavior resulting in a high probability of a collision.
Again, manipulation; the vast majority of so-called “accidents” are not. We regularly misuse the word “accident”.
Indeed, sooper…
Accidents rarely happen. Human error, all the time.
“News” stories are just emotional triggers to manipulate the plebeian for the purpose of forming a narrative that is far from the truth.
Spot on. What a nice compact way of putting it.
Yep media is about creating a cultural narrative through emotional manipulation.
Has been for a long time. Remember the Maine.
Eric,
Say it is not true!? I am sure that you have that wrong. Many people have a bad day now and then on their way to work. The planets were aligned in a negative conjunction with the unfortunate result.
If a commoner was involved in the same type of incident as this hose hero (I love the alliteration), I am sure there would similar concern for the commoner’s family & friends. The uniformed pheros would never abuse their position for any personal gain or convenience.
Sarcasm aside, it is sad that way too many pheros take advantage of their position when they should be setting an example. Other people see them when they flaunt the laws (which would lead to bad consequences for mundanes) and the resentment builds.
Der tag kommt.
I expect muey hate mail. For having the effrontery to not “respect the fallen” and such. He was, after all, a Hero.
I’m surprised that so many people who would hate this article’s premise even know about this site, much less read it.
Don’t forget, Clover and her kith lurk out there trolling.
Stuff gets around – and though I try (like The King) not to be rekonized, I’m known more than I’d like to be!
That should read MUCHO hate mail … :)~
Maybe, if a bored Clover dares to rush in where even fools fear to tread.
“He was, after all, a Hero”
I say, make that a Zero! Trying (unsuccessfully) to pull off a ‘my shit don’t stink’ move like that.