Author : Computer ManThe fourth estate received a public rebuke concealed in a not so veiled threat issued by Freeman Cooper, the Chief of Police, Chattanooga, Tennessee

It could have been a bad April Fools joke but for the fact that it was a day late and not at all funny It all happened at a hastily called news conference late morning, Wednesday, April 2nd, 2008, where Chattanooga Police Chief Freeman Cooper asked the media to stop asking questions about problem officer Chattanooga Police Captain Jeannie Snyder

Cooper went on to issue a veiled threat to the media for doing its job by saying the investigation into the female police captain was “bordering on harassment”

He continued, “She is a police officer in good standing and that means that she can be armed at anytime with any weapon, it does not have to be the police department’s gun ” Snyder who had already voluntarily stepped down as an assistant police chief taking a Ten Thousand Dollar pay cut in November, 2007, also voluntarily turned in her city issued weapon last week citing public concern over her being armed The Chattanoogan reported, however, that she was still carrying her personal firearm That is just one of the exceptions the city appears to have made for Captain Snyder when their internal rules and regulations says each officer is issued a service weapon and must carry that weapon when on duty

Chattanooga City Councilman Leamon Pierce is one of the few apparently not afraid to speak up and question Snyder or the Chief Pierce opined, “You got to deal with what the perception is, she has a problem no doubt it’s a medical problem I wouldn’t want to be around her, in her presence when she has another reaction ”

He went on to say what some officers have intimated to the Tennessee Mountain Man - that some of her fellow police officers are leery and fearful of her

There are those current and retired police officers who tell the Tennessee Mountain Man that they have good reason to walk lightly around Captain Snyder They maintain that Cooper had little choice but to appoint her an assistant police chief and now has no choice but to defend and protect her to the best of his ability

Names the Tennessee Mountain Man has not heard in legal and law enforcement circles in 20 years are popping up again Names like Ralph Cothran, Al Coker, Johnny Wright, and others - even a former madam and drug dealer are surfacing and fueling the rumor mill

Chief Cooper challenged the press at his news conference, “Tell me something she’s done wrong? You can’t because she hasn’t ” He continued, “She hasn’t harmed anyone, threatened to harm anyone, or put anybody in any type of danger ”

According to public records, it all started in January of 2007 when Snyder was found unconscious in her Red Bank (A Chattanooga Bedroom Community) home after she failed to show up for an appointment She was “sick”, i e “passed out” and had to be hospitalized Drawing on his experience and career as a former intelligence operative, CID Agent, and civilian police officer the Computer Man suspects the roots of Captain Snyder’s problems run much deeper and farther into the past

In September, 2007, she did not show up for work which sparked a search in Marion County, Tennessee When finally found after costing the city, the state and two counties untold thousands of dollars, she was “sick” and had to be hospitalized

A few weeks ago Snyder "appeared to be under the influence of alcohol and drugs" at the Town Center Mall, in Cobb County, Georgia at 3 p m on Thursday, Feb 7, 2008 according to an incident report from the Cobb County Department of Public Safety where she produced a weapon when an officer asked for some identification A confrontation ensued Captain Snyder was “sick” again An ambulance had to be summoned with several Chattanooga Police Staff to escort her back to Chattanooga, and, of course, once again she required hospital care before returning to duty

A recurring theme from police officers is that “I am a man” “I can’t sleep my way to the top ” Which prompted City Councilman Manny Rico to issue a counter comment to Councilman Pierce, according to Abena Williams, Reporter, WDEF-TV, Chattanooga, TN, “I’ve talked to others that aren’t (fearful of Snyder), you hear both sides, police people are very funny I’m sure there are a lot of them that didn’t get the promotion they should have got ”

The former madam perused this story over a snifter of brandy, then handing it back with a slight smile, said, “new paint, new lipstick, new gloss Nothing ever changes, baby Between her and the sheriff there are a lot of important people shaking in their boots tonight ”

Some believe it is time for a good house cleaning at the Chattanooga Police Department, and that this could be the biggest thing since Bookie Turner Another story Another time

In the mean time, the question remains whether the local press will bow in fear or deference to Chief Cooper?Publication of Burke Pendergrass, J.D., The Tennessee
Mountain Man, a Cherokee Indian and
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Author : Spa CoversManaging our available resources should be a concern of each of us Without getting on a bandwagon, it just makes sense to me to get the most out of what we have Recently, some laws have been passed in an attempt to regulate energy waste Unfortunately for the spa industry the timing could not have been worse In an market funded entirely on discretionary dollars, any perception of negative economic trends has a profound effect So when California passed laws focused specifically on spa industry, forcing it to upgrade pump motors and meet strict energy use limitations, it hit hard Sort of like using a baseball bat to turn off a light switch

Don’t get me wrong I am all for energy conservation But no one wants their industry to be the target Still I can see the point According to the study used to justify the law, the energy used just to heat the spas in California alone requires the entire output of a nuclear power plant each year Say it with me, Shocking

Leveling the scrutiny of engineers on the single largest energy consuming appliance in the home (three times more than your fridge) they singled out the pump motor The powers that be (sorry) determined that an upgrade in motor would reduce energy used starting the pump in motion I am sure that they spent the next few days patting themselves on the back

Let us think about applying the same logic to some other areas If you want to improve your cars gas mileage you could keep the windows rolled up Not what you expected, right? Still, it would make a difference Just keep the windows rolled all the way up, all the time When they designed that car body, the designers went to a lot of trouble to make it the most aerodynamically efficient shape they could The mileage estimates they posted on the window when it was new were all based on the most efficient configuration and that meant windows up Maybe we should pass a law that no new car can be sold that has windows that could be rolled down We could probably save enough gas per year that we could stop importing it from the middle east

But some people really like to drive around with one arm resting with the elbow out the open window I doubt it would go over well if we passed a law restricting window opening My point is just this, if the target is to improve mileage focusing on window use may not have the biggest effect on future product development To relate this to spas, perhaps a better direction would be to place a limit on the amount of total energy used by the spa Better yet, posted energy used per year on each model and rebates for buying the best rated units

Let the spa manufacturers develop their products in different directions Independently, one manufacturer may focus on the pump motor while another targets Spa Covers with the best insulation Still other manufacturers may convert their spa to run on alternative energy

As we all progress toward planet consciousness renewable resources and conservation I think we can learn from history Prohibition has left us a legacy of organized crime If we outlaw hot tubs, only outlaws will have hot tubs

The Author is a business owner with 20+ years experience.
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Author : David MaillieThe average price of gasoline has now reached an all time high in the United States at $3 03 per gallon Higher even than in the Hurricane Katrina aftermath The recent cease fire and UN agreement between Israel, Lebanon, and the Hizbollah and the recent downgrading of the years predicted hurricanes and gulf coast storms have reduced the risk to the oil industry There are no foreseen major disruptions or implications to the oil supply in the near future so experts are saying the price of crude oil on the world market should be seeing a large drop over the next few weeks That is not to say that George Bush will not create something again to help his Big Oil friends and campaign contributors

Over the last few months Americans have been shelling out upwards of $3 per gallon on average and equipped with a stalled and weakening economy this really hits the middle and lower class in the pocket books To weather the storm, savings have been ravaged and Americans are saving less and carrying more debt than ever 90 percent of Americans carry debt and the average credit card debt is now well over $10,000 This is in part due to George Bush and his republican view that the middle class needs to disappear

George Bush has passed laws and paved the way for Big Oil to have its biggest paydays ever Exxon Mobil and other oil and energy companies are reeling in record profits this year at the expense of the average American George Bush and the rich do not feel the squeeze as the middle class does They use their creative tax write offs, accountants and tax lawyers to whittle away their taxable income to around or below 1 percent on average for the rich and wealthy The middle class, on the other hand, pays an average 0f 30 to 35 percent of their income in taxes Is this fair, absolutely not, but since the rich are not paying their share of taxes it has to come from somewhere

Regardless, right now there are no soon foreseen oil commerce problems and so the price of oil and therefore gas at the pumps should be dropping and the American consumer should be seeing a little relief Just do not tell George Bush about this or he, Big Oil and his Saudi Friends will find a way to bring the price back up I do not see why the government cannot take over the oil industry like they did with USPS, the United States Postal Service and mail delivery USPS is one of the best run industries in the U S and it is still the cheapest method for mail delivery in the states or overseas IF USPS ran the oil industry in the U S gas would be $1 50 or so per gallon USPS does not charge what the world market price is for mail delivery and shipping it charges a fair price and does not make $12 billion in sick profits and $100 million dollar CEO compensation packages George Bush could learn a lot from USPS and needs to stop screwing with the middle class and helping out his rich friends David Maillie is Cornell Alumni and award winning writer and researcher. For more great free info, tips and ideas like this please visit the award winning and nationally top rated blog: Bestbraindrain

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Author : David MaillieIt appears that as of right now Hurricane Ernesto is going to become a hurricane on Sunday Right now, according to the National Hurricane Center and NOAA, Ernesto is a tropical storm with sustained winds of over 60 mph Tracking shows it will go through Cuba and head into the Gulf of Mexico

The Hurricane Center can only predict possible paths with any accuracy at 5 days out 3 days out will show better accuracy, but one should also keep in mind that hurricanes can be very unpredictable as recent ones that have struck Florida have actually reversed direction headed back out to sea, reorganized and strengthened, then come back again So, there are no guarantees, but it sure does look like hurricane Ernesto could take a path that would endanger New Orleans and Biloxi all over again

Both Biloxi and New Orleans have a long and hard road ahead for rebuilding after the devastating landfall of Katrina last year which went on record as the most expensive national disaster ever for the U S When hurricane Katrina made landfall it had weakened from a category 5 hurricane to a category 3 with sustained winds of 111-130 mph Even though it was only a category 3 it did more damage than any category 4 or 5 storm (sustained winds of greater than 131 mph) Katrina had more to do with the topography and economics of the affected areas

New Orleans actually lies bordered by 3 bodies of water and is mostly below sea level It is maintained by a series of levees that keep the water out These levees or dams were not made for a high level hurricane storm surge Storm surges that usually accompany hurricanes can easily range from 15 to 40 feet New Orleans did amount a mass evacuation from New Orleans when it was determined that Katrina, then a category 5, was headed right for them The problem was that many of the inhabitants were poor, sick, handicapped, and otherwise unable to leave the city and surrounding areas So, when the levees did break and the city flooded there were thousands that became stranded, drowned, etc According to recent reports on CNN by the Army corps of engineers the levees have been rebuilt but are not capable of withstanding another major hurricane

Ernesto could become that major hurricane Right now Ernesto is feeling the effects of sheering winds which usually take the force and can even dissipate a storm altogether Through these sheering winds Ernesto has not lost strength or weakened in the slightest That shows it has strength and endurance According to the National Hurricane Center Ernesto should emerge from the shearing winds tomorrow and then quickly build into a hurricane with sustained winds greater than 74 mph The track then takes it through warm and optimal conditions in the Gulf of Mexico similar to when Katrina went through last year Current weather predictions also show that the weather patterns will most likely encourage the hurricane to take a northern track to the area of Louisiana and Mississippi These same current and near future weather predictions also suggest that it is highly likely that Ernesto will become at least a category 3 or 4 hurricane before landfall in America

Yes, it looks like Ernesto may well be the next major storm headed to New Orleans I do not wish this on anyone and actually hope it fizzes out or goes back out to sea as any loss of life or severe hardship caused by a storm like Katrina is terrible I have one question, though, if we spent over $70 billion on repairing that area why could not we have either built stronger levees when we just went through a terrible tragedy for the same reason that they were too weak For more great eye opening information please visit Bestbraindrain.com. You will be glad you did. Again, its Bestbraindrain.com. Go there now and become enlightened. You will love this website.

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Author : David MaillieWhile everyone has been watching tropical storm Ernesto, a new and very powerful storm formed in the pacific ocean off the coast of Mexico This powerful storm has been given the infamous name Hurricane John This name is infamous as it has been used already to name a previous major hurricane in 1994 In 1994, Hurricane John formed over the eastern Pacific and grew into a hurricane on Aug 11, with winds reaching 170 mph making it a devastating hurricane This new hurricane John also has a lot of power with sustained winds of over 115 mph

Hurricane John shares a lot with the old 1994 hurricane John They are both major hurricanes of category 3 or higher The current Hurricane John has the strength to become a category 4 or even 5 like its predecessor And they both had potential to cause awesome damage If the current hurricane John tracks to the right as predicted, the coastal areas of Mexico like Acapulco could be devastated by mudslides, flooding and powerful and deadly flash floods It is important to note that the high winds and rain are not the worst part of the storm Resultant flooding, mud slides and flash floods have caused some of the worst tragedies on record

Hurricane John is right now situated off the cost of Mexico and is taking a north western track parallel to the coastline Tracking indicates the potential to strengthen in the next 24 hours to a category 4 or even 5 storm with sustained winds of 130-150+ Remember that even though Hurricane Katrina was a category 5 hurricane in the Gulf of Mexico at one time, it was only a category 3 when it made landfall and devastated New Orleans and Biloxi Just think of what a category 4 or even 5 hurricane could do to a more indigenous population in Mexico In the rural areas they have less transportation and means of evacuation available to them To see what could happen, one just needs to look at the impoverished nation of Haiti near Cuba They have experienced many powerful tropical storms and hurricanes over recent years and have tragically lost many lives

Hurricane John could also create storm surges like we saw in Katrina Storm surges of 10 feet or more in rural and indigenous areas can produce enormously tragic results like the Tsunami in Malaysia Many a typhoon (a hurricane to the west of Hawaii) has caused huge death tolls and massive destruction larger than most of their Atlantic Ocean cousins Due to the size and geography of the Pacific Ocean, hurricanes and typhoons grow stronger much faster and have fewer conditions that destabilize their growth like shearing winds in the east China was recently hit by typhoon Samoi which had sustained winds of 170+ mph when it hit China This was the worst storm to hit China in over 50 years

Even though the Chinese evacuated over 1 million people beforehand there was still tragic loss of life and massive destruction Hopefully for the people of Mexico the current hurricane John will track left and away from land and die out at seaFor more great eye opening information please visit Bestbraindrain.com You will be glad you did. Again, it’s Bestbraindrain.com Go there now and become enlightened. You will love this website - I guarantee it.

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Author : Jill BlackThe upside to this down market is that investors now have a plethora of investments to choose from From sea to shining sea, you see For Sale signs popping up on front lawns everywhere It is, most definitely, a buyer’s market and will be for some time to come

The very best deals are typically in the markets that are hardest hit If you want to know where to investigate for investments, you should check out the following five U S cities for the best real estate deals:

#1 - Detroit, MI - The city hardest hit by the economy, Detroit, experienced 4 8 times the national average for foreclosures last year Homes in this city start from as low as $1,400 00 No, that’s not a typo They literally start from as low as one-thousand four-hundred dollars That’s about $1 22 per square foot It would cost you more to build one of these houses So, how could you not invest in rental property in this city with prices this low? Detroit, however, is not known for its safety No, on the contrary, it’s actually the second most dangerous city in which to live in the whole U S of A Regardless, you have to admit, that is some pretty tempting pricing on that Detroit real estate Keep in mind, you don’t have to live there to invest, and there are property management companies that you can hire to manage the property for you

#2 - Stockton, CA - This city has 4 8% of its households in some form of foreclosure action Homes in Stockton start from as low as $20,000, and rent for as low as $390 per month That’s a record low for even the Stockton area Speaking of records, there a record number of homes being auctioned off in this area, too It’s unfathomable Who would not want to invest in this area? Unfortunately, this city is not known for being safe, either Stockton ranked number eight on the list of the most dangerous metropolitan areas in which to live There are some very good deals here, though, so you may want to pencil one of these auctions into your busy investing schedule

#3 - Las Vegas - No, it’s not true Au contraire, everything that happens in Vegas does not stay in Vegas where a 4 2% foreclosure rate has been noted This once very booming city that sprawled with new growth is now somewhat stigmatized Due to exceptionally rapid growth, home values became over-inflated over such a short period of time that when the real estate crash abruptly occurred there, it left many home owners holding the bag on homes that won’t be worth their purchase price for years to come In spite of this, there are still lots of good deals in this market Home prices start from as low as $126,000 Las Vegas is also ranked fourth on the list of most dangerous metropolitan cities

#4 - Riverside-San Bernardino - California has been one of the states hit hardest by the down economy in regards to real estate Average home prices still beat out the national average, but individual home prices have plummeted Homes start as low as $25,000 in these markets, record lows for both San Bernardino is the twenty-fourth most dangerous city and eighth most dangerous metropolitan city, although, Riverside did not fall within the top cities for crime

#5 - Sacramento - Ranked fifth in the list of best cities to buy real estate is Sacramento Midtown Sacramento, a k a The Grid, has hip bistros and shops that cover the twenty-four square blocks at its center Even this area of Sacramento holds exceptional real estate investment opportunities, including commercial properties Home prices start at an incredible low of $15,000 in this market This city did not fall within the top cities for crime Inside real estate operates sites that cover Dallas real estate and San Antonio real estate. They also have a site covering the El Paso real estate market.

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