Bruiser

I wonder where this guy was during the gun hunt?

 

Or if one of the neighbors has him at the taxidermy?

 

 

Or maybe he lives?

 

BTW - the stand shown in this photo is the one I hunted from. 

 

 

Probably a good reason to get out and sit with a bow.

 

Southern Door County grows some dandy bucks….

Highway Patrol

The police car in the image is a

1961 Plymouth Savoy used by the Chicago Police Department.   Additional trimlines that year included the Belvedere and Fury.

While we don't know what's lurking under the hood Plymouth models were available with a 225 Slant-Six and V8 options like the 318, 361, or 383 cubic inch engines.  These cars typically came with a 3-speed manual or a 3-speed TorqueFlite automatic transmission, often with push-button controls for the automatic in Plymouths of that era.

Police versions featured a reinforced suspension, heavy-duty brakes (drum brakes were standard), and upgraded cooling systems to handle the demands of patrol work.  Police cruisers had basic interiors with vinyl upholstery and rubber floor mats for easy cleaning.  

This vehicle sports a single dome light and possibly an under-hood siren, like the Federal P-280 pulsator siren used by the Chicago Police Department around that time.

Fun Fact:  Car 54, Where Are You?, the classic American sitcom that aired from 1961 to 1963, featuring the misadventures of two mismatched New York City police officers, Gunther Toody and Francis Muldoon. 

The iconic patrol car in the show, Car 54, was primarily a 1961 Plymouth Fury 4-door sedan, though other Plymouth models like the Belvedere and even a 1962 or 1963 Plymouth Savoy were also used during the series' run.

 

One of my all-time favorite childhood shows..... 

 

Interdiction - Part 2

Recently a very reasonable question came-up in a discussion within a private Face Book group.

Does the Coast Guard have the authority to fire on a vessel suspected of running drugs or engaged in some other suspected illegal activity?

The short answer is yes.  Unremarkably, the rules of engagement are similar to those of any law enforcement organization.

The US Coast Guard may fire disabling shots at a suspected drug smuggling vessel as long as specific legal rules and operational conditions are met. 

Under the Coast Guard Use of Force Policy found in the Coast Guard Maritime Law Enforcement Manual (MLEM) paraphrased as follows:

1.  Legal authority (jurisdiction).  This requires probable cause or reasonable suspicion of drug smuggling.  Including, does the USCG have the legal authority to stop the vessel - is it in US waters, is it a US vessel, or has a foreign nation given permission?

2.  Issuance of warnings. This requires the use of visual and verbal signals.  The use of lights, sirens, radio calls, and hand signals. And frequently warning shots first; typically with an M240 or .50-caliber across the bow.

3. When the suspect vessel refuses to stop.  If the crew ignores repeated commands to stop - called a “non-compliant vessel” - disabling fire is permitted as the next step before any higher level of force.

4.  Only to disable the vessel, not harm the crew.  These are called “Disabling Fire” or “Engine Disabling Rounds.”  Shots are directed at the engines, not people.  Only trained Precision Marksmen/Surface (PMS) or helicopter gunners can do this.  These shots must be reasonably expected to stop the vessel safely.

5.  When the Coast Guard cannot fire.  They may not fire simply because the boat is suspected of drug running.  If it would create an unreasonable risk to innocent people.  Without proper maritime law enforcement authority.  Without exhausting lesser means (warnings, maneuvering, etc.)

6.  Helicopter Armed Interdiction.  The MH-65 “Hitron” helicopters are utilized for this.  Using a self-stabilizing weapon they fire warning shots.  Then fire precision .50-caliber disabling rounds into outboard motors.  This is a standard technique against go-fast boats.

7.  Deadly force.  Deadly force (shooting at people) is allowed only when the suspected crew poses an imminent threat of death or serious bodily harm.  It is unlawful if solely because of drug smuggling or fleeing.

Through Operation Pacific Viper, the Coast Guard has accelerated operations against cartels across the Eastern Pacific.   

During this surge, the crew of USCG Cutter Munro only last week delivered a massive win: 20,000+ pounds of cocaine seized in a single interdiction, the largest Coast Guard drug bust at sea in more than 18 years. 

USCG crews are bringing every capability to the fight, protecting the Homeland, and combating the flow of deadly drugs long before they can impact American communities.

Quote Of The Day

This relief will provide much-needed certainty to farmers as they get this year’s harvest to market and look ahead to next year’s crops.  We’re going to make them so strong it will indeed be a golden age for farmers.

-President Donald Trump 

 

*Speaking about the latest farm bailout resulting from White House tariff policy 

More Agricultural Surrealism

President Trump announced yesterday a $12 billion bailout for struggling farmers as he looks to shore up the finances of some of his most loyal supporters whose financial fortunes have been hurt by his trade war.

During his first term, Mr. Trump directed more than $20 billion in economic support to farmers after China boycotted U.S. products in response to Mr. Trump’s tariffs.  Everything Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins is enumerating are higher in price today largely as a consequence of import taxes.  You know - tariffs. 

 

This bailout is not a rescue. It is the predictable outcome of a policy cycle that begins with tariffs, produces retaliation, and ends with federal money used to shield a loyal constituency from damage the administration created.  This is absolutely exhausting. 

 

Tariffs were sold as strength. They functioned as economic self-harm. China responded exactly as every trade economist predicted, and farmers absorbed the shock. Now public money is used to steady a group valued for its political loyalty while other sectors harmed by the same policies are left to navigate the fallout alone. 

 

This selective insulation needs to be called-out. When government protects one constituency from the costs of its own decisions while allowing others to bear the full impact, accountability collapses. Policy becomes performance. Consequences become optional for some and unavoidable for others. Neither an economy or a democracy can function for long on that kind of asymmetry.

Create a problem, then drop $12 billion on the people who voted for this problem. Then blame Biden.

After all the wailing and gnashing of teeth over NYC Mayor-Elect Zorhan Mamdani; Trump and MAGA are going full on socialist. 

Surreal.

 

Of course, we've been to this rodeo before.... 

 

 

Deer Camp

Including myself we hosted six hunters here for the gun deer opener and successfully added eight whitetails (four of each sex) to the camp meat poles.  For various reasons the number of  hunters has skinnied-down recently yet the kill count stays about the same.

 

Anyway, the trail cameras continued through the entirety of the ruckus and I thought it would be fun to share some photos of their comings and goings.

 

 

Including these of one of the guys heading out to his stand before sunrise who was tailed by a fox.

 

This weekend we're hosting my business partner, some of her family and anyone else that wants to join the fun for the December antlerless hunt.

  

Interdiction - Part 1

photo USCG

As long as we're on the subject of drug interdiction I did some fact checking. 

Under the Department of Homeland Security, the US Coast Guard is the primary agency for US maritime law enforcement. They are our country's law enforcement on the high seas.  This includes drug interdiction, migrant interdiction, fisheries enforcement and more.  Like the US Navy, that agency has sophisticated intel and technology to identify and halt drug runners. 

The US Navy, under the Department of Defense, focuses on warfare, defense and maintaining freedom of the seas with its role shifting to law enforcement only during wartime or specific security crises - adhering to military rather than civilian law. 

Typically, armed USCG teams will halt a boat that there is probable cause to suspect is carrying illegal drugs. They will sequester its crew while a search is done.

If no contraband is found, the Coast Guard vacates the boat and sends the captain and crew on their merry way.

If drugs are found, the crew is arrested and the boat taken in tow by the Coast Guard. The suspects are turned over to federal authorities where they will be arraigned, assigned attorneys, and tried on drug charges. That is called due process and is no different than how any law enforcement agency or department deals with the sale or distribution of illegal drugs in our communities.

Capital punishment is not an option because under our federal law, drug delivery – even massive amounts – is punishable by prison terms, not death. At no time does the Coast Guard act as judge, jury, and executioner.

And they are very good at what they do.  In November the US Coast Guard announced it seized nearly 510,000 pounds of cocaine in the Eastern Pacific Ocean and Caribbean during fiscal year 2025 (FY25), the largest amount in the Service's history. On average, the Coast Guard seizes 167,000 pounds of cocaine annually.