A few weeks back I attended a trade show in Atlantic City, New Jersey. It was a short drive from where I grew up; a suburb of Philadelphia called Springfield Township. There really isn’t much there for me now a days but I felt compelled to visit the “old stompin’ grounds” anyway and besides, a couple of the guys with me had never seen Independence Hall, the Liberty Bell, Ben Franklin’s house or where Betsy Ross handcrafted our first flag.

If you ever talk to a displaced Philadelphian, ask him if he misses anything
from the old neighborhood. I’d bet you wouldn’t hear the weather, the bugs, the smells or the traffic. The one thing you will hear is the food — specifically steak sandwiches.

To the Philly steak sandwich "fan", the corner of 9th and Passyunk Avenue in South Philadelphia, the home of Geno’s Steaks, is Mecca, Wrigley Field, the Empire State Building and Saint Peter’s Basilica all rolled into one. Joe Vento started Geno’s in 1966 and built the business into the icon of thinly sliced rib eye and cheese whiz it is today.

Ask any Philly cop about Geno’s and especially Joe and they’ll tell you, there’s no other like him. He’s as procop as you can get. No, it’s not a free sandwich or a free Coke on a hot day; it’s a commitment to the cop community in general. If there’s a fundraiser for a hurt cop, Joe’s first in line helping out.

Geno’s is the unofficial home of the Justice for Daniel Faulkner folks. Joe has supported the group for years. Mumia Abu- Jamal murdered Philadelphia Police Officer Daniel Faulkner, badge #4699, December 9, 1981 near the corner of 13th and Locust. Abu-Jamal was convicted and sentenced to death July 3, 1982. The case has been tied up in court with appeal after appeal since.

Susan Sarandon, Paul Newman, Ossie Davis, Ed Asner, Tim Robbins, Alec Baldwin, Whoopi Goldberg and Oliver Stone, the usual anti-death penalty Hollywood crowd, have raised funds and generally lent aid, comfort and support to the murderer for years.

France’s Jacques Chirac demands his release so you know the reprobate should be executed — Abu-Jamal not Chirac, unless of course the death penalty applies for taking bribes in the oil-for-food scandal.

So, if you’re ever in Philly, stop by Geno’s Steaks, bring a department patch for his collection and enjoy what, in my opinion, is the best steak sandwich on the planet. He supports us so we should support him. And by the way, be prepared to order in English. A sign in the window reads, “This is America — When ordering, speak English.”

The monumental level of sheer unadulterated ignorance exhibited by academics and journalists never ceases to amaze me. Even though they have never done the job of a law enforcement officer they believe they can make broad sweeping comments on how it’s performed or should be performed based solely on research. So it is with Radley Balko of the Cato Institute, a
Libertarian “think tank” based in Washington D.C. and started in San Francisco. On his blog, Balko describes himself as a 31-year-old “Classical Liberal” or Libertarian. Further he states he likes to write, is a music buff, sports nut and political junkie. I’d bet he also enjoys long walks on the beach and puppies too. But one thing’s evident; he doesn’t like cops, especially SWAT cops.

Balko states the last 25 years have seen an increase of 1,300 percent in the number of “paramilitary” raids on American homes. He states, “These raids, 40,000 per year by one estimate, are needlessly subjecting nonviolent drug offenders, bystanders and wrongly targeted civilians to the terror of having their homes invaded while they’re sleeping.”

First off, damn near everything has gone up 1,300 percent in the last 25 years now including my blood pressure. Secondly, how do we know the subjects of the raids are nonviolent? Guess what Radley, sometimes bad guys can fool ya. Balko’s reasoning reminds me of a city council member who suggested we only dispatch reserve fire engines to the false alarms.

Balko points to 150 examples of documented “botched” raids. Using his figure of 40,000 per year and then cutting that number in half, as it has no basis in reality, it comes out to half a million raids in the past 25 years. The “botched raid” percentage is .03 percent — not bad for government work. Those involving death was estimated at 36 or .0072 percent. That’s not to diminish the fact any innocent life lost is truly a tragedy.

Suiting up and going through the door is one of the most dangerous jobs cops do. It takes a special mindset and a special person to do it. One thing we don’t need is a toro caca spewing “pundit” who couldn’t qualify to carry a SWAT cop’s jockstrap sniveling over the tactics and equipment necessary to bring the officers home at the end of their shift.