Dinner With the President: A Parable

I received this email this morning (author unknown). Thought provoking to say the least.

Once upon a time, I was invited to the White House for a private dinner with the President. I am a respected businessman, with a factory that produces memory chips for computers and portable electronics. There was some talk that my industry was being scrutinized by the administration, but I paid it no mind. I live in a free country. There's nothing that the government can do to me if I've broken no laws. My wealth was earned honestly, and an invitation to dinner with an American President is an honor.

I checked my coat, was greeted by the Chief of Staff, and joined the President in a yellow dining room. We sat across from each other at a table draped in white linen. The Great Seal was embossed on the china. Uniformed staff served our dinner.

The meal was served, and I was startled when my waiter suddenly reached out, plucked a dinner roll off my plate, and began nibbling it as he walked back to the kitchen.

"Sorry about that," said the President. "Andrew is very hungry."

"I don't appreciate..." I began, but as I looked into the calm brown eyes across from me, I felt immediately guilty and petty. It was just a dinner roll. "Of course," I concluded, and reached for my glass. Before I could, however, another waiter reached forward, took the glass away and swallowed the wine in a single gulp.

"And his brother Eric is very thirsty." said the President.

I didn't say anything. The President is testing my compassion, I thought. I will play along. I don't want to seem unkind.

My plate was whisked away before I had tasted a bite.

"Eric's children are also quite hungry."

With a lurch, I crashed to the floor. My chair had been pulled out from under me. I stood, brushing myself off angrily, and watched as it was carried from the room.

"And their grandmother can't stand for long.."

I excused myself, smiling outwardly, but inside feeling like a fool. Obviously I had been invited to the White House to be sport for some game. I reached for m y coat, to find that it had been taken. I turned back to the President.

"Their grandfather doesn't like the cold."

I wanted to shout- that was my coat! But again, I looked at the placid smiling face of my host and decided I was being a poor sport. I spread my hands helplessly and chuckled. Then I felt my hip pocket and realized my wallet was gone. I excused myself and walked to a phone on an elegant side table. I learned shortly that my credit cards had been maxed out, my bank accounts emptied, my retirement and equity portfolios had vanished, and my wife had been thrown out of our home. Apparently, the waiters and their families were moving in. The President hadn't moved or spoken as I learned all this, but finally I lowered the phone into its cradle and turned to face him.

"Andrew's whole family has made bad financial decisions. They haven't planned for retirement, and they need a house. They recently defaulted on a sub-prime mortgage. I told them they could have your home. They need it more than you do."

My hands were shaking. I felt faint. I stumbled back to the table and knelt on the floor. The President cheerfully cut his meat, ate his steak and drank his wine. I lowered my eyes and stared at the small grey circles on the tablecloth that were water drops.

"By the way," He added,=2 0"I have just signed an Executive Order nationalizing your factories. I'm firing you as head of your business. I'll be operating the firm now for the benefit of all mankind. There's a whole bunch of Erics and Andrews out there and they can't come to you for jobs groveling like beggars."

I looked up. The President dropped his spoon into the empty ramekin which had been his crème brulee. He drained the last drops of his wine. As the table was cleared, he lit a cigarette and leaned back in his chair. He stared at me. I clung to the edge of the table as if were a ledge and I were a man hanging over an abyss. I thought of the years behind me, of the life I had lived. The life I had earned with a lifetime of work, risk and struggle. Why was I punished? How had I allowed it to be taken? What game had I played and lost? I looked across the table and noticed with some surprise that there was no game board between us.

What had I done wrong?

As if answering the unspoken thought, the President suddenly cocked his head, locked his empty eyes to mine, and bared a million teeth, chuckling wryly as he folded his hands.

"You should have stopped me at the dinner roll," he said.

Stillbirth Gets the Silent Treatment

...and it should not.

I know I've been quiet. It's been a hectic couple of weeks.

Please read this article and forward it on to all that you know...this is a bill (gasp--proposed by then Sen. Obama--) that I actually could support!

Even Doctors Avoid Talking About Stillbirth

Still birth and SUID is traumatic and if there is ANYTHING we can do to prevent it--I'm in support. Though a lot of people don't recognize stillbirths as actual deaths--the parents of those babes do. They feel the pain and the loss of a child just the same as any other parent would.

The PROPER Role of Government

Glenn Beck read the following letter the other day on his show. It is kind of lengthy but hits the nail on its head. I think we're all kind of feeling this way these days. Spread the letter. WE THE PEOPLE will regain control. Enough IS enough.

I'm a home grown American citizen, 53, registered Democrat all my life. Before the last presidential election I registered as a Republican because I no longer felt the Democratic Party represents my views or works to pursue issues important to me. Now I no longer feel the Republican Party represents my views or works to pursue issues important to me. The fact is I no longer feel any political party or representative in Washington represents my views or works to pursue the issues important to me. There must be someone. Please tell me who you are. Please stand up and tell me that you are there and that you're willing to fight for our Constitution as it was written. Please stand up now. You might ask yourself what my views and issues are that I would horribly feel so disenfranchised by both major political parties. What kind of nut job am I? Will you please tell me?

Well, these are briefly my views and issues for which I seek representation:

One, illegal immigration. I want you to stop coddling illegal immigrants and secure our borders. Close the underground tunnels. Stop the violence and the trafficking in drugs and people. No amnesty, not again. Been there, done that, no resolution. P.S., I'm not a racist. This isn't to be confused with legal immigration.

Two, the TARP bill, I want it repealed and I want no further funding supplied to it. We told you no, but you did it anyway. I want the remaining unfunded 95% repealed. Freeze, repeal.

Three, Czars, I want the circumvention of our checks and balances stopped immediately. Fire the czars. No more czars. Government officials answer to the process, not to the president. Stop trampling on our Constitution and honor it.

Four, cap and trade. The debate on global warming is not over. There is more to say.

Five, universal healthcare. I will not be rushed into another expensive decision. Don't you dare try to pass this in the middle of the night and then go on break. Slow down!

Six, growing government control. I want states rights and sovereignty fully restored. I want less government in my life, not more. Shrink it down. Mind your own business. You have enough to take care of with your real obligations. Why don't you start there.

Seven, ACORN. I do not want ACORN and its affiliates in charge of our 2010 census. I want them investigated. I also do not want mandatory escrow fees contributed to them every time on every real estate deal that closes. Stop the funding to ACORN and its affiliates pending impartial audits and investigations. I do not trust them with taking the census over with our taxpayer money. I don't trust them with our taxpayer money. Face up to the allegations against them and get it resolved before taxpayers get any more involved with them. If it walks like a duck and talks like a duck, hello. Stop protecting your political buddies. You work for us, the people. Investigate.

Eight, redistribution of wealth. No, no, no. I work for my money. It is mine. I have always worked for people with more money than I have because they gave me jobs. That is the only redistribution of wealth that I will support. I never got a job from a poor person. Why do you want me to hate my employers? Why ‑‑ what do you have against shareholders making a profit?

Nine, charitable contributions. Although I never got a job from a poor person, I have helped many in need. Charity belongs in our local communities, where we know our needs best and can use our local talent and our local resources. Butt out, please. We want to do it ourselves.

Ten, corporate bailouts. Knock it off. Sink or swim like the rest of us. If there are hard times ahead, we'll be better off just getting into it and letting the strong survive. Quick and painful. Have you ever ripped off a Band‑Aid? We will pull together. Great things happen in America under great hardship. Give us the chance to innovate. We cannot disappoint you more than you have disappointed us.

Eleven, transparency and accountability. How about it? No, really, how about it? Let's have it. Let's say we give the buzzwords a rest and have some straight honest talk. Please try ‑‑ please stop manipulating and trying to appease me with clever wording. I am not the idiot you obviously take me for. Stop sneaking around and meeting in back rooms making deals with your friends. It will only be a prelude to your criminal investigation. Stop hiding things from me.

Twelve, unprecedented quick spending. Stop it now.

Take a breath. Listen to the people. Let's just slow down and get some input from some nonpoliticians on the subject. Stop making everything an emergency. Stop speed reading our bills into law. I am not an activist. I am not a community organizer. Nor am I a terrorist, a militant or a violent person. I am a parent and a grandparent. I work. I'm busy. I'm busy. I am busy, and I am tired. I thought we elected competent people to take care of the business of government so that we could work, raise our families, pay our bills, have a little recreation, complain about taxes, endure our hardships, pursue our personal goals, cut our lawn, wash our cars on the weekends and be responsible contributing members of society and teach our children to be the same all while living in the home of the free and land of the brave.

I entrusted you with upholding the Constitution. I believed in the checks and balances to keep from getting far off course. What happened? You are very far off course. Do you really think I find humor in the hiring of a speed reader to unintelligently ramble all through a bill that you signed into law without knowing what it contained? I do not. It is a mockery of the responsibility I have entrusted to you. It is a slap in the face. I am not laughing at your arrogance. Why is it that I feel as if you would not trust me to make a single decision about my own life and how I would live it but you should expect that I should trust you with the debt that you have laid on all of us and our children. We did not want the TARP bill. We said no. We would repeal it if we could. I am sure that we still cannot. There is such urgency and recklessness in all of the recent spending.

From my perspective, it seems that all of you have gone insane. I also know that I am far from alone in these feelings. Do you honestly feel that your current pursuits have merit to patriotic Americans? We want it to stop. We want to put the brakes on everything that is being rushed by us and forced upon us. We want our voice back. You have forced us to put our lives on hold to straighten out the mess that you are making. We will have to give up our vacations, our time spent with our children, any relaxation time we may have had and money we cannot afford to spend on you to bring our concerns to Washington. Our president often knows all the right buzzword is unsustainable. Well, no kidding. How many tens of thousands of dollars did the focus group cost to come up with that word? We don't want your overpriced words. Stop treating us like we're morons.

We want all of you to stop focusing on your reelection and do the job we want done, not the job you want done or the job your party wants done. You work for us and at this rate I guarantee you not for long because we are coming. We will be heard and we will be represented. You think we're so busy with our lives that we will never come for you? We are the formerly silent majority, all of us who quietly work , pay taxes, obey the law, vote, save money, keep our noses to the grindstone and we are now looking up at you. You have awakened us, the patriotic spirit so strong and so powerful that it had been sleeping too long. You have pushed us too far. Our numbers are great. They may surprise you. For every one of us who will be there, there will be hundreds more that could not come. Unlike you, we have their trust. We will represent them honestly, rest assured. They will be at the polls on voting day to usher you out of office. We have cancelled vacations. We will use our last few dollars saved. We will find the representation among us and a grassroots campaign will flourish. We didn't ask for this fight. But the gloves are coming off. We do not come in violence, but we are angry. You will represent us or you will be replaced with someone who will. There are candidates among us when he will rise like a Phoenix from the ashes that you have made of our constitution.

Democrat, Republican, independent, libertarian. Understand this. We don't care. Political parties are meaningless to us. Patriotic Americans are willing to do right by us and our Constitution and that is all that matters to us now. We are going to fire all of you who abuse power and seek more. It is not your power. It is ours and we want it back. We entrusted you with it and you abused it. You are dishonorable. You are dishonest. As Americans we are ashamed of you. You have brought shame to us. If you are not representing the wants and needs of your constituency loudly and consistently, in spite of the objections of your party, you will be fired. Did you hear? We no longer care about your political parties. You need to be loyal to us, not to them. Because we will get you fired and they will not save you. If you do or can represent me, my issues, my views, please stand up. Make your identity known. You need to make some noise about it. Speak up. I need to know who you are. If you do not speak up, you will be herded out with the rest of the sheep and we will replace the whole damn congress if need be one by one. We are coming. Are we coming for you? Who do you represent? What do you represent? Listen. Because we are coming. We the people are coming.

Introduction to the Laws of Economics

To every action there is always opposed an equal reaction; or, the mutual actions of two bodies upon each other are always equal, and directed to contrary parts.- Newton's Third Law of Motion, translated from the Principia's Latin

In the politico-economic context, there is similar law at work: For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction.

The trick – and the true art of economics or politics – is the ability to predict what reaction (or collateral damage) your action will cause. So, for example, if the government decides to borrow money to pay for its programs, it causes predictable effects on the general economy. First, the credit supply (and money supply) is reduced, as the available credit is taken up by the government, and less is therefore available to businesses and consumers. Second, because supply is affected, price is affected as well, so interest rates begin to rise. Third, to pay down that debt and the interest, the government (which produces nothing and has no ability to generate income) increases taxes to generate revenues. This in turn has the effect of further reducing the money available for investment by businesses and consumers.

All of this, of course, is quite simplistic, and many econometricians would express disdain and call it so, preferring to create complex formulae to describe and then predict these causes and effects. But it is important to remember that as Einstein once said, “the whole of science is nothing more than a refinement of everyday thinking.”

A politician, then, might retain an economist to assist in predicting the effects of a particular piece of legislation. If I raise the standards for fuel economy and emissions, what may I predict will be the result on the car industry? The economist would advise that this will require research and development, retooling, and a large expenditure of capital, and this will in turn increase the price of automobiles. He will also point out that this capital will likely be borrowed, which will have effects on money and credit supply, and the interest on that capital will also ultimately increase the cost of the car. The consumer, if he has no alternatives, will either choose not to buy, or will, if he buys, have less money available for other purchases, or for investment. If the particular automaker is already at or near the edge of being able to compete, because he has managed badly or has irresponsibly agreed to non-competitive wage and benefits levels for his workforce, then the economist would predict that this automaker will probably not recover his investment, will suffer from a non-attractive price and a corresponding lack of sales, and these factors will in turn create difficulty in repaying the capital borrowed. If, at some point, the automaker defaults or is slow in paying, there are other negative effects, all combining to make it all the more difficult for the automaker to compete efficiently. It the politician decides to insist that wages and benefits be protected at these non-competitive levels, he must know, and take into account, that this action will predictably and adversely affect the automaker’s ability to compete. If the politician also passes a law requiring the automaker not to sell at a loss, then the automaker will lose even more sales, and will lose cash flow which might have allowed the debt to be serviced in the short term, until efficiencies could be implemented to achieve a better cost structure. If he passes a law making it easy for unions to organize and grow, he has to understand that historically, increases in union membership (facilitated by their government-sponsored monopoly power) have caused a corresponding decrease in the number of jobs in the economy, by a startling 2:1 ratio. If he taxes the small business to the point of cutting its available capital, that money won’t be invested, those jobs won’t be created, that new equipment won’t be purchased, hence it won’t be produced, with corresponding effects on production inventories and, ultimately, jobs. The law always works – the art is accurately predicting what the effects will be, and balancing effects, aiming for those that are more tolerable.

Some collateral effects are more predictable than others. Whether one is a “supply-side” economist or not, it is generally predictable that tax increases have the potential to have negative effects on revenues, because the taxed parties take steps to avoid the taxes. Further, during economic contraction, there is both less profit to tax, and fewer people who are earning taxable incomes. So it was at least possible (some would say predictable) that federal tax revenue plunged, as it measurably did, in April 09 versus a year ago – by $138 billion, or 34%, according to a study by the American Institute for Economic Research. This is the biggest drop since 1981. When the economy is in recession, tax revenues go down. Six million people have lost jobs in the year ending in April, so income tax revenues are predictably down even more than the overall revenues above – by 44%. Hotair.com lists the annual US deficits dating from 2000 (which, along with 2001, reported surpluses), and only one since then (2008) is greater than 400 billion. Yet, the Obama government by its own estimates offers deficits of $1.75 trillion in 09, over $800 billion in ’10 and ’11, and additional $500 billion-plus deficits in each of the remaining years to 2019. And these estimates are based on questionable assumptions about growth, expecting a -1.2%, when the first quarter shows an annualized growth for ’09 of -6%! It is highly unlikely, with these revenues and the unemployment numbers, that we can expect a turnaround in 2009 that will produce the assumed growth levels. Using proper growth projections, the deficits in each year are 10% higher or more, and all those from 2014 and beyond are greater than 800 billion per year. Further, the $138 billion revenue shortfall has to be added directly to the bottom line deficit, meaning even with an economic turnaround of fantastic proportions, the deficit in ’09 will be at least $1.85 trillion.

These deficits have already hurt our ability to sell bonds, and if the recent credit downgrades of Japan and the UK are any indicator, we are facing downgrades within 5-8 years, meaning the cost of the debt will go up dramatically. Again, this is collateral damage, resulting from government monetary and fiscal policy and irresponsible legislative ambitions. Worse, it was all probable, if not predictable, yet the three key advisors for this administration – Summers, Bernanke and Geithner – all appear to believe they are smarter than the markets and can manipulate policy as necessary to correct or offset these known effects. So far it hasn’t worked. Despite spending $700 billion in TARP funds, the Treasury was showing no progress in loosening up credit markets. Most forms of credit were still unavailable, and the economy was reacting negatively world wide. So in March, rather than reassess the advisability of attempting a command economy following Keynesian principles, the Fed took another step to jump-start credit, by dropping short term rates to zero, committing to buy $300 billion in long term treasuries and $100 billion in GSE securities, and promising to buy another $750 billion of mortgage-backed securities of at least dubious value. Acting this aggressively and swiftly was an unprecedented play which meant that results were less predictable, but as our “Newton’s Third Law” makes clear, there were effects. He hoped credit would loosen as he made purchases monetizing treasuries that now total over $130 billion, for the first time in half a century. Instead, T-bond prices have continued to plunge, while interest rates are sharply higher. Treasury yields (10-year) are now climbing above 3.7%, the highest since November. That rate hurts other areas, because it helps determine mortgage lending rates. Desperate to reflate the housing market, the Fed, plunging ever farther into efforts to shore up mortgages, is now facing the wrath of bond investors. Despite half-a-trillion in mortgage security purchases, mortgages bonds have followed the same path as treasuries, with prices up and mortgage rates down.

In fact, debt buyers and bond investors are expressing concerns – the Chinese Premier in March said he was concerned about the safety of assets in US instruments. No wonder. Over $1.5 trillion of China’s $1.95 trillion in foreign currency reserves is held in US debt instruments. According to the Council on Foreign Relations, China holds $768 billion in US treasuries, $489 billion in GSE-agency bonds, $121 billion in US corporate bonds, and $41 billion in deposits. The head of China’s central bank has publicly advocated replacing the US dollar as the world’s reserve currency with the IMF’s Special Drawing Rights, beginning to shy further away from US debt. Yet, if China doesn’t buy our debt, then we must monetize it, meaning we buy it from ourselves by printing money, which results in inflation, in turn lowering the value of Chinese holdings. And if it buys the debt, it faces increasing risk, as noted above, of losses from a downgrade or default. With no apparent consideration of the collateral effects on the value of the dollar, Obama committed, apparently on the advice of Geithner, to a $100+ billion line of credit expansion at IMF (which supports, and in fact accelerates, moving to the SDR as a world currency reserve, rather than the dollar). Yet, in order to finance the deficit expected this year by the Obama administration, Treasury will have to issue at least $1.84 trillion in new debt, which doesn’t count the additional amount required if the economy rebounds slower than hoped, or worsens. And that doesn’t consider the costs of defaults in the trillions on credit that the government guarantees, or the new money to GM, or the money being requested by state and local governments. Printing money and inflating our currency won’t fix the problem either, because we still have over $14.5 trillion in outstanding Treasury, GSE and mortgage securities issued world-wide. Trying to deal with this new debt merely aggravates the problems with our existing debt. If five or ten percent of those trillions in instruments are put up for discounted sale by nervous investors, the sales that triggers would overwhelm the Fed’s proposed and continuing purchases. The US just doesn’t have enough money to “save” us. Yet, are such sales of treasuries possible? The reason these investors are nervous is fear of inflation and downgrading of credit – and our main debt-holders are already making public statements about this concern. So what do you think?

History instructs, without question, that following this economic path ultimately leads to stagnant markets, costly credit, and more failure. The USSR, with arguably the richest aggregation of natural resources in the world, did not fail because it lacked resources. It failed because it pursued a command economy, which blunted innovation, increased costs, and made markets wholly unresponsive to demand. Europe has stagnated in the last two decades not because its citizens are lazy or stupid, but because its social democratic policies squelched ambition, entrepreneurship, and productivity, while government competition for credit increased its cost, and government tax levels made the commodities necessary for growth far more expensive. These mistakes are invariably made by earnest folk who believe they have figured out the system, and are smarter than their forebears. We can only hope that Obama and his economic triumvirate are smarter than the markets, and can overcome all these pesky economic laws.

P.S. One (uncharacteristically) humble caveat: Despite my disdain for the excessively complex analyses of too many econometricians that lead them to miss the forest for the trees, the economy really IS complex, especially when it comes to timing. So while I have a high degree of confidence in the “laws” of econo-physics, I have much less confidence about the timetable when the predictable consequences of economic actions will come about. So if it takes the Obama Administration 12 years to wreck the dollar and the economy, I will admit error on the timetable but I’ll still say “I told you so.”

September 2001 vs. Today

Written September 11, 2008: From all the horror our country experienced on September 11, 2001, we did gain one positive: Our Nation gained pride. Pride some of us had never witnessed.

On September 10th, 2001, neighborhoods throughout the nation sported football team flags and yard decorations. By nightfall on September 11th, these neighborhoods had transformed into Old Glory sporting, candle burning memorials.

Throughout the nation, men and women said, "what can we do?"

Throughout the nation, Americans forgot about the small things, whether their neighbor was Republican or Democrat, who was black or white.

Those trivial things were gone...and for the first time in many's memory, we were all simply American.

Fast forward....seven years later. Where are we?

People yelling and screaming that we're war mongers and oil fanatics.

People yelling and screaming that we ignore international affairs too much.

People yelling and screaming that we're too harsh on illegal immigrants.

People FORGETTING what it felt like seven years ago today.

People already forgetting what it felt like to be an American.

People forgetting when men and women walked out of their desk jobs and joined the military.

Where each and everyone of us stared at the tv in shock.

We have forgotten as a nation what that day felt like. Now we're more concerned with the little things (just as we were before).

Half of this nation now wants to elect a man into office that has only held a Senate position for 140 days--and has NEVER considered leaving his desk job to join the military. Half of this nation wants to elect a man into office that doesn't place his hand over his heart when reciting the Pledge. Half of this nations wants to elect a man into office who's wife stated PUBLICLY that she was not proud to be an American. What have we come to? How can this even be acceptable?

I'll never forget. I'll never falter in my pride.

And now--we have elected this man into office. This man who parades throughout the world apologizing (no reference, just goodsearch or bing it) for what America has done. Condemning this beautiful nation for it's "horrible" actions.

A week ago Monday, America experienced its first terrorist attack on soil since that tragic day in September 2001. Just as Juval Aviv has predicted--it's the first, but certainly not the last.

Shooting of Soldiers 'Warranted' By U.S. Military Treatment of Muslims

Shooter speaks to AP even after a gag order is issued...for his OWN PROTECTION.

The Associated Press reported that the man accused in his attack had said in a phone interview from the Pulaski County jail that firing the shots that wounded Ezeagwula and killed Pvt. William Long could not be considered murder because the act was warranted by the U.S. military’s treatment of Muslims.

Abdul-Hakim Mujahid Muhammad, 23, was born into a nominally Baptist family as Carlos Leon Bledsoe in Tennessee. But in Tuesday’s interview, Muhammad, who converted to Islam in college,said he attacked the soldiers “for the sake of God, for the sake of Allah, the Lord of all the world, and also a retaliation on U.S. military,” the AP reported...

Attorney Jim Hensley said he was with Muhammad almost all day. “He didn’t give the AP anything,” Hensley said, adding, “If my client has spoken with anyone, it’s without my knowledge.”

Later in the day, however, Hensley softened his stance, saying he did not think Muhammad spoke with a reporter but could not be sure.

“I don’t know what happened,” Hensley said.

In later updates, the AP reported that Hensley asked the news organization in an e-mail not to publish his client’s comments.

Jail records show that Hensley signed in to meet Muhammad at 11:41 a.m. Muhammad is in protective custody in an administrative segregation unit in an upstairs cell. He gets one hour a day out of his cell for exercise, though he can also be out to meet with his attorney.

Trying to go for an insanity plea? I'm sure our DHS will get him off of these charges somehow. We wouldn't want to offend any jihadists, now would we?

On a more positive note:

Ezeagwula said he volunteered for the recruiting program for his friends to see that there was more than one path in life.

“I wanted to show some of my peers that there’s more things out in the United States other than Arkansas,” he said.

He said he still plans to head to Schofield Barracks in Hawaii when he heals - his destination before the shooting - to become a “21 Echo,” a heavy construction equipment operator.

Sonja Ezeagwula called her son a hero.

“He was a hero before he got shot,” she said. “He was our family hero.”

An 18 year old shot and wounded, yet still willing to go back to the job that landed him the injuries. I'd say I have to agree with Sonja Ezeagwula. That *boy* is a hero.

Sad World We Live In

A true American hero. "Honored" after his death. People that do things such as below should have a one way ticket straight to hell--or an eternity of purgatory none the less.

Home of iconic New Orleans police officer burglarized after his death by Brendan McCarthy, The Times-Picayune Monday June 08, 2009, 4:58 PM

New Orleans Police Sgt. Manuel Curry's death last week of heart failure brought a wave of despair and an outpouring of support from the ranks of the city police department and the neighborhoods where Curry worked and lived.

Sgt. Manuel Curry, popular figure in Central City and Irish Channel neighborhoods and one of America's longest-serving police officers, in 2004 photograph as he was about to leave for D-Day ceremony in France. Curry participated in the famous World War II invasion. It also apparently prompted three people to pounce on a criminal opportunity.

Within hours his death Thursday morning, police say two local men and a young woman broke into Curry's home in the Irish Channel.

They rifled through his belongings, stole several guns, took money and jewelry and pills, according to a police report and his wife. Then they split.

Curry's wife of 51 years, Genevieve "Jackie" Curry, said she received news of the burglary while at a funeral home discussing arrangements for her husband's burial.

Her response: "Oh my goodness. Who would do this?"

Curry, believed to be the country's longest-serving, active-duty police officer still working full time, had never been a victim of crime before, his wife said.

In his 62-year New Orleans Police Department career, Curry had wrestled bank robbers, responded to shootings, nabbed pick-pockets and all types of sordid characters in the 6th District, a tough triangular swath that encompasses Central City, the Irish Channel and the Lower Garden District.

He was the epitome of a community policeman, spending his whole career, save for a few months, in the same district.

Yet in death he became another crime victim.

"He would have been shocked to see this," his wife said Monday. "The place looked like a hurricane came through."

Curry's colleagues from the 6th District hit the streets alongside officers from other specialized units. They worked well into the night.

Eventually, they found a witness who provided names and details of the break-in.

Robin West, 24, allegedly had served as the lookout, pacing the 2800 block of St. Thomas Street while two men pilfered the home, according to an arrest report filed in court.

Meanwhile, Eddie "E-Fat" Scott, and Kevin "K" Carr, 19, ransacked the home, the report states. Eventually the pair allegedly came out carrying Curry's belongings.

West was picked up by police at 11 p.m. Friday in the 2700 block of Fourth Street, according to court records. Carr was arrested around that time near the intersection of Aline and Annunciation streets. Both were booked with burglary.

An NOPD spokesman said Monday afternoon that Scott was still at large and that a warrant had been issued for his arrest.

Still reeling from her husband's death, Jackie Curry said the men and women of the NOPD have given her tremendous comfort.

"Let me tell you, the police worked overtime and were great," she said. "I am so thankful for them."

The burglary took place at the same shotgun house in which Curry had lived nearly his whole life. His family moved there when he was 15 years-old, his wife said. He never left.

He stayed at the house during the workweek and retired to a country home in Lacombe with his wife on the weekends.