Patterico's Pontifications

6/13/2006

Ripatti Donations Flowing

Filed under: General — Patterico @ 11:14 pm



So far, my post from this morning has garnered almost $700 in donations from generous readers for LAPD Officer Kristina Ripatti. Keep ’em coming!

“Outside the Tent” Not Dead After All

Filed under: Dog Trainer — Patterico @ 9:19 pm



In case you missed it, the “Outside the Tent” column at the L.A. Times is not dead after all.

It was just resting.

The latest installment registers a valid complaint: why does the paper never seem to find military acts of heroism worth reporting? It’s not like they don’t happen, after all.

Good point.

P.S. What are the chances I’ll get another crack at an “Outside the Tent” column?

Don’t answer that.

Shocker: Jason Leopold Wrong

Filed under: Politics — Patterico @ 7:33 pm



Karl Rove will not be indicted. Sorry, lefties.

I guess Jason Leopold was not only “too far out in front of the news-cycle,” but was also reporting news occurring in an alternate universe consisting of his own fantasies.

Help the Family of an LAPD Officer Paralyzed in the Line of Duty

Filed under: Crime,Real Life — Patterico @ 6:58 am



As regular readers know, I generally do not actively solicit donations or hold pledge drives. But I’d like to ask you to consider making a donation today — not to me, but to the family of an LAPD officer who has been shot and paralyzed.

A colleague in my office recently circulated a memo about LAPD Officer Kristina Ripatti, who was paralyzed recently after being shot by a convicted robber and murderer. Yesterday, I asked my colleague for permission to post excerpts from that memo on my blog, and he agreed. Here they are:

As some of you are aware, on Saturday, June 3, Officer Kristina Ripatti (wife of Southeast Gang Officer Tim Pearce) of LAPD Southwest Division was shot by a robbery suspect attempting to flee. For those that don’t know, Tim is the main officer who headed the Grape Street Injunction, he regularly testifies as a Grape Street expert here at Compton Court, and just an overall class act. Kristina was shot twice, once in the arm and once through the lung and spinal cord. Tim was one of the first responding officers and watched his wife almost die in the street. (See story on the LA Times website)

After surgery to repair her lung, it appears that she is going to survive, however, she will be paralyzed from the chest down. I spoke to Tim’s partner, Dan Pearce (no relation) yesterday, and he said that at first, Tim was just focused on Kristina surviving, however, that on Monday night it hit hard to Tim and Kristina that she would be paralyzed. Tim and Kristina are very active and have a 15 month-old daughter. . . .

. . . In talking to Dan, he mentioned basic things that were going to change that I had not thought about- how are the Pearces going to use their two-story house?, do they need to buy a different type of car?, etc. Tim will be taking time off and when he returns, he will be responsible for taking care of a 15 month-old, a disabled wife, and a full time police officer job.

. . . .

. . . I have gotten to know Tim very well and he is just a great guy all around- soft-spoken, hard working, and polite. He and his family could really use our support right now, whether that be monetary or kind words on a card.

I plan to donate something, and I thought it would be great if some of my readers were to donate as well. This way, anyone with PayPal access can make a donation with the click of a mouse. I will keep an accounting of all money I receive and let you know the totals. Also, unless you specifically request to remain anonymous and/or to keep the amount of your donation secret, I will publish that information here.

I tried setting up PayPal buttons, but for some reason they don’t work. So I’ll just give you the e-mail addresses. You can donate by sending money via PayPal to:

patterico *AT* gmail *DOT* com

If you need to pay by credit [or debit] card, send the money to:

patterico *AT* cox *DOT* net

Paying by credit [or debit] card is discouraged because PayPal takes a hefty bite, and I can pass along only the net amount after PayPal takes its (large) cut. But if the only way you can donate is to use a credit card, that is certainly better than not donating at all.

If you would prefer, you can donate directly to Kristina and Tim by sending a check to an account specifically set up for that purpose. As the L.A. Times recently reported:

[T]he Kristi Ripatti Trustee Donation Account has been established at the Los Angeles Police Federal Credit Union. Donation checks payable to Ripatti or Pearce should be sent to LAPFCU, 16150 Sherman Way, Van Nuys, CA 91410.

No pressure. But it would be a great way to support the police generally — and to recognize the tremendous sacrifice that one family has made on behalf of protecting the people of Los Angeles.

New Elizabeth Lowell Book Out Today

Filed under: Books,General — Patterico @ 6:57 am



Today marks the release of The Wrong Hostage, a new novel by best-selling author Elizabeth Lowell.

Interesting fact about Elizabeth Lowell: it is the pen name of the wife of one Evan Maxwell — a name you may recognize from his fascinating guest posts on this site. Evan collaborates with his wife on many novels, including this one. He primarily provides research and background, and — despite his evident writing ability, as evidenced by his excellent posts here — his wife shoulders the primary writing duties for the novels.

I used my influence with Evan to muscle my way into a free advance copy of The Wrong Hostage. Understand that Lowell is considered a writer of romantic fiction, and that (sometimes) comes across in the novel. But I enjoyed this book quite a bit, despite the “romantic fiction” label. The main reason is that the book offers a fascinating perspective into the life of the Mexican border. Also, the hero of the book, Joe Faroe, is a very interesting character.

I stayed up late a couple of nights running to finish the book, and that’s high praise. Check it out.

I hope Evan will add his two cents as well.

Jack Dunphy Back in LAT Pages

Filed under: Crime,Dog Trainer,General — Patterico @ 5:55 am



Don’t miss Jack Dunphy’s latest, on the obstacles LAPD officers face for doing their jobs well.


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