And the conflict rages on...

[Inspector Fowler]

...spilling into my town.

And my campus (http://www.coloradoan.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20081023/NEWS03/81023024&referrer=FRONTPAGECAROUSEL).

We get a visit from Mr. Obama on Sunday.

We've been swarmed with Secret Service today. I thought we had to keep it secret until I saw that the local newspaper was carrying the story. I'm sure the SService will get to do all the cool stuff - I'll probably be directing traffic or crowd control all day or something, but hey - it's OT and it's definitely something different.

[ShivaX]

Bust a hippie's head open for me.

Not one of those moderate left leaning guys, one of those crazy "Bush is Hitler" guys. Theres bound to be a few and they'll probably have illegal drugs of some sort on em.

[Johan]

Bust a hippie's head open for me.

You're a zombie, aren't you?! Yes...just admit it. You are.

Mmmmmmm, brains. Delectable brains. Brains that have been on hippie drugs. Mmmmmmm. :)

[Inspector Fowler]

There will be no hippie head busting. I'm sure I'll have my fat ass at some intersection all day, waving cars back and explaining to people why they have to take a detour.

It's cool. My politics don't really lean towards either candidate, but this will be something different on campus, and I'm sure we'll get some good stories to tell to each other later :)

[Zrikz]

Obama's wife came to my campus a while back and talked on the quad... we had around 5-7 visible snipers sitting on top of the buildings surrounding the quad, it was interesting.

[Generation ABXY]

Obama's wife came to my campus a while back and talked on the quad... we had around 5-7 visible snipers sitting on top of the buildings surrounding the quad, it was interesting.

As she's still around, can I take it they weren't very good?

And, no, I don't have anything against her, but Zrikz left that wide open. :D

[Schnoogs]

Obama's wife came to my campus a while back and talked on the quad... we had around 5-7 visible snipers sitting on top of the buildings surrounding the quad, it was interesting.

But aren't campuses gun free zones???? How could she possibly get hurt???? :p

[Bad Buddha]

I came into this thread to extol the virtues of Waffles!

Sorry... carry on.

[fitbabits]

Inspector, will you be in attendance? I will be there.

[Generation ABXY]

Inspector, will you be in attendance? I will be there.

As he's said he'll likely be directing traffic...

Then again, Obama could drive him so crazy he could mean he's going to go to work in some random street. :p

[ShivaX]

But aren't campuses gun free zones???? How could she possibly get hurt???? :p

You mean criminals might break laws? This is unprecidented.

[J Arcane]

Better be on the lookout, man, apparently Obama's in league with Satan. (http://foxforum.blogs.foxnews.com/2008/10/23/jpinkerton_1023/)

[Inspector Fowler]

Inspector, will you be in attendance? I will be there.

I will be there. I am still unsure what role I will be playing in the whole thing. I will listen on the radio for something the likes of, "Jesus, send all the cops we got, this Scottish guy is going f**&*<<<<<>>......" followed by radio static.

[fitbabits]

I will be there. I am still unsure what role I will be playing in the whole thing. I will listen on the radio for something the likes of, "Jesus, send all the cops we got, this Scottish guy is going f**&*<<<<<>>......" followed by radio static.

Ha! I'll have a 4 year-old with me, so there's not much chance of that happening... Unless there's beer.

[Inspector Fowler]

They said they'll be giving out water. Beer, not so much.

Frankly, I could do without it, but apparently Mr. Obama is picking up the tab for my overtime, so whatever. I guess it's a chance to "take part in history" but I really could not care less. Now if it was Jackie Chan, or Simon Pegg? Hell yeah I'd be excited ;)

My favorite will be all the idiots. The ones who will bring backpacks even though they were told not to. And pocket knives. And every other manner of shit you DO NOT BRING WITHIN A HALF MILE OF ANY PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE. Then I will tell them they cannot come in, and they have to put that stuff in their cars. They will proceed to complain, because there is no parking for a loooong ways in any direction, and they will have to walk a looooong way to their car and back. I will tell them to shove it, unfortunately. They will be angry. I will have a BIG stack of business cards with me on Sunday.

[Everyone vs Dinosaurs]

They said they'll be giving out water. Beer, not so much.

Frankly, I could do without it, but apparently Mr. Obama is picking up the tab for my overtime, so whatever. I guess it's a chance to "take part in history" but I really could not care less. Now if it was Jackie Chan, or Simon Pegg? Hell yeah I'd be excited ;)

My favorite will be all the idiots. The ones who will bring backpacks even though they were told not to. And pocket knives. And every other manner of shit you DO NOT BRING WITHIN A HALF MILE OF ANY PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE. Then I will tell them they cannot come in, and they have to put that stuff in their cars. They will proceed to complain, because there is no parking for a loooong ways in any direction, and they will have to walk a looooong way to their car and back. I will tell them to shove it, unfortunately. They will be angry. I will have a BIG stack of business cards with me on Sunday.


Hehe, sometimes it pays to have a job where you can be a complete dick, and gain enjoyment at other people's expense.

[Inspector Fowler]

Hehe, sometimes it pays to have a job where you can be a complete dick, and gain enjoyment at other people's expense.

The problem is that I don't really enjoy telling people to shove it. I'd rather that they just used some common sense. The web, the TV, the newspapers...they're all telling people exactly what they can't bring. But people will do it anyway, and they'll get really pissed when we tell them no.

JAYoung, if you read this before tomorrow - I'll be there but I really shouldn't reveal in what capacity. It won't be anything exotic or cool, very mundane. Also - a word of caution with the 4 year old - once you get into the secure perimeter you will NOT be allowed back out until the event is completed. There are supposed to be PortaPotties, but there are also supposed to be over 25,000 people. So make sure he's all "emptied out" before you come in, if possible. ;)

[VerseD]

To those attending, have fun. I really wish I could hear Obama speak.

I came into this thread to extol the virtues of Waffles!

Sorry... carry on.

I thought for sure this thread would be about waffles vs pancakes. Who cares about the presidential election when breakfast hangs in the balance?

[alienmastermind]

As she's still around, can I take it they weren't very good?

They were afraid of being called campers.

And, Michelle Obama is actually a warm and nice person...I heard her speak recently.

Oddly, when she's not barking out odd non sequitirs, or inciting violence, Sarah Palin has a way about her to convey a point. It's like you can see her rattling off talking points for twenty minutes, and then, when she gets to be herself, she sounds like a normal mom from somewhere in Minnesota.

Then, I remember that I should be listening to a woman who wants to be Vice President, not deacon of my church.

Sarah would have my vote for that, though. :)

[alienmastermind]

And on a serious note, Inspector, thanks for doin' what you do. I actually had a conversation with a Secret Service guy, and asked him about his sneakers. He demurred and sort of pointed out that all those guys wear tennis shoes or running shoes. Also, as I reached out to shake Obama's hand, he had his hand on his gun in his coat pocket. Anyone who looked too 'yippee!' got all three guys walking with Obama to look in their direction.

Scary dudes, man.

[Inspector Fowler]

PHWEW. Went off without a hitch, security-wise.

Secret Service told us that they would give the exact same kind of security to the sitting president, if he wanted to visit CSU. It was crazy. Over 170 local cops. At least (I'm guessing) 100 Secret Service agents. Their uniformed division was working the metal detectors. They had the (very stereotypical ;)) agents in suits and jackets, constantly holding their hand up to their ear and talking into their cuffs. They had the counter-sniper and counter-assault teams. And I'm sure they had people that we just didn't see in among the crowd.

I was impressed that not only were the Secret Service guys extremely professional, they also didn't treat us like hicks from some podunk town. They assumed that we were all capable of doing the jobs we'd been assigned to do, which was nice.

I only pissed off one civilian the whole day, which was far less than I'd thought.

All in all, I'm SUPER tired but we were all kind of on a high because it went so dang smoothly.

[Rogue_hunter]

I only pissed off one civilian the whole day, which was far less than I'd thought.

BOOOOOOO! I was expecting skulls bashed, women in tears and an entire van full of hippies!

Seriously, good job, and regardless of politics, it's always cool to participate in some capacity for an event like that.

[rein]

I only pissed off one civilian the whole day, which was far less than I'd thought.

So you did run into Fits? :D


Good to hear things went well. It must be a very stress filled thing to go into something like this as a police officer. Then again, routine traffic stops probably have their share of stress.

[Inspector Fowler]

So you did run into Fits? :D


Good to hear things went well. It must be a very stress filled thing to go into something like this as a police officer. Then again, routine traffic stops probably have their share of stress.

I didn't find Fits that I noticed. But there were a lot of kids there, and I didn't have a chance to hear the delightful Scottish lilt.

And also, thanks for the thanks, guys. The crowd was very appreciative of us.

It's a good change - a lot of the politically active kids on campus have a pretty low opinion of us, so it was a surprise to have so many politically active people who were so easy to talk to.