From: abmac@dslextreme.com   
      
   Mark your calendar for next year ... BIG PARTY ... hug a night shift cop   
      
      
      
   We declare today ‘Thank a Cop Day’ - 5/16/12   
      
   In 1962, President John F. Kennedy signed a proclamation. He designated   
   May 15 as Peace Officers Memorial Day. The proclamation also provided   
   that the week in which May 15 fell became Police Week.   
      
   Yesterday, many thousands of people came together to honor those who   
   have fallen in the line of duty as law enforcement officers around the   
   country. A goodly number of those who attend events like the memorial   
   service in Senate Park in Washington, D.C. are law enforcement officers.   
   They are there to support their comrades even in death.   
      
   We have no authority, and we do not presume to have any, but we hereby   
   declare today Thank a Cop Day.   
      
   Do us a favor and take a minute today to thank your local law   
   enforcement officers for what they do. Even if you disagree with some of   
   what they do, take a minute to realize that they are there for you,   
   should you need them.   
      
   It is our humble opinion that the communities in which this paper is   
   read the most have the security of knowing that they have some very   
   dedicated law enforcement officers. Many of those officers are young.   
   Many of them are here just to gain experience and then to move on to   
   places where they can make more money. Many of them are still in the   
   learning mode. The best of them will keep learning until the last day of   
   their career.   
      
   There are also a sizeable number of those who wear badges in our small   
   communities that are here because this is where they want to be. There   
   are chiefs that came here to get away from the turmoil of big cities,   
   but still realize that one phone or radio call may instantly put them   
   into a life-threatening situation. They may spend most of their days   
   writing traffic citations and telling people to keep their dogs quiet,   
   but that one call you make asking for their assistance may well be the   
   one that saves your life.   
      
   The National law Enforcement Officers Memorial, dedicated in 1991, is a   
   monument dedicated to those officers who have died in the line of duty.   
   More than 19,000 names are engraved on the 304 foot-long wall. The names   
   go back to the first known officer killed in the line of duty in 1791,   
   and names are added every year during National Police Week.   
      
   Honor after death is a wonderful thing, but it does more for those still   
   living than it does for the one that is gone. Let’s do something now –   
   today. Instead of making jokes about the coffee and donuts, maybe you   
   could just pay for them and walk out. Instead of trying to hide your   
   cell phone or put on your seat belt because there is a marked car behind   
   you, maybe just pull up beside Sgt. Smith and say, thank you.   
      
   As for us, here at MVN, we thank all of you. We know we sometimes get on   
   your nerves. We know we sometimes have to remind you of the Freedom of   
   Information Act. We know that sometimes we seem a little pushy. We also   
   know that your protection and service to our communities is very   
   important and lends to the life we have here. Thank you.   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)