Religious Wars?

Recent news item:

A northern New Jersey pastor accused of stabbing another preacher has pleaded not guilty to charges of attempted murder and unlawful possession of a weapon.

A minister stabbing another minister?

As it turns out, this appears to be a crime of passion – plain old secular passion.

It was reported that the stabber, a man, and the stabbee, a woman, had been, as the saying goes, in a relationship. Further, it was reported that he is married.

No word on the specific teachings of their respective churches, but it would seem likely that they include some form of Thou Shall Not Fool Around on the Side, not to mention Thou Shall Not Stab.

New QuickShip Badge

In additional to offering nearly 200 of our own public safety badge styles, the Badge Company of New Jersey is a factory-direct distributor for four other badge manufacturers, allowing us to offer more badges that any other source. That’s why we say, "We’ve Got Your Badge."

As noted in an earlier post, one of those manufacturers V.H. Blackinton, founded in 1852. The badge shown in the photo is Blackinton’s model #B736, and it is one of the more popular styles offered.

It is, however, what is known in the industry as an "applied panel" badge, meaning that the individual engraved panels of text are added to the underlying badge shape during the manufacturing process. As a result, it is a labor-intensive badge to make, and it takes time.

Blackinton has now developed an all-new version of this badge and added it to their "QuickShip" program. The QuickShip program includes 15 distinct badge styles that can be shipped from the factory in as little as five business days after receipt of the order.

The new badge has the engravable panels as part of the overall badge die, enabling it to be part of the QuickShip program. It is otherwise identical to the popular #B736.

The new badge is designated as model #B3320, and it is available right now. The Badge Company of New Jersey is ready to assist you with your orders for this or any other Blackinton badge.

Wrong About That

Back in 2009 we blogged about road rage, and how that being encased in an automobile appears to embolden people toward venting anger in ways that walking does not.

We referenced humorist George Carlin’s description of how drivers tend to refer to someone who drives slower than themselves as an idiot, and someone who drives faster than themselves as a maniac. We concluded that there is no such thing as "sidewalk rage," noting that if you encounter someone on the sidewalk who is walking either slower or faster than you, you don’t give it a second thought.

Wrong, apparently.

In today’s Wall Street Journal appears an item headlined Get Out of My Way, You Jerk!, in which researchers say the concept of "sidewalk rage" is real. The article includes the information that on Facebook there is a group called "I Secretly Want to Punch Slow Walking People in the Back of the Head," a group which boasts nearly 15,000 members.

The article goes on to report many of the researchers’ findings, including how fast tourists walk as compared to local residents, how talking on one’s cell phone affects one’s pace, and even the psychology that causes people to believe that they are the ones "walking correctly."

Still, one key difference appears to be that those who experience "sidewalk rage" often internalize it, getting angry and upset but not venting as motorists so often do. However, it appears possible that some candidates for the Facebook group may eventually replace their secret desire to punch fellow pedestrians with an overt action.

We hope that we’re wrong about that, too. But if we are not, our message from the earlier posting remains true: It can’t be hard to think "excuse me" instead of "moron!"

Photo by Ed O'Keeffe

Self-Fulfilling

Recently, a Jersey City police officer suffered a severe concussion after being struck by a drunk driver.

The officer and his partner were responding to a burglar alarm when a passing car struck the officer as he walked around his patrol car.

The driver then sped away, running a red light in the process, until police later spotted the car and apprehended the driver.

A driver whose given first name proved to be "Tequila."

Parents, when you name your child "Tequila," you are pretty much defining that child’s destiny.

This is not to suggest that naming your child "Einstein" will necessarily lead to a Nobel Prize, but what goals are you setting with a name like "Tequila?"

A Breathalyzer test revealed that Tequila’s blood alcohol level was .13, significantly greater than the legal limit of .08.

Tequila's 7-year-old daughter was in the back seat of the car. The name of the child has not been reported, but "Margarita" would be an improvement.

Braxmar Badges

The Charles G. Braxmar Company was founded in 1879 and until being acquired by V.H. Blackinton at the beginning of the 21st century was located in New York City.

The image above is from a Braxton catalog, circa 1927.

V.H. Blackinton, itself with roots extending back to 1852, acquired the Braxmar company and continues to offer the Braxmar line. Certain Braxmar products continue to be available, while others have been superceded by corresponding Blackinton items.

Braxmar sold direct to public safety agencies, and so for several years following the acquisition Blackinton continued to accept direct orders for Braxmar products. But this practice has now been phased out, and all orders must be processed through an authorized Blackinton dealer.

The Badge Company of New Jersey is, of course, a direct distributor for all Blackinton products, so whether you are trying to match an old Braxmar badge or you simply want to order from Blackinton’s extensive line of badges and insignia, we can make the process easy.

Officer Christopher Matlosz

It has been an eventful few days for police in New Jersey. On Friday, Lakewood officer Christopher Matlosz was killed – executed is a better word – while seated in his patrol car, having stopped to speak with a pedestrian.

On Sunday, police arrested the individual that they identified as the shooter.

On the one hand, it is satisfying to know that this individual has been apprehended and will be brought to justice.

On the other hand, we have to agree with words attributed to State Police Superintendent Col. Rick Fuentes: "There is no joy in catching an accused cop killer.”

Officer Matlosz was not married, but he was engaged. The photo shows him and his fiancee, Kelly Walsifer, smiling widely.

Here at the Badge Company, we are sensitive to the death of a police officer, not only because it is a tragedy for the families and communities, but also because so often the officer works for an agency that we serve. We hear the anguish in the voices of their colleagues. Frequently, we are asked to prepare commemorative badges used in memorial ceremonies. We are honored to provide this service, but it only makes the sense of loss even more compelling.

To Serve You Better

Over the next few days, we are moving our web site and related online files to a new and much larger server system which became operational this week.

The new servers will allow us to offer a variety of new web-based features, although don’t expect everything to happen all at once. We are still relatively new to the world of online services, and so we will be adding new features as time goes by.

Most of the changeover will happen seamlessly, without any visible evidence. However, some aspects of this move may take us offline, briefly, over the weekend of January 8-9. Don’t worry, we’ll be back shortly.

By the way, we don’t do this in-house. Our IT needs are provided with knowledgeable service and prompt attention by the Round Mountain Group ( http://www.roundmountaingroup.com ) which has helped us move from being a company with no web presence only a few years ago to a firm that embraces the internet and what it has to offer. If you do not know where to turn for web services, we can recommend the Round Mountain Group without hesitation.