EL SEGUNDO HERALD August 10, 2017 Page 7 Pizza, Pasta & More VALENTINO S “A Taste of Brooklyn” Spaghetti with Meat Sauce, Garden Salad, Garlic Bread, Plus Tax Preparation Ingredients Politically Speaking One Man’s Opinion Another Man’s Opinion Law Enforcement, Criminals Must Be Accountable For Their Actions By Cristian Vasquez A video of two U.S. Customs and Border Protection Officers encouraging a drug smuggler to drink out of a bottle filled with liquid methamphetamine has caused the smuggler’s family to file a lawsuit against the agency. Before getting into the core of this piece, it must be stated that in this case I in no way supported any type of lawsuit against the agency--nor am I in favor of the $1 million settlement that the family received. In a video from 2013, Cruz Marcelino Velazquez Acevedo is recorded in the process of committing a crime as he crosses the border into the United States. Due to his initial decision, the 16-year-old died. Hence, there is no agency to blame for Velazquez Acevedo’s death other than that of the individual. Was death the appropriate consequence to a horrible decision being made by a teenager? Absolutely not. Velazquez Acevedo made two horrible choices that day: smuggling drugs across our borders and drinking liquid meth in hopes of not being detained by customs. Having said that, the two agents who encouraged and allowed for the smuggler to drink this poison should face consequences. As a country that prides itself in law and order, and that has a fundamental belief in due process, this death at the San Diego/ Tijuana border is untimely, unfortunate and should have been prevented. In the video released by CBP, officers Valerie Baird and Adrian Perallon are seen engaging with the teenager. Velasquez Acevedo, who was carrying a backpack, had two bottles of tea-looking liquid that soon after tested positive for methamphetamine. After a brief dialogue between the agents and Velazquez Acevedo, the agents begin making gestures for the teen to drink from the bottle. After a few sips Velasquez Acevedo is directed to second inspection where he is asked to take (and does) two drinks from one bottle. Two hours later he was dead. Did Baird and Perallon really force him to drink? Not at all. These officers did not hold a gun to Velazquez Acevedo’s head, nor did they funnel the drugs down his throat. However, they behaved in a manner that lacks not only human decency and common sense, but they displayed an absolute lack of professionalism. CBP released a statement through its Office of Professional Responsibility and declared that no additional action was needed, so the officers involved would not be disciplined. Again, I’m not defending the smuggler or the family’s absurd lawsuit. It is not CBP policy to force smuggling suspects to consume the substance/s they are alleged to be trafficking, nor does CBP force accused smugglers caught with white powder to snort the substance. Thus, the agency should not have to pay for the actions of two reckless officers. There is an operating procedure in place for a reason. We have due process--but because these two officers failed to uphold those standards, their actions contributed to the death of a teenager. Not one penny should have been paid out to the family, but CBP Officers Baird and Perallon should have been reprimanded. These officers upheld their commitment to vigilance and service to country, but they failed at integrity. • Lefty Media Launches Feeble Attack on Trump Immigration Strategy By Duane Plank As unemployment continues to plummet, as the stock market surges, as the corpulent little lunatic in North Korea remains cowered by America’s overwhelming military power, what was the big angle CNN followed last week? One of their pompous, look-at-me reporters, White House guy Jim Acosta, started whining like a little petulant child at a White House press conference. The Trump administration had rolled out new strategies--not laws--to parse legal immigration. Acosta bumbled about the inscription on the Statue of Liberty and immigrant rights, engaging White House adviser Stephen Miller in an uncomfortable tit-for-tat exchange. According to the unelected reporter Acosta, we shouldn’t limit illegal immigrants and lessen their opportunities to troll the streets, at times preying upon and murdering American citizens? And we can’t limit legal immigration either. Open borders for all. And we can’t limit the gang member thugs from the gang MS-13 from entering this country to mingle with our citizens. In Acosta’s world, we should accept them all, with some adding nothing, taking everything…because not allowing them in, or to stay, would “tear apart families.” There is no solid proof that stopping illegals from entering America, or shipping illegal criminals back is “tearing apart families.” Just another page out of the lefty playbook, a playbook that has one theme: obstruct the Trump administration. Failed presidential candidate Al Gore, who has his own leftist playbook chapter, is pushing a new film about climate change, and that the world will soon be over unless we conserve, conserve, conserve. Some have been promulgating this charade for decades, and the planet is still thriving. According to published reports, Gore’s mansion in Tennessee consumes 30 times more energy than the average person’s abode. How does that rate on the conservation scorecard? Gore is a first-rate hypocrite. And now Gore has come out and likened climate change issue to the civil rights movement. Really? This past week, some southpaws were still pushing the Cal-Exit scenario. They posit about our big economy, our big this, big that, and that we need to be our own country. A sanctuary country, not just state, where illegals are more than welcomed. To the do-gooders proponing California’s exit from the United States…do we the people of Cali have a vote? I have no interest in leaving the U.S. of A and becoming some third-world country. Finally, did you happen to hear about the unhinged one, Congress lady Maxine Waters, who went on her typical impeach rant about The Donald, and then segued right on to her impeach Putin diatribe? Now Max is a tad bit up there in years, as are, seems to be, a lot of Dem politicians in California. She apparently meant that after Trump was impeached, convicted and cast back to one of his golf courses for good, she would set her sights on getting rid of VP Mike Pence. Not Rasputin Putin. Putin, Pence. Easily confused by the veteran Congress lady. What’s the difference? Don’t ask the producers at CNN. Shockingly, they didn’t play up Waters’ faux-pas. • Ample Seating Now Open Sundays! and a drink $1199 No substitutions and coupon must be presented. Please mention coupon when ordering. One per customer. Expires 8/24/17. EL SEGUNDO 150 S Sepulveda Blvd. 310-426-9494 MANHATTAN BEACH 976 Aviation Blvd. 310-318-5959 • DELIVERY IN LIMITED AREA AT BOTH LOCATIONS • Blueberry Hand Pies 1. In a medium bowl, toss blueberries with flour. Add sugar and vanilla extract. Toss to combine. Set aside. 2. Allow store-bought crust to come to room temperature. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside. 3. Flour a work surface and roll out the warmed pie crust to 1/4-inch thickness. Cut into eight rectangles about 3-by-4 inches in size. Scoop a scant 1/4 cup of the blueberries into the center of four dough rectangles. Place the remaining dough rectangles over the top of each blueberry filling. Use a fork to seal the edges of each pie and transfer pies to the prepared baking sheet. 4. Pierce the tops of the pies with a paring knife a few times and brush with egg wash. Bake for 30 minutes or until dough is golden brown. Allow pies to cool completely before icing. Use a fork to stir together the confectioner’s sugar and 1 tablespoon of milk. Drizzle over cooled hand pies. Serve with a glass of cold milk. • For more ways to enjoy dairy this summer, and to learn more about America’s farm families and importers, visit UndeniablyDairy.org. • 2 9-inch, store-bought, ready-to-bake pie crusts • 1 pint fresh blueberries • 1 tablespoon all-purpose, unbleached flour • 3 tablespoons granulated sugar • 1/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract • 1 large egg yolk, lightly beaten with 1 teaspoon of water • 1/4 cup confectioner’s sugar 1 tablespoon reduced-fat milk
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