Crime Expert BURL BARER. Edgar Award Winner and NYT Bestselling Author

My "Second Father" passes away. Funeral Saturday, March 6th

   Dag Johnsen was my second father, and for several years I was blessed to have both "Dads" in my life. Dag was my Father-in-Law, and even though his daughter and I were no longer married after Oct. 2003, my in-laws never divorced me, nor did any of the relatives on that side of the family. Heck, I was family for about thirty years,so they were not about to change my status over something as ephemeral as a divorce. Any rational divorce where there are children, relatives,and shared history is more a re-definition of relationship than anything else.  I always saw "Mom and Dad" when I went back to Seattle. In fact, I spent Christmas Eve with them this past holiday season.   

Here is a pic of my daughter, Anea, hugging her grandpa at Christmas:

 Dag was one of the greatest guys I've ever known -- world traveled, well read, and filled with a joyous sense of adventure.  This is a fellow who "went away to sea" when he was fourteen, spent 6 weeks in a life raft in the Atlantic Ocean after having his ship blown out from under him in WWII, and was awarded a medal by the King of Norway,  He was friendly beyond description, intelligent, gregarious, and blessed with sea legs equal to his remarkable sense of humor.   I always enjoyed time spent with him, and in the over thirty years that he was my "Dad," we had some of the best times of my life.

Thank God for home movies (8mm), VHS and DVD.  When my father passed away, I spent many hours playing back videos ...hearing his voice and reliving past experiences.  All my home movies of Dag Johnsen are in Ballard in what was his home, now his daughter's.  No doubt I'll watch those home movies again and again, treasuring the moments and memories...

Home for Purim...and Home for Ayam-i-Ha!

Purim is one of the most joyous and fun holidays on the Jewish calendar. It commemorates a time when the Jewish people living in Persia (Iran) were saved from extermination by Queen Esther and her Zoroastrian husband, the King of Persia.  Zoroastrians are also monotheists, and there are many similarities between the two faiths. Rabbi Hillel termed Zoroaster, "The Arabian Moses"  This year Purim is celebrated on February 28th.

Ayam-i-Ha is one of the most joyous and fun holidays for Baha'is, but is takes place on days that are not on the calendar! Ayam-i-Ha is a Baha'i holiday of hospitality, charity and the giving of gifts. It begins February 25th at sundown.  Ten years ago I was asked to write a kid's poem/dialog for Baha'i Children's Class. Happily, it has made its way around the world. (A note of explanation: Months on the Baha'i calender have names such as Knowledge, Speech, Glory, Questions, etc.  The holiday takes place at a time where there is no month, no week. They are not in any month, or week. They are, therefor, outside time)

Ayam-i-Ha! IT IS A HOLIDAY!

This is a "back and forth" conversation between two kids...one is explaining the holiday of Ayam-i-Ha to the other.
-------------------------------------------------
I'm feeling quite happy,
I'm feeling quite fine.
It's Ayyam-i-Ha, 
The days outside time!

Days outside time?
That makes no sense at all!
You mean no watch on your wrist?
No clock on the wall?
How can you have days outside time
That makes no sense, no reason, no rhyme.
Besides, if I may say so, and I certainly will,
If you think there's no time, you must be quite ill.

I'm not sick in the head, nor home sick in bed,
Days outside time,
What a relief
No time for sadness, worry or grief!

You are silly as can be,
I must insist,
Days outside time can never exist!

Oh, tell me then, stand right up and speak,
what Baha'i month this is, what Baha'i day of the week? 

Is it the first day of Speech, Glory or  Splendor, Knowledge, or Questions, one or another? No, these days have no months or weeks to be in,
So these days are outside time --- does that make your head spin?

Days outside time what a strange thing to say.
Time is how we measure the length of a day.
Besides, time is important, I'm here to shout
Time is something I don't want to run out!

You can't run out of what isn't there,
If you're bald all your life, you don't miss your hair.

That makes no sense either, you're making me laugh.
But explain this much faster, cut it in half.

Ok ok, if you say so.
I'll tell you right now, and then you can go.
Ayyam-i-Ha is all about fun
And kindness, charity
And us all being one.
People are often in so much of a  hurry
Their life is a mess, a run around flurry
They have so little time to get things done,
everything is half-baked, and left most undone
But these days outside time are special as can be,
For these special days set us all free.
They remind us of love, and thinking of others,
Helping our moms, dads, sisters and brothers.
Days outside time give you time by the double
Where there is love, there's always enough time, and nothing is too much
trouble.

Say that again, I like what I heard,
Say it slowly, word by word.

"Where there is love, nothing is too much trouble, and there's always
enough time" Abdu'l-Baha

Oh, I think I finally understand.
Ayyam-i-Ha is really quite grand
Days of kindness, joy and  delight
 From the start of the day 'till the last thing at night.

You got it now, my happy new friend
Time isn't rock solid, it was made to bend
Love makes time go quickly, or slow down to a crawl,
Because where there is love, there's always enough time, and nothing is too
much trouble at all.

I'm feeling quite happy,
I'm feeling quite fine
It's Ayyam-i-Ha,
The days outside time

©2000 by Burl Barer
all rights reserved

Sammy Davis Jr. -- just your average Black Jewish Short Guy with One Eye

My father, several years ago, pulled me aside and said "You know, you're like Sammy Davis, Jr."

At first I thought he meant that I liked having sex with blond white women, but there was more to it than that. "It isn't enough that he's terribly short, blind in one eye, and a black man married to a white woman. He became a Jew, too."

yeah, so what's your point?

"Well son, you're a Jew. You have experieinced anti-Semitism first hand. Now, I dont know that much about Baha'i, but I read the news. I know that Baha'is are persecuted in Iran and Iraq and most Moslem countries, and are treated worse than the Jews. Give me one good reason why you, who are a Jew, would also be a Baha'i? If they don't kill you for being one, they will kill you for being the  other."

"Because my father taught me to stand up for what I believe."

My Dad smiled and said, "you're right, that is the one good reason."

So, people often wonder why I seek to vindicate the Koran and Muhammad (which I have studied for over thirty years) when Fanatical Moslems want Bahais and Isreal blasted off the Earth, and why I equally defend the teachings of Jesus despite the raging anti-Semitism and racism of the Christian Identity Movement, the KKK, and others of that ilk. 

Simple -- there is no difference between a Moslem fanatic and a Christian fanatic...they are both nuttier than Aunt Esther's fruitcake and even more poisonous.  Moslem fanatics want a world run by their twisted interpretation of scripture -- complete with exclusivity and superiority for them, they want the religion running the governernment, and the governement running individuals lives. 
The Christian fanatics want the same thing.  There is no difference.
They both link religion and politics, and they both demonize "the other" -- be it Jews, Christians, Moslems or anyone who looks like they could be related to Moses, Jesus, or Muhammad.

When terrorists blew up the oklahoma federal building, did we demonize white Christians who served in the armed forces? No.

As a Jew who has been to Israel more than once, and who follows the MIddle East with interest, I become exceptionally curious when the United States Congress passes a resolution condemning Hezbollah for their shocking record of long standing terrorism. Name one act of terrorism commited by Hezbollah between 1994 and 2006.  You can't. There havn't been any.  Not one.  This is why no other country on Earth has Hezbollah on their list of terrorist organizations.   Hezbollah WAS doing terrorist type activities in the 1980's -- over 25 years ago!

Remember when we did the news? "First, Factual, and Five Minutes Faster!"
What happened to Factual?  It probably never was factual -- from the falsity of the Maine bombing to the falsity of the Gulf of Tonkin attack which we know now never happened, we keep getting fed nonsense -- nonsense that keeps us afraid...just as in North Korea they are in a constant state of paranoid fear that the big mean USA is going to nuke them, just as the citizens of the old USSR believed that they were surrounded by hostile nations eager to invade ..and to protect themselves they MUST have more security, more prisons, more government control of every aspect of their lives.

When presidential canditates have their advisors speak at White Supremist rallies, when they allign themselves with religious fanatics who want their interpretation of religion to run everyone's life -- I get concerrned.

Gee -- I even remember when the FCC had no power to control content via fines...you better watch out if your field strength intensity was off kilter, but objectional content???

So, when people call middle eastern folks Rag Heads or Sheet Heads....I remind them that Moses and Jesus were Ragheads and Sheet Heads...and our troops supposedly are in the Middle East to rescue rag heads and sheet heads from religious fanatic despots who link church and state, spy on their citizens, lock up those who disagree too vocally, and would probably shoot you for playing the Irish Rovers "The Last Unicorn"

There is the old saying "there is nothing more permanent than a temporary tax" -- there is also nothing more permanent than the temporary loss of freedom. Will   this country change it's motto from "Land of the Free" to "Land of the Secure?"

I grew up in a town that had a MAXIMUM SECURITY PRISON...no one felt very free in there.

Mary Jo Buttafuoco "Getting it through my Thick Skull"

After 17 Years, Mary Jo Buttafuoco Breaks Her Silence with Burl and Don LIVE on TRUE CRIMES...listen LIVE on Outlaw Radio via Itunes or by clicking this link!

Mary Jo Buttafuoco’s anonymous life as a suburban wife and mother in sleepy Massapequa, New York, ended in May 1992, when she was shot in the head on her own front porch. The “Long Island Lolita” saga sparked a media frenzy that continues to this day. As the years passed Mary Jo steadfastly stood by her man, Joey Buttafuoco, and while he and Amy Fisher continued to make headlines, one question lingered in the minds of people everywhere: Why did she stay for so long?

In Getting It Through My Thick Skull, Mary Jo finally answers that question fully and convincingly. The answer is simple, yet it took almost three decades of turmoil to discover for herself—she was married to a sociopath. Using her tragic and triumphant life lessons and never-before-told accounts of life with Joey, Mary Jo helps readers understand sociopathic behavior and the emotional traps they spring on willing partners, and offers hope and help for the millions of people caught in the cycle of toxic relationships.

In addition, readers will meet a new-and-improved Mary Jo, confident and at peace with her new life and will be inspired by her comeback—a true reclamation and recreation of her life from the inside out. Through private details of the resiliency and rebuilding she has forged over the past seventeen years, Mary Jo shares for the first time: her addiction to painkillers, and her recovery through the Betty Ford Center; her overdue decision to leave Joey and start over again in California—3,000 miles from her support system; how she took control of her physical, spiritual, and emotional health, and learned to feel attractive and in control again; her highly controversial forgiveness of Amy Fisher; the letters she received from both Amy and Joey, and her reactions to both; how she found the courage to trust, believe, and find hope in a committed relationship once again; the details of the new love in her life and the joys and challenges of raising a Brady-Bunch-style family.

Bank Robbery is not a good hobby!

Bank Terrorism expert Mike Alerich is a retired Los Angeles County Sheriff Department H.Q. Detective. He was our guest last Saturday! Listen now on Instant Replay just by pressing play on our amazing player! Or click that link to download the show!

Knights of October! That's my pal kissing that thing on the beach!

My pal Jeremy got a gig in the new TV series Knights of October. He's the shirtless guy about to get some hot action on the beach.  Tough work. Stop the crime player over there >>> and then press play on this thing:

Knights of October from Knights of October on Vimeo.