Women With Troubles - October 2008

Reported in news stories during October 2008, here is a compilation of women with troubles. Each name is linked to an Interested-Participant blog entry displaying details.

For a more comprehensive listing, check the Women With Troubles category link.

(AR) Lorri Rye, 35,
neighbor - Gets 10 years prison for raping son, 3,

(AZ) Tawni Wimberley, 30,
teacher - Gets probation for sex with several teens,

(CA) Connie Lynn Barrett, 40,
daycare owner - Accused of abuse,

(CA) Christina Fuentes, 35,
teacher - Accused of embezzling $8,000 from PTA,

(CA) Josie Navarro, 23,
neighbor - Arrested for allegedly drowning her son, 5, in bathtub,

(CO) Tanya Martin, 38,
neighbor - Arrested for arson and setting her dog on fire,

(FL) Lori A. Borick, 28,
teacher - Accused of inappropriate relationship with male student,

(FL) Margot Cioffi, 59,
rehab director - Sentenced to rehab for 0.336 DUI,

(FL) Cynthia Horvath, 45,
teacher - Arrested for sex with male student, 17,

(FL) Sheila Broome Langman, 38,
cheerleading org. boss - Arrested for sex with boy, 15,

(FL) Laura Pace, 38,
teacher - Accused of engaging in sex and smoking marijuana with two male students, both 16,

(FL) Natalie Rodriques, 23,
neighbor - Gets 15 years in prison for DUI manslaughter,

(FL) Jennifer Tarkenton (aka Jennifer Nero), 34,
teacher - Gets probation after sex charges dismissed,

(GA) Nicole Drane, 33,
police officer - Accused of assisting serial bank robber,

(IA) Diane Kathleen Oliver, 32,
addiction counselor - Arrested for sexual exploitation of boy, 16,

(ID) Isabel Chasarez, 27,
neighbor - Gets one to ten years prison for not protecting daughter, 9, from boyfriend,

(IL) Rebecca Daniels, 37,
teacher - Arrested for sex with several high school boys,

(IL) Noelle Howlett, 41,
behavioral counselor - Accused of sex with boy, 16, she was counseling,

(IL) Crystal Pietrowski, 36,
neighbor - Guilty of sex with boy, 15. Sentencing TBD,

(IN) Brooke Biggs, 27,
teacher - Arrested for inappropriate contact with female student,

(IN) Stephanie M. Rogers, 36,
church lady - Guilty of sex with runaway girl, 15. Sentencing TBD,

(IN) Sheila Vasquez, 36,
teacher - Gets probation for sex with male student, 15,

(LA) Lindsey Evans, 18,
beauty queen - Arrested for theft and drug possession,

(MI) Jennifer Rae Merriman, 31,
neighbor - Faces trial for sex with teen boy,

(MN) Olga Marina Franco Del Cid (aka Alianiss Nunez Morales), 23,
Guatemalan national - Gets 12 and one-half years in prison for fatal school bus crash,

(NJ) Josette Taylor, 53,
neighbor - Indicted for multiple sex crimes with boy, 15,

(NY) Jennifer Hastings, 33,
teen psychologist - Pleaded guilty to rape of boy, 14, she was counseling. Sentencing in Dec.,

(OH) Kena Ross, 29,
neighbor - Convicted of child endangerment. Sentencing in Nov.,

(OH) Rachel White, 29,
neighbor - Gets 18 months prison for prostituting daughter, 17,

(OK) Charlene Banks, 48,
teacher - Arrested for being drunk in class,

(OK) Ashley Renee Flores, 26,
teacher - Accused of raping boy, 14, at least six times,

(OR) Connie Gay Cole, 48,
neighbor - Accused of grandparent abuse,

(OR) Dana Allison Schaad, 37,
neighbor - Accused of multiple sex crimes with boy, 16,

(PA) Erica L. Baker, 25,
teacher - Sentenced to three months to one year in jail for sex with female student, 16,

(PA) Keri Ann Brekne, 28,
teacher - Sentenced to 15 to 30 years in prison for sex with girl,

(PA) Carrie L. Dana, 28,
neighbor - Gets 15 to 30 years in prison for rape of boy, 11,

(PA) Cindy Lee Hubbard, 31,
neighbor - Accused of pimping runaway teen girls, ages 15 and 17,

(PA) Brenda Lua Manzo, 26,
neighbor - Gets probation for sex with boy, 15,

(RI) Alison Sposato, 34,
teacher - Arrested for possession of crack,

(SC) Kanesa Hopkins, 32,
teacher - Gets probation for lewd acts with female student, 13,

(TN) Amy Elder, 32,
teacher/coach - Convicted of sex with girl, 15. Sentencing in Dec.,

(TX) Elena Aranda Ducoing, 40,
teacher - Accused of drug trafficking & money laundering,

(TX) Brandy Lynn Gonzalez, 30,
teacher - Sentenced to 40 years in prison for sex with boys, ages 11 to 13,

(TX) Nicole Gray, 32,
neighbor - Arrested for sex with neighbor boy, 15,

(TX) Jennifer Hudspeth,
teacher - Arrested for online solicitation of boys, ages 15 and 16,

(TX) Susan Michael, 51,
teacher - Arrested for possession of drugs at school,

(TX) Emiley Weaks, 28,
teacher - Arrested for possession of meth,

(WI) Teresa M. Cantrall, 42,
neighbor - Sentenced to eight years in prison for sex with boy, 13,

(WI) Kristina N. Schwoerer, 20,
neighbor - Gets deferred prosecution for sex with boy, 15.

Thanks, as always, to the tipsters.

Cindy Sheehan Campaign HQ Attacked

(San Francisco, California) The headquarters for the Cindy Sheehan campaign was attacked about 3 AM on October 30th. All the front windows were shattered and a computer was stolen. The offices were unoccupied at the time of the incident.

On October 13th, the Cindy for Congress campaign issued a statement chronicling a series of unusual events, including threats of violence. Staffers contend that anytime Sheehan confronts Nancy Pelosi, her opponent for California's 8th Congressional District, "something horrible happens."

It's not known who the specific perpetrators were but I'm guessing they weren't Christian Republicans.

Tip: Charley Nestor

Companion post at The Jawa Report.

Child Nuptials Busted in Pakistan

(Karachi, Pakistan) Believed to be the first time an in-progress wedding ceremony has been broken up, police arrested two people attempting to marry a girl, 4, to a boy, 7.


Bride, father of groom, Groom
The father of the groom and the presiding cleric were taken into custody. The father of the bride escaped.

Child marriages are illegal in Pakistan.

Video footage of the marriage, shot by some television teams that accompanied the police, show the two children in bride and groom ceremonial outfits.

They started crying when the police raided the scene.

Mohammad Ismail, the father of the groom, told the media that he worked in Saudi Arabia and was not aware that Pakistani laws prohibited child marriages.

He said that he had agreed to the wedding following advice from family elders that it would put an end to an old feud his family had with the family of the bride.

The cleric who was called to supervise and record the exchange of wedding vows by the couple and to record the witnesses, told the media he did not know that he was being invited to a child marriage.

However, police say they have recovered the marriage certificate from the scene which had been duly filled in by the cleric - except for the age columns for the bride and the groom.

It's reported that the father of the bride received 500,000 rupees (about $6,100) to marry off his daughter.

Reportedly, the maximum possible punishment for the parents is one month in jail and a $10 fine.

Tip: Kevin S.

A German Lady Remembers and Speaks

In Germany, when Hitler came to power, it was a time of terrible financial depression. Money was worth nothing. In Germany people lost homes and jobs, just like in the American Depression in the 1930s, which we have read about in Thoene's Shiloh books.

In those days, in my homeland, Adolph Hitler was elected to power by promising "Change." He blamed the "Zionists" around the world for all our problems. He told everyone it was greedy Zionist Bankers who had caused every problem we had. He promised when he was leader, the greedy Zionist bankers would be punished. The Zionists, he promised, would be wiped off the face of the earth. So Hitler was elected to power by only 1/3 the popular vote. A coalition of other political parties in parliament made him supreme leader.

Then, when he was leader, he disgraced and expelled everyone in parliament who did not go along with him. Yes. Change came to my homeland as the new leader promised it would. The teachers in German schools began to teach the children to sing songs in praise of Hitler. This was the beginning of the Hitler Youth movement.

It began with praise of the Fuhrer's programs on the lips of innocent children. Hymns in praise of Hitler and his programs were being sung in the schoolrooms and in the playyard. Little girls and boys joined hands and sang these songs as they walked home from school. My brother came home and told Papa what was happening at school. The political hymns of children proclaimed Change was coming to our homeland and the Fuhrer was a leader we could trust.

I will never forget my father's face. Grief and fear. He knew that the best propaganda of the Nazis was song on the lips of little children. That evening before he said grace at the dinner table, he placed his hands upon the heads of my brothers and me and prayed the Living Word upon us from Jeremiah 1:4-5.

'Now the Word of the Lord came to me, saying,
"Before I formed you in the womb I knew you,
and before you were born I consecrated you;
I appointed you a prophet to The nations."

Soon the children's songs praising the Fuhrer were heard everywhere on the streets and over the radio. "With our Fuhrer to lead us, we can do it! We can change the world!"

Soon after that Papa, a pastor, was turned away from visiting elderly parishioners in hospitals. The people he had come to bring comfort of God's Word, were "no longer there." Where had they vanished to while under nationalized health care? It became an open secret. The elderly and sick began to disappear from hospitals feet first as "mercy killing" became the policy. Children with disabilities and those who had Down syndrome were euthanized.

People whispered, "Maybe it is better for them now. Put them out of misery. They are no longer suffering.And, of course, their death is better for the treasury of our nation. Our taxes no longer must be spent to care for such a burden." And so murder was called mercy.

The government took over private business. Industry and health care were "nationalized." (NA-ZI means National Socialist Party) The businesses of all Jews were seized. (Perhaps you remember our story in Berlin on Kristalnacht in the book Munich Signature)

The world and God's word were turned upside down. Hitler promised the people economic Change? Not change. It was, rather, Lucifer's very ancient Delusion leading to Destruction. What began with the propaganda of children singing a catchy tune ended in the deaths of millions of children.

The reality of what came upon us is so horrible that you in this present generation cannot imagine it. Our suffering is too great to ever tell in a book or show in a black and white newsreel.

When I spoke to Bodie about some of these things, she wept and said she could not bear to write them. Perhaps one day she will, but I asked her, "who could bear to read our suffering?" Yet with my last breaths I warn every Christian and Jew now in the name of the Lord, Unless your course of the church in America is spiritually changed now, returning to the Lord, there are new horrors yet to come.

I trembled last night when I heard the voices of American children raised in song, praising the name of Obama, the charismatic fellow who claims he is the American Messiah. Yet I have heard what this man Obama says about abortion and the "mercy killing" of tiny babies who are not wanted.

There are so few of us left to warn you. I have heard that there are 69 million Catholics in America and 70 million Evangelical Christians. Where are your voices? Where is your outrage? Where is passion and your vote? Do you vote based on an abortionist's empty promises and economics? Or do you vote according to the Bible? Thus says the Lord about every living child still in the womb.

"Before I formed you in the womb I knew you,
and before you were born I consecrated you."

I have experienced the signs of the politics of Death in my youth. I see them again now. Christians! Unless you stand up now, you will lose your freedom of religion. In America priests and preachers have already lost their freedom to speak openly from their pulpits of moral danger in political candidates. They cannot legally instruct you of which candidate holds fast to the precepts of scripture! American law forbids this freedom of speech to conservative pastors or they will lose their "tax exempt" status.

And yet I have heard the words of Obama's pastor Damning America! I have heard the words of Obama damning and mocking all of you in small towns because you "Cling to your religion." But I am a woman whose name is unknown. My life is recorded as a work of fiction. I have no fear of reprisal when I speak truth to you from the pages of a book.

I have no fear for myself, but for all of you and for your children, I tremble. I tremble at the hymns to a political leaders which your children will sing at school.. (Though even now a hymn or a prayer to God and our Lord Jesus is against the law in public school!)

Your vote must put a stop to what will come upon America if Barack Obama is elected. I pray you will personally heed this warning for the sake of your children and your grandchildren. Do not be deceived. The Lord in Jeremiah 1:7-8 commands every believer to speak up!

"Do not say, 'I am only a youth,' for to all whom I send you, you shall go, and whatever I command you, you shall speak. Do not be afraid of them for I am with you, declares the Lord!"

Source


Posted by John Ray.

Pennsylvania Woman Gets Prison for Raping Boy

(Erie, Pennsylvania) In October 2007, a 28-year-old local woman, Carrie L. Dana, was accused of repeatedly engaging in sex with an 11-year-old boy between March and August 2007.

During arraignment before Erie 5th Ward District Judge Joseph Lefaiver, Dana was charged with multiple sex crimes including rape of a child, involuntary deviate sexual intercourse, indecent assault and corruption of minors.

In July 2008, Carrie Dana was convicted by an Erie County jury on felony counts of rape, indecent assault of a child younger than age 13, and a misdemeanor count of corruption of minors.

Yesterday, Erie County Judge John A. Bozza sentenced Dana to 15 to 30 years in the state prison.

Bozza gave her a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 to 20 years for one count of rape of a child, a first-degree felony. Bozza sentenced Dana to another five to 10 years for both indecent assault, a third-degree felony, and corruption of minors, a first-degree misdemeanor.

Bozza could have sentenced Dana to additional time for her conviction of a second count of child rape. But he granted a defense request that he allow Dana to serve that sentence at the same time she serves the sentence for the first count of child rape.

"I'm very sorry for what I have done," Dana told Bozza. "I never meant to do any of this."

During the proceeding, Dana's past and mental health problems were discussed but overridden in importance by the nature of her crimes and the fact that she knew she was doing wrong.

HOPE ON PROJECT - continued

Part 10 - Income Taxes (from Boring Made Dull)

No, you won't get to keep the change.

Well, what happens when we elect a President and Congress pledged to raise taxes?

Recession. And if they raise them enough, toss in some protectionist legislation, and near compulsory unionization for good measure, depression.

And what exactly does “share the wealth” mean? It means that some bureaucrat whispers to some politician in Washington how much of the income of your work you’ll be allowed to keep. Disagree? Well, sharing under the Obama plan means that the IRS and courts will have you tossed in chokey. Question The One? At minimum, some minor state official will be trolling through your records looking for dirt.

On the specifics of The One’s tax plan, Steven Malanga in Real Clear Markets notes that the primary question is where does wealth originate? With the State, or with the People? It’s the people. Free citizens and free markets produce wealth. Governments take a portion of that wealth in taxes, for some legitimate purposes (police, firefighters, national defense, courts), and some illegitimate (bridges to nowhere, Fannie Mae / Freddie Mac, ACORN, etc.), but they don’t create wealth. Wealth must be created in order to be taxed.

* * * * *
Part 11 - The Anti-Reagan (from Darke Blog)

The record is clear that Reagan cuts taxes across the board, reduced the size of government, and ushered in an extended period of economic propsperity. But those on the other end of the political spectrum can't (or won't) accept these lessons of history. Mention "Reagan" to a liberal and you will start an argument. Mention "trickle down" and you might have a fight on your hands.

Barack Obama ignores history by promising higher taxes to those who have annual income over $250,000. Or mabye $200,000? Or $150,000? And at the same time he is promising these higher taxes, he is also proposing massive new spending, including the biggest entitlement of them all - national health care (if you don't believe me, catch the rerun of Obama's 30-minute informercial). These policies are poor in good economic times - right now, they are a recipe for disaster.

Barack Obama going forward will be the same Barack Obama we've seen in the past. Higher taxes. New programs. Big spending. Liberal policies. He truly is the Anti-Reagan.

________________________________________________

Let's Never Find Out Series:

Part 1 - The Mortgage Meltdown and Obama
Part 2 - Drill, Baby, Drill
Part 3 - Punished
Part 4 - The One: He's Not Just the Messiah; He's a Socialist
Part 5 - Earmarks
Part 6 - Chicken Button
Part 7 - Trust
Part 8 - Middle Class
Part 9 - Not This Time

I contend that the arguments are unassailable and, unless one has consumed the Kool-Aid of hope and change, enough reasons to vote against Barack Obama.

Visit the links and see for yourself.

Teacher Tawni Wimberley Gets No Jail for Student Sex

(Flagstaff, Arizona) In February 2008, a computer and technology teacher at Flagstaff High School, Tawni Wimberley, was accused of engaging in sex with several teens.

In September 2008, 30-year-old Wimberley pleaded guilty to two counts of sexual conduct with a minor in accordance with a plea agreement.

Yesterday, Judge Dan Slayton sentenced Wimberley to a suspended six-month jail term and three years probation.

"I am suspending that sentence based upon your continued attendance and completion of counseling," said Slayton.

Although she is not facing jail time, Wimberley will have to perform 100 hours of community service and be on supervised probation for the next three years. Judge Slayton also said she cannot have any contact with the victims. She is also not allowed to have unsupervised contact with non-immediate family children under the age of 18.

Wimberley was also ordered to spend the rest of her life as a registered sex offender.

Man, 82, Charged in Pills-for-Sex Case

(Richmond, Kentucky) Local 82-year-old Casanova, Archie Anglin, has been charged with trafficking in a controlled substance for allegedly trading Oxycontin pills for sex with 20-ish years old women.

No mug shot has been disseminated. It's speculated that the police couldn't get the smile on the old codger's face to fit in a normal sized mug photo during booking.

Tip: slwlion

OH SecState Brunner Linked to ACORN

It seems that Ohio Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner is closely tied to the leadership of ACORN.

So our Secretary of State shares a campaign advisor with ACORN, takes direction from ACORN's voter registration arm, and refuses to verify over 200,000 mismatched registrations while claiming there is no voter fraud going on in Ohio...and that attention to such frivolous issues distracts her from doing her job.

Typically, one would expect the SecState to investigate allegations of voter fraud and take corrective action. Strangely, it seems that Brunner spends all her time saying that (1) there is no voter fraud or (2) voter fraud is too hard to correct.

Companion post at The Jawa Report.

Obama Aunt in Public Housing in Boston

When you've got plans to spread the wealth around as Senator Obama has, it is somewhat incongruent that the plans apparently don't include his own relatives.

First we heard about the plight of Obama's brother George who lives in a Nairobi, Kenya, slum. And now, living in run-down trappings in South Boston is beloved 'Aunt Zeituni' Onyango. She supports Obama but won't answer questions until after the November 4th election.

Although Obama professes to advocate spreading the wealth around, evidence indicates he doesn't mean his wealth and around doesn't mean to his family.

Brit Doctor Catches Hell for Homosexual Comments

(Manchester, England) Imagine Dr. Muhammad Siddiq, a respected member of the medical profession, saying:

"There is punishment and fine if you throw rubbish or filth on the streets, the gays are worse than the ordinary careless citizen, they are causing the spread of illness and they are the root cause of many sexually-transmitted diseases.

"They need neither sympathy nor help, what they need is the stick of law to put them on the right path and mend their ways and behaviour.

"We need to protect society from their ravages."

Now imagine what Dr. Siddiq faces. Right, he has caught hell and is now doing a juggling act before the General Medical Council.

Texas Teacher Busted for Drugs

(Houston, Texas) A 51-year-old teacher at Whittier Elementary School, Susan Michael, was arrested after police officers allegedly found marijuana and hydrocodone in her car.

Michael has been charged with possession of a controlled substance in a drug-free zone.

Police were alerted by a report that a teacher was smoking marijuana behind the school. A canine unit was subsequently dispatched and hit on Michael's car. After obtaining consent to search, police found the drugs.

Michael was booked into custody with bail set at $2,000.

Hostage Ronald Schulz - Remains Recovered in Iraq

(Bismarck, North Dakota) It has been announced that the remains of Ronald Schulz, a civilian contractor in Iraq, have been found and are being returned to his home state of North Dakota.

Ronald Schulz's family plans a burial Saturday in Jamestown, a day after his remains are expected to arrive in his hometown.

Schulz's remains and those of the Kurdish woman to whom he was engaged were found by the U.S. military in a grave in September and were turned over to the government, FBI agent E.K. Wilson said Wednesday. He would not say what led the military to the remains.

The Islamic Army in Iraq claimed in December 2005 that it had killed the 40-year-old Schulz, of Eagle River, Alaska. He was working as an electrician when he was kidnapped.

Cowardly bastards shot Schulz in the back if the head while he was kneeling and blindfolded.

Condolences to the family and friends of Ronald Schulz.

Pennsylvania Woman Gets Probation for Sex with Boy

(Adams County, Pennsylvania) In April 2008, a 26-year-old local New Oxford woman, Brenda Lua Manzo, was charged with engaging in sex with a 15-year-old boy. Sexual episodes allegedly occurred on several occasions in the summer of 2007.

Last month, Brenda L. Manzo pleaded guilty to statutory sexual assault of a 15-year-old boy in accordance with a plea agreement.

Manzo was charged in April after the parents of a 15-year-old boy contacted Pennsylvania State Police at Gettysburg because they were concerned about their son's relationship with Manzo, police said.

Police said the boy's parents told them their son stayed out late in the evenings, and they suspected he and Manzo had a sexual relationship after he returned with hickeys on his neck.

The boy told police he met with Manzo in summer 2007 at South Mountain Fairgrounds and had sex with her at his house, in an orchard and at an Aspers home, according to court documents. Police said the boy told them he knew Manzo was 25 at the time and that she knew he was 15.

Last week, Brenda Manzo was sentenced by Senior Judge Oscar F. Spicer to four years of probation encompassing six months of house arrest. Manzo was also ordered to pay $300 in fines.

A small reflection about the relationship between England and Australia


Most Americans feel proud, pleased and blessed to be born in America. And rightly so. Australians and the English feel similarly and for similar reasons. But from the large and constant stream of English immigrants arriving in Australia, one gathers that a lot of the English like some sunshine with their English heritage. And there is more than sunshine to it. I remember a recent arrival in Australia who hailed from Yorkshire saying to me that Australia is "Yorkshire with brass", where "brass" is Northern slang for money. He was oversimplifying but there was a lot of truth in what he said nonetheless. The ties between England and Australia are a lot closer than either side will normally admit. Australians speak derisively of the English (calling them "Poms") and the English speak derisively of Australians (calling them "colonials").

But it remains true that both nationalities feel very much at home in the others' country. And I am probably a rather extreme example of that. When I was growing up in Australia in the 1950s, I grew up into a society that was very Anglophilic. Many Australian-born people still copied their parents' usage and referred to England as "home". And we had a Prime Minister (Sir Robert Menzies) who described himself as "British to his bootstraps". And I remember crying -- aged about 9 -- when it was announced that the King had died. An even stronger influence than all that, however, stemmed from the fact that I was a great book reader from an early age. And most if not all boys' books available were written and published in England for the English. So I grew up in a mental world that was half-English: Which was a very good start on understanding English thinking.

So when I first arrived in England in 1977 I found a few peculiarities but in general had no social difficulties -- which is saying something if you know the intricacies of English social rules. I imagine that I did transgress in various ways from time to time -- but never enough to be a bother. In fact my high level of social acceptance would have been the envy of many Englishmen. I was materially assisted in that by the fact that an educated Australian accent is quite close to RP ("Oxford" English) and accent is enormously important in England. Any Australian accent is in fact closer to RP than are many regional English accents. So I was often told in England that I had a "soft" accent -- meaning that although detectably Australian it was not beyond the pale in in the Home Counties. My conservative politics tend to go down well in the Home Counties too.

An amusing effect of this close but usually denied affinity is the way that some Australian women have constructed for themselves a version of English "society". In England there really is such a thing as "society" -- basically the English aristocracy. The Australian version is of course self-selected rather than genetically selected but they do a moderately good job of imitating the English original. And part of that is that they do a rather good job of imitating the speech of the English original. I remember one example vividly. When I was talking on the phone to Laurie, she sounded to me just like Margaret, who is an English lady I know who really is a born member of the English aristocracy.

So who was Laurie? She was the daughter of my father's accountant. In other words we both grew up in a small Australian country town -- going to school in bare feet in a tropical environment -- an environment beset by such perils as taipan snakes, funnelweb spiders, box jellyfish, finger cherries and crocodiles, rather than the more pleasant English phenomena of crocuses, daffodils, cuckoos and skylarks. From that humble beginning, however, Laurie had acquired all the language, mannerisms and values of the English aristocracy. And I imagine that she did so without ever visiting England.

It reminds me of something that someone wrote (probably Andrew Ian Dodge -- an Anglophilic American) when I first started putting up my "Eye on Britain" blog. He said that this is a blog about England from an outsider's point of view -- but the author really isn't an outsider because he is an Australian. Very insightful.



Posted by John Ray.

California Mom Allegedly Drowns Son

(Pomona, California) Last week, a 23-year-old local woman, Josie Navarro, was arrested for allegedly drowning her 5-year-old son in a motel bathtub.

Emergency personnel were called to the motel and tried to resuscitate Edgar Manuel Sanchez Jr. but failed.

According to Pomona Police Sgt. Rick Baker:

"Officers arrived to find a woman being restrained by another person on the floor of the room and a 5-year-old boy underwater and unresponsive in the bathtub in the room," Baker said in a statement.

According to the preliminary investigation, Navarro, who had checked into the motel earlier Monday, drowned her son and tried to kill herself with over-the-counter sleeping medication, Baker said.

"The suspect made statements indicating that she wanted to die because of problems in her life, and didn't want to leave her son behind," Baker said.

Navarro faces a murder charge.

Tip: SuidaeEmpathy

NY Teacher's Dead Body Found, Husband Arrested

(Long Island, New York) The nude body of a 29-year-old teacher, Leah Walsh, was found Wednesday near the Long Island Expressway. Her car was previously found on Monday, locked and with a flat tire, several miles from where her body was found.

The body was found in a wooded area off a service road of the Long Island Expressway around 8 a.m., about 13 miles from where Leah Walsh's 2005 Ford Focus was found Monday.

A country club worker spotted the body and called police. They believe it had been there more than 24 hours.

Leah Walsh disappeared after a blowup with her husband over the weekend.

Close friend Lucas Bean told the Daily News she text-messaged him on Saturday evening, telling him that Bill Walsh "went berserk" and that their marriage was over.

She was supposed to call him with details of the argument - she was in the car with her husband when she sent the text messages - but never did, Bean said.

Leah's husband, Bill Walsh, has been arrested and is in custody. Nassau County police are not releasing details.

PETA Name Changer

Reported a couple weeks ago, a 19-year-old animal rights idealist has changed her name to Cutout Dissection.com to protest animal dissections in schools.

Jennifer Thornburg, whose driver's license now reads Dissection.com, now wants to be called Cutout for short.

Her new legal name is the URL for an anti-dissection website created by People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA).

"I normally do have to repeat my name several times when I am introducing myself to someone new," Cutout told her local paper, the Asheville Citizen Times.

"Once they find out what my name is, they want to know more about what the Web site is about."

She said family members still call her Jennifer.

Cutout is an intern for PETA.

Fatwa for Yoga

(Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia) A leading Islamic cleric is calling for a fatwa against the practice of yoga by Muslims.

Mr Harussani Zakaria, a controversial cleric from the northern Perak state, said the government-backed National Fatwa Council would soon release a decree, or 'fatwa', which would decide if Muslims were allowed to practise yoga.

'If it involves any faith or religious elements it is definitely not permissible but if it is just a form of exercise that is all right,' Mr Harussani said.

'Muslims cannot practice yoga in its original form because it involves another religion,' he said in response to a call to ban Muslims from engaging in yoga.

Presumably, sweating with the oldies is still permitted.

Most Reliable Pole




Story here.

Obama-Biden Tax Calculator

Somebody has finally taken the guesswork out of the numbers and created the real Obama-Biden tax calculator. Use the calculator and rid yourself of all worry.

Pagan Samhain Holiday This Weekend

(San Francisco, California) Bay Area pagans are preparing for their biggest holiday, called Samhain, this weekend. Reportedly, it's a festival of harvest, renewal and communing with the dead.

"I wouldn't know anyone who conducts a seance," said witch Deborah Oak Cooper, a member of the Reclaiming collective. "At the Spiral Dance (expected to draw more than 1,000 celebrants to Kezar Pavilion on Saturday), there's a trance journey, where you go to the Isle of Apples and visit your beloved dead. It's a meditation period: You go and look around and see who wants to visit."

"You might create an altar and make an offering," said Starhawk, a political activist and the Bay Area's best known contemporary witch. "Then you can sit down and talk: 'Hey, Mom, sorry I was such a hard teenager for you to deal with. Now I understand how that must have been for you, and I wish you were here so we could sit and talk about it.' "

I would suggest that Starhawk is not the best-known witch in the Bay Area. Nancy Pelosi and Cindy Sheehan are at least as familiar to people as Starhawk.

I'll confess to being largely uninformed about paganism but I do recall reading somewhere that pagans sacrifice virgins. If so, it would explain how Muslim martyrs can be met by 72 virgins in the afterlife. In effect, pagans are recruiting the virgins for the Muslim martyrs.

Knowing that the two religions are blending their desires is probably comforting to the tolerance-above-all advocates. Well, except for those who are virgins, of course.

Iran Opens Naval Base on Gulf

(Tehran, Iran) The Iranians must be proud of their new naval base.

Iran has opened new naval facilities east of the Strait of Hormuz, on the entrance to the Persian Gulf.

Navy chief Brigadier-General Habibollah Sayyari said that the base in the town of Jask would enable Iran to block the entry of an "enemy" into the Persian Gulf.

Iran has threatened to close the strait in response to a potential threats.

Heh.

Yellow-Crested Abbott's Cockatoo

(Jakarta, Indonesia) Feared extinct, the yellow-crested Abbott's cockatoo isn't.

Ten Yellow-crested Abbott's cockatoos were found on the Masalembu archipelago off Java island, the Indonesian Cockatoo Conservation group told AFP.

"We were excited when we found them in residential areas on Masakambing island," researcher Dudi Nandika said.

The group included four breeding pairs and two juveniles.

Despite the discovery the Yellow-crested Abbott's cockatoo (Cacatua sulphurea abbotti) remains the rarest species of the bird on earth, he said.

It hasn't been seen since scientists observed a group of five in 1999, researcher Dwi Agustina said.

Found in residential areas, eh? Scientists probably couldn't find any of them since "who looks in the back yard?"

Group Pride, insecurity and the Left

Strictly speaking, the generalizability of the research below is limited by the sample they used but the conclusions are very ancient and almost certainly true. In ancient Athens, hubris (arrogant pride) was actually considered a crime while megalopsuchia (proper pride; big spiritedness) was a virtue. I follow the report below with a few notes about the wider implications of the research

From screaming baseball fans to political rally-goers, groups that engage in boastful self-aggrandizing may be trying to mask insecurity and low social status. "Our results suggest that hubristic, pompous displays of group pride might actually be a sign of group insecurity as opposed to a sign of strength," said researcher Cynthia Pickett, associate professor of psychology at the University of California, Davis.

The new study reveals how two types of pride are related to a person's good feelings about one social group or another to which they belong. These good feelings could come from being a Los Angeles Lakers fan (when they win), a war veteran, a member of a particular ethnic group or a sorority gal or fraternity brother. But while authentic pride is linked with real confidence in your group, hubristic pride is a false arrogance that belies insecurities about one's group. These results build on past research showing similar pride characteristics in individuals.

"It turns out, people who have the hubristic collective pride in their group, underlying it all is an insecurity about whether the group is good enough, really," said researcher Jessica Tracy, a psychologist at the University of British Columbia. The research was presented last week at a meeting of the Society for Experimental Social Psychology in Sacramento.

In three studies, Pickett, Tracy and their colleagues surveyed more than 300 undergraduate students, first asking each participant to write about an experience when they felt proud of their group. In one of these studies, students had to recall the UC Davis football win over Stanford. In another, Asian American students were asked to write about a proud experience tied with their ethnic background. Other experiences ranged from sports team wins to achievements by sororities, say raising a big chunk of money for a charity.

Each participant then rated to what extent they would use certain words to describe themselves at the time of the event or achievement. Some of the descriptors indicated hubristic pride, such as "snobbish," "pompous" and "smug," while others were linked with authentic pride, such as "accomplished," "successful" and "confident." Students also answered questions about the status of the group, including whether the group was valued by non-members, whether they themselves thought highly of the group, whether the group was under threat or in competition with another group, and other group-related questions.

The results showed that groups in which individuals boasted and gloated - a sign of hubristic pride - tended to have low social status or they were vulnerable to threats from other groups. So the worse the person felt about their group's status as well as how badly they thought the public viewed the group, the more likely that member would experience that empty, boastful pride. In contrast, those groups that expressed pride by humbly focusing on members' efforts and hard work tended to have high social standing in both the public and personal eyes.

Hubristic pride can rear its ugly head in both small groups like sports teams and larger groups like citizens of a country. "A lot of this has real-world implications," Tracy told LiveScience. "There are some kinds of collective pride where people get really angry and hostile and feel like 'it's not just that my group is great but my group is better.'" She added, "You can think of it as the distinction between nationalism and patriotism, with nationalism being the sense of it's not just that I love my country, it's that my country is best."

When group members show signs of hubristic pride, such as making grandiose statements about their country, that could be a sign of underlying insecurity, the researchers said. "When you hear groups starting to get into that type of rhetoric it may be because they're starting to realize they're in a losing position and that they need to do something to try to drum up respect, to drum up the kind of status that they feel they're lacking," Pickett said.

Source

The first thing that needs to be stressed about the above findings -- something the authors themselves imply -- is that not all group loyalty is dysfunctional. Tribalism or group action is very common in the animal world -- from ants to apes -- and it is part of humanity too. Leftists tend to deny that, however. They see any kind of group loyalty -- such as patriotism -- as primitive. And tribalism certainly is a prominent feature of primitive societies. That something is primitive does not mean that it is weak, however. And in fact tribal loyalties of one sort or another still to this day dominate most human societies. In Muslim lands, for instance, there is virtually no loyalty to the nation. All loyalty is to your tribe, to your clan, to your kinship group or to your religion.

As Emmanuel Todd, a French Leftist historian, correctly pointed out, it is the Anglo-Saxons who are deviant. To Southern Europeans, the English family is incomprehensible. It appears pathologically fractionated. Instead of strong family loyalties, the English simply go their own way once they leave home and have almost no further contact with one-another by normal human standards. I saw this in the late '60s when I was doorknocking with a social survey in an ethnically mixed area of Sydney. One of the questions I asked was: "How often do you see relatives?" The Greeks and Italians would usually say: "Every weekend". By contrast, about half the Anglo-Australians said: "Never!".

So if even family ties are so weak among Anglo-Saxons, one can understand that tribal loyalties are very limited -- usually seen only in attachment to particular sporting teams. Sport is a re-enactment of real combat so it is a very primitive thing and draws out primitive reflexes.

But tribalism DOES have some life among Anglo-Saxons outside sport. In particular, Anglo-Saxons do have some attachment to their own nation and ethnic group. They put up surprisingly well with having other ethnic groups living among them but their preference nonetheless is generally for their own ethnic group. See here, for instance. And this tattered remnant of group loyalty is what Leftist routinely stigmatize as "racism".

Ironically, however, it is Leftists themselves who seem to have the strongest group orientation. Contrast the lukewarm support of conservatives for McCain with the hysterical adulation for Obama on the Left. And, from Hegel through Hitler ("Ein Volk, ein Reich, ein Fuehrer") to Obama, it is Leftists who glorify unity and seem to regard as ideal an anthill type of existence where everybody obeys implicitly direction from the top. So Leftists are clearly the political fanatics. And the research above does therefore identify them as the most insecure.

And there is reason for that insecurity and its compensatory fanaticism. They know that what they really want is the utter destruction of the "system" in which they live and there is always a great risk that the mask will come off that and expose them for the haters and destroyers that they are.

And that Islamic hypersensitivity about "insults" reflects insecurity is a common observation. They certainly have little to be proud of by way of real recent achievements and their sensitivity to slights shows that they know that a low opinion of them and their hamstrung lifestyle has some justification. By contrast, cartoons ridiculing Christians are routine (usually from the Left) but I have yet to hear of any Christian demands to behead cartoon publishers.

Reference: Todd, E. (1985) The explanation of ideology Oxford: Blackwell

Posted by John Ray.

Japan Hangs Two

(Tokyo, Japan) Yesterday, it was announced that Michitoshi Kuma, 70, and Masahiro Takashio, 55, were executed by hanging.

They bring the annual total of people executed by the government to 15, the most since 1999 when the government started publishing the number of people executed.

I believe that Kuma and Takashio have been deterred from committing any additional crimes.

Cartel Operative in Mexican Anti-Drug Agency

(Mexico City, Mexico) This report should come as no surprise.

Narcotraffic has been embedded in the structure of Mexico’s principal anti-drug agency [SIEDO] for 11 years, according to the US government.

Since 1997, one of principal officials in the anti-drug war, Miguel Colorado González, has been in the service of the Beltrán Leyva Cartel, according to a diplomatic note delivered by the US to Mexico.

The communication refers to the official, known as “El Viejito del Cielo” [the little old man from heaven], as using his position for aiding the illegal activities of the cartel by supplying information regarding police and military operations and the names of those involved, according to the official document.

Mexican Senator Ricardo Monreal considered that the Senate should demand an in-depth investigation regarding the infiltration of organized crime into SIEDO. He said the situation had been reported several years ago and is only the “tip of the iceberg.” He called for the Senate, as well as the Department of Justice, to conduct investigations. ”It seems important to me, worth emphasizing, the acknowledgement of what everyone has known, but that the government has not admitted: the drug cartels have infiltrated police agencies even to the federal level,” he said.

It's also alleged that the drug cartels have infiltrated the U.S. Border Patrol and ICE.

No thanks to the media for giving U.S.-Mexico border problems adequate coverage. Most Americans don't have a clue about the violence and all-out crime.

Fast-Food Restaurant Ban Near Schools

(United Kingdom) Every time Ed Balls is in the news, it's because of some new nanny-state idea.

Fast-food outlets should be barred from opening near schools, Ed Balls will say today.

The Schools Secretary also believes pupils should be prevented from leaving the premises at lunchtime to improve their diets.

There is 'no point' banning junk food in schools if teenagers can dodge healthy menus by buying from takeaway outlets which undercut school prices, he will say.

At a conference on healthy eating in schools, Mr Balls will highlight a plan by Waltham Forest Council, East London, to ban takeaways from opening within 400m of schools or youth facilities in the borough.

Town halls must use planning powers to help heads fight obesity and stop fast-food outlets 'proliferating' on the school run.

They need to do more to tackle an 'ingrained culture of unhealthy eating in schools and society'.

I have a hunch that Balls will be trying to cure other health problems. Oddly, since Balls is the Schools Secretary, one might think his job has something to do with education. Surprise!

Park Bench, Anytown, U.S.A.

(Columbus, Ohio) A federal judge has lost his mind.

A federal judge in Ohio has ruled that counties must allow homeless voters to list park benches and other locations that aren't buildings as their addresses.

U.S. District Judge Edmund Sargus also ruled that provisional ballots can't be invalidated because of poll worker errors.

Monday's ruling resolved the final two pieces of a settlement between the Northeast Ohio Coalition for the Homeless and Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner.

Jeez, it sure seems like were trending toward having no requirements to vote. No valid verifiable address should automatically disqualify people attempting to vote. What's next? Driver's license without an address? Passport? Birth certificate?

Small-Chested Banned From Motorbikes

(Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam) Operators of motorbikes must have a chest size of at least 28 inches to be legal in Vietnam.

Anyone with a chest under 28 inches will be banned from driving a motorbike - which make up 90 per cent of the traffic on the country's chaotic roads.


Anyone who is too short, too thin or too sickly will also have to seek alternative transport. Ailments such as enlarged livers or sinusitis will rule out aspirant motorists.

"The new proposals are very funny, but many Vietnamese people could become the victim of this joke," said Le Quang Minh, 31, a Hanoi stockbroker. "Many Vietnamese women have small chests. I have many friends who won't meet these criteria."

The average Vietnamese man is 5 feet, 4 inches (164 centimeters) tall and weighs 121 pounds (55 kilograms). The average Vietnamese woman is 5 feet, 1 inch (155 centimeters) tall and weighs 103 pounds (47 kilograms).

It's believed that police will be issued tape measures to check female drivers and that wonderbras will suddenly become big sellers.

It's not clear why the communist government believes the requirement will make roads safer. It's also not clear how the police will know if someone has an enlarged liver.


[Update]

According to the Vietnam News daily, the plan to ban flat-chesters has been put on hold because of public outrage.

Terrorist Sentenced to Death in Iraq

(Baghdad, Iraq) An Iraqi court found a terrorist guilty and sentenced him to death for killing Americans.

The Central Criminal Court of Iraq unanimously charged Ibrahim Karim Mohammed Saleh al-Qaraghuli with "acts of terrorism in the murder of three American military personnel in June 2006", the statement said.

It said two other Iraqi accomplices in the crime were found not guilty and charges against them were dismissed.

Specialist David Babineau, Private First Class Kristian Menchaca and Thomas Tucker, from the 101st Airborne Division, were killed in the town of Yusifiya on June 16, 2006.

They died "as a result of a terrorist attack and abduction carried out by insurgents on June 16, 2006," the military said.

The trial of Qaraghuli lasted for 30 days and was held at Baghdad's newly built court in Rusafa district.

Good.

Chicago Teacher Accused of Sex with Boys

(Chicago, Illinois) A 37-year-old teacher at Calumet High School, Rebecca Daniels, has been arrested for allegedly engaging in sex with three male high school students.

Daniels faces charges of criminal sexual assault and aggravated criminal sexual abuse.

She allegedly had sex with two students and a former student of the school. One of the boys was 15, and the other two were 16, prosecutors said.

The sexual contact allegedly occurred over the summer and ended Oct. 15, prosecutors said.

Daniels was booked into custody with bail set at $100,000.

Treating Porn Addiction

Here’s some information for those who suffer from porn addiction.

Like many other addictions, porn addiction is not easy to cure. The most widely accepted treatment is telephone counseling, often accompanied by cognitive behavioral therapy.

For example, doctors create an unpleasant atmosphere around the experience, such as making the patients smell garbage or giving them mild electric shocks while watching porn.

Frankly, since the appeal of porn is essentially different strokes for different folks, some people might consider that the garbagey smell and electric shocks actually contribute to the porn experience. It depends on what part of town a person hangs out, of course.

Skeptical scientist has university certification revoked!

The Green/Left never stop trying to stifle dissent. Press release from Dr. David Deming [profdeming@earthlink.net] below. He is a geophysicist and an associate professor of arts and sciences at the University of Oklahoma who has published numerous peer-reviewed research articles. Dr. Deming's Senate December 6, 2006 testimony is available here. University President Boren is a "staunch supporter of Obama". One Fascist supports another, I guess

For ten years or more, professor David Deming has taught a course in environmental geology at the University of Oklahoma. In October 2008, he was informed that the "general education" certification for his course was being revoked. Under the University of Oklahoma system, this means that student enrollment in the course is likely to drop by two-thirds.

This is a course which receives outstanding student evaluations. Professor Deming is well-known to be a global-warming skeptic. In 2006, he testified before the US Senate that media coverage of global warming had descended into "irrational hysteria." See here.

Professor Deming is unaware of any other case in the history of the University of Oklahoma where the "gen ed" certification for a course has been revoked. It would appear possible that professor Deming's position on global warming was a motivating factor. But in this case, the tragedy is that the people being punished are the students, not the professor. Those who wish to express their concern can do so by writing or calling University of Oklahoma President David Boren.

David Boren, President
University of Oklahoma
110 Evans Hall
Norman, OK 73019
telephone: 405-325-3916
email: dboren@ou.edu



Posted by John Ray.

Ask Questions, Get Investigated

Reporters who have been investigating out-of-state campaign workers for allegedly registering to vote in Ohio are now being investigated by Obama supporters and, some might say, intimidated.

This piggybacks in substance with the investigation of Joe the plumber and Joe Biden’s recent outrage after being asked questions by a reporter in Florida. It boils down to, simply, the leftists will mete out retribution for asking the wrong questions.

I can’t imagine that the practice will change with the accumulation of more political power.

Wisconsin Woman Gets Prison for Sex with Boy - Updated

(Oshkosh, Wisconsin) Forty-two-year-old Teresa M. Cantrall was sentenced yesterday in Winnebago County Circuit Court for sexually assaulting a 13-year-old boy who was reportedly a friend of her children.

Cantrall received eight years in prison followed by eight years of extended supervised probation.

Presumably, either Cantrall or her lawyer expressed remorse or apologies although nothing has been reported. Her status as a convicted sex offender should dictate registration.

* * * * *
Woman Charged in MySpace Boy Sex Case
[Previous 5/27/08 post]
(Oshkosh, Wisconsin) A 41-year-old local woman, Teresa M. Cantrall, has been charged with three counts of sexual assault of a child for engaging in a sexual relationship with a 13-year-old boy.

Police were alerted to the alleged offenses after a traffic stop of a vehicle driven by the boy.

The boy told officers that he and Cantrall, who was in the vehicle with him, had sexual intercourse between 10 and 15 times since August 2007 and the majority of contact took place at Cantrall’s residence in the 1500 block of Plummer Street.

Cantrall told officers she met the boy about two years ago and communicated with him at least twice a week and also using MySpace, an online social networking site. She acknowledged the boy’s parents did not like her spending time with their son, as they had tried to get a restraining order against her, but the boy would sneak out to meet her, the complaint states.

Cantrall estimated she had sexual intercourse with the boy eight times and that she knew he was 13 years old. She also told officers “she knew it was wrong to have sex with him but that she loved him very much and cared for him a lot,” the complaint states.

So, Cantrall met the boy via MySpace when he was 11 years old and commenced developing a two-year romantic relationship which led to sex. And now, even though loving him is wrong, she doesn't want to be right.

Cantrall was booked into custody at the Winnebago County Jail with bond set at $5,000. A preliminary hearing is scheduled for June 2.

My questions? What the hell is wrong with this woman? And why was she trolling MySpace in the first place?


[Update 9/8/08

(Oshkosh, Wisconsin) Teresa Cantrall, now 42, pleaded no contest today to two counts of second-degree sexual assault of a child. Sentencing is scheduled for October 27th.

HOPE ON PROJECT

The following series details the truth about Senator Obama.

Let's Never Find Out Series:

Part 1 - The Mortgage Meltdown and Obama
Part 2 - Drill, Baby, Drill
Part 3 - Punished
Part 4 - The One: He's Not Just the Messiah; He's a Socialist
Part 5 - Earmarks
Part 6 - Chicken Button
Part 7 - Trust
Part 8 - Middle Class
Part 9 - Not This Time

I contend that the arguments are unassailable and, unless one has consumed the Kool-Aid of hope and change, enough reasons to vote against Barack Obama.

Visit the links and see for yourself.

Oklahoma Teacher Accused of Being Drunk in Class

(Oklahoma City, Oklahoma) A 48-year-old substitute teacher at Edmond Memorial High School, Charlene Banks, has been arrested for allegedly being drunk in class.

A spokesperson for Edmond Public Schools, who wouldn't appear on camera said the situation would be handled using the districts' drug and alcohol free workplace policy. That policy states being under the influence on school property is prohibited. Violation of that policy would result in disciplinary action, which may include dismissal.

"As soon as they were notified, they had her out of the classroom, into the office and into jail," said Edmond Police spokesperson, Glynda Chu.

The school resource officer says Banks admitted to drinking vodka the night before but says she stopped at 11:00 p.m. But her appearance said otherwise.

"She did have alcohol on her breath, her speech was slurred and she was walking unevenly," said Chu.

Banks was reportedly in the classroom for only a few minutes before action was taken by the administration.

Jerry Lewis Stuns Aussie Audience

During a recent interview in Australia, American entertainer Jerry Lewis remarked that cricket is a “fag game” while miming the swinging of a cricket bat in an effeminate manner.

In response, the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation and the Australian Coalition for Equality have called for an apology.

Notably, Jerry Lewis has a history of making offensive statements but a spokesperson said Lewis did not intend to comment on this latest episode.

I think it's curious that the homosexual crowd was offended but apparently not the cricket-loving crowd.

Girls Kill Their Adoptive Mother

(Gwinnett County, Georgia) Two Guatemalan orphan girls, adopted by an American woman, have been convicted and sentenced for her death. Brenda and Catherine O’Connell, both 17, received life in prison for the murder of Muriel O’Connell, 57, their adoptive mother.

Sadly, a good deed has been punished. Muriel O’Connell offered her heart and her home and, in return, lost her life.

Tip: SuidaeEmpathy

Obama’s Political Touchstone: Redistribution of Wealth

In a 2001 interview, Barack Obama came close to actually quoting Karl Marx. Switch a few words around and it becomes easy to imagine them being spoken by Josef Stalin, Vladimir Lenin, Adolph Hitler, Mao Tse-tung or Fidel Castro.

No matter how you package socialism or how it’s framed, socialism is "government redistribution of wealth."

HOPE ON PROJECT: Part 7 - Trust

Today's entry in the HOPE ON PROJECT, discussion and video, is at Weapons of Mass Discussion. It asks the question, "Senator Obama, how can we trust you?"

When youngsters are growing up, their parents are extra cautious about bad influences and go to great lengths to protect them. Career-minded young adults stay away from the wrong people and try to network with the right crowd to benefit their upward ambitions. And everyday citizens avoid driving through dangerous parts of cities to preclude bad things from happening to them.

Recognizing and avoiding the dangerous elements in society are primary concerns of most citizens. Many people have come across deviant and violent criminals in their lives and, typically, they take action to disassociate themselves with those individuals. People usually want nothing to do with the bad crowd and its members.

So, you say you know all this. What's the big deal?

Well, based upon media cheerleading and their reports, American citizens are being asked to elect a man to the Presidency who can easily be classified as a close associate of the bad crowd. Senator Barack Obama has enough ties to people who are anti-American and anti-capitalist to raise legitimate questions about his belief system.

Matt Hurley analyzes the relationships Barack Obama has maintained through the years, in particular, domestic terrorist William Ayers. Read the analysis and maybe you'll ask the same question I have.

"Senator Obama, how can I trust you?"

__________________________________________
HOPE ON PROJECT

Let's Never Find Out Series:

Part 1 - The Mortgage Meltdown and Obama
Part 2 - Drill, Baby, Drill
Part 3 - Punished
Part 4 - The One: He's Not Just the Messiah; He's a Socialist
Part 5 - Earmarks
Part 6 - Chicken Button

Cannibal Cult Tortured Boys

(Brno, Czech Republic) Six reported members of a religious cult, the Grail Movement, have been convicted of psychologically and physically torturing children. Each received between five and 10 years in prison.

The sick abuse and torture were exposed when a neighbor installed a baby monitor to keep check on a newborn. Fortunately, the monitor also picked up signals from an identical monitor in the torture house next door. The signals indicated abuse and torture.

A cannibal cult mother who tortured her son in a locked cellar while relatives skinned him and forced him to eat his own flesh has been jailed for nine years.

Klara Mauerova, 31 - a member of a sinister religious cult and her sister Katerina led the sickening torture of her eight-year-old son Ondrej and his ten year-old brother Jakub.

A court in Brno in Czech Republic heard how relatives partially skinned Ondrej and forced him to eat his own flesh.

The judge also jailed Katerina, 35, for ten years for her role in the sickening abuse.

The two boys had told judges how their mother and relatives had stubbed cigarettes out on their bare skin, whipped them with belts, and tried to drown them. They were also sexually abused and forced to cut themselves with knives.

The terrified youngsters said they were kept in cages or handcuffed to tables and made to stand in their own urine for days.

The sick sisters - both members of weird religious cult the Grail Movement - refused to reveal why they tortured the brothers.

But state prosecutor Zuzana Zamoravcova said: 'Their aim was to make the boys blindly serve their religious goals.'

Judge Pavel Goth said as he sentenced the women: 'Their aim was to create a person with a completely broken will. Ondrej and Jakub were repeatedly psychologically and physically tyrannised and held in locked rooms.'

Also convicted and sentenced to five years in prison was 34-year-old Barbara Skrlova. Skrlova lived with the Mauerova sisters during the time of the abuse and escaped to Norway when an investigation was launched.

As previously reported, Skrlova posed as a 12-year-old boy and then a 13-year-old girl to escape notice in Norway. Her impersonations weren't effective and she was arrested and returned to the Czech Republic.

Other members sentenced were 28-year-old Hana Basova, 25-year-old Jan Skrla, and a man named Jan Turek. They each received between five and seven years in prison.

To be fair, the website for the Grail Movement has distanced itself from the actions of the Mauerova group, claiming that, instead, the abusers were members of:

"[A] group headed by Joseph Skria who was banned from the Grail Movement in 1996. This fact came out in the trial and is a matter of public record. Thus attempts by the press to connect the Grail Movement with the crimes committed in the Czech Republic are unfortunate and incorrect."

I hate these stories.

Tip: slwlion

Terrorism and Child Porn Linked

This issue is finally starting to gain exposure. Much more needs to be said, written and done about it.

Besides their well-known penchant for anti-Semitism, misogyny and nihilistic violence, Muslim extremists are also gaining a disturbing reputation among British security agencies as collectors of child pornography.

According to a report on The Times website last week, police in Great Britain are discovering that their investigations into Muslim terrorism are leading them into the depraved world of child sexual exploitation. The reverse is also occurring with child protection officers encountering people who are “preparing to carry out terrorist acts.”

At one time, the link between the two deviant behaviours was considered so strong that security officials considered establishing an anti-terrorism project involving child welfare experts, but never followed through because Scotland Yard’s hands were too full with other terrorist investigations.

But demand is growing in Great Britain for the setting up of such a task force that could help security agencies understand the terrorist mindset and prevent future attacks.

“This is an important development,” said Labor MP Andrew Dinsmore. “We have to do more than just police work. It needs child protection, criminological and psychological work. It could become a very important weapon in the fight against terrorism.”

Read the rest at Front Page Magazine.

Protecting the world's children takes a bite out of terrorism.

Obama campaign can't handle tough questions


WFTV-Channel 9's Barbara West conducted a satellite interview with Sen. Joe Biden on Thursday. A friend says it's some of the best entertainment he's seen recently. West wondered about Sen. Barack Obama's comment, to Joe the Plumber, about spreading the wealth. She quoted Karl Marx and asked how Obama isn't being a Marxist with the "spreading the wealth" comment.

"Are you joking?" said Biden, who is Obama's running mate. "No," West said. West later asked Biden about his comments that Obama could be tested early on as president. She wondered if the Delaware senator was saying America's days as the world's leading power were over. "I don't know who's writing your questions," Biden shot back.

Biden so disliked West's line of questioning that the Obama campaign canceled a WFTV interview with Jill Biden, the candidate's wife. "This cancellation is non-negotiable, and further opportunities for your station to interview with this campaign are unlikely, at best for the duration of the remaining days until the election," wrote Laura K. McGinnis, Central Florida communications director for the Obama campaign. McGinnis said the Biden cancellation was "a result of her husband's experience yesterday during the satellite interview with Barbara West."



WFTV news director Bob Jordan said, "When you get a shot to ask these candidates, you want to make the most of it. They usually give you five minutes." Jordan said political campaigns in general pick and choose the stations they like. And stations often pose softball questions during the satellite interviews. "Mr. Biden didn't like the questions," Jordan said. "We choose not to ask softball questions." Jordan added, "I'm crying foul on this one."

Source



Posted by John Ray.

Australia: Climate language must be changed


First "global warming" became "climate change". Now we have ...

"Government experts say the word "drought" is making farmers feel bad and want people to use the word "dryness" instead. Farmers also needed to accept that drier weather was here to stay, said a report by the Government's hand-picked Drought Policy Review Expert Social Panel. "Words like drought ... have negative connotations for farm families," the report said. "There needs to be a new national approach to living with dryness, as we prefer to call it, rather than dealing with drought."

Source

What makes farmers feel bad is lack of rain ... not what you call it.



Posted by John Ray.

Barney Frank: Cut Military by 25%

(New Bedford, Massachusetts) At a meeting on Thursday, Congressman Barney Frank called for a 25% reduction in military spending along with a tax increase to pay for more welfare in food stamps, health care and unemployment.

Frank is presuming a Democrat takeover of Washington in January with the above as primary agenda items.

Let's pray that he presumes incorrectly.

HOPE ON PROJECT: Part 6 - Chicken Button

Today's entry in the HOPE ON PROJECT, discussion and video, is at Thurber's Thoughts. An analysis of Senator Obama's record as a decision-maker is presented with the contention that he often pushes the "chicken" button.

__________________________________________
My thoughts:

Barack Obama claims he is the leader America needs and he is prepared to make the tough decisions.

Contrary to Senator Obama's assertion, however, sources indicate that when he was called upon to make decisions as a member of the Illinois State Senate, he voted "present" 130 times.

"An examination of Illinois records shows at least 36 times when Mr. Obama was either the only state senator to vote present or was part of a group of six or fewer to vote that way."

Inexplicably, he even voted "present" on bills he ostensibly supported and, in one case, he voted "present" on a bill he sponsored.

Therefore, Obama's history shows him to be a frequent avoider, not a tough decision-maker. That's troubling. When the President of the United States is confronted with a crisis demanding swift, assertive action, the last thing needed is a chief executive sitting on his hands.

__________________________________________
HOPE ON PROJECT

Let's Never Find Out Series:

Part 1 - The Mortgage Meltdown and Obama
Part 2 - Drill, Baby, Drill
Part 3 - Punished
Part 4 - The One: He's Not Just the Messiah; He's a Socialist
Part 5 - Earmarks

Habitual Molester in Canada

(Edmonton, Alberta, Canada) In March 2008, a 44-year-old convicted child molester, Danial Todd Gratton, was released from a sex offender residential treatment program after completing a six-year sentence for molesting six children, one of which he assaulted 70 times.

Earlier this month, Gratton appeared in court to face new charges.

Gratton, 44, faces charges of sexual assault, sexual interference, abduction, kidnapping, and uttering death threats after a 10-year-old girl was abducted on Oct. 3.

He also has been charged with sexual assault, sexual interference, abduction, kidnapping, and administering a noxious substance in connection with the abduction of a seven-year-old girl from a playground two days later, on Oct. 5.

A court-provided lawyer asked for a continuance since Gratton did not have a lawyer. It was granted and scheduled reportedly for yesterday. There's no news on the outcome yet.

This case raises some issues worth pursuing:

Gratton had been released from his six-year incarceration and the public was not alerted that a long-term sex offender was in the community.

When released, Gratton was under a 10-year supervision order which requires local police to conduct a high-risk assessment which leads to notification of neighbors. It wasn't performed and police say that corrections officials failed to forward the proper paperwork.

The Correctional Service of Canada is investigating.

Regarding Gratton's sentence of only six years for multiple child sex assaults, it's laughable. As a convicted predatory child sex pervert, I contend that Gratton's four years in prison and two years in a treatment program were not sufficient to pay for his crimes and protect the public. Gratton should have been locked up much longer. Forever would be my recommendation. He's a demonstrated menace to society.

Another issue arising from Gratton's court appearance is that he arrived with noticeable injuries -- a black eye and a bruised temple. According to Alberta Solicitor General spokesman Andy Weiler, Gratton needed to be "restrained" by Edmonton Remand Center guards after he became "aggressive." Gratton claims he was assaulted. My guess would be that Gratton experienced considerable restraining, possibly several sessions by several guards. I would even suggest that more restraining is in his future.

A father in Canada sent me this story, expressing outrage at the namby-pamby sentences meted out to sex offenders in Canada. Fearing for his children, Eric Milner wants to immigrate to the U.S. where he believes perverts are treated more harshly.

One last thing, Gratton is accused of committing back-to-back offenses on October 3rd and 5th. He was released from the treatment facility in March. I find it hard to believe that Gratton molested no children between March and October. The man has demonstrated that he can't control his urges. He needs to be restrained.

Virginia Officials Illegally Discard Military Votes, Allow Out-of-State Votes


In Virginia's liberal Fairfax County, officials are illegally discarding absentee ballots cast by members of the military based on a technical requirement that is preempted by federal law. Meanwhile, people who live out-of-state are being allowed to vote (some people have boasted of being registered to vote, and voting, both in Virginia and another state) in Virginia elections, contrary to state law, based on instructions from liberal state voting officials and false claims by liberal advocacy groups.

The Washington Examiner reports on October 24 that "Fairfax County elections officials are rejecting about 200 overseas ballots, many of them from members of the military, saying the voters failed to observe a minor technicality in filling out their absentee forms." As retiring Congressman Tom Davis notes, that technicality "violates federal law" through its "disparate treatment of overseas voters."

"The State Board of Elections last week instructed county officials to adhere to the letter of the [state] law," even though it is preempted by contrary federal law. Officials at the State Board of elections are appointed by liberal Governor Tim Kaine.

Meanwhile, that same Board of Elections ordered Norfolk registrar Elisa J. Long to ignore state law by allowing college students not domiciled in Virginia to register and vote in Virginia elections.

The military votes in Fairfax County are being discarded by long-time Democratic operative Rokey Suleman, who became the Fairfax County registrar (a supposedly non-partisan position) after long being "active in Ohio Democratic politics." Suleman earlier sent staffers into the Fairfax County jail to register criminals to vote.

Source (See the original for links)



Posted by John Ray.

Woman Brandishes Biohazard Weapon

(Fort Pierce, Florida) A 27-year-old local woman, Ermith Emonfils, attempted to fend off the police by brandishing a "well-used and bloody female sanitary napkin" when she was arrested for alleged shoplifting.

Emonfils was stopped after walking out of a Walgreens without paying for Elizabeth Arden Mediterranean cologne, a bottle of bright green Sinful Colors nail polish and a package of “extra long” black fake eyelashes.

Emonfils said, “Sex? Sex?” while walking toward an officer before she was handcuffed.

As officers put her in a patrol car, she “grabbed behind her and pointed a well-used and bloody female sanitary napkin” at two officers.

“Both officers told her to drop the well-used and bloody female sanitary napkin, but the suspect refused,” the affidavit states. “I delivered a firm, lawful command to the suspect to drop the object and told her it was gross.”

A female officer eventually put the “offensive and potentially dangerous biohazard item” in a plastic bag.

Emonfils faces misdemeanor charges from the incident.

Obviously, Emonfils hasn't attended charm school.