Head Start Program Allegedly Scammed

(Cleveland, Ohio) Employees of Ohio's largest Head Start agency, the Council for Economic Opportunities in Greater Cleveland, have apparently been scamming taxpayer dollars by erroneously reporting numbers of children enrolled and failing to meet requirements for numbers of low-income enrollees. Additionally, concerns have been raised about excessively high salaries and travel expenditures for Head Start managers which are far above federal compensation guidelines.

One former Head Start employee, Lorann Pierzchala, has come forward and stated that she was instructed to pad the enrollment as a common practice. She was not allowed to remove a child from a class roster when the child had stopped attending unless there was a replacement. Pierzchala worked for Cleveland's West Side Ecumenical Ministry from 2000 to 2003. She was laid off in April 2003 and told her chances of getting unemployment would hinge on her signing a non-disclosure agreement with Head Start to "not speak negatively of your job duties or of your employment relationship ...." Since national security is surely not involved, one has to assume that the non-disclosure agreement was to hide something sensitive, confidential, or fraudulent. You make the call.

According to Steve Barbour, spokesman for the Department of Health and Human Services, a fiscal management review of the Cleveland Head Start Program is scheduled for May.

Cleveland Serial Rapist

(Cleveland, Ohio) Starting in 1996, a serial rapist has been active in the Cleveland area, targeting women from 13 to 54. So far, nine separate rapes have been tied to one criminal by DNA analysis. According to Police Chief Ed Lohn,

"In 1996, they had a green pickup truck. In 2002, one of the victims reported that he had some sort of a ringworm infection on his right thigh. In 2004, he had a maroon car and has some knowledge of Cleveland State University," Lohn said.

The rapist is described as black man with bulging eyes weighing 150 to 200 lbs.

'De-Gendered' School Restrooms

According to this report, liberal activists have pressured several schools of higher learning to provide "de-gendered" restrooms for the student body. Those named include the University of Chicago, Beloit College in Wisconsin, Sarah Lawrence College in Bronxville, N.Y., the University of California at Santa Barbara, City College of San Francisco, and the New College of California. The new bathrooms will be devoid of urinals and are specifically provided for transsexuals, cross-dressers and those with a "fluid, androgynous identity."

Is everybody clear on this issue? I'm not, but I might have seen one of those fluid, androgynous folks in a Schwarzenegger movie. I don't recall whether they had their own bathroom, though.

Culling African Elephants

(Gabarone, Botswana) A Botswana ministry official stated that President Festus Mogae will confer with Zambian President Levi Mwanawasa for support in downgrading the endangered species status of African elephants to allow culling. Huge elephant herds are blamed for destroying the environment in Botswana and Zambia.

Similarly, in South Africa, Hector Magome, Director of Conservation for South African National Parks, stated that:

"We are strongly leaning towards culling and we want the public to digest this hard fact."

In South Africa's Kruger National Park, about the size of New Jersey, elephants are depleting vegetation to the point that their food supply is threatened. Four options are being considered, the first being culling. Second is relocation, third is contraception, and fourth is a combination of culling and contraception. The easiest, cheapest, and most effective is culling.

Needless to mention, animal welfare groups will protest loudly. It's also expected that a distinct objection will be raised by countries which have a significant problem with ivory poachers. As long as ivory is allowed to be harvested during authorized culling, poachers will be able to mix illegally obtained ivory into the market. Countries with recovering herds, such as Kenya, fear an increased incentive to poach.

My take is that just about any controversy regarding animals becomes global news. As an example, dolphins beach themselves in Florida and it's news in Australia. And who hasn't heard about the apparently fragile caribou in Alaska. Consequently, within the next few months we can all expect to see the media make African elephant culling a global crisis.

State Senator Wants Toilet Paper Tax

(Tallahassee, Florida) Democratic Florida lawmaker Al Lawson, has proposed a 2-cent per roll tax on toilet paper with a goal of collecting $50 million for sewer system upgrades.

The bill needs to be passed in the Republican-controlled legislature to become law which currently seems unlikely. Nonetheless, what's most troubling about the proposal is reflected in the following statement by Senator Lawson:

"Two cents is not going to hurt families at all," he said. "This is one thing people don't mind paying for."

He conveys a general attitude of nasty arrogance and condescension about confiscating the public's money. He knows what's in people's wallets and he knows how people want to spend their money. Just like opening the spigot, eh, Senator Lawson?

Wouldn't it be nice if there were fewer lawmakers who want to raise taxes and more who want to sunset expensive and ineffective programs? And, as an afterthought, isn't the state of Florida still trying to find hundreds of kids who disappeared in the foster care program?

Former Teacher Admits Sex With Her Student

(Mobile, Alabama) Melissa Daw Green, a 35-year-old former math teacher at Satsuma High School, has admitted to having a sexual relationship with a 16-year-old student. She explains:

"I was really going through some hard times, and this teenager was paying attention to me and flirting and then a relationship formed," Green said. "He was one of the very few who ever flirted with me. In the past, I had never given it a second thought. The only thing that I could say was different this time was the hard time I was going through."

Well, Melissa, boo-hoo and kindly shove your sob story. I've had hard times and I've been around flirtatious teens, but I haven't played with fire. And, responsible teachers don't have sex with their students.

Trackback to Saturday Carnival at Wizbang.

Eastern Europe Luring U.S. Companies

According to FAZ.NET, a recent survey conducted annually by the American Chamber of Commerce in Germany and the Boston Consulting Group (BCG) indicates that Eastern European countries are achieving increasing success in attracting U.S. manufacturing investment away from Germany. Participating in the survey were two-thirds of the 50 largest U.S. companies in Germany, including Ford, Proctor & Gamble, and Coca-Cola.

American companies plan to continue to invest in Germany, however, the largest job-creation business activities, such as automobile and industrial goods manufacturing, are going to Eastern Europe. Also departing Germany are call center and information technology services.

In the area of financial services, the trend is for companies to pass up locating in Germany in favor of Switzerland, the Netherlands, and Great Britain, countries considered to offer better business opportunities.

The results of the survey come as no real surprise, rather they confirm what has been apparent. The German economy labors with a dismal and enduring unemployment rate in excess of 10% and government reforms have been instituted to improve circumstances. Nevertheless, current German social and labor reforms haven't improved its reputation as a business location. Companies participating in the survey cite persistent concerns with high taxes, high wage rates, and government regulations.

The longer-term outlook for Germany is troubling also as the Central and Eastern European nations, called the CEE-8, progress toward greater privatization. With more and more CEE-8 state-owned properties being sold to private interests, alternatives are available for U.S. and other foreign companies to invest in less regulated economic environments. At present, private sector business produces from two-thirds to over 80% of the income for the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Slovakia, Lithuania, Poland, Latvia and Slovenia.

In conclusion, as long as a company sees a way to reduce the cost of doing business by relocating its operations, it will move. And, it appears that some places are cheaper than Germany for certain business activities.

Brian Nichols Captured

I've been following the story as Jeff Quinton liveblogs at Backcountry Conservative. Kudos to Jeff for a fine job. Go visit.

Outstanding coverage is also at Ramblings' Journal by Michael King who lives and works in the vicinity. The whole horrible situation is personal to him. Go visit.

From a person perspective, naturally I'm relieved that Nichols is in custody, but I'm still angry. Three, possibly four, people have been murdered because of a procedural inadequacy in the Atlanta Courthouse. Somebody needs to go to school.

It is also worth noting that I've been watching the story play out on television, going from channel to channel, and it seems that Fox News was more informative than the others.

Nurses Charged With Laxative Scheme

(Medina, Ohio) Nightshift nurses at Willowood Care Center face abuse charges for feeding laxatives to patients so that the dayshift nurses would have a tougher time at work.

What jerks.

N. Korean Increased Drug Trafficking

According to an ABC News Online report:

North Korea has shifted its focus to drug trafficking from dwindling missile exports as a major revenue source to cover its huge trade deficit, senior US administration officials say.

U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Robert Charles, who is responsible for international narcotics and law enforcement affairs, noted a significant difference in North Korea's exports of $650 million compared to imports of $1 billion.

"Fifty per cent of the imports are paid for through sources of revenue that are not legitimate or legal and that the majority of the illegitimate revenue is likely to be directly tied to drugs," he said.

"We ... have a very strong view that illegal drugs, in particular heroin and methamphetamine stimulants, are probably the biggest illegal revenue generator in terms of the overall net revenue that is used to make external purchases."

So, it appears the NORKS are doing a little dealing to help pay the bills. Just great.

$10,000 Reward For Atlanta Shooter

On MSNBC just now, Bo Dietl, former NYC detective, offered $10,000 of his money for the capture of Brian Nichols who killed three people in an Atlanta, Georgia, courthouse escape earlier today.

Hat tip: OTB

Female Teacher Caught Naked With Student

(Anderson, South Carolina) A 33-year-old, married, female science teacher at Westside High School, Donna Carr Galloway, will avoid criminal charges after being found naked with a 17-year-old male student because the age of consent in the state is 16. The boy went to T.L. Hanna High School and, therefore, was not one of Galloway's students.


Donna Carr Galloway
Apparently, authorities caught a naked Galloway and the boy doing the back seat bossa nova in a vehicle about 11:30pm last Friday night. She was suspended from her teaching job with pay.

It seems that the state of South Carolina doesn't have clear guidelines on how to deal with situation such as this incident. If the age of consent is 16, essentially half of the student body could be mixing it up with the faculty and no laws would be broken. Hopefully, the school systems establish clear rules and harsh punishment for teacher-student sexual relationships.

Nevertheless, without specific state laws barring teachers from seducing teens, it seems that South Carolina may be allowing unscrupulous teachers to abuse their authority. Additionally, those teachers could bounce from school system to school system without ever acquiring a public record of their sex-related peccadilloes with students.

The South Carolina legislature might want to re-evaluate the rules governing teacher-student sex.

Tip: Diggers Realm, Say Anything

27 Illegals Arrested in North Carolina

(Greensboro, North Carolina) On Tuesday, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents arrested 27 illegal aliens from Sudan, Chile, Peru, Zimbabwe, the Philippines, Venezuela, Mexico, and Laos at the Piedmont/Triad International Airport. Authorities said all were carrying counterfeit documents. They were charged with violating immigration law and will be scheduled for deportation proceedings. Of course, in the meantime they'll probably be let loose and disappear. Several of those arrested had been ordered deported before and ignored the orders. What a shock!

Also disturbing is another report where it appears that at least 20 of the illegals had valid North Carolina driver's licenses and other "worrisome documents as varied as federal airplane-repair licenses, fraudulent Social Security documents, counterfeit green cards and a falsified passport." In addition, two of the illegals had FAA licenses to work on some of the most technical parts of airplanes. All in all, the embarrassment of the whole incident will soon fade as the criminal blame diffusion process is fully implemented to assure that no actual corrective measures are implemented.

Interestingly, had they been carrying "approved counterfeit" documents, such as Matricula Consular cards, they probably wouldn't have been arrested and, instead, immediately qualified for generous government handouts. But, really, nothing matters anymore now that the U.S. has adopted a policy of only pretending to have effective border controls. America's borders leak. That's a fact and the world laughs at every pissant attempt to prop up the charade. (via Diggers Realm)

Agent Orange Lawsuit Dismissed

(Brooklyn, New York) Federal District Judge Jack B. Weinstein issued a 233-page dismissal of a lawsuit against U.S. chemical companies claiming war crimes against Vietnamese civilians from Agent Orange. The judge concluded that "There is no basis for any of the claims of plaintiffs under the domestic law of any nation or state or under any form of international law."

Computer-Assisted Remote Hunting

It's seldom that gun owners and animal rights advocates agree on an issue, so this controversy is notable. Gun and animal lovers are both outraged at the practice of shooting animals via the Internet.

But John Lockwood, creator of the Live-Shot Web site, said the people trying to ban the practice do not understand how it works.

A Web camera is mounted in one area of the range, and both the camera and the gun can be manipulated remotely by computer. Lockwood said someone on the ground controls when the safety is off the gun to make sure there are no accidents and that the gun is not fired at an animal that is not eligible to be killed.

He said the camera is set up on a 336-acre ranch near San Antonio and the view is no different than that of someone who might be sitting in a blind waiting for an animal to come close.

"The camera only overlooks a small portion of the land," he said. "There is no guarantee that you'd get something."

Apparently, participants subscribe at the website, pay fees, get a Texas hunting license, and blast away. Lawmakers are being asked to pass legislation to curtail the practice, however, there doesn't seem to be a basis to make it outright illegal. Various bills have been introduced in 10 states and efforts are underway to have Congress act.

One last thing, John Lockwood claims he created the site to allow the handicapped and disabled the opportunity to experience the thrill of the hunt. How sporting. Personally, it would be nice if Lockwood created a site which enabled the hunting of terrorists.

Singapore: Surge in AIDS Linked to Gay Parties

According to a report in the Straits Times, experts believe a sharp rise in AIDS cases can be linked to yearly gay parties on Sentosa Island, just south of the main island of Singapore.

Calling it an 'epidemic', the Senior Minister of State for Health told Parliament that the number of new cases of Aids infection rose 28 per cent last year, from 242 to 311.

Nine out of 10 of the new Aids sufferers are men and a third of them are gay. There are more than 2,000 Aids patients in Singapore now.

Dr Balaji said an epidemiologist - an expert in the spread and control of diseases - had suggested to him that the spike might be linked to the Nation parties held every August on Sentosa.

The Nation parties, which attract a predominantly homosexual crowd, could have allowed 'gays from high-prevalence societies to fraternise with local gay men, seeding the infection in the local community', he said.

The Nation Parties, held annually since 2001, have attracted up to 8,000 predominantly homosexual men. The Nation Party organizer's leader, Stuart Koe, criticized as 'irresponsible' any linkage between AIDS and gay parties. Koe also criticized the government for not targeting gay men in AIDS advertising campaigns.

Since Singapore is a small and very disciplined country where just about every aspect of life is regulated, it's fairly certain that the government will institute corrective measures for the surge in AIDS cases. Just what will be done remains to be seen.

Disgusting High School Payback

(Coeur D'Alene, Idaho) As payback to the fellow student who put peanut butter on his cheese sandwich, a 17-year-old Coeur d'Alene High School classmate anonymously sent the student some personally-frosted semen brownies. The goodies were gobbled up by the recipient and two others.

The student was arrested and charged with disturbing the peace and rightly so. He's disturbed me with his disgusting prank and I'm in Ohio. Naturally, as a minor, the name of the prankster wasn't released but I'm sure he's acquired a local reputation. As such, he'd better watch his back and be extremely careful about what he eats from now on. Paybacks can be hell.

Do You Take This Pot To Have And To Hold?

The bridegroom was unable to attend his wedding so he was replaced with an earthen pot and the ceremony was completed. This could explain why some wives mistreat their husbands.

Tonya Harding vs. Daisy D

(Fort Lauderdale, Florida) Former Olympic skater, Tonya Harding, will fight popular South Florida drag queen, Daisy D, tomorrow night at Beach Bums in Fort Lauderdale.


Tonya Harding (right) with Daisy D
(Local10.com Photo)
Don't get shut out. It's not often you get to see a figure skater square off with a transvestite. Tickets are $20 at the door. And, hey, how about Tonya Harding's new look? If you get a chance, tell Louis Anderson that he looks just like Tonya Harding.

[Update 3/12/05] According to this report, the fight between Harding and drag queen Daisy was canceled and replaced with some no-name wrestling matches. People who bought tickets were essentially scammed out of their money.

'Oldest Man' Actually Dead For Years

(Itami, Japan) Kyujiro Kanaoka had been hailed for years as the oldest resident in Hyogo Prefecture. He was believed to be age 107 and every year the mayor would send him gifts on Respect For The Aged Day. Unfortunately, after Kanaoka's 75-year-old son expressed some concerns, police found his mummified body on a living room futon. An autopsy estimated that Kanaoka had actually died of illness or natural causes between five and 10 years ago.

The son and two sisters aged 79 and 72 had lived together with Kanaoka. They had kept his kimono-clad body in the first room of their house in Itami. The body had mummified. The futon on which the body was laid was surrounded by religious amulets, charms and notes. The offspring left meals beside the old man's body every day.

Holy moly! You would imagine that somebody would have noticed.