Thursday, October 13, 2005

Thomas Simich Jr's Delusions

Aside from Thomas Simich Jr's other delusions mentioned here, psychiatrist adds more to his delusional claims that "caused" or "led" to the murders of his deaf sister and her deaf huband:

Police said Simich, who is deaf, was apparently upset that his sister had suggested that he move out of the house. But the psychiatrist testified that Simich is deluded and believes, among other things, that the Bergmans were members of a cocaine-dealing cartel.

"Hearing" voices saying he'll be the last person on earth according to the Bible and believing that the Bergmans (Simich Jr's deaf sister and her deaf husband, Mr. Bergmans) were members of a coaine-dealing cartel??

So, those are reasons for murdering them?

What else will he come up with? Is he digging himself a hole?

Stay tuned...

Wednesday, October 12, 2005

Did the Oklahoma Sooner Boomer Try to Enter the Stadium?

Seems that word is getting out that Joel Hinrichs III tried to enter the Oklahoma Sooner's stadium with his back pack ladened bomb and was turned away by security when he refused to let them search the pack.

There is evidence that he sought to enter the game and was turned away by security after refusing to allow his backpack to be searched. Some minutes later, that backpack, containing the chosen explosive of shoe bomber Richard Reid and the London subway bombers, exploded, killing Mr. Hinrichs as he sat on a bench.

Generation Why, Michelle Malkins, GOP Bloggers and others are asking more quesitons whether if Hinrichs' motive was to kill as many people as possible rather or was it just a simple self-suicide only meant to kill himself? And how the MSM continues to neglect those stories. You can tell whose side the MSM is on....the side of the terrorists and not inform the public at large of these string of potential bombing efforts in the United States at football stadiums that could mean terrorist activities at work, or not.

Why ignore such details as those when innocent lives are in the balance? This is what happens when Liberal ideology gets in the way in reporting news that could be life saving by providing important information to the public.

New Research Says HIV Destroys Certain Parts of the Brain

Via the Drudge Report comes a study that proves that HIV viruses do destroy certain parts of the brains cells since drugs used to counter the viruses cannot access the brain barrier where the viruses can easily wreak havoc on those grey matters.

By using high-tech scanners, researchers from two American universities found that the brains of HIV patients were 15 percent thinner in areas that control language, planning and movement. It didn't matter if the patients were on a drug regimen known as HAART, which often allows infected individuals to keep the virus from destroying the immune system.

"The drugs clearly aren't stopping the destruction of brain tissue," said study co-author Paul M. Thompson, a neuroscience researcher at the University of California, Los Angeles.

HIV is no laughing matter since

A large percentage of HIV patients suffer from neurological problems; one study put the number at 40 percent.
Be smart. Don't take unnecssary risks.

Tuesday, October 11, 2005

Shia, Sunni and Kurdish Agrees on Final Draft of Iraqi Constitution

Good News! The leaders of Shia, Sunni and Kurdish all agree to support the final draft of the Iraqi new Constitution to be voted on this upcoming Saturday. At least one Sunni group has announced that it will support the Constitution in this Saturday's ballot vote.

Keep an eye on Iraq the Model. They should have something to say about it soon enough.

Condi vs Hillarity

Interesting book to come out called "Condi vs Hillary." The author surmises that Condi would be the person to beat Hillary Clinton in the 2008 presidential race. Of course, this makes much sense because of the excellent background of Condoleeza Rice's.

"There is one, and only one, figure in America who can stop Hillary Clinton: Secretary of State Condoleezza 'Condi' Rice," they write.

If elected, Clinton would "reinvent what we have called the secret police to destroy those who stand in her way."

"Hillary has a sense of entitlement that leaves her vulnerable to the temptations of financial misconduct," they write.

Clinton is not just "untested" by crisis, the authors write, but the former First Lady is a crybaby who "often succumbs to tears in times of adversity."

By contrast, Rice "never needed to exaggerate her record or credentials" and is an even better Christian than Clinton, according to the authors.

"Hillary has been embroiled in scandal after scandal, ever since she entered public life," they write. "In stark contrast, Condi's past is without blemish."

The authors also argue that Rice's chances would be better because she is single.

They even make this claim: "Her success has never been a matter of hitching her wagon to the political fortunes of any powerful man."


How true. Vote for Condi!

Americans Playing Risky Game of Sexual Roulette: Survey

Via from the Drudge Report today, comes a survey about how many Americans, including Deaf Americans and any Americans, are playing a risky game of sexual roulette. I had the unfortunate and blinding experience of somebody telling me in another person's blog and hearing it for the first time about a personal experience of bending over for some stranger in a closed bar. A well versed and certainly not blind gay person said that "HIV is not a laughing matter." How true. No matter how much a person thinks that condoms will do the trick, it is never 100% preventative and effective. Especially more scary is doing it with strangers on a frequent basis increasing the risk for infection of STDs or even HIV.

And when it does happen, the only person to blame is the person him/herself who insisted on having that risky lifestyle.

An Update about the DPN protest

Go here to see the update of my DPN blogging. Scroll down at the bottom to see the latest update. Apparently I had to make a few more clarifications for a few whiners who pleaded ignorance in their emails (boy, that was quick!) to me (who, also, didn't have the fortitude and gonad to even make their comments in my blog instead) and one blogsite owner by making a few obscene complaints about my recent blog on the unspoken history of DPN protest.

Geez, people. Don't go hiding from the truth, now.

Monday, October 10, 2005

Der Slick Willy and His Presidential Library

Here’s a story, richly ironic that anybody with a sense of smart would question this.

Here's the story. The Clinton Library cost $200 million to build making the other 11 Presidential libraries looking a bit on the frugal side. This makes Bill Clinton's presidential library the most expensive in presidential history. And, oh, the Clinton Library is built in the flood zone right along a river in Arkansas.

Yet, people protecting Bill Clinton will not divulge the donor’s list of those who donated money to the library's construction effort.

Any demand for a list of our donors would be flagrantly violative of the First Amendment and we would resist it. – David Kendall, Clinton foundation attorney, 2001.

Now, let’s put things into perspective here. How did Clinton come up with $200 million dollars considering that both Bill Clinton and George Bush 41 raised $100 million for the tsunami relief fund? They were doing Public Service Announcements, got themselves on Larry King Live, went onto other shows, and doing golf tourneys where you can play one hole out of 18 hole round with those two former presidents for something like $30,000. Don’t you find it a bit odd that Clinton was able to hit up for $200 million but could only must $100 million with George Bush’ help? Was Bill Clinton down on his knees kissing the Saudi Crown Prince Abdullah's rear end?

Or perhaps was it from very, very rich people that President Clinton pardoned back in 2001 right before he left office.


The former wife of the fugitive financier controversially pardoned by President Clinton on his last day in office had donated $450,000 to his presidential library fund, according to reports in Washington.

and

The pardon freed one of the world's richest men from prosecution on more than 50 counts of racketeering, wire fraud, income tax evasion and illegal oil trading with Iran.

Der slick Willy has been attempting (and continues to do so) at evading the truth and rewriting history as much as he can so he can look good right before he dies of old age. A false legacy is his dream.

But the blue-stained dressed spattered with your semen on Lewinsky's dress isn’t going to go away, Bill. Oh, yeah, you're not going to add that historical note in your Clinton Library, will you Bill?

There are two million photographs in the new Clinton presidential library. Not one of them is of Monica Lewinsky.

The name of the woman at the centre of Bill Clinton's impeachment trial appears only twice in 80 million documents.

Her face can be glimpsed only once, briefly, in a video of Mr Clinton greeting supporters. But the last, critical scene, where he reaches over the rope to hug her, has been cut.

Mr Clinton's decision to practically erase Ms Lewinsky from his history was the subject of controversy when the library in Little Rock, Arkansas, on Thursday. Library director David Alsobrook acknowledged that many wouldn't be satisfied.

"His supporters will say, 'Oh, why did you give this so much space?' " Mr Alsobrook said. "But his detractors will come up and say, 'Dave, where is the blue dress?' "

The dress refers to a frock Ms Lewinsky wore during one of her trysts with Mr Clinton. Stained with semen, it provided irrefutable DNA evidence of an affair.

The dress was returned to Ms Lewinsky after Mr Clinton's impeachment trial. She said she was going to burn it. Instead of the dress, visitors can see three of Mr Clinton's saxophones, an armoured Cadillac limousine he used to drive around in, and his stuffed cat, Socks

Of course not. You wouldn't want to ruin your legacy with that stain of yours in your Presidential library.


*splat!*

*splat!*

The Unspoken Side of Deaf President Now Protest

There is this romantic notion of what Deaf culture is suppose to represent and what “Deaf President Now” protest was all about, which was quite good benefiting to just about every Deaf (and deaf) people nationally and internationally. What is the most amazing thing is that DPN story tellers hardly ever acknowledged the fact that several laws, even Federal laws, were broken during the whole protest interim.

Deaf protesters were never addressed on some of the crimes, nor were they charged or arrested as a result of their emotional passion and zeal to put Deaf culture on a pedestal for the world to take notice in the hope of putting up an culturally-Deaf president. But instead, to the disappointment of some Deaf students, teachers and staff, got I. King Jordan. A man who was not born deaf but a man who became deaf at the age of 21 in a motorcycle accident. He is a man who did wonderful things for Gallaudet University.

Protest of this nature was a highly charged event that appealed mostly to the revved up emotions of students and staff. No official acknowledgements from Gallaudet University officials, students or staffs that laws were indeed broken during the protesting days. Philosophy classes may have discussed these moral events. But they would rather ascribe such a relatively famous event as being the “equivalent” to the days of the civil rights movements during the Montgomery bus boycott era when “quiet” and peaceful civil unrests was the preferred method even though laws, backward as they were, were broken back then. The laws of DPN now were certainly not backward by any means.

The DPN stories are told or re-enacted each year about how the protest began but never stating the obvious that illegal actions have occurred. These law-breaking events were celebrated during Gallaudet University’s 10th DPN anniversary. The re-enactment was described in Gallaudet University’s public relation website by linking to one news clipping taken from the Rochester, New York “Democrat and Chronicle” March 10 article titled “Gallaudet Celebrates Day of Dignity”:

“Two of the university's school buses were also brought to the gate yesterday for effect. Ten years ago, the buses blocked the entrances and had their tires flattened.”
First off, during the first day of the DPN protest protesters needed buses to block the gates at the entrance to the university campus. In order to do that they needed drivers with “specialized” skills to start the buses (i.e. “hot-wiring”) without using bus keys since they certainly could not ask Gallaudet University bus drivers do an unlawful act nor could they break into the maintenance building to steal the keys to the buses. They needed to find a way to move university's buses over to the entrance gates and then purposely deflate the tires so that busses would remain stationary by creating a roadblock in front of the gates. A crime has to be committed in order to move those buses in front entrances of Gallaudet University's gates. The only way that this could be done was to hijack and steal those buses.

Now, stealing a Gallaudet University bus, which is a Federal property, could only be done by hot-wiring it. Once the engine was turned on the protesters drove the buses to key gate locations to effectively block any attempts by staffs or teachers who wanted to report to work. During this 10th DPN anniversary nobody publicly acknowledged that these illegal activities occurred in the sense that buses were hijacked, hot-wired and stolen.

The stories about the buses blocking the gates are routinely talked about among the Deaf circle every year during the DPN anniversary. Even at the California School for the Deaf (CSD) protest stories of DPN were told to Deaf students and the people who were listening in during a “Community Outreach Day” to celebrate “Deaf PAH!” day by inviting Bridgetta Bourne-Firl, one the four important Deaf student leaders of DPN.

The CSD described the protest by saying in their website:

“When the protesters needed busses to block the gates to the university, drivers with specialized skills were needed to start the buses without using keys. They deflated the tires to the right tire pressure so that the busses would remain stationary and create roadblocks.”
A person who has the ability to hotwire automobiles is a person with “specialized skills.” What a nice way to mince words here. What they needed was somebody willing to commit a crime by hot-wiring a Federally-owned buses. Never did Mrs. Bourne-Firl or others mentioned the fact that laws were indeed broken in the process in order to get into those buses and move them to the desired locations around the campus gates. The university buses on the campus of Gallaudet University were Federal properties to begin with. In order to enter a bus without authorization, one has to break into one.

That is a breaking and entering charge.

Unauthorized driving of Federally-owned university bus is stealing charge. Another law broken.

Never did they say that the busses’ tires were deflated so as to prevent the police or anybody else from moving the busses away from the blocked gates of the campus of Gallaudet University - a charge of obstruction or interfering with police business.

The DPN protesters knew that the D.C. police would never purposely damage Federal property, even moving the university buses tires with the tires deflated. What they did was mince words here in their website rather than telling the full truth of the story that laws were indeed broken in order to fulfill the DPN agenda and goals.

Even one famous DPN protester, Tim Raurus, recounted wistfully the days of DPN protest in Gallaudet University’s “In Your Own Word” website chronicling in great details about how several Federal properties (e.g. Gallaudet University busses) were stolen and driven over to the gates around the campus of Gallaudet University. The person commented by saying:

“To prevent the police from breaking through the Gallaudet gates, we needed to put a Gallaudet bus next to them because we knew the police wouldn't damage the school vehicles which were Federal property. We didn't have the key to the bus I was working on. We were in a hurry. One Gallaudet student approached me... I'd never met him before... he was "oral" and hadn't mastered ASL. He had on a black leather jacket and long hair and was from New York City. He told me he could "hot wire" the Gallaudet bus and that he did.”
A picture is shown in the "In Your Own Word" website with a caption identifying the deaf “oral” student from New York who was dressed in a black leather jacket and pants wearing a white head band, a look of a typical gang, standing next to a bus owned by the Federal government.

Another law was broken when the protesting students took to the streets of Washington DC. The students marched onto the street to the Capitol steps. DC Police tried to use their megaphones to get them to stop marching but megaphone shouts fell on deaf ears, literally. This would have been political suicide had the police gathered Deaf/deaf protesters by handcuffing them with their hands behind their backs. How would these Deaf/deaf protesters communicate with their hands tied behind their backs? But the bottom line is that the DPN leaders and Deaf/deaf protesters broke more laws by not getting a protest and marching permits from the city of D.C..

Stories like these were repeated often and play-acted at every DPN anniversary or whenever DPN is discussed. These moments in Deaf history repeat a very important point about Deaf people and the opportunities they richly deserve. In an eloquent statement by a famous protester, Tim Raurus, in the same article interview:

“I tell this story because before DPN, I was not one to interact with deaf people who were not culturally deaf like myself. Deaf people have a history of fighting among themselves. Yet, during DPN, we all worked together for that common goal: a deaf president. Never mind the mode of communication our president would choose or his background, as long as he was deaf. And together we accomplished that goal.”
How quaint. Refusing to interact with those not of their kind or who were not culturally Deaf but Deaf students were willing to use them to achieve their goals to break local and Federal laws in the process.

Stories like these are told often to willing listeners or readers who are not familiar with some of the illegality that took place given that they are unable to have that opportunity when such stories are put on the pedestal by keeping some of the ugly truths aside. But laws were indeed broken and therein lies the problem among the people tightly ensconced in their Deaf culture.

Deaf DPN leaders never acknowledged publicly that some of the laws were broken and that crimes were committed in the process. They would rather focus on the historical and widely successful protest event than to acknowledge that criminal behaviors were indeed committed. But Greg Hlibok, the main leader in the DPN movement, had this to say when he recalled the experience he had as a leader during DPN:

The Deaf President Now movement was an experience where I had to use my faith to get through. It lasted for one week. The school closed. Many people would ask me if we should go and do things like break windows to get attention, but I said no. I wanted to continue in a nonviolent way. I wanted a peaceful solution. There were reasons for this. The deaf community is small. The TV media was watching. I didn’t want people to see the deaf community as violent at all. First impressions can last a long time. In any crisis situation, it is important to regulate your anger. Then, you can have a peaceful solution.
But one thing Greg failed to see is that some laws were indeed broken and crimes committed. It is, however, understandable that during a highly charged and emotional event people would sometime overreact using intimidation to goad others to join the protest or prevent others from doing their jobs like keeping the gates open or staff trying to enter to go to work. Some verbal threats were hurled at students or even staff members or teachers who had to push their way through protesting students blocking the gates. Even to the point that DPN leaders had to intervene telling protesters not to get violent with those who were physically trying to get in. Also, Gallaudet University officials never announced officially that the campus was officially shut down. Protesters may have to a large degree prevented staff members and teachers from going to their offices but food and supplies had to be delivered. Understandably so. Protesters cannot starve at a critical time as this.

Of course, aside from verbal threats and derisive shouts, physical threats toward at least one Galladuet University student who did not want to participate (like many others who chose not to) or help with the protest were supposedly one of the very few isolated incidents that have occurred during DPN protest. Incidents like these clarified the fact that there were deaf or hard of hearing students who were not completely familiar or understood what this Deaf culture was about on the campus of Gallaudet University.

Each year many deaf or hard of hearing students attend the “New Signers Program” to learn how to sign, an important indoctrination into the Deaf culture by getting them assimilated into a virtually unknown culture. Many students simply did not want to participate in DPN. While many, many more did contribute to this historical protest.

This points out to the fact that there were deaf or hard of hearing “non-conformist.” They would surely get the short end of the stick with chidings, belittlements, harassments and even the possibility physical threats from Deaf people when such “non-conformist” actions do not jive with their Deaf culture’s ideals, expectations or norms.

However, DPN was more of a peaceful civil disobedience rather than an all-out law-breaking protest event resulting in damage to Federal or private properties, causing injuries from physical actions or threats. Of course, in one case, a Gallaudet University student came close in getting physically assaulted from one of the few rabid Deaf protesters when they asked the student (as well as others) to join the protest. The student refused. They then signed that they will beat up that student if they ever the student again.

All in all, the DPN protest was a relatively and amazingly “smooth” protest with the usual up and down chaotic and emotional moments resulting in very little, if any, or no damage to Federal and private properties. It was a highly successful and momentous event in Deaf American history. However, many people not familiar with the protest or Deaf culture would see that Deaf people have the ability to hold other people “hostage” to their ideals in the name of Deaf culture to an almost “cult-like” status.


Oh, btw, I was there observing the whole thing and "participated" right up to the Capitol steps, learning as I went along like lemmings before a cliff.

UPDATE: If you have a complaint about me critizing DPN then you have a bigger problem than I thought. Good as the results that came out of the historical protest in opening people's eyes, it is not without fault. Those who refuse to acknowledge that laws were indeed broken and crimes committed also refuse to see the whole historical context of the DPN in its entirety and truth. If you were there, like I was in the protest from the begining to end as an observer, participant and student, then certainly you know what went on. If you weren't a part of the DPN protest, then you certainly have not partipated in an important history. But with the links I have provided prove that laws were broken and crimes committed. People, especially Deaf people who were DPN participants, MUST acknowledge that some crimes were committed. This had to be done in order to open people eyes. You CANNOT ignore the facts about illegal activities that took place and pretend it didn't happen. It did. The DPN protest could not have been done without violating some local and Federal laws. Ignoring or refusing to see the facts makes you a dishonest person in trying to hide the unspoken side of Gallaudet University's DPN protest as if it never happened. It did. Get over it.

This is an important philosophical question or even a political study to discuss whether some of the illegal activities were warranted for their DPN protest. A few classes I am aware of at Gallaudet University did in fact discuss political protests with DPN being one of them. The professors discussed and asked the students whether any of the protests were warranted, even if it means breaking local or Federal laws. This is how people are forced to think. You cannot hide from the truth when people, magazines, internet and televisions have recorded the DPN event, incriminating some of the protesters that laws they broke. Had it not been a DPN protest and instead we had a few wild Deaf students who did those things I described above, they would have been summarily arrested and charged by the D.C. police. Just because it was a DPN protest does not excuse the fact that many people broke local and Federal laws to achieve their protest goals at DPN.

Criticize if you want in trying to cover up some of the illegal activities, I have the links, the history, and the witnesses on my side. I dare anybody to come up to me and say that no laws were broken during the DPN protest. If you believe that DPN was a crime free protest, then certainly you do not want to face the truth. It was a good and important protest. The DPN protest was warranted, even it if means breaking a few laws (as long as nobody got hurt). But you CANNOT ignore and shove aside the facts that some laws were indeed broken in the process. Doing so makes you a dishonest person.


Don't hide from the truth. Be honest about it. Don't be ashamed about it.

Gay and Lesbian Donate Nearly a Million Dollars to the American Red Cross

From the American Red Cros Colorado Website:


The Gay And Lesbian Fund for Colorado has announced a $1 million matching grant to the American Red Cross that will bring a total of $2 million in aid from Coloradoans to help those affected by the recent hurricanes and thousands of other disasters across the country each year through the National Disaster Relief Fund. The grant will match individual donations from Coloradoans up to $250 dollar for dollar thus doubling the effect of every donation. Donate Now! Dollars Matched So Far:
$944,879.48

Almost a million dollars! Kudos!

Yep. They're in such an outrage that the American Red Cross discriminate against gays and lesbians that they won't donate money to the Katrina Relief to the American Red Cross. The thing is, the American Red Cross does not discriminate because of sexaul orientation but rather it is that the FDA that want to err on the safety of our nation's blood supply to ensure that the blood supply won't get contaminated. Until the time comes when technology has the ability to detect all kinds of blood borne pathogens, then everybody can donate their blood and not feel rejected if their blood gets thrown out after determining it to be unsafe in some laboratory.

Quit yer whinning, fools.

Donate what you can to help hurricane victims. I have. Have you?

Saturday, October 08, 2005

Bill Clinton is NOT the President!

In Newsmax it reported on what the ex-President (note the stress on "ex") Bill Clinton said regarding Iraq and U.S. involvement where one spokesman for Bill Clinton continued to help him on his delusional grandeur that he's still the President of the United States:

Clinton spokesman Jay Carson immediately sought to tone down the ex-president morale-busting remarks, telling the New York Daily News:

"President Clinton has always been clear that there are reasons for optimism and that there clearly are reasons for concern with the current situation in Iraq. But no one has been clearer than President Clinton about the necessity of winning now that we are there."

Hello! Jay Carson! Bill Clinton is NOT the President of the United States. And you had to say it twice! Bill Clinton WAS the President of the United States. So, please don't call him "President Clinton" and feed his delusional ego thinking he is still in office when it is George W. Bush who is currently the President of the United States.

Thomas Simich Jr Ordered for Psychiatric Treatment for 90 Days to Determine Competency for Trial

A double homicide murderer, Thomas Simich Jr., was ordered by the Beaver County judge yesterday that he be transferred to Mayview State Hospital in South Fayette. The psychiatrist, Dr. Christine Martone, will re-evaluate him within in 90 days of his treatment, the time-period required under a Pennsylvania statute.

This was ordered by the judge when Thomas Simich Jr made claims of having delusional episodes where "etheral voices" told him to harm his family:

Mr. Simich, who is deaf, told Dr. Martone in a July 13 interview at the Beaver County Jail that he heard voices telling him to harm his family. The voices also told him he was going to be the last person on earth, according to the Bible.

He does understand the charges against him, she said. However, the delusions and hallucinations he has experienced in recent months would make it impossible for him to distinguish reality from fantasy in the courtroom.


The old "I heard voices" claim may resonate well with a hearing person who may have these episodes but since Thomas Simich Jr was born deaf he cannot hear and thus only "hear" in terms of the visual aspect of signing rather than hearing phonetically the words inside the head as if you were thinking in worded thoughts. This etheral "voice" claim is a similar claim that of Joseph Mesa who is also deaf and was a student at Gallaudet University where the murder took place.

Now, those of you may remember the Joseph Mesa's case. Joseph Mesa's lawyer tried to use the insanity case where Joseph had "talking hands" telling him to do bad things which is pretty much in the same vein with a hearing person standing trial for murder claiming to hear voices telling him/her what to do:

The prosecution turned back efforts by Mesa's attorney to portray the Guam native as a mentally ill man who thought a pair of black hands were telling him to do bad things. "An insanity defense doesn't work if you're not insane," said Boasberg.

The insanity plea didn't work and Joseph Mesa received a life in prison sentence. But even with this sentencing the attorney for Mesa tried to question the interpreter's skill and whether Mesa properly waived his rights when interviewed of the murders.

The difference between Mesa and Simich Jr is that Thomas Simich Jr had a history of mental problems and drug abuse. Joseph Mesa murdered one student while Thomas Simich Jr. murdered two, his deaf sister and deaf brother-in-law. Murdering another person is in itself a mental problem. And sometimes claiming mental incompetence does not always work:

First Assistant District Attorney Anthony Berosh, the prosecutor in the Simich case, compared the circumstances to those in the Richard S. Baumhammers case before it went to trial in 2001. A judge had said the Mt. Lebanon man was mentally unfit to stand trial for a racially motivated killing rampage.

But after two delays for competency evaluations, Baumhammers was tried, convicted and received a death sentence. Berosh helped prosecute Baumhammers.


Is the insanity plea a valid legal defense?

Although high profile cases have distorted the facts surrounding insanity defenses, the insanity plea is a valid legal defense. Insanity defenses involve a thorough process of psychiatric evaluation to determine the mental health of the accused. In order to gain release, a hospital or state appointed board must approve their request. Insanity pleas are not made that frequently and are usually uncontested by prosecutors.

A study conducted in the early 1990s involving eight states found that less than one percent of criminal defendants used insanity defenses. A quarter of these resulted in successful acquittals.

**A number of states have replaced the option of pleading "not guilty by reason of insanity" with pleading "guilty but mentally ill".

**Between 60 percent and 70 percent of cases in which the insanity plea is invoked are for crimes other than murder.

**Idaho, Montana, and Utah currently prohibit insanity defenses, which has been upheld by the Supreme Court.

**The McNaughtan rule was defined as: "To establish a defense of insanity, it must be proved that at the time of committing the act, the party accused was laboring under such a defect of reason, from disease of the mind, as to not know the nature and quality of the act he was doing, or if he did know it, that he did not know he was doing something wrong."

**Following his trial, McNaughton spent twenty years in a mental asylum until his death.

For the state of Pennsylvannia, the death penalty does exist. However, in Joseph Mesa's case in Washington D.C., the District of Columbia has no death penalty punishment. Any murderer on trial would in fact take up the "insanity" defense in a state where there is a death penalty just to avoid getting fried. Actually, Nebraska is the only state that requires electrocution. In this case, Pennsylvannia's method is by lethal injection.

Past postings on the brutal double homicide where Simich Jr used a 20-gauge shotgun are found here, here, here, here and here. Will Thomas Simich Jr. be found competent to stand trial after the 90 day mental evaluation and treatment? Will attorneys for Simich Jr. plead insanity if found incompetent to stand trial and get the mental institution? Will he get jail for life if found competent to stand trial? Or the death penalty? Stay tuned....

Friday, October 07, 2005

DeLay File for "Prosecutorial Misconduct" Against Earle

DeLay Asks That Indictments Be Set Aside



Former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay's legal team asked Friday for his Texas indictments to be set aside, accusing the prosecutor of misconduct.

DeLay's attorney, Dick DeGuerin, alleged in a court motion that Travis County District Attorney Ronnie Earle unlawfully participated in grand jury deliberations when he went to a second grand jury last week to seek a second indictment against the congressman.

DeGuerin also alleged that Earle "attempted to browbeat and coerce" the second grand jury to change its decision not to indict DeLay so there would be no public record of a rejection.

DeGuerin said the indictment forced DeLay to step down from his job as majority leader, the No. 2 position in the U.S. House, for a crime that did not exist in Texas law.

Can't say I'm surprised after seeing the Liberal Travis country District Attorney Ronnie Earle make 7 separate grand jury shoppings in order to try and indict Tom DeLay over the last 3 years since 2002 when the "investigation" started. Even the last 3 grand juries were done in an amazing 4 days just to come up with an indictment against Tom DeLay. Boy, that D.A., Ronnie Earle, was desperate to get Tom DeLay. Ronnie Earle knows his jury shopping. What a political hack Earle is. And, yes, he is a rabid Liberal on the inside.

Ok, kiddies. Remember Politics 101 I gave you earlier on indictments? And you don't find strange it took 7 separate grand juries to come up with an indictment hoping to stick onto DeLay?

Live and learn, kiddies.

New Mexico Spaceport - check it out.

Here's a new blog called "New Mexico Spaceport." If you haven't heard about a new spaceport planned to be built out on the high desert floor of New Mexico just 45 miles north of Las Cruces, New Mexico near an old abandon town of Upham for the 2006 X-Prize, then you are certainly, by chance, not a space nut. But now you know. And guess whose site it belongs to?

First Robotic Fish

Check out the world's first robotic fish that swims so realistically people mistake the robot fish for a real fish! This is cool stuff. Check out the video link in upper right column. Imagine using fish as underwater spies for future warfare tools in the fight against terrorism.

Thursday, October 06, 2005

When Liberals Support Palestine and Hamas, and Get Hit Squarely Between the Eyes

Here's something new for Liberals who advocate more "openness" and who at the same time support certain terrorist group such as Palestine and Hamas groups when Islamic newspaper screams the headline to stop homosexuality and dancing:

No dancing and no gays if Hamas gets its way

A VISION of an Islamic society that bans mixed dancing and sternly disapproves of homosexuality has been given by Mahmoud Zahar, the most senior leader of Hamas in Gaza.

.

.

Dr Zahar condemned homosexual marriage, saying: “Are these the laws for which the Palestinian street is waiting? For us to give rights to homosexuals and to lesbians, a minority of perverts and the mentally and morally sick?”

Funny, huh? What's even more funnier is that these Liberals continue to support these same terrorist groups who would no doubt kill them because they are either an American or that they are gay.

Good luck for these types of Liberals with their "common sense" approach in dealing with these people.

Tuesday, October 04, 2005

A Story on Deaf Chat Coffee.

Congrats Brenden Gilbert on a story about Deaf Chat Coffee. The Hartford Courant has the story that came out today October 3, 2005:

"Deaf Chat Coffee," as it is called, began nationwide more than two years ago, and it has spread to Starbucks and other coffee shops across 30 states and in Canada. But the Colchester Starbucks is the only Connecticut location. Since 2004, the deaf have been coming once a month from as far as Rhode Island to the Colchester coffee shop tucked between a pharmacy and a liquor store in a small shopping center.

Visit Deaf Chat Coffee and find your nearest coffee shop to meet up with deaf and hard of hearing people. Or make new friends, learn sign language, or just gab away signing.

Monday, October 03, 2005

DeLay's First Charge Won't Stick, then Ronnie Earle Changes the Charge

Powerlineblog makes a note:

Earlier today, Tom DeLay's lawyers moved to dismiss Ronnie Earle's conspiracy indictment on the ground that Texas's conspiracy statute had no application to the election laws until it was amended in 2003--subsequent to the 2002 election cycle that is the subject of the indictment. The Austin Statesman notes that the term of the grand jury that Earle used to indict DeLay expired last week, and the statute of limitation may have run in the meantime.

And after that realization by DeLay's lawyers, Liberal DA Ronnie Earle decided to drop the conspiracy charge and charge DeLay with money laundering by a 7th grand jury that Liberal D.A. Ronnie Earle was able to convene in such short order. This is when after 5 grand juries came before the District Attorney who failed to give him the indictment he wanted. And so, finally, the 6th grand jury was able to come up with a conspiracy charge. Yet, sniveling Liberal DA Ronnie Earle didn't know about conspiracy statute that was amended in 2003 had no bearing on 2002 when it was the year that was the sujbect of the indictment.

Powerline makes a note about how a grand jury works for District Attorney:
As most of our readers probably know, grand jury proceedings are ex parte, which means that the DA has the grand jury all to himself. The target of an investigation, like DeLay, doesn't get to be represented by counsel and participate in the proceedings. Now that the indictment has been leveled, however, the playing field is even. DeLay gets to hire a lawyer--he's hired a very good one--and he gets equal time with the Court.

Now, you know why I call Ronnie Earle a Liberal. You see, kiddies, in this grand jury scheme, the accused, whether a Democrat or a Republican, cannot defend him/herself in front of the grand jury much like how most court system works.

This is how the Liberal D.A. Ronnie Earle works his magic by abusing the system and media.

And oh, if dear old Ronnie Earle indicted 12 Democats and 3 Republicans during his 28 years as District Attorney, so does that mean Democrats break Texas laws with a frequency 4 times greater than Republicans?

Friday, September 30, 2005

Politics 101 - Indictments.

A few days ago Tom DeLay was indicted for conspiracy that essentially accuses House Republican Majority leader Tom Delay of money laundering.

The indictment alone does not say anything at all. A lot of people do not understand what an indictment is or how it works. Sadly, though. But lawyers who have seen hundreds and hundreds of them know that indictments list specific charges and alludes to some of the evidences. There are no evidences presented whatsoever by Ronnie Earle. None. What is interesting is that the District Attorney Ronnie Earle failed to get any indictments out of five previous grand juries against Tom DeLay over the same thing. It took a sixth grand jury that finally got one very shaky count of a conspiracy charge. The weakest of all "charges" with no real specific charges at all. Just a conspiracy one. Even Tom Delay doesn't know exactly what he's charged with other than it's a conspiracy one. The five attempts is the equivalent of a person in any court getting tried five different times over the same thing.

Now, he's a little Politics 101 in the realm of partisian hacking whenever Liberals look for ways to stick it to the other guy the best (and most ridiculous) way possible using even the weakest legal avenues. A "conspiracy" is a charge that prosecutors use when they have nothing else. Look at it this way. For four years, District Attorney Ronnie Earle has thrown all kinds of stuff up against DeLay hoping it will stick. Nada. So, all they could come up with, after 5 tries with 5 different Grand Juries without any real evidence to speak of other than the check, was a "conspiracy" charge. The weakest of all charges that one can dream up. Basically, Ronnie Earle has accused Tom DeLay essentially of money laundering and there's no charge of money laundering in Ronnie Earle's indictment of Tom DeLay. Just an accusation. Again, the weakest of all weak charges when lawyers have nothing left to go but to indict him for conspiracy. It's an accusation, not a charge. Enough to get Tom DeLay to *temporarily* step down as House Majority Leader. All this was simply an accusation , an indictment without a nary of evidence to prove the conspiracy deal actually took place. Mr. Earle was finally able to find a Grand Jury who would hand down the indictment that he was begging for. The first five grand juries issued no indictment. Remember that one. The sixth time was a charm, apparently so.

National Review Online goes over what Ronnie Earle's indictment is against Tom DeLay:


"Travis County District Attorney Ronnie Earle has charged DeLay with conspiracy to make a contribution to a political party in violation of the Texas Election Code. The alleged violation involved a money swap between the now-defunct Texans for a Republican Majority PAC (TRMPAC), which DeLay helped found but never managed, and the Republican National State Elections Committee (RNSEC). TRMPAC sent a check for $190,000 to RNSEC, and RNSEC then sent checks totaling approximately the same amount to Texas House candidates in October of 2002. Earle, a Democrat, calls this money laundering, because the money that TRMPAC sent to RNSEC came from corporations, which are barred from contributing to campaigns in Texas."


But there is a problem with this charge by DA Ronnie Earle according to former DoJ official Barbara Comstock:


Neither the RNC nor RNSEC constitute a political party under Texas election law. They are considered PACs, just as the DNC is.

Corporations in Texas could have legally made contributions to the RNC or RNSEC during the period in question under Texas election law.

There was no violation of the Texas Election Code. There was no conspiracy. The underlying transaction was legal. Had corporations sent money directly to the RNC or RNSEC, the transaction would be legal. How could anyone conspire to do indirectly what could legally have been done directly?

A PAC (Political Action Committee) is nothing more than a political organization and not a polical party. Even the Texas Democratic Party, a PAC organization, did the same thing on what Tom Delay did. But the difference here is that Tom Delay is the House Republica Majority leader and Liberals will do anything petty to try and get Tom Delay out.

Don't look at the "seriousness" of these allegations but the evidences, which there are none. Like money, people would say "Show me the money" and that's true for charges, show me the evidence. There are none. And that's why this Liberal DA Ronnie Earle ended up with nothing but to charge him with conspiracy. The weakest of all weak charges in any courts.

Someone asked Ronnie Earle about the vagueness of the DeLay indictment on Foxnews:

Q: What role did DeLay actually play? Earle has no concrete answer.

Q: What is the proof DeLay conspired? Again, no concrete answer.

Q: Did you seek money-laundering charges against DeLay? Grand jury returned indictments it thought were appropriate.

Q: It's said that conspiracy is a last-resort charge? Our job is to enforce the law as written.

Again, where is the evidence? Show me the evidence! A simple request that even Ronnie Earle cannot even address it.

If Tom DeLay broke the law, then he needs to face trial for it and answer for his actions, no question. However, there are no evidences presented by Ronnie Earle when he read the indictment against Tom DeLay.

That's it, kiddies. Learn something here for once. Do some deep digging, not that kind, for once when you do the research on the case that even a Proctologist would be proud of.

Thursday, September 29, 2005

New Orleans Cops, Looters?

Aside from New Orleans' massive corruption involving ghost cops, we have also cops who have looted as well. But according to a police spokesman Marlon Defillo who said that

Police are looking into the possibility that up to 12 officers were involved in misconduct.

According to Marlon Defillo, he rejected the use of the term "looting."

How nice. I guess when cops take items from a store along with the rest of the people who are also taking non-food or non-emergency essential items (e.g. pants, tvs, radios, jewelry, money) are just simply taking an inventory and they are trying to salvage what's left for the store owner?

Let me laugh for a moment there. Ha...ha..........ha.

But the killer here is when authorities said that they'll investigate "the possibility of appropriation of non-essential items during the height of Katrina, from businesses." Yet it is the police' responsibility to prevent the looting. They have guns. Use 'em.

Of course, I wonder how many Democrat police officers of New Orleans bailed out? Or even looted? Yet, many of the officers had homes that were destroyed by the flood continued on with their duties.

Time will tell about all of this mess made by the cops of New Orleans and Democrat Mayor Nagin.

Wednesday, September 28, 2005

New Orleans Ghost Cops?

Well, seems like corruption have been abound at New Orleans for a long time like some people have been saying for awhile. This time the sniffer goes out on "ghost cops" that are on the city's payroll where numbers have been magically inflated from 1000 to 1700 cops. People are saying it's really 1000 or so cops out there. Not 1700.

I smell blood in the waters. So does the " The Black Commentator":

The degree of Democratic callousness in the New Orleans tragedy may be shocking at first, but it is actually consistent with the direction the party has taken for the past two decades. The Democrats are dying a slow political death. Their inaction and acquiescence in New Orleans is just the latest symptom presented by a terminal patient.
And isn't any wonder that New Orleans are run mostly by Democrats? And yet this is how some of the actual New Orleans cops treated the soon-to-be Hurricane Katrina surivors?

Bad planning. Bad Mayor. Bad ghost cops.

Sunday, September 25, 2005

Numbers Schmumbers....The Anti-war Protest Crowds, Stretching the Truth

The only overhead photo shot of the recent September 24, 2005 anti-war protest was from the Yahoo News Reuters photo shot of the crowd of anti-war protesters at the famed 52-acre ellipse (officially known as the President's Park South or "The Ellipse") located in front of the White House. One of the Kos kids, Armando, claimed that 1/2 million protesters attended the rally. A laughable number considering when in October 16, 1995 a "Million Man March" took place at the "The Mall," which is a 146-acre stretch of lawn, where upon an estimated crowd of 837,214 people, with a 20 percent margin of error, was computed by the National Park Service and Dr. El-Baz.

EL-Baz and his colleagues adapted a methodology originally developed to count dunes in a desert and trees in a forest in order to determine the number of participants at the October 16, 1995 Million Man March.

On October 18, ABC News in Washington scanned (at 300 dots per inch) a series of color prints (from 35 mm negatives) taken of the march by the National Park Service. The scanned images were uploaded through the internet to the Center for Remote Sensing.

The photos were taken from a helicopter with a hand-held camera and showed views of the crowd along the Mall. They were taken from several different heights and at various oblique angles. Scientists at the Center downloaded the images to their computers and began literally to count heads in places where the crowd was dispersed.

The process began with two graduate students breaking the photos down into small sections and enlarging those sections on their computer screens. By concentrating on open areas where individuals were clearly visible, they painstakingly "clicked" on the shadows corresponding to each marcher.

In areas where the crowd was tightly packed, Dr. El-Baz and his colleagues estimated the maximum density per unit area - that is, how many individuals could stand in a single square meter. He simply measured a square meter on the lab floor and saw how ma ny of his students would fit comfortably. He found that six was a high-density count and concluded that six people per square meter corresponded to the most densely packed areas of the march, such as the base of the Capitol and the area around the half-d ozen closed-circuit television screens on the Mall.

Now, "The Mall" is nearly 3 times larger than "The Ellipse," it is reasonable to see how impossible it is to consider a number of 500,000 of people who attended the Sheehan/anti-war rally at The Ellipse and then to the streets.

Dr El-Baz figured, as a maximum, 6 people per square meter. Since only half of the ellipse was taken up by the crowd which leaves 26 acres or 105 square meters. Multiply that by 6 and you get 631,308. That is if people are packed like sardines at a concert trying to get a closer look at their idols which was not the case here. Comfortably two persons could be able to occupy a square meter of space (roughly 3.3 feet by 3.3 feet square) whether carrying a sign or not as in the case in one anti-war protest that took place at The Mall in 2002. Since they walk to their destination and they tend to sit on the grassy lawn with anywhere from 1 to 2 persons per square meter, if it's a reasonably sized event. Since this is the case, the total number of people who attended the anti-war rally gets notched down to about 200,000. But the occupation of space is never uniform for every square meter since you have large banners being carried by 2 or more people, large signs being carried by one person, and mommies or daddies pushing their babies in strollers taking up more needed space and so on. People milling about occupies the full square meter of space. So, in effect the total number of people is realistically over 100,000 but under 150,000.

The march route itself consist of approximately 3.5 miles of street pounding after arriving at the Ellipse for the anti-war rally. With an overly conservative estimate of what a typical width of a Washington D.C. street (including sidewalks) is approximately 100 feet wide. With 3.5 miles of linear space comes to about 4 acres or 16,700 square meters. And if it's in a "packed sardine" scenario with 6 persons per square meter, it comes to a street holding capacity of about 100,000. Bad news if there's a stampede. But being packed like sardines how would they move? 100,000 is an unrealistic number just for the march route alone which would be wall to wall people. The number would be more like anywhere from 10,000 to 20,000 thousand people that walked the street while others go and do their own rants and antices since they come in disorganized and untimed waves according to one liberal Mahablog:

I have no idea how many people were there, and I think it would be difficult to estimate because the demonstrators, being liberals, did not follow directions. The plan was to rally at the Ellipse next to the White House and then march from there. Only a small part of the crowd actually went to the Ellipse, however. Most seem to have just showed up and either stayed in groups scattered all over Capitol Hill, or else they just did impromptu unofficial marches as a warmup to the Big March.


Image Hosted by ImageShack.us Image Hosted by ImageShack.us

Total crowd capacity including the Ellipse and the march route of 3.5 miles of street and sidewalks, you'd have it at about 800,000 to 900,000 in a complete packed sardine scenario. So, considering 500,000 it is a laughable figure.

Washington Post has it pegged at 200,000 for attendance. But the police has it at 150,000. But the rule of thumb goes here when it comes to crowds. At a protest rally = 2 persons per square meter. At a concert (or even on the Capitol steps with limited number of signs being carried) = 6 persons per square meter. In a phone booth? About 25. All in all, realistically I believe the number is more likely over 100,000 but under, perhaps, 150,000. But 200,000 may be just a tad bit too much.

So much for the Kos Kids for stretching the truth on numbers here.

UPDATE: Of course, gotta figure in the heavier/overweight people protesting out there when one person would take up more of its fair share of 1 meter square of space. In today's society there are more people who are overweight than not. Thanks for the reminder, Sherry.

Thursday, September 22, 2005

Simich Jr's Hearing Set for October.

According to the Post Gazette a competency hearing for Thomas Simch Jr is set:


A competency hearing will be held Oct. 6 for Thomas Simich Jr., who is charged with killing his sister and brother-in-law last spring.

Simich's father said Simich, 46, of Freedom, reportedly suffered a brain injury when he was mugged nearly 20 years ago. Beaver County Deputy Court Administrator Aileen Bowers said making arrangements for the hearing has been complicated because Simich and his mother are deaf, and his father, Thomas Simich Sr., is partially deaf. Bowers said interpreters are being provided through Pittsburgh Caring and Deaf Services.

According to police, Simich shot his sister, Marilyn Bergman, and brother-in-law, Steven Bergman, at his parents' house May 2 following a discussion about putting his parents into an assisted-living facility. Simich lived with his parents.



Past postings on the brutal double homicide where Simich Jr used a 20-gauge shotgun are found here, here, here and here. Will Thomas Simich Jr. be found competent to stand trial? Will attorneys for Simich Jr. plead Insanity? Will he get jail for life? Mental institution? Or the death penalty? Stay tuned....

Tuesday, September 20, 2005

Deaths Caused by a 1000 Sitting Buses - Accountability Issues.

The pre- and post- hurricane disaster and fiasco at New Orleans, as always, started at the local level. New Orleans had years of opportunity to make adequate evacuation plans to help the people of New Orleans safely evacuate in case of a Category 3 hurricane or higher comes roaring in. Sadly, this was never the case. However, there were mistakes at all levels of the government starting with the local, state and then finally at the Federal level regarding and specifically the city of New Orleans. But it took a bigger person to admit the mistakes seen in their own government and take responsibility for it. President Bush made the first move. He was the bigger man.

President Bush took it upon himself to accept responsibility for the Federal government's weaknesses in responding to national emergency on September 13, 2005 at 12:30 PM.

"I take responsibility' for failures in dealing with Hurricane Katrina and said the disaster raised broader questions about the government's ability to respond to natural disasters as well as terror attacks."

"Katrina exposed serious problems in our response capability at all levels of government. To the extent the federal government didn't fully do its job right, I take responsibility."

Taking cue from President Bush Mayor Nagin then took responsibility for his mistakes for the many deaths later in the day on September 13, 2005.

And then finally Governor Blanco of Louisiana took responsibility of her state's government fiasco and blunders (hers) on September 15, 2005 after waiting 48 hours to decide on going for the accountability route after Nagin's acceptance of responsibility.

But, again, it's way too late for Blanco and Nagin. They've done more harm to themselves than they ever imagined. They and the MSM did their non-stop blame game by demonizing and pointing fingers at President Bush for nearly two weeks, blaming everyone except themselves.

Deaths caused by a 1000 sitting buses....literally so.....first by Mayor Nagin. All of this could have easily been prevented or reduced drastically the number of deaths and injuries had there been an adequate, well thought out hurricane evacuation plan for the city of New Orleans. It never happened.

If only Mayor Ray Nagin had cooperated when President Bush urged him to order a mandatory evacuation instead of waiting.

If only Mayor Nagin had used those hundreds of busses to get people without their own cars to safety.

If only Governor Kathleen Blanco had put people first and accepted President Bush's offer to have the federal government take control.

If only Governor Blanco's people had not kept the American Red Cross and the Salvation Army out of New Orleans.

"The actions and inactions of Gov. Blanco and Mayor Nagin are a national disgrace due to their failure to implement the previously established evacuation plans of the state and city."

Next time, don't issue a mandatory evacuation 24 hours before the storm hit and be an example of Mayor Nagin's incompentence and illogical moves. Even the Mayor's own people blamed him and not President Bush. And next time, don't wait 24 hours to decide on whether to accept a President's offer of immediate Federal help and be an exact shining example of Governor Blanco's mental incompetence.

Next time, don't be a twit like the governor and mayor, or be like the mainstream media that get "stuck on stupid."

When Loony Liberals Failed to Get Recriminating Responses from Black Evacuees of New Orleans against President Bush in a LIVE ABC taping

It wasn’t suprising when ABC Dean Reynolds tried to goad the 6 Evacuees being interviewed during a LIVE! tv show hoping to elicit some sort of hate from the Evacuees toward President Bush for the evacuation disaster. Dean Reynolds reported from the parking lot of the Houston Astrodome, speaking with black evacuees from New Orleans during a LIVE! ABC taping.

See the video provided by the “The Political Teen.”

The full transcription of Reynolds' interviews below:


Reynolds: “I'd like to get the reaction of Connie London who spent several horrible hours at the Superdome. You heard the President say retpeaedly that you are not alone, that the country stands beside you. Do you believe him?”

Connie London: “Yeah, I believe him, because here in Texas, they have truly been good to us. I mean-”

Reynolds: “Did you get a sense of hope that you could return to your home one day in New Orleans?”

London: “Yes, I did. I did.”

Reynolds: “Did you harbor any anger toward the President because of the slow federal response?”

London: “No, none whatsoever, because I feel like our city and our state government should have been there before the federal government was called in. They should have been on their jobs.”

Reynolds: “And they weren't?”

London: “No, no, no, no. Lord, they wasn't. I mean, they had RTA buses, Greyhound buses, school buses, that was just sitting there going under water when they could have been evacuating people.”

Reynolds: “Now, Mary, you were rescued from your house which was basically submerged in your neighborhood. Did you hear something in the President's words that you could glean some hope from?”

Mary: “Yes. He said we're coming back, and I believe we're coming back. He's going to build the city up. I believe that.”

Reynolds: “You believe you'll be able to return to your home?”

Mary: “Yes, I do.”

Reynolds: “Why?”

Mary: “Because I really believe what he said. I believe. I got faith.”

Reynolds: “Back here in the corner, we've got Brenda Marshall, right?”

Brenda Marshall: “Yes.”

Reynolds: “Now, Brenda, you were, spent, what, several days at the Superdome, correct?”

Marshall: “Yes, I did.”

Reynolds: “What did you think of what the President told you tonight?”

Marshall: “Well, I think -- I think the speech was wonderful, you know, him specifying that we will return back and that we will have like mobile homes, you know, rent or whatever. I was listening to that pretty good. But I think it was a well fine speech.”

Reynolds: “Was there any particular part of it that stood out in your mind? I mean, I saw you all nod when he said the Crescent City is going to come back one day.”

Marshall: “Well, I think I was more excited about what he said. That's probably why I nodded.”

Reynolds: “Was there anything that you found hard to believe that he said, that you thought, well, that's nice rhetoric, but, you know, the proof is in the pudding?”

Marshall: “No, I didn't.”

Reynolds: “Good. Well, very little skepticism here. Frederick Gould, did you hear something that you could hang on to tonight from the President?”

Frederick Gould: “Well, I just know, you know, he said good things to me, you know, what he said, you know. I was just trying to listen to everything they were saying, you know.”

Reynolds: “And Cecilia, did you feel that the President was sincere tonight?”

Cecilia: “Yes, he was.”

Reynolds: “Do you think this is a little too late, or do you think he's got a handle on the situation?”

Cecilia: “To me it was a little too late. It was too late, but he should have did something more about it.”

Reynolds: “Now do you all believe that you will one day return to your homes?”Voices: “Yes” and “I do.”

Reynolds: “I mean, do you all want to return to your homes? We're hearing some people don't even want to go back.”

Mary: “I want to go back.”

Reynolds: “You want to go back.”

Mary: “I want to go back. That's my home. That's all I know.”

Reynolds: “Is it your home for your whole life?”

Mary: “Right. That's my home.”

Reynolds: “And do you expect to go back to the house or a brand new dwelling or what?”

Mary: “I expect to go back to something. I know it ain't my house, because it's gone.”

Reynolds: “What is the one mistake that could have been prevented that would have made your lives much better? Is it simply getting all of you out much sooner or what was it?”

Mary: “I'm going to tell you the truth. I had the opportunity to get out, but I didn't believe it. So I stayed there till it was too late.”

Reynolds: “Did you all have the same feeling? I mean, did you all have the opportunity to get out, but you were skeptical that this was the really bad one?”

Unnamed woman: “No, I got out when they said evacuate. I got out that Sunday and I left before the storm came. But I know they could have did better than what they did because like they said, buses were just sitting there, and they could have came through there and got people out, because they were saying immediate evacuation. Some people didn't believe it. But they should have brung the force of the army through to help these people and make them understand it really was coming.”

London: “And really it wasn't Hurricane Katrina that really tore up the city. It was when they opened the floodgates. It was not the hurricane itself. It was the floodgates, when they opened the floodgates, that's where all the water came.”

Reynolds: “Do you blame anybody for this?”

London: “Yes. I mean, they've been allocated federal funds to fix the levee system, and it never got done. I fault the mayor of our city personally. I really do.”

Reynolds: “All right. Well, thank you all very much. I wish you all the best of luck. I hope you don't have to spend too much more time here in the Reliant Center and you can get back to New Orleans as the President said. Ted, that is the word from the Houston Astrodome. And as I said, when the President said that the Crescent City will rise again, there were nods all around this parking lot.”


Again, it goes like this when it comes to responsibility of getting people out whenever a hurricane is heading their way.

1) Evacuate yourself. If you can move out of the way, do it. Look after numero uno, yourself, your family and friends.

2) Next, the city’s must help evacuate those who cannot or are unable to move. That means using transportation such as subway or rail systems, and buses.

3) The state provides help in the next step to help protect life and property such as looting. Also, they have the option to request Federal help such as FEMA and the National Guards or the Army.

4) Lastly, the Federal government finally steps in bringing in massive supplies, food, shelter, medical and other support.

It took the Federal government 3 days to move man, machine, food and supplies to the affected areas devastated by hurricane Katrina. This was 2 days faster than the response to Homestead, Florida devastated by Hurricane Andrew that was a Category 5 hurricane when it Homestead in 1992. Overall, the hurricane Katrina response was much faster than all of the hurricanes of that similar size in magnitude.

Keep trying the lot of you loony liberals to blame everything on President Bush. Even the Evacuees knew better on who to blame first. Mayor Nagin. And secondly, Governor Blanco of Louisiana.

Monday, September 19, 2005

Here Comes Hurricane Rita...aiming for Texas?

Here comes hurricane Rita (athough it's a tropical storm and I'm getting ahead of myself) taking aim on Texas! Even Louisiana is facing a possible hit given that hurricanes in the Gulf of Mexico have much lateral room to go anywhere where it can go.

Now, last month hurricane Katrina damaged lot of the shipping ports in Louisiana rending them mostly unsuable to serve as shipping prots. Cargo ships had to find alternative ports to unload the goods. Ports in Texas received much of the redirected shipping traffic away from Louisiana's ports.

The possibility that some of the important ports in Texas may get savagely beaten by hurricane Rita. Just as well, oil refineries and platforms may also feel the wrath of hurricane Rita should it become worse than a Category 2 hurricane.

What will happen if the one of the gulf ports of Texas get slammed by a Category 3 hurricane or higher? Are you willing to pay for the increased price on goods and materials that may need to be unloaded elsewhere? Can Miami or Fort Lauderdale ports be able to handle it if ports in Texas and Louisiana go down? Can the Louisiana ports recover in time? Can we withstand another drama of more hurricane disasters wrecking our industrious ports?

Holy Rita, Batman!

Stay tuned for more battiness...

Saturday, September 17, 2005

Incredible Wastful Spending of Fed Money Meant for Studies on Saving Lives

Absolutely incredible. Examples on the abuse of Federal money meant for studies on finding ways to help improve plans for evacuation.

Here's one story of FEMA dollars that was meant to improve evacuation plans for New Orleans:

As far back as eight years ago, Congress ordered the Federal Emergency Management Agency to develop a plan for evacuating New Orleans during a massive hurricane, but the money instead went to studying the causeway bridge that spans the city's Lake Pontchartrain, officials say.

The outcome provides one more example of the government's failure to prepare for a massive but foreseeable catastrophe, said the lawmaker who helped secure the money for FEMA to develop the evacuation plan.

"They never used it for the intended purpose," said former Rep. Billy Tauzin, R-La. "The whole intent was to give them resources so they could plan an evacuation of New Orleans that anticipated that a very large number of people would never leave."

.

.

Frustrated two years later that nothing materialized, Congress strengthened its directive. This time it ordered "an evacuation plan for a Category 3 or greater storm, a levee break, flood or other natural disaster for the New Orleans area."

The $500,000 that Congress appropriated for the evacuation plan went to a commission that studied future options for the 24-mile bridge over Lake Pontchartrain, FEMA spokesman Butch Kinerney said.

The hefty report produced by the Greater New Orleans Expressway Commission "primarily was not about evacuation," said Robert Lambert, the general manager for the bridge expressway. "In general it was an overview of all the things we need to do" for the causeway through 2016. Lambert said he could not trace how or if FEMA money came to the commission. Nor could Shelby LaSalle, a causeway consulting engineer who worked on the plan.


And now we have the state of Louisiana's abuse of Federal money

For instance, a Nov. 30, 2004, report by Tonda L. Hadley, a director in the Denton field office, examined $40.5 million sent to the Louisiana agency, mostly for the Hazard Mitigation program. The report found that the state's emergency office did not have receipts to account for 97% of the $15.4 million it had awarded to subcontractors on 19 major projects.

Wait it gets better.

In addition to alleged misspending reported in the two audits, FEMA has asked for the return of $10.7 million allocated to a program for buying property in high-risk flood areas. Most of that money was passed on to local communities to determine which property owners would benefit.

FEMA alleged the Louisiana agency had not properly monitored expenditures, and failed to ensure that properties receiving the funds were eligible.

About $2.8 million of the refund sought by FEMA went to consultant fees. Most of that money went to Aegis Innovative Systems, a Baton Rouge firm hired by many parishes to administer the flood buyout program. Aegis owners include Mark Howard, a former official at the Louisiana agency.

State Sen. Reggie Dupre said it appeared that parishes employing Aegis were especially successful in winning money from the state emergency preparedness agency.

"It smells like a horrible brother-in-law deal to me, " he said in a phone interview.


And you say it was all President Bush' fault? You're dreaming aren't you?

Friday, September 16, 2005

When Cindy Sheehan Loses It.

As a final grasp for dire attention to her withering self-styled celebrity status of the pandering left, Cindy Sheehan finally loses it after her channeling experience with her dead son:

I don't care if a human being is black, brown, white, yellow or pink. I don't care if a human being is Christian, Muslim, Jew, Buddhist, or pagan. I don't care what flag a person salutes: if a human being is hungry, then it is up to another human being to feed him/her. George Bush needs to stop talking, admit the mistakes of his all around failed administration, pull our troops out of occupied New Orleans and Iraq, and excuse his self from power. The only way America will become more secure is if we have a new administration that cares about Americans even if they don't fall into the top two percent of the wealthiest.


Cindy, you're losing it. And, no, you cannot compete with the catastrophe of Hurricane Katrina.

Deaf to Sue to Allow Stock Trades Over Relay

A hearing impaired client at Morgan Stanley (MWD) is expected to file a lawsuit later Tuesday claiming the securities firm discriminated against him because it doesn't accept stock trade orders using a system that allows the deaf to communicate by telephone.

The lawsuit, which is expected to be filed in federal court in the District of Connecticut on Tuesday afternoon, is seeking class-action status under the Americans with Disabilities Act for Donald A. Brunner Jr., who is deaf, and other similarly situated individuals.

The complaint asks that Morgan Stanley be ordered to accept stock trade orders via a relay system for the deaf or hard of hearing as a "public accommodation" under ADA.

Gary Phelan, Brunner's lawyer, initially said Brunner is no longer a client of Morgan Stanley, but later clarified that Brunner continues to have accounts at the firm. Brunner no longer makes trades with Morgan Stanley because of the rule, Phelan said.

A Morgan Stanley spokesman didn't immediately have a comment on Tuesday. According to the complaint, Brunner claims Morgan Stanley allowed him to make trades from 1999 to June 2004 using a teletypewriter, also known as Telecommunications Device for the Deaf, and Telecommunications Relay Services, or TRS. A teletypewriter, also known as a TTY, combined with TRS allows the deaf or hard of hearing to communicate via telephone by typing messages back and forth instead of talking and listening, according to the lawsuit.
Read more here. Pesky sign-up is required for free reading. Some companies' habits die hard.

Sunday, September 11, 2005

Remember 9/11 and Those Who Fight for Our Security and Freedom

Today is the fourth year since the senseless attack by Islamic terrorists who believes that killing non-Islamic believers is the answer in their fight. On that day 9/11 sparked and galvanized the United States and the world to fight terrorism on all fronts, in every country that harbor and support these terrorists.

We must remember the victims of those who sacrificed their lives to rescue those who needed help.

We must remember the innocent children of God who had nothing to do with this world.

We must remember the valiant heros who helped so many knowing that they were already at death's door.

We must remember.

We must see the videos of the planes crashing into the towers again and again.

We must remember seeeing the victims jump out of the buildings in sheer desperation to end their own way of dying.

We must remember those who were widowed, fatherless, motherless and without their siblings because of the senseless attacks and those who fought overseas.

We must remember.

We must remember those who fought to help keep America free from tyranny and help those who need our help so they can be free of tyranny.

We simply must remember that 9/11 is the turning point and the start of World War III.

We are in the battle for our lives. And we join the fight with others across the earth to fight the battle on terrorism.

It is better to do something than nothing at all than to make ourselves vulnerable.

Before President George W. Bush we had so many Islamic terrorists attacks we did nothing to pursue and eliminate those terrorists on the war on terrorism.

In 2000 the bombing U.S.S. Cole was attacked killing 17 sailors and yet we did nothing. (Clinton's time)

In 1998 the bombing of two U.S. Embassies were attacked killing 224 and yet we did nothing. (Clinton's time).

In 1996 the bombing of the Khobar Towers military complex killed19 American servicemen and injuring hundreds of others, and yet we did nothing (Clinton's time).

In 1995 a car bomb exploded at U.S. military headquarters in Riyadh Saudi Arabia, killing 5 U.S. military servicemen, and yet we did nothing (Clinton's time).

In 1993 bomb exploded in basement garage of the World Trade Center killing 6 and injuring thousands, and yet we did nothing (Clinton's time).

But in 2001 on 9/11 we sure as hell did something about it. Finally, we are now fighting terrorism. Thank you President Bush.



This is who we are dealing with, the Islamic terrorists:

Islamic governments have never and will never be established through peaceful solutions and cooperative councils. They are established as they [always] have been by pen and gun.

Small minds have no room to grow. So, we must fight these people who will always see death as the only answer and never about peace.

Be ever so vigilant. And always remember 9/11.