Police say two drunken friends crashed their pickup truck into a parked car in New York City's northern suburbs and then drove down the street and crashed it again. Peekskill Detective Sgt. Eric Johansen said he's "never seen anything like it."
The crashes happened over the weekend. Police said one of the men couldn't pull the truck free of the parked car he had hit so his friend hopped behind the steering wheel. They say the friend freed the truck but then drove it into another car parked down the block. The men have been charged with driving while intoxicated and leaving the scene of a property damage accident.
Passenger decapitated on Greyhound bus.
A 40-year-old man is in custody in Manitoba after a young man was stabbed — and, witnesses said, decapitated — aboard a Greyhound bus travelling through the province overnight.
Thirty-seven people were aboard the bus en route to Winnipeg from Edmonton. Colwell said the "brave" behaviour of the passengers and driver probably prevented anyone else from being hurt.
Garnet Caton, who was sitting in the seat in front of the victim, said he saw the attacker stab his seatmate, a young man sleeping with his headphones on. Caton said he heard a "blood-curdling scream" and turned around to see the attacker holding a large "Rambo" hunting knife above the victim, "continually stabbing him in the chest area."
"He must have stabbed him 50 times or 60 times," said Caton. "Like, just everywhere, arms, legs, neck, chest, guts, wherever he could swing it, he got it," said Olmstead.
Thirty-seven people were aboard the bus en route to Winnipeg from Edmonton. Colwell said the "brave" behaviour of the passengers and driver probably prevented anyone else from being hurt.
Garnet Caton, who was sitting in the seat in front of the victim, said he saw the attacker stab his seatmate, a young man sleeping with his headphones on. Caton said he heard a "blood-curdling scream" and turned around to see the attacker holding a large "Rambo" hunting knife above the victim, "continually stabbing him in the chest area."
"He must have stabbed him 50 times or 60 times," said Caton. "Like, just everywhere, arms, legs, neck, chest, guts, wherever he could swing it, he got it," said Olmstead.
Wife cheats on husband. Husband gets revenge by selling her wedding dress to pay for divorce.
A Pennsylvania man whose wife left him for a younger man is selling her wedding dress on eBay to help pay for his divorce lawyer.
The dress is pretty much all he has left to show of his 11-year marriage and the headline on eBay sums it up: "Selling dress to pay for divorce! Wife cheated." The bidding starts at only $50 and the man, he only wishes to be known as "Jimmy,"says it's a good price considering the dress has never been worn. Well, except by Jimmy, who is pictured in it on eBay.
"I figured, what the heck, a little humor can't hurt." Jimmy, a hard working member of the U.S. military, said he bought the dress for his former wife so they could renew their vows since they never had a traditional ceremony. Jimmy says after he paid for his wife to undergo gastric bypass surgery their marriage started to crumble: "Bottom line, wife got skinny, wife cheated."
Then he says she walked out with everything the couple owned, including their children and left him with credit card debt and the dress. So what's a man to do?
Sell the dress to make some money to get out of debt and get a divorce.
The dress is pretty much all he has left to show of his 11-year marriage and the headline on eBay sums it up: "Selling dress to pay for divorce! Wife cheated." The bidding starts at only $50 and the man, he only wishes to be known as "Jimmy,"says it's a good price considering the dress has never been worn. Well, except by Jimmy, who is pictured in it on eBay.
"I figured, what the heck, a little humor can't hurt." Jimmy, a hard working member of the U.S. military, said he bought the dress for his former wife so they could renew their vows since they never had a traditional ceremony. Jimmy says after he paid for his wife to undergo gastric bypass surgery their marriage started to crumble: "Bottom line, wife got skinny, wife cheated."
Then he says she walked out with everything the couple owned, including their children and left him with credit card debt and the dress. So what's a man to do?
Sell the dress to make some money to get out of debt and get a divorce.
Casino asks smelly 440-pound gambler to leave after 17 hours
A 440-pound Brooklyn man said he was playing poker in an Atlantic City casino for 17 hours Tuesday and didn't have time to clean up. He understands why grossed-out gamblers complained about his body odor, but said he didn't deserve stinky treatment from the casino that asked him to leave.
Dave Coskey, a spokesman for the Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa, said it is company policy not to comment on matters involving their customers.
Wax said he told casino officials: "There's no question I stink. I'm not denying it. I do have an odor. I've been playing for 17 hours." The 54-year-old limousine company owner, who says he is a frequent gambler at the Borgata, said a poker room manager followed him into the restroom and informed him that patrons at his table were complaining about his body odor.
When he tried to re-take his seat at the table, he said a manager told him he couldn't play anymore and to leave. He said he asked for a free room to freshen up, and the casino refused.
He promptly filed a complaint about his treatment with the Casino Control Commission. His complaint will be reviewed to determine whether any state gambling laws or regulations were violated, a commission spokesman said Wednesday.
Dave Coskey, a spokesman for the Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa, said it is company policy not to comment on matters involving their customers.
Wax said he told casino officials: "There's no question I stink. I'm not denying it. I do have an odor. I've been playing for 17 hours." The 54-year-old limousine company owner, who says he is a frequent gambler at the Borgata, said a poker room manager followed him into the restroom and informed him that patrons at his table were complaining about his body odor.
When he tried to re-take his seat at the table, he said a manager told him he couldn't play anymore and to leave. He said he asked for a free room to freshen up, and the casino refused.
He promptly filed a complaint about his treatment with the Casino Control Commission. His complaint will be reviewed to determine whether any state gambling laws or regulations were violated, a commission spokesman said Wednesday.
Dude puts aviation fuel into car.
A 20-year-old man is accused of breaking into a small airport and trying to fill up his car's gas tank with aviation gasoline.
"We've had people try and steal gas here in the past," said Jim Meide, who works at Reid-Hillview Airport. "It's really stupid. Put aviation gas in your car and it's so heavily leaded that eventually your valves warp and you'll end up with some very expensive repairs."
The suspect was arrested Sunday night on suspicion of driving while intoxicated and attempted theft. But he probably wasn't trying to save money. The aviation fuel in the pumps used for aircraft and race cars was going for $5.97 a gallon, accessed only by a credit card, authorities said.
"Sometimes," Meide said, "these people have the notion that since it's racing fuel it'll make their car go faster."
"We've had people try and steal gas here in the past," said Jim Meide, who works at Reid-Hillview Airport. "It's really stupid. Put aviation gas in your car and it's so heavily leaded that eventually your valves warp and you'll end up with some very expensive repairs."
The suspect was arrested Sunday night on suspicion of driving while intoxicated and attempted theft. But he probably wasn't trying to save money. The aviation fuel in the pumps used for aircraft and race cars was going for $5.97 a gallon, accessed only by a credit card, authorities said.
"Sometimes," Meide said, "these people have the notion that since it's racing fuel it'll make their car go faster."
Ankle Bracelet for Ted Stevens?
Ted Stevens (R-Alaska) is due in federal court to answer charges that he is just one more Republican liar Legislator Most Likely in Need of a TrackerPal.
The senator is accused of concealing more than $250,000 in gifts and home remodeling services he received from VECO Corp., a once powerful contracting firm. Two top VECO executives pals pled guilty to bribing state lawmakers and gave up their home boy, Stevens in the process.
Couldn't happen to a better guy.
Now. If the feds could just nail Orrin Hatch...
...I'd be one happy Frog.
Hello.
I'm here, I promise. Across-the-Board isn't dead, I promise. Life is just busy right now, I'll brb, promise.
--
--
Calling Out Barney Frank
Barney Frank has no idea what he is talking about.
I'm not quite certain where the House Rep (D-MA) has been the last several years, but his remarks yesterday regarding civil liberties in this country reveal just how little he knows about the human rights transgressions currently shouldered by American citizens branded as sex offenders by our government.
Frank's remarks during discussion of House Resolution 134--an apology for the enslavement and racial segregation of African-Americans--sounds good to those who are not currently interned in camps fenced by ex post facto laws, passed to "protect the children" at every level of our government.
I suggest Frank read "America's Dirty Little Secret" before proclaiming how "we haven't done today anything like that....", a statement made in attempt to dispel guilty doubts held by our government regarding the civil liberties and freedom status of our nation's countrymen, past and present.
I suggest Congress take a second look because you guys and gals HAVE done something like that.
The CSPAN video archive can be viewed here, beginning at 15:45.
"I had the distinct honor of standing on this floor of standing on this floor..."on behalf of the nation Congress apologizes..the ability to admit a mistake is a sign of greatness" and I felt privileged then than we did it. People have talked about the lessons and they are the important and we should draw some of them ...one is that abandoning your principles in the face of a threat is a temptation which ought not be resisted....its easier for us today than it was in 1988 to be very critical of those who locked up our colleagues...and many many other totally innocent Americans, Americans of Japanese descent but we are talking about Americans, people born in this country--American citizens but at the time the notion the security of the nation trumped everything else looked like a pretty good argument ...very few elected officials stood up against that...and that's one of the lesson we ought to draw...it is much too easy to give in to the temptation to say, well, we're in trouble--protection of individual rights civil liberties--they're for the good times--and obviously there are some analogies today...but things are much better today...we haven't done today anything like that but there are lessons still we have to look at...another is that if you are going to try and protect yourself as you have a right to do, don't do it en masse... don't say, there's this whole group of people and we are not not going to stop and decide whether this or that individual did something wrong we are going to look at some essential characteristic of their being and on that basis, we're going to penalize them, we're going to restrict them, we're going to segregate them...now obviously being locked up in a camp for years is far far wrong than not being able to fly in a ride in an airplane because of the ethnic group they belong to or because of some sort of mass fear.....let's leave a little energy for resolving that we don't do it again. Let's-- as we talk about the folly of 1943... be very determined not to repeat it, even in a smaller measure to fewer people."
7/29/2008
Easier said than done, Barney.
Smashed Frog 101
It occurred to me that many stumble across Smashed Frog and find themselves ultimately pondering its name.
For those SF newcomers--and for my old friends--I give you the story behind my story.
Enjoy.
Smashed Frog.
Hmmm. How can one link dead frogs to politics, elected officials, and just overall governmental mayhem? Oh, so many ways, but allow me to begin with just one.
Summer in my state is brutal. BRUTAL. Recently, I had to run an errand which involved driving your basic oven on wheels. The temp inside the car had to be 150 degrees plus. Immediately, I engaged the a/c and attempted to Zen myself cool by thinking "cool"-snow cones, snowflakes, swimming pools-when something on the outside of my windshield caught my eye.
A frog, a very dead frog, had been smashed against the glass. Stuck and melted. It's eyes were as flat as Orphan Annie's.
In fact, I had to scrape the frog off.
Gross.
For those SF newcomers--and for my old friends--I give you the story behind my story.
Enjoy.
Smashed Frog.
Hmmm. How can one link dead frogs to politics, elected officials, and just overall governmental mayhem? Oh, so many ways, but allow me to begin with just one.
Summer in my state is brutal. BRUTAL. Recently, I had to run an errand which involved driving your basic oven on wheels. The temp inside the car had to be 150 degrees plus. Immediately, I engaged the a/c and attempted to Zen myself cool by thinking "cool"-snow cones, snowflakes, swimming pools-when something on the outside of my windshield caught my eye.
A frog, a very dead frog, had been smashed against the glass. Stuck and melted. It's eyes were as flat as Orphan Annie's.
In fact, I had to scrape the frog off.
Gross.
The image stuck with me.
In my view, the current political climate, whether local, state, or federal, smashes us all against the proverbial windshield. Although we fight back as constituents, to make our wishes known, elected officials of both major parties ignore us and do exactly what they want....proposing and enacting detrimental, restrictive, unconstitutional legislation. Why?
Because they can.
These jokers don't care about you. Me. Us. Or our families.
Smashing flat our quality of everyday life? THAT, they care about about.
The purpose of this blog is to wake people up, to initiate a tiny revolution of talk and of action.
Time to scrape ourselves off the windshield.
June 19, 2006
A New Yorker Tells His Story
Please welcome Anonymous from New York.
Hear his story.
Well, in 2003, I downloaded pictures of minors engaging - I'm too scared to even write the whole thing out. This is in NY. It was on a file sharing network. I don't have a number, but out of ALL the users who download music, I just happened to be caught by a detective - no chatting with minors, no attempt at it, just downloading it (doesn't make it right, nonetheless).
A few months later I get a knock on the door, and me being in my early twenties, I had no idea about the law; at the time I honestly had NO IDEA what I was doing was illegal. So, make a long story short, the "detective" who happens to seem like he likes to do a lot with children, even in other states--you know what they say about those who bark the loudest - literally lies to me (which I didnt know they were allowed to) and said "nothing will happen, you'll get one count, I swear, and that's maximum." He writes out my "confession" in his handwriting, (note there are two other detectives in the car), and he says "don't worry about the lawyer, you don't need one - you're not under arrest." So, I put under "Do you want to speak to your lawyer?" No. That was that.
About a month later I'm charged with 6 counts of possession and distribution. After months of pleading, feeling suicidal, losing 50 pounds, the judge finally decides I'm not a "bad guy," and realizes this is a one time deal that I was being stupid, etc. -like that matters. Level 1 RSO, 10 years probation, 10 years to register.Then, NY changed the law to 20 years registration for everyone. Great. Now, the AWA.
I must admit I am blessed to have my family know that even though what I did has no justification, the punishment doesn't fit the crime, and it WILL be over soon. Not so much as a scratch on my record and no priors or posts. Still, I am a felon.
NOW, the REAL reason I am writing - the bickering MUST end. A lot of people are trying, but where is it getting US? No where fast. It IS time for action. We are all NOT MONSTERS. THEY, the lobbyists, the finger-pointers, the liars, the hypocrites, THEY are the ones.
Think about it. Let's say there are 600,000 RSO's. Now, let's say 1/4 have the right to vote. That's 150,000. Now, let's say half of those people have only one family member willing to help, for arguments sake: that's 300,000 - 300,000 VOTES--300,000 LETTERS to senators, saying end this madness, and REALLY protect the children, truly.
You label us, well I label you: a liar and a hypocrite. I smiled and laughed when Gonzales got "resigned," as well as Foley. They ask some of us for help, for money, for their parties, to make the country better because they will be in that seat, fighting for "us."
I say NO.
I say EVERY LAST OFFENDER - with peace in your heart and forgiveness, tell them to go to hell. 600,000 people can't be wrong.
Repeal the Adam Walsh Act. Repeal the Adam Walsh Act. Repeal the Adam Walsh Act.
REPEAL. THE. ADAM. WALSH. ACT.
Let the poor child rest in peace. So WE can live, and and raise our own families. I've sent letters - now it's 599,999 more to go.
Hear his story.
Well, in 2003, I downloaded pictures of minors engaging - I'm too scared to even write the whole thing out. This is in NY. It was on a file sharing network. I don't have a number, but out of ALL the users who download music, I just happened to be caught by a detective - no chatting with minors, no attempt at it, just downloading it (doesn't make it right, nonetheless).
A few months later I get a knock on the door, and me being in my early twenties, I had no idea about the law; at the time I honestly had NO IDEA what I was doing was illegal. So, make a long story short, the "detective" who happens to seem like he likes to do a lot with children, even in other states--you know what they say about those who bark the loudest - literally lies to me (which I didnt know they were allowed to) and said "nothing will happen, you'll get one count, I swear, and that's maximum." He writes out my "confession" in his handwriting, (note there are two other detectives in the car), and he says "don't worry about the lawyer, you don't need one - you're not under arrest." So, I put under "Do you want to speak to your lawyer?" No. That was that.
About a month later I'm charged with 6 counts of possession and distribution. After months of pleading, feeling suicidal, losing 50 pounds, the judge finally decides I'm not a "bad guy," and realizes this is a one time deal that I was being stupid, etc. -like that matters. Level 1 RSO, 10 years probation, 10 years to register.Then, NY changed the law to 20 years registration for everyone. Great. Now, the AWA.
I must admit I am blessed to have my family know that even though what I did has no justification, the punishment doesn't fit the crime, and it WILL be over soon. Not so much as a scratch on my record and no priors or posts. Still, I am a felon.
NOW, the REAL reason I am writing - the bickering MUST end. A lot of people are trying, but where is it getting US? No where fast. It IS time for action. We are all NOT MONSTERS. THEY, the lobbyists, the finger-pointers, the liars, the hypocrites, THEY are the ones.
Think about it. Let's say there are 600,000 RSO's. Now, let's say 1/4 have the right to vote. That's 150,000. Now, let's say half of those people have only one family member willing to help, for arguments sake: that's 300,000 - 300,000 VOTES--300,000 LETTERS to senators, saying end this madness, and REALLY protect the children, truly.
You label us, well I label you: a liar and a hypocrite. I smiled and laughed when Gonzales got "resigned," as well as Foley. They ask some of us for help, for money, for their parties, to make the country better because they will be in that seat, fighting for "us."
I say NO.
I say EVERY LAST OFFENDER - with peace in your heart and forgiveness, tell them to go to hell. 600,000 people can't be wrong.
Repeal the Adam Walsh Act. Repeal the Adam Walsh Act. Repeal the Adam Walsh Act.
REPEAL. THE. ADAM. WALSH. ACT.
Let the poor child rest in peace. So WE can live, and and raise our own families. I've sent letters - now it's 599,999 more to go.
A Texan Tells His Story
Please welcome Anonymous from Texas.
Hear his story.
I am an RSO in the state of Texas. My crime occurred in 1998, and I have been off probation for a couple of years now. I began dating a truly wonderful woman just before I was arrested (my crime had occurred a few months prior), and she became my wife in 2000.
We have two wonderful children together, which I could not be happier about. The problems I deal with due to the registry are on account of them and my wife.
When I was on probation, I was fully aware that I could have no contact with them in their daily lives at school or at the day care afterwards. It is when I came off probation that issues began to arise regarding how I could parent them. I received a letter from the school one week after I completed my sentence advising me that I could not come to school for any reason, that includes picking them up. For the last three years, I have had to lie to my kids as to why Dad can't come to open house, or to field trips. It makes them sad, and I can tell you that my wife and I have had many nights with a crying child because we both couldn't go see their work, meet the teacher, etc.
Hear his story.
I am an RSO in the state of Texas. My crime occurred in 1998, and I have been off probation for a couple of years now. I began dating a truly wonderful woman just before I was arrested (my crime had occurred a few months prior), and she became my wife in 2000.
We have two wonderful children together, which I could not be happier about. The problems I deal with due to the registry are on account of them and my wife.
When I was on probation, I was fully aware that I could have no contact with them in their daily lives at school or at the day care afterwards. It is when I came off probation that issues began to arise regarding how I could parent them. I received a letter from the school one week after I completed my sentence advising me that I could not come to school for any reason, that includes picking them up. For the last three years, I have had to lie to my kids as to why Dad can't come to open house, or to field trips. It makes them sad, and I can tell you that my wife and I have had many nights with a crying child because we both couldn't go see their work, meet the teacher, etc.
There are other issues as well. My kids have been threatened at school. This is elementary mind you, so this conduct by teachers is unfathomable. My children have been harassed by others in their class, because the schools publish this information to parents, even though I am NOT allowed to go to school in the first place. Two children, one 7 the other 9, dealing with things that dad did before they were born. And by teachers no less, it truly boggles the mind.
My wife has had to be the breadwinner for so many of the early years, due to my inability to find a job that accepted me for my work alone, instead looking at the crime I committed in 98. The thing is, when is enough enough? When does the stigma stop for my children?
My wife has had difficulty with alot of this, she has to keep her dead-end job so that in case something comes along due to the registry, we'll have a solid place to at least make the immediate bills.
I have lost a total of 7 jobs in the last 10 years, not for work performance, but because of the registry. How is it that it protects everyone else's kids but mine? Why is it that I must sleep with a gun next to the bed, knowing full well that one day I will have to use it?
The Police have always had an ability to track people that have violated the law. The civilian population has no place in law enforcement. So, tell me again, what is the registry thing all about? It doesn't make anyone safer, it does nothing but place harm to my children and wife.
Ultimately, if things continue, it will cost some self-righteous vigilante their life when they show up on my door step. You see, I am one of the 6000 people in Texas that were never found guilty of a crime, but were placed on the registry. Deferred Adjudication, they call it. So yes, I do own weapons.. Alot of them.
I guess, in as much rambling as I have done I have to say two things.
First, Justice is not blind, it is slanted.
Second, Be very careful if you are a vigilante, the guy you think your gonna hit with a bat might just be me. And I never answer the door unarmed.
My wife has had to be the breadwinner for so many of the early years, due to my inability to find a job that accepted me for my work alone, instead looking at the crime I committed in 98. The thing is, when is enough enough? When does the stigma stop for my children?
My wife has had difficulty with alot of this, she has to keep her dead-end job so that in case something comes along due to the registry, we'll have a solid place to at least make the immediate bills.
I have lost a total of 7 jobs in the last 10 years, not for work performance, but because of the registry. How is it that it protects everyone else's kids but mine? Why is it that I must sleep with a gun next to the bed, knowing full well that one day I will have to use it?
The Police have always had an ability to track people that have violated the law. The civilian population has no place in law enforcement. So, tell me again, what is the registry thing all about? It doesn't make anyone safer, it does nothing but place harm to my children and wife.
Ultimately, if things continue, it will cost some self-righteous vigilante their life when they show up on my door step. You see, I am one of the 6000 people in Texas that were never found guilty of a crime, but were placed on the registry. Deferred Adjudication, they call it. So yes, I do own weapons.. Alot of them.
I guess, in as much rambling as I have done I have to say two things.
First, Justice is not blind, it is slanted.
Second, Be very careful if you are a vigilante, the guy you think your gonna hit with a bat might just be me. And I never answer the door unarmed.
Standing Together
This Frog's taking the day off to spend a bit of quality time with the tadpoles.
But before I go, I recently came across a song that so reminded me of the fight I share with others, those who also work their hearts out for much needed change in the laws that impact those without power.
For civil rights. For human rights. For what is absolutely right.
We stand together in honor for those who this country has dishonored.
Enjoy. I'll see you tomorrow.
When you try your best but you don't succeed
When you get what you want but not what you need
When you feel so tired but you can't sleep
Stuck in reverse.
And the tears come streaming down your face
When you lose something you can't replace
When you love someone but it goes to waste
Could it be worse?
Lights will guide you home
And ignite your bones
And I will try to fix you
And high up above or down below
When you're too in love to let it go
But if you never try you'll never know
"Just what your worth"
Lights will guide you home
And ignite your bones
And I will try to fix you
Tears stream, down on your face
When you lose something you cannot replace
Tears stream down your face and I...
Tears stream, down on your face
I promise you I will learn from my mistakes
Tears stream down your face and I...
Lights will guide you home
And ignite your bones
And I will try to fix you.
Catching Up with Barry Kutun
Question from a concerned Smashed Frog reader--
I read your blog about the sex offender laws, these laws are equal to me with the Jim Crow Laws. You should ask Charlie Crist why the former city attorney Barry Kutun who was charged and plead guilty to paying to have sex with a 16 year old girl at least six times and videotaping it - does NOT have to live under a bridge or required to register as a sex offender!!!!!!
For those Froggers living outside Florida, justice was indeed perverted when Mr. Kutun was permitted to plea down his horrific charges which most certainly, would have thrown less connected Miami-Dade citizens under the Julia Tuttle Causeway.
Pleading down to child abuse charges kept Kutun--a former Florida state representative-- off the Florida Sex Offender Registry and all the Jim Crow Hitler-esque laws that ice the top of the sex offender laws cake.
Let's talk about the Kutun Connections.
Kutun pled guilty to child abuse after his lawyer negotiated a stunning deal -- house arrest and probation. (Specifically, "... three third-degree felony charges of Child Abuse-Causing No Great Bodily Harm for having consensual sex with a 16-year-old prostitute".)
He dodged adjudication as a sex offender -- a status that would have banished him to the causeway netherworld. ("He was sentenced to 12 months community control, five years probation and required to enter a sex-offender treatment program.")
No one in Miami Beach thought to erase the disgraced former city attorney's name from a boat ramp bearing his name.
As for his legal career, Kutun was "suspended for two years effective retroactively toPerhaps sometime in the future--when Mr. Kutun's rights are most certainly restored--perhaps he can help others caught in the same trap cut a similar sweet deal.
Meanwhile, since when does fishing fall under house arrest?
We can only hope this boat launched off the Barry Kutun Boat Ramp.
So, Governor Crist, we're asking. With whom does one deal to cut a Kutun deal?
Sex, blood & baby names: U.S. crazy for gas
Some U.S. motorists sick of getting clobbered at the pump seem willing to do just about anything for free fuel, from giving up the right to name their children to stealing from day-care centers to donating blood.
In Orlando, Florida, David Partin pledged to name his son after local radio hosts to win a $100 gas card as part of a contest. Partin will collect the card in December, when his son is born, if he can produce a birth certificate proving the baby is named Dixon Willoughby Partin, after the hosts.
"(His wife said) this is his problem to explain when the child is older," Greg Stevens, WHTQ-FM program director told Reuters.
In Orlando, Florida, David Partin pledged to name his son after local radio hosts to win a $100 gas card as part of a contest. Partin will collect the card in December, when his son is born, if he can produce a birth certificate proving the baby is named Dixon Willoughby Partin, after the hosts.
"(His wife said) this is his problem to explain when the child is older," Greg Stevens, WHTQ-FM program director told Reuters.
Woman accidentally stabs herself with 36-inch sword
A woman accidentally stabbed herself in the foot with a 36-inch sword while performing a Wiccan good luck ritual at a Lebanon cemetery.
Police say 36-year-old Katherine Gunther of Lebanon pierced her left foot with the sword while performing the rite at Oak Hill Cemetery on Saturday. Gunther says she was performing the ceremony to give thanks for a recent run of good luck. The ceremony involves the use of candles, incense and driving swords into the ground during the full moon.
Gunther said was aiming to put the sword in the ground, but hit her foot instead.
Police say 36-year-old Katherine Gunther of Lebanon pierced her left foot with the sword while performing the rite at Oak Hill Cemetery on Saturday. Gunther says she was performing the ceremony to give thanks for a recent run of good luck. The ceremony involves the use of candles, incense and driving swords into the ground during the full moon.
Gunther said was aiming to put the sword in the ground, but hit her foot instead.
Dude is suing church for 'god injury'.
A man said he was so consumed by the spirit of God that he fell and hit his head while at a Knoxville church. Now he wants Lakewind Church to pay $2.5 million for medical bills, lost income, and pain and suffering he said he's endured from his injuries.
Matt Lincoln, 57, says he decided to sue the church after its insurance company denied his claim for medical bills. Lincoln has had two surgeries since the June 2007 incident but said he still feels pain in his back and his legs.
The Sevier County man said he was asking God to have "a real experience" while praying at church. He said he has fallen from the force of the spirit before but has always been caught by someone. Lawyers for the church said other congregants saw him on the floor laughing after his fall. They said he failed to look out for his own safety.
Matt Lincoln, 57, says he decided to sue the church after its insurance company denied his claim for medical bills. Lincoln has had two surgeries since the June 2007 incident but said he still feels pain in his back and his legs.
The Sevier County man said he was asking God to have "a real experience" while praying at church. He said he has fallen from the force of the spirit before but has always been caught by someone. Lawyers for the church said other congregants saw him on the floor laughing after his fall. They said he failed to look out for his own safety.
Pink Triangles and Swastikas
Please welcome writer R.L. Gregory as a guest blogger to Smashed Frog.
Pink Triangles and Swastikas
© 2008 R. L. Gregory
“Those who would sacrifice liberty in the name of safety deserve neither liberty nor safety.”
Benjamin Franklin 1759
When Adolph Hitler came to power in 1933, one of his earliest acts was to see amended and enforced certain existing provisions of the German penal code. Between 1933 and 1936, the Nazi regime mandated that Paragraphs 173 through 188 be expanded, modified, or added, criminalizing homosexuality as well as all other “unnatural” and “sexually deviant” behaviors.
When read today, those paragraphs bear an eerie similarity to “Megan’s Law”, the initial mandate establishing Sexual Offender Registries. The law implemented by the Third Reich instituted the first sexual offender registry. It mandated that convicted offenders wear pink triangles to alert their communities, and established severe penalties for conviction which included disenfranchisement, lengthy prison sentences, confinement in concentration camps, or execution. From a contemporary perspective, perhaps the most disturbing aspect of the German code was the reasoning behind it: to protect children and the community. “The state must declare the child to be the most precious treasure of the people,” Hitler wrote in Mein Kampf. “As long as the government is perceived as working for the benefit of the children, the people will happily endure almost any curtailment of liberty and almost any deprivation.” [i]
The sexual offender registries of the computer era are enormously more effective and global than those of the Third Reich. A few mouse clicks, and an individual in Sydney, Australia can determine the name, home address and workplace of every sexual offender in Indianapolis, without (most terrifyingly) ever revealing his or her own identity or even the reason for seeking such information. It was just this ease of access and global availability of the offender registries that two years ago permitted a young Canadian citizen to randomly download the information on 34 offenders in
Primarily responsible for this 21st century witch hunt are politicians and the media. Recycling outdated statistics and inciting public hysteria about sex offenders galvanizes voters and attracts viewers and readers. Unfortunately, just as the rare serial killer focuses public attention toward murderers in general, the rare violent pedophile skews public perception of the actual behaviors, chances of recidivism, and treatment potential of sexual offenders. U.S. Bureau of Justice Statistics found that all sex offender rearrrest rates for new sex crimes against a child were only 2.2%.[ii] Treatment of non-violent sexual offenders demonstrates a 90 to 93% overall success rate.[iii] Ninety-six percent of all child sexual offenses are perpetrated not by strangers, but by a member of the victim’s own family.[iv] And in the 12 years since the initiation of the first Megan’s Law, no empirical data has been demonstrated showing a slowing in the rate of sexual offenses nationwide.
The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual for Mental Disorders (DSM-IV) devotes 45 pages to psycho-sexual behaviors.[v] Many of these behaviors carry criminal liability. Yet for no other classification of psychosis is the patient’s right to medical privacy abrogated by publication on a global registry. Citizens who would sue for HIPAA violations if an employer questioned their medical appointments do not scruple to Web-cast the bitter details of mental illness to which a offender’s behavior may be ascribed. The saddest part of this debacle is that many of these psycho-sexual disorders are attributable to the offender having been him or herself victimized during childhood. Because society failed in protecting them, they become as they are. Before sinning, they were first sinned against.
But rational response is lost in the socially-acceptable demonizing of an entire segment of the human population. At least one locality is already considering a “sexual offenders only” zone, a restricted area which would be the only residential option for released offenders. Sadly, it will not be difficult to find a name for such a zone; the names already exist, branded by shame into the pages of history: The
Louder voices have begun calling for the establishment of other registries for every type of crime, violent or otherwise. No longer need the public be burdened by the notion that those who have paid their debt to society by imprisonment and fines, or begun to recover sanity through therapy and medication, dare walk among us again as though human, or entitled to the same governmental protections as other citizens. Marked by the pink triangle of the registries, they will be separated from society in residency requirements, job opportunities and civil rights: separate, and in all ways unequal.
It is doubtful that Hitler could have persuaded the German people to conspire in the wholesale extermination of Jews, gypsies, and the mentally ill had he not first paved the way by disenfranchising and demonizing an entire class of human beings. Just as constant exposure to violence desensitizes an individual to brutality, vilifying a complete segment of humanity in the name of safety promises that the public will not long protest harsher measures directed to ever-increasing groups.
By following Hitler’s example, state, federal and local governments and the media have set their feet firmly onto the path ground to dust beneath the heels of Nazi boots. Or, to paraphrase
[ii]
[iii]“Sex Offender Treatment Works”
[iv] Child Sexual Abuse I: An Overview http://www.advocates for youth.org/PUBLICATIONS/
factsheet/fsabuse2.htm
[v] American Psychiatric Association: Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition,
RSO? Make Your Voice Heard!
I've been ranting via my blog Smashed Frog for over two years.
I have definitely made my voice heard.
Your turn.
If you've been impacted in some way by the unconstitutional sex offender laws of this country, I want to hear from you.
I've read so many heartbreaking stories all over the Internet. And many of those stories deserve to be read by a larger audience.
I have found that the laws become more "real" and more impact made with the general public
when a face is put on these laws...a human face. Your stories depict the pain, the collateral damage and the unintended consequences of the ex post facto punishment these laws impose on you and your family. (Contributors will remain anonymous).
Dear Governor Crist is an example of a story that hits home.
Let Smashed Frog amplify your voice.
Tell your story in your voice and in your own way. Don't worry about perfection, just get your story out. Have a conversation with your keyboard.
Feel free to email questions or your stories in care of Sunny at the email address listed in the sidebar, under the zebra photo.
I can't wait to hear from you.
Make your voice heard.
Andy Dick pulls down 17-year-old's shirt.
Andy Dick has been arrested on suspicion of drug possession and sexual battery. Police picked the comic up in Murieta, California early on Wednesday morning after revellers at a local bar reported Dick's inappropriate behaviour.
They told the authorities he had pulled a 17-year-old female's T-shirt and bra down to expose her breasts after leaving the bar. Police stopped Dick and friends as they drove away from the establishment in a truck.
During a curbside search, police reportedly found marijuana and Xanax in Dick's pockets. The intoxicated comedian was booked at a nearby police station and remains in custody as Wenn went to press.
They told the authorities he had pulled a 17-year-old female's T-shirt and bra down to expose her breasts after leaving the bar. Police stopped Dick and friends as they drove away from the establishment in a truck.
During a curbside search, police reportedly found marijuana and Xanax in Dick's pockets. The intoxicated comedian was booked at a nearby police station and remains in custody as Wenn went to press.
Weed found in 2-year-old's lunch box.
Preschool staff could not believe their eyes when they found marijuana in the toddler's lunch box Tuesday. The Charlotte County Sheriff's Office is investigating the bizarre incident, where a teacher located a wrapper with suspected marijuana while retrieving the child's fruit snacks.
"We were very shocked," said Suzanne Hilton, director of Our Little World, on Thursday. "But we weren't sure what it was."
According to a Sheriff's Office report, the teacher was getting ready for lunch Tuesday, when she checked the toddler's box for the fruit snacks. While searching the lunch box, she noticed a plastic wrapper with a green leafy substance in the front zipper pouch. The substance later tested positive for marijuana.
Hilton told authorities the toddler's parents are divorced, but the dad's girlfriend had dropped the child off Tuesday, the report said. Because of the split, the toddler has two lunch boxes: a red and blue one. But Hilton said she wasn't sure which color box belonged to which parent, according to the report.
"We were very shocked," said Suzanne Hilton, director of Our Little World, on Thursday. "But we weren't sure what it was."
According to a Sheriff's Office report, the teacher was getting ready for lunch Tuesday, when she checked the toddler's box for the fruit snacks. While searching the lunch box, she noticed a plastic wrapper with a green leafy substance in the front zipper pouch. The substance later tested positive for marijuana.
Hilton told authorities the toddler's parents are divorced, but the dad's girlfriend had dropped the child off Tuesday, the report said. Because of the split, the toddler has two lunch boxes: a red and blue one. But Hilton said she wasn't sure which color box belonged to which parent, according to the report.
Dude finds Subway baked knife in his sandwich.
A New York man claimed in a lawsuit filed on Wednesday that he found a knife with a 7-inch (18-cm) blade baked into the bread of his foot-long "Cold Cut Trio" Subway sandwich.
John Agnesini, 26, a magazine designer, said he had already taken a few bites from the sandwich in late June when he spotted the knife jutting out from the bread's crust. The lawsuit, filed in Manhattan state court, seeks $1 million. "If I didn't look at it, I don't know what would have happened," said Agnesini. "That's the last thing you think about a sandwich you eat all the time."
A colleague telephoned the chain to complain, but Subway never apologized, he said. Subway spokesman Kevin Kane said in a statement the company was investigating.
John Agnesini, 26, a magazine designer, said he had already taken a few bites from the sandwich in late June when he spotted the knife jutting out from the bread's crust. The lawsuit, filed in Manhattan state court, seeks $1 million. "If I didn't look at it, I don't know what would have happened," said Agnesini. "That's the last thing you think about a sandwich you eat all the time."
A colleague telephoned the chain to complain, but Subway never apologized, he said. Subway spokesman Kevin Kane said in a statement the company was investigating.
Random African Bush Stories
Sometimes one has to see past the countless bloggers trying to make a quick Internet buck off what is passed off as a blog to see the jewels that lie among the vast social network terrain.
Smashed Frog ventured across such a blog this past week. For your reading pleasure, allow me to pass along this African treasure.
Random African Bush Stories is not even remotely connected to George W. Bush. And that's a good thing.
But remote is definitely a keyword.
The author describes himself as "an avid naturalist, in the sense that I am enthusiastic about many aspects of nature." This Frantic Naturalist is the ultimate guide who runs the Namibian Tour company.
And apparently, "a good African Bush tale told late into the night"..."it's the bricks that good guiding is made of."
Instead us throwing political bricks this weekend, let's take a break and live a bit of African adventure via a fellow blogger and naturalist that's proved his bricks.
RSO Family Members NEEDED for Survey
You are being asked to be part of a research project to better understand the impact that sex offender registration, notification, and residence laws have on families of sex offenders. The survey will ask some questions about how you are affected by being a family member of a registered sex offender.
Dr. Jill Levenson, Associate Professor at Lynn University (Florida) is conducting a research project to better understand the impact that sex offender registration, notification, and residence laws have on families of registered sex offenders (RSO).
Jill Levenson is a licensed clinical social worker with over 20 years experience in the human service field. Levenson is also a nationally recognized expert in sexual violence and is frequently quoted in the media and has testified in front of the Florida, Kansas, and New Mexico Legislatures. She contributed to an Amicus Brief submitted to the U.S. Supreme Court in the 2002 case of CT v. Doe, which addressed the constitutionality of Megan's Law.
If you are the family member of a registered sex offender in the USA, please click on the HERE to complete the survey.
This survey is:
-- confidential, secure, and anonymous.
--should take about 15 minutes to complete.
--all answers will be used only for research purposes.
--your identity will not be known.
If you have already completed this survey, please DO NOT do so again. However, please feel free to forward this email to anyone else you know who is a family member of a RSO and might be interested in taking the survey.
Thank you!
NJ Ruling: Can't Restrict Sex Offenders
Pay attention Miami.
An appellate court in New Jersey agreed July 15th with two trial courts:
The State’s Megan’s Law pre-empts local attempts to restrict where sex offenders can live.
(See the decision in G.H. v. Township of Galloway (SUPERIOR COURT OF NEW JERSEY, APPELLATE DIVISION, DOCKET NO. A-3235-06T1, July 15, 2008).
Over 100 New Jersey municipalities have enacted such restrictions.
The Florida connection. The Miami-Dade's Public Defender's Office is challenging the constitutionality of Miami-Dade's sex-offender residency ordinance, arguing it essentially banishes poor sex offenders from the county and, in some cases, leaves them homeless.
The office has offered up an unprecedented argument: that the county's ordinance, combined with numerous city ordinances, make it nearly impossible for sex offenders to find housing.
A trial is scheduled on the issue for August.Regarding the New Jersey decision:
State Public Defender Yvonne Smith Segars filed a brief urging the appeals court to strike down the laws.
"You can't impose unrealistic burdens on people and expect them to reintegrate. They paid their debt to society and are under supervision," Segars said.
The Cherry Hill law was challenged by two sex offenders convicted of violating the law after being placed in a motel by welfare officers with the approval of their probation and parole officers. The two men were considered at moderate risk of committing another sex offense.
A 20-year-old college freshman at Richard Stockton College, in Galloway Township, challenged the law there after moving into a dormitory on campus. The student was considered a low-risk sex offender for an offense he committed when he was 15 against a 13-year-old girl.
In its decision, the appellate court stated:
“New Jersey towns cannot ban sex offenders from living near schools, parks, or other places where children gather, a state appeals court ruled on Tuesday.
“The three-judge panel found that New Jersey’s Megan’s Law was ‘pervasive and comprehensive’ and should be the only law governing how sex offenders are treated. The ruling upheld findings by judges who invalidated ordinances in Cherry Hill and Galloway townships."
(...)“The statutory and regulatory scheme, viewed in light of the exclusionary effect of the ordinances, provides strong evidence that the ordinances substantially interfere with the ability of parole officers to carry out their statutorily mandated function of finding the most appropriate housing for CSOs. In many cases, the most appropriate housing would be in a location prohibited by the residency restriction ordinances.” . .
(...)
” . . . We conclude that the residency restriction ordinances conflict with the policies and operational effect of the statewide scheme implemented by Megan’s Law, which was intended, both expressly and impliedly, to be exclusive in the field. The subject matter reflects a need for statewide uniformity. The scheme chosen by the Legislature, refined by the judiciary, and firmly entrenched for more than a decade on a uniform statewide basis, is pervasive and comprehensive, thus precluding the coexistence of municipal regulation. The ordinances interfere with and frustrate the purposes and operation of the statewide scheme.”
According to the Associated Press, in “N.J. towns’ sex-offender residency limits rejected” (AP/MSNBC.com, July 15, 2008)
Dude smacked with toliet seat after being caught with crack
A Fort Pierce couple has been arrested after the woman allegedly hit her boyfriend with a toilet seat because he was doing drugs.
Kimberlee Cole, 18, told police she found Joel Goldsmith smoking cocaine in their bathroom Sunday night. Cole turned the shower on Goldsmith, 24, to wash away the drugs. The two argued and when Goldsmith refused to stop smoking the drugs, authorities say Cole hit him with a toilet seat. Goldsmith was charged with cocaine possession and later released on bond. Cole faces a battery charge and was released without posting bond.
Kimberlee Cole, 18, told police she found Joel Goldsmith smoking cocaine in their bathroom Sunday night. Cole turned the shower on Goldsmith, 24, to wash away the drugs. The two argued and when Goldsmith refused to stop smoking the drugs, authorities say Cole hit him with a toilet seat. Goldsmith was charged with cocaine possession and later released on bond. Cole faces a battery charge and was released without posting bond.
Women arrested for oral sex competition.
Nine British women were facing prostitution charges after being arrested at the weekend for taking part in an oral sex competition in the Greek holiday island of Zakynthos, police said on Monday.
Six British and six Greek men, including two bar owners, were also charged in the incident, which took place off the west coast of mainland Greece.
The women, who came to the popular resort on holiday, had been paid to take part in the competition, which was video recorded and was to be posted on the Internet, police said. The men were charged with encouraging obscene behavior.
Six British and six Greek men, including two bar owners, were also charged in the incident, which took place off the west coast of mainland Greece.
The women, who came to the popular resort on holiday, had been paid to take part in the competition, which was video recorded and was to be posted on the Internet, police said. The men were charged with encouraging obscene behavior.
Woman has 140-pound tumor removed.
Throughout her life, Linda Rittenbach has struggled with her weight.
“You get bigger and bigger and bigger,” said Rittenbach, who has two grown children. “And then you go to your doctor and they tell you, ‘You need to lose weight — you’re fat!’” Doctors told her a 140-pound cancerous tumor — a rare kind of liposcarcoma — was growing near her stomach. They said it had likely been growing for 15 to 20 years.
“My doctor told me I had two choices,” she said. “I could either live or die. And I had a 20 percent chance if I had the surgery. And if I didn’t have the surgery, I would die at home where my family would find me, and I didn’t want that.” It took doctors three operations, over two months, in Redmond and at Oregon Health and Sciences University in Portland to remove the tumor.
Doctors also had to remove both kidneys to complete the surgery, and they were able to put only one back. The other kidney was so damaged in surgery that it couldn’t be saved, doctors told Rittenbach.
“You get bigger and bigger and bigger,” said Rittenbach, who has two grown children. “And then you go to your doctor and they tell you, ‘You need to lose weight — you’re fat!’” Doctors told her a 140-pound cancerous tumor — a rare kind of liposcarcoma — was growing near her stomach. They said it had likely been growing for 15 to 20 years.
“My doctor told me I had two choices,” she said. “I could either live or die. And I had a 20 percent chance if I had the surgery. And if I didn’t have the surgery, I would die at home where my family would find me, and I didn’t want that.” It took doctors three operations, over two months, in Redmond and at Oregon Health and Sciences University in Portland to remove the tumor.
Doctors also had to remove both kidneys to complete the surgery, and they were able to put only one back. The other kidney was so damaged in surgery that it couldn’t be saved, doctors told Rittenbach.
Spanking Women? Not in the Cards.
Reads like a sex offense to me. A real one. With hands on and everything.
A Central Florida police sergeant has been fired after being arrested on suspicion of throwing a female to the ground at a party, pulling her pants down and spanking her with a belt. (...)
Ocoee police Sgt. Tom Maroney was fired on Tuesday. He was arrested Thursday afternoon on charges of attempted sexual battery, false imprisonment and battery.
Yep. I was right. Guess cops do get out from behind the computer once in awhile....
It gets better. Seems "What? I can't spank women?" Maroney bet the thirty year old female on card tricks he performed and said she owed him on the bet.
Maroney appeared drunk, the woman told investigators, and asked her to walk with him around a retention pond at the apartment complex. When they were alone, he asked her for oral sex, pulled down her pants, touched her genitals, pinned her across his legs as he sat on the ground and spanked her about a dozen times on her bare butt.
The woman said she cried and struggled, but Maroney held her down and switched from his hand to a leather belt, hitting her another half-dozen times.
In 2004, a woman who had been an Ocoee police intern complained that Maroney made a bet on a card trick and tried to collect by spanking her, a police internal-affairs report shows. Maroney received a written warning.
Just what the world needs. Another joker with a card trick fetish. I'd say this ace has played his last hand as a private citizen.
Maroney, ya gotta know when to fold 'em.
FL Cops Parked
During my recent travels about town, I've noticed a number of police cars pulled off on the side of the road. A couple here, couple there, appearing to be engrossed in some sort of heavy conversation.
Turns out, local law enforcement has decided to go all energy-conscious by pulling themselves over to save gas. But save the "Ah. How selfless! How altruistic!" comments.
It's not by choice.
The price of gas has knocked them out of the car and onto the streets--as in, foot patrols. Fighting real crime--instead of sitting in an air-conditioned patrol car working radar or dressing up as Uncle Sam to hassle drivers--is one unintended positive that $4 plus a gallon brings a community.
Plus, with so cars many idling on the side of the road, it just serves as one huge reminder about just how much of a Police State Florida has become.
Pass the donuts, please.
Facing Eviction? Know Your Rights!
As reported by Florida Today, evictions are on the rise in Brevard County.
Yearly statistics for Writs of Possession executed by the Brevard County Sheriff's Office:
2003 -- 2,020
2004 -- 1,900
2005 -- 2,503
2006 -- 2,104
2007 -- 2,571
2008 -- 2,640 to 2,700 (Estimated)
Know your rights as a tenant.
Florida Statutes: Title VI
CIVIL PRACTICE AND PROCEDURE
Chapter 83: Landlord and Tenant
Steps to an eviction
QUESTION: When does the process start?
ANSWER: After an owner or renter starts defaulting on payments, banks make several attempts to contact the owners, usually through certified letters. If that doesn't work, the banks usually file for a Writ of Possession.Q: When does the court issue a Writ of Possession?
A: The court inspects the records and issues a writ if the homeowner has defaulted on his mortgage. It is the job of a sheriff's deputy in the civil division to go out and deliver this 24-hour notice of eviction. The deputy then notifies the plaintiff's attorney that the notice has been posted and then meets him the next day to hand over the property.
Q: What is the process for rental evictions?A: Those who fail to pay their rent usually receive a three-day notice indicating that the landlord has begun the process of eviction. After three days, the landlord can petition the court asking for a 5-day or a 20-day notice. Once the notice is issued by the court, it is the job of deputies to serve the summons. The tenant can answer the complaint in writing while providing a copy to the landlord. If they fail to do that, the court issues a 24-hour eviction notice.
Q: Does the sheriff's office get paid to do this?A: The sheriff's office is paid $90 by the plaintiff or the banks for every writ of possession delivered. All money collected for this service is returned to the county.
Woman kills husband with folding couch.
A Russian woman in St Petersburg killed her drunk husband with a folding couch, Russian media reported on Wednesday.
St Petersburg's Channel Five said the man's wife, upset with her husband for being drunk and refusing to get up, kicked a handle after an argument, activating a mechanism that folds the couch up against a wall.
The couch, which doubles as a bed, folds up automatically in order to save space. The man fell between the mattress and the back of the couch, Channel Five quoted emergency workers as saying. The woman then walked out of the room and returned three hours later to check on what she thought was an unusually quiet sleeping husband.
Video on the television channel's website showed emergency workers sawing away the side panels of a couch to remove a man in his underwear lying headfirst between the cushions. Emergency workers said the man died instantly.
St Petersburg's Channel Five said the man's wife, upset with her husband for being drunk and refusing to get up, kicked a handle after an argument, activating a mechanism that folds the couch up against a wall.
The couch, which doubles as a bed, folds up automatically in order to save space. The man fell between the mattress and the back of the couch, Channel Five quoted emergency workers as saying. The woman then walked out of the room and returned three hours later to check on what she thought was an unusually quiet sleeping husband.
Video on the television channel's website showed emergency workers sawing away the side panels of a couch to remove a man in his underwear lying headfirst between the cushions. Emergency workers said the man died instantly.
Dude faces 20 years for keeping sex slave in basement
A man accused of housing a teenage girl in the basement of his parents' home and molesting her hundreds of times will face up to 20 years in prison after copping a plea on Wednesday to more than a dozen felony counts of child abuse and domestic violence.
John France Gonzales, a 23-year-old former pharmacy technician, had been charged with 142 felonies, including more than 100 counts of child abuse, many involving sodomy and oral copulation.
Gonzales met the girl in 2000, when she was 10 years old and living in San Bruno with her aunt, whom Gonzales was dating, according to former defense attorney Jeffery Neubarth. Gonzales molested the girl for the first time when she was 12 and maintained his relationship with the girl for several years while she lived in San Bruno and with her grandmother in Healdsburg.
Gonzales allegedly took the girl from her grandmother's home in August 2005 and told her that she could not return, eventually moving her into a bedroom at his parents' Daly City home in October 2005, according to prosecutors.
John France Gonzales, a 23-year-old former pharmacy technician, had been charged with 142 felonies, including more than 100 counts of child abuse, many involving sodomy and oral copulation.
Gonzales met the girl in 2000, when she was 10 years old and living in San Bruno with her aunt, whom Gonzales was dating, according to former defense attorney Jeffery Neubarth. Gonzales molested the girl for the first time when she was 12 and maintained his relationship with the girl for several years while she lived in San Bruno and with her grandmother in Healdsburg.
Gonzales allegedly took the girl from her grandmother's home in August 2005 and told her that she could not return, eventually moving her into a bedroom at his parents' Daly City home in October 2005, according to prosecutors.
Dude busted for display of naked Barbie dolls, porn mags in car.
New Jersey State Police arrested a 47-year-old man, whose allegedly display of a topless Barbie doll and explicit porn magazines inside his car caused a stir at a Garden State Parkway rest area.
Robert Martin, of Dennis Township, N.J., had women's underwear on a platter, in addition to the naked doll on the dashboard of his car, investigators said. The car is still at the Ocean View Service Plaza but the porn is not; state police seized it. But people there said they certainly haven't forgotten the graphic images they saw inside.
"The only regret I do have is probably having the Barbie doll up on the dash board. Being topless, maybe that drew some attention," Martin said.
Robert Martin, of Dennis Township, N.J., had women's underwear on a platter, in addition to the naked doll on the dashboard of his car, investigators said. The car is still at the Ocean View Service Plaza but the porn is not; state police seized it. But people there said they certainly haven't forgotten the graphic images they saw inside.
"The only regret I do have is probably having the Barbie doll up on the dash board. Being topless, maybe that drew some attention," Martin said.
$55,000 found in jail bathroom toliet dispenser
A correctional officer at the intake facility at the St. Louis County Justice Center last week found $55,000 stuffed behind a toilet paper dispenser.
The bundle of money was in $100 and $50 bills, said Clayton Police Chief Thomas Byrne. Officials interviewed inmates about the money, but none admitted knowing anything about the stashed cash.
The bundle of money was in $100 and $50 bills, said Clayton Police Chief Thomas Byrne. Officials interviewed inmates about the money, but none admitted knowing anything about the stashed cash.
Doctors pull screws, nails from metal-eating man
Doctors in a coastal town in northwestern Peru have rescued the innards of a 38-year-old man by removing 17 metal objects -- among them nails, a watch clasp and a knife -- that he ate.
Luis Zarate was taken to the regional hospital of Trujillo earlier this week by his family after complaining of sharp stomach pains. Doctors took X-rays of his chest that showed his insides littered with screws.
"There were 17 strange objects found at the level of his stomach and colon," said Dr. Julio Acevedo, one of the surgeons who operated on Zarate. The black-and-white scans showed Zarate's skeleton interlaced with things like bolts, barbed-wire and pens.
Luis Zarate was taken to the regional hospital of Trujillo earlier this week by his family after complaining of sharp stomach pains. Doctors took X-rays of his chest that showed his insides littered with screws.
"There were 17 strange objects found at the level of his stomach and colon," said Dr. Julio Acevedo, one of the surgeons who operated on Zarate. The black-and-white scans showed Zarate's skeleton interlaced with things like bolts, barbed-wire and pens.
Tony Snow
"Many people don't give a rip about politics and know as much about public affairs as they know about the topography of Pluto."
On that note--regardless of political affiliation--we can all agree with Tony Snow.
The former Bush White House secretary and conservative radio show host--lost his battle with cancer early this morning.
He lives on through his wife and three children.
I think we can all also agree that age 53 is too young, too soon.
Godspeed.
D-OH! Maxim's NOT Porn?
The Florida Supreme Court ruled Thursday that convicted sex offenders on probation can possess pornographic materials, so long as the porn doesn't pertain to their "particular deviant behavior pattern."
View the decision here.
Our neocon politicians will definitely want us all to draw collective breath and go "Eeeewww."
Sinfonian over at Blast Off! pushed past the ick factor and keyboarded toward the light. Check out his post, More fun with Florida law: it's okay for sex offenders to have porn.
Allow me to reiterate my two cents of a Blast Off! comment for those still stuck at "WTF?"
How can a scary sex offender be allowed possession of (collective breath drawn here) pornography? Eeeewww..........????
Ahh, think outside the box, grasshopper.
SO's on probation are being violated for "pornographic" materials like....Maxim.
Last time I looked, Maxim was on the shelf at Barnes and Noble. And not even wrapped in brown paper.
This ruling clearly defines porn for probation officers who would violate anyone for anything that vaguely resembled questionable reading material in order to cover their own butt.
Meanwhile--when an offender "violates"--he (or she) sits in jail on a no-bond charge for about 30 days, give and take. There goes the job and the property as my friend vox would say.
So, I actually see this case as a spine builder for Florida probation officers.....
(...)
Rock on, Supremes.
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