Ex-Rutgers student gets 30 days for bullying gay roommate

As I watched IN SESSION the judge spoke, the defense spoke, members of Tyler's family spoke and Ravi's parents spoke. In retrospect it all was unnecessary. The sentence seemed determined before court convened. Judge Berman gave the convicted man less than a slap on the wrist. The prosecution made it clear they would appeal  the non punishment. 

So NJ college kids listen up. Use those web cams to spy on your room mates and share what should be private. Even lie about it and do your best to cover up and destroy evidence if you should get caught..Nothing bad is really going to happen. Just ask Tyler's family. I JUST DON'T GET IT! How did the judge in this case go against the sentencing guide lines? Who does he answer to? From my vantage point no one is held responsible in this case.

(CNN) -- A New Jersey judge on Monday sentenced Dharun Ravi to 30 days in jail for spying on and intimidating his gay Rutgers University roommate, Tyler Clementi, who then killed himself by jumping off New York's George Washington Bridge in September 2010.

Ravi will serve three years of probation and must complete community service aimed at assisting victims of bias crimes, according to Superior Judge Glenn Berman. He also must pay more than $11,000 in restitution.

However, Berman stayed the jail sentence for 10 days in case of an appeal at the request of defense attorneys.

The September 2010 death of Tyler Clementi, and Ravi's trial this year, thrust the issue of cyberbullying and prejudices against homosexuals into the national spotlight.

Clementi, an 18-year-old freshman, plunged to his death in the Hudson River after learning that Ravi had secretly spied via a webcam as Clementi kissed another man.

"I haven't heard you apologize once," Berman told Ravi, 20. He said Clementi "placed his trust in you without any conditions, and you violated it."

Ravi, he said, acted out of "colossal insensitivity."

Berman took factors including Ravi's youth and his lack of a criminal record into consideration.

Ravi could have faced 10 years in prison and deportation to his native India.

In the months that followed Clementi's death, President Barack Obama released a videotaped message condemning bullying, while New Jersey legislators enacted stricter laws to protect against it in schools.

Ravi's sentencing hearing stretched to nearly four hours Monday and was punctuated by emotional victim impact statements offered by Clementi's parents and brother.

"My son Tyler was a kind and gentle soul," Joe Clementi said of his son. "... Nobody other than Tyler understood how vulnerable he was, but the fact is that he was very vulnerable -- and he was shaken by the cold, criminal actions of his roommate."

James Clementi recalled his brother was excited about attending college. "He could never have known the viper's nest he was walking into," he said.

Family members blasted Ravi for showing no remorse. "I have often found myself wondering if Dharun Ravi is even capable of empathizing with another person," James Clementi said.

Jane Clementi said that when her son died, "My world came crumbling apart."

A victim impact statement was also read on behalf of the man involved in the videotaped encounter, identified only as "M.B."

"I do not mind that Mr. Ravi has never apologized to me for what he did and said, but I do wonder if it ever has entered his mind that he has caused me a great deal of pain and yet he knows nothing about me," the statement said.

Ravi's parents also addressed the court, although he chose not to speak.

"Not a single day goes by we don't think about Tyler," said his father, Ravi Pazhani. But he said his son had been demonized and "dragged through the mud."

"How can a person who never acted as a bully ... go from a passive child to hardcore bully overnight?" he asked.

His mother, Sabitha Ravi, cried as she related the stress and pain her son has experienced since Clementi's death. "He has been living in hell for the past 20 months," she said.

Listening to her statement, Ravi grew tearful for the first time during the hearing. After his mother finished speaking, the two embraced as she sobbed.

Before the statements were offered, Berman denied defense motions for acquittal and requesting a new trial.

Though Ravi and Molly Wei -- a fellow student who admitted to joining Ravi to watch the surreptitious encounter that others were alerted to via social media -- were charged in the wake of Clementi's suicide, they were not charged directly with his death.

Facing two counts of invasion of privacy, Wei reached a plea deal that required her to testify against her friend and former high school classmate as well as to complete a three-year program on cyber bullying and do 300 hours of community service.

Prior to sentencing Ravi, Berman said he was planning to terminate Wei's program early, noting that she testified candidly against Ravi although "it was clear she didn't want to be here." He said she had completed 250 hours of community service before her testimony.

Clementi family reacts to verdict

Juror 'satisfied' with Ravi verdict

Ravi, who was studying on a visa at the New Jersey university at the time of the incident, turned down a plea deal offered by Middlesex County prosecutors.

Under the terms of that offer, he would have avoided jail time in exchange for undergoing counseling, doing 600 hours of community service and disposing of any information that could identify the man who appeared in the Web video with Clementi.

Prosecutors also offered to help Ravi avoid deportation, though they said they could not guarantee it.

That set the stage for the trial, during which prosecutors argued that Ravi tried to embarrass Clementi because he was gay and that his actions were motivated by a desire to intimidate the Ridgewood, New Jersey, native expressly because of his sexual orientation.

"These acts were purposeful, they were intentional, and they were planned," prosecutor Julia L. McClure told the jury on the first day of the trial. Ravi "was bothered by Tyler Clementi's sexual orientation," she later said more bluntly.

Ravi's attorneys countered by saying that their client acted thoughtlessly, portraying him as an immature college student who made a mistake, and that his actions were not based on homophobia.

After more than three weeks in court, a jury on March 16 convicted Ravi of invasion of privacy, bias intimidation, witness tampering, hindering apprehension and tampering with physical evidence.

Days after his conviction, Ravi told ABC television's "20/20" that he thought Clementi understood he "wasn't trying to intimidate him and scare him because he was gay." He also criticized how the story of what happened was portrayed.

"I felt like I was being used by everybody," said Ravi, who did not testify on his own behalf. "They were taking revenge on me, even though what they think happened isn't what happened."

Tebow At Easter Celebration In Texas...Cause the Pope was Busy

Someone needs to tell Tebow's followers he is not the first football player to strike the "prayer poise". Going back as far as I can remember there have been players who have done the same thing. No big deal was made of it. But maybe back then this country was not as obsessed with religion.  And while we are on the subject the players I referred to were black or hispanic.

So Tim wants to talk to the people and he picks up the phone and bingo! He's got a gig!

Spectators came in droves wanting to hear what the quarter back had to say. His popularity that morning rivaling the Easter bunny. And the best part...When he was done talking a numbers of them left before the end of the service. Like a concert when the main act finishes fans head for the door wanting to be the first out of the parking lot.

They didn't stay for the sermon by Champion. In retrospect I wonder if Joe Champion regrets taking Tebow's call. My guess is he wouldn't admit it even if he did.

I think Tebow is going to become a cottage industry. Books, a movie deal about his life and speaking engagements. Maybe he will be on the Bachelor. Now that would be interesting. Does he drink because that show is like a continuous Happy Hour.  And the bucks will start rolling in. He will create a charity, right?

If a sports figure can become the main attraction on what Christians say is the most important day for them but go to hear a football player, well, I JUST DON'T GET IT


 GEORGETOWN, Texas -- Tim Tebow drew a crowd of about 15,000 to an outdoor Easter church service Sunday, telling the gathering it's important to be outspoken about faith while admonishing athletes about not being better role models.

"In Christianity, it's the Pope and Tebow right now," Celebration Church pastor Joe Champion he said. "We didn't have enough room to handle the Pope."

 Tebow – devout Christian, backup NFL quarterback and cultural phenomenon – has a flock of admirers drawn as much to his religious leanings as his Heisman Trophy skills.

Tebow told them he welcomed the attention on his convictions as well as the "Tebowing" prayer pose he often strikes on the field because it puts his faith and prayer in the public conversation.
"It's being talked about," he said. "That's exciting."

 Some at the "Easter on the Hill" morning service under sunny skies about 20 miles north of Austin drove more 100 miles to hear Tebow speak. The service took on the feel of a rock concert with more than a 100 school buses shuttling people to the sprawling mega-church campus from local shopping centers and the nearby college.

 The service was peppered with lively Christian rock songs and Tebow took the large stage to cheers from those who could see him while others toward the back watched on massive video screens. He sat for a 20-minute interview with Champion to talk about his faith and its role in his public life.

"It's OK to be outspoken about your faith," Tebow said.

He also took a shot at professional athletes who insist they are not role models.

"Yes you are. You're just not a good one," Tebow said.

Champion asked Tebow what he thought needed to change culturally in America.

 "First and foremost is what this country was based on: one nation under God. The more that we can get back to that," Tebow said to applause.

Although church officials had said they typically get their biggest crowds on Easter, Tebow was clearly the big draw Sunday. Several hundred started heading toward the exits after Tebow spoke, not waiting for Champion's main Sunday sermon so they could avoid the 80-degree heat and beat the traffic.

Some couldn't wait for the official 8 a.m. opening to the church grounds and showed up hours early.
Debbie Sandoval and her husband and two sons arrived before sunrise. They wore Tebow's Jets jerseys and set up camp close the large soundstage with a row of chairs.

"I love that boy. ... He's like my third son," said Sandoval, who is not a regular member of the church but wasn't going to miss a chance to hear Tebow speak. A self-described "lifelong Broncos fan," Sandoval said she became a Jets fan because of Tebow. The quarterback led the Broncos to the playoffs last season and was acquired by the Jets in a trade March 21.

"Everything about this young man's extraordinary life is special," Sandoval said.
Amanda O'Hara drove about 100 miles from San Antonio on Saturday and got to the church about 4:30 a.m. "to be one of the first ones here."

"I only got about four hours sleep, I was so excited," O'Hara said. "He doesn't hide who he is. Parents should see him as a role model."

The crowd included people dressed in Easter bunny costumes and one person dressed as the Sesame Street character Elmo. About an hour before the service, Elmo dropped to a knee with a toddler boy to mimic Tebow's prayer pose.

Media access to the event was tightly controlled inside the roped off field. Reporters and photographers were required to have an escort when walking through the crowd before the service. Television cameras were allowed to record only a portion of Tebow's speech and no live video streaming of the service was permitted.

Church officials initially expected up to 20,000 and said Tebow's appearance on Easter Sunday was coincidental. Church spokeswoman Tara Wall said it was Tebow who reached out to Champion with a request to appear and Sunday was the best date available.

Mike Benaglio and his wife, Debbie, sat on a blanket.
"I'm a fan of any pro athlete who stands up for his faith," he said. "We're thrilled to be part of this. It's not about football. Whatever gets more people over to the cross, I'm in favor of."

Another Man In Israel Charged With Harassment After Spitting On A Woman

Jerusalem resident Ze'ev Frank, 29, accused of spitting on woman in Mea Shearim, calling her 'slut'. According to indictment, in previous incident he called policeman 'Nazi' 

The Jerusalem District Prosecutor's Office on Sunday filed sexual harassment charges with the city's Magistrate's Court against Ze'ev Frank, a 29-year-old ultra-Orthodox man.

The indictment comes two weeks after a precedent decision to file the same charges against Shlomo Fuchs, another haredi Jerusalem resident. Frank is accused of calling a woman a "slut" and spitting on her in the Mea Shearim neighborhood.  

According to the indictment, the woman was walking on the street last Thursday at around 8:30 pm. Frank, who was unhappy with the way she dressed, approached her with threatening body gestures and called her a "slut". He then allegedly spat on her and ordered her to "get out of here"

Three policemen who were in the area emerged from an unmarked police car and arrested him. They were attacked by many haredim who demanded that Frank be arrested. 

The indictment also claims that Frank began physically resisting his arrest, while kicking two of the policemen. As he was placed inside the car, the haredim encircled the policemen and began throwing stones and iron rods at the car. They also tried to remove its doors.

   
One of the policemen was injured in the commotion, and the car's rear windshield was smashed. Frank is accused of sexually harassing and assaulting the woman, as well as assaulting a policeman under aggravating circumstances. 


The indictment mentions another incident from March 2011, when Frank entered a store in Mea Shearim and shouted at a woman and her daughter.

In response, the store manager forcibly removed Frank from the shop. Frank returned to place several minutes later with his friends, who tried to stop people from entering the store and shouted at the workers and customers, "Why are you shopping in a store with immodest people?" In this case Frank is accused of wrongful behavior in a public place.
According to another clause in the indictment, about four months ago Frank said to a police officer, "Nazi, get out of here. You have no business being here." In this case he is accused of insulting a public officer.
The Jerusalem District Prosecutor's Office asked the court to keep Frank in custody until the completion of the legal proceedings, saying that there was reason to suspect that his release would put the public in danger.


Frank's lawyer, Attorney Yair Nehorai, said in response to the indictment: "The State's use of the sexual harassment clause does not match the goal of the law and the broad interpretation given to it by prosecution elements.

"On Friday we presented the court with a tape raising doubts in regards to the suspicions directed at Mr. Frank."

A trend is forming among "religious" men to spit whenever they view females not wearing proper attire. How vile! And those who behave in such a manner demand to be treated as the moral police, not as the criminals they are.

Rioting ,when police are doing their job, in such a way as to cause bodily harm or even death is unconscionable.

The  assaults  against an 8 year old little girl and woman are making headlines around the world.

Religious extremism can be found here as well. Reasonable people know that no good can come from it.

I JUST DON'T GET IT...Israel, give all involved in this melee the stiffest penalty allowed.  And lets us hope this craziness does not escalate to someone dying.










  

Margaret Thatcher Had A Secret

British prime minister Margaret Thatcher secretly approved offering concessions to IRA prisoners if their hunger strikes were called off, files released after 30 years revealed Friday.
In public, Thatcher took a firm stance against demands to be recognized as political prisoners made by jailed Irish Republican Army members and other paramilitaries waging an armed campaign to end British rule in Northern Ireland.

Though largely backed in mainland Britain, her unbending stand triggered international condemnation.
However, files from 1981 released by the National Archives showed that her Conservative government sent messages to the IRA leadership, through a secret intermediary, promising concessions if the hunger strikes were stopped.
The papers reveal the anxiety among government ministers, despite their outward show of determination.

By July 1981, the pressure on Thatcher was intense over the issue. Four men had died, including their leader, 27-year-old Bobby Sands, who had been elected to parliament while on hunger strike.

So when the remaining hunger strikers dropped their demand to be treated as “prisoners of war”, Thatcher authorized a secret message setting out what concessions the government would make if the strikes were called off.
The go-between was a Northern Irish businessman codenamed “Soon” who had contacts with an officer in Britain’s MI6 foreign intelligence spy agency.
The files log a series of frantic calls between Soon and the MI6 man in the days leading up to the offer.


London set out the concessions the government was to offer “if, but only if, it would lead to the immediate end of the hunger strike”.
They included allowing the prisoners to wear their own clothes, rather than prison uniform, and to receive normal visits, parcels and letters as well as “further developments” on prison work and remission.
The draft message in the files contains detailed amendments in Thatcher’s handwriting, showing she was in on the secret plan.

The message ended: “If the reply we receive is unsatisfactory and there is subsequently any public reference to this exchange we shall deny that it took place. Silence will be taken as an unsatisfactory reply.”
The approach was rebuffed and a fifth hunger striker died the following day.
Northern Ireland secretary Humphrey Atkins informed Thatcher: “Following the sending of the message which you approved last night, we have received, as you will know, an unsatisfactory response. That particular channel of activity is therefore now no longer active.”
The government made a second attempt to break the deadlock which got nowhere.
The hunger strikes were to carry on for another three months, during which five more prisoners died.
On July 2, 1981, Thatcher told her Cabinet they should consider “all possible courses of action in regard to Northern Ireland, however difficult or unpalatable”.
With “increasingly disturbing signs of an erosion of international confidence in British policy”, ministers even discussed abandoning Northern Ireland — was unthinkable for a Conservative government.

But while there was “a widespread feeling in favor of British withdrawal” among the public, they admitted pulling out would not be an “easy proposition” with “civil war and massive bloodshed” likely to be the immediate outcome, the minutes noted.
The meeting also discussed intravenously force feeding the hunger strikers, although ministers again acknowledged there would be difficulties, including the possibility of all protesting prisoners going on hunger strike.

An interesting fact about history is generations later more information comes to light. What would Prime Minister Thatcher think of her concessions to prisoners making news?

Would she throw her hands up in the air and say "I JUST DON'T GET IT"

The Return Of Debtor’s Prisons: Thousands Of Americans Jailed For Not Paying Their Bills

Federal imprisonment for unpaid debt has been illegal in the U.S. since 1833. It’s a practice people associate more with the age of Dickens than modern-day America. But as more Americans struggle to pay their bills in the wake of the recession, collection agencies are using harsher methods to get their money, ushering in the return of debtor’s prisons.

 NPR reports that it’s becoming increasingly common for people to serve jail time as a result of their debt. Because of “sloppy, incomplete or even false documentation,” many borrowers facing jail time don’t even know they’re being sued by creditors:

                   Take, for example, what happened to Robin Sanders in Illinois. She was driving home when an officer pulled her over for having a loud muffler. But instead of sending her off with a warning, the officer arrested Sanders, and she was taken right to jail.

                   
“That’s when I found out [that] I had a warrant for failure to appear in Macoupin County. And I didn’t know what it was about.” Sanders owed $730 on a medical bill. She says she didn’t even know a collection agency had filed a lawsuit against her.

A company will often sell off its debt to a collection agency, generally called a creditor. That creditor files a lawsuit against the debtor requiring a court appearance. A notice to appear in court is supposed to be given to the debtor. If they fail to show up, a warrant is issued for their arrest.


More than a third of all states now allow borrowers who don’t pay their bills to be jailed, even when debtor’s prisons have been explicitly banned by state constitutions. A report by the American Civil Liberties Union found that people were imprisoned even when the cost of doing so exceeded the amount of debt they owed.
Sean Matthews, a homeless New Orleans construction worker, was incarcerated for five months for $498 of legal debt, while his jail time cost the city six times that much. Some debtors are even forced to pay for their jail time themselves, adding to their financial troubles.
Stories of surprise arrests for unpaid debt have been reported in states including Indiana, Tennessee and Washington. In Kansas City, one man ended up in jail after missing only a furniture payment. The Federal Trade Commission received more than 140,000 complaints related to debt collection in 2010, and they’ve taken 10 debt collection agencies to court for their practices in the past three years.

 Since the start of 2010, judges have signed off on more than 5,000 arrest warrants since in nine counties alone. Beverly Yang, a legal aid attorney, says many debtor’s — and judges — don’t know debtor’s rights, which results in the accused being intimidated into a pay agreement. She’s seen judges interrogate debtors about why they can’t pay more and whether they are trying hard enough to find a job.

Yang says some collection agencies are only too eager to use needlessly harsh tactics. “Whatever the creditors or the creditors’ attorneys can do to leverage some kind of payment, it will help their profits enormously because they have, literally, millions of these.” Debt collection is a lucrative business — the industry is set to grow 26 percent in the next three years. 

When did civil court judges get the power to sign arrest warrants? And if people with children are jailed what happens to them? Oh I almost forgot Newt will put the kids to work cleaning toilets. Will money they earn go to pay off the debt that put their parents in jail?

Am I the only on that says I JUST DON'T GET IT




                  

Three arrested after shouting match over upside-down American flag at Occupy New Haven

NEW HAVEN — A shouting match at the Occupy New Haven encampment over improper displaying of the American flag resulted in the arrests of three people Friday.

Zequir Berishai, 69, of Waterbury, was angry protesters were flying American flags upside-down and confronted the protesters Friday evening, waving his own, properly oriented flag.

 Police arrested Berishai and two protesters on breach of peace charges, police spokesman Officer David Hartman said. Witnesses, some of them protesters, said Berishai arrived in a pick-up truck painted red, white and blue and covered in flags, patriotic decals and bumper stickers with slogans like “God Bless America” and “Repeal Obama-care.” He allegedly approached the encampment and started yelling at the occupiers.

“He comes over calling us traitors and pieces of (excrement),” said Occupy New Haven activist Don Montano. “He had a nice little speech he made to our head of security, Moose. He was yelling about our flag being upside down. He got louder and louder and louder.”


The witnesses said the man was waving the flag pole at people and acting aggressively.

 Earlier this week, the Occupy New Haven movement made headlines when it

decided to fly the American flag upside-down

, a universal signal of distress. The argument made by protesters was that the country, plagued by what they say is income disparity and economic injustice, is in serious distress.
The move, however, angered some people, who argued that hanging the flag upside down amounts to desecration and is disrespectful.

 Protesters said they did not intend to be disrespectful or anti-American, but only exercised their First Amendment right to make a statement about the direction of the country.

Activist Ben Aubin, who captured the incident on video, said one of the protesters arrested was Broderick “Moose” Lee, 28, of New Haven. Hartman said Berishai and a third person, Shawn Nardell, 25, also were arrested. Police did not have information on where Nardell resides.

Aubin claimed Lee was crossing the street to point out to Berishai that the flags hanging from his truck were tattered. Berishai became more agitated and shoved Lee, according to Aubin.

After the arrests, about a dozen Occupy New Haven protesters marched from the encampment to the police station, chainting, “Incarceration is not the answer!”
 A young male passer-by wearing a blazer shouted back, “What are you accomplishing?” A protester responded, “You’re watching the world change, brother,” to which the blazer-wearing young man said, “I am the 1 percent.”

New Haven-based attorney Irving Pinsky, who has been volunteering with the group, disapproved of the police handling of the situation.

“I see a terrible problem with our system that allows a person to come and cause problems with peaceful people, and both sides get arrested,” he said.


Montano agreed.

 “This represents a bigger problem,” he said. “If you think about it, per the law, if you are involved in a fight, even if you don’t throw a punch and you’re a victim, you still get arrested. And I believe that’s why the victim abuse problem is so bad in Connecticut.”
Hartman said police received a report of a fight at the corner of College and Chapel streets at 4:18 p.m. Berishai reportedly showed up at the encampment wearing clothes made of a flag, Hartman said. The man walked to toward the encampment, but did not enter it, and then started yelling about his dismay over the improperly displayed flag. Hartman said protesters eventually yelled back. He said the incident was not a major fight, but officers were concerned that escalation could result in a more serious fight.

 No one resisted arrest and Hartman said the incident should not be misconstrued as a conflict between police and Occupy New Haven.

“We’ve had an amazing rapport with this Occupy group and we haven’t had a single incident or conflict with them,” he said.

Protester Jennifer Drury said she felt that police just wanted to take everyone involved in the altercation to the station to have a conversation on neutral ground.

According to Drury, Lee was released Friday night and is scheduled to appear in court Tuesday, but police could not confirm late Friday whether any of those arrested had been released.

Zequir Berishai went to the site not because he was upset at the possible loss of Social Security or the high cost of living due to the greed of others. But rather wearing clothes made with the American flag, which is so much more patriotic, he railed against an upside down flag. Why doesn't he see he is part of the 99% and join the occupiers?..They are there for him.

Two of the  peaceful occupiers were taken into custody along with Berishai to talk with police. On its face it sounds logical but was it? Could there have been something more to it?

However, it is good to know it is better to cut up the flag to fashion clothing but wave it up side down  is Unamerican. I JUST DON'T GET IT.

German Mercedes-Benz Executive Arrested Under Alabama’s Immigration Law

Alabama’s economy is suffering because of HB 56, the state’s draconian immigration law, as workers flee out of fear. State Sen. Scott Beason (R), who sponsored the anti-immigrant bill in the Alabama legislature, once called it a “jobs bill,” but the state’s immigration law is leaving entire industries without enough workers instead.
And the extreme law, which legislators are now reconsidering, could seriously damage the state’s reputation as well after police arrested a German Mercedes-Benz executive last week under the immigration law. Mercedes opened its first American manufacturing plant in Vance, Alabama in 1993, spurring a trend of foreign car makers and suppliers opening factories in the state. They may be rethinking that decision, however, after one of their German executives was arrested for simply not having his passport with him:


Tuscaloosa Police Chief Steven Anderson told The Associated Press an officer stopped a rental vehicle for not having a tag Wednesday night and asked the driver for his license. The man only had a German identification card, so he was arrested and taken to police headquarters, Anderson said.
The 46-year-old executive was charged with violating the immigration law for not having proper identification, but he was released after an associate retrieved his passport, visa and German driver’s license from the hotel where he was staying, Anderson said


The length of his detainment and the status of his court case weren’t immediately known.
Bentley…called the state’s homeland security director, Spencer Collier, after hearing of the arrest to get details about what had happened, Collier said in an interview.
“Initially I didn’t have them, so I called Chief Anderson to find out what happened,” Collier said. “It sounds like the officer followed the statute correctly.”

 Before Gov. Robert Bentley (R) signed HB 56, drivers who did not have a license were given a ticket and court summons, Collier said. “If it were not for the immigration law, a person without a license in their possession wouldn’t be arrested like this,” he told the AP.

 In October, the New York Times speculated in an editorial that despite best efforts to recruit foreign automakers to Alabama, the state was now “infamous as a regional capital of xenophobia.” And if the immigration law scared away a manufacturer like Mercedes, which employs about 2,800 Alabamians, or Hyundai, which announced an expansion at its Montgomery, Alabama plant in May, would only compound the state’s economic woes. The unfortunate arrest of a visiting Mercedes executive only underscores the damage Alabama’s harmful anti-immigrant law will continue to do to the state’s economy — and its reputation.

One of the problems with this outrageous law is a lack of foresight. In their rush to rid their state of Spanish speaking "residents" the bill included anyone not American. In their net of racism they caught a German. Was he arrested for lack of proper documentation or the German accent he spoke as he asked "What's the problem, officer?" Or not having his passport? I think the accent did him in.  Nice work, Bubba..

The fact that I JUST DON"T GET IT is I am in good company as most Progressives don't either.

OUR NATIONAL SHAME VIOLENCE AGAINST CHILDREN

Why is the problem of violence against children so much more acute in the US than anywhere else in the industrialized world, asks Michael Petit, President of Every Child Matters.

Over the past 10 years, more than 20,000 American children are believed to have been killed in their own homes by family members. That is nearly four times the number of US soldiers killed in Iraq and Afghanistan.


The child maltreatment death rate in the US is triple Canada's and 11 times that of Italy. Millions of children are reported as abused and neglected every year. Why is that?

Downward spiral


Part of the answer is that teen pregnancy, high-school dropout, violent crime, imprisonment, and poverty - factors associated with abuse and neglect - are generally much higher in the US.


Further, other rich nations have social policies that provide child care, universal health insurance, pre-school, parental leave and visiting nurses to virtually all in need.

In the US, when children are born into young families not prepared to receive them, local social safety nets may be frayed, or non-existent. As a result, they are unable to compensate for the household stress the child must endure.

In the most severe situations, there is a predictable downward spiral and a child dies. Some 75% of these children are under four, while nearly half are under one.
Geography matters a lot in determining child well-being. Take the examples of Texas and Vermont.
Texas prides itself in being a low tax, low service state. Its per capita income places it in the middle of the states, while its total tax burden - its willingness to tax itself - is near the bottom.
Vermont, in contrast, is at the other extreme. It is a high-tax, high-service state.
Mix of risks
In looking at key indicators of well-being, children from Texas are twice as likely to drop out of high school as children from Vermont. They are four times more likely to be uninsured, four times more likely to be incarcerated, and nearly twice as likely to die from abuse and neglect.

Texas spending

• $6.25 billion (£4.01bn) spent in 2007 on direct and indirect costs dealing with after-effects of child abuse and neglect
• $0.05 billion (£0.03bn) budgeted in 2011 for prevention and early intervention

Source: Univ of Houston, TexProtects

In Texas, a combination of elements add to the mix of risks that a child faces. These include a higher poverty rate in Texas, higher proportions of minority children, lower levels of educational attainment, and a political culture which holds a narrower view of the role of government in addressing social issues.

Texas, like many other traditionally conservative states, is likely to have a weaker response to families that need help in the first place, and be less efficient in protecting children after abuse occurs.
The sharp differences between the states raises the question of an expanded federal role.
Are children Texas children first? Or are they first American children with equal opportunity and protection?
Blame parents?

A national strategy, led by our national government, needs to be developed and implemented. For a start, the Congress should adopt legislation that would create a National Commission to End Child Abuse and Neglect Fatalities.

And no children's programs should be on the chopping block, federal or state. Children did not crash the US economy. It is both shortsighted economic policy and morally wrong to make them pay the price for fixing it.

But instead as the US economy lags, child poverty soars, and states cut billions in children's services, we are further straining America's already weak safety net.

Inevitably, it means more children will die. The easy answer is to blame parents and already burdened child protection workers. But easy answers don't solve complex problems.
And with millions of children injured and thousands killed, this problem is large indeed, and it deserves a large response.

So if I understand the GOP rhetoric protecting the unborn is a priority. No exceptions. But their concern stops at the delivery room door? There are kids suffering beatings and starvation and worse. Where is the concern for them? Who will protect them? Unborn need society's protection, but the living children don't? I JUST DON'T GET IT.


























.

Eric Cantor Screws The Jobless And Remains The Worst Congressman In America

There are times when decorum and goodwill in politics become so onerous that even the most sedate observer must say enough and address outrageous behavior with candor and conviction. For the past nine months, Republicans have deliberately opposed any measures that create jobs or help America’s struggling economy despite their promise to make job creation their highest priority. The Republicans’ Draconian spending cuts would have cost millions of jobs, and the deficit reduction frenzy did nothing to help the economy and in fact, was responsible for S&P’s decision to downgrade America’s stellar credit rating because Republicans refused to take a balanced approach of spending cuts with revenue increases. Throughout the 112^th Congress, Republicans have portrayed President Obama as an ineffective leader who is responsible for the nation’s debt as well as the sluggish economy and high unemployment numbers.

The president has attempted to work with Republicans to help the economy and it has not paid off except for securing a 13 month unemployment benefit extension and an increase in the nation’s debt ceiling. Republicans have obstructed the president and Democrats’ attempts at creating jobs 15 times because they want more Americans destitute and are hopeful that their policies will increase the number of Americans living in poverty. So far, they have been very successful at keeping the economy stagnate and millions of Americans jobless and instead of feeling shame, they are rejoicing over the horrible conditions they have caused. It does not matter which Republican in Congress one examines, they are all vile human beings who are fortunate millions of Americans don’t converge on their offices to physically throw them out on the street where they belong.

John Boehner and Mitch McConnell are liars of the first order and master obstructionists, but it is Eric Cantor who may be the worst congressman in America. Cantor has shown his abject contempt for the American people every time he opens his mouth; he is undoubtedly a master fellatrix. Cantor is a callous piece of garbage who demanded that any disaster relief for victims of tornados, flooding, and hurricanes be offset by spending cuts to programs that help the poor and elderly. His heartlessness at denying disaster relief even touched his constituents and it is curious why the vile little maggot did not face a recall election. Now he says Republicans are not going to vote on the president’s jobs bill because the GOP representatives have their own plan that features deregulation as its main job-creating policy.

During a meeting with reporters on Monday, when Cantor was asked if the President’s jobs bill was dead, he answered yes, and then he said, “It would be a lot more helpful for the president to focus on areas of commonality rather than targeting House Republicans through campaign-style tactics and perhaps he can start compromising with us.” What? Perhaps President Obama can start compromising with you? The president has compromised with Republicans at every turn and the lying dog Cantor knows it. For Republicans, compromise means President Obama must obey the worthless Republicans, and suggesting the president start compromising is the most ire-inspiring statement Cantor has made. He was either pandering to the Republican faithful who are too cognitively challenged to look back at the past two-and-a-half years to analyze for themselves whether or not President Obama compromised with Republicans in Congress, or he is so used to lying for the sake of lying that he thought it would be clever to assail the President for not compromising.

When the President first announced his plan to jumpstart the economy and create jobs, Cantor said “Anything that is akin to the stimulus bill is not going to be acceptable to the American people.” According to the Congressional Budget Office (CBO), the first stimulus created 3.3 million jobs and business owners said it was the biggest boost to their businesses they have seen in many years. Cantor does not speak for the American people, and millions of unemployed Americans would most likely dispute Cantor’s assertion that Americans prefer to stay unemployed rather than accept a good-paying job building roads, bridges, schools, and hospitals the President’s jobs bill will produce. Cantor is just a vile little piece of work and there is other way to frame it. He touts Republican’s jobs plans that includes more tax breaks for the job-killing rich people as well as environmental deregulation to help the oil industry.

There are no Republicans worthy of representing the American people because they are vile human beings, but Cantor is the worst. He is a liar, a contemptible manipulator, and the king of all fellators in America. Sure, McConnell, Boehner, and the rest of the Libertarians posing as Republicans are worthless maggots, but Cantor is a perpetual piece of garbage. He could have spouted his deregulation and tax break memes all day long, and it would have been just Cantor being Cantor, but when the Gumby-looking, excrement-eating liar said President Obama should compromise with Republicans, he went too far and has inspired disgust, rage, and an honest appraisal that finds Eric Cantor is the worst congressional representative in America, and to top it off, he hates the American people.

When there is a choice to be part of the solution of a problem does he ever ask him self why he turns a blind eye to doing good rather than his normal mean self? Why does he want America to fail? I JUST DON'T GET IT.

Why the Kochs Want to Make Chris Christie President

Neither Romney nor Perry has done the one thing that truly excites the Koch brothers and their fellow deep-pocketed Christie fans: take on the public sector unions in a big way. 

 

Photo Credit: AFP

 

When Texas Gov. Rick Perry, currently the frontrunner in the Republican presidential nomination contest, and New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie made a pilgrimage in June to a Colorado gathering of wealthy right-wing donors convened by billionaires Charles and David Koch, one man clearly impressed the brothers much more than the other.

 

Introducing Christie, who delivered the keynote address to the Koch Industries gathering, David Koch gushed. "With his enormous success in reforming New Jersey, some day we might see him on a larger stage where, God knows, he is desperately needed," said Koch, according to secretly recorded audio files of the event obtained by Brad Friedman of the Brad Blog.

Yet Christie, foe of teachers and their unions, had made it plain months before in no uncertain terms: he was not running for president. "[S]hort of suicide, I don't really know what I'd have to do to convince you people that I'm not running," Christie told a group of reporters in February. "I'm not running."

His protestations aside, a new push for a Christie candidacy by a handful of high-flying Republican political donors -- including Koch, the moneybags behind the Tea Party aligned group, Americans for Prosperity, and countless other right-wing organizations and efforts -- has the political world aflutter at the prospect of the pugilistic former prosecutor on the debate stand. Republican luminaries including Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels and Weekly Standard editor Bill Kristol have suggested Christie enter the presidential contest, and even Karl Rove has publicly mused on that possibility. Further stoking the speculation, Christie last night delivered at the Reagan Library a speech that sounded for all of the world like the rationale for a Christie presidential candidacy.

Recent stumbles by Texas Gov. Rick Perry on the presidential campaign trail have widened the opening for a late entrant into the race for the GOP presidential nomination, a course that former vice presidential candidate and former Alaska governor, Sarah Palin, is said to be considering. But the money and momentum for an October surprise candidacy these days is on Christie.

Uniting a small group of big-money donors, dubbed the "Draft Christie Committee" by New York Times reporter Nicholas Confessore, are two things: a hatred for labor unions and a desire for a Republican win in November 2012, something they seem unconvinced that either Perry or former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney can deliver.


There's little doubt that Christie is reconsidering his earlier decision to stay out of the presidential race. "It's real," former N.J. Gov. Thomas Kean told Robert Costa of the National Review Online. "He's giving it a lot of thought. I think the odds are a lot better now than they were a couple weeks ago." Kean, says Costa, is an "informal adviser" of Christie's. Yesterday, Christie hit the stump on behalf of Republican candidates -- something he does in addition to traveling to California to deliver what was billed as major speech in Simi Valley last night.

When, during the question-and-answer session that followed the speech, an audience member asked Christie if he was running for the Republican presidential nomination, the governor first chided the audience for not getting to the subject until the second question, but refused to say he wasn't running. Instead, he referred his audience to the Politico Web site, where the front page featured a video that strings together clips of his many past denials. (The text under the video reads: "New Jersey Governor Chris Christie has made it clear he won't run in 2012 — a decision he might be reconsidering.")

So my question is this. When did we become a country where two privileged brothers determine who sits in the White House? Is this what the founding fathers hand in mind? I think not.

It is obvious the train is off the track with no one thus far able to stop it.  I JUST DON'T GET IT... 

 

 

 

 

 

HOUSES ON SESAME STREET ARE FOR SALE!

He’s Coming For Our Kids! Glenn Beck And His New Children’s Show ‘Liberty Treehouse’

Gather up your kids, wrap their heads in tin foil, activate any and all parental control blocking devices and maybe they’ll be safe from Glenn Beck’s new children’s program “Liberty Treehouse.” Starting this Monday at 4 p.m. on Glenn Beck’s pay-for-view network, GBTV, Liberty Treehouse will begin indoctrinating a new generation of Tea Party tykes during an hour long program targeting the 10 to 14 year olds in your home. Raj Nair will be hosting the “news” presumably Beck-style, which means a dab of entertainment, a little bit of preaching and a whole lot of conservative crazy talk with absolutely no factual evidence to support it. While Beck, himself, is not on the show, (at least for now but there maybe a chalkboard in his future plans), Liberty Treehouse leads into his 5 o’clock time slot. GBTV’s head of programming, Joel Cheatwood, thinks it may be a good thing if the kids stay on the couch, joined by their parents, and continue to watch Beck as their program ends. Regular contributors are expected to deliver information on science and history but given Beck’s fact-revulsion to both, it seems unlikely that these segments will survive beyond the initial weeks of programming unless they adapt. Undoubtedly, the show will entertain liberal adults for the usual reasons but given Beck’s mainstay beliefs that “progressivism” is the cancer eroding away the Constitution, it is unlikely that liberal parents will want their children to have anything to do with this program.


So, if you found Scooby Doo too frightening, were a bit concerned about Mr. Rogers, his sweater and what he was actually up to, have been ticked off that Hannah Montana/Miley Cyrus grew up and became a bit slutty— Never fear, Glenn Beck is here!

It would be sad if he were an average  disillusioned man. However, his paranoia is viewed as normal by his followers that will allow, no demand, their kids watch propaganda labeled as news..

Somebody other than a mouth breather help me out here...I JUST DON'T GET IT 

Republicans Use Herman Cain To Hide Their Racism

Sarah Palin calls him “Herb Cain, the Flavor of the Week.” Other people know him as the pizza man or the winner of the Florida Republican Straw Poll. No matter what you call him, Herman Cain has made a name for himself. What is particularly interesting with Cain, is that so many bigwigs in the Republican party have thrown money at him when he is unelectable in the party. Herman Cain isn’t unelectable because of his hatred for Muslims and homosexuals, or even his disastrous economic plan knows as “9-9-9.” Herman Cain is unelectable in the Republican primary because of the one reason that shouldn’t matter at all, the color of skin.

The truth of the matter is that the Republican Party has a large base that is still prejudice. The deep seeded hatred not only lies within the conservative south, but across the country toward African-Americans and minorities. It doesn’t only hid in the shadows. It is still clear as day. So the question must be asked, why would the Republican hierarchy pour so much money into a candidate that they know wouldn’t get enough support from such a big part of their base? The answer is simple, illusion. Anytime a Republican politician makes a racist statement, the defenders on Fox News, across the radio air waves or on the internet, cry reverse racism and come to the defense of the bigoted statement made by their ignorant party member. The Republican party uses Herman Cain to hide their parties love of pre-civil rights America. They simply use Cain for show. Cain makes outrageous statements that appeal to some in the Tea Party and comes out with plans and policies that only the radical right could embrace. Herman Cain is there for one reason and one reason only, to attempt to fool independent Americans that maybe the Republican party isn’t so racist after all.

Herman Cain recently said that African-Americans have been brainwashed into voting for Democrats and that if he ran for President that he would get at least half of their votes. What is interesting about that comment is that it’s far from the truth and Cain knows that. African-American voters have voted in majority for Democrats because the Democrats have been the party that has fought for their best interests for the last 50 years while the Republican party wants to do nothing but cut programs that are essential in many African-American communities. The GOP hold on to being the “Party of Lincoln” but those days are long gone, and the parties have flipped on many issues. Herman Cain is not qualified to be President of the United States, and the color of his skin has zero to do with that assessment. What is sad is that either Herman Cain knows the truth or he is the one being brainwashed.

It is sad that a person could want something so badly, like becoming President of the United States, that being used to a different end by those who would never support him , is unseen by the dreamer. I know why I don't get his ignorance but why doesn't he get it? Mr. Cain, you are a pawn in this GOP controlled game.

US justice department paid $16 for muffins

Where does one find those muffins that are so costly? Could this be code for something else? Like coke or hookers?

Senator Chuck Grassley said such spending was why US taxpayers were cynical about government

Muffins costing $16 (£10) and biscuits at $10 were among the "extravagant and wasteful" conference spending by the US justice department, a report has found.

Critics voiced outrage at the spending shown in the internal audit, including $8 coffees and $32-per-person snacks.
The justice department said it accepted the findings, adding that it had taken steps since 2009 "to ensure that these problems do not occur again".
The US owes more than $14tn and has an annual budget deficit topping $1.4tn.
The report found that the justice department had spent $4,200 on 250 muffins at an August 2009 legal conference at a hotel near the White House.
A justice department spokeswoman told reporters that took place at a time when there were no strict limits on food and beverage spending.
The department spent $121m on more than 1,800 conferences in 2008 and 2009 - exceeding its own spending limits, according to the audit.
It spent $600,000 just on planning for five conferences.
The department said it had already taken action to reduce conference spending, which it said had fallen the first six months of this year.
But Republican Senate Judiciary Committee member Chuck Grassley said in a statement: "People are outraged, and rightly so."
He said the report showed a congressional "super committee", charged with cutting at least $1.2tn in federal spending, where the axe should fall. 

We surfs have to live on a budget....I JUST DON'T GET IT....

Billie Flynn Ate My Gum

We met on a late Summer's afternoon. The sun warmed our faces as we sat silently enjoying the closeness. The sky was blue and cloudless. He looked at me with large brown eyes and I could deny him no longer. From behind my back I took what he had been waiting for. He stood anticipating and then he was off running to catch the ball. Jumping in the air it was easy and just as fast he returned dropping it at my feet.

Billie was a stray dog  found a few counties away at the side of a road. The shelter policy was notify area shelters, supplying a photo of animal and waiting 5 days before it could be available for adoption. He was extremely well behaved, they said, but the best news for any dog owner "house broken." I made several visits to the shelter before deciding to bring him home. After all it would effect both of us. A friend's daughter suggested I name him Billie Flynn because I loved the movie "Chicago".

He is even tempered, takes abuse from the cat, does not suffer from separation anxiety, never gets into the garbage and sheds so much its hard to keep up with it. The  jet black fur  easy to see for daily vacuuming. The noise drives him out of the room. Billy is afraid of loud noises.

The only complaint, if that even is the proper word, he eats my gum. Not used gum, oh no fresh out of the pack. To be more accurate its the whole pack. As evidence of his thievery the wet paper container is left on the floor for me to find. Apparently the paper is too much fiber. Yesterday I went out briefly, forgetting to put the pack of gum out of reach. On the bedroom floor was wet wrappers that once held the gum. When I looked at him the wagging tail stopped and drooped. He left not looking back and sat on the floor at my daughter's feet.

Dogs are like kids and X's. They know what they are doing will get them into trouble but do it anyway.

I JUST DON'T GET IT does not apply here..Billie loves gum. It's up to me to keep it away from him or learn to share...

President Obama Snorts Coke

The blonde foul mouthed, GOP pundit, Ann Coulter said as much Sunday morning.

And when did it become acceptable to accuse a sitting president of being a drug user without any proof? There comes a time when a line gets crossed and this surely is it. There were the birthers, those who questioned his faith and others who suggested he was not black enough. And now a drug user!

Coulter will no doubt say she said nothing wrong. And will defend it on the networks that will invite her for clarification. She merely suggested the media find his dealer. Nothing wrong with that, right? Some will say, "That's just Ann being Ann" As if her words are benign. Let's not forget she has a following that takes her babble as truth. How long before this gains traction? Imagine for a moment Senate hearings on the veracity of her statement. Talk about a dog and pony show.

Now does Ann Coulter believe what she says or does she speak merely for shock value? Perhaps she is feeling neglected since all attention is on the "brunette sisters". Not as smart as her but just as evil. What is to be gained by this? Who stands to gain the most?

A few years ago, on Larry King, she made vile statements about the widows of firemen who were killed on 9/11."Whores" she called them for taking money given to them and their children. And even after that she is on news shows,ok mostly Fox, to spread her lies.

The White House must not turn a blind eye to this news. Even though supporters will laugh this off as rhetoric detractors will take it as fact.


Why she has never been sued escapes me. I Just Don't Get It


The link has been provided below.

Blow Job: Ann Coulter Demands That The Media Find Obama’s Coke Dealer
www.politicususa.com

Outed In High School

High School was either heaven or hell depending on who you talk to. Freshman year could be very difficult. Different classrooms, eating lunch in a noisy cafeteria for the first time and the pressure of making it into the in crowd. The secure world of elementary school was gone and left in its place was the daily stress trying to open a combination lock, grabbing the right books and making it to class on time.

As if the first day wasn't bad enough, in homeroom sat a beautiful girl. You know the kind. She was blessed with perfect everything. Girls wanted to be her. And boys wanted to have her. The rest worried about frizzy hair and zits. Not her. And what amazed us was how friendly she was to everyone. One morning while waiting for first bell I saw her talking to a boy who could have been her twin. She brought him over and introduced him. Her older brother was a junior. They came to school together everyday. It was obvious they were very close. He waited every afternoon to take her home before going to work.

The months passed quickly and soon it was winter break. Teachers piled on the homework that included lots of reading and term papers. Some break. Two weeks away from school and friends. Halfway through a snow storm dumped enough white powder to keep most housebound. It was not long before boredom set in and returning to school couldn't come fast enough.

That first morning back there was something palpably different. Students speaking in hushed tones. Odd sounding laughter. By lunchtime the whole school knew that some student had been seen in a club frequented by gays. Who? And how was it found out? After all if this student was seen wouldn't it make sense that the person who reported the sighting was gay too? By the end of the day the name was known by enough kids and it spread like wild fire. It was the protective brother of Miss Perfect.

The story was he was seen coming out of the club by a senior who was driving by at just the right moment. In no time at all the rumor mill was busy. Apparently it didn't take long for word to make it to the school office.

He never returned to school. He transferred to another school and took a job as a window dresser in a downtown department store. His sister transferred too. She never contacted any of her friends after that. Shortly before moving away I heard his sister married and her bother was not invited to the wedding.

This happened in New York many years ago. When being outed came with harsh consequences. If you were found out life would never be the same. Bullies and bigots made sure of that. And now a law has passed allowing gays to marry. So many years between then and now. I had not thought of that incident in so long, but watching the important vote that awful moment in time returned. Tears ran down my face. I wondered if he was able to reconnect with his family. Were they able to support him? Had he found love? It would be cruel if he had not. I closed my eyes and prayed that he was living the life he deserved.

So for those opposed to this new law ask yourselves how does this law hurt you. What rights do you lose? I JUST DON'T GET IT

Daily Kos: Rand Paul: America's hungry seniors should turn to charity

A Senate subcommittee on Primary Health and Aging, chaired by Sen. Bernie Sanders, held a hearing Tuesday on the “human toll and budget consequences” of senior hunger. Panelists shared tales of woe from older Americans unable to get enough food, and urged increased funding for nutrition programs under the Older Americans Act of 1965.

This might have been non-controversial a few years ago, but not with the Tea Party in town. The hearing produced a fierce debate between Sanders, a self-described democratic socialist, and Sen. Rand Paul, the prototypical Tea Partier, about whether the government should even perform simple tasks like feeding hungry senior citizens....

Mary Jane Koren, a geriatrician and vice-president of the Commonwealth Fund, noted that seniors often suffer health problems and are put in nursing homes after falling down. Poor nutrition leads to decreased muscle strength, meaning a higher chance of falling—and weaker seniors are more likely to be gravely injured in such a fall. Koren noted that by 2020, the annual cost of medical care for seniors who fall is expected to reach $54.9 billion—many magnitudes more than the approximately $2 billion per year the federal government spends on nutrition assistance for senior citizens.

Sen. Paul, however, explicitly rejected this logic. “It’s curious that only in Washington can you spend $2 billion and claim that you’re saving money,” he said. “The idea or notion that spending money in Washington somehow is saving money really flies past most of the taxpayers.” Instead, Paul touted the “nobility of private charity” as opposed to government-funded “transfer programs.” He suggested privatizing Meals on Wheels and other government assistance for hungry seniors.

Sanders had none of this. “Senator Paul has suggested that only in Washington can people believe that spending money actually saves money. And I think that’s the kind of philosophy that results in us spending about twice as much per person on health care as any other country on earth,” Sanders said. “We have millions of millions of Americans who can’t get to a doctor on time. Some of them die, some of them become very, very ill and end up in the emergency room or end up in the hospital at great cost.

“Maybe it’s the same reason why we have more people in jail than any other country on earth including China, tied to the fact that we have the highest poverty rate among children among many other major countries on earth,” Sanders continued. “I happen to believe that intelligently investing in the needs of our people does in fact save substantial sums of money.”

In providing this explanation of how social investment works, and the consequences of not making it, Sen. Sanders is making the mistake of thinking that Sen. Paul a) has the capacity to understand what his talking about, and b) gives a shit that there are people dying because they don't have health care, or have to chose between it and starving. It highlights the great divide between the Republican party of 2011 and the rest of us, a distinction elected Democrats need to be calling out loudly and repeatedly. But in the new austerity-driven policy world, good luck with that.

When Is A Lack Of Empathy OK?

The unseasonable heat made sleep more elusive than normal. The upside was knowing at 4am fresh bagels would be available at the local coffee shop. Opening up the front door and walking out into the muggy air was still a surprise for the early hour. The drive did not take long as there was no traffic except for an 18 wheeler driving what I deemed to fast in an effort to make it through the traffic light before it turned red.

The coffee shop was cool, filled with the smells of baked goods, donuts, bagels and coffee. I was the only customer making it more than probable the transaction would be quick. Wrong.

A young woman came out of the kitchen wearing a brown apron covered in white powder. Had I not known she was "dusting" fried dough with confectionery sugar I might have assumed she was cutting cocaine. Perhaps my looking at it prompted her to explain she didn't bother to wash it as the work was so messy it made no sense. At the end of the week it would be put in the washer, made clean for the next week. I said something like, "It's too bad you don't have another one to wear." And she replied, "But I do." Oh, ok.

Now you may wonder why any conversation would be necessary at that early hour with no other customers keeping me waiting. The coffee shop had no decaf coffee brewed. Typically commercial brewers are much faster than the home variety but only when one knows how to use them.

As she poured the ground coffee into the pot and adding water I inquired if she was ever nervous about working alone and she said no because it was a good neighborhood and added the only time the shop had been robbed it was an "inside job" by a former employee. And it is a safe area except that during the more clement weather there are homeless people who come out of the woods from behind the shops and one needs to be careful. And in a most sincere voice she told me about a homeless man who came into the shop, during a recent rain storm, who messed up the floor with his muddy feet and booth he sat in.

With that I forgot about the coffee. How terrible to be without a home, I said. She informed me that she herself had lived in her car for six months as she had no home. This 20 something girl covered in powered sugar had lived in a manner she didn't ask for and yet held no empathy for the rain soaked mud tracker who made her use a mop.

How was that possible? Those two strangers had something in common..It could have been her rain soaked and hungry. Maybe her lack of feeling comes from being employed, with a roof over her head. Grateful those 6 months are now a memory she looks forward only to the future. But to be so cold. Does she not realize how large this country's homeless problem is? Does she even read a newspaper or watch the news? Or is she like so many others who feel its not their problem. Then whose problem is it?

I took the coffee and bagels and left thinking I just don;t get it.

Utah Law maker to propose bill that mirrors Arizona's E-verify law

By david montero

The Salt Lake Tribune
First published May 27 2011 04:53PM
Updated 3 hours ago

Rep. Stephen Sandstrom on Friday proposed a Utah version of a newly upheld 2007 Arizona law requiring businesses to use a federal verification program to screen for undocumented immigrants applying for jobs

The Orem Republican, who had been sitting on the bill, said Thursday’s 5-3 U.S. Supreme Court decision settled the question of constitutionality.

"I’m going to run the exact same bill," Sandstrom said. "There is no doubt it [will] hold up."

Sandstrom, who expects to have language for the measure within two weeks, said it would mirror Arizona’s law — mandating employers use E-verify and setting up severe penalties if companies knowingly hire undocumented immigrants or fail to use the federal system.

He warned that employers who violate federal law by hiring undocumented immigrants would have their business licenses suspended for up to two weeks and be put on probation for five years. If a violating company had another offense during that five-year span, its business license would be revoked.

The bill wouldn’t impact workers already on a payroll, but would affect future hires.

"We need to take down the ‘Help wanted’ sign for illegal aliens looking to come to Utah," Sandstrom said. "Now that the Arizona law has been upheld by the Supreme Court, we need to act fast."

The lawmaker plans to lobby Gov. Gary Herbert to call a special session in September to pass his measure because he worries undocumented immigrants in Arizona now will head to Utah.



Herbert spokeswoman Ally Isom wouldn’t say whether the governor would consider a special session.

"Gov. Herbert has not been contacted by Rep. Sandstrom, nor have we had opportunity to review any new proposals from him," Isom said in a statement. "E-verify, which is already mandatory in the state of Utah, is a program the governor has supported."

The Arizona law was challenged by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the Obama administration and civil-rights groups, but Chief Justice John Roberts, in his opinion, said the law was within the state’s authority.

The law was written by Arizona Senate President Russell Pearce, R-Mesa, who said Thursday he was confident the high court would uphold it.

It’s not the first time Sandstrom has picked up Pearce-inspired legislation and run it in the Beehive State.

The Utahn’s enforcement-only bill, HB497, was born of Pearce’s SB1070, which required police to enforce federal immigration law. Parts of SB1070 are currently held up in the courts, and Sandstrom’s bill is awaiting a July hearing after the American Civil Liberties Union and the National Immigration Law Center filed a lawsuit saying it’s unconstitutional.

Marty Carpenter, spokesman for the Salt Lake Chamber, said individual state immigration laws create a patchwork problem and that the solution must come from the federal government.

"Just because it’s legal doesn’t mean it’s good policy. This opens the door for state legislators to try and solve a problem by treating one symptom rather than treating the root cause of the issue," Carpenter said. "Businesses are in the business to create markets, transport and sell goods. Businesses are not in the business to police or enforce immigration policy."

So after reading this are you saying to yourself "I Just Don't Get It?"

Woman Cuts her Kids’ Throats & Her Own Because of Doomsday Prophecy

A story traveled around social networks yesterday about a woman so distraught over the impending "rapture" stories she took it one step further. Armed with a box cutter she sliced the throats of her two daughters and then herself. Had it not been for a friend stopping by the house all would be dead.

The children are recovering in the hospital and their mother, without severe injures sits in jail under a bond of $1 million dollars.


Is this the only such tragedy that Harold Camping's lunacy caused? Probably not. And I would go further and say he doesn't even care. He sits on a fortune collected from donations for years by those who needed so badly to believe the end of the world and the coming of Christ.

Neither happened and yet lives are ruined. There is no going back for this woman. She wanted to spare her children. Instead of the anticipated god's judgement she will go to court and explain her actions. A totally different kind of judgement.

And the man behind the curtain lives oblivious or uncaring that his crazy words had serious consequences. Is he legally responsible for anything? I hope that he is inundated with civil law suits. False Promise. And up until his dying day he is deposed spending much of the fortune he stole from his followers on lawyers

Here is the link to the video that puts a face to this tragedy> bit.ly/iiY93a.

False prophecies take their toll on the believers. Too bad Harold Camping is left to count his money.

I Just Don't Get It.