tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32247796501242257042024-03-12T16:35:12.244-07:00My Own PatriotD.M. Millerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11684153908840786340noreply@blogger.comBlogger75125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3224779650124225704.post-62652742071816978062015-05-01T23:01:00.001-07:002015-05-03T07:33:38.206-07:00Don't Go In The Basement!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEDdOK_daV7JLJHMtkksXJTP0A9tmBV3AMtNLRp1_dJjjKijdw7iF7YR-5_cyNibKAbDPymM0vQ3YY3xZubUFp_yQWOUITYw-rs3N2DE0DvJubzakp_CR2Wfb3lDz_GqcqCsNUdk1G92w/s1600/snake+basement.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEDdOK_daV7JLJHMtkksXJTP0A9tmBV3AMtNLRp1_dJjjKijdw7iF7YR-5_cyNibKAbDPymM0vQ3YY3xZubUFp_yQWOUITYw-rs3N2DE0DvJubzakp_CR2Wfb3lDz_GqcqCsNUdk1G92w/s1600/snake+basement.jpg" height="320" width="223" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<br />
<b>My brother made a snake cage once.</b><br />
<br />
It was a scout project and the plans for it came out of an old Boy Scout Handbook and consisted of a box made of thin plywood on four sides and measured one foot square and eight inches high. The front was screened as was the top lid. The hinges were pieces of old leather belt and a hook-and-eye clasp kept it closed and locked. JW hung a light over the cage so we could watch our captives, and to provide warmth.<br />
<br />
I was five or six and JW was eleven and we filled the bottom of the cage with newspaper and grass clippings and populated it with seven garter snakes captured in a near-by vacant lot. They were young snakes with gray bodies, pale cream bellies and all with a colored stripe running lengthwise. Some stripes were red and some were yellow. We gave them names.<br />
<br />
<a name='more'></a><br /><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbFTITdSFHAnNUKwleXJRhic0s47ig-lnCxFQ3vyhQpkL0WjG_e2t1zQpOB0N99Bte0hYLhuj7XRhjMN0ocT2CDayIjux7jXB4vUNtcrb90bx7LdISj_1YuqmWFLxbajSowQ1K-VIWAK8/s1600/snake+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbFTITdSFHAnNUKwleXJRhic0s47ig-lnCxFQ3vyhQpkL0WjG_e2t1zQpOB0N99Bte0hYLhuj7XRhjMN0ocT2CDayIjux7jXB4vUNtcrb90bx7LdISj_1YuqmWFLxbajSowQ1K-VIWAK8/s1600/snake+2.jpg" /></a></div>
<br />
JW kept the cage in the basement and I helped him feed and water the critters. I think we used turtle food flakes. We caught them in August and they seemed to be doing well until October came around and JW summoned me to the basement and pointed to the cage.<br />
<br />
"What did you do with them?" he demanded. <br />
<br />
"Do with what?" I wasn't sure what he wanted. It was dark at the cage; the light bulb had burned out. My brother shined his scout issue green angled flashlight with the belt clip through the top screen.<br />
<br />
"The snakes are gone. What did you do with them? Did you take them out?"<br />
<br />
I looked in the cage and instead of seven eight-inch legless reptiles slowly slithering over and under each other and perking up their little heads waiting for a dosing of dried fly bits, there was... nothing. Nothing but grass and a small water bowl and the fresh layer of newspaper. There was also a short dry fir branch I broke to fit the box, for the snakes to drape themselves on like I'd seen big pythons do in jungle movies, but I never saw ours do any draping. <br />
<br />
"I didn't take them out," I protested. <br />
<br />
He undid the clasp and opened the lid and poked around the floor of the cage with the branch, moving the clippings aside. No snakes.<br />
<br />
"You left the latch off."<br />
<br />
Even with the latch unhooked the lid was tight-fitting. They couldn't have moved that lid even if they all pushed with their little snaky heads at the same time.<br />
<br />
"Maybe you left the lid open." But he knew better and I just shook my head. I had been really careful of my charges. I religiously freshened the water and fed them. I also came up with a nifty way to change the soiled paper lining without having to transfer everything to a shoe box temporarily and then back again. Instead I put down ten layers of newsprint, cut to size, and every week I would just reach in and gently tug one spotted sheet out from under them.<br />
<br />
"Maybe the girls... " but even as I suggested it I knew it was absurd. My sisters were deathly afraid of the snakes and hadn't even set foot in the basement since JW set up the terrarium.<br />
<br />
We looked for holes in the screens, or a loose corner, but the box was tight as a bathyscaphe.<br />
<br />
They hadn't escaped, but somehow they had vanished. Then it hit me.<br />
<br />
"I know what happened," I proclaimed with certainty. "They ate each other. Snakes are cannibals."<br />
<br />
JW frowned while he considered this. He nodded and then shook his head. "There would be at least one snake left; a big fat snake."<br />
<br />
And that was that. We were out of ideas. It was a mystery and would remain so. Huey, Louie, Dewey, Screwy, or whatever we named them had made the jump to light speed, or maybe there was a rapture just for reptiles. We climbed back upstairs and thought no more on it... until five days later.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxnSKuamFHK16BVd0ehyGxm_E7PhLzXTBxyc8uACcC1oGuaLqssaAJy4MaOtTRn8HjScDXxfNQZShpT8RFs3KENMwJCgABvHAzJ7suvAgGoItdG3ypmA8I8V2Qvf6Nprbcs36yA7Whz8M/s1600/snake+light.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxnSKuamFHK16BVd0ehyGxm_E7PhLzXTBxyc8uACcC1oGuaLqssaAJy4MaOtTRn8HjScDXxfNQZShpT8RFs3KENMwJCgABvHAzJ7suvAgGoItdG3ypmA8I8V2Qvf6Nprbcs36yA7Whz8M/s1600/snake+light.jpg" height="200" width="160" /></a></div>
<br />
But first I have to tell you somewhat about the basement of the house on 77th. This was not a finished basement or a full basement. It was ill lit and dark even at noon day, even though there were a couple of small windows up high. It did have a rough concrete floor and an oil furnace and concrete walls on the north and south, and one door to the outside. But on the west and east sides were dirt banks. The ceiling was open to the floor joists. <br />
<br />
There was a washing machine and a double concrete utility sink that weighed as much as a Volkswagen. My mother hung up laundry to dry down there, during the rainy season. <br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKlpAkoGWocdc_GHwTe1dr9w1h_xvI4PvIHa6ZEgcBOosVhEn3046SAxfLDPS8UVuatXOKhL9U8DMpntm4jPAEJmsF_xpLwfzMDg6r73L0RNUR7cZbdqTtsPz3uWkouwsAmt5yfIviDHs/s1600/snake+sink.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKlpAkoGWocdc_GHwTe1dr9w1h_xvI4PvIHa6ZEgcBOosVhEn3046SAxfLDPS8UVuatXOKhL9U8DMpntm4jPAEJmsF_xpLwfzMDg6r73L0RNUR7cZbdqTtsPz3uWkouwsAmt5yfIviDHs/s1600/snake+sink.jpg" /></a></div>
<br />
There was a switch at the top of the stairs that would turn on one bulb down in the dark. The other two lights operated on pull strings, so you had to feel around in the gloom for them. It was not a pleasant place and way more daunting then Kevin's basement from Home Alone. <br />
<br />
So, it is evening, late October and I am sitting upstairs in the living room watching TV with my brother and sisters and there comes a terrible hair-starching cry from the basement. It is my mother, but I had never heard such a sound come out of her before, nor since. I'm thinking she has been attacked by some gruesome monster. All us kids look up from the television set as we hear her frenzied steps on the basement stairs. We hear her stumble and then the basement door fly open and slam against the wall and she is breathing heavy as she comes in and switches off the TV set. <br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIVoNxPhEUP3ITsoH3WX7tltYcQSjMv8GnXkj-T-pxEj6vmN_tNDh3qRALSccr1690IjIMgYmE9kcZPQTSml4kdL5AYMbwMB9qNVkTg__gwQBPGmcKrWEIeTVp1KHGZe8ARawl4vOSU30/s1600/snakes+basement+cartoon.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIVoNxPhEUP3ITsoH3WX7tltYcQSjMv8GnXkj-T-pxEj6vmN_tNDh3qRALSccr1690IjIMgYmE9kcZPQTSml4kdL5AYMbwMB9qNVkTg__gwQBPGmcKrWEIeTVp1KHGZe8ARawl4vOSU30/s1600/snakes+basement+cartoon.jpg" /></a></div>
<br />
I am checking her over for knife wounds or claw marks. My dad is not home and I am not looking forward to fending off the creature in the cellar. Maybe we can give it one of my sisters to chew on. Mom grabs JW and myself by our upper arms and hauls us to the kitchen. My sisters gather at the doorway listening in, goggle-eyed. <br />
<br />
"You two," she pants holding one hand to her chest as if trying to calm her hammering heart, "get your flashlights (deep breath) and go downstairs and (another breath) you are going to go through every box and (breath) and look in every corner (gasp)" and then she sits down at the kitchen table and puts her head in her hands.<br />
<br />
I am really frightened. Something in the basement has really upset my mother. This is an adult woman who has birthed five children. Whatever is down there will certainly make short work out of me. And it is nighttime. <br />
<br />
Then JW asks the obvious question. "What are we looking for?"<br />
<br />
"Your SNAKES!"<br />
<br />
Mom was in the basement going through a box of old magazines and one serpent was about five covers down. It was alive and squirmed away, deeper into the box. Mom decreed that the TV was to remain off until the creepers were all found. With that incentive JW and I strove mightily.<br />
<br />
That night we found three and another two the next day during daylight hours. The two remaining we figured made it to the dirt walls and tunneled to freedom. Or being chilly outside maybe they just hunkered down in a hole and hibernated until Spring. I don't know what snakes do.<br />
<br />
I do know that we were forbidden to ever bring snakes into the house, again, and that the TV was allowed to glow once more and things got back to normal.<br />
<br />
"But how did they get out?" you ask.<br />
<br />
They were there the whole time in the bottom of the cage, under the newspaper. When the light burned out and the basement got chilly they burrowed for warmth. We thought they were gone and left the lid open when we went back upstairs.<br />
<br />
Another mystery solved.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />D.M. Millerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11684153908840786340noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3224779650124225704.post-37880403190637046442015-03-29T22:55:00.000-07:002015-05-01T16:34:21.013-07:00Sasquatch Is Found, Captured And Imprisoned In Oregon<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgW-wDjzaGzYfkL2EfQWqY0jZBaHjPY_ILGWu2_6at1UFWUsl7D66wI69BesmtiChRa-7zm9kVPWfmkqlorTB83X3PVbCj7yRDlM2V-hLzInGcYbAUIbwCV2INkPi09kO9gWY96pHq12Lw/s1600/unarmed+domo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgW-wDjzaGzYfkL2EfQWqY0jZBaHjPY_ILGWu2_6at1UFWUsl7D66wI69BesmtiChRa-7zm9kVPWfmkqlorTB83X3PVbCj7yRDlM2V-hLzInGcYbAUIbwCV2INkPi09kO9gWY96pHq12Lw/s1600/unarmed+domo.jpg" /></span></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">A hunter, walking in the woods near his home in Manning, Oregon, in October of 2013, had a close encounter with the fabled Bigfoot... and actually had a conversation with it before being attacked by the creature. </span><br />
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Jeff McDonald, the hunter, at first wasn't fearful because he carried a deer rifle and the Sasquatch was unarmed, and didn't look like the big hairy ape-like movie/TV characters he'd seen. This one looked like a naked man. It even had a name, Linus Norgren, and spoke English and claimed to be from a family of Sasquatches. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7lnHezLcJwA8tjb0e94S4EbbNQNPGTj0tfTKuaUzA6plQRlHaf__u4HarB6hiDpQVBkFyLEudFdHTwWyXc5cNe9zH5hq3nzmPDqJbk4_iGkyoXDP_TUxFWV67ZSXvWlFo85g8OMfruGI/s1600/unarmed+hunter+and+bigfoot.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7lnHezLcJwA8tjb0e94S4EbbNQNPGTj0tfTKuaUzA6plQRlHaf__u4HarB6hiDpQVBkFyLEudFdHTwWyXc5cNe9zH5hq3nzmPDqJbk4_iGkyoXDP_TUxFWV67ZSXvWlFo85g8OMfruGI/s1600/unarmed+hunter+and+bigfoot.jpg" /></span></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">As they walked and talked McDonald tried to steer Norgren to a road, thinking to help the naked man back to civilization and a nice warm loony bin. Late Fall hunting season in the western Oregon woods can be quite chilly and wet. This particular Sassy had other ideas and hit McDonald in the head with a rock.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span><br />
<a name='more'></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">When McDonald awoke he was on his back, with both arms dislocated. Norgren was atop him growling and squeezing his neck, gouging at his eyes and trying to shove a fist down his throat. They wrestled this way until Norgren suddenly fell asleep and the hunter got the crazy narcoleptic off him retrieved his rifle and called police. He held Mr. birthday suit at bay for the ninety minutes it took Sheriff Deputies and State Troopers to find them.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Linus Norgren was recently convicted of attempted murder and second degree assault and sentenced to ten years in prison. His defense was that, because of his mental state, he feared the hunter and was acting in self defense. Jurors didn't buy that one.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Here's a story from Texas. See if you can tell me how this one relates to the Oregon story.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">A man, Michael J. Fobbs Jr., was arrested for murdering another man at the San Antonio Amtrak Station in July of 2014. Fobbs, 21, attracted the attention of fellow travelers when he entered and left the indoor waiting area numerous times and for looking "angry" and agitated. On his third trip outside he approached a fifty-six year-old man sitting by himself on a bench and began punching him in the face. Witnesses say he paused to say, "I feel like killing someone." Then he resumed the beating. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUoi8WYlEe5LUZqhaiaJAYuBV8UPy0zXjDix0Ox1a79ukhQxQyQ1tOiUIbNKdEGS3pjZSKnmmnqMieMHsU1-rN8Ur2jsp7iELo0XVmbAbKvtGQtt1-9IuFqB0UqLLmzgjBm90R4k0L_cg/s1600/unarmed+fobbs.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUoi8WYlEe5LUZqhaiaJAYuBV8UPy0zXjDix0Ox1a79ukhQxQyQ1tOiUIbNKdEGS3pjZSKnmmnqMieMHsU1-rN8Ur2jsp7iELo0XVmbAbKvtGQtt1-9IuFqB0UqLLmzgjBm90R4k0L_cg/s1600/unarmed+fobbs.jpg" /></span></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Afterward he calmly cleaned up in the station men's room and swapped a clean shirt from his luggage for the bloodied one. San Antonio Police took him into custody without incident. The white victim weighed approximately one hundred and fifty pounds. Mr. Fobbs is black, six foot three and weighs in at about three hundred pounds. The attack was characterized as "unprovoked."</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Do you see any similarities? </span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Both attacks were by <i>unarmed </i>men. There has been a lot of news lately of police shootings of unarmed men. The lack of a weapon is played like a trump card. It is offered as proof that police over react and that deadly force used against an "unarmed" person is never justified. But... </span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">According to the FBI nobody is totally weaponless. Even someone unclothed and empty-handed still has hands and feet. These are termed <i><b>Personal Weapons</b></i> in the homicide tables (hands, fists, feet, elbows, knees, forehead, teeth, etc.) and are used to murder more people than are blunt objects, rifles, shotguns, poisons, explosives, fire or drowning.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The hunter was loathe to shoot Norgren, and instead opted to charm the man-bear-pig with friendly chit-chat. I'm thinking that Mr. McDonald was overly confident in his non-threatening demeanor and should have kept his distance from a stranger and obvious nut. He is extremely lucky that while he was unconscious and helpless, Norgren didn't shoot him with his own gun, or crush his head with the rock.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Joseph Keith Richard, the beating victim at the Amtrak station, was also attacked by an unarmed man and one that was twice his size and half his age. He was not so lucky.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So just because a predator is unarmed doesn't mean he can't harm you. And just because his hand is empty at the moment doesn't mean he can't suddenly fill it with a rock or something else handy, that is not usually considered to be a weapon, like a beer mug or a bike lock or a phone book.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Suppose hunter Jeff kept his rifle pointed at an obvious threat, while he called for official help. But let us also suppose that bigfooted Linus kept creeping closer and closer even after being warned to stay away. Should Jeff shoot? Would you shoot?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3RK3R8bZGL-_uG3yshp3tPk9hYReWKXuhCmjNYHoInKYjpuxMfPGK89Oc6J5AkHzOghpRFbkpcrnaWRq0TdVGfNii9nO_rwBTB07kPD-5zexSmAJ-FFqFE_B0WINjAtizYEcKdWQIWfo/s1600/unarmed+sign.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3RK3R8bZGL-_uG3yshp3tPk9hYReWKXuhCmjNYHoInKYjpuxMfPGK89Oc6J5AkHzOghpRFbkpcrnaWRq0TdVGfNii9nO_rwBTB07kPD-5zexSmAJ-FFqFE_B0WINjAtizYEcKdWQIWfo/s1600/unarmed+sign.jpg" /></span></a><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">You will then have to explain why you shot an <b><i>unarmed</i> </b>man. And all those people who hear of it on the evening news, who have never been in a serious fight will be second-guessing you. So will the police and the District Attorney. They know you were in fear for your life--you told them--but they will also want to know if your fear was reasonable. "What exactly did citizen Norgren do to make you so fearful?" they will ask. "Did he verbally threaten to kill you? Did he attack?"</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">There is no attack if you shoot pre-emptively. Mr. McDonald didn't shoot and was clobbered and almost murdered, so we know that nature boy was dangerous, and, in hindsight, that not shooting him was not a good option. But how do you explain to the authorities a <i>feeling</i> that you were about to be bushwhacked?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">To your mind you just saved your life. To other minds you're trigger-happy.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">If you allow a stalker to get close enough to lunge before firing you may have waited too long. He is now a moving target and harder to hit. And even if hit he might get his hands on you before he succumbs--if he succumbs-- to his wound(s).</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisOO-3ifqacXEfBIKQdqH_z6So-tAl8YtwV-sotGxb0O4NkpRfEkE4VCVFNhyMe2ovgqGO1XR_KsXgiyLsMFn6sNEjGLPs42djpEEHnIb_x856NFmM0QtUVWBIo9TV2jyc50E-SRv41Kk/s1600/unarmed+snarl+bigfoot.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisOO-3ifqacXEfBIKQdqH_z6So-tAl8YtwV-sotGxb0O4NkpRfEkE4VCVFNhyMe2ovgqGO1XR_KsXgiyLsMFn6sNEjGLPs42djpEEHnIb_x856NFmM0QtUVWBIo9TV2jyc50E-SRv41Kk/s1600/unarmed+snarl+bigfoot.jpg" /></span></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">One advantage Mr. McDonald would have had, legal wise, if he had fired pre-attack is that there were no other witnesses, so he gets to tell the story. He tells police he was attacked and if he is canny enough to find a hefty throw-down rock and drop it near the corpse, he can claim it was an armed attack.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The moral to this particular story: never go hunting, traipsing, hiking, trail-biking alone. If you get hurt away from civilization you have someone to go for help. Also two are less likely to get mugged and mauled than one. Also you have a witness. I doubt Norgren would have tried to tangle with two hunters, and if he had, the two would have been better able to subdue him without shooting him.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhooCNenCKRQfVwbcl3fTPN4Ze9XlWnigfmCllH8U-fzU00JUruituZZB2X0zlhj7iAEgt1tE6vIm2aaJbL5vvNXr3P-wpdEvqp02hxBtHMIv90KSzkgNkFwpvggx6VMs44fsW9Wxb0igA/s1600/unarmed+bigfoot+rock.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhooCNenCKRQfVwbcl3fTPN4Ze9XlWnigfmCllH8U-fzU00JUruituZZB2X0zlhj7iAEgt1tE6vIm2aaJbL5vvNXr3P-wpdEvqp02hxBtHMIv90KSzkgNkFwpvggx6VMs44fsW9Wxb0igA/s1600/unarmed+bigfoot+rock.jpg" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The same applied to Mr. J. K. Richard of Marble Falls, Texas. He was targeted because he was sitting alone outside away from the herd; a straggler. Predators love stragglers. They also love the infirm, aged, lame, slow, small, weak and inattentive. Joseph had a few of those strikes against him but had he been inside among others, Michael Fobbs, Jr. would have chosen a different victim.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4NTUtiZlghGe6q0eJiSmRsWFx7RkWy5dHTRBOZmZ0iSekfTVy56PF3CVcU6j8w1Gpv6IFPBsqMDiubE61U1ZfRPZJMyz1MeznMQlN3M5bg6zeeqwEKL_516AE4JYlXXHGdb8EG30z7ys/s1600/unarmed+richard.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4NTUtiZlghGe6q0eJiSmRsWFx7RkWy5dHTRBOZmZ0iSekfTVy56PF3CVcU6j8w1Gpv6IFPBsqMDiubE61U1ZfRPZJMyz1MeznMQlN3M5bg6zeeqwEKL_516AE4JYlXXHGdb8EG30z7ys/s1600/unarmed+richard.jpg" /></span></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This brings up one of the dangers of being in a public place: you just can't control who approaches you. Strangers are everywhere and can stand right next to you on subways and buses and in theater lines and there is really nothing you can do about it. 99.9999999999 percent of the time this is not a problem, except for catching a flu virus from one of them. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Is it even worth thinking about? What are the odds of being hammered to a bloody pulp by a complete stranger? It is like dreaming of what you will do with all your lottery winnings, but in a bad Shirley Jackson way. But this is my blog so I want you to think about it. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So imagine you are Mr. Richard. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It is eleven in the evening and you are outside the San Antonio Amtrak Station with a few other stragglers and thinking about finally traveling home and sleeping in your own bed. Maybe you notice the large and aggravated young man who comes out and goes back in a few times but think little about it. You don't become alarmed enough to re-join the herd and don't sense any danger until Biggie Newton glares at you and plows your way. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">You now have less than a minute to live unless you jump up and run away and scream for help. How many of you would do that just because a big black smoldering boulder is rolling your way? Fear of embarrassing yourself and maybe a PC dread of offending black people, will keep you rooted to your bench. All the while subconscious signals in your brain are screaming like a smoke detector: Run! Run! Run!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">But you refuse to believe that someone you have never met might want to hurt you. Maybe you even smile at the glowering juggernaut: "See," you communicate silently with your friendly demeanor, "I'm not your enemy. I'm actually quite harmless."</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Unknown to you, harmlessness is what Fobbs is looking for. He is not looking for a fair fight. That is why he elected you, the skinny-old-white-guy-sure-thing. Your only hope now is to somehow defend yourself.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> For most of us, this does not mean years of Brazilian Jiu-jitsu training. It means packing a handgun. So let's give you a firearm. You still have to be alert to the approaching danger because you cannot wait for Fobbs to throw the first punch. The first punch from such a behemoth might just scramble your senses or break your neck. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVmw9cIpa_FMjWbPuWD7zcysHzfCoj2eBQlAhR0_dkSDq8MlI9i10U_vIcn_t8Vh5egHmSWHYQ4kJ1iBMwUmp7zhc5_R0D13cxvb5oXc3OBxOjxuwFpTK2ZoO5tpmCvl48wHcnJqXOrsk/s1600/unarmed+texas+chl.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVmw9cIpa_FMjWbPuWD7zcysHzfCoj2eBQlAhR0_dkSDq8MlI9i10U_vIcn_t8Vh5egHmSWHYQ4kJ1iBMwUmp7zhc5_R0D13cxvb5oXc3OBxOjxuwFpTK2ZoO5tpmCvl48wHcnJqXOrsk/s1600/unarmed+texas+chl.jpg" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">But you also cannot just pull out your Smith & Wesson and blast away because you have a bad feeling about someone. How's it going to look to witnesses on the platform? Maybe the scowling black man was just going to ask for the time, or a cigarette and this crazy white cracker emptied six into his chest. Dangedest thing I ever saw. Call Jesse. Call Al.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The <i>victim </i>now is Mike Fobbs and Joseph Richard lives but is the one led away in handcuffs, and will have to explain at trial why he thought a perfect stranger would want to harm him and why he was so fearful of this particular <i>unarmed</i> gentle giant.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So take five minutes to mull this over. You are still in the place of Mr. Richard on the bench on the platform, but you don't know the future. You don't know that you are about to be beaten to death. You just know you are wary of the approaching man. You don't know why but you don't want him within striking distance. What would you do?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzKIDh_y_DrRx_xVewJ_IMGCqTi_Fpc9lJSbu-yXPszF0JYD7Q4fCHUQnaokbhC5gzehf9yMuDjzNaRHJ3pRq5VdeeHdjl3kcMSFb8-wPPE4J2cCRS2lRBdIgCdtbpCxDmE0Ok9NovqOA/s1600/unarmed+medea+gun.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzKIDh_y_DrRx_xVewJ_IMGCqTi_Fpc9lJSbu-yXPszF0JYD7Q4fCHUQnaokbhC5gzehf9yMuDjzNaRHJ3pRq5VdeeHdjl3kcMSFb8-wPPE4J2cCRS2lRBdIgCdtbpCxDmE0Ok9NovqOA/s1600/unarmed+medea+gun.jpg" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Please note that it is against the law to brandish a firearm. So it would not be wise to pull your pistol and point it at citizen Fobbs and order him to not come any closer. Even if you don't fire your gun you will still eventually have to explain to the judge why you pulled it and the only good reason is that you were in fear of your life. You have the same problem as two paragraphs ago, only you haven't killed anyone. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Time's up. What did you come up with? Don't cheat. I want you to write down your answer first and then I will give you mine.</b></span><br />
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">At this point in the relationship between predator and prey, You have to convince Mr.Fobbs that you are not the <i>sure-thing; </i>that you are just as likely to tread on his toes as he on yours in this little dance of mayhem. You do not do this by smiling at him.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Instead you unholster your pistol and hold it close to your chest; not pointing it, but ready for action and you let Fobbs see it. If you were a viper you would be coiled and rattling right now. Then you cover the weapon with your shirt or a newspaper, so it is a little secret just between the two of you. No one else on the platform is aware of the drama unfolding.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Many an attack has been forestalled by such a display. Would it have diverted Fobbs? Or would Fobbs have still attempted the murder oblivious to his own safety? Was he that far gone?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-0FizEyI-UoiH3_Ew15_AdORYeuHnfzHSwyTmEG-7dAm5LkoSB1a7S4AAaMa5WmFcH5dUk2diDrEZ6OoF3K_upFfuwGq0yqT3ln02s4VDbeTI_mG2dnbemyhnAvoJZXVdbdH2Mf9jAxU/s1600/unarmed+gun+at+belt.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-0FizEyI-UoiH3_Ew15_AdORYeuHnfzHSwyTmEG-7dAm5LkoSB1a7S4AAaMa5WmFcH5dUk2diDrEZ6OoF3K_upFfuwGq0yqT3ln02s4VDbeTI_mG2dnbemyhnAvoJZXVdbdH2Mf9jAxU/s1600/unarmed+gun+at+belt.jpg" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I say no. Fobbs would have backed off. He wanted a sure thing. This was a game in which he did not wish to have any of his skin. Maybe he lumbers off to find a less poisonous snake to step on. The question is what are you going to do? For all you know Fobbs is fetching a pistol from his luggage and is coming back for another turn around the dance floor. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Or maybe you misjudged him and he really did want to bum a cigarette and is right now telling a 911 operator about this wild white guy waving his gun around the station. Either way discretion bids you get out of Dodge and warn security on the way about this big menacing black dude. Don't bother to cash in your ticket and if your bag is already checked, leave it. Find another way home or check into a hotel. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">In summation: Don't go into the woods alone, and even in public well-lighted places stay with the herd. And just in case the first two fail, pack a gun. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Oh yeah... don't be too quick to judge someone who shoots an unarmed man.</span><br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghBVO5TxIWls7OR9YQnt1sC316y_3Xt-t1aExzZLvqVGdsD6ZWW0teci740fc6k7bT87b0FJUNdFdwppBKaGFRxZ6r6EA9N0hPmRnGQSgnItSJUdsXALLsu2dBa7mTskkRPoPgwRsk2nY/s1600/unarmed+san+antonio+bench.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghBVO5TxIWls7OR9YQnt1sC316y_3Xt-t1aExzZLvqVGdsD6ZWW0teci740fc6k7bT87b0FJUNdFdwppBKaGFRxZ6r6EA9N0hPmRnGQSgnItSJUdsXALLsu2dBa7mTskkRPoPgwRsk2nY/s1600/unarmed+san+antonio+bench.jpg" /></a></div>
<br />
<div>
<br /></div>
<br />
<br /></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
. <br />
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
</div>
</div>
D.M. Millerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11684153908840786340noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3224779650124225704.post-53944669840532076882015-01-06T20:57:00.000-08:002015-01-24T14:46:13.527-08:00Five Million Dollars To Disappear<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgt23nstyqEoBdg9aYZPdOwwg1x-M2dUNVcLZd1HZ-_brPbAvVzDi7-f__RtX-RS3x041wcEAgnvIs3GmKYMbGUPEy3yuHGVRyuu7ynAKwxJSMfiFmM1XoLfsn5gfZOq5x8-XrgK8Loknc/s1600/family+bronze+baby+shoes.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgt23nstyqEoBdg9aYZPdOwwg1x-M2dUNVcLZd1HZ-_brPbAvVzDi7-f__RtX-RS3x041wcEAgnvIs3GmKYMbGUPEy3yuHGVRyuu7ynAKwxJSMfiFmM1XoLfsn5gfZOq5x8-XrgK8Loknc/s1600/family+bronze+baby+shoes.jpg" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">How much are your family relations worth to you? </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I wonder this because I watched my wife's sister, Dee (not her real name) playing and cuddling with her only grandson, whom she was denied access to for a couple years. He is now back in her life on a regular basis and both of them seem to be very happy about it. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I asked her, when her grandson, A-boy (not his real name) was gone home with his father, "If someone offered you a million dollars to never see, and never communicate with A-boy ever again, would you agree to that deal?" </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span><br />
<a name='more'></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">"No," she replied, without having to think about it. I should have bumped it up to five or ten million because of inflation, but It would not have mattered. My sister-in-law is not wealthy. She is divorced and does not own a home. She is employed, though, and makes enough to rent an apartment, and afford a car and to clothe and feed herself, but she doesn't have a lot to spare. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Five million would mean a lot more to her than to Mick Jagger or Warren Buffett. It would allow her to buy a modest house, a new car and even retire. She could visit distant relatives that she doesn't often get to see. It would provide a cushion from some of the uncertainties that come with aging.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUoZkyhOskkgOHxYYxrsXoLKWTOxsugmwLV5OgOf0mSo6KAvtZ0WkduW7Pc0JbKGa-gy4wkLcED4-eRZZEjlvXQp8ZhB6nt7VifTHkM_z6Got9uUNP9SHMBny5kGb4H55BcASVN4631gg/s1600/family+silhouette.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUoZkyhOskkgOHxYYxrsXoLKWTOxsugmwLV5OgOf0mSo6KAvtZ0WkduW7Pc0JbKGa-gy4wkLcED4-eRZZEjlvXQp8ZhB6nt7VifTHkM_z6Got9uUNP9SHMBny5kGb4H55BcASVN4631gg/s1600/family+silhouette.jpg" /></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The money is all pretend and merely a thought experiment. It is a lot easier to spurn the invisible monopoly bills and make the noble choice, because no way is one ever going to be so tempted. But what if suitcases of the real notes were piled on the stained green shag carpet of your hovel? What then?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Dee would still refuse the deal. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">She loves that little boy, but does she feel that way about all her blood relations? How do you feel about all your blood relations? Your parents? Your siblings? Your children and grandchildren? Are they all priceless?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Would you shun one of them for riches?</span><br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhn3JiZjuV8vFAWvRPEXlNvNdA6exeFQ2SJxlVD-_hwb2ABtkI5xQLg4mseMD0-xC5KTIAxqIh9dlx8llaHAtiX3-z510d98QhSRvrizD0xzvQKMc-o1fCVpsbZY9c6fiVOoUG0iqfNcGc/s1600/family+jack+o+lantern+heads.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhn3JiZjuV8vFAWvRPEXlNvNdA6exeFQ2SJxlVD-_hwb2ABtkI5xQLg4mseMD0-xC5KTIAxqIh9dlx8llaHAtiX3-z510d98QhSRvrizD0xzvQKMc-o1fCVpsbZY9c6fiVOoUG0iqfNcGc/s1600/family+jack+o+lantern+heads.jpg" /></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">You might just be shunning one of them right now and not getting jack for it. There are family members who have been severely wronged by a close relative, and have vowed never to speak to him/her again.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I remember putting an alarm system in a rural house for an older couple twenty-some years ago. I asked them why they were getting the security system. They were as old as I am now and had a thirty year-old son. It was because of him. He was an alcoholic and regularly broke into their home to steal guns and other valuables and liquor, to feed his habit. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">They had spent fifteen heartbreaking years listening to his promises and lies, and many anxious sleepless nights, and a lot of money to try and get him sober. Their only contact with him, now, since they no longer gave him money, was in cleaning up the messes he left after his break-ins. I suspect they'd finally given up hope that he would reform and hence the burglar alarm. They were just worn out.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Would you give up hope? And would that make it easier to forever close the door on a prodigal and get five big bundles for it?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">What if someone offered you the same amount of money to restore relations with the offender, would that be the same kind of deal? Are you a worse person for shunning for money, or un-shunning for money? Or is it just flip sides of the same coin?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">What if the converse happened? What if you so disliked a brother that you offered him five million to disappear out of your life? It might be cheaper just to file a restraining order, but the idea is similar.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Do you have any obligations to associate with family members? Are families so sacred that selling off partial participation in them is a form of blasphemy?</span><br />
<br />D.M. Millerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11684153908840786340noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3224779650124225704.post-42187805853604729982014-09-20T11:53:00.000-07:002015-01-24T14:45:15.401-08:00Why Testing Positive On Any Of The HIV Tests May Not Mean Much<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSZMkeqU3Qf3DyxLCTUU_bDDei4QnMsfzfLLdeNHs2GE3TrkgP-ZMzRpueSbZIty7b9NJj6Ph9trrUg5dQbsPmuPu7wuVChCQAG8UYhlSgk2BhZfkLebtOVIV7pWnpR5ndL06K7lBc_IY/s1600/aids+hiv+uncle+sam.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSZMkeqU3Qf3DyxLCTUU_bDDei4QnMsfzfLLdeNHs2GE3TrkgP-ZMzRpueSbZIty7b9NJj6Ph9trrUg5dQbsPmuPu7wuVChCQAG8UYhlSgk2BhZfkLebtOVIV7pWnpR5ndL06K7lBc_IY/s1600/aids+hiv+uncle+sam.jpg" height="239" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Here's a list of factors that just might skew the results of an HIV test. </span> So if you test positive, you might not want to rush out and order a coffin and burial plot, just yet. </span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiT4d8qP_hZepjFGjfn0qfln-ya2ANx3cYMTc3by16p2HtX5nDPjUfrOFxcTaWAir_ogsoiFT1CuvmGi6i5-wZB-OzqOspMsJN10OotBtWSb2dhOmgSJ4ynyG86jCywMHxq2Q6QmiI-I70/s1600/aids+hiv+home+test.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiT4d8qP_hZepjFGjfn0qfln-ya2ANx3cYMTc3by16p2HtX5nDPjUfrOFxcTaWAir_ogsoiFT1CuvmGi6i5-wZB-OzqOspMsJN10OotBtWSb2dhOmgSJ4ynyG86jCywMHxq2Q6QmiI-I70/s1600/aids+hiv+home+test.jpg" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I've highlighted a few of the factors below that seem problematic to me because they just might affect a lot of people not in the risk groups associated with AIDS deaths. For Example: seventy-to-ninety percent of the (adult?) population has Herpes simplex I and twenty percent of sexually active adults have Herpes simplex II. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-l-sJtA5cJ8rO3_-R5ipU68Obi6OgZKg-6a19RjHHQcikd07Jx_i8L-zy5X6jFRp6kiY0ZM9mpaUVlYk3oGmx8W3c5OCbZERIs_7jOMgQN5gIxyVBx5NZEKW5iURZQDjZBXJdrP6H3sU/s1600/aids+hiv+nat+test+day.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-l-sJtA5cJ8rO3_-R5ipU68Obi6OgZKg-6a19RjHHQcikd07Jx_i8L-zy5X6jFRp6kiY0ZM9mpaUVlYk3oGmx8W3c5OCbZERIs_7jOMgQN5gIxyVBx5NZEKW5iURZQDjZBXJdrP6H3sU/s1600/aids+hiv+nat+test+day.jpg" /></a></span></div>
<br />
<a name='more'></a><br /><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">If you have the Flu or have had a Flu vaccination or a Hepatitis B vaccination you might ring the bell. There are 1.4 million persons in the United States with chronic Hepatitis B and another 4 million with chronic Hepatitis C. Those people might just get the HIV false positive sucker punch.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">How about that tetanus shot? I've had a lot of those over the years. I've never had malaria, but a lot of the tropical swampy areas of the planet struggle with it. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Alcoholics, mothers who have had more than two children, haemophiliacs, and people who get blood transfusions are also likely candidates for a false positive. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXq2MbCsBQOCVE7l-u6Uq0c5KQbtJDNZvsyeXhUF5eYHqiSB1IjPDsDUIh7Vq-zX6TvJIoAzo5UVTIGb2tpsZyA0pYOBOah9L-7vZR2FxsWhPNsGSIh2_80DRVd3EUmOknbijSUmQ-Zq0/s1600/aids+hiv+hands+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXq2MbCsBQOCVE7l-u6Uq0c5KQbtJDNZvsyeXhUF5eYHqiSB1IjPDsDUIh7Vq-zX6TvJIoAzo5UVTIGb2tpsZyA0pYOBOah9L-7vZR2FxsWhPNsGSIh2_80DRVd3EUmOknbijSUmQ-Zq0/s1600/aids+hiv+hands+2.jpg" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">You'll note that other retroviruses can be falsely accused of being the dreaded HIV. Maybe they look a lot alike in a police line-up. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">There are very few of them out there, in the U.S.A, but how would it feel to be a leper or consumptive and then get the news that you're going to die of AIDS on top of that. Major bummer. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And the last one on the list should have many of the "light-hearted and carefree" crowd scratching their heads: Receptive Anal sex. Being ridden bareback, even if you have never come in contact with the Human Immunodeficiency Virus, and none of the other factors on the list apply... well it could still cause you to flunk out of HIV 101. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRyjcfpW-gV3Oo4AF51DAGUDlcvuAQzsnkNWac1D-Z1MDcHArORQKzaRxC3VIuHIzBgkJ0PAwgza9Fj7qkI3A0nB8abcGKAVFdQKGlRXWuUuMOCyFTh7j3zMPvKnDy89__xC08df_37s0/s1600/aids+hiv+ribbon.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRyjcfpW-gV3Oo4AF51DAGUDlcvuAQzsnkNWac1D-Z1MDcHArORQKzaRxC3VIuHIzBgkJ0PAwgza9Fj7qkI3A0nB8abcGKAVFdQKGlRXWuUuMOCyFTh7j3zMPvKnDy89__xC08df_37s0/s1600/aids+hiv+ribbon.jpg" height="136" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So if you have taken the test and been given the "bad news", be of good cheer. Your future may not be as bleak as you've been led to believe. You may yet live a long healthy life, as long as your well-meaning M.D. doesn't bulldog you into taking any of those toxic drugs. </span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJZAWwrCWcfpXr7wGpqPomUpr1WGtUUDCl37DFzk8QemL7GrnFN7BIdDcss185TVphsfMwF3n2t8wRvf8vw3ZhvqV6CG6DfFb3s42ldxiqRl897yUZcYM0-NLDCVxBifkadkitpUbRylE/s1600/aids+hiv+ban+test.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJZAWwrCWcfpXr7wGpqPomUpr1WGtUUDCl37DFzk8QemL7GrnFN7BIdDcss185TVphsfMwF3n2t8wRvf8vw3ZhvqV6CG6DfFb3s42ldxiqRl897yUZcYM0-NLDCVxBifkadkitpUbRylE/s1600/aids+hiv+ban+test.jpg" /></a></div>
<br />
<center style="background-color: #f0f5ff; color: navy;">
<br /><u>Factors Known to Cause False-Positive HIV Antibody Test Results</u></center>
<ul style="background-color: #f0f5ff; color: navy;">
<li>Anti-carbohydrate antibodies </li>
<li>Naturally-occurring antibodies </li>
<li><b>Passive immunization: receipt of gamma globulin or immune globulin (as prophylaxis against infection which contains antibodies)</b></li>
<li><b>Leprosy </b></li>
<li><b>Tuberculosis </b></li>
<li>Mycobacterium avium </li>
<li>Systemic lupus erythematosus </li>
<li>Renal (kidney) failure </li>
<li>Hemodialysis/renal failure </li>
<li>Alpha interferon therapy in hemodialysis patients </li>
<li><b>Flu </b></li>
<li><b>Flu vaccination </b></li>
<li><b>Herpes simplex I </b></li>
<li><b>Herpes simplex II </b></li>
<li><b>Upper respiratory tract infection </b></li>
<li><b>Recent viral infection or exposure to viral vaccines </b></li>
<li><b>Pregnancy in multiparous women </b></li>
<li><b>Malaria </b></li>
<li>High levels of circulating immune complexes </li>
<li>Hypergammaglobulinemia (high levels of antibodies)</li>
<li>False positives on other tests, including RPR (rapid plasma reagent) test for syphilis</li>
<li><b>Rheumatoid arthritis </b></li>
<li><b>Hepatitis B vaccination</b></li>
<li><b>Tetanus vaccination </b></li>
<li><b>Organ transplantation </b></li>
<li><b>Renal transplantation </b></li>
<li>Anti-lymphocyte antibodies </li>
<li>Anti-collagen antibodies (found in gay men, haemophiliacs, Africans of both sexes and people with leprosy)</li>
<li>Serum-positive for rheumatoid factor, antinuclear antibody (both found in rheumatoid arthritis and other autoantibodies)</li>
<li>Autoimmune diseases: Systemic lupus erythematosus, scleroderma, connective tissue disease, dermatomyositis</li>
<li>Acute viral infections, DNA viral infections </li>
<li>Malignant neoplasms (cancers)</li>
<li>Alcoholic hepatitis/alcoholic liver disease</li>
<li>Primary sclerosing cholangitis </li>
<li><b>Hepatitis </b></li>
<li>"Sticky" blood (in Africans) </li>
<li>Antibodies with a high affinity for polystyrene (used in the test kits)</li>
<li><b>Blood transfusions, multiple blood transfusions </b></li>
<li>Multiple myeloma </li>
<li>HLA antibodies (to Class I and II leukocyte antigens)</li>
<li>Anti-smooth muscle antibody </li>
<li>Anti-parietal cell antibody </li>
<li>Anti-hepatitis A IgM (antibody)</li>
<li>Anti-Hbc IgM </li>
<li>Administration of human immunoglobulin preparations pooled before 1985 </li>
<li><b>Haemophilia </b></li>
<li>Haematologic malignant disorders/lymphoma </li>
<li>Primary biliary cirrhosis </li>
<li>Stevens-Johnson syndrome9</li>
<li>Q-fever with associated hepatitis </li>
<li>Heat-treated specimens </li>
<li>Lipemic serum (blood with high levels of fat or lipids)</li>
<li>Haemolyzed serum (blood where haemoglobin is separated from the red cells)</li>
<li>Hyperbilirubinemia </li>
<li>Globulins produced during polyclonal gammopathies (which are seen in AIDS risk groups)</li>
<li><b>Healthy individuals as a result of poorly-understood cross-reactions </b></li>
<li><b>Normal human ribonucleoproteins </b></li>
<li><b>Other retroviruses</b></li>
<li>Anti-mitochondrial antibodies</li>
<li>Anti-nuclear antibodies</li>
<li>Anti-microsomal antibodies </li>
<li>T-cell leukocyte antigen antibodies </li>
<li><b>Proteins on the filter paper </b></li>
<li>Epstein-Barr virus </li>
<li>Visceral leishmaniasis </li>
<li><i>Receptive anal sex</i><b> </b></li>
</ul>
D.M. Millerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11684153908840786340noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3224779650124225704.post-67741844105521065052014-09-18T01:58:00.000-07:002015-01-24T14:44:22.675-08:00Why I Will Never Knowingly Allow Myself To Be Tested For HIV.<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I remember when the big AIDS scare broke out in the '80's. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnLwZzuy1SrPF301OeQfLDx4_UlUNASPKWSRmCkT7L7TITdXJ04snKqdkv_ni_DM6AP2h_zg8TjYpGpQF4aU4bn0-go8DUDYzNWWi7JF8ggzrVVnXcsiAAXQ1Rw0Sdf7m3TslnQIj-0v4/s1600/aids+Inventing_AIDS_virus.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnLwZzuy1SrPF301OeQfLDx4_UlUNASPKWSRmCkT7L7TITdXJ04snKqdkv_ni_DM6AP2h_zg8TjYpGpQF4aU4bn0-go8DUDYzNWWi7JF8ggzrVVnXcsiAAXQ1Rw0Sdf7m3TslnQIj-0v4/s1600/aids+Inventing_AIDS_virus.jpg" /></span></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Breathless commentators predicted that the deadly disease would ravage our society. Even though it first erupted among the male homosexual and illicit needle-using communities, it was caused by a virus and could easily jump, we were warned, from bath house to Baptist picnic. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Our bodies would have no resistance to this new virus, and it would strike us down as easily as smallpox--brought from Europe by the pilgrims--smote the natives in the New World. Initial estimates were that in the United States alone, a hundred million of us would succumb to the dreaded HIV.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Well, that never happened. Casualties pretty much stayed in the first groups of male same-sexers and needle junkies. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span><br />
<a name='more'></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">About this time, I read a book that completely altered how I looked at the medical profession, and drug companies. It was written by Dr.Peter Duesberg and called, <b>"Inventing the Aids Virus." </b> It's about five hundred pages and puts forth the theory that AIDS is not caused by a virus, but is the result of a person wearing down his immune system by frequent multiple sex partners, drug use, lack of rest, Hep C, unsanitary needles, and poor diet..</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I wasn't really too concerned that I would catch the disease, before reading Dr. Duesberg's book, but afterward, I had zero concern. I would willingly allow myself to be injected with a syringe of HIV laden syrup, with no qualms at all. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I later read a book by Christine Maggiore. A much smaller book of only a hundred pages: <b>"What if everything you thought you knew about AIDS WAS WRONG?"</b> First printed in 1996, so it is more current than Duesberg's book and a faster read.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I won't go into all the details, but these two books are very convincing. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I'll just mention a few reasons why I never want to be tested for HIV:</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>The test has many false positives.</b> It doesn't test for the live virus, but reacts to anti-bodies in the blood. Some of these anti-bodies that the test reacts to are not specific to HIV infection and could have been caused by some other infection. Since anti-bodies stay active for years in the body--sometimes for life--a person could show a positive reaction to an HIV test every time it is taken, and never been within ten miles of the "AIDS" virus.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>HIV is a retro virus.</b> Some viruses invade the cells of your body and destroy them. Flu viruses operate this way. Retro viruses do not destroy cells. Persons infected by HIV experience mild flu symptoms and then recover. The body produces anti-bodies to fight this invader. The anti-bodies are evidence that your body has won and destroyed the invader. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So ask yourself: How does a virus that does not destroy other cells, invade a healthy individual and jihad his immune system so thoroughly that pneumonia or tuberculosis, or any of the other listed 29 AIDS not-new-been-around-forever illnesses, move in like a squatter and completely trash the house? </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggSwPS6wZjPUTcE15EV3XiOWlwQsK1is8vCWsqRtvfsr3T8-FxJW8h4af7t7vtX-MREqQsh4HjsNSAEiWuUJ1WOooFS46ZztulJznNhyksebiWawllD-6-BxIQEC7aKrXiPrUQb8rX8ug/s1600/aids+wieytykaaiwrong.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggSwPS6wZjPUTcE15EV3XiOWlwQsK1is8vCWsqRtvfsr3T8-FxJW8h4af7t7vtX-MREqQsh4HjsNSAEiWuUJ1WOooFS46ZztulJznNhyksebiWawllD-6-BxIQEC7aKrXiPrUQb8rX8ug/s1600/aids+wieytykaaiwrong.jpg" height="120" width="400" /></span></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Part of the HIV theory posits that it can have a very long latency period.</b> This super-bug can invade your body the first time and be destroyed by the anti-bodies cranked out by your immune system, and then reappear up to thirty years later and completely disable the same immune system and leave you vulnerable to some other deadly opportunistic disease... and while you are flat on your back in the hospital bed wasting away, your blood can be sifted, filtered and scoped and the live HIV may not be found there. How is that possible? How can a virus not even present in your body, and one that doesn't destroy cells, be killing you?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Those are three reasons I don't think being tested for HIV will help you and just unnecessarily complicate your life. In short, the test itself is not reliable, and HIV is <b><i>not</i> </b> the death sentence we've all been told it is.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<i><u><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So if HIV is not harmful to the immune system what is killing people?</span></u></i><br />
<b><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></b><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Read the two books I mentioned above. According to Duesberg, the initial cases among male homosexuals and IV drug abusers were because they ran their immune systems down through riotous behavior and infections and unhealthy living.. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It is similar to a healthy person staying up late, not eating right, being stressed and then coming down with a cold or the flu. This has happened to everybody. This is a momentary chink in your armor that you recover from in a few days</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> But what if you partied every night after work, did drugs, had multiple sex partners? All these activities are immuno-suppressive and if kept up for years, your immune cells might just give up the fort, wave the white flag., surrender. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<i><u><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">But not everybody who has died of AIDS were partying like that. How do you explain the others? </span></u></i><br />
<i><u><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></u></i>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Iatrogenic disease. That's a fancy word that means "medically caused." If you were tested for HIV after 1984--and everyone was encouraged to get tested--and you tested positive, it was assumed you would die. HIV meant death, back then. Since you were going to die anyway, the doctors felt it was acceptable to experiment with some rather toxic drugs. AZT was one of them. This drug was originally developed for chemo therapy for cancer but was discontinued because it was too poisonous. Overnight it was taken out of the mothballs and promoted for fighting AIDS. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Duesberg theorizes that the drugs doctors are prescribing are actually doing the killing, not HIV. For example, AZT at a certain dosage, shuts down all red blood cell production in the bone marrow. The patient becomes anemic and eventually dies. You could, according to Duesberg, take a perfectly healthy non-HIV infected young vital athlete, regularly dose him with AZT and kill him in two years. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The irony is that AIDS would get the blame and the drug would be credited with keeping the victim alive for two years. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIYZetRW4-e5LADAvoKeWN2lGOg9_sOBmv6Zm7PsxGZTtK6-M09HccMUKDF_Tx67re0NejjYLLSA9OjB6KGTarGeAF4BKIZ5yM2H-FgAQsUvdjV6P0AQ3836DaslrCZBHzvfd1A91c21I/s1600/aids+maggiore.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIYZetRW4-e5LADAvoKeWN2lGOg9_sOBmv6Zm7PsxGZTtK6-M09HccMUKDF_Tx67re0NejjYLLSA9OjB6KGTarGeAF4BKIZ5yM2H-FgAQsUvdjV6P0AQ3836DaslrCZBHzvfd1A91c21I/s1600/aids+maggiore.gif" height="281" width="640" /></span></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I am not a physician. I am a lowly electrician. I am merely quoting, from memory, from two books and some other articles I've read that make sense to me. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">But consider this: How many people have been tested for HIV? Is it possible that there are people out there who have the anti-bodies for HIV in their blood for 30 years who have never been tested, who are still alive and not sick? </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The Centers for Disease Control says more than half of all adults 18 to 64 have not been tested. That's me. I'm in that group and I've never tested. Maybe I've got the anti-bodies in me. Maybe I've had them in me for 30 years and the dreaded germ, like a boomerang is circling back to clobber me.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I don't feel sick, though. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">What if you were feeling O.K. and then tested positive for HIV and a doctor started giving you some AZT-like drug and then you started feeling sick, and weak and wasted. Back in 1984 there would have been this urgency to get you on the regimen before AIDS got you. If you started feeling ill, you would have just assumed it was the AIDS kicking in. Maybe the doctor would have upped the dosage. You would have felt worse, and got weaker. That damnable AIDS. Better up the dosage.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">But today... 30 years on, wouldn't it be wise to maybe question the medicine? If you are O.K. before, and get worse after taking them, maybe it's the drugs. Blood letting was that way. The drainers would take a little blood and if you didn't get better take a little more, and so on. George Washington died this way.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We've got better science then those days, but we are just as susceptible to getting stuck in a rut going the wrong-way, especially when political pressure and money is involved.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">All the governments of the world, and the CDC, and some really smart doctors and the multi-billion AIDS industry all say it is a virus. Who am I to argue with such majestic snow-covered peaks? </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">But often all those billions of snowflakes, shaking hands and patting themselves on the back and giving out grants and conferencing... are built up twenty feet deep on a slick of ice. Consensus is good, I guess, as long as it is true and there are no loud noises.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Ask Ignaz Semmelweiss about consensus. It drove him crazy. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Ask the Japanese Ministry of Health and Reisaku Kono. They spent fifteen years and millions hunting down the SMON virus they were sure was killing off middle-aged citizens, only to find out it was <i>Clioquinal</i>, a diarrhea drug, that wasn't supposed to be so toxic, and so easily absorbed by the intestines.</span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8h99UnAyOmhJqLB6R6vkYhN_yfDeazvhOEy-2iiHTABUUtD0wf8NYCRKqr7Afyh1SodEysUTrZu2Z-p_AMeBluAUrZ8YGZz6gngQ-IuB0UEIq2LbFyVRPqBkeaO6tYuVxU-WcjvrZNXs/s1600/aids+duesberg+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8h99UnAyOmhJqLB6R6vkYhN_yfDeazvhOEy-2iiHTABUUtD0wf8NYCRKqr7Afyh1SodEysUTrZu2Z-p_AMeBluAUrZ8YGZz6gngQ-IuB0UEIq2LbFyVRPqBkeaO6tYuVxU-WcjvrZNXs/s1600/aids+duesberg+2.jpg" height="206" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The whole world once thought the earth was flat. The whole world once thought, for a long, long time, that malaria was caused by "bad air" and that the Sun revolved around the Earth. Science is supposed to follow the facts, no matter where they lead, but it can be a tough lonely climb. Ask Dr. Peter and ask Christine, and ask Ignaz. Consensus is the big dog that won't give up the bone. Consensus is: Eat shit, five trillion flies can't be wrong. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Read the two books, or look them up online. I know there are critics of Duesberg and Maggiore. Read them also. Make up your own mind. </span><br />
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">For now I think putting a lightning rod on my house would do more to protect my health than getting tested for HIV. </span> <br />
<br />
<br />D.M. Millerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11684153908840786340noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3224779650124225704.post-40188595633833503482014-07-26T23:47:00.002-07:002014-09-19T10:52:44.995-07:00Suckers And The Death Of Adrienne Shelly.<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIMOnnqtJ1hE8UKhaofBQrmrMv9Fv6YbPdow6by41Dp2qXDtYR_LvGaLNsLeWNGoq8YntZ1qMd4LvWx-XDGVtWaTU0wCAwyyb3bC_OjGB_zEUhWfchZwS0zvmiut7xzTQFqzyqx9KlxkY/s1600/shelly+wind.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIMOnnqtJ1hE8UKhaofBQrmrMv9Fv6YbPdow6by41Dp2qXDtYR_LvGaLNsLeWNGoq8YntZ1qMd4LvWx-XDGVtWaTU0wCAwyyb3bC_OjGB_zEUhWfchZwS0zvmiut7xzTQFqzyqx9KlxkY/s1600/shelly+wind.jpg" height="400" width="383" /></span></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">When the “Waitress” movie
came out in 2007 my wife and I went to see it at the theater. Andy Griffith is in it in his last role before
he died, as the no-nonsense owner of Lulu’s pie café. There are three waitresses that work at the
café and talk to each other about their relationships. They are likable humble put-upon women. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Especially the lead character, Jenna, who is
pregnant and hides money from her husband, eventually to escape her
marriage. He finds out and smacks her
for her financial infidelity, so you don‘t much care for him. The rest of the men in the film are not much
more likable.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Jenna (Keri Russell) is a genius at making
unique tasty pies and names them for events in her life.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">She has an affair with her
married physician, Dr. Pomatter. In the
end she stands up to her husband and wins a pie contest and has a daughter and
the movie ends with the two of them walking off, manlessly, confidently,
hopefully into the sunset. Shelly’s own
daughter, Sophie, makes her screen debut as the little girl. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I mention this movie because
I stayed to watch the credits and saw a memorial to the director of the film.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyPG1-4otHlSsBNwMcCdjKodmK-MHUsWgPbXcUwAt_NmQx43vMhjxpaa0J-4XE1YV58thoeT-5JYw4ktZsRiCfbNueoS8DDisGLNuQ1BbHKyQLKfYvlle5Bqox2rcIzISXTgNVRluGpa8/s1600/shelly+poster.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyPG1-4otHlSsBNwMcCdjKodmK-MHUsWgPbXcUwAt_NmQx43vMhjxpaa0J-4XE1YV58thoeT-5JYw4ktZsRiCfbNueoS8DDisGLNuQ1BbHKyQLKfYvlle5Bqox2rcIzISXTgNVRluGpa8/s1600/shelly+poster.jpg" /></span></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I realized it meant Adrienne
Shelly, forty, the writer, director, co-producer and also an actress in her own
film, must have died before it came out.
Curious, I looked up what happened to her and learned she was found dead
hanging with a sheet knotted around her neck from a shower rod in her office
bathroom. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The day she died, the first
of November, her husband dropped her off in <st1:place>Greenwich Village</st1:place>, at an apartment she used for an office at about
nine-thirty in the morning and when he hadn’t heard from her and couldn’t reach
her he went there and, along with the doorman, discovered her body. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Police initially considered Shelly's death a suicide, but this was vehemently protested by her husband and family. She had a movie coming out, and many other projects in the hopper, and a three-year-old daughter. "There's no way on this planet that she would have left that child," said husband Andrew Ostroy. "Nobody is ever going to tell me that woman walked away from Sophie."</span></div>
<div style="background: white; line-height: 18.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span><br />
<a name='more'></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Detectives from the Sixth
Precinct eventually arrested Diego Pillco, a construction worker who had been
in the building that day, doing renovation chores in the apartment directly
below Shelly’s fourth floor office. They
noticed a dusty sneaker footprint on the toilet next to the body and matched it
to similar tracks in the remodel site, and thence to the nineteen-year-old
laborer. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">He confessed to hanging Ms.
Shelly. He said she came down to
complain about construction noise and shouted at him and called him names and
slapped him and that he struck back and knocked her down. Thinking her to be dead he dragged her back
up to her apartment found a bedsheet and staged a suicide. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgv1NBx-C1ThmarAFWfbStdFW0fPJ0YWGA6EoeIPgP9oOpPiHgf9C926KEmiNd3Y6OJfFBHmzn3pIWDL7OvpyCqEjFpRbI8NRMIPpb6zr5pkrp5cbojuASfEZIae5chF-pENx1DLDLfmzs/s1600/shelly+and+hines.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgv1NBx-C1ThmarAFWfbStdFW0fPJ0YWGA6EoeIPgP9oOpPiHgf9C926KEmiNd3Y6OJfFBHmzn3pIWDL7OvpyCqEjFpRbI8NRMIPpb6zr5pkrp5cbojuASfEZIae5chF-pENx1DLDLfmzs/s1600/shelly+and+hines.jpg" /></span></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">She wasn’t dead,
though. She died, according to the
medical examiner, in her office bathroom of strangulation. She also didn’t have any plaster dust on her
shoes and clothes. She wasn’t even
wearing shoes when she was found. Nor
were there any drag marks in the hall or her office. And how did Pillco know which floor and which
apartment to lug her back to?</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Later, in court, he changed his story: </span><b><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">"When i saw the lady I decided to rob her,"</span></b><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> he said.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">He found her door ajar, grabbed her bag, took cash, and was putting the bag back when Shelly came out of a room and saw him. She was calling the police when he attacked.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">They struggled and when she
passed out he tied a sheet around her neck to choke her and then hoisted her diminutive frame off
the floor and let gravity finish the murder.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Sad, sad, sad.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">But this is old news. It happened over seven years ago. Why bring it up, now? Well, because of this
claim made recently by Mr.Gil Kerlikowske, Commissioner of the U.S. Customs and
Border Protection, on ABC’s <i>This Week,</i>
that the almost 50,000 illegal border jumpers, since last October <b>“… are not dangerous individuals.”</b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, a
Democrat from <st1:state><st1:place>Texas</st1:place></st1:state> also declared the invaders to be harmless and handed
out bags of candy to them at detention facilities in her state.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">What does this have to do with
Mr. Pillco? Well it seems he was in our
country illegally at the time of the murder.
He is one of these non-threatening, benign, industrious, Latinos from
down south just dreaming of a better life; one of the many that we are urged to
welcome to our bosom to do the menial chores eschewed by our pampered minimum
wagers. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIe_ToD1bpz-UlWrAgynkN6RHu6BXBa3ifs_dWyWARPiogAhZvq74zqMEqZkvccQNPnCA8G1SSM9o9mtLDtmwXBMdPsL9-9o_JgRj2Nbn4wLBqp7r0hN-PZs0WcqI_X4ZQbbbT41AQUv8/s1600/shelly+pillco.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIe_ToD1bpz-UlWrAgynkN6RHu6BXBa3ifs_dWyWARPiogAhZvq74zqMEqZkvccQNPnCA8G1SSM9o9mtLDtmwXBMdPsL9-9o_JgRj2Nbn4wLBqp7r0hN-PZs0WcqI_X4ZQbbbT41AQUv8/s1600/shelly+pillco.jpg" /></span></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">He wended his way up from <st1:country-region><st1:place>Ecuador</st1:place></st1:country-region> and crossed the Mexican border with the help of a <i>Coyote</i> and then made his way to <st1:state><st1:place>New York</st1:place></st1:state> in July of 2006 to bunk with his cousin in a
basement apartment in <st1:place>Brooklyn</st1:place>. He told a
neighbor the crossing cost him Twelve thousand dollars. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">He worked odd jobs and sent
money home to his parents and according to neighbors and his landlord, was
“polite” and “respectful” and “hard-working” and “a good kid.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Good Kid. Hmmm.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">When he wasn’t working on construction
projects, six days a week, for Louis Hernandez, the boss of Bradford General
Contractors, and also owner of the apartment building where Pillco lived, he
toiled his one day off, Saturday, as substitute super at his domicile.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Hmmmm.</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjc-QuFteiYvnKU4FBaUXApI5ae8iWsHnM2s6_OzZu77fQXZF4ly7Iksg3pnth5JaWIRFpzEuDCA3-kxO1Um-wJ7jNUftUQHx9ns5y_68Hny_sshIJrLhiIeL1prv_Ffb-o4IjAhRKN2BU/s1600/shelly+pool.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjc-QuFteiYvnKU4FBaUXApI5ae8iWsHnM2s6_OzZu77fQXZF4ly7Iksg3pnth5JaWIRFpzEuDCA3-kxO1Um-wJ7jNUftUQHx9ns5y_68Hny_sshIJrLhiIeL1prv_Ffb-o4IjAhRKN2BU/s1600/shelly+pool.jpg" /></span></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">A few things occur to
me. There’s no way Pillco would have
twelve thousand dollars to pay his smuggler (I doubt he even had bus fare to
get him to Brooklyn) so somebody else had to vouch for him and cover his debt,
and I don’t think it was his parents or his cousin. No. I’m
thinking it was Mr. Hernandez. Hernandez
pays the <i>coyote</i>—or maybe a better
term would be <i>jackal</i>-- and Pillco
becomes his indentured servant (slave) until every penny plus interest is paid
back. How long would that take, do you
think? Two years? Five years?
Ten? Probably not as long as ten. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Now I don’t know for sure
that this is the case. Perhaps I am
maligning Louis the landlord, who only wants to help the poor émigré and
generously offers to employ the teenager seven days a week.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> But you can see how I am suspicious of the
relationship, seeing as how Pillco spends so much time working exclusively for
his landlord, and how it’s such a splendid deal for a contractor looking for a cheap
young reliable exploitable uncomplaining drudgeling. A savvy Spanish-speaking contractor invests
six month’s normal wages, if he has to hire a legal worker, on the chance of
getting six years of labor out of a young imported Ecuadorian onager. Mr. Hernandez probably had the same deal
going on with Pillco’s cousin. And that
is how Diego first came to see the <st1:place><st1:placename>Brooklyn</st1:placename> <st1:placetype>Bridge</st1:placetype></st1:place>. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 16.5pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">“Say,
Mr. H, you’ve got some projects coming up, and I’ve got a relative in <st1:country-region><st1:place>Ecuador</st1:place></st1:country-region>. He’s a good
kid, works hard and <i>won’t be no trouble</i>.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Or maybe it was Mr. H who
first broached the subject to the cousin.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I’m also thinking Mr. H, in
July, sits his new arrival down and speaks very bluntly about what is expected
of him. That he will get a bed and some
meager spending money, and maybe a pittance to send home to Senor and Senora
Pillco, back in <st1:country-region><st1:place>Ecuador</st1:place></st1:country-region>. The rest of his earnings will be used to slowly retire his enormous
debt. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I’m also very sure that his
landlord and boss, who now practically owns him for the next few years, tells
him he cannot have any interaction with the police. He cannot drink in public or even piss in an
alleyway, or litter or even spit in the gutter.
He must be as harmless as Mother Teresa and have a lower profile than a
Lotus Europa. Speaking of which, he must
not drive a car and he cannot be getting in fights. If a crime is committed against him, he must
not complain to the authorities. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiI6WxJZu_W6HMEo5yyb7KROC2Q1uEHwJthWZIwGOH2zVbI5_Q763jgnkcEII-I60UbfO9N62I9OWz1Y5Hk3km5r3pvSx8S80jR6fU9dIsonsT0VUj7aSE4aGOBv-QYpWWgW6dZ94bDhGk/s1600/shelly+pillco+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiI6WxJZu_W6HMEo5yyb7KROC2Q1uEHwJthWZIwGOH2zVbI5_Q763jgnkcEII-I60UbfO9N62I9OWz1Y5Hk3km5r3pvSx8S80jR6fU9dIsonsT0VUj7aSE4aGOBv-QYpWWgW6dZ94bDhGk/s1600/shelly+pillco+2.jpg" /></span></a></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">One little mistake and his
illegal status will be discovered and he could be deported back to his sweaty
corrupt muggy buggy gang-weevilled dead-end country and then how will he pay
his debt? It is time to be an adult, to
accept responsibilities. It is time to
be a man. Comprende? Si Senor bossman.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So young Mr. Pillco works
and works and works. He is bounced
around to various remodeling jobs, ordered here and then there. He walks or takes the subway. And on his day off… he still works… as the
super at his apartment building, sweeping floors and fixing leaky faucets. And it is looking like the next years are
going to go by very slowly. He doesn’t
have any time to work a side job for anyone else. All his cash comes from the boss/landlord. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So that is why, on a
November day in 2006 he decides to do a little moonlighting, while on the job, and
like Jenna, the pregnant waitress, sock away some pin money, some mad money,
instead of having to turn most of it over to her abusive husband.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzgc0xTq86pB2jPXczac8x7bV1GmfyRDeRIbiP5tW6iUoQR61eVYFmuwnoG8GOCNMIgIefDgpEB_dj6F2RcmfAIgi8DFhBpfr5vFspas3H6iw9Hh8w1cIzx3eBwG2rybZjw3cYcdb6Dsc/s1600/shelly+camera.bmp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzgc0xTq86pB2jPXczac8x7bV1GmfyRDeRIbiP5tW6iUoQR61eVYFmuwnoG8GOCNMIgIefDgpEB_dj6F2RcmfAIgi8DFhBpfr5vFspas3H6iw9Hh8w1cIzx3eBwG2rybZjw3cYcdb6Dsc/s1600/shelly+camera.bmp" /></span></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Diego sees a rich white
woman—to him anyone who can afford to rent an apartment at Abingdon Square must
be wealthy; heck, even the gringo poor people are wealthy to Diego—with a big
handbag and he sees her get off on the fourth floor and unlock her apartment
and he decides he will do a little pilfering.
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This building he works in
has a doorman so some renters are not so careful about locking their doors when
they are in, only when they go out. It
is also <st1:time hour="9" minute="30">9:30</st1:time> on a Wednesday morning and this woman is arriving,
as if from a night shift job. If there
is a man he will have left for his job already, so she is, perhaps, alone in
the apartment.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">He rides the elevator up a
floor and takes the stairs back down and finds her door unlocked and her bag
just inside. Maybe he takes the bag back
out into the hallway so he won’t be seen or heard as he paws through it. He finds cash in a pocketbook and is putting
the bag back when the woman sees him and you know the rest of the story.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">He risks putting the bag
back in its place, instead of just making off with it, so the missing cash will
go unnoticed for hours or maybe even until the next day.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It has been suggested that
Mr. Pillco’s real intent was rape, but I don’t agree. He didn’t want to confront anyone or even be
seen. In a doorman controlled building
the pool of suspects is limited, and eventually the police would show up at his
door for such a serious crime. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Not so for petty thievery. It might not even result in a call to the
cops, and if called they might not bother tracking down all the possible suspects,
and if they do and visit Brooklyn they probably won’t find Pillco there because
he is working all the time, elsewhere, and if they do find him home, the stolen
bills are not traceable and, besides, he doesn’t know anything about it, and who’s
to say the money was taken from the woman’s apartment? Maybe the lady left her bag unattended in the
coffee shop. Maybe her husband borrowed
her money without telling her.</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgB-L2q23U_u7fu0U1iNwt3Afxg1J1nZw4waD4OGbho7Y_q9i4KR-4fEVCYXZXpxgDYsAfZxtqUOy2aofb37cjOwHFfAeAek1xuUygR0ScLyfG9guPR9jjQTqHssFWofbIozL_fEiK7AXg/s1600/shelly+pillco+3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgB-L2q23U_u7fu0U1iNwt3Afxg1J1nZw4waD4OGbho7Y_q9i4KR-4fEVCYXZXpxgDYsAfZxtqUOy2aofb37cjOwHFfAeAek1xuUygR0ScLyfG9guPR9jjQTqHssFWofbIozL_fEiK7AXg/s1600/shelly+pillco+3.jpg" height="320" width="208" /></span></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So there is risk, but it is
acceptable, and this isn’t the first time he’s found an unlocked door in other
buildings he’s worked in,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This time, though, he is
seen.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Now let us consider what
would have happened if a different young man took the cash; someone who is the
same age and height and complexion, but is a citizen of the <st1:country-region><st1:place>United States</st1:place></st1:country-region>. He already
has a rap sheet of petty crimes and knows, by experience, that nothing much
will happen to him if he is caught and arrested for a petty theft. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">When confronted by the
woman, he turns and walks out of the apartment and goes home. He keeps the cash, but tosses her credit
cards. If the police want him they know
where to find him. He will likely lose
his job, but he’ll get another, or just live on unemployment or some other
welfare, maybe move in with his girlfriend and her kid. Pity that the woman saw him because he
intended to let his girl use the cards, or sell them to a guy he knows, but now
they will be flagged, immediately.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The important thing here, is
that he does not touch Mrs. Ostroy.
There is no reason to turn a pissant property crime into something much
more serious.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And that is probably the
situation Adrienne thought she was in when she surprised Diego Pillco in her
office. She couldn’t know that the teen,
not much bigger than herself, had this oppressive debt hanging over him. That he was desperate to make some extra
cash, but more desperate not to screw up his one chance. If he is arrested and deported he would
default on his loan, and then who would ever vouch for him again? This woman seeing him dooms him to a long
life of penury or the short life of a gangster in his native <st1:country-region><st1:place>Ecuador</st1:place></st1:country-region>.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">When Ms. Shelly reaches for
her phone he has to stop the call, and then she screams so he must stop that
also and then she passes out. He could
just leave her on the floor and flee, but police will soon find him. He has no place to go, and no real money
saved up, that would allow him to escape <st1:state><st1:place>New York</st1:place></st1:state> and live somewhere else. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The woman has seen his
face. If he kills her, police will still
eventually arrest him, but if he makes it look like an accident or suicide he
can continue to work and stay in the <st1:country-region><st1:place>United States</st1:place></st1:country-region>. He lets
himself out and goes to another jobsite to work the rest of the day there. He
doesn’t want to be around when the body is discovered.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpt3z9JYWR5y26anGH7U7gH9Z5LdaD8zp7ksugve8s6_kkxtfLdzLNx7c0GsWApQUGX5Z38dWVdSTKwXqu91wq6Sx5KRKMBCqWGNiDLdprGiFyf6oQQWttPIQVE13wtvMRoMlPP0DiVss/s1600/shelly+news.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpt3z9JYWR5y26anGH7U7gH9Z5LdaD8zp7ksugve8s6_kkxtfLdzLNx7c0GsWApQUGX5Z38dWVdSTKwXqu91wq6Sx5KRKMBCqWGNiDLdprGiFyf6oQQWttPIQVE13wtvMRoMlPP0DiVss/s1600/shelly+news.jpg" /></span></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Rather cold blooded behavior
for such a “good kid.” You see, to really strangle a human, to cut off the
blood supply to the brain completely, long enough to kill, you have to apply
steady pressure for a few minutes. Diego
would have had to kneel over her unconscious body and twist the sheet until his
arms ached, all the while terrified someone might walk in on him. He has to get away before he is seen so he
hangs her up in the bathroom. She is
dead, or soon will be.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Are you a “good”
person? Do you know some “good”
kids? Suppose one of your friends or the
son of a friend made a big mistake and got in trouble and was looking at
ruination and dishonor. Would you, could
you, could your friend’s son straddle an innocent unconscious defenseless
mother and slowly throttle her?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmsJXka-vTCcVl2larvBChc9dVFVF0K4uqQddGeOehsfV5Amf85KPEGkynKksSFombYTfAx6838MruBqzpvMsqUmmF9IA-tOn6DXMa-2Atnz81NsLVtmePOy3S-vdR4yfGiDaFnsZL6Gs/s1600/shelly+jacket.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmsJXka-vTCcVl2larvBChc9dVFVF0K4uqQddGeOehsfV5Amf85KPEGkynKksSFombYTfAx6838MruBqzpvMsqUmmF9IA-tOn6DXMa-2Atnz81NsLVtmePOy3S-vdR4yfGiDaFnsZL6Gs/s1600/shelly+jacket.jpg" /></span></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Would you do such an evil
thing for a million dollar debt? For
double that? For any amount? Would you do it to avoid going to prison for
a year? Two years? Ten years?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I am thinking, down deep,
Diego had some rather felonious habits that were not acquired suddenly upon his
arrival in the big apple. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I’m thinking the first story
Diego tells the police of being harangued and slapped and how he responded in
kind and thought he had killed the actress, displays some rather savvy criminal
thinking, for such a boy scout. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The law provides for severe
punishments for killing someone while committing another felony. Like sneaking into an apartment to steal and
killing the renter when she catches you.
It’s considered Aggravated Murder and warrants the Death Penalty in some
states, or life in prison without parole in others. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcezvGUFBZkN7mBshJCIaalqlyhecacrJ8i-5gsyG-r4gTpJVYlTRUb9c2ZiK18LFFVs_aFSMWglRDrNYBHwxajVqdMG3M882Fx4hxljqRB8RjrcVjUEuJgri8jQe0dqu8GMEC1hCV2gE/s1600/shelly+sophie+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcezvGUFBZkN7mBshJCIaalqlyhecacrJ8i-5gsyG-r4gTpJVYlTRUb9c2ZiK18LFFVs_aFSMWglRDrNYBHwxajVqdMG3M882Fx4hxljqRB8RjrcVjUEuJgri8jQe0dqu8GMEC1hCV2gE/s1600/shelly+sophie+2.jpg" /></span></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Not so if you kill another
while in the midst of a fight or heated argument. So that is the lie Pillco told the police,
and he only told the truth after sentencing, as agreed, when it couldn’t be
used against him, so instead of life he gets twenty-five years, no parole and a
free ride back to the border.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I am telling this to you
because I believe that lax border enforcement led to the death of Adrienne
Shelly. The fact that Pillco incurred a
debt and was here illegally made him desperate and dangerous. If he were here legally and temporarily only
as a tourist to <st1:place>Disneyland</st1:place> and picked someone’s pocket and were caught, do you
think he would have killed to cover up his crime? Or say he was on a guest-worker visa and
snatched a purse? Same perp, same amount
of money, but different circumstances and an entirely different outcome.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-size: 16pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Pillco<o:p></o:p></span></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Was there anything Mr.
Pillco could have done differently when he was discovered, to avoid arrest for
stealing, other than murder Shelly?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">After he handed back her bag
he should have also given back the stolen cash and then got down on one knee,
put his palms together, as if praying and pleaded with her not to turn him in. He didn’t speak English, but the posture of
supplication is universal and she would have understood what he was saying.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">She was said to be a
kind-hearted generous woman. I don’t
know. She should send him on his way and
after he is gone, if she doesn’t call the police, she should still have a talk
with the doorman and super and contractor, to insure Pillco doesn’t ever come
back into the building, for the protection of the other tenants.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjO4rvbreWQlIZbhCzVVEXOskqtDuTUGjH2YB8E-uI6nIQADqdhvy-geCwUPyvQIgmx2ld6O59zGJkCbKJBXP0G4bUtZcLYq7g9r2GnlVnThYiKIDflqJwMsjQ2i3lO1M4_8O-wMSJO1Rc/s1600/shelly+knit.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjO4rvbreWQlIZbhCzVVEXOskqtDuTUGjH2YB8E-uI6nIQADqdhvy-geCwUPyvQIgmx2ld6O59zGJkCbKJBXP0G4bUtZcLYq7g9r2GnlVnThYiKIDflqJwMsjQ2i3lO1M4_8O-wMSJO1Rc/s1600/shelly+knit.jpg" /></span></a><b><span style="font-size: 16pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Shelly<o:p></o:p></span></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Besides keeping her door locked,
was there anything Shelly could have done differently to avoid being murdered?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Three things, perhaps. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<ol start="1" style="margin-top: 0in;" type="1">
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Upon seeing a strange man in her office she could
have about-faced and locked herself in one of the rooms. If she has her cell phone she calls for
help, if not, there may be a landline phone in the room—it is an office. Fax machines often have a handset. Or if no phone she could fake a
conversation with the police dispatcher.
Or she could start screaming and breaking windows and throwing
objects out onto the street. Or
climb out on a fire-escape, if there is one. Anything to get attention and to get out
of her apartment. Noise, in a
populated area, really gets criminals nervous. They never know if someone has heard and
is summoning the police. They flee
to live and pilfer another day.<o:p></o:p></span></li>
</ol>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .25in;">
<br /></div>
<ol start="2" style="margin-top: 0in;" type="1">
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Or she could have turned and looked into one of
the rooms and called out a man’s name as if summoning him to battle,
(“Jerry, get in here!”) and then turned and attacked Pillco, screaming and
pushing and breaking things. This
sows confusion and would have made noise to cover for the fact that there
is no one else in the office coming to help. Noise, crazy lady, possible second
person… Pillco will likely flee.<o:p></o:p></span></li>
</ol>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .25in;">
<br /></div>
<ol start="3" style="margin-top: 0in;" type="1">
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Or, after Pillco gives her back her bag and she
finds the cash missing, instead of grabbing her phone, she holds out her
hand to the thief for the stolen cash.
He gives it to her. She then
peels off two twenties and gives them to Pillco tells him to go and locks
her door when he leaves. Then she
calls the police, and doorman.<o:p></o:p></span></li>
</ol>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The cell phone is what
killed Shelly. It is never a good idea,
if you are alone in the presence of a criminal, to whip out your phone and
start calling for the police. It will
likely cause the criminal to interfere with you, violently.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We have a border problem, and an illegal alien problem, and pretending that people that sneak into our country are harmless, and handing out lollipops to them is not the way to handle it. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
D.M. Millerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11684153908840786340noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3224779650124225704.post-25181161956167039942014-04-06T19:33:00.000-07:002014-09-19T10:54:11.615-07:00The Evil Roy Slade Way<div class="MsoNormal">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOJa75j7UaNV8V2WeRsiX_n-q_KOLstF9OitrCdJ9LTjAo_0yrMgqRGnole9GfbMBjeeoZkmXNgfUdjOx4U1Av5HBUo4oZAtC9Sv7g5YixweIEX7GHFohx_VYEVBB5QykRODLViTkSdXM/s1600/evil+roy+stagecoach+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOJa75j7UaNV8V2WeRsiX_n-q_KOLstF9OitrCdJ9LTjAo_0yrMgqRGnole9GfbMBjeeoZkmXNgfUdjOx4U1Av5HBUo4oZAtC9Sv7g5YixweIEX7GHFohx_VYEVBB5QykRODLViTkSdXM/s1600/evil+roy+stagecoach+2.jpg" height="312" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I was reading a movie review type blog where one of the posters couldn't understand the stance of conservatives about government welfare programs. I felt compelled to write him an answer to the question he posited: <b>" </b><b>why is it evil to want to help those in need?"</b> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">"It isn't," was my reply. "It becomes
evil when you use force to accomplish it, and government is force." </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />If I don't pay the taxes imposed on me, government agents with guns will eventually show up at my house, after a deluge of threatening letters and legal notices, and arrest me, auction
off all my property and throw my family out in the street. If I resist
they will kill me. That is the threat behind all your wonderful state-run charitable schemes. It behooves us then to limit, to the absolute
minimum, these coercive "good works" rather then expand them. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span><br />
<a name='more'></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjU6_ePJaCP-6Yj3Lw1p3KhNKwfuyFe91jJ2srdrmWK7i48KBJskilAVnMFn3asWXhxj6Pxge_f1H0CuUlrN5ta0NsoMwWalhk4mjZjDdL9LQUKMiff0YBRGdWU7bntxVDo2zQ6PhGQVfw/s1600/evil+roy+bank.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjU6_ePJaCP-6Yj3Lw1p3KhNKwfuyFe91jJ2srdrmWK7i48KBJskilAVnMFn3asWXhxj6Pxge_f1H0CuUlrN5ta0NsoMwWalhk4mjZjDdL9LQUKMiff0YBRGdWU7bntxVDo2zQ6PhGQVfw/s1600/evil+roy+bank.jpg" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />When I send my hard-earned money to the I.R.S., I don't
feel charitable. I feel like I have been mugged. I am paying protection money so I can keep on working and living in my house. I am being extorted. It doesn't matter if some
good is being done with the extortion money. It doesn't matter if the
extortion is done by the mafia, or republicans or democrats or communists or
socialist or fascists or some despot.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">You may say it is my great privilege to assist my fellow
man. You may say this is just a cost of doing business, living, pursuing
happiness. You may say that people need a nudge to get them to be
"good". You may be in the majority. But it is still evil
to enforce charity. By it's very nature, charity must be freely
given. To give wisely and voluntarily to a good cause both enlightens the
giver and the receiver. I don't feel generous or enlightened. I feel like my pocket is being picked. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I also notice that rarely, if ever, is the recipient grateful for the gift, but looks on it as an entitlement. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">There was a low-income housing project built here in Portland, downtown on some very expensive real estate and when it was noticed that the units were bereft of air conditioners... well, a group representing the subsidized renters-to-be sued the </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">developers of the place and got that remedied in a hurry. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">That's akin to a friend asking to borrow your car and insisting that you have the broken radio fixed and fill the tank by the time he comes to pick it up.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">What has this to do with Evil Roy? Well let me light a candle here. In the "EVIL ROY SLADE" movie there is a scene where the title character, played by John Astin (Sean's father) explains how he makes friends by putting a gun to a person's head and asking them if they will be his buddy. Unsurprisingly, nobody refuses. "I got a lot of friends that way," says Roy, smiling. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It is not much different when fifty-one percent of my neighbors vote for some measure or school bond, or some lefty-loosey politician and Roy's wheel gun swivels in my direction. "How would you like to help buy the homeless some shopping carts so they don't have to steal them from grocery stores? Don't bother answering," he grins toothily, "we already know you want to be a caring giving generous citizen instead of one of those mean stingy bigoted repugnanticans. Here's your wallet back."</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I'm not really being generous, and I am not really Roy's friend.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I do give freely and generously of my time and money to some causes I approve of. I'm sure you do also, but you might not approve of mine and I might not approve of yours. But so what? </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">For instance, you may think the "redneck" baptist who gives his
$20 to the African Missionary Fund is totally deluded. He may think your $20
given to the Lesbian Outreach Program is encouraging perversity. But again, so What?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The big <i><b>WHAT </b></i>is when either of you forcibly plucks money from the other and gives it to a cause they abhor and contrary to their wishes, and that is what is causing the great divide in this country. It is not the
contending ideas that divide us so badly, it is one side or the other gaining
the seats of power and forcing laws on the other. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEsO28AnDaQ1CdfgpB3L3nAfXRWbSdcexOzsYK-RFu7lG_WRQSBpkOjB5xmzRDVkQY2FEvW-PiEOiqtbNR_7nmXLE0S9ljMY100yevqF8GhX_iKwXMBfjCyttOMApiQlO_F-xSLI2vURI/s1600/evil+roy+and+woman.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEsO28AnDaQ1CdfgpB3L3nAfXRWbSdcexOzsYK-RFu7lG_WRQSBpkOjB5xmzRDVkQY2FEvW-PiEOiqtbNR_7nmXLE0S9ljMY100yevqF8GhX_iKwXMBfjCyttOMApiQlO_F-xSLI2vURI/s1600/evil+roy+and+woman.jpg" height="320" width="251" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />I think abortion is one step down from murder. I
would not give one penny to support it. You may think I am wrongheaded
and you decide to send a check every month to Planned Parenthood for pregnant teen womb vacuuming. Go ahead. I may think you are
angering God, but you are free to risk your soul as you please. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
Just
don't demand at the point of a gun (remember Roy and those government agents) that I and everyone else in the country chip in </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Our country right now is very divided on the matter of health insurance. One </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">side thinks things should go on as before, with even less government interference in the health industry, and with maybe some assistance to those who can't afford insurance. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The other side thinks it is a great idea to </span><i style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>compel </b></i><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">everybody to sign up and pay for health insurance. And not just any old health insurance plan; no, it has to be a government approved </span><i style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">bundled</i><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> plan, and if you don't get it you will be fined. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>Have you noticed that almost everyone is getting away from <b>bundled </b>cable TV plans, full of channels they don't want or need, and signing up for streaming internet services and paying for precisely what they want and nothing more... and that the Affordable Care Act is going the exact opposite direction? </i></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Me, I prefer as much of my life to be as voluntary as possible. I don't like anybody telling me what I <i>have to do</i>, or else, so w</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">hat I propose is that we move as much government from the
involuntary to the voluntary that we can. Less government, more
volunteerism. More liberty rather than less. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRrm8K7KIHKCy_VD1Nizc-bz3CtZq1hz2ulN1fMcrOuOm25oHzTWt-N5F4iLlYkc6Yz_Mx_5kgNAkXuaPmDKGEhJ0_43160TEiAmq7V5Dv-RuvafAAsSGP3bhlqR6ANU73tdqB2a_sJEs/s1600/evil+roy+vhs+box+cover.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRrm8K7KIHKCy_VD1Nizc-bz3CtZq1hz2ulN1fMcrOuOm25oHzTWt-N5F4iLlYkc6Yz_Mx_5kgNAkXuaPmDKGEhJ0_43160TEiAmq7V5Dv-RuvafAAsSGP3bhlqR6ANU73tdqB2a_sJEs/s1600/evil+roy+vhs+box+cover.jpg" height="280" width="320" /></a></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />If your ideas for helping other people are worthwhile, then
<i>trust </i>others to contribute, voluntarily. If you <i>trust</i> in your fellow man to do the right thing and your cause is just, why do you need force? Just say goodbye to Evil Roy. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">But if you get a chance, view his movie. It is a hoot.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
</div>
D.M. Millerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11684153908840786340noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3224779650124225704.post-43786379237069915452014-03-20T20:38:00.001-07:002014-04-06T19:40:42.661-07:00Cruel And Delusional Punishment<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXIG5gkcaxvetur6RX-kaMAJPvgxAA1eGfbwMZYs4Egn8KFFrkAjQowJ55HUH_8kLcAgYalyJMK9qtRHDb9Mnb0sHfBTsnZqzABMOHcX4EasRB6qQ_IRUhYaaiehnMduMTtJhDBrpJ-Ko/s1600/punishment+chamber+with+phone.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXIG5gkcaxvetur6RX-kaMAJPvgxAA1eGfbwMZYs4Egn8KFFrkAjQowJ55HUH_8kLcAgYalyJMK9qtRHDb9Mnb0sHfBTsnZqzABMOHcX4EasRB6qQ_IRUhYaaiehnMduMTtJhDBrpJ-Ko/s1600/punishment+chamber+with+phone.jpg" /></a></div>
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;">Condemned murderer Dennis McGuire, within
four minutes of his lethal injection, in the windowless death house at the
Southern Ohio Correctional Facility in Lucasville, began to have trouble
breathing. He gasped and snorted for the
next ten minutes and then lay peaceful until declared dead, approximately
twenty-four minutes after the novel two-drug cocktail was pumped into his arm. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial;">This was mid-morning the sixteenth of
January, the year of our Lord two thousand and fourteen. Perhaps you heard of it. There have been many executions before this
one and will be more, after, but this one was the first state-sanctioned
killing in the New Year and it made national news because of the first-time use
of this particular combination of drugs, the length of the procedure, obvious
distress of the man on the gurney, traumatized family witnesses and a lot of <i>I-told-you-so’s </i>by McGuire’s attorneys. It all made for lively reportage. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"></span><br />
<a name='more'></a><span style="font-family: Arial;"><br /></span>
<st1:state><st1:place><span style="font-family: Arial;">Ohio</span></st1:place></st1:state><span style="font-family: Arial;"> since 1977 used Chapman’s Protocol of three drugs to
dispatch murderers: Thiopental,
Pancuronium bromide and Potassium chloride.
The first is a fast acting sedative and knocks the person out in
seconds. The Pancuronium bromide
paralyzes the muscles and, by itself, would eventually shut down breathing,
leading to death. To speed things along,
though, the Potassium chloride is injected to stop the heart. </span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTqIDc5UdeqWCIEkHFN34mM33pk-K7QWhxBE3iN2_j4TC3Wz0nIT7UG4yMN4OlgHvlgYXngujBXIHb3LLaaPbB9yv4gxSMk4Ij7gSbN4tX_YUhDc6z3fTv-06Vw2L54LFBWn__kIMHobM/s1600/punishment+thiopental.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTqIDc5UdeqWCIEkHFN34mM33pk-K7QWhxBE3iN2_j4TC3Wz0nIT7UG4yMN4OlgHvlgYXngujBXIHb3LLaaPbB9yv4gxSMk4Ij7gSbN4tX_YUhDc6z3fTv-06Vw2L54LFBWn__kIMHobM/s1600/punishment+thiopental.jpg" /></a></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial;"> <o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial;">Done correctly the whole deadly triple play
can be over in a few minutes. The
officials wait even after the heart monitor signals cardiac arrest, just to be
sure. Then a coroner or physician double
checks with a stethoscope and death is officially declared, the curtains are
pulled and the witnesses dismissed. Ten
minutes, even twenty can go by for the whole procedure, but the actual death is
much quicker. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial;">European suppliers object to our use of Thiopental
in executions, and refuse to ship it to prisons in the </span><st1:country-region><st1:place><span style="font-family: Arial;">United States</span></st1:place></st1:country-region><span style="font-family: Arial;">, so In 2009 officials switched to a one-drug dozer: Pentobarbital. It is used in
smaller doses to induce comas in heart surgery patients.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"> <o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;">Then </span><st1:state><st1:place><span style="font-family: Arial;">Ohio</span></st1:place></st1:state><span style="font-family: Arial;"> decided, recently, to go with a two-drug procedure
using Midazolam and Hydromorphone. That
is the one-two punch they used to execute Mr. McGuire. And it worked, except for McGuire’s labored
breathing.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial;">Amber, his adult daughter, covered her ears
as she watched him die, to block out the sounds. </span><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: Arial;">"It was the most awful moment
in my life to witness my dad's execution.
I can't think of any other way to describe it than torture." </span><span style="font-family: Arial;">His son, also a Dennis, said he didn’t
“…feel like anybody deserves that—families, or my dad, anybody on death
row—nobody deserves to go through that.”
Lawyer Jon Paul Rion felt likewise: “</span><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: Arial;">The execution
violated Dennis McGuire's constitutional right not to be treated or punished in
a cruel or unusual way,”</span><br />
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: Arial;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial;">Attorneys for the condemned man tried to
halt the untried method and predicted that McGuire would likely suffer “air
hunger” and struggle for breath and suffer <b><i>terror and agony</i></b> [emphasis mine]. One of the killer’s attorneys, Allen Bohnert
characterized the 24-minute execution process as a “failed, agonizing
experiment by the state of </span><st1:state><st1:place><span style="font-family: Arial;">Ohio</span></st1:place></st1:state><span style="font-family: Arial;">.” <o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial;">So there you have it. The execution of Mr. McGuire is described, by
various witnesses and other interested parties as: cruel, unusual, terrible,
agonizing, failed, unconstitutional, awful, experimental, undeserved, appalling
and torturous.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"><br /></span>
<st1:state><st1:place><span style="font-family: Arial;">Ohio</span></st1:place></st1:state><span style="font-family: Arial;"> is holding off on other planned executions while
they review what happened. Amber and her
brother have said they will sue the state of </span><st1:state><st1:place><span style="font-family: Arial;">Ohio</span></st1:place></st1:state><span style="font-family: Arial;">.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial;">The people just quoted are those who cared
for McGuire or who were paid to prolong his life and interfere with his
execution and perhaps persons who used his case to further their drive to
abolish the Death Penalty. Keeping that
in mind, knowing what you have just read, do you think Mr. McGuire’s execution
was unconstitutionally <i>cruel</i> or <i>unusual</i>?<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial;">What does <i>cruel</i> mean to you? </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"> <o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;">From the beginning of our country execution
by hanging was a pretty standard way to kill rapists, murderers, horse thieves
and traitors and deserters. Firing squads
were used also, but that method was more likely to be used by the
military. Rope and gunpowder were common
and plentiful, and could be used just about anywhere.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTA-3sWLrSThHUO29uSQmSu7iG-5cCf2CyGtl6aWEhLp1AULfcvnVCnlymq-NGdqrDTp7zjd3XnBslRedNGh8fCowl906uQJhhPN6McAjK8dtrPLZfLSvfNomuV_Ik1ilXtEX4a4FfMuM/s1600/punishment+noose.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTA-3sWLrSThHUO29uSQmSu7iG-5cCf2CyGtl6aWEhLp1AULfcvnVCnlymq-NGdqrDTp7zjd3XnBslRedNGh8fCowl906uQJhhPN6McAjK8dtrPLZfLSvfNomuV_Ik1ilXtEX4a4FfMuM/s1600/punishment+noose.jpg" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial;">But you need a skilled hangman to figure the
weight of the condemned and how far he should drop. Too little and the neck will not snap and the
dropped will kick and contort as he slowly strangles. Too much drop will tear off his head. Decapitation didn’t happen that often, but it
was embarrassing for the executioner and grisly to behold, but really not much
different from being guillotined, which method was invented to be reliable and
quick and painless. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial;">At the start of the 20<sup>th</sup> century
states were looking for something more humane and reliable and <i>modern</i> to replace hanging and came up with
the electric chair and the gas chamber.
But there were still problematic send-offs.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial;">For “Old Sparky” to work efficiently there
needs to be a damp salty sponge under the metal head cap. A dry one frustrates the pile driver of
electrons and causes heat and then smoke and sparks and crackling noises,
flames and burnt flesh smells. If you
saw the movie “GREEN MILE” you’ll have an inkling of how traumatic it can be. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial;">One electrocution in </span><st1:state><st1:place><span style="font-family: Arial;">Florida</span></st1:place></st1:state><span style="font-family: Arial;"> in 1990 of Jesse Tafero should have gone swimmingly.
The head sponge was properly soaked in brine and all the straps and electrical
connections were bright and tight and not corroded, but it took three big jolts
to stop the man’s heart. Meanwhile
six-inch flames were seen to shoot out of his ears. At least that’s what it looked like to
horrified witnesses, some of whom had trouble sleeping afterwards. An investigation blamed the combustion on the
improper substitution of a synthetic sponge for the natural type that had
always been used. Organic, it seems, is
better for your health, after all. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"> <o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;">The gas chamber also has had a few
hiccups. One notable balls up happened
in the dispatch of Jimmy Gray in </span><st1:state><st1:place><span style="font-family: Arial;">Mississippi</span></st1:place></st1:state><span style="font-family: Arial;"> in 1983. The
pellets dropped and the cyanide gas suffused the chamber but Mr. Gray continued
to gasp and groan and beat his head against a steel pole for at least eight
minutes. He was still alive when
officials cleared the witness room.
Later it was revealed the executioner was drunk on the job. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;">I don’t really see how sobriety could have
improved the experience. The crystals
either drop into the pot of sulfuric acid and produce hydrogen cyanide gas or
they don’t. Cyanide gas was produced and
Mr. Gray eventually died from it. It
wasn’t like the headsman dropped Mentos lozenges into a 2-liter bottle of diet
Coke, by mistake. The problem is the
asphyxiation process of the gas chamber is rather slow and painful. Grays death by gas didn’t really take longer
than most. The difference was that Gray
kept banging his unrestrained head against an unfortunately placed iron pole,
and nervous officials cleared the room and stirred up the press.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtvH6MvrkW2qKK3a38nS3_73RC0jfZCK1nJU_vRFkzZfCvkaYRFmimkawHQ4MgePTihWRWODBzxjbAEEfdRpUBP-rXWTwf8iRFLBYhqE260X-4G676Gh2kIwy7r3wBeiKe9ynmgIkFALE/s1600/punishment+zyklon+b+pellets.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtvH6MvrkW2qKK3a38nS3_73RC0jfZCK1nJU_vRFkzZfCvkaYRFmimkawHQ4MgePTihWRWODBzxjbAEEfdRpUBP-rXWTwf8iRFLBYhqE260X-4G676Gh2kIwy7r3wBeiKe9ynmgIkFALE/s1600/punishment+zyklon+b+pellets.jpg" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial;"> <o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;">So states started switching to the latest new
killing technology—drugs--hoping the quasi-medical procedure, and especially
the sedation, would give them a cleaner, less trouble-prone and embarrassing
way of dispatching death rowers.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"> <o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;">Drugs (poisons) have been around from the
beginning of recorded history, and just about any solid, liquid or gas can be
lethal given the proper dosage; even water.
You can poison yourself by drinking too much of it, even if there’s no
lead or arsenic in it. If it’s
fluoridated you could die with a nice smile on your face. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial;">Socrates, a philosopher and teacher, in 399
B.C., was convicted of corrupting the minds of the young men of </span><st1:city><st1:place><span style="font-family: Arial;">Athens</span></st1:place></st1:city><span style="font-family: Arial;"> and condemned to death by a jury of five hundred
citizens. He was remanded to custody
and, with close friends in tearful attendance, given a cup of hemlock juice to
drink. Paralysis slowly crept up from
his legs to his chest until his heart stopped.
It probably took an hour.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial;">Today’s lethal injection deaths are supposed
to take about four to ten minutes. And
they are considered more humane because the soon-to-be-deceased is rendered
unconscious first. No other means of
execution ever offered that amenity—except for one that I’ll mention
later. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial;">But there have been troubles with
the process, mostly before but also after injection. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;">Stephen Morin, Randy Woolls, and Elliot
Johnson all in </span><st1:state><st1:place><span style="font-family: Arial;">Texas</span></st1:place></st1:state><span style="font-family: Arial;"> and all in the 1980’s and all persistent drug
abusers had their executions delayed up to an hour while medical techs searched
for a non-collapsed vein. Woolls
actually helped his execution team find a usable blood vessel.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial;">Raymond Landry suffered a rare “blowout” in
1988, also </span><st1:state><st1:place><span style="font-family: Arial;">Texas</span></st1:place></st1:state><span style="font-family: Arial;">, when the IV needle popped out of his arm and
sprayed the deadly concoction across the room.
A curtain was pulled and the catheter re-inserted and the process
continued, but it was forty minutes start to finish. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial;">1994, Illinois: The
hazardous chemicals flowing through the IV tube leading into John Wayne
Gacy’s arm solidified blocking the syringe and his demise was delayed ten
minutes while the tubing was replaced.
The multiple drugs are often referred to as a “cocktail” but they are
not supposed to mix with each other in the IV tubing, or they can clot and plug
things up. Each drug is introduced and
then the tubing is flushed with saline before the next one is pumped in. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial;">Stephen McCoy (</span><st1:state><st1:place><span style="font-family: Arial;">Texas</span></st1:place></st1:state><span style="font-family: Arial;"> 1989) had a physical reaction to the drugs so
violent—gasping, choking, heaving, arching back—that a male witness fainted and
knocked over another witness. The
Attorney General for the state surmised that “The drugs might have been administered
in a heavier dose or (too) rapidly.” <o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial;">And then there is the execution of Emmitt
Foster in </span><st1:state><st1:place><span style="font-family: Arial;">Missouri</span></st1:place></st1:state><span style="font-family: Arial;">, 1995. Seven
minutes into the process it was noticed that something was going wrong. Blinds were drawn to hide the gasping convulsing
inmate from view while the execution team desperately tried to sort it out. Twenty minutes and counting the </span><st1:place><st1:placetype><span style="font-family: Arial;">County</span></st1:placetype><span style="font-family: Arial;"> </span><st1:placename><span style="font-family: Arial;">Coroner</span></st1:placename></st1:place><span style="font-family: Arial;"> entered the chamber and spotted the problem right away. The leather straps holding Foster to the
gurney were tight as a tourniquet, restricting the flow of the drugs. Foster finally expired several minutes after
they were loosened. The Blinds were
re-opened so witnesses could view the corpse, thirty-three perspiration soaked
minutes after the execution began.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixbSZpDdtij8tbcYuoHqG1_v2yqdQqhu3EC4xEU27JFxT2ITQUDkLNMW0tcw-6MAsdALI918YQkxvYoYTs-NFw_oMGRuy1pUmgIZPXq75aoDcDDH02GbAXWaYp52SaqUi9w9A2-xiGztU/s1600/punishment+strap.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixbSZpDdtij8tbcYuoHqG1_v2yqdQqhu3EC4xEU27JFxT2ITQUDkLNMW0tcw-6MAsdALI918YQkxvYoYTs-NFw_oMGRuy1pUmgIZPXq75aoDcDDH02GbAXWaYp52SaqUi9w9A2-xiGztU/s1600/punishment+strap.jpg" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial;">So there just seems to be no perfect
way. There will always be some problems
killing an organism so driven to remain breathing. Should we throw out these methods because of
a few mishaps? <o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial;">And what about that “cruel and unusual”
thing? Is it cruel if a condemned man
suffers pain unintentionally for a few minutes while he dies? How much pain is too much? Inserting-a-needle-in-the-arm pain? Migraine pain? Stepping-on-a-lego-in-your-bare-feet kind of
pain? Labor pain? Or maybe passing-a-kidney-stone pain? <o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial;">Why Is an inmate root canal, or a lanced boil not considered unconstitutional? Why is pain associated with healing excusable,
and the same or a lesser pain associated with an execution not to be tolerated? Pain is pain.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"> <o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;">Is it cruel if things don’t go as
planned? Is that what the authors of the
Bill of Rights had in mind? Maybe they
should have written that all punishments should be painless and bloodless and
not cause anyone watching any unease.
That seems to be where we are headed.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial;">We should ask what the colonials considered
cruel or unusual. Maybe it would help to
take a look back at some of the more creative punishments in ancient history
that the founders of our republic would have known about and abhorred. I will list some and I will give each of them
a cruelty factor with 1 being the least and 10 being the most. I will only refer to punishments meant to end
in the death of the victim. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"><br /></span>
<b><span style="font-family: Arial;">CRUCIFIXION:</span></b><span style="font-family: Arial;"> (7) This was a slow lingering death. The crucified were on public display and could
live for days and were exposed to the weather and wildlife. Notable victims: Jesus of </span><st1:city><st1:place><span style="font-family: Arial;">Nazareth</span></st1:place></st1:city><span style="font-family: Arial;">; Peter; Peter’s brother, Andrew; and six thousand
slaves from Spartacus’ army.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"><br /></span>
<b><span style="font-family: Arial;">IMPALING:</span></b><span style="font-family: Arial;"> (9) Another lingering death, only here a long pole
is inserted in one of the tender nether orifices, or a cut, in the lower body
and pounded up through the abdomen and chest cavity to poke out at the
shoulder. Much skill was needed to avoid
puncturing any vital organs so the impaled could live in misery for days. Often the tip was blunted and guided up along
the spine for this purpose. A cross bar
kept the condemned from sliding down to the base of the pole, which was often
planted in the ground upright. Many were
just left lying on the ground, and one impaled soul, dying of thirst, managed
to drag himself and his skewer over to a stream for a drink. Notable victims: Thousands who displeased Vlad the Impaler; Anna
Charbonier.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"><br /></span>
<b><span style="font-family: Arial;">TORN
ASUNDER</span></b><span style="font-family: Arial;">: (2)
Not a lingering death but definitely messy. There are many variations. <b><i>By Horse</i>:</b> victim’s limbs are tied to four horses
pulling in different directions. <b><i>By
Tree</i></b>: the tops of two springy trees are pulled down and secured and the
legs of the victim are tied to them, then the rope is cut and the trees recoil
tearing the condemned in half, lengthwise.
<b><i>By Elephant:</i></b> elephants
in </span><st1:place><span style="font-family: Arial;">Southeast Asia</span></st1:place><span style="font-family: Arial;"> were shod in steel booties with knives on the soles
and trained to stomp the unlucky into Salisbury steak. <b><i>Bisected By Big Knife:</i></b> Murdering Turks were wrapped with ropes so
tightly at the waist so as to constrict it to the diameter of an orange. Their lower half was then severed below the
tourniquet and fed to wild dogs. The top
wound was cauterized to seal off the blood vessels, and thus the truncated man
could live and converse until his executioners tired of him and loosed his
corset.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"><br /></span>
<b><span style="font-family: Arial;">BREAKING
ON THE WHEEL:</span></b><span style="font-family: Arial;"> ( 10) Another lingering excruciating death. Victim is tied to a wagon wheel and the
executioner breaks arm and leg and knee bones and collar bones, and all other
major and minor bones, with a steel rod, then leaves the man to slowly die. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"> <o:p></o:p></span><br />
<b><span style="font-family: Arial;">HUNG,
DRAWN, QUARTERED:</span></b><span style="font-family: Arial;"> (8) This is reserved for those unfortunate
souls convicted of High Treason, such as William Wallace. The condemned is fastened to a hurdle and
dragged behind a horse—pelted along the way with offal and garbage by locals—to
the place of execution. There he is to
suffer three deaths. He is hung by the
neck until he is unconscious. When he
revives his genitals are cut off and burned in a brazier in front of him. Then his innards are tugged out and also
plopped, still attached to him, in the fire so he can watch them sizzling. He is then, mercifully, beheaded. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial;">His body is quartered and the pieces dragged
through various towns and villages, and his head is spitted on a pike for display. The pieces are interred secretly in unmarked
locations. There is no burial place for
mourners and family to visit. Women
convicted of high treason, for the sake of modesty, were merely burned at the
stake. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial;">Guy Fawkes and the other conspirators
involved in the <i>Gunpowder Plot</i> were
dispatched this way. Fawkes, though,
during the hanging phase leaped off the platform and broke his neck, and was
dead while the rest of the sentence was carried out. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"><br /></span>
<b><span style="font-family: Arial;">POENA
CULLEI:</span></b><span style="font-family: Arial;"> (the punishment of the sack): (4) This is basically death by
suffocation. It was reserved for a
murderer of father or mother or other family member. The victim is beaten with
rods and then sewn up alive in a large leather sack along with live
animals: serpent, cock, monkey and a
dog. He is then carted to a river or the
sea and tossed in. Publicius Malleolus
was one of the first recorded to have been executed by leather pouch for
killing his mother about one hundred years B.C.. This strikes me as one of the <b><i>unusual</i></b>
ones. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2cY7y3S9XPO1nU3oO6G7g29JhVeRzGdaO8x-HYgwau7pmmrkOoNTdfEq4clD_w7d_beNVL_tMxEgqzCDBv3rhnsTgW5TW3p1PcZfq4QVMX32r87cUOrGj1OZTnlMsVmkS1g2DmMvemVY/s1600/punishment+burning+club.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2cY7y3S9XPO1nU3oO6G7g29JhVeRzGdaO8x-HYgwau7pmmrkOoNTdfEq4clD_w7d_beNVL_tMxEgqzCDBv3rhnsTgW5TW3p1PcZfq4QVMX32r87cUOrGj1OZTnlMsVmkS1g2DmMvemVY/s1600/punishment+burning+club.jpg" /></a></span></div>
<br />
<br />
<b><span style="font-family: Arial;">BURNING
AT THE STAKE:</span></b><span style="font-family: Arial;"> (4) As done in </span><st1:place><span style="font-family: Arial;">Europe</span></st1:place><span style="font-family: Arial;"> in the Middle Ages, this kind of execution was painful but over fairly
quickly. The condemned was lashed to a
wood post surrounded by faggots of dry branches, which were then lighted and
the person burned to death. Oft times,
for mercy, a rope noose was looped around the neck so the executioner, from a
safe distance, could strangle him or her before the flames got too high. Sometimes a big roaring bonfire was got going
sans victim, and the person to be “purified” was strapped to a ladder and
tipped over into the inferno, for a quicker demise. Notable people executed by burning: Joan of Arc, William Tyndale.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"><br /></span>
<b><span style="font-family: Arial;">BURNING
AT THE STAKE as practiced by Native Americans:</span></b><span style="font-family: Arial;"> (10) This involved burning and a stake but was
purposefully done as slowly and painfully as possible. The condemned is stripped naked, hands behind
him tethered by a five-foot rawhide leash to a tall post, so he can walk
around. A ring of firewood,
ten-to-fifteen feet from the post is then ignited and the victim is slowly
braised for hours. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial;">Colonel William Crawford, a friend of George
Washington, in 1782 was captured by British allied </span><st1:state><st1:place><span style="font-family: Arial;">Delaware</span></st1:place></st1:state><span style="font-family: Arial;">, </span><st1:city><st1:place><span style="font-family: Arial;">Shawnee</span></st1:place></st1:city><span style="font-family: Arial;">
and Wyandot tribes in the </span><st1:place><st1:placename><span style="font-family: Arial;">Ohio</span></st1:placename><span style="font-family: Arial;"> </span><st1:placetype><span style="font-family: Arial;">Territory</span></st1:placetype></st1:place><span style="font-family: Arial;"> and burned at the stake, with fiendish
refinements. He is first fired on by
five dozen muzzle-loader long guns with just the gunpowder and saltpeter
charges peppering his skin from the neck down.
His ears are cut off. Then the
circle of kindling is lit and the intense heat bakes the skin on his back and
buttocks until it is black and cracked and peeling like a bad paint job. He is scalped by Chief Pipes and poked with
burning embers. Hot coals are heaped on
him when he collapses and hot coals are underfoot when he rises and stumbles
around the stake begging to be killed.
After the circle fire dies down a fresh big bonfire is ignited and he is
cut loose and a couple of braves toss him alive, face down, onto the roaring
mound and is finally mercifully allowed to die.
<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial;">You can see why I give this a “ten”. The other captive American militiamen from
Colonel Crawford’s ill-fated expedition to the Sandusky Indian territory,
considered themselves fortunate that they were just hacked to pieces with
tomahawks.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial;">And there is <b>GAUNCHING</b> and <b>HANGING BY THE
RIBS</b> and <b>HANGING BY THE FEET</b>. That last one has the victim hung by his
feet, usually between two wolves. You
can imagine how irritable the wolves would get in that situation. <b>FLAYING
ALIVE</b> probably merits a (10) for being a lingering grisly death. <b>BOILING</b>
in oil or water or molten metal was popular. Crassus, the richest man ever in
the history of the world, probably including today, and along with Julius
Caesar and Pompey a ruler in </span><st1:city><st1:place><span style="font-family: Arial;">Rome</span></st1:place></st1:city><span style="font-family: Arial;">, was captured while warring with the Parthians. Legend has it he died when his captors poured
molten gold down his throat, symbolizing his thirst for riches. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"><br /></span>
<b><span style="font-family: Arial;">STONING</span></b><span style="font-family: Arial;"> gets a (2) or (3).
The person is trussed up and buried vertically in the ground with only
head and shoulders showing, a hood covering the face, and then softball-sized
rocks are thrown by a dozen or so energetic citizens. Smaller rocks and pebbles are forbidden for
prolonging the suffering. The victim
dies from blunt-force trauma to the head.
A physician is nearby to check for a pulse and declare death. It usually
takes ten minutes, but I’m guessing after the first few impacts the person is
unconscious. Stephen, a Christian
disciple in the New Testament, was stoned, but probably not the modern way with
a pit. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"> <o:p></o:p></span><br />
<b><span style="font-family: Arial;">THE
GUILLOTINE:</span></b><span style="font-family: Arial;"> (1) I don’t have a zero on my scale, but this
method of executing people is less than one.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"><br /></span>
<b><span style="font-family: Arial;">IMMUREMENT:</span></b><span style="font-family: Arial;"> (8) The
condemned is locked in a box and slowly starves and/or dies of thirst. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"><br /></span>
<b><span style="font-family: Arial;">SCAPHISM:</span></b><span style="font-family: Arial;"> (11) This
fiendish method was invented by the Persians.
They were much noted for their cruelty. The victim is placed in a small boat on his
back and then another identical boat is bolted down inverted on top of the
first boat with arm and leg holes and a hole for his head and neck and set
adrift on a pond. He is fed a milk and
honey mixture and it is also smeared on his exposed parts to attract flies and
hornets and biting and burrowing insects.
Thus he is fed and kept alive, in the hot sun, sometimes for weeks,
while being stung, bitten and devoured slowly.
Mithridates, a soldier, suffered “the boats” for seventeen days before
succumbing. His crime? He
drunkenly boasted of killing Cyrus with a javelin, a feat Artaxerxes, the King of Persia, wanted credit
for.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial;">This is similar to being slathered with
honey and staked out on an ant hill by vengeful Indians, but I don’t think they
kept you fed and hydrated, so it was over in a few days.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial;">And there are many many more. But I think you get the idea what real
extreme unusual cruelty could be. A
condemned man, given a choice, would consider plain old hanging, even if it was
botched, a blessing, a sinecure, a visit to </span><st1:place><span style="font-family: Arial;">Disneyland</span></st1:place><span style="font-family: Arial;">, in comparison to some of the above gruesomalities.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial;">You heard from McGuire’s family and
advocates. You should hear from the other
side. When queried about the condemned
man struggling for breath an</span><span lang="EN" style="font-family: Arial; mso-ansi-language: EN;"> attorney for the state of </span><st1:state><st1:place><span lang="EN" style="font-family: Arial; mso-ansi-language: EN;">Ohio</span></st1:place></st1:state><span lang="EN" style="font-family: Arial; mso-ansi-language: EN;"> argued that while the
U.S. Constitution bans cruel and unusual punishment, “you’re not entitled to a
pain-free execution.”<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span lang="EN" style="font-family: Arial; mso-ansi-language: EN;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div class="story-body-textstory-content">
<span lang="EN" style="font-family: Arial; mso-ansi-language: EN;">A death penalty proponent, Kent Scheidegger, in a New
York Times article considered the whole episode as being sensationalized. “The main point to be emphasized,” he said,
“is the inmate does get a sedative as the very first thing. However distasteful
it may be to observe, he is not in any kind of extreme pain that ought to
concern us.” He also lamented that we as
a society have become “namby-pamby” in this regard. Scheidegger is legal director for the
Criminal Justice Legal Foundation.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="story-body-textstory-content">
<span lang="EN" style="font-family: Arial; mso-ansi-language: EN;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="story-body-textstory-content">
<span lang="EN" style="font-family: Arial; mso-ansi-language: EN;">Would you like to know what Dennis McGuire did, and how
he did it? Would that make a difference? Should it make a difference? He was found guilty of abducting a twenty-two
year old woman and driving her to a remote wooded area on a Febuary day in
1989. There he assaulted her and then
cut her throat and drove away. That’s
sounds pretty bad.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="story-body-textstory-content">
<span lang="EN" style="font-family: Arial; mso-ansi-language: EN;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="story-body-textstory-content">
<span lang="EN" style="font-family: Arial; mso-ansi-language: EN;">Joy Stewart, the murdered woman, was almost eight months
pregnant. Does that make it worse? What if
she were only one month pregnant?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="story-body-textstory-content">
<span lang="EN" style="font-family: Arial; mso-ansi-language: EN;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="story-body-textstory-content">
<span lang="EN" style="font-family: Arial; mso-ansi-language: EN;">Joy was newly married.
She was carrying her first child.
She had a husband, father and mother devastated by her death. She had a sister and two brothers. Her murder left a huge aching hole. Does that make it worse that there were loved
ones to mourn and miss her? Joy’s
suffering was blessedly brief, compared to her family who still suffer her
absence. Her husband eventually killed
himself. Should we take that into
account? Is it less of a murder if the
person you slaughter is all alone in the world and won’t be missed? <o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span lang="EN" style="font-family: Arial; mso-ansi-language: EN;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="story-body-textstory-content">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNK-PzTtC1-INApOqrFGihxIiYFyuKW8zTakBg7LvupVdnhCChvvH4Z1r1TsnEM9X4pMUAXmPq11oEWTuDV7tLBw3QNmOR7UJfWO3xNFXAaK-neJe9llvdmP7m7lO7EYGOaAAI4lRvvr8/s1600/punishment+joy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNK-PzTtC1-INApOqrFGihxIiYFyuKW8zTakBg7LvupVdnhCChvvH4Z1r1TsnEM9X4pMUAXmPq11oEWTuDV7tLBw3QNmOR7UJfWO3xNFXAaK-neJe9llvdmP7m7lO7EYGOaAAI4lRvvr8/s1600/punishment+joy.jpg" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial;">How do you feel about Mr. McGuire now? After he was convicted of aggravated murder,
rape and kidnapping, his jury then had to decide on his penalty and they got to
hear about events in his chaotic life that might mitigate his behavior. If you were on the jury, do you think you
might hear anything that would lead you to be less vengeful? </span></div>
<div class="story-body-textstory-content">
<span lang="EN" style="font-family: Arial; mso-ansi-language: EN;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="story-body-textstory-content">
<span lang="EN" style="font-family: Arial; mso-ansi-language: EN;"><br /></span>
<span lang="EN" style="font-family: Arial; mso-ansi-language: EN;">Here are some of the sad facts: McGuire’s mother was married six times. He witnessed her being beaten by different
husbands. McGuire was tongue-tied and
malnourished and a poor student and reached eighth grade functioning at a
second grade level. He was unsupervised
often and basically raised himself and would take off for days and hang out
with eighteen year -olds when he was nine.
He also began using drugs at age nine.
He was mentally and physically abused by his father and various
stepfathers. Consequently he did not
feel safe at home. He didn’t learn to
read or write. His mother moved
constantly and he was always having to enroll in new schools, which he hated. He skipped a lot of classes and eventually
quit going.</span></div>
<div class="story-body-textstory-content">
<span lang="EN" style="font-family: Arial; mso-ansi-language: EN;"> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="story-body-textstory-content">
<span lang="EN" style="font-family: Arial; mso-ansi-language: EN;">He was unlucky in the kind of life he was handed. No argument there. And it was probably going to stay that
way. He was twenty-nine years old when
he killed Mrs. Stewart and worked as a menial laborer and was on probation for
some petty crimes. He was also married
with kids and separated from his wife.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="story-body-textstory-content">
<span lang="EN" style="font-family: Arial; mso-ansi-language: EN;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="story-body-textstory-content">
<span lang="EN" style="font-family: Arial; mso-ansi-language: EN;">Does any of this soften your heart? Do you feel for the ill-treated dog, even if
it bites your child? If you are on the
jury, do you vote for death or jail time?
Do you let your neighbor’s beloved pet live if they swear they’ll keep
him locked up in the yard?<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span lang="EN" style="font-family: Arial; mso-ansi-language: EN;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="story-body-textstory-content">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2yg93ZeLJkvbdje1OGOPEypUT0GLRSeOUIrnZxW9tWbMyGty2qZL9MPZvPOL82jaznatZYZ8yuXlJQqHXLwtkED4jr2SETEwHicOkv-VRcbWYcGUEQy6Ek0CBi5n-zxlq5gSrraekMAU/s1600/punishment+8+months+pregnant.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2yg93ZeLJkvbdje1OGOPEypUT0GLRSeOUIrnZxW9tWbMyGty2qZL9MPZvPOL82jaznatZYZ8yuXlJQqHXLwtkED4jr2SETEwHicOkv-VRcbWYcGUEQy6Ek0CBi5n-zxlq5gSrraekMAU/s1600/punishment+8+months+pregnant.jpg" /></a></div>
</div>
<div class="story-body-textstory-content">
<span lang="EN" style="font-family: Arial; mso-ansi-language: EN;">Before you answer that, you should know that you couldn’t
give McGuire a true life sentence without the possibility of parole. That option was not available then. Be aware, also, that ten months after Joy’s
murder, Dennis was arrested for abducting a fifteen year-old girl, at
knife-point. His probation was revoked
and he was looking at ten-to-twelve for snatching the high-schooler.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="story-body-textstory-content">
<span lang="EN" style="font-family: Arial; mso-ansi-language: EN;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="story-body-textstory-content">
<span lang="EN" style="font-family: Arial; mso-ansi-language: EN;">So Mister or Miss jury person; McGuire seems to have developed a taste for
imposing his company on women that barely knew him. Do you want to take a chance on his getting
out of prison some day?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="story-body-textstory-content">
<span lang="EN" style="font-family: Arial; mso-ansi-language: EN;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="story-body-textstory-content">
<span lang="EN" style="font-family: Arial; mso-ansi-language: EN;">There are other indications of Dennis McGuire’s
character. While sitting in jail on the
teen girl abduction charge, he offered up his 18 year-old brother-in-law, Jerry
Richardson, as the murderer of Joy Stewart, in exchange for some leniency. He knew a lot of details that were withheld
from the public. He described the crime
scene and the wounds on the body. He
took police to a barn and showed them where the murder weapon was hidden. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="story-body-textstory-content">
<span lang="EN" style="font-family: Arial; mso-ansi-language: EN;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="story-body-textstory-content">
<span lang="EN" style="font-family: Arial; mso-ansi-language: EN;">He knew all this because he was there and watched Jerry
do it, he said. This got police investigators
interested… interested in Dennis McGuire as the prime suspect. Tests on seminal
fluid found in the body excluded Richardson, but not his talkative in law. Ironically, the investigation into Joy’s
murder was stalled until Dennis decided to outsmart himself. Later he tried to get a serial confessor, in
jail, to take the blame for him. That
failed also.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span lang="EN" style="font-family: Arial; mso-ansi-language: EN;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="story-body-textstory-content">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhY08hspZs5yuWqBxN4zhccviq4Rj2MbNIWS7GSqEMgeEg5OVpa9wYwXIib9hBYnNb99SSSXS-5JGwihgTmgPpM3kgnObKAymlvpIEP7udG7G_gWZOpHv6KCilT5CamuBUNmQV6zSOUMy4/s1600/punishment+knife+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhY08hspZs5yuWqBxN4zhccviq4Rj2MbNIWS7GSqEMgeEg5OVpa9wYwXIib9hBYnNb99SSSXS-5JGwihgTmgPpM3kgnObKAymlvpIEP7udG7G_gWZOpHv6KCilT5CamuBUNmQV6zSOUMy4/s1600/punishment+knife+2.jpg" /></a></div>
</div>
<div class="story-body-textstory-content">
<span lang="EN" style="font-family: Arial; mso-ansi-language: EN;">Inmate McGuire strove mightily to evade accountability
for his evil deeds. But prison time can
sometimes change a man. Many a
sinner has found religion in the concrete confines of the <i>Big House</i>. That is why it is
called a <i>penitentiary.</i> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;">Would that make a difference to you, that he repented and
confessed? That he was truly
sorrowful? Suppose you were on the
parole board that heard McGuire’s last minute plea? Would you be swayed to recommend clemency? </span></div>
<div class="story-body-textstory-content">
<br /></div>
<div class="story-body-textstory-content">
<span lang="EN" style="font-family: Arial; mso-ansi-language: EN;">You’re easily swayed if you do. For twenty-four years he denied killing the
newlywed. With time running out he
penned a confession in his own words—he finally learned to write-- to Governor
Kasich. He finally came clean… well
almost. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="story-body-textstory-content">
<span lang="EN" style="font-family: Arial; mso-ansi-language: EN;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="story-body-textstory-content">
<span lang="EN" style="font-family: Arial; mso-ansi-language: EN;">In it he claimed to be having an adulterous affair with
Joy. When she demanded he leave his wife
a heated argument erupted and he lost control and slew her. There was no kidnapping or rape. She was with him voluntarily that day and
therefore the murder was not an <i>aggravated
</i>crime. This was just a lover’s spat
that got out of hand, for which Joy was partly to blame. Or so he says. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="story-body-textstory-content">
<span lang="EN" style="font-family: Arial; mso-ansi-language: EN;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="story-body-textstory-content">
<span lang="EN" style="font-family: Arial; mso-ansi-language: EN;">Joy’s sister Carol Avery, at the clemency hearing,
marveled at this monstrous self-serving libel.
Almost twenty-five years after the grievous injury McGuire had already
visited on her family, he could still draw blood. With few remaining hours on Earth, with the
Grim Reaper at his elbow, he chose to sully Joy’s character and spit in the eye
of God.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="story-body-textstory-content">
<span lang="EN" style="font-family: Arial; mso-ansi-language: EN;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="story-body-textstory-content">
<span lang="EN" style="font-family: Arial; mso-ansi-language: EN;">But is any of this pertinent? No matter the blackguard Dennis McGuire may
have been, his family and lawyers claim his death was unnecessarily cruel,
regardless of worse tortures visited on
miscreants centuries ago, and that even remorseless lying murderers deserve
better. What say you?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="story-body-textstory-content">
<span lang="EN" style="font-family: Arial; mso-ansi-language: EN;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="story-body-textstory-content">
<span lang="EN" style="font-family: Arial; mso-ansi-language: EN;">I’d like to point out a couple of things. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"><br /></span><span lang="EN" style="font-family: Arial; mso-ansi-language: EN;"></span>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span lang="EN" style="font-family: Arial; mso-ansi-language: EN;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoztii-zkcWqYUnxJX-7NlQRJn3h0fRIq-XkM_PfgNPfit4PaMn_U2NT9TrceuEocuD9Z2Ii-pdUbPECMBpsAgZb11olwh-DmXbgqAO9qIm4gOkNmHaIqbslAZbigb9osgjEGGOri_Rag/s1600/punishment+abe+snoring.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoztii-zkcWqYUnxJX-7NlQRJn3h0fRIq-XkM_PfgNPfit4PaMn_U2NT9TrceuEocuD9Z2Ii-pdUbPECMBpsAgZb11olwh-DmXbgqAO9qIm4gOkNmHaIqbslAZbigb9osgjEGGOri_Rag/s1600/punishment+abe+snoring.jpg" height="200" width="146" /></a></span></div>
<span lang="EN" style="font-family: Arial; mso-ansi-language: EN;"> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="story-body-textstory-content">
<span style="font-family: Arial;">Dennis McGuire suffered from sleep apnea. When he was drugged with the Midazolam it put
him into a deep sleep. Supine on the
gurney his jaw would relax, his mouth would open, and the base of his tongue
would settle to the back of his throat and occlude the airway. His chest would heave when his lungs couldn’t
draw air. Eventually the blocked passage
would yield and he would be heard to snort or gasp loudly. This went on for ten minutes until the opiate
kicked in and depressed his autonomous nervous system and he died. </span></div>
<div class="story-body-textstory-content">
<span lang="EN" style="font-family: Arial; mso-ansi-language: EN;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="story-body-textstory-content">
<span lang="EN" style="font-family: Arial; mso-ansi-language: EN;">The gasping and snorting were distressing to McGuire’s
son and daughter because of the situation.
A child crying on a sidewalk because of a scraped knee is much less
poignant than the same cry coming from inside a house on fire. The nearness of death magnifies everything. McGuire’s kids never had to put up with his
snoring because he was in prison almost their entire lives. They didn’t know what he sounded like
normally. The same snorting and gasping,
at home in a Lazy-Boy, interrupting their prime-time TV shows, would have
elicited annoyance and thrown objects, not horror. </span></div>
<div class="story-body-textstory-content">
<span lang="EN" style="font-family: Arial; mso-ansi-language: EN;"> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="story-body-textstory-content">
<span lang="EN" style="font-family: Arial; mso-ansi-language: EN;">My dad had sleep apnea and so do I. I’ve seen him struggle for air sitting in a
recliner, dozing fitfully. Sometimes a minute would pass between
inhalations. This can go on all night
for such a sleeper. </span></div>
<div class="story-body-textstory-content">
<span lang="EN" style="font-family: Arial; mso-ansi-language: EN;"> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="story-body-textstory-content">
<span lang="EN" style="font-family: Arial; mso-ansi-language: EN;">I try to sleep on my side, but sometimes I roll on my back and
make all kind of loud door-rattling snoring sounds, or so I’m told. My wife prods me awake and gets me back on my
side or stomach, but I have no memory of the “air hunger.” McGuire’s legal team averred that he would
suffer “terror and agony”, but how could they know that? </span></div>
<div class="story-body-textstory-content">
<span lang="EN" style="font-family: Arial; mso-ansi-language: EN;"> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="story-body-textstory-content">
<span lang="EN" style="font-family: Arial; mso-ansi-language: EN;">I submit to you that Dennis McGuire was likewise unaware
and was not in any pain or distress in that ten minute period when his body
fought for breath. A surgeon could have
cut him open and removed his gall bladder and he wouldn’t have made a face. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="story-body-textstory-content">
<span lang="EN" style="font-family: Arial; mso-ansi-language: EN;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="story-body-textstory-content">
<span lang="EN" style="font-family: Arial; mso-ansi-language: EN;">In the future I advise that death row inmates facing the needle and likely to snore be positioned face down on one of those
massage tables with the face hole. </span><span style="font-family: Arial;">When the drugs kick in their throats will stay open and
they will pass from unconsciousness to death quieter than a purring kitten. They might drool like
Homer Simpson, but I’d like to see abolitionists sue the state over that.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial;">Again, this will have no effect on the condemned. He's not feeling a thing at this point. It is just to avoid distressing the witnesses.</span></div>
<div class="story-body-textstory-content">
<span lang="EN" style="font-family: Arial; mso-ansi-language: EN;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="story-body-textstory-content">
<b><span lang="EN" style="font-family: Arial; mso-ansi-language: EN;">So do I think McGuire
suffered?<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="story-body-textstory-content">
<i><span lang="EN" style="font-family: Arial; mso-ansi-language: EN;">Not at all.<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<div class="story-body-textstory-content">
<i><span lang="EN" style="font-family: Arial; mso-ansi-language: EN;"><br /></span></i></div>
<div class="story-body-textstory-content">
<b><span lang="EN" style="font-family: Arial; mso-ansi-language: EN;">Do I think some executed
prisoners in the United States have suffered pain beyond the cruel and unusual
pale?<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="story-body-textstory-content">
<i><span lang="EN" style="font-family: Arial; mso-ansi-language: EN;">No. There are executions that last longer and are
inherently more painful than others, but the intent is to dispatch the
condemned as quickly and humanely as possible.
If there is pain it is soon over.
Even our botched executions are not cruel or unusual.<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<div class="story-body-textstory-content">
<i><span lang="EN" style="font-family: Arial; mso-ansi-language: EN;"><br /></span></i></div>
<div class="story-body-textstory-content">
<b><span lang="EN" style="font-family: Arial; mso-ansi-language: EN;">Are there methods you
would do away with?<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="story-body-textstory-content">
<i><span lang="EN" style="font-family: Arial; mso-ansi-language: EN;">I would do away with the
gas chamber. It can be slower than other
methods and if something goes wrong the chamber cannot be entered to remedy it
because of the poison gas. Indeed, after
the execution, the hazardous gas has to be bled off and neutralized, and hazmat
suits have to be worn to remove the body and then all the surfaces in the
chamber have to be scrubbed down, also by workers in hazmat suits. Even the body has to be decontaminated before
it can be turned over to funeral workers.
The whole process is over-complicated and fraught with danger. That’s
why no state has used it since 1999.. <o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<div class="story-body-textstory-content">
<i><span lang="EN" style="font-family: Arial; mso-ansi-language: EN;"><br /></span></i></div>
<div class="story-body-textstory-content">
<b><span lang="EN" style="font-family: Arial; mso-ansi-language: EN;">What is the best method?<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="story-body-textstory-content">
<i><span lang="EN" style="font-family: Arial; mso-ansi-language: EN;">Lethal injection. Most of the problems have been with finding a
vein. If leg and arm veins are
problematic, I say don’t waste time, just stick the syringe in the
jugular. This method probably works best
for donating organs.<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<div class="story-body-textstory-content">
<i><span lang="EN" style="font-family: Arial; mso-ansi-language: EN;"><br /></span></i></div>
<div class="story-body-textstory-content">
<i><span lang="EN" style="font-family: Arial; mso-ansi-language: EN;">Firing squad would be a
good method, unless the victim wants to donate his heart.<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<div class="story-body-textstory-content">
<i><span lang="EN" style="font-family: Arial; mso-ansi-language: EN;"><br /></span></i></div>
<div class="story-body-textstory-content">
<i><span lang="EN" style="font-family: Arial; mso-ansi-language: EN;">Hanging, if done
correctly, is my third choice.<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<div class="story-body-textstory-content">
<i><span lang="EN" style="font-family: Arial; mso-ansi-language: EN;"><br /></span></i></div>
<div class="story-body-textstory-content">
<span lang="EN" style="font-family: Arial; mso-ansi-language: EN;">There are many ways a person could be killed without a
lot of pain or fuss, especially if you sedate them first: <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="story-body-textstory-content">
<span lang="EN" style="font-family: Arial; mso-ansi-language: EN;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="story-body-textstory-content">
<span lang="EN" style="font-family: Arial; mso-ansi-language: EN;">How about exsanguination?
Just insert a large catheter into the femoral artery and open it
up. The guy would bleed out in a couple
minutes. If doctors don’t want to do it
because of the Hippocratic Oath, undertakers are perfectly skilled at draining
off bodily fluids.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="story-body-textstory-content">
<span lang="EN" style="font-family: Arial; mso-ansi-language: EN;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="story-body-textstory-content">
<span lang="EN" style="font-family: Arial; mso-ansi-language: EN;">I don’t like the idea of beheading, even though it is
quick and painless and sure. But
something like the guillotine could be accomplished without the separation of
the head from the body. Just drive a
sharp flat chisel into the base of the skull severing the spinal cord, but
keeping the body intact. You wouldn’t
even need a sedative.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="story-body-textstory-content">
<span lang="EN" style="font-family: Arial; mso-ansi-language: EN;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="story-body-textstory-content">
<span lang="EN" style="font-family: Arial; mso-ansi-language: EN;">Garroting could work.
If you squeeze on the sides of the neck the victim goes unconscious in
seven seconds. Then you just keep the
pressure on until brain death occurs due to the lack of blood flow. It might take twenty minutes, but the victim
won’t notice.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="story-body-textstory-content">
<span lang="EN" style="font-family: Arial; mso-ansi-language: EN;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="story-body-textstory-content">
<span lang="EN" style="font-family: Arial; mso-ansi-language: EN;">Or how about drowning?
Again, sedate the murderer and dunk him. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="story-body-textstory-content">
<span lang="EN" style="font-family: Arial; mso-ansi-language: EN;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="story-body-textstory-content">
<span lang="EN" style="font-family: Arial; mso-ansi-language: EN;">Or carbon monoxide poisoning. At a high enough concentration of the gas,
unconsciousness is almost instant and death soon follows. Take all those cyanide gas chambers and
convert them. </span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span lang="EN" style="font-family: Arial; mso-ansi-language: EN;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFag-ysLGrzjFDyXtaSqd7KOq6EJ8DCDCmCz48XQ1blGgZgVktuI-cPn6fLOUnjJBbneP53Pj25hB4aGb_oljJQqhmSF5BhNuz__KpemPTcbIvt28igVosvZpodli7H_RM_CeFy2o_U24/s1600/punishment+gas+chamber.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFag-ysLGrzjFDyXtaSqd7KOq6EJ8DCDCmCz48XQ1blGgZgVktuI-cPn6fLOUnjJBbneP53Pj25hB4aGb_oljJQqhmSF5BhNuz__KpemPTcbIvt28igVosvZpodli7H_RM_CeFy2o_U24/s1600/punishment+gas+chamber.jpg" /></a></span></div>
</div>
<div class="story-body-textstory-content">
<span lang="EN" style="font-family: Arial; mso-ansi-language: EN;"><i> <o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
<div class="story-body-textstory-content">
<b><span lang="EN" style="font-family: Arial; mso-ansi-language: EN;">Do I think justice was
done? <o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="story-body-textstory-content">
<i><span lang="EN" style="font-family: Arial; mso-ansi-language: EN;">No. Not for Joy or her family.<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<div class="story-body-textstory-content">
<i><span lang="EN" style="font-family: Arial; mso-ansi-language: EN;"><br /></span></i></div>
<div class="story-body-textstory-content">
<span lang="EN" style="font-family: Arial; mso-ansi-language: EN;">I’m thinking our justice system is seriously barnacled when it takes twenty-some years to execute a condemned murderer. Ten years is even too much time. I’d give
them three years to make all their appeals.
Beyond that we are just letting the whole legal apparatus pleasure itself.
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="story-body-textstory-content">
<span lang="EN" style="font-family: Arial; mso-ansi-language: EN;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="story-body-textstory-content">
<span lang="EN" style="font-family: Arial; mso-ansi-language: EN;">McGuire </span><span style="font-family: Arial;">had twenty
long years to beg the Governor for a reprieve, to conspire with his attorneys,
to receive visits and to say goodbye to his family and loved ones. Joy Stewart, violated, hurt and alone in the
icy woods, except for the brutal man with a knife to her throat, had minutes. Ponder what it must have been like for her.</span><span lang="EN" style="font-family: Arial; mso-ansi-language: EN;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="story-body-textstory-content">
<span style="font-family: Arial;"><br /></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial;">At some point the young newlywed realized
she would not be leaving with Mr. McGuire.
She would never see her mother or father or sister again. She would not live to hold her husband or the
child she was carrying. Immense sadness
would have shrouded her as she realized the many happy roles she would now not
get to play.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial;">The moment she got into McGuire's car she stopped being wife, daughter, sister, friend. She was now just warm flesh
to be bruised and penetrated and torn by an angry illiterate man; and then tossed aside like a soiled tissue, her usefulness over… but not quite. There was one more thing. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"> <o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;">As her life pulsed out of her and her vision
dimmed, Joy’s last sight would have been of her killer, leaning over her, and
the last human touch she felt this side of eternity would have been of him wiping
his bloody hands off on her blouse.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial;">Should we just give up on executing people like Mr. McGuire? It's expensive to keep them housed in prison, and it is expensive to kill them. It used to take ten years. It is now taking twenty. It may soon take thirty. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial;">So I ask again: Should we just give it up?</span><br />
<br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"><br /></span>
<br />
<br />D.M. Millerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11684153908840786340noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3224779650124225704.post-25657491592397084132014-01-26T14:13:00.000-08:002014-04-06T19:41:12.539-07:00Original Joe's And The One True Religion<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi57SO8mv-OoaiKcEVXwgMj1HkK5Xq5uIArPP3dtKQiTZx7LQK_KahlyFCPt6FIIIfARZgexIpXBRefVnFg45JtAPggj1zZtxj10IEAtTLFpjAgTyGBzM3SUWZyN1eId8l11zuzGOGje2k/s1600/church+of+elvis+logo.gif" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi57SO8mv-OoaiKcEVXwgMj1HkK5Xq5uIArPP3dtKQiTZx7LQK_KahlyFCPt6FIIIfARZgexIpXBRefVnFg45JtAPggj1zZtxj10IEAtTLFpjAgTyGBzM3SUWZyN1eId8l11zuzGOGje2k/s1600/church+of+elvis+logo.gif" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi57SO8mv-OoaiKcEVXwgMj1HkK5Xq5uIArPP3dtKQiTZx7LQK_KahlyFCPt6FIIIfARZgexIpXBRefVnFg45JtAPggj1zZtxj10IEAtTLFpjAgTyGBzM3SUWZyN1eId8l11zuzGOGje2k/s1600/church+of+elvis+logo.gif" /></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I ate at the Original Joe’s in <st1:place><st1:placename>Jantzen</st1:placename> <st1:placetype>Beach</st1:placetype></st1:place>.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I ordered the steak stir fry lunch special and while headed to my seat I looked for something to read while waiting for my meal and it was either the Vancouver Vector or the Portland Mercury.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Both were free.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The Mercury cover presented a drawing of a young woman shown from behind wearing extremely low-cut jeans and thong underwear—though it was not really “under” much of anything.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Her right hand was behind her back and, except for her defiant delicate middle finger, formed a fist.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The drawing referenced an article within having to do with, I think, lesbian feminists. Angry ones.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It was going to be brickbats aimed at myself and all other men in the world, so I picked up the Vector and turned to page six to read about political, religious and scientific myths by Pat Miller.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You can read the whole thing here:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><a href="http://www.vancouvervector.com/life/myths-politics-religion-science/">http://www.vancouvervector.com/life/myths-politics-religion-science/</a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I’ll concentrate on the second myth that there is only one true religion, but first I’d like to correct a term that Miller uses.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The article is subtitled “3 TABOOS THAT NEED TO BE CHALLENGED”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The author is misusing “taboo” here.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Taboo means: prohibited, forbidden, sacred, accursed, unmentionable, unthinkable, banned.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span><br />
<a name='more'></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> It refers to something
that is either too holy or too damned to speak of or do in public, or at all.
To mention Voldemort’s name aloud was taboo in the witching world of the Harry
Potter books. A euphemism, “He who must not be named” was used instead. In the
Muggle paleface world there is a word just too awful to be used, except as the
title of a book by Dick Gregory. Its scrubbed replacement is “N-word”. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It is taboo for Muslims to draw
a likeness of the Prophet Mohammed. It is not taboo for non-Muslims, but we
tip-toe around it maybe because of respect, but mostly, because we
don’t want the extreme ones to go all bat doo-doo weed whacker scimitar crazy
on our necks. Incest is still taboo, as is cannibalism. The name of Deity used to be taboo, but has since become a common expletive.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Miller wishes to challenge, not
three forbidden subjects but, three <i>prevailing or popular beliefs or
conventional wisdom</i>. </span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFnwiMQqORCFdEdWM-E7NvB2HBW2TJaOki7Qc7PufPLeWQzVbY1taMFiAvSx-d4T6B6eRAc_0_QBzOU1kUwra8cClnyhKvND7s18Ec5RmCmktAnydmJxWntbB4Zk7XFXc6J06C8KHeeqw/s1600/tent+gospel.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFnwiMQqORCFdEdWM-E7NvB2HBW2TJaOki7Qc7PufPLeWQzVbY1taMFiAvSx-d4T6B6eRAc_0_QBzOU1kUwra8cClnyhKvND7s18Ec5RmCmktAnydmJxWntbB4Zk7XFXc6J06C8KHeeqw/s1600/tent+gospel.jpg" height="180" width="320" /></span></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">But on to his assertion that there cannot be one true religion because the
"Catholics, Jehovah's Witnesses, Muslims, Mormons, Seventh Day Adventists
and so on, all claim to have a monopoly on truth."<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Miller is correct that they
can't all teach different doctrine and all teach God's truth. God cannot
contradict himself. The churches cannot all be the <b><i>exclusive </i></b>mouthpiece
of Deity. The author says it is "arrogant" to claim to be the
only spokesman for God. But, as a famous St. Louis Cardinal once said, "It
ain't bragging if you can back it up."<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Logically, Miller would have to
admit to the possibility that one of the churches might be the genuine
article. And it would be dishonest for that church to pretend otherwise,
no matter how many near-identical knock-offs are out there, being hawked on the street, or how arrogant it
appeared. Rolex should wear its rightful crown, with no apologies.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Miller asks why would God “…
give such a small minority of people the real truth…” and forsake the rest of
the world? Well Miller answered his own
question in the first paragraph: “missionary work."<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Jesus, after all, told a very
small select group to go into every land and preach the good news of
his resurrection. Did Jesus have a "warped sense of
humor"? Was he being "sane" or insane? Was he being
"arrogant" to have his followers tell the Jews he was the promised
Messiah and that it was time to stop sacrificing doves and lambs and
bullocks?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> <o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Was it "repugnant" for
Paul to suggest to the Romans that they were wasting their time worshipping
Jupiter and Venus and all their other deities and dead
emperors? Paul was right and the Romans were wrong, or they were both
mistaken. They can't both be right. God is not the author of
confusion.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Who is the author of confusion? <o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I don't know what Miller is trying to say here. He seems to be saying that if God doesn't instantly strike dead with a bolt from Heaven anyone speaking an untruth in his name, or have the earth open up and swallow all the incorrect churches, or appear simultaneously in the sky to everyone and tell them which church to join, or take out a full-page ad in the New York Times, that if he doesn't force himself on us, God is fostering confusion and, therefore, must not care what we believe about Him. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">That any church we join is OK with God, no matter what it teaches, as long as it doesn't teach that it is the one true religion. God would never allow his one true church to make that inflated claim. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheItfMdqrE1HR3qkBqAR2pnkvVqpdGTgrqgsnLHvLf-wADy_xDOUZOCY7VHRVlHg-9ktqtrio34LhlLsn8Gb40cYO8pLF-lbZcCYUygWulNkm27oUVQwTdBy8FxhwJUA_pKR9ITnJqcF4/s1600/tent+meeting.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheItfMdqrE1HR3qkBqAR2pnkvVqpdGTgrqgsnLHvLf-wADy_xDOUZOCY7VHRVlHg-9ktqtrio34LhlLsn8Gb40cYO8pLF-lbZcCYUygWulNkm27oUVQwTdBy8FxhwJUA_pKR9ITnJqcF4/s1600/tent+meeting.jpg" /></span></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Miller's ideal religion would be called: the "Somewhat True Not Entirely Wrong Just Trying To Get Along And Be Reasonable Church Of Vancouver." You could wear shorts and flip-flops to meetings and The Sacrament would involve smoking something pungent and hanging out near the snack table and his church would never make any demands except maybe a modest tithe to keep the lights on. Nothing in it would be holy or blasphemous. There would be no Heaven or Hell or places in between. There would be no saints or sinners. And the idea that its members might just choose torture and death rather than deny their faith... well that would just be fanatical beyond belief. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> <o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I disagree with Pat
Miller. There are spiritual truths and I believe it is important to God
that these truths get spread and that we seek them out. Throwing up our hands in exasperation and whining that it is just too confusing and too difficult, is not an excuse.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">That is what I was thinking while eating my stir-fry at Original Joe's.</span><br />
<br /></div>
<!-- Blogger automated replacement: "https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi57SO8mv-OoaiKcEVXwgMj1HkK5Xq5uIArPP3dtKQiTZx7LQK_KahlyFCPt6FIIIfARZgexIpXBRefVnFg45JtAPggj1zZtxj10IEAtTLFpjAgTyGBzM3SUWZyN1eId8l11zuzGOGje2k/s1600/church+of+elvis+logo.gif" with "https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi57SO8mv-OoaiKcEVXwgMj1HkK5Xq5uIArPP3dtKQiTZx7LQK_KahlyFCPt6FIIIfARZgexIpXBRefVnFg45JtAPggj1zZtxj10IEAtTLFpjAgTyGBzM3SUWZyN1eId8l11zuzGOGje2k/s1600/church+of+elvis+logo.gif" --><!-- Blogger automated replacement: "https://images-blogger-opensocial.googleusercontent.com/gadgets/proxy?url=http%3A%2F%2F1.bp.blogspot.com%2F-SNEoq8AhF3c%2FUuWGBvK7fwI%2FAAAAAAAAAZg%2Fm1Xup6M3PSE%2Fs1600%2Fchurch%2Bof%2Belvis%2Blogo.gif&container=blogger&gadget=a&rewriteMime=image%2F*" with "https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi57SO8mv-OoaiKcEVXwgMj1HkK5Xq5uIArPP3dtKQiTZx7LQK_KahlyFCPt6FIIIfARZgexIpXBRefVnFg45JtAPggj1zZtxj10IEAtTLFpjAgTyGBzM3SUWZyN1eId8l11zuzGOGje2k/s1600/church+of+elvis+logo.gif" -->D.M. Millerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11684153908840786340noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3224779650124225704.post-85626648998295753292013-12-07T13:02:00.000-08:002013-12-07T13:06:55.895-08:00Pennsylvania Man Arrested For Saying, "Wow."<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzx4aGG8aXnNZx_s711OSJBARZNjP-5gD92UkyryaKqTgiPsUMLxZBVTPs2blbUjYDNAwjtFy8V7NvxQISIKBKZJK9JRQnfQoQAjzVfkyc7kAfYzLFma4SMsp5C7trNFz0FzOTGQ5WaHk/s1600/Pittsburgh+Police+patch.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzx4aGG8aXnNZx_s711OSJBARZNjP-5gD92UkyryaKqTgiPsUMLxZBVTPs2blbUjYDNAwjtFy8V7NvxQISIKBKZJK9JRQnfQoQAjzVfkyc7kAfYzLFma4SMsp5C7trNFz0FzOTGQ5WaHk/s200/Pittsburgh+Police+patch.jpg" width="157" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It was the 26th of June, 2012. </span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Dennis Henderson's exclamation of surprise when a speeding patrol car passed close to him as he was standing on the side of a road outside a community meeting precipitated a confrontation with the driver, Officer Jonathon Gromek of the Pittsburgh Bureau of Police. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Gromek u-turned and walked back to where Henderson and a photographer were standing and asked if they had a problem with the way he was driving. Henderson answered truthfully and added that he wanted a badge number so he could file a complaint. Officer Gromek then demanded identification and handcuffed the two. More cops arrived. The photographer was released but Dennis went downtown to spend the night in county lockup for disorderly conduct and resisting arrest.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The arrest was obviously bogus and the city dropped the charges against the teacher and investigated Gromek and found his conduct "unbecoming and incompetent" and contrary to police bureau policies, and said so in a letter to Henderson.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The ACLU is helping him sue the Bureau for violating his First, Fourth and Fourteenth Amendment rights. Henderson sees the suit as a way to teach his social studies students about civil liberties (and how not to talk to belligerent cops.)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It is also a lesson on how It doesn't pay to be thin-skinned as a police officer.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Or maybe on how police should develop a little horse sense. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQiZvQ2oIC-BZ1m6WPT3C2i-Qy6UBRIiWwWMLPCYb2Fs6FNwLGvQ6_KscSgCLTDlTRSjHPPxWgZlIPTf3inFhiDk7DpsAAY9Oi0Z0VoGACMB_dJywg9Lmpf3DhAtMAGCNTsIMhzUc-t5Q/s1600/pittsburgh+horsehead+cop.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQiZvQ2oIC-BZ1m6WPT3C2i-Qy6UBRIiWwWMLPCYb2Fs6FNwLGvQ6_KscSgCLTDlTRSjHPPxWgZlIPTf3inFhiDk7DpsAAY9Oi0Z0VoGACMB_dJywg9Lmpf3DhAtMAGCNTsIMhzUc-t5Q/s1600/pittsburgh+horsehead+cop.jpg" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>D.M. Millerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11684153908840786340noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3224779650124225704.post-17963973067072650632013-11-11T21:29:00.000-08:002014-04-06T19:46:12.803-07:00Man Calls Cops On His Son and Then Is Surprised When They Shoot Him.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggZOsiZlFI6qvmAh6e-loEveA9ZeZcnCmEWi5rfpZgJjXnVxVfqhj5nAiyIwflPaAD-VoBmhD1W24qqVeyA65U8JrOYEMeBOmaYrJMFZQJojP8yuAD_XOt3fWfA8VAMAOA3SMIBCnFmMQ/s1600/crime+scene+tape.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggZOsiZlFI6qvmAh6e-loEveA9ZeZcnCmEWi5rfpZgJjXnVxVfqhj5nAiyIwflPaAD-VoBmhD1W24qqVeyA65U8JrOYEMeBOmaYrJMFZQJojP8yuAD_XOt3fWfA8VAMAOA3SMIBCnFmMQ/s1600/crime+scene+tape.jpg" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">"Why? Why did they kill him?" asked Tyler's mother, Shari Comstock. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Well here are a few reasons: </span><br />
<br />
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">His father reported the company truck Tyler was driving as stolen. </span></li>
</ul>
<br />
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Tyler Comstock didn't pull over when Ames Police officers lit him up.</span></li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Tyler rammed a police vehicle.</span></li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Tyler, when cornered by police cars and ordered to turn off the engine, instead revved it.</span></li>
</ul>
<br />
<a name='more'></a><br /><br />
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It seems sonny stormed off when dad, James, refused to buy him some cigarettes and dad called in the cops to teach his hot-headed nineteen year-old a lesson. At some point dispatchers tried to wave off the pursuit, probably because they found out the truck was "stolen" by a family member, but by then, I'm guessing, other laws like "evading" and "failing to pull over" and maybe "speeding" were being broken. </span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Tyler ended up in the middle of the Iowa State University campus and may have endangered pedestrians getting there. He was fired on by Ames Police Officer Adam McPherson six times and hit twice. Comstock was likely unarmed, except for the two-ton landscaping truck battering ram and twenty gallons of explosive gasoline in the tank. </span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuyQLGRTaLsgH10HzT32mU93dnfvnieT7SVBqHY2dL28vIe2PDjLkxBgTRBEkwfDzCW9EU71U4of2nPmpquiZxbfPt_KAqtM5Jy8GGUMRfs508POYYipG060qiqTwOQ8t0Yz3VNDr0q9k/s1600/smoking+kills.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuyQLGRTaLsgH10HzT32mU93dnfvnieT7SVBqHY2dL28vIe2PDjLkxBgTRBEkwfDzCW9EU71U4of2nPmpquiZxbfPt_KAqtM5Jy8GGUMRfs508POYYipG060qiqTwOQ8t0Yz3VNDr0q9k/s320/smoking+kills.jpg" height="169" width="320" /></a></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Bewildered James lamented, "It was over a damn pack of cigarettes. And I lose my son for that?"</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I would like to answer Mr. Comstock's question: "No, it wasn't over a pack of smokes."</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">There was a police shooting here in Tigard ten years ago. A family with a disturbed teen aged son called the local heat. He had gotten his hands on a big butcher knife and chased his parents and siblings and others out of the house onto the front lawn. He was still inside ranting when Police arrived. When he came out the front door knife prominent and wouldn't put it down, as ordered, and made a move to leave the area, he was shot and killed, by the officers.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">His family was very upset. They had expected the police to somehow magically subdue their son without hurting him. They obviously didn't consider that the police would not want to get injured or killed, or that the neighbors might not want to get stabbed, either.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So to all husbands, wives, parents, brothers, sisters, uncles, aunts and in-laws with erratic and sometimes-violent relatives, I would give this one piece of advice: Don't call armed officers into a tense situation, and not expect bullets to fly. They just may be able to talk someone down, but not always. </span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">If you just want someone to tackle your loved-one so you can restrain him until he comes to his senses... consider calling the local football team or some semi-pro wrestlers, or do it yourself. Because once you call the police, it is out of your hands. They are not just there to coddle your bi-polar progeny. They will consider first the safety of the community, themselves and you. </span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">In the knife scenario above the officers couldn't let the teen advance or retreat back into the house or run off onto a neighboring property.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">In the Comstock incident, it stopped being about cigarettes when Tyler wouldn't pull over... and ultimately would not kill the motor and get out of the truck. The cops couldn't let him drive off and endanger others and they wouldn't further endanger themselves. </span></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
</div>
D.M. Millerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11684153908840786340noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3224779650124225704.post-26414502242570783102013-10-31T22:34:00.000-07:002014-04-06T19:46:59.738-07:00October Surprise!!!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8a9zU_BlqWELR6T5_n7KePHbC7_lJOo9g1QDgE1RR6-h_5U85Ve_3nZgWZ7RLCO9pC32uU7oJycqizAF5c5vSo6Tg0g4m4TBdnGCnt-NF4aUojL4DkboiGL4_6lQiRstlrlg9p8KI0MM/s1600/pit+and+pend+poster+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8a9zU_BlqWELR6T5_n7KePHbC7_lJOo9g1QDgE1RR6-h_5U85Ve_3nZgWZ7RLCO9pC32uU7oJycqizAF5c5vSo6Tg0g4m4TBdnGCnt-NF4aUojL4DkboiGL4_6lQiRstlrlg9p8KI0MM/s400/pit+and+pend+poster+2.jpg" height="356" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This is at the house on Marigold Street. I'm fifteen or sixteen and it is October, but not quite Halloween yet, but it is dark early and I am sitting in the living room in my dad's recliner watching a spooky movie on the TV. My sisters Anne and Carla are on the couch to my left transfixed by the evil doings in a dungeon. Vincent Price is in the movie and I'm pretty sure it is "The Pit and the Pendulum" adapted from a story by Poe. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I can't remember much of the movie, but I read the short story, once, and knew there was a big pit and a clockwork pendulum with a sharp crescent blade that creeps closer, with each pass, to the victim tied to an altar, threatening to eventually cut him in two bloody pieces. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">My mom is out shopping and nobody else is home except for my dad, and he announces from the kitchen doorway that he is headed down to Fred Meyers for some brass screws for the screen door hinge. I nod and go back to watching and hear the door to the garage open and close. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span><br />
<a name='more'></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">"Odd" I remember thinking at the time.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Price is wearing a cape and hood, I think. though I may be confusing this with one of his other Poe films. He just doesn't seem as menacing here. The movie is just not that scary, not like "The Night of the Living Dead", but I am holding out to see the big pendulum scene, and I have no homework, to do, so why not?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiI8TIeT7PerUZuJq-uK9pbQlfCb5sxe2-9Kb6KOYyLlNR-RIPcScHybiNfXQY1MkHAHsj6jaBddvghy6caAL8GUGpftBhqURKalDolsr5xpGPAseOUsbJZai6GQAaVlEBs0k4ftGlSO5c/s1600/pit+and+pend+vincent+price.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiI8TIeT7PerUZuJq-uK9pbQlfCb5sxe2-9Kb6KOYyLlNR-RIPcScHybiNfXQY1MkHAHsj6jaBddvghy6caAL8GUGpftBhqURKalDolsr5xpGPAseOUsbJZai6GQAaVlEBs0k4ftGlSO5c/s1600/pit+and+pend+vincent+price.jpg" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The movie changes settings from the dungeon to some other activities in the castle so there is a pause...and then I notice something out of the corner of my left eye and I turn and see my dad on the deck outside. He is moving slowly, taking his time. He sees me looking at him and holds his finger to his lips and shakes his head. I quickly look away, back to the TV set.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I am looking in the direction of the TV but my mind is racing and my eyes aren't really focused. My dad is about to pull one of his pranks. I thought it was odd that he would tell us where he was going. He never does that. And my mom has the car with her. So how was he going to get to the store for his screws? And how did he get to the deck? It is on the main level with a daylight basement beneath and there are no stairs to it on the outside. The only entrance is through the sliding glass door behind me. He must have gotten a ladder from the garage. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It is ten minutes since he left, so he is being really patient and stealthy. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The big picture window looking out on the deck is behind the couch where my sisters are sitting, so he must be creeping up to get behind them, but I don't dare look. I keep my gaze rigidly on the movie.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Again, the scene has changed back to the pit and the the altar and it is gloomier and the music is starting out low and slowly building. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I wonder what is happening out there on the deck. Dad must be in position by now. What is he waiting for? And sub-consciously I let my eyes drift to the window and my dad perched at the glass like a coiled cobra. He is waiting for the tension to build, for the perfect moment to strike.</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDJCyp6WrxmUmkAhHeFyE6FZdKhv0JBA86E6BX-PK691xufJ0iLBd99pmsr4bsDl-JSFUlwiLbltZDbl-SYyDTCxQbXKJSPKyPmgU93YBABkyy0FSwLL-4KbNrZklN7xPdoPrnzYFID7o/s1600/pit+and+pend+model.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDJCyp6WrxmUmkAhHeFyE6FZdKhv0JBA86E6BX-PK691xufJ0iLBd99pmsr4bsDl-JSFUlwiLbltZDbl-SYyDTCxQbXKJSPKyPmgU93YBABkyy0FSwLL-4KbNrZklN7xPdoPrnzYFID7o/s1600/pit+and+pend+model.jpg" /></a></span></div>
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Anne sees me looking out the glass at something just behind and over her head and as she turns to see for herself my father, with his hands like claws, rattles the window pane and screams like a banshee burning in brimstone. It startles even me, and I know he is there and what he is doing.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Anne and Carla both cry out and cover and roll off the couch onto the floor like they </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">are avoiding some </span>taloned<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span>fuliginous<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> flying pterodactyl from hell... </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Or are responding to a nuclear strike drill at school and </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">looking for a desk to hide under.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">They get up, indignant, and I open the sliding door to let the demon in. We settle back in and finish the movie. There is only about ten more minutes of it left. Vincent was OK, and the so was the big swinging scimitar, but the scariest thing that night was definitely my dad. </span><br />
<br />
<br />D.M. Millerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11684153908840786340noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3224779650124225704.post-84288397128647409102013-10-21T00:02:00.001-07:002013-10-31T22:41:02.391-07:00There May Be One Or Two Great Big Green Flies On You...<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoKQlov5-Me9tgW74V88MnpXJ_97HUH9CSClnebus1qXeaZy2wlysYFFFHEAuyBWkZebLJeBtDj1GAsvy_7Kbol7QjDsquTnuWePhpfBJa5qUoaKy9Ye0E5bdvBKjcuCqP0HwIkgEvchE/s1600/sap+in+hand+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoKQlov5-Me9tgW74V88MnpXJ_97HUH9CSClnebus1qXeaZy2wlysYFFFHEAuyBWkZebLJeBtDj1GAsvy_7Kbol7QjDsquTnuWePhpfBJa5qUoaKy9Ye0E5bdvBKjcuCqP0HwIkgEvchE/s1600/sap+in+hand+2.jpg" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">A man (we will call him Bob) pulls into a self-serve gas station and is filling his car when a pick-up truck arrives on the other side of the pumps and a bearded man gets out and shouts at Bob, threatening him and cussing and calling him vile names. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Bob doesn't recognize the angry man and tells him that he has made a mistake. Bob then makes a mistake of his own when he turns his back on AM to attend to his car. The stranger hits Bob on the head from behind with a sap, knocking him to his knees And then closes in to do more damage.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span><br />
<a name='more'></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Let's pause here. It is true that Bob and AM have never met and don't know each other. AM is well known to police, though, as a violent trouble maker and has been in and out of jail and psychiatric care. His wife left him seven years earlier for another man and he accosts random strangers, especially when he has been drinking, and assaults them verbally and sometimes physically, accusing them of stealing her away from him. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">He has now attacked Bob with a deadly weapon. A sap or blackjack is a leather blunt impact weapon filled with lead shot. It is a short flexible heavy night stick and like brass knuckles and switchblade knives is illegal to carry in some states. It can crack skulls and break bones and kill. Bob is in serious trouble.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Bob, instead of reasoning that this shouldn't be happening, should have just accepted the reality that it was, and that he was in a potentially dangerous situation. By turning his back he allows his assailant the first strike, but Bob is not completely unprepared. He took a defensive shooting course a year earlier and got a permit to carry a concealed pistol, which he now unholsters. Kneeling between his car and the pumps he can sense AM behind him about to deliver another blow, so without taking the time to turn he pushes his handgun through his armpit and fires blindly through the back of his jacket, once. The bullet hits AM in the chest and drops him, stopping the assault. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLib6W_tkt8JDhPNzvs3OL8xEW4pzQifofwIkPkDb-tF7aEAE7ouWEeOfoTu2OI9jqzIb_oYheAQQyuF1qPEuwlPiRjFi99L0ilLQa-_dRhpf4jAPd0p0fkGbpEBEnAR0E4hZV28rB_Qk/s1600/fly.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLib6W_tkt8JDhPNzvs3OL8xEW4pzQifofwIkPkDb-tF7aEAE7ouWEeOfoTu2OI9jqzIb_oYheAQQyuF1qPEuwlPiRjFi99L0ilLQa-_dRhpf4jAPd0p0fkGbpEBEnAR0E4hZV28rB_Qk/s320/fly.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Police arrive and an ambulance carts AM away, to eventually recover. Bob is treated for concussion and the cut on his scalp is stitched up. End of story.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">But it isn't really the end. AM will do some harder time, now, but will eventually get out. He has obvious mental problems and is delusional and just might kill someone next time. But he will not be locked up for the rest of his life.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I'd like to address this to the people that abhor guns and argue against their use, and vote for politicians that try to pass bills to make owning and carrying firearms more difficult for the Bobs of the world. That try to ban certain types of firearms and ignore the good defensive use of firearms in saving lives and stopping and deterring crime. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>I ask these people, how you would have saved Bob's life in this situation?</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">More Police? More compulsory psychiatric care? More unarmed self defense classes? More prisons? More psychotropic drugs for AM types? Earlier intervention for troubled teens? More gun control laws? Even though <b>A</b>ngry <b>M</b>an did not have a gun?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">All those solutions come with a Macy's parade of social workers and gendarmes and no guarantee that they will even work. The courts and the counselors had their mitts on AM plenty of times, and yet he was still driving around looking for the guy that cuckolded him. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">"Oooops," is all <i>they</i> seem to say when some miscreant slips through the cracks, or is let out on parole because of overcrowding or because he is good at convincing booby-hatchers he is all better, and <i>they</i> never seem to lose <i>their</i> jobs or cushy pensions. But some guy like Bob ends up with his brains leaking out of his busted skull when <i>they</i> make a boo-boo. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Don't get me wrong. I don't want a society where there are police on every corner, and where a brawler is locked away forever because he bit off an ear in a bar fight. I don't want a <i>Minority Report</i> kind of society. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">But if you can't make me safer with all your social welfare, and drug treatment, and jails and courts and prisons---and you can't, you really can't, not 100 percent---then quit trying to take my guns away, or regulating (infringing) my rights out of existence.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitVW9GDR1eynbEIs9dpnTm7HXImxx6TWRm3GHgREebHwDHkuRw6_R2Tl5mzmYUZPsOOOobvFn1-hnZYiRFe2ABnXPTqgUXGRBDQqfEccIzO9aIWNBPMcr7kojduCJ4q2rRdUeWSyXUjzk/s1600/fly+swatter.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitVW9GDR1eynbEIs9dpnTm7HXImxx6TWRm3GHgREebHwDHkuRw6_R2Tl5mzmYUZPsOOOobvFn1-hnZYiRFe2ABnXPTqgUXGRBDQqfEccIzO9aIWNBPMcr7kojduCJ4q2rRdUeWSyXUjzk/s1600/fly+swatter.jpg" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Just the economics of it should persuade you. What is cheaper? Locking AM up at a cost of $30,000 per year, or allowing a non-felon-non-crazy citizen to carry a $400 two-pound hunk of iron around on his hip? Option two costs the taxpayer nothing because Bob buys his pistol and ammo with his own money and he pays for training out of his own pocket. And...and he actually pays the county Sheriff for the privilege of packing concealed. And...and he just so happens to be at the precise time and place of the crime and is able to save a life and punish the bad guy with a <i>hunka-hunka-burning-lead. </i></span><br />
<i><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></i>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Look at it this way. Is it cheaper to cover the town with flypaper or just let the folks, who care to, buy and carry a swatter around with them? </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I suspect you are not persuaded, though, and I don't think you are going to stop.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Nice thing about guns is, they all come with an anti-confiscation device, built right into them. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />D.M. Millerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11684153908840786340noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3224779650124225704.post-45769500431997190092013-10-13T11:43:00.003-07:002013-10-31T22:40:45.571-07:00Intolerant Tolerance<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinW5r4LRsJGkv4tLDPj91nxfCKm4VT9AEo6mGYsFGjqs-5DddeTjFfFxRVQymmpVHTJovic7Dbn-zljivH2EqdD8I9Yvg10mrUU7-k-NkcM8QOdUuL9MF__CxAkaXkREGsHe8QtEoz0gI/s1600/tolerance+birds.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinW5r4LRsJGkv4tLDPj91nxfCKm4VT9AEo6mGYsFGjqs-5DddeTjFfFxRVQymmpVHTJovic7Dbn-zljivH2EqdD8I9Yvg10mrUU7-k-NkcM8QOdUuL9MF__CxAkaXkREGsHe8QtEoz0gI/s1600/tolerance+birds.jpg" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Here's a well-reasoned article by Gregory Koukl about the relativistic tolerance trap we've all fallen into, where all views on life and culture and morality and religion and politics and behavior are equally valid and should be accorded equal respect.....until you express a <b><i>view </i></b>that is contrary to the <i>anything goes </i>zeitgeist, in which case you are labeled intolerant, bigoted, and a hater. </span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I once had a person express to me the opinion that all cultures deserved equal respect, meaning one culture was not to be considered superior or inferior to any other culture. To this I asked if they thought our American culture of rights for women was equivalent to the Indian custom--before the English took over and outlawed it-- of burning alive the wife of a deceased husband on his funeral pyre? Or were there any cultures to be preferred over ones that regularly raided neighboring tribes and brought captives back to their village to be ritually sacrificed and then eaten? </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span><br />
<a name='more'></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhD2RykA6cu_M0mqVPinHscQkVOLO43qHN0lk9AxIrVcFzoHSlJXwpmz7ZrCRCojLrr2W2gsoDoEk4wa-pXkndx0ld56OK12cyjyjWjL97devlYyux4cEizHYJW2zYeF3GZK5TKD8hI8s/s1600/obama+tolerance.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="148" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhD2RykA6cu_M0mqVPinHscQkVOLO43qHN0lk9AxIrVcFzoHSlJXwpmz7ZrCRCojLrr2W2gsoDoEk4wa-pXkndx0ld56OK12cyjyjWjL97devlYyux4cEizHYJW2zYeF3GZK5TKD8hI8s/s200/obama+tolerance.jpg" width="200" /></a></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> Or could some cultures be criticized for allowing and even encouraging the honor slaying of women who have been caught alone in the company of non-family men? </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmo8d5-ztg_TXA1s_lHbGUHs0v5yMFBVcvzHZPKaZrR0oy2aOQJB2zeZlKJMLjmR1jOVU9LZdWjFuv9WrK3lz3wB8P8eBmVs2bP5JfvjmPd202-XY4-Cvu1mrGpeeaLZdKZHG8wVnm9n0/s1600/tolerance+hands.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmo8d5-ztg_TXA1s_lHbGUHs0v5yMFBVcvzHZPKaZrR0oy2aOQJB2zeZlKJMLjmR1jOVU9LZdWjFuv9WrK3lz3wB8P8eBmVs2bP5JfvjmPd202-XY4-Cvu1mrGpeeaLZdKZHG8wVnm9n0/s1600/tolerance+hands.jpg" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Could anyone express a fondness for one country's cultural practices, even one's own country, over another country's without being called out for bigotry and chauvinism?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Read the article below and let me know what you think?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="verdana14bold">The Intolerance of Tolerance</span><br />
<span class="red10bold">By Greg Koukl</span><br />
<st1:date day="14" month="12" year="2006">Thursday,
December 14, 2006</st1:date></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<st1:date day="14" month="12" year="2006"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></st1:date></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Probably no concept has more currency in our politically-correct culture
than the notion of tolerance. Unfortunately, one of <st1:country-region>America</st1:country-region>'s
noblest virtues has been so distorted it's become a vice. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">There's one word that can stop you in your tracks. That word is
"intolerant." </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This idea is very popular with post-modernists, that breed of radical
skeptics whose ideas command unwarranted respect in the university today. Their
rallying cry, "There is no truth," is often followed by an appeal for
tolerance. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The tolerant person allegedly occupies neutral ground, a place of complete
impartiality where each person is permitted to decide for himself. No judgments
allowed. No "forcing" personal views. That all views are equally
valid is one of the most entrenched assumptions of a society committed to
relativism. And it's a myth. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">For all their confident bluster, the relativists' appeal actually asserts
two truths, one rational and one moral. The first is the rational
"truth" that there is no truth, a clear conflict. The second is the
moral truth that one ought to tolerate other's viewpoints. Their stand,
contradictory on at least two counts, serves as a warning that the modern
notion of tolerance is seriously misguided. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>The Tolerance Trick</b> <br />
As it turns out, by the modern definition of tolerance no one is tolerant, or
ever can be. It's what my friend Francis Beckwith calls the
"passive-aggressive tolerance trick." Returning to the classic
understanding of tolerance is the only way to restore any useful meaning to the
word. Let me give you a real life example. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Earlier this year I spoke to a class of seniors at a Christian high school
in <st1:place><st1:city>Des Moines</st1:city>, <st1:state>Iowa</st1:state></st1:place>.
I wanted to alert them to this "tolerance trick," but I also wanted
to learn how much they had already been taken in by it. I began by writing two
sentences on the board. The first expressed the current understanding of
tolerance: </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">"All views have equal merit and none should be considered better than
another." </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">All heads nodded in agreement. Nothing controversial here. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Then I wrote the
second sentence: </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">"Jesus is the Messiah and Judaism is wrong for rejecting Him." </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Immediately hands flew up. "You can't say that," a coed
challenged, clearly annoyed. "That's disrespectful. How would you like it
if someone said you were wrong?" </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">"In fact, that happens to me all the time," I pointed out,
"including right now with you. But why should it bother me that someone
thinks I'm wrong?" </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">"It's intolerant," she said, noting that the second statement
violated the first statement. What she didn't see was that the first statement
also violated itself. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I pointed to the first statement and asked, "Is this a view, the idea
that all views have equal merit and none should be considered better than
another?" They all agreed. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Then I pointed to the second statement—the "intolerant" one—and
asked the same question: "Is this a view?" They studied the sentence
for a moment. Slowly my point began to dawn on them. They'd been taken in by
the tolerance trick. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">If all views have equal merit, then the view that Christians have a better
view on Jesus than the Jews have is just as true as the idea that Jews have a
better view on Jesus than the Christians do. But this is hopelessly
contradictory. If the first statement is what tolerance amounts to, then no one
can be tolerant because "tolerance" turns out to be gibberish. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<b><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Escaping the Trap</span></b><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">"Would you like to know how to get out of this
dilemma?" I asked. They nodded. "You must reject this modern
distortion of tolerance and return to the classic view." Then I wrote
these two principles on the board: </span><br />
<div style="margin-left: 22.5pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Be egalitarian regarding persons. <br />
Be elitist regarding ideas.[i]</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">"Egalitarian" was a new word for them. Think "equal," I
said. Treat others as having equal standing in value or worth. They knew what
an elitist was, though, someone who thought he was better than others.
"Right," I said. "When you are elitist regarding ideas, you are
acknowledging that some ideas are better than others. And they are. We don't
treat all ideas as if they have the same merit, lest we run into contradiction.
Some ideas are good, some are bad. Some are true, some are false. Some are
brilliant, others are just plain foolish." </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The first principle, what might be called "civility," is at the
heart of the classical view of tolerance. It can be loosely equated with the
word "respect." Tolerance applies to how we treat people we disagree
with, not how we treat ideas we think false. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We respect those who hold different beliefs than our own by treating them
courteously and allowing their views a place in the public discourse. We may
strongly disagree with their ideas and vigorously contend against them in the
public square, but we still show respect for the persons in spite of our differences.
</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Classic tolerance requires that every person be treated courteously with the
freedom to express his ideas without fear of reprisal no matter what the view,
not that all views have equal worth, merit, or truth. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">These two categories are frequently conflated in the muddled thinking
created by the myth of tolerance. The view that one person's ideas are no
better or truer than another's is simply absurd and contradictory. To argue
that some views are false, immoral, or just plain silly does not violate any
meaningful definition or standard of tolerance. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Note that respect is accorded to the person, here. Whether his behavior
should be tolerated is an entirely different issue. Our laws demonstrate that a
man may believe what he likes—and he usually has the liberty to express those
beliefs—but he may not behave as he likes. Some behavior is a threat to the
common good. Rather than being tolerated (allowed), it is restricted by law.
Historically, our culture has emphasized tolerance (respect) of all persons,
but never tolerance of all behavior. In <st1:city>Lincoln</st1:city>'s
words: There is no right to do wrong. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Topsy-Turvy</b> <br />
The modern definition of tolerance turns the classical formula for tolerance on
its head: </span><br />
<div style="margin-left: 22.5pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Be egalitarian regarding ideas. <br />
Be elitist regarding persons.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">If you reject another's ideas, you're automatically accused of disrespecting
the person (as the coed did with me). On this new view of tolerance no idea or
behavior can be opposed—even if done graciously—without inviting the charge of
incivility. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">To say I'm intolerant of the person because I disagree with his ideas is
confused. Ironically, it results in elitism regarding persons. If I think my
ideas are better than another's, I can be ill-treated as a person, publicly
marginalized and verbally abused as bigoted, disrespectful, ignorant, indecent
and—can you believe it—intolerant. Sometimes I can even be sued, punished by
law, or forced to attend re-education programs. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Tolerance has thus gone topsy-turvy: Tolerate most beliefs, but don't
tolerate (show respect for) those who take exception with those beliefs.
Contrary opinions are labeled as "imposing your view on others" and
quickly silenced. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This is nonsense and should be abandoned. The myth of tolerance forces
everyone into an inevitable "Catch-22," because each person in any
debate has a point of view he thinks is correct. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Catch-22</b> <br />
Classical tolerance involves three elements: (1) permitting or allowing (2) a
conduct or point of view one disagrees with (3) while respecting the person in
the process. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Notice that we can't truly tolerate someone unless we disagree with him.
This is critical. We don't "tolerate" people who share our views.
They're on our side. There's nothing to put up with. Tolerance is reserved for
those we think are wrong, yet we still choose to treat decently and with
respect. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This essential element of classical tolerance—disagreement (elitism
regarding ideas)—has been completely lost in the modern distortion of the
concept. Nowadays if you think someone is wrong, you're called intolerant no
matter how you treat him. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This presents a curious problem. One must first think another is wrong in
order to exercise true tolerance, yet saying so brings the accusation of
intolerance. It's a "Catch-22." According to this approach, true
tolerance becomes impossible. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Intellectual Cowardice</b><br />
Most of what passes for tolerance today is nothing more than intellectual
cowardice, a fear of intelligent engagement. Those who brandish the word
"intolerant" are unwilling to be challenged by other views or grapple
with contrary opinions, or even to consider them. It's easier to hurl an
insult—"you intolerant bigot"—than to confront an idea and either
refute it or be changed by it. In the modern era, "tolerance" has
become intolerance. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Whenever you're charged with intolerance,
always ask for a definition. When tolerance means neutrality, that all views
are equally valid and true, then no one is ever tolerant because no one is ever
neutral about his own views. Point out the contradiction built into the new definition.
Point out that this kind tolerance is a myth. </span></div>
<em><span style="font-size: 10.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Gregory Koukl is founder and president of
<a href="http://www.townhall.com/Partner.aspx?u=129">Stand to Reason</a>, an
organization devoted to a thoughtful and engaging defense of classical
Christianity in the public square. He is also a radio talk show host and author
of <a href="https://secure2.convio.net/str/site/Ecommerce/608575730?VIEW_PRODUCT=true&product_id=1101&store_id=1161">Relativism—Feet
Firmly Planted in Mid-Air</a>. </span></span></em><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
<br />
Copyright © 2006 Salem Web Network. All Rights Reserved.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
D.M. Millerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11684153908840786340noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3224779650124225704.post-89059548798091217612013-10-06T17:47:00.000-07:002013-10-12T20:07:04.096-07:00Lights Of Louisanne<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg06NfRYbAB0ppDFTImJQQydX9TisD1ygYQlj8Z2EwHMCtsojlMkeJ92KGxyM9wMa45RIJFBgH5vE0x6fWCklA4WDHI7xBdLgbUOTDXy1MA5VEAogph9PVDyn7w8HCHU5wJw7yrg0V9GKo/s1600/warnes+smiling.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg06NfRYbAB0ppDFTImJQQydX9TisD1ygYQlj8Z2EwHMCtsojlMkeJ92KGxyM9wMa45RIJFBgH5vE0x6fWCklA4WDHI7xBdLgbUOTDXy1MA5VEAogph9PVDyn7w8HCHU5wJw7yrg0V9GKo/s1600/warnes+smiling.jpg" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
J<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">ennifer Warnes is one of those vocal artists you wouldn't notice if she passed you on the street. She's not the striking diva-looking songstress that is going to arrest traffic, but she's a wonderful singer and has had a long career. You know her from movie and Top-40 pop hits. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span><br />
<a name='more'></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirabfiqRJmV0fsTDtYYCtX9vjdtUvlyXqT-P0G021CHNFuVXfB20R3MnYQCp9h-ZZ7SHTADtYCQqciZrIJcF0axYUdxmr6dNaeNOMiajQ8nkt4Gr2ifJApjKGwhxwcVWty9X7EoiUDAkA/s1600/warnes+without+glasses.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirabfiqRJmV0fsTDtYYCtX9vjdtUvlyXqT-P0G021CHNFuVXfB20R3MnYQCp9h-ZZ7SHTADtYCQqciZrIJcF0axYUdxmr6dNaeNOMiajQ8nkt4Gr2ifJApjKGwhxwcVWty9X7EoiUDAkA/s1600/warnes+without+glasses.jpg" /></span></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This song is one that never made it to the singles radio list. But you all know of songs that you discover that you grow to love and cherish above the hit that got you to purchase the album. The "hit" on this album ( The Hunter, 1992) is "Rock You Gently" but I much prefer this one and also the title track, to the hit single.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It evokes perfectly a summer evening on the seashore with a gentle breeze and walking with someone you're just getting to know, in the gloaming.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">What are your little-known album discoveries?</span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/PuXkkbrIsqk?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<br />D.M. Millerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11684153908840786340noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3224779650124225704.post-47826087114404853032013-09-28T01:06:00.001-07:002013-10-12T20:05:25.714-07:00More Stupidity From TV Writers: How Not To Handle A Kidnapping.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzQLe-Ll8b6yATvygZOTi_BBes7XADIpllyyZ7-xsRY0noPJFxpg3bZaE7nQf4jfLcGQNhwZ49ADTPBwmmi_NXxEAHmcNw-hn4M4BtgggtC0VRqMK9AUHS19YEWtHCbvsBOK9XXli3XBA/s1600/u-boat+model.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzQLe-Ll8b6yATvygZOTi_BBes7XADIpllyyZ7-xsRY0noPJFxpg3bZaE7nQf4jfLcGQNhwZ49ADTPBwmmi_NXxEAHmcNw-hn4M4BtgggtC0VRqMK9AUHS19YEWtHCbvsBOK9XXli3XBA/s1600/u-boat+model.jpg" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I just witnessed a TV program where an FBI agent's wife is kidnapped. The hostage-taker does this to get the agent to help him secure a great art treasure, in the possession of two thieves the agent knows. The agent pressures the two art thieves to help him get his wife back, and they don't take too much convincing because they like the wife and they really have hearts of gold. Did I tell you this treasure is worth a half billion dollars and was found on a booby-trapped U-boat?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span><br />
<a name='more'></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Wifey is locked in a strong room guarded by an armed minion with orders to kill her if he doesn't hear from the boss man every half hour. Soon the villain--let's call him Vince--is meeting with G-man and the two gentlemanly thieves. Vince goes alone to this meeting confident no one will mess with him while he has the hostage.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTuDQ0c3i7RQKI_Y0qo1Krr55K9AaKhpN8-LqU2sVhtJEBJdpcvxm_PT5B5KxXqAlIBF8cZcw21YyaF5Fin7Eu8xpL5h5WsVCtHK5_ITsM2AxlXBlvCdZ0STvjOyZXWIyfYzAmE9TOKSk/s1600/white+collar+dolls.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTuDQ0c3i7RQKI_Y0qo1Krr55K9AaKhpN8-LqU2sVhtJEBJdpcvxm_PT5B5KxXqAlIBF8cZcw21YyaF5Fin7Eu8xpL5h5WsVCtHK5_ITsM2AxlXBlvCdZ0STvjOyZXWIyfYzAmE9TOKSk/s1600/white+collar+dolls.jpg" /></a></span></div>
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I stopped watching at that point. There are a number of problems with this plot.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The Submarine. It is dry docked in a warehouse on the waterfront and the script writers would have us believe that only the rich guy and a few henchmen know about it's existence. In reality thousands of people would have to be aware of it. The salvage crew, and their wives and girlfriends and drinking buddies and their family members. The barge crew, the dock and crane people and their families. And then there is the internet. I dare you to sneak something large and rare into the heart of New York City, in the age of the camera/phone, and not have at least one hireling snap a picture of it and post it on Facebook. But let's get to the kidnapping.</span><br />
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />Criminals do not mess with family members of cops. It just brings down too much heat. Can you imagine the amount of heaven and earth that fellow fed law enforcement officers would move to retrieve such a loved one? Or avenge the death or injury to her? The bad guy would have to hide in a cave and never show his face or make another phone call or e-mail, ever. The search for this kidnapper would rival that of Bin Laden's. Besides, the time honored method to get cops to co-operate with you is to get some dirt on them and blackmail them. </span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVmm5108xMloa3KFgng-8Ls5PGWFfAeFcnhjFoUFX5x6HDxOkqGCItHGnz3C77CNnY0GKdiUa7IEdZwavFgdKMg-WTbzFvV5Gc3Ix49Um-grgNCrjG0d3wlfQ2PqpSUnbmG94IenSLOe8/s1600/white+collar+neil+and+mozzie.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVmm5108xMloa3KFgng-8Ls5PGWFfAeFcnhjFoUFX5x6HDxOkqGCItHGnz3C77CNnY0GKdiUa7IEdZwavFgdKMg-WTbzFvV5Gc3Ix49Um-grgNCrjG0d3wlfQ2PqpSUnbmG94IenSLOe8/s1600/white+collar+neil+and+mozzie.jpg" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />Why even mess with an agent's wife, or the FBI guy? He doesn't know where the loot is, but the two thieves do. Why not just snatch one of them and torture the treasure's location out of him? Or drug him with truth serum? Or threaten to kill one thief unless the other gives up the treasure? The two are old friends and share a comradeship longer and stronger than their casual acquaintance with Wifey. The two likable thieves are not hard to find, are not armed and don't know Kung Fu and they are walking on the public streets every day and they would more likely trade the treasure for their own well-being--can't enjoy it if you are dead--than for the wife of a Fed who is always threatening to send one of them back to prison. </span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />The thieves are career con men and forgers and artful dodgers, yet as soon as Wifey is threatened they are prepared to toss aside a fabulous treasure, that is the big score they have been dreaming of, and is the very pinnacle, the Superbowl, the Pennant, the Oscar of thievery and will put them on easy street for the rest of their lives, and the writers would have us believe these life-long rogues will turn it over to a hated rival enemy art thief, just like that? The two crooks must have hearts of gold.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />This next objection is similar to the <i><b>Die Guys Scenario</b></i> criticism posted previously. It is almost exactly the same except for the hostage being offsite. The good guys do not call Vince Villain's bluff because to do that might bring harm to Wifey and that would be unthinkable. </span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">But let's think the unthinkable. Here are three men who want the hidden hostage very badly and they are alone in a room with one of only two people who know where she is. Why don't they just grab him and truss him up and start drilling holes in his kneecap until he tells them where to find her? </span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">"Because," you say, "if Vince doesn't call, the keeper will kill the hostage." </span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">How do we know that? A dead hostage is useless. A smart villain would tell his henchman <i><b>not</b></i> to kill the hostage unless he gives the order, but he has to convince the family otherwise, to protect himself while dealing with them. </span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">But for the sake of the argument, let's accept that Vince has to call every half hour or minion Mike executes the prisoner. Those are his orders and he must obey. </span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">But you are falling for the mindless minion trap that most writers use to avoid having to deal with minion motivation. Contrary to what everyone believes, because they have watched too much TV, minions do have thoughts of their own. What will be the keeper's thoughts when the call doesn't come on time? Will he just kill the hostage as ordered or will he wait? He'll wait. He doesn't want to kill the golden goose and then 30 seconds later get a call from the boss man explaining he was in a cell dead spot. And then he will wait another five minutes and then his thoughts will really start cascading. If he is an experienced criminal they will tumble something like this:</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>Boss is not calling. Something's wrong. Maybe the boss has been captured or killed. I hope he is dead, because if not he could rat on me. Maybe the police are on their way here right now! Maybe I should scram. How am I going to get paid if he is dead or captured? He promised me two million, otherwise I wouldn't have messed with a fed's wife. So far all I've done is kidnap, which might net me 20 years, but if I kill this broad and they find me, I'm never getting out. No death penalty in New York, but people who kill cops mysteriously end up dying in custody. I should leave her here and wait across the street in case Vince talked and I'm about to get raided. I haven't touched much. I could wipe this chair down. She's seen my face, though. If SWAT shows up I could take her hostage, but that never works out. Damn! Maybe I should just turn myself in.</i></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And so it goes. The smartest thing our hireling could do is leave some food and water for Wifey and then go straight to his attorney. The attorney calls the FBI on behalf of his client and offers to surrender and disclose the wife's location for a minimal sentence at one of the more comfortable prisons.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Or another version has the three amigos persuade the trussed-up villain to dial his associate and then they take over and talk directly with the minion themselves, and explain to him, with the whine of the drill and throat-shredding screams in the background, that they have his boss and will soon have him, and that it would be best for all if he just released the hostage and then turned himself in.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The upside is they save the beautiful and gracious Wifey, and the thieves get to hang on to their loot. </span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The downside is that, dramatically, the three characters are not so endearing as they used to be. Also, if they let Vince live the legal case against him might fail because of the torture and the trio might face charges of their own and the FBI guy would lose his job. </span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">But the associate will finger Vince as the mastermind, as part of his plea deal, and the FBI guy will remind Vince about the likelihood of dying in custody, if Vince is of a mind to blab about who kneecapped him.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">My wife, who is smitten with the show and has watched all of them, tells me the actual ending was much more exciting. It involved intricate planning and brilliant execution. One of the thieves, the handsome young one, stymies the villain by throwing priceless art out the back of the getaway van, and Wifey manages to escape on her own using her diamond ring to score and shatter the toughened glass of her stronghold.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So do you want to be thrilled and amused? Or would you like to have at least a little thread of reality in the garment? Are both possible?</span></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
D.M. Millerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11684153908840786340noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3224779650124225704.post-42060943542729822972013-09-21T23:31:00.001-07:002013-10-12T20:06:01.590-07:00The Die Guys Scenario<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyEvfyze9yLUX5LhJpy_MGzlvwv2ygcLtgnuxmU8E18S2iUXQCVG_W3xH_erM6CvS03CrSVQGKl4NRLxyuPpf0rFPZH92v8mojTCWf_KPjkuAnCP4YWj-9ZAf-ztOFsitSmnMKMzFNhP8/s1600/gun+to+head+woman.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="243" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyEvfyze9yLUX5LhJpy_MGzlvwv2ygcLtgnuxmU8E18S2iUXQCVG_W3xH_erM6CvS03CrSVQGKl4NRLxyuPpf0rFPZH92v8mojTCWf_KPjkuAnCP4YWj-9ZAf-ztOFsitSmnMKMzFNhP8/s400/gun+to+head+woman.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I have likely seen the following hostage scenario a thousand times during my life of movie and TV viewing: I call it the DYGOISS, (pronounced <i>die guys</i>) which stands for "drop your gun or I'll shoot scenario". A bad guy has a gun to the head of a loved one, and is partially hidden behind her so the good guy has to make a dicey head shot, or drop his weapon.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And the Good Guy disarms. Every time. He lays his gun down on the floor and even slides it over to the villain... and somehow it all works out for the best...in the make-believe world of Hollywood. Oh the good guy may have to suffer a non-lethal wound, like Arnold in <i><b>Kindergarten Cop</b></i>, but he still manages to defeat the evildoer and survive and heal and get the girl and live happily ever after.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span><br />
<a name='more'></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Does this bother anyone else? I remember thinking, even as a young boy, that giving up your gun, in this kind of situation, is unwise, because in the real world the bad guy now just shoots the unarmed good guy dead--can't have him following-- and either hauls the woman away for further hostage duty, or for entertainment or both or just leaves her to weep over the fallen hero. Or shoots her, also, because goody-goody caring good guys piss him off, and he is "bad" after all. The good guy, by giving up his gun allows all these alternatives.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">"But...but," you say, "If he doesn't give up his gun, the partner-lover-wife-daughter-son-brother-father-mother-etc. gets killed."</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">To that I say, "Probably not."</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvmG09sb2kHWPOqKM99J-2p_wvOYyS0pUK-7jNDGwZ51YswmoAiz5tzWvXV-mfsqUADwa3mOMWkdNB5ujtdt40X5pv0BMfSvHyFOc2u0bmSR-Ora4xARmltxDJojXQvx-V9YBclYljFHc/s1600/knife+to+throat.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvmG09sb2kHWPOqKM99J-2p_wvOYyS0pUK-7jNDGwZ51YswmoAiz5tzWvXV-mfsqUADwa3mOMWkdNB5ujtdt40X5pv0BMfSvHyFOc2u0bmSR-Ora4xARmltxDJojXQvx-V9YBclYljFHc/s1600/knife+to+throat.jpg" /></a></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Most people, film writers especially, don't consider what will happen to BG if he actually carries out his threat and kills his hostage. He now has no shield and no more leverage and will likely die at the hands of an enraged grieving GG. So BG really doesn't gain much by murdering GG's loved one, except for being known to be a man of his word.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The villain's initial offering is that he will trade you a life for your gun. It's a negotiation. You don't have to accept the first offer. If you keep your gun you can make a counter offer. But in any negotiation, you should have an idea of what is most important to the other party.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">In the <i>Die Guys Scenario</i>, Snidely Whiplash wants to get away. He wants to live free and not in a penal colony. He usually won't kill or maim anyone, unless he has to. He is holding the hostage to achieve a selfish end. He wants to disarm the good guy to keep from being followed, shot and/or captured.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So If the Good Guy keeps his weapon the negotiation might go something like this:</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<br />
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">GG: (From behind cover, so he can't be shot) I'm not giving up my gun.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">BG: I'll shoot her.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">GG: You do and I will kill you.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">BG: She'll be dead.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">GG: So will you.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">BG: What do you suggest?</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">GG: Give up and I won't kill you.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">BG: Not happening.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">GG: Let her go and run away and I won't stop you.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">BG: I don't trust you not to follow me.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">GG: We are at an impasse, then.</span></li>
</ul>
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5r-tTasaoh_OvADbDSDLubLvqfPeFzOl5EZNoc7lAlGJpfPsHa3vMzAu3tkIZ-I2pybfi5IgJVJxljuNXcVOboRUvtxyCKc2n6esBKhi3XiqypfepXWlyw8tNvzReKFmRaa5SBMo4aiY/s1600/princess_bride-vizzini-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="201" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5r-tTasaoh_OvADbDSDLubLvqfPeFzOl5EZNoc7lAlGJpfPsHa3vMzAu3tkIZ-I2pybfi5IgJVJxljuNXcVOboRUvtxyCKc2n6esBKhi3XiqypfepXWlyw8tNvzReKFmRaa5SBMo4aiY/s320/princess_bride-vizzini-1.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Right about now is when Vizzini and the masked man sit down to drink poisoned wine. But that won't happen with these two guys. Here are some possible scenarios:</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">1: BG drags the hostage over to an exit door and shoots her in some body part that won't kill but will require first aid, and makes his escape while GG tends to her. (If he is really nasty, BG shoots her in the lower spine.)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">2: GG goes for the head shot and drops BG perfectly without mussing a hair on the hostage.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">3: The hostage (yes, there is a third actor on this stage) suddenly goes limp, slipping down and causing BG to struggle with the dead weight and look away from GG. GG now has a larger target and risks a shot. Maybe it is a one-shot kill, but likely will not instantly disable BG. An exchange of hot lead leaves the hostage dead and GG and BG wounded.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">4: Or harking back to #1 above, BG shoots the hostage non-lethally and threatens to do it again and again until GG gives up his gun.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Or GG negotiates further, trying desperately to keep BG from using options one or four, above.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<br />
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">GG: You want to escape?</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">BG: Yes.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">GG: Wouldn't your escape be speedier without having to drag a hostage around?</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">BG: Yes.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Hostage: I have a name.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">GG: Of course you do, Bess. Please don't interrupt. We're negotiating here. (To BG) You could back over to that exit, leave Bess, duck out the door and you would have a head start.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">BG: Not enough of one. You would follow and I would still be in range of your pistol.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">GG: Would five minutes be enough of a head start?</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">BG: Yes.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">GG: If I could guarantee you that head start or that I wouldn't be able to follow you, would you leave Bess here with me unharmed?</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">BG: Yes.</span></li>
</ul>
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So I Ask you, what is the solution to this dilemma? Is there a way GG can guarantee BG that he won't be able to follow him? Let's hear your ideas.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>D.M. Millerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11684153908840786340noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3224779650124225704.post-90250745442011116432013-09-13T07:09:00.001-07:002013-09-13T07:09:47.053-07:00Everything You Know Is Wrong: Celldriving Is Not Dangerous<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiyP79Rhd7d9cI4EC37hB0tYlWHIUSnpyji7dErzMqcd6yMPxult_7kafxFcBjzV1BBewaZvoJz5V6sL3hIQP91aTFPBhmC1Cwtb7ldI6pViS-YFFDvmQyveGmv3pBRF46rxeyfyRIZOI/s1600/no+hand+held+sign.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiyP79Rhd7d9cI4EC37hB0tYlWHIUSnpyji7dErzMqcd6yMPxult_7kafxFcBjzV1BBewaZvoJz5V6sL3hIQP91aTFPBhmC1Cwtb7ldI6pViS-YFFDvmQyveGmv3pBRF46rxeyfyRIZOI/s1600/no+hand+held+sign.jpg" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Everybody knows that talking on a cell phone while driving is unsafe, right? It's just common sense. Everybody knows it. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">You then have to ask how "everbody" comes to know something? It's on the nightly news and in the papers and legislators are urged to do something about it; pass a law. Eleven out of the fifty United States have ourlawed cell use while driving. Pundits and commentators and activists raise our awareness.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">But if driving and cellphoning is so dangerous, why have traffic accidents and fatalities fallen as cell phone usage zoomed?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This was an obvious question not addressed by over one hundred previous studies. Then a couple of wonks from Carnegie Mellon University and the London School of Economics got together to answer that question. V.S. Pathania and S. Bhargava, in their new study, show that there is no causal link between fatal crashes and gabbing via handheld communicators while operating a motor vehicle.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">You can read the whole thing in the <b>American Economic Journal</b> ( Aug. 1, 2013). It's titled, "Driving under the (Cellular) Influence." But why would you want to. I actually tried to read it, but gave up after ten minutes and just went to the summary</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I've often wondered why cops don't get distracted while driving and talking on the radio with the dispatcher. </span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirRcDZI36S6UIzV16LEIFhjjrET1f9xAiiSDG-4LccMQB8HQFPGGeoGEBIgpuB3YTpQlfq2m8bGL0R_yezeFRtJYwgnORZ7cwyV1nvHk8oWDO4xl8x512A3yLLsv3uGyMH8Q9tBMhf82s/s1600/lipstick+cell.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirRcDZI36S6UIzV16LEIFhjjrET1f9xAiiSDG-4LccMQB8HQFPGGeoGEBIgpuB3YTpQlfq2m8bGL0R_yezeFRtJYwgnORZ7cwyV1nvHk8oWDO4xl8x512A3yLLsv3uGyMH8Q9tBMhf82s/s1600/lipstick+cell.jpg" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Texting may be another matter. Or reading the newspaper while on the freeway. I saw a man doing that, once. Rush Limbaugh said he actually saw a woman trying to put on pantyhose while driving on a California throughway. But then she might just have been creeping along at three MPH.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">What's the strangest thing you've ever seen a driver in another car doing while in motion?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<br />D.M. Millerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11684153908840786340noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3224779650124225704.post-10018833752163939652013-09-05T08:48:00.001-07:002014-08-22T18:52:07.250-07:00Zimmerman: Part Three, Advice For Watchful Neighborhooders.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDIpd0z464EMDwqyHWikEH9eUIvouJG1B79PmDSZA97OqJu7MX1TkW3AEdFQVKq0cDcnIqbM_D4e_dx7OeEuFkq_b4TCZEsOmdsFz9OOBDrya902t6agzLEZWq4JL029Cvh1oqhA5M-vM/s1600/neighborhood+watch+sign+gray.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDIpd0z464EMDwqyHWikEH9eUIvouJG1B79PmDSZA97OqJu7MX1TkW3AEdFQVKq0cDcnIqbM_D4e_dx7OeEuFkq_b4TCZEsOmdsFz9OOBDrya902t6agzLEZWq4JL029Cvh1oqhA5M-vM/s200/neighborhood+watch+sign+gray.jpg" height="182" width="200" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Mr. George Zimmerman was not on neighborhood watch duty the night he killed Trayvon Martin. He was driving to the market and saw the youth behaving suspiciously and followed him in his car and lost him and then got out to re-acquire the suspect on foot. The rest is history.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Some say he shouldn't have followed the youth. Some say he shouldn't have exited his vehicle. Some say he should have just left it up to the police.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I'm certain that Mr. Zimmerman, looking back, would have done things differently. But I reject the idea put forth by one side that checking out suspicious behavior in your neighborhood is a bad thing. There must be a way to be a concerned neighbor without putting yourself or others in danger. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">What this comes down to is both sides </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">misunderstanding</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> the other person's motives. Martin thought the man following him was a stalker. Zimmerman thought Martin was casing the neighborhood for a burglary.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span><br />
<a name='more'></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i><b>Did Zimmerman intend to harm Martin?</b></i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">No. I don't believe that was what he had in mind that night. Some extremists have suggested that Zimmerman was hunting Martin, that he was keen on shooting the black boy. I reject that idea because if it were true, a trigger-happy Zimmerman would have had his pistol unholstered and in his hand and would have just fired, cold-bloodedly, when they met in the dark.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i><b>Was Martin up to no good?</b></i> </span><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3XmR_4rdaSc5NFzs0YKtaI5YzmmkGu04YkGvs_sEvbCh3zjat3YDUFXqaijc1VgdDF-ZA42XSmfybcm03BZ1bROaUj8-bqi6V_atTjjwMdvoICQRJ2BQox-wIMol5koXnJIuKOk056ZQ/s1600/neighborhood+watch+sign+blue.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3XmR_4rdaSc5NFzs0YKtaI5YzmmkGu04YkGvs_sEvbCh3zjat3YDUFXqaijc1VgdDF-ZA42XSmfybcm03BZ1bROaUj8-bqi6V_atTjjwMdvoICQRJ2BQox-wIMol5koXnJIuKOk056ZQ/s200/neighborhood+watch+sign+blue.jpg" height="150" width="200" /></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">No. He may have been wandering, but he wasn't casing the homes. I am convinced of this because of how he reacted to being followed. Someone who is contemplating a break-in, and knows he is being spied on does not react with indignation. He figures the caper is blown and disappears. </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">He doesn't confront his follower.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Here's some advice to anyone who wishes to check out suspicious behavior in his neighbohood:</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<br />
<ol>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Never go alone. Grab another adult or two and stay together. You are less likely to get jumped if you have a partner with you, and, importantly, you also have a witness.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">"Check Out" does not mean to confront or arrest. Your task is to observe and remember and be a deterrent just by being there and having a cell phone. </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Have a badge or card or cap or some other insignia that identifies you as a bona fide watchperson.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Have </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">a blinky light with a magnetic base that you can slap on the roof of your car and plug into the power socket on the console, for when you suddenly want to turn from ordinary neighbor into watch-neighbor in a patrol car. The color of the blinky is important. Check with the local police. They reserve certain colored lights for official police business.</span></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Call the police and tell them who you are and what you are doing and where you are and that it is not an emergency, but that you have reason to believe you have person or persons acting suspiciously in your neighborhood.</span></li>
</ol>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i><b>Should you follow the suspicious person?</b></i></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i><b><br /></b></i></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">If you can do so safely. Keep in mind that you do not know the person. He may not take kindly to being shadowed. He may be drugged-up and paranoid and violent, and armed. And even if you stay in your car, he could still attack. That driver window is not much of a barrier to a gun, knife or tire iron. If you follow you'd better be able to defend yourself, and then be willing to deal with all the consequences.</span></div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Keep in mind that Zimmerman wanted to keep Martin in sight so he could point the police to him when they showed up. This turned out disastrously for both men. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOnBqzJl5cTaZHbugDlBX_tCOlHvQivjnnNHNRQdbLRJKpYJrq3K4SqqiA4GenMnmRs0b9ay4gPtES15FWp8dtvkrfjhddjx-UvvkTBj5-gBxi6sgbj5ASDwckzNCr-BevyQ5EW0zMPAg/s1600/neighborhood+watch+sign+yellow.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOnBqzJl5cTaZHbugDlBX_tCOlHvQivjnnNHNRQdbLRJKpYJrq3K4SqqiA4GenMnmRs0b9ay4gPtES15FWp8dtvkrfjhddjx-UvvkTBj5-gBxi6sgbj5ASDwckzNCr-BevyQ5EW0zMPAg/s1600/neighborhood+watch+sign+yellow.jpg" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">There was a moment, early on, before any harm was done, when Martin approached Zimmerman's car and asked him why he was following him. Zimmerman didn't answer. He should have. It would have defused the whole situation. It might have gone something like this:</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>M:</b> Why are you following me?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Z:</b> (Cracks window a few inches) My name is George and I'm a member of the neighborhood watch. I'm following you because there have been break-ins around here recently and your wandering is suspicious to me. What's your name? Do you live in this neighborhood? </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>M:</b> Yes. I'm visiting my Dad and his girlfriend.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Z:</b> What is the address and what are their names?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>M:</b> I don't know the address, but they live over there, and I don't have to tell you anything. I'm not doing anything wrong.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Z:</b> That may be, but here's what's going to happen now. You are going to walk directly to your Dad's house and I'm going to follow you there in my car.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>M:</b> I don't trust you and I'm not going to lead you to where I live. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Z:</b> Then I am going to call the police and let them sort this out. Would that make you feel safer?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>M:</b> It's raining and I'm out of here. (He takes off running between houses where Z can't follow and goes home).</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">In this scenario Martin now knows the reason for Zimmerman following him, so instead of the black youth losing the watchman and then circling back around to break his nose, he just goes home and stays there and lives. </span></div>
D.M. Millerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11684153908840786340noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3224779650124225704.post-10575142451363297672013-08-21T23:54:00.000-07:002013-09-02T21:11:29.195-07:00Picking Up After Your Dog<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivINGMVgy11EE7mfoju4bgMiwJfT5ezOxkV9_A1qN-i_RlXTi9E3v-UgQepiJI6BY1gsgF5JtZ0FU2epOESEnqihRb9zWjS4paQfslekB2oGzJmY6467pNxj9UKLbvK9VPhIU2U7r_U48/s1600/hondindegoot.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivINGMVgy11EE7mfoju4bgMiwJfT5ezOxkV9_A1qN-i_RlXTi9E3v-UgQepiJI6BY1gsgF5JtZ0FU2epOESEnqihRb9zWjS4paQfslekB2oGzJmY6467pNxj9UKLbvK9VPhIU2U7r_U48/s320/hondindegoot.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Translation: "Curb Your Dog"</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I was riding my bike on Oleson Road, approaching the Garden Home Recreation Center. It was a spring day and the afternoon sun was out. A young woman was walking her dog on the sidewalk coming toward me as I was traveling south in the bike lane. It was some dark brown short-haired breed, smaller than a Labrador and while fifty yards still separated us, it stopped and hunched and shat in the middle of the concrete walk.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span><br />
<a name='more'></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The woman was neatly dressed in blue shorts and a pink short-sleeve top and spotless white sneakers.. Her hair was long and brown and in a ponytail. The dog was on a leash, but it seemed well behaved and not the type to lunge at passersby or dart into traffic. The woman was looking at the plop on the walkway.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We've all been schooled on the proper way to use those little black plastic bags for picking up dog waste. The park at the end of my street has these bird houses with the bags tucked in them, in case we forget to bring our own empty bread sack.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">She seemed not to have one. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This has happened to me before, walking Lucy, while bagless. I just look around, first, to see if I am observed, and then I cover the offering with leaves or bark dust purloined from the base of a nearby shrub. Or if the extrusion is playdough firm, I'll launch it out of sight with the toe of my shoe and call it good. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Lucy always picks a grassy spot and I salve my conscience with the thought of the smelly mess eventually, naturally, ecologically, leeching back into the soil in the great circle of life, while I hum a tune from the Lion King. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I also pray that no one decides to play tackle football in the vicinity for a few days.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Leeching doesn't work well on pavement. Somehow I knew the woman wasn't going to just walk away from it. She would scoop it up in a discarded Slurpee cup, or push it to the curb with a stick--though as I got closer I could tell it was too soft-serve to push very well. OK, so she would cover it with something, like Sir Walter Raleigh gallantly throwing down his cape, only no cape, so she'd smack it flat with a piece of cardboard box, instead. But there weren't any of those items handy. Oregonians do litter, but that stretch of sidewalk was neat. I would have spent ten seconds looking for a solution and then shrugged and gone on my merry way, content that I'd tried.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">But that is not what this woman did. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">What she did next astounded me. She bent over and carefully, so as to leave as little behind as possible, picked the waste up with her bare fingers. I wasn't sure I'd seen what I just saw, but as we passed, she did indeed have the warm dog pasta cupped in both hands.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">She kept walking the way she was going with her hands held away from her body; the dog following dragging his leash. Was she going to dump the load in some berry bushes and wipe her hands in the grass or carry it all the way home? Was her home or apartment nearby and just how was she going to unlock her door? </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Would you do what she did? </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Why couldn't this woman just leave it? </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span><br />
<br />
<br />
<br />D.M. Millerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11684153908840786340noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3224779650124225704.post-32382280732792462602013-08-19T22:50:00.000-07:002013-09-02T21:13:14.736-07:00All My Dreams Blue<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAh-lX164GJkDa0hpTn1WiR6aVMKuDrsWuEAAsZDy4x1ONXt5tnOcn9t0ah2o03z3lyphWUh-WwiU18_K2hIzFPcdtH3_QnjINE1SVIovTl27UpB7I8C-4BSWcuj3ssyZynVShqCqdQ8E/s1600/youngbloods.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAh-lX164GJkDa0hpTn1WiR6aVMKuDrsWuEAAsZDy4x1ONXt5tnOcn9t0ah2o03z3lyphWUh-WwiU18_K2hIzFPcdtH3_QnjINE1SVIovTl27UpB7I8C-4BSWcuj3ssyZynVShqCqdQ8E/s1600/youngbloods.jpg" /></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Here's a song by the Youngbloods, a Sixties/Seventies band. They are best known for their anthem of the hippie era;</span><i style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> Get Together.</i><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> Which is a pleasant enough song about brotherhood and getting along and all that mellow flowers-in-your-hair sentiment that lasts until you catch a roommate eating your peanut butter out of the jar with a spoon. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It's their signature song, but they didn't write it. Dino Valenti did in the mid-sixties and it was recorded earlier by The Byrds and even Jefferson Airplane, before Grace Slick joined them.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span><br />
<a name='more'></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I much prefer some of their lesser-known fare, such as: Grizzly Bear; Sugar Babe; Quicksand; Darkness, Darkness; The Wine Song; Sunlight; Euphoria; and this somber gem written by Young:</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/swlPOwVhOt8?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The song is found on Earth Music, 1967 and the band members are:</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Jesse Colin Young (bass, vocals)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Joe Bauer (drums)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Lowell Levinger (piano, guitar, pedal steel, vocals)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Jerry Corbitt (guitar, vocals)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
D.M. Millerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11684153908840786340noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3224779650124225704.post-61722309115180458962013-08-13T20:55:00.000-07:002013-08-19T23:14:30.462-07:00Touch Your Cell Phone And Die.<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This isn't about distracted driving.</span><br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcjpf7QeNSlydjA-0E_mNnMQX4Ey6BNv6kSHnqXHojkQQa7pVCWTtC-Ucv3OE-6GEp5_9hsem1LLy77O7tN6tiVZVfalmhfyuHtFeRzvBvk7uxyyrMN4wvVJYoupi3cJUOU1Y2wHXPZ68/s1600/roque+bluffs+stiner+and+moyer.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcjpf7QeNSlydjA-0E_mNnMQX4Ey6BNv6kSHnqXHojkQQa7pVCWTtC-Ucv3OE-6GEp5_9hsem1LLy77O7tN6tiVZVfalmhfyuHtFeRzvBvk7uxyyrMN4wvVJYoupi3cJUOU1Y2wHXPZ68/s1600/roque+bluffs+stiner+and+moyer.jpg" /></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">July 2013.<br />
Amy Stiner, 37, of Machias, Maine and Melissa Moyer, 38, visiting from Pennsylvania went hiking i</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">n Roque Bluffs State Park early in the evening and got lost and called for help on a cell phone. A landowner found them and brought them to his house, where a park warden picked them up and then drove them to Ms. Stiner's parked minivan. By this time it was nine P.M. and rainy and foggy and instead of turning left on the road back to Machias, she mistakenly turned right toward the park boat ramp.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span><br />
<a name='more'></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
Washington County got an urgent call from a women that her car was filling up with water and then the connection went dead. GPS coordinates placed the call as coming from the area of the ramp, but it took an hour to locate the dark colored van because it was submerged in twenty feet of water sixty yards out and couldn't be seen from the shore.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
Divers found the car, with the women and dog, dead, inside with the windows up and the doors closed. Stiner was five months pregnant.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
Something like this happens more than four hundred times each year in the United States. People drown in their cars and many of them could avoid death, but they have to act quickly. Check the time in the video below. Both men and the baby are out in twenty seconds, though I think the fake baby's head gets thumped a couple times on the way out.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/1hCHBF-8kho?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
<b>First thing you do is put away the cell phone.</b> Gordon Giesbrecht, of the University of Manitoba, in an article for Popular Mechanics, said "Time is critical. If you touch your cell phone you're
probably going to die." Good advice. You have seconds to act and any help you may find at the other end of the cell tower, is, at best, five minutes away.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
The steps according to Dr. Popsicle (Giesbrecht) are:</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">1. </span><b style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">SEATBELT.</b><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> Yours. Unlatch it as soon as you hit the water. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">2. <b>WINDOW.</b> Yours. Open it because this will be your exit from the vehicle. Do this before water pressure jams it closed. Break the window if it won't open. You can pick a different window if strong current is pushing on the driver side of the car. Moon roofs make a good escape hatch.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">3. </span><b style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">CHILD.</b><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> Unbuckle the child.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">4. </span><b style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">OUT. </b><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> Time to get out. Push the child ahead of you out the window and swim to shore.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
Here are a few tools that will easily break tempered side and rear glass in a car. Two of them have a blade for cutting seat belt straps, if they jam, or it might be faster to cut a child's car seat straps than try to undo them.</span><br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVHgeeyLpHG1sae-D40Q-UkmKZfXZwGfwdMEqZRSOzWoKT8501Z66CJlYfn6fRenARLhy6DOQhwpfAI5xVTehCf7zdiqErvleFdJqv1Il4AY4AbK6b9l2qCyS0Vwhyphenhyphenm6qUvgfC77-SbKA/s1600/centerpunch+brass.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVHgeeyLpHG1sae-D40Q-UkmKZfXZwGfwdMEqZRSOzWoKT8501Z66CJlYfn6fRenARLhy6DOQhwpfAI5xVTehCf7zdiqErvleFdJqv1Il4AY4AbK6b9l2qCyS0Vwhyphenhyphenm6qUvgfC77-SbKA/s200/centerpunch+brass.jpg" width="200" /></a></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">metal workers center punch $3 </span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcsk4m1uJ1pCnwLeFS9dXNzKXrVGOY0ljf5i8NZ_doM295OahViQnuO88rLFLF0YSG2lVI7qoh1E_faimzdj0dIc1FIg6Sz4O60MGJrZy6LpPaLNzuTLCcyIiy5aGpsuhJ9zG9MGw08sw/s1600/glass+hammer.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcsk4m1uJ1pCnwLeFS9dXNzKXrVGOY0ljf5i8NZ_doM295OahViQnuO88rLFLF0YSG2lVI7qoh1E_faimzdj0dIc1FIg6Sz4O60MGJrZy6LpPaLNzuTLCcyIiy5aGpsuhJ9zG9MGw08sw/s200/glass+hammer.jpg" width="200" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">hammer style glass breaker $6</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiK26zJlb5bNf39f9uDfP4qk3heS9kzrndsS3PAvqr_WZdZP_n_p6LujHdfG2wnxcqfcLuCZeqqSoGRtdp0rp3pMq3DcWCFPJLf2iQOsj4RDuGrn9g9dtMwc4bS2wUJVJnyCPTdsR8DcDI/s1600/blue+resqme.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="169" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiK26zJlb5bNf39f9uDfP4qk3heS9kzrndsS3PAvqr_WZdZP_n_p6LujHdfG2wnxcqfcLuCZeqqSoGRtdp0rp3pMq3DcWCFPJLf2iQOsj4RDuGrn9g9dtMwc4bS2wUJVJnyCPTdsR8DcDI/s200/blue+resqme.jpg" width="200" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">ResQme tool Keychain $ ???</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8vz5WvnJjJWt5sfhkGx_rKx7G7iRIwE-WXjO16we7auXVTW_rXK2qK86ysZmo5DR_Z3NFi0nrKMUxYwm4SHbKwIJx5qOcrW3eumjDPOU02nOq-eZFTDH4SgUhJLJ6mP0iaWaKkeUldW0/s1600/point+of+resqme.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="157" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8vz5WvnJjJWt5sfhkGx_rKx7G7iRIwE-WXjO16we7auXVTW_rXK2qK86ysZmo5DR_Z3NFi0nrKMUxYwm4SHbKwIJx5qOcrW3eumjDPOU02nOq-eZFTDH4SgUhJLJ6mP0iaWaKkeUldW0/s200/point+of+resqme.jpg" width="200" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">close view of ResQme tool, center punch point to break glass.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; text-align: left;"> </span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">
</span>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px;"><div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Here is another video of car-in-water escapes with Dr. Giesbrecht: </span><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UZuZgSQZJ9g" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; text-align: center;" target="_blank"><span style="color: #cc0000;">Rick Mercer and Dr. Popsicle show you how to escape a car in a lake</span></a></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span><span style="background-color: #6aa84f; font-size: small;"><br /></span><span style="background-color: #6aa84f; font-size: small;"><br /></span><span style="background-color: white; font-size: small;">So after watching the videos you can understand what happened to Ms. Stiner and her friend. Water stalled the engine so they couldn't just throw the transmission in reverse and back up out of danger. Water pressure, kept the doors from opening and they didn't even consider the windows--almost nobody does-- until there is too much pressure on them, or the opening mechanism is shorted out. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: small;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: small;">Besides, opening a window is counter-intuitive. You want to keep the water out of the car, not welcome it in. Opening a window makes as much sense as bailing water from the sea and dumping it in the boat. But intuition doesn't serve you well in this instance. Your car is not water-tight. You are not trying to keep it afloat. Your goal is to abandon ship. It will sink in two minutes or less and If you don't get a door or window open, and get out, you will die. </span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: small;">One of the women, if she acted fast enough, might have clambered behind the passenger seat and popped open the side sliding door before it, too, was jammed with water pressure. But that didn't happen. They probably, at some point, hammered on the windows with fists as the water rose but without a tool of some kind that wouldn't have shattered the glass. </span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: small;">Stiner dialed 911 and the car kept rolling down the ramp into deeper water but the call was cut short. It was a van, so their last best chance at escaping was to climb over the seats to the cargo area and try to open the rear hatch. That end of the vehicle would not have been submerged, yet. The car would be nose down, almost vertical, and there would be air to breathe back there and no water pressing on the hatch. </span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">It would be natural to flee that direction from the rising water, but Stiner was five months pregnant and it was dark and both women and the dog would be panicky and frantic and we don't know if there were other obstacles like boxes or luggage in the way, and time was running out. For all we know from the news reports, they may have drowned still strapped to their seats. </span></span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: small;">I've never been in a dire car-in-the-drink emergency. But I've driven across bridges over water and I've driven near lakes and streams and rivers and boat ramps and docks. I've navigated flooded roadways and big puddles and have even ended up in a few ditches. So you never know. </span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: small;">I've got a center punch in my work van. I actually bought it to mark some sheet metal for drilling. But I have it now on the front console by the radio. I'm going to get one of those ResQme tools for the Subaru and I'm going to dangle both from the rear view mirrors where I can find them in an emergency. </span></span><br />
<div style="font-size: medium;">
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="font-size: medium;">
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
</div>
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
D.M. Millerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11684153908840786340noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3224779650124225704.post-60487431992715261382013-08-09T18:35:00.000-07:002013-08-19T23:14:06.535-07:00Zimmerman: Part 2 White Lessons<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXL2PtAeb9YbT2X-dswEP1sN6wN_DkIDtPxyX4gq7T-Vxkl-zoYWNgFXsQrm65kULP4W5_QNjr-eqb-yl6BXATjaggoNHicunLoe0vV3h-5H7qOrfWLpTAGaUXWgmjR2J8DU_Kb1XsTu8/s1600/pansies.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXL2PtAeb9YbT2X-dswEP1sN6wN_DkIDtPxyX4gq7T-Vxkl-zoYWNgFXsQrm65kULP4W5_QNjr-eqb-yl6BXATjaggoNHicunLoe0vV3h-5H7qOrfWLpTAGaUXWgmjR2J8DU_Kb1XsTu8/s320/pansies.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">What white people (or partially white people) should learn from the Zimmerman trial and media passion play.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
<b><span style="font-size: large;">1.</span></b> <b>Don't follow persons wearing hoodies.</b> This is now considered racist. If you find yourself behind and walking in the same direction as a hoodie-wearer abruptly halt and change direction one-hundred-and-eighty degrees. If this puts you behind another hoodie-wearer then go to the right or left. If there are still hoodies in those directions, call a taxicab.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span><br />
<a name='more'></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
<b><span style="font-size: large;">2.</span></b> <b>Don't check out suspicious activity in your neighborhood. </b>This is also now considered racist<b>.</b> It is better to let your environs devolve into a lawless junky needle-strewn crater than risk offending anyone. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
<b><span style="font-size: large;">3.</span></b> <b>Never express a desire to become a police officer.</b> Because If you do and then check out suspicious activity in your neighborhood (not advised. See #2 above) and get jumped and defend yourself (not advised. See #5 below), you will not be considered a "good neighbor" or a "concerned citizen". No you will be labeled a "cop-wannabe" or a "vigilante" or "crusader". These terms are not racist, yet. Still, you don't want them applied to you. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
<b><span style="font-size: large;">4.</span></b> <b>Never stand your ground. </b>Even though this didn't apply to the Zimmerman case, the press made a big thing out of it, and so should you. If you are accosted and threatened with violence, even if you are someplace you have a perfect right to be, make conciliatory groveling noises, lower your eyes, bow the head and back away. If you are on a public sidewalk... retreat. It's not as if you have a Constitutional Right to enjoy the civic thoroughfares unmolested... well, maybe you do, but that right is not worth fighting over, is it? If you are in your favorite pub or eatery... retreat and don't go back for a year. If you are in a flower shop... take a lesson from the humble Pansy. You don't see that delicate flower resorting to fisticuffs. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
If you are in your front yard... retreat to your house. If they follow you into your house grab the wife and kiddies and head for the back yard and call 911. Hopefully some non-wannabe cops will show up in a timely manner, but if they don't and if the bad guys persist, retreat to the sidewalk and if they follow you just keep going. The nice thing about retreat is once you do it, it just gets easier. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
<b><span style="font-size: large;">5.</span></b> <b>Don't shoot unarmed black teenagers.</b> Even if one is using the back of your head to bust up concrete. Just take your punishment for being un-black. It's not personal. Blacks have been told for forty years that the reason they are not employed, join gangs, do drugs, sell drugs, disproportionately murder, and get pregnant out of wedlock, live in inner-city democrat-controlled Utopian hellholes, is because of the white devil. They've been told it is not the result of their own poor decisions, and so they are very frustrated and angry. You can help them exorcise this pent-up rage with <i><b>MMA</b></i> <i><b>Therapy</b></i>. So don't resist. Just take the beating. If you survive, your medical bills will be less than your legal bills and you won't get death threats and have to go into hiding. If you don't survive, your burial will cost less than your medical bills.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
I hope this helps. </span><br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />D.M. Millerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11684153908840786340noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3224779650124225704.post-40512999960586137602013-08-03T01:15:00.002-07:002013-08-04T09:15:10.372-07:00The Kindness Of Strangers<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijh-PqzG0C3wYp1s-obQu7ttzB8ULsb98Ti1SDPKfTvnV86xuVQfnJPP1MVR4jgcjXNCA67f-hd8ijaPCe846QvpjnsNarMOpwZvLgn8DDI-3PidtBFJQKYokPxzqweNdMmUL0V7uSC2g/s1600/bike+seat.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijh-PqzG0C3wYp1s-obQu7ttzB8ULsb98Ti1SDPKfTvnV86xuVQfnJPP1MVR4jgcjXNCA67f-hd8ijaPCe846QvpjnsNarMOpwZvLgn8DDI-3PidtBFJQKYokPxzqweNdMmUL0V7uSC2g/s1600/bike+seat.jpg" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I'm not sure how old I am for this story. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">But I could ride a bike so I must have been six or seven years old. We lived on Seventy-Seventh and Holgate and it was summer and hot and cloudless and I was headed for the local swimming pool. That pool was located in the confines of Mt. Scott Park. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">If anyone has seen the Movie, <i><b>SANDLOT</b></i>, you'll know what my neighborhood pool looked like. It seems there are thousand of these pools scattered all over the United States and they all look the same and they were all built around the same time. Municipalities must have used the same architect to save money.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span><br />
<a name='more'></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwboDcacljlL6Q74akEVWrzigsI24YayYk5o42g79kJyCFXLY4y-UgKtQSkrbsm2PG4Xk9sCc_I03YeUxe3r-tfrcs0BOtc4o88DEtGWTbzjtt7JMrsquaIZOFq1jCis_8kYtVeP0XeIs/s1600/old+bike.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwboDcacljlL6Q74akEVWrzigsI24YayYk5o42g79kJyCFXLY4y-UgKtQSkrbsm2PG4Xk9sCc_I03YeUxe3r-tfrcs0BOtc4o88DEtGWTbzjtt7JMrsquaIZOFq1jCis_8kYtVeP0XeIs/s1600/old+bike.jpg" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I wrapped my swimming trunks in a towel and jammed the whole package between the top rails of my bike and informed my mom where I was headed and shoved off. The Mt. Scott pool was on Harold Street between 74th and 72nd streets, so I had to travel west only four blocks, but it was the south part of the journey that was the longest, and I had to cross a semi-busy street: Foster.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This didn't concern parents in the Fifties. A eight year-old boy could take off on his own, travel a quarter mile from his home and spend the whole day at the swimming pool or the park and nobody worried. The biggest danger was from automobiles, and I was rigorously trained to look both ways and to get off my bike and walk it across busy streets. Heck, I <i>ran</i> it across busy streets. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I was ziggging west and then zagging south for a few blocks and then I'd zig again. I remember I was travelling south on a concrete street with rounded curbs and I decided to jump the curb onto the sidewalk. I'd done this before, but this time I came in at too oblique an angle and the front wheel kicked and I went down all tangled up in my bike. I suppose I scraped my hands and probably my starboard knee, but I don't recall. I just sat up feeling dazed and embarrassed and starting to feel the hurt. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The street was actually an avenue because it ran north and south, and it was in a neighborhood full of little houses. There was no traffic. I got up and put my hand to my forehead because I felt a sting there and my hand came away all bloody. I had a cut over my right eyebrow. Then I felt the back of my head and discovered I was bleeding there, also. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I was probably crying by this time. Blood is scary enough for an adult, but to a kid it means you are really hurt. Cuts to the head are the worst because they bleed the most. This was my first scalp wound but I had a good idea what was happening to me, </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I'd seen my little sister, Anne, bleeding from the scalp. A neighbor boy hit her with a metal toy rake and I watched from across the street, frozen, as she stumbled home crying, the whole side of her head covered dark red. She'd take a few steps and feel her head, pull her gory hand down to look at it and howl even louder. My mom ran out and gathered her up and took her into the house and cleaned her up. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Anne was two houses down when she got clobbered. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I was seven blocks from home but at that moment I was feeling as lost and lonely as if I were on the Moon. I was standing by the curb that had just bit me, staring at my heap of a bike, dripping great red drops on the hot concrete, but I wasn't thinking I should get it up and mount it and ride home. I was just thinking I was hurt and wanted my mom. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It was then that I noticed movement across the street. The front door of a house was open for ventilation and a woman in a white print dress came out wiping her hands on a dish towel and crossed the street. She took me by the left hand and led me back to her yard and took me inside. I was still dripping so she had me lean over an empty playpen in her front room. She was younger than my mom and had brown hair in a pony tail. She got my phone number and called the house and pretty soon my mom showed up in the car and took me home. I didn't go to the doctors. My mother just cleaned me up like she did Anne and stuck a butterfly band-aid to the cut on my forehead and a gauze pad to the back of my head. She put Bactine on my scrapes. Maybe some iodine tincture. But that would have really stung. I would have objected to the stingy stuff, but Mom would not have listened. She would tell me I didn't want to get infected and do it anyway.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The cut on the back of my head was a crescent-shape gouge from the left handlebar. It whipped around on me as I went down. The rubber grip end was worn away and slid forward exposing the bare metal tubing. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I think the woman donated a towel for my head, which my mom cleaned and returned, later. Or maybe it was my swimming towel. I don't remember. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">My bike was left where it landed. We didn't put it in the car. I'm guessing I walked back and got it in a day or two, when I was feeling better. I don't remember that, either. I got some new grips for the handlebars, eventually.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">What I like to remember was the young mother coming to the aid of a small bewildered frightened boy and not worrying about the stains on her dress or floor or playpen. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<br />
<br />
. <br />
. <br />
<br />
<br />D.M. Millerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11684153908840786340noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3224779650124225704.post-42421800501946300492013-08-02T21:50:00.000-07:002013-08-04T22:07:23.594-07:00Zimmerman: Part 1 Hoodies<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheeUeQYw3xPhkQJ8xD4oji81aayEp_V61XTX6WvriLfx2Rnb7owL2Rmrqeo493bAD0hnFqSorAK9FqlWhYvQvAagBMHIHSI5Y2fk-tGl1d0QsqDU5Z_GLmkJDOpEC4yt4s4JcQiyQ-cCs/s1600/duck+hoodie.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheeUeQYw3xPhkQJ8xD4oji81aayEp_V61XTX6WvriLfx2Rnb7owL2Rmrqeo493bAD0hnFqSorAK9FqlWhYvQvAagBMHIHSI5Y2fk-tGl1d0QsqDU5Z_GLmkJDOpEC4yt4s4JcQiyQ-cCs/s1600/duck+hoodie.jpg" /></a></div>
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Much has been made of the hooded sweatshirt as regards the Trayvon Martin killing. It has been suggested that Martin was targeted (unfairly) because he was wearing a "hoodie".</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The reasoning goes something like this: Black youth wear hooded sweatshirts. Some black youth commit crimes while wearing hooded sweatshirts. Trayvon wore a hooded sweatshirt. Therefore George Zimmerman must have figured Trayvon was black and up to no good and thus racially profiled and killed him because of what he was wearing, and all innocent hoodie-wearing kids are now targets. Or so it goes.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I'm going to suggest to you that Trayvon Martin's apparel could not have been a factor in George Zimmerman's suspicions because it was raining that night back in February in Sandford, Florida. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span><br />
<a name='more'></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The whole idea of the hoodie is for it to be worn covering as much of the head and face as possible, even if the weather is balmy and there isn't a cloud in the sky. I mean what teen wears a hoodie-hoodie with the hood down? The aim is to look like you are trying to hide your face, and look like you could have just robbed a swifty-mart, and pistol-whipped the Apu behind the counter. To look like four hundred other black youth in the area with similar hoodies. To have that sullen, put-upon, bored, I-dare-you-to-hassle-me look. To then affect cynical beligerance when the police want to ask a few questions because you fit the description. <i>They just want to brace you 'cause you're black. Can't drive while black and now you can't even walk while pigmented. </i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">But that night, anybody would have had the hood up to protect his head from the weather. I, even I, fat white fifty-ish square un-hip bald guy would have had the hood up. And that is why it is not remarkable. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> Zimmerman doesn't even mention the hoodie as being one of his suspicions. He mentions Trayvon wandering, and walking behind and between the homes, and not hurrying to get out of the rain, like a normal pedestrian with somewhere to go, and seeming to be on drugs. Zimmerman describes suspicious behavior. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Martin could have been carrying an umbrella or wearing a trilby or a big yellow rubber fisherman's sou'wester cap, instead of a hooded sweatshirt, and events would have turned out the same.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">All the fuss about the hoodie came much later and was added to the storyline to further the racism theory of Trayvon Martin's death. </span><br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />D.M. Millerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11684153908840786340noreply@blogger.com0