Sunday

Cloudy..Meatballs,Dance Stars,True Crime,Book Review...Much More


Sure it's kid-oriented formulaic and it's no "Up" but it's an entertaining film that adults and children will quite enjoy.

It will also make a great DVD gift for Christmas and for future reminiscing viewing.

It's "Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs".
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Dancing With the Stars Begins to take on a personality in this autumn 2009 contest.

Reports on who danced what, who's out, who might win, who definitely won't win, score grids and general gossip/speculation.

All with pics and video you'll find nowhere else on the Internet.
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Sue Scheff ran a little business referring troubled teenagers to appropriate programs based on a diagnosed need. Her lawyer John W. Dozier Jr. successfully prosecuted the case to a multi-million dollar settlement.

What you don't know about Google, search engines, laws on free speech and how to defend reputation and business could ruin your life.

These two authors give a compelling narrative on how it came down and how to avoid the same happening to you.
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"Get the pretzel salad," my choir member told me after recommending Georgia House for a good but inexpensive dinner out.

I did have the pretzel salad. Also a huge chicken fried steak while husband had blackened catfish with a zesty cajun bite.

The cost of this meal, with plenty of leftovers for future meals and dog, was as big a surprise as the pretzel salad.
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Thoughts this week is filled with, eh, thoughts.

Featured this week
…Dancing With the Stars or American Idol at the White House

…What I refuse to believe about that nobel peace prize…some speculation on why this sudden surprise

….My personal rant against Charlie Rangel…I spare him no anger cause Delaware’s not cutting me any slack

…keeping a White House Olympic Office…why?

…Shopping lists and breast cancer…the connection…the scam?

….that hilarious White House Doctor hoax

…Palin’s daughter’s baby daddy a pinup guy…why he’ll regret is someday

….dog poop on air force 1?

….Mike Castle running for senator from Delaware…why he’ll never get my vote
….stimulus money for Saudi Arabia? We’re not making this up.

…The REAL reason why congress won’t put that health care bill online…or Speculation is what we do.

…End with a smile…a town full of lesbians.
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This week we have:

-More police bad luck and a correction to my last week bad luck cop story from astute reader.

-Lots of Bad parents stories…the worst is the fellow who drowned his three children going on trial soon, a woman who says her baby was aborted but there’s serious doubt. On to parents who got their sentence for praying instead of getting medical help for their curable daughter, to a real smart one who allowed her child to ride in a box on top of the vane on to a mother who let her 13 year old son actually DRIVE the van.

-Dave Letterman thought he was going to joke this way out of this. Only problem is the guy is a creep and his creepiness is being exposed drip by tortuous drip.

-And those who hastily defended that child rapist Roman Polanski looking stupider by the day. An update on this creep.

-A rape victim ordered to undergo a psychiatric evaluation..that’s right, the VICTIM.

-He got drunk and killed his identical twin brother. This saddest of stories ends tragically.

-she lived a happening 100 years to get strangled in her nursing home.


HERE

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Pic of the Day
colorful fish





White House Latin Music Night

So okay, a Latin music night at the White House. That’s cool. My invite must have gotten lost in the mail.

HERE.
The White House says Marc Anthony, Gloria Estefan and Jose Feliciano plan to join the event. Other entertainers will include Jimmy Smits, Pete Escovedo, George Lopez, Thalia, Los Lobos, Tito "El Bambino" and Aventura. Sheila E. will lead the house band.




Jimmy Smits is a singer? Who knew?

The Nobel Peace Prize

There’s not much more I can say about President Obama receiving a Nobel Peace prize or even, one should smile, come up with any mockery of same.

I will offer the official contact URL of the Nobel Peace Prize should anyone want to complain.

Well no I don’t want to complain. Good for President Obama. I guess.

First, I want to make sure that when Granddaughter Kaitlyn Mae someday reads this Blog she knows that Barack Obama receiving the Nobel peace prize was NOT widely view by the American public as deserved. Heck, even Obama said he did nothing to deserve it. Before they change the history books is what I’m saying here.

I will address one more issue on the matter then let the laughter continue.

I do not, for one single millisecond, think that this came as any surprise to the White House. I think very little that goes on here on earth is a surprise to the White House except maybe 9-11-01 and that’s only because Clinton wasn’t paying attention what with Monica and everything.

I suggest softly that it’s very possible that Obama himself ASKED to be awarded the prize.

Lookit, the Nobel peace prize has been a joke since failure Jimmy Carter got one. And Yassar Arafat? Isn’t this the guy who is buried in somebody’s back yard and whose body got dropped all over the place on his funeral day? The guy was a TERRORIST!

Al Gore? For his silly ghost-written tome on that joke known as global warming?

And finally, yes folks, Thomas Friedman. A reporter for the New York Times, a very liberal bought and paid for reporter I suggest, he got a Nobel prize for economics. Heh.

We should believe these prizes are legit, not financed by Arab oil money from somewhere?

To each his own. I’m quite sure that Obama was promised a Nobel peace prize when damn, Bill Clinton should have gotten one for his work helping tsunami victims for God’s sake.

I think Obama was so upset over the Copenhagen debacle that he asked to be given his promised peace prize this past week figuring the award would erase the ridicule over that piece of hubris.

We laugh every day at this administration and yet, oddly, the laughs keep on coming.

My Personal Vendetta Against Charlie Rangel



So let’s take a quick look at Charlie Rangel’s transgressions.

- Evading taxes on $1.3 million in income derived from multiple properties and failing to disclose hundreds of thousands of dollars of assets and income.

- Accusations of taking a $1 million contribution to the Rangel Center at City College from a wealthy businessman who later got a lucrative tax break for his company.

-Accepting a Citigroup-funded trip to the Caribbean in November 2008, when the bank was bleeding the bailout funds dry.

- Unreported rental income from a vacation villa in the Dominican Republic that Rangel failed to acknowledge when filling out financial disclosure forms.

The House voted down a resolution to remove Charlie from his powerful chairmanship of the House Ways and Means committee. But of course. Why the hell should he pay taxes on his wealth?

Now let me tell you my story.

I used to smoke. Yes, stopped in 2006 but I once smoked like a chimney, didn’t many of us?

I wanted to get my cigarettes cheap so I ordered them over the Internet. I got them cheap all right and it was not illegal to do so over the Internet.

Delaware has a tobacco tax which I did not know about and now, in retrospect, I discover, what with threats of losing my house, my livlihood, my credit rating, my cigarettes weren’t so cheap after all.

I must pay a year’s worth of tobacco taxes on those cigarettes I bought over the Internet, from 2005 for God’s sake what the hell were these Delaware people paid to collect this stuff doing for their salary anyway?

I stopped smoking folks. Delaware offers help to anyone who stops smoking but I never bothered the fine state with my efforts to quit. Delaware now has a model citizen who does not smoke, which would be me.

Last year I had a quadruple heart bypass and husband had a horrific brain infection. He almost died. Still recovering from my bypass, I had to administer liquid antibiotic to him four times a day, middle of night, constant care.

Now we struggle to pay the medical bills.

Delaware sends me notice that I owe this money from years ago. I call my local representative and beg for relief. I tell my story. Delaware sends me a letter warning that I will have a judgement placed against me, if I ever try to buy a car, sell my house, this judgement will hurt me.

WHY NOT CRUCIFY ME WHILE YOU’RE AT IT?

I gotta pay this money to Delaware although they did arrange a payment plan.

Folks, good ole Charlie gets a pass, VOTED on by my House of Representatives.

I gotta pay the money, folks.

AND YOU WONDER WHY I AM BITTER?

Maxine Waters’ defense of Charlie Rangel doesn’t make me feel any better:
Rep. Maxine Waters (D-Calif.) downplayed the seriousness of allegations against Rangel that he failed to disclose sources of income and pay taxes on some properties, saying that many lawmakers suffer from innocent lapses in judgment when filing mandatory financial disclosure forms.

“I want to tell you, there are many members who, if you go back over all of their records, over all of the years, you’re going to find that there were disclosures that were not made,” Waters said during an appearance on MSNBC Wednesday morning.

Why, oh why, does a couple surviving a heart bypass and a brain infection get their very lives threatened while Charlie Rangel gets a pass?

Somebody answer me, please.

Ted Kennedy, What a Guy!

Make no mistake, the source for this is the National Enquirer:
Ted Kennedy slept with more than a thousand women - and spent at least $10 million in hush money over the years to keep his skirt-chasing a secret!

The late senator made those sensational confessions in a chapter of his autobiography, but horrified family members and advisers cut them out.

The National Enquirer is the paper that had the first scoop on the fabulous and fine John Edwards, right? Oh, let’s not forget OJ’s shoes.

This before this story is pooh-poohed by those who consider the Kennedys next to God.

Why a Permanent White House Olympics Office

So the White House Olympics office established in June of this year to help Chicago procure a spot for the Olympic bid is now permanent?
Despite the embarrassing rejection of his effort to lure the 2016 Olympic Games to his hometown of Chicago, President Barack Obama will keep the first-ever White House Olympic Office, POLITICO has learned.

Headed by Valerie Jarrett and a staff of eight, of course. She did lose the chance to sell her slum properties after all and needs a job.

If you didn’t read my post on the Olympic fiasco, complete with a “fly-on-the-wall” scene, read it HERE.

Goodness, Charlie Rangel might have to start paying his taxes we keep all these czars and now, coming to a neighborhood near you, new White House Offices!

From Grocery Stores to Football Wear

So I watched the Ravens give away a football game in the last 60 seconds of the game this afternoon, 10/11/09, and I notice all the football players are wearing pink!

I understand that this is Breast Cancer Awareness month, with a motto, as an aside, to “support a pair of breasts near you” or some such…the jokes ,they write themselves.

I’m skeptical.

No, not that raising money, and awareness, of breast cancer, is a bad thing. But last week I tried to compile my grocery list and I got exasperated.

See the picture below.



The local grocery stores, it seems, and some food producers, are donating money to a breast cancer group for every purchase of certain food products.

I can’t tell if these products are marked down because SOME of them are. In other instances, there’s no sale of any kind but somebody somewhere would allegedly contribute money to breast cancer charities for every purchase.

Folks if this isn’t a recipe to defraud than nothing is.

Although I doubt, let me say right now, that there’s any attempt to cheat customers, especially in the larger grocery chains. I do think that by sticking this stuff in the weekly bargain circular there’s some attempt, however slight, to confuse the grocery buyer.

Sure if I had a choice between product A and product B, with both being same price and equal quality, but with product A offering a contribution to breast cancer charity, or any other charity for that matter, for my purchase, I’d pick the one offering to give money to charity, why not if it’s all the same to me?

But I don’t much appreciate being deliberately confused about what’s on sale and what’s not.

Why even put this sort of thing in the weekly bargain circular? Why not just put up a big pink sign right in front of the product rack in the store? Putting products in the bargain circular is, by design, inferring that the pictured product is on SALE, not that money will be given to charity for purchase.

Bah, humbug.

More Laughs From This Administration

Just as soon as the news reporter said that all the doctors in attendance at Obama’s rose garden joke were wearing white coats I smirked.



In fact after my nap I informed husband about what I’d heard, mentioning that, amazingly, all the doctors showed up WEARING THEIR WHITE COATS!

Husband, who still has scars on his brain from his brain infection, shrugged, not realizing the joke.

“What, you think doctors wear their white coats to White House rose garden receptions?” I said to obtuse husband. He looked lost.

From Michelle Malkin.com:
President Obama yesterday rolled out the red carpet — and handed out doctors’ white coats as well, just so nobody missed his hard-sell health-care message.

In a heavy-handed attempt at reviving support for health-care reform, the White House orchestrated a massive photo op to buttress its claim that front-line physicians support Obama.

Later that evening husband informed me that he finally got the joke. He also explained that what with all the hospitals he’d been in he’d never seen a doctor WITHOUT a white coat.

Adding to this administration peeing upon our feet while telling us it’s raining, we discover Obama’s “impartial” doctors were culled from a list of Democratic donors:
President Obama presented his cadre of Doctors as if they were there only because they supported his Obamacare polices. But even The New York Times is casting doubt on that assumption by reporting that the group that assisted Team Obama to round up the Doctors was once called “Doctors For Obama” during the late campaign.

As noted below, the group that supplied many of the doctors for the Rose Garden event, Doctors for America, is a nonprofit organization that grew out of Doctors for Obama, which worked to help elect the president. But it also appears to be working closely with Organizing for America, Mr. Obama’s political organization.

Rahm and Axelrod, heh, they must think we are really stupid out here in la-la land. Or else they think we all have brain scars like husband.

Levi Johnston Soon to Pose Nude in Playgirl

First, I read somewhere that Playgirl, a magazine with male nudes, was read mostly by our homosexual brethren. I have absolutely no proof of this, but so I read. Somewhere.

From People.com:
Levi Johnston has laid bare life with the Palin family. Now he's about to expose much more – himself.

Rex Butler, a lawyer for the 19-year-old father of Sarah Palin's grandchild, says it is a "foregone conclusion" Johnston will pose nude for Playgirl

I have no problem with this fellow getting the most of his soon to expire 15 minutes of fame. Further, let him make all the money he can. It’s the American way.

But someday this young man will become a not so young man. Someday he will still have a son who will become a young man himself. Someday that young man will see, via the Internet, what a fool his father made of himself.

Youth is always wasted on the young.

Bo Doing Number Two Everywhere

This is a story that people talk in whispers about. It seems that first dog Bo does his business in the most unlikely of places, including Air Force 1:

It’s certainly understandable that if the pooch has to go while he’s flying around up in the air that the poor thing has to do what he has to do. And no, I don’t think the President of the U.S. should be picking up dog poop. But according to the story linked above, Bo’s business was left uncared for and a flight attendant almost slipped on it.

I also do not believe the quote from Obama BELOW:
“We go out and we’re walking and I’m picking up poop, and in the background is the beautifully lit White House,” the president said. “It’s quite a moment.”

If Obama picks up Bo’s poop while he’s out walking the dog why on earth doesn’t he pick it up on Air Force 1?

Speaking of Dogs

According to the article, this case would have been taken up this past Tuesday, 10/5/09 :
WASHINGTON -- On the first Tuesday of October, the second day of its new session, the Supreme Court will take up the case of a dog lover whose bloody pit bull fighting videos have raised questions on whether free speech protects the sale of horrific scenes of animal cruelty.

There’s a fellow in jail for selling videos of horrific dog fights so this is an interesting case.

The defense says the video entrepreneur was only exercising his right to free speech when he sells videos of bloody dogs.

We’ll keep an eye on this as I haven’t heard of any resolution.

Delaware’s Mike Castle Runs for Joe Biden’s Spot



Above is a picture of me with Representative Mike Castle, two time Governor of Delaware and ten term Delaware’s ONLY Representative in America’s house.

Beau Biden, son of Joe, is expected to run for Senate, for his rightful inheritance, so it goes nowadays, of his father’s seat.

HERE.

Once upon a time I believed it when the Delaware pubs told me that we had to support Castle “just one more time”.

I know that if anyone can defeat that Biden name (Beau Biden is just a kid with little experience at anything), it would be Mike Castle.

I stopped believing and supporting Mike Castle once he voted FOR Cap N Trade. I do not believe for a minute that Castle could ever believe that making Delawarians pay almost double for electricity is good for them. I don’t know why he did what he did, only one of three pubs in the House to support this joke of a legislation, but I simply will NOT vote for Mike Castle ever again as long as I draw a breath.

Just say NO. I’ll either vote for the Democrat who doesn’t lie about being a Democrat or I’ll not vote for that spot at all.

Never, never, never again. Mike Castle peed on my feet and told me it’s raining one time too many.

Aid to Saudi Arabia?
We are not making this up:
BANGKOK — There are plenty of needy countries at the U.N. climate talks in Bangkok that make the case they need financial assistance to adapt to the impacts of global warming. Then there are the Saudis.

Saudi Arabia has led a quiet campaign during these and other negotiations — demanding behind closed doors that oil-producing nations get special financial assistance if a new climate pact calls for substantial reductions in the use of fossil fuels.

That’s it folks. Demand a new stimulus package. We gotta help the poor sons of camels who sent 18 out of the 19 hijackers over here to hijack our lawfully flying airplanes and kill over 3000 American citizens.



Why No Health Bill Online?



I watched my own fine Senator Carper hem and haw over whether the text of that wretched health care bill would be put online with enough time for us idiots to actually read the thing.

Carper had a valid reason for that hemming and hawing. I’ll let the folks at HOTAIR.com tell you the reason why:
The Baucus Concepts are disasterous, but that’s for another post. For this post, let me get across a simple concept: THERE IS NO BAUCUS BILL.

Your esteemed Senators on the Senate Finance Committee will not be voting on legislation because THERE IS NO BAUCUS BILL.
Your esteemed Senators have so little respect for you that some of them are willing to vote in favor of legislation which does not exist because THERE IS NO BAUCUS BILL.

The actual legislation will be drafted in secret by Harry Reid and a few other people, including staffers whose names and political connections you never will know, and the resulting legislation will be rammed through the Senate and House before anyone gets to read and analyze it.
Months of debate mean nothing. It’s all smoke and mirrors by people who think you are too stupid to realize what is going on.

THERE IS NO BILL LADIES AND GEMS!

They only have talking points. It’s why the Democrats are fighting tooth and nail the Republican proposed legislation to force congress to post the text of pending bills on the Internet:
House Republicans are leading the fight to force congress to put the text of major legislation online for 72 hours before a vote takes place. Here’s the latest from Republican Leader John Boehner (OH):

They vote on the “talking points” then hire lawyers and legal beagles to write the thing.

Makes for sneaking stuff in the bill a later a lot easier as well.

Ending With a Smile-Lesbian Town

I admit to always being perplexed about the human male’s fascination with women who love other women. By its very nature, lesbianism is the EXCLUSION of men, something, silly me, I’d think men would NOT want.

So the story of a town populated by thousands of man-hating lesbians makes me smile.
SWEDISH tourism bodies have been swamped with inquiries from millions of men captivated by a mythical town rumoured to be home to 25,000 sex-mad lesbians.



The town of "Chako Paul City" is said to have been founded in 1820 in the northern Swedish woods by a wealthy man-hating widow.

There is NO town full of man-hating lesbians but I will always scratch my head at silly human men, testicles in hand, who seek this place as heaven on earth.


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Georgia House…Big Meals, Small Prices

Husband I had originally planned to go to the more famous local pub “Irish Eyes” when an annual visit by his mother was being planned.

“Irish Eyes” seemed like the perfect restaurant locale for our cherished annual meal out, especially that restaurant located on the world famous docks of Lewes harbor.

I called to inquire if a reservation would be needed. Seems they had a fire at Irish Eyes, odd in that the whole damn restaurant had burned to the ground a few years ago. This was a restaurant in serious need of plentiful fire extinguishers.

“Georgia House” a member of my choir exclaimed to my query as to a nice restaurant for mother-in-law visit, a restaurant not necessarily part and parcel of Rehoboth’s tourist scene but one with local color and charm.

Georgia House features something called “pretzel salad” and you don’t get much more charming than that.

The summer season was over in this beachside section of Delaware. As such, reservations are not needed at local eateries, even on a Saturday night. Not so at Georgia House, a charming place located roadside smack in the middle of Milford Delaware, nowhere near the Rehoboth Beach scene.

But there was a line for a table at Georgia House at that admittedly prime time Saturday night hour that husband, myself and mother-in-law arriving for a happening local meal.

We only had about a 20 minute wait and Georgia House had several nice areas to wait for a table.

This is no place to seek a romantic candle-lit quiet dinner with a special lover. Georgia House, like its southern name would suggest, is a restaurant featuring cholesterol-laden fried dishes famed as originating in America’s more southern locales.

This fact required that I get, of course, the chicken fried steak with a side order or redskinned mashed potatoes and, of course again, some pretzel salad.



Mother-in-law too got the chicken fried steak while husband got some fried catfish.

The steak was crisp and BIG, very tender, tasty, smothered with the famous cream gravy this dish requires. Georgia House does offer smaller portion entrees and husband said that the next time we eat there (and we WILL go again) he will get the smaller portions.

Yes the portions are big but I’m a believer in wrapping up uneaten restaurant meals to take home for later meal or hey, we have a dog that quite enjoys day-old chicken fried steak.

Mother-in-laws side dishes of green beans and cole slaw were well-prepared. The cole slaw at the Georgia House is very creamy and a bit addictive from the very first bite. The green beans were long, fresh and crisp-tender, seasoned with a sprinkle of sesame seeds and a perfect side dish to make the diner feel righteous as the pretty beans sit along side that great big fried steak.

Husband felt his catfish was spicy and intriguing. I had some of it later in the form of a lunch a few days later from the “doggy” bag and I thought it was delicious. I’m not a big fan of catfish ordinarily but I’d urge anyone to try that entrĂ©e at the Georgia House for a whole new taste sensation. It’s seasoned in a Cajun style and yes, it’s got some zip to it.

Now about this pretzel salad…well I had to order it.

The concoction featured a cream cheese type of base with pretzels spread over this with a layer of jello, of all things, over the top.

Well I just don’t know about this sort of thing with chicken fried steak of Cajun seasoned catfish. Seems to me this is a real nice dessert type of item. However I did eat the entire serving of pretzel salad along with my steak and redskinned mashed taters and, well, it was good. Different, but good.

Georgia House also serves a bangup southern type of sweetened iced tea and the menu was long, varied and intriguing. Rolls are served with the meal, homemade things, warm, yeasty and perfect for the meal’s bread serving.

The prices at Georgia House are as amazing as the pretzel salad. That huge chicken fried steak came in at around $17.00. This includes the big steak, two side orders, those nice warm rolls. Dinner for three cost us around $65.00 that night, which includes tip, drinks but we passed on dessert. I took home plenty of leftovers, enough for two lunches for me later in the week and one treat for the hungry hound.

I consider Georgia House a great find for husband and myself, having been living in the area for over five years now and a bit jaded of the offerings alongside the Route 1 strip.

We’ll definitely be visiting Georgia House again and I understand the restaurant has two other locations, one that serves lunch only right up the street from us!

 Posted by Hello


Dave Letterman Can’t Joke His Way Out of His Creepiness

All but the most obtuse could tell that Dave Letterman caught his audience by surprise the night he announced, with a bit too much insouciance for comfort, that he’d been sleeping with various women on his staff. The audience laughed because hey, the folks were out for a night on the town, they were expecting comedy!

But folks there’s just times when a subject is way more than we want to know. Dave Letterman is hardly any handsome stud and so far most women with two X chromosomes don’t think much of a man who considers bedding a plethora of women a fine way of life.

It happens, we know it. There’s just something about this Letterman story that makes me want to change the channel every time I see that man’s smirking mug.

The fact that he told that really stupid joke about Sarah Palin’s daughter certainly doesn’t help my attitude. She got knocked up by David Axelrod…yeah that one. It wasn’t even funny and now we find out that ole Dave been hopping in and out of bed like he’s got Viagara instead of blood in his veins.

I don’t think Dave Letterman’s going to survive this. I know he chose to come clean because of all some blackmailer, who will likely never serve a day in jail…come on, has against him. This is the sort of distasteful thing that builds up as revelations come out. Cause we all know, deep in our hearts, that this story isn’t about Dave Letterman having some loving relationship with some woman on his staff eons ago.

We begin with the affair Letterman carried on with Stephanie Birkitt, details here, even AFTER he married his wife and mother of his son and AFTER SHE was allegedly in a relationship with the blackmailer.
Pretty former "Late Show" staffer Stephanie Birkitt revealed in her diary that she continued having sex with boss David Letterman even after moving in with her CBS-producer boyfriend, who later allegedly tried to extort him over the affair, sources told The Post yesterday.



Everybody noticed that Letterman said he’d had sex with (even that phrase is creepy…”had sex with”…no love, no affair, no reference to a relationship…only “had sex with”) SEVERAL women on his staff.

Now the women with whom Letterman “had sex with” have been identified, details here.
Two former female employees have come forward. Another, whom sources say may have triggered the extortion plot, has remained quiet. Here's what we know about the three of them.

Once upon a time this country had a mighty revolution that was supposed to emancipate women from being pressured by male employees on the job…also known as sexual favors for a paycheck.

Bill Clinton made that concept a joke and now Dave Letterman admits on nationwide TV that he “had sex with” many women on his staff.

And I ask the obligatory…Where is the National Organization of Women?

Thugs Thought Victims Were Tranvestites…Heh

This is a somewhat difficult article to understand as it is written using British slang.

It would seem two “yobs” had a bit too much too drink and staggered upon a couple of obvious men dressed as women. Thinking they were transvestites, easy prey I assume the thugs figured, they attacked them with an intent to rob.

It would turn out that the “transvestites” were “cage fighters”. In American cage fighters are wrestlers who fight in a cage. The cage fighters were out for a night on the town. Why they were dressed like women is not clear.

But it was the drunks who got the worse end of this deal, as one might yuk and imagine.

Bad Parenting 1



Madeline Neumann was a pretty little girl who should be alive today. She died of what was described as having an undiagnosed but treatable form of diabetes. Her parents didn’t seek medical help for Madeline but chose to pray instead.


WAUSAU, Wis. (Oct. 6) - A central Wisconsin couple who prayed rather than seek medical care for their 11-year-old dying daughter were sentenced Tuesday to six months in jail and 10 years probation in the girl's death.

The judge described Madeline’s parents as “very good people” who made a “bad decision”.

They only got a six month jail sentence and when all is said and done, there’s not much need to keep this very misguided couple behind bars. They are certainly no danger to society. If only Madeline had a champion before it was too late.

Bad Parenting 2

The cardboard box wouldn’t fit in the car, or so this very stupid woman explained to the police.

From the Philly.com:
ALBERTVILLE, Ala. - A woman was charged with endangering the welfare of a child after police said she let her daughter ride in a box on top of their van. Albertville Police spokesman Sgt. Jamie Smith said 37-year-old Jackie Denise Knott was arrested Sunday after police received a call of a minivan traveling on U.S. 431 with a large cardboard box on top with a child inside.

Knott put the child inside the box to hold it down. She thought it was safe because the box was secured to the van with a coat hanger.

You cannot make this stuff up, folks.

Bad Parenting 3

Now we have a drunk woman and her drunk boyfriend who had their 13-year-old son drive their van home.

A Marin County woman faces charges for allegedly letting her 13-year-old son drive her and her boyfriend from a restaurant because they had been drinking, authorities said today.

Both of this fine duo had arrests for drinking and driving so they came up with this responsible solution.

Botched Abortion Baby Born Alive

Whoever wrote this story obviously graduated from a public school. This is the most poorly written news story I’ve come across in a long time.

From Lifenews.com:
The trial of Belkis Gonzalez, who was arrested on two felony counts related to the death of a baby in a botched abortion case, begins on Friday. In the botched abortion incident a young woman named Sycloria Williams went to the GYN Diagnostic Center abortion facility in Hialeah, outside Miami, for an abortion.



As I have been able to ascertain, this Gonzalez woman is some health practitioner who was faced with a live birth when the abortionist didn’t show up to do the abortion. The women who had the abortion had been given some abortion causing drugs the day before and when she came in to “deliver” what should have been a dead baby the baby was born alive.

This is one of those cases, folks, that is referred to as the “living baby” problem. It probably doesn’t happen all that often, but sometimes a baby that should not have breathed a living death is born alive. This turn of events is a problem because an aborted baby born alive is a baby that was, well it was not meant to be born alive. Duh.

State prosecutors are left with a dilemma because when these living babies are killed, as one was in this case, is it still a botched abortion, or is it muder?

It was a Chicago case that had Obama voting against, the “baby born alive act” after a botched abortion baby was born alive and was left in a laundry room to die. Which is did but the death took an hour. Most Americans wouldn’t allow such horrific treatment to a puppy much less a human being. Nobody outright “murdered” that baby but nobody tried to save it either.

And President Obama voted that nobody should ever be forced to keep the baby alive in the future either. A nurse sat in that laundry room and held that precious infant for an hour until it died.

Trial Begins for Father Who Drowned Three Children

The defense lawyers for this guy are trying to get his confession inadmissible. But of course. Because this fine fellow described, on audio tape, how he held each struggling child under water until he or she died.
In 2008, from Foxnews:
The mother of three young children who were allegedly drowned by their father in a Baltimore hotel room said Thursday that her estranged husband was becoming angrier in the weeks preceding the children's deaths.

Still, Amy Castillo said she did not notice anything out of the ordinary on Saturday when she turned her children over to Mark Castillo for a regularly scheduled visitation. It turned out to be the last time she would see her children — Anthony, 6; Austin, 4; and Athena, 2.


Roman Polanski Denied Release From Swiss Prison

Child rapist Roman Polanski doesn’t seem to be having too much luck in the public relations area. The world doesn’t think much of child rapists, silly people.



from USA today:
GENEVA (AP) — Roman Polanski lost his first bid to win his freedom Tuesday as the Swiss Justice Ministry rejected an appeal by the director to be immediately released from prison, an official said.
"We continue to be of the opinion that there is a high risk of flight," said ministry spokesman Folco Galli, explaining the decision.

They think he’s a flight risk, imagine that!

Those creepy Hollywood types still defend this guy. Now we have
Tom Shales defending Polanski’s rape of this young girl by arguing that 13 year olds in Hollywood are much “older” than 13 year olds in other areas of the country.

I covered this story in the last True Crime post HERE. Read it if you have not because I quote the fine, fine Polanski himself about why everyone thinks he should get off for this crime. If you ever wanted to give Polanski even a smidgeon of the benefit of the doubt, this quote of his will change your mind handily.

And finally we have a famous French pedophile defending Polanski HERE stating that NOTHING is unforgiveable.

Here is what Frederic Mitterand., nephew of a former French prime minister, wrote in his 2005 autobiography.
I got into the habit of paying for boys… All these rituals of the market for youths, the slave market excite me enormously… One could judge this abominable spectacle from a moral standpoint but it pleases me beyond the reasonable… The profusion of very attractive and immediately available young boys puts me in a state of desire that I no longer need to hinder nor hide… as I know that I will not be refused.

Assume safely that anybody defending this guy is likely a pervert his or her self. Next Dave Letterman will come out and support this guy.

The Saddest True Crime This Year

I can’t think of anything that can top this for a tragic turn of fate that will leave us all shaking our heads.

From Foxnews.com:

Timothy Willgruber was 57 years old. He had an identical twin brother named Thomas. Thomas was trying to guide his drunken twin brother into a parallel parking space that night of Timothy’s drunken spree. Timothy’s foot evidently slipped off the brake pedal onto the gas propelling Timothy’s car forward and pinning him against another vehicle causing his twin brother’s death.

There was no choice but to punish Timothy. He killed someone while drinking and driving. He was facing charges of vehicular homicide and drinking while driving.

Timothy’s grief and horror were too much to bear. Timothy hung himself before charges could be brought.

Bad Luck Cops

I’d written a very tragic story about a police officer who’d inadvertantly killed a robbery victim instead of the actual perp then actively in the process of attacking the man, HERE.

I speculated that sticking a murder charge on the actual robber, who DID not, keep in mind, pull the trigger that killed the victim, seemed like it might be a prosecutorial trick to help assuage the police officer of a whole shit load of guilt.

A reader pointed out that my speculation was not based on fact.
Google "felony murder rule." Summarizing, if in the commission of a felonious crime a death occurs, then it is on the perpetrators whether they did the killing or not. I doubt the charge of murder is to make the rookie feel better but call to account the thugs whose actions lead to a person's death.

That was a very sad story and while I understand the explanation by the reader, I’m kind of doubtful the robber will be found guilty of murder but might not get much leeway for the robbery charge. Just a hunch.

So we have a couple more unlucky cop stories.

HERE we have a police officer who shot at a dog and hit a bystander.

LA MARQUE, TX (KTRK) -- A woman who was shot by an officer in La Marque has been released from the hospital. Investigators say the shooting happened after a police officer responded to a disturbance. The officer drew her weapon to fire at a dog, but accidentally shot a woman standing nearby.


HERE we have a story about a cop who shot a homeowner, thinking he was an intruder.
When Tony Arambula managed to corner an armed intruder in his son's bedroom he expected police to come to his aid.


I am in no way condemning police officers. I must suppose that this type of thing happens way more than I ever knew. I am not likely to shoot someone by accident but my job doesn’t require me to carry around a loaded gun that I must often use in adrenaline-rushed events with spur of the moment time to plan.

She Just Celebrated Her 100th Birthday; Found Dead In Her Nursing Home Bed



This is a somewhat strange story, requiring some serious reading between the lines. Elizabeth Barrow was found dead in her bed with a plastic bag over her head in late September of this year.
HERE:
BOSTON (Oct. 8) - A 100-year-old woman who was found dead last month in a Massachusetts nursing home had been strangled.
Bristol County District Attorney Sam Sutter said Wednesday that Elizabeth Barrow was found dead in her bed during a routine check Sept. 24 by staff at Brandon Woods Nursing home in Dartmouth.

Who on earth would kill such an elderly woman in her bed, and why?

The article points out that Barrow shared a room with another resident. This murder had to be done by either that room-mate or an employee of the nursing home.

The district attorney refused to release any other details. Which means, to me, that the district attorney HAS details and I speculate the DA likely knows who the murderer is.

Decision to Force Rape Victim to Undergo Psych Exam Overturned

This is another somewhat confusing story. The victim in this case had been drinking the night of the rape and also admitted that she had been taking prescription drugs at the time.

The defendant’s lawyer requested a hearing from superior court to require the victim to undergo a psychiatric profile. It’s easy to see how such a decision could have drastic, perhaps national, consequences.

A three judge panel determined that the defendant’s argument was a good one. Evidently the victim was unable to describe many circumstances, surroundings etc about the night of the attack. A subsequent “en banc” panel of 9 judges overturned that ruling.

From the Timesleader
WILKES-BARRE – In a decision that will have statewide impact, the state Superior Court on Tuesday overturned a Luzerne County judge’s ruling that ordered an alleged rape victim to undergo an involuntary psychiatric evaluation.

Times Leader Photo StoreThe court, with one dissent, determined Judge Peter Paul Olszewski Jr. misapplied the law when he determined the defendant, Daryl Boich, had presented compelling evidence that the evaluation was needed to ensure the woman was competent to testify.

What’s not clear here is just what evidence they have against the defendant. If they’ve got DNA on this fellow well right there’s pretty incriminating evidence. What difference does it make if the victim can’t describe the bar’s wallpaper?

A drunk, even drugged, rape victim is STILL a victim. She is only guilty of bad judgement.

Sounds like this defense attorney was grabbing at straws to ruin the woman’s credibility.

Let the jury decide…don’t make the victim undergo a barrage of psychological tests that will likely do nothing but humiliate the victim even more.
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Autumn 09’s “Dancing With the Stars” Begins to Take On a Personality



Dancing With the Stars Web Site

It was Rumba and Samba night and I’ve got a little tidbit as concerns the Rumba. A dance, I add for a smile, that I have never danced in my life, or the Samba either for that matter.

The Rumba was named for the national drink of Cuba and the dance is, indeed, a Cuban dance. The drink is…tada! RUM!

Danny Osmond did a Rumba on the performance evening of 10/5/09 and he did it well. Osmond got 21 points out of 30 from the judges. I thought he deserved a higher score.

Michael Irving, poor fellow, danced a Samba but here’s a fellow whose hips simply do NOT swivel. In fact most men’s hips do not swivel very well but Irving…well he got the lowest score of the evening, lower than Tom Delay with two fractured feet for God’s sake, 14 points out of a possible 30. Michael was in the bottom three this week.

Mark Dacascos began this contest as a real contender. For his Rumba Mark only got 18 points and I say it’s because Dacascos pretty much remained stationary while his partner, Lacey, did all the work.

I watched Joanna Krupa do a Samba and all I could see was awkward legs. The judges, however and to show you what I know, loved her. She got 23 points but was in jeopardy at one point so my original assessment pretty much matched America’s.

Mya did a nice Rumba but Len, who didn’t take his Viagara that night, grumbled and complained about pretty much nothing. Len said, get this, that the choreography was much too complicated. That’s a new one. Mya got a ten from Bruno and Carrie but curmudgeon Len only gave her seven points. That’s still 27 points and the high score of the night.

Melissa Joan Hart is a big woman who has no natural fluidity. Melissa and her partner danced a Samba and got a lackluster 19 points for the performance.

Ah Louie Vito. What a clown. Louie and his partner did have some great chemistry during their Rumba, makes me wonder if there’s something going on there.

The one notable point on this performance was the beautiful song choice: “Total Eclipse of the Heart”. Louie is showing improvement and received 20 points for the effort.



Natalie Coughlin was the second highest performer of the night, receiving 26 points for her Rumba.

Chuck Liddell, well he and his partner dance a Samba. I thought he did okay, maybe a grade of C+ on my grade meter. I thought the judges were very nasty to Chuck. Maybe that’s why they asked Chuck and Anna to do a repeat performance the next night.

Aaron Carter is a very good dancer and right from the start I pegged him as a real challenge to win this thing. And yet Aaron was considered in danger by America’s vote after he and his partner did a Rumba. There was one point that my lying eyes saw Aaron almost fall and maybe the rest of the country saw it as well. Aaron got 21 points for his performance.

Tom Delay, heh. First, dear Lord can there be any more improbable choice to dance in this thing than short chunky Tom Delay?

I like Tom Delay, please understand. He didn’t deserve the bad rap he got but the pubs…gotta love them. Republicans spend their days reaching across the aisle to their friends while those same friends stab them in the back.

One notable thing about Tom Delay that became so very evident during his short term as a dancing star: the man is a politician but he can’t talk! He stumbles and fumbles for words and often sounds like he has a mouth full of marbles.

I did love that elephant on the back of his dancing shirt. Heh.

Tom dropped out of the contest because the poor guy had two stress fractures, one on each foot. He did receive 15 points for dancing with broken feet, one more than Michael Irving, who had two good feet.

Kelly Osbourne continues to look nice but she started out with a bang she’s yet to equal. Kelly and her partner got 20 points for her Samba. I expect we’ll continue to see Kelly around for a while.

Debi Mazur had a visit by Mel B, a Spice Girl and contender in an earlier Dance With the Stars contest.

It didn’t help. Debi was not a good dancer right from the start. She only got 17 points for her Samba but two other contenders came in lower and one tied with that score.

Debi’s not very likeable and even her partner, very coyly of course, hints that the woman talks entirely too much.

Her time was up at any rate, sooner or later.



So this season’s “Dancing With the Stars” takes on a personality, this after the first few really bad ones and an injury or two are culled from the lineup.

The good dancers have shown their stuff, the ones who have a chance are now ascertainable, the clowns are known.

We’ll sit back and enjoy the remaining weeks of the contest, with weekly posts on this Blog, of course.

Below a video compilation of the outstanding performances of this past week with mine own wise commentary spliced on the video frames.


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 Posted by Hello


Google Bomb-John W. Dozier Jr./Sue Scheff

Amazon code for this book.



Because of a chapter in this book I signed up for a Google service that will notify me, via email, of any reference to a specific phrase of my choosing in any Blogs, comments or web sites on the Internet.

The book is about a woman, co-author Sue Scheff, who was attacked by a viciously mean crew of folks to such an extent that she finally sued for damages done to her reputation and livelihood. She won too, being awarded recompense in the millions of dollars. Her lawyer, co-author John Dozier, gives insight to search engines and how to avoid being in the same trap as Sue Scheff. “Make the search phrase your name or the name of your company”, as I paraphrase Dozier’s advice. Well I thought it was a great idea and didn’t even know that Google offered such a service.

“Pat Fish” I told Google to find and notify me anytime this phrase shows up on an Internet web page. It is, ahem, my real name. I figured what with me being such an important Blogger and everything that I’d be inundated with email of web site URL’s containing my name. First day I get an email from Google with notification that my search phrase had been found. I clicked in. It was in a camping page, within which were instructions on how to cook that fabulous fresh fish caught in the sparkling lake just prior to pulling out the fry pan.

“Pat fish dry then roll in bread crumbs…” was the text.

I am humbled.

So while I am a Blogger with some experience on the Internet it’s evident I have not been a victim of what the authors call a “google bomb”, or an all out assault to cause a person or company huge damages by filling web pages with URL’S and commentary deriding the object of their anger. Folks who make google bombs know all the secrets.

I am familiar with the power of almighty Google on the success of a Blog or web site, I bow to the east and the gods of Google at this discussion. I once got put in what is called a Google trash bucket and for three months I got no hits on my Blog. I don’t know why I got put in the trash bucket as Google decides what Google decides and they are the amighty, all powerful, all knowing. Eventually I got removed from the trash bin but that was one awful few months.

And so too can Google destroy reputations and businesses, albeit along with some help from wise humans who know how to play the Google rating game.

Sue Scheff ran a business that referred troubled teenagers to various schools and institutions that deal with these adolescents in many diverse ways. Her business was known as PURE and it was via a client who sought advice from Scheff that Scheff’s nightmare began.

The trouble maker was a woman named Clark who did, in the end, turn out to have a monetary interest in obtaining the name of a troubled teenager who Scheff once gave a referral. Scheff would not reveal the name of the adolescent to Clark, as one might expect as such things are confidential.

The enraged Clark launched into a campaign to destroy Sue Scheff and her company and I don’t think I’ve ever read of such viciousness.

Dozier provides legal insight to the trials and tribulations of taking the case to court, the problem with having a company such as Google having such a disproportionate inpact on the very definition of “success” in this country, how “freedom of speech” is no such thing but a phrase to cover destructive attacks while avoiding responsibility for reputations destroyed.

I took exception to Dozier’s somewhat snide reference to “citizen journalists”, ie Bloggers, as being mostly bad for the Internet influence. There’s good and bad in every bunch of apples and while I certainly do understand Dozier’s disdain for the ungoverned, unregulated frontier known as the Internet, there’s no need to sniff at what is increasingly a replacement for a corrupt mainstream media that no longer does its job. Consider me as having a dog in this race and take this sniff for what it’s worth.

I also had a problem ascertaining when Dozier was writing and when Scheff was writing. At the book’s beginning the reader is told that different typefaces would indicate who is the narrator. Well the typefaces were different but you almost need a magnifying glass to see the differences readily. Or perhaps I’m just getting too old and crotchety.

These issues being said, I bow to Dozier’s assertion that once grievances are known, careful and thoughtful law making is needed to address the matter. There’s no pride in allowing nasty, misguided people to attack the innocent at will under the guise of freedom of speech.

Dozier also provides valuable insights as to how search engines work, how to use paid ads to fight back against Internet attacks, how to guard and protect your name, the ins and outs of the all-important “search engine optimization”.

In short this well-written book is a must read for anybody doing business on the Internet, which is, these days, almost everyone.

Movie review header


”Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs”-It’s No “UP” But It Entertains

As is always the case, I went to see this movie with my visiting granddaughter. This is the sort of movie designed for just this purpose

The movie was presented in 3D. Kaitlyn Mae does love that effect but it sure does drive the price up. Someday all movies will be 3D and there will no need for those special glasses.



From the web site:
Inspired by Ron and Judi Barrett's children's book of the same name, "Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs" is about inventor Flint Lockwood and his food making invention. When hard times hit Swallow Falls, its townspeople can only afford to eat sardines. Flint Lockwood, a failed inventor, thinks he has the answer to the town's crisis. He builds a machine that converts water into food, and becomes a local hero when tasty treats fall from the sky like rain. But when the machine spins out of control and threatens to bury the whole world under giant mounds of food, Flint finds he may have bitten off more than he can chew.


“UP” by Pixar will forever by the benchmark by which I will judge these types of films. Even Kaitlyn, herself a humble five-year-old movie critic, told me during the viewing of “UP” that she had wanted to go to the bathroom but she loved the movie so much she couldn’t bear to leave. Thus our scramble to the bathroom facilities as the credits for “UP” rolled by.

Kaitlyn did sit spellbound during the viewing of this film but she got a bit antsy a couple of times. But not too often as the creators of “Cloudy …” no doubt knew that children were the primary audience thus movie scene action was a constant.

Which is not to say this is not a quite enjoyable movie with a premise that does bring smiles to our imaginations. Food from water…what a concept.

Except the whole thing does spin out of control and it is then that we discovered how much Flint’s father really loves him, that local scoundrels can become local heroes, that even the most nerdy amongst us can be loved.

“Cloudy …” had all the elements of successful film: romance, intrigue, compelling build up, an intense solution to the problem and a happy ending all around.

Which makes this film sound formulaic which, of course, it is. But the characters are creative with perfect dialogue, the 3-D action spellbounds and when a lazy matinee movie is just the ticket, this film is just the movie.
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