Journalistic writings

Florida's Govenor Rick Scott

2011-04-02T11:33:00.002-04:00

This past November, Republican Rick Scott was elected Florida's Govenor, beating out Democrat Alex Sink by a small margine.

Scott, the former CEO of the Columbia/HCA hospital chain, held no previous political office before running for govenor. His motto was: "Let's Get to Work." During Scott's time as HCA's CEO, the chain defrauded the federal government by falsely adding Medicare charges for work that was never done to the tune of several BILLION dollars.

Since becoming governor, Scott has cut entire departments in an effort to cut spending, thereby adding more Floridians to the unemployment ranks. He has also rejected federal money for a high-speed rail system which would have put the so-called "Bullet-train" between Orlando and Tampa. This would have added thousands of desperately needed jobs, as well as federal money to the local economy. He is also pushing to have the time a person can receive unemployment in Florida from 26 to 20 weeks.

And now this: he has proudly pushed through cuts for funding for the state's disabled.

Here is the article, taken from the Orlando Sentinel:
orlandosentinel.com/features/os-scott-cuts-disabled-20110331,0,7724142.story

OrlandoSentinel.com
Gov. Rick Scott orders immediate cuts to programs for disabled
By Kate Santich, Orlando Sentinel

8:33 PM EDT, March 31, 2011

Florida Gov. Rick Scott ordered deep cuts Thursday to programs that serve tens of thousands of residents with Down syndrome, cerebral palsy, autism and other developmental disabilities.

Though a range of state services face cuts from this year's Legislature, the governor invoked his emergency powers to order the state Agency for Persons with Disabilities to immediately roll back payments to group homes and social workers by 15 percent — an amount providers say could put them out of business and threaten their clients' safety.

"lt's not like, 'Gee, does this mean I have to skip a vacation this year?'" said Amy Van Bergen, executive director of the Down Syndrome Association of Central Florida. "Potentially, these cuts have life and death implications for these people."

An estimated 30,000 Floridians with severe developmental disabilities receive services that help them live outside of nursing homes — typically with family or in small group homes. Aides help them eat, bathe, take medication and otherwise care for themselves.

But the governor said the Agency for Persons with Disabilities' ongoing budget deficit — currently at $170 million — had reached a critical point and needed to be addressed immediately.

The cuts go into effect Friday and last at least through the fiscal year, which ends June 30. Lawmakers are currently debating what will happen after that.

Providers had not been informed of the cuts.

"No one has gotten any notice," said Linda Cumbie, an Orlando social worker who coordinates services that clients need to live outside of a nursing home — which would be a more expensive arrangement for the state. "We have to find out through the newspapers."

Cumbie said funds for the disabled already had been pared back to skeletal levels. She personally is holding a carwash and bake sale to help out one young disabled client so he can attend a daily workshop program.

Katie Porta, president of Quest Inc., which operates a series of group homes and programs for those with disabilities, said provider rates in Florida already rank in the bottom 10 percent for all states.

"We are almost to the point of impossibility in providing for our clients' basic health and safety needs," she said. "I just fear for our people."

She wasn't the only one. Alan McIntosh, a 57-year-old Orlando man with cerebral palsy, relies on an aide to do just about anything requiring movement. "I don't know what he [Gov. Scott] is thinking," McIntosh said. "As it is, I'm just trying to survive."

His aide, Debbie Pascascio, works 24 hours a day, four days in a row, to care for McIntosh and two other people with severe disabilities. Though she did not want to reveal her salary, other aides say $800 a week for round-the-clock care is typical, and many workers receive no health insurance, sick leave or retirement benefits.

APD Chief of Staff Bryan Vaughan said his department had no choice. "These actions are necessary … so that we are not forced to eliminate services to this vulnerable population," he said in a news release issued late Thursday. "APD is committed to protecting the health and safety of Floridians with developmental disabilities while living within our budget."

But at the Threshold Center for Autism in Winter Park, former CEO and current board member Bob Wright said something has to give. Staffers there work with children and adults who are severely impaired and sometimes violent.

"If this were any other workplace, you would consider it a war zone," Wright said. "My staff gets bitten, hit, kicked, spat upon, defecated on, urinated on — for $8.23 an hour. And every time we start talking about giving our guys a pay raise, the governor comes along and cuts the rates."

The center has not had a rate increase for its services since 2005, and it has had several rounds of cuts since then. At the same time, training requirements for staffers have increased.

"The state can cut my rates by 15 percent, but I can't cut my staffing 15 percent or I'll be in violation of staffing ratios," Wright added. "This may break our backs."

ksantich@tribune.com or 407-420-5503

Copyright © 2011, Orlando Sentinel

Miep Gies Dies; Helped Hide Anne Frank's family

2010-01-12T19:26:00.002-05:00

Miep Gies, who helped hide Anne Frank's family during World War II, died Monday January 11, 2009. She was a month shy of her 101st birtday.

According to Main Online, "Miep was Anne's confidante and the last of the handful of 'helpers' who enabled the Franks to hide for nearly two years before their capture. Her death is the final chapter in a tragic, but inspirational story."

The holocaust brought out among the worst that humanity has ever seen, along with some of the bravest people who ever lived.

To read more, please go to: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/debate/article-1242725/Painfully-shy-awesomely-brave-unknown-heroine-Anne-Franks-diary.html#ixzz0cRtiJaLE

Jackson (FL) Health System halts dialysis for poor patients

2010-01-07T13:03:00.000-05:00

According to an article in today's Miami Herald, "Dozens of patients are facing a life-or-death situation after Jackson Health System stopped paying for treatment for their failing kidneys.

"The financially strapped Jackson Health System has stopped paying for dialysis treatments for 175 poor patients with failing kidneys -- a decision that experts say could be deadly."

The above article by John Dorschner and Juan Carlos Chavez, titled Jackson Health System halts dialysis for poor patients, may be found in today's Miami Herald. To read the article in its entirety, please go to: http://www.miamiherald.com/486/story/1413134.html .

Guess ethics and medicine no longer coexist.

46th Anniversary

2009-11-22T12:54:00.000-05:00

Quick, what were you doing when you heard the news?

If you're asking What news?, you're probably under 50 years old. Today, November 22, is the 46th anniversary of President John F. Kennedy's assasination in Dallas, Texas.

Those of us old enough can attest that it had the same effect on us as the 9/11 attacks of 2001 had on us--and those born in the interim--all those years ago.

I was in school, getting ready to head home. As a "walker", I had to wait with the other walkers until the buses left with the bus kids. This was a yin/yang type situation: the bus kids got to leave a few minutes before the walkers, but the walkers usually managed to get home before the bus kids. We also got to do stuff for our respective teachers, such as running the day's roll to the office, clapping the dust off the erasers (way cool when you're 6 or 7 and the teacher has given you this responsibility).

The bus kids had were in the process of boarding their rides as I ran the roll to the office for my fifth grade teacher. Another walker, heading back to her classroom from the office, tears on her horrified face, sobbed, "The president's been shot." No way, I thought, unable to fathom such a horrible deed. I knew Lincoln had been assasinated almost a century earlier. But Kennedy? Who would do such a thing?

I had to announce myself several times to the office staff, as students were to physically hand the day's roll to one of the secretaries. Everyone in the office, secretaries, principal, teachers, were listening to a radio in stunned silence.

At home, minutes after leaving school, I found my mom with the TV on, something she rarely watched during the day. She had tears in her eyes and her voice was shaky as she told me the news.

The television stayed on the rest of the day. In a move that was unprecidented for the time, the networks broke from their daily schedules to bring updates on the assasination.

The remainder of the day went by in a numbing blur, the same numbing blur that most of us remember all too well during the days following the 9/11 attacks. Most of us were in shock, wanting this to be a horrible nightmare.

Since JFK's assasination, many things have changed--46 years worth of change. The only JFK sibling left alive is his sister Jean Ann Kennedy.

It is our duty, whether in memory of that fateful November day in 1963 or the September morning in 2001, to try to make this world a better place for all of us.

If not for the memory of the past, then do it for the future.

Exxon-Mobil Pleads Guilty to Killing Migratory Birds in Five States

2009-08-14T17:50:00.000-04:00

Exxon-Mobil Pleads Guilty to Killing Migratory Birds in Five States

WASHINGTON – Exxon-Mobil Corporation, the world’s largest publicly traded oil and gas company, pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in Denver to violating the federal Migratory Bird Treaty Act (MBTA) in five states during the past five years, the Justice Department announced today.

The company has agreed to pay fines and community service payments totaling $600,000 and will implement an environmental compliance plan over the next three years aimed at preventing bird deaths on the company’s facilities in the affected states. According to papers filed in court, the company has already spent over $2.5 million to begin implementation of the plan.

The charges stem from the deaths of approximately 85 protected birds, including waterfowl, hawks and owls, at Exxon-Mobil drilling and production facilities in Colorado, Wyoming, Oklahoma, Texas and Kansas between 2004 and 2009. According to the charges and other information presented in court, most of the birds died after exposure to hydrocarbons in uncovered natural gas well reserve pits and waste water storage facilities at Exxon-Mobil sites in Colorado, Wyoming, Kansas, Oklahoma and Texas.

The company has entered into a plea agreement with the government, calling for guilty pleas to the five charges and a sentence of $400,000 in fines and $200,000 in community service payments. The fines will be deposited into the federally-administered North American Wetlands Conservation Fund. The community service payments will be made to a non-profit waterfowl rehabilitation foundation in Colorado and the congressionally-chartered National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, designated for waterfowl preservation work in each of the affected states. During a three-year probationary period, Exxon-Mobil must also implement an "environmental compliance plan" designed to keep birds from coming into contact with oily waters at its facilities in the five affected states.

"The environmental compliance plan that Exxon-Mobil has agreed to in this multi-district plea agreement is an important step in protecting migratory birds in these five states," said John C. Cruden, Acting Assistant Attorney General for the Justice Department’s Environment and Natural Resources Division.

"We are all responsible for protecting our wildlife, even the largest of corporations," said Colorado U.S. Attorney David M. Gaouette. "An important part of this case is the implementation of an environmental compliance plan that will help prevent future migratory bird deaths."

The Migratory Bird Treaty Act, enacted in 1918, implements this country’s commitments under avian protection treaties with Great Britain (for Canada), Mexico, Japan and Russia. The Act creates a misdemeanor criminal sanction for the unpermitted taking of listed species by any means and in any manner regardless of fault. The maximum penalty for a corporate taking under the MBTA is $15,000, or twice the gross gain or loss resulting from the offense, and five years probation. The birds killed in the five cases include ducks, grebes, ibis, passerines, shorebirds, owls, martin and a hawk. None of these species is listed as endangered or threatened under federal law.

Migratory birds often land on open wastewater ponds at oil and gas facilities and become coated with, or ingest, fatal amounts of hydrocarbons discharged into the water during drilling or production operations. Such killings can be prevented by scrubbing the water of contaminants before discharge, removing the ponds, placing an obstruction such as netting or plastic "bird balls" over the water to prevent contact, or installing commercially-manufactured electronic hazing devices which detect incoming flights of migratory birds and deploy noise and lights to scare them away from the area. Exxon-Mobil’s environmental compliance plan will employ these techniques, tailored to each facility, to prevent future mortality.

The cases were investigated by Special Agents of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and are being prosecuted by Senior Trial Attorney Robert S. Anderson of the Justice Department’s Environmental Crimes Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael Carey of the District of Colorado.

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This article was taken from the Department of Justice website. The press release, posted here in its entirety, may be found at http://www.usdoj.gov/opa/pr/2009/August/09-enrd-795.html . For more news from the Department of Justice, go to www.usdoj.gov .

Scholar's Arrest: How Far Has Equality Come?

2009-07-22T16:38:00.000-04:00

One of America's most prominent African-American scholars was arrested last week after an incident with police.

Henry Louis Gates had arrived home from a trip abroad to find the front door to his Cambridge, Mass. house stuck shut. Entering his home from the back door, he managed to force the door open with the help of a car service driver. Gates was on the phone with the Harvard leasing office when a white police sergeant arrived. Stories differ as to what exactly happened next, but the end result was that Gates was charged with disorderly conduct after repeatedly demanding the sergeant's name and badge number. The charges were later dropped.

Gates is a Harvard professor, PBS documentarian, acclaimed historian, recipient of a MacArthur "genius grant" and Summa cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa graduate of Yale.

My question is this: Would Gates have been arrested if he had been all of the afforementioned and white? If the answer is a resounding yes, that's one thing. But if the answer is no, then maybe, just maybe, we ought to reexamine how far we've come over the last few decades.

Equality doesn't mean treated better than. Women shouldn't have more rights than men, blacks shouldn't be treated better than whites, the GBLT community shouldn't be seen as needing more rights than straights. The flip side is that women, blacks and the GBLT community shouldn't have less rights, either.

Try this: how about treating each other as human. Now there's a thought for you.

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The information on Mr. Gates' arrest came from MSNBC and can be found at http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/32077998/ns/us_news-race_and_ethnicity/?GT1=43001.

FBI, KCSO (TN) Looking for Bank Robbery Suspect

2009-06-28T11:41:00.000-04:00

FBI, KPD, and KCSO, as Part of the Safe Streets Task Force, and the KCSO Major Crimes Unit are Searching for Man who Robbed a Knoxville Bank Late Today

The Knoxville Division of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and Sheriff Jimmy “J.J.” Jones of the Knox County Sheriff’s Office (KCSO) are asking for the public’s assistance in identifying the man who robbed a Knoxville bank late this afternoon, according to a press release issued Friday by the FBI.

At approximately 5:20 p.m., a man entered the First Tennessee Bank located at 10606 Hardin Valley Road, in Knoxville, Tennessee. After displaying a dark, large frame revolver with wooden grips, the suspect jumped the teller counter, obtained an undetermined amount of money, and fled the scene on foot headed east into nearby woods.

Witnesses described the suspect as an unshaven white male in his 50s to early 60s with gray facial hair, tanned arms, approximately 5’7” tall, with a slim build, and weighing approximately 160 pounds. The suspect was wearing blue jeans, a yellow or gold shirt, black gloves, black dress shoes and a black ski mask.

A reward is being offered for information which leads to the arrest of this individual. Anyone with information is asked to call the FBI at 865-544-0751 or the KSCO at 865-215-2243. This matter is being investigated jointly by the FBI Safe Streets Task Force and KCSO Major Crimes Unit.

All defendants are presumed innocent unless proven guilty in a court of law.

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The article above was taken directly (via cut-and-paste) from the Federal Bureau of Investigation's (Knoxville, TN)web site. To view the article on the FBI's site, go to http://knoxville.fbi.gov/pressrel/2009/kx062509.htm.

Other news items from the FBI's Knoxville site can be viewed at http://knoxville.fbi.gov/press.htm.

Unemployment Up in May

2009-06-23T14:38:00.000-04:00

Over three hundred thousand people lost their jobs in May, according to a report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. "Employers took 2,933 mass layoff actions in May that resulted in the separation of 312,880 workers, seasonally adjusted, as measured by new filings for unemployment insurance benefits during the month," the report stated. Each of the mass layoff actions affected a minimum of 50 employees.

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To read the entire Bureau of Labor Statistics report, please go to http://www.bls.gov/news.release/pdf/mmls.pdf.

Nelson brings oil fight to Panhandle

2009-06-12T14:46:00.000-04:00

There comes a time when common sense needs to take the reins away from greed. It appears that Florida Senator Bill Nelson is again trying to grab those reins.

"I don’t think Florida should have to trash its coastline and its $65 billion economy just so big oil can increase its profit margin," Nelson said in a statement. He planned to stop this morning at the Florida Aquarium in Tampa before heading to Tallahassee, Panama City and Pensacola on Monday.

According to an article from Florida Trend, The Aquarium is "home to some of the state’s marine life from the common to the most rare. He chose the aquarium in part because it showcases the richness of Florida’s environment and way of life that will face destruction from offshore drilling in the Gulf."

Nelson, who has fought against drilling in the Gulf, spoke by phone with Florida Governor Charlie Crist about the proposed drilling. Nelson has said that he "will not only argue environmental damage but also a national security angle," stating that drilling will reduce "the last remaining unfettered training range" for military pilots.

"The operative policy and law of the United States is to use much of the eastern Gulf of Mexico as the last remaining training range for our military pilots," he said. "Give that up to the oil boys and you sacrifice national security."

Might I add this: Right on, Bill. Florida needs all the voices of reason we can muster.

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Information for this article was taken from both Florida Trend and TampaBay.com's The Buzz. To read more on this, please check out Florida Trend at http://floridatrend.com/article.asp?aID=51240, as well as TampaBay.com's The Buzz at http://blogs.tampabay.com/buzz/bill_nelson/.

New Jersey University Hospital to Pay Additional $2 Million to Resolve Fraud Claims

2009-06-10T11:03:00.000-04:00

WASHINGTON - The University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey (UMDNJ) has agreed to pay the United States $2 million to resolve federal civil fraud allegations that its hospital defrauded Medicaid, the Justice Department announced (Tuesday). From 1993 to 2004, UMDNJ’s University Hospital submitted claims to Medicaid for outpatient physician services that were also being billed by doctors working in the hospital’s outpatient centers. By submitting duplicate claims for payment, University Hospital effectively doubled billed the government’s Medicaid program.

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To read the entire article that this is from, check the U.S. Department of Justice's website (www.USDOJ.gov) or, for a direct link to the article, go to http://www.usdoj.gov/opa/pr/2009/June/09-civ-566.html.

Four Plead Guilty to Conspiring to Support Terrorists

2009-06-10T10:49:00.000-04:00

Disclaimer: The following article is cut-and-paste from The United States Attorney's Office, Eastern District of New York via the U.S. Department of Justice website (www.USDOJ.gov) or at http://www.usdoj.gov/usao/nye/pr/2009/2009jun09.html.

FOUR PLEAD GUILTY TO CONSPIRING TO PROVIDE MATERIAL SUPPORT TO THE LTTE, A FOREIGN TERRORIST ORGANIZATION

DEFENDANTS INCLUDE THE LEADER OF THE LTTE IN THE UNITED STATES AND ONE OF THE LTTE'S SENIOR ARMS PROCUREMENT AGENTS

Defendants’ Wide-Ranging Support of the LTTE Included the Purchase of Arms and Explosives, Attempted Bribery of U.S. State Department Officials, Fundraising, and Covertly Financing a U.S. Congressman’s Trip to Sri Lanka

Earlier today, at the federal courthouse in Brooklyn, defendants Karunakaran Kandasamy, Pratheepan Thavaraja, Murugesu Vinayagamoorthy, and Vijayshanthar Patpanathan pled guilty to, among other crimes, conspiring to provide material support to the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), a designated foreign terrorist organization. The guilty plea proceedings were held before Chief United States District Judge Raymond J. Dearie. Kandasamy and Pratheepan face a 20-year maximum statutory sentence. Vinayagamoorthy and Patpanathan face a 15-year maximum statutory sentence.

The LTTE was founded in 1976 and uses illegal methods to raise money, acquire weapons and technology, and publicize its cause of establishing an independent Tamil state in northern Sri Lanka. The LTTE began its armed conflict against the Sri Lankan government in 1983, and utilizes a guerrilla strategy that often includes acts of terrorism. With an army of several thousand combatants, the LTTE had, until the last several months, controlled most of the northern and eastern coastal areas of Sri Lanka. Over the past 17 years, the LTTE has conducted over 200 suicide bombings, resulting in the deaths of hundreds of victims, and carried out numerous political assassinations, including the May 1991 assassination of former Indian Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi, the 1993 assassination of the President of Sri Lanka, Ranasinghe Premadasa, the July 1999 assassination of Neelan Thiruchelvam, a member of the Sri Lankan parliament, the June 2000 assassination of C.V. Goonaratne, the Sri Lankan Industry Minister, the August 2006 assassination of the Sri Lankan government’s peace secretariat, Ketheshwaran Loganathan, the January 2008 assassination of Sri Lankan Minister for Nation Building, D.M. Dassanayake, and the April 2008 assassination of Sri Lankan Highways Minister, Jeyaraj Fernandopulle. Beginning in 2002, the LTTE and the Sri Lankan government operated under a tenuous cease-fire agreement, but that agreement ended, and between April 2006 and May 2009, tens of thousands of people were killed in the escalating conflict. In May 2009, after 25 years of armed conflict, the current LTTE leadership was defeated by the Sri Lankan military, resulting in the death of LTTE leader Velupillai Prabhakaran and several other senior LTTE officials.

The LTTE relies on sympathetic Tamil expatriates residing in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia, France, and several other countries to raise and launder money and smuggle arms, explosives, equipment, and technology into LTTE-controlled territory. To coordinate these activities, the LTTE established “branches” in at least 12 countries, including the United States. Defendant Kandasamy was the director of the American branch of the LTTE, which operated through charitable front organizations, including the Tamil Rehabilitation Organization (“TRO”). As the director of the American branch, Kandasamy oversaw and directed the LTTE’s various activities in the United States, including raising millions of dollars for the LTTE and laundering it through the TRO. Defendant Vijayshanthar Patpanathan assisted Kandasamy and others in these fundraising and money laundering activities.

Defendant Pratheepan Thavaraja was a senior procurement agent for the LTTE, involved in the purchase of improvised explosive devices, missiles, machine guns, artillery, radar, and other equipment and technology from countries around the world, including the United States. A single spreadsheet of “priority” items to purchase, which was found in Pratheepan’s laptop computer, totaled $20 million in arms and equipment. It included, among other things, six “25mm Anti Aircraft Gun[s]” at $160,000 each, six “30 mm Twin Barrel Mounted Naval Gun[s] Type 69 (with base)” at $30,000 each, thousands of automatic rifles, millions of rounds of ammunition, grenade launchers, 50 tons of C4 explosive, five tons of “Phlegmatized RDX” explosive, 50 tons of “TNT - based on Chinese specification,” and 50 tons of Tritonal explosive. Pratheepan and defendant Murugesu Vinayagamoorthy were also involved in the attempted bribery of purported U.S. State Department officials to remove the LTTE from the list of designated foreign terrorist organizations. In addition, Vinayagamoorthy participated in laundering LTTE money through a Swiss bank account to covertly fund a U.S. Congressman’s trip to LTTE-controlled territory in Sri Lanka.

“Just weeks after the LTTE’s leaders in Sri Lanka were defeated in that country, the leader of the LTTE in the United States and other LTTE supporters have been brought to justice,” said United States Attorney Campbell. “The defendants were convicted for their involvement in efforts to raise millions of dollars and acquire arms and technology for use by the LTTE.” Mr. Campbell added that this successful prosecution is the result of a coordinated international effort by law enforcement led by the Newark and New York Divisions of the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Joint Terrorism Task Force, with assistance provided by more than 20 of the FBI’s Field Offices, including New Haven, Buffalo, Seattle, Baltimore, Chicago, and San Jose; the United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Connecticut; U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE); the U.S. Department of State; the Royal Canadian Mounted Police National Security Program; and British and Indonesian law enforcement authorities.

The government’s LTTE cases are being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Jeffrey H. Knox, Andrew E. Goldsmith, Greg D. Andres, and Marshall L. Miller.

The Defendants:

KARUNAKARAN KANDASAMY, also known as “Karuna”

PRATHEEPAN THAVARAJA, also known as “Raja Pratheepan,” “Thambi Sampras,” and “Steeban”

MURUGESU VINAYAGAMOORTHY, also known as “Dr. Moorthy” and “Vinayagamoorthy Murugesu”

VIJAYSHANTHAR PATPANATHAN, also known as “Chandru”

Disclaimer: The previous article is cut-and-paste from The United States Attorney's Office, Eastern District of New York via the U.S. Department of Justice website (www.USDOJ.gov) or at http://www.usdoj.gov/usao/nye/pr/2009/2009jun09.html.

United States Files Suit Against California Mortgage Lender

2009-06-10T10:37:00.000-04:00

The Department of Justice filed suit Tuesday against California mortgage lender Capmark Finance Inc., charging that Capmark violated the False Claims Act by making false statements on applications for federal mortgage insurance covering residential nursing homes, according to a DOJ news release (http://www.usdoj.gov/opa/pr/2009/June/09-civ-570.html).

In the suit, filed in United States District Court in Los Angeles, the United States alledges to that Capmark made false statements in HUD applications when applying for mortgage loans.

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To read the U.S. DOJ release, please check http://www.usdoj.gov/opa/pr/2009/June/09-civ-570.html.

U.S. Appeals Court Rejects Klansmen's Conviction Challenge

2009-06-10T10:11:00.000-04:00

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit rejected a challenge to the conviction of a former member of the White Knights of the Ku Klux Klan of Mississippi Friday, according to a U.S. Department of Justice website.

In 2007, a federal jury in Mississippi convicted James Ford Seale and other klansmen of "conspir(ing) to abduct, interrogate, beat and eventually murder Henry Hezekiah Dee and Charlie Eddie Moore" in 1964. Seale was sentenced to three life terms in prison.

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The entire release can be read on the U.S. Department of Justice website (http://www.usdoj.gov/) as well as http://www.usdoj.gov/opa/pr/2009/June/09-crt-558.html.

Medical Students and Dr. George Tiller

2009-06-07T08:40:00.000-04:00

Medical Students for Choice has been assisting abortion providers since 1993. An article on med students' reaction to last Sunday's murder of Dr. George Tiller is available at Women's Enews. The link to the article is http://www.womensenews.org/article.cfm/dyn/aid/4035/context/cover/.

DOJ Launches Investigation into Fed. Crimes of Tiller's Death

2009-06-05T15:46:00.000-04:00

The U.S. Department of Justice's Civil Rights Department and the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Kansas has launced an investigation into federal crimes in the connection with the Sunday murder of Dr. George Tiller.

The USDOJ released the following statement on their website: "The federal probe will consist of a thorough review of the evidence and an assessment of any potential violations of the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act (FACE Act) or other federal statutes. The federal investigation will be conducted in close coordination with the Office of the Sedgwick County, Kan., District Attorney, and the state's ongoing murder prosecution will have the full support of federal investigators (http://www.usdoj.gov/opa/pr/2009/June/09-crt-555.html)."

Congress enacted the FACE Act in 1994 "to establish federal criminal penalties and civil remedies for violent, obstructionist or damaging conduct affecting reproductive health care providers and recipients (USDOJ)."

Acting Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division Loretta King has directed the U.S. Marshals Service to protect "appropriate people and facilities" following the May 31 murder of Dr. Tiller.

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To read the USDOJ's entire press release, please go to: http://www.usdoj.gov/opa/pr/2009/June/09-crt-555.html.

House Passes Federal Paid Parental Leave Act

2009-06-05T15:28:00.001-04:00

The U.S. House of Representatives approved the Federal Paid Parental Leave Act in a 258 to 142 vote last night. The bill would Federal Employees with 4 weeks of paid parental leave after the adoption or birth of a child. If the Senate passes the bill, it is expected that President Obama will sign the bill into law.

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To read more, go to the Feminist Daily News at http://www.feminist.org/news/newsbyte/uswirestory.asp?id=11738 or to Govtrack.us at http://www.govtrack.us/congress/bill.xpd?bill=h111-626 .

Planned Parenthood Statement on Dr. Tiller's Murder

2009-06-02T19:47:00.000-04:00

The murder Sunday of a doctor who performed late-term abortions might not have come as a complete surprise, but it has saddened many in the pro-choice community. In fact, Dr. George Tiller had received death threats and a previous attempt on his life. Yet he continued to perform lat
e-term abortions when a woman's life was endangered.

Planned Parenthood Federation of America released a statement on Sunday, which reads as such:
"NEW YORK, NY — Cecile Richards, president of Planned Parenthood Federation of America, today issued the following statement on the murder of reproductive health care provider Dr. George Tiller in Wichita, KS.

"The entire Planned Parenthood family is deeply saddened by the murder of Dr. George Tiller. While he was not a Planned Parenthood provider, he was an integral part of our community and his loss is felt by all of us. Our thoughts and prayers go out to his family and those close to him who are suffering a personal tragedy.

"Dr. Tiller was the epitome of high-quality medical care underscored by deep compassion for his patients. He provided critical reproductive health care services, including abortion services to women facing some of the most difficult medical circumstances. He was continually harassed by abortion opponents for much of his career — his clinic was burned down; he was shot by a health center protester; and he was recently targeted for investigation only to be acquitted by a jury just a few months ago. None of this stopped George Tiller from his commitment to providing women and their families with compassionate care that others were unwilling to offer.

"His death is an enormous loss for the patients who relied on him, his dedicated staff, the medical community and for women and their families across America." (Planned Parenthood Federation's website)

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The above statement, as well as a summary of Planned Parenthood Federation, can be read online at http://www.plannedparenthood.org/about-us/newsroom/press-releases/planned-parenthood-federation-america-statement-murder-dr-george-tiller-27643.htm.

Bartender Saves Woman from Burning Building

2009-06-01T12:03:00.000-04:00

Think only Superman and firefighters save people from burning buildings? Think again.

Shortly after midnight Thursday, Dustin Harper was with friends at Original Joe's in Red Deer, Alberta, Canada when someone told them that the apartment building next door was on fire.

In spite of, or maybe because of the smoke and fire pouring out of the building, Harper and one of his friends went inside and started banging on doors to alert tenets. After Harper's friend left, one of the tenets helped Harper continue alerting others inside the building.

Harper entered one apartment and called to Dorothy Sparks that her home was on fire. Sparks, 55, had just woken up and was looking for her glasses.

According to an article in the Red Deer Advocatem Sparks "'was in her socks, so I picked her up and started running out and the embers are coming down,' Harper said.

"His friend was yelling at the bottom of the stairs, 'Get out, get out, the roof’s coming down.' ("Bartender makes daring rescue," by Stacy O'Brien, Red Deer Advocate, May 29, 2009)"

Pieces of the roof, as well as embers, fell around them as they made their escape.

Sparks lost everything she owned in the fire, but later said that she was greatful to have been saved. All the tenets made it out safely.

"Harper shrugs off any suggestion that he is a hero. The bartender at Original Joe’s said he has never done something like that before, but he knew someone was in there and would have felt sick to his stomach if he didn’t go in after her ("Bartender...")."

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The article from the Red Deer Advocate can be found here: http://www.albertalocalnews.com/reddeeradvocate/news/local/Bartender_makes_daring_rescue_46461717.html.

What constitutes Domestic Terrorism?

2009-05-31T17:42:00.000-04:00

How do we define domestic terrorism?

What comes to mind is often easier to describe: The September 11, 2001 (9/11) attacks; the bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah building in Oklahoma City (April 19, 1995); the Anthrax and Ricin threats.

Back to the definition. Cornell University Law School defines domestic terrorism thus: "The term 'domestic terrorism' means activities that—
(A) involve acts dangerous to human life that are a violation of the criminal laws of the United States or of any State;
(B) appear to be intended—
(i) to intimidate or coerce a civilian population;
(ii) to influence the policy of a government by intimidation or coercion; or
(iii) to affect the conduct of a government by mass destruction, assassination, or kidnapping; and
(C) occur primarily within the territorial jurisdiction of the United States (http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/uscode18/usc_sec_18_00002331----000-.html)."

Not something that a rational person would want to be associated with, right?

There are many issues that rely simply on personal preference: Do you prefer red or blue? Are you a summer or winter kind of person? Spaghetti with white or red sauce?

Then there are the heavy hitting issues that tend to polerize people. Abortion is one of these issues. People tend to consider themselves pro-life or pro-choice.

This morning, Dr. George Tiller was murdered while at church. Why did this horrible act take place? Apparently, someone was not thrilled with Dr. Tillman, especially the fact that he performed abortions.

In a press release, the National Organization for Women (NOW) states, "NOW Identifies Murder of Dr. George Tiller As Domestic Terrorism, Calls for Action from Justice Department and Homeland Security."

I'm sure that there are those who feel that Dr. Tiller "had it coming." But think for a minute. What happened when the U.S. was attacked during the 9/11 attacks? Yes, most of us were shook. But in the weeks and months following this, most of us decided, "I'm not going to let them stop me from doing..." I had taken part in a local 5K race in previous years. I had briefly wondered if I should take part in it after the attacks. But I did. Something along the line of "they won't stop me from doing this!" went through my head.

Chances are there will be doctors doing abortions. Abortion is legal. Murder isn't. And anyone who wants to change the system needs to do so within the confines of the law, not by using domestic terrorism.

Tampa Judge Shuts Down Tax Preparer

2009-05-28T10:35:00.000-04:00

"WASHINGTON – A federal judge in Tampa, Fla., has permanently barred a Port Richey, Fla., tax preparer and his firm from preparing federal tax returns, the Justice Department announced today. U.S. District Court Judge Elizabeth A. Kovachevich of the Middle District of Florida entered the permanent injunction against Frank Lighty and his firm, Lighty and Associate. Lighty consented to the permanent injunction."

Disclaimer: This is from the Department of Justice website; for the rest of the article, check: http://www.usdoj.gov/opa/pr/2009/May/09-tax-515.html

Guess doctoring returns can be taxing...especially when you're caught!

Former NYC Police Commissioner Bernard Kerik Indicted

2009-05-28T10:24:00.000-04:00

Former New York City Police Commissioner Bernard Kerik was indicted was indicted by a federal grand jury for "making false statements to White House officials during his vetting for the position of Secretary of the United States Department of Homeland Security," according to Acting United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York Lev L. Dassin yesterday.

(Info taken from the DOJ press release on the FBI website)

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To read more, go to the DOJ press release on the FBI website at: http://newyork.fbi.gov/dojpressrel/pressrel09/nyfo052609.htm

Lawyer Charged in 40 Count Indictment

2009-05-28T10:14:00.000-04:00

A Columbus, Georgia attorney was indicted by a federal grand jury of 40 charges stemming from actions between 2005 and 2008, according to the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

To read more, go to http://atlanta.fbi.gov/dojpressrel/pressrel09/at052109a.htm.

Obama to Nominate Sonia Sotomayer

2009-05-26T08:34:00.000-04:00

Breaking News

President Barak Obama is expected to name his nominee to replace Supreme Court Justice David Souter at 10:15 this morning. He intends to nominate Sonia Sotomayer, a federal appeals court judge.

The daughter of Puerto Rican immigrants, Sotomayer was nominated to the U.S. District Court by George H.W. Bush in 1991. She recieved her law degree from Yale University.

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To read more, go to: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/30938978/.

Missing Children

2009-05-25T14:21:00.000-04:00

According to the Federal Bureau of Investigation, besides being Memorial Day, today is also Missing Children's Day.

Most of us will never know the horror of dealing with a missing child. I'm sure not a day goes by that John and Reve Walsh wish that they didn't know that horror. Thank God they were able to use their pain to help thousands of others going through the same pain.

Here is where you can help. Check: http://www.fbi.gov/page2/may09/missingkids_052509.html. The site has photos of missing children, as well as links to help parents of missing children.

If you know of the whereabouts of any missing child, please contact your local police department and/or the FBI.

Memorial Day

2009-05-25T14:08:00.001-04:00

Most of us have known someone who has served in the Armed Forces. Maybe you served.

Today is Memorial Day, a day when we are to honor those who have died in service to our country. According to Wikipedia, "Formerly known as Decoration Day, it commemorates U.S. men and women who died while in the military service. First enacted to honor Union soldiers of the American Civil War (it is celebrated near the day of reunification after the Civil War), it was expanded after World War I to include American casualties of any war or military action."

If you enjoy the freedoms afforded to our citizens, please give thanks...and remember those in the Armed Forces.

Thanks, Dad, Paul, Kevin, BJ, Eric, Mara and her husband, and everyone else in service to this country.

Segregation in the U.S.? Now?

2009-05-25T08:08:00.000-04:00

It's the time of year when hope, and summer, springs eternal. To quote the song, Summertime, and the living is easy...

The school year is winding down: younger students look forward to end-of-year parties, both at home and during class-time, while high school students deal with finals and, possibly, proms.

Entire classes of prom-goers will gather in their finest to dance the night away. But in one small Georgia town, the high school had not one, but two proms. On the surface, one might think, two proms? How cool is that? Except that it isn't--not by a long shot.

On May 21, the New York Times reported that the class of 2009 at Montgomery County High School did, indeed, have two senior proms: On Friday, May 1, the white students had their prom; the following night, the black students had theirs.

Excuse me? Segregated proms? Does anyone else find this somehow disturbing? This is the twenty-first century, not the 1950s!

According to the article, while many rural Southern towns have traditionally had segregated proms, many communities have successfully pushed for change to this practice. Last year, Morgan Freeman offered to pay for an intergrated prom at Charleston High School in his home state of Mississippi, the students embraced the idea. (Hooray, Morgan! Yay, students!) However, several white parents were unhappy about an integrated prom and opted to have a privately-held competing prom.

Excuse me, but aren't parents supposed to teach? What, exactly, is this teaching?

According to the article, "interracial friendships are common at Montgomery County High School (New York Times, May 21, 2009, byline: Sara Corbett)."

It seems strange that in 2009, we still have segregated anything. And while retro might seem cool in many areas, this isn't one of them.

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To read the New York Times article, go to: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/24/magazine/24prom-t.html.

Biologists Call For Network Of Protected Rivers

2009-05-23T16:05:00.000-04:00

By now, most of us are beginning to wake up to the fact that we're all interconnected to the natural world around us: screw with Mother Nature, our actions are liable to come back and bite us. Anyone remember Love Canal? ("Quick, honey, Google up Love Canal, would you?") How about Hinkley, California? (Hint: Hollywood made a movie about it, starring Julia Roberts as single mother, Erin Brockovich.) Does anyone in St. Petersburg, Florida recognize the name Raytheon?

Then there's the fact that we've managed to put an obscene number of species on the endangered list. Some of them, we've even managed to push over the edge. (A good site to check out is that of Endangered Species International: http://www.endangeredspeciesinternational.org/overview.html?gclid=CKjcnYmk05oCFQq3sgod6RP82Q .)

I ran across this article today from Science Daily; I feel that it is important.

Biologists Call For Network Of Protected Rivers

ScienceDaily (2009-05-22) -- Scientists have used the Guadiana River basin, in which 92% of the species are under threat, as a reference point to measure the loss of aquatic biodiversity and its conservation value. A new study reveals that the state of fragmentation of Iberian river basins is “seriously endangering” the freshwater fish that inhabit them, and highlights the need to create new protected aquatic reserves. ... > read full article

DOJ files suit against Marion, Arkansas

2009-05-22T10:12:00.000-04:00

The Justice Department has filed suit against the city of Marion, Arkansas, alleging the city subjected one of the city's part-time police officers to racial discrimination.

According to the DOJ website, whenever the city has an opening for a full-time position on its police department, the city routinely promotes the most senior part-time officer into the full-time position. However, in the case of Stacy D. Allen, an African-American and a former City part-time patrol officer, when the city of Marion had two full-time positions come available, it failed to promote Allen to one of the two positions. Allen was a senior part-time officer at the time.

Allen is currently working full-time on the West Memphis, Arkansas police department.

********
Information for this article is from the Department of Justice website and may be found at http://www.usdoj.gov/opa/pr/2009/May/09-crt-502.html.

Ouch! Feds to help Philly with Elections

2009-05-18T17:23:00.000-04:00

Philadelphia's March 19 elections will have the usual people showing up at local polling places: voters, officials and volunteers to help voters, an occasional media-type...and the Department of Justice.

According to the U.S. Department of Justice website (http://www.usdoj.gov/), Philadelphia has alledgedly violated the Voting Rights Act of 1965, the Help America Vote Act and the National Voter Registration Act. Therefore, DOJ "will monitor the election in the city of Philadelphia to ensure compliance with federal voting rights laws."

Info taken from http://www.usdoj.gov/opa/pr/2009/May/09-crt-482.html.

Algerian National Transferred from Gitmo

2009-05-18T10:19:00.000-04:00

An Algerian national was transferred to France after being held at Guantanamo Bay detention facility since 2002, according to the U.S. Department of Justice web site. The transfer was carried out Friday May 15.

According to the DOJ site, Lakdar Boumediene's case was reviewed by the interagency Guantanamo Review Task Force following President Barak Obama's Executive Order, signed January 22, 2009.

"Boumediene was involved in the Supreme Court case, Boumediene v. Bush, which in June 2008 established the writ of habeas corpus for detainees being held at Guantanamo Bay. In November 2008, a federal court ordered the U.S. government to take all necessary and appropriate steps to facilitate the release of Boumediene from Guantanamo Bay. He is the second Guantanamo Bay detainee to be transferred to a foreign country following consideration by the Guantanamo Review Task Force (http://www.usdoj.gov/opa/pr/2009/May/09-ag-477.html)."

To read the entire U.S. Department of Justice article, please go to: http://www.usdoj.gov/

So. FL Businessmen Plead Guilty to Conspiracy of Money Laundering, Bribery

2009-05-15T18:36:00.000-04:00

Two Miami-Dade (FL) businessmen pleaded guilty of conspiracy to bribe foreign government officials and money laundeing, according to the U.S. Department of Justice. The two Miami men went before U.S. District Judge Jose E. Martinez in Miami.

For the full press release, please check: http://www.usdoj.gov/opa/pr/2009/May/09-crm-476.html.

Reward Offered for Information on Burglary of FBI Vehicle

2009-05-15T18:23:00.000-04:00

DISCLAIMER: The following post was cut-and-paste from the FBI's site and can be found at: http://memphis.fbi.gov/pressrel/pressrel09/me051509.htm. Anyone with any information on this is urged to contact the numbers at the end of the post.

"The FBI is offering a reward of $5,000.00 for information leading to the return of stolen property and the arrest and conviction of those responsible for the theft. In the early morning hours of Wednesday May 13, 2009, a Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) employee's official vehicle was burglarized in a north Jackson subdivision. Two other vehicles in the same subdivision were burglarized at the same time. Among the items stolen were a Colt M-4 Semi-automatic tactical rifle (black with collapsible stock), a Remington 12-gauge law enforcement model pump shotgun (black with short barrel), and a blue ballistic vest with the letters "FBI" printed in yellow on the front and back of the vest. There is no information to suggest anyone plans to use the equipment to pose or impersonate an FBI agent; however, in an abundance of caution and with public safety in mind, it is necessary to inform the public about the theft.

"We understand the seriousness of those weapons in untrained hands," said Special Agent in Charge (SAC) My Harrison, of the FBI's Memphis Division. SAC Harrison adds "We have committed significant resources and have been working on this theft since it occurred. We are doing everything possible to identify those responsible and recover our property." All Special Agents of the FBI carry identification credentials bearing a photograph and signature of the employee, as well as a badge identifying themselves as an FBI agent.

Officers and detectives from the Jackson Police Department (JPD) and the Madison County Sheriff's Office (MCSO) have also been involved in this investigation. JPD Chief Rick Staples and Sheriff David Woolfork have committed significant resources to this matter.

Anyone with information about these thefts should immediately contact JPD and MCSO through Crime Stoppers, which offers an additional $1,000 for information leading to an arrest, at (731) 424-8477 or the FBI at (731) 668-9578 or (901) 747-4300.

For additional information contact Supervisory Senior Resident Agent A. Todd McCall in the Jackson FBI Office at (731) 668-9578."

DISCLAIMER: The above was cut-and-pasted from an FBI press release. Anyone with info should contact the above phone numbers.

Operation Cross Country

2009-05-15T17:53:00.000-04:00

Chalk one up for the feds.

According to Neal Schiff of Inside the FBI, "The FBI and local and state police agencies around the country are working hard to crack down on child prostitution. Cross Country is what the operation is called." (http://www.fbi.gov/inside/inside.htm)

Rob King, an FBI Special Agent assigned to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children in Alexandria, Virginia, said that the Bureau has conducted three Operation Cross Countries since 2008.

The FBI, along with state and local police departments, has used Operation Cross Country to both help underage prostitutes escape prostitution and arrest the pimps responsible.

To read more, check: http://www.fbi.gov/inside/inside.htm.

Protecting Our Children

2009-05-03T10:05:00.001-04:00

In the United States, most of us pride ourselves in how we care for our children. Most of us make sure they go to school, do their homework, go to the doctor's when they're sick, make sure they have their vaccinations, keep them safe from any number of things. We even have laws to keep our children safe, upgrading these laws as we see fit: laws to make sure that we keep them in car seats, keep them seat-belted in when they've outgrown their car seats, laws to require pedophiles and other sex offenders register with local police and maintain a certain distance away from schools. In a perfect world, we wouldn't need such laws, but this isn't a perfect world, even in the United States.

But as imperfect as the U.S. is, our children, for the most part, are luckier than those in other places. Yes, there are children in the U.S. born into poverty, those who are abused or neglected for a variety of reasons, those who need that "entire village" to protect them when their parents or guardians don't. That is a story for another day.

In the winter, 2009 issue of Ms. Magazine is an article about a brave girl in Yemn. The article Too Young to Marry by Allison Ford begins, "In April of 2008, 10-year old Nujood Ali walked into a courthouse and demanded a divorce. Raised in poverty in Yemen, she had been forced into marriage with a stranger by her father. Although she claimed that her 30-year-old husband beat and sexually abused her, her family refused to intervene (Ms. Magazine, winter 2009, p. 30)."

Yes, you read correctly. She was 10, her husband, 30. The article goes on to state that in Africa and South Asia, "42 percent and 48 percent (respectively) of girls are married before age 18. In especially poor countries such as Yemen, it is not unusual for girls to wed even before reaching puberty."

On May 1, 2009, the St. Petersburg (FL) Times carried an Associated Press article about a girl in Saudi Arabia. The article ("Girl, 8, divorces man, 50") states that "her father forced her to marry him in August in exchange for $13,000." According to the article, "there are no laws in Saudi Arabia deining the minimum age for marriage."

The same article, with added information, was published the same day in The Boston Globe. The Globe article (byline: Hadeel Al-Shalchi of the Associated Press) states, "The marriage was not the only one in the kingdom to receive attention. Saudi newspapers have higlighted several cases in which girls were married off including a 15-year-old girl whole father, a death-row inmate, married her off to a cell mate." http://www.boston.com/news/world/middleeast/articles/2009/05/01/8_year_old_saudi_girl_granted_a_divorce/

Excuse me, but does anyone else find this especially disturbing? One can say, "But that's their culture," to which I ask, "What if that was your child? What if that child was you?"

Yes, we need to continue to protect our children. But when children around the world are treated the way these articles show, what kind of children will they raise? How can you raise a civilized child when you have been treated this way? How will it affect future generations? How will it affect the world?

How will affect you?

Photos for portfolio

2009-04-20T22:06:00.000-04:00

These are basically several photos for my new portfolio.

Health Care Crisis

2009-04-11T15:18:00.000-04:00

According to an Associated Press report published on BayNews9's website , "The number of uninsured has grown to an estimated 50 million people because of the recession. Even so, advocates in the halls of Congress are rarely the uninsured themselves (No strength in numbers for America's uninsured, by Ricardo Alonso-Zaldivar; http://www.baynews9.com/content/36/2009/4/11/459319.html)."

Washington has been talking about health care reform for years. Members of Congress have health care. Meanwhile, the number of people in the United States who lack health insurance and/or basic health care is growing.

Many uninsured are faced with having to use hospital emergency rooms as their health care provider. This does several things, including tying up emergency room resources for non-emergency health care. For those who don't go to the emergency room for every cough or sneeze but who lack the resources for basic health care, the lack of insurance has the potential to cost lives. This includes death from preventable diseases: many forms of cancer, if caught in their earliest stages, are curable; flu shots can save not only the very young, the elderly, and the infirm, but those who care for them.

At some time or another, most of us have felt that "I'm only one person; what difference can I make?" According to Harry Glenn, Congressman C. W. "Bill" Young's press secretary, the average person--you and I--can make a difference. "Call or write to your representatives in Washington." Last fall, Mr. Glenn relayed in a phone interview that Rep. Young has fought hard for several bills to help Florida's citizens simply because members of his constituency called or wrote about a pressing issue.

Health care reform is one of those pressing issues. If you currently have health insurance, fantastic. If it's a full-bells-and-whistles plan, so much the better. But let's imagine for a moment if you were to lose your job and your health insurance. Many Americans don't have to image that. I'm not talking about the ne'er-do-wells who feel that the world owes them everything simply because they were born. I'm talking about working class people whose dream in life is to be able to support their family and take care of the business of life. Without health care, that can be difficult.

What each of us needs to do is contact our Representatives in Congress and our Senators. Ask that if they have not yet signed on the Health Care for America Now Statement, to please do so. Ask that they support health care reform in 2009 and beyond. If the 435 members of Congress and 100 members of the Senate were suddenly without health care, a health care package would most likely be considered a top priority. Fifty million Americans without health insurance deserve the same.

In Praise of "Give Me a Break"

2009-04-07T08:24:00.001-04:00

I have The Today Show on. I have it on most mornings. Love it (mostly), get annoyed (only occasionally).

This morning, Dr. Laura Schlessinger was on, talking with Meredith Viera, promoting her book In Praise of Stay-At-Home Moms and I shot 'way past annoyed.

First, let me clarify something: I'm a Democrat, a liberal Democrat and (gasp!) a feminist. There, I said it. So let's say Dr. Laura is not on my A-list of "Wonderful people I'd love to meet."

During the interview, Dr. Laura mentioned that women should stay at home and not work, or if we do work, it should be after our children are in school and preferrably during school hours or after they're in bed and our husbands can watch the little ones. Great. Let's bring back Ozzie and Harriet.

Then she really got down and dirty. When Meredith asked how the econonmy played into this, Dr. Laura stated that now, with daycare centers closing down and jobs being lost, we can all have more time with our children and show them that we'll get through this. This was with an undercurrent of, "Lost your job? Your husband's lost his? You're about to lose your house? Don't look for work...run into the kitchen and bake cookies with the kiddies and then get all warm and cozy with them...yada, yada, yada." Barf is more like it.

I'm sorry, Dr. Laura, but here's the deal. Nobody asks fathers how they juggle work and family. And nobody should ask mothers that, either. Help each other out, yes. But many of us want to work and have children. Many of us have to work. In the tough economy, we need real answers, not fairy tales.

Dr. Laura, take two aspirin, don't call me in the morning. Oh, and get a grip...and a clue.

More photodocumentary photos - Matt

2009-03-29T18:29:00.000-04:00

I've decided to add several more photos from my photoducmentary of Matthew Goff. These were taken at Pinellas Park's (FL) Country In The Park, an annual spring event for city residents. Always food, crafts booths, country music acts, demonstrations by the fire department. The night before, the fire department holds a chili cook-off.

These haven't been photoshopped yet, something I should be doing in the next few days.

Listening to the music.

MoveOn Protest Photos

2009-03-28T15:49:00.000-04:00

These are from MoveOn.org's March 19 protest. I still need to photoshop a few, but wanted to get these posted.

Mike Fox, Peace Activist

"Your attitude will dictate everything that happens."

2009-03-27T15:26:00.000-04:00

Most of us have loved ones. These, of course, are people (and sometimes pets) we are there for, people we would die for, if it were necessary. When one of those loved ones is dying, when nothing we do can help, we strive to be there for that loved one so that he or she is surrounded by love at that moment.

Ryan and Tamishia Moats were on their way to Baylor Regional Medical Center in Plano, Texas on March 18 to be with Ms. Moats' mother, who was dying of breast cancer. When the message came, as I'm sure it did, that it appeared she would pass away that evening, the Moatses did what most people in their situation would do: they headed for the hospital to be with her.

For those who didn't watch this on the Today Show this morning or hear about it, the facts are this: Ryan Moats, an NFL player, was at the wheel. Coming to a red light, he waited until there was traffic had cleared the intersection, then rolled through the red light so that his wife, Tamishia, could see her mother before her mother died. The reports did not say that he shot through the red light at a high rate of speed, recklessly endangering others on the road; he waited until traffic cleared, then rolled through the intersection. Dallas Police Officer Robert Powell turned on his lights and siren to pull Moats over. Moats pulled over less than a minute later in the hospital parking lot, according to reports. Moats and his wife, who are both African-American, tried to explain the situation to Powell, who is white.

The incident was caught on the police cruiser's videocamera. Apparently, it showed the couple telling the officer that Ms. Moats's mother was near death and that they wanted to see her before she died. At one point, the officer informed the couple that "Your attitude will dictate everything that happens" 1.

Although ordered back into the car, Ms. Moats finally ran into the hospital while Powell argued with her husband. According to Dallas Police Chief David Kunkle, "When we...reviewed the tape, we were embarrassed, disappointed...(Powell's) behavior was not appropriate" 2. Kunkle went on to say that "the video showed that Moats and his wife 'exercised extraordinary patience, restraint in dealing with the behavior of our officer,' and that (Moats) 'handled himself very, very well'" 3. While many people might use their fame in this case, Moats did not "identify himself as an NFL football player or expect an kind of special consideration" 4.

How about consideration for being human? For trying to carefully get to a dying relative's side? True, Ryan Moats did run a red light, but only after stopping and making sure it was safe, and only in an extenuating circumstance. As it was, the thirteen minutes that Powells argued with Moats, pulling his gun on Moats at least once, was long enough that Moats and his father-in-law just missed being with Moats's mother-in-law before she died of breast cancer.

I'm white. Yet I can't help wondering if Officer Powell would have treated another white man this way. I wonder if he would have treated, say, Donald Trump or Bill Gates this way.

Here's a really outrageous idea: what if we really looked at people as, well, people? If Powells had listened to what Ryan and Tamishia were saying and assisted them, rather than simply seeing an African-American couple who had gone through a red light, that would have made a bad situation--her mother dying--a little easier because of another's compassion. If he'd given Moats a ticket after assisting them, fine. But treat people, regardless of race, gender, any of our many differences, as people.

That's my point.

1, 2, 3 and 4 are quoted from a BayNews9 article titled, "Dallas Officer delayed NFL player as relative died." It is an AP article found at: http://www.baynews9.com/content/36/2009/3/27/453231.html.

Tennessee Coal spill

2009-03-26T22:40:00.000-04:00

This is basically reminding everyone of December's environmental disaster in Tennessee.

Why am I bringing this back up? Because if we don't remember the past, this will keep happening again and again and again...

Please...even if you start out by cleaning up your neighborhood and/or write or call your elected officials on the city, state and federal level to help clean up the environment, it'll happen...and a lot quicker than if you do nothing!

To quote a famous commercial, Just Do It!

More Matt photos

2009-03-25T18:05:00.000-04:00

When photographing Matthew Goff at work, I noticed that the inside of the donation center, a converted gas station, was nearly empty.

According to Matthew, before the current economic problems, the building would be packed with donations. "There were times we'd have to lock the doors and put a sign up (indicating that they were temporarily unable to take donations)."

Friday March 27 will be the last day for the laid-off workers. Matt's last scheduled day was this past Monday. He's hoping to be able to get a few last hours in on Friday before having to look for work.

Last days of work

2009-03-24T09:14:00.000-04:00

Nobody has to tell Matthew Goff that the economy is sick. Late last month, at the employee meeting, Matthew and several others were told that they would be laid-off the end of March. March 27, to be exact.

Matthew has worked for a local health care facility that offers mental health care for Pinellas County, FL. His job for the past 5 1/2 years was as a donation intake worker, taking in donations and sorting them for the facility's thrift shop. Several years ago, the thrift store took in donations at the store as well as three other donation sites. The last donation site closes on March 27.

Matthew's last job was at Goodwill Industries, where he worked for almost 5 1/2 years before being laid-off with about 150 other employees. He has already contacted the Division of Blind Services for help in finding another job.

AIG's Bonuses Higher Than Thought

2009-03-21T16:04:00.000-04:00

New Haven, Conn.-The financially ailing American International Group, Inc. actually paid out $218M in bonuses after receiving bail-out money from the federal government, according to headlines on BayNews9's website Saturday. The increase of $53M came out in documents recieved by Connecticut's Attorney General Richard Blumenthal's office Friday.

To read more on this news, check out http://www.baynews9.com/content/36/2009/3/21/451126.html. For MSNBC's story, check out http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/29812224/.

USF-Medical School's Graduating class

2009-03-20T00:17:00.000-04:00

An article on baynews9.com Thursday evening stated that "Of the 113 future doctors who learned their residency assignments (from University of South Florida's medical school), 53 are men and 60 are women." (Future doctor gets perfect residency, perfect proposal; http://www.baynews9.com/content/36/2009/3/19/450489.html .) It gives one pause to think that the first U.S. woman doctor, Elizabeth Blackwell, graduated from Hobart College (Geneva, New York) in 1849. Now, over half the class at USF's medical school learning their residency are women.

What would be interesting would be to find out the national ratio of male/female ratio of doctors graduating from the nation's medical schools and what the male/female pay rate looks like. Women, on average, earn approximately 73 cents for a man's dollar in the United States.

Sounds like something for me to check into.

Vigil Commemorating Iraqi war

2009-03-19T23:17:00.001-04:00

Largo, Fla.--A vigil commemorating the sixth anniversary of the start of the U.S./Iraq war took place at the southeast corner of East Bay Drive and Seminole Boulevard Tuesday. The vigil, which began at 7:00 a.m. and was slated to go until 7:00 p.m., was one of many held across the country.

Mike Fox, of MoveOn and Progress Democrats of America, an energetic activist, helped set up the vigil, sending out emails to encourage other activists to show up to support the protest/vigil. To the sound of horns honking and passers-by shouting encouragement to protestors, he explained why he felt it important to be here. "Six years is too long," he said. "Let's hope it's not another six."

BetteJo Indelicato, a peace activist and relief worker in Iraq, was actually in Iraq when the bombing began six years ago. In the accompanying video, she describes trying to comfort children during the early days of the war.

From 10 a.m. until noon, approximately 8-10 people drifted in and out to help with the vigil, holding signs; Fox expected more to arrive during the afternoon.

A protest in Washington, D.C. over the weekend is expected to bring thousands to the streets.

Have you seen the Coen Brothers' new ad?

2009-02-28T15:25:00.001-05:00

Folks, I'm on an email list from from Care2 news.

So what? you ask. Isn't everyone on an email list these days?

Care2 news is an environmental email list. The lastest one had a link to the Coen brothers' latest ad, which is on YouTube. It's about "clean coal" and very important. Usually, I don't want to put someone else's YouTube post on here, but, darn it folks, this is important. (And yes, it is from the Coen Brothers. Please, do not think that I made this; they did. But it is still important.)

Video from January 14

2009-02-13T17:06:00.000-05:00

Here is a video from January 14.

More Buffalo Soldier Photos

2009-02-01T13:33:00.000-05:00

More photos of St. Petersburg's Buffalo Soldiers, taken shortly before St. Pete's annual Martin Luther King, Jr. Parade on January 19, 2009. This year's parade had few marching bands than usual, as many of the regular bands were gathering in Washington, D.C. for Barack Obama's inauguration.

St. Petersburg's King Parade

2009-01-30T19:53:00.000-05:00

I figured I'd post some of the photos I took from St. Petersburg's Martin Luther King, Jr. Parade. The parade took place on January 19, 2009. One of the largest in the southeast, there were fewer bands in attendance this year, as many of the bands were in Washington, D.C., gearing up for the next day's inauguration of Barack Obama.

Florida's Buffalo Soldiers.

Roy Nixon, Buffalo Soldier

Close up of the Buffalo Soldiers

I'll post a few more parade photos at a later time.

Historic Inauguration

2009-01-26T16:33:00.000-05:00

I watched last Tuesday's historic inauguration of Barack Obama during a Visual Communications class. About ten minutes into class, the instructor asked if there were any questions.

"Yeah, can we watch the inauguration?" someone asked. It was the question on everyone's minds.

A computer hooked up to a projector came on so we could watch.

I've watched my share of inaugurations on television, been aware of others. When one has lived over five decades, one does notice a few things.

There were many historic aspects to this inauguration, though. Of course, there's the obvious: the first African-American to become elected president. Backing up to the election, it became clear early on that the Democratic nominee would be a first: either the first African-American or woman as a major party's nominee. That alone seemed to get many people's attention.

Then there is the number of people who flocked to Washington, D.C. to watch Obama's inauguration in person. According to The New York Times, "An estimated 1.8 million people watched the inauguration of Barack Obama in person, the most for any inauguration. At least that is what the mayor of Washington said; the Park Service, no longer in the head-counting business, won't contest that number."(1) (Referrenced footnotes at end of today's blog.)

According to The New York Times' article's multimedia segment, 44,000,000 people watched on their computers using live streaming web videos. This broke down to 26.9 million watching CNN, 9.1 million on MSNBC and 8.0 million on AP. (2)

These are record breaking numbers. This alone would indicate interest. I do know that those around me were excited. Almost everyone I spoke with over the days surrounding the 20th mentioned excitement, hope, a sense that our collective lives had taken a turn for the better. Yes, there are nay-sayers, but they seem to be in the minority.

When Obama was sworn in, those in the class room cheered. We watched President Obama's speech in its entirety. I mention this because the speech ended at 12:30, fifteen minutes after the class ended. Only one or two students left at the end of the class period; the rest of us watched, enraptured, at history taking place.

My oldest son, Jason, lives and works in Knoxville, Tennessee. He does phone tech support. He told me that an older African-American lady named Anne works there. Everyone calls her Ms. Annie. She works part-time; as a part-timer, she doesn't always get to sit in the same place. But she usually tries to sit next to Jason.

Tuesday morning, Jason managed to save a place for Ms. Annie so she could sit next to him. Just before the inauguration was to take place, Jason and Ms. Annie left their phones, along with several other employees, so they could watch Barack Obama sworn in.

"Tears just rolled down Ms. Annie's face," Jason later said. Ms. Annie told the small group watching the inauguration that her father had been beaten up years ago for not crossing the street fast enough to let several whites pass, that he'd been hurt several times because of his skin color. "She told us, 'And now, we have an African-American president.' I wish my daddy were alive to see this."

So do I, Ms. Annie. So do I.

(1) "Streaming Onto the Mall, and Into Laptops," by Brian Stelter and Noam Cohen, January 24, 2009; Week In Review; http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/25/weekinreview/25stelter.html?_r=1&scp=8&sq=inauguration,%202009&st=cse

(2) http://www.nytimes.com/imagepages/2009/01/25/weekinreview/20090125-stelter-graphic.html

St. Pete protest

2009-01-25T19:58:00.000-05:00

On January 14, 2009, a group of protesters gathered outside Congressman C.W. Bill Young's St. Petersburg, Fla. office to bring attention to Barack Obama's heath care plan. Following the hour-long protest, the group of twenty-five then had ten MoveOn-ers deliver 392 signed petitions to Young's secretary, Yvonne. (Young was out of his office at the time.) Joe Illingworth of MoveOn addressing protesters. Illingworth presenting the petitions to Rep. C.W. Bill Young's secretary Yvonne.

Tennessee Spill

2008-12-26T21:56:00.001-05:00

I was surprised this past Monday when NBC Evening News broke the news of the coal ash spill in Roane County, Tennessee. Since then, it has become apparent that the spill was far worse than first reported.

I plan to write more on this over the next few days. In the meantime, I have posted several links to check:
From the New York Times: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/27/us/27sludge.html
From International Herald Tribune (the Global Edition of the New York Times: http://www.iht.com/articles/2008/12/25/america/25sludge.php
From The Huffington Post: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/kevin-grandia/massive-coal-ash-spill-in_b_153172.html
From United Mountain Defense web site: http://unitedmountaindefense.org/
From United Mountain Defense blog: http://dirtycoaltva.blogspot.com/
From Environment News Service: http://www.ens-newswire.com/ens/dec2008/2008-12-23-091.asp

Death of a Role Model

2008-12-18T18:06:00.000-05:00

A Pinellas County (FL) icon passed away Sunday, December 14, 2008. Her name was Emily Coeyman.

So what? you might ask. So what, indeed.

I first read about Emily in a 1999 article in the St. Petersburg (FL) Times (http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/sptimes/access/41049266.html?dids=41049266:41049266&FMT=FT&FMTS=ABS:FT&date=May+2%2C+1999&author=ADAM+C.+SMITH&pub=St.+Petersburg+Times&edition=&startpage=1.B&desc=Keeping+them+honest). There was a photo showing an older woman being helped into or out of a cab enroute to/from a St. Petersburg City Council meeting. The article, written by Adam C. Putnam, begins, "Many government officials have come and gone, but St. Petersburg resident Emily Rogers Coeyman remains. Few mortals achieve the status of single name stardom: Cher, Prince, Madonna, Fabio. For Pinellas County bureaucrats and politicians, there is another: Emily.

"As in, 'Emily, your three minutes are up. Emily?. . .' Or, 'Do we have anyone who wishes to speak at this public hearing? Okay, Emily. . .'"

I began driving for DART (Demand Response Transportation), Pinellas Suncoast Transit Authority's (PSTA) service for people with physical or mental handicaps around this time. This was how I met Emily. I made the mistake of calling her "Ms. Coeyman." "It's Emily," she corrected me. That's what everyone called her, even though she was in her late 70s.

She went to St. Pete City Council meetings, Pinellas County Government meetings, anywhere where she felt that the voice of reason (not to mention the voice of the people) needed to be heard. Emily spoke up for all of us.

One day, I picked her up from a city council meeting. The mayor and city council were considering selling the city-owned hospital (Bayfront Medical Center) to a health-care group run by the Catholic Church. This infuriated Emily.

Why? I asked her.

Ms. Coeyman--sorry, Emily--had nothing against the Catholic Church, but she did have something to say about women's rights. "Did you know that when the Church owns a hospital, that hospital's ability to provide abortions goes right out the window?" she asked. Rape victims would have problems getting the morning after pill; talks about birth control would be severely limited. "It's not right." She was 79 at the time, well beyond needing birth control, but wanting to keep it accessible for other women.

"I asked them (city council) if they knew that what they were thinking of doing would hurt the women in Pinellas County, especially the majority without millions of dollars to go elsewhere for reproductive services."

The city backed down.

She also challenged the Pinellas County School Board (http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/sptimes/access/51852412.html?dids=51852412:51852412&FMT=FT&FMTS=ABS:FT&date=Jul+28%2C+1994&author=ANNE+LINDBERG&pub=St.+Petersburg+Times&edition=&startpage=3.B&desc=Tax+increase+for+Pinellas+schools+gets+early+okay), as well as the Pinellas County County Commissioners.

She was a strong woman who stood up for the little people, who learned how to speak up. Her epilogue from the St. Petersburg Times ran this morning. (http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/sptimes/access/1614156811.html?dids=1614156811:1614156811&FMT=FT&FMTS=ABS:FT&date=Dec+18%2C+2008&author=STEPHANIE+HAYE&pub=St.+Petersburg+Times&edition=&startpage=B.1&desc=USING+HER+TIME+WISELY)

Emily Coeyman was 87 when she passed away Sunday. She was my hero, a role model for us all.

Peace, Emily. You rocked!

Why journalism, why now?

2008-12-16T18:36:00.000-05:00

I'm a writer. I've been a writer most of my life, though I didn't always think of myself as one. At one point, shortly after graduating high school, I'd thought of going into journalism. Even took a beginning reporting class at what was then St. Petersburg Junior College (now St. Petersburg College ). Unfortunately, I didn't finish the class; the day I was due to take the final, I was in the hospital giving birth to my oldest son. Never did make up the final; I had other things on my mind.

Life has a funny way of changing things. You figure your path is going to go one way and some bump in the road alters your life. (The old joke: How do you make God laugh? Tell Him your plans.) I had several children with my first husband. Somewhere along the road, I became a fire fighter/paramedic trainee. Women, unfortunately, are still greatly unrepresented here, as we are in many fields. True, there aren't as many men in, say, nursing as there are women, but in jobs that have been traditionally held by men, the pay tends to be better. I also tried going back to school, trying the pre-med path. Got a divorce, drove cab, got remarried.

It's funny, but my second husband pointed out that I was a writer, that I was, indeed, happiest when writing, whether poetry, novels, short stories, screenplays, the occasionally letter to the editor about something I felt was wrong (or right) with some segment of society. So when I went back to school, I decided to go for a journalism degree.

Journalism, though? Why not some other form of writing? After all, I still intend to write novels, screenplays and poetry about the hard truths. But journalism?

There are journalists who report the news. After all, a true democracy can not possibly hope to function if its citizens are kept in the dark. We need to know that certain things happen. The drunk driver who had his third accident while driving inebriated in four months? Oh, my. The high school teacher who has had affairs with several of her students? Tsk, tsk. The Washington insider who has used his or her influence to (fill in the blank)? Hmmm...

Then there are journalists who are a little different, either by where they work or by writing columns on what he or she percieves as right or wrong. As citizens, we need to decide if these journalists are telling the truth. If the columnist is too one sided ("All men/women/blacks/whites are bad/good/etc."), then we can call their views into question. But if they give us well thought out reasons for their beliefs of right and wrong, then we tend to listen and learn. ("Mrs. Jones was a great teacher because she motivated poor students into achieving their true potentials" or "Smith is wrong because he pays his farm-workers the equivalent of $2 an hour, then charges the same people $20 a night for cot to sleep on and $5 a meal.")

Two journalists whose truth-telling inspire me are Amy Goodman of Democracy Now! and Bill Maxwell of the St. Petersburg Times. They both tell the hard truths. It is, in part, because of Goodman and Maxwell that I decided to major in journalism.

Can the system be changed by the average person--you and me? According to Harry Glenn, Representative C. W. "Bill" Young (Florida's District 10's U.S. Congressman), we can affect change. During a recent phone interview, Mr. Glenn stated that on more than one occasion, Young has championed a bill because of comments from his constituents. If it's important, Mr. Glenn told me, Rep. Young wants to know. And much of what we find outrageous (the drunk driver, the $2 farm worker) is because of what we've learned from journalists. If we know about these problems, then we can work to change them. Make phone calls, write letters, pressure Those In Charge to change the system.

That, my friends, is what a democracy is. And a good journalist, one who tells the truth, is a big part of that democracy.

My plans for this blog

2008-12-14T12:03:00.001-05:00

As a journalism student (undergrad) with one semester left before graduation, I felt it would be in my best interest to begin a blog that dealt mainly with my thoughts, writings and photos along the journalistic vein. My other blogs have been for specific reasons; this one will be, too.

The two photos posted today are from a boat fire several months ago in the Vinoy Basin of St. Petersburg, FL.

ST. PETERSBURG, FLA--St. Petersburg Fire Department works to put out a boat fire in the Vinoy Basin located near St. Petersburg Pier, assisted by U.S. Coastguard and Hillsborough County (Fl) Fire Rescue. No injuries were reported.