How awful that a parent would scheme, plan and do this to their children:

OGDENSBURG, N.Y. — A mother is accused of trying to kill her children by giving them applesauce laced with prescription and over-the-counter drugs.

Police said 33-year-old Marianne Streeter, 33, of Ogdensburg, N.Y., took her 8-year-old son, Andrew, and 5-year-old daughter, Emily, to a motel in Canton, N.Y., and fed them the applesauce mixture on May 3.

Police found the children semiconscious in the hotel room after a 911 call. They were in critical condition, but have since recovered, according to TV station News10Now in Syracuse, N.Y.

And this woman - this non-parent - left them there to die alone.

They later found the mother in a cemetery, overdosed on antidepressants, but still alive.

A part of me wants to say damn it…a little bit longer and they may have found her dead. But the “human side” of me realizes that having her alive will allow the courts to deliver some type of justice - if any truly exists - for poisoning and attempting to kill her kids.

She’s being charged with two counts of second-degree-attempted-murder and two counts of first degree assault. Of course she is pleading not guilty. It’s also reported she was recently released from a psychiatric hospital where she received treatment. The “experts” might say that she should be able to get a lesser sentence (or no sentence?) if she has some type of mental illness, etc. I say keep her off the street and, in particular, away from children. She’s a danger to them and shouldn’t be put in a position to potentially harm them again.

I do believe most of you heard that Ann Coulter was going to be on “The Tonight Show” with George Carlin tonight, but here in Omaha, we had the distinct honor of listening to local buffoon, Tom Becka, “interview” Ann on the radio today.

I almost forgot about the interview, but was reminded when I stopped over at PTG’s place, who is a fellow Nebraskaland blogger. PTG said that it doesn’t matter how you feel about Ann Coulter, anyone would get a laugh out of the interview. Taking that advice, I sat down this evening and listened to this “interview.” You can listen to it here (hopefully it will be up for awhile).

As hubby quoted on his site, I found Becka to be thoroughly disrespectful, rude and disgusting. He was asking her to define about every word possible, not contributing to a meaningful interview whatsoever. She then asked him to define the word “define” in response to his NUMEROUS requests to define this word and that word and he got noticably irritated, at one point he even called her a bitch…yes, on public “small city” Omaha talk radio.

Normally I would just toss this aside, but I couldn’t get over his behavior and lack of respect….so I wrote him an email:

Tom,

You truly blew this one. It was so evident you couldn’t stand even being on the phone with her, you couldn’t even give her a chance to talk about her book, which was the point of the interview as I recall you saying. You kept pointing out that she was taking the inflammatory road, yet you yourself were rude, disrespectful and certainly not anyone I would want to interview with. YOU were the inflammatory one here…you wouldn’t listen to her, you called her a bitch, you were audibly snoring, yawning, yelling, berating and overall made a fool out of yourself. This wasn’t an interview and it was never intended to be…it was you being 5 years old and not getting your lollipop at the checkout. What an embarrassment to Nebraskans. It shouldn’t matter whether you agree or disagree with a person’s position…you could at least be respectful and take the high road - you, after all, invited her to be a guest on your show - and you were the one who cast the first stone. How disappointing you had to resort to behaving like nothing more than a little brat. I expected much more.

Merri

So, of course not long after I wrote him, I got his response (typos and all):

How did I cast the first stone? i asked her a question about definitions. Her response was “define define”
I wouldn’t tolerate that response from my 3rd grade neice why would I tolerate it from a grown woman? I didn’t ask her to be on the program. They contacted us. I didn’t start yawning until she refused to answer my questions and just spewed her platitudes and rhetoric. If hse had answered the questions we could have had a discussion but she refused to answer them and I got peeved. by the time I started snoring it was obvious that she wasn’t going to have an itelligent discussion so I thought I’d have some fun. sorry you feel that way.
Thanks for listening

Tom

Becka himself stated that the interview was to discuss her new book, which never happened because of his approach to the interview. By the time she asked him to define “define” it was after he repeatedly (and virtually yelling) asked her to define simple words, not listening to a word she was saying. Toward the end of the interview, she started talking about her book, virtually ignoring him. He blames her in his email stating “it was obvious that she wasn’t going to have an itelligent discussion” (yes, the typo is his!) but if you listen, it is he who NEVER had an intelligent question to even respond to.

Hubby said he doesn’t believe Ann Coulter’s team contacted them for an interview. That was my initial knee-jerk thought, but it could definitely make sense, given Becka’s attitude and lack of respect through the entire interview. But see, it’s his show. If he truly didn’t want to interview her, he could have declined. But I suspect he put her on his show because he may be much more attracted to controversy in an effort to get ratings than Ann Coulter has ever thought of being. Difference is, he’s a small city radio host and her book was an immediate best seller. A wise man has said “…this guy should stick to interviewing Neighborhood Watch captains or some of the usual low-level ineffectual city bureaucrats.” Enough said.

Update: Hahahahahah….great top 9 potential Coulter books! Check it out over at The Nose on Your Face!

How is it that in the case of a relationship gone bad, the children end up being subjected to a parent’s rage? Well, in this case it seemed drugs were a factor, but how tragic that a person thought the best thing to do would be to kill the children when the wife wants a divorce.

TERRE HAUTE, Ind. — One of two young boys allegedly abducted by their father at knifepoint was found dead in a lake, and his brother and father were pulled from the water with knife wounds, authorities said Wednesday.

Katron Walker, 32, was charged with murder and attempted murder, said assistant chief of detectives Bill Bergherm. He said Walker had stab wounds in his chest but was expected to survive.

The youngest boy, 2-year-old Monte, was hospitalized in good condition with cuts on his neck and puncture wounds in his chest, Bergherm said.

Collin, 4, was found dead late Tuesday by police divers in the lake just south of Terre Haute. The child’s throat had been cut and he had been stabbed in the chest, Bergherm said.

This man, these children’s FATHER, abducted the kids by knifepoint from their grandfather’s backyard. An Amber Alert had been issued for the kids late Thursday. When the police centered in on their location, the man ran with both boys into the lake.

Officers jumped in after them and grabbed Monte, but they couldn’t find Collin in the dark, murky water, he said. The dive team found the body in about 12 feet of water.

A woman who lives near the lake told police she had seen the three earlier in the day fishing and eating hot dogs.

The boys’ mother, Teresa Walker, said she had called her husband from work that day to say she wanted a divorce. Shortly after the call, Katron Walker showed up in the yard wielding a knife and took the boys, said Michael Dwyer, the boys’ grandfather.

“My sister went out and she was trying to get them back,” Dwyer said. “He threw her down and she came right back at him and he kicked her twice in the chest.”

Police say that Katron Walker had marajuana and meth in his system when found. His wounds appeared to be self-inflicted. If he wanted to take his own life because of the divorce, because of the possibility he may not get custody of the kids, etc., then so be it…while it would be a sad spot of time for the family and the kids, at least they would HAVE time - and life. Taking the lives of children to “get back at” the spouse or to prove a point is vile, cruel and out and out disgusting. My hope for the little two year old is that he will recover and perhaps not remember many details about what happened to him.

I hope the book gets thrown at this man. He does not deserve anything different. If I had my way, he’d not breathe another breath of life for what he did.

President Bush made a surprise visit to Iraq today!

President Bush was meeting with Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki face to face on Tuesday after making a surprise visit to Iraq to bolster the newly-formed government and discuss the next steps in trying to shore up Iraqi security after three years of war.

“I appreciate you recognize the fact that the future of your country is in your hands,” Bush told al-Maliki. “I appreciate your committment to representing the people of Iraq.”

The president arrived in Baghdad at 8:08 a.m. EDT, or 4:08 p.m. local time. It was the second surprise visit he’s made to the country in the past three years.

Plans for this trip were in the works for over a month and were carefully planned and coordinated. I imagine this five hour trip will be a long one for security personnel!

Bush is expected to stay in Iraq for five hours only, where security precautions are tightly executed in a precarious venue. Even the president’s arrival was cautiously orchestrated. Air Force One landed at a semi-deserted airstrip a good distance away from the main terminal in Baghdad. Bush and his crew then boarded a convoy of Nighthawk passenger helicopters to take them about seven minutes to the center of the city.

Everyone on the helicopters was in body armor except for the White House aides, who wore business suits but no armor. Bartlett had earlier said the president would not wear body armor. In the Green Zone, a line of Suburbans and other SUVs waited for the short drive to the Republican Palace, a 1950’s-era building which is now part of the U.S. Embassy compound.

Joining Bush on Air Force One were Bartlett, Chief of Staff Josh Bolten, Deputy Chief of Staff Joe Hagin, Press Secretary Tony Snow and National Security Adviser Stephen Hadley. Joining them on the ground in Iraq were U.S. Ambassador Zal Khalilzad and Gen. George Casey, head of the Multinational Force in Iraq.

The group arrived at the palace where the offices of Paul Bremer, head of the now-defunct Coalition Provisional Authority, had been, and is now being used as the temporary U.S. embassy. An American and an Iraqi flag had been arrayed next to the entrance to the hallway leading to the offices, where al-Maliki and one of his aides stood in anticipation of Bush’s arrival.

Bush swept into the room where he was to meet al-Maliki with his entourage and Secret Service in tow. He walked up to al-Maliki, who had been informed about five minutes before Bush’s arrival that he was to have a special guest, and shook the prime minister’s hand as the cameras flashed.

Al-Maliki said, “Good to see you,” to which Bush responded, “Thanks for having me.” They stood in the hallway for another minute and then disappeared into one of the palace offices.

…and a little bit of mischief and staging are always good when you are planning a surprise:

Bush’s departure from Camp David the night before had required some surreptitious behavior on the president’s part. While dining with officials Monday evening, the president excused himself from after-dinner discussion around 7:45 p.m. EDT, telling his guests that he was “losing altitude” and wanted to read in bed a little before falling asleep. By 8 p.m. when the dinner wrapped up, Bush was already on his way to Andrews Air Force Base, and Air Force One departed at 9:07 pm EDT.

Of course the MSM has to trump this visit up as nothing more than a publicity stunt to garner higher approval ratings:

Anxiety about the war has been driving down Bush’s poll numbers and causing Republican anxiety about holding control of Congress in the November election.

But those who know the reasons behind this visit, and what is truly going on in Iraq truly have a solid picture for why Bush decided to visit Iraq.

“I think the president is doing exactly the right thing today. … Sending a powerful signal to the Iraqi people that we are with you in the War on Terror, we are going to support this government that you have elected and we are going to win the War on Terror together,” said Rep. Pete Hoekstra, R-Mich., chairman of the House Intelligence Committee.

“It’s just dynamite,” said Sen. James Inhofe, R-Okla., who returned from Iraq on Monday night and said he would have stayed there to catch a ride back on Air Force One if he’d known the president was going to be there.

Inhofe, who’s been to Iraq 11 times since 2003, said he met with Iraqi officials, who demonstrated some of the training received by the 264,000 Iraqi troops. He said he was told that when 11 divisions — or 325,000 troops are trained — the Iraqis will want to take over security for themselves, though that does not mean U.S. troops will leave completely.

“It’s a huge success story over there. I just don’t understand why the media don’t get it,” he said, adding that al-Maliki’s security adviser told him that the Iraqis are “getting very close to the time” when they will be in a position to take control of their security.

The problem is, the media don’t *want* to get it. In the days they are yelling doom and gloom about the first named storm in the gulf - grass blowing gets coverage on television I’m told - they only want those stories that can fit with their reports of death, destruction, scandal and doomsday. That’s why you don’t see reports about the *people* of Iraq - only the terrorists. I’m sure there are reports out there that the death of al-Zarqawi were carefully planned so Bush would arrive right after they happened. I think it is awesome that President Bush is there in support of the Iraqi people and leadership as well as having a positive impact on our men and women who are fighting the war on terror in the heart of it all.

Have you ever wondered what the ladies of The Cotillion are like? Well, we’re all a little crazy, a little sassy and quite a bit of fun. We want to get to know one another a little better and will be doing a little “30 things” carnival. I thew my name in the hat to participate so here’s, well, 30 things about me:

1. What time did you get up this morning? 8:47am

2. Diamonds or pearls? I like pearls, but I LOVE diamonds!

3. What was the last film you saw at the movie house? Cars - on opening day Friday - and I *did* have kids with me! I also saw the remake of The Omen on 6/6/06 (NO kids that day!).

4. What is your favorite TV show? 24 is by far my favorite, but I like 30 Minute Meals with Rachael Ray, too!

5. What did you have for breakfast? Special K Berry

6. What is your middle name? My Momma always said it was “Trouble”

7. What is your favorite cuisine? I have a soft spot for Italian food - anything pasta is sheer heaven to me!

8. What foods do you dislike? I don’t like cabbage and I don’t like fruit in my salad (who came up with that ANYWAY?)

9. What kind of car do you drive? A Bauer-mobile! (Black Ford Expedition)

10. Favorite Sandwich? A BLT - but not just any. Nice, thick cut and crispy bacon, toasted bread with a thin layer of Miracle Whip on both slices, just one leaf of lettuce, and home grown fresh tomatoes with salt and pepper on them. YUM-O!!!!!

11. What characteristic do you despise? An entitlement mentality. Nothing pisses me off more than people who think they should have something just because [fill in the blank…just because they have more time in than anyone else, just because they went above and beyond once, just because they are related to such-and-such, etc.]. I see it every day in my job, in the newspaper and around the ‘net and it is one of my BIGGEST peeves.

12. Favorite item of clothing? I know it isn’t clothing, but it is an accessory….my pretty black Coach purse. I LOVE it!

13. If you could go anywhere in the world for a holiday where would you go? Australia

14. What color is your bathroom? Light peach (but hopefully not forever!)

15. Favorite brand of clothing? “on sale”

16. Where would you like to retire? Somewhere with a beach, lots of sunshine and nice fruity drinks with little umbrellas in them.

17. Favorite time of the day? Evenings, particularly when there’s a brilliant sunset!

18. What was your most memorable birthday? In 7th grade - at Skateland!

19. Where were you born? Nebraska….paint it red, babeeeee!

20. Favorite sport to watch? Husker Football….DUH!

21. What are you wearing right now? t-shirt and shorts

22. What star sign are you? Libra

23. What fabric detergent do you use? Tide Coldwater or Woolite

24. Pepsi or Coke? Coke!

25. Are you a morning person or a night owl? More of a night owl, but as I get older, have a harder time sleeping in!

26. What is your shoe size? 7.5 to 8

27. Do you have any pets? Oh yes…three dogs, 2 parrots and 2 snakes!

28. Any new exciting news you’d like to share with your family and friends? Not long now for that vacation to Florida!!!

29. What did you want to be when you were little? A teacher!

30. What are you meant to be doing today? Grocery shopping, picking up a wedding gift and cleaning house - when is that vacation again?!?!

Update: Cassandra at Villainous Company did a nice summary of the Cotillion’s “30 things” meme over at her place and at the Cotillion site. Enjoy!

Funny! In the midst of running around getting things done today, the kids and I stopped at at at Wendys, which we hadn’t done for quite a lot time. To see this story on Fox News today made me laugh as I experienced the “shift” in size names today.

The Biggie portion size, formerly the fast food restaurant’s equivalent of a large, will now be called a medium. It’s only a name change, and the portion customers get — the equivalent of almost three 12-ounce cans of soda for the drinks — won’t get smaller.

Wendy’s International Inc. research shows demand for big drinks, but people were confused by the designation of Biggie and Great Biggie, the former extra-large size, spokesman Denny Lynch said. Switching to a more straightforward small, medium and large sizes made sense, he said.

The nation’s third-largest burger chain has used the Biggie designation since the early 1990s.

The Great Biggie, equal to 3 1/2 12-ounce cans of soda, will now be classified as a large. Medium portions will be bumped down to small sizes.

So, in other words we continue to focus on dumbing things down for us Americans. But see, I figured it out! They basically don’t have a small any more, their “medium” became a small, and so on, and so forth. All I know is that I wanted a medium, and the guy behind the counter was kind enough to say “um, you may want a small.” To myself, I was thinking “um, NO…if I had wanted a small, I would have ORDERED a small!” until he showed me what the small cup looked like. …and so I got a small! And they were worried that “Biggie” and “Great Biggie” were confusing?!?!?!?

It was nice to see an expanded menu, though!

Wendy’s says it has made several changes to give customers healthier choices, including offering salads, chili, baked potatoes or yogurt instead of fries with combo meals.

I do find it rather amusing that their reason for changing the drink size names was to appease fast food critics who complain that the fast food industry is increasing portion sizes and contributing to the obesity epidemic. Um, how does this appease anyone, truly? I think the solution is clear. Let the customers order the size they wish to have and let *them* be in control of their food choices. Novel idea, I do believe!

As reported by CalTechGirl over at Not Exactly Rocket Science, ABC news is currently reporting that Abu Musab al-Zarqawi has been killed, along with his spiritual advisor. They are saying he wasn’t dead right away, and American troops turned him over to the Iraqis and he subsequently died of his injuries.

It’s now on CNN’s website as a “breaking report” on their website (this is 2:34am Central Time), but there are no additional details. As of yet, Fox isn’t reporting on it, and CBS and NBC are quiet as well.

I, for one, am crossing my fingers. ABC reports were confident in the news as they didn’t say “possibly killed” or “potential news” or anything like that. Let’s hope they are right.

UPDATE: Now FOX News is finally talking about it by interrupting with a Special Report and they have the big ole yellow banner on their site proclaiming the news. …and the news world starts waking up!

UPDATE II: The “official” announcement was just now made in Baghdad (it was reported on Fox News live at 2:45am CDT). The news conference is being broadcast live. Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki talked about the evil past of Zarqawi and OFFICIALLY confirmed Zarqawi’s death. WHEW! Another evil terrorist down and, as someone said on ABC news, another nail in the coffin of Al Qaida. Now General Casey is now speaking and confirmed that it was not only Zarqawi (identified through visual verification/facial recognition, known scars and fingerprints) but a spiritual advisor (a top lieutenant as he said), Sheikh, Abu Abdul Rahman. This latest effort has spanned over several weeks. The bombing was at a safe house 30 miles NE of Baghdad.

UPDATE III: More over at The Jawa Report (via Hubby!)

So I turn on my computer this morning with two screaming headlines: Parents Realize Next Day They Left Son At Chuck E. Cheese and Parents Charged With Trying To Solicit Truckers For Sex With Child. Both a case of non-parenting and harmful to the child!

So - what happens when parents don’t ensure their 6-year-old gets taken home from his own birthday party at Chuck E. Cheese?

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — A 6-year-old Florida boy who was accidentally left behind by his family after they celebrated his birthday at a Chuck E. Cheese restaurant will temporarily remain in state custody.

A judge said the state Department of Children and Families will likely determine Tuesday whether Michael Emanuel can live temporarily with a relative.

Emanuel’s family said they accidentally left him Saturday night and didn’t notice he was missing until the next day. Each relative thought the child was with another family member.

Employees at the Boca Raton restaurant called police and the child was taken into state custody.

Now, I’ve never proclaimed to be a perfect parent, but barring some idea that arrangements were made to have the 6-year-old stay with another family overnight (who were also at the birthday party), the parents sure seemed to lack any concern for their child. Forgetting for an hour is one thing (albeit it doesn’t make sense to this obsessed mom who makes sure I see the kids go exactly where they are supposed to every moment of every day), but to forget for the entire night? That’s ridiculous!

An attorney for the boy’s mother told the judge there were 12 youngsters at the party and as they all piled into cars to leave, the boy was simply overlooked.

Again, simply overlooked is driving home, waiting for another car to come by with little Timmy and, when it doesn’t show up, start calling around. “Simply overlooked” is not noticing your 6-year-old missing for an entire day!

I get disgusted at some of the stories that are coming out of Nebraska, but this one is so absolutely disgusting and sad!

NORTH PLATTE, Neb. — The father of an 11-year-old girl has been charged with trying to solicit truckers to have sex with the girl.

Last week, the girl’s mother was arrested in North Platte and charged with contributing to the delinquency of a minor.

Both mother and father now face charges of felony child abuse and pandering.

I cannot even imagine what this 11-year-old girl’s life is like. Mom contributing to the delinquency of a minor, Dad soliciting her out for sex. What kind of monsters *are* these people? How sad for this girl to have to grow up so quickly at the hands of people who treat her like a posession versus their child! …and to think there are men out there who would entertain the idea of actually having sex with her…

Lt. Rick Ryan said that on May 30, the girl was found sitting — fully clothed — on the top bunk of a semitrailer’s sleeper cab. The driver was sitting on the bottom bunk — just talking, he told police. The mother reportedly had been on a CB radio, soliciting listeners to have sex with her daughter.

Funny how the article only points out that the father has been charged trying to solicit truck drivers to have sex with her when the mother had been on the CB, asking listeners to be with her daughter. Disgusting! Thank God these people were so stupid they got caught so their daughter can get to a safe place away from them!

I read stories like this and my blood boils. Something has got to be terribly broken in these people to forget about their kid or to prostitute their 11-year-old for money. In the end, my wish is that the children in both cases get to be in an environment where they are loved, supported, and taken care of. That’s the way it should be for *all* kids.

Hi all,

Thanks for your patience since Friday. It appears that MUNU servers were hit with a DDOS attack, which brought the servers down Friday and then again Monday. With the great knowledge and hard work of Pixy Misa, he got us back in the running with very little impact to us (I’m sure he’s worn out!). I lost one post about Hell, Michigan (such a loss, I know!) and a couple of comments. So really nothing at all!!!

Hopefully all will be well going forward, but hey, such is life in the Blogosphere, huh?

ETonline.com has a sneak peek of Rachael Ray’s new hour long show debuting September 18!

“I want to start tomorrow,” she gushed. “I don’t want to wait because everything looks so great. The models are all done — and the set. It’s really getting exciting.”

The show, which will aim to be intimate and fun — and not celebrity-driven — is not just aimed towards food lovers and wannabe gourmet chefs, but for anyone looking to improve their lives — whether it be how to organize your office or trying something new outside of the kitchen!

Rachael recently revealed what tone the show will take. “I want the show to be a forum for people, but there’s not going to be any crying on our show!”

Rachael, who says she’s working with people she’s known for years as well as brand new staffers, says she’s going to keep the atmosphere super casual.

“We allow dogs and children so I want to go to work tomorrow,” she says. “I want to bring my dog to work with me. It’ll be a lot of fun!”

Tied to the article on ETonline.com is a video of her photo shoot promoting the show. It looks like she invited Isa-Boo to the shoot, too!

It will be interesting to see the launch of Rachael’s new show and her transition to things non-food. Do you think her show will be a success? For me it will depend on when it is on, the format and whether the topics of discussion are engaging. Her charisma can carry her traditional shows on the Food Network quite well, but daytime talk is so much different. Her plans aren’t controversial and she doesn’t plan on making anyone cry, so the show will need to be entertaining and stand out away from the Jerry Springers and Montel Williams of the world.

Good news, and yet, tragic news.

GARDEN GROVE, Calif. - A 1-year-old girl spent up to three days alone with the bloody bodies of her murdered family, her face kicked or beaten and lips cracked from dehydration, police said.

“She was left for dead,” Lt. Mike Handfield said Tuesday. “If she would have been here any longer, she could have perished from lack of food and water.”

Police found the bodies of Phuong Hung Le, 30, his wife, Trish Dawn Lam, 25, and Lam’s 6-year-old son, Tommy, on Monday when they conducted a welfare check at the family’s home, on a street lined with two-story stucco houses about 35 miles southeast of Los Angeles in Orange County.

I wish that I were that officer:

The girl smiled at the officer who found her, Handfield said. “She clung to him and he hugged her. She was glad to be next to a warm human body, to have somebody with her.”

So the cloud appears to have a silver lining after all. But, it’s still a cloud. I rejoice in the fact that the baby was saved.

But, poor six year old Tommy. What did he do to deserve this? He could talk, that’s all.

Than this bill in Carolina.

(AP) The South Carolina House on Wednesday passed a pair of bills that would allow prosecutors to seek the death penalty for some repeat child molesters.

Support for the package picked up steam after a man was charged with kidnapping two girls and raping them in a dungeon behind his home earlier this year.

The related measures could send to death row offenders convicted twice of raping a child younger than 11.

I wholeheartedly support the death penalty for child molesters.

In a way, child molesters are worse than murderers. A murderer kills, and his victim, while no longer with us, goes to a better place. Even if you’re an atheist, you can’t disagree that death is a relief for the victims of some murderers.

A child molester is worse, because their living victim has to suffer the trauma for their actions their entire lives. 60, 70, 80 years and more. And a child molester to me somewhat akin to a murderer. The child molester murders the innocence of the child.

So yeah, I wholeheartedly support this bill in South Carolina. I hope our lawmakers do something similar.

Related.

Stein hoist: Ace.

So notorious short-statured pedophile Richard W. Thompson is in the news again…along with the judge that thinks his stature and general presence wouldn’t bode well in jail.

There’s a petition drive in Sidney, Nebraska, focused on collecting the resignation of judge Kristine Cecava. I get the sense her decision wasn’t necessarily well received. Given the pedophile got off virtually with a slap on the wrist and a welcome mat to reoffend I can understand why.

A transcript of the sentencing hearing shows that Cecava considered a number of issues when determining Thompson’s sentence, not only his height.

“So I’m sitting here thinking this guy has earned his way to prison but then I look at you and I look at your physical size,” Cecava is quoted as saying in the transcript. “I look at your basic ability to cope with people and, quite frankly, I shake to think what might happen to you in prison because I don’t think you’ll do well in prison.”

Thompson was charged for having sexual contact last summer with a girl who is now 14.

“I truly hope that my bet on you being OK out in society isn’t misplaced,” Cecava said at the sentencing hearing. “It’s very hard to keep you in society when I know the risk is another child getting hurt.”

She shakes to think what might happen to him in prison?!?!? What about the girl he sexually molested, and on at least two occasions? Do you not think she shakes each and every day she knows this criminal is not behind bars?

Ms. Cecava, your decision on letting him be out in society truly is misplaced. You yourself state that you know there is a risk in another child getting hurt. LISTEN TO WHAT YOU ARE SAYING. How hard is it to put it together?

Of course, we should all be ashamed as her intentions are completely misunderstood:

Lincoln attorney Bernie Glaser, who said he’s been Cecava’s friend and colleague for 33 years, said her ruling has been misunderstood. The prosecutor didn’t ask for prison time, Glaser noted, and the judge took other factors into account when deciding that prison wasn’t right for Thompson including his mental capabilities and information contained in a pre-sentence report that is not public.

“We need more judges like her,” Glaser said. “I think they should be proud they have a judge like her.”

God help us if we get any more judges like her. …and God help the victims of any criminal that they might feel sorry for.

The petition drive in Sydney has garnered over 700 signatures - pretty substantial for a small Nebraska community.

In the meantime, “Top Cop” Jon Bruning, Nebraska’s Attorney General has filed his appeal on the judge’s sentence in this case:

An appeal has been filed on Wednesday of a judge’s decision to sentence a sex offender to probation instead of prison based in part on his height.

Attorney General Jon Bruning and Cheyenne County Attorney Paul Schaub filed the appeal with the state Appeals Court. They said the sentence handed down last week to Richard W. Thompson of Sidney was excessively lenient.

I’ll say!

Schaub said he supports the appeal based in part on the recommendations of the victim, her counselor and custodian — all of whom said Thompson should be sent to prison.

Let’s hope that the victim - the REAL victim - is finally listened to.

I think back to when I was twelve. The last thing I would have *ever* wanted was to have sex - especially with an adult. As a matter of fact, at the age of 8 or 9, my sister’s neighbor offered me a dime to stand on his chest (I was wearing a dress and obivously he wanted to look up it). I ran to the nearest adult to tell. There are some people that are just sick and perverted. Some of these less-than-human beings want society to endorse their behavior and try to twist it around so it sounds “okay.” They aren’t fooling anyone.

AMSTERDAM (Reuters) - Dutch pedophiles are launching a political party to push for a cut in the legal age for sexual relations to 12 from 16 and the legalization of child pornography and sex with animals, sparking widespread outrage.

I would certainly *hope* this would spark widespread outrage. Society carries a general sense of what is right and wrong, for the most part, apart from the smattering of sadistic freaks like these people.

The Charity, Freedom and Diversity (NVD) party said on its Web site it would be officially registered Wednesday, proclaiming: “We are going to shake The Hague awake!”

The party said it wanted to cut the legal age for sexual relations to 12 and eventually scrap the limit altogether.

…and here they go trying to rationalize their unnatural tendencies:

“A ban just makes children curious,” Ad van den Berg, one of the party’s founders, told the Algemeen Dagblad (AD) newspaper.

“We want to make pedophilia the subject of discussion,” he said, adding the subject had been a taboo since the 1996 Marc Dutroux child abuse scandal in neighboring Belgium.

“We want to get into parliament so we have a voice. Other politicians only talk about us in a negative sense, as if we were criminals,” Van den Berg told Reuters.

Get a clue, dumbass…if you act on any of these tendencies or view porn involving children you ARE a criminal. Of course you should be treated as such. I want to make pedophila the subject of discussion, too. How to limit it. How to make you pay for any harm you might inflict on an innocent child should you act on your sick, disgusting, perverted thoughts. How to make convicted pedophiles get the death penalty for their crimes against children. Oh and your argument that children are curious? Nice. Try to make it seem like you are doing it for the children when you just want a way to get away with fulfilling your sick fantasies.

Even the Dutch are shocked by this news. And we all know it takes a lot to shock the Dutch.

“They make out as if they want more rights for children. But their position that children should be allowed sexual contact from age 12 is of course just in their own interest,” anti-pedophile campaigner Ireen van Engelen told the AD daily.

Hey…didn’t I just say that?

I have to admit, the party certainly doesn’t appear credible when they have such outlandish demands…

The party wants private possession of child pornography to be allowed although it supports the ban on the trade of such materials. It also supports allowing pornography to be broadcast on daytime television, with only violent pornography limited to the late evening.

Toddlers should be given sex education and youths aged 16 and up should be allowed to appear in pornographic films and prostitute themselves. Sex with animals should be allowed although abuse of animals should remain illegal, the NVD said.

The party also said everybody should be allowed to go naked in public and promotes legalizing all soft and hard drugs and free train travel for all.

Private posession of child pornography but ban trading it? So in other words, home movies of their sick acts on children so they can relive it over and over? Toddlers given sex education? WTF? Sex with animals, huh? Where’s the animal rights activists. I find it funny that humans having sex with animals is okay, but abuse isn’t? Um, isn’t having sex with an animal both unnatural and abusive?

I have an idea. Let the party be formed. Let people register for it so they can “have their voice.” Buy the mailing list and weed out the population one sick, twisted pedophile at a time. How a population of people can justify their sadistic and harmful fantasies and acts is unfathomable to me. I don’t think even the Dutch will allow this to get traction.

==============================================

UPDATE: Raven has more over at her place. As hubby and I were chatting on this, he did raise a good point. Let’s not underestimate the Dutch’s ability to roll over and let somethng like this pass. While I’m not certain even *they* would go down that road, Raven reminds us that their laws regarding right to life (or in their case right to murder) as well as other social laws are quite liberal.

They fell, but o’er their glorious grave
Floats free the banner of the cause they died to save.
~Francis Marion Crawford

We will always remember.
We will always be proud.
We will always be prepared,
so we will always be free.
~Ronald Reagan

It is easy to take liberty for granted,
when you have never had it taken from you.
~Dick Cheney

This nation will remain the land
of the free only so long as it is
the home of the brave.
~Elmer Davis

Taps~

Day is Done…
Gone the Sun…
From the Hills…
From the Plains…
From the Sky…
All is Well…
Safely Rest…
GOD is Nigh…..

================================

A beautiful Memorial Day Tribute from Romeocat’s trip to D.C. is posted over at her place. Please stop by and be inspired!