Doing God's work . . .
The Toronto Child Expoitation Section seeks out pedophiles in North America.

Makes me wonder why in the heck we haven't extended the death penalty to this particular brand of criminal. We know that they are never really cured, and the kind of damage they cause to people's lives.

A sobering, if not horrifying, read. God bless you, Detective Gillespie.
- posted by MrSpkr @ 00:05 0 comments

 
Arian Huffington's new blog . . .
may not live up to the hype . . .

Who? What?

Ariana Huffington is a wealthy socialite whose exhusband ran for a seat in the U.S. Senate against Barbara Boxer. Shortly after losing, he discovered he was homosexual and divorced Ms. Huffington, who promptly decided to go insane.

Think of her as a sort of Andrew Sullivan, only much, much less coherent. She thinks she is conservative, but has been a supporter of liberal Democrats for several years now.

In any event, she has decided to start a group blog for celebrities.

Enter London's The Guardian Unlimited. It neatly points out the problem with this concept: Ms. Huffington presumes that the celebs will have anything weighty, meaningful or even worthwhile to post.

I suspect they will not -- and I suspect those that do post anything idiotic will be excoriated by the blogosphere, and their agents will suggest the celebs stop alienating their fanbase by participating in the group blog.

Hat tip, Drudge.
- posted by MrSpkr @ 07:58 0 comments

 
Al Quaeda's Training Manual
is now on the Department of Justice's server. I'll look over it and comment in the next few days.
- posted by MrSpkr @ 21:07 0 comments

 
Safety tip of the week:
Remember to EXTINGUISH the flaming shot before drinking it.



Idiots like this are the reason many bars stopped serving flaming drinks.

Hat tip, Southern Appeal.
- posted by MrSpkr @ 15:45 0 comments

 
I'm alive . . .
and things are looking a little better. Amazing how wallowing in self-pity gets old very quickly.

I've began exploring some possibilities and have a list of about a dozen firms I know are hiring. Resumes will go out in the next couple of days.

On the positive side of things, this experience has finally motivated me to get some suits altered and update my resume. I've also looked at a couple of positions outside the practice of law that I find intriguing. We'll see what happens.

Thanks to those of you who have posted here or sent emails of support. I appreciate it more than you can know.

Regular posting will resume soon. Take care.
- posted by MrSpkr @ 15:44 0 comments

 
Arghhh...
today sucks.

I just found out that, since our firm's largest client has filed for receivership, and it owes us upwards of $150,000 in fees, my position is being eliminated.

Yuck.

It really stinks because I can't get too angry about it. My boss is a good friend, and, quite frankly, he has kept me employed longer than he should have. But, change stinks.

The wife is upset because she thinks we might lose our house. She is going back to work full time this fall as a school teacher, but won't get her first pay check until September 1.

Sigh.

I hate job searches. Keep us in your prayers.
- posted by MrSpkr @ 16:13 1 comments

 
Another fun response to the new Pope . . .
from our friends at the Democratic Underground:

Until a woman is allowed to stand at the balcony of St. Peter's with a little white hat on her head, I don't wanna hear about it. Until women are equal in that church, any pope's election is ILLEGITIMATE!

Any church that denies women the right to leadership positions AND refuses to allow birth control ... or even condoms to be used to help stop the AIDS pandemic in Africa ... is {CENSORED}! And don't even get me started on a woman's right to have control over her own BODY -- in PRIVACY.

New pope = misogynist and homophobe. He can kiss my lapsed-Catholic {CENSORED}!

Another red-letter day for a medieval, backward, greedy, corrupt, neocon religious monarchy!

The Catholic Church makes me effing SICK! I advise all women, and all men who care about women, to flee from that sick institution. These men are never going to share power. The church considers me a second-class citizen, and I consider the church to be the ninth circle of hell.

So, it isn't about your belief in God, or receiving salvation for your sins -- it's all about the power.

Maybe she should join the Episcopalians or something.
- posted by MrSpkr @ 11:33 0 comments

 
I take it all back . . .
about reason breaking out in Columbus.

WARNING: Most links are to .pdf files (view with Adobe Acrobat)!

I just looked through some news articles in the CPS archives.

All hell is breaking out in their schools. Drugs, shootings, sneaking guns to school, assaults, fights, gang violence -- you name it, and I only looked at a six week period from March 9, 2005 through April 20, 2005.

And apparently the Mifflin response is (sadly) not abnormal. The fact is, schools need to react to such attacks in the same way a concerned parent or citizen would react.

I also looked at some much more detailed (and graphic) reports of the attack at Mifflin.

Apparently, the principal,. Regina "Hopefully Will Never Be In Charge of Kids Again" Crenshaw was in a meeting and couldn't be bothered to come investigate for nearly half an hour after being notified.

And she's appealing her termination? Wow. THAT'S arrogance of the highest order.

Meanwhile, school officials didn't even call the girl's dad -- a special education teacher who knew the family called him an hour after the attacks when she determined that the school administrators weren't going to call him themselves!

Apparently, you see, they had reviewed the videotape and determined that there had been no coercion.

She was asking for it, I guess. I suppose the fact several students reported she had been beaten and forcibly sodomized, and the fact her face and mouth were bleeding was overshadowed by watching the video of the sex acts.

Disgusting.

This Columbus Dispatch editorial sums up what everyone should be feeling: while the assault was disgraceful in many ways, "the most egregious is that administrators, teachers and some students apparently felt far too little anger at the sexual assault on a 16-year-old girl."

Amen, and thank God my kids aren't trapped in that school district.
- posted by MrSpkr @ 22:41 0 comments

 
Reason breaks out in Columbus, Ohio?
This is a followup to a previous post regarding the refusal of school officials to call police after learning that a developmentally disabled girl had been forcibly gang-raped in a school auditorium during classes.

School, community leaders plan anti-violence summit

By SUE HAGAN
ThisWeek Staff Writer

Columbus Public Schools officials and community leaders plan to meet this summer to come up with strategies they hope will stem the culture of disrespect and violence in the city schools and in Columbus as a whole.

Well, I suppose the first step is admitting you have a problem, right?

According to police reports and testimony given to district officials, a developmentally disabled girl was sexually assaulted by at several boys in the Mifflin High School auditorium on March 9. The investigation also shows that another boy videotaped the incident and a number of students may have stood watching.

This is a troubled school district, and idiots like the former principal let it become this way.

Can any decent, normal individual see just standing by and watching a group of kids getting oral sex in the school during classes? How about when the one being forced to perform has a learning disability? Disgusting -- and a scary thought for those who live in the Columbus area: these kids will soon be adults . . .

On Tuesday, Columbus police were to have presented evidence to the city prosecutor's office regarding possible charges against the boys, and also have agreed -- at CPS Superintendent Gene Harris's urging -- to expand their investigation to determine whether school staff and administrators violated state law for not reporting the alleged assault to police or Franklin County Children's Services.

The first issue, whether the boys have committed a crime, comes down to the evidence and whether the DA thinks he can get a conviction for forcible oral sodomy, a felony.

The second issue is pretty darn clear cut. Under Ohio law, a professional educator (including principals and administrators) have a legal duty to report suspected child abuse (and yes, this would qualify under the law). My research on Westlaw indicates violation of this reporting requirement is a fourth degree misdemeanor, punishable by up to thirty days in jail plus costs and a fine of up to $250. In addition, Ohio courts have determined that a person who violates this can be held liable civilly and cannot claim immunity from suit. Problem is, in this instance, the refusal to report did not lead directly to this young lady's damages (unless you can establish a significant mental anguish claim based on feelings of betrayal, guilt, vulnerability, loss of self-worth, etc., based on the school administrations' refusal to call police). I'd think, however, that the failure to adequately supervise the students might be a decent cause of action (though the deep pockets of the school district are likely not reachable or are limited in their amount of liability by law). See Doe v. Roman, 2002 WL 31732468 (Oh.App. 5th Dist., 2002).

So, how can Columbus improve its' schools? Well, it would seem that, oh, ADOPTING A PLAN FOR DISCIPLINING UNRULY STUDENTS WOULD BE A GOOD START!

"Every school must have a discipline plan," said Rhonda Johnson, president of the CPS teachers' union. "And they (administrators) need to follow the 'Guide to Student Conduct,'" which lays out discipline issues and consequences.

"There needs to be a discipline school for the chronically disruptive student," she said, adding that formation of such a school has been a provision in the teachers' contract for some years, though it's never been launched.

I am aghast. I cannot fathom why (1) every shool does not have a discipline plan; (2) each school is not already required to follow district discipline policies; and (3) why there is no school for disruptive or ill-disciplined students. We've had that in every school district our kids have attended. Heck, I seem to remember it in my old school district twenty years ago.

Why on earth would the schools NOT have a separate place for kids who disrupt the lives of their fellow students? Unbelievable.

McGee Brown said that students learn from the atmosphere in which they grow up, and parents should be held responsible for their children's actions.

"These children don't come out of the womb carrying (guns)," she said, adding that their exposure to violence at home makes them believe that is the way to handle conflict.

Reinforced, of course, by a school district that appears to have little or no consistent discipline policies. The kids get the message from both home AND school that they can act with impunity.

And, in the You Should Quit While You're Ahead category:

Meanwhile, Regina Crenshaw, who was Mifflin's principal when the alleged assault took place, has appealed the board's decision to fire her. A hearing will be held May 13.

Where, if justice exists, she will be arrested for refusing to report a suspected sexual assault on one of her students.

I won't hold my breath based on what happened to her three assistants:

And three assistant principals, who had earlier received 10-day suspensions without pay for failing to report the assault, were to return to work on Wednesday, according to district spokeswoman Gayle Saunders.

Yeah, let's reward the folks who helped build the atmosphere at Mifflin that led to this assault by letting them keep their jobs. That sounds like it sends the right message to all the other school administrators in the Columbus

Sigh.
- posted by MrSpkr @ 22:06 0 comments

 
Yet more on the Columbus Public Schools
In the "Credit Where It Is Due Department", prosecutors are apparently considering charges against the Mifflin folks after being pressed on the issue by the Columbus Public Schools Superintendent, Gene Harris.

However, in that same article, school board members seemed annoyed when asked why it took a month for them to meet and discuss addressing school violence. One board member, Jeff Cabot (a local attorney), refused to answer any questions about the delayed reaction:

"I'm not talking to you."

Hopefully, Columbus voters won't be talking to YOU either, Mr. Cabot.

Others seemed ignorant of any "national backlash" regarding the story:

Asked whether the [school violence] summit was in response to the national public backlash that has occurred since The [Columbus] Dispatch on April 12 published details from an internal district report of how administrators refused to contact police about [the sexual assault], [School Board Member Betty] Drummond responded: "What backlash?"

Wow. Either this is being swept under the rug, or we need to let Ms. Drummond know that, as a nation, we find this reprehensible (and, for us in the South, a confirmation of just how bad life and attitudes in those big cities of the North really are).

This is particularly so when you consider the fact she seems to place most of the blame on the students:

"The situation of the reporting or nonreporting would have never occurred if there had not been a (student) situation in the first place," Drummond said.

No kidding! And guess what -- your inexplicably incompetent administrators and apparently nonexistent disciplinary code allowed the student situation to occur!

Wow. I am floored by this attitude.

Meanwhile, two of the idiot assistants don't seem to think that being suspended for ten days without pay was warranted. Instead, they offered to keep quiet and accept a transfer if the school district would just pay them off.

They're right, you know. A suspension was not warranted.

They should have been terminated. Immediately.

Idiots. Hopefully, the state of Ohio will terminate their professional licenses. People with that little common sense steal oxygen from the rest of us, and certainly should not be allowed to be in charge of our children.
- posted by MrSpkr @ 21:55 0 comments

 
Jumpin' Jim Jeffords . . .
is not seeking re-election, according to ABC news. He cites concerns about his health -- are these credible, or was his re-election fight going to be too much for the career politician?
- posted by MrSpkr @ 10:34 0 comments

 
Ten years ago right now . . .
I was in a panic.

I worked at a law firm in Tulsa, OK, while waiting to start law school at OU. My father, who has worked for the federal government for twenty years or so, was on an out of town trip.

Then I heard, on the radio, that there was a horrific explosion at the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City. I knew of the building -- I had taken the civil service exam in a room that was (as I later learned) mere yards from the Ryder truck. I parked in this parking lot:



I panicked, because I knew Dad often worked in the Oklahoma City federal offices. It took me nearly an hour to track him down and confirm he was okay. Thankfully, he had been in Bartlesville, OK, that morning.

Unfortunately, many others had been at their desks in Oklahoma City that morning. Their lives would change forever.



Over the next week, we sat glued to the television, watching rescue efforts, learning that there were not going to be a lot of survivors pulled from the rubble. We saw Timothy McVeigh charged in Perry, and led from the courthouse in a bright orange jumpsuit. I remember wondering whether someone would gun him down before he could be tried.



We heard, on Nightline, from those who suggested that somehow the federal government was responsible for the bombing. Some conspiracy theorists said that the federal government had brought down its own building; others said it was Arab extremists; still more (including those in the Michigan "militia", said that it was a natural, though regrettable, response to federal excesses at Waco and Ruby Ridge.

That weekend, President Clinton and other dignitaries visited Oklahoma City for a memorial service. The service was standing room only. Clinton's visit did much to marginalize the extremists (along with Ted Koppel and Nightline's decision to allow these folks to air their ideas).

I had the opportunity shortly afterwards to visit the site. I had a speech to give in Lawton, OK, and stopped by the area on Sunday. It was, even 11 days after the attack, a surreal scene. The front of the building, sheared off when the lower support columns were blown out, was gone. It looked almost like a David Macaulay book. Peering through binoculars, I could see desks, complete with computers, a vase of (now-wilted) flowers, and a large family picture sitting inches from the drop to the ground below.


In the coming years, at OU, i encountered many folks who had been at or near the site. I worked at a law firm two blocks away. One of the partners told me how, that morning, he sat as his desk and watched the rubber-lined windows of his 15th floor office push in nearly an inch from the blast pressure, then pop back out so loudly he thought they would surely break.

I met the courier who had just dropped off a parcel at the Murrah building and literally saw the explosion in his rear-view mirror.

I met the guy whose girlfriend had died in the blast. And, through the media, got to know many others whose lives were irrevocably changed that morning.

I'll never forget that. I hope my country never forgets them, either.


- posted by MrSpkr @ 09:07 1 comments

 
What in the hell were they thinking?
Okay -- picture this situation:

You're a principal at an urban high school. Four male students are accused of punching a speech impaired-girl in the mouth, then forcing her to perform oral sex upon two of them. Another student captures parts of the attack on tape.

Bleeding from her wounds, the young woman is taken to the school nurse's office and her parents are called.

Do you think, maybe, that the police should be called? I mean, we are only talking about multiple felonies captured on video tape.

If you think calling the police would be a good idea, then you WEREN'T an administrator at this Columbus, OH school.

A 16-year-old disabled girl was punched and forced to engage in videotaped sexual acts with several boys in a high school auditorium as dozens of students watched, according to witnesses.

* * *

Also, the principal, Regina Crenshaw, was suspended and will be fired for not calling police, school officials said. And three assistant principals were suspended and will be reassigned to other schools.

* * *

School officials found the girl bleeding from the mouth. An assistant principal cautioned the girl's father against calling 911 to avoid media attention, the statements said. The girl's father called police.

Calling the police when you know that multiple felonies have been committed? What a concept!

Too bad Principal Regina Crenshaw and Assistant-Principals Vincent Clarno, Suzie Ritterer-Helfrich and Richard Watson don't quite understand that concept.

But wait -- it gets worse.

According to a story in the Columbus Dispatch (subscribers only -- link is to a summary service), not only did these idiot administrators fail to call the police when they discovered the crime, one of them refused to call police when the father arrived at the school, learned the story AND ASKED HIM TO DO SO! Apparently, they even refused to call for medical help, forcing the father to drive his daughter -- the victim of a sexual assault AT THE SCHOOL DURING CLASSES -- to the hospital!

The principal has been fired. The assistants, though, appear to be getting a slap on the wrist from the school board:

The board also voted to suspend for 10 days without pay the three assistant principals. They are Vincent D. Clarno, Suzie Retterer-Helfrich and Richard G. Watson. All three have been on paid leave since shortly after the incident.

In addition, Retterer-Helfrich's contract has been amended from a two-year term to one year.

Following their suspension, the three will not return to Mifflin, Harris said, and must write a performance plan and receive additional training.

So, for refusing to call the police after learning that a sexual assault occurred on campus, these idiots lose 1/36 of their annual salary (my guess is that they make about $75K/year, so this cost them about $2,500). Wow.

Where does the victim go to recover her innocence? More importantly, where does she go to recover her sense of self-confidence, self-worth, and most importantly, security?

Even as it fires Principal, however, the school board effectively dismisses the seriousness of this event:

A Columbus high school principal made what the school board is calling a mistake and now she is looking for a new job.

Emphasis mine. You see, it was all a mistake, like when you accidentally dial the wrong phone number or leave your driver's license at home. Nothing to see here, move along, move along.

Thankfully, state officials are conducting a review to determine whether these idiots should have their professional licenses revoked. My opinion, of course, is that they should be revoked, and quickly. These idiots not only tried to sweep a sexual assault under the rug, they ran their campus in such a manner as to allow the sexual assault to happen in the first place. Such people should not be allowed a second opportunity to endanger children.

I find the whole incident disgusting, and, as the father of a disabled daughter, more than a little terrifying.
- posted by MrSpkr @ 08:37 1 comments

 
I couldn't make this stuff up
You'd never believe it, dear readers. You'd accuse me of the grossest distortions, of unreasonable and unsupportable caricatures of those with whose ideologies I disagree.

Sigh.

Dan Flynn runs "The Flynn Files", a conservative blog. In a recent post, he detailed some background information about the salad dressing assault on Pat Buchanan last month. Apparently, one of the conservatives involved in setting up the speech has alleged misconduct by a leftist professor (of sociology, whose dissertation essentially asserts that misogynistic language suppresses reporting of rapes).

The post is interesting, but the real fun comes in the comments. Some of my favorites include:

(1) A poster claiming to be a WMU professor whose conclusion regarding the violence is, essentially, that the conservatives "were asking for it"

(2) another poster who claims that, because a conservative student entered the sociology professor's class during the time it was in session, he had "raped the students in the class he invaded of their educational experience" and that by allegedly posting signs in a manner prohibited by the relevant guidelines, "he raped students of their right to travel the hallways without feeling intimidated (posting unauthorized signs)"

and (my favorite from a student in the women's studies class in question on why he needed to post his version of events)

(3) "each student in the class shapes his/her own reality, each posting will be different."

Classic. That guy is going places. In the women's study program, at least . . .
- posted by MrSpkr @ 19:17 0 comments

 
Kerry cites lack of humor for election loss

Leaflets are handed out saying Democrats vote on Wednesday, Republicans vote on Tuesday.

That joke was old when I was in grade school.

People are told in telephone calls that if you've ever had a parking ticket, you're not allowed to vote," he said.

Any proof? Who received these calls? And should people that dense REALLY be voting? A bit elitist, probably; but come on -- have a sense of perspective here.

Earlier this year, Kerry joined Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, a New York Democrat, in filing voting reform legislation. The Count Every Vote Act would create a federal holiday for voting, require paper receipts for votes and authorize $500 million to help states upgrade voting systems and equipment.

Federal holiday for voting=another way to turn out Democrat voters (given the large percentage of federal employees who are registered Democrats and who would have a vested interest in defeating candidates who might call for trimming the size of federal government -- presuming, of course, that said candidates MEANT what they said, unlike current Republicans).
Paper receipts are a good idea, but what do you do when the paper count differs from the electronic count? Which is used?
Finally -- why should the taxpayers in Texas pay for new balloting devices in Vermont? That's a local issue, not a federal one.
- posted by MrSpkr @ 10:31 0 comments

 
Okay, back from hiatus
and time to do some housekeeping.

Life has been busy lately. In addition to my law practice, I am a principal in a new information management company that should be rolling out services and products to small and medium size law firms in about three months. More on that later.

Teresa Schaivo is dead -- sad, but probably inevitable. It is interesting that her adulterous husband refused to allow her siblings in the room when she actually died -- and that he refused to to bury her in Florida, where her parents wanted her buried so they could visit the grave. Instead, she is being buried in Pennsylvania -- why? No idea. Her adulterous husband will continue living in Florida where he will presumably marry his current mistress.

Sad.

Interesting comments on this case. Thanks (for most of you) for keeping it clean. One guy got out of line, and his commment was deleted. Foul language and ad hominems do little to add to intellectual discourse, so it really isn't much of a loss.

The Pope is dead, too. That is a loss. I'm not Catholic, but I have a great deal of respect for this Pope and his work (along with President Reagan and Prime Minister Thatcher) in bringing down the Soviet Union and the evils of eastern European communism. His theme of "fear not" was the most powerful message he could send to the faithful under the communist yoke.

Some site updates in the next few days -- I need to update web addresses and get back on a posting schedule. Now, though, I need to go on a walk with my wife.

Later,

Steve
- posted by MrSpkr @ 19:43 0 comments