Judge says it's okay to be straight again in Minnesota school
by Earlybird
With Court Ruling, Banned 'Straight Pride'
Shirt Back in School
ST PAUL, Minn. — A Minnesota teenager told he couldn't
wear a sweatshirt with the words "Straight Pride" on it
because it was offensive to some students at a public
high school, has won a preliminary injunction in U.S.
District Court against the school.
In issuing the injunction, the federal judge noted that there was "a
strong likelihood" that the principal of Woodbury High School near St. Paul, Minn.
violated 16-year-old Elliot Chambers' constitutional rights when he forbade him from
wearing the shirt, which displayed cartoon images of a man and woman holding hands
on the back and featured the trademarked "Straight Pride" logo on the front.
The court said there was insufficient evidence that, as the school maintained, the
presence of the shirt on campus would cause a substantial disruption of school
activities. But the judge held open the possibility that the shirt could be banned in the
future if the school can prove that it is a threat to order.
Chambers' parents, Kendal and Lana Chambers, said their son was back in school
Friday with the shirt on, and that about a dozen of Elliot's friends were wearing similar
shirts.
Elliot and his parents, along with the American Family Association's Center for Law
and Policy, a conservative Christian organization, sued the school after Chambers was
told in January the shirt was not allowed in school because it was offensive to gay,
lesbian and bisexual students. The principal told Chambers he couldn't wear the shirt
"because of the recent racial violence at our school, and that it might incite
straight-versus-homosexual violence," Chambers recalled.
The lawsuit argues that the school's policies are unconstitutional, both on their face
and as applied against Elliot.
Officials at the school district have declined to comment on the case other than to
release a statement Friday saying they accept the decision of the court. The statement
said the principal was trying to maintain "an atmosphere of tolerance and respect for
diversity among its students."
Some of the teachers and students said the shirt is a form of harassment that should
be banned. The language makes gay or lesbian students, or those with gay or lesbian
family members, uncomfortable, they said.
But members of the Chambers family have decried what they call a double standard at
the school. The school attempts to foster an atmosphere of tolerance by displaying
inverted pink triangles around designated "safe" areas of the school. The "safe" areas
are set aside for student/teacher discussion and counseling regarding homosexuality
and other non-traditional relationships.
Stephen M. Crampton, chief counsel for the American Family Center, called the
injunction "a tremendous victory for student free speech and a small step toward
exposing the hypocrisy of the 'tolerance' agenda.
"The court recognized that true tolerance means tolerance of all, and not only a select
few," he said.
To be a Republican...
You have to believe that the nation's current 8-year prosperity was due to the work of Ronald Reagan and George Bush, but that yesterday's gas prices are all Bill Clinton's fault.
You have to despise government programs, but expect Social Security checks on time.
You have to believe that government should stay out of peoples' lives, yet you want government to regulate same-sex marriages, ending or not ending pregnancies, and what official language should be spoken by you.
You have to believe that pollution is okay, so long as it makes a profit. It is even better if it's in another state.
You have to sponsor prayer in public schools, as long as you don't pray to Allah or Buddha.
You have to believe that only your own teenagers are still virgins.
You have to believe that a woman cannot be trusted with decisions about her own body, but that large multinational corporations should have no regulations or interference.
You love Jesus and Jesus loves you and you're certain that Jesus shares your hatred of AIDS victims, homosexuals, labor unions, and Hillary Clinton.
You have to believe that society is colorblind and growing up black in America doesn't diminish your opportunities, but you still won't vote for Allan Keyes.
You have to believe that it was wise to allow Ken Starr to spend $50 million to attack Clinton because no other US Presidents have ever been unfaithful to their wives.
You have to declare that a waiting period for purchasing a handgun is bad because quick access to a new firearm is an important concern for all Americans, even children and felons.
You have to believe it is wise to keep condoms out of schools because, of course, if teenagers don't have condoms they won't have sex.
You have to believe that the ACLU is bad because it defends the Constitution, while the NRA is good because it defends the Constitution.
You have to believe the AIDS virus is not important enough to deserve federal funding proportionate to the resulting death rate and that the public doesn't need to be educated about it, because if we just ignore it, it will go away.
You have to believe that biology teachers are corrupting the morals of 6th graders if they teach them the basics of human sexuality, but the Bible, which is full of sex and violence, is good reading at any age.
You have to believe that Chinese communist missiles have killed more Americans than handguns, alcohol, and tobacco.
You have to believe that even though governments have supported the arts for 5,000 years and that most of the great works of Renaissance art were paid for by governments, our government should shun any such support. After all,the rich can afford to buy their own and the poor don't need any.
You have to believe that the lumber from the last one percent of old growth US forests is well worth the destruction of those forests and the extinction of the several species of plants and animals therein.
You have to believe that we should forgive and pray for Newt Gingrich, Henry Hyde, and Bob Livingston for their marital infidelities, but that that bastard Bill Clinton should never be forgiven.
You have to believe that George W. Bush REALLY won this election.
1) that having sex with a subordinate is sexual harassment unless you're the President of the United States and pro-choice.
2) that Tawana Brawley was raped but Juanita Broaddrick wasn't.
3) that Anita Hill was sexually harassed but Kathleen Willey wasn't.
4) that when a Republican President sends American troops abroad he's power mongering imperialist, but when a Democrat President does he's defending American interests.
5) that Saddam Hussein isn't better off today than he was 8 years ago.
6) that women, who make up 51% of the population, are a minority.
7) that Al Gore's plan to increase defense spending by 100 billion dollars, nearly twice what Bush is proposing, is not pandering to the military.
8) that Al Gore's plan to provide prescription drug coverage to all seniors, even millionaires and billionaires, is not pandering to the elderly.
9) that Al Gore is really an environmentalist, not a politician who has stabbed the environmental movement in the back numerous times.
10) everything.... James Carville says.
11) that when George Bush takes millions from Fortune 500 companies he's a pawn of the special interests, but when Al Gore takes millions from the exact same companies he's "fighting for you."
12) that Allen Greenspan, the Republican Congress, new technology and internet employees working 100 hour weeks had nothing to do with the prosperity of the last eight years--it was all Clinton/Gore.
13) in a bizarre new accounting where tax cuts are actually a form of spending.
14) that the Republican Congress, the body the actually passes the budget, is not responsible for the fact that the budget is balanced.
15) that the best solution to the problem of black inner city illiteracy is to let those kids into college under affirmative action programs.
16) that teachers unions care more about students than teachers.
17) that rich people have a right to send their children to any school they want, but poor people don't.
18) that people should be judged not by the color of their skin, but the content of their character--except in the cases of education, hiring, and the awarding of public contracts.
19) that Clinton supported welfare reform.
20) the era of big government is over.
21) the jokes that make fun of Jewish people are a form of bigotry, but jokes that make fun of fundamentalist Christians are hilariously funny.
22) in the Bill of Rights, except that silly second amendment.
23) in the vast right-wing conspiracy.
24) Hillary Clinton is a Yankees fan.
25) That Al Gore wanted to count all the votes.
26) That the word "shall" really means "may".
27) That the US Supreme Court is politically motivated but the Florida State Supreme Court isn't.
28) That there should be special rights for special people.
29) That Cill Clinton was a victim of Monica Lewinsky.
30) That Albert Gore Jr. REALLY won the past election.
When you all up there can forget about Clinton and Hillary and Chelsa, please come down to Texas and help poor little Gina out. Her Daddy was so busy keeping his sins hid from her that she didn't know any better. I wonder how that Chelsa with the rotten parents kept from getting arrested.You can bet it would have been headline news if she had done something wrong.
when Jenna Bush was arrested for drinking a beer at all of 19 years of age. Nobody tried to get her out of it. Nobody tried to keep it quiet. She paid for her crime. Now, go get Bill and see if he was that good a father...what a wimp!
Pregnant actress sues after being turned down for role of virginal teen
by nemesis
London, England (Electronic Telegraph):
An actress has claimed an opera company sexually discriminated
against her after it turned her down for the part of a virgin because she
would be heavily pregnant by the end of the show's run.
Bethany Halliday, 28, decided to take the D'Oyly Carte Opera company
to an industrial tribunal after she failed to get a part in the production of
the Pirates of Penzance at London's Savoy Theatre.
Ian Martin, the company's general manager, said the idea of a pregnant
woman playing the role was absurd. "We were casting for the ladies'
chorus, who all play the teenage virginal daughters of Major General
Stanley and scream every time they see a man. It would not make sense
to have a pregnant virginal daughter."
He said the logical conclusion of the European directive that forms the
basis of the case would see the Royal Shakespeare Company being
forced to have a pregnant actress playing the female lead in Romeo and
Juliet.
He said Miss Halliday did not get the part because she was pregnant
and was unsuitable as an understudy for one of the main parts, a role
taken on by members of the chorus. He said: "We are defending
ourselves on the grounds that producers should have the right to make
decisions commensurate with common sense."
Miss Halliday is to claim the full value of the contract, which is
believed to have been worth around £5,000 for the two-month run, at
an employment tribunal. Yesterday, she refused to comment about the
case. A spokesman for Equity, the actors' union, said: "We are
supporting our member and we believe we are going to win."
DEERFIELD BEACH, Florida (Reuters) - Harold Stilson, who turned 101 in April,
became the oldest golfer ever to make a hole-in-one when he used a 4-iron to ace a
108-yard hole on Thursday at the Deerfield Country Club, the Sun-Sentinel newspaper
reported on Thursday.
The hole-in-one was Stilson's sixth. He made his first ace at the age of 71.
Stilson, a 27-handicap golfer, was playing in a tournament with neighbor Ken Fleming,
83, and Fleming's son Pat, 56, when his tee shot disappeared into the cup at the 16th hole.
The Sun-Sentinel, quoting Golf Digest magazine, said the oldest previous golfer to make
a hole-in-one was Otto Bucher, who was 99 when he aced the 130-yard, 12th hole at La
Manga Golf Club in Spain in 1985.
Playing in a tournament with neighbor Ken Fleming, 83, and Ken's son Pat, 56, Stilson, of
Boca Raton, used his 4-iron on the 108-yard hole.
"The funny thing is, I didn't think I hit it very well," the Sentinel quoted Stilson saying. "I
turned and walked away and they Ken and Pat were shouting, 'It went in. It went in.'
That's the first I knew of it."
"It was a perfect shot," Ken Fleming said. "It rolled right into the hole and my son and I
let out a hoot and a holler. Harold was just kind of ho-hum about it."
Stilson said the ace was his sixth in the past 30 years. He started playing at 20 in 1920,
but did not make a hole-in-one until he was 71.
Stilson attributes his longevity and good health to his genes. His mother lived to almost
100. And while he eats and drinks pretty much what he wants, he does work out a few
times a week with 10-pound dumbbells.
A junior-high boy who prevented a friend from slitting her wrists by taking away
her knife is fighting his automatic suspension from school for possessing a weapon.
Ben Ratner and his mother, Beth Haney, made their appeal to the 4th Circuit Court
of Appeals in Virginia last week, saying a lower court erred in dismissing the case.
In October 1999, Ratner, an eighth-grader from Loudoun County, Va., received a
note in class from a friend who said she was contemplating suicide and had brought
a knife to school in her binder. Ratner was familiar with the girl's personal troubles
and knew she had been hospitalized for psychiatric problems. When he asked for
the knife, the girl refused, so Ratner took the binder from her and locked it in his
locker. He intended to take the knife home to his mother, a nurse, who could
determine an appropriate course of action.
School officials found out about the knife and asked Ratner if he had it. The boy said
he did and gave the knife to Fanny Kellogg, a dean at Blue Ridge Middle School,
upon Kellogg's request. Though Kellogg said she understood the boy's reasons for
taking the knife and stated her belief that he was not a threat to anyone, school
officials still proceeded to suspend the boy for 10 days. The suspension was quickly
amended to be "indefinite," pending review by the school board, which decided the
boy should remain out of school for four months.
Ratner had believed subjecting his friend to school authorities would be too much
pressure for the girl, and he was right. The Sunday following the incident, the girl
slit her wrists. Her suicide attempt, however, was unsuccessful.
Although officials for the Loudoun County Public Schools also acknowledged that
Ben's actions were "noble" and "admirable" and admitted that he posed no threat to
himself or others, they nevertheless upheld the long-term suspension, which lasted
from Oct. 8, 1999, until Jan. 25, 2000.
Ratner and Haney secured legal counsel through the Rutherford Institute, which
appealed the long-term suspension to the school board in December 1999, but the
board upheld the suspension. That decision prompted Ratner's lawsuit against the
school district for violation of his civil rights and challenging the district's
"zero-tolerance" policy on its face.
The policy states in part, "No student shall possess any weapon for any reason while
under school control or supervision. The term weapon is intended to be construed
broadly to cover and include any instrument which could injure, harm or endanger
the physical well-being of another person."
Rutherford Institute Chief Litigation Counsel Steven H. Aden, who represented
Ratner and Haney in court, claims the zero-tolerance policy is too broad.
"Strict adherence to this policy would prohibit the possession of a sharpened pencil,
pen, ruler, compass or scissors. If intent is not to be considered, then every student in
the Loudoun County Schools is in violation of school policy (as are most of the
teachers) for using all the normal tools employed in a learning environment," Aden
wrote in his appeal.
Speaking to WorldNetDaily, Aden emphasized the personal impact the policy had
on Ratner, who was denied his right to be heard, he said.
"When we feel the school has to suspend a student for technically possessing a knife
even though he saved a friend's life, we've forgotten the human element. We've also
accepted trampling on the rights and feelings of young people in order to force them
to stay in line. I'm very concerned about that," he remarked.
Many school have established zero-tolerance policies for various actions, including
drug use or possession, violence or threats of violence and weapons possession. But
effort to make schools safe has backfired in many cases. As reported by WND, there
are numerous cases of "good" kids being punished as a result of the policies intended
to weed out "bad seeds." The Rutherford Institute hopes to bring common sense back
to discussions about school safety.
"I think the path to safety in our schools is understanding where students are
coming from and hearing them out -- not kicking them out of school for technical
violations of draconian zero-tolerance policies," said Aden. "We've gone down the
wrong road since Columbine."
Indeed, more than 87,000 students were expelled nationwide in the 1997-98 school
year, the latest statistics available from the Office for Civil Rights, a part of the U.S.
Department of Education. There were more than 3.1 million children suspended that
year, up from 1.7 million in the 1974-75 school year and 2.4 million in 1991-92.
"School officials who enforce 'zero-tolerance' policies without regard for the
individual student's motives are only reinforcing intolerance in our schoolchildren,"
said John W. Whitehead, president of the Rutherford Institute. "We hope that the
federal appeals court will intervene and restore a sense of justice and fair play that
Loudoun County denied Ben Ratner and his family."
Ratner, who was home-schooled by a tutor during his suspension, is asking that his
permanent record be expunged and that he be compensated for tutorial costs.
Attorney John Easton, who represents the school district in the case, was not
available for comment, though a secretary said, "He probably wouldn't have a
comment anyway."
A South Side man who was emasculated by a woman he allegedly tried to rape has been charged with aggravated criminal sexual assault, according to police.
About 3 a.m. today, Erik Williams, 21, of the 3600 block of South Michigan Avenue, allegedly accosted a 42-year-old woman on that same block and ordered her to perform a sex act on him, according to Chicago Police News Affairs Sgt. Robert Cargie.
The woman then bit off the man's testicles, and, about a half hour later, the woman walked into police headquarters, 3510 S. Michigan Ave., and turned the severed body parts over to police officers, said Chicago News Affairs Sgt. Thomas Donegan.
At 3:40 a.m., Williams arrived at Michael Reese Hospital and Medical Center with matching injuries, Donegan said.
He was in fair condition following surgery, according to hospital spokeswoman Sandra Wilks. Doctors were unable to reattach the body parts, and the man is now sterile, she said.
This woman is a heroine to all women....................
by theherbwoman
I am thankful she was not injured in this attack. She had every right, and then some, to defend herself with any weapons she had on hand. In her case, it was only her teeth, and she used them well.
I firmly believe in neutering (physical and chemical) of violent sexual offenders, and in particular, child molesters. If you ain't got gonads, you can't use them, can you?
No man has the right to force any woman to have any kind of sexual congress against her will.
And, yes, it goes both ways. No woman should force a man to have sex against his will. (It happens - excitement and/or fear can cause an unwilling erection, and men in fact have been raped because of this male sexual phenomenon)
Do as he says, not as he does: When House Minority Leader Dick
Gephardt showed his face at a photo op to make his usual attack
on President Bush's proactive energy policy and nag Americans
about conservation, he got there "in a gas-guzzling SUV," the
New York Post reports today.
Asked why his boss set a poor example Tuesday by tooling around
in an enormous Chevrolet Suburban, Gephardt spokesman Eric
Smith stammered, "We don't say anything about changing people's
lifestyles."
But changing "lifestyles" is exactly what the Big Government
types have been demanding. The anti-choice left has been
whining about sport utility vehicles for years and insisting
that conservation is the panacea. But the folks out in
California have been getting a good taste of conservation
lately and don't seem to like the flavor.
The White House noted that Gephardt's call for price controls
and other schemes would "create greater energy problems."
I'd be interested to know which specific media gets the credit for the "three giant steps backward" quote. Also, which specific media reported the horrendous deterioration of grammar in the last eight years was due to Clinton?
GREEN VALLEY - This quiet community, known for its
retirees and golf courses, was awakened early Thursday
when authorities said a man fired a gun near his
ex-girlfriend's house while driving a golf cart.
Keith Livsey told authorities he had been drinking beer and
was angry at his estranged girlfriend at the time of the
drive-by, said Pima County Sheriff's Deputy Steve Easton.
Livsey said he fired into the air and that no bullets struck the
woman's home, according to Easton.
Livsey's golf cart was painted a distinctive bright orange and
red and its modified gasoline-powered engine made a loud
noise.
Livsey's ex-girlfriend and her neighbor identified him as the
shooter, Easton said.
Livsey, an auto mechanic in Green Valley, was arrested on
suspicion of endangerment.
Green Valley, a community near Tucson with a low crime
rate and about 25,000 people, has seven golf courses.
Copyright 2000, azcentral.com. All rights reserved.
BY ELIZABETH JUDGE
AN ELDERLY woman in an electric wheelchair
collapsed and died after chasing a teenager who
had spat in her face, an inquest was told yesterday.
The confrontation happened when the boy, who
was on a bicycle, cut in front of Roberta Hawes,
72, of Hove. He then spat in her eye. She chased
after him and his friend in her wheelchair for a
quarter of a mile before cornering one of them in a
supermarket and berating him.
She later collapsed while visiting a friend and
was taken to hospital, where she died.
The hearing was told that the incident with the
childen, believed to be 12 or 13, was responsible
for her collapse. Her husband, Edward, who was
too upset to attend the inquest, said that his wife
was an “indomitable woman” who had had three
hip operations.
The coroner, Victoria Hamilton-Deeley, recorded
a so-called narrative verdict describing the
stressful events that led to her death.
NEW DELHI (Reuters) - Vigilante mobs have taken to the streets of the Indian capital to
track down a mysterious "monkey man" blamed for attacks in which dozens of people
have been bitten and clawed.
Police in New Delhi said Friday they suspected that the attacks, which have unleashed a
wave of panic across the city, were the work of a gang of trouble makers.
"It's definitely not one person," Joint Commissioner of Police Suresh Roy told Reuters
Friday. "Events seem to be happening at different places at the same time so it could be a
number of mischief-makers who have formed a small gang."
Newspapers said three people had now panicked and fallen to their death from buildings
in the past week because they were convinced that the creature was pursuing them.
The Tribune said the latest victim leapt from the roof of a three-story building where he
and a friend had been sleeping Wednesday night.
Thursday police offered a reward of 50,000 rupees ($1,063) for information leading to
the capture of the "monkey man," which they now believe is not an animal, and set up a
special team to solve the puzzle.
But television news reports said that many of the city's residents were taking the matter
into their own hands, trawling the streets at night armed with hockey sticks and batons.
Star News said one frenzied mob caught and beat a man in the east of the city, only to
discover that he was an innocent bystander.
Roy said the police were trying to quash the collective "fear psychosis" which has
gripped some suburbs of the sprawling city and said rumor-peddlers would be dealt with
harshly.
Thursday night, the police received 80 calls from people saying they had seen the
"monkey man," but most were hoaxes. Only three people had injuries to show for alleged
attacks.
Accounts of what the attacker looks like have varied wildly.
Some said it had a metallic claw, others said it was like a cat with tawny glowing eyes
and one said it had "flaming red eyes and green lights glowing in its chest."
Monkeys run wild in and around New Delhi, sometimes pouncing on unsuspecting
pedestrians and entering houses. But Roy said victims' accounts pointed to a human
being.
Sanal Edamaruku of the Indian Rationalist Association said this week that the "monkey
man" was a product of mass delusion.
"The recent panic... could well be totally baseless and nothing but a hallucination of
groups of people with a tendency to hysterical psychosis," he said.
But a group called the National Human Rights Council said it would be holding a
religious ceremony in the heart of New Delhi Saturday to pray for the city's release from
the clutches of the ape-like menace.
CAROLYN SKORNECK
Associated Press Writer
May 16, 2001
WASHINGTON (AP) _ The United States needs a special envoy who will ``focus like a
laser beam on Sudan,'' the northeast African nation ravaged by an 18-year civil war that
has killed more than 2 million people, a key congressman told top State Department
officials Wednesday.
The new envoy must be shown standing between President Bush and Secretary of State
Colin Powell so ``the world will know this person has the confidence'' of those leaders, said
Rep. Frank Wolf, R-Va., chairman of the House Appropriations panel that oversees the
department's budget.
A candidate has been chosen for the job and the administration wants to move forward,
Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage told Wolf. Priority was given, however, to
naming someone to monitor aid deliveries to Sudan.
President Bush accomplished that by assigning the aid task May 3 to Andrew Natsios, the
new Agency for International Development chief. Bush said he wants to ensure U.S.
assistance goes to the needy, ``without manipulation by those ravaging that troubled land.''
``This is a first step. More will follow,'' he said.
The special envoy still to be appointed would be engaged in diplomatic efforts to end the
war and restore human rights.
We must ``stop the slavery, stop the killing, stop the famine, stop the death,'' Wolf said.
``You're right,'' Armitage said. ``We've got to stop the war.''
The civil war has pitted Sudan's predominantly Muslim north against its Christian and
animist south, which is seeking autonomy. The war has claimed 2.2 million lives since it
broke out in 1983, Wolf said.
Shortly after Powell took office, he eliminated many special envoy positions created by the
Clinton administration, but he retained the Sudan post.
The State Department authorization bill undergoing House action Wednesday includes a
provision making that job permanent. It designates that ``the envoy shall work for a
peaceful resolution of the conflict in Sudan and an end to abuses of human rights, including
religious freedom, in Sudan.''
The United States closed its embassy in Sudan in 1996 because of terrorism and human
rights abuses in the country.
Shelter girls easy prey
Jane O. Hansen - Staff
Friday, May 18, 2001
Lax security and a lousy location have turned Fulton County's emergency girls' shelter into a recruiting ground for pimps, who come right onto the property looking for young, vulnerable girls dreaming of a better life.
"It is deplorable," said Alesia Adams, head of Victims of Prostitution, a county-sponsored child advocacy program. "We treat animals better than children at Oak Hill."
One girl, an admitted child prostitute, said her pimp once visited and had lunch with her at the Oak Hill Homes shelter, which houses about 50 girls age 17 and under.
"You've got a pimp coming up on the property and the staff know it's a pimp," said her mother, Yvonne Freeman. "He's coming up picking up little girls."
Last month, a 14-year-old girl at Oak Hill gave information that led to the arrest of Raymond Anthony Stovall on felony pimping charges. Police said five of Stovall's cohorts subsequently were arrested when they came to the shelter and threatened the girls, ordering them not to say anything that would help police make their case.
Beverly Jones, director of the Fulton Department of Family and Children Services, acknowledges that the facility, designed to protect abused and neglected children, has become a place where pimps can find easy prey. She says intruders have even used pliers to cut through the 6-foot chain-link fence that borders the well-kept grassy campus.
Part of the problem is location, Jones says. Built more than 50 years ago, Oak Hill sits on Metropolitan Parkway, formerly Stewart Avenue, Atlanta's best-known prostitution "track" for streetwalkers.
Lack of security contributes to the problem. But the children at Oak Hill are not criminals. They're victims, Jones points out, who are there because their parents can't or won't take care of them. "We are not juvenile justice," she said. "We cannot lock kids in."
Rules prohibit the children from leaving without permission. But many of the older children ignore the rules, and there are no alarms to signal when they slip out in the night and no locked gate to prevent them from leaving.
Jones says she plans to beef up security and make other changes. Police say she assured them last summer she would try to fix the problem.
Soon she may be forced to. The state's child advocate is finishing a report to be delivered to Gov. Roy Barnes that will decry the shelters' conditions and call for a number of reforms.
The child advocate's investigation was prompted by the recent firing of three shelter employees after a fight with a 12-year-old boy taken from a family belonging to the House of Prayer church. The two county-run shelters --- Oak Hill for girls and Dulaney House for boys --- are a few blocks apart, just south of downtown Atlanta. Oak Hill is a compound of brick cottages, a playing field, basketball courts, tennis courts and a swimming pool. Cars can freely enter and there is no locked gate. Dulaney House is a multistory brick building with a locked door.
Both facilities are supposed to provide a temporary haven for children who are the victims of abuse and neglect. But a growing chorus of critics charge that children placed in the shelters find themselves in an environment that can be less safe than the one they left.
A lack of resources has left both shelters overcrowded and underguarded. Built to house 85 children, the shelters are home to 115 today, including 17 children 5 to 7 years old. Jones says cots are brought in for the extra children. Children who have lived there say they sleep on the floor.
Some children stay at the "temporary" shelter for years, particularly teens, who are much more difficult to place than younger children. Ideally, children should not stay more than 30 days before they are sent home or into foster care, Jones says. The standard used to be 72 hours, but that was all but impossible to meet.
Children with serious emotional problems often are housed with already abused children. Many have been rejected from numerous foster homes unequipped to deal with their problems.
The shelters have become a training camp for criminals, as younger children learn from older ones how to steal, sell their bodies, fight and survive on the street. One girl living at the shelter recently was convicted of murder. Some shoplift from neighborhood stores.
Services and activities for the children are inadequate. They are supposed to attend public school, but many have fallen behind in their education and some don't go at all. Children taken from loved ones are rarely visited by their caseworkers. The county brings in psychologists occasionally to work with the kids, but it's not enough, Jones says.
With a MARTA bus stop right in front of the Oak Hill property and little to motivate them to stay, children run away in epidemic numbers.
Last year DFCS reported 445 runaways from its Oak Hill shelter and 326 from Dulaney House. Many run away multiple times. Three sisters, who have been in the shelter since 1997, have run away a total of 59 times, according to Lt. E. Renee Propes, commander of the Atlanta police youth unit.
The problem is so acute that police officials complained to Jones last July that they were overwhelmed with reports of runaways from the shelter. Jones, then newly appointed director of the Fulton child welfare department, promised to address the shelters' lack of security.
Nearly a year later, "the numbers have gone up," Propes says. If any security improvements were made, the officer said, she is not aware of them.
Propes wants the shelter to be secured with a fence without holes and a gate that locks. Jones says shelter officials are considering it. In the meantime, Jones recently approved placing cameras and alarms in the cottages to alert staff when children leave.
"I understand it's not a detention facility," Propes said. "But . . . we're not talking about locking them down. We're talking about making them safe."
The danger of running away, Propes says, is in what the children get into after they leave. One adult entertainment establishment after another is located just a few doors away from the shelters. Within walking distance is a bright pink adult bookstore "for lovers and fun-loving people," a club that advertises "private modeling and dance, now hiring," and a lingerie modeling salon "where your fantasies come true."
Despite efforts to clean up the neighborhood, the environment breeds sexual exploitation. At a grocery store just down from Oak Hill, a police missing persons bulletin features a fresh-faced 12-year-old last seen "in the company of a known pimp."
"A lot of these girls are involved in prostitution," Propes said. "They'll run away, do their thing, then they'll show back up at the shelter. It's gotten progressively worse. In the beginning, one or two might have seen an opportunity. Now the girls are going back and saying, 'Man, you can make a lot of money.' "
Older girls at the shelter recruit younger girls. That's what happened to one child who came to the shelter when she was 11. She was little and skinny, her dark hair in ponytails. Like the other abused and abandoned children at Oak Hill, she didn't smile much at first. The child's mother was dead, the grandmother who had raised her was dead, and her aunt no longer wanted her.
"This girl pulled at my heart," said Alesia Adams, whose organization tries to identify and help child prostitutes. "She had no one."
Today, at 15, the girl is athletic and fit and more likely to smile. Looking back, she says she worshipped the older girls when she first came to the shelter, and soon was running away with them.
Within two years, she ran away from the shelter nine times, according to records. The first time, the girls introduced her to a man who paid to have her hair done. "I looked so pretty," she recalled, smiling. "That was the first time I put on makeup." She was 12.
The girls took her to the parking lot of the now-closed Chocolate City, a restaurant whose owner later was arrested on charges of running a house of prostitution, charges that were dropped. The parking lot was crammed with cars. "I didn't know at first what was going on," the young girl said. Someone told her to get into a man's car and ask for $40. She did, and the man told her they were going on a "date."
"I thought it was a regular date," she said. She learned it's the term used by prostitutes and johns. The man drove her to a side street nearby and had sex with her. "I played it cool," she said. "After that I did it one more time, and then I went in. Everybody told me I did good for a first day."
The next day, she was arrested. She says she felt sorry for the man arrested with her. "He didn't know I was 12," she said. "I didn't look young. I always knew how to wear makeup."
Debra Antney, a staff member of the shelter since 1996, says many of the girls are looking less for money than for love and attention.
"These kids feel that they don't deserve nothing, that they're supposed to leave the property because they're poor black kids. This is the life they're supposed to have. I want to show them alternatives to their lifestyle," Antney said.
Propes and others would like the shelter to be moved from its environment. But that's unlikely to happen soon. With a budget of $4.7 million, the emergency shelters are supported solely with county funds.
Fulton and DeKalb are the only two counties in the state that fund emergency shelters. The state funds none, and any others that exist are privately funded.
Dee Simms, the state's child advocate, says something must be done about the Fulton shelters.
"It's going to be a financial drain to get these facilities where they should be," she said. "But they can't keep operating them the way they are."
Jones admits to being frustrated. "More than one day I have said, 'Let's just shut it down,' " she said. "But if we're going to shut it down, we have to have a plan for what to do with the children in the interim."
She argues that Fulton still is better off than other counties with no emergency shelters, where some children taken into protective custody must spend the night in child welfare offices. She says she is working on a long-term proposal that might include turning the shelters over to a private, nonprofit group to run.
And she has initiated some changes, including prohibiting babies and children younger than 5 from staying in the shelters, except in rare instances when a foster family can't be found. She wants to raise the age limit.
These children deserve more, Jones said.
"Kids can only dream when you show them how broad the world is and what the opportunities are," Jones explained. "If your world is only Metropolitan Parkway, that's what you think is gold. Kids need to be exposed to other possibilities."
BURSTING AT THE SEAMS
Since January 1997, Fulton County's two children's shelters reported 2,711 runaways, an average of 12 a week. Children are placed in protective custody at the shelters because of possible abuse or neglect. They stay there while the state decides whether they will be returned or placed into foster care.
'97: 552
'98: 664
'99: 474
'00: 771
'01*: 250
*Through April 30
ABOUT THE SHELTERS
Capacity: 85
Current population: 115
Average age: 14 or 15
Range of stay: 1 day to 1 year
Annual budget: $4.7 million
Average staff salary: $21,794
How to help: Volunteer tutors and emntors are needed, call Christine Brown at 404-651-8388
Sources: Department of Family and Children Services
/ CHUCK BLEVINS / Staff
over $55,000 per year per child housed, and this is the best they can do? Good grief!
I think $4.7 million a year is adequate funding to house and protect a hundred or so kids, wouldn't you think?
So what's the solution? Give 'em even MORE money? Somehow, I don't think that's the answer.
'97: 552
'98: 664
'99: 474
'00: 771
'01*: 250
*Through April 30
ABOUT THE SHELTERS
Capacity: 85
Current population: 115
Average age: 14 or 15
Range of stay: 1 day to 1 year
Annual budget: $4.7 million
Average staff salary: $21,794
How to help: Volunteer tutors and emntors are needed, call Christine Brown at 404-651-8388
Sources: Department of Family and Children Services
/ CHUCK BLEVINS / Staff
Poor young girls look to the shelter for protection and predators are allowed to just come right in and take them off to an even worse life. How disgusting and sad that the authorities allow it to happen.
Lawyers.....what a great group of folks, what an asset to our nation.
An Ohio man is suing for half a million dollars because he got hurt when he unexpectedly got a plain M&M amongst his peanut M&Ms. He claims he bit his lip and cut right through the skin and had to be treated at the hospital. He is suing both M&M and the Family Dollar Store in Cleveland where he bought the bag for failing to inspect the candy and then selling what he calls defective and mislabeled merchandise. Obviously, this guy is related to the lady who had no idea her coffee would be served hot.
An Israeli man took his wife of two years to divorce court because she named her poodle after her ex-husband. He demanded the court order his wife to
stop calling the dog by his name.
Canadian tourist Edward Skwarek has sued the Starbucks coffee chain for $1.5 million alleging that a highly personal part of his anatomy was crushed when it got caught between the toilet seat and bowl at a Manhattan Starbucks outlet. Skwarek was reportedly in a seated position on the commode. When he turned to retrieve the toilet paper, the seat shifted. His wife Sherrie is also demanding $500,000 as compensation for depravation of his husbandly services. Can I sue the local bar if nobody picks me up tonight?
An Ohio inmate sued for being denied possession of soap on a rope. Considering what they do to you when you drop the soap in prison, I think he has a valid argument.
A lady who got a bad hair cut sued the hair dresser for assault and battery. The hair dresser said, ``I was shocked by the severity of the lawsuit. I didn't
cut off an arm or a leg, I just gave a bad haircut.''
An Arizona inmate sued when he was not invited to a pizza party that prison employees held for a guard leaving his job. You know, there were a lot of high
school parties I was never invited to. Heather, I think you owe me some money. $100,000 should cover it. Don't worry, putting your kid through college just isn't that important.
A prison inmate sued the state of Colorado because he said, "Everyone knows an inmate only serves about three years of a 10-year sentence."
Another Oklahoma inmate sued because he was forced to listen to country music. Now, if he had been forced to listen to Billy Ray Cyrus he might have won.
A man sued his mother for the cost of suing his repair truck. She filed a countersuit demanding the court give her son the whipping that she failed to give him as a child.
Outraged by a referee's call, several Washington Redskins fans filed a lawsuit in federal court demanding it be overturned.
The University of Michigan was sued for $853,000 by a disgruntled student who received an F in German. Right now if I could use this case as a precedent, I would be entitled to four times that much.
A San Quentin death row inmate sued California because his packages were sent via UPS rather than the U.S. Postal Service. Let's let this jerk take his complaint to an armed and disgruntled postal worker.
A Virginia inmate sued himself for $5 million because he got drunk and violated his religious beliefs causing him to commit a crime. Of course the inmate didn't have $5 million so he wanted the state to pick up the tab.
A convict who escaped from prison sued his county and the sheriff for negligence in allowing him to escape.
Another convict sued his county and sheriff for the emotional stress he suffered while trying to escape. I'm sorry, did the big bad guards scare you when you were scaling the barbed wire?
A 9-year-old girl sued the makers of Cracker Jacks because her box contained no prize.
Two men sued a restaurant and won $18,000 because they were required to put on neck ties. I'll put on a clown suit for half that.
General Motors was sued for $6 trillion, that's $6,000,000,000,000, on behalf of all persons everywhere, born and unborn, and all future generations.
The National Parks Service was sued for $2.5 million when visitors to a federal park were struck by lightning. So weather men, be absolutely sure about
yourself when you say it won't rain.
The city of San Carlos, California filed a lawsuit against Ryan McDonell, a kid who was hit by a city truck. The city wanted to recover the driver's
medical expenses, workers compensation, and repairs to the truck. It's nice to know, that the government cares so much about our children.
Willie Johnson sued Mercury for inflating a car loan by $1,000. Though his damages were only $1,000 a jury awarded him, $90,000. They then fined Mercury with a $50 million fine, proving Jury's consist of 12 idiots who get paid $5 a day to make bad decisions because they can't find a real job.
Frank Menssina of Centerville, Pennsylvania sued the Pennsylvania Transportation Department for $5,764,609,563,143,700.48 for ruining his reputation as a driver by suspending his license. The national debt is smaller. What moronic trucker has an ego big enough to believe he'd make that much in a life time? Furthermore, how did he get such an exact figure? And would he be upset if he didn't get the 48 cents.
A special note: In a 5 to 4 ruling, the Supreme Court ruled in 1982 that the President cannot be sued. The threat of impeachment and the checks and balances of the constitution were enough to insure that he obeyed the letter of the law. Why don't citizens of the United States get similar respect when it comes to frivolous lawsuits?
Shrub, the appointed Resident of the White House, organized the smear campaign concerning the trashing of the White House offices. Drudge willingly and enthusiasticly printed it. Fleischer encouraged the story. Shrub never denied. No evidence was ever presented. Why? Because it was a lie.
That's right, Shrub's first act as Resident was to lie. How do you like your boy now?
GSA: Clinton Aides Did Not Vandalize White House
By Charles Babington
washingtonpost.com staff writer
Friday, May 18, 2001; 12:31 PM
It's official: President Clinton's aides didn't vandalize the White House, scrawl lewd notes or steal presidential trinkets as they departed and the Bush administration moved in, as some critics had charged.
From: News and Views | Beyond the City |
Saturday, January 27, 2001
Al Aides Curse Bush
Office walls talk trash to new Prez
By THOMAS M. DeFRANK
Daily News Washington Bureau Chief
WASHINGTON
Departing Gore staffers left obscene scrawls directed at President Bush on the walls of their offices and washrooms, well-informed sources said yesterday.
The worst of the widespread vandalism, according to one source, was profane anti-Bush graffiti scattered throughout the Old Executive Office Building, next door to the White House — mainly in the area housing vice presidential offices.
The President dismissed the vandalism.
"There might have been a prank or two, maybe somebody put a cartoon on the wall, but that's okay," Bush said yesterday. "It's time now to move forward."
But extensive damage was found throughout the huge office complex, including slashed computer cords, overturned desks, mounds of garbage and pornographic material in some copying machines.
: "There might have been a prank or two, maybe somebody put a cartoon on the wall, but that's okay," Bush said yesterday. "It's time now to move forward."
Are you saying the administration purposely encouraged inflating the amount of damage? (And yes, I'm sure there was some "damage"--grafitti, pranks, etc.--that's normal.)
Did Shrub wag his finger on world television and implore, "They trashed my White House!" or complain about not being able to get the stains out of the carpet in the hallway outside the oval office?
Oh, please...as if DCDB didn't explode with condemnation
by Repo Man
When Drudge broke the news, this place erupted with condemnation of Clinton/Gore. Ari Fleischer encouraged the rumors by saying that they were evaluating the damage and looking to prosecute the perps. Are you going to tell me that Ari Fleischer does NOT speak for President Bush? Fleischer was doing exactly as he was told to allow Bush to take the high road.
The Bush administration made up the whole story. It was a lie. If Bush cannot control his troops, he should not be in charge. Is he too weak to say that he takes responsibility for the LIES spread by his personal press secretary?
From Peter:
Are you saying the administration purposely encouraged inflating the amount of damage? (And yes, I'm sure there was some "damage"--grafitti, pranks, etc.--that's normal.)
Did Shrub wag his finger on world television and implore, "They trashed my White House!" or complain about not being able to get the stains out of the carpet in the hallway outside the oval office?
Yes, the administration made up the entire story. The American public needed the GSA to tell the truth.
The amazingly ridiculous and stupid part of this whole story was that the offices had been gutted and repainted two days prior to the Drudge (from Bush) report. It was part of the planned redecorating. The only thing that was keeping the offices from becoming functional was waiting for all new computers in every single office.
BUT...my favorite part was how the conservative crowd swallowed the hook and started their typical ranting and raving about the lack of character of Clinton and Gore. And it was all a lie, directly from Mr. "No Character" himself, George Walker Bush.
We shouldn't be surprised -- he lied about McCain in the primaries. I'm certainly proud I didn't vote for Bush. I'd be ashamed if I did.
The whole thing smacked of being contrived, but I think it was a simple matter of the media inflating some minor stuff that made for a good news story. And Bush's handlers handed him a canned statement to defuse the story. I don't see any big conspiracy here, but I could be wrong.
Bush clearly down-played the whole event; what more do you want? I, for one, am glad he does not spend his time refuting Drudge, etc. Bush is our President; get over it! As the President said, it is time to move on!
Pound Va. and New York City now have a little something in common
by Muse
Long forgotten, but still on the books cabaret laws have been dug up to ban dancing in all but 347 of the 4579 dance clubs in New York City. By order of Mayor Rudy Giuliani, the Dance Police will strictly enforce. Licences are now required for dance clubs, costing up to $150,000 to obtain.
The prosecution of Oliver Jovanovic is in its fifth year now, and public attention has faded in the case of the Columbia University graduate student accused of preying on a naïve undergraduate he met on the Internet.
Since Mr. Jovanovic was charged with the sexual torture of the young woman after a dinner date in 1996, pieces of the case have dropped away, too. While he was convicted of kidnapping and sexual abuse in 1998, he was acquitted of sodomy and the more serious charge of sexual assault, and then his conviction was overturned. Many people, including some of her own relatives, have raised doubts about the credibility of the woman. An appeals court ordered a new trial in which Mr. Jovanovic could present what his lawyers say is evidence that his date had invited a sadomasochistic encounter.
Mr. Jovanovic, a microbiology student who spent 20 months in prison, has garnered the sympathy of people including neighbors and newspaper columnists. Legal experts and even some prosecutors in the Manhattan district attorney's office privately say the case against him has turned into a loser. By her grandmother's account, the young woman recently told family members that "she thinks Oliver has paid his due."
Horror for Florida voters- Evil Janet Reno May Run For Governor
by Mr. Right
Reno May Run For Fla. Governor
The Associated Press
Friday, May 18, 2001; 7:32 p.m. EDT
MIAMI –– Former Attorney General Janet Reno said
Friday she is seriously considering running for governor
next year, which could pit her against Gov. Jeb Bush,
the president's brother.
Reno, 62, said in a telephone interview from her
Miami-area home Friday she will likely decide by the
end of the year whether to mount a bid.
"I have to decide what can I do that would best serve the
interest of Florida," Reno said. "I want to talk about the
vision I have of what the state should be. Maybe there
are other people out there who could address that better
than I can, but let's see."
She declined to say what issues she would campaign on,
saying that can wait until she announces her decision.
Reno acknowledged that her role overseeing the siege of
the Branch Davidian complex in Waco, Texas, which
ended with 80 church members dead, and the seizure of
Elian Gonzalez could be issues in a campaign.
But she stands by her actions in both cases, noting an
investigation by former GOP Sen. John Danforth cleared
her of any wrongdoing in the Waco siege.
"He said I could not have walked away after four
(federal) agents were killed and 16 were injured" in the
raid that preceded the siege, Reno said Reno has had
Parkinson's disease since 1995, but she said it didn't
affect her performance as attorney general and it
wouldn't affect her performance as governor.
"It would make my hand shake, that's all," she said. She
said she frequently kayaks and other outdoor activities
without any adverse effect.
Reno, who was elected Miami-Dade County's state
attorney five times before serving as attorney general,
said she didn't know how much money she would have
to raise to mount a viable campaign, but said it would
be in the millions.
"I think it would be very expensive," she said.
Reno also said she is personally opposed to the death
penalty, but said she could carry it out if she was
governor. As attorney general, Reno approved seeking
the death penalty against Oklahoma City bomber
Timothy McVeigh and others.
"If the death penalty was legally applied, I would seek it
and sign the death warrant," she said.
The first female attorney general in U.S. history, Reno
was surrounded by controversy for virtually her entire
tenure but stayed nearly eight years in office – longer
than any attorney general in the 20th century.
She had a sometimes chilly relations with a White
House that thought she ordered too many independent
counsel investigations of President Clinton and top
administration officials.
She also was the target of persistent criticism from
congressional Republicans who thought she should have
sought appointment of an independent counsel to
investigate allegations of Clinton-Gore fund-raising
violations.
Still, Reno served longer than all but one of the 77 other
attorneys general – William Wert, in office for nearly 12
years ending in 1829.
She said if she could revisit any decision it would be
the deadly raid on the Davidian compound.
Many in Miami's Cuban-American community were
furious when Reno used federal agents to remove
6-year-old Elian from his Miami relatives' home so he
could return to Cuba with his father last year.
Elian had been found floating on an inner tube off Fort
Lauderdale in 1999, after his mother and 10 other
Cubans drowned while trying reach Florida in a small
boat.
At least the people of Florida wont have to worry about the Governor playing hide the drilling rig with the Playboy Bunny Secretary of Management Services.
Would you rather shower with a celebrity or your partner?
by Earlybird
Showering with Celebrities?
Updated 8:59 AM ET May 18, 2001
TORONTO (Reuters) - Two out of three people in Canada's
largest city would rather take a shower with a beautiful
celebrity than with their partners, a survey taken in April
and May reveals.
But one in three respondents in Toronto, with more women
in this category than men, would prefer a shower with their
life partners than with the likes of Pamela Anderson,
Catherine Zeta-Jones, Brad Pitt, or Russell Crowe.
"I'm not surprised," said lifestyles counselor Carol Wise,
who analyzed the results of the survey of 360 people.
"A shower is the ultimate definition of intimacy. In a few
blissful sudsy moments, a loving connection can be made --
no words necessary," Wise said.
The survey, conducted by soapmaker Unilever Canada and
Media Profile and released on Thursday, found 37 percent
of women would prefer showering with their partners,
while only 26 percent of men would.
A third of those surveyed said they sing while they lather.
Most sung tune: "Singing in the Rain".
I'm partners in business with two other gentlemen who I would rather not ever see naked. Now if you had said my "mate" or "significant other" or "better half", I would have chosen her over any celebrity.
A jury in Conway, S.C., has convicted a woman of killing her unborn baby by using crack cocaine
during her pregnancy.
This is believed to be the first time an American woman has been convicted of murder for taking
drugs during pregnancy. Lawyers for 24-year-old Regina McKnight said they will appeal the
verdict, which may set a precedent for accusing pregnant women of harming their babies under
other conditions - such as smoking.
McKnight's baby was stillborn at 35 weeks, in 1999. Three years earlier, the South Carolina
Supreme Court ruled that a pre-born baby capable of surviving outside the womb (a "viable
fetus") is legally considered a child.
A jury in Conway, S.C., has convicted a woman of killing her unborn baby by using crack cocaine
during her pregnancy.
This is believed to be the first time an American woman has been convicted of murder for taking
drugs during pregnancy. Lawyers for 24-year-old Regina McKnight said they will appeal the
verdict, which may set a precedent for accusing pregnant women of harming their babies under
other conditions - such as smoking.
McKnight's baby was stillborn at 35 weeks, in 1999. Three years earlier, the South Carolina
Supreme Court ruled that a pre-born baby capable of surviving outside the womb (a "viable
fetus") is legally considered a child.
My mind`s eye has turned a deaf ear. That`s unheard of. See what I mean? Stop and smell the roses. Nostrils. Second class citizens. Nobody nose! Eye had a vision. Eye saw the light. Dilate. Live early.
OKRA (Dec 22 - Jan 20)
Although you appear crude, you are actually very slick on the inside.
Okras
have tremendous influence. An older Okra can look back over his life and
see
the seeds of his influence everywhere. Stay away from Moon Pies.
CHITLIN (Jan 21 - Feb 19)
Chitlins come from humble backgrounds. A chitlin, however, can make
something of himself if he's motivated and has lots of seasoning. In
dealing
with Chitlins, be careful. They can erupt like Vesuvius. Chitlins are
best
with Catfish and Okra.
BOLL WEEVIL (Feb 20 - Mar 20)
You have an overwhelming curiosity. You're unsatisfied with the surface
of
things, and you feel the need to bore deep into the interior of
everything.
Needless to say, you are very intense and driven as if you had some inner
hunger. Nobody in their right mind is going to marry you, so don't worry
about it.
MOON PIE ( Mar 21- April 20)
You're the type that spends a lot of time on the front porch. It's a
cinch
to recognize the physical appearance of Moon Pies. Big and round are the
key
words here. You should marry anybody who you can get remotely interested
in
the idea. It's not going to be easy. This might be the year to think
about
aerobics. Maybe not.
POSSUM (APR 21 - May 21)
When confronted with life's difficulties, possums have a marked tendency
to
withdraw and develop a don't-bother-me-about-it attitude. Sometimes you
become so withdrawn, people actually think you're dead. This strategy is
probably not psychologically healthy, but seems to work for you. One
day,
however, it won't work and you may find your problems actually running
you
over.
CRAWFISH (May 22 - June 21)
Crawfish is a water sign. If you work in an of! fice, you're always
hanging
around the water cooler. Crawfish prefer the beach to the mountains, the
pool to the golf course, the bathtub to the living room. You tend to be
not
particularly attractive physically, but you have very, very good heads.
COLLARDS (June 22 - July 23)
Collards have a genius for communication. They love to get in the
"melting
pot" of life and share their essence with the essence of those around
them.
Collards make good social workers, psychologists, and baseball managers.
As
far as your personal life goes, if you are Collards, stay away from Moon
Pies. It just won't work. Save yourself a lot of heartache.
CATFISH (July 24 - Aug 23)
Catfish are traditionalists in matters of the heart, although one
whiskers
may cause problems for loved ones. You catfish are never easy people to
understand. You prefer the muddy bottoms to the clear surface of life.
Above
all else, Catfish should stay away from Moon Pies.
GRITS (Aug 24 - Sept 23)
Your highest aim is to be with others like yourself. You like to huddle
together with a big crowd of other Grits. You love to travel though, so
maybe you should think about joining a club. Where do you like to go?
Anywhere they have cheese or gravy or bacon or butter or eggs. If you
can go
somewhere where they have all these things, that serves you well.
BOILED PEANUTS (Sept 24 - Oct 23)
You have a passionate desire to help your fellow man. Unfortunately,
those
who know you best - your friends and loved ones - may find that your
personality is much too salty, and their criticism will probably affect
you
deeply because you are really much softer than you appear. You should go
right ahead and marry anybody you want to because in a certain way, yours
is
a charmed life. On the road of life, you can be sure that people will
always
pull over and stop for you.
BUTTER BEAN (October 24 - Nov 22)
Always invite a Butter Bean because Butter Beans get along well with
everybody. You, as a Butter Bean, should be proud. You've grown on the
vine
of life and you feel at home no matter what the setting. You can sit
next to
anybody. However, you, too, shouldn't have anything to do with Moon
Pies.
ARMADILLO (Nov 23 - Dec 21)
You have a tendency to develop a tough exterior, but you are actually
quite
gentle. A good evening for you? Old friends, a fire, some roots, fruit,
worms and insects. You are a throwback. You're not concerned with
today's
fashions and trends. You're not concerned with anything about today.
You're
really almost prehistoric in your interests and behavior patterns. You
probably want to marry another Armadillo, but Possum is another somewhat
kinky, mating possibility
ABINGDON _ Tamara South said she first took OxyContin when it was prescribed for her
after she broke her back in a car accident.
A month later, she was hooked.
''I was a good student, a good kid, and I lost three years to this drug,'' she told a
statewide task force studying prescription drug abuse in Virginia.
''I lied, I cheated and I stole to support this addiction. I was hopeless that I would ever
get my life back.''
She survived a drug overdose that left her in intensive care for a week and was raped
because she placed herself in dangerous situations to get drugs, she said. Her addiction
got so bad she prayed to God to take her life, South added.
Once, she even saw a man break his kneecap with a hammer so he could get a doctor to
prescribe OxyContin, South said.
''People who are addicted to OxyContin are the victims,'' South said. ''People who are
abusing this drug need help. They don't need to be thrown in jail and treated like scum.''
South made her case against OxyContin Thursday night at a public hearing before the
Task Force on Prescription Drug Abuse at the Southwest Virginia Higher Education Center in
Abingdon.
The task force was formed earlier this year by state Attorney General Mark Earley to
respond to the growing problem of OxyContin abuse, primarily in Southwest Virginia. The
task force held its first meeting earlier in the day and is expected to recommend solutions
to the problem by the fall.
South's story was not the only one heard by the task force Thursday night. The public
hearing drew more than 100 people, many of whom told of family members with OxyContin
addictions.
OxyContin is a potent, time-release version of the narcotic painkiller oxycodone. Abusers
crush the tablets and snort or inject them to get a heroin-like high.
Pamela Collins told the task force her husband, Shane, is serving six years in prison
because he robbed a convenience store to get $160 in cash to buy more OxyContin. While
he spends time behind bars, she is raising their three children alone, she said.
She also read a letter from her husband, who urged the task force to fund drug-treatment
programs rather than locking up those who abuse the painkiller.
''OxyContin is a sickness, and it has to be treated as such,'' Collins read from the letter.
Tazewell County Sheriff H.S. Caudill said he also has seen the destruction of lives caused
by OxyContin abuse. But the sheriff said his department's efforts to fight illegal use of the
drug have been hamstrung by the state's budget woes.
''We lost our grant to fund our drug task force,'' Caudill told the task force. ''We do not
have enough bodies or enough time to fight this. We need help to fund this war on drugs.''
Caudill also spoke as a chronic pain sufferer who has never used OxyContin. Despite
having steel rods and pins in both legs, having broken both arms and his nose and suffered
several concussions in his life, Caudill said, he doesn't have a need for such a strong
painkiller.
But a number of chronic pain sufferers spoke Thursday night and told the task force that
OxyContin has saved their lives.
Gary Kennedy, a retired Army major who has suffered two heart attacks and has hip and
spinal problems, said he could not get out of bed without the drug.
''Without OxyContin, life is miserable for me. With it, I have a productive life,'' the
Norton resident said.
Jeanette Murray, a registered nurse with two small children, said she was injured on the
job 21/2 years ago. Now, she takes OxyContin to deal with the pain, she said.
''There is an extreme side to each side of this issue. As a chronic pain patient, I find it
can be very beneficial if used properly,'' Murray said. ''I beg of you not to punish those of
us who are using this medicine properly.''
Some of Thursday's other speakers were members of the medical community and the
drug treatment community.
They included Dr. Art Van Zee, a Lee County physician who has called for the drug to be
removed from the market.
Van Zee said he does not believe the drug has been studied enough for use in patients
with pain unrelated to terminal cancer. He also criticized the drug's maker, Perdue Pharma,
for its marketing efforts.
''There has never been a narcotic promoted to the extent that Perdue has promoted this
drug,'' Van Zee said.
Earlier in the day during the task force meeting, Perdue representatives disputed claims
they have overpromoted the drug and listed 10 things they are doing to stop its illegal
distribution.
The company recently stopped shipment of the strongest 160 mg OxyContin tablets and
is paying for new tamper-resistant prescription pads to cut down on fraud, Dr. David
Maddox of Perdue said earlier in the day.
Other doctors and pharmacists called on the task force not to act too hastily to remove
OxyContin from the market.
And, those in the drug addiction treatment field called for more funding for treatment
centers.
''We need treatment beds, not prison beds. We need rehabilitation, not incarceration,''
said Beth Davies, an addiction counselor from Pennington Gap.
how do i get the company to let me research 160 mg oc
by
hi my name is lisa i have had aids for 14yrs and chronic pancreateatus also rematory arthristis and the only thing that gives me releif is oxycontin i live on the east coast of flordia and have to go to the west coast to get my monthly medications my doctor at one point gave me a prescription for 160 mg and i couldnt find them so i gave the prescription back. and was in so much pain i just wanted my 80 mg prescrprtion they are very expensive because i have to take name brand or the generic 80mg give me a bad headache.i have been on these medications for 5yrs and ive tryed everything will you be researching anthing close to this spectaulur medicine people who abuse it make it bad for those of us who need it when i dont have it i cant function the pain from even eating is disrupting is there any studys that i can partcapaite in? just a question because oxycontin is the best thing there is for terminal patients like me i take 160mgs but two 80mg never had the chance to try the 160 mg will i ever> lfields04@yahoo.com
— A mound of sand on the beach with a sign saying a baby was buried inside
turned out to contain a box holding a skunk that sprayed police and animal
sanctuary officers who dug up the container.
Police said they found no baby, and they are still looking for the prankster.
Frank Cook of Jupiter was jogging on the beach just after 7 a.m. Wednesday
when he spotted the mound with the sign on top. Cook immediately reported the
find to police, who quickly uncovered a flower box buried two feet in the
mound.
A Spray-and-Run
"As they started to open (the box) about that time, they smelled a great stench
and a little skunk popped out and sprayed everybody," said David Hitzig,
director of the Busch Wildlife Sanctuary.
The black-and-white spotted skunk then ran off.
"It kind of ran around the beach a little bit," Hitzig said. "He had no injuries and
he looked pretty healthy, so we let him go."
Common Skunk of Jupiter
Hitzig said spotted skunks, which often resemble ferrets or large squirrels, are
common in the area. He also said it could have been easy to corner the skunk
and get it into the box, just by coaxing the animal in.
"Whoever did it, I'm sure that they thought this was a really good joke to play,"
he said It would've been great if it was April 1."
Cook laughed late Wednesday when informed the sand mound contained a
skunk. He declined comment.
"We're looking into it and it will be a pending investigation for cruelty to
animals," said police spokeswoman Amy Facchine.
Ninety-five-year-old Elizabethton man arrested on sex charges
by nemesis
by The ASSOCIATED PRESS
ELIZABETHTON, Tenn. — A 95-year-old man was arrested on sex charges
involving an 11-year-old girl, authorities said.
Noah E. Webb of Elizabethton was charged Thursday with two counts of
aggravated sexual battery, said Investigator Randy Bowers with the Carter
County Sheriff’s Department.
Webb is accused of having unlawful sexual contact with the girl in January
or February. Bowers said Webb’s wife witnessed one of the incidents and
told friends.
Sheriff John Henson said Webb is the oldest prisoner he has seen in
his 30 years as a Carter County lawman.
“If he is convicted and sentenced, he will have to be sent to the special
needs facility in Nashville. There is no way we can tend to his needs in
our jail,” Henson said.
Webb was booked into the Carter County Jail but was released on his
own recognizance by Criminal Court Judge Bob Cupp. He is scheduled to answer
the charges in Carter County Criminal Court on June 25.
LONDON (Reuters) - Police in the northern English city of Manchester found they had
been called by a parrot when they rushed to respond to an emergency 999 telephone call.
Peering through the window of the house from which call was made, police spotted a
cocaktiel, an Australian parrot, standing on the push button phone with the receiver off
the hook lying next to it. No one else was in the house.
"It is not unusual to receive silent 999 calls, but this is the first time we have been called
by a parrot," Superintendent Martin Harding said of the incident Wednesday.
"I would like to congratulate the officers who responded calmly to this incident and
managed not to get in a flap."
Police said they could not name the parrot for legal reasons.
"Finally we have a President who has the strength of
character to do what needs to be done, even in the
face of howling environmental extremists."
"If the Kyoto Protocol can be put behind us, perhaps
the world can take a new, unprejudiced look at global
climate and determine what, if anything, should be
done to try to influence it," suggests Henry Lamb of
the Environmental Conservation Organization (eco).
"More than 10 years ago, a small group of elite
environmental extremists decided that fossil fuels
drive the prosperity engines of developed countries,"
Lamb recalls. "The global warming scenario was
pretty much manufactured to justify shutting off the
energy valve in developed countries, while keeping it
open in developing countries. The real genius," he
notes, "is the mechanism that put the authority to
control the global energy valve in the hands of a
United Nations agency."
In a recent installment of his internet commentary at
eco-logic on-line, Lamb emphasizes that "the United
Nations would have taken control of the global energy
valve" if Al Gore had won the election last November.
He concludes that President Bush's rejection of
Kyoto "may well be the most important result of the
November election. The world now has a chance to
avoid a U.N. global energy czar and let the ingenuity
of free people and free markets find ways to meet
the world's energy requirements with as little
negative environmental impact as possible."
Lamb urges policymakers to "reject the global
warming myth and recognize that climate science is
in its infancy. We must continue our research and
study of all facets of climate and weather — without
any preconceived notions about human influence," he
advises. "At the same time, we need to recognize
that energy is, indeed, the fuel that drives the
prosperity engine. We should make every effort to
get abundant, affordable energy to every person on
earth. We cannot, however, let any government —
including the United Nations — mandate that energy
be supplied, or denied, as a matter of political policy.
We must insist that markets provide the mechanism
through which supply meets demand."
Lamb praises President Bush for his "strength of
character, courage, willingness to consider what's
best for America, and for doing what needs to be
done." He also expresses gratitude for "common
sense, and a system of government that still allows
the people to throw out politicians who get carried
away with their own vision of personal majesty. When
any politician… is more interested in seeing that his
vision of public policy prevails than in doing what the
people want, that politician must go," Lamb declares.
"Whenever an environmental organization is more
interested in imposing their policy than in providing
factual information so the people can decide what the
policy should be, that organization no longer
deserves respect or public support. When the TV
talking heads and major media become more
interested in advancing their own extremist agenda
than in reporting the news and presenting all sides of
a debate," he concludes, "then it's time to look
elsewhere for news."
F.R. Duplantier is the director of
the American Policy Foundation
— a nonprofit educational
organization promoting free
enterprise and constitutional
government. His syndicated
commentary "Behind The
Headlines" is featured on more
than 100 radio stations and in
more than 500 newspapers
nationwide. F.R. is the author
of the side-splitting book Politickles: Limericks
Lampooning the Lunatic Left. He's the father of six — so
buy the book, please! E-Mail F.R. at frd@politickles.com
Christine Todd Whitman Bush's environment chief advised the president, in terms even a backward college student should have been able to follow, that climate change was a real and present danger. The US, with 5% of the world's population, emits almost a quarter of the world's carbon dioxide. To be a good global neighbor we need to make an attempt to cut these admissions. Major US oil giants, including Exxon, which also led the campaign in the US against the Kyoto treaty, backed Bush's campaign for the US presidency. I guess they got their moneys worth. 17 of the world's most conservative science bodies have called on politicians to honor the Kyoto agreement and cut greenhouse gas emissions. The statement says, "it is at least 90% certain" that temperatures will continue to rise by 5.8C in the next century. The Bush team has a three-point energy plan: rape, burn and pillage. Rape the environment. Burn fossil fuels 'til we choke. Pillage the consumer's pocket book.
Remember in 1555, Nostradamus wrote:
Come the Millennium, month in the home of the greatest power. The village idiot will come forth to be acclaimed the leader.
They are trying their worst to bring the US down to the economic level of the rest of the world. And by the way, Nostradamus also said that we would have a meteor/comet impact in 2000 a.d. Looks like he was wrong there too.
Mexico to provide border-crossers with survival kits
by Fat Freddy's Cat
Mexico to provide border-crossers with survival kits
Sam Quinones - Orange County Register
Friday, May 18, 2001
Mexico City --- If it can't stop emigration to
the United States, the Mexican government
figures at least its people shouldn't die in
the process.
Starting next month, the government will
distribute survival kits to up to 200,000
people planning to head north.
The kits will contain medicine and
information to prepare them for what they
will face on the trip, which often includes a
trek through the remote deserts and
mountains of Arizona or California because
of increased U.S. border security.
The packets will include anti-diarrhea
medicine, adhesive bandages, aspirin,
acetaminophen, medicine for snake and
scorpion bites, powder to prevent
dehydration, water, salt, dry meat, cans of
tuna and granola.
Women will receive 25 birth-control pills,
men 25 condoms. AIDS is a small but
growing problem in rural Mexico, spread
mostly by men who contract the virus in the
United States, then infect women back
home.
The $2 million program, known as "Vete
Sano, Regresa Sano" (Leave Healthy,
Return Healthy), will begin June 15. It is
funded by the Mexican government, which
also is seeking funding from the California
Endowment, a foundation based in
Woodland Hills that expressed cautious
enthusiasm for the concept.
But even if the endowment does not get on
board, the program will proceed on a smaller scale, Mexican
officials said.
Critics fear the effort will encourage illegal immigration.
"Why don't they stop them from coming?" asked Barbara Coe,
head of the California Coalition for Immigration Reform. "It's aiding
and abetting lawbreakers."
But Bernardo Mendez, press attache for the Consulate General of
Mexico in Atlanta, said the initiative "is a way to accept that the
problem exists."
Although the government is encouraging development of more
small businesses and job training, Mendez said, "There is always
the attraction of the dollar."
Last year, at least 490 Mexicans died crossing the 1,952-mile
border, according to the Mexican government. So far this year,
border-crossers have been dying at a rate of about one a day, and
the toll usually rises in the summer.
> ON THE WEB: Mexican Consulate General in Atlanta:
www.enespanol.com/
...that what the Mexican government should be doing is trying to discourage illegal immigration and encourage people who want to immigarate to do it legally. what they are doing is actually encouraging Mexicans to try to enter the USA illegally.
If conditions are as horrible as I've heard.............
by theherbwoman
The Mexican government should spend that money on trying to make life better for its' people so that they would want to stay home. But it is nearly impossible to have a decent life down there unless you are already wealthy.
I understand that even minimum wage over here is a fortune compared to the yearly per capita income of the average person in Mexico.
But then again, governments are all alike - the poorest of the people get the least, and the wealthiest get it all.
Secret Service agents and Polish cops tackle the teenage egg-hurler.- Reuters
May 18, 2001
The yolk was on Bill Clinton yesterday when a Polish protester nailed him with a raw egg as the former president strolled in Warsaw.
The egg hit Clinton's sleeve as American and Polish security agents scrambled to wrestle the anti-capitalist demonstrator to the ground. The 19-year-old was arrested.
An unfazed Clinton, who was in Warsaw to lecture on the merits of globalization at an economic seminar, took off his suit jacket and kept walking in the Old Town district - and later joked about the incident.
"I had an interesting encounter with an anti-globalist. But, thank goodness, his aim was not very good when he threw the egg," Clinton quipped at the seminar, which was attended by Polish government officials and business people.
About 150 young Poles picketed outside the hotel where Clinton was speaking.
The former president is in Europe on a speaking tour. Poles eagerly snapped up the $1,500 tickets to his talk.With Post Wire Services
Don't sit around on your behind and say " the Clinton's liberals are ruining or have ruined our society" if you are publicly supporting such inappropriate and rude behavior.
You just apparently skimmed over it to fit your argument sweetie
by Fat Freddy's Cat
"I had an interesting encounter with an *anti-globalist.* But, thank goodness, his aim was not very good when he threw the egg," Clinton quipped at the seminar, which was attended by Polish government officials and business people.
There will be a dance tonight Friday May 18, 2001 at the Binns-Counts Community Center in Stratton Virginia from 7:00 to 11:00pm. South Mountain Boys will be playing the music for the dance. Refreshments are available at a Cheap price at the snack bar, there will be cake walks and door prizes and a 50/50 drawing. Price for admission is $3 single & $5 a couple. Hope some of you will come and join in the fun
SHE BROKE HER BACK IN A 'JACKASS' STUNT
By MICHAEL STARR
May 18, 2001
ANOTHER "Jackass" stunt, another "Jackass" injury.
This time it was model Stephanie Hodges, an aspiring actress who broke vertebrae in her back and fractured her pelvis last month while performing a stunt on the controversial MTV show hosted by Johnny "Jackass" Knoxville.
Hodges, 21, was hurt when she used an air mattress to rocket off a snowbank - and now she's expected to miss at least a year of modeling and acting work.
USA Today reports that Hodges is currently featured in ad campaigns for McDonald's and Coke and is a full-time student at UCLA.
Hodges is no stranger to "Jackass," having appeared before in a segment in which several people - including an obese man and a dwarf - drank milk until they vomited and passed out.
"She's up and mobile," Hodges' manager, Nisa Ahmad, told USA Today, adding that Hodges will be sidelined for "nine months to a year."
"There's absolutely no anger or remorse" Ahmad said about Hodges and her injuries.
"All of the stunts on 'Jackass' are performed by, and/or supervised by, professionals to reduce the risk of injury," MTV said in a statement.
"Jackass" is scheduled to return June 17 with all-new episodes.
The show has ignited controversy several times before when two young boys, in separate incidents, lit themselves on fire while trying copy "Jackass" stunts.
...I think there is an intermittent problem with the NAXS e-mail server. I often get some e-mails up to three days after they're sent. Try again and if there is still a problem, let me know and I'll make some phone calls to try and get things straightened out.
To all prom goers please use good judgement and be careful....May God watch over all of you..
Near to the door
>>> > > > >
>>> > > > > he paused to stand
>>> > > > >
>>> > > > > as he took his class ring
>>> > > > >
>>> > > > > off her hand
>>> > > > >
>>> > > > > all who were watching
>>> > > > >
>>> > > > > did not speak
>>> > > > >
>>> > > > > as a silent tear
>>> > > > >
>>> > > > > ran down his cheek
>>> > > > >
>>> > > > > and through his mind
>>> > > > >
>>> > > > > the memories ran
>>> > > > >
>>> > > > > of the moments they walked
>>> > > > >
>>> > > > > *and ran in the sand (hand and
>>> > > > > hand)*
>>> > > > >
>>> > > > > *but now her eyes were so terribly
>>> > > > > cold*
>>> > > > >
>>> > > > > for he would never again
>>> > > > >
>>> > > > > have her to hold
>>> > > > >
>>> > > > > they watched in silence
>>> > > > >
>>> > > > > as he bent near
>>> > > > >
>>> > > > > *and whispered the words..*....
>>> > > > >
>>> > > > > *"I LOVE YOU" in her ear*
>>> > > > >
>>> > > > > *he touched her face and started to
>>> > > > > cry*
>>> > > > >
>>> > > > > *as he put on his ring and wanted to
>>> > > > > die*
>>> > > > >
>>> > > > > *and just then the wind began to
>>> > > > > blow*
>>> > > > >
>>> > > > > as they lowered her casket
>>> > > > >
>>> > > > > *into the snow....*
>>> > > > >
>>> > > > > this is what happens
>>> > > > >
>>> > > > > *to man alive.....*
>>> > > > >
>>> > > > > *when friends let friends....*
>>> > > > >
>>> > > > > *drink and drive.*
Isn't it way past time to develop alternate energy sources?
by Earlybird
Senate Bill Renews Focus On Alternative Fuel
By John Rossomando
CNSNews.com Staff Writer
May 18, 2001
(CNSNews.com) - Rising gasoline prices have brought renewed attention to vehicles powered
by alternative fuels such as natural gas, ethanol, and fuel cell sources. Both the Bush
administration and Congress have made developing alternative fuel technology a priority.
Since 1994, Americans have imported over 50 percent of their oil from foreign sources, making
Americans more vulnerable to international influences such as the OPEC oil cartel.
"Our dependency on foreign oil has steadily increased to the point where we now depend on
foreign oil sources for more than 57 percent of our oil," Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) said. "Last
month alone, it was over 60 percent."
Fuels such as ethanol could help make Americans self-reliant for energy sources. Americans
lead the world as the producer of corn, rice, and other grains, whose byproducts can be
converted into ethanol.
Estimates by the National Ethanol Vehicle Coalition indicate that the United States wasted
nearly 2 billion bushels of corn in 2000, which could have been diverted for fuel usage.
"Seventy percent of the corn is used for feed and the starch is left behind after the protein and
other products," said Phil Lambert, president of the National Ethanol Vehicle Coalition.
"All you need to do is to steep and brew corn to remove the alcohol. Most of all, it is a
renewable source of energy," he said.
Lambert likened the petroleum industry's unwillingness to search for new forms of energy to the
mid-19th century public's reluctance to change from whale oil to petroleum for lighting.
"When people started using petroleum for lighting, there were not many people selling whale oil
at the end of the day," he said.
Converting to new sources of energy brings costs to the consumer that some people consider too
high.
The Hatch bill creates tax incentives for individuals who invest in alternative fuel vehicles to
offset some of the costs. The bill, as published, stipulates the following tax credits:
$500, if such a vehicle achieves at least 125 percent but less than 150 percent of the 2000 model
year (required) fuel economy;
$1500, if such a vehicle achieves at least 150 percent but less than 200 percent of the 2000
model year (required) fuel economy;
$2000, if such a vehicle achieves at least 200 percent but less than 225 percent of the 2000
model year (required) fuel economy;
And $3000, if such a vehicle achieves at least 250 percent of the 2000 model year (required)
fuel economy.
The bill's opponents say the Hatch Bill does not go far enough to protect the environment. Sierra
Club spokeswoman Ann Menzikos said, "The bill does not require fuel efficiency. We need to
make sure that taxpayers get societal benefits."
The Sierra Club says that more needs to be done to build an alternative fuel infrastructure that
will make alternative sources of fuel more available to consumers.
Oil companies are making big money off us. Our elected leaders are talking about making more oil drill wells and coal fueled power plants. But no new energy research and sources. They're going where the money is!
I would be happy to see boosts to alternative energy research. We're helping research (not a lot, since our research funds got cut by Congress a while ago, I think) fusion power with an international team somewhere in Europe. One fully equipped fusion power plant could power several third world countries.
There's some old articles posted about it there way on down.
Wind and solar energy could be harnessed in no time. I remember in 5th grade we had to do a report on the first solar powered car. That was a long time ago, yet solar energy has not become more common - because of big oil shutting it down. There's also hydrogen-burning technology that is slowly making its way into the mass-transit market. The hydrogen fuel leaves nothing but WATER as residue, is dirt cheap, practically free, and infinitely renewable. This is also being kept out the mainstream by big oil. Northern Nevada is often referred to as the"Saudi Arabia of geothermal. Geothermal is also the cheapest power to generate per kWh, cheaper than any other form including wind, hydro, and nuclear. We'll have solar energy when Exxon owns the sun.
that's an answer very close to the truth, but I'm not convinced it's "big oil."
I have NO DOUBT that when the last drop of oil is used, new "affordable" energy sources will suddenly become available OVERNIGHT. (Gee, imagine that!) Big business will ensure we have a way to Wal-Mart and to work, and GM will not be manufacturing vehicles that run on a non-existent fuel.
This environmental movement is driven more by economics than anything else, and it's true agenda is not at all what it seems to be. It's about shifting power from developed countries to less developed countries so that those in control ("big oil", et al) and exert even more control over those dependent on whatever energy resources we are given.
Imagine for a moment if the alternative energy sources you studied in 5th grade were put into effect tomorrow. The entire socio-economic structures of many countries would collapse overnight, and the one-world movement would be destroyed. The U.S., instead of being the whipping boy, would rise to unprecentented power, as most if not all of this new technology would be developed and marketed HERE.
Imagine the Middle East oil states! They would have almost no influence over us.
Nations who best exploit technology and social effects will come on top.
"The powerful will get more powerful, the weak will get weaker?"
There will be social backlashes and power struggles.
It's unusual for me to stump everyone with a midi but I finally did it. Heh. The song was "Cherry Pink and Apple Blosom White" by Perez Prado, but over a hundred others have covered the tune, including Al Hirt, Hugo Montenegro and the Fabulous Thunderbirds.
