#they claimed in court documents she had DEMENTIA

[never-quite-buried]

There will be a documentary released soon by TMZ about Britney Spears “post-conservatorship” and i would humbly ask all fans of Britney Spears to NOT watch it. There is clearly a directed attack at Britney’s mental well-being taking place and it is with every effort to lock her in a permanent care plan.

The conservatorship was an illegal and unethical breach of her civil liberties and make no mistake, she is still locked in it. Court documents from mere months ago list her as conservatee and they are in the process of assigning a conservator again to lead her “care plan”.

Britney told us all with no ambiguity that she had every intention of suing every person who harmed her. She told us in her court audio and self posted audios to instagram that her family was “trying to kill [her]”. She had a book slated to release and tmz reported this past holiday that there was a “paper shortage” while the publisher released plenty of other books in the same time and now we’re learning that two celebs are attempting to block its release. At every stop they have silenced her right to speak and move freely.

For some reason we’re not seeing the real Britney out and about and now they’re claiming she’s not fit to hold knives?! They want full control of the person and the estate again and they plan to win it in the court of public opinion.

Boycott this documentary. Britney hates documentaries made without her say or her commentary, don’t let TMZ continue to spew this narrative when they are directly responsible for her suffering.

[religion-is-a-mental-illness]

By: Matt Naham

Published: May 21, 2024

20-year-old woman completely made up story that ‘creepy’ man tried to rape her outside of supermarket, leading him to be wrongly jailed for a month: DA

A man spent a month in jail after being accused of attempting to rape and kidnap a woman in a Pennsylvania supermarket parking lot in April, but there’s just one problem, according to the district attorney: the accuser’s story was completely made up, and she admitted as much when cops confronted her.

The startling turn of events in Bucks County was announced Monday, as 20-year-old Anjela Borisova Urumova, identified as a Bristol Township resident, was charged for lying about the attack.

[ Anjela Borisova Urumova in a mug shot (Bucks County DA); the Redner’s supermarket parking lot (WPVI/screengrab) ]

DA Jennifer Schorn’s office said that Urumova falsely accused Daniel Pierson, 41, of pulling her pants down and striking her outside of a Redner’s supermarket in Middleton Township on April 16.

Pierson went on to face felony charges and spent exactly 31 days behind bars before charges were dropped last Friday and he walked free, the DA said, noting that neither surveillance footage nor Urumova’s iPhone corroborated her claims.

“As part of the investigation, Middletown Township Police collected and reviewed available surveillance video from multiple retailers in the area of the reported attack, and a detective with the Bucks County District Attorney’s Office conducted a forensic review of Urumova’s cellphone data,” the DA’s office said. “The review led to the discovery of multiple inconsistencies and contradictory information with Urumova’s account of the attack at the Redner’s parking lot.”

Prosecutors said that police detectives as recently as Friday “confronted” Urumova and got her to admit that she fabricated the allegations.

“This investigation concluded that Urumova falsely reported an attack to police on April 16, and specifically targeted, and later identified, Pierson as her attacker,” the DA’s office added. “Urumova said she gave a description of his truck and identified him because she had seen him and the truck in the past[.]”

Local ABC affiliate WPVI reported that Urumova admitted she falsely accused Pierson because she’d seen him before and believed him to be “creepy.” The defendant further said that her claimed injuries stemmed from an incident with her grandmother, the report said. The complaint obtained by Law&Crime revealed even more about that.

“Her grandmother, who Urumova claimed suffered from dementia, did not recognize her as she entered the house and threw a plastic object at her, striking her in the lip. This incident allegedly caused the laceration to her lip that she later blamed on Pierson,” court documents said.

Authorities said that the defendant specifically described the nonexistent attacker’s truck as having a “Thin Blue Line” sticker on it.

After investigators tracked Pierson down and put him in a photo lineup the following day, Urumova said she was “60% sure” he was the suspect, documents said.

Court records reviewed by Law&Crime show that Urumova was arraigned Monday on charges for making false reports (two counts), causing false alarm to an agency of public safety, tampering with or fabricating physical evidence, and for “unsworn falsification to authorities” (three counts).

[ Anjela Urumova charges ]

Bail was set at $30,000, records also show. It’s unclear if Urumova has an attorney yet. She turned 20 years old on May 9.

Read the criminal complaint obtained by Law&Crime here.

==

So, a guy's going about his day, minding his own business and this woman just randomly takes a dislike to him and decides he needs to be disappeared from society.

That's all it took.

Now imagine how much more motivated a spiteful ex or a regretful one-night stand would be. Don't tell me false accusations are rare when they're this easy to make.

Here's the ironic part: studies suggest she's far more likely to be sexually assaulted by another woman in prison than by a man in the free world.

[ Source: "The Sexual Victimization of Men in America: New Data Challenge Old Assumptions", Lara Stemple, JD, and Ilan H. Meyer, PhD ]

[howwelldoyouknowyourmoon]

Image: A copy of a memorandum addressed to the former Unification Church stating that a donor is giving freely and voluntarily and will not sue the church for damages. (Amane Shimazaki)

The Supreme Court on July 11 ruled that a statement written by a former follower of the Unification Church promising not to seek compensation from the group is invalid, opening the door to her daughter pursuing damages.  The top court's First Petty Bench sent the case back to the Tokyo High Court to reconsider whether there was illegality in the solicitation of donations by the church, now formally called the Family Federation for World Peace and Unification. This was the first time that the Supreme Court has issued a decision on donations to the embattled religious group. There have been other cases involving such agreements made for donations to the group and the ruling may affect lawsuits involving such pledges. In this lawsuit, the eldest daughter of a former Unification Church follower, who is deceased, is seeking 65.8 million yen ($407,000) in damages from the church and a church follower who solicited her mother to donate. The daughter, who is in her 60s, stated that the church and the follower “made her mother to donate money by stoking her anxiety that she would be unhappy if she did not donate.” Lower courts ruled that the memorandum was “valid” and that no claim for compensation could be made against the church. Lower courts also rejected the daughter’s appeal, finding no illegality in the solicitation of donations by the follower. The Tokyo High Court is expected to hear the case on the illegality of the solicitation. Since the Supreme Court’s ruling invalidated the letter, there is room to hold the church liable. Whether the church was systematically involved and responsible as an employer in the solicitation of the follower is also expected to be a point of contention. Since 2004, when the mother was 75, she had sold an orchard and some of her husband’s financial assets to donate more than 100 million yen to the church. In 2015, the mother disclosed the donation to the daughter. But after that, the mother signed and sealed a letter stating that the donation was made of her own free will and she would not demand its return. About six months later, the mother was diagnosed with dementia and was found to require the appointment of an adult guardian. The mother and the daughter filed a lawsuit in 2017, claiming that the mother “may have had dementia at the time the signed memorandum was created.” But the Tokyo District Court and the Tokyo High Court recognized the validity of the document, and said it “was made at the request of the mother herself under a normal judgment.” The mother died in 2021, after the first court decision. In June, the Supreme Court heard arguments seeking to change the ruling of the second court decision. The daughter again argued that since her mother may have had dementia at the time of signing the memorandum and she “was under strong psychological influence from the church and could not refuse to sign and seal the document,” it was invalid. On the other hand, the church argued that there was no problem in the drafting of the statement.

________________________________

Ruling on Unification Church: Court Points to Maliciousness of Donation Solicitation Practice

[qldprobatelawyers]

Mothers death bed regret falls short of a valid will

Many an attempt to make what appears to be a will unconventionally or informally falls short of a valid will because it does not meet minimum legal requirements. Unfortunately this was the case in relation to the estate of Erika Kaegi-Fluri who – when she died – was survived by her only daughter, Juliana Wool. In her first will made in December 2013, she left the whole of her estate to Juliana. Juliana and her husband had a tumultuous falling out with Erika in 2017 – that lead them to sue her – over the financial arrangements they had made for Erika to reside with them in Cairns. The ensuing litigation eventually resolved, but not the disaffection that it brought. Erika moved back to Mackay to live out her days quietly in a retirement village. She made a new will in 2018 and a further final will in 2020.  Juliana’s name appeared nowhere as beneficiary in either document both of which were accompanied by a statement of Erika’s reasons for leaving no benefit to her daughter. The last will bequeathed the estate in one-third shares to the RSPCA and two friends, Micael Johannsson and Adam Anderson. Shortly after Erika’s death in July 2022 in Mackay, Charles Marino – her executor – applied for it to be admitted to probate. Julia intervened however, claiming there was a subsequent will. A note had been found in Erika’s bedside drawer.  The note appeared to state Erika’s testamentary intentions, leaving her estate to Juliana.  English was not Erika’s first language, but the intention seemed quite clear. The note read: “DEAR JULIANA I AM CHANGING MY WILL! KIM ADAM AND MICAEL HAVE ABANDEND ME.  RSPCA LET ME DOWN. I LEAVE THE HOUSE AND ALL MY MONEY TO YOU JULIANA. I GO TO HOSPITAL NOW.  WHEN I GET BETTER I MAKE A NEW WILL WITH A LAWYER.  NO MONEY MUST BE PAID TO RSPCA, MICAEL OR KIM AND ADAM.  I CANCEL THE CAIRNS WILL SORRY MY HANDS GETTING SORE. I LOVE YOU VERY MUCH YOU ARE MY ONLY DAUGHTER YOU ARE ALL I HAVE NOW. I WRITE THIS LETTER IN CASE SOMETHING HAPPEN TO ME.  SORRY I AM VERRY TIRED. I CONTACT YOU FROM HOSPITAL. I LOVE YOU MORE THAN ANYTHING IN THE WORD!  YOUR MOTHER, […Erika’s signature…] Mackay 6.6.2022” The note appeared to be an informal will, and so Juliana asked the Supreme Court to admit the note to probate as Erika’s last will. To prove the note as a valid informal will, Juliana needed to be able to convince a judge that the document embodied her mother’s testamentary intentions and by some act or words, had demonstrated it was to operate as her will of itself. The matter came before Justice James Henry in the Supreme Court of Queensland at Cairns. The judge was troubled by evidence that Erika may have had undiagnosed dementia; her health issues just prior to going to hospital may have affected her mental capacity to make a will; and Erika was emotions could fluctuate with her mood. He concluded that the note “at best provides some support for an inference Erika intended it to operate her will”. That said, “it provides at least equally strong support for the inference Erika merely intended the note to inform her daughter of her regret and change of heart and her plan to reflect that by making a new will”. Juliana failed in her attempt to have the note declared to be a valid informal will. Despite that, Juliana’s cause is not entirely lost as she has a pending family provision claim contesting her exclusion from the 2020 will, which her mother’s note will likely go a long way to support. Wool v Marino [2024] QSC 89 Henry J, 14 May 2024 Mother’s death bed regret falls short of a valid will published first on https://qldestatelawyers.com.au/probate-lawyers/

[lawyersqldestate]

Mothers death bed regret falls short of a valid will

Many an attempt to make what appears to be a will unconventionally or informally falls short of a valid will because it does not meet minimum legal requirements. Unfortunately this was the case in relation to the estate of Erika Kaegi-Fluri who – when she died – was survived by her only daughter, Juliana Wool. In her first will made in December 2013, she left the whole of her estate to Juliana. Juliana and her husband had a tumultuous falling out with Erika in 2017 – that lead them to sue her – over the financial arrangements they had made for Erika to reside with them in Cairns. The ensuing litigation eventually resolved, but not the disaffection that it brought. Erika moved back to Mackay to live out her days quietly in a retirement village. She made a new will in 2018 and a further final will in 2020.  Juliana’s name appeared nowhere as beneficiary in either document both of which were accompanied by a statement of Erika’s reasons for leaving no benefit to her daughter. The last will bequeathed the estate in one-third shares to the RSPCA and two friends, Micael Johannsson and Adam Anderson. Shortly after Erika’s death in July 2022 in Mackay, Charles Marino – her executor – applied for it to be admitted to probate. Julia intervened however, claiming there was a subsequent will. A note had been found in Erika’s bedside drawer.  The note appeared to state Erika’s testamentary intentions, leaving her estate to Juliana.  English was not Erika’s first language, but the intention seemed quite clear. The note read: “DEAR JULIANA I AM CHANGING MY WILL! KIM ADAM AND MICAEL HAVE ABANDEND ME.  RSPCA LET ME DOWN. I LEAVE THE HOUSE AND ALL MY MONEY TO YOU JULIANA. I GO TO HOSPITAL NOW.  WHEN I GET BETTER I MAKE A NEW WILL WITH A LAWYER.  NO MONEY MUST BE PAID TO RSPCA, MICAEL OR KIM AND ADAM.  I CANCEL THE CAIRNS WILL SORRY MY HANDS GETTING SORE. I LOVE YOU VERY MUCH YOU ARE MY ONLY DAUGHTER YOU ARE ALL I HAVE NOW. I WRITE THIS LETTER IN CASE SOMETHING HAPPEN TO ME.  SORRY I AM VERRY TIRED. I CONTACT YOU FROM HOSPITAL. I LOVE YOU MORE THAN ANYTHING IN THE WORD!  YOUR MOTHER, […Erika’s signature…] Mackay 6.6.2022” The note appeared to be an informal will, and so Juliana asked the Supreme Court to admit the note to probate as Erika’s last will. To prove the note as a valid informal will, Juliana needed to be able to convince a judge that the document embodied her mother’s testamentary intentions and by some act or words, had demonstrated it was to operate as her will of itself. The matter came before Justice James Henry in the Supreme Court of Queensland at Cairns. The judge was troubled by evidence that Erika may have had undiagnosed dementia; her health issues just prior to going to hospital may have affected her mental capacity to make a will; and Erika was emotions could fluctuate with her mood. He concluded that the note “at best provides some support for an inference Erika intended it to operate her will”. That said, “it provides at least equally strong support for the inference Erika merely intended the note to inform her daughter of her regret and change of heart and her plan to reflect that by making a new will”. Juliana failed in her attempt to have the note declared to be a valid informal will. Despite that, Juliana’s cause is not entirely lost as she has a pending family provision claim contesting her exclusion from the 2020 will, which her mother’s note will likely go a long way to support. Wool v Marino [2024] QSC 89 Henry J, 14 May 2024 Mother’s death bed regret falls short of a valid will published first on https://qldestatelawyers.com.au/

[masterofd1saster]

CJ current events 16mar23

***

Outstanding article: https://www.thefp.com/p/why-the-mental-health-of-liberal

***

Ted's a dirty bird

Former cardinal Theodore McCarrick, 92, filed a motion in a Massachusetts court claiming he is “legally incompetent” to stand trial for sex abuse charges, citing “significant, worsening, and irreversible dementia.”

McCarrick is charged with three counts of indecent assault and battery on a person over the age of 14 relating to allegations that he sexually abused the teenager who was a family friend at a wedding ceremony in the 1970s at Wellesley College in Wellesley, Massachusetts.

McCarrick, laicized by Pope Francis in 2019, held one of the highest offices in the Catholic Church and has been accused of serially abusing his priestly authority by sexually abusing minors and seminarians.

The state of Massachusetts told CNA that it wants an opportunity to examine McCarrick’s competency to stand trial.

McCarrick’s motion to dismiss the charges comes about a month after his legal team said a neurological exam of him was being conducted by Dr. David Schretlen, a professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine.

That exam remains unavailable to the public, as Schretlen’s final report includes “extensive confidential information” about McCarrick’s health and personal life, and would be “harmful” to McCarrick if it were available to the public, one of McCarrick’s lawyers, Daniel Marx, said in a separate court document.*** https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/253756/ex-cardinal-mccarrick-asks-for-dismissal-of-sex-abuse-case-against-him-citing-dementia

***

He's there left-wing mayor

The Prince George’s County Police Department’s Child and Vulnerable Adult Abuse - Internet Crimes Against Child Unit arrested a College Park man this morning for possession and distribution of child pornography. The suspect is 47-year-old Patrick Wojahn.

On February 17, 2023, the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children notified the PGPD that a social media account operating in the county possessed and distributed suspected child pornography. The image and videos had been uploaded to the social media account in January of 2023. Through various investigative techniques, PGPD investigators discovered the social media account belonged to Wojahn.

On February 28, 2023, PGPD detectives served a search warrant at Wojahn’s College Park home. Investigators recovered multiple cell phones, a storage device, a tablet and a computer. Following additional investigation, PGPD obtained criminal charges against Wojahn and investigators took him into custody early this morning.

Wojahn is charged with 40 counts of possession of child exploitative material and 16 counts of distribution of child exploitative material. He is in the custody of the Department of Corrections.***

***

If someone tells you American criminal justice is sexist, the only proper response is "no poo, Sherlock."

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KKTV) - A 31-year-old woman who admits to having sex with a 13-year-old boy and then becoming pregnant with his child, won’t face any jail time under a plea deal with prosecutors.

Andrea Serrano of Fountain was facing sexual assault charges after her arrest in 2022 but accepted this new plea deal to stay out of prison earlier this year.

Serrano gave birth to the baby boy after she admitted to having sex with the 13-year-old. The mother of the victim told 11 News she is not happy with the deal offered to a woman she says ruined her son’s life.

“I feel like my son is robbed of his childhood. Now he’s having to be a father. He’s a victim, and he’s going to have to live with that for the rest of his life,” the victim’s mother, who we are not identifying, told 11 News.

She questions why Serrano won’t face prison time.

“I feel like if she was a man and he was a little girl, it would definitely be different. They would be seeking more. I feel like because he is not a woman, they are not. They are having compassion for her,” the victim’s mother said.*** https://www.kktv.com/2023/03/02/colorado-woman-who-admits-having-sex-with-13-year-old-having-his-baby-wont-face-jail-time-under-plea-deal/

***

Suzi Weiss writes

→ Goodbye, Lori! No one’s favorite mayor, Chicago’s Lori Lightfoot, is out of a job. Lightfoot conceded Tuesday night, telling her supporters, “Obviously, we didn't win the election today. But I stand here today with my head held high.” 

Lightfoot won only one term as the Windy City’s head honcho, but what a term it was. The homicide rate is up 40 percent since she took office in 2019; public transit ridership has plummeted; and O’Hare has become a homeless shelter. There’s also a new casino. TGIF will miss Lori! 

The race is now between two opposing visions for the future of the Dems: Paul “Proactive Policing” Vallas and Brandon “Defund the Police” Johnson. The runoff election will be in April.

→ ‘Thank God for Bubba’: In the closing arguments of the Murdaugh murder trial—where now-disgraced Good Ole Boy Alex Murdaugh stood accused of murdering his wife and son—the prosecutor reminded the jury of one central figure to this alarming case: Bubba, the family’s golden retriever. Murdaugh swore he was nowhere near the dog kennels the night his son Paul and wife Maggie were shot, but it seems he was outfoxed by a dog. In a Snapchat video taken by Paul minutes before he and his mother were murdered, you can hear other voices in the background, including Maggie commenting that the dog might have a bird in its mouth. One of the voices was “100 percent” Alex Murdaugh, according to witnesses. Maggie and Paul were killed minutes later. 

When they played the video in court, Murdaugh began to cry. 

None other than O. J. Simpson predicted that Murdaugh would go to jail for stealing money, but “it wouldn’t surprise me in the least if this guy beats this case.” 

O. J. was wrong: Murdaugh was convicted of the murders at around 7 p.m. last night. ***

→ Can she speak with the manager? In a bid to get her sex trafficking conviction thrown out, Ghislaine Maxwell is claiming that she was kept under inhumane conditions at the Brooklyn Detention Center while awaiting trial. Maxwell says she was held in solitary confinement and that she was “malnourished,” which, I think for British former billionaire socialites, just means there wasn’t a full English and savory pudding every morning. Her attorney is saying that by the time of her trial, Maxwell was too exhausted and deflated to contribute to her own defense. 

Maxwell is now being kept at a correctional facility in Tallahassee in Florida—not quite the Palm Beach spread she’s used to—where she’s expected to serve out her 20-year sentence. There, the joke goes, she wakes up every morning shocked that she didn’t commit suicide. ***

***

Personal responsibility? That's crazy talk, fella.

Kia Boys, Quantified

In 2020, 4,507 stolen cars were reported in Milwaukee, giving it the 66th highest rate of motor vehicle theft among American cities. In 2021, the city surged to eighth on the list, as stolen car reports more than doubled, reaching a staggering 10,477. Two-thirds of the cars stolen in 2021 were Kias or Hyundais, despite the two companies accounting for just 7% of all cars owned in America. And Milwaukee is only the tip of the iceberg.

In 2022, Los Angeles saw an 85% spike in thefts of Kia and Hyundai vehicles. In St. Petersburg, Florida, more than a third of all car thefts last summer were linked explicitly to inspiration from TikTok videos. In Chicago, some jurisdictions saw month-to-month spikes in Kia and Hyundai thefts of over 800%. In November 2022, Atlanta Police reported that 40% of all car thefts in the city that year were of Kias and Hyundais. Kia Boys have popped up in Buffalo, Dallas, several cities in Ohio, St. Louis, Seattle, Memphis, Minneapolis, Philadelphia, San Antonio, the DMV area (DC-Maryland-Virginia), and Kent County, Michigan. The volume of local news reports on Kia and Hyundai thefts is seemingly infinite. ***

Is it somehow wrong to insist that children stealing cars is a problem, actually?

An interesting perspective, but the many lower-to-middle class victims who’ve been economically crippled by Kia Boy thefts tend to come at this subject from a different angle than millionaire celebrity actors. As do the Kia Boy parents who, having higher hopes for their children than a life of crime, are publicly begging law enforcement to step up and hold them accountable. And as does the president of the NAACP’s Columbus Chapter — that notoriously tough-on-crime organization — who has asserted “we can no longer have our children just running rampant in our community committing crimes, it’s got to stop.”

Unsurprisingly, beyond the insulated world of the wealthy, the basic tenets of working class solidarity, child-rearing, and community stewardship dictate we should not accept a wave of juvenile car theft as a mundane fixture of American life. The question is what to do about it. Lucky for us, the media is on it.***

https://www.piratewires.com/p/kia-boy-stolen-cars

***

Parody or truth, you decide.

Chicago Honors Lori Lightfoot’s Legacy With 21-Murder Salute

U.S.·Mar 2, 2023 · BabylonBee.com

https://babylonbee.com/news/chicago-honors-lori-lightfoots-legacy-with-21-murder-salute

***

DAs make life changing decisions

CV NEWS FEED // A talented high school volleyball player is battling for her life after being hit by a car driven by a released St. Louis felon – and now, officials in Missouri are working to remove George Soros-backed Circuit Attorney Kim Gardner because of her failure to put the criminal behind bars. 

Janae Edmonson, 17, was hit by a vehicle and lost both her legs while visiting St. Louis with her team and family on February 18. The Tennessee volleyball standout had just accepted a scholarship to play at The University of Tennessee Southern, which the school says it will still honor despite the double-amputation that has effectively ended her career. 

Records show 21-year-old Daniel Riley, who was out on bail awaiting a trial for a 2020 felony armed robbery, didn’t have a driver’s license when he was speeding, failed to yield, and caused the collision. ***

Riley had been set to go to trial last summer, but sources indicate Gardner’s office wasn’t ready or wasn’t willing to pursue prosecution. Instead, Riley was put on house arrest with a GPS tracker, which local news sources reported he violated more than 100 times in lead-up to the accident. 

Following a public outcry, including calls from Democratic officials for Gardner to step down, Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey gave her an ultimatum: resign or be removed.

“This is about a quantum of evidence that demonstrates her failure to prosecute cases, failure to inform and confer with victims in cases, and failure to file new cases that are referred by law enforcement agencies,” Bailey said. 

“The driver of the speeding vehicle, Daniel Riley, should never have been in that car. He is a dangerous gunman who should have been in jail,” a statement from Bailey’s office said. *** https://catholicvote.org/blame-mounts-for-soros-backed-prosecutor-after-horrific-crash/

***

Isn't there a 1st Amendment or something about that?

YAKIMA, Wash. – The Yakima Union Gospel Mission filed a federal lawsuit Thursday against Washington state officials to protect its constitutional right to hire employees who share the ministry’s religious beliefs. Alliance Defending Freedom attorneys represent the Christian ministry in its civil rights suit to protect its freedom to hire like-minded individuals who share and live out its beliefs and mission to spread the gospel of Jesus Christ through its homeless shelter, addiction-recovery programs, outreach efforts, meal services, and health clinics for the Yakima community.

The Yakima Union Gospel Mission will serve anybody, but it furthers its religious purpose by maintaining staff who are likeminded believers that agree with and live out the mission’s Christian beliefs and practices, including abstaining from any sexual conduct outside of marriage between a man and a woman. The Washington Supreme Court, however, recently reinterpreted state law to prohibit religious organizations, like the mission, from only hiring individuals who share its religious beliefs, and now state officials are threatening the mission with significant penalties for using its religiously based hiring practices.***

In the wake of the state’s new interpretation of the Washington Law Against Discrimination, the mission has received applications from people who openly disagree with, or are hostile to, its religious beliefs on marriage and sexuality. To avoid being penalized by the state, the mission recently removed an online employment posting for an IT technician, refrained from posting an operations assistant position, and has paused hiring for those two positions.

The Yakima Union Gospel Mission loves and serves all people “right where they are” in multiple ways. For example, the mission offers shelter for the homeless 365 days a year and provides a family shelter for families with children. From July 1, 2021 to June 30, 2022, the mission provided a total of 30,167 nights of shelter to 881 different adults and 3,592 nights of shelter for children. Its Good News Café provides free meals three times a day to the public and shelter guests; the mission served 141,629 free meals in that same timeframe. Additionally, the mission’s New Life Recovery Program helps people recover from drug and alcohol addictions and homelessness, and its health clinics offer free or reduced-cost services.*** https://adfmedia.org/case/union-gospel-mission-yakima-v-ferguson

***

funny toon https://www.gocomics.com/speedbump/2023/03/04

***

Should have let his unit handle him

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Friday, March 3, 2023

Former U.S. Army Soldier Sentenced to 45 Years in Prison for Attempting for Murder Fellow Service Members in Deadly Ambush

A Kentucky man was sentenced today to 45 years in prison for attempting to murder U.S. service members, providing and attempting to provide material support to terrorists, and illegally transmitting national defense information.

Ethan Phelan Melzer, aka Etil Reggad, 24, of Louisville, pleaded guilty to attempting to murder U.S. service members, providing and attempting to provide material support to terrorists, and illegally transmitting national defense information on June 24, 2022, before U.S. District Judge Gregory H. Woods, who imposed today’s sentence. According to court documents, Melzer planned a jihadist attack on his U.S. Army unit in the days leading up to a deployment to Turkey and sent sensitive details about the unit — including information about its location, movements, and security — to members of the extremist organization Order of the Nine Angles (O9A), a white supremacist, neo-Nazi and pro-jihadist group.

“Today’s sentence holds Mr. Melzer accountable for an egregious and shameful act of betrayal against his own military unit and his country,” said Assistant Attorney General Matthew G. Olsen of the Justice Department’s National Security Division. “The Justice Department will use all available resources to disrupt and bring to justice those who would aid foreign terrorist organizations and use violence to harm our men and women in uniform or any American anywhere.”

“Ethan Melzer infiltrated the U.S. Army in service of a neo-Nazi, white supremacist and jihadist group,” said U.S. Attorney Damian Williams for the Southern District of New York. “He used his membership in the military to pursue an appalling goal: the brutal murder of his fellow U.S. service members in a carefully plotted ambush. By unlawfully disclosing his unit’s location, strength, and armaments to other O9A members and jihadists in furtherance of this ambush, Melzer traitorously sought to attack the very soldiers he was entrusted to protect. Today’s sentence makes clear that Melzer’s brazen actions backfired and that this office — along with our partners in law enforcement and the military — will work tirelessly to bring traitors like Melzer to justice and to protect the safety and integrity of our armed services.”*** https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/former-us-army-soldier-sentenced-45-years-prison-attempting-murder-fellow-service-members

***

Fair point about separation of powers and minority rights.

*** America has a written constitution detailing citizens’ rights. It has two legislatures, the House and the Senate, and separate state elections and governments that further buffer citizens from federal power. Israel has none of those things. We have only one legislature, it’s controlled by the governing majority, and the single brake on majority power is the court. This is the only force that can stem the current paroxysm—and so it’s this force that’s now being removed, in what is being misunderstood by some as a simple “legal reform.” What’s actually happening is a takeover of Israel’s independent judiciary by the most extreme government in our history. 

There is a good case for reform that would set the limits of court power with broad consent. That’s not what’s happening. 

The new system, which is supposed to be set in law by next month, will allow the government to select judges and overrule the court’s decisions. If the reform passes and the government decides that there will now be elections every 10 years, for example, or every 20—there will be no force to rule otherwise. Israel, which has rightly prided itself as being the only democracy in the Middle East, will move closer to the model of Hungary or Turkey than of America.

Israel’s stable and internationally respected court system is one of the reasons for our economic miracle over the past few decades. (Another reason is Netanyahu himself, in his more responsible days). Several billion dollars are already believed to have left the country in the past month, a sign of a trend that could snowball. The tech CEOs of Tel Aviv, who need a liberal social ecosystem and strong courts trusted by foreign investors, are eyeing Palo Alto. There are warnings about our international credit rating, and the shekel has dropped. *** https://www.thefp.com/p/i-took-up-arms-to-defend-israel-now

***

Criminal Victimization in the 22 Largest U.S. States, 2017–2019***

***

When you define deviancy down, there's always someone saying "hold my beer."

After School Satan Club launching first Colorado chapter, but organizer promises “we are not devil worshippers”

***

Ex-NBC doctor gets no jail time after asking girl, 9, for nude photos

David Propper

An ex-medical correspondent for an NBC-affiliate station based in Los Angeles received no jail time after he pleaded no contest to asking a 9-year-old girl to send him “sexy and private” nude photos, according to a report.

Dr. Bruce Hensel, 74, apologized to the young victim’s family and even hugged her father — who is an acquaintance — as he entered his plea in an LA courtroom on Monday, the Los Angeles Times reported.***

The Emmy-winner was arrested in 2019 after he asked the girl for the sexually explicit photos through an online messaging app.

At the time, he worked as the on-air chief medical correspondent for the NBC station in LA, as well as for one in New York.*** https://nypost.com/2023/03/06/ex-nbc-tv-doctor-sentenced-for-asking-girl-for-naked-pics/

Remember, LA is the town that made Roman Polanski famous.

***

You going to believe your lyin' eyes?

Newly revealed surveillance footage from Jan. 6, 2021, shows two Capitol police officers escorting Jacob Chansley, the be-horned so-called “QAnon Shaman” who has come to symbolize the riot, through the halls of the Capitol and to the very door of the US Senate.

The footage aired on Tucker Carlson’s Fox News show Monday night shows the officers closely following Chansley as he wanders the corridors of the Capitol, bare-chested and wearing face paint and a luxuriant fur hat with Viking horns.

“Virtually every moment of his time inside the Capitol was caught on tape,” says Carlson, who was granted exclusive access by Speaker Kevin McCarthy to 40,000 hours of surveillance footage from that day inside and around the Capitol, which has never been seen before by the public.

“The tapes show the Capitol police never stopped Jacob Chansley. They helped him. They acted as his tour guides.”*** https://nypost.com/2023/03/06/jan-6-footage-shows-cops-bringing-qanon-shaman-to-senate-floor/

I have always thought Carlson is a blowhard fake populist, but the tape was definitely interesting.

***

Crime costs

*** Walmart is closing its last two locations in Portland just months after CEO Doug McMillon warned that rampant thefts would lead the company to raise prices or close stores in some locations. Residents in the neighborhoods of those two locations will have to shop elsewhere, and 580 employees will also be affected by the closures.

Violence has also caused trouble for businesses, with one real estate developer and lifelong resident of the city preparing to move out after discovering his office was riddled with bullet holes. And stealing has been a problem for residents outside of business closures and departures, with 2022 seeing a record increase in car thefts.

Portland police are now finally taking this seriously. Officers are conducting anti-shoplifting “blitzes,” arresting 64 people in a December operation that led to 10 stolen vehicles being recovered alongside three firearms and almost $9,000 in stolen merchandise. A February operation led to another 40 arrests, with officers recovering $2,000 in merchandise and handing out 32 felony charges and 28 misdemeanors. Another of these operations was carried out on Sunday.*** https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/portland-is-bleeding-businesses-thanks-to-years-of-soft-on-crime-policies

***

Don't fly w/ the insane?

*** Francisco Severo Torres, 33, was charged with one count of interference and attempted interference with flight crew members and attendants using a dangerous weapon. Torres was arrested last evening at Boston Logan International Airport and, following an initial appearance today before U.S. District Court Magistrate Judge Dein, was detained pending a hearing set for March 9, 2023. 

According to the charging documents, on March 5, 2023, Torres was a passenger aboard a United Airlines flight from Los Angeles to Boston. Approximately 45 minutes prior to landing, the flight crew received an alarm in the cockpit that a starboard side door located between the first class and coach sections of the aircraft was disarmed. Upon inspection, a flight attendant found that the door’s locking handle had been moved out of the fully locked position – approximately a quarter of the way towards the towards the unlocked position – and that the emergency slide arming lever had been moved to the “disarmed” position. The flight attendant reported this to the captain and flight crew after securing the door and emergency slide. 

In subsequent discussions, a fellow flight attendant reported that he had observed Torres near the door and believed Torres had tampered with the door. A flight attendant then confronted Torres about tampering with the door, to which he allegedly responded by asking if there were cameras showing that he had done so. According to court documents, the flight attendant then notified the captain that they believed Torres posed a threat to the aircraft and that the captain needed to land the aircraft as soon as possible.  

Shortly thereafter, it is alleged that Torres got out of his seat and approached the starboard side door where two flight attendants were standing in the aisle. One of the flight attendants saw Torres mouthing something that he could not hear. Torres then allegedly thrust towards one of the flight attendants in a stabbing motion with a broken metal spoon, hitting the flight attendant on the neck area three times. Passengers then tackled Torres and he was restrained with the assistance of flight crew. Torres was immediately taken into custody upon the flight’s arrival to Boston.  *** https://www.justice.gov/usao-ma/pr/man-arrested-attempting-open-emergency-exit-door-aboard-flight-boston

***

Hip deep in irony

An attorney at the Southern Poverty Law Center, a civil rights group known for labeling conservative and Christian nonprofit organizations as "hate groups," was arrested Sunday on terrorism charges after allegedly taking part in a riot where agitators threw objects, including Molotov cocktails, at a police training center near Atlanta.

The Georgia Bureau of Investigation on Sunday arrested Thomas Webb Jurgens, according to Dekalb County Jail records. The name and occupation of the 28-year-old appear to match that of a staff attorney with the SPLC. He is facing one charge of domestic terrorism.

Jurgens was among 35 people detained after a violent clash between protesters and police at a construction site for the Atlanta Public Safety Training Center.***

“On March 5, 2023, a group of violent agitators used the cover of a peaceful protest of the proposed Atlanta Public Safety Training Center to conduct a coordinated attack on construction equipment and police officers,” Atlanta police reported Sunday. “They changed into black clothing and entered the construction area and began to throw large rocks, bricks, Molotov cocktails, and fireworks at police officers.”*** https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/policy/courts/splc-attorney-among-23-others-facing-domestic-terrorism-charges

Interesting pic:

***

If you have a good plea deal, don't fornicate it up

Disbarred Denver attorney Steve Bachar skipped his sentencing hearing in his felony theft case Friday and is now wanted on a warrant, court records show.

Bachar, 57, was due to be sentenced for defrauding an investor in his business of $125,000.

It was not clear Monday why Bachar, who was out on a $25,000 bond, did not show up to be sentenced in Denver District Court. A call to his cellphone went straight to voicemail Monday and he did not return a message left seeking comment.

Bachar pleaded guilty in November to one count of felony theft and a second count of misdemeanor theft as part of a plea agreement in which he received a deferred judgment on the felony charge — that is, the felony will be wiped from his record if he meets court-set conditions for the next two years.*** https://www.denverpost.com/2023/03/06/steve-bachar-skips-sentencing-denver/

Accused of mishandling $2M - prolly should behave himself.

***

Excellent article about beliefs as status symbols

***

Really??

A Denver eating disorder doctor who has helped patients with anorexia nervosa obtain aid-in-dying medication is jolting the psychiatric community and sparking an emotional, national debate about the ethics of prescribing lethal drugs for people with mental illnesses.

Dr. Jennifer Gaudiani, an internal medicine doctor who specializes in eating disorders, published a paper in which she describes the deaths of three patients with anorexia nervosa. One 36-year-old woman died after ingesting the lethal doses prescribed by another doctor, with Gaudiani serving as consulting physician. Another 36-year-old woman died of severe malnutrition on the same day she planned to take aid-in-dying medication prescribed by Gaudiani.

In the paper, published in February in the Journal of Eating Disorders, Gaudiani advocates for allowing patients who are dying from anorexia to end their lives on their own terms. She writes that, although anorexia doesn’t have delineated levels of severity like cancer, which has stages of progression and a terminal phase, it can be brutally lethal. It is widely believed to have the second-highest mortality rate of all mental illnesses, behind only substance use disorders. *** https://coloradosun.com/2022/03/14/denver-doctor-gaudiani-aid-in-dying-aneroexia-patients/

***

Bank of America drops dimes to FBI

Turns out BoA gave FBI a list of all customers who had ever bought a firearm who were in the DC area on Jan 6. So if you bought a rifle in Montana in 1999, but you happened to buy gas in Silver Spring on Jan 6, BoA gave your name to the FBI. - Thanks, Margot. https://thefederalist.com/2023/03/06/whistleblower-fbis-d-c-office-tried-to-sic-local-agents-on-innocents-after-bank-of-america-volunteered-gun-records/

***

funny video

***

When policing stops

***Chris Waggett manages 70 acres at the corner of Broadway and Alameda, with a Safeway and Sam’s Club and a new apartment project that just opened. The site, known as Broadway Park, is a couple miles south of downtown, but Waggett said he always knows when the city breaks up a homeless encampment there.

“The big issue I’ve got is that when we do sweeps downtown or do pushes at Union Station, all it causes are people to push down the light rail corridors,” he said. “All we’re doing is playing Whack-A-Mole.”

Waggett said he’s lost three retail tenants, including an Ace Hardware store, because of crime and vagrancy. Employees are too scared to come to work, he said.

Waggett is now paying $500,000 a year for private security to patrol the property and try to deter vagrancy. But he said he regularly sees excrement, prostitution and open drug use. And his hired security is sometimes too frightened to confront drug dealers.

“We’ve had a very laissez-faire, permissive attitude and people don’t understand the economic consequence to the city,” Waggett said.

“We need leadership with a capital L: We need leadership not only in enforcing the law and addressing the three-pronged problem of homeless and drug use and mental health,” he said.***

“We pay a lot of taxes and we’re not getting services,” Isenberg said.***

He said a homeless man moved into a utility room at one property in Aurora and was discovered only because he was grilling food inside and the smoke wafted within view of Harris’ maintenance staff. Other property owners report similar problems with vacant buildings poised for development: squatters move in and other burglars strip the property of anything valuable, like copper.

Fires are also a common threat that can destroy an entire property and nearby ones, too, as BusinessDen has previously reported. Other business owners interviewed by BusinessDen watch security cameras and rush to their buildings when they see fires set outside their properties.***

***

Latest Oxford news

DETROIT–An appeals court on Tuesday grilled attorneys for James and Jennifer Crumbley, the first parents in America charged in a mass school shooting, about how the couple treated their son before he murdered four students and injured seven others in the November 2021 shooting at Oxford High School in Michigan.

The court focusedon why they bought him a gun despite his mental health troubles and why they didn’t take him home after seeing his note that read: “The thoughts won’t stop, help me.”

“There were warning signs all over the place,” Michigan Court of Appeals Judge Christopher Yates said during a one-hour hearing.

The appeals court is trying to decide if the Crumbleys should stand trial on involuntary manslaughter charges for the actions of their son, Ethan Crumbley, who pleaded guilty to murder charges last year. *** https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2023/03/07/james-jennifer-crumbley-oxford-michigan-court/11421222002/

***

Maaaaaybe

HOUSTON (AP) — Next month’s scheduled execution of a Texas death row inmate, whose attorneys say gouged out both of his eyes — each a separate incident — because of severe mental illness, was delayed by a judge on Tuesday.

Andre Thomas had been set to be executed on April 5, sentenced to death for fatally stabbing in March 2004 his estranged wife Laura Christine Boren, 20, their 4-year-old son Andre Lee and her 13-month-old daughter Leyha Marie Hughes, cutting out the hearts of the two children.

He later told police God had instructed him to commit the killings and that he believed all three were demons. The killings of Boren and her children shocked Sherman, a city of about 45,000 residents 65 miles (105 kilometers) north of Dallas.

State District Judge Jim Fallon on Tuesday issued an order withdrawing the execution date. Fallon’s decision came after Thomas’ lawyers had requested additional time to prepare for a court hearing to review his competency.*** https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/crime/execution-delayed-for-death-row-inmate-who-cut-out-his-eyes/ar-AA18lwrs

***

100 Years of Unenumerated Freedoms Conference

In 1920, a school teacher was arrested and fined for teaching German in defiance of a state law. He took his case to the U.S. Supreme court and won, resulting in one of the most sweeping defenses of individual freedom in history. Join IJ for a conference to celebrate the centenary of this monumental moment for liberty and to explore the past and future of unenumerated rights.   This event will take place on March 31st in Washington, D.C. For those outside of the D.C. area, it will also be streamed online. https://ij.org/event/100-years-of-unenumerated-freedoms-meyer-v-nebraska-at-a-century

***

Aren't unlocked doors problematic?

A 22-year-old man is behind bars after entering a California high school and sexually assaulting at least three teenage girls on Monday.

Burbank police said Patrick Nazarian, of Glendale, was arrested for kidnapping and sexual assault after he allegedly entered Burbank High School around 9 a.m. Monday.

Investigators determined he entered the school through an unlocked door in the student parking lot.

Nazarian is accused of approaching a 14-year-old girl, who was in a bathroom inside the school, and sexually assaulting her. Police said a "short struggle" took place between the two before he fled.*** https://www.foxnews.com/us/california-man-jailed-allegedly-entering-high-school-sexually-assaulting-3-girls

***

Didn't Lord Humungous tell you about tranq ~ month ago?

What drug users and people who work with them in Philadelphia talk about is the smell. The smell of rotting flesh from open infected wounds.

Some users say they feel ashamed of the state of their bodies, but more feel a sense of urgency. They need help. The wounds are killing them.

“It is absolutely horrible. That’s the reality, though,” said James Sherman, known as Sherm around Philadelphia’s Kensington neighborhood, where he once used drugs and where he now tries to help those still on the streets.  

The need for help has become more urgent over the last three years, as the animal tranquilizer xylazine, also called tranq, has become a bigger part of Philly’s street fentanyl supply. Xylazine can cause large wounds that won’t heal, no matter where you inject it and they can appear even if you snort it or smoke it. Infections are common and can even lead to amputations.  

“Some people aren’t ready to see that yet,” Sherman said. “It’s literally people’s flesh rotting, and you can smell it.”  ***

Tranq made its mark on Philadelphia’s street drugs about three years ago. That’s when doctors, users and those who try to help them saw a difference. 

Dr. Joseph D’Orazio, an emergency physician and addiction medicine specialist at Temple University Hospital, said patients started to have major wounds that were different from typical injection drug use. “These wounds were a lot deeper, a lot more severe, there were big necrotic areas,” he said. “They were deep down into tendons. Sometimes you can see the bones, and we were starting to see more patients that were requiring amputations.”  ***

***

Faint?

***

Gascon

Los Angeles District Attorney George Gascon has already cost people their safety. Now, his egotistical power trip is costing taxpayers millions as well.

Deputy District Attorney Shawn Randolph won her retaliation lawsuits against Gascon and is to be given $1.5 million in taxpayer money as a result. Randolph alleged that Gascon effectively demoted her and denied her job opportunities after she spoke out against his policies, including the minimization of criminal conduct for juvenile offenders no matter how violent they are.***

There are 16 other retaliation lawsuits against Gascon from prosecutors, who Gascon treats more harshly than career criminals, gang members, and child molesters. ***

***

They said it tasted a lot like Peregrine Falcon

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Office of Law Enforcement has opened an investigation into two suspected illegal immigrants who allegedly killed a bald eagle with the intent of cooking it and eating it for dinner.

According to the Stanton County Sheriff's Office in Nebraska, two men were found with "a dead North American Bald Eagle in their possession" last month. Officers were initially responding to a suspicious vehicle near the main Wood Duck Recreation Area.

The sheriff's office said an investigation found that the men had shot and killed the protected bird and had plans to cook and eat it for dinner.***

***

Evisceration & "arrest me" tat

​On Wednesday, February 15, 2023, Deputies of the Bell County Sheriff’s Department responded to an address off Tallow Drive, in Central Bell County where a call was received of a stabbing victim. On Deputies arrival, they located a victim with an evisceration. ***

the Bell County Sheriff’s Department SWAT team assisted by members of the Temple Police Department K9 and Troopers of the Texas Department of Public Safety were able to locate Shawn Thomas Goodman today, March 7, 2023, and take him into custody on the warrant without incident. Goodman was transported to the Bell County Jail and is currently awaiting arraignment.***

***

Oklahoma might have passed if it weren't for those meddling cartels

***on Tuesday night, constituents in Oklahoma pulled the plug on a statewide effort to legalize recreational cannabis, meaning residents will still be required to have a medical license in order to enter dispensaries in the state, which is now home to more retail cannabis stores than Colorado, Oregon, and Washington combined.***

"Regardless of where one stands on the question of marijuana legalization, the stark reality is that organized crime from China and Mexico has infiltrated Oklahoma's medical marijuana industry," Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond, a Republican, told the Washington Examiner, saying he was "proud" that 63% voted against the measure. Drummond added that he'd "continue to focus on this serious threat to public safety by targeting the illegal grow operations throughout our state."

Last year, a man accused of killing four Chinese nationals at an illegal Oklahoma marijuana farm demanded employees give him $300,000 as a return for his "investment" in the illegal operation, prosecutors said. And just last month, a spokesman for the Oklahoma Bureau of Narcotics said people "tied to violent criminal organizations" had a Payne County growing site raided, resulting in the seizure of 28,000 plants and nearly 500 pounds of processed marijuana.***

***

U.S. District Judge Wetherell ruled in Florida v. United States, 21-cv-1066 (N.D.Fla. Mar. 8, 2023) that when 8 U.S.C. §1225(b)(1)(A) and §1225(b)(2)(A) say an illegal alien “shall be detained,” those laws mean what they say.

He vacated DHS's catch & release policy, but stayed enforcement for a week so the U.S. may appeal.

Rules on standing and political questions died an ignominious death in the Warren Court. This will not fix the border, but if it makes status quo untenable, I guess that's good.

MYFLORIDALEGAL.COM

***

There shouldn't be barriers?

→ The bar exam is not a bar: The state of Delaware has lowered the score to pass the bar exam, the test all lawyers have to pass in order to practice law. Explaining why, Delaware Supreme Court Justice Collins J. Seitz Jr. said: “The bar exam is not supposed to be a barrier to entering the profession.” Absolutely no notes there.  https://www.thefp.com/p/tgif-i-hate-him-passionately

***

Not bad advice for the moment....

https://www.findlaw.com/legalblogs/practice-of-law/tips-for-catching-deepfakes-in-evidence

***

Crime has lots of dangers

***Officers were called on March 7 after the man, Matthew Eric Smith, 32, was found dead under a car, the Chatham County Police Department said in a release.

“Evidence at the scene indicates that the man was killed while he was illegally removing a catalytic converter from the vehicle, and the vehicle fell on top of him,” the release read.

Catalytic converter theft has skyrocketed around the nation in recent years, according to the National Insurance Crime Bureau, surging more than 1,200% since 2019.

The converters, which reduce pollution and toxic gas from a vehicle’s emissions, are relatively easy to steal and contain valuable precious metals such as palladium, platinum and rhodium.

Last year, federal, state and local law enforcement carried out a “coordinated takedown” of a multimillion-dollar network of catalytic converter thieves, dealers and processors that led to 21 arrests in five states, the Justice Department said in a November release.*** https://www.cnn.com/2023/03/12/us/georgia-man-death-catalytic-converter-theft/index.html

***

Good article: don't lie, deprive people of their rights, or train others to do so

tumblrstinkshttps://www.washingtonexaminer.com/restoring-america/fairness-justice/police-need-training-but-not-like-this

***

Anger issues?

An 8-year-old Florida boy was arrested after allegedly attacking another child at a home on Saturday.

Lake County Sheriff's Office responded to a Clermont home around 4:25 p.m. for a report of a child cutting another child on the throat, according to an affidavit obtained by FOX 35 Orlando. 

Upon arrival, the deputy observed a juvenile outside the residence banging on the front door. The boy was crying and saying he did not want to be taken away. The child pulled away multiple times while attempting to be placed in handcuffs, the affidavit states. While the deputy attempted to put him inside a marked patrol vehicle, the boy allegedly kicked a master deputy and the patrol vehicle. *** https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/crime/florida-8-year-old-accused-of-cutting-throat-of-another-child/ar-AA18BZnb

***

You can have my gas stove when you pry it from my...

Yes, the Biden administration is coming for your gas stove.***

The Department of Energy is conducting this gas stove grab through a rule that would impose extreme energy performance standards on residential cooktops. The department’s proposed rule sets requirements for gas cooktops at the maximum technologically feasible or "max-tech" level. Based on the Department of Energy's own analysis, gas cooktops at the max-tech level represent just 4% of current market share and exclude all conventional free-stand ranges.

Any rule that causes 96% of the products available today to be eliminated from the market is an extreme regulation. In fact, it is essentially an outright ban on gas stoves.*** https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/restoring-america/faith-freedom-self-reliance/biden-regulatory-move-to-ban-gas-stoves

***

google "26-year-old Nicholas Roske"

The United States Supreme Court has asked Congress to increase funding to help protect the Supreme Court justices.

The court’s budget request asks for $5,897,000 for the “expansion of protective activities” and a separate increase of $585,000 for new IT security positions in “cybersecurity, software development, and network engineering.”

“This request would expand security activities conducted by Supreme Court Police to protect the Justices,” the protective activities request says, before specifically citing the presence of threats to the justices.

“On-going threat assessments show evolving risks that require continuous protection,” the request continues. “Additional funding would provide for contract positions, eventually transitioning to full-time employees, that will augment capabilities of the Supreme Court police force and allow it to accomplish its protective mission.”*** https://www.dailysignal.com/2023/03/13/supreme-court-requests-additional-funding-to-protect-justices/

***

FBI blowing up on J6????

Defendant in United States v. Nordean, 21-cr-175 (D.D.C.) filed a notice on 9mar23 [Doc 678] that the FBI had hidden some evidence in the J6 case. https://s3.documentcloud.org/documents/23699546/nordean-filing-on-fbi-testimony.pdf

DoJ is really bad at producing documents. This that should be redacted aren't; thing that shouldn't be redacted are....

***

Nawlins has problems

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Tuesday, March 14, 2023

Former New Orleans Police Officer Sentenced for Sexually Assaulting a 15-Year-Old Girl

A former police officer with the New Orleans Police Department (NOPD) was sentenced in federal court to 14 years in prison for sexually assaulting a 15-year-old crime victim in violation of her constitutional rights.

According to the court documents, in May 2020, Rodney Vicknair, 55, while working in his capacity as an NOPD officer, escorted a then-14-year-old girl, who had been sexually assaulted by another man, to the hospital to undergo a forensic exam, also known as a rape kit. Vicknair gave the victim his cell phone number and offered to be her friend and mentor. In the months and weeks thereafter, Vicknair and the victim spoke on the phone and exchanged messages on Snapchat. Vicknair, while in uniform, often stopped by unannounced at the victim’s residence. Over time, Vicknair made comments to the victim that were sexual in nature.

On the night of Sept. 23, 2020, Vicknair arrived at the victim’s house. By that time, she had turned 15 years old. He told her to come outside and get into his vehicle. She got into the passenger’s seat while Vicknair remained in the driver’s seat. Then, he locked the doors so that the victim could not leave. Vicknair leaned over toward the victim, and she feared for her physical safety. He then sexually assaulted the victim when he intentionally touched her genitals under her clothing without her consent. Vicknair admitted in court that he acted without a legitimate law enforcement purpose and that he knew his actions were wrong and against the law but that he engaged in such conduct anyway.*** https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/former-new-orleans-police-officer-sentenced-sexually-assaulting-15-year-old-girl

***Thurs

good sentence

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Tuesday, March 14, 2023

Rhode Island Woman Sentenced to Federal Prison for Falsifying Military Service; False Use of Military Medals; Identity Theft; and Fraudulently Collecting More Than $250,000 In Veteran Benefits and Charitable Contributions

PROVIDENCE – A Rhode Island woman who never served in the U.S. Military but perpetrated a massive fraud scheme by falsely masquerading as a Purple Heart and Bronze Star-decorated United States Marine who claimed to have been wounded by an IED in Iraq and to have developed service-related cancer was sentenced today to nearly six years in federal prison, announced United States Attorney Zachary A. Cunha.

Sarah Jane Cavanaugh, 32, whose near-daily criminal conduct over a period of five years is described in court documents as being “among the more reprehensible seen in this District from a fraud defendant,” defrauded veterans, veterans’ organizations, veterans’ charities, friends, and co-workers in a “methodical and calculated manner.”*** https://www.justice.gov/usao-ri/pr/rhode-island-woman-sentenced-federal-prison-falsifying-military-service-false-use

***

Pardons & paroles means releasing people found guilty beyond a reasonable doubt of sometimes heinous crimes

Families of Connecticut crime victims are outraged after 44 murderers had their sentences commuted, accusing the Board of Pardons and Paroles of amending its policy to favor the state's most violent criminals. ***

State Sen. Heather Somers, R., accused the board of acting "in the dark" to reduce criminal sentences after the policy shift post-pandemic. 

"This is a policy that was done in the dark by the Board of Pardons and Paroles, which is appointed by our Democratic governor here in the state of Connecticut," Somers said. "They took it upon themselves, or they were given a nudge to revise this policy."*** 

"They are coming in front of this board of three and unknown to us as legislators, and they are shaving decades, not a few years, decades off of these sentences," she said. "Just last week, this board shaved off 67 years off of someone's 95-year sentence. It is outrageous. We are committed to making this stop."*** https://www.foxnews.com/media/families-connecticut-victims-outraged-state-commutes-44-murder-sentences-outrageous

*** Sex traffickers need exercise too

Ghislaine Maxwell exercises with buddy at Florida prison

https//www.foxnews.com/video/6314528433112

***

St Louis blacklist

A retired St. Louis, Missouri, homicide detective says district attorney Kim Gardner led a 'concerted effort to break the system down' after he and other officers were placed on an 'exclusion list' which prevented them from carrying out police work.

Roger Murphey, who left the police force in 2021, said he had to ask other officers to file paperwork like warrants and subpoenas for him after George Soros-backed District Attorney Kimberly Gardner placed him on the infamous 'exclusion list'.

It is thought that around 75 police officers could be on Gardner's list which prevents them from bringing cases to her office and fulfilling the scope of their law enforcement work. They are also gagged from speaking out about the list.***  https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11853475/Soros-backed-DA-tried-break-placing-police-exclusion-list-officer-says.html ***

***

Latest BJS pub https://bjs.ojp.gov/document/hivp21st.pdf

BJS says the latest rate - 2021 - of HIV in U.S. prisons is about 1,100 per 100k.  In the general population in 2019 the rate was 431 per 100k.  https://www.cdc.gov/nchhstp/newsroom/fact-sheets/hiv/hiv-in-the-us-by-the-numbers.html 

***

Are you free to choose 1) a straw? 2) a stove? 3) a washer?

New washing machine efficiency standards proposed by the Biden administration last month have sparked concern from some manufacturers and trade associations that fear the new machines could be less effective and more costly for U.S. consumers.

The Department of Energy said the new efficiency standards, which seek to reduce emissions from both washing machines and refrigerators, will save consumers an estimated $3.5 billion annually on energy and water bills. U.S. households will save an estimated $425 in utility bills over the lifespan of the appliances, DOE said.

But manufacturers and trade groups say these efficiency standards will not come without a cost, both literally and figuratively, for consumers.*** https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/policy/energy-environment/new-doe-efficiency-rules-washing-machines-more-costly-less-effective-manufacturers-warn

Fornicate tumblr for removing all my links!!!

***

Really good article about Santa Clara County, California surveilling a church.

https://www.thefp.com/p/a-church-the-state-and-a-holy-war

Not just physical surveillance and spying ---

According to Zweig’s piece, Santa Clara County hired the company SafeGraph, which “aggregates information from 47 million mobile devices across the United States,” to set up a virtual perimeter around Calvary Chapel’s property, allowing GPS to track exactly where churchgoers were congregating. Daniel Ho, a Stanford law professor and expert in public health data analysis, was allegedly hired for $800 an hour to analyze the results of the SafeGraph data, Zweig reports. (Officials who monitored the church were paid $219 per hour.)***

***

Julius & Ethel Rosenberg were a better class of traitors

Hollywood has made a movie about the interrogation of Traitor Delusional Loser.

From a journalist’s point of view, one aspect of the story that was very important at the time was how The Intercept and Glenn Greenwald dealt with Reality’s leaked information, sending it to the FBI, which some claim gave them the clues that led to her arrest.

Reality believed that she was going to be anonymous and that she’d be protected. She truly did not comprehend or even realize until the FBI showed up that that was not the case. I don’t have anything personal to add to that, because I’ve never dealt directly with any of that. But it was definitely a really interesting part to play as a character in those moments as she started to realize something that she trusted in was not to be trusted at all.*** https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/sydney-sweeney-interview-nsa-whistleblower-reality-winner-film-berlin-2023-1235323097/

Remember, this turd ---

Winner had written in a notebook: “I want to burn the White House Down … find somewhere in Kurdistan to live. Ha-ha!”* during one of her jailhouse phone calls, which were recorded, Winner said she planned to “play that card: being pretty, white and cute.” AP. (June 8, 2017). Accused NSA leaker wanted to ‘burn the White House down’ https://nypost.com/2017/06/08/accused-nsa-leaker-wanted-to-burn-the-white-house-down/ Winner discussed Osama Bin Laden in another diatribe, deeming the terrorist leader "Judas" to the Taliban's "Christ-like vision of a fundamentalist Islamic nation.* "Look, I only say I hate America like 3 times a day. I'm no radical." "But you don't actually hate America, right?" the self-described "elder and wiser sister," Brittany Winner, asked. "I mean yeah I do it's literally the worst thing to happen to the planet," Reality answered. McMillan, T. (Sep. 28, 2021). Reality check: Adorable 'whistleblower' was an anti-American spy. Washington Examiner. https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/reality-check-adorable-whistleblower-was-an-anti-american-spy

Why couldn't we trade her for Griner???? Or maybe Bowe Bergdahl??? Is it too late to trade???

***

Alec Baldwin shooting case

The special prosecutor in the fatal October 2021 Rust movie shooting case announced her resignation on Tuesday, weeks after Alec Baldwin's legal team claimed her participation was unconstitutional.

Andrea Reeb is a New Mexico state representative, and by acting as a member of both the judicial and legislative branches of the state government, Baldwin's attorneys argued that "her continued service as a special prosecutor is unconstitutional."

"My priority in this case — and in every case I’ve prosecuted in my 25-year career — has been justice for the victim," Reeb said in a statement. "However, it has become clear that the best way I can ensure justice is served in this case is to step down so that the prosecution can focus on the evidence and the facts, which clearly show a complete disregard for basic safety protocols led to the death of Halyna Hutchins."

"I will not allow questions about my serving as a legislator and prosecutor to cloud the real issue at hand," Reeb added.*** https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/special-prosecutor-baldwin-rust-case-steps-down

Thought experiment: what if someone handed Baldwin a nail gun, told him it was empty, and Baldwin killed someone with it?

***

Maybe carjacking a rich woman will change things...

The wife of CME Group’s Terry Duffy was the victim of a recent carjacking in the Windy City, the chief executive said in a podcast episode published Thursday.***

His wife "got carjacked right in the city of Chicago" around 3 p.m. in the afternoon last week, he said. It is "absolutely insane what’s going on" in the city, he added before saying a majority of carjackings there were done by minors.

"So the juveniles go in and they come right back out literally an hour later. So is that investing in our future?" he said. *** https://www.foxbusiness.com/markets/cme-ceo-terry-duffys-wife-carjacked-chicago-crime-crisis

***

[fleckcmscott]

Watch What Happens - Chapter 6

Chapter links: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5

Summary: Arthur, an aspiring comedian, has struggled to find normalcy and compassion his entire life. Y/N, a hard-working paralegal and transplant to Gotham, has just been put on a case for the Wayne Foundation. When they meet, unexpected sparks fly.

Chapter warning: None

Words: 3,241

Y/N tried to avoid looking at her watch as she sat across from Matt, on the other side of his desk, taking dictation in shorthand. The last time she checked, probably five minutes ago, it was only 11:12 AM. Even as she wrote, catching every detail, her mind was willing the clock to go faster. She'd be meeting Arthur in under two hours. Her lips curved upwards at the thought of him.

Shortly after leaving him at the Newkirk station in Otisburg, after they'd gotten donuts, she'd realized the mistake she'd made in not getting his number. While it was true she'd continue to work in his area, she knew the chance she'd run into him a third time had been slim. Sure, he'd told her he lived on Anderson, wherever the hell that was, but that was it. She supposed she could have looked for his name on the buzzers of all the buildings on that street, if she was inclined to be a creep about it.

While she’d dated casually, it had been a long time since she'd experienced any sort of infatuation. She simply hadn't had time for it. In the seven or so years before she'd come to Gotham, she'd done legal work part-time and shared a house with her father, who'd been wasting away with dementia.

That had been the hardest period of her life, more difficult than her marriage amicably falling apart years prior. Her sister hadn’t been able to help much - she had a family of her own. And her mother had passed away shortly after her father’s diagnosis. It had been all on Y/N’s shoulders.

When she hadn't been at work, she'd been stuck in the daily grind of keeping her father calm, clean, and fed. It was never easy. The lack of time for herself had taken a toll on her. There were days when all she'd wanted was to be alone, but what she'd be left with was the same chores as always, and guilt for wishing it would end. When he died, she sold or donated most of her stuff and left.

Since moving, she appreciated not having anyone depend on her. Not having to answer to someone. Being on her own. Arthur had thrown a wrench into that. The feelings he’d stirred in her were unexpected. And lovely. But asking for his number then would have been leading them both on. She hadn't decided if she wanted him to pursue her - yet.

But if fate was going to throw an awkwardly charming, handsome guy at her three times, she wasn't going to argue.

The reason she'd been on that night's late train was the broken roller feed of the office photocopier. Multiple copies of motions that were over fifty pages long had to be made manually. She'd removed the high-heels from her aching feet and copied each page one by one. It had kept her aggravatingly late.

The laughter had gotten her attention, first. She'd assumed someone was having too good of a time. But when she'd seen him there, the clown with his hand over his mouth, it became obvious he was in pain. Once she saw the assholes in suits advancing on him, not helping hadn't been an option.

She'd been relieved to see Arthur again, but the circumstances made it bittersweet. The situation, the laminated card, his condition. It had clicked for her why he was shy and reserved. As soon as he'd taken off that damned wig, she'd known she would give him her business card.

"Y/N?" Matt's voice interrupted her thoughts. "Are you with me?"

She blinked. "Yeah, sorry.” Her knuckles popped as she stretched her fingers. “This letter is going on a little too long. My hand's starting to cramp.”

He leaned back in his chair and stretched his arms. "Yeah, you're right. We'll come back to it later." Spinning around, he grabbed the oversize mug of coffee sitting on the bookshelf behind him. "You look at that Wayne file yet? Sorry we didn't get to it earlier in the week."

"I've actually been trying to figure out how to talk with you about it," she said, furrowing her brow.

"Well, that's an odd thing to say."

She tapped her pen against her legal pad. "I've looked at the file extensively. Mostly, it's motions back and forth for continuances, eminent domain filings, petty bickering...” Her lips twisted in a grimace. “But there wasn't evidence of anything being claimed by either party."

"Evidence?" he asked. "The buildings are deathtraps."

"Only if you read the Wayne Foundation's motions,” she countered. "I went to one of them on Saturday, and-"

Matt put his arms on his desk and leaned forward. "You what?"

Rolling her eyes, she waved his concern off. "No one saw me. Just an old lady getting her paper. It doesn't matter." She watched as he pinched the bridge of his nose. "I'm not an architect or engineer, but those buildings aren't in the shape the foundation is claiming.

"They’ve also said the buildings are almost empty, but a lot of people still live in the one I visited." She wiggled her foot under the desk before continuing. Matt wouldn’t have a heart attack, right? "They're getting letters telling them they have to leave within ninety days or forfeit their belongings."

He tapped his hand on the desk, looking vacantly at the surface. "Do you have any of these letters?"

Hurriedly, she went to her desk to grab the file. "The woman who saw me gave me this,” she said over her shoulder. “Don't worry. She doesn't know where I work." She dug out the envelope and came back, handing it over.

Glancing at her, he took out the letter. His face remained calm as he read it. "It's not from any Wayne organization," he said. "They all have 'Wayne' in the name. I've never heard of Renew Corp."

"I know, but wouldn't this be a weird coincidence?" she asked.

After a minute or so, he stuffed the document back in the envelope. "You don't know what Renew Corp. is doing. You have one letter from one person."

Slight exasperation entered her voice. "And the fact the buildings aren't as described? I've been going to City Hall on my lunch breaks the last two days to look up code violations. Only one address had them, and that was seven years ago."

Matt nodded, wringing his hands lightly. His voice was low when he eventually spoke. "I need you to stop this inquiry."

She was stunned. "I beg your pardon? Have we met?"

"I'm serious, Y/N." He tossed the envelope in the garbage can under his desk, then looked at her. Despite what he was saying, his eyes were friendly. "We have a duty to our client. That's the Wayne Foundation, not these tenants. We can't go sniffing around on their behalf."

Heat filled her as she clenched her jaw. Disappointing didn't begin to cover how this conversation was turning out. "That wasn't what I was doing," she said, measuring her words. "I was trying to back up the foundation's claims. What do you want me to do? Provide photos of peeling paint and linoleum?"

He gestured dismissively. "You don't need to worry about that. The foundation's big enough. It'll get the land. The whole thing just needs to work its way through the courts."

Y/N flinched. "Why did you put me on this case? To do more paperwork? Why did you want me to go through it?"

"For context. You're good at your job. And, yes, it's paperwork, but it's important." He huffed. "The Wayne Foundation wants to open a medical clinic in that area. It needs to go smoothly. With all the cuts going on right now, unemployment... Think of the jobs it'll provide. The services it'll offer."

She shook her head, not answering. This was beginning to feel like the old boys network in her dinky little hometown.

After some time, Matt stood. "Let's take a break."

Taking the hint, Y/N left his office, closing the door behind her. This was the first time she'd been told to let an investigation go. She knew the Wayne Foundation was their biggest client. But it frustrated her that her firm was willing to look past what she'd found. She had enough experience in the field to witness questionable legal actions. None of them had threatened hundreds of people before.

"Hey," Patricia said from behind her desk, drawing Y/N's attention. "I heard what he said. Don't listen to him. Keep doing what you're doing.”

Y/N arched a brow at her. "I wasn't planning to stop."

“Good. He doesn't have to know." Patricia chuckled. "Well, until he does."

“I’ll remember your wise words when I’m in the unemployment line,” Y/N teased.

Patricia snorted, then folded her arms over her chest. "Now, tell me more about this date you're going on."

"I don't know if it's a date. I think it's a date." Laughing, Y/N shrugged. "I wouldn't mind it being a date." She considered her next words carefully, wanting to protect Arthur's privacy. "Like I said yesterday, I helped an acquaintance on the subway with his bags.” Y/N raised a finger when she saw Patricia’s mouth open. “And yes, before you ask, he’s good-looking. But too skinny for you, I think.” She sat on the corner of Patricia’s desk. “Anyhow, he invited me to pie to thank me. Should I bring you back a slice?"

"Don't worry about me. Just don't forget to come back." Patricia gave her a wink. “Promise?"

Y/N nodded back sharply. "Promise."

~~~~~

Before going outside, Y/N observed Arthur through the lobby windows. He was pacing between the building and the lamp post on the other side of the sidewalk. The expression on his face alternated between excitement and worry. And he was smoking like a man on his way to the gallows. It was sweet, but she wanted he'd be able to relax around her.

Letting her eyes rove over him, she saw he was wearing another loose sweater, gray this time, usual collared shirt peeking out at the top. That tan jacket. Admittedly, she was hoping he'd wear something that accentuated his narrow waist, the way his vest had on the subway. She knew she shouldn't have noticed it, given what had happened. But as they'd strolled down the street together, she hadn’t been able to help herself.

Arthur straightened and flicked away his cigarette when she stepped out, his face lighting up. "Hey." His gaze held hers. "How are you?"

"This morning was trying, but," she grinned, "the day’s much better now." The smile he wore in response was the widest she'd seen on him so far. Still bashful, but enough for her to notice his dimples and one crooked tooth. Get a grip, Y/N. She swallowed hard and pointed him to where they were headed. "There's a diner around the next corner. I've never had their pie, but I'm sure it's good."

They arrived within minutes. Arthur picked a booth for two in the corner next to a window. After removing his jacket and tossing it on the seat, he reached out to help Y/N out of her coat. And she let him.

A waitress came over immediately. "What'll you two be having?"

"Blueberry pie, please," Y/N said.

Arthur cleared his throat. "Just coffee."

When the server was out of sight, Y/N leaned forward. "How are you inviting me for pie and not ordering any?" She swatted his forearm playfully.

He moved his hands to his lap. "Sorry. I'm not usually hungry."

"You'll just have to try mine," she said. The left corner of his mouth lifted at that and he gave a slight nod.

She studied him, the small scar above his upper lip, the laugh lines on his face, the way the sunlight brought out the various tones of his chestnut locks. It was hard not to notice how stiffly he was sitting. He wanted to be there - she could see that in the way his green eyes admired her. But his body still radiated apprehension. How on earth could she ease his mind? Maybe being straightforward would be best. "Don't be anxious around me, Arthur. I wouldn't be here if I didn't want to be."

His shoulders loosened a little. "I don't mean to-" He stopped abruptly when the coffee and slice of pie were delivered. Grabbing the sugar dispenser, he put three servings into his mug, concentrating on his stirring. "I'm glad you came."

It was a small sentence, but Y/N sensed the effort if had taken for him to speak it. How much work had it taken for him to ask her out yesterday? She cut a piece of her pie. "So, I know you like sweets. You're a stand-up. And you work as a clown, I guess?" After tasting it, she offered the fork to Arthur.

There was only a moment’s hesitation before he smirked and took it from her. She wondered if his fingers skimming against hers were intentional. "That's my job. I'm a party clown. But I'm thinking of focusing on my comedy more." He took a bite. "This is good."

"It’s my favorite," she said. "You should tell me a joke. I’d love to hear one."

"All right." His forehead creased in concentration. "Um. Why did the old man like having insomnia?"

Y/N chewed thoughtfully, wondering where this was going. "Hm. I don't know. Why?"

"Because he didn't have to sleep with his wife." Arthur's eyes flicked to hers, his eyebrows raised slightly.

A short, sharp laugh escaped her. The joke hadn't disappointed. And his sudden boldness surprised her. She wanted to see more of it. "That was a good one, Mr. Fleck."

His face softened at that. After a moment, he asked, "What's your job?"

"I'm a paralegal." When she tried to offer the fork to him again, he politely declined.

"What's that?" he asked.

Good. If he didn't know what her job was, he'd probably not been in any legal trouble. "I work at a law firm. Prepare for hearings and trials. Do lots of paperwork. I investigate, too, though I think it annoys my boss." A small snort escaped her. "I go to meetings. It's all very mundane."

Arthur placed another cigarette between his lips. "I don't think I could ever do a desk job."

"It's not for everyone," she said, waving his comment off. "And I work too much. But I love it." She grabbed a napkin from the nearby dispenser and wiped her mouth. "Do you have any hobbies? Besides comedy, I mean."

After lighting up and taking a deep breath, he rubbed the back of his neck. "When I'm not working, I mostly take care of - of my mother,” he said gently.

A tightness entered her chest. "I'm sorry she’s not well."

"She's been sick a long time." He rested his face on his hand. "Her disability isn't enough to cover the rent and everything, so I live with her." His fingers tapped his cheek. "It's easier that way. And with my condition..."

Unsure how to continue, or even if she should, Y/N folded her hands together on the table. "You don't owe me an explanation. I didn't mean to pry."

"No, I don’t mind." He shook his head. "It’s just- I don't talk to people a lot. Outside of work."

She tapped her foot against his under the table. "You're fine," she said. He huffed and ran a hand over his hair, toothy grin spreading across his face. Her heart quickened at that. She lowered her voice, leaning closer. "May I ask you about what was on your card? Your condition?"

“What about it?” he asked softly.

“How long have you had it?”

Arthur straightened, taking a drag off his cigarette. The smoke curled around his face as he frowned at the table. “As long as I can remember.”

She bit her lip. “Is there anyway to help?”

“Changing positions. Breathing exercises. Distraction. They don’t always.” Closing his eyes, he let out a sad chuckle. “It happens at the worst times.”

“Like on the train?”

He pushed his mug away as he signed. “Like on the train.”

Y/N felt like an ass, a well-meaning jerk. She’d been too flippant the other night when she’d told him, simply, that his laughter was “fine.” Sitting here with him, it was obvious his condition caused him distress. And now her genuine attempt at getting to know him had made him uncomfortable. The light mood when he’d picked her up had been replaced with unease. She reached out to touch the back of his left hand as it rested on the table.

His eyes shot to hers; she could hear his sharp intake of breath.

“It’s all right,” she intoned. Smiling, she gave his hand a gentle squeeze. “You don’t have to be embarrassed. It doesn’t bother me.”

A sad, hiccuped laugh left his throat. His thumb caressed the web between her thumb and forefinger. “Sometimes I think I imagined you. That you can’t be real.”

Y/N snickered at that. “Haven’t my questions annoyed you enough to know I’m here?”

He stamped out his cigarette in the table’s built-in ashtray, then got up. “That isn’t the word I’d use.”

After she stood, he helped her with her coat. “What word would you use?” she asked.

The sidelong glance he gave her made her blush profusely.

“Do you have to go back to work already?” The disappointment on his face was plain to see. He pulled out his wallet and placed a few dollar bills on the table.

“No, I have some extra time. Help me walk off the pie,” she said.

He grinned, clearly happy to oblige.

~~~~~

When Y/N returned to work, she leaned back on the lobby door and giggled. Dammit. She needed to pull herself together before going back to her office. Taking the stairs to the third floor would be best.

She’d enjoyed the date (it had definitely been a date) with Arthur even more than expected. After she’d expressly told him his condition wasn’t a black mark, he’d opened up. She liked hearing him speak, wondering what else was hiding under that timidity of his. He’d even tried to crack a couple more jokes. They’d been corny, not particularly funny, and she’d groaned instead of laughed. He’d looked confused at first, but he seemed to understand she was delighted.

He’d pointed out a few of his favorite spots in the district, places she wouldn’t have ever found on her own. A comedy club here, a consignment shop there. Music had come up. Surprisingly, he’d said outright that he was a good dancer. Dancing was a mystery to her. She couldn’t even clap in time. But it helped explained the grace he sometimes displayed.

At the end, when he’d accompanied her back to her firm’s building, he’d looked at her like he wanted to kiss her. He’d either been too shy or respectful to do it, and simply nodded his goodbye. Either way, that was what sealed it for her. She didn’t repeat the mistake of letting him go without getting his address and phone number.

It had been a long time since she wanted to really know someone, to lighten their day and have their presence brighten hers. It felt a little alarming - but mostly wonderful.

Tag list (Let me know if you want to be added!): @harmonioussolve​ @clowndaddyfleck​ @stephieraptorr​

[cparker21ahsgov]

#2: MEDIA ASSESSMENT OF WOMENS RIGHTS

1. Three articles

Fox News-https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.foxnews.com/opinion/march-for-life-2020-abortion-abby-johnson.amp

Huff post -https://m.huffpost.com/us/entry/us_5f45997dc5b6cf66b2afd884

Wall Street journal -https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.wsj.com/amp/articles/antiabortion-movement-begins-to-crack-after-decades-of-unity-11563384713

2. SUBJECT what is the main point the source is trying to convey? What is the central message of the document?

Fox- stance also on Abby Johnson and her veiws. Supporting them and the pro life movement. Very pro life stance, seems as through abortion isn’t an option in any case. Discussing giving women what they need so then they won’t choose to have an abortion

Huff-discussing Abby Johnson and her veiws. Proving her points incorrect or bashing them in some way. Obviously is a pro choice stance. And is against Johnson’s veiws

Wall Street-information about anti and pro abortion states and the laws that have or are being passed, no distinct side

AUTHOR who authored the source? Google search the author if needed. What are their credentials? What social, economic, or political affiliations does the author have which may have an impact on their argument or objectivity?

Fox-by Abby Johnson, director of a program to get abortion workers different jobs, wrote a book about the horrors of abortion, extremely pro life and republican, maybe even conservative. So her argument will obviously be against pro choice and against a women’s right to choose

Huff-Melissa Jeltson is a senior reporter at Huffinton post, covers dementia voioemce and other women’s health issues, pro choice. Accepts women’s right to choose, against what Abby Johnson is saying and preaching

Wall Street-Jacob Gershman and Arian Campo-Flores...Jacob Gershman, covers always articles. Priciously wrote about New York politics for the journal and New York sun. Doesn’t seem to have a bias or sway. Just kinda writes the real stuff about what’s going on, simple facts. Arian Campo-Flores is a reporter in Miami and the Wall Street journals east coast bureau. covers Florida, the southeast and the Caribbean as well as drugs and addiction. Just like Jacob he keeps a pretty unbiased stance and just stars the facts of the situation.

CONTEXT where and when was the source produced? How might this affect the meaning of the source?

Fox- written by Abby Johnson about what she is doing and her stance and what she has witnessed about abortion. Published in January 23, so decently recent to this year. The source will obviously be the stance of Abby Johnson because she is writing it

Huff-using quotes and clips from the RNC, from Abby Johnson actually talking about her stance and then the author goes in with facts that blow it away. Got on Abby for using her soraking time at the RNC to “stigmatize abortion” and hurt PP reputation. Also from 2020, august 26 so again pretty recent and good political use

Wall Street- using quotes from credible sources and up to date tables displaying the facts of abortion so it is very informational and not seemingly trying to sway your option just trying to give you information so you can form your own opinion. Little bit older, july 17 2019, but I do still believe it is informational and since it’s not too optinionalted is still a good source.

AUDIENCE who published the source and for whom was the source created? How might this affect the reliability and objectivity of the source?

Fox-this one was written for the conservative or pro life eye. To be able to back up what you believe even more. Since it is a bias opinion piece then we can assume it will affect the credibility because we know this article leaves out the pro choice argument and only stands for the pro life way.

Huff-showing the liberal or pro choice side of things and bashing the pro life advocate and activist Johnson. This is a bias price twords pro choice so it does leave out a lot of the points of a pro life argument although it does have prices of pro life argument in there as a rebuttal

Wall Street- this isn’t really swayed either way written for bith liberals conservatives, pro choice pro life. It seems to me as if it is just displaying information is a neat way to be able to form all our own opinions instead of trying to sway it.

PERSPECTIVE is the text objective (neutral or fair point of view) or is it subjective (biased or one-sided)? If the article is objective, identify the competing perspectives presented in the article. Which perspective do you agree with and why? If the article is subjective, identify the author’s claim. Do you agree or disagree and why?

Fox-subjective. Supporting and bias twords the pro life movement and doesn’t support pro choice. I disagree with this authors claim because I myself am pro choice and I think her points just don’t make sense to me

Huff- also subjective, little less than the first one. Supporting and has a bias twords pro choice and not supporting pro life arguments. I identify with this one because I am pro choice and I think it has really good arguments against the pro life stance.

Wall Street-objective. Just saying facts and had no bias. I like this one because it didn’t feel like it was leaving anything out and it allowed me to add things or take away things from my argument with out feeling pressured to support theirs.

SIGNIFICANCE what is the evidence used to support the author’s claim or competing perspectives; what verifiable facts are presented?

Fox- quotes and her own  experience since she used to work at planned parenthood so she says and she’s the things that she saw and did. Then again there is no way to prove what she is saying is true at all because it is her own mind and opinion. Not too many facts besides her own.

Huff- quotes from the RNC then disputing it with scientific facts so it has a lot more credibility to me. Obviously the author had a stance but who doesn’t when it comes to abortion.

Wall Street- using data tables, quotes, and laws that are being passed. Seems very credible and obviously not bias so I feel like this would be the best source to look at if you are forming a new opinion and don’t want to try and be swayed by emotional arguments.

3. They all Have to do with abortion and  whether it is right or wrong. Going into morals, feelings and facts. Showing people the emotional side or the fact side of the argument. They all have very different stances. One is pro life one is pro choice and one is just there to state the facts. I think it’s a really good spread to be able to read then all and it helps you see all the sides and a lot of facts too.

4. I would say that I identify with The Huffington Pist more than the others because it takes a pro choice stance and I am pro choice. I agree with a lot of the facts and options stated in this article and feel like it does a really good job with disputing what the opposing pro life argument had said. Stating a lot of scientific facts instead of appealing to the readers emotions like pro life articles tend to do.

[millenniallust4death]

Rachelle Peel was put on trial for the neglect of her horses. Her husband had been suffering from dementia, she had been working away from home, and the poor horses had fallen into a terrible state. She didn’t deny that.

She was a broken woman, thoroughly ashamed of herself. But one thing she did get right. She wouldn’t stop trying to find out what had happened to the horses that the RSPCA had ‘rescued’. She demanded every document she was legally entitled to see. And then she passed them to me, and I went through them, box after box.

And slowly, unbelievably, what emerged was that 12 horses taken away from her had been shot soon after. But the RSPCA was in court trying to claim thousands of pounds for stabling and caring for those horses. And RSPCA officers were on the stand saying they were alive and well.

I attended the trial and couldn’t believe what I was hearing. I questioned the RSPCA officers outside the court and they again insisted the horses were alive.

They didn’t know that I had the slaughter forms showing each one’s grisly death. [...]

Chillingly, when I scrutinised the forms, the so-called ‘rehoming centre’ to which the horses were taken to be shot was entitled ‘Middle Earth’. I searched the internet and could find no Middle Earth. Again, chills went down my spine. It doesn’t exist, I thought. It’s a sick joke. In all likelihood, it’s the RSPCA’s short form for the place they send creatures marked for death.

This is one reason why the Western Canada Association of Dog Training Standards (WCADTS) wants to change the BCSPCA’s exemption from the Freedom of Information Act. 

[your-dietician]

Breaking Down The Details of Britney Spears' Conservatorship : NPR

New Post has been published on https://depression-md.com/breaking-down-the-details-of-britney-spears-conservatorship-npr/

Breaking Down The Details of Britney Spears' Conservatorship : NPR

LULU GARCIA-NAVARRO, HOST:

One of the biggest questions surrounding the conservatorship of Britney Spears is how a woman who’s been able to perform, cut records and work for her millions of dollars is somehow unfit to make decisions about her own life. She has been subject to her conservatorship, which gave control of her to her father, Jamie Spears, and others for 13 years. And in dramatic courtroom testimony last month, she claimed she’s being abused by her father, among others on her conservatorship team. Jamie Spears is now asking for those allegations to be investigated by the court, and he has denied wrongdoing, saying he’s acting in his daughter’s best interests.

A new article from The New Yorker magazine has fresh details about why Britney Spears was put into this arrangement and why she is so desperately trying to get out. It’s by Jia Tolentino and Ronan Farrow. And Jia Tolentino joins me now. Hello.

JIA TOLENTINO: Hi, Lulu. It’s great to be here.

GARCIA-NAVARRO: You have an astonishing amount of detail about this story. I think at the heart of it, though, it’s about Britney’s love for her kids, right?

TOLENTINO: Yeah.

GARCIA-NAVARRO: I mean, take us back to 2007, when the paparazzi was saying Britney was, quote, “going crazy.” What was really going on behind the scenes?

TOLENTINO: Yeah, so this is an aspect of the story that I don’t think has been central enough to the public narrative around her so-called breakdown. So she’s in her early mid-20s. She got married six months after meeting Kevin Federline, you know, has two children within 12 or 13 months of each other. You know, many people who are close to her around the time suspect that she was dealing with severe postpartum depression. And we have to remember how famous she was, how central she was to a tabloid industry that was reaching its all-time aggressive peak. Everywhere she goes, there’s mobs of paparazzi, you know, jumping out of their cars in the middle of the road, chasing her down on foot, flashbulbs everywhere, shouting provocations to get her to break down.

And so she gets divorced when she’s still nursing her 2-month-old second child. The more that she’s not with her children, the more she sort of spirals; the more she spirals, the less likely it is that she will have access to her children in the future. And I think it’s important to note that the two incidents that sort of cemented that era as her, quote-unquote, “crazy era,” when she shaved her head and when she hit the paparazzo’s car with an umbrella, those were directly preceded by her driving to Kevin Federline’s house, followed by photographers, asking to see the children and being refused.

GARCIA-NAVARRO: And then enters a man called Sam Lutfi, who got very close to Spears. Can you briefly explain who he is?

TOLENTINO: Yes. So Sam Lutfi, he’s this sort of obscure Hollywood operator with undefinable, somewhat suspicious motives, a history of legal disputes. But he swoops in to her life after Britney has fired her longtime manager, Larry Rudolph, and he sort of assumes this controlling role. And what Lutfi told us in an interview that – one of the things that created this conflict between him and Britney’s parents, who were genuinely worried about her and worried that he was exploiting her, was that he would tell her, you want to cancel that meeting? Go ahead and cancel it. You want to buy this car on impulse? Just buy it. And her parents become afraid that he is just going to siphon her money off while she’s in crisis – that, you know, she’s going to end up underwater in debt, exploited, sort of drained of this fortune that she has built.

GARCIA-NAVARRO: And you and your colleague Ronan Farrow got to speak with a woman called Jacqueline Butcher, a close friend to the Spearses for a long time. And she testified 13 years ago to create the conservatorship because she wanted Spears also away from Lutfi’s influence. But she now regrets that. What did she tell you?

TOLENTINO: So Jacqueline Butcher was a close friend of Lynne Spears and close to the Spears family for, you know, close to a decade. And she was present in Britney’s house and, you know, had good reason to believe that the parents were right in thinking maybe this crisis is due to this man, Sam Lutfi, that is in her house at this time of breakdown. And she gives this primary testimony that is central to the conservatorship going into place. And, you know, she says in an interview, I thought we were helping, and I wasn’t, and I helped a corrupt family seize all this control.

GARCIA-NAVARRO: Well, let’s talk about Britney Spears’ parents because we had then a fragile Spears, surrounded possibly by people who did not have her best interests at heart, and then her father – tell us about him. I mean, once Britney has her breakdown, for lack of a better word, you did tell this horrific scene with her father screaming at Britney.

TOLENTINO: Yeah, so by all the accounts that we heard, Jamie and Britney did not have the best relationship growing up. It’s sort of well-documented. Lynne Spears, Britney’s mother, writes about in her memoir that Jamie was wrestling with pretty severe alcoholism for most of their, you know, life as a family together. And Jamie, though, assumes authority as conservator. And Jacqueline Butcher, who was there in the room at the – you know, at the lawyers’ offices around much of this, she says that one of the reasons was that Jamie wasn’t afraid of Britney being angry at him.

And there is this brutal scene that Jacqueline told us about – you know, it’s shortly after the conservatorship is in place, and they’re all sitting in Britney’s office in her house in Beverly Hills. And Jamie turns to Britney and says, baby, you’re fat; we’re going to get you a trainer. And within eight weeks from now, we’re going to look at that TV, and they’re going to be saying, Britney’s back.

GARCIA-NAVARRO: What did you find out about how her father controlled her during this conservatorship? Because he was controlling, according to your reporting. He wouldn’t allow her to use the phone or talk to anyone. She couldn’t even pay for a fancy dinner because she’s only allowed $2,000 a week while making millions.

TOLENTINO: So it’s important to mention that throughout all of this, she has only ever had a lawyer who was appointed by the court that she did not have a choice in selecting. And she has never been able to hire her own lawyer because in the eyes of the conservatorship, she is formally incapacitated to do so. And so one of the central ways, multiple people told us, that she was manipulated or coerced or coaxed into cooperating with the conservatorship structure is that the conservatorship becomes a singular condition of being able to continue to see her children. And that is one of the reasons that, especially from the outside, she has seemed to cooperate, or so our reporting bore out.

GARCIA-NAVARRO: The judge this past week refused to take her father off her conservatorship despite accusations that she is being abused – accusations by her, we should say. What is next for Britney? I mean, what can she do? And do we know any information about what her diagnosis is?

TOLENTINO: We don’t know. And it’s not our right to know, right? It is not our right to know any of this, really. I think that’s one thing that weighed heavily on me as I – as we were reporting. But one thing that I’ll say about the diagnosis thing – conservatorships, probate conservatorships of the type that Britney Spears is under, these are intended for people that cannot provide for their own food and shelter. These are structures for people who are elderly, dealing with severe dementia, for people with profound disabilities, for people with, you know, sort of catastrophic terminal conditions, right?

And we spoke to disability rights attorneys who – you know, who spoke to the fact that someone might be wrestling with a mental illness, even a severe one, doesn’t mean that all of their rights should be taken away in the form of the conservatorship structure. One pointed out that, you know, Britney could have been found holding an axe and a severed head, and she still would have had the right to hire her own attorney. And she wasn’t in this case.

GARCIA-NAVARRO: I guess, finally, what really emerges from your story is a woman who has, since she was a little girl, been exploited, you know, by the media, by her fans and by her own family and someone who is now trapped. What does it tell you after reporting this that someone as famous as Britney Spears is in the position she is for the whole world to see?

TOLENTINO: There’s a way in which Britney Spears is so talented, so famous and so perfectly suited to the – you know, kind of the terrible celebrity machine that her fame was used against her in this respect. Her fame and success were used against her. She was making so much money. She was so valuable that people said that makes you inherently vulnerable. There’s a way in which she was made to pay for other people��s desire to use her. And it strikes me as a genuine injustice. It is a tremendously sad story.

You know, I don’t know about you, but if you if you’ve heard the audio of her testifying in court a couple weeks ago, I was reminded listening to her of the unbelievable amount of strength that she has to be able to speak up for herself like this after what she’s gone through in the last couple of decades. And you were reminded of why she’s Britney Spears in the first place.

GARCIA-NAVARRO: That’s Jia Tolentino from The New Yorker. Thank you very much.

TOLENTINO: Thank you.

(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC)

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[orbemnews]

Police: Boynton Beach man murdered wife and buried her in his backyard Boynton Beach resident Roberto Colon, 66, stood before a judge Saturday morning after the remains of a missing woman were found in his backyard Friday night.Boynton Beach police say 44-year-old Mary Stella Gomez-Mullet was last heard from the afternoon of Feb. 18 as she was headed to his house located on the 100 block of Southeast 28th Court.According to a police report, Colon hired Gomez-Mullet to take care of his mother in Hialeah who he claims suffers from dementia. In exchange for being her caretaker, Colon told police he married Gomez-Mullet weeks after meeting her so that she could acquire a U.S. citizenship.On Feb. 20, Colon told police he got into an argument with Gomez-Mullet the day she went missing, accusing her of defrauding his mother out of thousands of dollars over the span of several months. Colon fired her and went to a doctors appointment. He denied to police knowing where Gomez-Mullet was, claiming to police she was gone by time he got back.On. Feb. 23, a bloody purse containing a broken white rosary was found less than a mile from Colon’s home. Gomez-Mullet’s family provided detectives with a recent photo of her holding the purse and wearing the rosary very similar to the ones found.Detectives spoke with Gomez-Mullet’s children, other family members and friends during the search for her. They told investigators that they believed something happened to Gomez-Mullet.Later that day detectives contacted a close friend of Gomez-Mullet who was on the phone with her as she was driving to Colon’s house to return the items his mother gave her after accusing her of fraud.Gomez-Mullet’s friend told police that before the call disconnected, she heard her say something similar to “No, no, no Roberto!” The friend said she tried to call Gomez-Mullet back but the phone kept going straight to voicemail. The friend also checked Colon’s home after that phone call but could not find any signs of Gomez-Mullet there.She believed it sounded as if Gomez-Mullet had been attacked, according to the police report.After Colon agreed to a search of his property, detectives went to his house the next day and found blood on his front door. Colon claimed he installed that door about a month ago and must have cut himself in the process. Inside his house in a room police described as an enclosed garage or workshop, detectives found blood spatter on the floor, wall, window and ceiling. Detectives also searched Colon’s phone, finding that most of his text messages and call history had been deleted. This search was conducted on Feb. 23.Colon told police he had never noticed the blood, but that it could be from his dog who sustained an injury five months ago. He explained to detectives that while the dog was in his cage, it’s possible it shook its body causing the blood to go everywhere. He also said the blood could have been from one of his previous dogs that had since passed away. He said he had never noticed that blood splatter before. He also told detectives that he had buried “approximately six dogs” in the backyard.Crime scene investigators later confirmed it was human blood.On Feb. 26, a residential search warrant was executed and additional evidence was found.While on scene Colon conversed with detectives and called the room where the blood was found his “abattoir.”An abattoir is a French word meaning slaughterhouse.According to the police report, Colon told detectives that Gomez-Mullet was “swimming with the fishies” and referred to her as a “piece of s**t b***h.””Find the body, find the body,” Colon shouted to detectives.Police say as investigators were leaving, Colon said with a smirk:”Well at least you didn’t find a body at my house.”Last Wednesday detectives were advised by an unnamed source that in January, Colon threatened to strangle Gomez-Mullet to death and bury her in his backyard.On Friday, the Boynton Beach Police Department arrested Colon for narcotics found during the previous search. During the arrest, police presented Colon with a new search warrant focused on his backyard.The police report states that before he was taken into custody, Colon believed no one was listening and told his friend:”There’s one thing they can’t do, they can’t put what’s his name, Humpty Dumpty back together again.”Police then heard him say:”There’s really nothing they can take from my house, you know. It’s no use to them in prosecution except parts and s**t,” followed by laughing.”While executing the new search warrant, detectives found human remains in Colon’s backyard. The Tenprint Unit of Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office Technical Services Division completed a fingerprint analysis of the remains and confirmed it was Gomez-Mullet. “Our heartfelt condolences are with Mary’s family and loved ones. We remain dedicated to this ongoing investigation and bringing justice to her family,” said Boynton Beach Police Chief Michael G. Gregory.In court Saturday morning, Colon was granted a total bond of $2,000 on charges related to the possession of marijuana. A judge ordered no bond on Colon’s charge of domestic premeditated murder in the first degree.According to a court document, the judge also ordered the mental health unit to do a “serious review” of Colon as to why he’s being held under the mental health/suicide conditions.Colon’s next court appearance is at 10:30 a.m. on April 5.Dieusel Seide lives on Colon’s street and says he’s known Colon for the last three or four years. “He’s been kind of quiet but I really didn’t know who he was,” said Seide. “Over the years he would sometimes pass when he was with his dog, sometimes he’d say, ‘Hi’ to people.”Everyone is surprised.”It’s something we do not expect to happen in this neighborhood because this part of Boynton Beach is very quiet. Everybody knows everybody.”This is a developing story and will be updated as more information becomes available. BOYNTON BEACH, Fla. — Boynton Beach resident Roberto Colon, 66, stood before a judge Saturday morning after the remains of a missing woman were found in his backyard Friday night. Boynton Beach police say 44-year-old Mary Stella Gomez-Mullet was last heard from the afternoon of Feb. 18 as she was headed to his house located on the 100 block of Southeast 28th Court. According to a police report, Colon hired Gomez-Mullet to take care of his mother in Hialeah who he claims suffers from dementia. In exchange for being her caretaker, Colon told police he married Gomez-Mullet weeks after meeting her so that she could acquire a U.S. citizenship. On Feb. 20, Colon told police he got into an argument with Gomez-Mullet the day she went missing, accusing her of defrauding his mother out of thousands of dollars over the span of several months. Colon fired her and went to a doctors appointment. He denied to police knowing where Gomez-Mullet was, claiming to police she was gone by time he got back. On. Feb. 23, a bloody purse containing a broken white rosary was found less than a mile from Colon’s home. Gomez-Mullet’s family provided detectives with a recent photo of her holding the purse and wearing the rosary very similar to the ones found. Detectives spoke with Gomez-Mullet’s children, other family members and friends during the search for her. They told investigators that they believed something happened to Gomez-Mullet. Later that day detectives contacted a close friend of Gomez-Mullet who was on the phone with her as she was driving to Colon’s house to return the items his mother gave her after accusing her of fraud. Gomez-Mullet’s friend told police that before the call disconnected, she heard her say something similar to “No, no, no Roberto!” The friend said she tried to call Gomez-Mullet back but the phone kept going straight to voicemail. The friend also checked Colon’s home after that phone call but could not find any signs of Gomez-Mullet there. She believed it sounded as if Gomez-Mullet had been attacked, according to the police report. After Colon agreed to a search of his property, detectives went to his house the next day and found blood on his front door. Colon claimed he installed that door about a month ago and must have cut himself in the process. Inside his house in a room police described as an enclosed garage or workshop, detectives found blood spatter on the floor, wall, window and ceiling. Detectives also searched Colon’s phone, finding that most of his text messages and call history had been deleted. This search was conducted on Feb. 23. Colon told police he had never noticed the blood, but that it could be from his dog who sustained an injury five months ago. He explained to detectives that while the dog was in his cage, it’s possible it shook its body causing the blood to go everywhere. He also said the blood could have been from one of his previous dogs that had since passed away. He said he had never noticed that blood splatter before. He also told detectives that he had buried “approximately six dogs” in the backyard. Crime scene investigators later confirmed it was human blood. On Feb. 26, a residential search warrant was executed and additional evidence was found. While on scene Colon conversed with detectives and called the room where the blood was found his “abattoir.” An abattoir is a French word meaning slaughterhouse. According to the police report, Colon told detectives that Gomez-Mullet was “swimming with the fishies” and referred to her as a “piece of s**t b***h.” “Find the body, find the body,” Colon shouted to detectives. Police say as investigators were leaving, Colon said with a smirk: “Well at least you didn’t find a body at my house.” Last Wednesday detectives were advised by an unnamed source that in January, Colon threatened to strangle Gomez-Mullet to death and bury her in his backyard. On Friday, the Boynton Beach Police Department arrested Colon for narcotics found during the previous search. During the arrest, police presented Colon with a new search warrant focused on his backyard. The police report states that before he was taken into custody, Colon believed no one was listening and told his friend: “There’s one thing they can’t do, they can’t put what’s his name, Humpty Dumpty back together again.” Police then heard him say: “There’s really nothing they can take from my house, you know. It’s no use to them in prosecution except parts and s**t,” followed by laughing.” While executing the new search warrant, detectives found human remains in Colon’s backyard. The Tenprint Unit of Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office Technical Services Division completed a fingerprint analysis of the remains and confirmed it was Gomez-Mullet. “Our heartfelt condolences are with Mary’s family and loved ones. We remain dedicated to this ongoing investigation and bringing justice to her family,” said Boynton Beach Police Chief Michael G. Gregory. In court Saturday morning, Colon was granted a total bond of $2,000 on charges related to the possession of marijuana. A judge ordered no bond on Colon’s charge of domestic premeditated murder in the first degree. According to a court document, the judge also ordered the mental health unit to do a “serious review” of Colon as to why he’s being held under the mental health/suicide conditions. Colon’s next court appearance is at 10:30 a.m. on April 5. Dieusel Seide lives on Colon’s street and says he’s known Colon for the last three or four years. “He’s been kind of quiet but I really didn’t know who he was,” said Seide. “Over the years he would sometimes pass when he was with his dog, sometimes he’d say, ‘Hi’ to people. “Everyone is surprised. “It’s something we do not expect to happen in this neighborhood because this part of Boynton Beach is very quiet. Everybody knows everybody.” This is a developing story and will be updated as more information becomes available. Source link Orbem News #backyard #Beach #Boynton #Buried #colon #Dead #found #gomez-mullet #human #Man #Mary #Murder #Murdered #Police #Remains #Roberto #stella #Wife #wpbf

[aion-rsa]

I Care a Lot: Can Professional Guardians and Conservatorships Really Get THAT Bad?

https://ift.tt/3qCWe0N

This article contains I Care a Lot spoilers. You can read our spoiler-free review here.

How odd that in the span of a couple days it seems like everyone is debating the virtues of professional guardianships and what it means to become a legal conservator. Only a week ago, Hulu and The New York Times debuted its social media lightning rod of a documentary, Framing Britney Spears, and now barely more than seven days later, Netflix is debuting J Blakeson’s I Care a Lot, a baroque comedy (or tragedy?) in which Rosamund Pike plays a professional legal guardian who cares. She cares a lot. Just not about her wards.

As becomes queasily apparent early on in I Care a Lot, the things that keep Pike’s Marla Grayson up at night are not the dozens of wards she has a legal responsibility toward, nor necessarily the employees in her company. Rather it’s her clients’ bank accounts where Marla’s interests lie; and she uses them to bill herself hourly rates and underwrites any expenses she incurs while raiding their homes for valuables.

Within the movie’s first 15 minutes, we even see Grayson’s nightmarish con in a nutshell when she has a little old lady named Jennier (Dianne Wiest) declared incompetent because of dementia. Marla shows up on Jennifer’s doorstep with the cops and a court order to lock Jennifer away forever in a nursing home, even though Wiest’s senior has never even seen the inside of a courtroom.

Can something this scandalous and awful actually happen in America? The short answer is yes.

“These stories were horrifying and not uncommon,” Blakeson told The Moveable Fest last September. “So I fell down a bit of a rabbit hole in reading about these various stories happening in various places and thought there was something almost Kafkaesque about somebody knocking on your door and just taking you away for a reason you didn’t think was valid.”

And as has become increasingly publicized in recent weeks, once you get in the system of guardianships/conservatorships, it’s very hard to get out.

Guardianships of course play a pivotal role in modern society. As a legal responsibility created to protect those deemed vulnerable due to a diminished capacity that’s left them “incapacitated” or “incompetent,” guardianship is usually taken up by family members or professionals (mostly lawyers) who agree to manage a vulnerable party’s assets, caring for their estate and possibly their day-to-day person and body. This means a guardian is in charge of their wards’ assets and finances, what doctors they see, what medications they take, where they live, and potentially who they interact with and how they lead their daily lives. One woman in this situation told The New York Times, “It’s worse than incarceration. At least in prison you have rights.”

It’s an arrangement most often used to protect elderly people who cannot care for themselves, but problems can occur when one must decide how to determine someone is “incapacitated” or “incompetent,” and whether a ward needs a guardian in perpetuity. Additionally, just how vulnerable is the position of being a professional guardian itself vulnerable to profit motive?

Most legal guardianships or conservatorships are not egregiously corrupt like Marla Grayson’s racket in I Care a Lot, and many professional guardians will note how difficult it is to manage the affairs of low income individuals who need daily assistance—or how professional guardians are required to step in by the courts when the children of elderly parents enter lawsuits against each other.

However, the details are frustratingly hard to track. The National Center for State Courts estimates the number of people in guardianships is between one and three million in the U.S., but it’s impossible to accurately measure when legal records of guardianships are often sealed and there is no standardized recordkeeping; The Times reported guardianship records are kept separately by each of New York’s individual 62 counties, with no standardized reporting on state or even city totals; and a Government Accountability Office report from 2010 revealed that “we could not locate a single Web site, federal agency, state or local entity, or any other organization that compiles comprehensive information on the issue.”

Rather state by state, and case by case, courts appear to be left to their own devices on how to handle situations—and also uncomfortably relying on what amounts to an honor system regarding professional guardians. As per The Times, the state of New York requires any aspiring professional guardian to only complete a one-day certification course, and according to the aforementioned GAO report, courts require no background checks for aspiring legal guardians. Instead they trust applicants to disclose any previous criminal convictions or recent bankruptcies.

This can create a recipe for abuse and cases as extreme as Pike’s wolfish Marla Grayson showing up at your door with a court order. Famously in New York, Judge John Phillips built a real estate empire in Brooklyn worth $20 million during the 1980s and ‘90s, which included movie theaters that became neighborhood landmarks. Yet after he was diagnosed with dementia and considered incompetent in the early 2000s, he went through a series of legal guardians and somehow was “left to freeze to death in 2008” in a facility unlicensed to treat dementia. While he declined, his guardians had been selling off theaters and various other assets to the tune of millions of dollars.

More recently, and more reminiscent of Marla Grayson, is the case of April Parks, a former Nevada legal guardian who pled guilty in 2018 to six felony charges, including two counts of elder exploitation. The full extent of her abuse, however, was laid bare in 2017 by Rachel Aviv’s harrowing reporting in The New Yorker’s “How the Elderly Lose Their Rights.”

In that piece, Aviv chronicled how Parks amassed more than 400 wards for her guardianship business over 12 years in the state of Nevada—and how each of her wards lost “nearly all of their civil rights.” This is primarily highlighted through the experiences of Rudy and Rennie North, a couple in their 70s who on a fateful Friday morning were greeted at their front door by April Parks and three unnamed associates. Parks was the owner of a company called A Private Professional Guardian—a fact she was so proud about she had her license plate read “CRTGRDN” (court guardian)—and she arrived that day with an order from the Clark County Family Court, which demanded the Norths be removed from their homes immediately.

Unbeknownst to the Norths, Parks had filed an emergency ex-parte petition in the court, which allowed her to claim the Norths posed a “substantial risk for mismanagement of medications, financial loss, and physical harm” without their presence in the court. Indeed, they weren’t even notified the hearing was happening. Parks told the court the elderly couple was at risk due to a rapid decline caused by dementia, as based on a letter from a physician’s assistant Rennie had seen once. Rudy and Rennie had never undergone a single cognitive assessment when the court agreed Parks should move the pair into a nursing home.

It was more than three days before the Norths’ adult daughter Julie Belsche even discovered where they were, with her parents’ home being left empty, causing the daughter to tell her husband she thought “someone kidnapped my parents.”

As soon as the Norths were gone, Parks went through their house with the owner of a company called Caring Transitions, which specialized in estate sales of the assets and belongings of relocated seniors. Raiding the couple’s closets and drawers, in search of paperwork and valuables, had become routine for Parks. Within a month, Parks hired Even Tide Life Transitions to sell off most of the belongings, including two Renoir lithographs valued at $38,000.

The Norths’ case was not unique. As their daughter Julie and The New Yorker eventually unraveled, Parks had wards in nursing homes throughout the county, including 10 in the one that the Norths were relocated to. Many of these seniors were declared in need of legal guardianship in hearings that lasted less than two minutes. Prosecutor Jaclyn O’Malley would later piece together for a grand jury that Parks allegedly built a network of “hospital social workers and medical staff” who helped generate client leads for Parks’ company. In one instance in 2010, the state’s attorney said Parks was “cold-calling” rehabilitation centers in search of a 79-year-old woman who had nearly $700,000 in the bank and no children.

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But all of this was unspooled after years of hardship for the Norths. As per the American Bar Association, guardianship is generally “permanent, leaving no way out… until death do us part,’” and the Norths seemed to face that truth when they couldn’t even hire a lawyer to argue their case.

Their daughter also reported they were “overmedicated to the point where they weren’t really there” in their nursing home.

All these seeming horrors were committed by a sophisticated engine of care that makes I Care a Lot’s Marla Grayson appear like small potatoes. Yet the legal authority of professional guardians is so protected under the cloud of sealed documents that it wasn’t stories of glassy-eyed medication or the lack of due process that actually brought Parks down. The narrowly defined felonies she pled guilty to involved perjury under oath and double dealing in her accounting—like charging her wards $100 each for the hour it took to deliver unsolicited Christmas “gifts” of cheap socks purchased from the nearby department store.

It got Parks a sentence of 16 to 40 years in prison. Still, the most egregious cases are far from the only ones to care about, and in reality there isn’t a Peter Dinklage there to bargain for each senior who may think they don’t need a professional guardian.

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[wazafam]

Tom Girardi, estranged husband of Real Housewives of Beverly Hills star Erika Jayne, has been placed under a temporary conservatorship. His brother, Robert, has been chosen to take care of his daily and personal activities. The news comes a month after Robert had filed a petition to be in control of Tom's estate and ongoing legal battles.

Tom and Erika have been entangled in some legal drama ever since she filed for divorce back in November 2020. Even though the couple's age gap was well over 30 years, the pair always seemed more than happy together. Tom showed affection for Erika and it was reciprocated back to him. Now that they are in the middle of this divorce, their relationship has gotten ugly. Not only does Tom refused to pay spousal support, but he has got her involved in his legal issue. The couple is being sued by Tom's former clients for embezzling over $2 million, claiming they took the money in order to keep up with their lavish lifestyle. Now their situation isn't as glamorous as it once was.

Related: RHOBH: Why Erika Jayne Has Recently Been Linked To Armie Hammer

According to Us Weekly, the 81-year-old's attorney Rudy Cosio revealed Tom would not be able to attend the hearing. He suffered a medical emergency over the weekend. His brother, Robert, had filed a petition earlier this month to control Tom's estate and legal battle, since he is not currently well enough to handle this on his own. Robert's petition was approved by Judge Daniel Juarez and was given temporary conservatorship of his brother's estate, as well as his daily activities and personal matters until March 30. Another hearing is set for March 15, where the courts will decide whether or not they will grant Robert's other requests, such as giving him approval to place Tom in facility that treats patients with neurocognitive disorders like dementia.

Robert's attorney, Nicholas Van Brunt, released a statement to Us Weekly regarding the conservatorship and the urgency of it. “There was an urgent need for Bob Girardi to have the power to engage counsel in the bankruptcy proceeding on his brother’s behalf, and Tom’s court-appointed counsel clearly agreed, as did the court today,” the statement read. According to court documents, Robert admitted Tom's health has been declining since Erika filed for divorce and the embezzlement lawsuit from November. Tom is currently unable to understand the ramifications of the bankruptcy filings pending against him and needs Robert there in order to save Tom from his legal woes.

In December, news broke that Tom was secretly hospitalized a few weeks prior due to a serious illness. While Tom's illness is not yet known, people in his camp are concern with his mental capabilities. Fans may be able to hear what Tom has been going through soon as Erika plans to tell-all in the upcoming season of RHOBH.

Next: RHOC: Braunwyn Windham-Burke Reaches 1 Year of Sobriety

Sources: Us Weekly

RHOBH: Erika's Ex Tom Girardi Now Under Temporary Conservatorship Due To Illness from https://ift.tt/3oHP61a

[atlanticcanada]

Class action proposed at N.S. long-term care home where 53 residents died from COVID-19

A Halifax law firm is proposing a class action against a Nova Scotia long-term care facility where 53 people have died due to COVID-19, claiming normal standards of care weren't met to protect against infection from the virus.

The Wagners firm issued a statement of claim on Tuesday, which has not been proven in court, alleging the non-profit complex in Halifax breached its obligations to residents through "inaction and inadequate response."

The court document filed June 1 claims the facility's practices caused the untimely deaths of residents, and harms, losses, and damages to their surviving family members.

It further alleges that the home's administration knew how the rapid spread of infection could be mitigated by maintaining and enforcing physical distancing since early March, if not sooner, yet moved too slowly.

The management of the facility was not immediately available for comment, and a statement of defence has not been filed.

The company has said that after the global pandemic was officially announced, residents continued to share rooms and bathrooms with one or even two others, common areas were not restricted, and visitors and staff were not closely regulated.

Representative plaintiff Erica Surette said in a news release that she lost her 66-year-old mother, Patricia West, on April 22, after West had been moved from a single to a shared room in the midst of the pandemic.

According to the statement of claim, West had early onset dementia and moved to a shared room in Northwood in 2017.

She received her own room on Nov. 6 last year, but according to the statement of claim, was moved to a shared room in the Centre building of the complex in late March.

"Surette wrote to Northwood Halifax to raise serious concerns about the timing of such a move, amidst a pandemic to which her mother was acutely vulnerable," the statement of claim reads.

In early April, the claim states, "Surette was informed by her mother ... that her roommate had been moved out of the shared room. Northwood Halifax provided no explanation."

"On or about April 10, 2020, Surette spoke with her mother via telephone, at which time Ms. West advised that she felt very sick and was no longer eating or sleeping."

Surette said she was initially informed by Northwood that her mother had tested negative, and a second test was arranged.

On April 13, West was moved to a floor for patients with the virus, according to the statement of claim. Surette said she spoke to her mother for the last time the next day.

Three days later, West was sent to the hospital and placed on a ventilator. On April 22 she died in hospital from complications due to COVID-19.

The statement of claim says contact tracing at the facility began on April 5, after a Northwood Halifax staff member responsible for the care of residents tested positive for COVID-19.

"While masks were provided to Northwood Halifax employees on or about the following day, no steps were taken to prevent the spread of COVID-19 between residents and staff members who had already been exposed to the disease," the law firm alleges.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 2, 2020.

from CTV News - Atlantic https://ift.tt/3cqOE1d

[bbcbreakingnews]

Britney Spears: What exactly is the #FreeBritney campaign?

Image copyright Getty Images

Fans of Britney Spears are demanding she be awarded control over her business and personal affairs at a court hearing.

The Princess of Pop’s career has been in the hands of legal guardians known as a conservatorship since she faced a mental health crisis 12 years ago.

The terms of the arrangement have never been publicly released, but it restricts the singer’s autonomy.

#FreeBritney supporters say they plan to protest outside Los Angeles court.

According to the Blast, Spears, 38, is expected to appear remotely at Wednesday’s hearing, which will address her finances, personal life and mental health.

What is the conservatorship?

Britney Spears has not controlled her financial or many career decisions since 2008 under this court-enacted agreement.

A conservatorship is granted by a court for individuals who are unable to make their own decisions, like those with dementia or other mental illnesses.

Essentially, for the last 12 years, her father and attorney have managed her assets and personal life – including being able to restrict her visitors and communicate with doctors about her treatment.

Her finances must be documented with the court. Business Insider reports that as of 2018, the pop superstar had a net worth of $59m (£46m) and spent $1.1m on legal and conservator fees that year.

In March 2019, her attorney, Andrew Wallet, resigned from his role as co-conservator, saying: “Substantial detriment, irreparable harm and immediate danger will result to the conservatee and her estate if the relief requested herein is not granted on an ex parte basis.”

Her father, Jamie Spears, stepped down as a conservator last September, citing “personal health reasons”.

A judge appointed Spears’ “care manager”, Jodi Montgomery, as his replacement.

Spears’ father, according to court documents, sees his removal as her conservator as temporary – though it followed allegations that he grabbed and shook his teenage grandson.

Britney Spears’ father steps down as conservator

As it stands, Ms Montgomery will remain Spears’ conservator until 22 August, when the conservatorship is up for extension again.

Why was it set up?

Spears began behaving erratically in 2007, after her divorce from Kevin Federline was finalised and she lost custody of their two children.

Many of her alleged mental breakdowns took place in the public eye – she made headlines for shaving her head and was photographed hitting a paparazzi’s car with an umbrella – and went to rehab facilities several times.

Britney comes back from the brink

She was placed in psychiatric care after refusing to surrender her two sons in a stand-off with the police, and the conservatorship was put in place in early 2008.

In the years under the conservatorship, Britney Spears has not been short on work: she released three albums, held a Las Vegas residency, and made numerous television appearances.

What is the #FreeBritney campaign?

Some of Spears’ fans believe she was forced into the arrangement and claim she has been pleading for help on social media.

The term dates back to 2009, according to a New York Times report, from a fan site that disagreed with the conservatorship agreement.

When Spears checked into a mental health centre last year after reported emotional distress over her father’s illness, the campaign rose again.

#FreeBritney campaigners are now asking the White House to end her conservatorship – a petition submitted this month has over 125,000 signatures. Fans have rallied at court hearings with #FreeBritney signs and the slogan has been trending on social media again.

What has Britney Spears said about all this?

The singer herself has not commented on the #FreeBritney campaign, but she has, more recently, been telling fans she is doing well.

Spears asked fans not to believe “everything you read and hear” after her 2019 stay at a mental health facility. In an Instagram video last May, she said: “For those of you who don’t think I post my own videos… you’re wrong.”

Spears’ lawyer has also told the Los Angeles Times that she is part of the decision-making process when it comes to her career.

This April, she revealed on Instagram that she accidentally burned down her home gym, which concerned some fans. She has also recently appeared to respond to supporters who ask her to post a specific photo if she needs help – like wearing a yellow shirt or posting a painting with doves.

But sources close to the pop star have rejected the conspiracy theories, saying Spears’ conservatorship is to help her manage long-term mental health issues.

This month, Spears wrote on Instagram: “I get how some people might not like my posts or even understand them, but this is Me being happy ….. this is Me being authentic and as real as it gets”.

Why is this coming up now?

Spears’ 22 July court hearing on the conservatorship has put both the agreement and the #FreeBritney movement back in the spotlight.

Earlier this month, Spears’ mother, Lynne Spears, also reportedly filed a request with the court to be included in the conservatorship.

According to court documents viewed by The Blast, the singer’s mother wants to help manage her finances, and specifically the trust set up for the singer’s two sons.

An anonymous source told Entertainment Tonight that Spears “truly believes that her mother wants to help her have more autonomy when it comes to her money”.

The post Britney Spears: What exactly is the #FreeBritney campaign? appeared first on BBC BREAKING NEWS.

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