Greg Lake

Today Greg Lake, of the band, Emerson, Lake, and Palmer, died of cancer at age 69. He also played with Yes, and was a giant influence in the progressive rock world. He and his beautiful voice will be sorely missed.

Happy Halloween

To Jack

Sitting in my old and dusty room
I tell myself that things will change
But you see, when I wake up from my dreamin'
It's still the same, I can't believe you've gone away

Writing letters by the candlelight
I look for words to bring you back
Can't you see, it won't let go of me
Please let me be and set me free

'Cause you see, when I wake up from my dreaming
It's still the same, I can't believe you've gone away
The tears that I cry

Can't you see, it's been a long time
Long time, long time, long time
Give it to me, yeah, me yeah

I try and realize you're gone
I tell myself that wanting you is wrong
No matter what I say or do
Got to learn, it's easy to forget you

Words won't stop the pains I have inside
Got to change the feelings that I hide
And now the only thing left to do,
Is to tell you, the only way I ever knew, now listen man

An empty room's become an old routine
And locked inside is all my pride
All my tears, have run down through the years
I'm wanting more and more of you

I walk the streets, though they're raked with rain
Through lonely days, the lonely nights won't stop the pain
Yeah, livin' on, since time is done
I feel this bad, from everywhere

For the things we had in yesterday
And the times we shared, the times to stay
Long time, long time, long time, long time, time, time
Give it to me, give it to me, give it to me
Can't you see? Can't you see?

Punky Meadows, Greg Giuffria, and Frank Dimino; of Angel

Keith Emerson, 1944-2016

Keith Emerson, of Emerson, Lake, and Palmer, was found deceased today in his home in Santa Monica. He was one of the most creative composers of the latter half of the last century. We lost one of the greats, today.

Celebration Of Beltane

Beltane is celebrated either on the first of May, or on the first full moon of Taurus. It is the Pagan celebration of fertility, the time of blessing fields, herds, and of announcing engagements and marriages. The Goddess is celebrated by sensuality
and beauty, and in some ancient Northern European villages, all fires were extinguished, in order to be ceremoniously re-lit from the ritual balefire. It was a festival that involved everyone.

This is the celebration of Persephone's return from the realm of the underworld. On Halloween, she has become the consort of Hades, Lord of the underworld, and in this capacity, Persephone is the Queen of the Dead. During the six months between Halloween and Beltane, the earth is at rest, and growing season is dormant. It begins again, full swing, at her return.

Believe It Or Not, Murder Is Against The Law

After waiting over two weeks to finally divulge why they arrested Freddie Gray, the six police officers in Baltimore, Maryland, who ended up killing him, have been charged with various crimes, ranging from false imprisonment to second degree murder. One of the officers finally explained that Gray was arrested for "making eye contact" with a police officer, and since that is not a crime, it was determined that police had no probable cause to arrest Gray in the first place. Imagine that!

Marilyn Mosby, the state's attorney in Baltimore, acted immediately when she received the report from the medical examiner, stating that the cause of death was homicide. The fact that the homicide was committed by a police officer was not important, and with no provocation of any kind, it should not be important. She decided that accountability is important, however; and is insisting that the six officers answer in court for their conduct. This is very significant, because nationwide, police tend to get away with false arrest, perjury, intimidation of witnesses, violence of all kinds, and murder on a regular basis. The advent of cell phone cameras and video has finally had an effect on the accountability of police officers.

There are those who are not in favor of this sudden non-selective application of the law. After all, police officers, particularly white police officers arresting black defendants, have enjoyed privilege and carte` blanch to behave as violently as they please since the Revolutionary War. How can a cop adjust to the sudden demand for justice and fair practice? And it WILL be an adjustment, too, just like being subject to impromptu professional and amateur photography is proving to be an adjustment for police officers. But here's the thing: it should not be an adjustment. There should not even be a discussion about it, or a court case. Police officers should never do anything in the line of duty that they would not want seen on camera by everyone on the internet, and police officers should never falsely arrest or imprison anyone and they should certainly never commit murder.

Many thanks to Marilyn Mosby for setting a new precedent of accountability in this country for law enforcement. It makes yours truly very proud of her connections to the East Coast. She is a brave and brilliant attorney.

Insight

Birthday Greetings

When I think of you, I will always remember the fun we had in places like this. Happy birthday, and rest in peace.

In Case You Missed Church On Sunday

Insight

Caleb Stewart's Case After Eighteen Months

How long does Kansas take to investigate a complaint about a daycare? How many reports of abuse, injury, or untimely death do they need in order to justify the expenses involved in gathering information and making a quality decision about who gets a license to operate a daycare, and who does not? According to the latest information, brought to us by WIBW, the death of a child will bring an investigation and a decision in about a year and a half. That's how long it took Child Protective Services in Kansas to substantiate the charges, concerning a wrongful death, finally brought against Tara Johnson, the home daycare provider; and Destiny McClusky, a random friend of Tara's who had no real business in Tara's workplace.

In February of 2013, five month old Caleb Stewart was dropped off at daycare by his mom, Misty Durham. Later that day, he died. Tara Johnson was not on the premises, which she should have been, and her boyfriend, Russel Morris and the aforementioned friend, Destiny McClusky, were watching the children. Anywhere besides Kansas, this would lead to charges and a lawsuit. As is stands, Johnson, Morris, and McClusky probably do not have the assets to settle a lawsuit for wrongful death, and since Kansas was allowing this daycare to operate without a license and failing to substantiate the complaints that led to the situation that cost Caleb his life, Johnson's daycare was not covered by insurance, either. But then, about ninety-five percent of public schools in Kansas did not have insurance when school started in 2013, either.

Chad Taylor, the prosecutor in Topeka, Kansas, has declined to press any charges at all in this case. He presses charges when the children of richer, better connected parents die in daycares, but not Caleb Stewart's death. Taylor even retaliated against Misty Durham by having her arrested for an old traffic violation when she called his office to ask about the status of the case! Does he think that forcing different social classes to exist in Kansas and denying justice to people he simply doesn't like are going to get him elected again? And is child protective services in Kansas really attempting to protect children? Or do they only respond when they find children who are alive and marketable, and whose parents don't know their rights and cannot afford legal representation?  How many other children have been in harm's way during the eighteen months it took them to glance at Caleb Stewart's case?

In Case You Missed Church On Sunday

Midwestern Christians are certainly caught up in the method of execution, rather than the actual Messianic message or the example reportedly set by their favored icon, aren't they?

In Case You Slept Through Church This Sunday

Insight

What About The Baby, Chad Taylor?

Chad Taylor, prosecuting attorney in Topeka, Kansas, pretends that he is really fighting crime by ignoring student safety issues and other problems in Kansas schools, then charging seventeen year old Brendan Steven Moore, of Topeka, with four counts of solicitation of first degree murder as an adult. When a baby actually died last year, in a Topeka home daycare, he could not even bother to read the reports and statements made about the incident. To this day, anyone who calls Chad Taylor's office in Topeka Kansas and asks about the investigation of the death of Caleb Stewart will not get an answer. His secretary generally hangs up on anyone who asks that question. If Chad Taylor really cares about crime, why doesn't he find out why Caleb died, shut down all daycares and schools that do not take child safety seriously, and question the last adult to have any contact with Caleb before he coded and was rushed to the hospital?

Why is one Topeka child's death important enough for legal action, while another's is not? Where does Chad Taylor draw the line? Does he only care about the children of parents whose jobs are white collar? Is it college graduates, but no one else, who elicits his concern when a baby dies? Does it matter how long the baby's parents have lived in Kansas, or how likely they may or may not have been to vote for him? Because other cases, involving similar deaths, have been investigated, and tried in court. According to information that is courtesy of the Kansas Child Death Review Board, daycare deaths of children in Caleb's age group usually occur because of sleeping arrangements. Caleb was sleeping in a dog bed, which had, according to one witness, been placed in a closet! Has Chad Taylor even taken an afternoon to sit down with Caleb's parents and discuss the opinions of the Kansas Child Death Review Board with them? It's really starting to look as if he is only willing to jump on whatever bandwagon will net him the most publicity. A child creating a ruckus at school with threats faces Taylor in court, tried as an adult, on charges of solicitation of first degree murder, because this type of case has been in the eye of the media, nationwide, lately. Not quite as many cases involving babies who do not survive daycare while both parents work become photo ops for folks like Chad Taylor.

At least sit down and talk to the other children who were at the daycare that day, Chad.

Private Message

Why did you kill him, Laura? Was he failing to plea properly, for your convenience? Did he insist upon a jury trial? Did you scare him into believing that his loved ones no longer cared about him? Did you tell him that he would never see his friends or his family again? How could you do a thing like that? He had only committed a misdemeanor, and had not even had the chance to put on a defense. Why did you kill him, Laura?

Did you suspend all medical treatment and physician's orders until he confessed to something he didn't do? Is the taking of another's life seriously better, in your world, than allowing a man to have his day in court? You're darn tootin' the whole thing is a tragedy for his family: just not so much for you! Was the cause of death even truthfully determined? It doesn't matter though; he was healthy, and you know you killed him.

When you ask for "privacy", a lot of us are able to see that request for what it truly is: code for a demand  for silence from the community about your misconduct. The only way to sidestep a thorough investigation, complete with reports of what you told him and how you threatened him is to push for privacy. Secrecy is always your best friend, Laura. You always want to hide your best work, but if you do something, you should have no problem standing behind what you do. Marshall County Kansas should be enraged with you because of this young man's death, Laura. If all of us, even your supporters, were given the choice between you and this young man, we would all have chosen him. His smile was beautiful, and will never be seen again because you killed him.

Two Shooting Victims Die Of Injuries

Rodger Bluml, the adoptive male parent of this post, died yesterday after succumbing to injuries sustained in the violent encounter he had on November 15 with one of the boys he adopted, Anthony Bluml. Anthony and his mother, Kisha Schaberg, along with two other accomplices, remain jailed in Kansas while they await trial. The prosecuting attorney intends to amend the charges against both of them to include two charges of premeditated murder, rather then one. Rodger Bluml's wife, Melissa Bluml, died of a gunshot wound on November 15. In charging Kisha Schaberg with the same crime as Anthony Bluml, who allegedly pulled the trigger, and setting her bond at twice the amount as Anthony's, Kansas stubbornly refuses to see the devastating results, for everyone involved, of disrupting families. Kansas also sends a very arrogant message to all biological mothers whose children have been adopted by others. Did those who grab children from vulnerable parents and auction them off to the highest bidders ever take the time to warn Rodger and Melissa Bluml of the bond and love that usually exists between natural parents and their children? The Blumls did not have natural children, so there was no way they could have known or understood. Were the Blumls warned that even though Kisha was not as financially secure or as privileged as they were in life, they could expect the children and their mother to remember each other for the rest of their lives? The expectation that a state can step in and decide that children and their parents are no longer allowed to love one another is very dangerous. Could the rage projected at the Blumls have been predicted, and possibly prevented? While this violent crime is very sad, it may be a sign of things to come more often in places where children are treated as commodities by courts and government agencies.

The second update is that seventeen year old Clair Davis, of Colorado, has died. On December 14 she was shot by another student, Karl Pierson, at Arapahoe High School, in a fit of rage that reportedly lasted for about eighty seconds. Pierson followed this up by shooting himself. He apparently had a problem with the librarian at his school, and there was no known connection between him and his victim. There has been a certain amount of debate lately concerning guns and public schools, and a few states have even legalized the carrying of firearms in schools by adult employees of the schools. It would appear that an unaddressed issue in this unintelligently written law change is the loophole created by adult students.....those whose eighteenth birthdays happen to fall before high school graduation and who are, as a result, able to purchase shotguns while they are still in high school. Since teaching and law enforcement are two very different career choices, and since many teachers are not trained soldiers or perfect marksmen, it really seems that schools are better off investing in metal detectors, rather than allowing guns on their premises. While there are expenses involved with the installation of metal detectors, the cost invested would be considerably smaller than a lawsuit, or multiple lawsuits, and the resulting inflation of a school's liability insurance. Most of Kansas public schools were unable to get insurance before school started this year because teachers are allowed to carry guns to school. A teacher with a gun would probably not have been able to save Clair Davis from Karl Pierson's eighty second temper tantrum, but had there been a metal detector in place at Arapahoe High, she might not have been shot.
 

When Cops Kill People In Front Of Your Face

It might be a better idea to dial 911 and only give a location and very brief description of the situation, when reporting lethal police brutality, rather than explaining that the police have just beaten someone to death. Ask for an ambulance, describe the brawl, but don't reveal that law enforcement made the whole thing happen. If the dispatcher knows the police are beating someone to death, he or she is very likely to allow the beating to continue until law enforcement calls. Certain targets are chosen in advance, and will receive no help from emergency dispatch. Once the ambulance arrives on the scene, capture the response on video. If the police do not immediately cease and desist their battery of the victim, and move aside for paramedics, that footage should be copied and turned over to the FBI, the local media, and to the general public for scrutiny. Under no circumstances should it be kept private. Even a victim who is lucky enough to survive has a responsibility to cancel law enforcement's free ticket to beat their chosen targets to death.

 

Georgia Coroner Files Two Investigations For One Death

Remember this post, about a seventeen year old young man named Kendrick Johnson? Kendrick died in January of this year, and when he did not come home from school, was later found rolled up in a gym mat at his school, the victim of a brutal murder. The crime scene was never locked down, because the basketball game was too important to the school. Evidence...what little was collected....was sloppily handled, and Kendrick's parents were given vague to blatantly dishonest answers about how their son died. Police actually tried to sell them a story of their son's death as an accident. Kendrick had actually been beaten and then hidden inside of a gym mat. No one gets rolled up in a gym mat by accident.  It looks to this blogger as if there is a perpetrator who is too special, for all the wrong reasons, to be held accountable for his or her crimes. "His", most likely; because when the formerly "non-existent" surveillance footage finally became existent, thanks to Anderson Cooper's coverage of the case, the others ON FILM who were present in the gym when this happened, although previously reported not present, are best described with masculine pronouns.

Something else quite disturbing that has come out of all this is that there are apparently two death certificates currently on file for Kendrick. Chances are, there was only one death certificate at first. Authorities in Lowndes County, Georgia were probably arrogant enough to think that they could rule any cause of death they chose, no matter how far fetched. The Justice Department wasn't even worried about it! At least, not until Anderson Cooper and CNN got involved. Then, all of a sudden, federal prosecutors changed their minds and decided to look at this again. A court order allowing Kendrick's parents to get a second opinion on the cause of death was also helpful. But why did a second death certificate, which had not been shared with Kendrick's family, also surface?

One should only need a medical second opinion over a diagnosis involving a treatable illness. A second opinion should never be a necessity to explain a cause of death, especially to grieving parents of a once healthy child. From the principal of Lowndes County High School to the Justice Department, which initially did not want to re-examine this case until CNN got involved: how do these people sleep at night? No one needs two birth certificates for one lifetime; no one needs two death certificates for one lifetime. Thank the Gods we have CNN to fix these problems for us! Its hard to tell, anymore, when our local governments will find it necessary to lie to our parents about what happened while we were in school.

Here's another perspective on this whole matter.
 

What Do Joaquin Rams And Russel Morris Have In Common?

Slow investigations, multiple deaths, judicial harassment of victims and family members of victims, and perpetrators....whoever they may be....are left to repeat their crimes and continue to prey on others. That seems par for the course when a crime victim is too young to testify on his own behalf. A new angry troll has discovered this site, and has made his presence known because he did not like what I wrote about the untimely death of little Caleb Stewart, the baby who died in the home daycare of Tara Johnson, near Topeka, Kansas, this past February. Caleb was dropped off for daycare one morning, when Tara Johnson didn't feel like  providing daycare. She left Caleb with a male "friend" of hers, Russel Morris, after Caleb's mother went to work. Over the course of the day, and after conflictingly related events which have not been properly investigated, Caleb died. His parents have yet to hear the explanation. Chad Taylor, prosecutor of Topeka, Kansas, is not interested in the case. Caleb's mother works to provide for her family and needs daycare in order to work every day, and that puts her in a class that is obviously is not the type a Kansas prosecutor would even worry about. Right, Johnson-McNish? This case seems to compare to the Northern Virginia case of Joaquin Rams, who has been charged in the drowning death of his infant son, Prince.

Before I continue musing out loud about the two cases, let me just say that Joaquin Rams has not been found guilty, and Russel Morris has not been charged with anything and is not a suspect. The only reason he attracted my attention was his angry dialogue on my site, and his outrageous demeanor toward a mother who just lost her child.

Caleb's case already reminded me a bit of the case against Joaquin Rams in Northern Virginia, where
he awaits trial for the drowning death of his fifteen month old son, Prince. Prince's mom, Hera Mcleod, begged Judge Michael Algeo, of Montgomery County, Maryland, to keep Joaquin's visits with Prince supervised. Algeo didn't care. In fact, he demonized Hera. Joaquin lied about everything from his intentions to his financial situation. Prince mysteriously ended up drowning on the third unsupervised visit. Because Prince did not die immediately, but died later on, in a hospital, Joaquin got away with smoke-screening all the facts and circumstances and blaming Hera; creating as much confusion as possible in the hospital. He did not get charged with murder immediately, and it took over two months for Hera to even get a complete report from the medical examiner. The other day, when I heard that there was no actual cause of death reported by the medical examiner in Caleb's death, I was not surprised. But I was surprised to hear about another detail that has not been publicized: the boyfriend of Caleb's daycare provider, Russel Morris, had a death in his family the very day before little Caleb died. His former wife died, "mysteriously". Undetermined causes. No one thinks this warrants further investigation, and when the mother of Joaquin Rams's oldest son, (Prince's older brother) Shawn Mason, died in March of 2003, her death was not initially connected to Rams. His own mother's 2008 death was ruled a suicide. After Prince died, it took the medical examiner at least two months to rule on a cause of death and also determine that the death was an homicide, but after law enforcement determined that Rams had bought insurance on all three of the victims, the Commonwealth of Virginia took a closer look at the three deaths. Joaquin has now been formally charged in Shawn Mason's death, and in Prince Mcleod Rams's death, and awaits trial behind bars. What an unusual parallel!

Another trait these two men have in common is the use of bullying tactics and intimidation against family members of victims. Both men were obviously witnesses in the subsequent cases, and the family members initially only wanted answers. When Joaquin refused, Hera persisted. He not only lied about his son's cause of death, (a possible reason the medical examiner kept quiet) but trolled Hera on the internet, almost to the point of harassment, in an attempt to dissuade others from believing her or from encouraging her to seek justice for Prince, and in a pathetic attempt to make her feel as badly as possible. Russel Morris, has treated Misty Durham, Caleb's mother, in much the same way. He not only acts in a trollish manner online, but has appeared on television, specifically the Steve Wilkos show, forcefully trying his best to intimidate Misty and stop her from any further efforts to determine why her son died. He is also on a campaign to blurt out anything he can remember about Misty's past, in an ongoing effort to dissuade the general public from caring about what happened to Caleb. It's a little like what Joaquin Rams did to Hera Mcloed. Bullies often do this to keep their victims from snitching on them. This behavior is curious in Russel Morris's case, however; why is it so important to him that Misty hurry up and find closure and move on with her life? And why is he so ready to disparage Misty? Most of us do not express sympathy for grieving mothers by intimidating them or insulting them.