BooHooHoo! We Don't Have Time To Spy Anymore!

It seems the NSA is a bit anal retentive these days because they do not have as much time to devote to unrestrained spying, thanks to Edward Snowden and the information he released to the general public. The NSA would much rather operate in secret, allegedly gathering as much intelligence as possible about foreign targets and "protecting" the United States. That's a very nice thought, but Snowden's leaks did not actually deal very much with surveillance of foreign nationals operating in a hostile fashion; the leaks dealt with metadata collected and stored about the everyday lives and activities of average American citizens. That said, it seems plausible that those who spy for the NSA may actually be prevaricating when they express concerns that foreign targets upon whom they spy will now be forewarned and change their communication styles and mediums in an ongoing effort to frustrate information harvests.

How often has the NSA successfully averted unfortunate goings-on in the dominions and lives of everyday citizens? A look at any news network will show that if the NSA truly has any intentions of making the world a safer place for Americans and others, they've been slacking lately. What, exactly then, have they been doing with all of the data they collect? The ability to intercept Facebook and Twitter communications could stop a lot of everyday criminal activity. While the NSA can argue that those everyday criminal activities are petty crimes, and not worthy of their attention, the direction of prosecutors nationwide has been to criminalize, over-criminalize, and charge each and every defendant or police detainee with a felony whenever possible. It seems, kinda, sorta, like informing local sheriff departments about premeditated felony crime should be a priority of sorts, or at least a side interest, if the intelligence to intercept is available, which it clearly is. How many missing persons cases are still open?  How many times has the NSA offered it's help in locating missing children? Probably never. Your children are not important, everyday Americans. Now that the middle classes are not important, your children do not matter, and your tax dollars that support law enforcement do not pay anyone to protect you or your children. Don't expect anyone's intelligence gathering activities to help you in any way.

In the "Post Edward Snowden Era", the NSA is very, very unhappy about it's perceived obligation to control damage, rather than to come clean and amend it's practices. There is much ado about all of the time agents must spend tracking down that which has been revealed, and any defensive postures that must be taken. Finding out who knows what, and who is changing gears in order to compensate for lack of privacy, is much more important than treating the general population with respect. In fact, the NSA is not concerned, in the slightest way, about any murders or any missing persons cases whih could have been prevented, but for some useful information, denied, rather than shared with lower level law enforcement; and the NSA is not concerned in the slightest about the lack of respect it has shown for American citizens.
 

Abbie Hoffman Moment

 

 

The Yeast Of The Gods

Resistance is actually futile. If you seriously think you can force those who function at more efficient levels to happily sink to your level, you are quite mistaken. You might try listening, for a change.

 

In Case You Slept Through Church Today

 

Hmmm.......just how big are these candles, anyway? Oh well......the sermon has already deteriorated!

 

 

Through The Lens Of Siriunsun's Camera

 

 

Reverend Hugh Cranford Sentenced For Molesting Children

 

Here is a quick update to last year's Sunday School Rapes in Topeka: Hugh Cranford was sentenced to four years and nine months in prison. Perhaps he will preach and teach Sunday School there.

This was taken from Cranford's Facebook page. It seems that all too often, sexual predators pull this very idea off, even in court. It's refreshing to see that Cranford will be out of circulation for awhile. Frankfort School in Northeast Kansas will probably offer him a teaching position after he serves his time.

 

Keep Questioning Authority

This is an interesting video of an encounter between a law student and a police officer. The law student carried a handgun, not concealed, as permitted by law. The police officer harassed him. He did not give his name to the police officer, and gave information about various court cases, instead. Eventually, the officer was obliged to give him back his gun, and stop unlawfully detaining him.

Unless a police officer is arresting a person, that person is under no obligation to reveal a name, or any other information. And if a person is under arrest, a name is all that's required; not a social security number, not even an address.
 

Anniversary Of Silent Spring

September twenty-seven is the anniversary of the first publication of Rachel Carson's Silent Spring, which first came out on this date in 1962. The book warned of the dangers of DDT, and other pesticides, and the effects of these poisons on birds and other wildlife, and; consequently, their negative effects on entire ecosystems by obliterating links in the food chain. Despite monumental criticism from the industries which marketed pesticides and brainwashed the agricultural industry into unrestrained use of these poisons, the book was a bestseller. Rachel Carson is credited with contributing heavily to the interest in preserving our environment.

The title of the book was inspired by a poem, La Belle Dame Sans Merci, by John Keats:

O what can ail thee, knight-at-arms,
Alone and palely loitering?
The sedge has withered from the lake,
And no birds sing.
O what can ail thee, knight-at-arms,
So haggard and so woe-begone?
The squirrel’s granary is full,
And the harvest’s done.
I see a lily on thy brow,
With anguish moist and fever-dew,
And on thy cheeks a fading rose
Fast withereth too.
I met a lady in the meads,
Full beautiful—a faery’s child,
Her hair was long, her foot was light,
And her eyes were wild.
I made a garland for her head,
And bracelets too, and fragrant zone;
She looked at me as she did love,
And made sweet moan
I set her on my pacing steed,
And nothing else saw all day long,
For sidelong would she bend, and sing
A faery’s song.
She found me roots of relish sweet,
And honey wild, and manna-dew,
And sure in language strange she said—
‘I love thee true’.
She took me to her Elfin grot,
And there she wept and sighed full sore,
And there I shut her wild wild eyes
With kisses four.
And there she lullèd me asleep,
And there I dreamed—Ah! woe betide!—
The latest dream I ever dreamt
On the cold hill side.
I saw pale kings and princes too,
Pale warriors, death-pale were they all;
They cried—‘La Belle Dame sans Merci
Hath thee in thrall!’
I saw their starved lips in the gloam,
With horrid warning gapèd wide,
And I awoke and found me here,
On the cold hill’s side.
And this is why I sojourn here,
Alone and palely loitering,
Though the sedge is withered from the lake,
And no birds sing.

The cutest insect repellant available!

 

Make Them Get A Warrent

 

Always make the police get a warrant if they want to barge into your house or sort through your personal belongings. Even if they leave, and actually return with a warrant, make sure they get some practice in going through the motions of explaining the exact reason or need for such a thing to a judge! It's good for them, and it reduces the amount of false bravado with which they will feel so free to entertain the rest of us in the future!

 

 

Folks In Topeka Upset By Due Process

Troy Allen Robinson is on trial in Shawnee County, Kansas for the stabbing of Oma Shannon Bennett in December of 2012. Recently, it was discovered that his defense attorney had a conflict of interest inasmuch as this case is concerned, and needed to bow out. Robinson now has a new defense attorney. Robinson's next court date is November 8, for a status hearing. All things considered, even the conflict of interest and the appointment of a new attorney, this is rather quick for a trial in which the defendant is charged with first degree murder.

Oma Shannon Bennett

It seems that there is a lot of angst among those who support instant gratification in terms of emotionally responsive justice for this murder victim. That is understandable, from a "feelings" related viewpoint, yet; actual justice cannot be administered in a quick manner simply to gratify the feelings of an angry mob. From the scant bit of information available about this case, there are two apparent problems; first, the evidence which led to the arrest, and second, the amount of preparation involved, connected to this case, prior to court dates in the past.

Local media in Kansas has not reported very much about the evidence that led to Robinson's arrest for murder. By all appearances, it seems that the police in Riley County arrested Robinson because of some statements he made to a third party, specifically, his mother, about having been involved in a crime. While this can probably be introduced during a motions hearing in a pinch, as circumstantial evidence, it is only hearsay. Without more solid evidence, an arrest warrant should not even have been granted. If that is truly all the prosecution has, and it should be hoped that it isn't, there is not much by which to actually connect the defendant to the crime. A guilty verdict under these circumstances could easily lead to a vacated decision or an appeal. It is important that justice be practiced according to the law, not mob mentality.

The second problem which does not appear completely understood by the courtroom crybabies is the need for all legal professionals involved in trying or hearing a case to be impartial. A conflict of interest in a criminal case, on the part of the judge, defense attorney, or the prosecuting attorney can lead to an improper verdict, either guilty or not guilty, and pervert justice. If either attorney, upon review of the facts pertinent to the case, discovers a conflict, the only professional thing to do is ask to be recused. After a new attorney is appointed, that attorney should be granted ample time to prepare the case or prepare the appropriate responses. Everyone is entitled to justice, not only those who can afford the most expensive private lawyers.

Has a motive been established for this murder?

 

 

Insight

 

 

A Way To Help Victims Of Silver Lake House Fire

A house burned to the ground in Silver Lake, just outside of Topeka, Kansas on Sunday night. Luckily, everyone is okay, but all of the family's possessions were lost. Silver Lake High School is accepting donations of certain items to try to help the family. The school is accepting donations between 7:30 AM and 4:00 PM on weekdays.

The family’s clothing needs are as follows:
■ For Greg, the father, extra-large T-shirts and sweatpants.
■ For Heather, the mother, size medium shirts.
■ For Melissa, a junior in high school, size medium shirts, size 9 or 10 pants, and shoes in a 7 1/2 or 8.
■ For Chris, who is in his early 20s, size large shirts, pants size 30 x 30, and shoes in size 9 1/2.
■ For Luke, an eighth grader, size medium shirts, pants size 28 x 30, and shoes in size 9 or 10.
■ For Jake, a fourth grader, size youth medium shirts and pants and shoes in size 6.
The family also is in need of toiletries, Liggatt said..........courtesy of c.j.online

 

Material possessions can always be replaced. It is a breath of fresh air to be able to help a family do this.

 

Abbie Hoffman Moment

 

 

Mabon And Thanksigiving Prayers

         Have a wonderful Mabon, all! Remember that today is a day to give thanks!

 

In Case You Missed Church This Sunday

 

Suppose the Allfather actually has this to say about it?

 

Excuse Me, Tom Schroeder; Lies?

Well, well, well! I was in the library in Frankfort, Kansas, the other day, when the guidance counselor/cross country coach of the local public school noticed me in the window and decided to come inside. If he had business of his own in the library, he did not take care of it. All of his attention was focused on yours truly. He was NOT part of any conversation in which I was engaged, or in which I intended to engage; nonetheless, he pointed his finger my direction and announced that I am a "liar". Then he further announced that I should stop "spreading lies". The he informed me, in complete contradiction to information received directly from the superintendent of USD 380, (Frankfort and Centralia schools) that there "is no such thing as open enrollment in Kansas"! That is simply not true, as many Marshall County parents will attest. Valley Heights students transfer regularly to Marysville High. The superintendent of USD 380, which includes Frankfort, stated many times to me that I can transfer my daughter to a different local high school as long as I provide transportation. And Tom Schroeder can read the policy for himself on this website. I rather suspect that he already knows, though, and was simply trying to intimidate me and encourage others to question my knowledge of the facts and my integrity. He is also very upset at the information I have furnished for the public concerning the day he abandoned my fourteen year old daughter four miles south of town, and left her alongside the highway. (she was officially missing for several hours, and he never notified me, her father, or law enforcement) His harassment of me, which was nothing short of abuse, is typical of abusers. The fact that he is currently blaming me and spreading misinformation to the effect that I somehow magnetized his form into the library in order to force him to raise his voice at me and call me names, and to otherwise publicly demoralize me, is a typical first response of that type of criminal, upon being identified by victims. And yes, stalking someone in order to verbally abuse is a crime in Kansas, as is child endangerment, and Tom Schroeder has done both. He wishes to silence me because I will not stop talking about Frankfort School, his employment there, and the danger he presents to children. Calling me a liar will not change the events Tom Schroeder is attempting to cover up and sweep away.

After allowing Tom to rant for a couple of minutes, I told him, when he stopped to catch his breath, that I was "sorry he felt that way". Unfortunately, I also, very casually, called him a "turd", but I'm sure Tom knows that the shoe fits. He stormed out of the library, attending to no other business than the important task of raging at me. At this point, my lawyer is already aware of the situation, and a couple of witnesses have already given accounts. If necessary, video footage can probably also be obtained. The problem, Frankfort, with constantly harassing someone, to the point of forcing your victim to hire legal counsel, is that your victim walks away from the situation having made the acquaintance of legal counsel. Another problem with constant harassment of someone such as myself by someone in possession of a measure or perceived authority within an insular and under socialized locale is that people like me really don't have a reason to assist people with perceived authority, but no real claim to respect, in the ongoing effort to enhance and maintain the veneer. I truly don't care who happens to be important in Marshall County's insane little cliques of racist, church-going folk, and I probably never will. When one of you openly abuses me in public, I will not shrink away, acting as if I deserve your abuse. I will remember who I am, and demand respect. If you happen to call me ugly names if front of children who attend the school where you teach or administrate, I will let you know, in no uncertain terms, that you are a turd, right in front of those children. Guess what happens after that? The children will realize that they have options other than granting you undeserved respect. It works the same way for adults: you use local law enforcement to batter me because I will not "learn how to play by the 'rules'".......quote belongs to local sheriff.......and testify falsely in court against someone to help gain a wrongful conviction against another person, I end up vindicated in the end, the wrongly accused defendant is acquitted, the county attorney is handed her posterior parts on a platter, and everyone watching suddenly realizes that there is no reason to be afraid of the county prosecutor in Marshall County, Kansas, after all. Had I been left alone, not so many people would know that the Marshall County's prosecutor is a big windbag with no litigation skills. Or, Frankfort, there is your threat of arrest by this very same prosecutor because I did not choose to send my children to your local public school, removing enrollment dollars for five children from your coffers. That gesture was to scare me into submission, and to actually attempt a public arrest, so as send a message to other parents about using any other school. Once again, I am not afraid of you. And the school I chose is actually an extension of the district in Lawrence, Kansas, and is a public school.........sending my children there is free. They even lent us two computers! There is also no charge for textbooks. You didn't want any other malcontents among the parents to know that, did you? Well now they do! Without your letter of threat, the challenge would not have seemed like such a big deal.

You see, Tom Schroeder and Frankfort, I don't have any investment in covering up anyone's lack of competence. You have been nothing but hostile to me ever since I moved here, and quite a few people have given me some reliable testimony as to your excuses for this, which happen to include my choices and my circumstances, and which are protected by my constitutional rights. I also don't have any reason to respect most of you, or to feel endeared to most of you. Now that some of you are willing to step on my rights, and not all of you have even met me or know anything about me, how do you expect me to respond? Do I actually have a reason, that you can think of, to care what any of you think? Had you guys just fired the teacher who criminally restrained and recklessly endangered my daughter by dumping her along a Kansas highway and forgetting about her, that day, all afternoon and part of the evening, I would have had much more respect for your community. As it stands at this point, I have no intention of shutting up about it. Tom Schroeder and the rest of the faculty at Frankfort School in Marshall County, Kansas, should stop spreading lies.
 

Update On Cinderella's Petition

A few days ago, I wrote this post, about a young lady named Rhiannon Ambrose, who attempted to take advantage of open enrollment in Kansas by enrolling in Marysville High School, where forensics, speech, and drama are part of the curriculum; instead of enrolling in Frankfort, the public school closest to her home, where none of those classes are offered and one of the teachers is a confessed, yet unprosecuted, child abuser. Today, in a telephone conversation, superintendent Randy Freeman explained to Rhiannon that his initial reason for accepting all students requesting transfer from other districts, except her, would remain undisclosed, but that a new reason is the petition she wrote. Randy Freeman does not welcome students who write and send petitions, either online, or take hard copies of the same door to door. He also stated that he does not welcome students whose parents write and have published various written works. This writer finds that position quite interesting for an educator at an American school! Has Randy Freeman not heard of the Constitution? And the First Amendment? Petitions and public announcements are the cornerstone of Freedom of Expression! In essence, Randy Freeman has told Rhiannon that because she has engaged her First Amendment rights and petitioned, via written word, and because she has first degree relatives who write and have published their work, she is unwelcome in his school, while other transfer students whose parents do not know how to write, are welcome! Are there any more questions about exactly how American public schools have gotten "dumbed down"?

Here is the Updated Petition, don't be shy about signing it! Now that we have an administrator who openly admits that he only wants average or below average children in his school, gifted and talented need not apply, this has become bigger than one child in Kansas. All of our children have a right to learn about communication and about their rights as citizens. Today, an arrogant man, to whom quite a few childrens' educations have been entrusted, proudly announced that he does not encourage learning about the Constitution, or about writing or communication skills.

 

The original post about this whole matter can be read here.

 

Egg Man And Walrus

 

~sigh~ Sitting here in this little town in Missouri while while the sun sets is a total drag. Nobody will talk to me here. Nobody is friendly. Except the mosquitoes.

The above is an actual comment made by someone who is homeless by choice, refuses to work, and will not lift a finger to learn to drive or do anything for herself. That type of comment about people who cannot help her has been her refrain for years. Here's a song for you, hitch hiker:
♫♪♫ Sitting in Missouri, ♪ waiting for a ride to come♫♪
♪Gimme gimme burgers, ♫gimme Mountain Dew to bum!♫♪
I am the Eggman!♪♪♪ They are the Eggman!♪♪♪ You are the Walrus!♪♪♪
♫Give me a ride! ♫ Give me a ride! ♫Give me a ride!♫
Her next Facebook whine has to do with local law enforcement doing their jobs:
Cop came by and told me that it's illegal to hitchhike in Missouri...threatened me and told me to stay in this stupid all nite laundromat...yeah where the camera can keep an eye on me all nite... he had people in a regular local yokel car behind him the whole time that he was talking to me. No offer for food or drink. He doesn't care. He's an ass. By what I can see everyone here is.

Here's another stanza to the song!
♫ Mister city policeman sitting, lots of city policemen in a row!♫♪♫
♪♫ See how they don't like Ruthie In The Sky, ♫ they tell her "no"!♪
♫♫ I'm cryin'! ♫♫ I'm cryyyyyy♪in'!♫♫
Then she got all upset because law enforcement often frowns upon the situations that pose themselves all too often whenever she is present......things like arguments, fights, deliberate attempts to destroy property or become injured, so as to file suit, and missing wallets. Grow up, hitch hiker. No police officer wants things like that going on.
the cop is mean and hellbent on ruining everything. All the effort that has been made to get me to this place and now one local numnutz jerk is going to try to undo it.
Okay, my hitch hiking friend, here's another reason why you shouldn't be allowed to just hang around:
♫Man, you've been a naughty girl, you used a false address!

 

The sad thing, or one of the sad things, about people like the "star" my rant, here, is that the programs she abuses, which were put in place to assist those who actually NEED such programs, mainly poor mothers who have small children and Americans with actual disabilities, would not be in danger of getting shut down if she and those of her ilk would stop abusing these programs. The SNAP program and community pantries are for those who simply have no other honest way of obtaining food for their families. Mothers who are single and unemployed often qualify because a mother cannot leave her children alone, and this often becomes a logistical roadblock in finding gainful employment. There should be no shame in asking for help in such circumstances; it's a lot better than endangering children or allowing them to go hungry. The same goes for shelters; emergency shelters, or emergency assistance with housing, is something communities use to help those who actually have emergency needs and are interested in changing the status from "homeless" to "has permanent address". The subject of the above rant gets very angry, sometimes violently, when emergency shelters turn her away in favor of families with children! Well guess what......? A single, able bodied person who is capable of working and buying her own hotel room is NOT a priority over a child who cannot do those things for himself, and the child's parents also deserve the consideration in those situations that help keep families together. Single adults with no children do not have the same issues.

People like Ruthie, of Ruthie in the Sky, are actually the minority of welfare clients. Most clients of such services have not made the choice to be in their situations, and are simply trying to determine the next, most logical step in order to cope with adversity and solve problems. The problem Ruthie presents for them is her visibility and the amount of time she has to jump in line, so to speak, get on waiting lists, use addresses she really shouldn't use, and grab benefits while other clients are still wondering who to see about each particular problem. Looking for a job, or going to work, finding childcare, helping children with homework, caring for infants, ect., is much more time consuming and demanding of energy than anything Ruthie has attempted to do, yet Ruthie is much, much more visible than any of those more deserving people. And while she is busy being visible, she is very hard on the vision! Sitting in places where she has been asked not to sit, yelling at people, starting fights and arguments, taking enough food for three people at a time when three people, at least, will have to go hungry each time she does this, has lent a very negative image to a stereotype of a person whose circumstances actually merit community assistance. This may be one of the reasons Kansas Republican representatives voted to cut the SNAP program recently. What Ruthie has actually accomplished by making people disgusted by her overeating, non-working presence has not only served to directly consume that which was never hers or intended for her, but to also eliminate resources for children which would otherwise have been left in place! What a greedy pig!
I am so mad that I could just spit nails! Cop shut down my hitchhiking and won't help me with anything. I am hungry thirsty and forced to walk up a dark road to pee!
Above is another whine from the same source. That is yet another reason the police probably wanted this particular hitch hiker to cease and desist. She refused to use her own money to procure her own shelter, and is now stating that she is planning to expose herself! Yuck! And don't do it around children! And the city policeman WAS doing his job; his job is to tell people not to hitch hike and not to trespass and loiter. He is also there to make sure no one's wallet get's stolen. The citizens of Missouri do NOT expect him to feed and water the nuisance creators when he asks them to move on!
I won't take any more of the nonsense that started last night. I deserve much better and I am going to go back to where I think that I will have a better chance of finding what I should have.
I am glad you won't take any more of the nonsense, Ruthie. You shouldn't. You should start living somewhere permanently and working to keep that permanent address at your earliest convenience. You do deserve better: you deserve a job, an honestly earned paycheck, a place to disrobe without committing indecent exposure, and your own damn Mountain Dew! You also deserve a chance to reimburse everyone of whose advantage you have taken, and you deserve a chance to pay back any monies stolen from the wallets of children. I hope you "find" all that!

Has Anyone Seen David Welch?

David Welch, of Manhattan, Kansas, is missing, and has been missing since September 2. While adults can go missing if they choose, seventeen days is a long time, especially with no internet log-ins, email checks, or bank activity. His picture and appropriate contact information are below.

 

 

Once A Kansas Teacher, Always A Kansas Teacher

There is a push to start fingerprinting teachers in Kansas while performing criminal background checks, in an ongoing effort to curb the renewals of licenses of those teachers who have committed serious crimes both before and after starting their careers. But what good will that do? As has already been noted, in addition to criminal background checks for new hires, Kansas already has a law mandating that law enforcement and county prosecutors report any known criminal activity on the part of an educator to the Kansas Department Of Education, yet, during the past two years, only fourteen of the one hundred and five county prosecutors in Kansas reported such incidents as directed by law!

The problem does not lie in identification of these cases, it lies in proper documentation and reporting of same. In a more heavily populated or multi-lingual area, communication could present a possible problem in reporting and documentation, but here in Kansas, the problem with renewal of teaching licenses for criminals is much more likely to be cover-up and protection of cronies. Since this is probably not going to change without the help of citizens who care about the quality of the education received by our children, the most logical step a parent can take, after making sure that appropriate police reports are made, is to report any legally defined child endangerment incidents directly to the Kansas Department Of Education. This would relieve the political burden on the shoulders of the elected, and thereby recallable, county prosecutors. The telephone number one would call is 785-291-3678.

 

Insight

 

 

It's Time For Light

 

The Full Moon glows

The Full Moon knows

New Light she throws

Where shadows froze

 

Petition Requesting Fairness Of Marysville Kansas School Board

A couple of weeks ago, I wrote this post concerning the residence of a talented high school junior in a Kansas school district that would rather cut and cut the curriculums and extra curricular activities for their students, rather than consolidate with other Kansas school districts, enabling the availability of more educational options for students. Sports, of course, was not touched; only the classes which appeal to the more artistic or intellectually inclined students, of which USD 380, Vermillion Kansas, has too few.

Rhiannon Ambrose would love to attend a school that offers forensics, speech, and drama. She also would like to sing and take music. Unfortunately, Frankfort, her home school, does not offer those classes, and when she tried to take extracurricular vocal, the music teacher denied her, reserving the slots in his choir for children who have lived in Frankfort since birth or early childhood, or whose parents have political connections in the area. He admits this, too, and says he has been doing this for over twenty-seven years, and that he is not going to change now! Okay, fine; but J.D. Gallion even took it a step further, and told Rhiannon her voice was terrible, and not to ever sing again! What a jerk! He also discriminates against anyone who does not attend a Christian church, too, and proudly discriminates in the name of Frankfort United Methodist Church, but that's another post!

Rhiannon Ambrose decided to simply ask USD 364, a neighboring school district, if she could take advantage of "open enrollment" in Kansas and attend Marysville High. The answer was "no"! Apparently, "open enrollment" is only "open" to "certain" children, even though the law and the policy, itself, state that it is open to any student in good standing!  It would be better for USD 380 to keep Rhiannon and suck up those enrollment dollars for her presence, rather than let go of her, and allow her to attend a different school, where she could happily take the classes in which she excels. I am sharing a link to the petition that was written about this, and I am asking everyone to sign it and share it. This is unfair, and it has made a political casualty out of a high school student.

Rhiannon's petition can be signed if you click on the link. Thankyou, everyone!
 

Totally Cool Video Of The Moon's Rotation

This video was snagged from the Lunar Reconaissance Orbiter. Because the moon is tidally locked to the earth, it takes just as long to rotate completely as it does to circle the earth, just over twenty-seven days.

 

Abbie Hoffman Moment

 

 

 

Laura McNish Strikes Again

Laura McNish strikes again! Or maybe not. According to the Marysville Advocate, she has finally gotten around to filing a petition before Kansas Corperation Commission about a project by Clean Line Energy called the Grain Belt Express. This petition is to express concerns of the landowners in Marshall County, Kansas, who will be affected in many ways by this budding enterprise. Many objections have been voiced, from the possible incompatibility of transport of direct current in places that already transport alternating current, to property owners losing their land to eminent domain.

Eminent domain is a process that is generally used as a means of compensating owners of real estate for property that must be bought and used by the government or the community for the benefit of the public and the community. Clean Line Energy is a private enterprise, and none of the direct current transported by the Grain Belt Express will benefit Kansans, particularly in Marshall County. In fact, it appears that Kansas simply wants to confiscate land from unwilling property owners, giving them nothing more than "conscience money"........not anywhere near market value......to go ahead and make a quick buck by selling it to Clean Line Energy.

The Grain Belt Express has been in the works since July of 2010, which, ironically; is when Laura McNish was appointed to serve as council to Marshall County, Kansas. Why did she wait until now to address the concerns of those whose properties and whose livelihoods will be affected by the Grain Belt Express? August 30 was last day to file a petition: why did she not file before then? Hearings to answer questions about direct current and alternating current, and the requirements involved for both, have been in progress since 2010. While Clean Line Energy is overly optimistic about the engineering aspect, it is downright insensitive to the desires of the farmers and other landowners, all of whom would have appreciated the opportunity to voice their concerns much earlier. During a recent meeting with Clean Line representatives and Marshall County residents, McNish appeared either weak, or resigned to the defeat of her constiuents' goals. Could she have gotten Marshall County's voices heard in a more timely and efficient manner? Was it possible to inform residents of Marshall County before the eleventh hour? Does Laura McNish truly represent Marshall County?

 

 

In Case You Skipped Church This Sunday

 

Just an overlooked perspective here, that's all!

Dr. Phil Trailer For Kyron Horman

I should have included this in the last post, but didn't think of it until someone on Facebook posted it. I truly wish Dr. Phil didn't have to cover this, and that Kyron had been found by now. He's been missing for much too long. Hopefully, Dr. Phil can inspire Kyron's parents to work together, once again, and with new determination. A missing child's best asset and hope of being found is a devoted and committed family working together. Criminals who prey on children often get away with it much more easily when communication breaks down between parents. Tuesday, September 17.
 

Dr. Phil Will Discuss The Kyron Horman Case

 

On Tuesday, September 17, Dr. Phil will cover the Kyron Horman case on his show. Kyron Horman has been missing since June 4, 2010, when he disappeared during a science fair at his school, Skyline Elementary, in Portland, Oregon. The last known person to see Kyron was his stepmother, Terri Horman, who is soon to become his ex stepmother. His age progressed picture and the number to contact, should anyone see him or know his whereabouts, appears above. Hopefully, the new attention and publicity will bring the awareness and cooperation that will solve this case. No child or family deserves this.

 

 

Stuff The Marysville Advocate Didn't Mention

The Marysville Advocate, the major publication of Marshall County Kansas, the virtual definition of the statement, "nice is different than good", occasionally leaves it's readers in the dark about the more important items that either happen in Marshall County Kansas, or directly affect Marshall County. This week, since most of the public schools in Marshall County started again for the fall so recently, the fact that many Northeast Kansas schools, Marshall County's schools included, started without insurance due to the change in Kansas law in July of this year, allowing teachers to take guns to school, should have been of great interest to parents. If nothing else, a notification, or a complete article about this, should be enough to start a conversation in Marshall County about how to make public schools safer, and insurable! A lot of Marshall County teachers don't even know that their workplaces are not properly insured anymore. It seems that underwriters would prefer prying pencils from warm live hands, rather than guns from cold dead hands! Go figure!

The discussion of the uninsurable state of Kansas public schools, of course, would lead to the mention of alternatives, of which there are quite a few. Private schools and homeschooling are usually among a parent's first choices, but there is also the online option, with better textbooks, lower cost, (almost free) and more updated curriculums. The Marysville Advocate was extremely quiet about that, as well. Many parents in Kansas have opted to enroll their children in virtual schools this year. It makes sense, as it is a lot safer than sending a child to a school where guns are permitted. One Marshall County parent was threatened with arrest for choosing not to enroll her children in public school, but the principal of Frankfort School, who made this threat, was encouraged to sit down, shut up, and leave everyone alone. No arrests have been made as of yet over the choices of different schools!

One more interesting piece of news that suspiciously did not get much attention in the Marysville Advocate is that our very own Laura McNish, the county prosecutor, tried a case before a jury last week, something that rarely happens in Marshall County, and something she rarely does by herself. She usually has to have help from someone with actual trial experience! She lost, and the defendant won, after an entire day of deliberations, posturing, namecalling, (on McNish's part) and powerpoint charts consisting of none other than the same words McNish said verbally! She used a pointer to point to the words as she talked. How this swallowed nine hours of time, for a misdemeanor, is anyone's guess, but the outcome of a jury trial, tried solo by Laura McNish, should interest Marshall County. Her constituents may enjoy knowing more about her abilities and her understanding of the law and of our Constitution. At this point, your writer tries very hard to keep a straight face, nonetheless; it was unusual enough to merit mention in the headlines.

"Nice", innocuous news is nice, but not terribly informative. Why can't the Marysville Advocate take a chance with real news and actual headlines? Advertisers might be pleasantly surprised by the volume of attention this would bring to their advertised products.

 

 

Ask The Dog For References

If only pets could talk. The dog in this video did not like the babysitter. The baby's parents wanted to know why, and they finally hid a camera in the house, and caught the babysitter on camera cussing the baby out and smacking him, because she did not want to change his diapers. No wonder the dog didn't want her to come back! The footage on the cell phone camera, which is what the parents used to capture the babysitter's behavior, provided enough probable cause for an arrest warrant, and now the babysitter is in jail. An animal's reactions should not be overlooked or taken lightly.

Through The Lens Of Siriunsun's Camera

Locust Plague In Kansas

Grrr.......We have a parasite hitching through southern Kansas right now! She's hungry, lazy, and crazy! Lock your doors! Lock your refrigerators! Lock your cars, too! And do not pick up any hitchhikers!

Hide your wallet, too!

Bwahahahahahaha!

Give me a fish and I eat for a day.
Teach me to fish, and I eat for a lifetime.

Get a clue, parasite.

Another Judge With His Frankfurter Up His Anus

A couple of weeks ago, in Montana, Judge G. Todd Baugh announced that he intends to stay on the bench, despite public outcry and demands for his resignation. The reason for all of the protest is quite simple: in 2008, a teacher at a Montana high school, Stacey Dean Ramboldt, had sex with a fourteen year female old student. The judge insisted upon acting as if the student, rather than the teacher, was on trial. He even stated that the fourteen year old had "control" of the situation. Eventually, the girl committed suicide, eliminating herself as a witness and clearing the way for the defense to garner a very light sentence for Ramboldt......thirty days in jail. Judge Baugh's dingbat apology can be heard in the video below.

Another fourteen year old student was abused in the Midwest. A Frankfort Kansas guidance counselor, by the name of Tom Schroeder, abandoned a female high school freshman along the highway, four miles south of the school and the town of Frankfort. When she got lost, attempting to find her way back to school, she stayed lost all afternoon. Tom Schroeder did not notify law enforcement, or even call the parents. He proceeded to look for her by himself, unsuccessfully. Some young men eventually happened upon the missing high school freshman and brought her back to Frankfort a few hours later. Despite the fact that contracts for teachers in Kansas prohibit the commission of any crime while employed as a teacher, Tom Schroeder's Frankfort parents and other community connections have mattered much, much more than the safety of the children in his charge. The local unified school board, USD 380, went ahead and "unified" into an action to retain the services of Tom Schroeder despite his ineffective presence at school. Because kidnapping and unlawful restraint are very serious crimes, and because Tom Schroeder admitted to the local school board and to the superintendent that he did, in fact, leave a fourteen year old alongside the highway by herself with no authority to do so, (how would any teacher gain authority to do a thing like that?) his contract as an educator was breached. At the very least, he should be terminated as a school employee, and we all know that anyone whose parents did not donate large amounts of money to the unified school district would probably have been charged with criminal actions and tried.

All of the "Frankfurters", and others from surrounding towns who make up USD 380, who are on the school board, or who teach or work in administrative positions at the school, have a mandatory responsibility to alert Child Protective Services when someone recklessly endangers or kidnaps a child, and also when someone neglects a child. Child Protective Services, however; had not heard about the incident involving the abandonment of the fourteen year old freshman until her parents made the report. So we know, for a fact, that those who work at USD 380 do not do their jobs completely unless they "feel like it". Judge G. Todd Baugh, in Montana, had a responsibility, as well, to alert the appropriate authorities, especially when he discovered that a child had been sexually abused. Instead, he blamed the child. Even the Frankfurters in Frankfort Kansas blamed the high school freshman for not knowing the area! (she had but recently moved to Kansas) Unfortunately, the list of things that these two travesties have in common does not end at the age of the victims and the reactions of the justice system, but extends to the fact that both teachers are still free to endanger children, with the Frankfurter Kansas specimen benefitting from employers who deliberately cover for him, a crime in and of itself.

Insight

Happy Birthday Kyron

Kyron Horman is still missing. He disappeared from Skyline Elementary, in Portland, Oregon on June 10, 2010. He was seven years old. Today is Kyron's eleventh birthday. His family has not given up the search for him, and will not stop trying to find him until he is home.

Separation Of Communication And State

Moving from the analog world to the digital world has left some loose ends in national and global communications which, instead of protecting, the United States government has exploited. Separation of Church and State is not respected or guarded carefully enough; and now it is time to write and enact legislation about the separation of communication and State! Most Americans do not thoroughly understand their fourth amendment rights, and that apparently, is by design. Schools need to return to actual teaching, and demand that students learn before graduating, and citizens need to understand their rights when communications have been intercepted unlawfully and abused. Has anyone gotten around to questioning what might be the government's keen interest in carrying out such abuses?

Abbie Hoffman Moment

And now, for your Abbie Hoffman moment this week:

Has Your School's Insurance Been Canceled?

Has your local public school's insurance been canceled? If you live in Kansas, the answer might be "yes". EMC Insurance Companies, the Iowa based backer for most of the insurance companies used by public schools in Kansas, has refused, this year, to underwrite a policy for any public school that allows guns on school premises, except in certain instances, such as when police officers happen to visit a school for some reason, in the line of duty. In July of this year, Kansas lawmakers decided not only to extend de facto permission to allow guns at school to  students who hunt in the morning, before school starts; but to also allow teachers to carry concealed weapons to school!

In the tiny public school that is closest to my home, all six of my children have been bullied by oversized, pink, blond children, and when that has not been enough to satisfy the lust for violence among the inbred population that was waiting for us when we moved here, teachers began to bully me and send nasty emails to me, for such infractions as failing to support their favored candidates during elections and failing to attend their churches! The ACLU was forced to step in on my behalf! No loving parent sends a child to Frankfort School in Kansas if another choice is available. Should any of the teachers who stoop to bullying tactics experience a momentary lapse of reason while carrying a gun, the closest child would probably be the first to take a bullet, and the child with the darkest hair and skin would probably be the first at whom the bullet is deliberately aimed.

In response to the new law, allowing teachers of all levels of sanity and intelligence, or lack thereof, to carry weapons to school, EMC has decided that the risk is unworthy, and about ninety percent of Kansas public schools did not have insurance when school started. Because public schools in Kansas are not consolidated, but run by small, "unified" districts and ridicules local school boards, school boards are scrambling to appease insurance companies with newfangled "policies" about guns in schools, in an ongoing effort to convince underwriters that their buildings will be safe. If schools were consolidated and all under the control of the state of Kansas, one decision could be made for all Kansas public schools, and the insurance companies would not have to deal individually with many different school districts. In the mean time, school has started with no insurance for most public schools in Kansas. Failing to carry insurance is against the law in most states for drivers, and most businesses must carry insurance, so I can only wonder how public schools in Kansas get away with this. Also, why has this been largely ignored by Kansas media? Are parents seriously not concerned about children attending uninsurable schools?

It should also come as no surprise when the unified districts that do manage to procure insurance find themselves doing so at a higher rate than they formerly paid. The climate of Kansas schools has already been shown to be unsafe. Shouldn't the local school boards on the unified districts have seen this coming, and begged their representatives to vote otherwise on this law? Now there will be even less money for actual education, such as it is in Kansas.

Some time ago, the local school board thought I was jesting when I explained to them that allowing guns at school in the hands of students is foolish, and that if they did nothing about the guns that were taken to school by certain students, I would make their oversights public. I called the school's insurance company, and was told that under no circumstances should a weapon be taken to a school by a student or a teacher, and that the information I had just given them would be shared with their investors. I suppose those who provide the school's insurance had hoped that the school board folks would wake up and smell the coffee before a tragedy forces their eyes open, but Kansas, instead, has compounded the issue.

In other news, Iowa has begun to grant permits to carry concealed weapons to blind applicants.