Through The Lens Of Siriunsun's Camera

Cedar Rapids Iowa

I've asked you before, person whose signal hails from Cedar Rapids, Iowa: what do you want? I know of more than one IP address and location from which you browse this site. I have also noticed you on a mobile device or two. I know which posts grab your interest. I also know who you are. You have not; however, told me what you want.

If you want the things I share on this site to change, don't hold your breath. This is my site, and the words I publish are not chosen to please you. They are not chosen to please the subject of most of the posts you read and re-read, either. That is something I do not owe either of you. Your sister initially thought I did, but she was sadly mistaken. Ha! That was certainly amusing! The First Amendment of our Constitution, here in America, grants all Americans the same rights that are enjoyed by your sister. I do not need a special license to publish the truth; I have freedom of speech, and freedom of expression. Since your sister's position is elected, I can tell the general public anything about her that I think will attract their interest. In order to obtain a measure of protection from that, and enjoy some shelter from liable or slander, she would have to resign her elected position. The fact that no one ran against her does not matter.

What was so important on this site that you actually took time away from your family and spent it here, with me, on Thanksgiving Day and Christmas Day? If there is something you desperately need to know, by all means, email me! Use the information in my profile to do so, or send me a comment, but mark it "private". I will not publish it; I moderate the comments here. Don't cheat your children out of time with their mother on holidays! That's a little old fashioned, I know. It's also something your sister failed to understand about me, and about the family she attempted to destroy. While our rights are guaranteed us by the government, familial affection, obligation, and tradition are not. Those things transcend government control of any kind. Children who are loved are also a lot less likely to drive their parents' vehicles over the cornfields, lawns, and gardens of others.

If you want me to stop sharing the things I find interesting, you will spend eternity waiting. No one who is vested in the government, or the Koch Brothers; as the case may be; is going to tell me what to share on my site. Or in person, for that matter. I will never be blind enough to believe that the government can and should ruin the physical and social environments of people here on Earth. And don't expect my exercise of the first amendment to ever stop, as long as there are humans on this planet. This goes back to why you should spend holidays with your children, rather then scoping the internet, in search of opposition. While the pen is mightier than the sword, the hand that rocks the cradle is the hand that rules the nation. Who rocks the cradle in your home?

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.

Birds Know How To Deal With Missionaries

A couple of wild birds have acted more sensible than two thousand years worth of generations of humans. The former pope released a couple of non-native doves as a gesture of "peace" and the a crow and a seagull who already lived in the geographic area chased them away. Why couldn't humans have done that with entities released by the church? And how can an organization that isn't peaceful in any way achieve a gesture of peace?

Very smart wild birds. We could all learn a lot from them.

One day, perhaps Christians will learn to stop using unwilling participants as symbols in their endless, meaningless gestures. Each of the doves of this story is a living creature in his own right. Why would the pope assume that the dove would automatically wish to become a part of a statement on the behalf of the most bigoted, dishonest, and ruthless organization on the planet?

Abbie Hoffman Moment

 

Another Conflict For Laura Johnson McNish

Does everyone in Marshall County, Kansas think that Laura Johnson-McNish, the county attorney, truly represents Marshall County? In light of the Grain Belt Express, to which quite a few Marshall County residents objected, here is some data that was never offered: click on this link to see a picture of someone rather closely connected to Johnson-McNish. Scroll down the page and look at the pictures of the board of directors. You will see a picture of someone possessing a strong familial connection to Johnson-McNish. With a family member serving on the board of directors of the Energy Bar, will Johnson-McNish still truly represent Marshall County if she finds herself at cross purposes with the intentions of the Energy Bar? As we know already, Johnson-McNish is owned by the Republican Party in Kansas. We can expect the Koch Brothers and their ilk to control all of her decisions.

I know, I know. He represents Texas, not Kansas. It's just that his statement is so typical of Republican rhetoric. It never ceases to amaze me that people actually accept this type of reasoning, and the unfortunate accompanying voting record, from their elected representatives. As long as we have folks like Joe Barton in office, wind will not be a "finite resource" and it will never slow down!

In Case You Missed Church On Sunday

 

Hmmm......would the "truth" be something like this, Bully Graham?

 

Wake up, America!

Only To Reflect Everlasting Moonlight

Only for you, Everlasting Moonlight, will I consider adding to this. I understand the different shades and hues that come into view from new moon to new moon, and there are, indeed, phases of development. The only thing I ask of you is that you never cast shadows from Yesod, but instead remain in the light of Tiferet. So Mote It Be!

Private Message

Of course the people in the town you are sucking dry don't want you to get too comfortable. They really don't owe you lodging and warmth. You have a disability check, and it is your responsibility to spend it on shelter. The population in whichever town from which you are currently sponging has a responsibility to provide a basic infrastructure for it's real people with real lives, not for people who have turned up their noses to responsibility. You don't have a real life because you don't spend your resources on real things, such as shelter. Now, no one wants to shelter you. No one wants to give you Mountain Dew, either. What is left for you to do? Funny you should ask! Here's an idea: take however much you need from your monthly disability check and use it as a deposit on a room or an efficiency. Sign a lease agreement. Move in at your earliest convenience. Then........get a job, so you can pay the rent. See? That's pretty easy. Now go do it, and shut up!


P.S. Not everyone realizes this, but I have walked in your shoes. I was very close to someone else who walked in your shoes, too. What we both found is that it really works out better to take responsibility.

Who The Hell Chooses This Name For A Business?

Here's another interesting Midwest business logo! This is one of a chain of convenience stores in the Midwest. Who, on earth, thought of that name? Would you go inside and eat something bought in a place called "Kum and Go"?

Kansas Board Of Education Dude On Drugs

I'm a little late in mentioning this interesting Kansas incident, because it happened earlier this month, but here's what a Kansas board Of Education president looks like on drugs. John Reeder, of Trego County, was arrested on charges of possession and intent to distribute with one thousand feet of a school. Because of his position, he really should have known better. There was also a handgun involved, but isn't this why Governor Brownback allows teachers in Kansas to take guns to school? Reeder resigned immediately, so that his district could carry on with it's "business" without distractions; gotta wonder what is meant by "business". He doesn't look the slightest bit upset by all this in his booking photo, does he?

Through The Lens Of Siriunsun's Camera

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.

Insight

 

 

Reasons Why Kansans Are A Problem For The Real World

A friend of mine shared this on Facebook. I was embarrassed, because this Republican creep is right here, in Kansas, coming forward with yet another truly stupid, Kansas-style statement. We have Kansans who feel that people with sickle cell anemia and thalassemias should report directly to work when medical advice recommends transfusions. We have Kansans who deny disabled children education that is equal to that of other children. We even have a county attorney in Marshall County who suspends the medical care of inmates in the county detention center when they insist upon jury trials and refuse to plead guilty to charges. This prosecutor isn't even concerned when these tactics result in death.  And now we have a Republican representative who thinks that a woman does not need birth control over the age of fifty. I wonder if he realizes just how risky a pregnancy can be after that age? 

This is why we have to stop getting our representatives at Kmart, folks. Seriously. And Kansas, there have been some really stupid statements made by politicians in the past, but this comment really stands out. Before you guys hate on me,(Frankfurters, I'm looking at you, here) and send me all those rude comments, some containing dialogue that is so rife with obscene language that I can barely understand you, stop and think about this. Why not direct your pith toward people like Allan Rothlisberg? 

Of course, the people in Frankfort Kansas will probably expect a pregnant woman over fifty to donate blood when she discovers that her hemoglobin is around six, and she needs a transfusion. They'd expect her to forgo medical care from an obstetrician, too.

Abbie Hoffman Moment

 

In Case You Slept Through Church On Sunday

Chances are, if you went to this lunatic's church on Sunday, you did not sleep through his sermon! I had no idea that anyone with such stupid, whacky things to say could even have a following, let alone a big church! What a sad statement about America. Sadly, we are not a Pagan nation. While yours truly is and always will be a Pagan without shame, Hagee's congregation is a bunch of dumbasses without shame.

The principles if Witchcraft are taught in public schools? Seriously, Hagee? If you think that, you are beyond stupid. You are simply delusional.

 

Not Only A Troll, But A Liar

Here's what nonthinking frankfurter moron said I said:  I don't think its fair to bring her daughter into this matter. You are wrong about her daughter not being sick, she has seizures and needs someone to take care of her.

And here's what I actually said: Her mother tried to buy home confinement and an ankle bracelet by paying $50,000 toward restitution, and there were some greatly exaggerated claims about an illness on the part of a family member who supposedly needs Monica's care, (ha! that's simply not true) but the judge gave her prison time, anyway.

The post about which frankfurters are having psychotic attacks is this one, about Monica Smart and her theft of half a million dollars. Anyone wishing to see what I actually said can read the above copied sentence, in which I mentioned a relative of Monica Smart, and discussion in court about the relative's need for ongoing care from Monica because of a medical problem. Did I say daughter? No! Did I say seizures? No! While the Marysville Advocate and the Topeka Capital Journal did say daughter and seizures, I did not, because it's not anyone else's personal business, and it's not part of the story or the situation at hand. The reason I mentioned it is because it sounded to me as if Monica Smart was using her child as a bargaining chip in court, in order to avoid the problem she faces of having the laws apply to her, just like the laws apply to people from other parts of the country.  And I think that's really low. If Monica was really terribly concerned about caring for anyone with medical problems, it seems to me that a life of crime was contraindicated. As in: "If you can't do the time, don't do the crime." But Monica, after the manner of other under-socialized, Midwestern Americans of Anglo-Saxon and Germanic descent, thought she was too white to go to jail. Or that the prosecution couldn't really be serious about consequences. Or that mommy could buy her way out of prison. Or that Jesus would save her......or something like that. When none of those things turned out to be true in her case, she used one of her kids as a pawn. But; disgruntled frankfurter troll: I did not reveal the adult child's identity. THAT WAS YOU!

Then, my troll went on to say this: I have not personally attacked you and I would be willing to bet that Monica's daughter has not done so either.

It would not surprise me in the slightest if this non-thinking, sappy, unbalanced, emotional little troll was out gossiping about me, and my family, right now. The troll actually had a contorted notion that I made a statement I didn't make, and even in the presence of the printed words that I actually DID write, reacted as if I wrote what she thought I wrote, instead of what I wrote! Can anyone see why the inbred population of long term, under-socialized, silly-assed residents in this community annoy me so much? Not all of them; but definitely the ones connected to the school, and the ones who maintain friendships that surround the school. I didn't even mention the specific relationship of the family member whom Monica Smart was using as a "Get Out Of Jail Free Card".

I should probably remind my troll, whose signal did reach me from somewhere very local to the teeming metropolis of Frankfort, that inbreeding is against the law, too. You won't go to prison for it, like Monica Smart, but dagnab.......if everyone could comprehend and think critically, instead of interpreting data the way you do, the world would be a much better place.

Through The Lens Of Siriunsun's Camera

Update On The Morals Taught By Frankfort Kansas School

Not too long ago, I mentioned the spouse of a teacher at the small public school in Frankfort Kansas, because she embezzled a bunch on money from her employer, an insurance company, and from her clients. About half a million dollars. On Monday, January 13, Monica Smart was sentenced in federal court to twenty-one months in prison. Her mother tried to buy home confinement and an ankle bracelet by paying $50,000 toward restitution, and there were some greatly exaggerated claims about an illness on the part of a family member who supposedly needs Monica's care, (ha! that's simply not true) but the judge gave her prison time, anyway. Sometime within the next month or so, Mrs. Smart will get notified that there is space at one of the womens' prisons in the country, and she will be chained up and flown to it, unless it happens to be within driving distance. That's simply not supposed to happen to frankfurters! Especially Christian frankfurters.......Jesus is supposed to protect them from getting caught when they commit crimes!

There are several reasons why this bothers me. First of all, not only Monica Smart, but her husband, Larry Smart, a public school teacher, was found to be compromised in the investigation. At this writing, he does not appear to have any charges lodged against him, but he is the subject of civil complaints connected to his wife's conduct. While she is serving time in a federal prison, he will obviously maintain sympathies toward someone who held others in contempt by stealing half a million dollars from them. If she escapes or fails to report to federal marshals, and becomes a fugitive, federal marshals will rip through everywhere to which she has a connection, in desperate and feverish pursuit. The first places they normally check, in those situations, are the family residences of fugitives. If her big poofy blond head is not found at home, they will probably try to find her husband. They may or may not care about the fact that Larry is employed at a school. I, personally, would not want a teacher to put some fugitive's interests and well being ahead of any child's, but Larry Smart is married to a convicted felon.

The moral message passed along to students is disturbing, as well. Frankfort School has had run-ins with the ACLU and federal agencies in the past concerning the disturbing habit of interfering with the cultures and religions of others; only to try, unsuccessfully, to argue that forcing religious activities is "teaching morals". Is the Smarts' complicity in embezzling, and the act of welcoming the Smarts and their crime, with open arms and no caution, an example of "teaching morals"? They used their stolen money to pay for expensive school trips and other frills that I could not afford for my children. My daughter, unaware of the embezzling, truly thought that she was not loved by her family because we do not embezzle or steal to gain such an advantage. Why would the school even play along? Why did teachers and school administration tell my children that if I loved them, I would have enough money to pay for vehicles for all of them and for trips, just as the Smarts and other teachers? (yes, the Smarts' ample provision for their childrens' luxuries was thrown in my face by angry children more than once.....only my angry children didn't realize how deeply criminal their community can be, at times) Some of the teachers at Frankfort, as well as the principal, have gone out of their way to make sure that all of my childrens' classmates knew that while others can occasionally work freely and happily from home at freelance projects, it was morally wrong for yours truly to do so. For me to take advantage of such an option made me lazy, and put my life in the category of welfare fraud, (even though I have never been on welfare) according to the frankfurter folks, and that's exactly what the sixth grade teacher told my children! It seems that being a stay at home mom is something that is afforded to those sweet Christian women who usually have open legs to go along with their open bibles; but not to me. It's not okay with Frankfort Kansas if I stay home and take care of my children. But it is okay with Frankfort Kansas if an insurance agent steals half a million dollars. She is, after all, doing something to benefit her family!

On Monday, a relative of Alice Jones, the library director who lets children bring booze and illegal drugs into the library, was still defending the Smarts. I can only guess that this woman was not a victim of the fraud and embezzling; however, speaking of Alice Jones, perhaps Monica's motive was to keep up with the Jones's. But to keep up with these particular Jones's, stealing half a million dollars needn't have been Monica's special crime: she could have just hired some high school students via Heartland Works and let them come to work drunk, straight from school, and bring some recreational prescription pills with them, right Alice Jones? Safety in the school is compromised by the husband of a convicted felon on the premises, and teaching the whole disgusting lesson that violating federal law is acceptable, as long as one gets away with it, is simply wrong. This is not the kind of example teachers should set.

In a rather glaring example of dereliction of duty, Laura Johnson-McNish attended the sentencing hearing, rather than attending to the duties of the office of Marshall County Prosecutor. She did not prosecute this case, and lost the only case she ever tried, all by herself, before a jury. Had the citizens of Kansas actually been forced to rely upon the legal expertise of Johnson-McNish, Smart would still be robbing insurance customers blind. Johnson-McNish is only effective when a defendant who has been caught red handed is willing to cop a plea, and even then, she is only marginally effective. Why did I, as a taxpayer, have to pay her salary for a day's galavanting as a spectator in proceedings to which she had no viable contribution? Taxpayers should not have to pay for Laura Johnson-McNish to satisfy her curiosity any more than they should have to pay for her to go to the movies. And why did Laura Johnson-McNish address the press on this matter?

"I would like to thank Chief Todd Ackerman, the Marysville Police Department, FBI agent Scott Gentine, and Christine Kenney, attorney with the U.S. attorney general's office, for their efforts in securing justice in this case."

Not only did she have the gall to thank those who actually are qualified to practice law and dispense justice as if they had actually done her a personal favor; she does not, and has never, cared about securing justice. No one should be fooled by McNish's pandering. Her position, as county attorney, is elected.

Mike Pompeo Preparing To Strike Again

Oh boy.....oh joy. Mike Pompeo, the proud republican proponent of lots of crazily worded legislation supporting fracking in Kansas, is running for Congress again in Wichita. This time his catch phrase has to do with Congress reducing the amount of "spending" two years in a row, and how that hasn't happened since WWII, and how it wouldn't happen if Nancy Pelosi were still Speaker of the House. He says he wants to "restore the American Dream". (where's the eye-rolley when I need it?)

Mike Pompeo's contributions to restoration of the "American Dream" really support the dreams of a couple of businessmen in the top financial one percent, namely, the Koch Brothers, rather than any dream that might be conjured by a mainstream American. He also fails to explain exactly what he means by "reduction of spending" by Congress for the first time in two years. If he means that Congress is failing to pay it's bills, or spend on education, or spend on the well-being of our military personnel, then failing to spend is actually counter productive, and will cost the American population a lot more in the long run. Refusal to make the proper investments in the middle class, or in what was once the middle class, is not a viable method of restoring the elusive American Dream. The Koch Brothers and their ilk actually don't need a thriving middle class anymore, but are threatened by it. Education reveals answers, and knowledgeable conclusions demand critical thinking. Unfortunately for the energy industry, answers and critical thinking have the potential to end the profitability of the oil industry, and interfere with the dreams of the Koch Brothers. Their Dream is not the American Dream, and runs contrary to the American Dream. They want to control almost all of the resources and money, while Americans only have the choice of working and living for them. And they have effectively bought and paid for the services of Mike Pompeo in Congress to protect their rape of Kansas.

The American Dream, such as it is or was, never truly existed. Before the partial repeal of the Banking Act of 1933, the American middle class was deemed a worthy investment by elected leaders and by the entrepreneurs among the population. Women, African Americans, and other minorities; however, experienced enough discrimination to effectively prohibit them from participating in the game, and when over fifty percent of all segments of a population is prohibited from playing, the game is tightly controlled. When we stopped discriminating against minorities and allowed a bigger volume of players in the game of American Dream, we changed the rules of the industries that control all the money. Those industries became internationally "too big to fail", and when they actually do fail, there is no remedy. Now, there are not anywhere near as many investments made in the population in general, and the American people suffer as a result. If Mike Pompeo truly wanted to restore the American Dream, he might enjoin a statewide or national discussion of banking laws from the end of the Great Depression until Today, and examine and reveal the support of his major campaign contributors, especially the Koch Brothers, to changes in banking law that have made the American Dream inaccessible to many Americans. Mike Pompeo uses smoke and mirrors instead of honest discussion. Refusal to invest in the middle class will not restore the American Dream.

Insight

 

 

New Blood

February 11 is The Day We Fight Back. This campaign is about awareness of the liberties that often are taken by government entities with our personal information and our fourth and fifth amendment rights. Unconstitutional surveillance programs not only hinder our rights to connect and communicate privately, but undermine democracy itself in this country. From the above linked website:

"On the day of action, the coalition and the activists it represents make calls and drive emails to lawmakers. Owners of websites will install banners to encourage their visitors to fight back against surveillance, and employees of technology companies will demand that their organizations do the same. Internet users are being asked to develop memes and change their social media avatars to reflect their demands.
Websites and Internet users who want to talk part can visit TheDayWeFightBack.org to sign up for email updates and to register websites to participate. Regular updates will be posted to the site between now and the February 11th day of action."

Abbie Hoffman Moment

 

 

A New Sign In Roseburg, Oregon

Not too long ago, someone reported that the parents of Terri Moulton Horman; former stepmother of missing Kyron Horman, who was last seen at his school in Portland, Oregon, when he was seven years old, in June of 2010; had erected a "No Trespassing" sign in front of their home. It seems that they feel that three and a half years is long enough to search and hold vigils for a missing child, and that even their familial connection to Kyron does not merit continued concern. So; in response to continued vigils, they posted the sign to indicate that they do not wish to see or hear anyone actively raising awareness of Kyron's missing persons case. Gee; this sounds like the parents of missing Lisa Irwin in Kansas City all over again! They didn't want any vigils held near their house, either. 

In a desperate attempt to beautify the neighborhood, someone decided to put a more neighborly sign up on the tree. Below is a picture that was shared. Suppose more and more people who live close to the Moultons put up Kyron's missing persons poster, or signs like the one in the picture? 

Who The Hell Chooses This Name For A Business?

There are some interesting business names and company logos in the Midwest! The one pictured above is headquartered in Iowa. Nothing against grain bins here, but a word that phonetically sounds like "suck-up" would not be this blogger's first choice in names for a company!

In Case You Missed Church This Sunday

 

Christians in Northeast Kansas should explore the concept of Reality.

 

Jared Bowes, Kansas, And Axial Tilt

Just when I thought Festivus was finally over, the ACLU in Kansas noted that Jared Bowes, of the Kansas Department Of Commerce had disappointed them in the year 2013 by using his government email account to remind everyone that jesus is the reason for the season and that he is king of somewhere, and that if everyone has been good this year, Santa Claus would leave presents under the Winter Solstice Tree, or something like that. No worries about those who truly don't believe in christianity, and no sensitivity to those who might feel pressured, upon reading the newsletter from the department, to act if they believed in something they do not, in order to avoid any discrimination that may result from not being christian.

Doug Bonney, of the ACLU states that he has received a lot of complaints about the "overly christian-centric atmosphere" in Kansas government. This comes as no surprise to me. It also does not surprise me that Jared Bowes's statements about christianity were edited out of the newsletter; sadly, not before it was read by some of the recipients. Here is what Bowes had to say for himself:

"Let me be forthright in saying that my sole intent was to extol King Jesus as the 'reason for the season."

Here's what Bonny had to say about the whole mess: “People might, for example, say, 'I’m a Jew; I’m not really welcome here,' " Bonney said. "That’s the danger and that's the purpose of the (Constitution's) establishment clause. It’s to keep religion out of government because there is no official government religion in the United States. There cannot be. We’re a pluralistic society, and people have all kinds of religious beliefs.”.....Topeka Capital Journal

We are a pluralistic society. This is what Kansas, collectively, just doesn't understand, from the silly little school my children attended in Frankfort, Kansas, before I found that I could tolerate no more; to the insensitivity of a vocal government employee who uses his government email account for the presentation of imaginary icons as fact. The reason for the season has a lot more to do with axial tilt than it does with Judeo-Christian mumbo jumbo, and the only appropriate way to attribute spirituality to the season is to remember to keep Sol in Winter Solstice!

Whistle Blowing The Old Fashioned Way

Whistle blowing. A fun, new concept that really shouldn't represent a necessity. But yet, it does. What a shame that we do not teach history well enough in our public schools to avoid that other necessity of repeating history when we fail to learn an important lesson the first time. Or the second, third, or fourth time, as the case may be.

The subject of the expectation of privacy, and respect for the same, has been in the spotlight many times in American history. We have local and federal laws protecting privacy, and our nation's Constitution addresses it, as well. Verdicts in capital murder cases have been overturned because of governmental abuses of citizens' rights to privacy. A republican president even resigned as a result of the way his administration treated the rights of others to privacy. Anyone remember Watergate? So why was it necessary for Edward Snowden to remind the general public that we still have not learned a damn thing from our own history?

Back in the day, before the internet, we got things done the old fashioned way. A very recently published book titled The Burglary describes the actions of John and Bonnie Raines, and Keith Forsythe whistleblowing without the internet. J. Edgar Hoover, the head honcho of the FBI in 1971, was already notorious for blackmailing and threatening others. Despite American law and the Constitution, he established and sanctioned government practices of blatantly ignoring the rights of American citizens. Digging up dirt and using personal information to which he had no legal right was his most typical tool of blackmail, and it was his policy to encourage all law enforcement agencies to violate the law this way. Granted, he was FBI, not state or local police departments, but we cannot forget what rolls downhill.

Bonnie Raines cased the FBI building in Media, Pennsylvania, and one night, she and her cohorts broke in and stole a bunch of classified documents which outlined directives to snoop illegally, blackmail, threaten, and bypass the rights of anyone and everyone who found themselves at cross purposes with the government, as it concerned J. Edgar Hoover. After finding pertinent bits and pieces of information in their loot, the group anonymously gave it to a journalist for the Washington Post. The attorney general serving at the time asked the Post not to publish this information, and J. Edgar Hoover was furious.......yet, the show went on. Much of the privacy and many of the rights connected to privacy enjoyed by Americans today, along with the ability to question authority from the individual standpoint owes to this anonymous action and risk, taken by these three individuals. J. Edgar Hoover sought to become more powerful than the Truth, but alas! He was unsuccessful. The burglars were never caught, and their identities never came to light until their book was published. What did come to light was the corruption that had engulfed and swallowed all branches of the government at the time.

What isn't known is whether or not J. Edgar Hoover ever stopped to consider the irony of this particular burglary taking place in a town called "Media".

Terri Horman's New Welcome Sign

Terri Horman is finally divorced. Rather than mediate an agreement with her ex-husband, Kaine Horman, for shared custody or visitation of their five year old daughter, she avoided court as much as possible over the past three and a half years during which they have been separated, and refused to testify or explain her failed polygraphs in the ongoing missing persons case of her former stepson, Kyron Horman. Kyron disappeared from his school in Portland, Oregon, in 2010, when he was seven, and Terri is the last person reported to have seen him. Rather than assist in the effort to find Kyron, Terri and her parents, Carol and Larry Moulton, who live in Roseburg, Oregon, have opted to stay as far away from any helpful actions as possible.

Now that the divorce is finally final....sort of......custody and visitation still need to be worked out, there is one completely unusual feature in all of this: in addition to never actively seeking out the company of most other people, Terri Horman has never actively sought out the company of her daughter since she and Kaine split. While she failed two polygraphs and her versions (note the plural) of events changed at least half a dozen times concerning the day Kyron disappeared, she has not been charged with any crime; therefore, the restraining order Kaine took out against her should have simply expired, and not been renewed. In almost every domestic violence case involving a restraining or a protective order, (95% of domestic violence victims are women) the victim will be required to fight vigorously for the order, which, if granted, will last for a month or so, during which she will be required to exchange custody of her children with the respondent despite the order. After that, the order will finally expire, if the respondent does not re-offend. Why didn't matters proceed this way in the Horman case? Terri certainly has had the right, from the beginning, to fight the restrictions on seeing her daughter, even if Kaine did not want to see Terri. In a worst case scenario, a court appointed neutral party could have been appointed to assist in the custody exchanges or visitations. Most attorneys recommend this to respondents in Terri Horman's position; why didn't Terri's attorney insist upon it? What could be so terribly all-encompassing to Terri that she would forgo contact with her own daughter? And why would Terri decline any custodial time with her daughter during the child's formative years? Is her daughter no longer welcome in her life?

Speaking of "welcome", Terri Horman and her parents have erected a new sign at their home. During the month of November, Kyron's mother held a vigil in Roseburg, only to find that Terri's mother called the police, because she did not want anyone gathering near or in front of her home carrying signs bearing Kyron's picture. There was no wrongdoing in being close to the Moultons' home, and no one was sanctioned, but there is now a "No Trespassing" sign in front of the house. How incredibly welcoming. It is obviously directed to anyone involved in Kyron's missing persons case; one of his natural parents was the target. But to whom else is it directed? Anyone involved in the effort to find Kyron? Kyron's other parent? If so, how could visitation possibly take place? Extended visits, should Terri ever fight for them and get them, generally take place at the noncustodial parent's residence. Can Kaine even take her there without being accused of trespassing? As Kyron's father, the words, "Terri, where's Kyron?" are more than likely to leave his lips every time he sees her, until she clears up those failed polygraphs and multiple conflicting stories.

Suppose Terri's daughter, herself, wants to know what happened to Kyron? She is, after all, Kyron's sister. The Moultons seem to think that she will never wonder about Kyron. As an only child, Terri apparently doesn't understand the love siblings have for one another. It only makes sense that Kyron's sister will ask about him, one day; and try to find him. Does the "No Trespassing" sign apply to her presence, as well?

I'm Getting Nothing For Christmas

There will be no Christmas for me this year
That is the unvarnished truth

Above is a stray "wahwah" from a flock of "wahwahs" left over from Christmas, 2013. It got lost in Facebook, on the page of a homeless person who has been offered help many times over the past twenty years, but turns it down every time because she does not want the employment situation which would accompany a permanent address. The wahwah girl is someone who has an income, of sorts, and refuses to use it for food and shelter. Instead, she uses it for computers, and other electronics, and for accessories for them. She stays in shelters that are meant for people experiencing true emergencies. She also eats three times as much as she needs, caring very little about any children for whom the food is meant.

Santa Claus isn't real. This is important to remember when celebrating Christmas. Santa Claus isn't real, and Christmas is best celebrated by giving, not taking from those who cannot afford to buy into the commercial ideal that has perverted Winter Solstice.



The Wahwah girl who didn't have a Christmas this year needs to grow up. That is the unvarnished truth.

 

Insight