Insight

Update On Adam Herrman

Here is an age progression of Adam Herrman, the Kansas boy who was taken from his family by the state of Kansas because of minor problems experienced by his family and fostered and adopted in Butler County, Kansas by Doug and Valerie Herrman, who "lost" him in 1999, and never reported him missing. Kansas even continued to send stipends to the Herrmans for Adam for awhile. The court, unlike Child Protective Services, had a problem justifying that, though; so the money stopped and the Herrmans each spent a small amount of time in prison. The photo above is how he might look today, if he is still alive.

Abbie Hoffman Moment

In Case You Skipped Church This Sunday

Kansas Public School Teachers Protest

Governor Brownback, of Kansas, was met by a small group of protesting teachers in Hays one day last week because he recently signed a bill into law that he hopes will help redistribute funding for Kansas public schools more equally among school districts. The bill has some language and clauses that allow tax credits to those of us who do not use local public schools, and strips public school teachers of their tenure and due process if they happen to get fired from their jobs. Normally, I would be inclined to sympathize with the teachers, but not here in Kansas. My children do not attend the local public school, Frankfort, part of USD 380, because a teacher abandoned my fourteen year old daughter four miles away from school, and when he realized she was lost, did nothing to find her. He went home and had dinner, thinking she could find her own way back to Frankfort. No worries about my daughter being slowed down by an accidental injury, a bee sting, asthma, or an unsavory stranger. The school responded by failing to fire this teacher, and failing to make any changes to ensure safety at school. For this reason alone, I find the tax credit for families that home school and removal of tenure for Kansas public school teachers only fair. Another reason why I think public school teachers in Kansas do not deserve tenure is the way some of them treat children and parents. Below is a rather ugly message sent to me by a teacher who thought she could remain anonymous online. She was attempting to pressure me to vote for a candidate she favored in the 2008 presidential election, and in the 2012 presidential election. She also got very angry with me for enlisting the assistance of the ACLU in the enforcement of Abington School District v. Schempp, which gives children the right to learn in school, unhindered by religious pandering.

"Oh Miss Juli! Once again you just crack me up :) If Mitt doesn't win this election you can pretty much kiss the USA goodbye, but then, you would really like that, wouldn't you? You are the type that doesn't really give two shits about the flag, thinks God doesn't belong....ANYWHERE"

Nowhere else have I had interactions with public school teachers who engage, unsolicited, in disagreeable discourse about politics and elections! A post on this site and a bumper sticker revealed my political leanings to this teacher, and she was unable to stop herself from harassing my children and me! This is actually in conflict with the Constitution, which allows me to vote for the candidate of my choice, and for this reason, it pleases me greatly to see teachers a little bit closer to the unemployment office when they fill their salaried hours with activities other than teaching.

Note: Lemme clarify something about my last picture right here; there isn't a problem in bearing a love child. The problem arises when we pretend to be holy, when in fact, we are not.

Hailey Owens Killer Says He's Not Guilty

Craig Michael Woods says he is not guilty of any of the charges against him by the state of Missouri in the kidnapping and murder of ten year old Hailey Owens. Someone who, according to eyewitnesses, looks exactly like Woods, snatched Hailey from the sidewalk and forced her into Woods's truck. Later, she was found deceased in his basement. While no one saw the murder, the kidnapping was actually seen by more than one person, so Woods's attorney definitely has his work cut out for him. When a person is abducted by someone whose intentions are murder, it usually happens with the first three hours of the kidnapping.

What Did You Expect, NYPD?

In a vain effort to improve it's public image, the New York Police Department invited the general public to share any pictures of civilians with New York police officers on Twitter to showcase pictures of law enforcement and civilians acting friendly toward each other. It was assumed that there were people, among the population of New York, who had snapshots of police officers acting friendly, and being normal, regular people. It was assumed incorrectly. All of the pictures that were shared featured police officers abusing their privileges, and police officers abusing people or animals.

We can only wonder what the NYPD expected. Law enforcement answers to the call of privatized prisons, these days. Privatized prisons create a demand for prisoners, just as privatized foster care systems create a demand for foster children. Abuse is an almost assured way to escalate a situation from benign to horrific and squeeze at least a few charges out if it. NYPD, and most other police departments, are guilty of this type of abuse.

On April 25, which is tomorrow, there will be a Facebook and Twitter event, linked here, inviting everyone to flood both mediums with pictures abuse in progress by law enforcement. This is not only to commemorate the abuses of the New York Police Department, but all police departments. If you have a picture of police abuse, or police abusing a person or an animal, or in the act of destroying property, won't you share it with everyone? You community and the world need to see it.