Good Morning, everyone! Or evening...depending on where you are.  NO offense taken on any posts anyone made. I've been around these boards long enough to know about the random psychotic anti that pops in to start stuff.  I knew the people who DO know me and the story would either be proud of me or be like some of my "family" and think I was an idiot.  Anyway!!  Here goes a lil run down of that days events.

The previous night was filled with Jack Daniels, so the morning of...let's just say was slow, painful and VERY EARLY due to my fears.  I got to the prison right on time and was about to pass through all the metal detectors and have all my searches performed when guards came rushing in the front door of the prison and some grabbed the chaplain and myself.  She was there to be with me during the process should I have any questions or want to talk about anything.  She Also happens to be Donnies chaplain.  We were put in a conference room with one of her volunteers.  She had a radio attaced to her hip so we heard everything going on.  Apparently, there was a lockdown.  It lasted for almost an hour and a half.  In that time, I was able to talk to the chaplain about some things.  Some I wont post on here because well, yall understand.  Finally, it was time to go back.  THe gates locking and closing behind you every 50 feet or so was STRANGE!  When I made it to death row, I was locked in a small room with the chaplain.  I knew he would appear on the other side of the glass at any minute but I just couldnt make myself look up.  I knew when he came in because I could see the corner of his sleeve.  I looked up at the chaplain and told her I just wanted to leave. She looked at me, pointed out I hadnt waited almost 27 years and driven half way across the state to back out now.  She was right.  I had to do this.  So I looked up.  THe second I saw his eyes staring at me, I lost it.  27 years of anger and rage towards him came flowing out like water from a faucet. He dropped his head and wouldnt look at me.  I told him I odeserved this and he owed me at LEAST hearing me out.  Ok, so I yelled it at him.  BUt he looked up and he looked me straight in the eyes as I told him how my childhood was because of him.  How HIS SONs childhood was because of him.  I pointed out things about that night she was murdered that no child should know about. I pointed out my last memory of her was walking away from the door that day as she went shopping and she never came back.  I told him how that memory haunts me.  Told him how I cant even turn to look at my babies when I leave them somewhere because what if thats the last memory they have of me?  There was alot of yelling, crying and anger.  The anger was released. 

Then I did something I had to do.  I told him it wasnt for him. I didnt care about him.  I had to do it for me.  I couldnt keep hating him and keeping so m uch anger built up inside me.  It wasnt hurting him at all...just me.  So I looked him in the eyes and told him I forgive him.  Ill never forget but I had to forgive him or I would never move past it.  He offered to drop all of his appeals if it would help me.  Even had the chaplain convinced to get his attorneys to the prison.  Said he was wanting forgiveness from me and my brother and I had finally given it to him.  I thought about it....letting him drop them.  But then I told him no.  TOld him I had spent 30 minutes telling him how his own son was rasied in HELL because of him and his selfish actions.  I wanted him to sit there and think about that. 

Then I told him in almost 27 years, no one would tell me things about my mother.  I drove three and a half hours, was sitting on death row staring into the face of the man who was convicted of killing her.  He was GOING to tell me what I wanted to know. And he did....

This test only has one question but it's a very important one. By giving an honest answer, you will discover where you stand morally. The test features an unlikely, completely fictional situation in which you will have to make a decision.

Remember that your answer needs to be honest, yet spontaneous.

Please scroll down slowly and give due consideration to each line.

THE SITUATION:

You are in London.

There is chaos all around you caused by a tidal surge that causes the Thames severe flooding. This is a flood of biblical proportions.

You are a photo-journalist working for a major newspaper and you're caught in the middle of this epic disaster.

The situation is nearly hopeless.

You're trying to shoot career-making photos. There are houses and people swirling around you, some disappearing into the water.

Nature is unleashing all of its destructive fury.

 
THE TEST:

Suddenly, you see a man in the water.

He is fighting for his life, trying not to be taken down with the debris

 You move closer . . . somehow, the man looks familiar . . . .

 You suddenly realize who it is - it's the Muslim Cleric, Abu Hamza, the one-eyed, hook handed bastard who hates non-Muslims and wants the UK to become an Islamic state!

 
You notice that the raging waters are about to take him under forever.

 
You have two options:

You can save the life of Abu or you can shoot a dramatic Pulitzer Prize winning photo, documenting the death of one of the country's most despised, evil and powerful men!

 NOW THE QUESTION:

 Here's the question and please give an honest answer.

 Would you select high contrast colour film, or would you go with the classic simplicity of black and white?

Good news, folks, we have a resolution! We went to court on Monday April 9 expecting to have to come back on April 16 but there was good news: the defendant, now 18, agreed to plead guilty to one charge of vehicular manslaughter, a misdemeanor. He was given formal probation, and his sentence is: 200 hours of community service (most likely speaking to teens about distracted driving and what his one mistake caused), and a 1-year license suspension. He'll have his own probation officer and will be closely monitored. This sentence is apparently one of the strictest he could have gotten, so we are pleased - as pleased as we can be under the circumstances I guess. I'm glad he'll be off the roads for a year, at least. Nothing can bring Bryan back but I for one am glad that the defendant got his sentence; it is great that this thing is over with. Now we, Bryan's family, can focus on all the good times we had with him and the humor and light he brought to our lives instead of thinking about the next court date... I really miss him so much. The emptiness really sets in sometimes. Anyway, thanks for reading, and all your prayers. They're much appreciated!

~ Amanda

So, it is as I thought. No one has any policies that can do better than Obama! Just Republican hot air! The only policy I have heard from either leading Republican is that they are both pro life and will stop stem cell research. Clever that!

So apart from a stream of women going to Canada or Mexico for their abortions or worse, backstreet jobs with coat hangers, there are no policies. Thought so.

If Politically Incorrect Jokes Offend you don't read this thread.

More politically incorrect Muslim Jokes

Q: Why are camels called "Ships of the Desert"?
A: Because they're full of Muslim semen.


Q: What's the definition of a virgin in England?
A: Any female under the age of eighteen.
Q: What's the definition of a virgin in France?
A: Any female under the age of sixteen.
Q: What's the definition of a virgin in the Middle East?
A: Any camel that can run faster than an Muslim.

Q: Whats the difference between a muslim and a bucket of manure?
A: The Bucket!!!

Q: What do you call 1 billion dead muslims?
A: World Peace.

Q: How do you save a muslim from drowning?
A: You don't.

Q: How do wink at a muslim?
A: Through the scope of a .50 caliber.

Q: Why do muslim women wear burkhas?
A: They don't want to look at themselves either.

When shaking hands

"Hi, I always wipe my arse with my right hand"

______________________

"Hello, what is your Christian name?"
______________________

On meeting Muslim's wife wearing a bin bag

"Oh, I am so sorry that your wife has been disfigured. Was it a fire?"

______________________

R.I.P Ms Houston - you had the world in your hand and you put it up your nose.

Sorry folks ,I have a hard time feeling sorry for someone that had it all and then pissed it away just to get high. You make your choices in life and then you live....or die with them.

I had more than my fair share of run-ins with turks during my time in Germany.  Angry, smelly little men lol. 

Hutch

"Wonder what will happen if it is determined that he was never qualified to a president of the US?"

We would all have to go back to 2008 and do it again. Could become a national groundhog day!

Quote from: Frenchy on December 06, 2011, 10:03:05 AM

Newt Gingrich is proposing child labour in the USA too

No one under the age of 16 is allowed to work in the US anymore, unless it is child actors, and there are now laws in place for them too.

When I was 12 years old I worked the night shift all by myself in my Mom's small all night  24 hour diner at a truck stop.  Waiting tables, making burgers, fries, malts, cleaning up, making change, sweeping mopping, you name it for her.  That would not be allowed today in our world of immature children who are spoiled to the max with everything they want or don't need.  I was helping my mother make a living for us and my little brother at a very young age.  Therefore, other kids my age seemed very immature and naive to me.

My oldest son was 3 years old, when he was put into a pickup by his dad to drive down the fence rows so his dad could throw old used fence rails on the back of a trailer.  His dad shifted it to granny and stood my son on the seat of the pickup and he steered it straight for his dad.  From then on, his dad taught him how to work on the ranch.  The other son started at an early age also driving the pickup with a horse trailer up and down the pasture roads when he was 8 years old and could barely see over the steering wheel.  They grew up to be workers and were not as immature as the other kids their ages. 

Other kids worked on their parents farms and ranches or businesses as well helping out and learning the ropes of business.  Kids are not allowed to do that now, so they too are immature spoiled brats.  Yes, kids should be allowed to help out in businesses if they are mature enough do so, but many are not.  That is why they are not allowed to work until they turn 16 years old now. 

And as to Newt, I am sure he grew in the same age I did, learning life's lessons early and finding that people who are giving responsibility at an earlier age learn maturity and responsibility and make better adults in the long run.

I have 8 living grandchildren, but only one of those has the maturity I did when I was younger, but then  she took responsibility raising animals and helping on the ranch from the time she was 12.

Working at a younger age is not a bad thing, as long as it is not in a slave factory in a foreign country working 18 hours a day with not school, little to eat and no play time whatsoever.  That is not what he is proposing here either, and never will.

You and the other liberals can make fun of Newt all you want but in the long run, you too are picking and choosing to make the world like you want it to seem too Frenchy.  Don't accuse me when you are as just as guilty as you say I am.   

My daughter is going to be 5 this month- I've installed a work ethic in her from an early age. She has had chores since she was 3. She does things like help with gardening and laundry and other "odd jobs" to earn money, and we use a special piggy bank with slots for spending money and for savings. When she gets a little older, I'm sure she will be babystting and mowing lawns- all the things I did when I was a kid. The difference here- is it is my choice, as a parent, and my role to instill that in her. The idea of some school administrator telling my kid that she should be cleaning toilets and doing the work of janitors in their own school is appalling to me- even more appalling that they would single out poor children, who already face being ostracized and made to feel inadequate. What lesson does that teach them? That their place in life is nothing better than doing menial manual labor? Not to mention, what about the janitors who they would displace? What about their jobs, their ability to support their own families?

 Children should be encouraged to learn and develop the skills that will help them later in life. If they want to do a job to earn some extra money, they should have tht opportunity- as long as it doesn't interfere with their schoolwork, and their chance to just be a kid. But again, that is a PARENTS choice. It should not be a form of social engineering. Didn't Newt himself say he was against that? 

I also reject his ridiculous assertion that poor children are bred to be lazy and feckless. I have worked with poor children as a guardian ad litem, in shelters, and as a nurse in community healthcare. These kids are bright and so full of promise, they are NOT lazy. They don't need to be taught work ethic, they need to be taught to love, and to trust, and to believe that they are worth something, and that if they do work hard they can really make it in this world. A lot of those kids don't see any proof of that in their lives. They don't see anyone out there really making it, so what other conclusion do they come to? The only people they see living the good lives are the gang bangers...not the people who go to work every day.

The way you help these kids develop a work ethic is by transforming their communities and their local economies, providing them with positive examples and encouragement from the day they are born. Harlem Childrens Zone is a great example of how this can be done. Call me a bleeding heart liberal for that if you want- I will admit I am when it comes to kids. I think they should be afforded every opportunity in the world to succeed, no matter what it costs. In the long run, it will pay dividends.

In closing, this is one of my favorite poems:

If children live with criticism, they learn to condemn.
If children live with hostility, they learn to fight.
If children live with fear, they learn to be apprehensive.
If children live with pity, they learn to feel sorry for themselves.
If children live with ridicule, they learn to feel shy.
If children live with jealousy, they learn to feel envy.
If children live with shame, they learn to feel guilty.
If children live with encouragement, they learn confidence.
If children live with tolerance, they learn patience.
If children live with praise, they learn appreciation.
If children live with acceptance, they learn to love.
If children live with approval, they learn to like themselves.
If children live with recognition, they learn it is good to have a goal.
If children live with sharing, they learn generosity.
If children live with honesty, they learn truthfulness.
If children live with fairness, they learn justice.
If children live with kindness and consideration, they learn respect.
If children live with security, they learn to have faith in themselves and in those about them.
If children live with friendliness, they learn the world is a nice place in which to live


(Sorry, I know this was a long tangent...this is just an issue very close to my heart.  )

There is only one way to stop Islam.

crusade 21st Century.

Particle weapons at all major Islamic connurbations. Help with world overcrowding too!

What is so sad is that Gran et al. seem actually to believe propaganda.

If a government wishes to make cuts in social housing, the first step is to enrage the public by organising newspaper headings how some one owns a new Mercedes and lives in social housing.

If a government is very embarrassed about huge demonstrations, they will encourage the press to publish how all the protestors are freeloaders/communists/illegal immigrants or whatever fits the moment. 

This is what is done in all countries.

The result has been simple. Films of 'robust' (I am being kind here) attacks on protestors are transmitted over the world and those in the middle East, (Syria in particular) China and Russia are playing the films over and overt again to show that the USA is no better than the worst.

Of course some will abuse any system and they will be in evidence but it is always a small percentage.

Frenchy

Ok, (again) once more....   

I don´t doubt that man rape other man. It´s also likely tha there happen gang rapes inside and outside of prisons, but this case stinks. Only Fox brought the news, the witnesses didn´t help them men during the failed robbery and the abduction/gang rape. How can they know that it happened if they can´t describe the rapists or at least their car? Again why didn´t they call the police or helped the man?

Okay, let's examine your questions:

1.  "Only Fox brought the news,"  Because that happened to be the channel that reported the local news.  Obviously it did not make the national news.  Too much crime to report all of it every day, national events, who knows?  That Fox reported it does not make it not so.  Maybe you hate Fox news because the Liberal media and the liberal politicians consistently vilify them, but that does not make theme liars because they reported this.  I happen to like Fox news myself, because I get the liberal side and the conservative side of the stories and can decide for myself, unlike the liberal media, which only gives me the liberal side of the news.  I don't trust the liberal media.  You seem to only hear what you WANT to hear yourself, and BELIEVE only what you want to believe.  I however am not deaf, or stupid.  They would not be reporting this news if it were untrue.  They would have vetted the story first, then run it. 

They very fact that the FBI are involved in this case tells me this is true.  They investigate kidnapping and HATE crimes, such as this.  So the case is more in their jurisdiction than it is in the domain of the police department. 

Witness from the news article:

"Socorro police and the FBI are looking for four men who police say attacked and raped an elderly man who was out on his early-morning walk."

Police say.  That is who They are.

2.  "the witnesses didn´t help them men during the failed robbery and the abduction/gang rape"

I searched both articles and neither of them said there were any witnesses to the crime.  The only statements in the article are quotes from police and an investigator. 

So you think the police are lying about the shape they found this 70 year old man in, or that the rape kits, which are not mentioned in the article, but which as a rape advocate I know they HAD to do on the victim, were wrong? 

I have to assume from the condition of the victim, that the police would not have sent him to the hospital for an exam, unless they believed him.  I also have to assume that the doctors would not have had to perform surgery on him unless they tore his bum up from the rape, as there was no mention of weapons, such as a gun or a knife use on him.  They could also have had to do surgery on his mouth, and or throat if he was also raped orally and very much damage was done there also.  I don't know, as I was not there, but being an advocate I can tell you that rape even without major damage is devastating, but to have to surgical repairs because of it is not only devastating but also terrifying. 

It won't take near as long for him to recover from the physical effects of the gang rapes, as it will for him to recover from the mental effects.  In fact, I doubt he can recover mentally and ever be able to go out  for a walk alone in the morning or at night without a great lot of fear.  Frenchy, as a psychologist can verify that as fact without ever talking to the man, as can I as an advocate.

3. "How can they know that it happened if they can´t describe the rapists or at least their car? Again why didn´t they call the police or helped the man?"

And as to rest of your question: "the witnesses didn´t help them men"  There were no witnesses according to news article.  And if there had been, I'm not sure any witness could or would help him as it would be a danger to himself.  If there were no witnesses, they could not call 911.  Nor could the non existent witnesses call in the description of the gang rapers or the vehicle. 

You are asking the impossible here, Michael, in your desperation to not believe that anyone would rape a 70 year old man.  There are a lot of nasty fiends out there, and they would dare to do anything they wanted if they desired.

There was, however, a quote from a neighbor whom the news people asked about the safety of the neighborhood they lived in, and he told them:

“I think that's ridiculous. A 70-year-old man getting taken and raped by (men in) an unknown vehicle, you know,” Christian Nevarez, 23, said. He lives in the neighborhood and said he usually wakes up early and sees several people taking walks along the park. He said children also walk to school early in the morning."

He never said he witnessed it.  You just assumed that part.

Sometimes crimes are faked by a single person or a group of person. They have a personal agenda why they do it. An this is a case where I´m suspicious.

BTW - No one answered my questions, but I learned a lot about rape. 

I sincerely doubt that the police and the FBI can be fooled so completely.  Obviously the condition of the old man and his story about what happened to him caused the FBI and Police to believe his story.  I am sure that the semen in the rectum or mouth also confirmed what happened to him, unless they were smart enough to use condoms, which I highly doubt.  They probably found the DNA from 4 men in him, which would corroborate his story.

And as to the racial slurs by the black men, not unusual.  Blacks and Latinos or Mexicans have been at each others throats for year, just like they are at Caucasians.  No uncommon at all.  If those black men happened to hate Latinos, I could easily see that happening.  Especially as a message to Latino members of a gang, and especially if the old man was related to a Latino gang member.  They frequently go after members family members to make them suffer.  I am not saying that is the case here, but I know for a fact that does happen, and I have dealt with victims of that kind of harassment myself.

Now.........I believe I have answered all of your questions.  That however does not mean you believe me any more than you do the news article.  But whether you know it or not, I have never lied to you.

And I do believe the old man's story.   


A repeat of the second news article in its entirety.  You probably should read it again.:

Socorro police and the FBI are looking for four men who police say attacked and raped an elderly man who was out on his early-morning walk.

Investigators said the 70-year-old was walking Thursday around 6 a.m. at Valle del Sol Park on Valle Rico Road and Valle Fertil when they said four black men got out of a late-'90s Ford or Chevrolet van or minivan and demanded the Mexican-American man to give them money. When he said, "No," they allegedly grabbed him, threw him in the van and raped him.

Socorro spokesman David Garcia said the men yelled racial slurs at the victim as they assaulted him.

"These four people know each other well enough to do something like this in front of each other. This is an atrocity!” Garcia said. “This man was somebody's dad. This man was somebody's brother, somebody's friend."

He said the victim was so badly hurt, he had surgery and is in serious condition at a hospital.  (Does this change your mind, Michael?  I don't think the FBI would be looking if they thought it was not real.)

“I think that's ridiculous. A 70-year-old man getting taken and raped by an unknown vehicle, you know,” Christian Nevarez, 23, said. He lives in the neighborhood and said he usually wakes up early and sees several people taking walks along the park. He said children also walk to school early in the morning.

Police said the attackers are in their mid-20s to 30s. Call Socorro police at 915-858-6986 if you have any information in this case.

"Do you think the Army was wrong here? Or should there be extra special considerations for Muslim kids?"

Of course there should be 'special consideration' for Muslim kids.

1. Do not employ them in the armed forces

2. Send them back to wherever their families came from.

seems simple to me.

Gran

There are a number of reasons why I am getting so irritated about your constant assault on Obama by posting ill researched articles or just the personal opinions of others.

1. This web site is, I thought, in support of the death penalty, not only in the USA but elsewhere. I am quite sure that there are many Democrats who actually support the DP too. They are NOT Demoncrats. You are managing to POLARISE off2dp to such an extent, that I am sure many Democrats will react and become anti DP. You leave them no room to feel comfortable on this forum.

We have got the message that you dislike Obama. At least he can string six words together without resorting to grammatical error.

2. I frankly do not care what a small selection of members of the US public think, in your comments section. It is absurd to continue to post such comments. Perhaps you could ask Hank Skinner, too.

"Bottom line, people in Europe are poorer than they are in the United States."

Europe cannot be compared as a block to the USA. The USA does not even have the highest standard of living. Norway does.

The U.S. ranks 4th in GDP, yet it is 92nd in distribution of wealth—UN measurement.  In other words the top 5% live the best of all nations, and the bottom 25% live worse than in countries such as Greece.  This disparity explains why the U.S. with the most expensive medical system is counted as 37th as to quality of care by the World Health Organization.  Instead of addressing this disparity, both parties have been handing out tax breaks to the top 5% and corporations.  Without election-founding reform, we can expect this trend to continue.

In Europe, we generally choose to attempt to make the lives of those in our countries more equal. Sadly, this is not as successful as many of us would like due to the multinational nature of big business.

Most European countries are not dysfunctional. The Euro is, simply because there is no Federal fiscal control. The USA has remained equally in huge debt and has done so long before Obama.

In terms of export, the USA lies third, behind the EU, China and Germany.

The USA is the highest, per capita comsumer of energy. For pollution, the USA lies second, behind China, (followed by the EU).
In real terms, wages in the USA for 99% of people have not gone up in real terms since the early 1970s. That was the end of the so called 'American dream'. Since then, that 99% has been kept captive by easy credit and debt.

Statistics can be manipulated to show what one wishes.

As Madinka01 states, most in Europe do not wish to be American and vice versa. I could post endless European articles that slate the USA. I do not. I do give my personal opinions, yes, but I do not trawl the news to find other peoples' opinions that match mine.

BTW, we do get a lot of letters asking for money/help/support etc. Guess what? The majority come from the USA, the so called best and richest country in the world.