Andrew Breitbart and FOX owe Shirley Sherrod an apology!

I was floored earlier this week when the falsified story broke about Shirley Sherrod and her so called racist remarks at the NAACP's 20th Annual Freedom Fund Banquet. Andrew Breitbart and FOX News, you guys owe Mrs. Sherrod an apology... A BIG ONE!

In Breitbart's original post http://http//biggovernment.com/abreitbart/2010/07/19/video-proof-the-naacp-awards-racism2010/ he refers to the Democratic Party's attempt to slander the Tea Party and makes the following statement in regard to the "Capitol Hill N Word incident", he says and I quote, "the incident was a manufactured lie". Really, well what on earth did you think the entry you were posting regarding Mrs. Sherrod was? It was completely manufactured, misleading and falsified report.

It was purposeful and it was malicious and it cost Mrs. Sherrod her job. Yes, I understand she's been offered another position, but this will forever be part of her legacy. It's tainted her for life.

So, my question is, what should happen to Breitbart and FOX News? Should there be consequences for their blatant disregard for full disclosure reporting?

Inhumane or Justified?

Ronnie Lee Gardner, sentenced to death row in 1985 is just hours away from execution by way of a 5 man firing squad. Yes, you heard right, firing squad. The execution is scheduled for 2:00AM Friday if he does not win his stay of execution. He will be one of only 3 to die by firing squad, all in Utah.

Here's a little background on the case... As a child, Gardner was the victim of poverty, abuse and neglect. In 1984 he was convicted of killing Melvyn Otterstorm at a bar in Salt Lake City, Utah. In 1985, while at a pretrial hearing in the murder of Otterstorm, he was slipped a gun and fatally shot attorney, Michael Burdell. In 1976, Utah restored the death penalty. In 2004, Utah changed their way of execution to lethal injection however, Gardner was one that was grandfathered in to die by firing squad.

So, what's your opinion? Is this way of execution inhumane or is it justified? Are you for or against capital punishment and if you're for it does it matter how you're put to death?

Part of Gardner's defense is that the jurors did not get to hear his recollections of his childhood and therefore they may have made a different decision. Should it matter what his childhood was? Isn't there a right and a wrong and shouldn't we as sane people know the difference?

Decked for Jaywalking...

Does a teenage girl, who's caught jaywalking in the streets of Seattle deserve to be punched in the face? That is the question!

I look at the this video and don't know how I feel about it. I'm not going to say it's justified in any way as a police officer should have more restraint than to let a jaywalking incident escalate to this. However, once it did escalate, I'm at a loss for where I stand. I wish the video would have been shot a few minutes prior to see how the girls ended up at the police car in the first place. Did the police officer start using his authority to push the girls to a breaking point, or did the girls push the officer to his breaking point. We all know that you aren't supposed to resist arrest, or you will be faced with stronger force on the officers part. On top of that, this officer has 2 girls screaming, wailing and grabbing at him along with several bystanders screaming and hollering at him too.

What should have happened? How should this have been handled? If this were a male, would the reaction have been the same as what we feel for this young girl? Does it make a difference that both teenagers have criminal records already? Does that play any part in what could have happened prior to when we see the two girls at the police officers car? So may questions... it will be interesting to see how this plays out. Surprisingly, for once I can actually say I wont be judging either side until I hear all the details leading up to the video. What are your thoughts?

Sarah Palin's Comments - DESPICABLE & UNACCEPTABLE!!!

Inciting violence against members of congress is UNACCEPTABLE! Sarah Palin has made several comments since the Health Care Reform Bill was signed last week and it clearly shows she does not have the best interest of the American People at heart.

I have NEVER been a Sarah Palin supporter and question those who have like minded views. She is a raving lunatic who clearly doesn't understand that her words are taken very seriously. Even though she thinks her remarks (as she uses folksy, wink-wink, tilt of the head moves) shouldn't incite violence, they do. People, crazy as they are, take her remarks serious and make her thoughts their reality.

Just last week, Palin released a map of the United States with districts of key representatives who voted for health care reform, marked with cross-hair symbols. She then went on to release the following statement, "The crossfire is intense, so penetrate through enemy territory by bombing through the press, and use your strong weapons -- your Big Guns -- to drive to the hole. Shoot with accuracy; aim high and remember it takes blood, sweat and tears to win."

Agree with the Health Care Reform Bill or not, that is DESPICABLE!

Sarah goes on to say, "Get in their face and argue with them. No matter how tough it gets, never retreat, instead RELOAD!"

Again, DESPICABLE!

But it's not just Sarah Palin leading people to take such despicable acts of violence against our Congressmen, it's others too. Rep. Michele Bachmann said she wants her constituents "armed and dangerous" against the Obama administration. I'm embarrassed to say that my own state has contributed to this type of rhetoric as Rep. Randy Neugebauer yelled "baby killer" at Bart Stupak on the House floor. Rep. Devin Nunes of California said Tea Partiers had "every right" to use racist and homophobic slurs against Democrats.

Who gives him, or anyone else for that matter, that right? It's not only despicable but it's unacceptable behavior and has to be stopped! I don't know what the answer is to stopping such horrific acts of violence, but something has to give. You know, when I was supporting the Barack Obama campaign for Presidency, he said "change would not come easy", I knew that to be a true statement. I guess I just never thought it to be this hard and this dirty either. It's come down to plain old dirty politics.

I don't think it's politics as usual, it's escalated and it must be stopped!

Special Mommy Hugs to Savannah from Indiana!

1st Mommy Hug of the year goes to 5 year old Savannah from Indiana. Savannah saved her dad's life by calling 911 after she noticed he was having trouble breathing. Listen to the 2nd clip below to hear the 911 call in its entirety.



911 Audio Only

How Could This Happen?

My thoughts and prayers go out to the father of Shaniya Davis, whose body was found yesterday near Sanford, NC. To this day, I can not understand how anyone can harm a child. If the allegations are true, that Shaniya's mom has any responsibility for her murder I hope they throw her under the jail! We're not supposed to harm our children!

Help Little Luke

I came across this story while surfing the web this morning and was so taken back by how quickly our lives can change. I thought about how heartbreaking this would be if it happened to me and about the mother and father having to live through this nightmare.

Here is what transpired... "On Wednesday, September 2, 2009, little four-year-old Lucas Holko was sitting with his parents, Chad and Nicole at a Mahoning Valley Scrapper’s game. He was sitting on his father’s lap chatting with his mom when he was struck in the back of the head by a line drive foul ball. Luke underwent immediate surgery at St. Elizabeth’s hospital to remove the piece of fractured skull that was depressing his brain and spinal cord. He has since been transferred to Akron Children’s Hospital where he remains in critical condition. The family requests continuous prayer for this strong little boy who is so precious to them."

The picture you see below is Luke just minutes before he was struck. I'm hoping those of you who read my blog will help Luke, monetarily or through prayer. I'm attaching the link to his website where you can send Luke an encouraging email or donate to help Luke and his family.
http://www.helpluke.com/Help_Little_Luke_Holko/Help_Luke.html

An indescribable picture

After being sentenced to 12 years in a hard labor prison in North Korea, Laura Ling and Euna Lee were reunited with their families after serving 5 months.

What's your take.....

What's your take on the President's Health Care Plan? I don't know enough about it and what I do know I can't say I completely understand, so I'd like some thoughts to ponder.

In your own home?

Police were called to the home of Harvard Professor Henry Louis Gates, Jr. regarding a possible break in. When officers arrived at the home, they found the Professor there. It seems he had trouble unlocking the door, so he proceeded to have it knocked down. Gates showed the officer his drivers license and Harvard ID card but was still handcuffed and taken into custody for what they are calling "disorderly conduct towards an officer". Professor Gates is claiming it was nothing less than racial profiling and I don't know that I disagree with him. The man is in his own home, he has proof of who he is as well as his address, which matches his location. What else would the officers need to prove he was who he says he is, unless they just wanted to make a spectacle out of him? Charges have been dropped, but that's not the point. There are to many abuses in the criminal justice system and unless someone stands up and says "no more", this will continue to haunt the black community.

Something else that disturbs me about this case is the media coverage of the story. Almost all of the media I've seen have placed photos of Professor Gates coming out of his house, obviously yelling, or pictures of his mugshot. Well, I'm not going to do that to him, in fact I'm going to put a picture of the distinguished black scholar that he is!

We've sure come a long way but stories like this show you just how far we've yet to come.

Chaos Ensues

This video is a hard one to watch. It shows absolute HERO'S rescuing 2 children and their mother from a burning SUV. My heart races and tears start to form as I watch the 4 minutes of footage where complete strangers surround this woman's car to save them all. The SUV could have blown at any moment but that didn't stop the bystanders and 2 off duty firefighters from doing everything they could to protect them from the fire. My heart goes out to the family and to the rescuers who will endure this event for quite some time.

Embedded video from CNN Video

40th Anniversary Of The Apollo 11 Lunar Landing

July 20th marks the 40th Anniversary of Neil Armstrong and Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin's 1st walk on the moon as Michael Collins orbited overhead. You can find out all sorts of information on the Apollo 11 Lunar Landing at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apollo_11. You can also track the journey from July 16th thru the 20th at: WeChoosetheMoon.org.


As noted on www.news.aol.com, the Mission Patch to the right is "Unlike most mission patches, Apollo 11's does not include the names of the astronauts. "We wanted the design to be representative of everyone who had worked toward a lunar landing," said Michael Collins, who designed it with help from a fellow astronaut."

Oldest Mother Dies

69 Year Old mother of 2 1/2 year old twins dies. Guinness World Record names, Maria del Carmen Bousada, as the oldest woman to give birth at 66 years of age. She lied to the fertility clinic by telling them she was only 55.

What do you think of the situation, leaving 2 year old twin girls without a mother or father? Oh yes, did I not mention, she was a single mother that received in-vitro fertilization at 66? Now, in her defence she said that her mother died at 101 years of age, so she didn't see that giving birth at 66 was that big of deal because she would be around to see her children grow up just like her mother. Someone must not have given her the memo, "We're Not Guaranteed Our Time Here On This Earth!". I think it's quite selfish what she did. I understand the desire to have a child, I really do but couldn't you have started the process in your 30's, heck even in your 40's. 66 in my opinion is too late to start your child rearing years. I feel so bad for the girls who are left and will never remember their mother other than what they see in pictures. It's a heartbreaking situation.
http://news.aol.com/article/oldest-mom-dies/572373?icid=mainmaindl1link7http%3A%2F%2Fnews.aol.com%2Farticle%2Foldest-mom-dies%2F572373

Scott Peterson asking for donations?

Can you believe this douchebags family is asking for donations on his appeal in the murder conviction he received for killing his pregnant wife, Laci and unborn child, Connor? What scumbags!

Suicide Clinics

So, I'm reading this story... http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090714/ap_on_re_eu/eu_britain_obit_downes and find myself dumbfounded by the whole thing. It seems a British couple have traveled to Switzerland to end their lives. Edward Downes, 85, has had trouble with his sight and hearing within the last several years and his wife, Joan, 74, was recently diagnosed with cancer. So, after 54 years of marriage they discussed the decision with their children and traveled to their final resting place, Switzerland. Their children issued a statement in which they said their parents died "peacefully and under circumstances of their own choosing".

Hmmmm, I don't think I would give my blessing to my parents if they came to me with the same wish??? Maybe that's selfish, but I wasn't raised to think like that. My parents didn't raise me to think like that. Unfortunately, we all get old and their are ailments we must all go through. However, suicide I don't think is the answer. There are so many young people who have so much life ahead of them and they are afflicted with the same things the Downes are going through, even worse in some cases.

What are your thoughts on assisted suicides and in this case suicide clinics?

Couple of 16 Children, Murdered

I am so saddened by the couple found shot to death in their Florida home this past weekend. It's absolutely awful for anyone to endure such a heinous crime, but it's even worse to know they were the parents of 16 children (12 of which were adopted children with special needs). It sounds like Byrd and Melanie Billings were upstanding citizens and some have even called Melanie "an Angel". It's very sad to think of these children without their parents, I just hope that someone will keep them all together. I have read where one of the oldest daughters is hoping to be able to keep their parents legacy alive by taking all of them in. I just pray that's the case.


Update - 7 individuals have been arrested this afternoon
http://www.cnn.com/2009/CRIME/07/14/florida.couple.slain/index.html#cnnSTCVideo
Leonard Patrick Gonzalez Jr., 35
Leonard Patrick Gonzalez Sr., 56
Wayne Thomas Coldiron, 41
Gary Lamont Sumner, 30
Fredrick Lee Thornton, 19
Donald Ray Stallworth, 28
An unidentified juvenile, 16

Firework Truck Explosion

Saturday morning in Ocracoke, NC a truck carrying fireworks for the local 4th of July celebration explodes, killing 4 and injuring 1. The island decided to cancel the fireworks but held a parade instead.

Steve McNair found dead

Unfortunately we're not going to remember Steve McNair as the happily married, charity organizing, father of four, NFL player... we're going to remember him as the murder victim found alongside his 20 year old mistress, also found dead. They are looking at it as a murder/suicide as McNair was found with multiple gunshot wounds to the head and chest and his mistress found with a single gunshot wound to the head.

How sad, his death, but also the fact that his character will forever be tainted with pure stupidity. When will men and women learn that nothing can be gained by having an affair?

Sarah Palin Resigns as Governor of Alaska

Part 1

Part 2


What do you think the reason is? Presidency or scandal?

Bernie Madoff Sentenced

Bernie Madoff has just been sentenced to 150 years in prison for his massive Ponzi scheme. He must serve 80% of the sentence and would not be eligible for parole until 2129, basically the rest of his life will be spent in prison.