Sunday, November 17, 2013

Victimized for years to come

It wasn't a particularly violent crime.  In fact, the 27 year old victim was not injured.  That's alright, life has injured him enough already.  He suffers from cerebral palsy, has one leg and just three fingers on each hand.  In spite of this, he gets around Chicago himself using a motorized chair.

Then two men in their late 40s, with long criminal records followed the victim into the elevator leading into the station.  They appeared at first to be friendly, talking with him.  Then one blocked entrance by anyone else into the cramped elevator and the other "allegedly" took his cellphone and his cash.  There is a video recording of the crime.

One of the accused criminals was arrested for this crime while already in jail for another robbery.  Allegedly, he robbed a 75 year old woman in an elevator.  The duo face eight felony charges for their crime.  The victim will never get his phone or money back.

But what's worse is just how much of his life they've stolen.  He had to take the train to the police station to identify the accused robbers.  He will wait years to testify at a trial, if the case isn't settled by reducing the charges against the accused.  He will live in greater fear having been once victimized, afraid he will again be robbed.

Was this a violent crime?  Oh yes.  How many such crimes does someone have to commit before we either engage in real rehabilitation, or put these people behind bars where they cannot create more victims?

* * *

How much is 100 extra days in prison worth?  A jury will decide this issue after a ruling by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit determined that an inmate who was sent back to prison for refusing to take part in a 12 step program that was religious in nature (he's an atheist) was denied his First Amendment rights.

Barry Hazle, Jr., was being paroled after imprisoned for possession of methamphetamines.  As a condition of his parole, he was required to participate in a 90 day residential rehabilitation program.  Westcare is the company that has the exclusive contract to provide such programs to parolees in Northern California and Hazle was directed to their Empire Recovery Center facility in Redding. 

But the programs there contain religious components.  He refused to take part, citing his First Amendment rights and his parole was violated.

A jury awarded him no damages after a judge ruled his rights had indeed been violated.  The Ninth Circuit has reversed that decision, saying he was indeed entitled to damages.  They also reversed that judge's dismissal of Hazle's claim against Westcare.

I hope he gets a really big check.

* * *

Random Ponderings:

It must be really hard to be a candidate for public office and say that your sister isn't entitled to the right to marry the woman she loves.  That's what Liz Cheney just said.  She chose to pander to the conservative voters of Wyoming rather than stand up for what is right and proper; not to mention support her sibling.

This is the time of year where every self-appointed expert is beginning to talk about their "great" tips for lowering their tax bill.  Take such things with a grain of salt.  Talk to your own tax professional about things you read on the web.

BTW, while I can't discuss specifics, I can say that a client of mine who was being billed by the IRS for a huge amount of taxes and penalties is now in the clear.  Seems the IRS managed to misplace the decimal point on a form by two places, resulting in a very large bill.  Thankfully, the slate is now wiped clean.

Why was William White fired as the Insurance Commissioner of Washington, D.C.?  Might it have had something to do with a statement he issued only 24 hours before his termination, critical of President Obama's "fix" to the PPACA?   FYI I'm not blaming the firing on President Obama, but on a D.C. mayor's office that will not allow anything negative to be said about the president.

If USC doesn't hire interim football coach Ed Orgeron, they are fools.

I've never watched an episode of "Psych" and their upcoming musical episode isn't going to alter that fact.

If Dee Gordon had a position to play on the Dodgers team, and he could handle it well defensively, his ability to run would be a wonderful thing.  But you can't steal first base and he can make easy plays look incredibly hard.  Once the Dodgers lock up Hanley Ramirez for a long-term, they should move him.  Or try harder to convert him to second base.

Alec Baldwin threatening to not return to his program on MSNBC after the upcoming two week suspension is yet another case of a celebrity cutting off their nose in spite of their face.

Did LeSean McCoy really rip a fan's banner out of the fan's hands and toss it to the ground before today's game against the Redskins?  Yeah he did and he should be fined.  It's tough enough to go into an opposing team's stadium to root for your team without being abused by the players as well as the fans there.

* * *

November 17th in History:

474 – Emperor Leo II dies after a reign of 10 months. He is succeeded by his father Zeno, who becomes sole ruler of the Byzantine Empire.
794 – Japanese Emperor Kammu changes his residence from Nara to Kyoto.
1183 – The Battle of Mizushima.
1292 – John Balliol becomes King of Scotland.
1511 – Spain and England ally against France.
1558 – Elizabethan era begins: Queen Mary I of England dies and is succeeded by her half-sister Elizabeth I of England.
1603 – English explorer, writer and courtier Sir Walter Raleigh goes on trial for treason.
1659 – The Treaty of the Pyrenees is signed between France and Spain.
1777 – Articles of Confederation (United States) are submitted to the states for ratification.
1796 – French Revolutionary Wars: Battle of the Bridge of Arcole – French forces defeat the Austrians in Italy.
1800 – The United States Congress holds its first session in Washington, D.C..
1810 – Sweden declares war on its ally the United Kingdom to begin the Anglo-Swedish War, although no fighting ever takes place.
1811 – José Miguel Carrera, Chilean founding father, is sworn in as President of the executive Junta of the government of Chile.
1820 – Captain Nathaniel Palmer becomes the first American to see Antarctica. (The Palmer Peninsula is later named after him.)
1831 – Ecuador and Venezuela are separated from Gran Colombia.
1839 – Oberto, Giuseppe Verdi's first opera, opens at the Teatro alla Scala in Milan, Italy.
1855 – David Livingstone becomes the first European to see the Victoria Falls in what is now present-day Zambia-Zimbabwe.
1856 – American Old West: On the Sonoita River in present-day southern Arizona, the United States Army establishes Fort Buchanan in order to help control new land acquired in the Gadsden Purchase.
1858 – Modified Julian Day zero.
1863 – American Civil War: Siege of Knoxville begins – Confederate forces led by General James Longstreet place Knoxville, Tennessee, under siege.
1869 – In Egypt, the Suez Canal, linking the Mediterranean Sea with the Red Sea, is inaugurated.
1871 – The National Rifle Association is granted a charter by the state of New York.
1876 – Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky's "Slavonic March" is given its premiere performance in Moscow, Russia.
1878 – First assassination attempt against Umberto I of Italy by anarchist Giovanni Passannante, who was armed with a dagger. The King survived with a slight wound in an arm. Prime Minister Benedetto Cairoli blocked the aggressor, receiving an injury in a leg.
1896 – The Western Pennsylvania Hockey League, which later became the first ice hockey league to openly trade and hire players, began play at Pittsburgh's Schenley Park Casino.
1903 – The Russian Social Democratic Labour Party splits into two groups: the Bolsheviks (Russian for "majority") and Mensheviks (Russian for "minority").
1911 – Omega Psi Phi Fraternity Incorporated, which is the first black Greek-lettered organization founded at an American historically black college or university, was founded on the campus of Howard University in Washington, D.C.
1919 – King George V of the United Kingdom proclaims Armistice Day (later Remembrance Day). The idea is first suggested by Edward George Honey.
1922 – Former Ottoman sultan Mehmed VI goes into exile in Italy.
1933 – United States recognizes the Soviet Union.
1939 – Nine Czech students are executed as a response to anti-Nazi demonstrations prompted by the death of Jan Opletal. In addition, all Czech universities are shut down and over 1200 Czech students sent to concentration camps. Since this event, International Students' Day is celebrated in many countries, especially in the Czech Republic.
1947 – The Screen Actors Guild implements an anti-Communist loyalty oath.
1947 – American scientists John Bardeen and Walter Houser Brattain observe the basic principles of the transistor, a key element for the electronics revolution of the 20th century.
1950 – Lhamo Dondrub is officially named the 14th Dalai Lama.
1953 – The remaining human inhabitants of the Blasket Islands, Kerry, Ireland, are evacuated to the mainland.
1957 – Vickers Viscount G-AOHP of British European Airways crashes at Ballerup after the failure of three engines on approach to Copenhagen Airport. The cause is a malfunction of the anti-icing system on the aircraft.
1962 – President John F. Kennedy dedicates Washington Dulles International Airport, serving the Washington, D.C., region.
1967 – Vietnam War: Acting on optimistic reports that he had been given on November 13, U.S. President Lyndon B. Johnson tells the nation that, while much remained to be done, "We are inflicting greater losses than we're taking...We are making progress."
1968 – Alexandros Panagoulis is condemned to death for attempting to assassinate Greek dictator Georgios Papadopoulos.
1968 – British European Airways introduces the BAC One-Eleven into commercial service.
1968 – Viewers of the Raiders–Jets football game in the eastern United States are denied the opportunity to watch its exciting finish when NBC broadcasts Heidi instead, prompting changes to sports broadcasting in the U.S.
1969 – Cold War: Negotiators from the Soviet Union and the United States meet in Helsinki, Finland to begin SALT I negotiations aimed at limiting the number of strategic weapons on both sides.
1970 – Vietnam War: Lieutenant William Calley goes on trial for the My Lai Massacre.
1970 – Luna programme: The Soviet Union lands Lunokhod 1 on Mare Imbrium (Sea of Rains) on the Moon. This is the first roving remote-controlled robot to land on another world and is released by the orbiting Luna 17 spacecraft.
1973 – Watergate scandal: In Orlando, Florida, U.S. President Richard Nixon tells 400 Associated Press managing editors "I am not a crook."
1973 – The Athens Polytechnic uprising against the military regime ends in a bloodshed in the Greek capital.
1979 – Brisbane Suburban Railway Electrification. The first stage from Ferny Grove to Darra is commissioned.
1982 – Duk Koo Kim dies from injuries sustained during a 14-round match against Ray Mancini in Las Vegas, prompting reforms in the sport of boxing.
1983 – The Zapatista Army of National Liberation is founded in Mexico.
1989 – Cold War: Velvet Revolution begins: In Czechoslovakia, a student demonstration in Prague is quelled by riot police. This sparks an uprising aimed at overthrowing the communist government (it succeeds on December 29).
1990 – Fugendake, part of the Mount Unzen volcanic complex, Nagasaki Prefecture, Japan, becomes active again and erupts.
1993 – United States House of Representatives passes resolution to establish the North American Free Trade Agreement after greater authority in trade negotiations was granted to President George Bush in 1991.
1993 – In Nigeria, General Sani Abacha ousts the government of Ernest Shonekan in a military coup.
1997 – In Luxor, Egypt, 62 people are killed by six Islamic militants outside the Temple of Hatshepsut, known as Luxor massacre (The police then kill the assailants).
2000 – A catastrophic landslide in Log pod Mangartom, Slovenia, kills seven, and causes millions of SIT of damage. It is one of the worst catastrophes in Slovenia in the past 100 years.
2000 – Alberto Fujimori is removed from office as president of Peru.

Famous Folk Born on November 17th:

Emperor Vespasian
Louis XVIII of France
Joseph Babinski (the neurologist who came up with the Babinsky sign, which the doctors on shows like ER and Grey's Anatomy talk about when evaluating spinal injuries)
Frank Calder
Bernard Montgomery (did Patton really call Montgomery a prima donna?)
Frank Fay
Douglas Shearer
Lee Strasberg
Christian Fouchet
Shelby Foote
Stanley Cohen
Rock Hudson
Bob Mathias
Jim Inhofe
Gordon Lightfoot (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2wrug937wfA http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yzo6Otpgj-E)
Martin Scorsese
Jim Boeheim
Danny DeVito
Elvin Hayes
Martin Barre
Howard Dean
John Boehner
Dean Paul Martin (I still remember anchoring the news on the day he died)
Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio
William R. Moses
RuPaul (you have to watch his small but hysterical part in "But I'm a Cheerleader")
Susan Rice
Ralph Garman
Daisy Fuentes
Sophie Marceau
Leslie Bibb
Diane Neal
Zoe Bell
Rachel McAdams

Movie quotes today honor Rachel McAdams, who co-starred with Rob Schneider in "The Hot Chick"


Teacher: Now, I'm returning your papers on the Salem Witch Trials. I'm sad to report that Eden here got the only A.
Jessica Spencer: That's not fair. She's the only one who was actually there.
Eden: [Everyone laugh as Eden chants] Hexum maleficium spiritum sanctum nostradumus!

#2

April: So... do you really have a penis?
Jessica (Clive): I don't think you get the gravity of the situation here.
April: Can I see it?
Jessica (Clive): April!
April: Sorry... can I see it?
[Jessica gives April a dirty look]
April: Come on, it's not every day that your best friend grows a penis.

#3

Korean Mother: Ling Ling, you forgot your bling bling.

#4

April: Ok, let's make a list of all the people that hate Jessica.
Lulu: You know what would be a shorter list? All the people that don't hate Jessica.
Jessica: You bitch!