Mo. teen described as thrill killer by prosecutors

FILE - In this Dec. 8, 2009 file photo, Alyssa Bustamante, 15, listens during a brief hearing where her attorney entered not guilty pleas on her behalf to charges of armed criminal action and first-degree murder in Cole County Circuit Court in Jefferson City, Mo. Bustamante, who admitted stabbing, strangling and slitting the throat of a young neighbor girl, wrote in her journal on the night of the killing that it was an "ahmazing" and "pretty enjoyable" experience ? then headed off to church with a laugh. The words written by Bustamante were read aloud in court Monday, Feb. 6, 2012, as part of a sentencing hearing to determine whether she should get life in prison or something less for the October 2009 murder of her neighbor, 9-year-old Elizabeth Olten, in a small town west of Jefferson City. (AP Photo/Kelley McCall, Pool, File)

FILE - In this Dec. 8, 2009 file photo, Alyssa Bustamante, 15, listens during a brief hearing where her attorney entered not guilty pleas on her behalf to charges of armed criminal action and first-degree murder in Cole County Circuit Court in Jefferson City, Mo. Bustamante, who admitted stabbing, strangling and slitting the throat of a young neighbor girl, wrote in her journal on the night of the killing that it was an "ahmazing" and "pretty enjoyable" experience ? then headed off to church with a laugh. The words written by Bustamante were read aloud in court Monday, Feb. 6, 2012, as part of a sentencing hearing to determine whether she should get life in prison or something less for the October 2009 murder of her neighbor, 9-year-old Elizabeth Olten, in a small town west of Jefferson City. (AP Photo/Kelley McCall, Pool, File)

Dr. Anthony Rothschild testifies before Cole County Circuit Judge Patricia Joyce on the second day of the sentencing hearing of Alyssa Bustamante, Tuesday, Feb. 7, 2012 at Cole County Circuit Court in Jefferson City, Mo. The hearing was to determine whether Bustamante should get life in prison or something less for the October 2009 murder of her neighbor, 9-year-old Elizabeth Olten, in a small town west of Jefferson City. (AP Photo/The Jefferson City News-Tribune, Jim Dyke)

In this courtroom sketch Alyssa Bustamante, left, and one of her attorneys, Donald Catlett, appear at her sentencing hearing Monday, Feb. 6, 2012 at Cole County Circuit Court in Jefferson City, Mo. The hearing was to determine whether Bustamante should get life in prison or something less for the October 2009 murder of her neighbor, 9-year-old Elizabeth Olten, in a small town west of Jefferson City. (AP Photo/The Jefferson City News-Tribune, Jim Dyke)

In this courtroom sketch, Dr. John Stone testifies at the sentencing hearing of Alyssa Bustamante, Monday, Feb. 6, 2012 at Cole County Circuit Court in Jefferson City, Mo. The hearing was to determine whether Bustamante should get life in prison or something less for the October 2009 murder of her neighbor, 9-year-old Elizabeth Olten, in a small town west of Jefferson City. (AP Photo/The Jefferson City News-Tribune, Jim Dyke)

In this courtroom sketch, Cole County Circuit Judge Patricia Joyce presides over the sentencing hearing of Alyssa Bustamante, Monday, Feb. 6, 2012 at Cole County Circuit Court in Jefferson City, Mo. The hearing was to determine whether Bustamante should get life in prison or something less for the October 2009 murder of her neighbor, 9-year-old Elizabeth Olten, in a small town west of Jefferson City. (AP Photo/The Jefferson City News-Tribune, Jim Dyke)

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) ? A Missouri teenager who confessed to murdering a young neighbor girl faces the possibility of life in prison when she's sentenced Wednesday morning.

Alyssa Bustamante, 18, was described by prosecutors as a thrill killer who lacked remorse and by defense attorneys as a disturbed child who deserved the chance to be set free one day.

The trial's conclusion follows days of testimony in a small courtroom in Missouri's capital city. Proceedings descended into chaos Tuesday as prosecutor Mark Richardson was making an impassioned, final plea for a lifelong sentence for Bustamante, who pleaded guilty to murdering 9-year-old Elizabeth Olten in October 2009.

Bustamante's grandmother and grandfather stormed out of the courtroom. That prompted Bustamante ? who had been staring blankly downward as Richardson recounted her crime ? to begin silently crying for the first time in her court proceedings that have spanned more than two years.

Then as Cole County Circuit Judge Pat Joyce announced that she would reveal her sentence on Wednesday, Elizabeth's grandmother interrupted and cried out from her wheelchair.

"I think Alyssa should get out of jail the same day Elizabeth gets out of the grave!" declared the grandmother, whom a prosecutor later identified as Sandy Corn.

The disorder capped what was an emotional, two-day sentencing hearing highlighted by repeated references to words Bustamante ? then age 15 ? had written in her diary on the night she strangled, slit the throat and repeatedly stabbed Elizabeth. Bustamante wrote that it was an "ahmazing" and "pretty enjoyable" experience, ending the entry by saying: "I gotta go to church now...lol."

"The motive has to be the most senseless, reprehensible that could be in humankind, and that is to take a life for a thrill," Richardson said.

Richardson recounted in the courtroom how hundreds of volunteers had searched for Elizabeth near the rural town of St. Martins as Bustamante calmly lied ? at least initially ? to investigators about the girl's whereabouts.

The prosecutor urged the judge to impose the maximum for second-degree murder ? life in prison with the possibility of parole ? and an additional 71 years in prison for armed criminal action, which he said would have matched the remaining life expectancy of Elizabeth. Richardson also urged that the sentences be served consecutively, meaning Bustamante would be an elderly woman before she ever got a chance at parole.

Bustamante's attorney, Donald Catlett, countered that the sentences should run concurrently and that the judge should take into consideration a pre-sentencing report prepared by the state Division of Probation and Parole that apparently suggests something less than a life sentence. The judge said the recommendation must remain confidential.

Catlett cited the testimony Tuesday of mental health professionals who described Bustamante as a "psychologically damaged" and "severely emotionally disturbed" child. They recounted her family's history with drug abuse, mental disorders and suicide attempts, noting her father was in prison and her mother had abandoned her ? though she was in the courtroom Tuesday for the first time. Various mental health professionals testified over the course of the two-day hearing that Bustamante suffers from a major depression disorder and displays the features of a borderline personality disorder. Some also said she shows early signs of a bipolar disorder.

Bustamante began taking the antidepressant drug Prozac after a suicide attempt on Labor Day 2007 at the start of her eighth grade year. Her dosage of the medication had been increased just two weeks before she murdered Elizabeth. Bustamante's attorneys presented evidence from a psychiatrist who testified that Prozac could have been a "major contributing factor" in the slaying ? a theory rejected by a prosecution psychiatrist who insisted there was no scientific evidence of Prozac causing homicides, or even increasing aggression.

Catlett noted that Bustamante had taken responsibility for her actions in her guilty plea last month. But he suggested the murder might have been averted if a Jefferson City mental health care facility had done a better job of treating her. Asking for leniency from the judge, Catlett said: "Mental illness can cause disastrous effects."

Each time defense attorneys elicited testimony about Bustamante's troubled childhood, prosecutors countered by asking the mental health experts to describe what Bustamante had told them about the murder.

Those mental health officials testified that Bustamante told them she dug a grave several days in advance of the killing, then used her younger sister to lure Elizabeth outside with an invitation to play. Bustamante led Elizabeth into the woods by telling her she had a surprise for her.

Bustamante sliced Elizabeth's throat ? as the child apparently tried to resist ? with a knife that had been hidden in a backpack. Bustamante also strangled Elizabeth to the point of unconsciousness, then repeatedly stabbed Elizabeth in the chest. She was buried in a shallow grave.

Associated PressSource: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/3d281c11a96b4ad082fe88aa0db04305/Article_2012-02-08-Missouri%20Girl%20Slain/id-11365bf7d82641f1beabf9d69dc12e32

Egypt military denies shooting protesters

An Egyptian relative of one of the Copts who were killed during clashes with the Egyptian army late Sunday, mourns over his coffin outside the morgue of the Copts hospital in Cairo, Egypt, Monday, Oct. 10, 2011. Egypt’s Coptic church blasted authorities Monday for allowing repeated attacks on Christians with impunity as the death toll from a night of rioting rose to more than two dozen, most of them Christians who were trying to stage a peaceful protest in Cairo over an attack on a church. (AP Photo / Khalil Hamra)

CAIRO (AP) — A military official on Wednesday blamed a group of Christian protesters for starting violent clashes with armed troops, saying some attacked soldiers with swords and firebombs during a Christian rally earlier this week that turned into Egypt’s worst violence since Hosni Mubarak was ousted.

Gen. Adel Emara denied the troops opened fire with live ammunition on the protesters or intentionally ran over them with armored vehicles. The violence late Sunday left at least 26 people dead, most of whom where Christians and many of whom were crushed by vehicles or died from gunfire, according to forensic reports. State media said at least three soldiers were also killed.

Emara spoke at a press conference Wednesday that was clearly aimed at defending Egypt’s military rulers from heavy criticism they have come under for the violence at the protests. He gave a detailed account of the military’s version of the events, using video footage of the events culled from state TV and independent stations. One of the images showed a protester hurling a heavy stone at soldiers inside an armored vehicle.
Witnesses and Christian protesters have denied the demonstrators started the fighting outside Egypt’s state television building in Cairo, known as the Maspero building. At the press conference, Emara did not show other videos aired on TV stations or posted on YouTube — one of which seems to show soldiers storming protesters who were peacefully holding speeches outside the building and another that shows a soldier firing with an unidentifiable weapon at protesters at close range from the back of a speeding amored vehicle that is weaving at the crowds.

The violence Sunday rippled through the Egyptian community, fueling rage beyond the Christian community. It was the worst violence against the protesters involving the military, and has put the ruling generals in a bad spot.

Emara said some Christian religious leaders and public figures incited protesters to violently take over the state TV building. He said a minority of the protesters were peaceful, but that a more violent, armed crowd joined the protest outside the TV building and began attacking a unit of about 300 soldiers, armed only with anti-riot gear.
“I want to bring your attention that the protesters outside Maspero had many strange things with them: swords, gas cylinders, molotov cocktails,” he said. “This is not an indication that this is not a peaceful protest.”
He said the protesters sparked the violence by setting army vehicles on fire and attacking forces inside with stones. He denied vehemently that soldiers barrelled their vehicles into the crowd intentionally, saying the drivers were in a state of panic and were trying to escape as they drove. “I cannot deny that some people may have been hit. But it was not systematic,” Emara said.

It is not “part of the dictionary” of the armed forces to drive over protesters, he said, adding that the troops guarding the television building did not have live ammunition.

His comments aimed clearly to draw sympathy for the troops, calling the protesters’ attacks with stones and sticks “savage.” Some of the video showed a bloody soldier being carried away on a stretcher. There was footage of protester bodies, some of which were mangled in the violence.

On Wednesday, the military quietly buried soldiers killed in the violence, the state news agency MENA reported. It did not give the number of soldiers buried, but the Arabic phrasing suggested it was more than two. An unidentified military official told MENA that the army hasn’t released the exact number of troops killed in Sunday’s clashes to preserve troop morale.

Another general at the press conference, Gen. Mahmoud Hegazi blamed some for trying to derail the democratic transition.

“The basic fact is there are enemies of the country who take advantage of the protests to infiltrate and realize destructive roles,” he said. “We should all be aware.”

Violence against Christians, the majority of whom belong to the orthodox Coptic Church, has mounted since the fall of Mubarak as state control has loosened, and as Islamist groups have started to operate freely.
But the violence on Sunday has fueled anger beyond the Christian community and is likely to widen criticism of the management of the ruling generals of the transition period.

Copyright 2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Transcript: Weiner stiffens defenses against #Weinergate "distraction", lawyers up, and insists that we all "move on"

Robert Stacy McCain has been pursuing the Weinergate story since it broke and earlier today he relayed word that Weiner has hardened his stance on the lewd photo allegations.

New York Rep. Anthony Weiner has retained an attorney to advise him “what civil or criminal actions should be taken” after a lewd picture was sent from his Twitter account... Weiner, who has represented part of New York City since 1998, says online hacking led to a close-up shot of a man’s underwear being sent from his official Twitter account Saturday night...

...Weiner’s office did not answer specific questions about the photograph, whether he has contacted authorities or the Seattle woman who received the photograph... He has said that his Facebook was hacked and if his Twitter had the same password, that too could be vulnerable...

...The key point about Weiner’s retaining counsel and making noises about “civil or criminal actions” is that it permits the congressman to employ the old “ongoing legal proceedings” excuse not to talk about the case. Anyone who remembers the Clinton administration will be familiar with this tactic: “Oh, well, we’re exploring our legal options and aren’t at liberty to discuss an ongoing investigation.”

Interviewed briefly by CNN, Weiner was curiously incurious about the pursuit of the person(s) who compromised his Twitter account.

I was hacked, it happens to people. You move on.

This is a prank, uhh, not a terribly creative one, and it's a distraction...

Look... you've got Republicans playing games with the debt limit, a Supreme Court Justice who is refusing to recuse himself despite conflicts of interest, you have a health care act that's under siege, this... this is a distraction.

Oh. Right. It's a distraction.

We should move on. C'mon, people. Nothing to see here. Move along.

Dominique Straus-Kahn, managing director of the International Monetary Fund and potential President of France, arrested for attempted rape, criminal sexual act and unlawful imprisonment.

The NYT reports:

[Deputy Commissioner Paul J. Browne, the department’s chief spokesman] said that it was about 1 p.m. on Saturday when the maid, a 32-year-old woman, entered Mr. Strauss-Kahn’s suite — Room 2806 — believing it was unoccupied. Mr. Browne said that the suite, which cost $3,000 a night, had a foyer, a conference room, a living room and a bedroom, and that Mr. Strauss-Khan had checked in on Friday.

As she was in the foyer, “he came out of the bathroom, fully naked, and attempted to sexually assault her,” Mr. Browne said, adding, “He grabs her, according to her account, and pulls her into the bedroom and onto the bed.” He locked the door to the suite, Mr. Browne said.

“She fights him off, and he then drags her down the hallway to the bathroom, where he sexually assaults her a second time,” Mr. Browne added.

Let's assume that the maid's story is true. When things like this happen, I suspect that this is a man who has had sexual encounters like this before, many times. He's gotten more cursory and abrupt over time, because he's been successful in the past. Here is an illustrious man, staying in an extremely expensive hotel room — a room with many amenities.  Seems you can get whatever you want. A woman appears. Is she beautiful? He imagines that the woman is another thing the hotel subtly offers to men who pay $3,000 a night for the hotel.

British Woman Decapitated In Spanish Island Supermarket

 

Tenerife, Spain – I don’t normally post stories from other countries, mainly because I barely have enough time to cover the messed up stuff going on in my own. But this one is just too crazy not to talk about.

While the shopping district of Arona was hosting tourists and shoppers, a 28-year-old Bulgarian man walked into a supermarket with a machete and launched an attack on a 62-year-old British woman inside the store. Without saying a word, he stabbed her and then he decapitated her.

He then walked outside with her bloody, severed head in his hands and threw it on the pavement before being subdued by security guards. Police say the man may be homeless and has a history of mental illness, having recently been released from the hospital in February after received treatment for violent behavior. He did not know the woman he attacked, she was just at the wrong place at the wrong time.

People who witnessed the attack had to treated for shock, and from some of the stories they are telling, it’s perfectly understandable. One minute you are shopping for trinkets while on vacation on a Spanish island, the next a severed head is rolling towards you down the sidewalk.

One witness described a chilling scene: “I thought someone had fainted or something and walked on, then I heard screaming and looked behind and saw a scruffy, unkempt man of about mid 20s holding a head by the hair,” Colin Kirby said. “It had blood on it and I thought at first it was a sick joke stunt, the man was muttering and shouting…It looked like he was carrying a prop from the CLASH OF THE TITANS but then I realized it wasn’t a joke.”

Kirby is a man after my own heart. No matter the circumstance, always ready with a movie reference.
Arona is a popular town on the Spanish resort island of Tenerife in the Canary Islands. It is located 10 miles from the popular beach resort of Los Christianos. Of course none of that means anything, really. I just thought it would be a nice to end this horrific article with some geography in case you aren’t able to watch the following video.

Earl Albert Moore: Suspect In Columbine Mall Bombing Attempt

“The FBI identified a 65-year-old man with a raft of aliases as the suspect in the attempted bombing of a suburban shopping mall on the anniversary of the Columbine massacre and issued a nationwide alert Sunday, warning that he is probably armed and dangerous.

Earl Albert Moore is the lone suspect in the case, the Federal Bureau of Investigation said. It listed five aliases for him and said he had an ‘extensive’ criminal background.”
READ MORE

Police Charge Adult Suspect in Precinct 9/White Marsh Assault

18-Year-Old Suspect Charged with Felony Assault

Baltimore County, Md. (April 25, 2011) – Baltimore County Police announce that they have arrested Teonna Monae Brown, 18, of the 2000-block of Kelbourne Road, 21237. Teonna Brown was the adult suspect responsible for the April 18 assault of Chrissy Lee Polis, 22. Brown was arrested and charged with one count of First Degree Assault (felony) and two counts of Second Degree Assault (misdemeanor).

On April 18 at 7:59 p.m., officers were dispatched to the McDonald’s in the 6300-block of Kenwood Avenue, 21237 for a fight. The incident occurred in the Precinct 9/White Marsh area. Officers discovered a 22-year-old female who appeared to be having a seizure. The victim was later identified as Chrissy Lee Polis, 22. Witnesses advised that the victim had been assaulted by two female suspects. Both suspects were later identified. A 14-year-old female has been charged as a juvenile on April 18, and the 18-year-old female, Teonna Monae Brown, has since been arrested and charged on April 22.

The victim, Chrissy Lee Polis, was transported to Franklin Square Hospital at the time of the incident, where she was treated and released.

Teonna Monae Brown is currently being held in the Baltimore County Detention Center on $150,000 bail. Anyone with additional information about this case is asked to call Baltimore County Police at 410-307-2020.

Video: Riot breaks out at Burger King

And I do mean riot, as in absolutely primal:
From WJHG via drudge: Video shows bikini brawl in PCB Burger King 

A cell phone camera captured the action in the Panama City Beach Burger King on Front Beach Road Saturday, as a crowd of tourists nearly rioted at the restaurant.

Employees dialed 9-1-1 for help, as one bikini-clad woman, later identified as Kimesia Smith of Montgomery, Ala., jumped up on the counter and threw a charity coin jug at employees, and 3 of Smith's friends also began throwing napkins, utensils, and trays throughout the location.

Nearly rioted? Nearly rioted? What would it take to remove that qualifier?

crime

That was fast: Detroit Free Press links Sarah Palin to Arizona Shooting of Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords (D-AZ)

Blood was still drying at the scene of the crime in Arizona where US Rep Gabrielle Giffords was shot in the head and several other were killed. What's the Detroit Free Press to do? Link Sarah Palin to the shooting of course. Little did they know at 5:35pm when the story posted that the Man who shot AZ Congresswoman in the head is a left-wing lunatic. His favorite book? The communist manifesto. This is what the front page of th efreep looked like yesterday evening:

Featured prominently on the front page: Sarah Palin had Giffords in figurative crosshairs over health care vote

The Web is abuzz this afternoon with the shooting of U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, D-Ariz., and the fact that former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin had once placed the Congresswoman in figurative crosshairs to raise political funds.

...An image posted on Palin's Facebook page showed a U.S. map with 20 crosshairs representing districts for House Democrats who voted for the health care bill last year and faced tough reelection bids in the November midterm elections. One of those crosshairs was in Arizona's 8th district, to which Giffords was reelected in November.

The map, which has been removed from Palin's page, can still be seen in a posting from last March on the Huffington Post.

This was the map that Sarah Palin drew upon (via Verum Serum):

What 'technology columnist' Mark W. Smith of course fails to mention is that the Democrats had a map with bullseyes on them well before the Palin map, a fact I mentioned in a post from last year (theblogprof on "Off The Record" with Tim Skubick, April 9, 2010). Here's one that appears on this page of the Democratic Leadership Committee website (dated 2004 during the Bush years):

Note the bullseyes as I specifically recalled in the discussion and that the liberal blogger immediately deflected/denied. Now for even more via Verum Serum:

When Palin’s map became an issue, Rep. Chris Van Hollen, leader of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC), rushed on MSNBC to denounce it, telling Chris Matthews:

I really think that that is crossing a line…In this particular environment I think it’s really dangerous to try and make your point in that particular way because there are people who are taking that kind of thing seriously.

Really, Chris? So what do you think about this map?

Each one of those red targets represents a “Targeted Republican” like this one:

There’s even a helpful legend that makes it clear that’s precisely what the little red targets represent:

You’ll never guess where I found this map. That’s right, it’s on the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) website. They launched the site and the map on February 23rd of this last year, making it just over a month year old. And yet Van Hollen was quoted by Politico just today denouncing Republicans for “pouring more and more gasoline on the flames.” Right back at you, pal.

...Paul Krugman used the megaphone of the NY Times to state that Palin’s Facebook map went “far beyond politics as usual.” He further claimed, “you will search in vain for anything comparably menacing…from members of Congress.” Notice he didn’t say it was hard to find or rare. He said, in effect, that it didn’t exist. But since my search was not in vain, the Times should issue a correction noting that Krugman got it wrong.

Addendum: Big Jim at Gateway Pundit has dug up the ladies of the view discussing Palin’s map. Joy Behar says it looks like an “Al Qaeda Christmas card…” Will she have any similar comments for the DCCC?

Will Mark W Smith? The Detroit Free Press owes Sarah Palin an apology.

UPDATE: The liberal Daily Kos put a bullseye on Giffords in 2008 (via HillBuzz):

What say you, Mark W Smith?

Posted by The blogprof

European Governments Rob Their Citizens' Pensions, Retirement Savings

And you guys thought the concept of government-mandated Treasurys in our 401(k)s was a bad idea. Just think, it could always be worse. You could be from Hungary!

Via The Adam Smith Institute Blog:

The most striking example is Hungary, where last month the government made the citizens an offer they could not refuse. They could either remit their individual retirement savings to the state, or lose the right to the basic state pension (but still have an obligation to pay contributions for it). In this extortionate way, the government wants to gain control over $14bn of individual retirement savings.

It gets worse. Head to the CS link for four more examples and here's to hoping you've got your mattress stuffed for retirement, kids!

Good thing we live in America where our government doesn't do things like that. Instead, they keep interest rates artificially low so the bankers can eat gold-plated turkey sandwiches while Grandma is eating Alpo. God bless America!!

Posted by Jr Deputy Accountant

Edgar Jimenez (AKA El Ponchis): 14 Yr Old Mexican Teen Drug Hitman Arrested

Mexican army has arrested a 14-year-old boy on suspicion of being a hired killer for a drug cartel.
Officials said Edgar Jimenez, nicknamed El Ponchis, had been trying to catch a plane from Cuernavaca to the US with two of his sisters.

The military alleges that he took part in a number of beheadings under the influence of drugs supplied by the cartel.
READ MORE

Malaysian Hacker Nabbed After Cracking Into Fed Reserve

Author: Dave Lewis

So, this hacker, Lin Mun Poo, flies in to the US after having breached the Federal Reserve network and gets busted with 400,000 credit card numbers. He was trying to sell some of them for $1000.
From NY Daily News:

The stolen card numbers were found on his encrypted laptop after he was nabbed, and officials said Poo had come to the U.S. to get more stolen cards and PINs and steal from ATMs.
Poo has also confessed to breaking into networks of several international banks and a major Defense contractor, the complaint states.

Found on his encrypted laptop? So, the safe money is on that this character was showing off the numbers on his laptop to a fed when he got nailed. Either that or he gave it up in a hope for a better deal. He was smart enough to gain access but, too stupid to get a money mule? Seems to have a few too many open loops in this story.
Article Link

Good News: US Sen Patty Murray (D-WA) Using ILLEGAL ALIENS To Canvass For Her

If you want to know why the Democrat party is so in the dumps, recall who some of their constituency groups are: felons, criminals, pimps and whores, dead people, pets, fictitious characters and illegal aliens. That latter constituent group is out in full force trying to convince legal voters to pick Parry Murray in Washington state. These illegals are going door to door and working the phone banks. From FoxNews: Illegal Aliens Canvass for Votes in Wash. State

When Maria Gianni is knocking on voters' doors, she's not bashful about telling people she is in the country illegally. She knows it's a risk to advertise to strangers that she's here illegally -- but one worth taking in what she sees as a crucial election.

What risk? Since our own government has abdicated its responsibility to secure our border and Obama is suing Arizona to prevent them from doing what the federal govt refuses to do, who's going to put Gianni in the wagon and ship her back?

The 42-year-old is one of dozens of volunteers -- many of them illegal immigrants -- canvassing neighborhoods in the Seattle area trying to get naturalized citizens to cast a ballot for candidates like Democratic Sen. Patty Murray, who is in a neck-to-neck race with Republican Dino Rossi.

...In close elections across the country, the immigrant and minority vote is considered key for candidates, especially Democrats.

...OneAmerica Votes launched one of the largest get-out-the-vote campaigns in the state on behalf of Democratic candidates. ...

Maria Gianni has been an illegal alien here in the US for about 12 YEARS!

Posted by The blogprof

Rebellion of the serfs: Bell CA officials that gave themselves exhorbitant salaries arrested

Bell California is the flashpoint for the war against the fleecing of taxpayers so that the few in the ruling class can become rich. The $1.5 million per year city manager, Robert Rizzo, has resigned, but will still get a $500,000 per year pension*. The $475,000 per year police chief resigned, but will still siphon a $275,000 per year pension* for life.

* - depending on the outcome of legal action against these public 'servants' that fleeced taxpayers to enrich themselves. From LA Now via memeorandum:

Pic of the Day!

At least eight city of Bell officials were arrested Tuesday morning, a source said, as L.A. County Dist. Atty. Steve Cooley prepared to announce criminal charges in the municipal salary scandal.

...Former Bell City Manager Robert Rizzo, whose high salary sparked the outrage that led to the investigations of the city, was among those arrested in the sweep. ...

...Cooley filed charges against eight Bell officials Tuesday, alleging that they misappropriated $5.5 million in public funds. Rizzo has been charged with 53 counts of misappropriation of public funds and conflict of interest.

...The office is also looking into allegations of voter fraud and whether the high salaries earned by Rizzo and others were legal.

The full audit by state Controller John Chiang's office has previously found that Bell illegally overtaxed residents and businesses by $5.6 million. In addition to the retirement funds, Rizzo received two city loans of $80,000, officials said.

Woman who claimed she was attacked with acid admits it was a hoax

A little while back, a Washington woman claimed that she was attacked by someone who threw acid in her face. We didn’t cover it because, obviously, that’s not particularly funny. Now, 28-year-old Bethany Storro outed herself as a liar having made up the attack (unfortunately, she did acid up her own face, though) and police are saying her story was always full of holes. So now we’re covering it! Yay, standards of journalistic coverage.

Vancouver, WA police commander Maria Schuman told “Good Morning America”:

“Truthfully there were red flags from the beginning. Initially just the manner of the attack, when she’s talking about being splashed in the face with acid and the demarcation, the placement of injuries on her face… the thought that she was wearing sunglasses at 7:30 at night when she normally doesn’t wear sunglasses. Just small things that didn’t quite add up to a picture of normalcy.
“Things really weren’t adding up,” she said.

Storro had initially told the world that a black woman approached her saying, “Hey pretty girl,” then threw a cup of acid in her face.

But people became suspicious when Storro canceled an appearance with Oprah Winfrey and even more suspicious when several homeless people came forward to a local newspaper and said that Storro was “clearly alone when she dropped to the ground screaming.”

It’s unclear why Storro would do something like this. The obvious guess would be for attention but, in my humble opinion, a cup full of acid isn’t necessarily the greatest way to get attention. I mean Jesus, people have reality shows for making cupcakes or giving parking tickets. You don’t exactly have to reinvent the wheel here, Storro.

At least now we all know throwing acid on your face is a bad idea. No way I could have known that otherwise. Always figured that was all sunshine and rainbows. Burning, disfigured rainbows, but rainbows all the same.

Acid Attack Hoax: Red Flags, But No Motive [ABC News]

 Posted by Chris Spags

The Bronx Is Burning: Fired Domino's Employee Torches 2 of Chain's Storefronts

Posted by Adam Kuban, September 14, 2010 at 2:10 PM

A fired Domino's employee in The Bronx set fire to two Domino's storefronts on the morning of August 22, says this New York Daily News report:

[Jamal] Thomas held on to his key and uniform, and used both to exact his revenge.
He visited several stores in uniform, claiming to be part of a secret Domino's team measuring employee satisfaction. He was really scoping out targets to torch, investigators believe.

Both fires were started with pizza boxes inside the stores, the report says.

Don't Bogart Those Poll Numbers: Barbara Boxer's Campaign Is So Depressing, Her Aide Was Caught Smuggling Pot Into the Senate

I'd liken Senator Barbara Boxer's (D-CA) campaign to a train wreck, but that would unfairly impugn train wrecks.

Yesterday word broke that the pint-sized yenta was involved in an ethical scandal involving payoffs to Rep. Maxine Waters (or her crime gang, I forget which).

Today a CNN-Time poll disclosed that GOP contender Carly Fiorina is now tied with Boxer.

But CNN's polling numbers appear to have been *ahem* skewed to make the incumbent Senator look competitive with Fiorina. Jim Geraghty notes that the internals of CNN's polls claimed that 18% of conservatives supported Boxer.

Riiiiiiiiight.

In possibly related news, one of Boxer's aides was just caught smuggling pot into the U.S. Senate.

A senior aide for Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) was arrested Tuesday for attempting to bring marijuana into the Hart Senate Office Building, according to U.S. Capitol Police reports.

Marcus Stanley, who served as a senior economic adviser and at one time worked on the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee — chaired by Boxer — was stopped by a police officer Tuesday morning when he allegedly tried to “remove and conceal” a leafy green substance from his pocket during a security screening... Stanley has worked on Capitol Hill since 2007, according to financial disclosure records from Legistorm, and draws a six-figure salary. He has also worked for the Joint Economic Committee.

No word on whether Boxer herself will be drug-tested.

Arson at site of Islamic center in Tennessee

By Michael J.W. Stickings

We may not know who did this, but I think we know what caused it (and who, ultimately, is behind it):

Federal officials are investigating a fire that started overnight at the site of a new Islamic center in a Nashville suburb.

Ben Goodwin of the Rutherford County Sheriff's Department confirmed to CBS Affiliate WTVF that the fire, which burned construction equipment at the future site of the Islamic Center of Murfreesboro, is being ruled as arson.

Special Agent Andy Anderson of the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives told CBS News that the fire destroyed one piece of construction equipment and damaged three others. Gas was poured over the equipment to start the fire, Anderson said.

It's anti-Muslim bigotry, of course, but at this time, with conservatives like Palin and Gingrich screaming about the "Ground Zero mosque" and targeting Muslims as the anti-American Other, as jihadists to a man, woman, and child, is it any wonder we're seeing more of this lately? 

Palin, Gingrich, and their right-wing ilk -- and there are many of them, showing up regularly on Fox News and spewing their venom wherever they can -- may not have set the equipment on fire, but they certainly provided the gas.

(For more, see Greenwald.)

Radio Host Convicted for Threatening Judges

A US Internet radio host was convicted Friday of threatening to assault and kill three judges who upheld a ban on handguns in Chicago, the US Justice Department said.

Hal Turner

Hal Turner, 47, was arrested in June 2009 for an Internet posting that said of the three federal judges who had upheld Chicago’s handgun ban, “Let me be the first to say this plainly: These judges deserve to be killed.”
His post included photos of the three men, Chief Judge Frank Easterbrook and Judges Richard Posner and

William Bauer, as well as their phone numbers and work addresses.

All three judges testified during his trial, which was held in New York after Chicago judges recused themselves.
Prior to the trial, it was disclosed that Turner was a well-paid informant for the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), pulling in over $100,000 from the government in just five years time.

Turner’s FBI codename was “Valhalla,” which he sometimes wrote on the memo line of the checks the agency sent him.

Turner’s famously vile, racist broadcasts began in 2002, though the one-time Pat Buchanan campaign coordinator did not begin his relationship with the FBI until 2003. He was first outed as an FBI informant in July, 2008, when unknown hackers broke into the racist agent provocateur’s e-mail and discovered a message to a bureau handler discussing an alleged plot to kill Sen. Russ Feingold.

Turner ceased broadcasting in 2008 and insisted up through his trial that he was “a deep undercover intelligence operative.” He now faces up to 10 years in prison for threats to assault and murder the men in retaliation for their performance of official duties.

“There is no place in society for threatening federal judges with violence. Period. We are grateful that the jury saw these threats for what they were and rejected any notion that they were acceptable speech,” said Patrick Fitzgerald, US Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois.

If there is anyone who disagrees with the last quoted statement, are you prepared to comment on it?

Great news: Illegal immigrant who killed nun in accident was released by feds

This is one end result of Obama and his minions pissing on the rule of law. From The Washington Times via memeorandum:

The Virginia man suspected in a drunken-driving crash that killed a Catholic nun in Prince William County this weekend is an illegal immigrant and repeat offender who was awaiting deportation and who federal immigration authorities had released pending further proceedings, police said Monday.

Carlos Montano, a county resident, has been charged with involuntary manslaughter and drunken driving. Mr. Montano had been arrested two other times on drunken-driving charges, and on at least one of those occasions county police reported him to federal authorities.

"We have determined that he is in the country illegally. He has been arrested by Prince William County Police in the past, said police spokesman Jonathan Perok.

He said U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement was notified at the time of one of those arrests. "At the time of this incident, the accident yesterday, he was in the deportation process and was out on his recognizance for court proceedings."

Why, pray tell, do the authorities let out an illegal alien on "his own recognizance?"And a repeat offender, no less? Is it too much to ask for our own government to uphold our own laws?