Jobless Ex-Con Asks For More Prison Time

Three Squares and A Place To Lay Your Head…Not Bad

TAIPEI (Reuters) – A jobless Taiwan man released from prison two years ago asked police to send him back so he could eat, police and local media said Tuesday, a grim sign of hard economic times on the island.

When police found the 45-year-old convicted arsonist lying on a street in a popular Taipei shopping district, he requested a return to life behind bars, nostalgic for the 10 years he had already served, the China Post newspaper reported.

Wang had also contacted police separately with his request, a spokesman said. Officers who found him bought him a boxed lunch but declined to send him back to prison, the police spokesman said.

“We advised him to keep looking for work,” he said. “I don’t know why he can’t find a job. Maybe employers think he’s not suitable or that he’s too old.”

Taiwan is in recession, with a slump in exports leading a record economic contraction in the fourth quarter of last year. Economists see more weakness through most of 2009, given falling demand for Taiwan’s electronics goods in overseas markets.

B.S. Report–I think I know this guy…

Two Dozen Underage Drinkers Arrested At Home Of Conn. Miss Outstanding Teen America, 2008

Miss Outstanding Teen's Home in Connecticut...with Miss Outstanding Teen's Booze and with Miss Outstanding Teen's Drunken Friends.

HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) — The reigning Miss Connecticut Outstanding Teen, a volunteer for Mothers Against Drunk Driving, held a party that resulted in two dozen people being charged with underage drinking, police said Wednesday.

Rachael Ramonas, 17, once organized a benefit for the families of friends killed in a car crash in which the teen behind the wheel had a history of drunken driving, according to the Web site of Miss America’s Outstanding Teen.

It’s not clear whether Ramonas, who competed in the Miss America Outstanding Teen pageant in August in Florida, was among those charged. Police are not releasing the teens’ names because they are juveniles, and no teens are charged with drunken driving.

Officers responding to an anonymous call about underage drinking Saturday night found beer, rum and items commonly used for a drinking game called beer pong.

BEFORE

I sense that this might be the end of your reign...how uneasy sits the crown of Miss Outstanding Teen, 2008...

AFTER….(Not Ramona but our artist’s rendering)

Wow! This drink is ...Outstanding! That's it...let your hair down a little.

Ramonas’ parents were out of the state when police arrived, said Domenic Angiolillo, police captain in Wolcott, about 30 miles southwest of Hartford.

The Miss Outstanding Teen contest promotes academic and creative achievements. Ramonas received a $2,000 scholarship.

As part of her yearlong reign, Ramonas agreed to work with the Connecticut chapter of MADD, which calls drinking the nation’s biggest youth drug problem.

“At this point we’ll have to re-evaluate that (relationship) and see if she holds herself accountable with hosting that party,” said Janice Heggie Margolis, executive director of MADD’s Connecticut chapter.

“I’m hoping she feels very bad and embarrassed,” Margolis said.

A woman at the home declined to comment Wednesday afternoon, as did the principal and several students at Wolcott High School, where Ramonas is a senior.

Pageant officials are deciding whether to take action. Ramonas’ term ends in June.  (Read more.)

B.S. Report–Her parents were out of town…I wonder if they’ve  found out yet… How did she break it to them:  “Hi Mom, Hi Dad, guess what?  I’m in all the major newspapers again-just like last year!”

It’s tough being a good teenager–the pressures these days are enormous.  I was never even considered a nominee for Mr. Outstanding…Anything.  She at least held the title for 8 months.

Still, she went from representing MADD to perhaps going to court-ordered MADD meetings.  It sounded like a heck of a party….beer pong!  Oh, to be young again!  Cut the kid some slack–she’s just being a kid and that means you’re bound to screw up on occasion.

Goodnight Girls! See you at Rehab!

Gitmo Prison Abuse Worse Since Obama Says Lawyer

Alleged That Guards Getting “Their Kicks In” Before Camp Is Closed

LONDON (Reuters) – Abuse of prisoners at Guantanamo Bay has worsened sharply since President Barack Obama took office as prison guards “get their kicks in” before the camp is closed, according to a lawyer who represents detainees.

Abuses began to pick up in December after Obama was elected, human rights lawyer Ahmed Ghappour told Reuters. He cited beatings, the dislocation of limbs, spraying of pepper spray into closed cells, applying pepper spray to toilet paper and over-forcefeeding detainees who are on hunger strike.

The Pentagon said on Monday that it had received renewed reports of prisoner abuse during a recent review of conditions at Guantanamo, but had concluded that all prisoners were being kept in accordance with the Geneva Conventions.

Lawyer says conditions have worsened since Obama...

“According to my clients, there has been a ramping up in abuse since President Obama was inaugurated,” said Ghappour, a British-American lawyer with Reprieve, a legal charity that represents 31 detainees at Guantanamo.

B.S. Report–Maybe it’s true, maybe it’s not…I’ll wait for more information before I trust a lawyer defending the detainees.  I know our guys aren’t “saints” but I wouldn’t be surprised if conditions were as good (or as bad, if you like) as many of our prisons here in the states.

One thing I would comfortably wager is that our treatment of the detainees is far better than treatment American prisoners receive virtually anywhere else.  You can often test how poorly a prisoner is being treated by how much they beg us not to transfer them to prisons somewhere else–even in their own homeland.

The facts will eventually come out…they always do, and we can judge then.

Tennessee Democratic Governor May Turn Down “Stimulus” Money…

Governor Bredesen Doesn’t Like “Conditions” Tied To The Funds

Tennessee could reject a portion of the $787 billion economic stimulus package out of concerns that it would force the state to raise taxes on businesses in the future.

At the National Governors Association meetings in Washington, D.C., Governor Phil Bredesen said this week that he might turn down relief for unemployed workers worth an estimated $143 million because of conditions placed on the money by Congress.

The stimulus package would also raise unemployment benefits by $25 a week for all workers, but in addition, lawmakers want states to expand the pool of people who can apply for benefits. That would put more pressure on an unemployment trust fund that is already trying to stave off insolvency.

May not accept some of the "stimuli."

“We are evaluating this piece of money, whether it makes sense for us to take it,” Bredesen said in an interview Monday with the Chattanooga Times Free Press. “We’re in the position of going back to our legislature this year for changes in our tax structure just to keep our fund whole, and taking it to a new level may be too much of a lift for the legislature this spring.”  (Read more.)

B.S. Report–Don’t worry, I’m sure Chuck Schumer and Governor Arnold will accept any money regardless of any Congressional restrictions. But maybe some other Democrats may pause if one of their own turns down the money.

Are Dems Starting To Panic Over Obama Plan?

Senator Byrd Warns of Obama Power Grab

Sen. Robert Byrd (D-W.Va.), the longest-serving Democratic senator, is criticizing President Obama’s appointment of White House “czars” to oversee federal policy, saying these executive positions amount to a power grab by the executive branch.

In a letter to Obama on Wednesday, Byrd complained about Obama’s decision to create White House offices on health reform, urban affairs policy, and energy and climate change. Byrd said such positions “can threaten the Constitutional system of checks and balances. At the worst, White House staff have taken direction and control of programmatic areas that are the statutory responsibility of Senate-confirmed officials.”

Senator Byrd: worried about government "power grab."

While it’s rare for Byrd to criticize a president in his own party, Byrd is a stern constitutional scholar who has always stood up for the legislative branch in its role in checking the power of the White House. Byrd no longer holds the powerful Appropriations chairmanship, so his criticism does not carry as much weight these days. Byrd repeatedly clashed with the Bush administration over executive power, and it appears that he’s not limiting his criticism to Republican administrations.  (Read more.)

B.S. Report–While Byrd may sound like a senile old coot, he is a Democrat (albeit, a former Klansman), so for him to criticize a Democratic President this early in his administration does mean something, especially since he is a stickler for Constitutional protocol.

But just the fact that criticism is starting to come Obama’s way is healthy for our republic.  We cannot just sit by while this guy trashes the Constitution and socializes the country.

Obama Speaks…The Market Falls

Wall Street Drops After Data, Banks Fall

NEW YORK (Reuters) – Stocks added to losses on Wednesday after data showed the pace of existing home sales unexpectedly fell in January, while bank shares slid on continuing worries over the fate of the sector.

Please Mr. President, don't say a word...

The tone was set early by disappointment President Barack Obama shed little new light about how his administration would stabilize the economy in a major speech before Congress.

The Dow Jones industrial average (DJI:^DJI – News) fell 141.46 points, or 1.92 percent, to 7,209.48. The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index (^SPX – News) lost 15.88 points, or 2.05 percent, to 757.26. The Nasdaq Composite Index (Nasdaq:^IXIC – News) was down 28.26 points, or 1.96 percent, at 1,413.57.

B.S. Report–No, Obama is not entirely responsible for the stock tumble, but after his big financial speech last night, this is clearly a vote by the market of “no confidence” in his “stimulus” plan or his economic program.

But don’t worry, he has plans to throw a whole lot more money at the wall for each problem he sees…in the hope that some of it sticks.  And that, my friends, is the gist of President Obama’s “economic” plan.

Today In History

157o–Pope Pius V excommunicates Queen Elizabeth I and absolves her subjects of allegiance to the Protestant Queen.

Queen Elizabeth I (1533-1603)

1836–Samuel Colt patents his revolver.

Samuel Colt--"The Man that Armed the West"

1949–Actor Robert Mitchum is released from jail after serving time for marijuana possession.

Robert Mitchum (1917-1997)

1964–Cassius Clay (later Muhammad Ali) KO’s Sonny Liston to win World Heavyweight Boxing Title.

Our New Softer, Gentler Fight Against Terrorists, Oops, I Mean, Baddies…

Napolitano Avoids Using The Word Terrorism in Her Statement

WASHINGTON — Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano avoids mention of the terms “terrorism” or “Sept. 11” in remarks prepared for her first congressional testimony since taking office, signaling a sharp change in tone from her predecessors.

Our "hapless" Secretary of Homeland Security...G_d Help Us!...

Napolitano is the first homeland security secretary to drop the term “terror” and “vulnerability” from remarks prepared for delivery to the House Homeland Security Committee, according to a copy obtained by The Associated Press.

Tom Ridge, who headed the agency when it was launched in 2003, mentioned terrorism 11 times in his prepared statement at his debut before the oversight committee in 2003. And in 2005 Michael Chertoff, the second secretary, mentioned terrorism seven times, according to an AP analysis of the prepared testimonies.

Napolitano, a former Arizona governor, instead charts a course in very different terms than Chertoff, who used law enforcement and military jargon — “intelligence,” “analysis,” “mission” — to describe the agency’s objectives.

The department’s top priorities are spelled out in legislation that created it in 2001: preventing a terrorist attack in the United States; reducing the vulnerability for such an attack; and helping with the recovery if the U.S. is attacked.

Napolitano’s prepared remarks also show her using the word “attacks” less than her predecessors. She is the first secretary to use a congressional debut to talk about hurricanes and disasters, a sign of the department’s evolving mission following Hurricane Katrina. (Read more.)

B.S. Report–This woman couldn’t provide security at a Dairy Queen restaurant.  The Homeland Security Department, from day 1, has been a nansy-pansy, politically-correct, waste of money–even when Tom Ridge was heading it.

If we weren’t willing to take terrorism serious in the days immediately following 9-11, then we certainly aren’t going to do so now, especially with President Obama in office.

If we needed an illustration of just how unwilling the department is to fight terrorism, Napolitano provided it when she started talking about hurricanes and disasters.  Flooding–that they want to wage combat against.

The Homeland Security Department does not want to fight the real and actual threats to our nation.   As Napolitano points out in her testimony, they would much rather fight “weather” problems.

Freedom Quote Of The Day

After a speech that was given by a President that sees no limits upon which the Federal government may tread; it’s instructive to compare that outlook with the opinion of a President whose opinion was of a different sort…and happened to be there at the founding of our nation.

Thomas Jefferson

“I see,…and with the deepest affliction, the rapid strides with which the federal branch of our government is advancing towards the usurpation of all the rights reserved to the States, and the consolidation in itself of all powers, foreign and domestic; and that, too, by constructions which, if legitimate, leave no limits to their power…It is but too evident that the three ruling branches of [the Federal government] are in combination to strip their colleagues, the State authorities, of the powers reserved by them, and to exercise themselves all functions foreign and domestic.”

—Thomas Jefferson, to William Branch Giles, 1825. The Writings of Thomas Jefferson, (Memorial Edition) Lipscomb and Bergh, editors, ME 16:146.

Up and Coming Republican Star Bobby Jindal Gives Disappointing Performance…

Jindal Says Obama’s Plans Are “Irresponsible”

WASHINGTON (AP) – Republican leaders continued their attacks on President Barack Obama’s handling of the economy Tuesday, calling it irresponsible and certain to increase taxes and federal debt.

Responding in advance to Obama’s televised speech to a joint session of Congress, top Republicans said the president relies too heavily on spending, and not enough on tax cuts, to try to revive the gasping economy. They said they want to work with Obama, and sometimes blamed congressional Democrats more than him. But their criticisms were sharp and plentiful.

Jindal's speech was good on paper; not on delivery. He's not yet ready for prime time.

“The way to lead is not to raise taxes and put more money and power in hands of Washington politicians,” Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal, who gave the Republican Party’s official response, said in excerpts released early. The massive economic stimulus bill recently enacted by Obama and congressional Democrats, Jindal said, will expand the government, “increase our taxes down the line, and saddle future generations with debt.”

“It’s irresponsible,” said Jindal, who is eyeing a presidential bid in 2012.

The tone of the Republicans’ response was in keeping with their nearly unanimous opposition to the $787 billion economic stimulus bill, which was backed by only three Republicans in the Senate and none in the House. Some Democrats and independents think the Republicans are blundering and misreading most Americans’ sentiments about the need for massive government action to help the economy.

In the latest New York Times/CBS News poll, about three-fourths said Obama was trying to be bipartisan, and almost as many faulted the response of Republican officials, which was seen as politically motivated.

Despite such findings, GOP lawmakers say they believe they will be proven right in the long run.  (Read more.)

B.S. Report–I have high hopes for this guy but this was a real letdown…he just looked overwhelmed and out of his league. Plus, he’s so young looking–it’s as if he’s a child.  But unlike Obama, the guy has an “actual” resume of genuine accomplishments.

Unfortunately, he didn’t inspire the confidence that says, “Follow me, I’ll show you the way.”  Yet, he usually says the right things so there’s hope that he’ll develop.  But from what I saw, he’s more than 4 years away from the Republican nomination.

When he walked out to give his address, I had an odd feeling of deja vu dating back to my childhood.  And then it hit me!  His manner of walking and speech reminded me of someone: