Andrea Yates Tragedy

It whizzed by in a blur and then I had the chance to focus on it when it recycled itself in the news headlines. A jury in Texas found Andrea Yates not guilty by reason of insanity in the drowning deaths of her five children, none of them older than 6 years if memory serves me right. This was Yates second trial. In the first trial a jury of her peers found her guilty but the verdict was thrown out afterwards based on what legal minds call a "technical glitch, procedural error, or some other such nonsense ." Now she is herded off to a mental facility for "intensive" treatment and counseling sessions. My question is, what for? Can't they just lock her in a room (instead of a cell in this case), throw her a coloring book and some yogurt, and pass her a mop once a week so she can clean up around her accomodations? The woman gets away with murdering her five children including an infant daughter but her actions are rationalized through the time honored defense team practice of basing a case on insanity. And modern juries are still dumb enough to buy it.

Let us attempt to delve into the world of common sense which we know has no business in a court room. Psychiatrists and clinical psychologists constantly feel "beneath" their M.D. counterparts so most are more than willing to be labeled experts in a courtroom and justify their education and professional goals by assisting a defense attorney in convincing the world that the accused is scientifically "insane." Unless bailiffs had to physically shackle Andrea Yates to prevent her from removing her own eyes and eating them or to quell the stench from her bathing in her own wastes, she is NOT insane. Insane is lighting yourself on fire and tossing yourself upon your neighbor's grill because you really believe you are an Oscar Mayer wiener and you hope to get eaten.

OK, so obviously this second "loony" jury in Texas bought the whole "crazy as a craphouse rat" defense put forth in the second trial. A murderer escapes any semblance of real punishment and the taxpayers get to flip her bill (probably anywhere from $80k to $120k per year) for the rest of her natural life so that graduate students can use her as the basis for their thesis and earn their Ph.D's. You have to love the state of modern juris prudence. How ridiculous.

Mideast "Crisis"

More violence and bloodshed engulf the Middle East as the Israeli army looks to eradicate the terror group Hezbollah in southern Lebanon. The sooner the better we hope. Of course Iran's and Syria's fingerprints are all over the rocket attacks perpetrated against Israeli cities by the Muslim radicals. Actually the rockets hurled at Israel have the Chinese stamp on them. Who'd believe it! Let's not forget to throw in Russia too. After all, they are sitting back and waiting for the crisis to reach epidemic proportions and that the oil market will collapse. This will strengthen their economic position in the world and with Iran on the transportation and sales of crude oil. That Putin is a charming and shrewd little rascal, isn't he? Let's get two things straight.

1. There will never be peace between Islamists and the Judaeo Christian belief systems, never. There is not meant to be. The sooner we accept it and develop a battle plan to live with it the better. If living with it means stomping the radical Islamists out, then so be it.

2. We need to withdraw from any and all participation in the United Nations. The U.N. is a corrupt and inept organization incapable of handling disputes between its janitorial staff. Russia and China have veto power on the security council? What progress can be achieved? It's like playing tic tac toe with Stephen Hawking. You just can't win. We simply need to remain the military superpower we are and force the world and our own citizens that contrary to the media's portrayal of American values, we are still the most productive, generous, and benevolent country in the world. Enough said.

ILLEGAL immigration boycott

At first I was mildly annoyed by this past month's protest marches filled with rhetoric spoken in Spanish, upside down American flags, and a bunch of baggy pants carrying the Mexican flag up and down U.S. streets. This Spanish language version of the national anthem is the last straw for me. I hope any worker, illegal or otherwise, that skips work to participate in a march that is intended to cripple the economy these same protesters find safe haven in, are fired and hopefully deported immediately. Spanish kids that skip school to participate in this embarrassing march, I hope you are expelled and take up protests in China or something. Good luck with that language. I hate to see my tax dollars going to the "Mexican conversion" of our schools anyway. To be fair, maybe the illegal immigrants and their "huervos rancheros" supporters will be truly circumspect and honorable ruining the economy (ruining the economy because they are plugging the streets blocking transportation routes). I hope their focus is truly well rounded and they boycott all U.S. businesses like emergency rooms, food stamp lines, classrooms (tuition free) and refraining from driving cars on our streets without licenses. I went from wanting a secure border fence to a big thick wall lined with electric conduit. I would put up big warning signs, don't touch or else in "Mexican". If someone tried or if many tried, a nighttime flight overhead would expose what looked to be a giant bug zapper protecting our borders and the rights of America's legal middle class. "NO HABLA ESPANOL"

Montana and Senator Burns

Please comment on your opinion of Senator Conrad Burns. "Time" magazine ranked the senator in the bottom five and ranked Massachusetts Senator Edward Ted Kennedy in the top five of United States senators. No real surprise there. Do you think Burns should be reelected? Do you believe in term limits, regardless of your support for individual politicians? Do you think a majority of mainstream journalists and college educators maintain liberal ideologies? What is your opinion of current and past farm bills and the issue of farmer subsidies and relief?

Click at the bottom of the article near the time to comment.

Duke University

Defense attorneys have come forward and proclaimed to the press that no positive DNA linking the alleged lacrosse players to the sexual assault of a black student/stripper was obtained after an extensive evidence search. The local district attorney came forward and said that the case was not over, signifying that perhaps enough evidence existed to go forward with a case against one or more of the players. The case has divided the Duke campus and the city of Durham. One of the lacrosse players was not tested because he is a black man and the victim specifically stated that her assailant(s) were white. The victim's brother held a press conference stating that the general public is trying to make his sister the guilty party by portraying her as "just a stripper." He further stated that she is an exotic dancer and student and works to provide for her family. Why not get a job as a bank teller or clerk? If you don't jump in the pool you probably won't get wet. Two things, maybe three. First, if any lacrosse player commited sexual assault or sexual intercourse without consent (Montana statute terminology) then prosecute and convict them. Second, if the alleged victim had been a white girl and excluded the lone white player and said her assailant(s) were black the airwaves would be jammed on CNN with full length interviews of Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson railing against the stereotyping of black men as criminals. There is a double standard in this country you know. Third, personal behavior does matter. No, a women who is a mother who is a stripper does not deserve to be assaulted sexually or otherwise. Her personal choices did, however, put her in danger. Her activities are conducive with the "welling up" of the seediest elements and behaviors in society.

Meth Rehabilitation

The Montana Department of Corrections is publicizing it's plan to place convicted methamphetamine addicts into two not for profit treatment facilities in Boulder and Lewistown. Director Slaughter claims that this program will in the end be cheaper than traditional incarceration in the Montana prison system. Second, the corrections department is committed to breaking meth's grip on these offenders.

Let's remember to keep our priorities straight. If this program saves the taxpayers money while ensuring that these supposedly recovering addicts cannot wander through the populace, I say go for it. Saving money should be the paramount objective. The dismal treatment record for meth addiction speaks for itself. I've had meth addicts incarcerated in my jail and this method of denied access to meth worked quite well too. It is not that expensive to lock a meth addict in a padded cell and watch the treatment process begin. The result is the same.

http://www.montanameth.org/index.php

Recuperation

How we take our mobility for granted! I broke my arm last week and boy does it affect my typing speed. I broke my radius bone in five places and knocked the head off the ulna bone in a fall. The injury required surgery and the addition of a permanent plate to my body. I am hoping to get this blog into more circulation and am just wondering how to do it. Anyway my wife has been kind enough to do my typing so we'll continue posting as long as I can afford to pay her salary.

Seattle Massacre

Once again a Montana or former Montana resident has made our state infamous. I wonder which gun company will face the fire now. Apparently Whitefish residents who knew this Huff kid say they are shocked he could perpetrate such a vile crime. He did, according to reports, shotgun a statue of a moose in the Kalispell area a couple of years ago so at least we know he had the propensity and knowledge to be active with a shotgun. Obviously some circuit somewhere had a short in it. I will not blame the victims in this case but I hope their parents are asking themselves, "Why in the hell didn't I know where my kid was all night?", or "Why did I let my kid attend an all night rave party?" If you disarm yourself and put yourself in the proximity of a grizzly bear sow and jump up and down, you might get eaten.

Global Warming

I was watching "Real Time with Bill Maher" and successfully controlling my gag reflex as he went on a "Gore-like" diatribe concerning global warming. Look. I want a clean, healthy environment too. Is the globe warming because of us? Maybe, I don't know I'm not a climatologist. The liberals are quick to point the finger of damnation at corporate America (the same corporate America that signs Maher's paycheck) but they aren't as willing to reciprocate the other side of the story. Maher never once mentioned that 97% of greenhouse gases come from volcanic emissions. Why don't Maher and Gore climb every Pacific Rim volcano and shovel their respective holes shut? Of the remaining 3% of gases that we (corporations included) contribute to the "greenhouse" effect, how is it that we aren't a little cleaner than we used to be? Our old 76' wagon had a big carb and no fuel injection and got 8mpg instead of a more modern 20 mpg. Also, would someone more scientifically astute than I tell me if it's possible that the Earth and its atmosphere are just changing because it's time or it wants too? Several areas are warmer, several are cooler, some are drier, and some are wetter. At any rate, the typical liberal response is to stop the economy in its tracks, shut down production, and return to a time of loin cloths and clubs for foraging food.

Immigration madness?

I am not sure if the recent immigration protests in large American cities are humouous or not. At least 80,000 Hispanic workers did not show up for work the day of the protest marches. My first reaction is "fire them." Long story short, lax immigration policies have put the entire situation in a bind. Congress is considering making illegal stays in our country a felony, something well overdue I surmise. One Hispanic woman was quoted as saying, "My husband is an illegal immigrant and if he is deported, how will I support myself and our four children?" Maybe you should've thought of that prior to moving in and sucking local public assistance dry. Maybe creating four mouths to feed knowing your husband is an illegal immigrant was a poor and risky decision. Time will tell.