At One Time She Was Blind

At one time she saw no color. She saw no male nor female. She was not concerned with popular opinion but with the administration for what was right, but something has happened to her in these later years of her life. She has become crippled and bent. She only moves via the strings are pulled by a force much greater than she is. That force is called division. 

Like the child in the middle of a divorce she is yanked one direction and then the other rather than allowed to have a voice for herself, that is applicable for all who go to her for guidance. They use law and personal philosophy to pit people against one another on each side of this tug-of-war. 

She weeps over the selective prosecution of one group, while others are allowed to escape through her grasp. She weeps that the mob mentality seems to prevail where there once resided two of her biggest allies, Law and Order.

She weeps that she, like a child, whose parents, who are “we the people” are now fighting among ourselves rather than realizing that there is a much larger problem looming within this chaos. The problem is those that are in power tend to abuse her and/or ignore her, creating more division among the masses. 

This will not be corrected until she is returned to her rightful role by men and women who refuse to be moved by contemporary thought rather than by the very document upon which our laws were founded. This will only happen when people unite together and refuse to see color, one’s sexual preference, religion, etc., as we are all Americans and should not be letting those in power divide us as we have allowed them to do. We should, in short, be ashamed of how we treated one another, and it would be the beginning of the return of justice if people stopped allowing this division to fester like a gigantic boil rather than work to heal the rift.

This is a HUGE Problem in Today’s Society…

Can anyone take a guess at what one of our biggest problems in today’s society is? As a whole we have become complacent to the idea that it is okay not to keep one’s word. A person is only as good as their word is, and if their word fails, then they fail. Period. Americans will allow their intelligence to get insulted time and time again and not bat an eyelash when they get manipulated. Why is that? What has made us so accepting of people who will say anything we want to hear, only to find that they never had any single intention of honoring their word?

This takes place in many areas of our lives but the result is the same.  If someone we care deeply about does it, we are far to quick to forgive–especially if that person is our partner. Well–most of us anyway. I am not that way anymore. I got in touch with my inner bitch a long time ago, and I am here to tell you, when I get lied to and the person is caught, that trust can never be brought back at any price.  In fact, I tend to make a clean break now.

In fact, I’ve booted exes, former buddies and a few peers from my life that seem to take pride in such behavior. Yes, pride. They say things like, “Oh I was just BS’ing.”  Sorry but your BS’ing got people hurt.

Now I want to address another form of “lying”.  Remember this story?

http://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/Gay-Server-Tip-Lifestyle-Receipt-Discrepancy-233040811.html

 

Don’t jump the gun yet! I don’t think the waitress lied.  I think she and the family were, in fact, victims.  HERE is what I think went down with this story.

I think the waitress turned the ticket into whoever was handling the cash register.  I believe a reprint was made and that was the ticket given to Ms. Morales.  The reason I am giving her the benefit of a doubt is that there are more ways to rip off a person than one can shake a stick at, and I think whoever did it pocketed her tip and gave her a bogus receipt. I feel the note on the receipt, which again does NOT match the customer’s handwriting, was written by whoever cashed out the original ticket. If this is the case, there are two victims here–the family AND Ms. Morales.

Now there are people who will get even more angry if this is the case because of all the donations sent to Ms. Morales as a result. Either way she was still a victim. She got angry and posted that receipt merely to make a point. She did not intend to expose the people by name, but was simply hurt by the note left. Sadly, if that note was left by a fellow employee, I hope that he or she is caught via video, fired and then made ineligible for rehire because this type of person will continue to perpetuate fraud upon his/her co-workers and upon other customers as well. IN fact it should become a police matter at that point–even if all he/she did pocket was the $18 tip.  There is no telling how many other tips got pocketed that should have went to the wait staff  if this is the case.

I would also like to add that cons who are into criminal theft are not going to be making donations to “Wounded Warriors” either. As far as Ms. Morales goes, people really need to reserve their judgment.  I find it highly disturbing that if my scenario is correct, that anyone would leave such a hateful, spite-filled note to any waiter or waitress.

Have we as a society not learned that all people deserve a fair shake? Evidently not given some of the heated rhetoric I see directed at  Ms. Morales as well as  the family. America it is time to be quiet and wait to see what happens on this one. I think that both the family and Ms. Morales deserve that much.

School Bullying Must Stop–A Proposal…

I have to phrase this in a way everyone will get it. School bullying and cyber-stalking are out of control. These web applications that generate fake phone numbers to enable a stalker to pull this MUST be shut down or tightly regulated. If ordered by a judge, they should have to surrender any information the requester for such numbers gave to the site in order to be able to access such programs. Any students caught using this for the purpose of bullying other students should be expelled and put on house arrest for the rest of the school year and forced to do their classwork at home. They should also be ordered to go into psychiatric counseling at the parents’ expense–not the states.

Schools should be required to report to the parents of the victim(s) any incidents (even if perceived) of bullying within two hours of becoming aware of the concurrence. ANY teacher or administrator taking it upon himself/herself who decides not to report the incident to the parents OR the police if severe, should face disciplinary action up to and including termination as well as fines up to $5000 and forfeiture of their certification(s). If the bullying is severe enough to call law enforcement, the police should immediately have to place the bully in restraints and arrest him/her/them. It should also be up to the parents of the VICTIM whether or not to file charges–not the police or the school district.

It is time to protect our children and to separate them from a culture that permits silence and the continued torment of other students. Many of the crimes (yes crimes!) they throw under the label of “bullying” include physical assault, psychological torment, and/or sexual assault or molestation. Often it also includes some sort of verbal sexual harassment and/or repeated incidents.  These are all things adults can either go to jail for and/or lose their jobs for.  When children commit these acts on other children they should be strictly dealt with. There should truly be “zero tolerance” for this behavior in the schools.

This is only part of what I’m proposing to stem the tide of this garbage. How many more students are going to kill themselves before the end of the school year? I am wondering because right now there is NOTHING firm and rigid in a legal approach that has been put  in place to protect them in most states at all.  What are your thoughts? Can you think of any ways to help stop this? I do realize that my proposal is modeled somewhat after the Prison Rape Elimination Act, but since most of what I have seen occur when working for the corrections industry tends to remind me of what I saw in public school yards, that is why I came up with this.

The PREA gave parents and family members of bullied and extorted offenders an avenue to seek remedy within the laws of the land should officers neglect to report possible rapes and take measures to prevent offender suicide. Since so many bullying victims either attempt suicide or actually do it, this must be addressed specifically also.  It is for that reason I strongly support sending bullying victims to a counselor to ensure their mental well-being.  This is especially true if the student is known to be homosexual. Many do get picked on for their sexual orientation and this must also be stopped. No child deserves this treatment.  As for measures like “lunch detention”, believe me, they are a joke. Those things do not work on a bully because a lot of the time to them, being in lunch detention or ISS is a “badge of honor” just like going to medium custody is an honor for an offender in prison when they bully others. In fact, a lot of the reason these measures do not work on many bullies is that some of them come from families that have family members which are incarcerated.

It is bad enough that many cannot even bring themselves to discuss this with their own parents out of fear, but school is the last place they should fear going to. We must make these institutions safer for ALL children and this is the only proposal I can think of to actually get the job done–or at least start the process of making a change for the better.

These suicides can be prevented if teachers and administrators are specifically trained in what to watch for, so I propose that training them to notice certain signs (unkempt appearance, giving away possessions, statements that could lead one to think they might harm themselves or others in retaliation, etc…).

School Bullying has gone WAY too far!

I am really sick of high school kids committing crimes and then having it downplayed by the school district‘s labeling it “bullying“. When kids are going around assaulting other kids, sexually harassing them, etc…These are CRIMES adults go to jail for! Stop downplaying this problem by calling it “bullying” and address these crimes against our children for what they truly are–and for you school administrators that downplay this issue–shame on you! You’re not fit to be in charge of any child in a public school environment! Either man up and take care of the thugs or the litigation will after your districts pay some heavy fines! If it’s not stopped there, these kids may end up in prison anyway and you are the ones that wanted a “village” to raise the child…Well man up and do your bloody part! It’s happening under YOUR watch!

Here is a link to a story that should anger every parent whose child has ever been a bullying victim:

http://www.fox10tv.com/dpp/news/mississippi/family-special-needs-student-attacked
This boy is a special needs student. He is paralyzed on one side of his body and has cerebral palsy.  Granted the kid threw a soda can at his attacker after the senior called him a name but we do not know what the victim’s mental age is and such–or even if he had good aim with the can.  If the can was empty, there was no reason to react in such a fashion.  The bottom line is, as a senior, this young man should have been mature enough to set the example for the other students and  to not go off as he did on a person with a disability.  PERIOD. Sorry but while I do think the Stokes boy needs to learn to ignore such crud that is said to him and probably have some anger management therapy, there is absolutely NO EXCUSE for the senior using the force he did to levy such an injurious and brutal attack.

I can assure you that if I were the principal of that school, that senior would at least be in ISS for a while…

I am not a big fan of Fox, CNN or any of the major news networks but when I see this stuff in more than 1 report, and the info matches up on the networks, I am most likely going to express my opinion on the matter.

 

I Hate Politics…Really…Can You Tell?

There are some things in this world I do not understand.  I am not gay, but I don’t care who marries who and who sleeps with who. It is simply not my business.  Now I know the crowd who attends church every Sunday without fail are going to slam me for saying that, but it is true.  It is NOT my business or anyone else’s–not the church’s, not the government’s, etc…WHY does EVERY bleeding thing have to be legislated in this country according to the whims of those who are only trying to control the rest of the population via their leaders and lobbyists? The problem is that people who go out against gay marriage are NOT minding their own business but trying to force their will on another segment of the population.  There are some in that camp that will argue that it is the “left-wing-commie-loving-“whoevers” (their words–not mine)” that are trying to force their agenda on them.

I say that government–instead of taking sides in the issue should shut them all up and simply pass a federal amendment that will require one state to honor another state’s civil laws about marriage and such and then leave it the hell alone.  That way each state can legalize what they want and other states have to honor it.  Here’s the catch:  The legalization of marijuana will need separate attention. I don’t smoke marijuana…In fact I don’t smoke at all, but I am not offended by what others do…Why?  AGAIN:  IT is THEIR business.

I didn’t go around playing “Tap door, run!” like others did either…However instead of it being labeled the harmless prank as it is, many have decided to label it “criminal mischief“…All of  these laws are designed to meet ONE end, folks…That end is to gain revenue.  The fines collected and such would blow your minds. However, we do have to give to the $400K+ retirement package for the presidents when out of office…Then there are those congressmen/women who exempt themselves from legislation they pass wanting to force a medical care package down the throats of Americans as well as tax the hell out of them further.  First off, Congress should pass NO LAWS that they and their families are NOT subject to.  Their families shouldn’t get a college education on MY DIME when others who clearly deserve it cannot get aid to go themselves.    Most only DREAM of going to college because of state cuts.

THAT is a whole new topic for another post.  Both parties are contributing to the problems–they say government can’t run…Yeah right…Pay me only $150,000 a year with a 1 week vacation per year, good health insurance and a decent 401K, and I’LL RUN FOR PREZ in 2012! Don’t pay for my kids college either!  Don’t pay me the $450K a year when out of office either–($70K would be plenty) and definitely do not build a “library” for me.  I need no monument when people are hungry in this country! I’ll pay into SS (which all federal employees should do–including government members)! First piece of legislation I pass will be to return the Black Hills to the Lakota over a 10 year timetable.  Then I’ll  pass a “Mind Your Own Damned Business” law…That will mean people can marry who they want, and BY GOD, I’ll push to legalize marijuana for private use.  People who abuse law enforcement to harass their neighbors will get stiff fines and so will the exes who stalk their former lovers/exes, etc…There will be jail time for claims proven to be false and deliberately made too…How is that for a start?

Also for “crimes” that are really harmful to NOBODY that juveniles would commit–such as “Tap Door, run!”–NO FINES whatsoever…Make ’em do 40 hours of community service and write a 5000 word essay on why they shouldn’t break curfew  if they disturb someone’s beauty sleep! I’ve seen that penalty work on MANY kids.  I hate politics because it is all about the ALMIGHTY BUCK folks! Pure and simple!

The Kid who WANTS to stay after school…

This is going to sound harsh, but when a kid wants to stay after school, volunteering to take trash for every teacher in the building, cleaning erasers (for those that still have blackboards), arranging books, etc…Let him or her do it–but make sure that if that kid is acting as if scared to go home–don’t drill the kid with a million and one questions.  Let your school counselor handle that or the principal because you do NOT want that monkey on your back.  You can make an anonymous phone call if you like, especially if the student seems to be afraid to go home, but whatever you do, let that kid have the sanctuary even if just for a half hour while you go to another room to do something else after you’ve locked down your computer or whatever.

If the kid starts hanging out with the maintenance people instead of going home, have the counselor or principal talk to the child.  Sometimes it is true that there is something going on at home that needs to be dealt with, and other times the kid has other stuff going on inside of his or her head that he or she may need help for, but is too afraid to tell Mom or Dad.

Why am I advising this?  I was such a child.  Back in the days I did that, my teachers were powerless except for two items:  Detention hall and tutoring.  If I couldn’t stay after of my volition; they KNEW I was acting up to get a  one hour detention hall.  I don’t know HOW they knew but they did.   My school was my sanctuary.  It was a refuge.  I would stay as late as 5 p.m. and a teacher always either gave me a ride to my grandmother’s house or followed to make sure I got there alright if I wanted to walk slowly. 

They always knew when I walked in with dark circles under my eyes that something wasn’t right at home.  If I fell asleep, they knew I had a very bad night, but I wouldn’t show the marks or even talk about the prison cell I called my home.  I never knew what to expect when I walked in.  Sometimes my stepmother, Judy, would be normal and lucid.  At other times, she would pick me up and throw me across the room.  One time she threw me into a wall, and another time into the kitchen counter for being late.  I never said a word about this–not even to my sister or my mother.

I would go into my room and stay there for the most part, being careful to try to avoid her.  One night a teacher called and told her I had to stay after school for extra tutoring because I was having trouble in math class.  Ten minutes later the science teacher called also.   They never knew it but I got a belt taken to me by her and told if my grades weren’t up to her standards in two weeks, I’d get worse.  My dad wasn’t home and she said if I told him or anyone else, she’d “take care of me real quick”.  Having been around her long enough to deal with her crap, I knew what she meant.  There were many times she pointed a gun at my head.  I never talked about it–even after she committed suicide  with that gun.

My response to her threat was to not bring my grades up.  I deliberately made sure of it.  That way I could be away from her for longer.  After that, she tried to say I was “retarded” and all kinds of crap to the point that she and my dad were fighting each other.  I’d go hide out on top of the garage roof until 1 or 2 in the morning to avoid the bull.  They day she shot herself was the day my dad kicked her out of the house.  I didn’t believe that she was dead when they pulled me out of class and broke the news to me either. 

There were many nights after the funeral I would have nightmares about her coming after me in zombie form–.22 in hand.  I woke up in cold sweats more than once.  I often slept with a butcher knife under my pillow and NOT a soul knew about that either. It was one thing to tolerate the bullies and the idiots I had to deal with day after day,  but when I had to go home to my own little piece of hell, that was another story.  I often would snap and just disengage from life.  My escape was through writing and through reading books.  I also watched old movies. If I really wanted to block out the world, I put on a set of headphones and rocked out full blast to whatever struck my fancy when–which could be anything from ABBA to ZZ TOP and all things in between depending on how old I was. 

One would think that after going through something like this that I would have ventured out and became more outgoing, but I didn’t.  I preferred to live in my cocoon that I built for myself.  I didn’t feel safe at school due to some bullying–but it got taken care of.  However, I still didn’t trust my peers. I rarely went out.  When I went to prom in my Junior year, some people were surprised.  When I showed up for the Senior prom, it shocked the school, I think.  I was even in my Senior play and did well in UIL journalism and such.  I made myself do all that–and take the class trip…I also made myself stay in Band my last 3 years of school.  It got me away from her.  Ironically,  I was still acting like this 18 months after she died.  I don’t know why to this day.  I did my occasional sneaking off to shop after I got paid or whatever–but I went alone.  I preferred it. 

The bottom line is I felt that maybe in her madness, she was correct when she said things like, “You can’t have friends” or “You aren’t pretty enough to be with anyone when you get older so you might as well join the Air Force”–and worse…I won’t repeat the horrible stuff she said.  Being that the bullies at school tended to get to me, I’m surprised I didn’t go off.  Then I got invited to a friend’s house for dinner one night about a year before her death.  My dad pissed her off and let me go.  This was different.  These people didn’t yell at each other or anything.  If someone dropped something, it was okay–they didn’t get hit.

About  six  years ago I totally freaked out because I accidentally broke an antique mixing bowl that belonged to my paternal grandmother when I dropped something on it–I didn’t drop the bowl itself.  My sister said, “It’s okay, Tina.  It’s just a bowl.”  “But it was Grannie‘s.” was what I said.  She just kept saying it was okay over and over.  She even came over and held me as I was crying at one point.  What she didn’t realize was that this triggered another memory I blocked out.  I got thrown across the kitchen and into a wall when I accidentally broke Judy’s favorite bowl while washing dishes. 

Anyway, years later I began to open up about it.  That was when I realized I wasn’t the “bad” kid or the “crazy nerd kid”.  Some of my favorite teachers told me point-blank that they knew something was wrong at home and they asked me how I was able to deal with it.  I shocked them.  I told them the first thing I had to do.  I had to forgive Judy.  I had come to the realization that she was mentally ill.  I finally understood the issues that were going on after talking at length with my sister about it.  The second thing I had to do was accept that I am not to blame for the actions she took.  I was a child. 

Now I want to give you some food for thought.  I was that kid that had caring teachers who took time for me when they didn’t have to.  I wanted to give back.  I still don’t think I can ever give back enough, but I can attest to this much–kids who were bullied back then often fantasized about making bullies “disappear” or wishing them “into the cornfield” and there isn’t a person alive that doesn’t know what that means.  Those of us who were bullied often wondered what it would have been like if we could be rid of the bullies for one day–or better yet–for life.  We actually talked about it.  Again I ask that same question from my bullying blogs, “What made it okay for a person to ever cross that line and actually act out on their fantasies?”

How many more Columbines will it take? Jonesboros? How many more suicides?  Can anyone answer that?  We’ve had more recent shootings also.  Even when you have caring teachers who do take time as mine did, why would the kids put them in the line of fire?  Has anyone ever asked these things?  I think we should.   Some of the ones who bullied me are totally different people today.  One would never know how cruel they were in high school, and they often choose not to remember the hurt they inflicted.  I have had classmates that I do not remember bullying me for the life of me contact me apologizing.  Maybe they were bystanders or something, but I honestly do not remember them bullying me and I told them so.  As far as I’m concerned, they’ve done nothing to me.

I will close with some questions:  Where does this bullying type of behavior begin?  Where do the kids learn it? At home? In the movies? WHAT?!  Have we really degraded our own society too much to the point that as parents we can’t fix this issue ourselves?  I would not mind getting the “right” answer for those questions, if they do exist. Is this going to be something we have to create penal codes for or should we just insert it into categories under the current penal code–such as assault, aggravated assault with a weapon, etc…?

Westboro Baptist Church–Political Organizations Should NOT be Tax Exempt!

My son came home from the war in Afghanistan almost 2 years ago.  There was a  point during which I wondered if I would ever really have him back, because he is not the same young man who left home.  Then today, someone pointed  out to me that he is here–just buried inside somewhere.  I think she is right.  Over the past couple of years, he has composed and played music again.  He can sing also.  That is one thing that this war cannot take from him–his passion for music.

He also has a love for animals–which is one thing this war could not change.  Here is a link to an interview he did with GQ while he was in Afghanistan.  I was upset when I read it, not because of the war itself, but it was because I could see in his own words what the war was doing to him.

http://www.gq.com/news-politics/big-issues/200904/obama-afghanistan-iraq-war-troops

It may have been my intuition but there were times I couldn’t sleep at night wondering if my boy was safe.   When he came home, I realized that he had been discharged a bit early–not by much.  I found out why a month later.  He was hurt when an IED exploded–killing others, but he survived.  He didn’t let the hospital tell us either because he knew he was going to live.  He said, “I didn’t want them to worry you, Mom.”  Right…He knew I worried anyway, but he knew I would have told my employer to take a hike if I had to and I would have been on the next military hop to Germany.

Now that he is back, he has been diagnosed with PTSD  and depression, along with some physical issues from the blast.  He can play piano as beautifully as he did before he left and he can still compose and sing.  These are the only two things that really give him a sense of purpose at the moment.  I intend to get him the program he wants to laying out his music on his computer as soon as I can get it.  I do not voice my opinions or show a lot of what I feel around him, but there is not much I won’t do for that young man who could have lost his life doing his duty.

Then there are those detractors who will go and protest a dead soldier’s funeral, but they don’t have the guts to show up to protest at a VFW fundraiser.  Why?  They have no cojones.   I am referring to those cult followers of the Westboro Baptist Church–and I shouldn’t call them a church because they are a political organization.  I feel that they should be audited and their tax exempt status revoked.  If they are receiving donated funds that are supposed to be used for charitable purposes, they should have to prove what they are using it for.  I also think that they are a modern-day cult at its worst.

Political rallies (which is what these protests are) are not EDUCATIONAL either if that is what they want to try to claim.  There is a huge difference between education and indoctrination.  Their own words condemn them as much as their actions.  They are a political organization spreading hate speech about military service members (many of whom die daily to protect their rights to act like fools), Jews and homosexuals–among other things.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Westboro_Baptist_Church

While Wikipedia is a good place to start, I am going to put images here that should seal the deal for revoking their status.  If any other preacher that is actually with the Baptist Convention (which none of the denominations claim this bunch) were to do this, the Federal Government would have taken swift action, so why has this so-called church NOT been audited?  They call Barack Obama the anti-christ and say all kinds of stuff that put them in the same league as Jeremiah Wright.  Too many of these nuts and fanatics, which is what they are, are crossing lines that people would face jail time over under Bill Clinton–that is for sure!  A charge called “sedition” would cover it if treason wouldn’t. First, here is my favorite message to that group the WBC:

Appropriate for this bunch of fanatics...

 

I don’t know about the rest of you, but this does not sound Christian to me…Just listen to it.  Then get back to me. Click play at the top left of the page.  It’s nothing but hate speech and crap from that WBC group–and for  this “parody” (If you can call it that) I am quite surprised that Lady Gaga has not sued yet.  As I stated, to me it is hate speech…I am no fan of hers, and I often criticize some of her antics but this is so depraved that I would not blame her if she did sue.

http://meganphelpsroper.tumblr.com/post/653165655/ever-burn-wbc-parody-of-lady-gagas

And then the WBC will  put children into the mix.  Can they be charged for this type of crap?

I think it is a travesty that my son and others who survived, as well as  the many sons and daughters who did not, have either been wounded or killed defending the rights of those who constantly spread hate speech about them.  Groups like this are a shame to this country and should be scrutinized if they are tax exempt.  I deal daily with watching my son’s struggle.  I promise you not ONE of these detractors will ever do this to a live soldier or show up to protest a VA function either.  They only protest the dead because they can’t defend themselves.  That makes these fanatics nothing more than cowards.

In the meantime, I am thankful every day for my son’s presence.  I still hug him even though he doesn’t like that as much as he did before he left.  He knows that it is  a “mom thing”.  I have lunch or dinner with my boys when I can.  I will say this, they are grown men, but I would lay down my life for them in a heartbeat.  They know it too.  I just wish they didn’t have to deal with today’s crap.  I don’t think any parent wants their kid to deal with what is going on in today’s world.  We never would have thought this possible even 10 years ago.

I do have some bad news for the Westboro Baptist Church, though.  It does say in every bible I have read that “…Judgment begins with the house of God…” That tells me that groups like this will get theirs long before anyone they condemn will if that is the case.

Hailey Dunn…Another chat, an Eerie Feeling and Dueling Voices…

I guess Law Enforcement told people in the media to not talk to Billie Dunn or Shawn Adkins  until cleared of suspicion in the Hailey Dunn case.  Anyway here is a link to tonight’s chat because it left people with a bad taste in their mouths.  It left me thinking of the movie “Small Sacrifices” for some weird reason.  Chat link (recorded from earlier) is included here:

http://www.blogtalkradio.com/bringthemhomenow/2011/03/11/bring-them-home-now-exclusive-shawn-adkins-speaks-colonel-monaco-from-patriot-outreach?&utm_source=remail&utm_medium=listener

I would still like to know WHY she called in if she knew the nature of the program.  Shawn Adkins was supposed to be on it.  What keeps drawing those two to come back to the program given Adkins’ earlier statements?  They get grilled, and they hang up the phone every single time only to call back–and sometimes are heard muttering an expletive or two before hanging up…Are they gluttons for punishment or what?  Don’t they have a lawyer, and IF they do, why isn’t he or she telling them to keep their mouths shut?   I am willing to  bet that Diane Downs wishes that she did.

I suppose only they can answer those questions, but Mr. Peter Hyatt (who you will hear speaking) is analyzing her statements.  Maybe the fact that she keeps showing up, as does Adkins is what is making me think of the movie.  It is as if the more  the finger is pointing at them, the more Billie  puts herself out there.  If I were her, I would have already retained an attorney.

I think the focus needs to go back to finding the child and on what Clint Dunn has to say since he puts himself out there, at his own expense in search of this daughter.  He also has no problem confronting the tougher questions–the “whys” since he’s probably asking himself those same things.  To me, it doesn’t matter what happened yesterday as much as what I see now.  This man has gone through some inner changes.   He now has focus and a purpose–very much like John Walsh and Paul Klaas.  Hopefully, Hailey will be brought home safely.

There is no love greater than the love of a parent for a child–so I really hope people  are wrong about Billie Dunn, but it is getting harder and harder to keep an open mind now.  I can see why both sides feel as they do.  One voice is telling us not to pass judgment until we have all the facts and/or Hailey is home again.  Then there is that other, more ominous voice that within that loudly resonates from the shoulders of many people in this country like a horned red devil  that says, “She’s dead. Someone’s gotta pay.”  Face it–we all know it’s what most think.  However, Elizabeth Smart was brought home safely and so was Jaycee Dugard, so there is always hope. 

This particular chat with Billie Dunn was disturbing in other ways besides tone and demeanor.  Billie was accused of misleading one of the hosts, but where?  What did she say? I do not see that this was so clear.   Better yet, why was Hyatt making a big fuss about whether she ‘watched the ball drop’ on New Year’s Eve?  Yes, I can see the evasiveness of her answer:  “I was watching the news.”  So what?  They may have shown clips of it drop on New Year‘s Eve, so why couldn’t she have watched the news AND saw the pre-recording of the ball dropping while watching the news?  Without evidence, they cannot just go in and lock anyone up. Opinions do not = evidence.  One can listen to the chat from the link above and get a good sense of the division that rocks the community and the country, and that is reality–not conjecture.

Now this leads me to my last question…Who or WHAT  is making the real brownie points off of this story besides the media?  The people and community remain divided.  Armchair experts burn up keyboards all over the country telling people what they should think about this case.  God forbid you disagree with them or they want YOU to play detective to prove YOUR opinions as fact, when they are merely that–opinions (aka more conjecture).  If someone wants to do that, get them to do their own homework.  A writer doesn’t have to “prove” and opinion or theory.   Now if spewing something as fact, that is a different story. For all I know, if there ever IS a trial, there may have to be a change of venue all the way to Bulgaria because of the way the American press is butchering the facts of the case. 

What are the facts?  I can list those quickly: 

 ONE–Hailey Dunn is and has been missing since December. 

TWO–law enforcement should have went ahead with this as an abduction to be on the safe side.  4 days is too long.  It should be mandatory to treat ALL juvenile disappearances as possible foul play so that the chances are better of finding the child in question.

THREE–Porn is found on a computer that several people had access to including Adkins at HIS mother’s house.  The memory stick may have been in the Dunn household, but it could have been his and not hers.  Possession is 9/10 of the law and that is true, but proving actual ownership has to be done by tracking down credit card transactions and IP addresses and/or getting a warrant for a list of subscribers to the website.  

FOUR:  They are no closer to finding Hailey or the “why” of her disappearance than they were at the end of December because of all the rumors and conjecture flying about.  Until she is found, there can be no “how” or “why” explained in a logical way. 

Until Hailey is home–everything is conjecture and the media always scores.  The last thing we should be on is a witch-hunt.  Jaycee Dugard’s stepdad was suspected in her vanishing and he was totally innocent.  I remember a lot of people pointing at the father of Elizabeth Smart as well. People can always be wrong.  I struggle with which side to believe every time I listen to the playbacks.  I am not going to point fingers because it is not in my nature.  However, I will wait and see what transpires next.   At this point, it is all we can do is wait and watch as things unfold.  Hopefully, Hailey’s family members will not  have to wait as long as Jaycee Dugard’s family had to. 

Am I the only one having conflicting feelings on this case?   Listen to the chat and tell me what you think.  Am I seeing something that may not be there in the behaviors Dunn and Adkins show?  Better yet, why are these chats, the YouTube clips and the Nancy Grace clips triggering my thoughts of Diane Downs?  Am I missing something here?  Like everyone else, I will probably be able to answer those questions later in time.  However, I am not going to listen to either of those “inner voices” arguing too much.  To do so would serve little purpose until more facts are in. 

$15,500 Reward offered

 

 

A Tale of Sean and Shawn (RE: Hailey Dunn)

I am not one to rush to judgment.  I am not one to lean toward the ultra-right or the ultra-left.  I am currently listening to the chat archive on the link below which you can also listen to at your convenience…Shawn Adkins does speak on it for about 47 minutes and then hangs up.  I’ll explain why later.

http://www.blogtalkradio.com/bringthemhomenow/2011/03/04/bring-them-home-now-exclusive-shawn-adkins-speaks-out?sms_ss=facebook

As stated earlier, this is the chat archive that Shawn Adkins spoke on tonight.  I didn’t get to hear him because he had already hung up prior to my getting into the chat, but I did come across another young man who is the symbol of the divisive nature that has come to Texas since the day of Hailey Dunn’s disappearance.   I won’t put his last name in here, but his name is also Sean.  He is a 17-year-old young man who grew up around the suspect, Shawn Adkins.

You won’t hear him in chat, but he did the type in the visual chat.  During that time, I saw that people were being hard on him so I began to probe a bit.  As I probed, I realized that this young man is a 17-year-old high school student who felt that  it his “duty”  or obligation to defend Mr. Adkins.  This has truly and deeply affected this young man.  As he was relaying what he knew of the suspect in the disappearance, as far as the time they spent together, a few people started to ask him questions as if he had inside knowledge of the case. 

The atmosphere in that chatroom was very hostile at times–especially toward this young man.  It finally lightened up a bit when he revealed that he is only 17-years-old.  He is a very articulate and intelligent lad, I might add.  This is his perception of Mr. Adkins: 

1.  The man is like a brother to him and has known him since the 3rd grade. 

2.  To him, Mr. Adkins is totally innocent.

3.  This young man had no clue that Mr. Adkins would have anything like kiddie porn or bestiality on his computer because, in fact,   he did NOT spend much time with Mr. Adkins at the Dunn residence.  ***Note:  He never met Hailey Dunn either, but did attend classes with her brother.***

There is also an allegation that he Mr. Adkins an affair. It turned out that he only knew this woman for three days.  The woman (Andrea) had put messages on FB that they were going to get married and such.  What I would like to know is that if this happened close to the disappearance, why isn’t law enforcement  looking at this woman?  From what has been said, she did stalk the guy.  I’m not saying that he is not guilty, so don’t take it the wrong way–I am saying they need to drop HER as a possible suspect.  Rejection is a powerful motive for kidnapping and murder IF that is what went down here. 

I realize that the above is a theory, but so is anything else that has been put forth so far. I listened to the taped conversation with Mr. Adkins after the chat ended.  He stated that several people could have had access to the computer in question, and he could be right on that issue.  If the memory stick was left unattended at any time,  then anyone could have put the images on it.  I know it sounds as if I am playing devil’s advocate, so please bear with me.

Note:  The computer was not found at Billie Dunn’s residence, but the memory stick was.  This is important–especially to any prosecutor.

Judging by the demeanor of Mr. Adkins, he does come across as being straight forward–and I didn’t have visual so I couldn’t tell you about his facial expressions or body language.  I can see the quality in his voice that puts people at ease.  It is this type of demeanor that enables him to bond with others.  And for me, it would instantly make me feel as if he’s hiding something given my own insane upbringing, so I had to keep an open mind.

Now back to the other Sean.  As I said earlier, he was a straight forward kid trying to defend another friend like any other  teenager.   He said that Adkins was like a big brother to him.  The minute it came out that he is only 17-years-old, and given his family situation, it became obvious that this young man looked up to Mr. Adkins with respect and admiration–a vulnerable place for a teenager to be when someone close to them falls.  Just ask the families and friends of Ted Bundy and Dennis Rader.  I feel sympathy for the families and friends of all concerned in this case. IF it turns out Adkins does end up being accused of it, the souls of many will be severely wounded.

It is crimes like these that destroy all families–not just the victim’s but the families of the guilty who have done NOTHING wrong.  With that in mind,  the only thing I am hoping to point out here is that it doesn’t matter where you stand on the guilt or innocence of Billie Dunn or Shawn Adkins, but we must be careful of those–especially the youth that might get caught in the crossfire and chaos of a case like this.  It is sad that when one person thinks another is innocent that there is a tendency by SOME–NOT ALL people to spew their vitriol against those who having  a different  opinion from their own.  When they realized the boy’s age, they calmed down and there were only a few doing it, but it was sad nonetheless.

It is best on this case to agree to disagree.  Shawn Adkins did abruptly hang up and leave the program when confronted about statements he denies making about hiding a body.  Does it matter? Right now we are no closer to finding her and bringing her home–which is exactly where our focus should be.  

As far as that young man Sean, I told him that his focus at 17 should not be to take on a burden that isn’t his–let alone the world on his young shoulders.  This is a young man who should be getting ready for prom night, getting a rose for his favorite girl, getting a set of wheels (if he doesn’t have them already) and preparing to enjoy his upcoming summer.  Shawn Adkins is a big boy and can take care of himself.  Perhaps the school counselors should try talking to the students again–and instead of probing about the case, work to heal their wounded spirits at this point.  If this is how Sean feels about Adkins, I can see how horrible the students must feel about Hailey still being missing.

Sean even answered a couple of questions that reflected his maturity to those present.  I asked what he would do  if Mr. Adkins had come to him and said anything about being involved with Hailey’s disappearance.  He said, “I would convince him to do the right thing and go to the police, and help the family find her.”  For a 17-year-old,  with something like this burdening him, that is a remarkable thing to state.  Most teenagers do not think on those terms until older.  This speaks well of the parents who raised him, and of how his character will be when he is a grown man.

It is my hope that one day soon, Hailey will be brought back safely.  My thoughts and prayers are with the families and friends of all.  All are being harmed by this case.  If it turns out that someone else altogether did this, then the constant railing would have been for nothing, and several lives and relationships will have been tossed out of the window.   The only ones that will have gained anything will be those in the media, the commentators  and all the armchair experts–even if most of them were well-intended.

Correct Amount is $15,500 reward! Someone had better tell Nancy Grace!

 

Note that the reward amount is now corrected.  Thank you for providing the link with the updated story.