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I’ll bet this kid never tries to steal a sign again

http://www.comcast.net/articles/news-odd/20081030/ODD.Shocking.Sign/

Boy shocked after man powers up campaign sign

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. Shawn Turschak of Chapel Hill was tired of someone stealing McCain-Palin campaign signs from his yard. Turschak, with a degree in electrical engineering, hooked up a third sign to a power source for an electric pet fence Monday and also put up a surveillance camera.

The News & Observer of Raleigh reported that a 9-year-old boy with an Obama-Biden sign grabbed the McCain-Palin sign and got a jolt on Tuesday.

The boy’s father, Andrew Noble, upset that his son had been shocked, showed up at Turschak’s door. Soon an Orange County sheriff’s deputy also showed up at the Turschak’s home.

Noble said his son just wanted to see how the sign was put together. Turschak said the boy intended to swap out the signs.

Sheriff Lindy Pendergrass said he doesn’t plan to file charges.

___

Information from: The News & Observer, http://www.newsobserver.com

Copyright 2008 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.

The boy ” just wanted to see how the sign was put together?” That’s bullshit. It was pretty obvious from the video footage that the kid was planning on replacing the McCain/Palin sign with an Obama/Biden sign.

The great thing about this country is that we can support and vote for whomever we please. I supported neither McCain nor Obama; however, I wouldn’t rip up signs for either candidate in the hopes that voters would consider someone else if they didn’t have their signs in their yards. In my opinion, the kid deserved what he got. Vandalism is vandalism, and until we all learn to respect the rights of others to vote for whomever they feel can best run the country, we’ll always people doing stupid things in the name of a candidate.

Let’s hope that in 2012, Mr. Turschak doesn’t have to shock anyone else into leaving his property alone.

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This is why child armies aren’t terribly effective


http://www.comcast.net/articles/news-national/20081027/Boy.Shoots.Himself/

Boy, 8, fatally shoots self with Uzi at gun show

Tue Oct 28, 4:33 AM EDT

With an instructor watching, an 8-year-old boy at a gun fair aimed an Uzi at a pumpkin and pulled the trigger as his dad reached for a camera.

It was his first time shooting a fully automatic machine gun, and the recoil of the weapon was too much for him. He lost control and fatally shot himself in the head.

Now gun safety experts — and some gun enthusiasts at the club where the shooting happened — are wondering why such a young child was allowed to fire a weapon used in war. Local, state and federal authorities are also investigating whether everyone involved had proper licenses or if anyone committed a criminal act.

“It’s easy to lose control of a weapon like that … they are used on a battleground for a very good reason,” said Jerry Belair, a spokesman for Stop Handgun Violence, based in Newton, Mass. “It’s to shoot as many times as you possibly can without having to reload at an enemy that’s approaching. It’s not a toy. It’s not something to play with.”

Police said Christopher Bizilj (Bah-SEAL) of Ashford, Conn., was pronounced dead at Baystate Medical Center in Springfield, Mass., on Sunday afternoon, shortly after firing a 9mm micro Uzi submachine gun at the Machine Gun Shoot and Firearms Expo at the Westfield Sportsman’s Club, co-sponsored by C.O.P. Firearms & Training.

“The weapon was loaded and ready to fire,” Westfield police Lt. Hipolito Nunez said. “The 8-year-old victim had the Uzi and as he was firing the weapon, the front end of the weapon went up with the backfire and he ended up receiving a round in his head.”

Nunez said the investigation is continuing.

Christopher, a third-grader, was attending the show with his father and sixth-grade brother, Colin. Christopher had fired handguns and rifles before, but Sunday was his first time firing an automatic weapon, said his father, Charles Bizilj.

Bizilj told the Boston Globe he was about 10 feet behind his son and reaching for his camera when the weapon fired. He said his family avoided the larger weapons, but he let his son try the Uzi because it’s a small weapon with little recoil.

“This accident was truly a mystery to me,” said Bizilj, director of emergency medicine at Johnson Memorial Hospital in Stafford, Conn. “This is a horrible event, a horrible travesty, and I really don’t know why it happened.”

Police are calling the shooting an accident but are investigating whether everyone connected with the incident had proper weapons permits. Massachusetts requires licenses to own firearms, and the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives issues different licenses to possess machine guns.

The machine gun shoot drew hundreds of people from as far away as Maine and Virginia. An advertisement said it would include machine gun demonstrations and rentals and free handgun lessons.

“It’s all legal & fun — No permits or licenses required!!!!” reads the ad, posted on the club’s Web site.

“You will be accompanied to the firing line with a Certified Instructor to guide you. But You Are In Control — “FULL AUTO ROCK & ROLL,” the ad said.

The ad also said children under 16 would be admitted free, and both adults and children were offered free .22-caliber pistol and rifle shooting.

Massachusetts has some of the strictest gun laws in the nation. It is legal in Massachusetts for children to fire a weapon if they have permission from a parent or legal guardian and they are supervised by a properly certified and licensed instructor, Nunez said. The name of the instructor who was with the boy at the time was not released.

“We do not know at this time the full facts of this incident,” Nunez said Monday.

___

Associated Press Writer Pat Eaton-Robb in Ashford, Conn., and Denise Lavoie in Boston contributed to this report.

___

On the Web:

http://www.westfieldsportsman.com

http://www.copfirearms.com

Copyright 2008 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.

How on Earth can one claim to be a gun expert and not know that the kickback from an Uzi is too much for most ADULTS, much less an eight-year-old CHILD? And why would a parent allow a child that young to fire an Uzi? Just to say he did? Sure, there may be gun laws passed in the future to ban automatic weapons altogether (and thanks to the stupidity of the instructor on duty and the father, I guarantee there will be), but it’s not as if he couldn’t fire an Uzi when he was older and stronger, if he so desired.

I predict a divorce and jail time in the future.

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Horror Story #2: Trick-or-treater got a body full of bullets for knocking on the wrong door

http://www.suntimes.com/news/nation/1256064,CST-NWS-trick02.article

Trick-or-treater, 12, killed when man feared robbery

SUMTER, S.C. — An ex-convict who thought he was being robbed gunned down a 12-year-old trick-or-treater, spraying nearly 30 rounds with an assault rifle from inside his home after hearing a knock on the door.

Quentin Patrick, 22, is accused of killing T.J. Darrisaw on Friday. T.J.’s 9-year-old brother and their father were injured but were treated at a hospital and released.

The family attended a Halloween celebration in downtown Sumter, then stopped at Patrick’s house because the porch light was on. The boys’ mother and a toddler stayed in the car nearby.

Patrick emptied his AK-47, shooting at least 29 times through his front door, walls and windows after hearing the knock. He told police he had been robbed and shot in the last year.

”He wasn’t going to be robbed again, and he wasn’t going to be shot again,” Police Chief Patty Patterson said.

And just WHAT THE FUCK is an EX-CONVICT doing with an AK-47?!? Also, if he was so afraid of getting robbed or shot, why didn’t he, oh, I don’t know, INSTALL A FUCKING PEEPHOLE IN HIS DOOR? Sure, I can understand being afraid of being robbed and shot, especially if it’s happened before; however, it was Halloween and his porch light was on. Mr. Patrick should have exercised a little more common sense and either shut off his porch light or checked to see who was at the door before opening fire.

Now a child is dead due to this ex-convict’s paranoia. The guy is only 22, and now he’s back in jail for murder. His paranoia and lack of common sense have denied T.J. Darrisaw his life and Quentin Patrick his freedom, if not his own life.

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Horror Story #1: A woman tried to manipulate the vote through Halloween candy

http://www2.ljworld.com/news/2008/nov/02/supporting_obama_no_treats_you/

Supporting Obama? No treats for you

November 2, 2008

Michigan — A suburban Detroit woman has decided to scare up the vote among neighborhood children by just offering treats to John McCain supporters.

Shirley Nagel of Grosse Pointe Farms, Mich., handed out candy Friday only to those who shared her support for the Republican presidential candidate and his running mate Sarah Palin. Others were turned away empty-handed.

TV station WJBK says a sign outside Nagel’s house warned: “No handouts for Obama supporters, liars, tricksters or kids of supporters.”

Nagel calls Democrat Barack Obama “scary.” When asked about children who were turned away empty-handed and crying, she said: “Oh well. Everybody has a choice.”

This doesn’t sound like a very effective way to change the vote; it does, however, sound like a dandy way to get people to egg and toilet paper her house next year. I’ll even bet that some McCain supporters with rotten eggs will visit her house next year. The cruel actions of this woman against children, children who cannot even VOTE, and probably wouldn’t be able to influence their parents’ votes one way or the other, combined with the publicity of this story, most likely caused a few people on the fence to not vote for McCain.

A candidate is judged both by the company he keeps and the people who support him. This woman did McCain no favors. There was no excuse for her to do that to the children of Obama supporters. I hope she gets egged and toilet papered so much next year that her house looks like it was sided with papier-mache.

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Catching up

Who knew that motherhood would interfere with blogging? My six-month-old daughter is crawling like speedy little spider and thinks that it’s her prerogative to investigate all stings by sticking them in her mouth. In spite of all of that, we’re going to press on.

First, we’ll start with some unhappy Halloween stories. Then we will highlight the lowlight of what happens when stupid people allow small children to handle automatic weapons. After that, we’ll check out the scoop on a solar system in our neighborhood that might have kids our age…pity it’s 10.5 light years away. Finally, we’ll check out today’s news and see what’s buttered my biscuits.

To those who are new to my blog, I generally pick a news story that caught my eye, then blog about them. I also throw in reviews about various things that are allegedly designed to help a busy parent keep the house clean without sacrificing family time.

Ready? Let’s dance.

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A spate of posts are forthcoming

Work’s been exceptionally busy. I guess when the weather gets cold, the Internet gets extra-appealing. Between my daughter crawling as fast as a spider, trying to keep the house clean, and being totally exhausted from my two jobs, who has time to write?

I’ll keep on trying anyway. Look for more posts later today!

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Much news to come

Work’s been exceptionally busy. I guess when the weather gets cold, the Internet gets extra-appealing. Between my daughter crawling as fast as a spider, trying to keep the house clean, and being totally exhausted from my two jobs, who has time to write?

I’ll keep on trying anyway. Look for more posts later today!

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The question is, was he cheating on his shop vac at home?

Police arrest Mich. man for car wash vacuum sex

Sat Oct 18, 7:56 PM EDT
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THOMAS TOWNSHIP, Mich. — Police say a Michigan man has been arrested after “receiving sexual favors from a vacuum” at a car wash.

The Saginaw News reports the 29-year-old Swan Creek Township man was arrested Thursday in Saginaw County’s Thomas Township, about 90 miles northwest of Detroit.

Police Sgt. Gary Breidinger says a resident called to report suspicious activity at the car wash about 6:45 a.m. An officer approached on foot and caught the man in the act.

The suspect, whose name wasn’t immediately released, is being held in the Saginaw County Jail.

Well, it is safer and less expensive that soliciting a prostitute, but I’d be terrified to apply something with that much suction to my genitals.

On the plus side, though, it would give me a cheap hysterectomy and possibly a role in a Chuck Palahniuk story.

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Sheriff of Cook County–Nothing like the Sheriff of Nottingham

Chicago’s Cook County Sheriff won’t evict in foreclosures

By DON BABWIN
Associated Press Writer

CHICAGO (AP) — The sheriff here said Wednesday that he’s ordering his deputies to stop evicting people from foreclosed properties because many people his office has helped throw out on the street are renters who did nothing wrong.

“We will no longer be a party to something that’s so unjust,” a visibly angry Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart said at a news conference.

“We have to be sure that when we are doing this – and we are destroying some people’s lives – we better be darned sure we’re talking about the right people,” Dart said.

Dart said he believes he’s the first sheriff in a major metropolitan area to stop participating in foreclosure evictions, and the publisher of a national foreclosure database said he’s probably right.

“I haven’t heard of any other sheriff unilaterally deciding to stop foreclosures,” said Rick Sharga, senior vice president of the Irvine, Calif.-based RealtyTrac, Inc. He said the sheriff in Philadelphia helped push a moratorium on foreclosure sales, but that involved owner-occupied homes and not renters.

Dart said that from now on, banks will have to present his office with a court affidavit that proves the home’s occupant is either the owner or has been properly notified of the foreclosure proceedings.

Illinois law requires that renters be notified that their residence is in foreclosure and they will be evicted in 120 days, but Dart indicated that the law has been routinely ignored.

He talked about tenants who dutifully pay their rent, then leave one morning for work only to have authorities evict them and put their belongings on the curb while they are gone.

By the time they get home, “The meager possessions they have are gone,” he said. “This is happening too often.”

In many cases, he said, tenants aren’t even aware that their homes have fallen into foreclosure.

This week, an attorney asked that Dart be held in contempt when his deputies did not evict tenants after determining they were not the owners and did not know about their landlord’s financial problems.

A judge denied the attorney’s request, Dart’s office said, and Dart said that after talking to the Cook County state’s attorney’s office, he is confident he is on solid legal ground.

“My job as sheriff is to follow court orders, absolutely,” he said. “But I’m also in charge of making sure justice is being done here and it is clear that justice is not being done here.”

The state’s attorney’s office said it would not comment on conversations with Dart because his office is a client.

Foreclosures have skyrocketed around the country in recent months and Dart said the number of foreclosure evictions in Cook County could more than double from the 2006 tally of 1,771. This year the county is on pace to see 4,500 such evictions, he said.

Dart warned that because the eviction process on foreclosures can take more than a year, the number is sure to climb even higher.

“From all the numbers we have seen, we know (they) are going to be exploding,” he said.

Sharga said there are more than 1 million U.S. homes in foreclosure – with about a third of that number occupied by someone other than the owner.

“That number will continue to get bigger,” he said.

Dart said he believes banks are not doing basic research to determine that the people being evicted are, in fact, the homeowners.

He said that in a third of the 400 to 500 foreclosure evictions his deputies had been carrying out every month, the residents are not those whose names are on the eviction papers.

Nor, he said, are banks notifying tenants that the homes they’re renting are in foreclosure. He added that when banks do learn the correct names of those living on foreclosed-upon property, their names often are simply added to eviction papers.

“They just go out and get an order the next day and throw these people’s names on there,” Dart said. “Whether they (tenants) have been notified, God only knows.”

Evictions for nonpayment of rent will continue, Dart said, explaining that those cases already have gone to court, his office is confident the people being evicted are who the landlord says they are, and there is no question the tenants are aware of what is going on.

Dart said it’s only fair for banks to give occupants of a foreclosed property adequate notice before forcing them out.

“You are talking about a lot of people in rental situations living paycheck to paycheck,” he said. “To think they are sitting on a pool of money for an up-front deposit, security deposit, is foolishness.”

© 2008 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.

A public official? And he’s doing something that could jeopardize his job, career, family, and life to help innocent tenants rather than gouging them for all he can get? I think I may die of shock.

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Now we’re getting somewhere

Even before I was a mom, SIDS research was very important to me. Below is an article about the use of a fan in the baby’s bedroom to help prevent SIDS. More research is needed to prove that it makes a difference 100% of the time, but it’s still a good start.

http://www.comcast.net/articles/news-general/20081006/MED.Preventing.SIDS/

Fan use linked to lower risk of sudden baby death

Tue Oct 7, 9:19 AM EDT

Using a fan to circulate air seemed to lower the risk of sudden infant death syndrome in a study of nearly 500 babies, researchers reported Monday. Placing babies on their backs to sleep is the best advice for preventing SIDS, a still mysterious cause of death.

Experts also recommend a firm mattress, removing toys and pillows from cribs, and keeping infants from getting too warm.

Such practices helped slash U.S. SIDS deaths by more than half over a decade to about 2,100 in 2003. But SIDS remains the leading cause of death in infants ages 1 month to 1 year.

“The baby’s sleeping environment really matters,” said study senior author Dr. De-Kun Li of the Kaiser Permanente Division of Research in Oakland, Calif. “This seems to suggest that by improving room ventilation we can further reduce risk.”

SIDS is the sudden death of an otherwise healthy infant that can’t be attributed to any other cause. These babies may have brain abnormalities that prevent them from gasping and waking when they don’t get enough oxygen.

The new study, published in October’s Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine, offers another way to make sure babies get enough air.

More research is needed, said Dr. Fern Hauck of the University of Virginia in Charlottesville, but she said that because fan use is in line with theories, it may be worth considering.

“This is the first study that we know of that has looked at this issue,” said Hauck, a member of the American Academy of Pediatrics SIDS task force.

Researchers interviewed mothers of 185 infants who died from SIDS and mothers of 312 infants of similar race and age. Moms answered dozens of questions about their baby’s sleeping environment.

Researchers took into account other risk factors and found that fan use was associated with a 72 percent lower risk of SIDS. Only 3 percent of the babies who died had a fan on in the room during their last sleep, the mothers reported. That compared to 12 percent of the babies who lived.

Using a fan reduced risk most for babies in poor sleeping environments.

The study involved infants in 11 California counties. It was supported by grants from the National Institutes of Health.

___

On the Net:

Archives: http://www.archpediatrics.com

Copyright 2008 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.

God willing, one day we’ll know what causes SIDS, and then we’ll be more capable of preventing it. Until then, anything that is proven to reduce the risk of SIDS is helpful.