Young mom speaks out

Kearstain Sleeth age 20 works night shift and attending nursing school, was charged with six counts of misdemeanor child endangerment, according to the www.news-leader.com. Three small children were playing unsupervised outside of their home wearing only diapers when police where called When theauthorities arrived they found food on the front porch, the children and the home was filthy. The report stated that there was dog feces, food and trash everywhere. According to Sleeth, the incident happened when she was very sick and she had left the children under the care of their father while she rested and denied the allegations of how her house looked.

Anytime one reads that a mother is charged with child endangerment the usual reaction is to blame and have anger towards the mother. As I dove deeper into the article, I redirected that hostility towards other area’s.

 I couldn’t believe that a mother would leave 3 children all under the ages of three unattended as though they meant nothing to her. As I read on, my opinion changed. I found it rather unfortunate and disappointing that the father of these children did not feel any sense of responsibility towards his own children. I wondered were he was and why the article didn’t state his defense. Authorities commented about how the children were very dirty. I think this is ridiculous. Anyone with children knows how fast they can get dirty and especially if they are making mud pies or playing race-cars in the dirt. They are kids and kids get dirty. The article also stated that authorities, “referred to food left on the porch of the home, like the children were “domestic animals.” Thinking back to when my children were three and below, I remember how they loved to pretend that they were “doggies.” Many times would I find a bowl of cereal outside on the ground with a bowl of water. I believe that it is feasible that the children may have been playing and put their snacks on the porch. In regards to them being in diapers, what mother hasn’t let their children run around at home in their diapers? Furthermore, some children rather wear only their diapers and when they are home, strip their clothes off the minute they get there. It’s pathetic that the neighbors were so upset about Sleeths children playing outside unattended that they called the police on her. If they were so busy watching the children be unsupervised were they really unsupervised? Knowing that she is a single parent, why didn’t they offer to watch the kids for her? People don’t want to get involved but yet they want to hurry and call the police. I never understood that. To me that’s still getting involved.

Being a mother is hard job. Having three small children is even harder and then add nosey cop calling neighbors to the mix would make it insanely difficult. I wish the best of luck to Kearstain Sleeth and I hope she is able to move away from those horrible neighbors.

20-month old boy dies

According to yahoo! news, 20-month-old Canadian boy with an incurable neurological disorder passed away at his home in Ontario, Canada. Baby Joseph had a very rare disorder that ultimately kills patients by impairing their respiratory and kidney functions. The boy had been treated in both Canadian and the United States hospitals. Against his family’s wishes, the hospitals refused further treatment of the child. Instead, the hospitals recommended that he be allowed to die at home. Baby Joseph was discharged from a Canadian hospital, and later passed away with his parents and family at his side.

 

This article infuriated me. My feelings did not change from start to finish. If anything my anger intensified.

I think that being in the healthcare field for so long has made me jaded. In the twelve years that I have been a nursing assistant, I have seen first-hand a lot of deaths and the horrors of the dying process. There is nothing glamorous about watching a loved one gasping for air. Death is not like in the movies. There isn’t music playing in the background as a person slowly dehydrates and starves to death in horrific pain because no pain killer can relieve it. There is nothing beautiful about dying. Why in God’s or anyone else’s name would you allow your friend or relative to go through such agony? The people who would do this to a poor child anger me to no end. That’s not love. That’s control and selfishness. Love is letting that child pass on. Love is letting this poor 20- month old child be free of pain. In the article the family spokesperson stated that, “[Joseph] was not put to death at the hands of the doctors”. So does this mean this poor little boy didn’t even have the advantage of pain medicine as his kidney’s and lungs began to fail? Was it a blessing for Baby Joseph to feel like he is drowning while laying there in bed? Was it a blessing for the family to watch their son die slowly in front of them?

I am a firm believer in quality of life verses quantity. The family had extra time with their child and that was a blessing. But I really wonder about that child’s quality of life? It is not my place to judge, and God forbid that I should ever be in such a position. I only hope that I would have enough wits about me to make the right decision, one that put the welfare and comfort of the child first, for the sake of the child.

Naked protest in San Francisco

According to the www.foxnews.com, several dozen men and one woman took part of a nude protest on Saturday. In the Castro District of San Francisco California, where public nudity is allowed, nudists were upset because a city supervisor, Scott Wiener, proposed the requirement that practicing nudist cover up in restaurants and put a barrier if they took a seat out in public. According to the organizer of the protest, the intent was not to protest against the proposal but to promote acceptance of the human body no matter what size and shape. According to the article, it is proper etiquette to place a barrier on a seat therefore it was not necessary to recite that in Wiener's proposal.

The title, "No nudes is bad News" is funny, but I have mixed feeling about this article. My curiosity was killing me. As I read on, I felt a little empathy for the protesters. I even agreed with them. Once I finished reading the article, my opinion changed. I didn't agree it any longer. I was irritated and disgusted

I grew up in California. I always heard of nudist colonies, naked beaches, and naked bike races. This type of protest was not all shocking to me. I was about the nature of the protests. The area in which they protested is known for its nudism, and the government was trying to take their freedom away by placing restrictions on their behavior. In all actuality, all the proposal was doing was trying to reinforce common courtesy. However, Naturalist George David is quoted in the article as saying, "As nudists, why do we have to go to a special beach or a special resort? Why can't we just go to a park?" I couldn’t believe that he could make such a statement, and I was disgusted that this sixty-five year old man wanted to walk around naked at a park were children play. What was he thinking? There is nothing indecent about the human body but please there is a time and place for everything. I believe that we all make our choices. That gentleman’s choice of an alternate lifestyle and the restrictions of being a nudist is a choice, but the children would have no choice but to see a naked old man. If he doesn’t like the fact that he can't be naked everywhere then maybe he needs to change his lifestyle for one that better suits him.

The human body is an amazing and beautiful thing and I am comfortable in my own skin. But, there is no way I would participate in public nudity or a nude protest. I believe we all have rights. And I have to right to be able to go into a restaurant, park, beach, or walk down the street without having to see a naked person. The naturalists need to stay in their designated areas and I will definitely and defiantly stay in mine.

Boy Find 30 Year-old Jar of Fingers

      According to news.yahoo.com, a young boy found 30-year-old fingers in a jar. A seven year old French boy was playing behind the gymnasium of his school when he dug up a jar. He found that the liquid filled jar contained partially decomposed fingers. The boy’s father gave the jar to the local police. After the story went to the media, police received a phone call regarding the possible owner of the preserved fingers. The caller believed that the fingers may belong to their grandfather, a once local carpenter. According to the article, the grandfather lost his fingers 30 years ago during a work accident. He put the severed digits into a jar. He then filled it with alcohol and buried the jar near his home at the time. The grandfather has since moved away and the police are trying to contact him.

              Because I have a morbid sense of humor, at first I found this article amusing, and I had a bunch of jokes that kept running through my head as I read the article.  After all, it is not every day that a person can give the police the finger and get away with it.  I could just imagine this little boy finding the jar and running around the playground trying to scare girls with it. I could also imagine the look of surprise on the father’s face when his son showed him the jar and the disbelief in the officer’s voice when the father called to report that he had a jar of fingers and was willing to give them up.  But by the end of the article, my light-heartedness had turned into disgust. 
          The article stated that after putting his severed fingers into a jar full of alcohol, the carpenter  then buried the jar near his home. I don’t understand why didn’t he go to the hospital? I think it’s disgusting that he put them in a jar and buried them. I don’t understand why the jar was buried near his home. Why not bury the jar on the property he lived on? Why at a school? Why leave something like that for someone else to find?  All these questions have been left unanswered at this time.

            I only hope that he got out of the field of construction and into something a little less dangerous for him.

Online gamers help Scientist

     Today was a little different for me and my news article hunting. My daughter showed me an article that she found rather interesting. The title read; online gamers crack aids enzyme puzzle. It is believed that this is the first time “gamers” were used to help solve a scientific problem of this sort. According to the article,  Foldit  is a video game in which groups of competing gamers unfold chains of amino acids. The makers assisted Pharmacologists by making an accurate 3d puzzle game of an enzyme. Scientist used this ability to unfold or decipher the structure of an enzyme of an AIDS like virus.

     The title of the article is what grabbed my attention. At first, I thought  to myself there is no way a gamer could crack a code to the AIDS virus and even slightly chuckled to myself. This had to be a joke or an advertisement for a new game. As I read on, I realized that this was reality. I was awestruck by the possibilities this.

    Before reading this article, it was hard for me to take gamers seriously. On a daily basis, I watch my son and his friends hoot and holler as they kill zombies, wreck cars, or create imaginary worlds. Never did I associate video games with science. As I read, I had several questions: What made them decide to use this particular game? How did the scientist find out about the game Flipit? Were the game developers compensated? Unfortunately, the article was unable to answer any of those questions.

    As I read on, my opinion began change. According to the article, scientist have been stumped for a decade and unable to deciphered the enzyme structure of an AIDS like virus. Once the pharmacologist and game developers got together, it took them three weeks to create an accurate model of the enzyme. This was important because knowing the structure of the enzyme will enable scientist to create a possible drug to prevent the disease.

    It is amazing to me on how much technology has advanced over the years. This seemingly small step could lead to advances in cancer research and prevention and cure for diseases other then AIDS. The future may even hold the cure for the common cold. Only time will tell.

Bio-ethicist puts bet against Bachmann

           I was browsing through usatoday.com and drinking my cup of green tea, when I found an article showing that Michelle Bachmann has made the news again. The Minnesota Republican representative made a statement during the Republican presidential debate regarding the safety of a cancer-preventing injection. During follow-up interviews, Michelle Bachmann recounted a conversation with a woman whose daughter developed mental retardation because of the HPV injection. In response to this, Sidney Caplan, a bioethics professor at the University of Pennsylvania, offered to donate $10,000.00 of his own money to charity, if the representative can prove in one week that anyone can develop mental retardation from the injection.
 
         This article gave me a mixture of emotions. After reading the title to this article I was curious, so I read on. By the end of the article not only was I irritated, I had acquired a since of disbelief.
 
         Since, Michelle Bachmann had been in the news rather frequently,  the title, “Bio-ethicist bets against Bachmann’s vaccine claim,” peaked my interest. Apparently, during a TV interview, Ms. Bachmann stated she didn’t have any idea if the vaccine really caused mental retardation or not. I believe that she should checked her facts before she attempted to suggest that the injections would have this type of ill effect. The fact is the HPV injection is a shot given to a teenage girl to protect her from a sexually transmitted virus that causes cervical cancer. Bachmann played to the masses’ fear of the unknown and single -handedly attempted to undermine the possibility of saving thousands of woman’s lives. Unfortunately, her misleading statement could result in fewer girls being inoculated.  By the end of the article, I could not believe that Bachmann’s campaign didn’t even respond to Sidney Caplan‘s bet. Unbelievably, she didn’t even give a statement or even try to retract anything regarding this incident.
 
           I was filled with a variety of emotions when reading this article. I was both curious and irritated with Bachmann’s clam that the HPV injection caused mental retardation and I believe that she should donate $10,000.00 of her own money to cervical cancer research in order to make up for her irresponsible behavior.

   
  

Autistic boy put in protective custody

According to news.yahoo.com, an autistic boy was lost and alone in the San Bernadino mountains for more then twenty-four hours. He will not be returning to his family but will be in protective custody because of an unrelated incident. The child's family tethered him to a railing in front of a house that the were moving from.

When I first read this article I was upset with the child protective agency and the child's school. As I read on I became more and more outraged. This emotion no longer was towards the agency but towards the family.

At first when reading the article, I was slightly upset with the child protective agency and the child's school. According to the article the child ran away from the school and got lost in the mountains in CA. It is the schools responsibility to keep our children safe. The child should not have been able to run away from the school in the first place. Why weren't the teachers watching him. I was upset that the family was being punished for what the school had neglected to do, keep him safe. As I read further, I found out the reason why the boy was put into protective custody. Apparently, the family was moving out of their house due to being foreclosed on. The child protective service workers found out that the couple tethered the autistic boy to a railing so that he wouldn't run away. This outraged me. I do not understand what the parents were thinking. I have no sympathy for these people. It doesn't matter if the child is autistic or not. No matter how tempting it may be. A child should never be tied to a railing.

My emotions went from slightly upset to being furious as I read this article. I hope the best for this child and I hope that he will go to a foster home that will love him and treat him well.

Vampire in St. Pete, Florida

 I skimming through the www.news-leader.com. I was reading all the depressing headlines about Casey Anthony and 911 experiences I when came across this article.  Milton Ellis who was sleeping in his electric wheelchair in front of a vacant Hooter restaurant when he was attacked by a woman whom he had befriended on that very night. According to reports, Josephine Smith  had climbed on top of the man and had told him that she was a Vampire. She then proceeded to  bite Milton Ellis's face and part of his lip. She was then arrested and charged with aggravated battery on an elderly person.

My first response to this article was curiosity. I wanted to find out more about this case. Fortunately, there was a link to the tampabay.com.  I began reading further and was horrified by what I read.

 I was curious about if Ellis had known the girl prior to the incident. According to the article, Smith was dropped of at a nearby corner and was awaiting for relatives to pick her up. Ellis was at a nearby vacant Hooters and seen her being dropped off. He went over to her and offered her his company until her ride had gotten there. The article never says why he was in front of a vacant Hooters, why he was sleeping out side, nor why Smith was dropped of at a corner. Ellis was attacked when he fell asleep. My question is why was he sleeping outside? This seems very questionable to me. The other thing that I found questionable was that according to police report she was found half naked, covered in blood and had no recollection of what had happened. Was she was a victim of some kind of illegal drug that was possibly slipped to her by either Ellis or the people who dropped her off? The article states that Ellis had numerous charges of panhandling, intoxication, trespassing, and possession of an open container of alcohol, which calls to question the reliability of his accusation.  

Glowing cat helps aids research

 Today, I found an article I found slightly unusual in news.yahoo.com. Scientist are using florescent cats in order to find out if a certain gene therapy works fighting against the feline version of AIDS known as FIV.

 Scientist are continuing the search to find a cure for AIDS. By genetically altering cats, they hope to  find a cure. Scientist altered two different genes and inserted them into cat egg cells. The two genes used in this procedure was an antiviral gene and the other was one that produces a florescent proteins. The result from the protein was what made  florescent cats.

Initially, my response was curiosity. With further evaluation, I reflected in amazement on what the possibilities could be if this type of genetic engineering proves to be effective and what the implication could be for the future. It amazes me on how far we have come with medical research.

I found it very interesting that scientists decided to use the same gene that was found in a jellyfish was put it inside of a gene for a cat in order to make the cells glow. The scientist chose this green glowing gene so they could keep better track of the genetically engineered genes verses the FIV virus. According to the article the scientist have had encouraging results. The cat that were born with genetically altered cells had a reduced replication of the feline version of the AIDS virus when injected with the virus.

It is astonishing to think that this may be a step closer to finding a cure for AIDS not only in human but in cats too.

City of Joplin uses refief fund money on concert

As I browsed through the www.joplinglobe.com looking for events for this weekend I came a cross this article with the title of  "City issues statement on use of tornado relief money for concert". According to the article Joplin is going to be having a concert on Sunday in honor of the 9-11 and the May 22nd tornado disaster. This event is going to cost the city approximately $60,000. The city borrowed the money from the disaster fund to pay for it.

My first impression was outrage and disappointment.This emotions continued as I read the article. After reading that the city posted a statement on Facebook, trying to reassure the public that 100% of the proceeds will go directly back into the foundation that they borrowed the money from I was in disbelief.

I was outraged at the fact that the city felt that they had the right to use the relief money for this concert. Apparently, a country singer named Travis Trent will be performing. According to the article they needed the money to " secure the entertainment". I know for a fact there are a lot of small bands that are in our surrounding area that would have probably jumped at this opportunity. Why didn't the city contact them instead of paying so much for this once popular singer?  After reading this article, I would rather pay a few dollars to see a no-name act then go to this concert. I am disappointed that the city officials don't realize that there are still people in need of assistance. It is hard for me to believe that the city remains focused on rebuilding Joplin and helping it citizens if they are essentially robbing the citizens of the help they may still need.

I hope the community members fallow though and are able to get sponsorships and the anticipated donations will cover the concert costs. I hope that the money truly does go back into the fund. Perhaps with all the human outcry about the use of the relief fund money the city officials will think twice about squandering it again.

Landlord Stabbed over repairs

A fifty-three year old woman from Nexa was charged with stabbing her landlord. According to www.news-leader.com the suspects landlord was unable to repair a hot water issue. According to witnesses a heated argument developed between the suspects boyfriend and the landlord. The suspect then stabbed the landlord in the abdomen with a long bladed knife. The victim was transported to the hospital and is in stable condition. The suspect was found and arrested, facing first degree assault charges and armed criminal action.

My first response to this article was empathy. At first response, I had empathy not for the stabbed landlord, but for the renter. After further evaluating my emotions my empathy continued, not only for the suspect in this case but for the landlord.

Prior to moving to Missouri, I had been a renter.  It's very frustrating. The landlords that I have had put so many restrictions on what I could or cannot do it was ridiculous. I have had landlords who didn't want me to paint, plant anything, or fix anything myself. I even have had landlords walk into the house without knocking. These are the same people who avoided my phone calls, wouldn't  or didn't want to fix a broken water heater, or a broken toilet, or even a broken sewer line. I completely understand the woman's frustrations. Although tempting, stabbing the landlord doesn't do anything but cause more problems. It is sad to think that she could not control her anger enough to think logically about the situation at hand.  She needs to learn that violence is not the way to solve problems. Hopefully in jail she will be able to take some anger management classes.

As I focused on this article, I began to think about the landlord.  I have never been a landlord. Perhaps, he may not have been able to afford to fix the issue at hand. He may have been trying to do the best he could.The article really did not specify why he was unable to fix the hot water problem. The Landlord, now has to worry about the hot water issues at his rental house and a medical bill
.
As I reflect on this article, I continue to feel empathy for both the suspect and the victim. This article also made me come to the realization that I am very glad that I am not a renter anymore. I am proud to be a homeowner.

Ben & Jerry's Ice cream has Schweddy balls

 According to news.yahoo.com Ben and Jerry's has come out with a new controversially named flavored ice cream. This is an homage to and old "Saturday Night live skit. The Schweddy balls is a vanilla ice cream that consists of rum, fudge covered rum balls and milk chocolate malt balls.

 I read the news every day. I watch the today show for hours on end sometimes. I get tired of all the doom and gloom of the news.I find it rather depressing. Therefore, I love it when I come across news article that I find funny.

I rather enjoy walking in Walmart, stopping at the freezor section and reading the names of the Ben and Jerry's flavors that they have displayed. It always gives me a juckle. I mean come on, who can't but smile when saying Chunky Monkey, Cherry Garcia or a Chubby Hubby. I love to ask my husband to run to the store and get me a pint of Jamaican Me Crazy. So I believe that having an ice cream named Schweddy Balls is hilarious. I think that Ben &Jerry's are definitively keeping with the policy of doing things fun.

Unfortunately, I don't think I will be seeing Schweddy balls ice cream on the shelves. With further thought, I believe the name may be to outlandish for our conservative area. The general public may not be open minded enough to allow this ice cream on the shelves simply because of it's name. Perhaps the public may think that the name is not kid friendly nor kid appropriate. But by the slight chance that I do see it on the store shelves, I will be purchasing some of this ice cream. Perhaps I should buy a case of it and pass it to my friends as a gag gift just to see the look on their faces.

Woman killed children with shotgun

According to news-leader.com a woman is suspected of  hitting three pedestrians with her car while they were near the St. Louis Arch. The female suspect was found sitting with her shot-gun on a bench outside of a local television station. Just prior to the hit-and-run incidents, the Illinois woman is also suspected to have killed two of her three children. According to the autopsy report, the woman's four-year-old daughter and five -year-old daughter were shot in the head at close range and died. 

 

After reading this article I was infuriated and confused. After further analyzing the situation, I realized why I felt such strong feelings of anger toward this woman that I didn't even know. I am a mother of two wonderful children. My maternal instincts over took over my emotions.

 This woman was clearly was unstable, according to family members she was under the care of a physician. The suspect was receiving medication to treat depression or had a mental disorder. Why wasn't she in jail or in psychiatric lockup, then? The woman's family apparently had to have known about her mental instability and allowed her to have custody of her children, anyways? This seems to me as though the family was as unstable as she was. There was no one to protect the young children. Fortunately, her eight year old son was able to escape from this horrendous crime. But unfortunately, he is going to have to deal with possibly seeing the murder of his bother and sister by his mother. This little boy is going to have to go through years of counseling to reverse the adverse effects of what his mother has done to him mentally.

Obviously, if she were sitting in front of a local television station with a loaded shot-gun in her hand, she was aiming for a widely televised "suicide by cop." Perhaps this was her sad attempt to create her own reality show? I have hopes that the legal system works in this case and the suspect receives the mental help that she desperately needs.

Golfer mistaken for a clown charged with DWI in NY

While reading the San Fransisco Gate, sfgate.com, I came across an article about a man whose colorful clothing led him to be mistaken for a clown. Late Sunday night, County sheriff's of Batavia, NY received a report of a clown operating a stolen golf cart. Deputies found brightly- dressed James Straub of Stoneham, Mass. driving a golf cart down the road while intoxicated. The suspect pleaded not guilty to charges of driving while intoxicated and to the lesser charge of refusing to take a breath test.
 

When reading the headlines, "Golfer mistaken for clown charged with DWI in NY," I was instantly interested.  Overcome with curiosity, I wondered how wild this golfer's clothing been for someone to think that he looked like a clown. I had to find out why this man with such unique clothing taste was driving a golf cart down the road in the first place.

 

The brightly-dressed man, James Straub was allegedly coming back from an outing at the Terry Hills Golf Course where he may have had one too many drinks. Golf  happens to be the main source of entertainment in the small community where I live. It is not unusual to see a golf cart parked at our local liqueur or grocery store. Typically, the Lockwood golfer is in casual attire. While driving by the golf course, one would see several golfers wearing polo shirts and khakis.  This article caught my attention because of the absurdity of some New York community member calling to report a clown driving a stolen golf cart. I bet the cops really loved this one. It lends itself to a variety of jokes. I wonder if he was out looking for the tattooed bearded lady? How many drunken clowns can you stuff into a golf cart? I would have loved to have seen the reaction of the person who took the report. 

 

I see golf carts on the road here in town all the time. I would never assume that they might be stolen. New York is a city that is known for its interest in fashion. Apparently, the New York police are not only there to protect and serve but are also the fashion police.

Arizona man stuffs snakes in pants and flees store

According to usatoday.com, twenty-two year-old Eric Fiezel was arrested on Tuesday for removing several baby albino boa constrictors from a pet store without paying for them. According to the police video, Fiezel  took several of the baby snakes from their cages and placed them in his pants. He then returned later that evening and allegedly placed more snakes in his pants. A police line-up and a surveillance video assisted with the arrest of the suspect.

When I first read this article, I  thought that the stupidity of the crime was hysterically funny and completely outlandish.  All in all,  it was a pleasant relief from reading about all of the destruction in the east cost due to Hurricane Irene. After a slight pondering, I was curious about the man who had found it necessary to steal snakes.

There had to be other ways of containing the wiggly little creatures. Why in the world would he think it necessary to stick snakes into his pants? This actually leads to a bigger question: Why was he stealing snakes in the first place? According to the article, Fiezel was selling the stolen snakes to another pet shop and had already received $175.00 from the sale. Therefore, obviously, he was simply being greedy. Why else but for money would a person be willing to put snakes down their pants?

I would like to hope, that since Eric Fiezel had being caught on tape with such an outlandish crime, also with all the teasing that his family has probably given him that he reforms his ways. I hope a valuable lesson was learned. Crime doesn't pay and snakes don't belong in your pants.