CASEY ANTHONY FOUND "NOT GUILTY" BY JURY

Most of the country is well aware of the outcome of the Casey Anthony murder trial. She was accused of murdering her two year old daughter, Caylee Anthony, and - three years later - found "not guilty" by a Florida jury. That decision is not the same thing as proclaiming her to be innocent of the crime, it just means that the State of Florida failed to prove her guilt.

The preponderance of physical evidence was circumstantial, but the actions of the defendant were anything but circumstantial. Caylee's remains were found after spending more than three years in a swamp, making forensic evidence extremely difficult to recover. Follow this timeline:

June 18, 2008 - Caylee last seen alive leaving her grandparent's home with her mother, Casey. Casey borrows a shovel from neighbor Brian Burner, only to return it about an hour later.

June 20, 2008 - Casey photographed at the Fusion, in Orlando, nightclubbing and participating in a "hard Body" contest.

June 30, 2008 - Casey captured on surveillance footage shopping at J.C. Penney and Target.

(Apparently, Casey had little concern that her toddler daughter had "gone missing" - or worse - inasmuch as she had failed to file a missing child report with the Orlando police.)

July 15, 2008 - Casey tells her mother and brother that she hasn't seen Caylee in a month, and that an imaginary babysitter named Zanaida Fernandez Gonzalez (Zanny) kidnapped the child.

(Missing for a month? And STILL not reported to a law enforcement authority? Probably because she already knew what had happened to little Caylee.)

July 16, 2008 - Casey arrested on charges of child neglect and criminal obstruction.

August 11, 12 and 13 - Meter reader Roy Kronk calls the Orange County Sheriff's Office to report a suspicious-looking bag in a swampy area. On August 13th the area was cleared as a place of interest.

October 14, 2008 - Casey arrested on charges of first-degree murder, aggravated child abuse, aggravated manslaughter, and 4 counts of lying to investigators.

November 2008 - Orange County States Attorney turns over nearly 800 pages of documents showing that someone used the Anthony's home computer to do internet searches for things like "neck breaking" and "household weapons". (Not commonly items of interest for retired people)

December 11, 2011 - The skeletal remains of Caylee Anthony are discovered in a wooded area approximately one-half mile from the Anthony home... the same general area where Roy Kronk had reported the "suspicious-looking bag" - forty months earlier!

Casey Anthony had proven herself to be a liar many times during the investigation. A "babysitter" that people had only heard of, but which nobody had seen! A half-dozen story changes to police, attorneys, her parents, her brother, etc. Her attorney, Cheney Mason, kept her off the witness stand for a very good reason! The testimony of a pathological liar doesn't carry much weight with a jury.

As was his responsibility, Mason tried to shift the blame to almost everybody in the courtroom, with the possible exception of Judge Blevin Perry.

This question remains - if little Caylee Anthony was not murdered by her mother, then who took her life? Another family member? A band of wandering minstrels? A mentally disturbed alligator? Or, is it simply that Caylee became the youngest suicide ever recorded?

Not being able to prove something, does not necessarily mean that it didn't happen -just that it can't be proven beyond a reasonable doubt. Or, in this case, a ridiculously unreasonable doubt. And, don't confuse "not guilty" as being synonymous with "innocent". Innocent is a statement of fact... not guilty is a statement of opinion.

Jean-Claude "Baby Doc" Duvalier Returns to Haiti... Who Do Voodoo?

Yes, he returned to Haiti recently. Where had he been? Who is he? How/Why did he leave Haiti? It's an interesting but deeply disturbing story, and very few people even know who the Duvalier's were. Let's begin with who "Baby Doc" is...

The son of the despot, François "Papa Doc" Duvalier, who died in 1971 , "Baby Doc" came to power upon his father's death, and carried on the family tradition of pillaging, rape and murder. He also directed the infamous and bloodthirsty Tonton Macoutes (Creole for "bogeymen") - the Haitian secret police - whose primary function was to eliminate dissenters and critics of the Duvalier regime, and was formed under "Papa Doc". He ruled Haiti from 1971-1986 continuing his father's legacy of terror on the small island nation. The Duvalier's lived like royalty, while their subjects lived in abject squalor and poverty. The elder Duvalier was a practitioner of voodoo, which should be no surprise since Haiti is the birthplace of voodoo, and voodoo is the de facto religion of the majority of Haitians. Who is "Baby Doc"? In a nutshell, he is the Haitian equivalent of the "Black Death" plague, which killed roughly 30% of Europe's population in the mid-14th century.

How/Why did Duvalier leave Haiti? He was eventually run out of the country by the people, and he departed on an aircraft provided by the U.S. Air Force. Wasn't that nice of us... to assist a thieving, murdering dictator in making his escape to France, where he has lived in luxurious exile for 25 years? How can we Americans reconcile such despicable behavior from our own government? And those - and similar behaviors - continue today! Are the requirements of international politics such that governments cavalierly ignore such things as morality, character, justice and that which is simply "right"?

Haiti has forever been an economic sinkhole, and has suffered a series of tragedies that seem to be virtually endless. Since its establishment as a French-owned slave colony, it has never flourished economically, and the average per capita income today is USD $75. We Americans could not provide for a family of four on $75 a week even, but the Haitians manage to do it because they are used to nothing more. They do not "live" (by our standards), but they do survive.

The only good news to come from Haiti recently is that Jean-Claude "Baby Doc" Duvalier has been arrested. Accused of ordering thousands of killings, the question now is will he be properly tried in a court of law?

Obama Supports Saudi Royals Immunity in 9/11 Lawsuit

In another one of his trademark "I have no idea what I'm doing." moves, the Obama administration - shortly after his last visit to Saudi Arabia, and just prior to another scheduled meeting with Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah during his upcoming Middle East visit, has petitioned the U.S. Supreme Court to protect Saudi Arabia and four of its princes from being held accountable for their alleged role in the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attack on the United States!

Through its solicitor general, Elena Kagan, the Obama administration has asked that the Saudis be held immune under the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act, or FSIA, even though there is ample U.S. evidence of complicity by the Saudi government and the named princes in support of al-Qaida's attack. This action would deny American survivors of those 3,000+ killed in the attacks on the Twin Towers the right to seek court remedies for their losses.

Is there any sign of justice in this action? Is there any indication that Obama has the best interests of Americans in any of his executive actions thus far? Is it any wonder that Iran and North Korea are testing Obama's ability to lead, and that the test results continue to show his failure of those tests? "Strongly worded letter to follow" is not much a deterrent to mentally unbalanced foreign leaders. Unfortunately, Obama's failure to take immediate and strong action will also be the failure of the United States of America.

I could be wrong about this, but only if the sun fails to raise in the morning.

Being The First Choice Does Not Necessarily Make One The BEST Choice

"President Barack Obama named federal appeals judge Sonia Sotomayor as the nation's first Hispanic Supreme Court justice on Tuesday." Thus read the headline... isn't that an oddly worded sentence from a "professional journalist". Will Sotomayor ultimately be appointed to the (apparently) newly-established "Hispanic Supreme Court"? And will this Hispanic Supreme Court only hear Hispanic cases? (History recorded the last Hispanic Supreme Court in the 1400's. It was led by a man named Tomas de Torquemada, Grand Inquisitor of the Spanish Inquisition.) Will the oral arguments before this court be presented in Hisp, instead of English?

Commenting upon her official nomination this morning, "My heart today is bursting with gratitude," Sotomayor said from the White House podium moments after being introduced by Obama.

Personally, I would have said something more like "My heart is bursting with pride." I checked Wal-Mart and Safeway to see what the per pound cost of Political Plums was today. Everlasting "gratitude" (and implied support) seemed to be the going price. The less competent the recipient of the Political Plum, the more gratitude was expected as payment. And we should certainly focus that political "blind eye" on the fact that Sotomayor is one of, if not the, most overturned federal judges by the Supreme Court.

As for the impartiality that one would expect from a justice of SCOTUS, here's what Sotomayor had to say about that a few years go: “Our gender and national origins may and will make a difference in our judging. Justice O’Connor has often been cited as saying that a wise old man and wise old woman will reach the same conclusion in deciding cases. I am also not so sure that I agree with the statement. First, as Professor [Martha] Minnow has noted, there can never be a universal definition of wise. Second, I would hope that a wise Latina woman with the richness of her experience would more often than not reach a better conclusion than a white male who hasn’t lived that life.” [U.C. Berkeley School of Law, 10/26/2001]

Sometimes it's a shame that we are a "nation of laws" instead of a nation of JUSTICE, as we once were... before the laws were made horrifically more complex by "learned and scholarly men". Men whose primary objective was to insure that, in time of legal difficulties, it would be necessary to retain the services of their associates!

Yeah... I could be wrong about this, but I seriously doubt it.

Into the Blogosphere We Go ~ Will We Make It Back?

I've been playing with this blog for a couple of months now, using it mainly as a venting tool for my concerns about the upcoming election. There are many other things that concern me in this life, but who is in control of our country is right at the top of my list ... as it should be for ALL Americans!

If the liberals take control, we are doomed to economic failure, political corruption, increased crime, and, from a practical standpoint, the dissolution of our legal system.

If the conservatives take control, we are only going to have to face continued political corruption. This seems like a no-brainer to me!

The truth, as I see it, is this: neither party has fielded an exemplary candidate for the highest elected office in the land. One is totally ignorant of what's really going on in the world, and has a highly questionable affinity for this nation and our culture. The other is unquestionably a patriot, but is not a young man, and has battled cancer 4 times - and he has WON!

But, as I have said before, I'm getting campaign burn-out. It seems to be the only thing on the news these days - Obama this, Mccain that, Palin the other. I'm just sick and tired of hearing about it! Oh yeah, that, and the faltering economy - which is also being used as a political ping -pong ball. The Democratically controlled Congress blames the President and the Republicans, and the Republicans blame the Democrats who control the purse strings of the country. The Blame Game goes on forever ... when will somebody start playing the Fix It Game? The alienation and competitiveness between the two parties, is detrimental to the overall welfare of our country! When will those freeloading, tax-paid morons realize that fact, and act for the good of the people, not just the party?

What has happened since the days when public service of this type was a voluntary thing - when dedicated people entered public service because they wanted to see the country thrive, grow and prosper? It won't do any of those things in a socialist environment. We were not founded as a country of entitlements - which is what we will become if Obama gets elected. The only entitlements here are the entitlement to opportunities and equal treatment. Notice that I said EQUAL ... not 'special'. Yet many groups and individuals think they are entitled to more benefits than those promised to ALL by our Constitution. And, the ACLU is working toward getting them that special 'Protected Class' designation, in conjunction with our liberal, activist federal judges.

These are the same judges who seem to think child molesters and baby rapers are just misunderstood, and they should get minimal sentences ... if ANY! Do they not care for the welfare of our children, or are they just stupid? Those criminals who prey upon children have the highest of all recidivism rates. Why? Because their targets are defenseless and innocent, and the punishment, if caught, is next to nothing! Granted, our prisons are operating at and above maximum capacity, but there are ways to correct that without releasing the worst of all criminals. One way would be to start shuffling prisoners around, creating several 'Super-Max' prisons in remote parts of the country, housing the worst of the worst. Like the desert lands of Arizona, New Mexico, Utah, New Mexico, California, or the tundra of Alaska's wilderness - all of which would be located at least 50 miles from the nearest rock! Or - better yet - on islands! Or both! San Quentin could be rehabilitated for use, even if the people sent there couldn't.

Instead of releasing violent and sexual predators, we could release 'white collar' criminals - embezzlers, for example. Pickpockets aren't generally violent, so we could release them ... along with petty thieves, car thieves, tax evaders, etc. Anybody that has committed a crime against property (short of arson and/or incendiary and explosive devices), or non-violent crimes against persons and/or business entities, should be the ones released to make room for those convicted of more serious crimes against the public! We do not need to flood the country with hard-core criminals. We could even empty our prisons death rows, by simply executing those who have been sentenced to die, instead of feeding, clothing, housing, and seeing to their medical needs - for an average of 18 years before the sentence is actually carried out! Give them 3 years to make their appeals, and if they are unsuccessful in that amount of time ... then put out their lights.

That's just the way I see things! I could be wrong ....................................... but, I'm not!

Whatever Happened To Common Sense?

Whatever happened to our ability to judiciously apply something called 'common sense' in the USA? It appears that more and more we see less and less of it! Take our penchant for suing people/corporations and other entities. We have become the most litigious (sue happy) society the world has ever known. Right now, I can almost hear you thinking, "Yeah ... why is that?" Like all other things that simply are, it is because we permitted it to be, and we continue to do so right up to whatever day you're reading this! Our legal system is overwhelmed by the demands of morons and their money-hungry, ambulance-chasing shyster lawyers. One would think that there would be a point at which our courts would say, "No, you have no case - thank you so much for bothering us - but you may not bring suit against anybody for that." Case in point ... the little old lady who sued McDonald's, and won a $7 million judgment against them, because she chose to place a container of hot coffee between her legs (no fault of McDonald's), the coffee spilled (again, through no fault of McDonald's), burning what was probably a little-used part of her anatomy and causing her great discomfort. Yeah, I know it's old news, but it is THE prime example of this posting's title, so let's follow the steps here:

1. The old bat willfully and of her own volition, drove her automobile into a McDonald's Drive-Thru lane.
2. Upon reaching the speaker box, she probably said in a loud, clear voice (or maybe in a cracking, enfeebled voice) "Coffee."
3. When people order "coffee" at a restaurant - even a "fast food" restaurant (a designation which prompts some people to question validity of either word) it is normally served in a cup, at a temperature required to produce said beverage. The only exception to this would be if the patron said, "iced coffee."
4. When we order "coffee" we do not expect to get coffee beans or an empty container which at one time may have held coffee. Nor do we expect to get a handful or pocketful of coffee. What we have foolishly come to expect, is that the coffee will be presented to us HOT and in a vessel of some kind. Where we choose to place this vessel of HOT liquid is entirely up to us. The restaurant does not try to influence us in this decision by having suggestions printed on the cup, like "TRY BALANCING THIS CUP ON YOUR HEAD AS YOU DRIVE AWAY!" or "HOT COFFEE PLACED BETWEEN YOUR THIGHS ON A COLD DAY FEELS GREAT!"

At precisely what point in time were we absolved of suffering the consequences of our own bad choices? Am I the only one that didn't get the memo? When did it become somebody else's responsibility to pay for our individual stupidity? What the judge should have said to the old lady's attorney is, "You have no case, you moron! Where did you get your law degree, Lawyers-r-Us? What Bar did you pass? Clancy's, after you left Lawyers-r-Us? It took me 15 minutes to read your crap complaint, do you know what that cost the people of this state? You'll know when you get the bill for my time. If you ever show up here with a nuisance lawsuit like this again, I'll hold you in contempt of court and stick you in jail!"

But, instead, many courts are hearing more nuisance cases each week, and finding in favor of the plaintiff! Could it be that it's a matter of the legal profession taking care of it's own? Insuring a substantial income for even the least qualified of their brethren? This is the same reason our laws have become so complicated that the average person can no longer understand them. They used to be pretty straight-forward: "You don't do this or you go to jail." Now there are at least 11 excuses, 15 exceptions, and 47 acceptable explanations that allow the criminal to avoid going to prison. But, sadly, there are no such compensations for the victim.

We are "a nation of laws". There is no requirement for justice in our legal system any more. The law rarely takes justice into consideration these days. If you should ever have to go to court, and you go expecting justice, don't be surprised when you don't get it. Law is generally the only item on their menu ...