Deadly wildfire surges closer to Los Angeles Deadly wildfire surges closer to Los Angeles -->JOHN ANTCZAKAssociated Press Writer JOHN ANTCZAK -->Associated Press Writer -->
Firefighters light a backfire as a wildfire approaches homes during the Station Fire in La Canada Flintridge, Calif., Monday, Aug. 31, 2009. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)LOS ANGELES — A deadly wildfire destroyed more than four dozen homes as it blackened a wide swath of tinder-dry Southern California forest, forced thousands of residents to flee and burned dangerously close Monday to a vital mountaintop broadcasting complex. --> -->
LOS ANGELES — A deadly wildfire destroyed more than four dozen homes as it blackened a wide swath of tinder-dry Southern California forest, forced thousands of residents to flee and burned dangerously close Monday to a vital mountaintop broadcasting complex.
Fire crews battling the blaze in the Angeles National Forest tried desperately to beat back the flames and prayed for weather conditions to ease. The fire was the largest of at least eight burning across California after days of triple-digit temperatures and low humidity.
The fire scorched 164 square miles of brush, destroyed 53 homes and threatened more than 12,000 others, but the lack of wind kept them from driving stormily into the hearts of the dense suburbs northeast of Los Angeles.
The 53 homes destroyed included some forest cabins, said U.S. Forest Service spokesman Dennis Cross. He did not have an immediate breakdown on how many of the structures were full-time residences.
In this Saturday Aug. 29, 2009 photo, smoke from the Station Fire billowing up from behind the famous Hollywood sign in the Hollywood Hills in Los Angeles. Wildfire threatened 12,000 suburban homes and rained ash on cars as far away as downtown Los Angeles on Sunday, spreading in all directions in hot, dry conditions. (AP Photo/Anthony Citrano)
Columns of smoke billowed high into the air before dispersing into a gauzy white haze that burned eyes and prompted warnings of unhealthy air throughout the Los Angeles area. Smoke could be seen billowing around the fabled Hollywood sign.
"It's burning everywhere," U.S. Forest Service spokeswoman Dianne Cahir said. "When it gets into canyons that haven't burned in numerous years, it takes off. If you have any insight into the good Lord upstairs, put in a request."
The exact number of people injured or threatened by the fire was still not clear.
Among those evacuated were Los Angeles Dodgers shortstop Rafael Furcal and his wife from their home in La Canada Flintridge. Furcal was given the day off for Monday's home game against Arizona.
A burned traffic sign sits on the Angeles Crest Highway during the Station Fire in the Angeles National Forest near Los Angeles, Monday, Aug. 31, 2009. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
Over the weekend, three people who refused to evacuate were burned when they were overrun by flames, including a couple who had sought refuge in a hot tub, authorities said.
Authorities revised an earlier report that five people were trapped in a canyon near Gold Creek. They later said five men and one woman refused several orders to evacuate the remote ranch.
"When we tried to get them out, they said they're fine, no problem, they didn't want to leave," said fire spokesman Larry Marinas.
Fire crews set backfires and sprayed fire retardant at Mount Wilson, home to at least 20 television transmission towers, radio and cell phone antennas, and the century-old Mount Wilson Observatory. The observatory also houses two giant telescopes and several multimillion-dollar university programs. It is both a landmark for its historic discoveries and a thriving modern center for astronomy.
Firefighters mop up along a ridge near Mount Wilson during the Station Fire in the Angeles National Forest near Los Angeles, Monday, Aug. 31, 2009. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
If the flames hit the mountain, cell phone service and TV and radio transmissions would be disrupted, but the extent was unclear.
The blaze killed two firefighters who died when their truck drove off the side of a road with flames all around them.
The victims were fire Capt. Tedmund Hall, 47, of San Bernardino County, and firefighter Specialist Arnaldo "Arnie" Quinones, 35, of Palmdale. Hall was a 26-year veteran, and Quinones had been a county firefighter for eight years.
Quinones' wife is expecting and due to give birth to their first child in the next few weeks.
Firefighters mop up along a ridge near Mount Wilson during the Station Fire in the Angeles National Forest near Los Angeles, Monday, Aug. 31, 2009. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
Hall and his wife have two boys, ages 20 and 21, and was described as a family man who loved riding motorcycles.
They died fighting a fire that showed no signs of subsiding Monday. People who fled returned to find their homes gone.
"It's the worst roller coaster of my life, and I hate roller coasters," said Adi Ellad, who lost his home in Big Tujunga Canyon over the weekend. "One second I'm crying, one second I'm guilty, the next moment I'm angry, and then I just want to drink tequila and forget."
Ellad left behind a family heirloom Persian rug and a photo album he put together after his father died. "I'm going to have to figure out a new philosophy: how to live without loving stuff," he said.
FILE - In this Jan. 31, 1931 file photo, Albert Einstein, left, poses with fellow scientists after visiting the Mount Wilson Observatory near Los Angeles, Calif. A massive wildfire on Sunday, Aug. 30, 2009 was on the verge of reaching Mount Wilson, where 22 television stations and many radio stations have their transmitters. (AP Photo, file)
The blaze in the Los Angeles foothills is the biggest but not most destructive of California's wildfires. Northeast of Sacramento, a wind-driven fire destroyed 60 structures over the weekend, many of them homes in the town of Auburn.
The 275-acre blaze was 50 percent contained Monday afternoon and full containment was expected Tuesday. It wiped out an entire cul-de-sac, leaving only smoldering ruins, a handful of chimneys and burned cars.
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger toured the Auburn area, where only charred remnants of homes remained on Monday. At some houses, the only things left on the foundation are metal cabinets and washers and dryers.
"It was embers traveling in the wind, landing on the roofs, landing on attics, getting into that home and burning the home on fire," said Daniel Berlant, spokesman for the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection.
In this image rendered from video and provided by APTN, the Wilson Observatory is seen Monday, Aug. 31, 2009, in the mountains above Los Angeles. About 12,000 homes, as well as communications and astronomy centers atop Mount Wilson, are threatened by the fire. A massive fire in the Angeles National Forest nearly doubled in size overnight, threatening 12,000 homes Monday in a 20-mile-long swath of flame and smoke and surging toward a mountaintop broadcasting complex. (AP Photo/APTN)
Some mandatory evacuation orders were lifted, but most residents are still being told to stay away while crews work to restore electricity and hose down embers.
East of Los Angeles, a 1,000-acre fire threatened 2,000 homes and forced the evacuation of a scenic community of apple orchards in an oak-studded area of San Bernardino County. Brush in the area had not burned for a century, fire officials said. Flames burning like huge candles erupted between rocky slopes of the San Bernardino Mountains and the neat farmhouses below.
With highs topping 100 degrees in some areas and humidity remaining low, the National Weather Service extended a weekend warning of extreme fire conditions in the central and Southern California mountains.
Winds were light, which prevented the flames from roaring at furious speed into towns. In 2003, a wind-whipped blaze tore through neighborhoods in San Diego County, killing 15 people and destroying more than 2,400 homes. That fire burned 273,000 acres — or 427 square miles — the largest in state history.
Sacramento Metro Fire fighter Ryan Puilis hoses downs the smoldering ruins of a home destroyed by a fire that broke out in Auburn, Calif., Sunday, Aug. 30, 2009. Fire fighters from more than a dozen different agencies battled the fire that broke out Sunday afternoon consuming 250 acres and destroying at least 50 structures including homes, out buildings and businesses.(AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli)
Overall, more than 2,500 firefighters were on the line. A fleet of helicopters and air tankers dumped water and retardant over the flames during the day.
In La Crescenta, where the San Gabriel Mountains descend steeply into the bedroom suburb a dozen miles from downtown Los Angeles, 57-year-old Mary Wilson was experiencing her first wildfire after nine years of living in a canyon.
Her family was evacuated twice in the past five days, she said.
"We saw the flames. My daughter got really scared," she said. But she was philosophical: "You have to surrender to the natural forces when you choose to live up here. It's about nature doing its thing."
Sacramento Metro Fire fighter Ryan Puilis hoses downs the smoldering ruins of a home destroyed by a fire that broke out in Auburn, Calif., Sunday, Aug. 30, 2009. Fire fighters from several agencies battled the fire that broke out Sunday afternoon consuming 250 acres and destroying at least 50 structures including homes, out buildings and businesses.(AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli)
Also in La Crescenta, dispatchers overnight activated a "reverse 911" system that sent a recorded evacuation warning to people, but it turned out to be a mistake.
Whaling, the L.A. County fire captain, says the message applied to only a small number of residents closest to the fire but instead a large number got the sleep-shattering calls. He said he does not know how many people were involved in the call.
"They pushed the wrong button," he said.
Terry Crews, an actor promoting the new movie "Gamer" on KTLA-TV, talked about being forced to flee two days ago from his home in Altadena, in the foothills above Pasadena. He saw 40-foot flames, grabbed his dog and fled.
A United States Forest Service air tanker drops fire retardant next to a line of fire as the Station fire burns in the hills above a home in Acton, Calif. on Sunday, Aug. 30, 2009. (AP Photo/Dan Steinberg)
"I've never seen anything like it," he said. "I'm from Michigan. I'm used to tornadoes ... but to see this thing, you feel helpless."
"This is like 'The Ten Commandments,'" he said, referring to the movie. "You go, 'holy God, the end of the world.'"
An animal sanctuary called the Roar Foundation Shambala Preserve, six miles east of Acton, was in the mandatory evacuation zone, but fire officials decided removing the animals would be "a logistical nightmare," said Chris Gallucci, vice president of operations.
"We have 64 big cats, leopards, lions, tigers, cougars. ... The animals are just walking around, not being affected by this at all," Gallucci said. "But if we panic, they panic. But we are not in panic mode yet."
Fire fighter Adam Cottrell, of the Auburn Fire Dept., hoses down a hot spot from a fire swept through the area in Auburn, Calif., Sunday, Aug. 30, 2009. The fire broke out Sunday afternoon consuming 250 acres and destroying a unknown number of homes and businesses.(AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli)
loadApVideo();
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Associated Press Writers Samantha Young in Auburn, Tracie Cone in Fresno, and Raquel Maria Dillon and Solvej Schou in Los Angeles contributed to this report. -->
Copyright 2009 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Monday, August 31, 2009
Tuesday, August 25, 2009
Update
Fell asleep tonight at about 7 pm. Woke up at about 1030 and finally had dinner. I was planning to cook a KCstrip, but it was too late to cook so I settled for some cereal instead. Let the dog out. My boy is getting older and a bit less tolerant of the younger one. He barks and growls while the younger barks and growls yet just wants to play. The guy I work with is going to have his surgery on September 2, next week. Kidney transplant. His brother is giving a kidney to him. I have my elective surgery in December. I am actually kinda looking forward to having some days off then!
Thursday, August 20, 2009
I am with the state of Arkansas on this one
Payday lenders ousted
A coalition that has fought payday lenders announced today that the last payday lending operation in Arkansas had closed its door. There are many heroes in this battle, notably including Arkadelphia lawyer Todd Turner (the current state Democratic Party chair), who labored long and hard in a battle that sometime seemed like nailing Jell-o to a wall. The bloodsuckers employed every trick, including a compliant legislature, to try to evade the Constitution and simple justice.
A summary of the battle is on the jump.
Something tells me that this is but one more chapter in a never-ending battle against usurers.
NEWS RELEASE
LITTLE ROCK—Arkansans Against Abusive Payday Lending (AAAPL) formally announced today that the last payday lender has left Arkansas, declaring victory on behalf of all those victimized by a predatory industry that drowns borrowers in triple-digit interest rate debt.
AAAPL hosted a news conference today near a former payday lending store in Little Rock once operated by First American Cash Advance. First American, the final payday lender to cease operations in Arkansas, closed its last store on July 31. AAAPL released its latest independent research report, which highlights developments over the last year that ultimately culminated in payday lenders leaving the state for good. The formal end of payday lending in Arkansas occurs eight months after the Arkansas Supreme Court ruled that a 1999 payday lending industry drafted law violated the Arkansas Constitution, and 16 months after Arkansas Attorney General Dustin McDaniel initiated a decisive crackdown on the industry. Payday lenders charged borrowers triple-digit interest rates—despite the Arkansas Constitution’s interest rate cap of 17 percent a year on consumer loans. The industry-drafted Check-cashers Act as enacted in 1999 was designed to evade the Constitution by contending, nonsensically, that payday loans were not loans. Speakers at today’s news conference included AAAPL Chairman Michael Rowett of Southern Good Faith Fund; Arkansas Deputy Attorney General Jim DePriest; and Arkansas Democratic Party Chairman Todd Turner. Turner, an Arkadelphia attorney, represented dozens of payday lending victims in cases that ultimately led to the Arkansas Supreme Court’s landmark ruling against the industry. “Payday lending is history in Arkansas, and it is a triumph of both conscience and constitutionality,” Rowett said. “Arkansas is the only state in the nation with an interest rate cap enshrined in the state’s Constitution, which is the ultimate expression of the state’s public policy. More than a decade after payday lenders’ initially successful attempt to evade this public policy, the Constitution’s true intent has been restored. Arkansas consumers—and the rule of law—are the ultimate victors.” Arkansas joins 14 other states—Connecticut, Georgia, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Vermont, and West Virginia—plus the District of Columbia and the U.S. military, all of which are protected under interest rate caps that prevent high-cost payday lending. The industry’s exemption to an interest rate cap in Arizona is expected to expire in July 2010, bringing the total to 16 states. Rowett said a significant share of the credit for ending payday lending in Arkansas goes to the Attorney General’s office, Turner, and H.C. “Hank” Klein, who founded AAAPL in 2004.
“Hank Klein’s tireless devotion, knowledge, and research gave our coalition the expertise it needed to focus on educating Arkansans about the pitfalls of payday lending,” Rowett said. “Ultimately, it was the decisive, pro-consumer actions of Attorney General McDaniel and his dedicated staff and the tremendous legal victories won by Todd Turner that made payday lending extinct in our state.” DePriest noted that McDaniel in launching his March 2008 crackdown on payday lenders had cautioned it might take years for all payday lenders to leave Arkansas. “We are exceptionally pleased that it took just over a year to accomplish what we set out to do,” DePriest said. “Payday lenders ultimately recognized that their attempts to justify their existence and continue their business practices weren’t going to work.” Turner said that Arkansas consumers ultimately are better off without payday lending. “In Arkansas, it was a legal issue of following our Constitution, but there’s a reason why all these other states don’t allow payday lending—it’s inherently predatory,” Turner said. “Charging 300 percent, 400 percent and even higher interest rates is, as our Supreme Court accurately noted, both deceptive and unconscionable.”
Posted by Max Brantley on August 11, 2009 10:55 AM Permalink
A coalition that has fought payday lenders announced today that the last payday lending operation in Arkansas had closed its door. There are many heroes in this battle, notably including Arkadelphia lawyer Todd Turner (the current state Democratic Party chair), who labored long and hard in a battle that sometime seemed like nailing Jell-o to a wall. The bloodsuckers employed every trick, including a compliant legislature, to try to evade the Constitution and simple justice.
A summary of the battle is on the jump.
Something tells me that this is but one more chapter in a never-ending battle against usurers.
NEWS RELEASE
LITTLE ROCK—Arkansans Against Abusive Payday Lending (AAAPL) formally announced today that the last payday lender has left Arkansas, declaring victory on behalf of all those victimized by a predatory industry that drowns borrowers in triple-digit interest rate debt.
AAAPL hosted a news conference today near a former payday lending store in Little Rock once operated by First American Cash Advance. First American, the final payday lender to cease operations in Arkansas, closed its last store on July 31. AAAPL released its latest independent research report, which highlights developments over the last year that ultimately culminated in payday lenders leaving the state for good. The formal end of payday lending in Arkansas occurs eight months after the Arkansas Supreme Court ruled that a 1999 payday lending industry drafted law violated the Arkansas Constitution, and 16 months after Arkansas Attorney General Dustin McDaniel initiated a decisive crackdown on the industry. Payday lenders charged borrowers triple-digit interest rates—despite the Arkansas Constitution’s interest rate cap of 17 percent a year on consumer loans. The industry-drafted Check-cashers Act as enacted in 1999 was designed to evade the Constitution by contending, nonsensically, that payday loans were not loans. Speakers at today’s news conference included AAAPL Chairman Michael Rowett of Southern Good Faith Fund; Arkansas Deputy Attorney General Jim DePriest; and Arkansas Democratic Party Chairman Todd Turner. Turner, an Arkadelphia attorney, represented dozens of payday lending victims in cases that ultimately led to the Arkansas Supreme Court’s landmark ruling against the industry. “Payday lending is history in Arkansas, and it is a triumph of both conscience and constitutionality,” Rowett said. “Arkansas is the only state in the nation with an interest rate cap enshrined in the state’s Constitution, which is the ultimate expression of the state’s public policy. More than a decade after payday lenders’ initially successful attempt to evade this public policy, the Constitution’s true intent has been restored. Arkansas consumers—and the rule of law—are the ultimate victors.” Arkansas joins 14 other states—Connecticut, Georgia, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Vermont, and West Virginia—plus the District of Columbia and the U.S. military, all of which are protected under interest rate caps that prevent high-cost payday lending. The industry’s exemption to an interest rate cap in Arizona is expected to expire in July 2010, bringing the total to 16 states. Rowett said a significant share of the credit for ending payday lending in Arkansas goes to the Attorney General’s office, Turner, and H.C. “Hank” Klein, who founded AAAPL in 2004.
“Hank Klein’s tireless devotion, knowledge, and research gave our coalition the expertise it needed to focus on educating Arkansans about the pitfalls of payday lending,” Rowett said. “Ultimately, it was the decisive, pro-consumer actions of Attorney General McDaniel and his dedicated staff and the tremendous legal victories won by Todd Turner that made payday lending extinct in our state.” DePriest noted that McDaniel in launching his March 2008 crackdown on payday lenders had cautioned it might take years for all payday lenders to leave Arkansas. “We are exceptionally pleased that it took just over a year to accomplish what we set out to do,” DePriest said. “Payday lenders ultimately recognized that their attempts to justify their existence and continue their business practices weren’t going to work.” Turner said that Arkansas consumers ultimately are better off without payday lending. “In Arkansas, it was a legal issue of following our Constitution, but there’s a reason why all these other states don’t allow payday lending—it’s inherently predatory,” Turner said. “Charging 300 percent, 400 percent and even higher interest rates is, as our Supreme Court accurately noted, both deceptive and unconscionable.”
Posted by Max Brantley on August 11, 2009 10:55 AM Permalink
Friday, August 14, 2009
In my opinion
Lynnette Fromme gets out of prisonAugust 14 2009 at 6:21 PMNo score for this post
OneRedKansan41 (no login)from IP address 68.103.201.72
IMO, this woman should NEVER have been released. But here is the article:'Squeaky' Fromme Freed From Prison By RICH MATTHEWS, AP posted: 2 HOURS 15 MINUTES AGOcomments: 546filed under: Crime News, National NewsPRINTE-MAILMOREText SizeAAAFORT WORTH, Texas (Aug. 14) -- The Charles Manson follower convicted of trying to assassinate President Gerald Ford was released Friday from a Texas prison hospital after more than three decades behind bars, a prison official said. Lynette "Squeaky" Fromme was just 26 years old when she pointed a semiautomatic .45- caliber pistol at Ford in September 1975 in Sacramento, Calif. Secret Service agents grabbed her and Ford was unhurt. Skip over this content The Manson FamilyWalt Zeboski, AP16 photos After 34 years in prison, Lynette "Squeaky" Fromme, here in 1975, was released on parole Friday. Fromme, a member of Charles Manson's notorious "family" of followers, was found guilty in 1975 of trying to assassinate then-President Gerald Ford. Fromme is now 60 years old.(Note: Please disable your pop-up blocker) http://xml.channel.aol.com/xmlpublisher/fetch.v2.xml?option=expand_relative_urls&dataUrlNodes=uiConfig,feedConfig,entry&id=534972&pid=534971&uts=1250265976 http://cdn.channel.aol.com/cs_feed_v1_6/csfeedwrapper.swf The Manson Family After 34 years in prison, Lynette "Squeaky" Fromme, here in 1975, was released on parole Friday. Fromme, a member of Charles Manson's notorious "family" of followers, was found guilty in 1975 of trying to assassinate then-President Gerald Ford. Fromme is now 60 years old. Walt Zeboski, AP Walt Zeboski, AP Fromme, now 60, left the Federal Medical Center Carswell in Fort Worth at about 8 a.m. Friday, spokeswoman Dr. Maria Douglas said in a statement. Fromme, who got a life term, became the first person sentenced under a special federal law covering assaults on U.S. presidents, a statute enacted after the 1963 assassination of President John F. Kennedy. Ford was walking to the California State Capitol from his hotel when Fromme pushed through the crowd, drew the pistol from a holster on her thigh and pointed it at the president as he shook hands with well-wishers. She was restrained by Secret Service agents who wrested the gun away from her and led the president to safety. Fromme was granted parole in July 2008 and released "via good conduct time" after completing a 15-month sentence for unlawful escape from a federal correctional institution, according to the statement. That sentence was being served consecutively after a life sentence for threats against the president. Skip over this content She escaped from a female prison in Alderson, W.Va., on Dec. 23, 1987, and was recaptured about two miles away on Christmas Day after a massive search. She was sentenced to an additional 15 months in prison for the escape. Fromme had said she escaped from prison to be closer to Manson. It was unclear why Fromme was at Carswell, a facility that specializes in providing medical and mental health services to female offenders. A spokeswoman for the bureau of prisons did not immediately return a phone call Wednesday seeking comment. "I knew someday she would be released," said John Virga, the Sacramento attorney who handled her trial. Fromme served time in at least two other facilities before Carswell. Manson is serving a life term in Corcoran State Prison in California for the 1969 murders of actress Sharon Tate and eight others. Fromme, one of his "family" of followers, was not implicated in those attacks. Associated Press Writer John McFarland in Dallas contributed to this report. Copyright 2009 The Associated Press. The information contained in the AP news report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or otherwise distributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press. Active hyperlinks have been inserted by AOL. 2009-08-14 11:05:03
OneRedKansan41 (no login)from IP address 68.103.201.72
IMO, this woman should NEVER have been released. But here is the article:'Squeaky' Fromme Freed From Prison By RICH MATTHEWS, AP posted: 2 HOURS 15 MINUTES AGOcomments: 546filed under: Crime News, National NewsPRINTE-MAILMOREText SizeAAAFORT WORTH, Texas (Aug. 14) -- The Charles Manson follower convicted of trying to assassinate President Gerald Ford was released Friday from a Texas prison hospital after more than three decades behind bars, a prison official said. Lynette "Squeaky" Fromme was just 26 years old when she pointed a semiautomatic .45- caliber pistol at Ford in September 1975 in Sacramento, Calif. Secret Service agents grabbed her and Ford was unhurt. Skip over this content The Manson FamilyWalt Zeboski, AP16 photos After 34 years in prison, Lynette "Squeaky" Fromme, here in 1975, was released on parole Friday. Fromme, a member of Charles Manson's notorious "family" of followers, was found guilty in 1975 of trying to assassinate then-President Gerald Ford. Fromme is now 60 years old.(Note: Please disable your pop-up blocker) http://xml.channel.aol.com/xmlpublisher/fetch.v2.xml?option=expand_relative_urls&dataUrlNodes=uiConfig,feedConfig,entry&id=534972&pid=534971&uts=1250265976 http://cdn.channel.aol.com/cs_feed_v1_6/csfeedwrapper.swf The Manson Family After 34 years in prison, Lynette "Squeaky" Fromme, here in 1975, was released on parole Friday. Fromme, a member of Charles Manson's notorious "family" of followers, was found guilty in 1975 of trying to assassinate then-President Gerald Ford. Fromme is now 60 years old. Walt Zeboski, AP Walt Zeboski, AP Fromme, now 60, left the Federal Medical Center Carswell in Fort Worth at about 8 a.m. Friday, spokeswoman Dr. Maria Douglas said in a statement. Fromme, who got a life term, became the first person sentenced under a special federal law covering assaults on U.S. presidents, a statute enacted after the 1963 assassination of President John F. Kennedy. Ford was walking to the California State Capitol from his hotel when Fromme pushed through the crowd, drew the pistol from a holster on her thigh and pointed it at the president as he shook hands with well-wishers. She was restrained by Secret Service agents who wrested the gun away from her and led the president to safety. Fromme was granted parole in July 2008 and released "via good conduct time" after completing a 15-month sentence for unlawful escape from a federal correctional institution, according to the statement. That sentence was being served consecutively after a life sentence for threats against the president. Skip over this content She escaped from a female prison in Alderson, W.Va., on Dec. 23, 1987, and was recaptured about two miles away on Christmas Day after a massive search. She was sentenced to an additional 15 months in prison for the escape. Fromme had said she escaped from prison to be closer to Manson. It was unclear why Fromme was at Carswell, a facility that specializes in providing medical and mental health services to female offenders. A spokeswoman for the bureau of prisons did not immediately return a phone call Wednesday seeking comment. "I knew someday she would be released," said John Virga, the Sacramento attorney who handled her trial. Fromme served time in at least two other facilities before Carswell. Manson is serving a life term in Corcoran State Prison in California for the 1969 murders of actress Sharon Tate and eight others. Fromme, one of his "family" of followers, was not implicated in those attacks. Associated Press Writer John McFarland in Dallas contributed to this report. Copyright 2009 The Associated Press. The information contained in the AP news report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or otherwise distributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press. Active hyperlinks have been inserted by AOL. 2009-08-14 11:05:03
Sunday, August 9, 2009
FreedHuman
FreedHuman]
If someone wants to buy health insurance, someone is willing to sell it to that buyer, there is no fraud or extortion involved, the insurer is financially sound, both parties agree to the terms -- it's NONE of the government's business. For the government to interfere or dictate terms other than what they agreed on -- is arrogant meddling, and wrong. Whatever two competent consenting adults wish to do with each other is nobody else's business. Thus, the proposal to outlaw insurance companies must be rejected summarily as a gross invasion of privacy. (Such proposals seem to be motivated by blind irrational hatred of insurance companies.)
Some people may NOT wish to enroll in Medicare. So government should NOT force anyone to enroll -- that would be an invasion of a person's private business.
And of course, nobody should be forced to pay for others' health care.
I agree that it's time to get serious about health care. The overall objective should be to get government out of the way. It's time to get serious about allowing individual freedom to exist in this important aspect of life.
If someone wants to buy health insurance, someone is willing to sell it to that buyer, there is no fraud or extortion involved, the insurer is financially sound, both parties agree to the terms -- it's NONE of the government's business. For the government to interfere or dictate terms other than what they agreed on -- is arrogant meddling, and wrong. Whatever two competent consenting adults wish to do with each other is nobody else's business. Thus, the proposal to outlaw insurance companies must be rejected summarily as a gross invasion of privacy. (Such proposals seem to be motivated by blind irrational hatred of insurance companies.)
Some people may NOT wish to enroll in Medicare. So government should NOT force anyone to enroll -- that would be an invasion of a person's private business.
And of course, nobody should be forced to pay for others' health care.
I agree that it's time to get serious about health care. The overall objective should be to get government out of the way. It's time to get serious about allowing individual freedom to exist in this important aspect of life.
Friday, August 7, 2009
embarrassing
Today when leaving for work, I backed into my garage door. Now I have to deal with insurance agents. Yay.
Sunday, August 2, 2009
Yay
I had a day off today. It was nice after working about 55 hours this week. I took it easy today, accomplished nothing, and slept in. It was .. LOVELY. I have Zorn and Donner with me and they have been very well behaved. I feel good.!
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