Just When Thought You Heard It All News (8-31-2013)

So......what were you doing when you were 11 ? I'll bet it was nothing like this.

The hardest part of college life for Carson Huey-You is the weight of the books he must carry in his backpack.

After all, Carson’s only 4-foot-7, 75 pounds and 11-years-old as he embarks on his freshman year at Texas Christian University.

He became TCU’s youngest student ever when classes started last week. The physics major says he plans to be a quantum physicist.

The South lake child graduated in May as co-valedictorian from a private Grapevine high school at age 10. He scored 1770 on his SAT, and his mother, Claretta Huey-You, says Carson was reading by age 2. She says numbers and math came easily to him, he plays classical music on the piano, and he can speak Mandarin Chinese.

Side Bar: I am always amazed at the fact that people who claim that they aren't ashamed of themselves  blur their faces in pics.

If this isn't  "just when you thought you heard it all news", I don't know what is!

If you’ve ever looked for a way to "justify", your adultery, and quench your freaky thirst, then you might want to give ChristianSwingers.com a try.

No, that’s not a joke or a typo, and I wish it was a mistake but, yes.

Christian.

Swingers.

In the same sentence.

The site has sparked controversy and conversation across Facebook and Twitter about the merits of the hilarious  and hypocritical  website, which offers couples the option of practicing “free love” with “men, women, transsexuals, cross-dressers, couples, groups (more than 2), gay couples or lesbian couples.”

This is how the site describes the group.

"For Christian Swingers things are not easy often other religious people judge you, out of ignorance or envy, telling you that your lifestyle and love practices are wrong. But the Bible teaches us ‘Judge not lest ye be judged’ and there’s that verse about the first stone… but if you’re keen on keeping your privacy, well yours, and don’t want your friends, coworkers, other PTA members or just about anyone else to know that you don’t have a problem with faith and enjoying free love with other couples, this site can help you! It’s designed to cater to the needs of those like you: devout Christian couples who still want to have an active love life and share it with another, in good faith!

Skip the swingers’ club and meetings where you can be seen and avoid bad reputation your personal life is something shared between you and our partner; other couples willing to join you are probably having the same problems. Visiting this site might change your life for the better and increase the number of your potential dating partners – a few simple steps in the registration process will open up a whole new virtual world of possibilities! Since privacy is an issue here, you can still choose to remain anonymous until you decide to trust someone enough to share such personal information  something that’s not possible in classic swingers’ meetings and clubs, which might even lean towards openness and promotion is this lifestyle. Visit our club and discover other Christian couples with the same interests and desires who find you hot. Christian Swingers website will make your life easier and give you more access to potential dating partners!"

And put you on an express train to hell wearing gasoline underwear.

I don't believe in luck. I believe in being blessed. But if I did believe in luck, I would believe that this woman has bad luck. 

A Nebraska man is suing Walmart for using defective plastic bags. He claims that one of them was ultimately responsible for his wife's untimely death.

This is yet another reason not to shop at Walmart.

The local media reports:

William Freis of Plattsmouth said his wife, Lynette, went grocery shopping April 16, 2010, at the Walmart Super center and the cashier gave her one plastic bag for two 42-ounce cans of La Choy and a 2-pound bag of rice.

While she was walking to the car, Freis' bag broke and its contents landed on one of her feet, causing a cut. The cut got infected and "despite multiple rounds of antibiotics and two surgical procedures," the infection spread and she died in the hospital, the suit said.

Wow! 

According to the Associated Press, the lawsuit alleges Walmart did not effectively train its employees on how to fill customers' bags.

The bag's manufacturer, Hilex Poly Co. is also a defendant in the suit.

PR

Fast Strike, Fast Food

Each and every American has the right to a livable wage, and each and every American has the right to pursue the American dream. But the dream costs, and the only thing that you can afford with minimum wage is a nightmare.

Fast-food workers staged strikes at McDonald's and Burger Kings and demonstrated at other stores in sixty U.S. cities on today in their latest action in a nearly year-long campaign to raise wages in the service sector.

The strikes spread quickly across the country and have shut down restaurants in New York, Chicago, Detroit, Milwaukee, St. Louis, Raleigh and Seattle, according to organizers.

The fast-food workers were expected to be joined by retail staff from stores owned by Macy's Inc, Sears Holdings Corp and Dollar Tree Inc.

The fast-food workers want to form unions in the virtually union-free sector without employer retaliation and bargain for higher wages.

They are demanding pay of $15 an hour, up from $7.25, which is the current federal minimum wage.

Martin Rafanan, a community organizer in St. Louis, said local employees of McDonald's and Wendy's can't make it on the salaries.

"If you're paying $7.35 an hour and employing someone for 20, 25 hours a week, which is the average here, they're bringing home about $10,000 a year. You can't survive on that." Rafanan said. Missouri's minimum wage is $7.35 an hour.

"Unless we can figure out how to make highly profitable companies pay a fair wage to their workers, we're just going to watch them pull all the blood, sweat, tears and money out of our communities."

McDonald's profits totaled $5.47 billion in 2012, and is the largest and most profitable fast food chain in the world.

Momentum has been building in recent months, organizers say, as they receive financial and technical support from the Service Employees International Union, community activists, politicians and the clergy.

Last November, some 200 workers walked off their fast-food jobs in New York City. Groups in Chicago, Kansas City, Detroit and other cities followed their lead in April and July.

The $200 billion U.S. fast-food sector as well as retail sales and food preparation have been under the spotlight because they have added most of the jobs, in many cases lower-paying and part time, since the recession.

Restaurant chains and trade groups say the protests are unwarranted because fast-food and retail outlets provide Americans with millions of good jobs with competitive pay and ample opportunities to rise through the ranks.

"Our history is full of examples of individuals who worked their first job with McDonald's and went on to successful careers both within and outside of McDonald's," McDonald's said in a statement.

Wendy's and Burger King did not respond to requests for comment.

The restaurant chains have not changed their wage policies as a result of recent strikes.

The National Retail Federation said in a statement the strikes are "further proof that the labor movement has abdicated their role in an honest and rational discussion about the American workforce."

In the Wall Street Journal last week, the conservative Employment Policies Institute ran a full page ad with a picture of a robot making pancakes, warning that higher wages would mean "fewer entry-level jobs and more automated alternatives."

"You can either raise prices and lose customers, or automate those jobs," said Michael Saltsman, EPI's research director, adding that "the idea that restaurants are rolling in the money is not representative of the situation franchisees face."

The median wage for front-line fast-food workers is $8.94 per hour, according to an analysis of government data by the National Employment Law Project (NELP), an advocacy group for lower-wage workers.

"The workers are responding to total failure on behalf of the federal government to raise the minimum wage to keep up with inflation and the cost of living," said Tsedeye Gebreselassie, an attorney at the NELP, referring to the strikes.

The walkouts, coming before the U.S. Labor Day holiday on Monday, also took place in the Southern states of Texas, Louisiana, and North Carolina.

Dorian Warren, an assistant professor of political science at Columbia University who has published work on labor organizing and inequality, said the significance of protests in the South is "a huge, huge deal."

"The South has always been the model for low wage employment, from slavery to the Jim Crow laws, to the present. It's also the most anti-union part of the country, so the fact that workers feel empowered enough to take collective action is enormous," Warren said.

PR

Bored Enough To Kill

This story is almost too appalling to believe. It sounds like the sickening plot in an Oliver Stone movie. A violent narrative conceived for the sole purpose of shock value, and sickening entertainment. But unfortunately, in this case, the facts are undeniable, and far from entertaining.

Two teenagers were charged Tuesday with first degree murder in the shooting death of a college baseball player out for a jog in Oklahoma. A crime that one teen said they carried out simply because they were bored, according to police.

James Francis Edwards Jr., 15, and Chancey Allen Luna, 16, were charged with murder. A third teenager, Michael Dewayne Jones, 17, was charged with being an accessory to murder after the fact and with firing a weapon. All were charged as adults, according to the Stephens County District Attorney’s Office.

The charges were unveiled at a hearing in Duncan, Okla. The ballplayer, Christopher Lane, was visiting the town, where his girlfriend lives, the police chief told The Associated Press. He passed a home where the teens were staying and was gunned down at random, the chief said.

If convicted of first degree murder, the suspects could face life in prison.

“They saw Christopher go by, and one of them said: ‘There’s our target,’” the chief, Danny Ford, told the local media, “The boy who has talked to us said, ‘We were bored and didn’t have anything to do, so we decided to kill somebody.’”

Lane, 22, is from Australia but was in Oklahoma playing baseball. He was a rising senior at East Central University in Ada, Okla., a catcher who started 14 games and hit .250 for the Tigers this season, according to the school’s athletics website.

Witnesses told Australian television that Lane staggered and collapsed on the road after he was shot in the back with a .22-caliber revolver on Friday afternoon.

Lane’s father, Peter, said that the killing was “heartless, and to try to understand it is a short way to insanity.”

“The fact that something that shouldn’t have happened has happened, it’s the fact that somebody we all love so much is not going to come home,” he said. 

Lane's girlfriend, Sarah Harper, visited the street where he was gunned down. A memorial with flowers had sprung up.

“I don’t really care what happens to them,” she said of the accused in an interview . “I feel like if they don’t get what they deserve now and in the present, they will eternally. They’re just evil people.”

Jennifer Luna, who identified herself as the mother of Chancey Luna, said her son should be punished if he was involved.

In a tearful interview with reporters, she addressed the parents of the dead ballplayer: “I wouldn’t want to be in that position that they’re in right now. I’m always on my kids. I always tell them: If I lost y’all, I wouldn’t be able to live.”

The three teens are being held in individual cells at the Stephens County jail.

Since this vile act was committed, there has been commentary from the Conservative right comparing this murder to that of Trayvon Martin. In their dubious attempt to go "tit for tat" they ask, "where is the outrage in the African-American community." Eagerly implying that the African-American opinion of crime is specially tailored to fit a particular set of circumstances.

But the fact of the matter is that we as African-Americans are even more outraged. The loss of any, and all humanity is a tragedy. But the murder of Christopher Lane serves as validation for those who are fond of stereotyping, and marginalizing young Black men. It says that Black men are dangerous. It implies that "stand your ground" laws are essential, and in the minds of many, Trayvon Martin and these teens are one in the same. Dangerous, young black men with savage intent. These three boys represent every Black man in America even though one of them was white. 

The outrage in the Black community is rooted in shock at the depraved indifference shown by these children, and the smug joy that the Conservative right gets from their tongue and cheek, "I told you so's."

PR

He Wants To Be Paid For Murder

George Zimmerman is a killer who was found not guilty. Many would argue that the simple fact that he was found not guilty would not make him a killer or a murder. But that never stopped anyone from calling O.J. Simpson a killer.

Hmmm, I wonder what the major difference in these two cases is? Oh yeah, that's right. There was concrete evidence that Zimmerman actually committed the crime.

But, I digress.

Now that Zimmerman has been acquitted he as decided to add insult to injury.

George Zimmerman will ask the state of Florida to reimburse him for as much as $300,000 in expenses he racked up successfully defending himself in the shooting death of Trayvon Martin, NBC News has learned.

Zimmerman and his legal team believe they are entitled to the refund because Zimmerman was acquitted of second-degree murder July 13 for having shot and killed Martin, 17.

The shooting in February 2012 sparked a national discussion over racial profiling after Zimmerman, a neighborhood watch volunteer, said he acted in self-defense.

The motion, to be filed by Zimmerman's lead attorney, Mark O'Mara, would seek refunds for the hundreds of thousands of dollars the defense spent on fees for expert witnesses and court reporters for depositions, travel and other similar expenses.

The request is expected to be between $200,000 and $300,000, according to Shawn Vincent, a spokesman for Zimmerman's legal team.

Attorney fees for the defense team, including O'Mara, wouldn't be part of the motion.

The state Judicial Administrative Commission, which would be responsible for paying out the money if the request is approved, didn't immediately return a call seeking comment Monday night.

Zimmerman's request was first reported by the Orlando Sentinal, which quoted O'Mara as saying he would soon file the motion with state Circuit Judge Debra Nelson.

The Sentinel reported that Zimmerman's request would be based on a Florida law that says a defendant who's acquitted isn't liable for costs associated with his or her case. It must be approved by a judge or a clerk.

This sounds like another Florida law designed to help a perpetrator escape culpability.

O'Mara told the newspaper he expects the Judicial Administrative Commission to throw up roadblocks. 

"That's where the fight is," said O'Mara, who told the paper he's been paid nothing by Zimmerman but has kept billing records. Granting Zimmerman's legal team's request that the State of Florida cover their legal fees is like paying Zimmerman for murder.

I have two questions.

1. What happened to that ridiculous,    Conservative funded, legal defense fund?

2. Why don't Zimmerman's attorney's sue him for unpaid bills?

I would not be surprised if his debt mysteriously disappears by way of anonymous contribution or if the state of Florida pays his bills. 

PR

YOU CAN'T EAT HERE!

This story goes out to all of my fellow Americans who are under the impression that a post Obama America is a country where racism, and predjudice no longer exists, and to the SCOTUS who seem to think that racism is part of our ugly past, and not our perilous present.

Michael Brown and a group of friends were celebrating his cousin’s last day in Charleston, South Carolina last month at the Wild Wing Cafe. After waiting 2 hours with his party of 25, the shift manager told him that there was a "situation".

Brown said, “She said there’s a situation where one of our customers feels threatened by your party, so she asked us not to seat you in our section, which totally alarmed all of us because we’re sitting there peaceably for two hours. Obviously, if we were causing any conflict, we would have been ejected out of the place hours before.”

Brown explains that while talking to the shift manager, someone in his group began videotaping the conversation, which is when the manager became upset and refused to seat them.

He explains, “I want to be clear with you. I said so you’re telling me I have to leave. She said I have a right to deny you service. I said so you’re asking me to leave because you’re upset because he was recording you, after we’ve waited for two hours, and after you’ve already pretty much discriminated on us, and she answered yes.”

After making several calls to the corporate office in Mt. Pleasant. But his calls were never returned, so he took to Facebook with this post on Thursday.“

I will never go to Wild wings cafe in N. Chs again! We (Party of 25 family and friends) waited 2 hrs, patiently and were refused service because another customer (White) felt threatened by us. This type of racial discrimination is unacceptable and we have to put a STOP TO IT. The manager looked me dead in the face and said she was refusing us service because she had a right to and simply she felt like it. DO NOT SUPPORT THIS ESTABLISHMENT… PLEASE SHARE THIS POST… We need your help.

Suddenly Brown got the restaurant’s attention.

Debra Stokes, the chief marketing officer for Wild Wing Cafe said, ”We got alerted through social media, so we always encourage our customers to respond to us or to comment on our social media pages.”

She said she spoke with Brown, “We had a conversation. It was a really good conversation. He and many of his family and friends were there about a month ago, and they are regular customers of ours. So, they were having a going away party, and they just didn’t receive the experience that they have come to know and love.”

Brown said that an apology was offered and a free meal for the entire group, but he’s not completely satisfied.

He said, “We weren’t coming there for a free meal. When we came there that night, we were coming to patronize the business. This is not a situation where you can just give us a free meal and everything is ok because it’s deeper than that.”

Free food is not a band aid for discrimination. It fact, when it is implied the someone's pride and dignity can be bought with free food, it's almost like pouring salt into a wound. I've  gotten free food for getting the wrong order in a restaurant. Surely these people's embarrassment is worth more than being given French fries free, because you ordered onion rings

PR

The 7 Promises Of God

Into all of our lives a little rain must fall, and I once heard a wise man say that in life we are either going into a storm, in the midst of a storm, or coming out of a storm. But despite the bleak forecast & weather analogy, how do we deal with these trials and tribulations?

We must do all that we can to make the situation better, and then we stand on the 7 promises of God.

1. He has promised to supply every need we have. The Bible says: "But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus". 
2. God has promised that His grace is sufficient for us. (II Corinthians 12:9). in fact, He has made provision for our salvation by His grace through faith. 
3. God has promised that His children will not be overtaken with temptation. Instead, He assures us that a way of escape will be provided. 
4. God has promised us victory over death. He first resurrected Jesus by way of assuring our resurrection. 
5. God has promised that all things work together for good to those who love and serve him faithfully.
6. God has promised that those who believe in Jesus and are baptized for the forgiveness of sins will be saved. 
7. God has promised His people eternal life. We must live so that the promises of God will be ours.

Hebrews 13:5

⁵  For He Himself has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.”

PR

Remembering The March On Washington 50 Years Later

The March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom took place in Washington, D.C., on August 28, 1963. Attended by some 250,000 people, it was the largest demonstration ever seen in the nation's capital, and one of the first to have extensive television coverage.

1963 was noted for racial unrest and civil rights demonstrations. Nationwide outrage was sparked by media coverage of police actions in Birmingham, Alabama, where attack dogs and fire hoses were turned against African-American protestors, many of whom were in their early teens or younger. Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., was arrested and jailed during these protests, writing his famous "Letter From Birmingham City Jail," which advocates civil disobedience against unjust laws. Dozens of additional demonstrations took place across the country, from California to New York, culminating in the March on Washington. President Kennedy backed the Civil Rights Act, which was stalled in Congress by the summer.

The March on Washington represented a coalition of several civil rights organizations, all of which generally had different approaches and different agendas. The "Big Six" organizers were James Farmer, of the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE); Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC); John Lewis, of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC); A. Philip Randolph, of the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters; Roy Wilkins, of the National Association For The Advancement Of Colored People, (NAACP); and Whitney Young, Jr., of the National Urban League.

The stated demands of the march were the passage of meaningful civil rights legislation; the elimination of racial segregation in public schools; protection for demonstrators against police brutality; a major public-works program to provide jobs; the passage of a law prohibiting racial discrimination in public and private hiring; a $2 an hour minimum wage; and self-government for the District of Columbia, which had a black majority.

President Kennedy originally discouraged the march, for fear that it might make the legislature vote against civil rights laws in reaction to a perceived threat. Once it became clear that the march would go on, however, he supported it.

While various labor unions supported the march, the AFL-CIO remained neutral.

Outright opposition came from two sides. White supremacist groups, including the Ku Klux Klan, were obviously not in favor of any event supporting racial equality. On the other hand, the march was also condemned by some civil rights activists who felt it presented an inaccurate, sanitized pageant of racial harmony. Malcolm X called it the "Farce on Washington," and members of the Nation of Islam who attended the march faced a temporary suspension.

Nobody was sure how many people would turn up for the demonstration in Washington, D.C. Some travelling from the South were harrassed and threatened. But on August 28, 1963, an estimated quarter of a million people—about a quarter of whom were white—marched from the Washington Monument to the Lincoln Memorial, in what turned out to be both a protest and a communal celebration. The heavy police presence turned out to be unnecessary, as the march was noted for its civility and peacefulness. The march was extensively covered by the media, with live international television coverage.

The event included musical performances by Marian Anderson; Joan Baez, Bob Dylan, Mahalia Jackson, Peter, Paul, and Mary; and Josh White. Charlton Heston, representing a  contingent of artists, including Harry Belafonte, Marlon Brando, Diahann Carroll, Ossie Davis, Sammy Davis Jr., Lena Horne, Paul Newman, and Sidney Poitier, who read a speech by James Baldwin.

The speakers included all of the "Big Six" civil-rights leaders (James Farmer, who was imprisoned in Louisiana at the time, had his speech read by Floyd McKissick); Catholic, Protestant, and Jewish religious leaders; and labor leader Walter Reuther. The one female speaker was Josephine Baker, who introduced several "Negro Women Fighters for Freedom," including Rosa Parks.

The two most noteworthy speeches came from John Lewis and Martin Luther King, Jr.

Lewis represented the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, a younger, more radical group than King's. The speech he planned to give, circulated beforehand, was objected to by other participants; it called Kennedy's civil rights bill "too little, too late," asked "which side is the federal government on?" and declared that they would march "through the Heart of Dixie, the way Sherman did" and "burn Jim Crow to the ground—nonviolently." In the end, he agreed to tone down the more inflammatory portions of his speech, but even the revised version was the most controversial of the day, stating:

The revolution is at hand, and we must free ourselves of the chains of political and economic slavery. The nonviolent revolution is saying, "We will not wait for the courts to act, for we have been waiting hundreds of years. We will not wait for the President, nor the Justice Department, nor Congress, but we will take matters into our own hands, and create a great source of power, outside of any national structure that could and would assure us victory." For those who have said, "Be patient and wait!" we must say, "Patience is a dirty and nasty word." We cannot be patient, we do not want to be free gradually, we want our freedom, and we want it now. We cannot depend on any political party, for the Democrats and the Republicans have betrayed the basic principles of the Declaration of Independence.

Dr. Kings speech remains one of the most famous speeches in American history. He started with prepared remarks, saying he was there to "cash a check" for "Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness," while warning fellow protesters not to "allow our creative protest to degenerate into physical violence. Again and again, we must rise to the majestic heights of meeting physical force with soul force." But then he departed from his script, shifting into the "I have a dream" theme he'd used on prior occasions, drawing on both "the American dream" and religious themes, speaking of an America where his children "will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character." He followed this with an exhortation to "let freedom ring" across the nation, and concluded with:

And when this happens, when we allow freedom to ring, when we let it ring from every village and every hamlet, from every state and every city, we will be able to speed up that day when all of God's children, black men and white men, Jews and Gentiles, Protestants and Catholics, will be able to join hands and sing in the words of the old Negro spiritual, "Free at last, free at last. Thank God Almighty, we are free at last."

Fifty years after the March on Washington at the National Mall in Washington, D.C., people from across the globe started gathering on Wednesday to celebrate the anniversary of a watershed moment in civil rights history.

Bernice King, CEO of the King Center in Atlanta and daughter of Dr. King and Coretta Scott King, recalled her father's speech, which referenced the 100th anniversary of the Emancipation Proclamation: "He said, 'One hundred years later, the Negro is still not free.' And I would argue that 150 years later, the African American race is still not free ... There are still great disparities in the African American community."

This year saw a confluence of several racially charged events, including the Supreme Court striking down

 a key part of the Voting Rights Act, to George Zimmerman going on trial for the shooting of Trayvon Martin, to a federal judge's ruling that New York's "stop and frisk" tactics violate the rights of blacks and Hispanics.

“If this year has shown us anything, it's that the work of the 1963 march is not yet finished,” Benjamin Todd Jealous, NAACP President and CEO, said recently.

As with the demonstrations in the '50s and the '60s, King said, there is still an opportunity for change. "We always must remember that this was a people's movement ," she said. 

Some pertinent 

legislative responses  ensued,  the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965, she said, "It was a result of the people joining forces together, letting their voices be heard, and being vigilant."

The March On Washington in 1963 has often been thought of as Black History. A march for African- American people during the civil rights movement. But it is so much more. The March On Washington is an all inclusive part of American history. Not merely a march for black people. To marginalize the march by making it about one ethnic group is an attempt to minimize its significance. It was a march for freedom, justice, and equality for all Americans regardless of their race, creed, or color.

PR

 

Just When You Thought You Heard It All News (8-24-2013)

This woman is a real American hero. I can only hope that the staff in my children's school's have at least one individual who is this brave, selfless, and courageous.

Antoinette Tuff reportedly convinced Michael Brandon Hill, the gunman who burst into the office of Ronald E. McNair Discovery Learning Academy in Georgia to surrender to police. Hill was reportedly off his medication at the time. 

The 911 tapes from a frightening standoff and shooting at an Atlanta-area school show how a school employee’s calm demeanor and kind approach helped end the ordeal without any injuries.

Police said Wednesday that school bookkeeper Antoinette Tuff was heroic in how she responded after being taken hostage a day earlier by Michael Brandon Hill, a 20-year-old man with a history of mental health issues. Hill went to the school armed with an AK 47-style rifle and nearly 500 rounds of ammunition, police said.

On a recording of a 911 call released Wednesday, Tuff can be heard relaying messages from Hill to DeKalb County emergency dispatchers before convincing him to surrender. She tells the dispatcher that Hill said he wasn’t there to hurt the children but wanted to talk to an unarmed officer.

“He said, `Call the probation office in DeKalb County and let them know what’s going on,’” Tuff is heard telling the dispatcher. “He said he should have just went to the mental hospital instead of doing this, because he’s not on his medication.”

No one was injured, but police said the suspect shot into the floor and exchanged gunfire with officers who had surrounded Ronald E. McNair Discovery Learning Academy in Decatur, a suburb east of Atlanta. The school has 870 students in pre-kindergarten through fifth grade.

The exchange between Tuff and the suspect was captured on a recording of a 911 call made by school officials to dispatchers.

Tuff begins by telling Hill of her own struggles, including raising a disabled child and losing her husband. The bookkeeper reassured him by saying he didn’t hurt anyone, hadn’t harmed her and could still surrender peacefully.

“We’re not gonna hate you, baby. It’s a good thing that you’re giving up,” Tuff says after having Hill put his weapons and ammunition on the counter. Tuff tells Hill she loves him and will pray for him.

Before he surrendered, Tuff took to the school’s public address system to say Hill was sorry for what he’d done and didn’t want to hurt anyone – although the lockdown remained in effect.

Hill is charged with aggravated assault on a police officer, terroristic threats and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. Police declined to discuss what he told them when questioned.

This story proves that contrary to popular belief, not all teenagers are a lost cause. In fact, their are some who achieve excellence.

Florida Teenager Gabrielle Turnquest has a habit of breaking scholastic records. After becoming the youngest person to graduate from Liberty University in Lynchburg, Va., at age 16, Ms. Turnquest achieved another milestone by becoming the youngest person to pass the Bar of England and Wales exam at 18.

The English media reported Turnquest’s amazing feat, and it appears that educational excellence runs in the family, her sister, Kandi also passed the bar exam at 22-years-old. The average age of lawyers taking the Bar Professional Training Course is 27.

Although Turnquest is qualified to work in the United Kingdom, she wants to return to America to qualify for the Bar there as well.

“I am honored to be the youngest person to pass the Bar exams but, really, I was not aware at the time what the average age was,” said Turnquest, who is from the town of Windermere, Fla. “I didn’t fully realize the impact of it.”

Turnquest also has an opportunity to qualify for the Bahamas Bar, a goal of hers since that is her parents’ native country. If she does want to work in the UK, however, she would have to work at the apprentice level for at least one year before being offered tenure.

Turnquest hopes to become a fashion law specialist. At her current rate, there’s no reason not to expect she’ll be successful in her aims there as well.

      Irony is probably the most over used word in the English language. Often taken out of context and misused. But this story is the definition of irony. 

Detroit EMS technician Joseph Hardman reportedly suffered a heart attack as he was performing CPR on a patient en route to the hospital last Friday.

While reportedly performing CPR on a patient, Hardman began experiencing a heart attack of his own. Instead of panicking, Hardman reportedly continued to administer the life-saving technique on the heart patient until they arrived at the hospital and then he admitted himself in to the emergency room. 

Now that's dedication. I'm one of the nicest guys in the world but if it came down to my heart attack versus his, lets just say..........he would have been in big trouble.

Upon his arrival at the medical facility, Hardman was then examined and rushed in to surgery, where he had to undergo a cardiac procedure.  According to EMS union rep Joe Barney, Hardman “nearly died and had to go to surgery.”

Hardman’s patient survived and is reportedly recovering only three beds away from him at the hospital.

And now, for the freak of the week. Or in this guys case, super freak of the week.

Looks like this dude definitely rubbed some people the wrong way. 

 Julio Yanez of Boone, N.C., was

arrested Aug. 15, after he allegedly entered a woman's unsecured apartment, got in her bed and tried to give her a back rub.

According to WXII, the 29 year old had already been arrested for similar offenses twice before.

In a July incident, the victim told Yanez to leave, but he refused and tried to giver her a back rub. The victim rebuffed him, then asked Yanez to leave again, according the local media. He was later arrested. 

After his July arrest, additional women came forward and claimed Yanez had entered their rooms and tried to give them back rubs in April and June. 

Yanez is charged with two counts of breaking and entering and assault on a female, and one count of being too "touchy feelie". He is due in court Sept. 17. 

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The Ugly Anti-Autism Letter

When I pray in the morning above everything else I thank God for my 3 healthy children. They are far more important than my home, and my material possessions. When I see a child who is not as fortunate, with parents who face challenges that I take for granted, I pray for their strength, and I thank God once more. But unfortunately, there are some evil mean spirited people in this world whose disdain and cruelty has no bounds.

A disturbing letter targeting a teen with autism has shaken the boy's family and rallied the local community to their defense.

The anonymous note was sent to 13 year old Max's grandmother's house in Newcastle Ontario, on Friday. Signed, "One pissed off mother," the letter refers to Max as a neighborhood "nuisance," "retarded" and a "dreadful" noise polluter. A photo of the letter was tweeted over the weekend by You Tube personalities, who identify themselves as family friends.

"Personally, they should take whatever non retarded body parts he possesses and donate it to science. What the hell else good is he to anyone!!!" the letter reads. "Do the right thing and move or euthanize him!! Either way we are ALL better off!!!"

In an a recent interview Max's mother, Karla Begley, could not keep from crying as she read the section of the letter that suggests she euthanize her son.

"The more you go on, the worse it gets," Begley told the local media.

 "Who says that about a child?"

Worried for their safety, the family then went on to say that the police have been contacted, and they would like to press charges if possible. In the meantime, however, the neighborhood has rallied around Max, making a special effort to make him feel welcome in the community.

On Monday, It was reported that police are investigating the letter. Spokeswoman Jodi MacLean told the news outlet that law enforcement is taking the threat "seriously."

The original Twitter posting about the note had been retweeted over 3,600 times as of Monday afternoon, with people calling the letter "a shame," "evil" and "hateful."

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                          PURE EVIL

Russell Simmons' Harriet Tubman Parody?!

When I first heard the phrase "Harriet Tubman parody",  I was puzzled to say the least. After all the name Harriet Tubman and parody don't even belong in the same sentence. What is so funny about an African-American woman who escaped slavery then returned nine times to help over 300 slaves escape through the Underground Railroad? Harriet Tubman is an American hero, not the butt of some bizzare Def Comedy Jam joke. Tubman was known for her proficiency in the use of firearms, and often carried several on her freedom missions. I wonder if she would like being parodied, or made fun of?

Many of us have an inappropriate sense of humor, including me at times. But there is a fine line between being inappropriate, distasteful, insulting, and hurtful. Knowing this, I personally keep a lot of my crazy thoughts and ideas to myself, and I am a firm believer that some thing's that cross our minds should be between us and God. Not us, God, You Tube, and Twitter.

Russell Simmons says he was taken aback by the controversy over the Harriet Tubman parody video recently posted on his YouTube channel, which depicted the U.S. abolitionist having sex with her white slave master with the intent of filming the act and blackmailing him.

In the interest of full disclosure, it is important that we understand the context of sexual relationships between slaves and their so called slave master. Black women who were Slaves never willingly had sex with the master. They were brutally raped, used, and abused. To apply the term, "have sex with" minimizes the the damage of this crime, and implies consent.

 Simmons told host Cynthia LuCiette in the YouTube entertainment show BRKDWN that the backlash from African-American women in particular "broke my heart."

"When I got the call and found out black women were so disgusted by it, it broke my heart," he says. "I’m sure I'm gonna piss off everybody again tomorrow. I got sh%t that's gonna piss people off. … But it's not likely it'll break my heart and make me react as quickly."

When he first saw the clip, he says, he saw a "vision of traditional comedy -- the oppressed taking advantage of the oppressor. That was what I saw, though it could have been executed better. … Although in the video, she seduces the slave master, it implies the previous rapes. So I just saw her taking advantage of the slave master, and I let it go."

Over 30 years in the content business, he says, he's never pulled a piece of content until now; he felt like this video was different because it crossed a line. He says it wasn't the outrage that led to his decision but the fact that his eyes were opened to how the video was being received.

African-American women "really educated me how hurtful it was," he adds. "Because I never considered rape. I just saw her seduce, take advantage of and turn the tables on the slave master. That's what I saw. It's really f---ing bad, and I’m really sorry I did it."

I wonder if his remorse is because of true sorrow or because he got caught.

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14 Years & He Didn't Even Do It!

Rape is one of the most vicious crimes known to man. The perpetrator uses their power to take away the victims power, and it is always damaging to their mind, body, and soul. With that being said, it is perfectly understandable when the authorities prosecute the accused with the full force of the law. Understandable, but in no always fair. The fact is, in many cases there is simply not enough evidence, and cases are built on mere accusation rather than fact. 

Last month the Manhattan Supreme Court dismissed rape charges against Johnny O'Neal, 54, long after he finished serving a fourteen-year sentence. 

In 1984, O'Neal was convicted of raping a woman at knifepoint on the roof of the Frederick Douglass Houses, though several family members said he was at home watching TV. He was released in 1998, and a recent reinvestigation determined that the late Gregory Smith confessed to the crime, as well as two other rapes. "I needed this for my mother," O’Neal said on Thursday. "I didn’t want her to be deceased and to think her son was a rapist. She had to wear the same stigma I wore." He said he plans to sue "the people responsible."

The sad reality is the fact that there is no monetary amount that can be put on freedom, and once a good name has been tarnished it is virtually impossible to restore its former shine. Hopefully Johnny O'neal gets justice, peace, and compensation for 14 years years of lost wages multiplied for his pain.

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