Month: November 2013

Categories
Tid Bits

Officer’s Act Of Kindness Caught on Video Moments Before He Is Killed – Video

Officer Jeremy Henwood of the San Diego Police Department was also a captain in the U.S. Marine Corps Reserve who had just returned from a one year deployment in Afghanistan — he had also served two tours in Iraq.  Coming home proved to be more dangerous than his service in war zones.

In August of 2011 he was shot and killed as he sat in his patrol car at a traffic light.  The shooter, 23 year-old Dejon Marquee White, pulled up along side his car and shot him in the head with a shotgun.  There was no provocation, he simply wanted to die and had decided to commit ‘suicide by cop.’  He got his wish, a short time later police tracked him down and he was killed in a shootout.

What was not known at the time of Officer Henwood’s death was that only minutes before he had stopped at a McDonald’s nearby to get something to eat and while he was there he had performed a random act of kindness for a young boy who he had never met before.

While standing at the counter in that McDonald’s he was approached by 13 year-old Davian Tinsley who asked if he could get a dime to buy some cookies.  Officer Henwood took out his wallet and bought the cookies for him, asking him what he wanted to be when he grew up.

Davian says that he told him that he wanted to be an NBA star to which Henwood replied, “Well you’ve got to work hard for that.”

Three minutes later Henwood was dead.

The video.

Categories
Politics

Found: GOP’s Actual Play book on How to Score Points Against Obamacare

House Republicans have handed out an internal GOP playbook on how to best score political points against Obamacare, the White House and Democrats in general.

The memo obtained by CQ Roll Call, titled “House Republican Playbook: Because of Obamacare … I Lost My Insurance,” is a manual for House Republicans on how to highlight the recent issues with the health care law and how to best “communicate in your district about the disastrous Obamacare rollout.”

Of particular interest to Republicans is the president’s oft-repeated line that “if you like you health insurance, you can keep it.”

In the “Broken Promises” section, Republicans point to two promises the president used to sell the Affordable Care Act: “1) If you like what you have, you can keep it. Period. And 2) Health care costs will go down for all Americans, and ‘save a typical family an average of $2,500…’ Each of these promises has now been broken,” the playbook says.

“Millions of Americans will lose the plan they have and like: Despite President Obama’s promise that you can keep the plan you have and like, we now know at least 7 million Americans will lose their employer provided insurance as a result of Obamacare,” the memo said in its Talking Points section

Categories
Sports

Hazing Survivor on Richie Incognito – He’s “an Immature, Unrealistic Scumbag!”

Incognito
Incognito

An NFL having survivor had some harsh words for Richie Incognito. “I’m not afraid to say that he was an immature, unrealistic scumbag. When it came down to it, he had no personality, he was a locker-room cancer, and he just wanted to fight everybody all the time. It was bizarre beyond belief.”

Those are the words of Cam Cleeland who, as an NFL player some 15 years ago, went through a rookie hazing on the first day of training camp.

“Guys were just rabid,” Cleeland told the Los Angeles Times. “And you had a couple guys in the front that would stand in a three-point stance, and you would fire off the line like he was going to knock you over.

“You tried to make it through, and they literally just beat the ever-loving crap out of you as you tried to get through. Everything you can imagine, from kicking, punching, scrapping.”

Cleeland’s case is back on the radar this week as the ugly Jonathan Martin-Richie Incognito situation boils up in Miami. Martin, now in his second season, left the Dolphins last week after allegedly being the victim of repeated, cruel bullying.

Incognito was suspended following the revelation of a voicemail in which he hurled racial slurs at Martin. On Thursday night, Martin’s lawyer, David Cornwell, released a scathing statement in which he said Martin was the victim of a “malicious physical attack,” but did not specify which teammate was involved.

Cleeland’s hazing ended tragically. Andre Royal, a free-agent linebacker, had been collecting pennies all day from teammates and put them in a sock that he would swing wildly at Cleeland. Royal’s blow shattered Cleeland’s eye socket and nearly cost him his eye. He still deals with partial vision.

“I was full of adrenaline at that time,” Cleeland told the paper. “You’re in that fight-or-flight mode, survival mode. You’ve got to get through. So I made it through, and next thing you know my nose is bleeding all over.”

Cleeland, who went on to play eight years in the NFL, would cross paths with Incognito on the Rams when the team drafted the offensive lineman in 2005. He does not sound surprised by some of the reports that now surround Incognito.

“I’m not afraid to say that he was an immature, unrealistic scumbag,” Cleeland said. “When it came down to it, he had no personality, he was a locker-room cancer, and he just wanted to fight everybody all the time. It was bizarre beyond belief.”

Categories
Featured

Boston Man Shoots Part of His Face Off

A city man who accidentally shot part of his face off with a high-powered hunting rifle was in stable condition at a Boston hospital Thursday night, according to his father.

According to police, Dale Poulin, 31, of Ash Street, was visiting friends at 218 College Ave. around 9 p.m. Wednesday and exchanging hunting stories when he went outside and brought in a .270-caliber hunting rifle. At one point, Poulin put the barrel of the rifle under his chin and pulled the trigger, said Waterville Police Chief Joseph Massey.

Poulin’s father said that although his son is unable to speak, he can respond to questions by writing on a notepad and told his father Thursday that he had accidentally dropped the rifle. Dale Poulin had been hunting during the day Wednesday before the accident later that night, his father said.

“He is in stable condition and his vital signs are good, although he will need reconstructive surgery for his facial wounds,” Donald Poulin, of Winslow, said by phone from Massachusetts General Hospital.

Note: Last year, 17,362 people nationwide unintentionally injured themselves with a firearm, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Unintentional nonfatal gunshots was 0.1 percent of the more than 29.4 million injuries reported, according to the CDC report.

The most common injury was an unintentional fall, which accounted for about 30 percent of the injuries.

Categories
Domestic Policies Health Healthcare News ObamaCare Politics

The Health of the State

If nothing else, the press is having a field day, or a month anyway, with the government shutdown and now the contretemps over the health care website and law. I’m sure you’ve read the articles and have seen the overblown videos from both sides of the political divide. There aren’t more for me to add.

What’s been lost in the tree-to-tree debate is the forest of actual health care and the health of United States citizens. Yes, President Obama should have said that those people whose insurance policies do not meet the minimum standards set by the ACA would indeed need to upgrade them. That inattention to detail is exactly what can derail a noble point, especially given the rabid opposition he faces in Congress. But the larger point is that more people will have better health plans, and, presumably, better health.

The other issue that’s been buried is the relative success of the exchanges in states that have functioning representative democracies and not one-party GOP monopolies who don’t seem to care whether their poorest residents get Medicaid relief or, in the case of New Jersey, a governor who aspires to national office. In states such as New York, Oregon, Kentucky and California, people are signing up for health care and, for the most part, are finding it both easy and cost-effective to do so (OK, OK…here’s a link).

Which proves that the law is working and that it’s here to stay and that ultimately it will do what it set out to do and the GOP knows it. That’s why they only have the political issue to focus on. By next October, the ACA will be a net plus for the Democrats. The website will be fixed and more people will be demanding that all states fully cover their Medicaid populations.

There will be no place to hide for those who believe that it’s an American right to be sick and have other people pay for it, or for those who perversely call it freedom when people are denied access to a government entitlement like Medicaid, or who say it’s un-American for the government to provide access to checkups, physicals, reproductive health or to have insurance companies cover people with preexisting conditions.

I’ve always believed that if you do the right thing, eventually the people in your orbit will notice and reward you for it, even if at times you are punished for your good deeds. The health care law and the sentiment behind it is worthy, moral, ethical and in the best sense of the word, healthy. This, in the end, is what will ensure its success.

For more please go to:
www.facebook.com/WhereDemocracyLives and Twitter @rigrundfest  

Categories
ObamaCare Politics

President Obama Apologizes to Americans losing their Garbage Insurance

In an exclusive interview on MSNBC last night, President Obama apologized to the American people for the “if you like your insurance you can keep it” claim.

Asked by interviewer Chuck Todd of MSNBC if he believed he owed an apology to the five percent of Americans who are losing their garbage plans because of regulations in ObamaCare that require all insurance companies to provide real insurance to the American people, the president replied;

“I am sorry that they are finding themselves in this situation based on assurances they got from me,” he told NBC News in an exclusive interview at the White House.

“We’ve got to work hard to make sure that they know we hear them and we are going to do everything we can to deal with folks who find themselves in a tough position as a consequence of this.”

The president stated that he is doing everything he can to fix the rollout problems with healthcare.gov.

“I’ve assigned my team to see what we can do to close some of the holes and gaps in the law, because, you know, my intention is to lift up and make sure the insurance that people buy is effective — that it’s actually going to deliver what they think they’re purchasing.”

Categories
Politics unemployment rate

Unemployment Ticks Up to 7.3% – 204,000 Jobs Created in October

U.S. employers added 204,000 jobs in October, an unexpected burst of hiring during a month in which the federal government was partially shut down for 16 days.

The Labor Department says the unemployment rate rose to 7.3 percent from 7.2 percent in September, likely because furloughed federal workers were counted as unemployed. The report noted that the shutdown did not affect total jobs.

African-American unemployment rose slightly to 13.1 percent (from 12.9 last month) and black teen joblessness remained the highest of any group at 36 percent.

Employers also added 60,000 more jobs in the previous two months than earlier estimated.

The figures suggest hiring has picked up in the fall. Employers added an average of 202,000 jobs from August through October, up from 146,000 from May through July.

The percentage of Americans working or looking for work fell to a fresh 35-year low. But that figure was likely distorted by the shutdown, too.

Categories
Featured Politics

Dad Posts Craigslist Ad In Hopes Of Finding Someone To Rape His 11-Year-Old Daughter

These people are going to hell in garbage bags!

A Missouri man was arrested last week after he reportedly posted an ad on Craigslist soliciting individuals to beat and rape his 11-year-old daughter.

Anthony Brinkman, 32 was taken into custody shortly after making contact with an undercover police officer posing as an interested party.

The St. Louis County Police Department was made aware of the ad after a Craigslist user flagged it for “abuse.”

Undercover detectives reached out to Brinkman, who claimed he was seeking a woman to be his girlfriend and help him sexually assault his daughter with sex toys.

After sending the detectives photos of the girl, Brinkman and an officer agreed to meet at a local Cracker Barrel to seal the deal.

Officers were waiting for Brinkman when he arrived with his daughter, and arrested him on a charge of attempted statutory sodomy.

“It’s just a lot of talk for most of these guys, but this guy actually brought (the girl) to the scene to go ahead with the next step of enacting it,” St. Louis County Detective Mike Slaughter told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

h/t Gawker:

Categories
Featured News

Man Sues Wife for Having Ugly Kids!

The old adage ‘beauty is in the eye of the beholder’ may ring true for some, but one husband in northern China feels that his ‘beautiful’ wife bamboozled him by having ‘ugly’ kids.

Jian Feng sued his wife for giving birth to what he called ‘incredibly ugly’ girl and won.

“I married my wife out of love, but as soon as we had our first daughter, we began having marital issues,” he told the Irish Times.

“Our daughter was incredibly ugly, to the point where it horrified me.”

But wait… there’s more to the story than Feng’s blatant lack of love for his own child, he insists that his wife should have told him about all the plastic surgery she’d had prior to meeting them so he could have made an informed decision on whether to marry her and procreate.

A judge agreed.

Initially Jian accused his wife of infidelity, because he knew he could never be the father of an unattractive child but DNA tests proved that the child was indeed his.

Feng’s wife then came clean and admitted that she had undergone about $100,000 worth of cosmetic surgery in South Korea before they met.

Read more: straightfromthea.com

Categories
Featured News

Asian parents starve African daughter to death to sell her organs

Organ harvesting is a multibillion-a-year underground business. According to authorities, an Asian couple adopted a collection of African children with the sole purpose of killing them and harvesting their organs for a financial feast.

A California couple living in Qatar, located off the coast of Saudi Arabia are facing possible execution for allegedly starving their daughter to death. The pair were released on bail today after almost a year in jail.

The court imposed a travel ban that prevents them from returning to the U.S.

The couple has been imprisoned since January after their 8-year-old adopted daughter Gloria died, they say, from unknown complications from a childhood eating disorder. But the Qatari authorities charged them with forced starvation and intent to murder. The police accuse the Huangs of trafficking Gloria and her brothers to harvest their organs.

The Huangs moved to Qatar in 2012 so Matthew Huang could work as an engineer on two major infrastructure projects associated with improvements for the 2022 World Cup, according to a narrative of the case posted on the family’s website, . http://www.freemattandgrace.com

The Huangs, who are Asian-American, accuse the Qatari authorities of faulty evidence and cultural ignorance, failing to understand how or why they would have three children from Africa. The California Innocence Project is housed at the San Diego-based California Western School of Law says they are wrongly accused and are working on the family’s behalf.

In addition to Gloria, the Huangs have two adopted boys – one from Ghana, the other from Uganda – forming a bi-racial family rarely seen in oil-rich Qatar which is void of much diversity (except for Asian workers who go to work as laborers) and where adoptions are scarce.

It’s almost inexplicable and indefensible to release the parents, even if on bail and on strict travel restrictions, if the courts think these two are enough of a threat to society to possibly recommend the death penalty.

h/t – rollingout

Categories
Entertainment Express Yourself

About to Have a Double Mastectomy, This Woman Throws a Dance Party in The OR – Video

Facing a double mastectomy with grace takes courage. Facing one with courage and joy is extraordinary.

But that’s exactly what Deborah Cohan did yesterday right before she went into surgery to have her breasts removed. Cohan, an Ob/Gyn and mom of two, held a dance party with her medical team in the operating room of Mt. Zion Hospital in San Francisco.

This inspiring 6-minute-long video of the fete, posted on YouTube, shows Cohan busting some serious moves as she wiggles and twerks to Beyonce’s hit “Get Me Bodied.” Cohan requested that friends and family make videos of themselves dancing to Bey too so that she could watch them during her recovery. “I have visions of a healing video montage,” she wrote. “Nothing brings me greater joy than catalyzing others to dance, move, be in their bodies. Are you with me people?”

They were. You can check out videos of Deborah’s fans shaking their booties in solidarity on her CaringBridge page.

Deborah, we wish you a speedy recovery. And can we go clubbing with you when you’re all better?

Categories
Featured racist

Justin Bieber Proudly Displays His Racist Side – PIC

Some may stay that I am reading too much into this piece of graffiti by Justin Bieber, proudly displayed on his Instagram. On the instagram post, Justin says, “this is my escape.”  But I agree with Gawker‘s take: That monkey figure sure looks familiar! It looks just like, what’s it called, centuries of racist caricatures of blacks.

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