Wag the dog?

Okay so now we're engaged in six (6) countries??

WTF is the President doing?

Where is the outcry from the Main Street media?  What if this had been done by George W. Bush?

Is he trying to deflect the economic bad news?

U.S. drone targets two leaders of Somali group allied with al-Qaeda, official says

by Greg Jaffe and Karen DeYoung - Washington Post

A U.S. drone aircraft fired on two leaders of a militant Somali organization tied to al-Qaeda, apparently wounding them, a senior U.S. military official familiar with the operation said Wednesday.

The strike last week against senior members of al-Shabab comes amid growing concern within the U.S. government that some leaders of the Islamist group are collaborating more closely with al-Qaeda to strike targets beyond Somalia, the military official said.

The airstrike makes Somalia at least the sixth country where the United States is using drone aircraft to conduct lethal attacks, joining Afghanistan, Pakistan, Libya, Iraq and Yemen. And it comes as the CIA is expected to begin flying armed drones over Yemen in its hunt for al-Qaeda operatives.

The rest of the story:

Another dirt-bag indicted

Man, the Hays County Grand Jury sure was busy.

San Marcos man faces 47 child sex charges

By Roy Bragg - Express-News

A San Marcos man remained in the Hays County jail Wednesday, charged with 47 felony sex offenses against children.

Larry Joe Reynolds, 59, is being held in lieu of $940,000 bail, says Commander Penny Dunn of the San Marcos Police department. He was indicted last week on 33 counts of sexual performance of a child; 13 counts of online solicitation of a minor; and a single count of continuous sexual abuse of a child.

She declined to discuss specifics of the case, saying police are still trying to piece together how many victims may have had contact with Reynolds. Some of the victims are pictured in the digital images found on his home computer. Investigators don't know if those images were taken locally, Dunn said, or procured from other sources on the Web.

The rest of the story:

Semper Fi

It is with great sadness that I learned of the loss of another young local man in the prime of his life.  He died to preserve our freedom and liberty.

Rest in Peace Lance Corporal John Felix Farias.  As long as men yearn for freedom you will not be forgotten and your sacrifice will be honored.

Peace be unto you and your family.

New Braunfels Marine is killed

By Scott Huddleston - Express-News

John Felix Farias used to spend Independence Day at work as a lifeguard on the Comal River, protecting tubers who soaked in the sun on America's most patriotic holiday.

Tuesday, during combat operations in Afghanistan, all of his dreams of July Fourth barbecues and of someday marrying and raising a family came to an end. Farias, 20, a Marine Corps lance corporal, was killed in the turbulent Helmand province on his first combat tour. He would have turned 21 on July 16.

Like many young Marines, Farias had a rock-solid background as an all-American boy, countered by a rugged edge as a young man headed to war for the first time.

The rest of the story:

Rude river riders

Its stuff like this that will eventually lead to more restrictions on the Comal River as well as additional fees and such to help pay for more supervision.

Lesson No. 1- Zip it.

Tide of rudeness on the Comal

By Roy Bragg - Express-News


NEW BRAUNFELS — Toni Peters, whose home overlooks the Comal River near downtown, was taking her toddler grandsons for a laid-back Sunday float two weeks ago when a barrage of obscenities pierced the early morning quiet.

She looked upstream to see a group of tubers drinking and cussing, oblivious to their surroundings as they drifted down the river. Another nearby tuber, eyeing Peters' grandkids, asked the loud group to tone it down.

They responded with more obscenities.

The rest of the story:

The target? .... Target

And now she'll get to make the scene in Court.

Frustrated woman grabs Louisville Slugger, smahes Target store windows

CBS Pittsburgh -

MCCANDLESS (KDKA) — A frustrated woman took a baseball bat to the front windows of the Target in McCandless.

Donna Rosenberger, 39, of Cranberry, had an explanation for her actions.

“I tried returning two ice cream makers and they would not give me my money back,” she said. “So I made a scene yesterday.”

The rest of the story:

What??!!

This was a pretty stupid stunt to pull wasn't it?

Or is it a hoax?  I hope hoax for the officer's sake.

Seattle police leave rifle unattended on cruiser

Associated Press -

SEATTLE (AP) — A Seattle police spokesman says the department is embarrassed after officers left a police rifle unattended on a patrol car outside a busy downtown area. Spokesman Sgt. Sean Whitcomb says the department has launched an investigation.

Whitcomb says two people spotted the rifle on the parked car. One flagged down bicycle officers to alert them. The other followed the cruiser as it drove through downtown Seattle and tracked down the driver after the car parked.

The alternative weekly The Stranger first reported the incident, posting a picture that shows the rifle sitting on top of the trunk.

The rest of the story:

The Pope tweets!

Pope Benedict XVI bringing it to the 21st Century.

Now will it be the good tweet instead of the good word?

Pope tweets for the first time

Express-News -

VATICAN CITY (AP) — Pope Benedict XVI on Tuesday tweeted for the first time, announcing the launch of a Vatican news information portal.

Benedict's tweet read: "Dear Friends, I just launched News.va Praised be our Lord Jesus Christ! With my prayers and blessings, Benedictus XVI".

The portal www.news.va for the first time aggregates information from the Vatican's various print, online, radio and television media. It's the latest effort by the Vatican to bring its evangelizing message to a greater, Internet-savvy audience and follows forays into Facebook, Twitter and YouTube.

The rest of the story:

Accidental discharge

Was he using his rifle to jack up his car?

I mean how did this occur?

I guess he had the rifle in his trunk and moved to get to his spare tire and it discharged?

Whatever, I hope he recovers soon.


NBPD:  Man accidently shoots himself with rifle
By Dalondo Moultrie New Braunfels Herald-Zeitung


NEW BRAUNFELS - A 31-year-old Corsicana man accidentally shot himself in the stomach while trying to change a tire on his pickup truck Tuesday evening in the parking lot of a river outfitter, police and witnesses said.

The man, whose name police Sgt. Tim Brinkkoeter did not have, was flown by helicopter to Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio, Brinkkoeter said. He said the shooting was an accident.

Look out!! She's armed and not afraid to use it!

Ummmmmm........

She was merely expressing herself.

Oh my.

Ohio Deputies: Woman sprayed us with breast milk

Associated Press -

DELAWARE, Ohio (AP) — A central Ohio woman accused of spraying sheriff's deputies with breast milk is facing charges including disorderly conduct. The Delaware County sheriff's office says deputies responded to a call about a domestic dispute early Saturday, and a man told them his wife was drinking at a wedding and hit him before locking herself in a car.

The sheriff says deputies found the woman in a car and tried to talk with her, but she didn't cooperate. He says when deputies tried to remove her, she said she was a breast-feeding mother, then exposed part of her chest and sprayed them with breast milk.

Authorities say 30-year-old Stephanie Robinette of Westerville faces charges including domestic violence, assault, disorderly conduct and resisting arrest. Jail officials didn't know whether she has an attorney.

Waste not, want not

I know to many this would not seem like a big deal.  It is however.

We need water to drink and for businesses.  We don't need shiny green lawns IMHO.

The picture of my lawn here will leave no doubt I ain't watering it.

Patience evaporates for water wasters

By Colin McDonald - Express-News

The suspicious yards are not hard to spot. They are the ones with water residue stains on their driveways and sidewalks and unnaturally dark green lawns for a drought.

“You can tell even in dry spots that there was run-off,” said Henry Avila, who patrols every weekday morning for the Bexar Metropolitan Water District looking for property owners who are violating the city's water restrictions. “There are quite a few telltale signs they were watering.”

Then there are the obvious ones, like the steady stream of water running from a subdivision's landscaping down the street off of Potranco Road.

The rest of the story:

'Bout time

It only took 2 and a 1/2 years to make these nominations.

Glad he had time to go golfing.

Austin jurist to get nod for job

By Gary Martin - Express-News

WASHINGTON — White House officials notified congressional offices Monday that President Barack Obama would nominate four people to serve as U.S. attorneys in Texas, filling positions that have been vacant since he took office more than two years ago.

U.S. Magistrate Judge Robert Lee Pitman of Austin is expected to be picked to serve as U.S. attorney in the Western District, which includes San Antonio, Del Rio and El Paso, Texas lawmakers confirmed.

Kenneth Magidson, an assistant U.S. attorney, is being tapped for the top prosecutor's post in the Southern District, which includes Houston, Corpus Christi, Brownsville and Laredo.

The rest of the story:

Summertime Blues

Its Summer in New Braunfels.

And the living is easy.......

Chief would like river to be less MTV and more family
By Greg Bowen New Braunfels Herald-Zeitung


NEW BRAUNFELS - New Braunfels Police Chief Tom Wibert likened the crowds of tubers on the Comal River at peak times to "the Normandy Invasion" and said he'd like to see a river that is "less of an MTV environment and more of a family environment."

Wibert and Fire Chief John Robinson reported to New Braunfels City Council on Monday about tubing conditions on the Comal River in what Wibert termed "a strange season."

The rest of the story:

Blago Guilty!

Guilty on the following counts as follows:

Buh-Bye!

The 20 counts of Blagojevich

NBC Chicago blogs -

• Count 1-Wire fraud related to Children's Memorial Hospital-GUILTY

• Count 2-Wire fraud related to the Senate Seat-GUILTY

• Count 3-Wire fraud related to the Senate Seat-GUILTY

• Count 4-Wire fraud related to the Senate Seat-GUILTY

• Count 5-Wire fraud related to the Senate Seat-GUILTY

• Count 6-Wire fraud related to the Senate Seat-GUILTY

• Count 7-Wire fraud related to the Senate Seat-GUILTY

• Count 8-Wire fraud related to the Senate Seat-GUILTY

• Count 9-Wire fraud related to the Racing Bill-GUILTY

• Count 10-Wire fraud related to the Senate Seat-GUILTY

• Count 11-Attempted extortion related to School Shakedown-NO VERDICT

• Count 12-Attempted extortion related to Children's Memorial Hospital-GUILTY

• Count 13-Bribery related to Children's Memorial Hospital-GUILTY

• Count 14-Extortion conspiracy related to Racing Bill-GUILTY

• Count 15-Bibery conspiracy related to Racing Bill-GUILTY

• Count 16-Attempted Extortion related to Tollway Shakedown-NO VERDICT

• Count 17-Bibery related to Tollway Shakedown-NOT GUILTY

• Count 18-Extortion conspiracy related to the Senate Seat-GUILTY

• Count 19-Attempted extortion related to the Senate Seat-GUILTY

• Count 20-Bribery conspiracy related to the Senate Seat-GUILTY

The rest of the story:

Feel good story of the year?

I hope he pulls through.

Ill penguin stranded in NZ is offered a lift home

Associated Press-

WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — A young emperor penguin stranded in New Zealand has survived two medical procedures and now has an offer of a lift home.

Yet the aquatic bird that many are calling Happy Feet — after the lighthearted 2006 movie — is not out of danger yet. The penguin remained on an intravenous drip Saturday and faces another procedure Monday to remove more sand from its digestive system.

If it does pull through, a businessman wants to take it by boat to Antarctica next February.

The rest of the story:

Doggy Court

Hey perhaps the animal court needs a Judge Katz??  LOL

Of course this is a picture of Judge Dogz.

Animal court rules on city pet law offenses

By Vincent T. Davis - Express-News

Every Friday morning, residents cited for breaking city pet laws step into animal court to have their cases heard before a judge, and depending on their plea, a jury.

The judgments take place at Municipal Court No. 4, at 401 S. Frio St., for violations that include not having license tags, severe bites and misdemeanor cruelty cases.

Recently, Michele McLaughlin sat on a long wooden bench among a dozen defendants, who except for one man held pink tickets concerning their canines. The man's citation was for not having a permit for chickens and having more than allowed in the city limits.

The rest of the story:

Child abuse or not?

Seems a wee bit excessive, no?

Of course, I got switched and beaten with a belt and other stuff too.

Man arrested in daughter's beating with belt

By Sarah Mills - Express-News

A man has been arrested on suspicion of beating his daughter after she received a bad behavior grade in school and for cussing at another child.

Rene Medrano, 39, was arrested Saturday on one count of injury to a child. A judge set bail at $15,000.

Medrano used a leather belt to beat the young girl under the age of 7 more than 10 times on April 1, according to an arrest warrant affidavit. Investigators said they found multiple bruises in the shape of a belt on the child's back, buttocks, sides and legs.

The rest of the story:

A real dud

I had thought that the caste system in India had been outlawed or abandoned.

Apparently I must have been mistaken.

Dud caste certificates in DU admission scam

The Times of India -


NEW DELHI: A snowballing scam in fake caste certificates rocked Delhi University on Saturday leaving prominent colleges scrambling for scrutiny with admissions in full swing.

Scheduled Caste (SC) and Other Backward Classes (OBC) certificates were apparently available easily for Rs 3 -5 lakh and even some 90 percenters seemed to have succumbed to temptation to get courses of their choice in colleges of their liking. Thirteen dud admissions have been confirmed and at least eight more are under the scanner. These students face a bleak future and their parents too will face police action. Three men who were operating the racket have been arrested.

The brazen manner in which the students secured admissions has left a big question mark hanging over DU's verification process. Even students with common Brahmin surnames managed to get into prominent colleges. An employee of the Hauz Khas tehsildar's office allegedly uploaded the certificates on the website and no one bothered to check any further. All addresses on the fake certificates were from Hauz Khas and even a cursory look at the other certificates of the student would have exposed the scam much earlier.

He shoulda stayed home

He's lucky to have gotten:

a.) Just 3 months in jail; and

b.) Just losing his job.

Picture is NOT of the incident.

Traffic officer jailed for drunk driving

chinadaily.com.cn -

A traffic officer in East China's Wenzhou city has received three months in jail for drunk driving, the Xinhua news agency reported, making him the first traffic officer to receive a sentence for driving whilst drunk since new laws were passed by the National People's Congress in China.

Hu Jilin, the deputy head of the expressway traffic police department in East China's Wenzhou city, was charged with dangerous driving and jailed for three months and fined 3,000 yuan by the city's Lucheng Court on June 21, 2011.

Hu drove a yellow Ford car while drunk and collided with the back of a cab, which was stopped at an intersection, on June 11, 2011.

After the accident, Hu's blood alcohol level was tested and proved to be 127 milligrams per one hundred milliliters.

Hu was immediately taken into custody by the police and has since been dismissed from his post.

Just say NO!!

Yikes!!

Don't they tell people at the airports and like not to do this?

China customs warn of unwitting drug trafficking

Xinhua -

BEIJING - China Customs Sunday warned citizens to be wary of becoming unwitting drug mules.

The warning came on the 24th International Day Against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking.

The customs said Chinese citizens, especial women, should be wary of taking, receiving, keeping, sending, selling or buying packages which they did not know the exact contents of.

A customs official said drug traffickers use a variety of methods to cheat or force people into transporting drugs, for instance they could trick people into carrying their drug-laden luggage saying they couldn't as their other luggage had already passed the weight limit.

On May 6, Guangzhou customs detained a Chinese woman returning from southeast Asia after 2,503 grams of heroin was found planted in her luggage.

Drug traffickers often take advantage of the weak to transport drugs, said the official. There have been numerous cases of traffickers tricking pregnant women, minors and handicapped people to deliver hidden drugs for them.

Ooooh...shiny!!

He should have just earned the money and bought some for himself.

And Momma, you can't apologize for him he's a 23 year old man.  He should have known better but apparently didn't.

Man gets death for killing motorist for tire rims
Kens-TV -

HOUSTON (AP) — Jurors in Houston have sentenced Teddrick Batiste to death for killing a 26-year-old motorist to steal the flashy wheel rims from his car.

The Houston Chronicle reports that after the sentencing for Horace Holiday's capital murder, Batiste's mother Rowena Scott could be heard yelling outside the courtroom, "I'm sorry for what my baby did! I'm sorry! I'm sorry!"

The Harris County jury sentenced the 23-year-old Houston man Thursday after convicting him in the 2009 killing.

Prosecutors say Batiste coveted the spinning chrome rims on Holiday's Cadillac on U.S. 59, so he drew alongside the car and opened fire. A wounded Holiday veered off the freeway, crashed his car into a gas pump at a service station and crawled in search of help. Batiste walked up and fired a fatal shot.

Needless Controversy

Really?  What moron(s) is/are sponsoring this?

A confederate flag plate?  Why??

Why raise the needless controversy??  Give me a Lone Star flag plate instead.

Yeehaw!!

Confederate Flag license plate sparks controversy

CBSDFW -

FORT WORTH (CBSDFW.COM) – Would you buy a license plate with a Confederate flag on it? State officials are looking at possibly launching a new Texas state license plate honoring veterans of the War Between the States.

Mr. Hilary Shelton, with the NAACP in Washington, D.C., said that the Civil War may not be something we want to celebrate.

“When many look at that history, we think about it in terms of secession, that is we were seceding from the Union in the southern parts of the country,” explained Shelton. “Many would view that, quite frankly, as treason, because they meant to actually destroy the existing governmental structure. But when we dig deeper, the issue becomes even more offensive to many African Americans and those that sought freedom for those of darker skin in our country.”

The rest of the story:

Spoiled milk

She's in the running for the Bad Mom of the Year Award.

Police: Baby died from morphine in breast milk
Associated Press -

COLUMBIA, SC (AP) -Authorities in South Carolina say an infant girl died from a lethal dose of morphine that was in her mother's breast milk.

The mother, 37-year-old Stephanie Greene, was charged Friday with homicide by child abuse.

Investigators say Greene's 6-week-old daughter, Alexis, was found dead in her parents' bed in their Campobello home in November 2010.

The rest of the story:

Border? What border??

Once again our borders are crossed by armed troops from Mexico.

Is anyone awake down there?

Hello??  Janet Napolitano??  Changing the name of your agency to Homeland Insecurity?

Mexican troops cross into the United States at Bridge Two

www.pro8news.com -

A convoy of three military trucks loaded with Mexican soldiers crosses the border at Bridge Number Two clearly violating international law.

It happens as Customs and Border Protection inspectors try to figure out what to do.

A CBP spokesperson says they got on the phone with Mexican authorities after being alerted that the military trucks were heading their direction loaded down with soldiers and weapons.

The rest of the story:

Lucky they weren't shot

Two very stupid girls.

Really, attempted armed robbery of a bank with a bb gun?  That is just some stupid shit right there.

You're lucky you weren't killed.

Woman accused of being getaway driver

By Hollie L. O'Connor - express-News

A woman suspected of driving the getaway car in an attempted far North Side bank robbery has been arrested.

Amber Garcia, 21, is accused of helping her friend Alexis Ramos, 21, try to rob an IBC branch at U.S. 281 and Evans Road on June 17.

Police said Ramos pulled a BB gun and stun gun on bank employees and demanded money but was foiled when an employee disarmed her.

The rest of the story:

Bye Godmother, Bye!

A two hour deliberation and guilty on all counts of aggravated kidnapping and murder.

Good job Bexar County DA's!

Sorry Suzanne Kramer, you did the best you could with bad facts and obvious guilt going against your client.

Drug ring 'Godmother' guilty of torture killing

by Craig Kapitan - Express-News

A jury Friday convicted a San Antonio woman -- described by prosecutors as the “godmother” of a mid-sized drug ring -- of orchestrating the kidnapping, torture and murder of a customer she suspected was stealing from her.

Gloria Gamez, 46, stared ahead without evident emotion as the jury returned from two hours of deliberations with guilty verdicts for the aggravated kidnapping and murder of Herman Diaz III, 38.

She was also convicted for the aggravated kidnapping of Cecilia Calderon, her alleged girlfriend at the time who she also suspected of participating in the burglary of roughly $25,000 worth of drug proceeds and jewelry. Calderon was beaten, burned and had the letter “M” carved into her forehead as she was held captive for six months, authorities said.

The rest of the story:

Justice: Swiftly

Its been busy at the Bexar County Courthouse this past week.

Barely a half-hour to deliberate?  Heck, it usually takes that long just to read the jury charge.

No reasonable doubt for this jury.

Verdict in man's murder is swift: Guilty

Jurors take just a half-hour to convict Honduran.
By Craig Kapitan - Express-News

It took jurors barely more than half an hour to return a guilty verdict Friday in the murder trial of a Honduran accused of bludgeoning to death an acquaintance in the back yard of a West Side home.

Neptali Armando Orellana, 38, now faces up to life in prison for the June 2009 murder of Jesus Ponce, 44. State District Judge Juanita Vasquez-Gardner is to sentence him next month.

Although no witnesses saw an attack, men who were hanging out in the yard that night said Orellana and Ponce still were there as everyone else left, prosecutors reminded jurors during closing arguments.

The rest of the story:

Outta here for a good while

A good lick of time.  As there was a finding of the use of a deadly weapon he will not be eligible for parole until he has served a minimum of half of his sentence, which is 20 years.

Good job Madam DA!


Kidnapper gets 40 years
By Dalondo Moultrie The Herald-Zeitung

NEW BRAUNFELS — Relatives of a convicted kidnapper pleaded with a judge Thursday to spare the New Braunfels man’s life and, instead, get him the help they say he needs.

Dustin Simmang, 25, was convicted in April of the aggravated kidnapping and aggravated assault with a deadly weapon of Christine Lundgren. During the case’s penalty phase, which concluded Thursday, prosecutors sought 99 years or life.

The rest of the story:

Nearer my God, to thee

The Titanic is going down for Mr. Leal .

One step closer is he.

The band plays on.

Federal Judge won't stop Mexican's execution

By Michael Graczyk - Associated Press


HOUSTON (AP) — A federal judge has refused to stop the upcoming execution of a Mexican national convicted of the 1994 rape-slaying of a 16-year-old San Antonio girl.

Humberto Leal, 38, a native of Monterrey, Mexico, faces lethal injection July 7 in Huntsville.

Leal's attorneys argued his punishment should be blocked because he wasn't told he could contact the Mexican consulate for legal help after his arrest for the murder of Adria Sauceda. They also said a bill introduced last week in Congress would allow federal courts to review cases of condemned foreign nationals.

The rest of the story:

Adios Calvin, don't let the door hit you in the ass on your way out

For all intents and purposes a 60 year prison sentence in Texas is equivalent to a life sentence.

Buh-bye!

Man gets 60 years for 2nd killing since 1997

A SAC student who had nothing to do with gunbattle was shooting victim.
By Craig Kapitan - Express - News

A San Antonio man convicted by a jury earlier this month of a mistaken-identity revenge killing was sentenced Thursday to 60 years in prison after it was revealed he's already served time for another slaying.

Because of the prior prison term, Calvin Jackson, 31, faced a minimum sentence of 15 years as he asked state District Judge Raymond Angelini to determine his punishment. Prosecutors Tanner Neidhardt and Wendi Wilson-Ortiz asked for a life sentence.

“When you set aside all the excuses, Calvin Jackson took two lives,” Neidhardt said, pointing out that if the slayings had occurred at the same time Jackson's only options would have been life without parole or the death penalty.

The rest of the story:

Antother way to get ripped off at the gas pump

Good thing I don't go to that Valero gas station for gas.

Its the closest to me but easily the most expensive by 10 cents or more a gallon.  As I commute to New Braunfels I by pass it and go to one en-route to work.

Gas pump credit card 'skimmers' increasing nationwide

By Jessica Kwong - Express-news

Investigators haven't deciphered how much, if any, information might have been stolen from customers who swiped their credit cards at a gas pump found to have been tampered with at a Valero station in Hollywood Park.

The credit card “skimmer,” discovered Sunday evening when the gas pump wouldn't read credit cards, was removed by Valero's service department and turned over to Hollywood Park police the next morning.

“We're trying to find out what's on it, but we don't have the resources or technology to do that,” Hollywood Park Deputy Police Chief Joe Quintero said of the device, a bit of circuitry on a plastic housing with four wires extending from it. “We have to get Secret Service to help us on that.”

The rest of the story:

I guess you can fry about anything

Sounds perfectly disgusting to me.

Move over funnel cakes, fried Kool-Aid is here

Associated Press -

DEL MAR, Calif. (AP) — Move over funnel cakes and corn dogs, deep-fat fried Kool-Aid is here.

"Oh, the moment of truth," said Joe Cocoba, a 31-year-old nursing student before biting into the glistening brown dough ball with a pink fluffy interior. "I can taste it (the Kool-Aid)! It's good."

San Diego County fair goers can't seem to get enough of the newest, oily treat that debuted at "Chicken Charlie's" food stand about two weeks ago when the annual event kicked off at the Del Mar horse race track and fairgrounds, about 20 miles north of San Diego.

The rest of the story:

Ten years in prison

Not cool for school.

Teacher gets prison for classroom touching, phone sex

Woman guilty of indecency with 13-year-old girl.
By Craig Kapitan - Express-News


A former eighth-grade math teacher at Stevenson Middle School was sentenced to 10 years in prison Wednesday after pleading guilty to improperly touching a female student in her classroom and to engaging in phone sex with the teen even after her initial arrest.

Nora Lynn Martinez, 30, agreed to the sentences for online solicitation of a minor and indecency with a child by contact as part of a plea with prosecutors. In addition, she agreed to permanently surrender her teaching certificate and to have no more contact with the student.

Martinez was arrested in January for the indecency charge after the student, then 13, lent her cell phone to her father. On the phone, the father told police, he found text messages from Martinez stating she loved the girl and that she wanted them to run away together and get married.

The rest of the story:

BOLO

Have you seen this man, Joseph Michael Hall?

If you have please call the U.S. Marshals Service at (210) 472-6646

Fugitive Task Force seeks help finding sex offender

The Herald Zeitung -

SAN ANTONIO — The Lone Star Fugitive Task Force sponsored by the United States Marshals Service is requesting assistance apprehending a convicted sex offender.

Joseph Michael Hall is wanted by the U.S. Marshals Service in Dayton, Ohio for failure to register as a sex offender. Hall has several prior convictions, including manslaughter.

He is believed to be in the San Antonio area and has advertised his services as a handyman on Craigslist. He uses the name of Michael and is advertising his business under the name of “MJ's Remodeling and Repair.” Hall has been in the San Antonio area for the past several months.

The rest of the story:

Can I move to a different seat please?

Yikes!!!

Man flies U.S. Airways in women's underwear

SanFrancisco Chronicle -

US Airways spokeswoman Valerie Wunder confirmed she'd received the photo before last week's incident in San Francisco and had spoken to Tarlow, but said employees had been correct not to ask the man to cover himself.

"We don't have a dress code policy," Wunder said. "Obviously, if their private parts are exposed, that's not appropriate. ... So if they're not exposing their private parts, they're allowed to fly."

Six days before a college football player was arrested at San Francisco International Airport in a dispute that began when a US Airways employee asked him to pull up his sagging pants, a man who was wearing little but women's undergarments was allowed to fly the airline, a US Airways spokeswoman conceded Tuesday.

A photo of the scantily clad man was provided to The Chronicle by Jill Tarlow, a passenger on the June 9 flight from Fort Lauderdale, Fla., to Phoenix. Tarlow said other passengers had complained to airline workers before the plane boarded, but that employees had ignored those complaints.

The rest of the story:

Say are you happy to see me or is that a banana in your pocket?

Ummmmm...........they can do this because because its not a First Amendment issue?

Doesn't the Feds have other more pressing concerns?

Like fixing the economy and wars and stuff?

Feds crack down on campus flirting and sex jokes

By Michael Barone - Washington Examiner

When I was growing up it was widely believed that colleges and universities were the part of our society with the widest scope for free expression and free speech. In the conformist America of the 1950s, the thinking ran, few people dared to say anything that went beyond a broad consensus. But on campus anyone could say anything he liked.

Today we live in an America with enormous cultural variety in which very few things are considered universally verboten. But on campus it's different. There saying something considerably milder than some of the double entrendres you heard in cable news coverage of the Anthony Weiner scandal can get you into big trouble.

These reflections are inspired by a seemingly innocuous 19-page letter on April 4 from the Department of Education's Office of Civil Rights to colleges and universities. The letter was given prominence by Greg Lukianoff, president of the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education, which has done yeoman work opposing restrictive speech codes issued by colleges and universities.

OCR's letter carries great weight since there are few things a university president fears more than an OCR investigation, which can lead to loss of federal funds -- which amount to billions of dollars in some cases.

The rest of the story:

We need a bigger bug zapper

Dangerous and stupid crime.

Thousands Without Power In Cranberry Twp.

CBS Pittsburgh -

CRANBERRY TOWNSHIP (KDKA) – Thousands of people are without power in Cranberry Township due to a copper wire theft.

According to First Energy, someone broke into a substation on Route 19 between Cranberry and Zelienople and stole all the copper ground wires.

The suspect had to get through a large fence with barbed wire to access the copper wire.

The rest of the story:

The price of a cure

I bet this won't be the last one of these we'll see.


US man stages $1 bank robbery to get state healthcare
Unemployed and without health insurance, man in North Carolina has himself arrested in order to receive treatment.
Guardian.co.uk -

It was not perhaps the most obvious way of getting a bad back, arthritis and a dodgy foot seen to. But if you're unemployed in North Carolina with no health insurance, there is no obvious way.

So on 9 June James Verone left his Gastonia home, took a ride to a bank and carried out a robbery. Well, sort of.

What he did was hand the clerk a note that said: "This is a bank robbery, please only give me one dollar."

Then, as he later told the local NBC news station, he calmly sat in the corner of the bank having told the clerk: "I'll be sitting right over there in the chair waiting for the police."

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A true cat burglar

Of course its in California.

CA cat thief 'purr-loins' hundreds of treasures

Associated Press -

SAN MATEO, Calif. (AP) — A prolific cat burglar has stolen hundreds of precious possessions from homes near San Francisco.

But police are staying off the case — the burglar really is a cat.

Dusty, a 5-year-old feline from San Mateo, has taken hundreds of items during his nearly nightly heists.

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Not much time for the crime IMHO

Forty-five years for all that?

Forty-five years?  Hmmph.

I'm sure the defendant is celebrating 45 years.

Gang member accused in 2 killings gets 45 years

By Craig Kapitan - Express-News

A San Antonio gang member accused of two separate killings, two non-fatal shootings and the beating and robbery of his pregnant girlfriend — all while still a teen — was sentenced Monday to 45 years in prison.

Melvin D. Price, 20, had pleaded no contest to the murder of Jarred Birden, 19, and to an aggravated robbery charge in exchange for prosecutors seeking concurrent sentences of no more than 45 years in prison.

Defense attorney Andrew Preece asked state District Judge Sid Harle on Monday for a lesser sentence, pointing out that his client took responsibility for the shootings. But his actions over a period of six months speak for themselves, prosecutor Kathy Cunningham responded.

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Kidnapping and murder trial to begin today

Sounds like this will be a doozy of a trial.

Her revenge led to this.

Kidnap, murder trial underway

Woman is accused of orchestrating man's torture killing after a burglary.
By Craig Kapitan - Express-News

Aside from the murder and kidnapping charges hanging over her head, San Antonio resident Gloria Gamez, 46, might have looked like a bespectacled soccer mom Monday as her trial began.

But Gamez, who also went by the alias “Lorna Mello,” could face up to life in prison if jurors in the 437th state District Court convict her. Through a Spanish interpreter, she pleaded not guilty.

Prosecutors projected graphic images onto the courtroom wall of the charred remains of Herman Diaz III, 38, whose torture and death she is accused of having orchestrated.

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Stupid is as stupid does

He's pretty much stupid.

Connecticut man accused of seeking pot on Craigslist

From Clumsy Crooks

A 31-year-old Vernon man faces drug possession charges after allegedly placing an advertisement seeking marijuana on Craigslist.

Police say members of the Statewide Narcotics Task Force took Michael Krebes into custody on Thursday afternoon in the parking lot of a fast-food restaurant where he allegedly went to pick up the pot.

The Hartford Courant reports that Krebes was charged with possession of less than 4 ounces of marijuana and was being held in lieu of $2,500 bond.

It was not clear if he has an attorney or when he is scheduled to appear in court.

Flying with his pants at half-mast

He ought to be embarrassed.

Even though its pretty much a much adoo about nothing.

Except aren't collegiate players supposed to represent their teams respectfully?

Athlete with saggy pants is embarrassed

Associated Press-

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — A University of New Mexico football player who was arrested after wearing saggy pants onto a plane at San Francisco airport says he is embarrassed by negative attention surrounding the incident.

In a statement issued Friday through UNM, Deshon Marman said the incident is "not representative of either myself or the University of New Mexico football program."

He said the full facts of the matter will come to light in due time, and he would have no further comment.

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Hair today gone tomorrow

They should be easy to find.

They'll have impossibly perfect hair.

Thieves take $30k in hair extensions

CBS Atlanta -

ATLANTA (WAOK) – It is all the rage today for movie stars, singers, athletes and moms who want to look their best.  It is hair weave and it apparently is one of the hottest items to steal. Robbers targeting expensive hair extensions pulled a smash-and-grab early this morning at a southwest Atlanta beauty supply store.

Lucien Poko, manager at the Beauty Master store at 3031 Headland Drive SW near Greenbriar Parkway told Atlanta police four burglars were driving a black Chevrolet Suburban when they smashed the two front doors of the shop with a rock and went directly to the display of Remi hair extensions.

Poko said the robbers took dozens of hair extension packages, worth about $30,000.

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You can run but you can't hide

Nabbed by the long arm of the law.

Good job Bexar County DA Susan Reed and staff!

Fugitive in 1997 slaying extradited to San Antonio

By Eva Ruth Moravec - Express-News

A man arrested in Brazil last year after fleeing Bexar County while free on bond on a murder charge is back in custody in Bexar County nearly 14 years after he reportedly killed a friend.

Leonard Ray Harper, 40, is being held in Bexar County Jail on one count of murder in connection with the 1997 shooting death of Jerry P. Permenter Jr., who was 27. He also faces one count of driving while intoxicated, also stemming from a 1997 incident, and is being held without bail, according to county records.

According to published reports, Harper allegedly drove his friend to a field and shot him several times in the head after Permenter reportedly kicked Harper's girlfriend's stomach while she was pregnant. Contractors at a construction site in the 2300 block of Cobble Way found Permenter's body on Aug. 25, 1997.

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Lend a helping hand to his family please

If you have a chance to go this Wednesday to help donate funds to Sgt. Vann's family please do so.

It would mean so much.

Chili's to raise funds for slain deputy's family

By Eva Ruth Moravec - Express-News

Chili's restaurants in the San Antonio area will raise money Wednesday for the family of Bexar County Sheriff's Sgt. Kenneth Vann, who was shot to death last month.

Some 20 restaurants in Bexar County and in Seguin, New Braunfels and Kerrville will donate 10 percent of profits from the day's sales to Vann's memorial account at Generations Federal Credit Union.

The idea came from a waitress at a San Antonio Chili's whose father is a Bexar County deputy, said Tres Weddle, an assistant manager at the Chili's at 12503 Interstate 10 West.

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Blogging from Denton, Texas

Dear Readers,

I am attending parents and students orientation at the University of North Texas for the next few days with one of my daughters.  I will be able to keep up I think but please bear with me.

Thanks!

Man o' Law

P.S. Happy Father's Day to all of you out there!

Its not a job its an adventure

Nope, I don't believe that Michelle Rodriguez is one of them.

Mexican teenage girls train as drug cartel killers

Reuters -

MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - Dwarfed by surrounding reporters and with her head bowed to avoid the television cameras, the slender 16-year-old hesitated slightly before she answered the question. "I'm a hitwoman," she said.

Maria Celeste Mendoza was among six teenage suspected gang members arrested this week by police after a shoot-out with authorities in central Mexico, one of the growing ranks of young people working for the country's drug cartels.

Dressed in combat fatigues and with her face hidden, the girl from the northern border state of Tamaulipas described how she had been trained to use Kalashnikov assault rifles and other weapons by the Zetas, one of Mexico's most brutal gangs.

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