Abigail

Wow Ex10 and Def, if you were in Michigan as late as 99, I probably met you both as well. Def when dd you leave GR? Were you there under P@t P@g@'s reign? What about during the time-frame when Lansing was considered to be part of the G.R. branch? Take any classes in Sunfield?

You don't mean you hadn't told her yet, do you?? -->

An inside look at how the system works/or doesn't. This is from my sister, who is now dealing with this first hand via her step-daugher and this is minor compared to what many have gone through. . . C and her friend M were at the park and this 32 yr old guy who always carries a laptop and walkman was there making comments to C like he wanted to rub a dildo between her breasts and he could show her what a real man was and he wanted to watch her and her boyfriend have sex. He also was trying to feel up M and was trying to reach up her shorts. M is only 13 and the other kids at the park told the guy how old the girls were and he said he didn't care because they wouldn't tell anyways... So we got with M parents and they called to police and we told the police. M parents know who the guys friends are and that they could definitely identify him - they let this guy take there 4 or 5 year old girl to the park, by himself.... so we sent the cop to their house next, and he knows those people real well - says to keep C away from them they have 3 little girls (me) are the gonna try to prosecute the creep? (sister) it'll take some time - the police man has to have the police dept set up a forensic interview w/M because she's the victim and she's a minor. The officer is not allowed to interview her - the forensic officer has to do it so she will only have to be questioned once. he said that could take up to a couple of weeks to arrange. In the meantime, this scum who goes by the name of L has already caught wind of M telling on him from a teen who lives with the K - the ones who are friends with L. He's not on the sex offender registry, but I think he only just moved out here and if he is a registered offender, he just hasn't told the cops he moved.... but he's so blatant, I can't believe he's never been in trouble before. Weeks to interview her and go after the guy. How many more girls will he mess with between now and then? And what of the daughters of his friends?

This is a question I have been trying to understand for a while now. This past winter a young girl was taken from her gandmother's home, about three blocks from my house, and murdered. The deal is, for some reason, which I cannot even begin to understand, we allow violent offenders back out on the streets in a relatively short amount of time. When someone gets 10 years in prison, they are usually out in 5. Do you have a "courts" section in your local paper? Read it sometime, you will be appalled. Over and over again I see people getting 10, 15 years for drug related crimes and breaking and entering. But someone who is charged with domestic assault or assault and battery is out in a few months. Please, do send letters to your congressmen. And for you overprotective parents (of which I one too) you should know that statistically speaking, most kidnapping and sexual molestation cases do not occur between a stranger and your child. Your child is FAR more likely to be molested by someone you know than a stranger. There are some great books out there on how to protect your children from the "stranger" you trust. One of them, which I am reading now (thank you again ExC) is called "Protecting the Gift" and is written by an FBI agent named Gavin DeBecker.

I had panick attacks for about six months after I left. Even though my rational mind knew that I was no more likely to die out of TWI than in -there was a place in my heart and mind that kept whispering "what if they were right?". I was afraid either myself or my kids would get killed and my now ex husband reinforced that fear by continually telling me I was outside God's hedge of protection and the devil was going to kill me or the kids. Well its been almost 5 years and we are all alive and well.

that would be the resistant strain of staph - we are having problems with it here too. My mom had it years ago - it is very very bad.

We saw this sign on our way home today. . .

IOWA CITY, Iowa A man accused of taking a ten-year-old girl from her Iowa home has made his first court appearance. Roger Bentley is a registered sex offender now charged with one count of child stealing in Jetseta Gage's disappearance Thursday. The body of a young girl was found yesterday about 45 miles from Gage's home. But police are waiting on an autopsy to confirm if the body is that of Gage. Bentley is described by the missing girl's mother as a family friend. He was at the family home Thursday. Police say the girl's brother saw her get into a truck with Bentley. Copyright 2005 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

"In someways, we are witnessing the backlash of medical advancement--we can keep her alive indefinitely, but we don't have good answers for what to do with someone in her semi-conscious state. I agree with Pres. Bush--let us err on the side of life. No one would let their sick semi-conscious dog die like that. No one! " You are correct. We would inject them with a medication which would end their lives in a relatively painless and humane way. We would not take extraordinary measures to keep them alive or feed them through a tube.

From a legal standpoint - if it isn't written in the chart, it never happened.

DETROIT A Detroit-area sex offender faces ten-to-15 years in prison for breaking the terms of his probation. Authorities say Stephan Clark violated the conditions of his release by leaving the state, having unsupervised contact with minors and using the Internet. Clark served six months in jail for molesting two Boy Scouts in 2003. He was released from custody in May 2004. Authorities charged the 24-year-old with violating his probation after investigators found sexually explicit photos on a computer in his home. Copyright 2005 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

More Local Inmates May be Released Early March 24, 2005, 04:38 PM EST Overcrowding in Livingston County could mean the early release of some 50 or more inmates. Blue mattresses line the hallways. Inside the cells and commons areas, inmates are crammed into quarters meant for 30 fewer bodies. Lt. Tom Cremonte, Livingston Co. Jail: "We've got them stacked up like cord wood." And more inmates arrive through the doors every day. Lt. Tom Cremonte says his jail is at the point where it's not safe to house this many inmates. And now the only choice left is early release. Lt. Tom Cremonte: "In order to get our population to a 90% capacity we are going to have to release 50 or so people." The biggest problem in Livingston is that when the facility was constructed, it wasn't built with a growing county in mind. Lt. Tom Cremonte: "They basically built it way too small, and it was recommended they built a 300 to 400 bed facility, and they built 210 beds." Another problem, sentencing issues. To ease overcrowding in prisons, judges are being asked to hand down shorter sentences, a nd that means more are going to jail. Lt. Tom Cremonte: "But obviously, there's a trade off. If you release less people in prisons, there's more people in the county jails and that is what's happened to us." The inmates being released in Livingston are convicted mostly on property crimes, s o Cremonte says the community shouldn't be too concerned. Lt. Tom Cremonte: "I'm not panicking, but obviously they should be concerned." But the problem of overcrowding is expected to grow, a nd without any changes on the horizon, Cremonte says things are bound to get much worse. Cremonte says he believes expanding is the only option. He's hoping the community will help, because in the end they will be the ones forced to pay more for every inmate who comes to live in the jail

Ok this is from the standpoint of distance and not a parent, cause I just can't imagine what I would do if I were the parent. 1. You can get a medical expert to testify to just about anything if you pay them enough money. Not all of them. Certainly there are those with ethics, but there are also those who are lacking in ethics. So, I simply don't have that much faith in expert testimony that comes in this late in the game. Particularly if it is contradicting not only her treating physicians but also the court ordered physicians. 2. Quality of life does matter. Someone posted in an e-group I participate with, about a particular type of brain injury that mimics the "vegetative state" (boy do I hate that term). The difference is in the former type of situation the person is aware of everthing going on and can feel pain, but simply cannot communicate. Now imagine living like that for 10 or 15 years! I'd say let me go, kill me even and end my suffering. Who gets to decided qualifty of life? Well I do know this - I DO NOT WANT the government making that decision. However, I would be pretty comfortable leaving that decision up to the doctors and the family - jointly. 3. In general, I would agree that a feeding tube in and of itself is not life support as we would normally think of it. I would likewise agree that removing the tube is sentencing a person to a rather long, slow death. However, if the person is suffering and wants to die, I'd say remove the tube and give them all the pain meds it takes to keep them comfortable. Hell, I'd say o.d. them and make it easier for them still. If you think this never happens, think again. It is done for terminal patients who have reached the end and are merely suffering. No one talks about it, most don't even know it occurs, but it does. I think it is merciful.

I gotta tell you, I know you meant this to be serious, and it is. But the mental image is also absolutely hillarious. Who on earth would ever think of someone stealing your house a few bricks at a time? I have this cartoon image of three old piggies baking pies in their home while a cartoon wolf is slowly dismanteling their home.

It doesn't. It is simply an attempt to make themselves sound as if they are doing something. Here's some statistics I found on this topic last night. There are currently over 88,500 criminals in prisons for drug related crimes. There are only about 8,000 criminals in prison for violent crimes and sexual offenses. The average prisoner only serves about 1/2 his sentence. Why are we using up so much prison space for drug related offenses? Even more importantly, why are we letting violent and sexual offenders out early?

only 49% Yankee????????????? I'm sorry but that is just wrong. Other than six months in Atlanta (which probably has more yankees than southerners in it) I have lived in the north my entire life. Great Lakes area at that. Sheesh Ok this one for example . . . "11. What do you call gym shoes? Sneakers Tennis shoes Gymshoes Runnning shoes" I don't call them any of those - I call them tenny shoes or just tennies. Many of the other ones I picked were common to all of the U.S., with only a few specific to the north, such as Devils night, of COURSE, duh.

I have to agree with you Evan, and Matilda. Kids will rebel - it is part of growing up and becoming independant. The only question is how far with they go and what will the consequences to their rebellion be. Likewise, they are free agents and will do what they will. My older son has been rebelling since he was 2 - it hasn't stopped. LOL My younger son is just starting to show a little tiny bit of independence via rebellion, a relief in my opinion to finally see him stand up for himself and establish himself.

I hear ya Shell. I can understand and agree with innocent until proven guilty. But once guilty there should be no rights. And I agree with Wingnut regarding anger management courses - what a crock. My ex went throught anger management, now he knows exactly how far he can go before getting arressted.

THIS is what is wrong with our system - these are a few of the many many sentences printed in our local newspaper - see anything wrong with the sentences? Alvin Lonnell Williams, 25, 2300 block of Reo Road, Lansing, domestic aggravated assault and battery, second offense, six months in jail, 128 days credit, 60 months probation, full-time school/vocational training/employment, PATS program, substance abuse treatment, relapse prevention therapy, 240 hours community service, four months sobriety tether, any additional counseling recommended by doctor or agent, $600 supervision fee, $60 state cost, $60 to Victims Fund. [This man was arrested for a 2nd offense (and there were probably other offenses which were never reported) he will spend approximately 2 months in jail then be set free to do it again.] • Willie Jwand Smith, 19, of Lansing, domestic assault and battery, resisting and obstructing a police officer with injury, 21 days in jail, 13 days credit, suspended upon completion of 24 months probation, GED/high school/adult education/alternative program, 30 hours/week employment, electric alcohol tether, comply with DNA testing, letter of apology to officer within 10 days, T.H.E. anger management classes, no contact with victim, $960 supervision fee, $30 fines, $30 costs, $60 state cost, $60 to Victims Fund. [This man not only committed domestic assault but he hurt a police officer and he won't even do any jailtime if he doesn't get caught again. Even if he does get caught he's only looking at about a week in jail] "• Paul Christopher Marker, 33, 500 block of South Main Street, Leslie, illegal possession with intent to deliver/manufacture between 50 and 449 grams of a controlled substance, 12 months in jail, $60 state cost, $60 to Victims Fund." [This guy got busted selling dope - a year in jail - far more than the violent offenders] • Steve Allen Vanwert, 42, 800 block of West Isabella Road, Midland, retail fraud, first degree, 12 months in jail, 36 months probation, CATS program, House of Commons, 30 hours/week employment, substance abuse treatment, no alcohol/drugs, $720 supervision fee, $250 court costs, $250 attorney fee, $100 fines, $60 state cost, $60 to Victims Fund. [Retail fraud? what is that? Whatever it is, you'll do more time for this than beating the dang out of your spouse and a police officer] The lesson here is it is o.k. to hurt people, but don't you dare committ retail fraud

It happens because somehow our government/courts/society seem to find it more offensive to sell dope to your long time buddy than to rape a 9 year old. It happens because somehow all common sense has gone out the window and we continue to unleash dangerous people on our communities long after we have discovered how dangerous they are. Stories like this one and the one of Samantha Detzler are the reason I will finish fencing off my yard this spring and put locked gates on it. Once again there are posters up in our neighborhood about another missing girl. I haven not seen anything about her in the papers so I don't know if she is a runaway or what. What I do know is there are far too many criminals living within walking distance of my home. You may think your neighborhood is safe, but I bet many of you also have neighbors who would horrify you if a background check was done on them. Jails become overcrowded so what do we do? We let the criminals out early. People have pity on criminals, so what do we do? We give them more and more opportunities to harm others. No Shell, the system doesn't work. Even if someone is convicted - it isn't long before they are set free to once again commit atrocities upon innocent people.

tough tought questions and I am sure there is not one answer that can be applied to all situations. I did face this situation with my mother when I was 21. It was horrible. We continued treatment and she recovered. She lived another year and a half before she died from something else. My uncle, faced with the same situatin a couple of years later let my grandmother go. I have always been deeply angry with him for that. But that doesn't necessarily mean he made the wrong choice - just a different one from the one I would have made. If it was one of my children, I think I would fight until the bitter end without letting go of hope. On the other hand, if I had a newborn who was in a situation like the one ExC described, I don't know if I would fight so hard. Why the difference? I don't know - perhaps emotions more than logic. All of that being said - is it really living if you are in a vegetative state? Where and when does quality of life come into the picture? What about pain and pain management? I know, by the time my mom did die, she was so sick it was relief to let her go - she was suffering even with the pain meds. She had no quality of life - bedridden and so drugged up she didn't know who anyone was or even where she was. Do the mentally handicapped or those in a vegatative state understand that that is what they are? Are they happy? miserable? Would that make a difference?

Here's what I know from my experience with cholesteral - though in my situation I was focusing most on the triglycerides. 1. Stay away from sugar and yes this means alcohol too. 2. Go real easy on the caffiene 3. Get more protient from chicken and fish and less from pork and red meats. Fish in particular has a very healthy fat in it. 4. If you have to cook with oil, use olive oil 5. Check with your doctor/pharmacist before taking vitamin E (or any other supplement)- it may interfere with the effectiveness of your medication.

Hi all and thank you. It is my guess some extra vitamin D would do the trick (and yes I will be careful about how much). I think it has been a long long winter and I have the 'mid winter blues' and need some sunshine. I'm not suicidal or anything serious like that, just not feeling like my perky up to any challenge self - and there have been quite a few challenges of late. A trip to the doc would also be helpful and put my mind at ease, as I haven't seen one in quite a few years. But alas, in Michigan if you are an adult with no insurance you are pretty much screwed. However, rumour has it I may be able to get a routine check up through the county health department, something I am also in the process of investigating.

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My experience with the psychology field and getting a specific and accurate diagnosis is that it can be very difficult. There are a lot of overlapping symptoms/behaviors, and then the varying degrees. Additionally there is a fairly high rate of comorbidity. I.E. people with autism spectrum disorders often have sensory integration disorders and/or ADHD and/or anxiety issues and so on. While there is some degree of comfort in having a specific label as it can give direction into treatment and research, my experience thus far is to find the techniques and/or medications that help treat the specific problematic symptoms. Even in doing this you will find that what works for some may not be what works for others, so the key is to find out what works for you.