I am so sick and tired of the Journal Times stealing from local blogs. When Racine Uncovered and Racine County Eye started featuring animals for adoption, the Journal Times did, too.
Now that the JT Irregulars started featuring "weird news," the Journal Times is, too.
I remember back when we started the JT Irregulars, the Journal Times would steal anything that looked promising. I guess they still do.
MOUNT PLEASANT — The Village of Mount
Pleasant wants a lawsuit filed over land acquisition for Foxconn
Technology Group’s manufacturing development dismissed.
Twelve homeowners filed a federal lawsuit against the village and its president Jan. 8,
claiming they were not receiving the same treatment as other people who
will lose their property in relation to the Foxconn project. The
village’s request, filed Tuesday, makes a variety of arguments,
including that the plaintiffs’ complaints come too early for a court to
play a role.
The property
owners allege that Mount Pleasant plans to use eminent domain to take
their land. Other people, they argue, are receiving seven to 10 times
the fair-market value of their property so that thee village can take
the land for Foxconn’s liquid crystal display panel manufacturing
campus. The road and utility expansions for which the plaintiffs’
property is expected to be taken would not occur if not for Foxconn, the
homeowners say. They argue they should receive the same treatment as
the other property owners.
The approach created two classes of people, they argue.
Good morning everyone I hope you are enjoying the nice weather we have be having so far. This roller coaster of weather is making the doctors real busy these days too. Here are your questions.
1) Do you watch the Superbowl?
2) If you do watch the Superbowl is it for the game?
3) If you do watch the Superbowl is it for the commercials?
4) Who do you think will win the Superbowl this year New England or Philadelphia?
“Alternative facts” — the phrase used by
White House aide Kellyanne Conway to describe the president’s position
on the size of his inauguration crowd — is the “non-word” of 2017. A
team of six language experts at Darmstadt University in Darmstadt,
Germany, chose “alternative facts” from 684 suggestions. Each year, the
panel singles out a phrase that runs counter to the principles of
democracy or human dignity. Last year, the group chose the German term
“Volksverraeter,” which roughly means “traitor to one’s people” and was
used by far-right groups to label those with whom they disagreed.
Posh prison
The
Ritz Carlton hotel in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, may reopen in mid-February
after serving for months as a prison for “the country’s elite caught up
in what the government has described as a crackdown on corruption,”
according to The Associated Press. Reservations at the Ritz can be made
online for Feb. 14, but callers to the hotel receive a caution: “Local
authorities might extend the hotel lockout for security reasons.” Ritz
Carltons are in the Marriott family.
Bad breed
A
Philadelphia Eagles football fan denied entry to a game for drunkenness
and lacking a ticket took out his anger out on a police horse. He
punched the horse in the face, neck and shoulder. The 22-year-old also
struck a police officer and was arrested for aggravated assault,
trespassing and taunting a police animal.
Drunk droning banned
One
of Chris Christie’s last acts as governor of New Jersey was to sign
into law legislation banning flying a drone while drunk. The law
prohibits people from flying a drone when their blood alcohol content is
0.08 percent or higher — the same as for driving a vehicle. Violations
can result in six months in jail and a $1,000 fine.
She didn’t see it coming?
A
self-described psychic was sentenced to 26 months in prison after
admitting she failed to pay taxes on more than $3.5 million taken from a
Massachusetts woman for an exorcism. The judge in Boston said the
wealthy client suffered dementia and was taken advantage of by the
psychic over a period of several years.
Maybe he heard wrong
A
Texas judge interrupted jury deliberations to tell jurors that God said
they should find innocent a woman charged with trafficking a teen girl
for sex. Judge Jack Robison said, “When God tells me I gotta do
something, I gotta do it,” according to the Herald-Zeitung in New
Braunfels. The jurors weren’t having it. They found the woman guilty and
she was sentenced to 25 years in prison.
Not so sweet, the sound
Our
Lady of Guadalupe Church in Albuquerque, New Mexico, installed a new
electronic bell ringing system that prompted complaints from at least
one neighbor who said the constant playing of “Amazing Grace” created a
living hell. The bells were ringing about 20 to 25 times a day until the
church’s priest changed the music’s start time to 8 a.m. instead of 6
a.m. He also lowered the volume.
Racing heart
Danica
Patrick’s heart is racing for Aaron Rodgers. Patrick, a Chicago Bears
fan, confirmed she’s dating the Green Bay Packers quarterback. Rodgers
ended a three-year relationship with actress Olivia Munn in 2017. In
late November, Patrick ended a five-year relationship with fellow NASCAR
driver Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
They speak the same language
Donald
Trump’s pick for chief of external affairs at the Corporation for
National and Community Service resigned after CNN dug up racist, sexist,
homophobic and xenophobic statements he’s made in the past. Carl Higbie
characterized “the black race” as having “lax morality,” said people
with PTSD have weak minds and backed the right of Americans to shoot
immigrants. And, he had this to say about Muslims: “Go back to your
Muslim shithole and go crap in your hands and bang little boys on
Thursday nights.” It seems the word “shithole” is becoming a catchword
of the Trump administration.
Where’s the money?
It’s been
more than a year since Trump took the oath of office, but millions of
dollars left over from his inauguration still haven’t been donated to
the chosen charities. His inauguration raised a record $107 million. Now
a government watchdog group wants to know where the money went. We
think it’s pretty easy to figure out.
Elvis drank here
A
paper cup allegedly used by Elvis Presley six decades ago in Oklahoma
went up for auction, and bids on eBay quickly surpassed $1,200. Wade
Jones, a North Carolina collector of all things Elvis, said the crumpled
blue-and-white Dixie cup was snagged by a fan in April 1956, after
Elvis performed at the Tulsa Fairgrounds Pavilion. Jones said another
fan allegedly retrieved the cup “as a little memento” the day after the
performance.
Erik S. Hanley, Now News Group
Published 12:22 p.m. CT Jan. 24, 2018 | Updated 4:10 p.m. CT Jan. 24, 2018
SOUTH MILWAUKEE - He may have been known
as “The Man That Made Milwaukee Famous,” but Reggie “The Crusher”
Lisowski was actually from South Milwaukee and may soon be honored there
with a statue.
"How 'bout 'dat?" as The Crusher, or sometimes stylized as "Da Crusher," used to ask.
A GoFundMe titled “’Da Crusher Statue Memorial Fund” was started in December 2017 with a $40,000 goal to fund a bronze, life-sized statue of the man with the “100 megaton biceps.”
In just over a month, 16 people have raised nearly $3,500.
"’Da
Crusher embodies the spirit of American life and his hometown,” said
Chris Smith, the organizer of the GoFundMe. “He is a local hero and
example of the heart, mind, and body of all those who cheered him on.”
The
Crusher wrestled professionally for over 40 years, starting in 1949. He
earned many championships during his run, including being a three-time
American Wrestling Association (AWA) Heavyweight Champion and a
five-time AWA Tag Team Champion with Dick the Bruiser.
I used to watch those Vern Gagne wrestling shows on UHF. I've been to a few matches, but I never saw the Crusher live. He had brutal matches with Mad Dog Vachon. The Crusher had a zipper on his forehead and he could bleed spontaneously. A kid shouldn't see so much blood.
The Department of Education’s one-size-fits-all softer suspension policies are negatively impacting students
January 23, 2018 – Milwaukee, WI – Today the
Wisconsin Institute for Law & Liberty issued a groundbreaking new
study showing that Obama-era suspension policies have hurt academic
performance in Wisconsin K-12 public schools.
The report, Collateral Damage: The Impact of Department of Education Policies on Wisconsin Schools, is
the first of its kind, using 7 years of data from over 2,000 Wisconsin
public schools to provide a comprehensive analysis of the effect of the
Positive Behavioral Intervention and Supports (PBIS) system on student
test scores and suspension rates. PBIS, a federally funded program the
Obama Administration pressured districts to implement, encourages softer
discipline policies to address student behavior, such as pro-active
interventions, rather than suspensions.
Since the Obama administration’s executive action, there has been
little academic research about the effectiveness of PBIS. There is
evidence, however, that PBIS hurts the classroom climate, making
teachers feel helpless and students less safe.
The new study, co-authored by WILL Research Director Will Flanders
and Research Fellow Natalie Goodnow, makes clear that softer suspension
policies implemented through PBIS have hurt academic performance in
Wisconsin public schools. The findings include:
Mathematics and reading proficiency are lower in Wisconsin schools
that implement PBIS. This negative effect is strongest in suburban and
rural public schools.
In Milwaukee, there are negative effects on proficiency in English/Language Arts.
Schools with large numbers of African American students have seen
their suspension rates drop. Schools with small numbers of African
American students have seen an increase in suspension rates.
“While the Obama administration may have been well-intentioned in
their advocacy for PBIS, they usurped local authority by pushing this
one-size-fits-all discipline policy on school districts across the
country,” said WILL Research Director Will Flanders. “This study shows
that while these policies may have accomplished their goal in decreasing
suspensions among African American students, the policies appear to
have unintended consequences on the education climate.”
“Whatever the merits of PBIS, school discipline policies ought to be
determined by school boards, district administrators, and teachers, not
the federal Department of Education,” said WILL Research Fellow Natalie
Goodnow. “The Obama-era guidance ought to be immediately rescinded by
Secretary DeVos, leaving it up to school districts to decide for
themselves whether PBIS, and its consequences, best serve their teachers
and students.”
Linda Jean Fahn, 69, of Goodyear, Ariz., finally succumbed to a
frustration many wives suffer. On Dec. 30, as her husband sat on the
toilet, she barged in and “shot two bullets at the wall above his head
to make him listen,” she told Goodyear police when they were called to
the scene. Fahn said her husband “would have had to be 10 feet tall to
be hit by the bullets,” as ABC15 in Phoenix reported. However, police
officers estimated the bullets struck about seven inches over the man’s head as he ducked. She was charged with aggravated assault. Blood Sausage to the Rescue!
Chris McCabe, 70, of Totnes, England, escaped a frigid death thanks
to his own quick thinking on Dec. 15. McCabe owns a butcher shop, and he
had entered the walk-in freezer behind the shop when the door slammed
behind him. Ordinarily, that wouldn’t be a problem, as a release button
inside the freezer can open the door. But the button was frozen solid.
So McCabe looked around the freezer and saw the shop’s last “black
pudding,” or blood sausage, which he used as a battering ram to unstick
the button. “They are a big, long stick that you can just about get your
hand around,” McCabe told The Mirror. “I used it like the
police use battering rams to break door locks in. Black pudding saved my
life, without a doubt.” He believes he would have died within 30
minutes in the -4 degree temperature had the blood sausage battering ram
not worked. Fighting Fire with…Ice?
One of Quebec City, Canada’s iconic tourist attractions is its ice
hotel, the 45-room Hotel de Glace. But on Jan. 9, the hotel’s
unlikeliest disaster—a fire—broke out in one of the guest rooms, the CBC
reported. Manager Jacques Desbois admitted that, “When I received the
phone call, they had to repeat twice that there was a fire in the ice
hotel.” Predictably, the flames did not spread and caused little damage
to the structure, although smoke spread throughout the hotel and
residents were evacuated. “In a room made out of ice and snow, there are
few clues to look at,” Desbois said. Each room has candles, and the
hotel is considering the possibility that one of them caused the fire. Family Values vs. Family Valuables
Alyce Davenport, 30, and Diron Conyers, 27, of Southbridge, Mass.,
couldn’t make it to the funeral of Audra Johnson, Davenport’s mother, on
Jan. 5 because they were busy stealing a safe from Johnson’s home.
Southbridge police started searching for the pair after the decedent’s
boyfriend discovered her safe was missing, reported The Worcester Telegram and Gazette.
When police stopped Davenport the next day, they found her deceased
mother’s safe in the trunk of the car she was driving (also registered
to Johnson) and seized it. Davenport and Conyers were arrested at a
Sturbridge motel, where officers found jewelry, keys, cellphones and
other items formerly belonging to Audra Johnson. Pest Control Gone Wrong
An unnamed man tried an unconventional method to kill a wolf spider
in his Redding, Calif., apartment on Jan. 7. He set it afire with a
torch lighter. Unfortunately, the burning spider ran onto a mattress and
caught it on fire. Residents were able to put out the mattress fire,
but not before the flames had reached nearby drapes, a flag collection
and a closet, reported the Redding Record Searchlight. When a
garden hose failed to douse the growing blaze, firefighters were
called—preventing it from spreading to other apartments. The blaze
caused about $11,000 in damage. Just Horsing Around?
Daniel Bennett, 18, of Irvington, Ala., was charged in Mobile County
with bestiality after “engaging in sexual contact with an animal, to
wit: a horse.” The horse’s owner, Francine Janes, and her husband became
suspicious when their dogs started barking on the evening of Jan. 4.
They found Bennett, dressed in a trench coat and carrying burglar’s
tools, hiding in one of their barn stalls, Janes told WPMI-TV. Bennett
told Janes “he wanted to pet (Polly) the horse,” but he admitted to
sheriff’s investigators he had instead sexually molested Polly. Janes
said she suspects Bennett had visited Polly “seven, maybe 10 times,”
because “toilet paper had been left; items had been turned over, and
that’s as far as I want to go.” Plan Z From Outer Space?
Troy, Mich., police received two calls early on Jan. 10, both leading
them to the Zion Church. One call was from the church, reporting
vandalism caused by gunfire. The other was from the alleged shooter, who
told police the church was, in fact, “an alien spaceship.” Surveillance
video shows the unnamed shooter, 40, driving up to the church around 5
a.m. and firing shots into the doors. “He was talking very strangely
about how the Zion Church is an alien spaceship for reptiles,” Troy
Police Capt. Bob Redmond told WJBK-TV in Detroit. Police were assessing
the shooter’s mental health to determine whether charges would be filed.
Pssst. Over here. Wanna buy some pictures of the last honest man in Racine? I'll send them to you if I can ever find them. So, my dears, how are you? The weather has given us a respite, but I'm sure we have more cold, ice and snow to deal with. Typical Wisconsin winter weather. I'm not going to complain. To whom? Ma Nature? She's like an acid burnout now. It explains climate change. The person in charge of our weather has suffered a complete breakdown. Can't anyone do anything about it?
Then we have the killing of Donte Shannon by two Racine police officers, one of whom had been the shooter of Kurt Hanson's dog, Angel. The black community in Racine erupted, before all the facts were known. And even after all the facts were known. Unfortunately, Mr. Shannon had a history of such behavior. It's hard for me to get behind a criminal, especially if he was waving a gun in their faces. NEVER pull a gun on a cop. No matter what else happens, you will end up wounded, if not dead. Even the local NAACP has reserved judgment.
The big news today is that Unified's Lolli Haws is leaving RUSD for a position in Iowa. It will be nice to hear "Moooo," rather than the crack of gunfire and the whine of police sirens. I just can't take anything that happens at Unified seriously anymore. I can't believe how much education has changed since I was a child. And I can't help but believe that if they returned to the methods used in my childhood, they might get the results that we did: productive members of society.
It's hard for me to believe that Junior will ever be productive. I know that he wants to get reproductive with a couple of girls, but not productive like a job. His grades have improved since Señor Zanza started tutoring him. I get all the goodness of a husband from Señor Zanza and none of the hassle. He's one in a million, gals, and I'm never letting him go.
I have to get going. These early morning literary excursions leave me exhausted, at the start of the day. I have a couple of appointments today. And the weather is supposed to be tolerable.
Stay warm and stay aligned with your moral code. To hell with what society thinks. In fact, it doesn't "think," it just reacts. I love every last one of you. __________________________ Please donate: paypal.me/jgmazelis If you don't like PayPal, send me a note at madamezoltar@jtirregulars.com and I'll send you my street address so you can send a check or money order. Thank you.
I’m Art Kumbalek and man oh manischewitz what a world,
ain’a? So listen, no hard-provoking, thought-throbbing essay on the
schmutz of our times this week, no sir. It’s back to the Uptowner
tavern/charm school situated at the corner of Hysteric Center Street and
Humboldt for more political campaign planning with my so-called brain
trust. Come along if you’d like, but you buy the first round. Let’s get
going.
Julius: All I’m saying is maybe Trumpel-thinskin
talks and acts like a fockstick ’cause he’s got syphilis from one of
those siliconed porn stars.
Ray: I’ve heard the reason Trump wants a government
shutdown is he thinks that means he doesn’t have to sit in his office
for work—like a kid getting a snow day from school.
Emil: So the wife wants me to go out and get either a dog or a gun for the home security deterrence.
Herbie: Go for the gun, Emil. Low maintenance. Plus,
you’re white and a focking idiot. I’m thinking the Republicans might
even pay guys like you to have a gun.
Little Jimmy Iodine: And with a dog, when a stranger
comes to the house, you don’t know if Fido might bark and scare the
person off, or instead perform a quick crotch-sniff and go straight to
the leg-humping welcome.
Ernie: I’d sure like to know who the first
knucklehead was who had the focking stupid bright idea of taking an
otherwise productive animal from out there in the wild and, instead,
keep it in his hovel or yurt and call it a pet, where its job would be
to do abso-focking-lutely nothing.
Herbie: Anthropologistically, I’d say it would be
some kind of king or liege lord suffering from the effects of too many
generations of royal inbreeding and too much time on his hands.
Julius: Animals belong either in the woods or on a
menu, but not in my living room going nuts trying to get at something
that rolled or crawled under the sofa. Like Artie says, until the free
enterprise system can put a house-pet on the market that can operate a
microwave, flush a toilet and clean a handgun, you can forget about me
having something with four legs in my apartment besides a coffee table
or, god willing, twin 21-year-old blonde pole dancers, what the fock.
Ray: And speaking of focking idiot…
Little Jimmy Iodine: Hey, Artie! Over here. Put a load on your keister.
Art: Hey, gents. What do you hear, what do you know.
Ernie: I know the wife’s all upset since she thought
she read on the internet that the astronomers have discovered that the
stars have shifted alignment, and so everything you thought you knew
about the science of astrology is bullshit.
Emil: You got to be jerking my beefaroni. Astrology is bullshit?
Ernie: All I know is that she thought she was a Virgo and now she’s Leo.
Herbie: It happens. Do we ever really know who we
are? I knew a guy married to a nice gal named Lenore, cooked and cleaned
to beat the band. She got a little bored with the domestic life, took a
night course at a women’s college. Next thing you know, she cleaned out
the bank account, took a trip to Sweden, and when she returned Lenore
was now Leon.
Ray: So he’s married to a guy now?
Herbie: Yeah, but he says it’s no big deal. She
likes football a lot more than she used to. And because they’re still
married, sex remains a non-issue and there’s never, ever a domestic
dispute about whether the goddamn toilet seat is up or down. They seem
happy.
Little Jimmy: Cripes, our astronomers must be
working overtime these days ’cause the other week I heard they
discovered another new planet out there in space somewheres, and that
this one might actually be able to have some life on it, maybe even like
ours.
Julius: It’s about time. We all know that someday
our sun is going to go kaput and we’re going to have to move somewhere
else on another planet. So far we’ve only been to the moon—a place that
looks just like Nevada minus the gambling and legalized prostitution.
Who in their focking right mind would want to live there?
Herbie: OK. OK. OK. Let’s keep cool heads about
moving to a new planet. Obviously, us Americans need to get their first
and get things organized, especially if this new planet is just like
Earth. Like, what are we going to do about the people in North Korea who
try to survive on one bowl of porridge per year? If you don’t think
they’re going to want to live in “New Las Vegas” and get in on those
daily all-you-can-eat breakfast buffets for $4.95—think again.
(It’s getting late and I know you got to go, but thanks for letting
us bend your ear, ’cause I’m Art Kumbalek and I told you so.)
Adam Shell, USA TODAY
Published 7:00 a.m. ET Jan. 23, 2018 | Updated 10:29 a.m. ET Jan. 23, 2018
In
this Sept. 24, 2013, file photo, just cut stacks of $100 bills make
their way down the line at the Bureau of Engraving and Printing Western
Currency Facility in Fort Worth, Texas.(Photo: LM Otero, AP)
Millennials are pushing back against the
stereotype that their money management skills are lacking, as 16% now
have savings of $100,000 or more, double the amount of young people who
had socked away that much in 2015, according to a new Bank of America
survey.
The perception that
Millennials — Americans between the ages of 23 and 37 — lack savvy when
it comes to saving for retirement, budgeting and setting up and
sticking to a financial plan is showing signs of being outdated, noted
the survey, made available exclusively to USA TODAY.
Despite
many of these young Americans coming of age a decade ago during the
worst financial crisis since the Great Depression and despite being
saddled with high student loan debt, Millennials appear to be getting
their financial lives in order and taking money matters more seriously.
Sixteen
percent say they have $100,000 or more in savings, up from 8% in 2015.
And nearly half (47%) have $15,000 socked away, up from 33% in 2015.
"Despite
stereotypes of Millennials as being foolish with money and not
long-term planners," they are actually behaving "quite responsibly" when
it comes to money, says Andrew Plepler, global head of environmental,
social and governance at Bank of America, summarizing the findings of
the bank's 2018 Better Money Habits Millennial Report released Tuesday. "They deserve more credit. Millennials are actually doing better than you — and they — might think."
About
two of three (63%) of Millennials surveyed say they "are saving," which
is in line with 64% of Generation X but shy of 75% of Baby Boomers who
set money aside.
More importantly, 54% of
Millennials say they have a budget, with nearly three of four (73%)
saying they stick to the budget each month. And another 57% say they
have a "savings goal," which is higher than the 42% of Gen Xers and
Boomers who say they are saving with a goal in mind.
MOUNT PLEASANT — For the next three
weeks, the public will have a chance to donate money at Festival Foods
to help the victims of a recent life-altering hit-and-run in front of
the grocery store.
Donte Shannon’s family acknowledges
the 26-year-old didn’t always do the right thing when he was alive, but
they struggle with not knowing the circumstances around his death and
wonder why he was shot so many times.
Shannon fled on foot following a
traffic stop and brandished a gun. A witness reported hearing officers
tell Donte several times to drop the gun. He was shot Wednesday in the
1400 block of Park Avenue by Racine Police officers Chad Stillman and
Peter Boeck. Now officials with the Wisconsin Department of Justice are investigating the shooting and are expected to report their findings to the Racine County District Attorney’s Office. Donte’s father Nakia Shannon said his son was shot 17 times, but that detail has not been confirmed by the DOJ. At a town hall meeting Monday night,
hundreds of community members, family, and friends filled the common
council chambers at City Hall. Alderman John Tate II and Racine Mayor
Cory Mason called the meeting so the community could ask questions about
the shooting. “We want you to have the opportunity to say your peace and know that
you are being listened to,” Tate said. “So ask questions, but know that
we don’t have the answers. We will, however, work to get them from the
Department of Justice.” Attendees questioned
where the gun was that Donte had when he ran from police, why Stillman
and Boeck stopped Donte in the first place, why the officers didn’t have
body cameras, and what the department’s procedures were around the use
of force. “I hurt. I hurt for my family. But most of all, I hurt for my grandbaby who is never going to have her daddy,” Nakia said. But Donte’s criminal history is
peppered with drug charges of possession of marijuana, a hit-and-run,
bail jumping, gun possession, and obstructing police. Some of those
charges were dismissed, others were not over the past 10 years.
“He may have done some things wrong, but he never did anything violent and never should have been shot 17 times,” Nakia said.
A day after Pope Francis ended his trip to Chile by publicly defending a bishop who victims have accused of covering up widespread pedophilia in the country, by attacking the credibility of child sex abuse victims in a shocking move made at the end of a trip which he had hoped to 'heal' the wounds of said abuse, The Holy See has stunned Catholics again... and apologized.
As we detailed over the weekend, Associated Press reported that
Francis made the shocking comments in a discussion about Rev. Fernando
Karadima who has been found guilty of sexually abusing a slew of minors
as a member of the Catholic Church.
Pope Francis accused victims of Chile’s most notorious pedophile
of slander Thursday, an astonishing end to a visit meant to help heal
the wounds of a sex abuse scandal that has cost the Catholic Church its
credibility in the country.
“The day I see proof against Bishop Barros, then I
will talk. There is not a single piece of evidence against him. It is
all slander. Is that clear?” the pope replied in a snippy tone.
The pope’s remarks drew shock from Chileans and immediate rebuke from victims and their advocates. They noted the
accusers were deemed credible enough by the Vatican that it sentenced
Karadima to a lifetime of “penance and prayer” for his crimes in 2011.
A Chilean judge also found the victims to be credible,
saying that while she had to drop criminal charges against Karadima
because too much time had passed, proof of his crimes wasn’t lacking.
And now, as Reuters reports, Pope Francis, in
an extremely rare act of self-criticism, apologised to victims of
clerical sex abuse on Sunday, acknowledging he had “wounded many” in
comments defending a Chilean bishop who is under scrutiny.
However, while the pope was sorry for his choice of words, he hastily added that
he was certain that the prelate, Juan Barros, who has been accused of
being complicit in the cover-up of the disgusting acts, was innocent.
“I have to apologise,” an unusually contrite pope told reporters aboard the plane returning to Rome from a week-long trip to Chile and Peru, saying he realised he had “wounded many people who were abused”.
“I apologise to them if I hurt them without realising it, but it was a
wound that I inflicted without meaning to,” he said. “It pains me very
much.”
But, in the latest twist to a saga that has gripped Chile, Francis
said Barros, who is accused of protecting a notorious paedophile, would
remain in his place in the diocese of Osorno because there currently
was no credible evidence against him.
Francis said on the plane: “I know how much they (abuse victims)
suffer in hearing the pope say to them ‘bring me a letter with the
proof,’ I realise that it is a slap in their faces, and now I realise
that my expression was an unfortunate one”.
In his comments on the plane, the pope disclosed that Barros had offered to resign twice in recent years but Francis rejected the offers.
“I can’t condemn him because I don’t have evidence and because I am convinced he is innocent,” Francis said.
He said Barros would remain in his place unless credible evidence is found against him. Juan Carlos Claret, a spokesman for anti-Barros Catholics in Osorno,
southern Chile, said during the trip that he worried the pope’s
response to the reporter before the apology would discourage more
victims from speaking out.
“What incentive will victims have to come forward when
even if the courts and the Vatican have said they are right, in the end
the pope says they are pure lies?” he said in an telephone interview.
One of the police involved in recently shooting to death a suspect, Donte Shannon, was the policeman who shot to death Angel, Kurt Hanson's dog. The officer is Peter Boeck.
There
were no miracles in Philadelphia as the Vikings lost a sixth NFC
championship and ended their season in humiliating fashion with the 38-7
defeat.
HILADELPHIA –
The fact the Vikings were here at all, a week after the miraculous
finish that defied six decades of precedent, was enough to suggest that
things might really be different this time, that the franchise’s sixth
NFC Championship Game after its fourth Super Bowl defeat would be
something more than yet another exercise in heartbreak.
The
Vikings marched into Philadelphia as three-point favorites, with the
NFL’s top-ranked defense against a backup quarterback that hadn’t thrown
for more than 300 yards in a game since 2014. One game away from
becoming the first team in NFL history to play a Super Bowl in tis home
stadium, Minnesota had given its fans reason to believe the payoff was
finally here, that Charlie Brown’s right foot would finally meet the
pigskin squarely and send it soaring.
But in the end, with a crowd of Eagles fans jeering as they stood witness, Lucy pulled the ball again.
It’s
difficult, so soon after the Vikings’ 38-7 loss to the Philadelphia
Eagles, to rank their most recent defeat among their most crushing NFC
title game losses. But this one had to sting, both because of the
opportunity lost and the manner in which it disappeared, in a game where
most of what the Vikings had come to count on evaded them.
Khaled A. Shabani, 46, a hairstylist in Madison, Wis., was arrested
on a tentative charge of mayhem and disorderly conduct while armed after
an altercation with a customer on Dec. 22. Shabani scolded the
22-year-old customer for fidgeting, then taught him a lesson by using
the “shortest possible attachment” to “run down the middle of the
customer’s head,” reported the Wisconsin State Journal.
Shabani also clipped the customer’s ear with his scissors, and, “While
it is not a crime to give someone a bad haircut, you will get arrested
for intentionally snipping their ear with a scissors,” reports police
spokesman Joel DeSpain.
Least Competent Criminal
When Dustin Johnson, 22, of Minot, N.D., tried to steal $4,000 worth
of merchandise from a local Hobby Lobby, he failed to take into account
that shopping carts don’t have snow tires. The Grand Forks Herald
reported that over a seven-hour period on Jan. 3, Johnson filled a cart
and then quickly fled the store—where his loot-filled cart promptly
became stuck in the snow in the parking lot, flipping over. Johnson fell
down but got up to run—leaving behind his wallet with photo ID matching
the shoplifter’s description. Minot police caught up with Johnson at
his home.
The Long and Melting Road
It may be cold where you are, but it’s hot in Broadford, a small town
about an hour from Melbourne, Australia, where on Jan. 5, the highway
began melting. Temperatures of 100 degrees Fahrenheit and higher
reactivated an ingredient in the road surface, turning the Hume Freeway
into a hot, gooey, sticky mess, 9News reported. Motorists were warned by
Victoria police to avoid the area and expect delays over a 10km
stretch. Officials also put in place a fire ban and urged people to stay
indoors until the heat abated.
The Lucky 1%
Researchers have discovered that 99% of green sea turtles born in the
northern parts of Australia’s Great Barrier Reef are now female. Sea
turtles’ gender is determined by the temperature at which the eggs are
incubated, and warmer temperatures reduce the number of male hatchlings.
The author of a new study, marine biologist Michael Jensen, told The New York Times
the shift in gender suggests climate change is having a more dramatic
effect on sea turtle populations than scientists realized. “We’re all
trying to wrap our heads around how these populations are going to
respond to those changes,” he said. Researchers warn that continued
global warming will threaten the persistence of these populations.
Weirdly Wild Turkeys
Postal workers in the Rocky River suburb of Cleveland were unable to
deliver mail to about two dozen homes for three weeks in December and
January after being attacked by aggressive wild turkeys. Local
ordinances prevented the city from eliminating the birds, so residents
were asked to pick up their mail at the post office. Rocky River Mayor
Pam Bobst encouraged residents to stop putting out bird food, hoping
that would discourage the turkeys from hanging around. “There’s a lot of
bird feeders over there, so there’s a food source in that area,” she
told Cleveland.com. The USPS said several carriers were pecked, but no
serious injuries had been reported.
As part of the Company’s continued focus on rationalizing costs and
improving efficiency, Real Alloy announced that it will cease operations
at its Mt Pleasant, WI facility, which was acquired from Beck Aluminum
at the end of 2016. Real Alloy expects to utilize available production
capacity in nearby Indiana and Michigan facilities, and feels
that shutting down the facility allows the business to better utilize
production capacity and reduce overall capital needs
Previously,
the Journal Times, on April 27,2015, had announced that Beck Aluminum
was expanding in Mount Pleasant - that lasted 3 years:
MOUNT PLEASANT —
Beck Aluminum Racine will relocate and expand to a former manufacturing
plant at 7505 Durand Ave. and add 25 new jobs, the building owner has
announced.
Beck, 1349 23rd
St., executed a long-term lease for the 192,000-square-foot building on
Durand which was previously a Bosch Rexroth manufacturing plant. Bosch
closed the plant in 2002 with the loss of more than 200 local jobs.
Beck settled on the Durand Avenue location based on several factors,
Phoenix said in a news release, including support and financial
assistance from Racine County Economic Development Corp. and Wisconsin
Economic Development Corp., and its “seasoned workforce.” Beck now
employs about 43 people.
Don't Worry! According to the Politicians, Foxconn will be different!
So
– the Probable cause for initiating a traffic stop and
accusing a person of being a criminal wasn’t displaying a front license
plate. While former Mayor John Dickert claimed to have fired an
Embezzler employed by City of Racine – but that person was never
identified, and the City was not only sued, but agreed to pay John
Dickert’s legal expenses of over $100,000?! Since Mr. DIckert was ruled
to be acting as Mayor while campaigning on a radio show.
OK.
So White Privilege and Racism can't possibly exist in Racine.
The scales of Justice are always held in the balance.
A Mayor is popularly elected and needs no other qualifications that getting enough votes to have the position.
A City Administrator is an appointed position and requires some professional qualifications and real world experience.
When life was simpler, Mayors with minimal qualifications and
experience could perform the duties and responsibilities necessary to
operate a municipal corporation. Those days are long gone, so now a
professionally educated City Administrator is necessary, meaning that
the Mayor’s position is largely symbolic and a relic of simpler times.
The Argument shouldn’t be about if the Mayor’s position should be
full time or part time because today’s Mayor is just a figurehead who
presents an Image of the City he was elected to represent. It should be
an unfunded position for those who aspire to true public service – to
remind the public what service to a Community is all about – selfless
dedication, devotion, and commitment.
Alderman Melissa Lemke is correct in her thinking that the Mayor’s
Position should be voluntary – when a City Administrator is present. The
reason – cost – hides the truth that the Mayor is now an overpaid
Figurehead, bloats the budget, and that the Dignity of the Position
should be reward enough in itself. But we do not live in an Altruistic
Age – instead it is the Age of Greed.
Former Racine Mayor and taxpayer shakedown artist John Dickert artist
epitomized greed and selfishness – will Cory Mason step up and become
altruistic; after all, his wife, Rebecca, is also the highly paid
municipal Judge for City of Racine. This clearly spells disaster for
City of Racine already overburdened taxpayers.
One elected Mayor plus 2.5 appointed bureaucrats consume
$460,020 in public resources to operate a City which is crumbling as it
is being unindustralized, enveloped in lawsuits for multiple failed
developments, tax shifting via TIDS is out of control, and whose Police
Department has been a leading source of lawsuits for violating civil
rights, excessive force, shooting with unrestrained behavior, and
murdering Dogs; with impunity; can only lead to one conclusion – City of
Racine is a Criminal Organization – run by Criminals – for profit and
gain.
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