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[suliso]

In the meantime, however, especially in this case I don't think many people have a problem if he spends the rest of his life in jail. He seemingly was capable of being functional human being in all other areas, yet he himself failed to realize how much damage he is doing to innocent people. For that he has to pay.

Neither do I really, but he has already molested all those boys and it can't be undone... As for a comparison with serial killers, it is correct to some extent but the numbers are wildly different. Serial killers are extremely rare there as pedophiles* could be as much as 5-10% of the adult population...


*defined as individuals sexually attracted to pre-puberty children

[suliso]

And another thing - I'm convinced some professions have significantly higher proportion of such individuals than others for quite obvious reasons. I'm talking about sports coaches (vast majority train children and teenagers), teachers, pastors, kindergarten employees etc and every other profession in regular contact with children.

[Vlad]

Neither do I really, but he has already molested all those boys and it can't be undone... As for a comparison with serial killers, it is correct to some extent but the numbers are wildly different. Serial killers are extremely rare there as pedophiles* could be as much as 5-10% of the adult population...


*defined as individuals sexually attracted to pre-puberty children

5-10% of population is a big number. I am not aware of any statistics on that, but it seems a bit high. I am sure most people don't act on their urgency but I would really like to know what kind of studies they have done to come up with that number and you right if that number is that high, people should look into this very seriously.

As far as this guy, I think at the very least he should admit he has done it and stop being a liar. He could have been afraid of the consequences and that's the reason he denied all that or it could be that he doesn't think it was wrong. It is hard to say since he has so full of it.

[owendonovan]

And another thing - I'm convinced some professions have significantlz higher proportion of such individuals than others for quite obvious reasons. I'm talking about sports coaches (vast majority train children and teenagers), teachers, pastors, kindergarten employees etc and every other profession in regular contact with children.

As a boys gymnastics coach, and a gay one at that, I have always been bothered very aware of perceptions and equally bothered that pedo's have used my profession as way to get to these children.

[craighickman]

Not the smartest or the classiest of moves. Why give the opposition more ammunition?

Freedom of expression doesn't have to be classy.

As for ammunition, I'm not sure there's any the opposition would choose to use because it would have to talk about Reagan's record on AIDS, which I bet it doesn't want to do.

I could be wrong. We'll see.

[Kirkus]

Never mind this particular man, but is the society more interested in preventing child molestation (and other serious crimes) or in pure revenge? After all long prison sentences for criminals is all about the latter. It's easy to advocate killing, locking up for life, giving them over to Bubba etc., but what is the strategy for reducing the child molestation instances in the first place? For that we need a greater understanding and a bit of sympathy and help at least for those who haven't molested anyone yet...

I think it's possible to do both; do more to prevent molestation AND seek revenge.

I can't help but think that the notoriety and publicity of this case will cause some to not give in to their desire, but rather seek help.

[Kirkus]

I think the word is remanded. But all the other male prisoners will probably be waiting to reprimand him when he gets there

Jury did a great job with this case.

Remanded. Of course. I think I was rushing to be the first one to post the news. LOL.

[Ti-Amie]

With all the negativity of the Presidential campaign here's something I think we can all admire.

‘Not even our husbands knew!’ The women who have been secretly delivering cakes to underprivileged families for over 30 YEARS




They call themselves “The 9 Nanas,” and have been secretly whipping up, and delivering hundreds of pound cakes during the middle of the night in a grand scheme to help those in need. And then before anyone can catch a glimpse of them, they quietly and quickly disappear back into their daily lives in West Tennessee.

Mary Ellen, one of the nine women, who are all aged between 54 and 72, told The Huffington Post: ‘We give new meaning to the term drive-by. “We drive through low-income neighborhoods and look for homes with fans in the window. That told us that the people who live there don’t have air-conditioning. Or we see that there are no lights on at night, which means there is a good chance their utilities have been turned off. Then we return before the sun came up, like cat burglars, and drop off a little care package.”
The women, who consider themselves sisters, gather in the darkness at 4am to begin their daily routine, where they whip up their cakes and deliver them in the dark. Mary Ellen explained how they got started, 35 years ago. One day over a card game, the women were reminiscing about the grandparents, named MaMaw and PaPaw, who raised Mary Ellen and three of the other sisters.

“MaMaw Ruth would read in the paper that someone had died and she’d send off one of her special pound cakes. She didn’t have to know the family. She just wanted to put a little smile on their faces. And we started thinking about what we could do to make a difference like that. What if we had a million dollars? How would we spend it?” she said.
The ladies began brainstorming, and one of the sisters suggested they all start doing their own laundry, putting put the money saved to good use. She said, “I admit, I protested at first. There’s just something about laundering that I don’t like. But I was outnumbered! So among the nine of us, we’d put aside about $400 a month and our husbands never noticed a thing. Their shirts looked just fine.”

The women started eavesdropping at the local beauty shop or when they were picking up groceries, and when they heard about a widow or a single mother who needed some help, they would anonymously pay a utility bill or buy new clothes for the children. The Nanas would find out where the person lived and send a package with a note that simply read, ‘Somebody loves you,’ which would always include one of MaMaw Ruth’s special pound cakes.
For three decades, the ladies’ good deeds went undetected.
It was only when Mary Ellen’s husband started noticing extra mileage on the car and large amounts of cash that had been withdrawn from their savings account that the women were caught out.

She said in horror: ‘He brought out bank statements and they were highlighted!’

So The 9 Nanas they told the husbands about the laundry, eavesdropping and even the drive-bys. And to their surprise, their husbands offered to help.
Mary Ellen said, “They were amazed that we were doing this and even more amazed that they never knew. We can keep a good secret! All but three of them are retired now, so sometimes they come with us on our drive-bys. In our area, all you need is an address to pay someone’s utility bill, so we keep the men busy jotting down numbers.”
The women then moved their secret operation out of their homes and into the commercial kitchen of a restaurant owned by one of their sons. They sneak in before sunrise and sneak out before the staff come in, and have also hired a ‘happiness coordinator,’ who, to keep her identity secret for eavesdropping missions, goes by the code name of ‘Sunny’. Now selling over 100 of MaMaw Ruth’s pound cakes daily online at Happiness Happens, The 9 Nanas can take on bigger projects.

Recently they donated more than $5,000 worth of pillows, linens and personal care products to the YWCA shelter for survivors of domestic violence. This August, they will celebrate their second ‘Happiness Happens Month’ by sending a cake to one person in every state who has made a difference in their own community. Sometimes, they also pull out the phone book to send pound cakes to complete strangers.

In the last 35 years, The 9 Nanas have contributed nearly $900,000 of happiness to their local community. Mary Ellen said, “Not everyone is as lucky as we were to have MaMaw and PaPaw to take care of them, to fix all those things that are wrong. So this is our way of giving back. We want people to know that someone out there cares enough to do something. We want to make sure that happiness happens.”

Some things aren’t the worst.
WHAT DID YOU DO TODAY?

Originally from positive-press-daily
Reblogged from lhuddles

This is the website for the bakery: http://www.happiness-happens.com/bakery.html

http://anneiamtellingyou.tumblr.com/...ress-daily-not

[craighickman]

Beautiful, Ti-Amie. Just beautiful.

[Jessie181]

...

Beautiful, Ti-Amie. Just beautiful.

[dryrunguy]

Spec. Tac. U. Lar!!!

[Kirkus]

Man, we need more stories like that. Love it.

[Charlie02123]

That story is extremely inspiring.

[shtexas]

Texas man gets 40 years in 'stand your ground' case

Raul Rodriguez was charged with murder in the death of Kelly Danaher.

by JUAN A. LOZANO
Associated Press
Posted on June 27, 2012 at 4:11 PM
Updated today at 4:14 PM

HOUSTON (AP) — A man who claimed Texas' version of a stand-your-ground law allowed him to fatally shoot a neighbor after an argument about a noisy party was sentenced Wednesday to 40 years for murder.

Raul Rodriguez, 46, had faced up to life in prison for the 2010 killing of Kelly Danaher.

Rodriguez, a retired Houston-area firefighter, was angry about the noise coming from a birthday party at his neighbor's home. He went over and got into an argument with 36-year-old elementary school teacher Danaher and two other men at the party.

In a 22-minute video he recorded on the night of the shooting, Rodriguez can be heard telling a police dispatcher "my life is in danger now" and "these people are going to go try and kill me." He then said, "I'm standing my ground here," and fatally shot Danaher and wounded the other two men.

Rodriguez's reference to standing his ground is similar to the claim made by George Zimmerman, a neighborhood watch volunteer who is citing Florida's stand-your-ground law in his defense in the fatal February shooting of an unarmed teenager, Trayvon Martin. Rodriguez's case, however, was decided under a different kind of self-defense doctrine.

Prosecutors called Rodriguez the aggressor who took a gun to complain about loud music and could have safely left his neighbor's driveway in Huffman, an unincorporated area about 30 miles northeast of Houston, any time before the shooting. Defense attorneys argued Rodriguez was defending himself when one of the men lunged at him and he had less than a second to respond.

At trial, prosecutors tried to show Rodriguez had a history of not getting along with Danaher and other neighbors.

One neighbor testified that Rodriguez, who had a concealed handgun license, bragged about his guns and told her a person could avoid prosecution in a shooting by telling authorities you were in fear of your life and were standing your ground and defending yourself. During the trial's punishment phase, neighbors, former co-workers and Rodriguez's ex-wife testified that Rodriguez was abusive, a bad neighbor and that he once shot a dog.

Rodriguez's attorneys did not present any witnesses before the jury convicted him on June 13. But during the punishment phase, they called more than a dozen witnesses, including his wife and sons. They and other family members testified that he was not abusive, always stressed the importance of gun safety and that he was not cavalier with his weapons. One son said Rodriguez shot the dog because it was attacking his family.

Texas' version of a stand-your-ground law is known as the Castle Doctrine. It was revised in 2007 to expand the right to use deadly force. The new version allows people to defend themselves in their homes, workplaces or vehicles. It also says a person using force cannot provoke the attacker or be involved in criminal activity at the time.

http://www.wfaa.com/news/texas-news/...160587795.html

[Ti-Amie]

A former Wall Street trader convicted of setting his Phoenix mansion on fire in a desperate ploy to get out of his mortgage put his hands to his mouth — seemingly in shock — and collapsed after the verdict was read Thursday.

He later died, but authorities are wondering if the hand gesture was actually a final, preplanned act to poison himself, according to reports.

Michael Marin, 53, had just been found guilty of arson in Maricopa County Superior Court, a crime that could have put him away for nearly 16 years, the Arizona Republic reported.

About five minutes after learning his fate, a video showed him covering his mouth with his hands and swallowing, according to Fox 10 News in Phoenix.

He was also seen occasionally sipping from a sports-drink bottle.

Moments later, he turned and spoke to the people behind him and grabbed a tissue from a woman. He appeared as if he was sobbing, but his body twisted into violent convulsions.

Ten minutes later, Marin was put into an ambulance and taken to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead, according to reports.



Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/news/crim...#ixzz1zBorQqMz