You probably haven't heard this one, have you?
CORUNNA, Mich. (AP) -- A jury has convicted a trucker of first-degree murder in the fatal shootings of an abortion protester and a businessman in a small Michigan community.
The jury found Harlan Drake guilty Thursday, rejecting his insanity defense at trial in Shiawassee County, 25 miles west of Flint. The 34-year-old faces life in prison without parole.
Drake testified for hours, admitting he killed James Pouillon and Mike Fuoss last September.
Drake testified that he didn't like Pouillon regularly standing outside Owosso High School with a picture of a dead fetus.
Drake's mother had formerly worked at Fuoss' gravel business and had disputes with the owner.
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Thursday, 11 March 2010
An Old, Bold Pilot
There's a saying among aviators and aviatrixes that there are Bold Pilots, and there are Old Pilots, but there are no Old, Bold Pilots. I quoted this maxim to an active aviatrix in her 90's, who agreed that she was not one of the Bold Pilots. Well, that was debatable. Some people thought it was pretty bold of her to still be taking to the skies at her age, and were relieved when she finally died in her sleep, instead of behind the yoke.
Well, all maxims have their exceptions, and if anyone ever qualified, Douglas Corrigan was the exception to this rule--much more so than his hero Charles Lindbergh, whose plane he helped build in San Diego before Charles flew it across the country and on across the ocean. Corrigan aspired to follow in his wake, but couldn't afford a fancy custom-built plane like Lindbergh had, now that there was no prize money at stake for success.
So he built his own plane out of, for want of a better term, scrap. That's the opinion the government had, and they refused to give him permission to make the flight. All his plane could get clearance for was flight over ground--so he proceeded to fly it from San Diego to New York. Time was running out as his plane limped from one airfield to another, and he reached New York too late in the summer a for safe flight over the North Atlantic. So maybe Corrigan wasn't such a bold pilot after all: he turned around and flew all the way back. Being a summer soldier when it came to transatlantic flight, he named his aircraft Sunshine.
Next year, Corrigan tried again. But this time the Bureau of Air Commerce refused to renew certification on his flying junk heap, so he applied for experimental certification instead. He got it, but only for flight to New York--and, if the aircraft was still flying, another flight back.
Sunshine made the flight in record time--only 27 hours coast to coast. He knew if he could keep it aloft for one more leg, he'd make it to Ireland. But as he approached New York, he was nearly overcome by gasoline fumes from a leaking auxiliary fuel tank behind the engine.
There wasn't time to fix the leak if he was to make it to Ireland in good weather, so Douglas Corrigan entered full Bold Pilot Mode and took off with gasoline trickling out the leak and onto the floor of Sunshine's cockpit.
But he didn't take off toward the west, as stipulated by the limitations on his certification. Somehow his compass didn't seem to be working right, and with no other instruments by which to navigate, "Wrong-Way Corrigan" soon found himself over the ocean. He later professed to have been surprised that it took a whole 28 hours for land to appear under his wing once again; he claimed he'd been distracted by the fuel leak, which he routed through a hole he punched in the cockpit floor on the opposite side of the plane from its hot exhaust pipe.
Sunshine landed safely in Ireland, but it never flew again. There was no prize for it but his own life, but "Wrong-Way Corrigan" was the first pilot to fly an unairworthy plane across the Atlantic--and probably the last. And he did it alone; not that he could have found anyone so foolish--or should we say bold--to join him. Irish officials took 600 words to list the regulations broken by his flight in a telegram back to New York. As punishment, his pilot's license was suspended; the suspension, however, ran out on his (and the disassembled Sunshine's) ship ride back to New York, where he was treated to a bigger ticker-tape parade than had been Lindbergh, eleven years earlier.
He got another chance to sit behind the yoke of Sunshine fifty years later, when his plane was reassembled for the golden anniversary of his flight. Guards were posted this time, though, to make sure he didn't yield to the temptation of repeating his famous flight.
Douglas Corrigan died in peace at the age of eighty-eight--an Old, Bold, Pilot. But he steadfastly held out to the end that his arrival in Irish skies was purely due to faulty navigation. Without any hard evidence to the contrary, he was never convicted otherwise.
Now if you ever hear the term "Wrong-Way Corrigan," you'll know the story behind the term. And remember that every maxim has its exceptions.
Even this one.
Well, all maxims have their exceptions, and if anyone ever qualified, Douglas Corrigan was the exception to this rule--much more so than his hero Charles Lindbergh, whose plane he helped build in San Diego before Charles flew it across the country and on across the ocean. Corrigan aspired to follow in his wake, but couldn't afford a fancy custom-built plane like Lindbergh had, now that there was no prize money at stake for success.
So he built his own plane out of, for want of a better term, scrap. That's the opinion the government had, and they refused to give him permission to make the flight. All his plane could get clearance for was flight over ground--so he proceeded to fly it from San Diego to New York. Time was running out as his plane limped from one airfield to another, and he reached New York too late in the summer a for safe flight over the North Atlantic. So maybe Corrigan wasn't such a bold pilot after all: he turned around and flew all the way back. Being a summer soldier when it came to transatlantic flight, he named his aircraft Sunshine.
Next year, Corrigan tried again. But this time the Bureau of Air Commerce refused to renew certification on his flying junk heap, so he applied for experimental certification instead. He got it, but only for flight to New York--and, if the aircraft was still flying, another flight back.
Sunshine made the flight in record time--only 27 hours coast to coast. He knew if he could keep it aloft for one more leg, he'd make it to Ireland. But as he approached New York, he was nearly overcome by gasoline fumes from a leaking auxiliary fuel tank behind the engine.
There wasn't time to fix the leak if he was to make it to Ireland in good weather, so Douglas Corrigan entered full Bold Pilot Mode and took off with gasoline trickling out the leak and onto the floor of Sunshine's cockpit.
But he didn't take off toward the west, as stipulated by the limitations on his certification. Somehow his compass didn't seem to be working right, and with no other instruments by which to navigate, "Wrong-Way Corrigan" soon found himself over the ocean. He later professed to have been surprised that it took a whole 28 hours for land to appear under his wing once again; he claimed he'd been distracted by the fuel leak, which he routed through a hole he punched in the cockpit floor on the opposite side of the plane from its hot exhaust pipe.
Sunshine landed safely in Ireland, but it never flew again. There was no prize for it but his own life, but "Wrong-Way Corrigan" was the first pilot to fly an unairworthy plane across the Atlantic--and probably the last. And he did it alone; not that he could have found anyone so foolish--or should we say bold--to join him. Irish officials took 600 words to list the regulations broken by his flight in a telegram back to New York. As punishment, his pilot's license was suspended; the suspension, however, ran out on his (and the disassembled Sunshine's) ship ride back to New York, where he was treated to a bigger ticker-tape parade than had been Lindbergh, eleven years earlier.
He got another chance to sit behind the yoke of Sunshine fifty years later, when his plane was reassembled for the golden anniversary of his flight. Guards were posted this time, though, to make sure he didn't yield to the temptation of repeating his famous flight.
Douglas Corrigan died in peace at the age of eighty-eight--an Old, Bold, Pilot. But he steadfastly held out to the end that his arrival in Irish skies was purely due to faulty navigation. Without any hard evidence to the contrary, he was never convicted otherwise.
Now if you ever hear the term "Wrong-Way Corrigan," you'll know the story behind the term. And remember that every maxim has its exceptions.
Even this one.
Wednesday, 10 March 2010
Congressional Medal goes political
I'm pretty disgusted by this. President Obama has awarded the highest military honor, the Congressional Medal, to a bunch of WWII pilots. Their accomplishment? Flying airplanes.
Over the past decade or two, many military veterans have seen their medals upgraded to the Medal of Honor, mainly because their heroic deeds that would have earned them the Honor were overlooked due to their race. Justice was done in giving them what they should have deserved the first time.
But this isn't justice. By singling out some pilots to get the Medal for flying, President Obama is slighting all those who actually did something heroic behind the yoke, and didn't get a medal for it. This is sexist politics, pure and simple.
When President Lincoln first awarded the Medal of Honor, you didn't have to do anything particularly special to get it. Other than the Purple Heart, it was the only medal a soldier could earn. For that reason, early recipients of the Medal usually aren't featured in articles, movies, and books about the Medal of Honor.
I guess that will now be the case again, as the Medal of Honor once again is being awarded to those who did nothing special to deserve it.
But maybe, just maybe, the alleged "chemical missions" some of these pilots were involved in had something to do with this. Perhaps, like Bill McGonagle, they are being rewarded for their silence.
Over the past decade or two, many military veterans have seen their medals upgraded to the Medal of Honor, mainly because their heroic deeds that would have earned them the Honor were overlooked due to their race. Justice was done in giving them what they should have deserved the first time.
But this isn't justice. By singling out some pilots to get the Medal for flying, President Obama is slighting all those who actually did something heroic behind the yoke, and didn't get a medal for it. This is sexist politics, pure and simple.
When President Lincoln first awarded the Medal of Honor, you didn't have to do anything particularly special to get it. Other than the Purple Heart, it was the only medal a soldier could earn. For that reason, early recipients of the Medal usually aren't featured in articles, movies, and books about the Medal of Honor.
I guess that will now be the case again, as the Medal of Honor once again is being awarded to those who did nothing special to deserve it.
But maybe, just maybe, the alleged "chemical missions" some of these pilots were involved in had something to do with this. Perhaps, like Bill McGonagle, they are being rewarded for their silence.
Tuesday, 9 March 2010
Taser death ruled a homicide
As I mentioned earlier on this blog, the time has now passed in which The Policeman Is Your Friend. Police officers are so focused on their own self-preservation that they're only about as safe as a junkyard dog. Leashed in by the law, they're only a threat to the intruders; but watch out if their sense of self-preservation or even self-importance snaps the flimsy leash. Then they go like murder after the guests.
Delano Smith found this out when the police entered the building he was in to investigate a disturbance. They found Mr. Smith in a disturbed state surrounded by broken furniture, broken glass, and his own blood. Now, as far as I know, it's not a crime to break furniture or glass, even if you get cut in the process. But the police proceeded to take him down anyway--for his own protection, of course. But when, like the little boy who didn't want a spanking, he wouldn't hold still or submit to their ministrations, they let loose with their Tasers--several of them. As a result, Delano died.
It's rather ironic that police would kill a man for his own protection, but that's what their job has degenerated to now that the criminals they catch are just sent back out on the streets, often before the arresting officer has even finished his shift.
One wonders if Delano Smith might still be alive had the police sent an attack dog after him instead of firing their Tasers at him. At least police dogs are trained to go for the right arm--not the jugular.
Delano Smith found this out when the police entered the building he was in to investigate a disturbance. They found Mr. Smith in a disturbed state surrounded by broken furniture, broken glass, and his own blood. Now, as far as I know, it's not a crime to break furniture or glass, even if you get cut in the process. But the police proceeded to take him down anyway--for his own protection, of course. But when, like the little boy who didn't want a spanking, he wouldn't hold still or submit to their ministrations, they let loose with their Tasers--several of them. As a result, Delano died.
It's rather ironic that police would kill a man for his own protection, but that's what their job has degenerated to now that the criminals they catch are just sent back out on the streets, often before the arresting officer has even finished his shift.
One wonders if Delano Smith might still be alive had the police sent an attack dog after him instead of firing their Tasers at him. At least police dogs are trained to go for the right arm--not the jugular.
Monday, 1 March 2010
Trouble in Paradise: One member dead, one injured, rest of family in custody
I get a lot of hits on this blog from people searching for information on Michael Pearl. It really spiked yesterday, apparently due to the connection being made between Mike's child-training publications and the recent death of an allegedly 7-year old Liberian girl in Paradise, California. So, it's only fair to my readers that I make some comment.
Really, I'd rather not. While Mike's theology can be quite different than that embraced by historical Christianity, his child training methods aren't unusual enough that I've ever felt a need to comment on them. "Spare the rod, spoil the child" is proverb that's been around at least as long as the English language. That the world view that it represents has been increasingly abandoned in my own lifetime says more about the direction our society is headed than it does about Mike Pearl's orthodoxy.
Here's the story, as told in the Paradise Post:
Let’s focus in this web post on the alleged Michael Pearl connection. Now, I know Michael Pearl to be a great fan of the old-fashioned sport of tomahawk-tossing. In fact, he’s so good at it, he even gives lessons. Let’s say, just hypothetically, that a 15-year old homeschooler joins Mike Pearl at a Family Camp in Tennessee for a week and takes up an interest in tomahawk throwing. Mike gives the person some good pointers, shows how far away to stand, how to aim carefully at the target, et cetera. The person than returns home with one of the tomahawks Mike recommends, and expertly buries one in a neighbor’s skull from 15 paces out. Somebody then calls 911, and the headlines soon read: AUTHORITIES INVESTIGATING TOMAHAWK MURDERER’S TIES TO TENNESSEE EVANGELIST.
Can somebody tell me how this is in any way different?
Really, I'd rather not. While Mike's theology can be quite different than that embraced by historical Christianity, his child training methods aren't unusual enough that I've ever felt a need to comment on them. "Spare the rod, spoil the child" is proverb that's been around at least as long as the English language. That the world view that it represents has been increasingly abandoned in my own lifetime says more about the direction our society is headed than it does about Mike Pearl's orthodoxy.
Here's the story, as told in the Paradise Post:
Paradise, CA: Feb 8, 2010 . . . The Schatzes were arrested early Saturday morning, after Elizabeth Schatz called 9-1-1 to report that her 7-year-old daughter was not breathing. Officers arrived to find the girl, Lydia Schatz, in full cardiac arrest. Officer Tim Denecochea performed CPR and the girl was resuscitated and began breathing again at Feather River Hospital with aid of life support. However, she was pronounced dead later that morning before she could be airlifted to Sutter Memorial Hospital in Sacramento.And this, from the Oroville news feed:
She died en route to the Chico Municipal Airport after bad weather prevented a helicopter from making the flight. Police confirmed Monday that the girl was beaten for mispronouncing a word. Officers found 11-year-old Zariah Schatz in the home during the investigation, suffering from significant injuries.
She is listed in critical condition at the Sacramento children's hospital, suffering from kidney failure among other injuries. She is undergoing dialysis treatment in hopes it will help the organs recover. The two girls had reportedly been adopted by the Schatz couple along with a 3-year-old girl from an orphanage in Liberia about three years ago. The other children reportedly told investigators the parents blamed the 11-year-old for "being a bad influence" on her younger siblings. Ramsey said the evidence suggests 7-year-old Lydia Schatz was being disciplined "for hours" prior to the 911 call for mis-pronouncing a word during a home-school reading lesson. When police searched the family's Crestwood Drive residence, they took a photograph of a 15-inch length of tubing lying on the parents' bed next to a children's book about a frog and a toad, which Ramsey said the girl had been reading from.
An autopsy was scheduled to be conducted yesterday to determine the cause of the girl's death, but the results have not been released. Paradise police said they had no record of any prior child abuse complaints against the Schatz couple. Neighbors said the Schatz' were a deeply religious and private family who home-schooled their children and seemed to regiment their behavior.
OROVILLE -- A fundamentalist religious philosophy that espouses corporal punishment to "train" children to be more obedient to their parents and God is now being investigated in connection with the death of a young Paradise girl and serious injuries to her sister.I’m not going to comment on the murder charges, other than to say that it’s been legal for some parents to torture and kill some of their children in California since 1967, when Governor Reagan signed a law that decriminalized abortion. More than forty years later, Californians obviously have yet to come to terms with the implications of paterfamilias--or, as the case may be, materfamilias--as a means of population control. Granted, neither of the Schatzes appear to have a medical license, nor is their home a free-standing medical facility protected by the Free Access to Clinic Entrances law. So under current law in America, in which both beating one’s slave to death and killing one’s child after a birth certificate has been issued are both illegal, they appear to be guilty of either being at least a decade or two ahead of their time, or a century and a half behind it.
Butte County District Attorney Mike Ramsey confirmed Thursday that other children in the home who have been interviewed told investigators "this philosophy was espoused by their parents." Ramsey said he is also exploring a possible connection to a Web site that endorses "biblical discipline" using the same rubber or plastic tube alleged to have been used to whip the two young ridge girls by their adoptive parents.
In court Thursday, a judge granted a two-week postponement before the children's parents, Kevin Schatz, 46, and Elizabeth Schatz, 42, enter a plea to murder and torture charges that could carry two life terms in prison. The delay will allow the mother to retain legal counsel as her husband did earlier.
The father's attorney, Michael Harvey, declined to comment regarding the specific allegations against the couple until he has a chance to review the evidence.
"All I can say is the family is shocked; they are grieving the loss of their daughter and (ask) that people of faith will pray for everybody involved," the defense attorney stated outside of court Thursday.
The Schatzes were arrested Saturday morning after their adopted daughter, Lydia, age 7, stopped breathing. She was subsequently pronounced dead. Her 11-year-old sister, Zariah Schatz, remains in critical condition at a Sacramento children's hospital, though she is showing some signs of recovery. The two were adopted at the same time with an infant girl, now 3, from the same African orphanage about three years ago, Prosecutors allege the two victims were subjected to "hours" of corporal punishment by their parents on successive days last Thursday and Friday with a quarter-inch-wide length of rubber or plastic tubing, which police reportedly recovered from the parents' bedroom.
Police allege that the younger girl was being disciplined for mis-pronouncing a word during a home-school reading lesson the day before she died. The two young girls reportedly sustained deep bruising and multiple "whip-like" marks on their back, buttocks and legs, which authorities believe resulted in significant muscle tissue breakdown that impaired their kidneys and possibly other vital organs, said Ramsey.
He said investigators are researching a possible connection to an Internet Web site set up by "fundamentalist Christian people" that recommends use of the same whip-like implement "as an appropriate tool for biblical chastisement ... to train a child from infancy to make them a happier child and more obedient to God because they are obedient to the will of their parents," said Ramsey.
The district attorney said some of the Schatzes' six biological children, who were removed from the family home for their protection following the parents' arrest, have made statements suggesting the ridge couple shared this philosophy.
The other children in the home said the same rubber or plastic tube was used on all of them "as a standard method of discipline, but certainly not to the extent of these two girls," Ramsey added. He said it's not clear at this point whether the Schatzes ever visited the Web site in question, which Ramsey stressed "does not endorse hurting or beating a child," nor is connected to any specific church.
Let’s focus in this web post on the alleged Michael Pearl connection. Now, I know Michael Pearl to be a great fan of the old-fashioned sport of tomahawk-tossing. In fact, he’s so good at it, he even gives lessons. Let’s say, just hypothetically, that a 15-year old homeschooler joins Mike Pearl at a Family Camp in Tennessee for a week and takes up an interest in tomahawk throwing. Mike gives the person some good pointers, shows how far away to stand, how to aim carefully at the target, et cetera. The person than returns home with one of the tomahawks Mike recommends, and expertly buries one in a neighbor’s skull from 15 paces out. Somebody then calls 911, and the headlines soon read: AUTHORITIES INVESTIGATING TOMAHAWK MURDERER’S TIES TO TENNESSEE EVANGELIST.
Can somebody tell me how this is in any way different?
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