Homeless Female Veterans: Most people are not aware that this population exists.

Monday, 10:00 pm EST BettyJean speaks with Jas Boothe the founder and President of Final Salute Inc. about an unspeakable problem!

THE WORD HOMELESS SHOULD NOT BE ASSOCIATED WITH ANY VETERAN.  However, a homeless population of female Veterans exist.

Final Salute Inc. is a non-profit (501(c)3) organization which believes in paying homeless female Veterans with the proper respects due to them for the service they have provided to our country. Final Salute also works with the female Veteran in establishing a plan towards independence.

It is estimated that there are currently 13,000 homeless female Veterans in the United States. For the sacrifices they and their families have made, this is an unacceptable state for any of them to be in.

Heroes should not be homeless.  The mission of Final Salute Inc. is to provide homeless female Veterans with safe and suitable housing.

Of the 500 transitional housing programs for male veterans in the United States, a little over half can accept women. Some female Veterans who have experienced Military Sexual Trauma (MST) may not be comfortable staying in co-ed facilities. There are affordable housing programs and temporary housing units available to all Veterans, but the waiting lists are long and some female Veterans have minor children for which they are responsible; some facilities cannot accommodate children.  Over half of homeless female Veterans are single mothers.

The needs of homeless female Veterans are immediate.  They need your support today! http://www.finalsaluteinc.org   

Start Time: Monday, 10:00 pm EST. Where:
http://www.blogtalkradio.com/freemenow/2011/11/29/the-majority-united-1

The show link above is available immediately after the show for on-demand and pod cast download or imbedding !

Call-in Number: (347) 838-8011 + 1 to connect to the host

Who Was Haym Solomon?

By: It’s Me Louise

History from a $1 Bill-Fascinating! Read all the way to the bottom to know about Haym Solomon

On the rear of the One Dollar bill, you will see two circles. Together, they comprise the Great Seal of the United States. The First Continental Congress requested that Benjamin Franklin and a group of men come up with a Seal. It took them four years to accomplish this task and another two years to get it approved.
If you look at the left-hand circle, you will see a Pyramid.

Notice the face is lighted, and the western side is dark. This country was just beginning. We had not begun to explore the west or decided what we could do for Western Civilization. The Pyramid is uncapped, again signifying that we were not even close to being finished. Inside the Capstone you have the all-seeing eye, an ancient symbol for divinity. It was Franklin ‘s belief that one man couldn’t do it alone, but a group of men, with the help of God, could do anything.

‘IN GOD WE TRUST’ is on this currency.

The Latin above the pyramid, ANNUIT COEPTIS, means, ‘God has favored our undertaking.’ The Latin below the pyramid, NOVUS ORDO SECLORUM, means, ‘a new order has begun.’ At the base of the pyramid is the Roman numeral for 1776. (MDCCLXXVI)

If you look at the right-hand circle, and check it carefully, you will learn that it is on every National Cemetery in the United States . It is also on the Parade of Flags Walkway at the Bushnell, Florida National Cemetery , and is the centerpiece of most heroes’ monuments. Slightly modified, it is the seal of the President of the United States , and it is always visible whenever he speaks, yet very few people know what the symbols mean..

The Bald Eagle was selected as a symbol for victory for two reasons: First, he is not afraid of a storm; he is strong, and he is smart enough to soar above it. Secondly, he wears no material crown. We had just broken from the King of England. Also, notice the shield is unsupported. This country can now stand on its own. At the top of that shield you have a white bar signifying congress, a unifying factor. We were coming together as one nation. In the Eagle’s beak you will read, ‘ E PLURIBUS UNUM’ meaning, ‘from many – one.’
Above the Eagle, you have the thirteen stars, representing the thirteen original colonies, and any clouds of misunderstanding rolling away. Again, we were coming together as one.

Notice what the Eagle holds in his talons. He holds an olive branch and Arrows. This country wants peace, but we will never be afraid to fight to preserve peace. The Eagle always wants to face the olive branch, but in time of war, his gaze turns toward the arrows.

They say that the number 13 is an unlucky number. This is almost a worldwide belief. You will usually never see a room numbered 13, or any hotels or motels with a 13th floor. But think about this:

• 13 original colonies,
  13 signers of the Declaration of Independence ,
  13 stripes on our flag,
  13 steps on the Pyramid,
  13 letters in ‘Annuit Coeptis,’
  13 letters in ‘ E Pluribus Unum,’
  13 stars above the Eagle,
  13 bars on that shield,
  13 leaves on the olive branch,
  13 fruits, and if you look closely,
  13 arrows.

And finally, if you notice the arrangement of the 13 stars in the right-hand circle you will see that they are arranged as a Star of David. This was ordered by George Washington who, when he asked Haym Solomon, a wealthy Philadelphia Jew, what he would like as a personal reward for his services to the Continental Army, Solomon said he wanted nothing for himself but that he would like something for his people. The Star of David was the result. Few people know that it was Solomon who saved the Army through his financial contributions but died a pauper. Haym Solomon gave $25 million to the Continental Army, money that was extremely important to our independence from England .

I always ask people, ‘Why don’t you know this?’ Your children do NOT know this, and their history teachers do NOT know this. Too many veterans have given up too much to ever let the meaning fade. Many veterans remember coming home to an America that did NOT care. Too many veterans never came home at all..

I, for one, plan to share this page with everyone, so that they can learn what is on the back of the UNITED STATES ONE DOLLAR BILL, and what it stands for!

Social Security Administration privacy protection program vital to stalking and domestic violence victims continues to fall short

By

BettyJean speaks Alison Kiss from Security on Campus on the topic of prevention and intervention of sexual assault

BettyJean Kling

Join us tonight as BettyJean speaks Alison Kiss from Security on Campus Inc.

 Security On Campus, Inc. is a unique 501(c)(3) non-profit grass roots organization dedicated to safe campuses for college and university students. It was co-founded in 1987 by Connie & Howard Clery, following the murder of their daughter at Lehigh University. Jeanne Clery was a freshman when she was beaten, raped and murdered in her dormitory room on April 5, 1986. Jeanne’s assailant was another Lehigh student who murdered Jeanne during his attempt to commit robbery as she slept. They did not Know each other.

Alison Kiss is the Executive Director of Security On Campus, Inc.  She has provided services as an expert witness in campus sexual assault civil cases and is affiliated with many professional organizations, including: Rapid Response Expert Network, Violence Against Women Online Resources (VAWNET), Expanded Partners Group, “Vision 21: Transforming Victims Services”, Department of Justice: OVC-sponsored project, and the National Association of Student Personnel Administrators, where she recently co-presented on the topic of prevention and intervention of sexual assault at the National Conference in Philadelphia this March.

Event:
The Majority United Talk Radio Show
What:
Interactive Live Call-in Talk Show
Host: BettyJean Kling
Start Time: Monday, 10:00 pm EST.
End Time: Monday, 11:30 pm EST.
Where:

Sue Else: Even one death resulting from an ineffective NNEDV program is one too many

BettyJean Kling- TMU WOMEN Coalition

The National Network to End Domestic Violence (NNEDV) has concluded a recent survey revealing the strain across the nation on agencies providing services to the victims of domestic violence. Reports show that more than 80 percent of domestic violence programs report an increased demand for their services, while nearly the same number report decreases in funding.

Sue Else, president of NNEDV, said that programs around the country are struggling to provide life-saving services to victims.

“The economy is exacerbating domestic violence, and victim advocates across the country are struggling to do more with less,” Else said.

Sue Else said a mouthful, about “programs around the country struggling to provide life-saving services to victims.” Let’s take Wisconsin for example. According to a report, on Sept. 15, 2010, domestic violence victim advocates answered more than 20,000 emergency hotline calls but more than 9,000 requests went unmet, largely due to lack of funding, said Tony Gibart of the Wisconsin Coalition Against Domestic Violence (WCAD).

A recent statewide survey indicated that 88 percent of Wisconsin’s domestic violence programs have experienced funding cuts in the last three years. … Meanwhile, more than 40 percent of Wisconsin programs have had to reduce staff to deal with budget crises.

The year 2009 set decade-high records for domestic violence homicides in Wisconsin, with 67 people losing their lives in 52 incidents. This rise in fatal domestic violence corresponds with recent increased demands on local victim service providers, the study notes.

People Against Domestic and Sexual Abuse (PADA) finds itself in a critical position across the United States.

“Over the last couple of years, we have lost significant funding from the county government and a private foundation,” said Amy Venables O’Neil, executive director of PADA, based in Jefferson County. “We had to make difficult decisions just to maintain basic services. This has all happened while demand increased.”

Clearly, Sue Else, president of NNEDV, has been aware of the severity of the problem for years, she is aware of the 80% rise in demand and corresponding funding cuts yet no cuts in the NNEDV Staffing and administrative costs. Give me a break Sue- have you met any of the goals? Violence is up, laws have not changed nearly enough and exactly how many lives has NNEDV saved because of effectively holding perpetrators accountable?

Staff Sue Else President Johnny Capers Chief Financial Officer Alisha Donovan Transitional Housing Specialist Nina Gilbert WomensLaw.org Outreach Coordinator Cheryl Howard Coalition Program Director Kelly Howard Development Specialist Kaofeng Lee Safety Net Project & Communications Specialist Monica McLaughlin Senior Public Policy Specialist Paulette Sullivan Moore Vice President of Public Policy Krista Niemczyk Public Policy Coordinator Erica Olsen Technology Safety Specialist Kim Pentico Economic Justice Specialist Rene Renick Vice President of Economic Enterprises Stacey Sarver Sr. Attorney & WomensLaw.org Legal Director Ashley Slye Program Coordinator Cindy Southworth VP. of Development & Innovation Sarah Tucker Technology Safety Specialist Mao Yang Resource & TA Specialist

Program Expenses 2007   SafetyNet Project: $828,947 Economic Justice Project: $748,764 Transitional Housing Technical Assistance: $663,876 State Coalition Technical Assistance: $468,064 Amy’s Courage Fund: $447,808 Public Policy: $144,522 Other Programs: $78,633 Total: $3,380,614

Mary Kay Foundation and Phillip Morris the biggest contributors to The National Network to End Domestic Violence (NNEDV) should be notified and encouraged to contribute directly toward saving lives rather than toward the exorbitant salary compensation package for Sue Else amounting to nearly a half million dollars and more than many of the projects themselves i.e. Amy’s Courage fund shown above.

$449,537.00 (including salary and benefits, 2008 Tax Doc on page 24), http://www.free-us-now.com/assets/images/2008-521973408-056e69d1-9.pdf

$275,698 (including salary and benefits) 2009 tax doc, http://www.free-us-now.com/assets/images/2007-521973408-0435a000-9.pdf

According to the Mary Kay Foundation money is given to NNEDV to fund women who need immediate help: If you or anyone you know needs immediate help, call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 800-799-SAFE (7233). http://www.marykayfoundation.org/Pages/WomenAndViolence.aspx

Is there any accountability at this national network? Have there been any oversight or performance evaluations? Let’s find out and while we are at it lets get an accounting for where the 25 million went? Did it go to shelters in all 50 states as claimed? The foundation claims: The Mary Kay Foundation has awarded nearly $25 million in grant money to shelters for women and children in all 50 states since 2000.

It is time for us to start asking questions and insisting on answers! The time is now! The proof is in the pudding- after 15 years http://www.nnedv.org/about/history.html what are all these folks getting paid to do and what is being accomplished besides the staff all having a high paying job and a fancy title. Are the victims getting the voice they were promised or the benefits of the listed signature programs?

 NNEDVsignature programs promise but in 15 years have not delivered:

• Empowering domestic violence survivors to lead independent lives free from abuse;
  
• Supporting the 56 state-wide and territorial coalitions against domestic and sexual violence;
  
• Advancing economic empowerment and financial literacy for domestic violence survivors and their allies;
  
• Improving high-profile media coverage of domestic violence cases;
  
• Educating survivors and their allies about safe technological practices and how batterers misuse technology to further abuse;
  
• Building the capacity of local and state-wide coalitions against domestic and sexual violence;
  
• Providing state-specific legal information for domestic violence survivors; and
  
• Promoting federal legislation that effectively holds perpetrators accountable and strengthens services for survivors and their children.
  

Based on what I’ve experienced firsthand, what women callers tell me on the radio and based on stories from our coalitions partners reported from their readers, bloggers and friends, there are a lot more abusive men out there than we ever realized. It’s way past time we do something about it. And it is way past time we stop settling for window dressing organizations like bogus charities, that collect money just so they can exist but actually use very little of the income for their intended purpose – ‘Network to End Domestic Violence.’ Hell this network isn’t even making a damned dent in it! Like many other Government programs in DC- it’s another failure- victims should do an occupy the NNEDV or at the very least shut ’em’ down and send the money to the volunteers to use for the victims. We are the ones working for the victims and we are doing it for free!

I am getting fed up with the salaries of these folks remaining high while there are shrinking funds to actually help victims. Much like charities – the lion’s share of the funds go to running the enterprise rather than to those in need! Enough is enough, I say we expose this exploitation of limited funds at the expense of victims!

*WEBMASTER NEEDED:

The TMU WOMEN’s Coalition founded the National Domestic Violence Oversight Committee NDVOC.com. We are a non-partisan volunteer group determined to reform domestic violence and stalking victim resources and public policy so that no victim is left behind.

The purpose of the NDVOC web site is to serve as a forum for survivors to share their experiences and rate victim service providers in the United States. The goal of this site is to hold victim service providers, courts and public safety agencies accountable and to ensure the needs of victims are met.

According to Alexis Moore of Survivors in Action, This is desperately needed. “I still remember like yesterday being turned away and ignored by the DV shelter, National Stalking Resource Center and other national, state and local crime victim agencies wondering where do I go to file complaints for being re-victimized?” Today after talking to thousands of victims across the country with the same complaint—NDVOC is vital in the efforts to reforming victim resources and ensuring that no victim is left behind”.

Maria DiBari of Tri-County Crisis Center agrees there is no oversight and no one is watching those who should be watching where the DV funds are going.

Together with TMU and others we have been three years forming this committee and now we need volunteers across the country to make it happen.

New York Protest: at BACKPAGE.COM tomorrow 11/16

Join Us Tomorrow
November 16th, 2011
4:00 – 7: 00PM

To Protest Backpage.com’s Facilitation of Sex Trafficking
In Front of Its New York City Offices

The Coalition Against Trafficking in Women (CATW) in partnership with Prostitution Research and Education (PRE) will hold a protest in front of the Village Voice building at the offices of Village Voice Media Holdings, LLC, owner of Backpage.com. This protest, co-sponsored by 115 leading human rights organizations and prominent individuals, including Equality Now, Soroptimist International of the Americas, Apne Aap, Alicia Keys, Gloria Steinem, Aboriginal Women’s Action Network, Breaking Free, Ambassador Mark Lagon, Frederick Douglass Family Foundation, Temple Committee Against Human Trafficking, and A Call to Men, will bring attention to Backpage’s facilitation of and profiting from sex trafficking.

“Backpage is now the leading online facilitator of sex trafficking,” says Norma Ramos, Executive Director of CATW. Since August, 51 Attorneys General have called upon Backpage to cease its facilitation of sex trafficking. They have cited more than 50 cases across 22 U.S. states in the past three years that involve Backpage’s facilitation of sex trafficking.

Backpage generates an estimated $2 million per month largely by functioning as a virtual red light district for pimps/traffickers and johns in the U.S. and at least 10 other countries. Village Voice Media Holdings, LLC displays a reckless disregard for human rights and could instead act to create a sex trafficking free Internet by no longer hosting prostitution ads through Backpage.

Join us as we hold Village Voice Media Holdings, LLC accountable for its role in the rank exploitation of others. We call upon Village Voice Media Holdings, LLC to engage in corporate responsibility by ceasing to host ads that facilitate sex trafficking on Backpage.

When: Wednesday, November 16, 2011, 4:00 – 7: 00PM (rain or shine)

Where:
The Village Voice, 36 Cooper Square, Manhattan
Take N/R trains to 8th Street or 6 train to Astor Place.

Contact:
SAndar@catwinternational.org

For protest updates, follow @CATWIntl on Twitter and
“Like” Coalition Against Trafficking in Women (CATW) on Facebook.

www.catwinternational.org

The Domestic Violence Empire; Billion dollar industry in need of reform

 

Maria DiBari | Like TCCC on Facebook

 

Since the enactment of the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) in 1994, the federal government has channeled over a billion dollars into organizations that are required to provide assistance to victims of domestic violence. The VAWA Web site does post figures on grants awarded to specific organizations and the amount of each grant, but does not detail how the funds are expected to be spent. Womensenews, Regina Varoilli.

 

The goal of the domestic violence reform movement is to ensure that all victims are afforded equal protections and services regardless of race, gender, sexual orientation, age and their perpetrator’s occupation. Victim resources and public policy must provide services and laws that address the needs of all victims including: women, men, teens, LGBT, officer-involved victims as well as immigrants so equal protections and services for all.

 

Currently, victims of violence on a local, state and national level are being failed by our funded resources.  The problem is that domestic violence shelters and agencies get funding based on the need for services and the number of hotline calls or heads in the shelter, not the cases they solve or the needs they meet.  You or I may call the shelter with a question, and that is then counted as a statistic for their agency.  Whether they help you or I or not, we both become a statistic for the agency and in turn, the agency will get rewarded with funding and grants. 

 

The most effective way to approach the reform issue is to spearhead this movement at the local and state level, while simultaneously gaining national support.  Our local and state resources are flawed and victims are unable to obtain appropriate services from shelters and agencies.  Some problems with the current support system include:

 

1. Crime victim’s compensation is difficult to obtain for domestic violence related injuries.  Emergency relocation is nearly impossible to obtain due to the lengthy application process and documentation required to proceed with the request; providing an emergency service should be a fast process, not one that takes weeks to complete with the risk of being denied services. 
   
2. Pro bono legal representation for divorce and family law cases are lacking. 
   
3. Pro bono surgeries after domestic violence are difficult to access for victims.
   
4. Career services for victims of domestic violence is a needed resource that should be provided by all shelters.  Helping women re-enter the work place and teaching victims how to be financially independent is vital. 
   
5. Transitional Housing is in high demand for victims of domestic violence. 
   
6. Victim transportation to court, case related appointments and to and from work while residing in a shelter is needed for all victims to maintain stability, financial independence, and make necessary appointments. 
   
7. Stalking resources are non-existent in every shelter.    
   

 

The list goes on; however, these are the most immediate resources that need to be addressed on a national level.

 

 A lack of funding for domestic violence is not the problem.  Many DV executives are making six figure salaries and beyond, and work 35 hour weeks.  Safe Horizon, the richest shelter in the US located in NYC, gets nearly 42 million dollars per year, while less than 1 million dollars is allocated towards direct services for victims in 5 boroughs. The top executives at Safe Horizon make hundreds of thousands of dollars each year with bonuses of 50K per year.  Even at the local level, executives running the county shelters make top salaries to serve a small population, and even then, many victims are being left behind.  There is nothing wrong with getting paid for a job well done and hard work, but getting rewarded while victims’ needs go unmet and while domestic homicide is on the rise is illogical. 

 

Each year, Mary Kay donates millions to the NNEDV, and this is not surprising since a Mary Kay representative sits on their Board.  This agency does not provide direct services to victims at any capacity.  How do I know that? I was denied services and support by the NNEDV as a victim in need of resources, and I am not the only one.  One of their missions is to empower victims of DV.  I was never empowered by this group.  The NNEDV did provide a victims fund “Amy’s Courage Fund”, which was sponsored by the Mary Kay Foundation, but that fund has closed because the resources were in high demand and the funds were exhausted.  This is a clear example of what victims need most: emergency funds for survival. 

 

In fact, many large corporations sponsor local shelters and national coalitions and agencies each year.  Many sponsors rely on statistics provided by the agencies and truly believe that victims are getting the services they need and are benefiting.  The reality is not as bright as the statistics portray, and, instead, many go without, find it impossible to get help, are denied shelter and services, and even die trying to get assistance. 

 

“Funding needs to be reallocated to lawyers and trained consultants that work one on one with victims of domestic violence, and provide follow-up on cases to ensure needs are met.  National, state and local domestic violence agencies need to be held accountable through proper oversight, which does not exist today.  Follow-up is poor, training is lacking and there are no incentives for agencies to provide victim services throughout the entire victimization cycle” Alexis Moore, Director of Victim Outreach for Tri-County Crisis Center, Inc.

 

Victims need real services.  The most critical point in any given victimization cycle is the point at which the victim picks up the phone and reaches out for help.  At that point it is critical for the victim in need to have access to direct services such as pro bono representation, career services, counseling, emergency funds, housing and shelter, transportation and basic necessities.  Without these services, victims are lost and are unable to survive the cycle of violence.  Without proper follow-up and attention, victims fall between the cracks and are put at risk.  These problems can be solved and should be tackled at the local and state level first, and then the movement must continue nationally with the support of organizations and individuals such as National NOW, NCADV, NNEDV and public officials. 

 

Maria DiBari | Like TCCC on Facebook

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Ode to my Pop: Roy Downing A WWII Aviator

I lost my 90 year old dad this year; my mother lost her partner of 65 years. The picture above was my favorite since I was a very little girl, I remember looking at it and thinking – My daddy is a hero! I was too young to know how much of a hero he was. I never knew until later in life the secrets he held inside.

Pop was blown out of the air and captured and held in a Concentration Camp during WW11. A strapping young man over 6 feet tall he was a lightweight boxer before he entered the Army Air corps. After escaping the Camp, when found by our side and told the war was over, he weighed 90 Lbs.

 My pop suffered PTSD as you can imagine from being held in the camps and seeing what he saw. His wounds from being shot out of the sky  nor those from being shot when he barley stayed alive after escaping, compared to the scars of all he witnessed during the war.

Before he died he began to tell stories of the horrors of the war and of the mass murders in the camps. I once saw the tears in his eyes as he watched some film clips of the war toward the end of his life.

 Pop was adopted and had a hard life on Missouri farm with a very strict father who beat him regularly. He escaped the farm as a young boy and traveled the railways like a hobo finally joining the service which became his only family. When he returned as a highly decorated war hero for saving the lives of several men before they were captured, his natural mother heard about him and called him.

Delighted he ran to her only to find when he arrived, she was drunk and already forgot he even existed. She had run off and remarried to a very rich man after her former husband died leaving the baby and his brother and sister orphans. Now rich, she found and raised the older ones but the baby having been adopted then ran away from home she lost track of.

Roy tried to fit in but he could not be anything other than rough around the edges, he was not brought up refined and with money. He was treated more like the help and his pride prompted him to walk away rather than be humiliated.

 He came east and met and married my mother Louise Bonetti an Italian whose family nearly rubbed him out. They didn’t and he made my mother very happy, he treated her like a queen right to the end. She never wanted for anything and they traveled the world and were like two peas in a pod.  I am not qualified to explain their relationship perhaps mom will comment here and do that for me. They shared 65 years and only one child.

After all Pop went through , I can’t say he had any frame of reference how to be a cuddly parent, he was strict, he beat and he punished me a lot. I think had I been a boy, we either would have got along better or he would have killed me.  He provided for me and without any experience on how to love a child he did the best he could and I realize that no malice was intended. He gave me wonderful things never realizing what I needed most was nothing more than his love and to be the Apple of his eye – ‘daddy’s little girl’.

 Men in general can’t express the effects of PTSD nor were the effects known or acknowledged until recently. Pop was a war hero- he wasn’t supposed to show weakness, he was supposed to be strong and lead with an iron fist and so he did.

At his deathbed he pretty much realized he could have done better by me and tried to heal that which was rough between us. I was not about to deny him. I will never know, but I do know that I held him and loved him and comforted him right to the end. I did him the honor of helping him leave with the dignity this war hero deserved and when he passed this year in the veterans hospital he died as my hero and finally he let me know that I was “daddy’s little girl.”

 This Veterans Day, as I look at this picture, a box full of medals, a flag the Air Force gave me at the funeral and cry- I need to be honest about all the mixed feelings I have for this man. I have both loved and hated and loved again. This man was my pop Roy Downing, an orphan, a son, a father, a husband and to be remembered today as a soldier who risked his life and limb for our country and who until his death volunteered selfishly for our country as Chairman of the American Reform Party. 

A SOLDIER’S PRAYER
Dear Lord
Please let me have regular dreams like others do
Not these nightmares of memory
Let my dreams be filled with light and joy
Not smoke and terror
Let me hear the laughter of children
Not the screams of men dying
Let the birds fill the air with song
Not the sounds of bombs and bullets
Let the rivers run pure and clear
Not red with blood
Let everyone be healthy and whole
Not missing limbs and faces
Let the earth look as you made it
Not scorched and cratered
Let me wake up smiling
Not searching for the enemy
Let the sweat on my pillow be from summer’s heat
Not the sweat of fear and anxiety
but dear Lord most of all
I beg you
Please don’t let my children or their children
pray to you as I am doing tonight
Amen

Written by Maria Sutherland
September 16, 1999

George Hartwig admits to firing shotgun into sister-in-law’s face

 I need support. My son-in -law George Hartwig,  bludgeoned his estranged wife, my dying daughter Denise Richardson in the head before she died of cancer then returned  and shot my other daughter Louisa Richardson Rodas  nearly killing her. He tried to kill my son but the gun jammed before he was taken down by my grandson and subdued until the police came.

He pleaded guilty yesterday to 8 counts and threw himself on the mercy of the court asking for a minimal sentence based on his incapacited condition of drug induced actions. Instead of consecutive sentences of 60 + years he wants 20  which will have him out in about 12 years.  My daughter will serve about 40 – she is permanently in solitary confinement having lost half of her head from the shotgun blast. She remains completely healthy except she cannot sit, stand, speak, see, eat, or recognize her own children. She will live a long life of nothing! Why should he get less? He has had a long life of creating misery for everyone who has ever come in his path.

Please consider how you might help by wring a short respectful letter to the judge regarding plea deals and how women pay the ultimate price for lower that full sentencing. We urge significant and effective sentences, we must eliminate or reduce plea deals and strictly enforce laws for Violence against Women. We ask she do so in this case as George is a repeat offender and his pleas are just another con job on the court.

The Judge Liliana DeAvila-Silebi is a fair jurist, please send respectful letters of support for full and consecutive sentencing regardless of the prosecutors request for 30 years in return for a plea deal. The defendant has always wanted to plead guilty and was not in need of a plea deal ! He did not accept the conditions of the plea deal therefore it is not incumbamt on this Judge to give him the 30 years – she can and should give him consecutive sentencing.

http://www.northjersey.com/news/HARTWIG.html Comments would be appreciated in support of full and consecutive sentencing.

Sexual assault, rape at OWS sites

Connie Kafka

It appears to me that the collusion to hide alleged incidents of sexual assault and rape at Occupy Wall St sites could create a serious setback in efforts to curb violence against women. In their concerted effort to falsely paint OWS as a benign, if vague, grassroots populist movement of  ‘have nots’ versus ‘haves,’ the national media apparently is ignoring numerous crimes being committed at OWS sites across the nation, particularly crimes of alleged sexual assault and rape (75 out of 128 total known incidents so far). The OWS organizers reportedly insist that such crimes be handled ‘internally,’ not wanting their movement to receive ‘bad press.’ The movement organizers appear not only to be quashing the efforts of victims and witnesses trying to report these crimes to law enforcement, but appear to go so far as to condemn, isolate, ostracize and even threaten victims and witnesses. If not for local news, citizen journalists and the blogosphere, such crimes likely would go completely unreported and the victims left without any voice at all. The link below is to a blog that has been documenting the OWS crime situation as covered by local news and citizen journalists. I’m including the link for an overview which, to my knowledge, is not available elsewhere.

http://biggovernment.com/jjmnolte/2011/10/28/occupywallstreet-the-rap-sheet-so-far/